Ponies and French Toast

  This weekend my Bible study group on campus had a ladies' retreat up at Z5 Ranch, which is a lovely, lovely place and you all should go. I'm glad I'm an early bird, cause I was able to get some nice shots and enjoy the sunrise on my morning walk before the rain hit... But thankfully the rain went away in the afternoon and we were able to get a tour of the ranch and feed horses! :) Which was fabulous cause this country bumkin needed to get out of town... like real bad...





The focus of the retreat was vulnerability, something very applicable to all folks, but especially college people as they try to figure out what they're doing with their lives...


<- this dude is just too cute... also pretty curious about my camera







OVERNIGHT FRENCH TOAST:
8 slices French bread
4 eggs
1 1/4 c. milk
3 T. melted butter
2 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash of salt

Mix all ingredients (except for bread) in a bowl. Whisk until fluffy and well combined. Butter a pan and arrange bread slices. Pour wet mixture evenly over bread. Optional: lightly drizzle with maple syrup before baking. Bake at 400* for 25-30 minutes. Serve with berries, syrup, whipped cream, or all of the above!
(I used a 9x9 pan because my 9x13 was already being used. I just had to kinda pile the bread on top of each other, and smoosh them in.)

Granola: Honey and Flax

SO MUCH CANNING!!

So, I like to can. Like a lot a lot. Pie filling, cobbler filling, apple sauce, apple juice, apple jelly, sliced apples... and that's just apples- which there were plenty of last year.

 

And I also like mason jars. I hadn't realized until this morning when I was talking to my boss about my mason jar experience with the cream how many jars I actually have in my little house. I guess you could say they're my house's favorite accessory. So I went on a little scavenger hunt to see what all I use them for...
 Well, here's what I found my jars hold:
coffee creamer, sweetener, coffee cup, spices, canned goods, baking mixes, silverware, and pens.

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

I don't have a recipe for you this evening, but I have all sorts of pictures. Cause this evening as I was mowing, I got inspired and grabbed a camera. So, without further ado...

Graveyard Chocolate Cupcakes

Where's Gracey? Peek-a-boo! Here I am! Sorry for having been MIA for a while. With the play I'm involved in, I haven't been home a whole lot. Most days I'm at school more than I am at home. But this weekend is full of performances, and then I'll be done and will be able to hopefully be baking more! I did get asked to make cupcakes for the cast party this evening though! I was really super excited about that! The play is our town, and the cupcakes are graveyard themed to match Act III. I think I had a little too much fun organizing the "graves" to match where the characters sit on stage...

But I suppose you aren't really here to hear about all the fun I had... you prolly just want the recipe to these death-defyingly good cupcakes.

GRAVEYARD CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES:

8 T. butter

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. cocoa powder

3/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp. soda

3/4 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

2/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract*

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. yogurt

*(If you use vanilla yogurt, omit the vanilla extract)

 

 Combine the first three ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat until the butter and chips have melted. Stir until it is smooth, and be careful not to let it boil. Remove from heat. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, yogurt, vanilla and chocolate mixture. (If you're a big chocolate fan, stir in 1/2 c. more chocolate chips to the batter before putting into the pan.)Stir well and spoon into cupcake liners. Bake at 350* for about 13-15 minutes or until done.

 

 

I was a lazy bum and just used store bought vanilla frosting that I colored green to decorate. The tombstones are just oreos with names written on them.

Pumpkin Fluff

 When I opened the cupboard this afternoon, there were multiple cans of pumpkin staring back at me expectantly. And I realized that open season for pumpkins is well underway, so I had better get with it! Since my Grammy was coming over for the week, I thought I'd make something autumnal for dessert. However, I didn't have time to actually bake something. My solution: Pumpkin Fluff. After I finished making it, I had to try it to make sure it wasn't a total flop. I was secretly hoping no one else liked it, that way I could have the whole thing to myself. I didn't have my camera right off hand so I wasn't able to take a picture right away. But for a while there, I was worried that it wasn't going to make it all the way to picture time with out getting eaten up...

PUMPKIN FLUFF:
15 oz. pumpkin puree
8 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
8 oz. whipped topping
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
graham crackers

Use a food processor to whip together pumpkin and cream cheese until smooth. Then mix in powdered sugar and spices. Fold in the whipped topping until incorporated. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 9 pan in graham crackers. Then add a layer of fluff and another layer of graham crackers. Spread remaining fluff on top. Put in the freezer to chill for at least an hour before serving.

When I asked for feed back, I was told that next time I should throw some marshmallows in there somewhere, maybe on top of the bottom layer of graham crackers. So I guess that means there's allowed to be a next time for this dessert. I believe the quote of the evening was, "If pumpkins were clouds that farted, this is what you would end up with." And that's how the name "Pumpkin Fluff" came into being....

Peanut Butter Yummies

Hi ya! I'm new to this high-tech blogging business, so please bear with me as I stumble through! :)
There are a few reasons why I love to bake:
1) it amazes me how a few ingredients go into a bowl and the outcome is (hopefully) delicious!
2) all the concoctions that go down in the kitchen make my house smell amazing!
3) who doesn't love the little grins that pop out while scarfing down goodies??

Tonight was a girl's night at home, and I figured everyone needs a little sugar in their lives on such evenings, right? Any girl would agree that dessert makes bonding time all that much better. The sugar of request was cookie sandwiches, nicknamed "Yummies" by Laura. And after much debate over cookie options: sugar, peanut butter, chocolate, chocolate chip.... the list goes on and on... we agreed on peanut butter.
Since I was only making sandwiches for the two girlies, I halved the recipe; however the original made four dozen cookies....which means Laura and Rachael each ate about a dozen's worth.... well, I suppose you only live once! :D

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES:
1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Hershey's bars, crumbled into small pieces
1 1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. soda
dash of salt.

Cream together the margarine, peanut butter, and sugars. Add the egg and vanilla and mix. Then add in all the dry ingredients. Form the dough into balls and place them onto a baking sheet. Bake at 375* for about 10 minutes. (unless you like them a little gooey-ier like we do at my house... in which case, I take them out a little sooner.)

I had some left over peanut butter frosting from a while ago in the freezer, so I took it out and used it for filling in between two cookies.

Although a little messy, they were a success and both girls gave them a thumbs up! It's probably a good thing that neither of them were able to finish their cookies, which are waiting in the fridge to be eaten at breakfast... if they last that long. To quote Laura, "This will be just the thing to get me going for school in the morning!"   Look out teachers!