Gooseberry Patch Books

I was on Facebook last night, just checking out what was going on.  I came across Gooseberry Patch's announcement of the winner of their Pinterest Contest. 

It said, "Congratulations, Joy!" and I thought, "yeah, there are other Joys in the world, don't get your hopes up!" 

I opened the link, and there was my Pin and picture!!!  I couldn't believe it!

"February 21, 2012

Congratulations, Joy!

Thanks to everyone who entered our recent Pinterest contest...we loved seeing the boards where you pinned our goodies, plus we found so many new friends too!

And the winning pin was...

Swirled Peanut-Butter Cheesecake Bars from Joy Burkhart!

Congratulations, Joy...check your inbox for our email! She'll receive a $50 Gooseberry Patch gift certificate...."

I was SOOOO HAPPY!!! 

I started to check my email...sorted all of it by GooseberryPatch, but those were just the normal emails.  I started to get anxious that I may have deleted THE email by mistake!

I finally found the right one this morning, sent out the day before the Facebook entry, under a different email address @GooseberryPatch.  Boy, was I kicking myself!  Guess I'd better keep up with those pesky missives I've signed up for, huh?! LOL!

I can't wait to get the gift certificate!  I love the Gooseberry Patch books, got at least two, maybe three (can't remember for sure), from my MIL at Christmas last year!  Great crafting ideas and recipes, and now I can add to my collection!

Thank you so much JoAnn and Vickie! I'm one happy camper!!! :-))

xoxoxo

English Muffin Bread

You won't believe how super EASY this English Muffin Bread recipe is to make!  It's delicious, too!  April at Angel Foods Kitchen had posted this Monday and I made a loaf that night.  It was so simple, I couldn't believe it.  It really tastes like English muffins as well! 

I had watched Alton Brown last year on his Good Eats program on the Food Network make English muffins.  It was so involved and time consumming!  Even though I love 'em, I'm not going to go to all that trouble to make 'em!

Head on over to April's to get the recipe.  You'll enjoy them as much as we did, I'm sure! 

I just took pictures of the end result.  It took one mixing bowl, a 2 cup measuring cup, measuring spoons, and, of course, the loaf pan/dish.  Not much clean up (big PLUS!).

Sharing this with Bunny Jean's Wednesday Bunny Hop party.




Take care and God Bless!

XoXoXo

Enchiladas!

I'm linking this with Bunny Jean's Bunny Hop Wednesday Party!  Give her a visit and join in.  You can post whatever you like.  The party is for newish bloggers, with less than so many followers, or have been blogging for less than a year (I think that right). 

Hop on over to Bunny's page for all the details!  She's such a sweetie!  I know she'll be glad to see you!  Oh, and she has something new!  Check out the BIG blogroll! 


Click for the Blog Hop!

I made some enchiladas the other day, and thought I'd share with you how I make them.  This is probably not a standard or traditional recipe for enchiladas, but we like them.



Enchiladas!



Some of the ingredients you'll need.  Forgot to show the canned diced tomatoes & salt.
You know what ground beef looks like! LOL!



Browning beef, onions, garlic, taco seasoning, salt & pepper, enchilada sauce.
I didn't add the tomatoes to this batch.

Spray baking dish with cooking oil and place on baking tray.
 This will prevent any bubble-over from messing up your oven.

 

Heat tortillas in microwave, cover until ready to use.

 

Spoon beef mixture onto a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese.

 

Roll...



roll...



fold top sides toward middle like an envelope flap and roll...

 

and your done (rolling)!  Place in the baking dish as well as possible.

 

Cover with enchilada sauce (green, in this case)...

 

then with shredded cheese and bake at 400 degrees, 23-25 minutes.



JOY'S ENCHILADAS

1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced, or 2 heaping tsp. jarred minced garlic
1/4 cup taco seasoning (more or less to suit your taste)
1 can diced tomatoes (optional)
1 small can green chilis (optional)
2 cans enchilada sauce, either red or green
salt and pepper to taste
8 taco sized tortillas
2 cups shredded cheese, your choice

Brown ground beef, onions, and garlic.  If there's any grease, drain.  Sprinkle taco seasoning, salt, and pepper over beef and stir in.  Add the diced tomatoes, including the liquid, and 1/2 can enchilada sauce.  Simmer about 5-8 minutes, just enough to warm it through.  Remove from heat.

Warm your tortillas in the microwave for about 3 minutes.  Once warmed, cover until ready to use.  Spoon about 2 serving spoonsful of the beef mixture onto a tortilla, add a sprinkling of cheese, and roll.  Place into a baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking oil and placed on a baking sheet.  Take remaining enchilada sauce and cover the enchiladas in the baking dish, then cover with remaining cheese. 

Bake at 400 degrees F. 23-25 minutes.  Once done, let the enchiladas rest for about 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

This makes enough for a family of four, or left overs for the next day for two.

I used to add a small can of green chilis, but Hubby's tummy can't take too much spicyness anymore. 

I hope you'll try this, and enjoy!  If you do, please let me know the verdict!

Take care and God Bless!

XoXoXo

Coffee Caramel Cake (minus the Caramel)

Hey there,

Linking this with Bunny Jean's Decor and More Bunny Hop!
                  

Remember the post I had, Saturday I think it was, about the fabulous recipe for Coffee Caramel Cake in the crock pot?  I'd found it at A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures.  Well, I made it today!  It was so super easy and delicious!

source:  A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures

I'll let you get the recipe from Hope's blog, but give an overview here.  You need a box of white cake mix (I used Betty Crocker French Vanilla), the normal items found on the box to make the cake (1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1 1/4 cup water, 3 eggs), and 2 T. instant coffee granules.  You'll need some cooking spray, like PAM - I used Wal-mart's cheaper, yet just as effective, Great Value brand.  Spray the inside of the crock pot insert WELL.  I was so intent on the sides, I didn't spray the bottom as well as I should have.  It stuck just a little bit, not much, but I wanted it to be so perfect! Ah, well...that's the story of an imperfect perfectionist!

Hope's recipe calls for caramel sauce, but I didn't have any on hand, so I just left it out. 

Oh, here in Indiana, caramel is pronounced CARMEL. Not Car-MEL, like in California, but CAR-mel.  Just to letcha know...

Back to the cake - make the cake batter just like you would normally.  Add 2 T. (tablespoons) instant coffee granules and mix in.  You might have some specks of coffee showing, that's ok. 

Pour the batter into the crock pot insert gently.  You don't want it to splash up onto the sides (or yourself!). 

Tear off a sheet of waxed paper (I used Cut-Rite) bigger than the lid bottom.  Place on top of the insert, then place lid on top of the waxed paper.  This will keep condensation from getting on the cake.

I don't know what size my crock pot is, but it took 3 hours to "cook."  I had started it at 1 PM this afternoon, and unplugged it at 4 PM.  I left the cake in there while I was making supper, finally checking to see if it was done about 25 minutes later.

It was, so I put a platter over the insert and flipped everything over.  The cake PLOPPED onto the platter, no problems, except for that little bitty place in the center.  SPRAY, SPRAY, SPRAY!

Look at that beautiful carmel color!

After I'd gotten the cake batter into the crock pot, I thought I'd be smart and make the icing. I'd remembered Hope's admonition to keep the finished cake in the fridge because the icing has milk in it, ok?  Well, after I made her wonderful icing, I put it into the fridge, thinking I'd be ahead of the game.  WRONG-O, Mary-Lou! 

Here's what you need for the icing...just do it when the cake is completely cooled.  Doing ahead doesn't help!  Trust me!

After the cake had cooled, I took out the icing and it was hard as a rock (almost)!  I stirred it up and it was a terrible mess.  Everything was separating, I was just sick!  Well, I went ahead and iced the cake as best I could.  When I tried to smooth out an area, all I did was pull the icing away from that part of the cake.  I found a light touch did help.

I put it back in the fridge for awhile, to set up a bit.  Hubby was calling for his cake, and he wanted to eat it, too! Imagine! LOL! 

I cut a couple of pieces for us, and Wow!  It tasted just like carmel (not caramel).  Even without the extra sauce.  I can imagine how great it would be with the sauce.

You just have to try this one!  Go check out A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures for the full recipe.  Enjoy!

(All the photos, except the first one from Hope's blog, are my doin'.  Kinda hard to mix and take pictures, too.  Can't blame any one but me!)

I'm linking this to Debbiedoo's Newbie Linky Party Every Monday.  I'm running a bit late with this one, but you could still link up, too!  There're still 3 hours left in the day here! 



Click HERE

Take care and God Bless!

XoXoXo

A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures: Coffee Caramel Cake Link

You will not believe this super recipe I came across tonight!  I was going though my emails, one being the Crock Pot Recipe Exchange.  Ginger has some really cool ideas for using your crock pot. 

She was mentioning last week's most viewed recipe in the exchange, which turned out to be Hope's Coffee Caramel Cake.  Can you imagine!?  Making a cake in a slow cooker?  I bet the inventor never thought of that one, huh?

Anyway, you've just gotta go over to A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures and get this recipe!  Doesn't it just look delish?  Just click on the link.  I think I'll try it tomorrow! 

A Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Adventures: Coffee Caramel Cake

XoXoXo

Sourdough Bread Recipe from Alli-n-son & my Spinach/Pecan Pesto

Good morning everyone!  Hope your day is going well.  It's HOT here, more like the middle of August, than the first part of June!!! 


I found this wonderful recipe at Alli-n-son's for sourdough bread, INCLUDING the starter!  Most of the recipes (well, really, all) I've found state you have to use a starter, but don't tell you how to make that.  Just assume you already have some on hand, I guess.  Amish Friendship Bread starter is pretty close to this, though.  My husband loves sourdough (me, too!), so I just had to try it.


I didn't have any bread flour on hand, so I used all-purpose.  Worked out pretty well, if I do say so myself!  Next time I get flour, though, I think I'll get some bread flour and see what the difference is.  The texture turned out amazing!  The recipe is simple enough, though it does take several days to get your starter going.  I mixed mine up last Tuesday, and made the bread on Saturday.  Now, I have starter in the fridge whenever we get the urge for sourdough!  Just have to remember to keep it active once a week!


Below are some pictures of the bread, and the spinach pesto I made to go on top of the slices.  I had about half a package of the spinach left over from making a salad for dinner one evening.  I didn't want it to go to waste (been known to happen around here!), so I decided to try a pesto for the first time.  I filled the bowl of my food processor with the spinach, added about a handful of pecans (I know, pesto is supposed to contain pine nuts, but I improvised), about half a cup of Parmesan grated cheese, & 2 garlic cloves.  I pulsed the food processor to get it going, then let it blend on its own while I poured in about one-third cup extra virgin olive oil.  MAN, was that good!!!  Next time I'll toast the nuts before adding to the mix.  As it was, I could have eaten the whole thing by itself - in one sitting! LOL!  It made about enough to fill half of one of those small deli containers.  Have to get the basil and pine nuts and try the "proper" pesto soon!  The cheese I used was, surprisingly, a Great Value brand (Walmart).  Cheaper than Kraft and just as good, if not better! (My opinion, no compensation from Walmart.)

I took one of the small loaves and made a chili bowl for my hubby one night, too.  Just hollowed out the inside after cutting a small slice off the top, filled the loaf with chili, covered it with shredded cheese, & nuked it for 1-2 minutes (to melt the cheese).  Wish I'd thought to get a photo of it, 'cause it sure looked purty!  DH said the first time he'd had this was in Nevada when his squadron was training at NAS Fallon.  Said it was served with a soup spoon and a steak knife, so he could eat the bowl.  He must have liked mine, 'cause he finished every last bite!

Anyway, go on over to Alli-n-son's to get the recipe!  Her directions include how to replenish the starter, & how to keep it active.  It's one of those "must try" keepers!

*Tip:  I've been keeping the bread in the fridge, even froze one of the loaves.  It gets a little dry after a couple of day, so toasting it is a good idea.  Could be used for homemade croutons, too.  Saved the chili bowl insides for this purpose.  UMM-umm-good!

Spinach/Pecan Pesto

2-3 cups baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic
1/3-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Pulse to bring everything together, then blend while drizzling the olive oil into the mixture.  Spread on some of your homemade bread, or use as a dip.

Enjoy!

XoXoXo

PS. I forgot to add to the recipe for Pesto:  salt and pepper to taste.  Guess I figured you guys would do that anyway! HA! HA!

Vertical Layer Cake at "I Am Baker"

Howdy!

Ree at The Pioneer Woman sent her newsletter/email today with a link to I Am Baker and a GORGEOUSly decorated Rose Cake.  I just had to share it with y'all. (Sorry - lived in Georgia for awhile! LOL! Love the South!)  The directions for the Vertical Layers are HERE.  It's surprisingly simple.

Here are photos of the Rose Cake and the Vertical Layers:

Aren't these just too beautiful to cut into!!!  Gonna have to try these techniques soon!

Enjoy!!!

XoXoXo