Sourdough biscuits anyone?

Life has been busy and among some things that have been waiting for a bit of my time like my poor ignored blog was a jar of sourdough starter that a friend of mine had given me a while back.  I have a confession to make.  Even though I love cooking and baking I've always been a little intimidated by bread making.  So of course I kept putting it off... It kept staring at me on the kitchen counter and I kept trying to find time and a recipe I felt comfortable trying.  So this Saturday morning feeling rested after a good night's sleep I decided I would take on the jar of strange smelling goo.  I decided on a quick bread type recipe (I know, the safer choice!) and found one in a cookbook another friend of mine lent to me.  I've been wanting to try a recipe or two from "A Cowboy In The Kitchen".  Sure enough, there was a recipe for Sourdough Biscuits!

It look simple enough so I dove right in.  Start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add 1 stick of butter cubed

Work the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until it's crumbly.

Time to add the mysterious goo... (sourdough starter) and mix until it comes together.  Don't over knead!

Turn it out unto a floured surface and roll out with your rolling pin.  One thing I would do differently is roll them a bit thicker next time (about 3/4 inch thickness).

 Cut out biscuits as close as possible with your biscuit cutter.

Place biscuits on a greased parchment paper lined cookie sheet and let rise for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400.

Place in oven for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Butter the tops of the biscuits while they are hot for a little added goodness!  Serve warm with butter and honey... Enjoy!

~A Cowboy in the Kitchen by Grady Spears and Robb Walsh, page 95


Sourdough Biscuits 
2 cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbs Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, chilled
3/4 cup Sourdough starter

February is rushing by too quickly!

My blog has been sadly ignored while a million things seem to be rushing ahead...

Birthdays...

Relationships...

Vacations...

Work...

Babysitting...

Spending time with my honey...

All of these have a been taking up most of my time this past couple of months. This month in between getting ready for Valentine's Day and various President's birthdays I managed to get a little time to do some baking for the office.  Cherry Cobbler was what came to mind when I thought about George Washington's birthday!

This is a "semi-home made" easy recipe which you can throw together quickly and you can tweak it a little depending on what kind of pie filling you happen to have in your pantry.

Here's what I did...

In a medium bowl combine the following ingredients:
1 cup Oatmeal
1 cup all purpose Flour
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 stick Butter. melted

Mix it together with a fork until it's crumbly

Butter a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.

Open one jar of Cherry Pie Filling and pour it into the buttered baking dish.  Sprinkle the crumbly ingredients on top.

Bake in a 375 F oven for about 35-40 minutes.

Add some ice cream on top for a special treat... Enjoy!  

  

Happy 2nd Birthday to Titus!

 

Beautiful Sunrise

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise... it reminded me of what a wonderful Creator we have!

"Let us acknowledge the Lord;

    let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
    he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
    like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Hosea 6:3 (NIV)

Easy Peasy Brownies

The brownies are in the oven and they smell delicious!  I am a big fan of making things from scratch but once in a while it's good to be able to make something that doesn't take much time but is still quite delicious.

One of those things I indulge in once in a while are No Pudge Fudge Brownies.  They are super east to make and give you great results in just 30 minutes.

All you need is a box of the mix and a 6 oz container of plain yogurt ( I used fat free Greek yogurt).  Mix them together.  If it seems really dry at first just hang in there... it takes a bit of stirring to come together into a nice batter.  

But no worries... I just see that as an opportunity to burn a few calories before eating the brownies!

Pour into a pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.   This time I tried something just a little different and put scoops of batter in an individual size brownie pan.

 And last but not least don't forget to lick the bowl clean!!!

    Enjoy!

Spicy Vegetable Lentil Soup. {An easy and delicious soup!}

Happy New Year!  The holidays have come and gone.  Can you believe it!  Hope yours was filled with family, friends, and many blessings!

If you are like me and are now looking for a good, easy, warm, comforting soup I have just the recipe for you.... and it's low in calories (about 94 calories per cup) which always makes me happy after the many delicious and rich foods I've consumed in the last couple of weeks.  (Sorry about the long run-on sentence!)

My mom sent me this recipe a few years ago and I have made a few adjustments to my liking.  It's called

Spicy Vegetable Lentil Soup.  Makes about 10 servings

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 medium Onion, chopped
3 stalks Celery, chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
1 red Bell Pepper, chopped
5 Garlic cloves, sliced
1 quart Chicken Broth (low sodium)
4 cups Water
1 cup dry Lentils
1 can crushed Tomatoes (28 oz)
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat.  Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Stir in celery, carrots, garlic and bell pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.  Add in all remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender.  Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.  Remove bay leaves before serving.  Enjoy!

If you are like me and like to have ready to go soup, place in individual containers and freeze.  You'll have yummy soup ready in no time!

Nature's diamond necklace

Sometimes I can get so busy and I don't take a moment to look around and take in some of nature's beauty. We can miss out on seeing some beautiful little reminders of what a wonderful Creator we have!  This morning as I was rushing out to work I almost ran into this little beauty.  I stopped short and just took it all in... it reminded me of a delicate diamond necklace.

Don't forget to take a little time today to look for and see those little unexpected things God sends our way!

Joy to the World!

It's looking more and more like Christmastime around the office!  Every year we look for ideas to decorate our cubicles.  From elaborate to simple we have had all kinds of decorations. My inspiration this year was this gold ornament with the words Joy to the World.

I wanted something simple, classy and meaningful.  So off I went to the various discount stores to search for just the right decorations.

Here is how it turned out!  To finish it off I printed out some of my favorite Christmas hymns and Carols in English and Spanish.

November Blessings...

This past month was filled with lots of little blessings.  It's those little things that God sends us everyday that remind me of His faithfulness and love.

1.  Saturdays with Titus.  Spending time watching airplanes land and take off, waiting for the train to come so we could wave at it and playing at the park were just some of the things we did.

2.  Sweet Margie came to visit and we enjoyed a delicious lunch of Colombian treats

3.  Spending a whole day showing Margie how to roll a pie crust and decorate cookies.

4.  Showing Danielle how to make pomegranate jelly

5.  A wonderful visit for Thanksgiving with the Cosentino's!

 6.  Seeing snowflakes fall for the first time!

7.  Three days of lovely snow flurries that turned the yard into a Christmas postcard!

8.  Catching snowflakes on your tongue...

9.  Safe flight to and from the East coast.

10.  Celebrating 15 years at my office during the Service Awards Luncheon this week!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!