Buttah.

This is one of those things that isn't a time saver, but it is so worth it.  Worth it on a piece of homemade bread with homemade jam.  The difference between homemade butter and store bought is well, not comparable.  Even the European butters, while better, don't compare.



Are you ready for this?  

1 pint of heavy whipping cream.   If you can, get it from a dairy rather than a grocer.



That's it.

Pour your cream in a mixing bowl, a large mixing bowl.  And put an apron on.


Slowly start to beat the cream with your mixers (if you have a standalone mixer just cover it and leave.  I don't,  so I get spatter).


Work up to a fast speed and beat for 5-7 minutes.  When you start to get spattered, or the liquid separates, you are done. 


Strain the liquid, work out any curds in the butter and you're done!  You can also rinse the butter with water, which is supposed to help it keep longer.  But, I don't have a need for butter to keep longer in my house.  You can also add a pinch of salt, to taste, if you want to.


The liquid is super fresh buttermilk, perfect for pancakes.  With butter slathered on top, of course.

Five minute ice-cream

What is the best dinner to feed a poor, sick child?  Ice-cream, of course.  I mean what would make a child happier than ice-cream for dinner?  And, as a parent, all you want to do is make that poor miserable child laying on the couch with rosy red cheeks do is... smile.  Just a teeny one.  And saying "Do you want some chocolate ice-cream for dinner?" will do it.



And this ice-cream is healthy, and easy on the tummy.

This is about the best idea ever.   I couldn't even wait to blog about it.  I read about it on Use Real Butter, thank you fellow Coloradoan!

What'll you'll need:

4 banana's, sliced and frozen
2 tablespoons of natural creamy peanut butter (optional)
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder (optional)


Put the frozen banana's in your food processor and blend until nice and creamy.   And, as a note I happened to have whole frozen banana's in my freezer, I do that when they go brown so I can use them later for banana bread.  I just peeled them, sliced them frozen and put them in the chopper - it worked fine.


Add the peanut butter and cocoa powder.


Done.


For added smiles, add sprinkles.


You could change this recipe up in so many ways too.  Nutella came to mind first.  Oh Nutella.  Or how about some strawberry preserves.  Apple pie filling.  Chocolate syrup drizzled over banana ice-cream.  Raspberries.  Chunks of chocolate.  


Dude, it's healthy ice-cream.  Healthy enough to feed to a sick kid.  For realz.

Muffin Tin Monday

Muffin Tin Monday is not a new idea, but it is brilliant.  Sometimes when I come home from work, and maybe forgot to start the slow cooker that morning (I do that a lot) I stand staring in the fridge/freezer/pantry just dumbfounded about what I'll make for dinner.  Honestly, if it wasn't for the kids we'd just eat whatever...

GENIUS!

And so, I throw a hodge podge of whatever into the tins, set it in front of my son and it's the best.dinner.ever!  

Chicken dinner.

I mentioned before that I love seasoning packets.  I peruse the spice aisle almost every time I go to the grocery store to see if there are any flavors that speak to me.  I use them on all kinds of meat but chicken is my favorite.  Today I chose a sweet bbq seasoning packet that is made for roasting a whole chicken in the oven but I buck the system and always do it in the slow cooker.

So, toss in however many chicken breasts your family will eat.  I throw them in frozen so they don't dry out (my dinner is typically going for 10 hours or so by the time we're all home)  Then add 1-2 packets of the seasoning packet of your choice.  Then, pour in some water - about 1" deep is what I do.

Turn it on low and you're done prepping dinner!


When you get home you can steam or roast some veggies, add a salad and dinner is ready.   I mean really, 5 minutes.  And real minutes too, not those 20 minute meals on TV where everything was already prepped ahead of time.  I mean, can't ANYONE make a meal in 20 minutes if everything they need is laid out in tiny little bowls all measured and chopped for them.  

Do you use seasoning packets to your advantage?  What are some of your quick recipes using them?

Birthday cake cheats

I love to make cakes, but I'm not baker.  And CERTAINLY not a decorator.  Yet, I still love making cakes.  I thought it would be fun to share some of the, uh, creative ways I've decorated cakes :)

This is my oldest son's 2nd birthday train cake.  Looks pretty cute, right?


 

You should have seen my kitchen.  And everyone's mouths after eating that... Yeah.  

This is the Cars cake from his 3rd birthday.  11th hour and the sides of this cake looked like a hot mess.  But I saved it using cut outs from one of those birthday party decorator packs.


 

:)  Again, guests don't appreciate the colored frosting... I use the gel stuff but yeah, it's still HORRIBLE!  

And this is my second son's 1st birthday cake.  He loves to make music so I was going to decorate his cake myself, you know, by piping frosting.  I scraped that stuff off at least 5 times because it just looked like well, a one year old decorated the cake.




Quick trip to the Wal-Mart craft section and voila... stickers.  I did have to tell the guests not to eat them.  Good thing I have understanding guests.



And this  batman cake I made for a friends son.  It looks pretty good right, for an amateur at least. 


Yeah, that was the 2nd attempt.  The first one looked like this:


 

Batman doesn't mind pink, does he?

Sweet potato side

I always have spice packets in my house, always.  They come in handy in so many ways when I am making dinner on the fly.  Onion soup packets are a favorite of mine and they make this side dish heaven, it's perfect along side a perfect roast chicken.




Even with my horrible photography skills, don't they look heavenly?


What you need:


About 2lbs of sweet potatoes, peeled cut into 1" cubes.


A tablespoon or so of olive oil.


1 packet of onion soup mix.


Directions:


Put everything in a bag and toss.


Lay it out on a sheet pan, bake at 350 for about an hour, stirring once.

Raspberry Lemon Trifle

Thank you Erin for showing me this recipe. It has become my go to dessert for well, everything. It is so incredibly easy and I love.love.love lemon anything. I often find myself with a spoon and the trifle dish after everyone has left...

This is one recipe that I didn't tweak at all, which is rare for me. And, also, even
though I've made it at least five times I don't seem to have a photo! But, you can see a luscious one here along with the original recipe.

And, just in case that link ever disappears here is the recipe again. I'm telling you people, this is divine. The moment you taste it you'll regret all the years you didn't know about it so don't delay.

You MUST stand over the curd while it cooks and whisk, whisk, whisk. You don't want to end up with scrambled eggs and make sure you use a pot that is big enough so the bottom doesn't cook before the rest. You can also use a double boiler, but I never do.

Syrup

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water

Curd

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Fruit and topping

• 4 1/2-pint baskets fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1 16-ounce frozen pound cake, thawed
2 cups chilled whipping cream

For syrup:
Combine sugar, lemon juice, and water in small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 1 minute. Cover and chill.

For curd:
Whisk eggs, sugar, and lemon juice in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Add butter and lemon peel. Stir over medium heat until curd thickens to pudding consistency, about 10 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd. Chill until cold, at least 4 hours. (Can be made 3 days ahead.)

For fruit and topping:
Combine 2 baskets raspberries and 1/4 cup sugar in bowl. Mash berries coarsely with fork. Let stand until juices form, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Cut cake crosswise into 8 pieces. Cut each piece into 3 strips. Line bottom of 3-quart trifle bowl with 8 cake strips, trimming to fit. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons syrup; spread with 2/3 cup curd, then half of mashed berries. Repeat layering. Top with remaining cake, syrup, and curd. Cover; chill overnight.

Beat cream and 3 tablespoons sugar in bowl until peaks form; spread over trifle. Mound remaining berries in center.