Recipe Friday ~ Grandma’s BundtCake

I made this delicious cake following an old german recipe. The german name is ‘Rotkäppchen’s Gugelhupf’ – which means ‘Little Red Riding Hood’s Bundtcake’…and since the little one carried a cake in her basket, we call it ‘Grandma’s Bundtcake’.

Here’s what you need…
~4.4 oz (125-g) softened Butter, unsalted
~1/2 cup + 2-1/2 Tbsp. Sugar
~a pinch of salt
~3 eggs
~1/4 tsp. Cinnamon
~1-3/4 cup Flour
~2 tsp. Baking Powder
~4 – 6 Tbsp. Applejuice
~3/4 cup Raisins (wash in hot water, set on paper towels)
~2 -3 Apples (peeled and diced)
~Cooking Spray
~powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 360F (180C)
~Combine the softened butter with sugar and salt and beat until creamy (handmixer)

~Mix in the eggs, add the flour and baking powder – keep mixing. Add the Applejuice, then the cinnamon

~Fold in the raisins and the apples.

~Spray your Bundtpan and coat with sugar. Pour in the batter and bake for 55 – 60 minutes (toothpick test!)

When the cake is completely cooled, turn it out onto a wire rack.

Sieve on the powdered sugar. Done!

*One last word of advice – tell your loved ones that the tempting ‘chocolate chips’ are raisins! My daughter claims she has trust issues because of this cake!

I hope you enjoy the baking, the eating, and the Holidays!

Until next time
~Tina xoxo

 

 

 

 

Recipe Friday ~ Savory Pepperoni/Tomato/Cheese Muffins

Hello from a very cold, grey, and wet Kansas ❄️☃️🌨 Weather like this always makes me wanna bake something – warm up the house and fill it with delicious smells of warm goodies. Since all the tins are filled with cookies, and sweet Lavender muffins (yesterday’s session 😊) – what to do? Then I remembered this recipe! It took me a while to locate it….the last time I made them was two moves ago. 🙃

Now- without further ado….here’s the recipe

You need
~5 oz Pepperoni slices ( I like to use the minis)
~ 1 medium green pepper, diced
~1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
~1 Garlic clove
~1/2 onion, diced
~2 cups flour
~2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
~1/2 tsp. baking soda
~1/2 tsp. salt
~1/4 tsp.black pepper
~1/2 tsp. Oregano
~2 x 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan (set 1/3 cup aside)
~1 egg
~1/4 cup Olive Oil
~1/2 cup Tomatosauce
~1 cup Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 360 degrees (F)
Line your muffin cups with paper liners.

Combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, oregano, parmesan, garlic, onion, PepperJack, bell pepper, and pepperoni.

Scramble the egg, add olive oil, tomato sauce, buttermilk – mix well.

Combine the two mixtures.
Scoop the mixture into the muffin tin ( 1/4 cup mixture per muffin cup)
Sprinkle the set-aside Parmesan on each muffin.

Bake 20 – 25 min. (toothpick test!)
Remove from oven.
I know it’s hard – they just smell soooo good, but let them sit 10 minutes before removing muffins from pan.

They’re awesome with Tomato Soup…

I promise they’ll be a great success at a potluck dinner or your Holiday Buffet

Happy Baking!

Until next time
~Tina xoxo

My first Gingerbread House

Did you ever build a Gingerbread House? Well, you’re one step ahead of me 😊 I always looked at the pretty boxes, admired my friends pictures – then I’d remember the stories of frustration, of Gingerbread flying across the room….followed by jellies and sprinkles. But, one of my New-Years-Resolutions was ‘learn and try new things’. So I went and bought one of the pretty boxes 

Since I’m a first timer I couldn’t just buy a house, I had to buy the ‘Village’ 😝 Hey, gotta aim high, right?! 

I unpacked, sorted the pieces- they smell amazing! 😬

The instructions are pretty clear – and according to the box it only takes minutes to assemble the whole village 🙃

I got the icing ready, broke the first house apart….no, no-not the first oops- you have to😅and started icing the edges. The instructions said to ice all 4 edges- I didn’t do that since I don’t want to glue it to the worktop. So….house is standing, roof attached- that wasn’t so bad! 

Knead the icing bag again, start decorating, and….

T-I-M—B-E-R-R-R

 I stayed calm…. the icing was still sticky so putting it back together only took a minute. This time all went well….and the first house is done 😀

Now the Chalet 

Knead the icing, start decorating….and it didn’t fall down! 😅 The ‘snow’ is melting off the roof though…but- that happens, right? 😋

The other 2 went up without a hitch! 😊 

I didn’t have enough icing for the fifth one… sooooo….they smell good… we just eat them. That should be ok… 😁

Here’s hubby looking for an expiration date 

It’s all good – they were delicious 😌

My little village looks pretty awesome 💕

Any idea what to do with the houses after the holidays? They probably won’t be so delicious anymore 😝 Do you just throw them away? 🤔 

Now it’s time for some more Christmas decorating! 🎄

I hope to catch you later 😀 

~ Tina xoxo 

Recipe Friday ~ Lentil Soup

I came across this Oldie, but Goldie this morning

…and have to agree! It was 18 this morning, now it has ‘warmed’ up to 22! WooHoo! 😨
I know my friends in Alaska are just rolling their eyes at me now, but I’m cold!
Perfect weather for a nice big pot of soup though, right? So today – and probably all weekend   😁, this recipe makes a lot! – we’ll eat lentil soup.
As I gathered the ingredients, and checked the lentils for little rocks, I started wondering …what does a lentil plant look like? I honestly had no idea.Nobody in my immediate vicinity knew, so I looked it up.
According to Wikipedia the lentil is part of the legume family (well, I knew that  😊 ). It is an edible pulse (in case you’re wondering – a seed of an leguminous plant). It is a bushy, annual plant, and about 16″ (40 cm) tall. The seeds grow in pods – on average 2 seeds per pod.
I love this illustration…

Now that we know that    😊   we’ll make a delicious, warming soup!
Here’s what you need –
~ 8 cups broth
~1 pound lentils
~1 cup diced onions
~2 stalks celery, diced
~2, 3 medium large potatoes, diced
~2 tomatoes, you guessed it…diced
~1 cup sliced carrots
~1 ring Kielbasa, sliced
~1 tsp. Greek seasoning
~1/2 tsp.dried Tarragon
~Vinegar (optional)

1. Pour the broth into your Crock Pot. Add lentils
2. Saute the onions in oil, and add them to the broth.
3. Brown the sliced Kielbasa in the same pan. Transfer to the Crock Pot.
4. Add remaining ingredients. Give it a good stir, cover, and cook on High 3-4 hours or on Low 6-7 hours.
Serve with warm Garlic Bread, and dig in! Enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Until next time
~Tina xoxo

My (indoor) Winter Wonderland

Our living room got a new Holiday dress this year 🤗 Instead of the usual 7′ tree 🎄 with colorful lights, tinsel, garlands, balls….well, you know – the whole 9 yards….I wanted to build a ‘Winter Wonderland’ ☃️❄️🌲 I found ‘snow-covered’ trees in different heights, set them on a snow-blanket, added twinkle lights to the taller tree, small ornaments to all…and ~ here it is 

The final touch is this sweet little straw fawn I adopted today 😍 

How do you decorate for the Holidays? Please share with all of us 😌

Until next time 

~Tina xoxo 💕

Ideas for an empty wall

Kristabella's Hodgepodge

I don’t know about you, but, once in a while, I get really bored by my wall-art. Then I go on the hunt…only to find out that replacing it – even only a few pieces – could potentially break the bank. Apparently I have very expensive taste.?
What to do? Let me tell you! I’m in the middle of a budget-friendly project. Photos!
There are motifs all around the house, the yard, and prints are very affordable.
I took my camera and started snapping pictures (if you have a device with a good photo editor built in use that one). Once you start looking, you’ll be surprised how many picture-worthy images there are. Walk around and snap away!

Here are some examples of my photo shoot…

I took the pictures, then I cropped them in the editor. As you can see – anything that catches your eye will work. Plants…

View original post 211 more words

Ideas for an empty wall

I don’t know about you, but, once in a while, I get really bored by my wall-art. Then I go on the hunt…only to find out that replacing it – even only a few pieces – could potentially break the bank. Apparently I have very expensive taste.😝
What to do? Let me tell you! I’m in the middle of a budget-friendly project. Photos!
There are motifs all around the house, the yard, and prints are very affordable.
I took my camera and started snapping pictures (if you have a device with a good photo editor built in use that one). Once you start looking, you’ll be surprised how many picture-worthy images there are. Walk around and snap away!

Here are some examples of my photo shoot…

I took the pictures, then I cropped them in the editor. As you can see – anything that catches your eye will work. Plants, flowers, a sparkly Christmas ornament…

Oh…here’s my favorite…

Sometimes a little staging helps to liven up the object

Once you’re happy with the look, print them (or have them printed at the drugstore – that’s what I do), stick ’em in a frame and – voila – all new wall decor.
For frames – speaking of breaking the budget, right 😦   I scour Thrift- and Charity shops.
Since that can be very time consuming (very inconvenient, especially now during the Holiday season),  I will share a nifty idea with you – Clip-Frames. Now, now – don’t wrinkle your nose and go ‘eww’  – hear me out 😄  Buy one that’s bigger than your photo, line the back with scrapbook paper or fabric

arrange your photo(s)  on the background, glass, clip – done! There…doesn’t it look great?

(Sunset photo taken by Gerald Rowles)
Here you see that magazine pictures, and greeting cards work very well too.

If you need a little help arranging them on the wall – here are two links that can help you out…

http://pin.it/2sdcK2O
http://pin.it/s8rr591

Now go snap some photos, and get decorating
I hope you show me your pictures, finished walls!
As always, if you have any questions send me a message.

Until next time

~Tina xoxo