Plain Bagel Recipe

May 23, 2013 By Melissa 1 Comment

Sometimes in the kitchen I love to try to make things from scratch that you traditionally buy. Bagels are one such example. I know that you can run to the store or the bagel shop to pick some up, but half the fun of this recipe is trying to make something you’ve never made before. Bagel making takes a bit of time and moderate bread making knowledge, but it really isn’t as hard as you would think. Think of bagel making more as a journey and enjoy the process, plus the end results are delicious. Perfectly chewy little circles of happiness just begging for some butter and jam or cream cheese can’t be bad.

This bagel recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour test kitchen. They did a knock-off Panera bagel recipe and broke it down step by step with pictures and detailed instructions. I highly recommend checking out their post if you are new to bagel making; it was very well written and thorough.

Mmm. This recipe has been a long time coming and now I wish I had some. I’m eating clean for the next two weeks (no sugar, only whole grains, and no processed ingredients) so I might have to play around with a whole wheat version!

Thanks so much for reading. You all are the best. Keep Calm and Bagel On.

KAF plain bagels 2, Plain Bagel Recipe

KAF plain bagels

King Arthur Flour’s Plain Bagels

Yield: Make 12 bagels

Ingredients

For the sponge/starter:
1/2 cup bread flour
1/4 cup cool water
pinch of instant yeast, about 1/16 teaspoon
Plus:
1 1/4 cups cool water
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 cups bread flour
For Boiling the Bagels:
5 cups water
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

To make the starter, mix all of the ingredient together in a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to sit at room temperature overnight

To make the dough add all of the starter, after it's overnight rest, the water, salt, yeast, and half of the bread flour called for. Using the dough hook of your stand mixer, mix these ingredient for 5 minutes. Continue adding the rest of the bread flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough starts to come together. The dough should still stick to the bottom of the bowl but it will pull away from the sides. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is lightly tacky. Form into a ball. Let the dough rise in a lightly greased bowl for one hour. Gently deflate the dough and let it rise for another half hour.

While the dough is rising prep the water for boiling. Mix the water, baking soda, and brown sugar in a large pot. The water needs to be at least one inch deep.

When the dough has risen a second time, remove it from the bowl and cut it into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a round ball. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Heat the water in the pan over medium heat until it starts to gently boil and the baking soda dissolves. Reduce the heat so that the water stays at a very gentle boil. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.

Take one piece of dough and poke your finger through the center. Using your finger gently stretch the hole in the center until it is about a 2 inch circle. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Gently drop 2 or 3 bagels in the boiling water and let them boil on the first side for 2 minutes and then flip them over in the water and let them cook on the second side for 1 more minute. Remove from the water with a strainer or the end of a wooden spoon and place the bagels on the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat the boiling with the remaining bagels.

Bake the boiled bagels in the hot oven for 25 minutes or until they are a deep brown. Let the bagels cool on a wire rack before enjoying.

Store extras in an airtight container or brad bag.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/plain-bagel-recipe.html

KAF plain bagel recipe

Have I convinced you to try your hand a bagel making?!

Filed Under: baking, Bread, Breakfast, King Arthur Flour, yeast bread Tagged With: bread, recipe

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

May 22, 2013 By Melissa 2 Comments

Summer is upon us and I feel like there are a million reasons to make t-shirts. I”m sure you have some of the same reasons to craft up a t-shirt as I do. You probably have summer camps, VBS, Cub Scout camp, family reunions, vacations, and sports to attend on top of all of the fun holidays like the Fourth of July and your towns annual Strawberry Days. Why not let your kids make some of the t-shirts on their own this year?

I posted a freezer paper stencil tutorial last year and I’m used the same method again this year. It’s such a cool thing to know how to do that I thought it would be OK to blog about it again.

You can find the complete tutorial on how to make a freezer paper stencil here.

Last year we used freezer paper stencils to make Birthday shirts and shirts for the Fourth of July. This year we made our own T-ball shirt. This was my oldest daughter’s first time playing t-ball and we moved down just a little too late to get signed up in time to have a team shirt ordered. The day that shirts were handed out at practice was rough… she didn’t get one! And of course I had no idea this would all happen 3 days before the first game. So as any Mom would do I paid out the nose to have a green shirt sent to my house via the internet and it arrived just in time. We decorated the shirt and she couldn’t have been more pleased with how hers turned out.

Since sister was painting the boys needed to also, and so did her cousin. The baby painted a shirt with the letter “G” for Gators (the t-ball team) and Henry painted a cape. He’s the official “Gator Guy” at all of the games; their number one fan. The girls got a little crazy with the paint but I didn’t care, it was their project not mine.

Here are the kids working.

The beauty of the stencil is that the kids have a lot of freedom to paint, color, and create but it keeps a handle on things. We used fabric markers and acrylic paint on the shirts.

Messy, messy, but it the letters come out nice and crisp!

Even the baby who isn’t 2 yet did his own shirt. This is a reverse method from the above pictures. Instead of painting in the letters, he had a letter for the stencil. When I pull the “G” off you’ll see the unpainted shirt underneath.

I don’t have any great after pictures, there was too much life going on to get one! But I assure you that the shirts and cape turned out adorable. I love that the kids were in charge of the project and were able to take ownership in it. This type of stencil really allows them to do it on their own work and creating without having a paint-filled mess of a shirt at the end. I think older kids could even create and cut their own stencils which would really give them a lot of freedom.

So there you have it! Another great reason to check out that freezer paper stencil tutorial that I did last year.

What events or holidays do you think you’ll be making shirts for this year? I think I have the kids make another round of shirts for the 4th!

Thanks for stopping in.

Filed Under: 4th of July, DIY, Family, kids crafts, t-shirt project Tagged With: craft, kids, tutorial

Peanut Butter Hot Fudge Recipe

May 16, 2013 By Melissa 2 Comments

Ice cream season is upon us and I couldn’t be more pleased! I’ve already made three batches of deliciously simple homemade vanilla ice cream (and just realized I’ve never shared the recipe with you…). I love vanilla ice cream because it goes with everything. Ice cream with a side of berries, pie, or cake, is just a good thing. If I don’t have a side for it I like to have a little something to offer on top. More often than not I’ll enjoy it nice and plain but sometimes it needs just a little chocolate. Everything is better with chocolate.

I made this peanut butter hot fudge a few months ago and made it again a few weeks ago. It keeps really well in the fridge and I just heat it up as needed. It’s a quick and easy topping for ice cream that everyone likes. Seriously, I don’t think I know a single person who doesn’t enjoy the chocolate peanut butter combo.

So pin this peanut butter hot fudge recipe for later because I know there’s going to be a time this summer that it pops into your mind and you’ll want to make it. And why wait for a reason… it’s Thursday;that is reason enough!

And be on the lookout for my vanilla ice cream recipe in the near future. It’s one you need to!

Peanut Butter Hot Fudge

Yield: Make 2 cupes

Ingredients

1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsly chopped
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch salt

Instructions

In a medium sauce pan heat the cream over medium heat until it starts to boil. Pull the pan off the heat and the chopped chocolate and peanut butter. Let the mixture sit for 30 seconds. Whisk the cream, chocolate, and peanut butter together until the mixture is smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt and mix to combine. Allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes before serving warm. The mixture will thicken slightly as it cools and will be a nice texture when it hits the cold ice cream.

Store any extras in an air-tight container in the fridge and reheat to warm before serving again.

Notes

Sometimes my powder sugar will be a bit clumpy which isn't the dream. I've found it best to sift it into the bowl of liquid chocolate and cream while whisking or to have the powdered sugar in a separate bowl and then slowly pour the chocolate mixture into the powdered sugar while whisking. You'll get a smoother product by doing one of these methods opposed to just plopping in the powdered sugar and then stirring it in.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/peanut-butter-hot-fudge-recipe.html

Mmmm. Now try to not want this the rest of the day ;)

Thanks so much for reading.

Filed Under: chocolate, dark chocolate, Dessert, quick and easy, recipe Tagged With: chocolate, dessert, recipe

The Best and Easiest Fruit Dip Recipe

May 14, 2013 By Melissa 5 Comments

Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Our wedding anniversary, Christmas, and my birthday are all within three weeks of each other so it’s pretty hard to celebrate them well and individually. Cue Mother’s Day. It’s like all those other holidays done right in May. I love it!

My family spoiled me this year, as always. Thomas made me egg, ham, and cheese breakfast sandwiches in the morning and then we had a family cook-out for dinner after church. Thomas also promised to do dishes for year (and then he gave me a case of paper plates and a case of paper cups LOL). And this being given to a woman who rarely buys such things; it was a welcome gift.

The family party that evening was a lot of fun and we ate what we always do: dutch oven, baked beans, and pasta salad. We got a little crazy and had a fresh fruit platter. My mother-in-law asked me to make a fruit dip and so I made this one. I don’t know when or where I learned how to make this super easy fruit dip recipe but it’s one I had to share. It only has three ingredients and comes together in a flash. Oh course I only had a bit of left-over fruit dip to take a picture of on Monday, but perfect picture or not, you need this fruit dip recipe in your life.

The Best and Easiest Fruit Dip Recipe

Yield: Around 4 cups

Ingredients

8 ounce cream cheese (reduced fat works well), softened
1 small container Marshmallow Fluff
1 small container Cool Whip or 2 cups fresh whipped cream

Instructions

In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese and marshmallow fluff until smooth. Fold in the cool while or whipped cream. Serve cold with fresh fruit.

Store extras in an airtight container in the fridge.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/easiest-fruit-dip-recipe.html

See! Wasn’t that easy? I love how fluffy the texture is and it’s just the right amount of sweet. It’s not so sweet that it competes with the fruit, but it adds just what a sour green grapes needs. I hope you find a reason to make this soon!

Thanks so reading.

Filed Under: appetizer, cream cheese, dip, Fruit, quick and easy Tagged With: appetizer, condiment, recipe

Mario Birthday Party Ideas

May 13, 2013 By Melissa 3 Comments

I love a good party! Themed birthday parties are so popular right now and so every time I see a friend posting pictures I get excited. My bestie Heather just threw a two-year-old birthday party for her little man and she went all out with Mario for the theme. I asked if I could share her party here and she was more than willing to let me. Thanks Heather!

She had tons of Mario birthday party ideas and the end result looked so fun. Too bad I moved hours away from her or I might have gotten to enjoy the party myself. Since I didn’t make it and neither did you, let’s live vicariously through pictures shall we?!

Heather had the Mario themed food for the party down to a science. She left no character overlooked and thought of the most clever eats.

Here’s her Mario themed food list:
Fire Ball Cheetos
Mario Hat Strawberry Oreo Gnache Pie.
Castle and star suckers in a double warp pipe.
Item cookies
Frog Suckers
Bricks Peanut Butter Bars
Doughnut Ice Power
Chocolate Mustaches
White Cloud Lemon Meringue Pie -gluten free!
Yoshi Eggs Malt Balls
Cheep Cheep Crackers

And all that food set out:

Isn’t this perfect!? She just used cake pans in various sizes and clear cups to make a homemade cupcake stand. SO SMART. Plus it has that industrial look that worked perfectly with the them. I think this would work for lots of different boy birthday party themes. Store it away for your next one.

Yoshi Eggs Malt Balls

Bricks Peanut Butter Bars

Castle and star suckers in a double warp pipe. I thought this was adorable. Why NOT use some pipe for a Mario party?! Plus handcrafted suckers… double points for Heather!

Fireball Cheetos

Item Cookies

And now on to the Mario party games!

Everyone who came was given a crown or a hat to wear. Heather handcrafted all of the crowns and hats. She found the idea and instructions for the Mario or Luigi hats on Groovy Kids Stuff. And the crowns she invented via some pinterest inspiration. She said that she thought hot glue would have held up just as well as sewing, so if you are in a cheating mood, that might be a good option. Aren’t the crowns cute?!

Giant bubbles were a huge party game hit. Here’s what Heather said about making the homemade giant bubble sticks, “So I found the bubble stick on YouTube. I did change the design a bit. Instead of doing a bead at the end, I used a 3/8″ end cap bead and just sanded down the tip a bit so the string could fit in the end cap. I also glued the end cap to make sure it stayed. I used cotton clothes line rope for a tester and it was too bulky. I ended up using a rope I found a Hobby Lobby that is used for Macrame. I think it’s polyester.” She’s a ninja like that and from all of the other picture I saw the giant bubble wands worked REALLY well.

They also played an invigorating game of ring toss with paper plate rings.

This game was my favorite: “Fireball the Piranha Plants”. Why yes, they did use the cheese puff balls. Whoever got the most fireballs in the bucket won gold coins.

And no Mario birthday party would be complete without a chocolate Mario mustache to take home with you.

I’m still sad I couldn’t make it to the party but I’m so glad Heather let me share her fun with you guys.

Keep Calm and Mario Party On!

Filed Under: birthday, birthday attire, birthday gift, Birthday party, boy birthday, boy birthday cake, party, party decorations, party food, party games, party themes Tagged With: Birthday Party

10 Brunch Recipes

May 11, 2013 By Melissa Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is here! Are you ready to do some spoiling and to hopefully get spoiled yourself?! My favorite part of the day is that it is the second day of the year that my husband cooks for me (the first being my birthday). If you get the gift of not having to cook or need some ideas to spoil your own special ladies here are a few of my favorite brunch recipes that taste great all day long!

And if your husband is doing the cooking, send that man a link to this post. They all need a little help and he probably doesn’t have a pinterest account :)

Happy Mother’s Day to you!

Morning Glory Muffins

The BEST Banana Bread

Healthy Banana Waffles

Homemade Granola

Lemon Blueberry Muffins (not too lemony though… just right!)

Easy Egg and Potato Breakfast Casserole

Moneky Bread Muffins

Pioneer Woman’s Glazed Yeast Donuts

Perfect Pancakes from a homemade mix

Sweet Cherry Waffles

Filed Under: baking, Bread, Breakfast, eggs, Muffin Tagged With: bread, collection post, recipe

Freezing Asparagus: How to

May 9, 2013 By Melissa 1 Comment

I’m a bit behind on this post but I thought I’d better get it up before asparagus is totally out of season.

The week before we moved Bountiful Baskets (a food co-op group and I participate in sometimes) had a great deal on asparagus – 28 pounds for $27. I split the case with a friend, gave a few pounds away, and ended up with around 10 pounds of fresh tender asparagus to use myself. I knew I would only cook and eat a few pounds during pre-moving week so I opted to freeze the rest.

Freezing asparagus is a really great option. The texture stays tender crisp, the prep to get the asparagus freezer ready isn’t too much, and you’ll be able to have fresh asparagus in the months to come. I pulled out my trusty Ball Blue Book and it told me just what I needed to know. My mom got me this book from the Ball canning company a few years ago and it’s a no-nonsense guide to canning, freezing, and dehydrating. It’s a great resource and the info is straight forward. You don’t have to read a chapter on canning… it just tells you what you need to know.

Here’s how to freeze asparagus according to the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving (this is an affiliate link, my very first one (!). That means if you click on it, it takes you to Amazon and if you buy it then I get a percentage of the sale. I’m going to try this out a bit on things that I already own and use. Hey, if I like it and use, recommend it, and you buy it, I’d love to get a little bit from it! Thanks for the support but no pressure…)

1. Select young and slender asparagus (think no larger than a pencil if you can!). If your asparagus varies widely in size then sort them into groups according to how thick they are.

2. Cut the tough ends off. (You can tell how far to cut by holding one spear up and bending it near the bottom until the woody end snaps off. Use that woody end as a guide on how much to cut off of the rest. I tend to cut around 2 inches off the bottom.)

3. Wash in cold clean water

4. Working in batches place the asparagus in boiling water. Blanch small spears for 1 1/2 minutes, medium spears for 2 minutes, and large spears for 3 minutes.

5. Place the blanched asparagus in a bowl of ice water.

6. Drain water and place the amount you’d like in freezer bags. (I put a little over a pound in each freezer bag. That is a good amount for one meal for my family). I also chopped some of the blanched and cooled asparagus into one inch pieces before putting it in the bags. I’ll used the chopped asparagus in stir-fry and pasta dishes.

7. Label and date your bags and freeze. You’re done!

To use this you can steam, boil, or stir-fry the frozen asparagus until heated through and as tender as you like them.

And if you need some ideas as to what you can do with all that asparagus here are two of my favorite recipes:

Sausage and Asparagus Risotto

This is a pasta, cream, bacon, and pea dish, but I switched the peas out for asparagus and it was super good! This is one of our favorite meals and we make it a few times a month.

Mmm. Now you are all set to enjoy Spring’s bounty throughout the coming months.

Thanks so much for reading.

Filed Under: Frozen, How to:, How to: cooking, spring, Vegetable, whole food, whole foods Tagged With: holiday, kitchen tip, recipe

Mother Daughter Etiquette Dinner

May 7, 2013 By Melissa Leave a Comment

My mother-in-law helps work with the girls at church who are ages 8-11, this group is referred to as the Activity Day Girls. The girls have general goals that include developing their talents, serving others, and strengthening their testimony in Christ. The activities that Lucy plans (my mother in law) are supposed to help the girls develop themselves in one or more of those areas. The concept is really fun. Lucy loves to plan activities and the girls love what she has in mind.

We were brain-storming things that she could do with her girls over Easter and I mentioned an etiquette dinner. Thomas and I were the ten-year-old Cub Scout leaders a few years ago and we did a mother-son etiquette dinner with the boys and it was a huge hit. They passed off lots of requirements and honestly had a great time doing it. I told Lucy about it and she thought it would be a great fit for her girls and she invited me to help.

This was my second etiquette dinner for youth and I loved it, so I thought it would be a really fun thing to blog about. I know lots of you ladies are active in your churches and communities and this might be something you’d like to do too. If you aren’t currently in a position to work with youth then this would be a really fun family night activity too. Who says you can’t teach a manners and formal dinning to your own kids?!

How to plan an etiquette dinner:

Once you have the group you are going to work with in mind (Activity Day girls, Cub Scouts, the youth group at church, family…) decide what your goals are. Will you be trying to pass of merit badge requirements, prepping for Junior Prom, or are you just looking for a fun night together? Knowing what you are after will help you get there.

Will you serve a multi-course meal? Who will help you serve if you decide to do this? Where will the event be? Will you have a kitchen available at the venue? Do you want the kids to help with the cooking? Will a parent be invited?

For us, we wanted the girls to invite their mothers (and we planned it the week before Mother’s Day). Prior to the event the girls wrote invitations (which is a lost art in my mind, but a great skill), made table decoration, and help planned the menu. All of these little extras where things they could check off in their books and helped them to more fully “own” the night.

The night of the event Lucy and I had all of the food ready (we didn’t have the girls help cook), but we did not have the tables set. I brought real dishes from home and had everything laid out for them. The first lesson of the evening was learning how to set a semi-formal (informal to some people) place setting. Do you know how to set a table?! It’s a great skill to have and is definitely not common knowledge anymore.

After the table was set we had the girls seat and then serve their mothers. We didn’t do multiple courses; the kids are pretty young. But we did go over which forks are which and when to you use them.

And while we were eating I went over a handout that I had prepared. Here is the information that we talked about during dinner. It was just enough to be fun but not so much that it felt over whelming. It made for great dinner conversation but left enough time for talking among ourselves. Don’t fill the whole dinner with lessons because having time to socialize and practice their new skills is important too.

Here was my hand-out:

Etiquette

Why is learning table etiquette important?
• Manners and formality show respect to you and those around you, plus, it makes you look as intelligent as you really are.

When will I use this type of information?
• Visiting friends
• Future job/scholarship/dating (even if it’s with Dad) opportunities
• Special occasions and Birthdays
• It’s fun to know! Now you can teach your own etiquette lesson to your family for Family Home Evening

Things to Remember:
• Proper place setting
(This is pretty hard to see, but I had a hard time finding an informal or semi-formal place setting picture. This imagine is from Girl Power Hour.) In addition to this we had a brad plate (above the forks) and set out a dessert fork (above the plate).

• The Basics – take small bites, chew with your mouth closed, please and thank you, sit up straight, no “three second rule” allowed
• How to properly butter bread, just because it’s fun.
• Don’t forget that practice makes perfect.

Fun Trivia that is also good to know (and makes great conversation during the dinner)

This info came from: LDS Living – it’s a pretty great article on planning a bigger dinner for older youth, so check it out if that is more who you are planning for.

1: When do you put your napkin on your lap?
A: When your food comes
B: When you sit down
C: You only need a napkin if you’re eating soup or spaghetti
Correct answer: B. As soon as you sit down at the table, you put the napkin on your lap. You may have not even received your menu or food yet, but the napkin goes in your lap.

2: When you excuse yourself to use the restroom, where do you place your napkin? (If you’re coming back to your table.)
A: On the seat of your chair
B: To the left of your plate
C: Hand it to your neighbor to hold for you
Correct answer: A. According to “Miss Mary’s Manners,” there is a “silent code language” between restaurant patrons and the staff – if you leave your napkin on the chair, it’s a “signal” that you’re not finished with your meal and that you’re coming back.

3: When is it appropriate for you to begin eating?
A: Once you have received/ dished up your food?
B: Once everyone has been served.
C: As soon as the host/ hostess says you can begin.
Correct answer: B/C. It’s kind of a trick question. Technically, you should wait until the host or hostess says you may begin, but generally the polite thing to do is wait until everyone at your table has been served. Then you can start digging in.

Feel free to copy and paste that if you need to. It should fit on one sheet of paper nicely. I thought it would be nice for them to take some of the information hope with them so that they could then teach it to their own family. They were given all of the above information on a paper to take home at the end of the night.

All in all it was a really great night and I know that the girls (and their moms) had a lot of fun. They learned a lot, had a delicious meal with their mom and friends, and got to feel a little fancy and grown up for the evening.

Have you ever had an etiquette dinner? Any other suggestions, ideas, or things I missed?!

Thanks so much and remember – Keep Calm and Mind Your Manners

Filed Under: etiquette Tagged With: kids, tutorial

Healthy Homemade Granola

May 3, 2013 By Melissa 2 Comments

Mmmm. I love this recipe. It’s an old one from the archives that I rephotographed and edited, and it’s definitely a keeper.

This recipe for healthy homemade granola is so easy and forgiving. You can add or not add just about anything. Lots of times I just add what I have available and when I made this batch, that wasn’t much. This time around I didn’t add any dried fruit or nuts and we still loved it. This really plain version makes for a very economical granola that still tastes great. Oats are cheap! I serve this like cold cereal with milk and it is also excellent with vanilla yogurt and fresh or frozen berries as a snack.

My favorite part about this granola is that it uses honey instead of sugar. Did you know that raw honey has an indefinite shelf life? I keep honey stored in quart mason jars in my pantry as part of my food storage (it’s much easier to deal with in the quart jars because it crystallizes over time). Oh how I love honey and long for bees of my own. That’s a project for another day though.

Enjoy this granola; it makes a great start to any day.

Oh, and don’t forget to enter to win a digital scale! The numbers a way lower than I expected, so hop over here and enter.

Healthy Homemade Granola

Yield: Around 8 cups, depending on what you chose to add

Ingredients

6 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup shredded coconut, if you don't like/want it, add another cup of oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
pinch salt
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup honey
2 1/2 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 cup raisins, Craisins, or none to taste
1 cup nuts, optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a big cookie sheet with parchment and grease lightly.

In a large bowl combine the oats, coconut (if using), flour, salt, and cinnamon. In a small bowl whisk together the water, oil, honey, and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. Mix everything together making sure there are no dry spots.

Spread granola onto the prepared cookie sheet. The pan will be nice and full. Bake for about an hour and half total, stirring every 20 minutes to make sure everything bakes evenly. When you are stirring, don't get too crazy because you don't want to break up all of the clumps.

When granola starts to turn a light golden color (about an hour into cooking) add your nuts and your dried fruit. Continue cooking until everything is a nice golden color, taking care not to burn the nuts. The granola will still be slightly sticky when you take it out and will crisp up after it cools.

Store in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge if you aren't going through it very quickly.

Notes

This recipe is very forgiving. If I am feeling cheap or plain I don't add any nuts or dried fruit. The plain-jane granola is excellent with yogurt and berries.

Honey burns pretty easily. If your granola is looking dark or smelling like it's burning, turn the oven down 25 degrees and take it out the pan while the oven cools. Burnt honey granola isn't the best.

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/healthy-homemade-granola.html

Enjoy and thanks so much for being here!

Filed Under: Breakfast, craisin, Healthy, whole food, whole foods, whole wheat Tagged With: healthy, recipe

Four Ingredient Vanilla Cookies

May 1, 2013 By Melissa 9 Comments

So many wonderful things have been brewing in my neck of the woods the past few days. And to top off all the excitement I have an awesome giveaway today too. So if you don’t want all of the personal details pop down to the bottom of the post to enter to winner a super sleek kitchen scale from BigKitchen. Great day huh!

If you don’t know yet, I’m Mormon (details in my sidebar if you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about). Sometimes people choose to go on eighteen-month or two-year missions for our church to teach people all over the world what we believe. My amazing younger sister has spent the last year and a half in Argentina doing just that… being a missionary! I’m so proud of the sacrifices she’s made; she’s such an inspiration. Her service just ended two weeks ago. She flew home to Kentucky and lucky for me, she’s now living with me here in Utah!! She decided to come out and stay with us all summer and to work at my in-laws store. I feel bad for stealing her from my parents but I couldn’t be more excited to have her living with me.

A year and a half is a long time to live in a foreign country and she definitely loves and misses the people of Argentina. She showed up yesterday and we pulled out the recipes she brought home with her today. Food is so comforting and a language all its own, isn’t it?

PAUSE and cue the giveaway:

I contacted BigKitchen way back in January to see if we could work on a giveaway together. We had some great Christmas shopping experiences with them and I thought, hey, why not blog about them! Lo and behold they said yes and they let me pick something out to try, blog about, and then offer the same to you. Awesome right?!

I’ve been wanting a kitchen scale for years, so I told them I’d love to review one and before I knew it, one was sitting on my porch. This was MONTHS ago. The people at BigKitchen have been so patience while waiting for me to get our house done, ready to show, on the market, our family moved, and settled into a new kitchen. I’m finally posting about the scale and I’m so grateful they’ve been great to work with.

Moving forward:

I love to do recipes with giveaways but I wasn’t sure what do post as a recipe for a kitchen scale. Sure you could measure just about anything, but what is something that you have to measure?

Cue the sister again:

Did I mention when my sister showed up all of her recipes were in Spanish and the measurements in grams?! Perfect timing indeed. So instead of showing you how great the scale would be to measure out 4 ounces of nuts, one pound of cooked chicken (very different from pre-cooked weight), or what an ounce or two of baking chocolate measured out to be, I’m bringing you a great Argentine recipe for the most simple yet delicious cookies.

These cookies are super simple four ingredient vanilla cookies and are perfect dipped in vanilla yogurt. They taste a bit like a soft fortune cookie – sweet and simple with a hint of egg. My kids loved them and they were so easy to make. The only catch is you must have a kitchen scale because all of the measurements are in grams! Don’t worry if you don’t have a scale, I have your back; you can win the same scale I used today!

Spanish recipe and measuring out my eggs. The scale was super easy to use and has a lot of different measurement options. My only complaint was that it was so easy to switch between measurement units that I did it by mistake. I spilled a bit of egg on the scale and when I wiped it up I accidentally switched from grams to fluid ounces… oops. It took me a long minute to figure out what had happened. Be warned: no wiping while measuring.

And the finished product! The recipe simply calls them “Vainillas”, which is a very fitting name.

Simple Vanilla Cookies

Yield: Makes 9-12 cookies

Ingredients

90 grams eggs
60 grams sugar
few drops of vanilla
80 grams flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs until well beaten. Add the sugar slowly and whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the eggs foamy. Add the vanilla and combine. Measure out the flour and slowly add it to the egg mixture while whisking so that no chunks form. The cookie dough will be like a thick batter in consistency.

Place the dough in a large pastry bag with a large round tip and pipe onto a parchment or baking mat lined cookie sheet. Pipe 4 inch long cookies.

Bake for 8-11 minutes until the cookies are brown around the bottom edge and lightly browned on the top. Remove the pan and allow the cookies to cool. Serve with vanilla pudding if desired.

Notes

If you don't own a scale you might just want to move on. You could always Google gram to cup conversions but I have no advice or tips on the matter, so good luck!

http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2013/05/four-ingredient-vanilla-cookies.html

Here’s a big plug for this scale – the size! It’s so thin that I just slip it into my cabinets next to my plates. It literally fits just about anywhere and it is not hard at all to pull in and out of a cabinet as needed. I don’t like appliances on the countertop, so I loved how small and easy this was to store.

And here are the details on the giveaway:
Here’s where you can find the details on BigKitchen about the digital kitchen scale. You will be getting the awesome Soehnle 66171 Attraction Professional Kitchen Scale though which has a suggested retail value of $49.99. You have to do a bit of window shopping at BigKitchen to be entered, but other than that all of the other entries are optional.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much for being here and good luck!

Disclosure: BigKitchen sent me the scale to review and are providing the same scale as a prize, including the shipping. I wasn’t paid to post or for a positive review… I just liked the scale!