Busy Day Cake...

Goodness-gracious this cake is easy and yummy! It has a sweet old-fashioned-take you back to simpler days-don't blame me if you take a bite and get transported to a rocking chair somewhere with a peaceful view of a sunflower field- flavor. Not to mention the topping is to die for, I'm thinking it would be a super extra for any cake, brownie or the like.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. flour

2/3 c. sugar

2t. baking powder

1/4 c. butter softened

1 egg

1t. vanilla

Broiled Coconut Topping:

Mix tog. 1/4 cup brown sugar

2T. softened butter

1T milk

1/2c. coconut

Grease a round baking pan and set it aside.

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and sugar. Add milk, butter, egg, and vanilla.

Beat on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Spread the Broiled Coconut Topping over the warm cake. Broil about 4 inches from heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden.

Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack and serve warm.

(Busy Day Cake, Better Homes and Gardens)

Morning Glory Muffins...

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour

1 cup of whole wheat

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups finely grated carrots ( I used 1c. grated zucc. 1c. carrot)

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut

1/2 cups of dates or raisins

1/2 cup chopped nuts ( I didn't have any nuts this time around)

1 apple, peeled and grated

1/2 cup of oil

3 eggs beaten

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all the dry ingredients.

Stir in the carrots, raisins, apple, nuts, coconut.

Add the oil, eggs and vanilla.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Makes 12 very large muffins.

My son Jonah loves baking! Especially when he gets to make muffins. Because to him muffins look like cupcakes and cupcakes means party...birthday song and lighting a candle included. These muffins are hearty somewhat healthy and delicious (and have a really cozy aroma). So good in fact when eating the last one, my husband requested that I make these again, and soon!

A lovely addition to breakfast, brunch or a last minute birthday party! Love, Amy.

(recipe adapted from Mennonite Girls Can Cook, Charlette)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls- Amazingly Good!

My mother-in-law has been known far and wide for her famous cinnamon rolls and after 30+ years of making the same, wonderful recipe... she found this one, and she hasn't looked back once. They are amazing, really and truly. Everyone that I've ever made them for has universally pronounced them the best cinnamon rolls ever... and I agree!

The Recipe

Place in bread machine in this order:

In pyrex cup measure:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 butter (in a pinch crisco works... but butter is always better)

Microwave these for 1 1/2 minutes and then pour in the breadmachine.

Then add:

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 4 T. instant vanilla pudding
• 4 T. instant butterscotch pudding
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups bread flour
• 2 1/4 T. yeast

Set your bread machine on it's dough setting, and let it do it's magic. I find with my machine I usually need to take a spatula and scrape down the sides several times during the first few minutes that it's mixing, or some of the ingredients don't incorporate fully.

After the dough cycle has completed... remove dough to a floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle.

Warm oven for rising... I set mine to 200 degrees and then turn it off after it heats up.

Melt 1 cube of butter (I never said these were good for you) and spread evenly over the rolled out dough.

Mix about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar with 2 to 4 tablespoons of cinnamon depending on how cinnamon-ey you like your rolls. Then sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough. starting at one of the long ends, roll up your dough.

Cut into about 2 inch slices and place in your greased pan. I have found that these cinnamon rolls do better in a bundt pan or in muffin tins as the dough doesn't fully cook on the inside rolls in a 9x13 pan.

Cover and allow rolls to rise until doubled in the warm oven.

Remove rolls from oven and then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 15 to 25 minutes. This dough is really sweet, so it browns really quickly... I've found I need to cover the rolls for most of the baking time with some tinfoil... remove it for the last few minutes... like 3 or 4 minutes, to allow the rolls to turn golden brown.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

I make mine by softening one box of cream cheese and beating in my mixer until smooth. Then I add 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar and about 2 to 4 T of milk or until it gets to a nice spreading consistency... or more if you want to drizzle it. I also add about 1/2 tsp. almond extract. In my humble opinion a cinnamon roll just isn't a cinnamon roll without cream cheese frosting :)

ENJOY and BE BLESSED!

Love, Jocelyn

Oriental Cabbage Salad

This is a summer staple recipe around my home.

It's delicious, easy, beautiful to serve to guests, versatile, and packed full of veggis!

This salad can be a side dish or a main dish by adding grilled chicken

(or whatever sounds good to you).

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Recipe

From the crisper:

• 1 head green cabbage, chopped really fine (or the same amount of coleslaw mix)
• 6 green onions sliced fine

I also like to add:

• Add 1 head of romaine lettuce (reduce cabbage to half of the above amount)
• 1 red sweet bell pepper, sliced in long thin strips
• around 1 cup of sugar snap peas
• 2-3 stalks of celery sliced on the diagonal
• 1 cucumber sliced in long thin strips
• and sometimes... a can of drained mandarin oranges

From the pantry:

• 1 package of ramen noodles (the original recipe calls for chicken flavor, but I like to use the oriental flavor... I think any flavor will work)
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup toasted almonds
• 1/4 cup toasted whole flax seeds (my addition)

For the dressing: Sometimes I double this... just to keep some in the fridge for other salads because it's so yummy.

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar (you can use white vinegar, but it has a stronger vinegar-ey bite to it than the rice vinegar... which is pretty mellow)
• 3/4 cup salad oil... like canola (I only use 1/2 c. to 2/3 c. or it gets too oily for me)
• 1 T. sesame oil (this makes the dressing... I usually double this amount)
• 1 T. Accent (this is msg... you can use table salt but decrease to 1/2 T. and then adjust to your own preference)
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 seasoning packet from the above mentioned Ramen Noodle package.

Pour it all together in a jar with a lid and shake well.

If you want to make this salad a main dish, double or triple the dressing recipe and pour half of it over 4 to 6 chicken breasts and allow to marinate for several hours. Remove chicken from marinade and grill over low heat until no longer pink, and juices run clear. Slice in thin strips and set aside.

Mix all of the crisper ingredients together in a large bowl.

If your seeds and almonds didn't come toasted, you can toast them yourself in a skillet over med/low heat... watching them constantly (I can't tell you how often I have to throw a batch out because I walk away for 2 seconds and they burn :) just until they turn golden. Cool, and set aside.

Crush the ramen noodles and set aside.

Immediately before serving, toss all of the above ingredients (except the chicken, if your using it) with the dressing until it is all uniformly coated, and serve.

If your adding the chicken, plate each serving of salad and top with the sliced chicken along the center of the salad. You don't have to do this... you could toss the chicken with the rest of the salad, but it's so pretty to take this final step, that it's totally worth the extra time.

ENJOY and BE BLESSED!

Love, Jocelyn

Might Possibly Be the Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever...

Ingredients:

WHISK TOGETHER AND SET ASIDE

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

CREAM WET INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

THEN STIR IN

3 cups oats (not instant)

1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350°.

2 Whisk dry ingredients; set aside.

3 Combine wet ingredients with a hand mixer on low.

4 To cream, increase speed to high and beat until fluffy and the color lightens.

5 Stir the flour mixture into the creamed mixture until no flour is visible.

6 (Over mixing develops the gluten, making a tough cookie.) Now add the oats and raisins;

stir to incorporate. (I added a pinch of cinnamon and chopped walnuts)

7 Fill cookie scoop with dough.

8 Form an approximate 2 T ball of dough

9 Drop 2-inches apart onto baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray.

10 Bake 11-13 minutes (on center rack), until golden, but still moist beneath cracks on top.

11 Remove from oven; let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a

wire rack to cool.

Being Jon's favorite type of cookie...I typed in " Best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Ever" into the

google search engine. It's been a very windy cold blustery rainy spring day and the winds

were whispering "bake cookies Amy, bake cookies"....and hey when the wind whispers my name, I listen. I came across this recipe that had 752 VERY postive reviews saying that this cookie just might possible change your life. Review 753: My life might very well be changed. Chewy and yummy, make that very very very yummy. Sincerely and with love for wind and cookies, Amy.

(recipe adapted from recipezaar #35813)

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies...

Jon came in the living room this evening and declared a need for a homemade cookie. Since I am such a loving wife (or something like that), I couldn't deny him of his declaration. Since we are working towards a healthier lifestyle I gave these cookies a whirl. Makes you feel better when your handing your littles ones treats too. And you know what...they were really good. The problem is they were a little too good...and we kept eating these "healthy cookies". One step at a time right ? Love, Amy

"The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." ~Proverbs 16:9

Ingredients:

(dry)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond flour (throw some almonds in a food processor and away you go)

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt.

2 t. cinnamon or more to your liking

1/2 t. nutmeg

(wet)

1/2 cup agave syrup or honey

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)

1/2 cup applesauce

2 t. vanilla

1 t. almond extract

1 egg ( I didn't have an egg and hey they turned out just fine!)

optional:

1/2 chopped walnuts

1/2 raisins

In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together.

Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix.

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your baking sheet

Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden on the bottom of the cookie.

The cookies freeze very well and make a great snack!

(recipe adapted from wholegraingourmet.com)

Apple Walnut (Whole Grain) Bread Pudding...

Last week I had the total treat of visiting Jocelyn! And If her company alone wasn't just wonderful by itself, she took me out to breakfast at Bob's Red Mill ( A terrific bakery). I bought some Wholesome Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread....However the bread turned stale pretty quick. I was using it to make terrific toast, but decided to use the rest of it to make this lower fat, lower sugar bread pudding. Which did not taste low fat or low sugar. I was surprised this recipe didn't call for any eggs...which was perfect for me, since I didn't have any at the moment. This old-fashioned treat seems more like an autumn desert, but it was delicious in February.I mean don't appley-cinnamony things deserve the right to be enjoyed all year ? Love, Amy

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need." ~Psalm 23:1

Ingredients:

4-5 cups whole grain bread cubes

1 1/2 peeled and chopped apples (I used fugi )

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 raisins

1/2 old fashioned oats

2 T. ground flax seed meal

1-2 t. cinnamon (honestly I just shake it in)

1 shake of nutmeg (about a 1/2 t.)

a sprinkle of salt

2 cups milk (whatever you use for your cereal, or almond milk might do nicely)

1 t. vanilla

1 t. rum flavoring

1/4 -1/3 cup agave syrup (and a little to drizzle over the top if you choose)

3 T. butter melted (You can omit this all together if you want)

Mix all ingredients together and let sit for 10 minutes to soak up the moisture. Pour mixture into a prepared baking dish, I used a glass pie pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

(recipe adapted from weheartfood/apple breadpudding)

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

1. 2 medium eggplants
2. 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup milk (may need more or less)
3. 1 cup wheat germ
4. 1 cup soft Italian breadcrumbs (see previous post)
5. 1 teaspoon dried basil
6. 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and thyme
7. 1 batch tomato sauce ( see recipe included... this is half the reason why this recipe is so good!)
8. 1 pound mozzarella cheese thinly sliced or grated
9. 1/2 cup or more grated parmesan cheese

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Lightly oil a baking tray and #2 9x13 pans
• Cut eggplants in rounds about 1" thick
• Place the milk in a shallow dish; combine wheat germ with bread crumbs (if using) and herbs on a plate. Dip each eggplant in the milk, moistening both sides, then coat it thoroughly with the wheat germ and breadcrumb mixture. (I found that using a spoon to pile the mixture on each slice and then to lightly pat the breadcrumb mixture on each side helped get each slice well coated with breadcrumbs).
• Spread out the slices on the prepared baking sheet and bake until tender, about 20-30 minutes. You can flip the slices halfway through to crisp on both sides.
• After the eggplant is tender leave it to cool a bit on the baking sheet....you just want it cool enough to handle.
• Spread a little sauce over the bottom of the baking dish, arrange eggplant slices along the bottom of the 9x13 pan... you may need another 9x13 or just another 8x8 depending on how many slices of eggplant you end up with (9x13 holds 6 slices, 8x8 holds 4)
• Place one slice or about 3-4 tablespoons of grated mozzarella on top of each eggplant slice.
• Then spoon about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce on top of the mozzarella.
• The sprinkle the tops of each mound with the grated parmesan.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes (checking after about 25 to makes sure the sauce on the bottom isn't burning, add a little water (about 1/4 cup) if it's starting to) or until all the cheese is melted and starting to brown lightly.

We hosted our couples prayer group at our house this month and our being Catholic, and this being a Friday of Lent... we needed to serve something that did not have meat in it. I am a carnivore :) and usually always serve a meat centered main dish for company. Thanks to this beautiful season of prayer and fasting I was challenged to reach outside of my comfort zone and find something new to prepare. This recipe was FANTASTIC, and several of our guests requested the recipe after our gathering... a serious crowd pleaser! THANK YOU to my sister Jessica for sending me this gem!

Easy Tomato Sauce
3 Tbs olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 tsp dry basil
2 tsp dry oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 large can petite diced tomato (or crushed tomato)
1 med size can tomato sauce
1 little can tomato paste
1 Tbs honey
lots of black pepper
4-6 cloves of minced garlic

1. Saute the onions in the olive oil over med heat. Season with salt and herbs and continue to cook until the onions are very soft.

2. Add the diced tomatoes, sauce, paste, honey and black pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and allow to simmer partially covered for 30 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, adjust seasoning (if needed) and allow to cook 10 minutes more (I let it simmer on the lowest setting for a few hours and it was fantastic!)

ENJOY AND BE BLESSED!

Love, Jocelyn

Homemade Soft Breadcrumbs

You can use this recipe to make different flavors and amounts of breadcrumbs... they're super simple, healthy, and delicious! I made these particular breadcrumbs for eggplant parmesan... but they can be used for all sorts of things. Be creative, try different spices and let us know what you discover!

Homemade Soft (Italian) Breadcrumbs

• 4 slices of whole wheat bread (I used the heels... they're drier and stiffer and made better breadcrumbs)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 3/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Tear up the bread slices and place in the bowl of a food processor. Drizzle the oil over the bread and add all the seasonings. Pulse the mixture in the food processor until the bread has been broken down all the way to breadcrumbs.

Enjoy and be BLESSED!

Love, Jocelyn

Almond (not homemade... gasp) Scones

So it's been awhile since I've posted... have you noticed that some weeks just consume every minute? It's a hard thing to have a creative outlet as a wife and mama and homemaker. It's a sanity thing, and I know I need this, to enjoy the gift that I have in doing the work I do. To celebrate making the mundane beautiful, and bringing HIS light into our home through gift and glory. This past week was just full, and so here I am... back in business. These scones are not homemade... you know, in reality we aren't always able to make homemade treats to bless our families. That doesn't mean our homes need to be bereft of that sweet something-wonderful-is-in-the-oven scent that floats so gently over the things we see as failures (the dusty piano, the toys that need to be sorted and put away, the booster seat that could really stand to be dunked in a tub of bleach... again) and make them muted in comparison to the miraculous aroma of baking. In many ways I think the miracle of baking is a grace from God to cover over a multitude of "failures" and remind us that EVERYTHING that is good is His.

I made these scones according to the directions on the box and just added about 1/2 cup of sliced almonds that I pulsed in my food processor until they were very finely chopped. Then I added 1 tsp. almond extract to the milk before I added that into the mix. They could have used a little more extract... maybe 1/2 tsp. more... but they were pretty delicious as is. I used them to make blackberry shortcakes. Those were so scrumptious that I was distracted and didn't think to photograph them until they were already consumed. Sometimes life is just like that... we forget, we enjoy, and we live to tell another tale.

ENJOY AND BE BLESSED!

Love... Jocelyn

Dutch Babies

Ingredients:

6 eggs (room temp.)
1 cup milk (room temp)

1 cup flour (I used half white, half wheat)

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. cinnamon

5 T. butter

Topping:

lemon juice

powdered sugar

strawberry jam (or whatever you like)

Preheat oven to 450. Place over rack in middle of oven. Place a large, heavy oven proof frying pan, preferably a cast iron skillet in the oven while its heating, prepare your batter.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy; add milk, flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon; beat for 5 minutes more. The batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy.

Using a pot holder, remove the hot skillet from the oven; add the butter; tilting the pan to melt the butter and coat the skillet. Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet, all at once and immediately return the skillet to the oven. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

remove from oven and serve immediately. Once out of the oven the pancake will begin to deflate. Top with your favorite topping, and gobble it down!

Maybe its because my grandma was Dutch that I'm sticking to the name Dutch Baby. Another name for these are German pancakes...but really they are very un-pancake like. They are however a delicious breakfast! This one turned out very even...but sometimes they puff up all cool, making it very fun for children to watch cook in the oven! They are very simple and easy to make, and you normally have all this stuff on hand. Hope you like 'em as much as we do! Love, Amy.

Taco Pizza

Dough Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F)

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast (check the expiration date on the package)

3 1/2 cups bread flour (I used half white, half wheat)

1 teaspoons garlic salt

2 teaspoon sugar

1 In the large bowl of a heavy duty electric mixer (such as a Kitchen Aid), add the warm water. Sprinkle on the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Stir to dissolve completely if needed at the end of 5 minutes.

2 Attach a mixing paddle to the mixer. Mix in the olive oil, flour, salt and sugar on low speed for about a minute. Remove the mixing paddle and replace with a dough hook. Knead using the mixer and dough hook, on low to medium speed, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix and knead by hand. If the dough seems a little too wet, sprinkle on a bit more flour.

3 Place ball of dough in a bowl that has been coated lightly with olive oil. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it gets coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm place (75-85°F) until it doubles in size, I only waited about 20 minutes but you can wait an hour or so.

4 Place dough on floured surface and press out with fingers or a small roller. Work slowly, letting the dough rest periodically, to avoid tearing. This is a homemade pizza so it doesn't have to be perfectly round ...don't stress.

5 Place on pizza pan that has been dusted with corn meal if you have it

6 Now its time to decorate with your favorite toppings...whatever you like on your tacos!

I used:

refried beans as the sauce

cooked hamburger with taco seasoning, onion and garlic

mozzarella and colby cheese

olives

7 Cook at 400 for 20-30 minutes

after its cooked add...

lettuce

tomatoes

avocados

sour cream

hot sauce!

Taco pizza is a crowd pleaser. This was delicious. Jon gave me a two thumbs up across the table after his first bite. Get ready to make a mess with the dough...but while its rising and while its cooking is a perfect time to clean up....Then after the pizza is cooked, all that's left to do is enjoy! Love, Amy.

Slow-Cooked Tapioca...

Ingredients:

8 c. of milk ( I used 6 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream because I had it)

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 c. tapioca pearls

1 1/3 c. sugar

3 t. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Stirring occasionally. Serve warm. This makes a whole pot full, and the recipe could easily be cut in half if you didn't want that much.

Oh my goodness! Did you ever dream you could make this delicious pudding in a crock pot! (No more standing at the stove and stirring forever!) Whoever has already heard of such a wonder, should have passed this information to me along time ago. Wonderful, dreamy, creamy....mmmmm!

Tandoori Chicken...

Marinade Ingredients:

1 c. plain yogurt

1 1/2 T. lemon juice

1 t. curry

1/2 t. cayenne pepper

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. ginger

3 cloves garlic

1/2 t. dried mustard

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1 t. paprika

1 t. salt

( these are just approximate, I just kinda eyed it.)

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a bowl (minus the paprika which you use to sprinkle on top). Place 4 chicken breasts in casserole dish smother in marinade and refrigerate 5-8 hours or overnight. Bake at 350 for 40-60 minutes.

This is an Indian inspired recipe and its delicious. Not something I would want on a weekly basis, but something special when you are tired of the same old thing. It is perfectly accompanied with couscous or rice. So if you are needing a little spice in your life, try it out. Love, Amy.