AMORRIS

Happy Valentines Day

2012-02-13T22:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what's happening tomorrow. All I know is that I need to be ready to 'leave' at 11:00am. My guess is that I'll be spending the day with Jeff - out and about on the town doing fun things like window shopping, lunching, people watching and then coming home to devour this bowl of luscious chocolate covered strawberries with the man I love.

I sure hope so!

Baking Lessons

2012-02-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

My 12 year old daughter Allie is my partner in TWD: Baking with Julia and since we just started this little adventure, she's decided to practice her "sweet skillz" by learning how to bake. I must say that this is much to the pleasure of her older sister who does not bake but loves to sample all the goodies made.

This afternoon Allie made yellow cupcakes with two types of icing: whipped vanilla frosting and almond whipped cream. Both tasted really good. She even tried out my new Adecco pastry decorating set with good results.

I'm eager to see what she decides to try next.

TWD: Baking with Julia - White Loaves

2012-02-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

Post Edit: Thanks TWD friends for the encouraging words. Because of you I tried this recipe again - I purchased fresh active dry yeast, used bread flour instead of all purpose, made rolls instead, and ~~stole~~ borrowed this idea from our host Jules - a cool way of measuring dough during its first rise.


Adding dough to cereal container - marked with a sharpie to indicate # cups

45 min rise - doubled in size (already a good sign!)

Let's try rolls instead

After 1 hour - 2nd rise complete

After baking for 17 minutes, I took the temp of the rolls - a perfect 200 degrees

My family declared these a success!

So, so good!

I joined TWD earlier this month - Tuesdays with Dorie - and we, myself and 300 other bloggers, are baking our way through Dorie Greenspan's book Baking with Julia - (you can read more about our group by clicking on the link in my sidebar).

Well, the BIG day has arrived. Today, I overcame my fear of yeast. Yessiree, I sure did. I had quite a bit of trepidation over this recipe because it rained today. The 1st rise went very quickly but my bread really struggled during that 2nd rise...it took 2 hours in front of my fireplace just to rise even with the top of the pan. I took no further chances and popped those babies right into the oven. I really stressed over that!!! Would the loaves taste good? Would they look good?

But alas, all of my effort was worthwhile.

The two loaves of white bread turned out - not as high and fluffy as other results I've seen today, but they did turn out! SUCCESS! Big sigh of relief here. The bread is wonderfully brown on the outside, delightfully dense and delicious on the inside. No kidding...it tastes really good and not just because I slathered one of the slices in strawberry preserves either.

I'm linking up to our hosts for today's challenge. Jules and Laurie . You can find the recipe on Jules' blog.

I'll definitely make this bread again...just probably not when it's raining.

Super Bowl Sunday with Friends

2012-02-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Did you watch the football game on Sunday? We watched along with our friends. There's something about getting together on a weekend afternoon to enjoy good food and watch a great game.

This year I experimented with a couple of ingredients...turnips and romanescue. I put shredded turnips into my coleslaw recipe and blanched romanescue on the crudites platter. Both were very, very good.

I also tried out a some new recipes I found on Pinterest - Lemon Brownies and Diet Cherry Limeade - Sonic Style. Yum!

Here's the low down:

What We Ate

(it was a lot!)

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches with coleslaw, tomatoes and dill pickles

Crudites - romanescue, carrots, olives, gherkins and celery

Jeff's Crab n' Shrimp dip with crackers

Deviled eggs

Fritos with cheese dip

Strawberry Fluff

Lemon brownies (Pinterest)

Brownie bites

White Almond Texas Sheet Cake

Diet Cherry Limeade - Sonic style (Pinterest)

Recipes coming soon.

Microwave Caramel Corn

2012-01-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

A little treat for my friends. Easy. No fail. Just the kind of recipe I l♥ve.

Microwave Caramel Corn

16 cups popped corn

1 C brown sugar
1/4 C Karo syrup
1/2 C butter
Cook sugar, syrup and butter in a glass bowl in microwave on high for one minute. Stir and repeat for a total of five minutes. Should be hot and bubbly.

Add:
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 tsp vanilla
Mix until foamy.

Put popped corn into a brown grocery bag. Pour syrup into bag. Stir to coat. Fold bag over. Place in microwave and microwave for one minute and shake. Repeat. Microwave 30 seconds and shake. Repeat. (Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if desired and shake again)
Pour popcorn out to cool on wax paper. Devour.

Jamba Juice Recipes = Deliciousness

2012-01-27T16:09:00.000-08:00

Smoothies are a favorite around my house and since we make them every week I thought I'd compile a list of our favorite Jamba Juice Recipes for you all to enjoy. (By the way, these recipes are easily found on the internet and Pinterest).

Jamba Recipes:

ALOHA PINEAPPLE 10 oz. pineapple juice 1 scoop plain yogurt 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops pineapple sherbet 1 scoop ice

BANANA BERRY 12 oz. apple juice 2 scoops bananas 1 scoop blueberries 1 scoop frozen yogurt 1 scoop raspberry sherbet 1 scoop ice

BERRY LIME SUBLIME 12 oz. raspberry juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop raspberries 2 scoops lime sherbet 1 scoop ice

BRIGHT EYED AND BLUEBERRY 12 oz. soymilk 2 scoops yogurt 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop blueberries

CARIBBEAN PASSION 12 oz. Mango-passion juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop peaches 2 scoops orange sherbet 1 scoop ice

CITRUS SQUEEZE 6 oz. pineapple juice 6 oz. orange juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops orange sherbet 1 scoop ice

COLD BUSTER 12 oz orange juice 2 scoops peaches 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops orange sherbet 1 scoop ice

KIWI BERRY BURNER 12 oz. Kiwi juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop raspberries 2 scoops raspberry sherbet 1 scoop ice

MANGO-A-GO-GO 12 oz. Mango-passion juice 3 scoops mangos 2 scoops pineapple sherbet 1 scoop ice

MANGO MANTRA 4 oz. orange juice 8 oz. enlightened base 2 scoops mangos 2 scoops peaches 1 scoop ice

MIGHTLY CHERRY CHARGER 4 oz. raspberry juice 6 oz. soymilk 2 scoops cherries 1 scoop strawberries 2 scoops frozen yogurt 1 scoop ice

ORANCE-A-PEEL 12 oz. orange juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops frozen yogurt 1 scoop ice

ORANGE BERRY BLITZ 12 oz. orange juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop blueberries 2 scoops pineapple sherbet 1 scoop ice

ORANGE CHERRY CHEER 6 oz. orange juice 6 oz. soymilk 3 scoops cherries 1 scoop frozen yogurt 1 scoop orange sherbet 1 scoop ice

ORANGE DREAM MACHINE 6 oz. orange juice 6 oz. soymilk 2 scoops frozen yogurt 2 scoops orange sherbet 2 scoops ice

PEACH PLEASURE 12 oz. peach juice 2 scoops peaches 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops orange sherbet 1 scoop ice

PINA COLADA 12 oz. pineapple juice 1 Tbls coconut 1 scoop bananas 2 scoop frozen yogurt 2 scoops pineapple sherbet 1 scoop ice

PUMPKIN SMASH 8 oz soymilk 1 scoop pumpkin mix (from can) 4 scoops frozen yogurt 2 scoops ice

RAZZMATAZZ 12 oz raspberry juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops orange sherbet 1

scoop ice

STRAWBERRIES WILD 12 oz. apple juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas 2 scoops frozen yogurt 1 scoop ice

STRAWBERRY NIRVANA 4 oz. apple juice 8 oz. enlightened base 4 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas 1 scoop ice

STRAWBERRY SURF RIDER 12 oz. lemonade 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop peaches 2 scoops lime sherbet 1 scoop ice

SUNRISE STRAWBERRY 12 oz. soymilk 2 scoops yogurt 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop bananas

GUMMIE BEAR 12 oz. peach juice 1 scoop peaches 1 scoop of each: orange, lime, pineapple, and raspberry sherbet and frozen yogurt 1 scoop ice

TANGO TROPIC 12 oz. peach juice 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop peaches 1 scoop raspberry sherbet 1 scoop orange sherbet 1 scoop ice

TROPICAL AWAKENING 4 oz. pineapple juice 8 oz. enlightened base 2 scoops strawberries 1 scoop blueberries 1 scoop bananas 1 scoop ice

A Winter's Walk

2012-01-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like spending time with a child, especially a grandchild. Jeff and I did just that over the Christmas holiday.

Riley is our 6 year old grandson and he was over-the-top excited about going on a walk with us and our dog, Jinx. Riley had found Jeff's speedometer rolling type thing that measures distances in our garage and he wanted to take it on our walk to "measure-it." He also requested a pair of sunglasses, just like his grandpa's (sooooo cute!).

And measure he did. We didn't walk far, but we did go up and down quite a bit. Up the underpass to measure and then down the underpass to measure. Up. Down. Up. Down. To Riley it was an adventure!

One of the sweetest things he did that day was find a tumbleweed. He said, "Grandma, look...a tree" and then asked all kinds of questions about how that tree got there. Funny, funny kid.

We laughed and absorbed all of his childhood wonderment.

Cranberry Bliss Bars - Starbucks Copycat Recipe

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I made these bars last night while the men were watching the 49ers game. There was a lot of testosterone in my house so I balanced it with a dose of estrogen. I do that by baking.

Bliss is right.

Try these. You will L♥VE them!

Cranberry Bliss Bars

recipe from Food.com

1 cup butter (2 sticks, very soft)
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons orange extract
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips

FROSTING

3 ounces cream cheese , softened
2 tablespoons butter , softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract

TOPPING

1/3 cup craisins , chopped
1 -2 tablespoon grated orange rind
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon canola oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (325 for a glass or dark pan). Prepare a 10x15 by lining it with parchment paper or use a non-stick spray.
BARS: With an electric mixer, beat together softened butter and sugars 3-5 minutes until light; gently blend in eggs and orange extract (don't overbeat eggs). Add the flour, baking powder, and ginger and beat briefly. Add the cranberries and chips, stirring just until incorporated.
Spread thick batter in prepared 10x15 pan. Bake 350 for 20-24 minutes until light brown AT EDGES and a skewer tests clean. Don't overbake or your bars will be dry. Let it cool completely. NOTE: If you use a 9x13 pan, the bars will be thicker and will take 26-28 minutes.
FROSTING: Blend cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add orange extract and confectioners sugar and beat until frosting is fluffy and spreadable (adding 1 t. milk if needed). Spread evenly over COOLED bars.
GARNISH: Use a zester to remove rind from an orange; sprinkle zest over frosted bars. Chop 1/3 cup Craisins coarsely; sprinkle over frosted bars.
DRIZZLE: Mix white chocolate and oil in a glass measuring cup. Microwave 1 minute; stirring every 15 seconds until melted. Use a fork or whisk to drizzle the white chocolate diagonally across the bars.
Allow one hour for the white chocolate to set before cutting. **To make signature Starbuck triangles, cut into 20 large squares (5 cuts by 4 cuts with the knife). Then cut each square in half diagonally to create triangles.

Rugby Season Begins - 2012

2012-01-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Today begins the unofficial start of our rugby club's season. The first scrimmage took place this morning and our team won! Don't you love when that happens? I know I'm not on the team, but since my son is, I sort of take credit. It's a mom's right. Alex begins his freshman year as a left forward lock. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I'm learning. I've printed off my rugby cheat so that I'm prepared before the first game.

Everything

2012-01-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I want it all.

All of it.

Every good and needful thing.

Sometimes I find myself whiling away my spare time pinning things left and right and reviewing all of the other amazing pins out there. And then I sit back and think to myself, why?

Do I really think that I want it all? No.

Do I think I need it all? Um. Yes. Sometimes?

When I saw this, it just resonated with me.

Hot Fudge Sauce - simply out of this world!

2012-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

credit

Paula Deen's Hot Fudge Sauce
1 3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, cut into small pieces
2 3/4 c. chocolate chips
1/8 t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat, bring the cream just to a boil then add the brown sugar and stir just until it dissolves. Add small pieces of butter to the mix until completely melted, then stir in the chocolate chips. Wait 3-5 minutes so that the chocolate is soft before folding it in with a spatula. Stir in the salt and vanilla extract and blend until well incorporated. Let cool for 15 minutes--it will thicken as it cools. Serve over ice cream. This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Go Bama!

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is the BIG game. Alabama vs. LSU. In SoCal my mom is having a party. In Alabama my relatives are all partying. And you bet that in NorCal we hare having a party too.

Go Bama! Roll Tide Roll!

I'm off to make some party food before the game begins.

Orange Rolls - Easy and delicious

2012-01-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

I love the color orange. It's been my favorite since I was a child when one of my brothers gave me one of his Hot Wheels. Do kids still play with those? Well, it was orange and it was a corvette!

That one act of kindness had a HUGE affect on me because corvette's are my dream car. I wish that I had a real corvette. An orange one, just like they used to have in the 70's.

Instead I have something different for you today...orange rolls!! YUM! and this recipe is easy and delicious. I think you will like a lot. Almost as much as I like orange corvettes.

Photo by Your Home Based Mom

Quick and Easy Orange Rolls

2 Tbsp butter, melted
12 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls, thawed
grated rind of one or two oranges
1/2 C sugar

Citrus Glaze:
1 C powdered sugar
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp orange extract
Mix together until smooth

Thaw dough in the refrigerator over night or 2-3 hours prior to use. Cover with plastic wrap while thawing.
Grate orange rind and mix with sugar. Roll thawed roll in melted butter and then in sugar and rind mixture.
Place on greased cookie sheet or 9 x 13 pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow rolls to double in size – approximately 1 hour. Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool 5 minutes and frost with citrus glaze while warm.
Enjoy!

Word of the Year 2012 - Success

2012-01-03T23:21:00.000-08:00

This year I'm focusing on success. It's going to be a challenge, I know, but I'm up for a good challenge...and hey, I've already accomplished #1 by marrying the right person.

Favorite Things - 2011

2011-12-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

I discovered these things during 2011 and each has earned its spot on my list of favorites. These are in no specific order - I love them all!

Apple IPhone 3GS and the Apple Green Case Crown Cover - both make me very happy!

Maybelline Lipstick Color Sensational - favorite shade so far: Mauvilous Shine #820

LOVE the Olay Pro X Advanced Cleansing System - Best price for this set is at Costco $39.99

Blue Diamond Almonds, Blanched Sliced - I keep these in my freezer and add them to salads, yogurt, oatmeal, ice cream, cookies...you name it. They are so good!

DVR! I'll never go back to watching a tv show with commercials again. Ever.

Mint.com - this free budget software is fantastic! I can't say enough good things about it.

The Body Shop Body Butter - Pink Grapefruit. It moisturizes my skin better than any lotion I have found! I use it every single day.


Whip It! Professional Anodized Whipped Cream Dispenser - I have the 1/2 litre size - LOVE this!!

Helped me to lose 30 lbs in 2011. I'm ready to take off another 30 in 2012! Zumba, baby!

And there you have it. My favorite things of 2011.

Christmas around the house

2011-12-29T21:12:00.000-08:00

Missing Dad

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning

2011-12-28T19:16:00.000-08:00

Caramel French Toast - it's a keeper!

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas brunch was soooo good this year.

On the menu:

Oven-baked Caramel French Toast (recipe below)

Fresh fruit with Honey Poppyseed dressing

Quiche

Hashbrowns

Cinnamon Rolls

OJ, Eggnog & Milk

Now, for your tasting pleasure...

Oven-baked Caramel French Toast
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
12 slices French or Italian-style bread (I used Texas Toast)
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Directions
1. In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter and 2 tablespoons corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. 2. Pour sauce into a 9x13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans. Place 6 slices of bread on top of the sauce, sprinkle with the remaining pecans and cover with the remaining 6 slices of bread. 3. Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a blender. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread slices, cover the baking dish, and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. 4. The next morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Remove the French toast from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, until lightly brown. Drizzle sauce over the toast right before serving. 5. To make the Caramel Sauce: In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter and 1 tablespoon corn syrup. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

A little pre-holiday Holiday

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

I made a big mistake back in October that was really upsetting to me at the time. I had accidentally purchased a 4 day, 3 night stay in Lake Tahoe from Living Social and I had no one else to blame but myself.

Long story. Let's just say I was distracted. Oh, and it's probably NOT a good idea to have previously stored your credit card information on a site like Living Social. Just sayin'.

I was bummed out because it was honestly a mistake and Living Social would not refund my money...it was one of those no refund kind of deals.

Double bummer.

Secretly I really wanted this deal but I knew with our crazy family schedule that we'd never get a time that would work for all of us to go.

It did get better though.

A lot better.

I called the resort to preview available days and low and behold they had 4 consecutive days that worked for most of us - miracle of miracles it was during the week of Christmas. Hallelujah!

Here's a little bit of our pre-holiday Holiday.

Ice skating at Northstar Resort

Our seriously awesome accommodations - 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a murphy bed in the living room, separate dining room and full kitchen - sweet!

Heavenly ski resort right outside of our hotel

South Lake Tahoe

In front of the frozen waterfall and gondola at Heavenly Resort - 27degrees. Brrrrr.

And yes, it was AWESOME!! What a great way to kick-off Christmas break.

(we missed you Lexi! See you soon!)

Cranberry-Orange-Cream Cheese Bread

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Oh, this is a good one. Easy and delicious.

Cranberry-Orange-Cream Cheese Bread

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease bottom of loaf pan. Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl, beat at medium speed until smooth.

Filling:
6 oz cream cheese
¼ c. sugar
1 egg

In a large bowl, combine the ingredients below for the bread, stir for 50 to 75 strokes until moistened.

Bread:
1- 15.6 oz package Cranberry quick bread mix (I used Cranberry orange)
¾ cup water
2 T oil
1 egg

Pour half of the bread batter into the greased pan. Next pour the cream cheese filling on top of the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top of the filling. To marble the cream cheese into the bread, pull a butter knife through the batter in wide curves. Turn the pan and repeat. Bake at 350o for 65 to 75 minutes. Cool 15 minutes and then remove the bread from the pan. Chill until ready to eat.

Devour!

Christmas Roses for me

2011-12-14T15:31:00.000-08:00

The hybrid tea roses in my flower garden are still blooming...in December?? Did I mention how gorgeous they are? The weather has been very cold lately so I was really surprised to find these still blooming. I picked a bouquet full last night and set them near my sink...mostly for my enjoyment and anyone else who gets to do the dishes (lucky kids!)

Orange Glazed Poppy Seed Bread

2011-12-13T19:00:00.000-08:00

Package these up and they make great little gifts for neighbors and friends.

Poppy Seed Bread:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups oil
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
2 t. butter flavoring
2 t. vanilla

Mix together the above ingredients and beat for two minutes.
Fill 5 or 6 mini-loaf pans 2/3 to 3/4 full.
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Orange Glaze:
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. butter flavoring

Mix ingredients in a glass measuring cup. Pour over hot bread when removed from the oven. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Favorite Chocolate Cake

2011-12-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

I made this fabulous cake for dessert last night. Again. It's called "Too Much Chocolate Cake". It's our favorite kind of chocolate cake. Moist. Dense. Chocolaty. It's covered in chocolate ganache which takes it over the top. So good.

For a special Christmassy touch, I added Andes Peppermint Crunch on the top.

Wow.

Make this cake.

Now.

You won't be disappointed (unless you don't like chocolate and if that's the case, too bad so sad).