Friday, December 23, 2016

Butterscotch Spice Cookies







I spent today making the last of the Christmas cookies to be boxed up to give to family and friends. I'm surprised that Christmas has gotten here so soon, it seems like just yesterday I was putting away the extra turkey and fixings from Thanksgiving.

These Butterscotch Spice Cookies are a cinch to make and smell and taste yummy. My granddaughter loved helping me make them because it's kind of like playing with play dough. You roll the dough into a ball and then roll it in powdered sugar. What 5 year doesn't love that?

Recipe for Butterscotch Spice Cookies 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 11-oz. package butterscotch chips
powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until combined. Stir in butterscotch chips.
Roll scoops of dough to make a ball, then roll in powdered sugar. Place dough 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 14 minutes. Cool slightly on cookie sheets, Remove and let finish on wire racks.

Makes about 36 cookies.


-Post by Patricia


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Thursday, December 22, 2016

Handmade Jewelry from Around the World: Novica Review and Giveaway #handmade4life

*I was provided complimentary items to review for this post. The opinions expressed are my own.


I have enjoyed Novica products for a few years now and I always love to support their artist with my purchases. I like that Novica is a company that brings together artist from all over the world to be able to sell their products online. I have many great products from Novica that are from Mexico including jewelry and kitchenware. This time shopping I wanted to try a different region of the world for my jewelry. I found an artist in Thailand that had beautiful jewelry, great reviews and sterling silver. I have sensitive skin and have to purchase silver or gold jewelry. Her pieces are affordable and light weight. I wear jewelry to work everyday and I am constantly needing new pieces to wear.


I had a hard time selecting which pieces to select for my review since Aoy has many beautiful items. I wear my hair down often at work so I decided on a pair of dangle earrings, Handcrafted Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings with Spirals Whirl. I love the movement of the silver balls and the whimsy of the spiral. They are very lightweight, somewhat delicate making them easy to wear for a full work day. They are very cheerful to wear and I enjoying sharing that I found them on Novica.


I have learned over the years necklaces for me have to be versatile. I have a few necklaces I have only wore a few times because they are so very specific in their style and I knew this time I needed to make a more practical choice. I wanted to have another piece of jewelry from Aoy in Thailand so I selected the Sterling Silver Pendant Necklace, Filigree Moon. I have received many compliments from my customers at work on the filigree motifs in my crescent moon necklace. I like that the pendant feels sturdy and well made, the ball chain is a bit fragile but I have other chains I can put the moon on if I need to.



My jewelry was handmade by a woman from Thailand who is lovingly called Aoy. Here is some information on the artist:


"At our workshop, we still work with our hands to craft our jewelry collections, because we believe it is our duty to preserve this ancient art form."
"Sawasdee ka! My name is Rudklow Patanaanunwong, but everyone calls me Aoy. I come from a warm family environment from Bangkok, though I am an only child. I hold Bachelor and Master Degrees in Economy from Northeastern University."

"My intention after graduation was to work for the Bank of Thailand, but I changed my mind when I met my husband. We got married and I moved to Chiang Mai, where my husband has a silversmith workshop. I began to work there to help him."




I am happy to share that we are hosting a giveaway for a $35 Gift Code to Novica.com for one lucky reader. There are so many great items at Novica, more than jewelry there are gifts, housewares, clothing, bags, art and more.

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts Dec. 22 2016 and ends on January, 6 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.



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Sunday, December 18, 2016

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Tart





Do you adore chocolate like I do? Maybe that's a silly question because it seems like everyone is in love with chocolate. Whether it's cake, or brownies, or candy, it seems like a real favorite with all my friends and family. Especially this time of year.

We've had quite a few people over for dinner lately, which is fun for me, because I love cooking and baking. And planning menus actually gets me excited! I'm no Martha Stewart for sure, but I do enjoy entertaining and everything it entails.

I needed a dessert last week for after dinner, and I really wanted something chocolaty. I had had this recipe for Flourless Chocolate Espresso Tart that a friend had written down for me, but I hadn't tried it yet. It's surprisingly simple and only requires six ingredients.

Well let me tell you, it turned out delicious. So rich and chocolaty, with the flavor of espresso coming through perfectly. Yum, is all I can say. Do use top quality ingredients if you can, because it really does make a difference.

If you want to impress guests or just indulge in your love of chocolate, I highly recommend you make this tart. I'm going to make it again on Christmas Eve to go with a couple of other desserts for when we have family and friends coming over. Oh, and if you like, you can add a little whipped cream on top to make it extra special.

Recipe for Flourless Chocolate Espresso Tart

Ingredients:

4 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tablespoon instant espresso
whipped cream if desired

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan.

In the top pan of a double broiler, melt the chocolate over (but not touching) simmering water. Scrape the melted chocolate into a large bowl, add the sugar and melted butter, and stir to mix well. Add the eggs and mix well. Sift in the cocoa powder and espresso and stir until the batter is smooth and well blended.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the top begins to form a fudge-like crust, 20-25 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Dust tart with cocoa powder, and top with whipped cream if desired. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

-Post by Patricia



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Friday, December 16, 2016

National Geographic Kids The Book of Heroes and The Book of Heroines Review and Giveaway #natgeokids #momsmeet

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.


National Geographic Kids The Book of Heroes and The Book of Heroines have been wonderful additions to our home library. Being a homeschool family these are a valuable resource to us for facts and info that can lead to more learning. I am big on book learning first then using the internet to further explore on ideas. Books in hand make a difference for me and my family. I grew up in a house full of books and am grateful for it.


The Book of Heroes has been my son's favorite. My son loves to read about the men who have shaped the world and imagine himself as his own version of a hero. They even have a section on courageous kids to inspire little ones. This book has sparked his interest in learning more about people making a difference right now and in the past who have made the world better. I love reading this with him. We did not read the book cover to cover but instead have been skipping around chapters letting him pick what we discuss. The books include people from history and others that are also very relevant with current events. The layout of the book and colorful images really help keep kids interested.


My son had a few favorite parts of The Book of Heroes including Chapter 3: Game Changers. It is about men in sports, he loved this chapter. The inspiring stories of athletes such as Jessie Owens, Jim Abbott, Michael Jordan and Tony Hawk were fun to read. Inspiring Minds, Chapter 7, has been my son's top favorite chapter. He loves science and space. The list of 5 great geeks included his favorite game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who created Mario. Heroes of mythology, legends like Robin Hood and King Arthur, heroes in movies like Harry Potter and Star Wars, the book is full of so many diverse categories and people.


Topics on political heroes, human rights leaders, so many interesting facts and other people I had not heard of like the story of Chiune Sugihara a worker at the Japanese consulate in Lithuania during World War 2 who made thousands of visas for refugees to flee from Europe. I am a huge history lover and I loved reading the short stories of everyday people being heroes.

I liked how The Book on Heroes mentions notable women heroines in history as did The Book of Heroines mention men in the book too. A good blend of historical facts from men and women. Even heroic animal stories are shared in both of the books. My son loved the animal stories so much!


The Book of Heroines was fabulous to me, I wish I would have owned a book like this as a little girl. To see how influential and world changing some women can be is inspiring. My son was not as interested in the "girl book" as he put it, but at 7 years old I would expect him to be in his girls are silly stage. He did however enjoy me sharing some of the cool stories and pictures with him from the ones I selected to read.

He recognized Wonder Woman, Hermione Granger aka Emma Watson, Mulan, Oprah and a few other women and their stories but after reading the book I know there are so many other stories to share with him. Since he likes sports he thought Chapter 2 Gritty Girls was cool. He recognized the Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky from the Rio games we watched over the summer.

Heroes for Hire and Heroines on the Job were both chapters on heroes in the work force and were perfect chapters to read for our Social Studies work for the week. We have been learning about workers in the community and the difference of services and goods. It was great to have outside source book that was fun and on topic from what we were leaning that week. I have a few others chapters planned to use as an aid to our school learning.


National Geographic Kids The Book of Heroes and The Book of Heroines are for sale at Barnes & Noble, Books a Million and at National Geographic Store. They would make a perfect Christmas present for the kids in your life. My son loves them and so do I. The facts and stories shared are fascinating and a part of all of our history. In our family a hero is someone who stands up for what is right and makes decisions based on love My son looks up to my husband as his first hero and I could not be more happy about that!

According to the book the world has many meanings and many people can be called heroes in real life or fiction, in these books, heroes tend to share:

7 stupendous qualities:

• Heroes are courageous

• Heroes do the right thing

• Heroes have compassion

• Heroes are competent

• Heroes are inspiring

• Heroes never quit

• Heroes leap to action


National Geographic Kids is a great source of knowledge for your family. You can visit their website for games, videos, fun facts and more.

You can win a copy of both the National Geographic Kids The Book of Heroes and The Book of Heroines here on our website in the Rafflecopter form below.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts December 16, 2016 and ends on December 31, 2016 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize.
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Monday, December 12, 2016

Happy Birthday Chocolate Cupcakes








This weekend we celebrated my granddaughter Ashley's fifth birthday. We had a wonderful time that was shared by family and friends, and she got way too many presents. But isn't that half the fun of a birthday party when you're a child, to open birthday gifts from people who love you.

Days like this make me count my blessings. There are so many things I'm striving and hoping for, but when I realize how blessed I am by such a loving family, I'm truly humbled. I hope Ashley grows up to feel that she is blessed too. It's not a small thing in this big, hard world, to know that there are people out there that love you and wish the best for you always.

Okay, so on to these fabulous and delicious cupcakes that the birthday girl herself helped me bake and decorate. She has been baking with me for a couple of years now, and is now more interested in the actual baking instead of just licking the mixing beaters.

This is a Martha Stewart recipe for the cupcakes and the frosting. It's actually pretty simple to make the cupcakes, and the frosting is ready in no time. I doubled the recipe to make 24 cupcakes, and tinted the frosting pink. So, so good!!

Recipe for Martha Stewart's Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.         

Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour.
   
Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
     
Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe for Easy White Icing

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 pound (3 2/3 cups) confectioners' sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (optional)

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter until smooth.
  
Gradually add confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. If too thick to spread, beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk.

Frost cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles if desired.

Makes 12 cupcakes.


-Post by Patricia 
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