...jennydoll

Homemade Pizza and Sausage Cups For those of you who know me well know that....I LOVE PIZZA.  Dave says I could it every day and never tire of it.  He might be right. ;-)  Growing up my brother and I loved making Chef Boyardee Pizza for dinner.  I still like them but have opted to using the JIFFY brand pizza crusts.  They are easy and cheap.  I also use the store brand jar pizza sauce.  Yes, I could make my own but I don't.  I have never made my own sauce because I'm lazy.  My cousin makes a delicious homemade pasta sauce so maybe I should enlist her help in making my own pizza sauce.  We'll see what the summer brings to tackle that project.  So, I usually "doctor" up the sauce and/or the dough.  I sprinkle basil, oregano, rosemary, etc on the crust and prebake it.  Then I add the sauce along with the toppings of choice.  I usually use hamburger that I have browned with sweet basil, oregano, and garlic and it gets ex...

Organic Trail Mix = YUM! Dave and I are big fans of granola and were constantly buying the pre-made kind.  We started really paying attention to the labels. Wow, they have alot of sugar in them!  I decided to make our own to combat the sugar intake.  We used a box of Wild Harvest Organic Honey Flax Granola cereal. We then paired it with organic dried cranberries (which is hard to find without added sugar), dried unsweetened blueberries, unsweetened dried banana chips, raw cashews and almonds, unsweetened flaked coconut and some mini chocolate chips.  I would recommend the Trader Joe's chocolate chips.  This was a fantastic mix of flavor and easy to make.  Just dump everything into a mixing bowl and stir.  We packaged into little plastic containers that were great for the "always-on-the-go" people we are!

Spring is definitely in the air!  I am so glad to see it this year.  I love the opportunity to share in all four seasons but this year I am happy to be done with winter. Yes, cold weather be gone!  I absolutely LOVE fresh cut flowers so imagine my excitement when I walked into Trader Joe's and saw one of my favorite flowers sitting there!   I had to get them.  This specific yellow tulip is beautiful and as well as the early daffodils that I purchased.  I used to work as a floral designer for a number of years and really miss working in that field.  When the occassion arises that I can find flowers for a relatively affordable price I will treat myself.   These were a pretty good deal!  I was able to purchase ten tulips and twenty daffodils for $8.  Not too bad.  I was able to design three vases full and brighten up the house.  It was a good feeling. Which brings me to this blog entry...I could go ...

Coffee. Wonderful. Delicious. I love the smell of coffee.  I am not a huge coffee drinker but I do love those frou frou coffee drinks.  The last two weeks my mother in law has been visiting and she is an avid book reader.  She has been reading a series called, "Coffeehouse Mysteries"  by Cleo Coyle and in the back of each book are recipes that were featured in the book.  I wrote down one that looked really good and decided that I would make it this afternoon.  I improvised a little because I was too lazy to go to the store twice in one day.  So, the sour cream that was supposed to be one cup became a spatula scoop.  I also did not put the icing on that it called for.  I sprinkled powdered sugar on top along with some miniature chocolate chips and sliced almonds. They turned out pretty tasty! On a side note, I received my candle order today that consisted of Black Coffee and Gingerbread.  They were handmade by a friend of mine who owns...

This past Sunday was Valentine's Day.  A day that is not really celebrated in our house.  Don't get me wrong, I am not down on the whole holiday and if you enjoy it and celebrate it, please do!  We don't.  I spent a number of years as a floral designer and know the "pressures" that this holiday causes.  People stress over making sure they have the right flowers, chocolates, or other token of love to give to the significant other and I don't feel it's worth it.  I also know how much the cost of flowers are increased due to this holiday.  When Dave and I were married we, more me, decided that if he wanted to give me flowers to do it on a day or an occassion that it wasn't expected.  We felt that we did not need a specific day to express our love to each other.  You should show it every day!  Yes, I realize that sounds a bit schoompy.  Anyway, since I had found these cute little frog cupcake picks and I decided to...

I am so excited about baseball season starting soon!  Go Cards!  My brother and I share a love of baseball so it only seemed fitting to make him baseball themed cupcakes for his birthday.  Granted, my brother is not a huge sweet eater like I am but I found these fun baseball picks so I had to make him these.  I made dark chocolate cupcakes in cardinal red liners and topped them with either a coffee buttercream or maraschino cherry buttercream.  I also made the lettering out of dark chocolate and placed it on top of the icing.  They smelled delicious!  It was hard not to eat them myself!  Enjoy!

Over the Christmas holiday break I made lots of goodies! I use the cookies as gifts for family, friends, and neighbors. These goodies are gifts that everyone looks forward to and I enjoy making them.   Raspberry Filled Poppyseed Shortbread Cookies ~courtesy of Spice Islands~ 2 sticks of butter, softened 1/2 c. sugar 2 egg yolks 1 tbsp vanilla 2-1/4 c. flour 3 tbsp. poppy seeds 1/8 tsp. salt 1/2 c. seedless raspberry jam Beat butter & sugar until light; beat in egg yolks and vanilla. In medium bowl, combine flour, poppy seed, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, mixing until just blended. Shape dough into 1" balls. Place 1" apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Make a deep indentation in center of each ball. Bake at 350 degress for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Transfer from sheet to wire racks; cool completely. Spoon jam into centers of cookies; dust with powdered sugar, as desired.    This quiche was just something I sor...