11/21/09

Spiced Hot Chocolate

The weather is chilly AND I'm craving something chocolatey!
Gonna make this today for the gals coming to my class...


Spiced Hot Chocolate

Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients:
6 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg Pinch cayenne pepper
2 (12-ounce) bags semisweet chocolate chips
Cocoa powder, for serving

Directions:

For stovetop:
In a large pot over medium heat, whisk together milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Add chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted. Cover and turn heat to low for 5 minutes.

For slow cooker:
In a 4-quart slow cooker, whisk together milk, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Add chocolate chips. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with a dusting of cocoa powder.

Stay warm!
Blessings to you,
Lori

11/17/09

Shimmerz Paints Design Team Call

CALLING ALL DESIGNERS!

Shimmerz Paints is looking for designers that love all things Shimmery. Can you think outside of the box? Are you a team player? Do you love to promote products you believe in? Do you want to design with some cutting edge products of the craft industry? If so, we want to hear from you! You can get all the details on the Shimmerz blog.

11/10/09

Pumpkin Scones

I've never been a big fan of scones. They are usually dry and crumbly and not sweet. Well, my friend Wendy has gotten me addicted to the Pumpkin Scones at Starbucks! They are more like little cakes than scones. They are so delicious! I did a little searching online for a recipe and I found one that is the EXACT recipe for these.

I made them today and they are even better than the ones at Starbucks. Pretty much one of the best things I have ever tasted! I doubled the recipe because I knew 6 would not be enough!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter

Plain Glaze
1 cup plus 1 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Icing
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground cloves

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ginger in a large bowl.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half, and eggs.
4. Cut butter into cubes then add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry knife or a fork to combine butter with dry ingredients. Continue mixing until no chunks of butter are visible. You can also use a food processor: Pulse butter into dry ingredients until it is the texture of cornmeal or coarse sand.
5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1 -inch thick rectangle that is about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide. Use a large knife or a pizza wheel to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough.
6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes on a baking sheet that has been lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper. Scones should begin to turn light brown.
7. While scones cool, prepare plain glaze by combining ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix until smooth.
8 When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.
9. As that white glaze firms up, prepare spiced icing by combining ingredients in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.
Makes 6 scones.

Enjoy!
Blessings and Peace,
~Lori

11/9/09

Creative Cuts & More Mega Recipe Blog Hop!

Hi blog hoppers! Weren't Jen's projects fabulous? (If you didn't arrive here from Jen's blog, you don't want to miss what our designers have in store for you! The CC&M Mega Recipe Blog Hop starts HERE.




Welcome to the first day of the Creative Cuts & More Mega Recipe Blog Hop, which will feature the 8"x8" Treasured Family Recipes Kit. There are 24 designers who will be creating recipe book pages to inspire you. Plus we all will be sharing some of our own delicious treasured family recipes. Make sure you check back at http://www.diecutdiva.com/ tomorrow for the Holiday Treats Apron Recipe Kit Blog Hop. There will be 24 designers who will be showcasing their great creations and sharing holiday treat recipes! YUM!

Here is a link to the kit that I used to create this recipe book:




As part of the celebration CC&M will be having a great sale. For the next six days, we will offer 20% off the entire store. But act quickly, it is only for six days – this sale will end on Nov 14th. Make sure you enter this code recipebloghop2009 during checkout.

Here are some of the pages I created:







I am going to print out my recipes and laminate them to put in between the chipboard pages. This way I can take them out and use them. I am a messy, messy cook so laminating is key! I also plan to include lots of handwritten recipes of my late mother.

Speaking of my mother, I want to share with you a recipe that she often made for her girlfriends for their card playing nights when I was a little girl:

Nana Pat's Apple Cake


Ingredients:
3 C all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C oil
1 1/2 C granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 C orange juice
4 apples, pared and sliced (not too thin)
cinnamon and brown sugar for sprinkling in pan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except for the apples in bowl. Mix by hand until smooth. Grease a bundt pan with butter then sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Pour in half of the cake batter. Add the apples. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and brown sugar. Add the rest of the batter. Sprinkle with more cinnamon and brown sugar.

Bake for one hour.


Now, continue on our hop and go to Michele Kovac's blog to see what she has done with the kit and what she's cookin'!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings and Peace,

~Lori

11/5/09

Quote for today...

I just got this one in my inbox from Inspiration Peak and I had to share:

Creativity is your birthright. You miraculously appeared from nowhere. The Unseen that gave you Life is still nourishing you - and, if you remain open, it will inspire you endlessly.

Metta Zetty
American Author and Spiritual Mentor.

Love it!!

11/2/09

November happenings...

Hey there!
I am so excited that November is here. I kind of do a little happy dance on November 1st because I am not the biggest fan of Halloween but I love fall, Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas!

I wanted to fill you in on a couple of things that I have brewing for November...
I was asked to be a guest designer for Creative Cuts and More for their Favorite Recipes Blog Hop. This is so "up my alley" because I love to cook and I love to create. I have been wanting to create a recipe book for quite some time but put it off. Well I received a fabulous kit in the mail from Creative Cuts and More and I've been working on it since it arrived. It's totally got my mojo flowing!



Make sure you check back here and their blog next Monday for the finished projects. I can't wait!

Also I have another Shimmerz Ed class this month! I will be teaching you to create four Super Shimmery Christmas cards!




Where: My home in Eagle, Idaho
When: Saturday, November 21st from 2pm to 5pm
Cost: $15.00

October's class was so much fun. I got great feedback from all who attended. I will post the projects and some fun stuff about that tomorrow!

If you are interested in the November class, please let me know by November 12th so that I can prepare enough kits. I will have a special Shimmerz gift for all who attend. My email is lorirenn at msn dot com. Space is limited so it is first come first served!

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! I survived it!

Blessings and peace,
~Lori
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