A few weeks ago Pillsbury contacted me and asked if I wanted to try some of their product for the blog.  I have never been one to turn down free food, right, so I said sure.
They sent me instant potatoes and eagle brand milk.

 
I need my life to slow down..even as I am rapidly hammering away at the keys Kyrie is asking me to tie something…Nick is cranky about putting on a new shirt (touch sensitivity) and I need to leave the house in 5 minutes to pick up Matt at Driver’s Ed.

 
About two weeks ago I attended a special party and I needed to bring something…Hmmm…I was in a rush, as always…what to bring?
SCONES!

Decided to make banana bread this morning and I wanted to try a few different things. The bananas were ripe but not over-ripe and I wanted to compensate for the flavor loss in that.  I also wanted something really moist.

This came out very moist, very banana-y, very good. The flavor is a little different than regular banana bread -but in a good way.  I baked it in a ring mold pan because I wanted it to look a little different than normal.
I did add chocolate chips to this because Erin is here and that is her favorite..but I much prefer …read more

This Banana Chocolate Chip Bread recipe is my eldest daughter’s favorite. I usually give her a loaf of this along with a container of Russian Tea Mix ( you know, the kind with orange, clove, red hots, and tea?) and she is blissfully happy. Always a good thing.
It is a particularly moist and delicious bread, and unusual enough to make a gift that is different from what other people are doing. I swear one year I am going to try it with macadamias and white chocolate chips but so far I haven’t done so.
If you are giving …read more

This egg nog quick bread recipe is a wonderful hostess gift or as part of a Christmas gift basket with some homemade jams and preserves. Generally when I do a gift basket I like to use three different loaves, two bags of coffee beans, some tea, and a couple of small jars of preserves. Add a couple of vintage teacups and it really is a wonderful gift.
You can make this eggnog bread in large or in small loaves. Just make sure that you make the glaze after the bread has come out of the oven or …read more

More blueberries? Yeah. I had just about 3/4 cup left after last night’s blueberry extravaganza and I knew that one of the kids would sneakily find them in the freezer and the next time I looked there would be one lone blueberry in the bottom left hand corner of the bag. Yep, better to dispense with the frustration.

1 1/2 c flour
1 c bran
1/2 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c oil or melted butter
1 egg
3/4 c buttermilk
1 c blueberries
1/2 c chopped pecans
confectioners sugar for dusting
Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in blueberries and pecans so …read more

 Our weekend is a little different than most. Since Marc works retail he works on Saturday and then has Sunday and Monday off. Sunday is really not a day off because there is church a good portion of the day.  Monday is our more leisurely day, although I don’t know if leisurely is a word that can be applied to ANY day around here.

  This morning I decided to treat everyone to doughnuts. I used my normal recipe with some adjustments and these were really good. The kids said they tasted like that candy, Circus Peanuts, but I …read more

The day I discovered homemade saltine crackers I was hooked on them…No more Zesta or Nabisco for me!
  Crackers have a long and fascinating history…If you will recall the Israelites had matzah as they set out for their journey from Egypt…they had been instructed by God  to make bread without leavening…In 1801 Josioah Bent of Massachusetts apparently got busy and distracted and over baked biscuits, turning them into crispy breads which he named crackers due to the crackling sound that they made.   The first crackers as we know them were made in Vermont in 1828..and I guess they have just …read more