Good morning, friends! Today I'm kicking off something I've had swirling around in my head for a couple of years and I'm so excited to finally do it! Each month I'm going to feature a new scone recipe paired with a seasonal tea suited for that particular month. It'll be our own little "tea and scone of the month club" and I hope you'll join me in trying these recipes and tea blends! I know this month is almost over, but I'm going ahead and squeaking in a September teatime post because my daughter and I had a lovely tea with friends last weekend, and I tried a new recipe that was delicious and a perfect welcome to fall. If you're not able to try this September pairing before this sweet ... Read more
Three Things I’m Doing Now to Prepare for Fall Cooking and Baking
We’re still soaking up summer days here while looking towards autumn and all the delicious recipes we’ll enjoy during that chilly season! So even though our temperatures are soaring over 100 degrees some days, I’m going ahead and doing three things now to prepare my kitchen for fall cooking and baking. #1 Drying Fresh Herbs It’s so nice to cook with fresh herbs during the summer and I like to keep those same herby flavors in my fall soups, casseroles, and breads. So, I’ve been clipping and drying herbs in batches to enjoy all fall and winter. I clip my herbs in early morning before the hot sun draws out the oils from their leaves. This heightens their flavor whether you use them ... Read more
Valentine’s Day Pasta Dinner
Yesterday's post was all about my favorite love language: FOOD! As a follow up, I'm sharing some recipes from a Valentine's lunch we enjoyed last year with my mother-in-law and my daughter's boyfriend (now her fiancé! Talk about love!). This is a menu I've made for different occasions but found it to be perfect for Valentine's Day. I've not made these recipes in a year, and last night when I pulled the cookbook off the shelf to work on this post, I noticed something really special. The title of the cookbook is The Gathering of Friends, which I had remembered. But what I'd never noticed, was the very small subtitle which reads "Let's make food your love language"! This thrilled me since ... Read more
Communion Bread Recipe
The pandemic has definitely changed many of our normal activities, and I can say with all certainty that what our family has missed most has been meeting in person with our church family each Sunday. We are at least blessed to gather remotely for Sunday morning worship, and a special part of those online gatherings is the inclusion of the Lord's Supper. When isolation first started back in March, I made a batch of communion bread, freezing much of it and never imagining the pandemic would last long enough for us to use up the whole batch, but I've already made two batches since we've been home. I know many of you already have your own recipe for communion bread, and for that reason I had put ... Read more
Easter Eats 2020
Hello again! I'm back today with the Easter menu I prepared this year. So, from breakfast to dessert, here goes! I'd been saving this recipe for Strawberry Bread since last spring and decided to make it for breakfast. Definitely making this again! It was so good and moist, and more like a poundcake than a bread. I put out a bowl of chocolate eggs to go with it. After breakfast we had a meaningful time of worship and then finished up lunch preparations.***** Easter Menu Brown Sugar Glazed Ham (recipe below) Cheesiest Mac and Cheese Bacon and Pea Summer Salad (With one change: I cooked and crumbled the bacon because I didn’t have packaged bacon ... Read more
Whole Wheat Banana Muffins
I sure hope I didn’t just lose anyone with the words whole wheat, because you’ll be missing out on a tasty (and, yes, healthy) breakfast treat! If you’re still with me, hang on for just a minute. Is anyone else tired of eating from the holidays? I can enjoy the junk for only so long, and then I’m glad to get back to fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, and WATER! Despite the many desserts and goodies I post here on the blog, for the most part, I really try to feed my family healthy meals. The goodies are just our splurge days (holidays, Sunday lunch, etc), but through much of the week, we go fairly healthy. This magical muffin gives you a healthy little carb fix by way of whole grain, ... Read more
‘Twas the Weekend Before Christmas….
'Twas the weekend before Christmas, and all through the house... every creature was stirring, and you better believe my table was set! With new dishes! Yay! I've always wanted a set of Christmas dishes. You know the ones with either a Christmas tree or a snowy scene or holly encircling the border of the dish? So when my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I decided on the dishes! He told me to pick them out and he would get them. I know, he's a keeper, right! I searched the entire internet, looking at patterns, reading reviews, and narrowing down my favorites. But then, I saw something I wasn't expecting: the prettiest solid green dishes with a textured lacy pattern! ... Read more
Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
We hosted a Christmas party for our Bible study group last night. Everyone brought their favorite finger foods and the assortment of savory goodies was outstanding, followed by yummy desserts and a s’mores bar! I’m still quite filled this morning, from both food and fellowship! We love our small group so much. One of the party foods I prepared was Pepperoni Pizza Rolls. Think of it as the pizza version of a cinnamon roll. Pepperoni Pizza Rolls Ingredients: 1 frozen loaf bread dough, thawed but not risen Pesto Shredded mozzarella Parmesan Pepperoni Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 12-x-18” (doesn’t have to be exact). Spread a layer of pesto in ... Read more