Halloween Cupcakes!

Recipe to follow...

Mom's Chicken Divan

Recipe to follow...

Shredded Wheat Bread

My mother got this recipe from someone when she and my father were newly married (I think it came from their pastor's wife). This has always been my favorite homemade bread-it has a sweetish taste too it and is soooo good toasted with peanut butter, for sandwiches, french toast-basically everything! It makes 3 loaves.

Shredded Wheat Bread

Ingredients/Directions:

2 C Boiling Water

3 T Shortening

3 Shredded Wheats, Crumbled

1/2 C Sugar

1/2 C Molasses

1 T Salt

Mix until dissolved. Add 2 C lukewarm water. Mix 2 pkg. yeast & 2 T Sugar in a little warm water. Add to above mixture. Add 10-12 C Flour. Place in a bowl, cover, and let rise until double (approximately one hour). Divide into 3 and place in loaf pans-cover and let rise until doubled again (approximately one hour). Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until light brown. Butter tops and cover with a towel to cool for tender crusts.

My 100th POST!

I can't believe it-this is my 100th Post! I wanted it to be special, so I thought I'd post the entire "Dosa" process! I'm going to start by posting the pictures, then hopefully I can get my husband to sit with me and write the recipe!

According to Wikipedia, "Dosa is a South Indian crepe. This food, rich in carbohydrates and proteins, is a typical South Indian food taken as breakfast or dinner."

My husband was born and raised in Bangalore, India. His family enjoyed dosa frequently, so we are trying to keep that tradition with our family. As you can see, our daughters (well, here is Maya) love them!

The first part of the process is placing all of the different grains in a bowl to soak. We soak them for at least 24 hours.

We use chana dal, yellow moong dal, orange toor dal, brown rice, and basmati rice.

Once soaked, we grind them in our Cuisinart blender (does a great job!).

Add a little baking powder to the batter to give it a jump-start!

Let the batter sit on the counter to "rise". The longer it sits, the better it tastes!

Once the batter has risen and fermented a bit, you are ready to make the dosas! In a nonstick skillet, add about 1/4 cup of batter and work a spoon around it in a circular pattern. You want to be able to see the bottom of the skillet-it should be very thin. Add a bit of olive oil around the edges to prevent it from sticking. Once it's very dark on the edges (it will be almost reddish-color), it's time to flip. Here is what it looks like just prior to flipping. Be very careful to go around the edges while trying to flip.

The second side will only take a minute or so and then it's done!

We usually make a chutney to go with the dosa. Here is our Cilantro-Coconut Chutney...

So, there it is: My 100th Post! Here's to the next 100!

Playing in the Park

Ok, I couldn't resist posting these. Maya (top) and Suri (bottom) playing with their balloons in the park Saturday. How adorable are my girls???

Mother's Day!

Check out my Mother's Day gift! She's so pretty. Now if I can figure out how to take great pictures...wish me luck!

Our Newly Decorated Bedoom!

We have been thinking about redecorating, or basically "decorating" our Master Bedroom for quite some time. We bought new bedroom furniture about a month ago and I was debating over which bedding set to use. We have like six sets-the hoarders that we are! Nothing was really inspiring me until I came across a bedding set from Linens N Things in a circular sent to my e-mail. I saw it and immediately knew it was the one-thus I was inspired! So, off I went to pick it up and found the coordinating window treatments-had to have them. Then, we went and picked out paint at Lowe's-chose Valspar Oak Moss. We are so happy with the way it turned out-we LOVE it!

Here is the "Before" picture...


And the "After" (it was dark when I took these)...

Happy Birthday Honey!

Ok, so I didn't make the cake. Does that make me a bad wife? Honestly I just didn't have time. We both had to work and he actually got home before I did! Plus, the cake that he wanted (rum cake) required soaking dried fruits in rum overnight so it just wasn't possible. I know-excuses, excuses. But, I decided the least I could do was to pick up a small cake for the occasion!

Happy Birthday Honey!

Whoopie Pies!

I was soooo craving whoopie pies! Sage is on school vacation, so I figured he would LOVE to make them for me! Guess what? I was right! This is a family recipe-my mother has been making them since I was a kid and my grandmother made them for my mother! It is my absolute favorite whoopie pie recipe-ever. I've tried them everywhere, but they are just never as good as these. The filling is made with regular sugar so it's not so sweet since most are made with confectioner's sugar. They are PERFECT!

Mom's Whoopie Pies

Ingredients:

2 3/4 C Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp.Salt

1 1/2 C Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup Cocoa

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Sour Milk (I simply add 1 tsp. vinegar to the 1/2 cup milk)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in Kitchen-Aid mixer. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake approx. 10-12 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Filling:

Ingredients:

2/3 C Crisco

2/3 C Sugar

1 T Water

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/3 C Milk

Directions:

Place milk, sugar and water in bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add Crisco, Vanilla, & Salt. Beat 5-10 minutes until creamy.

Mom's Fried Chicken!

Mom made the mistake of asking Anand what he wanted for our weekly Sunday dinner. He decided he wanted her famous fried chicken (which I think she worked on all day). It was DELICIOUS! I need to get the recipe from her to post, but thought I'd throw a teaser pic out there. She also made cream puffs that were out of this world! Thanks Mom!

Happy 16th Birthday Sage!

For Sage's 16th Birthday, I asked him what kind of cake he would like me to make for him. He decided chocolate with peanut butter frosting, which was great for me since it's my favorite (thank you Sage)!! I decided to try the Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake that everyone raves about. It definitely lived up to it's reputation-it was chocolately, moist and simply delicious!

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

(http://www.hersheys.com/)

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar

1-3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

3/4 Cup Hershey's Cocoa

1-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1-1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Salt

2 Eggs

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1 Cup Boiling Water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl (I opted to use my handy dandy Kitchen-Aid Mixer!). Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 10-12 servings.

Fluffy Peanut Butter Frosting

(http://www.allrecipes.com/)

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter, Softened

1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

3 T Milk, or as needed

2 Cups Confectioner's Sugar

Directions:

Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer (again, I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer). Gradually mix in the sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk one tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes to get it good and fluffy.

Happy Birthday Sage!

Cajun Salmon & Brown Rice Medley

Tonight, my husband cooked dinner. Salmon sounded good, so he added some cajun spices to some salmon fillets and pan sauteed in olive oil and a dab of butter. It was really good! As a side, he cooked up some Trader Joe's Brown Rice Medley. This medley consists of long grain parboiled brown rice, black barley, and daikon radish seeds. It's very hearty and tastes good.

We went to my parents' today for lunch. Mom made an 18 bean soup with ground turkey and some freshly baked corn bread. It was delicious! I forgot to bring my camera so unfortunately I don't have any pictures. Since Dad doesn't like beans, she also warmed a turkey stew that my aunt had made-that was good too (yes, I had both!). Mom also made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting-Anand's favorite! Thanks Mom!