Mini Pies

Check out my Mini Pies I made aren't they just the cutest things? I love them. I hope everyone I give them to loves them. They are so fun to make. Check out my previous blog to know how. What great gifts these are. I forgot to take a picture of the pie with filling in it. But I made a  cherry filling. Yum!

This is what I am up too

Hello All,

So sickness is gone from our home. I pray. Kids never got it and I hope they don't. So now I can focus better on others. We have a friend who is really sick right now and I want to bring him some stuff. So I have been baking today. One of the things I want to give is this really cute pie. I have never made it before but it looks great. I use to be afraid of pies but now I love them. My sister had thought of getting me this pie bible cookbook for Christmas but she thought that it would be too much of a challenge for me. But I wish she had. It looks great. Pie is so fun oh and so tasty. What are you afraid of that you have not tackled yet? The year is young and its never to late to overcome a fear. What ever that is. So tell someone what you are afraid of and ask them to hold you accountable to overcome it. It is such a freeing feeling to overcome  something. I am so excited that I can make pie now. I love it! Know that you are not alone in your fears. There is someone out there with the same fear as you. We all are afraid of something. But you can overcome your fears. If  I can I know you can. I have had some of my baking fears for years. But slowly I am overcoming them. Well back to my pie making.

Sick :o(

So I have been out of commission this week. I got the flu. I started the week by trying to plan a baking challenge for this week but it has not happened. Oi! I hate being sick. Just like everyone else. I do have a baking challenge planned for Monday though. If all goes well here and no one else gets sick. More details on that to follow. But it should be good. Have a great weekend!

Things that would make me happier!

Well I am pretty happy already. But I was checking out Doughmesstic's blog today and she was featuring things she wanted. Things that was in her Drooler box. I thought it was a cool idea and as I am not baking today I thought I still wanted to write something. I do want to bake something this week but what? It has to be a challenge for me. I may tackle the dreaded angle food cake. As I bought my self a pan at Christmas. But in the mean time while I figure that out I thought I would feature some things that I want big time. One of which I am going to buy can you guess which one? Ha bet you can't Hey how about if I give a prize to the one who can guess it. Also if you have any suggestions as to what my baking challenge should be let me know.
The cupcake apron I just love. Check it  and others out here .  carolyns kitchen online Then the cookbook Intercourses. I saw it one day at the bookstore and got to look inside. Great pics very tastefully done. The recipes look wonderful too. Would be great for Valentines. Take a look at the authors website. Intercourses
Oh and I just recently discovered Cupcake wrappers. They are adorable. I just love them. I want them all. What a great gift for a friend. To make them a cupcake and put it in a wrapper. You can check more out at these two sites. Cupcake Wrapture Shop  Accent the Party Blessings All!

New Blog!

Hey I just wanted to let you all know I have started a new blog. Its all about cookbooks and I am really excited about it. So stop on by and check it out. from here go to my profile and you will find it under blogs. Have an awesome day. Hmm maybe today will be a baking day?

Chocolate Dipped Chips!

Yum! Don't these look good! I would like to say I made them but I didn't. Ben did though and they were so good I just had to share the recipe.  We have had purchased potato chips dipped in chocolate and they were good. Ben thought why not make our own. So he did. First he bought rippled chips and spicy ones called Piri Piri. They are good and hot. You can buy them at Superstore. Then he bought really good chocolate which is the key ingredient. Lindt bars. Big honkin ones. One 70% dark as Ben loves dark. I can't stand the dark at all. I know they say to be a real chocolate connoisseure  you have to like dark chocolate but I disagree. Then of course he bought a milk chocolate bar. Then 6 bags of chips later Ben finally made them. We ate the first 4 bags of chips before they ever got to touch the chocolate. What Ben dipped the chocolate in was Butter Ganache. Ganache for those of you who don't know is " Indispensable in much of confectionery, ganache-a chocolate cream filing for cakes, cookies and other gourmet delights-is in many ways the pinnacle of the chocolate-maker's art. The basic recipe is very simple, only the chocolate and cream are essential. Once mastered, this recipe can be varied infinitely." Quote taken from Chocolate. Ben got this cookbook for Christmas last year. Great recipes inside. When he opened it he thought he had recieved a giant chocolate bar. I did too. It looks just like one. After dipping the chips in the ganache he layed them on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Then stuck them in the freezer. They were so good. The milk ones that is. Enjoy making these. They are so easy to do the kids could even help.

Butter Ganache

7 oz chocolate (dark, milk, white, or a mixture)
Scant 1/2 cup creme fraiche
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
 Makes about 12oz (serves 4-6) - Prepartion time 15 minutes

1. Using a large knife, flake the chocolates into more or less regular small pieces. You could also grate them coarsely with a vegetable grater, or use ready-made chocolate buttons or drops.
2. Bring the creme fraiche to just boiling point in a pan, then remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and butter blend away from the heat.
3. When fully blended and shiny, pour the mixture into a bowl. Depending on the recipe, use it immediately or let it cool, then refrigerate.

Ben's alterations:
Instead of making creme fraiche he used 2 tbsp sour cream and about 1 cup whipped cream. Also did less butter, 1 tbsp and did not use unsalted.

New Look!

Hello Everyone! I have been playing around in blogger and creating a new look. The old one was to boring for me. So please bare with me as I am making changes. Blessings.

http://doughmesstic.blogspot.com/

So I was bumming around on the internet tonight and came across this blog. The title really caught me. Shes Becoming Doughmesstic. I had to check it out. I wanted to know more about the person who started the blog. So I went to the about section and read all about her. She is a female who is married and has a toddler. She chose to be a stay at home mom and decided if she was to do that she would make it her job. So one of the things she did was learn to cook. She did not know how to do that. She said that she does not let food scare her. That what is the worst that could happen if she tried something new? So since she has started cooking she has entered all kinds of baking contests and won. I was just so inspired by her story. I encourage you to go check out her blog. I don't think you will be dissappointed. May you in this new year tackle something that scares you and overcome that fear and realize that it was not as scary as you thought. You can do anything if you put your mind too it. :o) Bless you all.