Strawberry Shortcakes!

I whipped these up after dinner tonight. I think they are a simple, yummy and easy dessert that you could make after dinner for two or for a party of many more.

Here's how I made them (makes four):

Ingredients-
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar (plus more for sprinkling on top of cakes)
1/4 cup butter, cold
1/2 large egg, beaten (I just beat one large egg then discarded half)
1/4 milk (whatever you have in the fridge)
1 large egg white, beaten
frozen strawberries, thawed
vanilla ice cream

Tools-
cup (to cut cakes out with, I used one in lieu of a biscuit cutter)
cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
whisk
mini mellon baller
pastry brush
bread knife
rolling pin
stand mixer (or mixing bowls)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Use whisk attachment to mix these together.
2. Chop cold butter into small peices and drop into flour mixture. Mix into flour using paddle attachment until mixture looks like little crumbs.
3. Whisk egg in separate bowl, add milk and whisk together. With paddle attachment on low speed, add egg and milk until dough just pulls together.
4. Turn dough out onto floured surface and roll out to 3/4 inch thick
5. Dip cup in flour and use to cut out 4 cakes
(I made my cakes early, after this step I covered them and put them in the fridge until I needed to bake them)
6. When ready, take out cakes and place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
7. Beat 1 egg white and brush over cakes with pastry brush, sprinkle with sugar
8. Bake at 425 degrees (my oven was actually at 450) for 15 mins, or until tops are lightly browned (I took mine out after 15 mins and saw that the bottoms were pretty brown while the tops were very lightly browned along the edges)
9. Cut in half with bread knife and put on serving plate.
10. Scoop out 2 scoops vanilla ice cream with mellon baller and place on bottom cake. Spoon strawberries and juice over bottom cake and ice cream, place top of cake on top of ice cream and spoon additional strawberries and juice over the top
11. Enjoy!

H

Giving Thanks

“God Bless your home and the people there, May the skies that touch your roof be fair–Your hearth burn bright, and your candle shine, And the snowflake sparkle on your pine.” ~ Esther Wood


What I am thankful for . . .

1. My faith – This has really helped guide me in the last few years especially
2. J – So glad that I met him when I did, that we are so similar and that we will always be happy together
3. My family – J and I both think that this is what life is all about, and we are so blessed to have such a large and loving network of people we can call Family
4. My friends – A girl needs a couple of good girlfriends to get her through life
5. My upbringing – This is been the reason I am where I am today
6. Work – So excited about my new job and am very thankful that it allows numbers 7 & 8
7. Time to do the things I love to do – It is so nice to be out of school now and focus on the things that bring me joy in life, like baking and what I call “homemaking” (aka moving furniture, trying to decorate and make things cozy!)
8. Things to look forward to – There is always something, either in the near future (hanging out with friends and family on the weekends) or farther out (wedding!)
9. Nice people – I just had to include this after I met the sweetest lady at the grocery store the other day while I was buying my turkey, she was so motherly and helpful, she helped me pick out the bird, choose the baking pan and told me all about the baking bags she uses and how handy there were and what to put in them
10. Sunshine! – Basically just the start of every new day, because there will always be something good in it!

Happy Thanksgiving!
H

Announcement!

Preppy Bridesmaids dresses have been chosen! Yay!

H

I must be apple crazy . . .

Apparently I can only bake with apples lately. I love making special Sunday morning breakfasts (last week was french toast with bananas in caramel sauce, unfortunately I did not take pictures) and when I saw this recipe http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/10/breakfast-apple-granola-crisp/ for Breakfast Granola Apple Crisp at Smitten Kitchen, I had to make it :)

So I went back for yet more apples, this time from the grocery store. Isn't that little bag cute though?




In they went into the baking dish . . .







Topped with butter, honey, oats and flour . . .

The kitchen smelled so yummy while this was baking!

Breakfast was served this morning with french vanilla yogurt. Yum!

H

Apples Part II

Finally finished up the last of the apples from the orchard, and what a better way for them to go than into a yummy apple pie!

Here they are getting ready to jump in!

And here they are all peeled and ready to go! (Thanks Mom for the new paring knife!)

All tucked into the crust, decorated with heart cut outs

Yum! This pie won't last long!

Check out the recipe at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Pie-by-Grandma-Ople/Detail.aspx

I added a tablespoon vanilla instead of water, a tablespoon of cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg to the filling and it turned out great!

H

Summer is officially over

. . . When the Mustang goes into storage :(

It does look pretty beastly under its Steeda car cover though, doesn't it?

Here is a pic of its neighbor in the barn

That's a BIG boat!

Here is what I am picturing next April when it comes out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZzXHq7gKN8&feature=related

Mostly just the part where the mustang comes out of the barn!

H

It's Apple Pickin' Time!

This morning J and I joined his sister (MOH), her beau A, along with his niece and nephew for some fall apple picking!

At Aamodt's (check them out at http://www.aamodtsapplefarm.com/) in Stillwater the little ones enjoyed picking our own apples in the orchard, balloons, cider, a hay maze and even pony rides!

J picked up an Apple Oatmeal Cookie, just baked at a stand outside the Apple Barn. With it's crumbly apple and cinnamon flavor, I was inspired to try the recipe myself once we got our apples home.

Mmmm, don't those look yummy?!

A little flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and diced Honeycrisp apple later, these came out of the oven:

Let's get a close-up shall we?

I was looking for a container to keep these addicting little cookies fresh in, but I don't think they will last that long :)

H

Quick decorating idea

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hebrews 13:2

I recently read this verse at http://hersoutherncharm.blogspot.com/ and it stuck with me, so I printed it in pretty script and framed it.

It just sounds so warm and welcoming, and I think it will look really nice on a certain buffet table that I have been drooling over . . . J knows the one ;)

H

Preppy Bridesmaids!

Now that the secret is out, I can share with you how I asked my bridesmaids to be part of the wedding party!

MOH (Maid of honor) had her own special moment, at our favorite breakfast spot, Patrick's Bakery and Bistro in downtown Wayzata (okay, it's called Volnay now, but we still remember it as Patrick's). Check it out: http://www.patricksbakerycafe.com/.

Before we asked the bridesmaids, she helped me put together some little goodies for the ladies.

These cute little bags were filled with chocolate chip cookies and tied with grosgrain ribbon. Attached to each bag was a note written in green asking "Will you be my bridesmaid?"

These pink and green planners sport each bridesmaid's initial and has the wedding date marked inside. Now they will be ready for wedding events to come!

MOH, MOTB (Mother of the bride) and I surprised the L sisters!

MOTB and I surprised the M sisters!

K says she must "kiss the bride!"

Thank you to the ladies who helped me put my little surprise plan together! This includes MOH, MOTB, Aunt G and Aunt P :) And thank you to my lovely bridesmaids for all of their excitement and enthusiam!

H

Intro

Welcome to my wedding blog!

This will be a place where I share with family and friends stories of wedding planning and training to become Mrs. B. Posts to include wedding tidbits, my (sometimes humorous) attempts at domestic bliss (AKA trying to be the next Brie Vandekamp), and adventures with my fiance J.

Stay tuned!

H

PS- the pic at the top, that's a little sneak peek for you!