Big Kid Thumbprints TWD

This week's choice of thumbprints reminds me of Holiday time. I usually only make these a very few times a year. But, after trying these I think I'll make them more. Dorie had a little twist of adding more than a cup of ground hazelnuts, equal to the flour. I didn't have any hazelnuts on hand. So I did a half and half mix of almond flour and ground pecans. Then I added a couple of tablespoons of Hazelnut flavoring I use for coffee. Dorie boiled the jam before putting it in the thumbprint after baking. Which made the jam set up nicely. Great idea!


Great thanks go out to Mike from Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude (cute title...don't ya think?) for hosting this week's Tuesday With Dorie pick! You can get the recipe from Mike's blog, or turn to page 164 of Baking From My Home to Yours by the fabulous Dorie Greenspan.

We give this 4 glasses of milk

for utter goodness!

Cheddar Cheese Soup with Guinness...

Well, St. Patrick's Day is almost upon us. Have you stocked up on your Guinness?.... Last year, I represented Guinness, doing a cooking demo in a Supermarket. I occasionally do these cooking demos for a Marketing firm from Minnesota. They always involve a beer or wine of some kind. The recipes are quick and easy to do, and the customers enjoy them. And of course, they love the idea that they get to wet sample the product too! This week I'll be representing Hieneken with Cabbage mix. We'll see what the customers think of that.....

This demo choice was Cheddar Cheese Soup, made with Guinness. Guinness is a very dark beer with a distinctive taste. They have an amazing history of 250 years that they share on a wonderful website here. There is even a video on how to pour the perfect glass of beer.

They prefer that we keep the beer ice cold when sampling. But, here in our Irish household we prefer it room temperature. This soup is wonderfully cheesy and would serve well in one of those bread bowls. Super easy to do, just a Crockpot meal....

GUINNESS CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP

INGREDIENTS

2 - 10 oz. cans of Campbell's Cheddar Soup

2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 - 12 oz. bottle of Guinness Stout or Draught

4 c. of shredded Cheddar Cheese

DIRECTIONS
**In a crockpot, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly
**Cover and cook on low for 30 to 45 minutes, stir occasionally

Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever....

A family favorite in this house..... These are the ever delicious Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Super easy, no fail , healthy cookies... Best when under baked just a tad. Soft and Chewy.....

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1 c. margarine

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

2 c. AP flour

2 c. Quick Oats

12 oz. chocolate chips

1/2 c. sweetened coconut flakes

DIRECTIONS

** Cream together the margarine, brown and white sugar.

**Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue to mix.

**Add in the flour, oats, salt,and baking soda

**When mixed add in chips and coconut, until blended in.

**Scoop onto a prepared cookie sheet (3 x 4) bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

You won't believe how good they are!

Wordless Wednesday and Kitchen Gadget Envy....

Nothing says wordless better than finding a lovely green stove like this in my country kitchen. I was actually looking at these in apple green or red, but the price tag was beyond my reach....



Wordless is dreaming of a built in one of these, for the single serving cup of Joe in the morning or anytime....


Or the perfect copper pot to beat your egg whites in....

Or the cutest brownie pan from William-Sonoma....

Or Wordless is ending the day with a perfecting grilled Cajun Chicken Panini....

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

Every year across America, school children are celebrating Dr. Suess's Birthday, which is today. I bet if you visited your local elementary school on this day, you would see many black cats with their stove pipe, red and white striped hats. Or how about Thing 1 or Thing 2? My favorite of course, is that Black Cat...the costume hangs in my closet, for any occasion that might come up!


Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved Dr. Seuss, was born on March 2, 1904 on Howard Street here in Springfield, Massachusetts. His mother, Henrietta Seuss Geisel, often soothed her children to sleep by "chanting" rhymes remembered from her youth. Ted credited his mother with both his ability and desire to create the rhymes for which he became so well known.

So as you go through the day, think of that special Dr. Suess book or saying that comes to mind, because who doesn't know "Green eggs and Ham said Sam I Am." And like me and many others, it will probably give you a nice grin from ear to ear......

Toasted Coconut Custard Tart TWD

Put the Lime in the Coconut ....

and Shake it all up!

This week, Beryl of Cinemon Girl chose Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart for our baking pleasure. You can find the recipe on the Cinemon Girl blog or better yet, on pages 344 and 345 of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours".

I did a little changing it up by taking out the spices and adding in a little lime juice. It gave it a little island feel. When toasting the coconut be sure to keep an eye on it. You think it may never get done. And then poof ....it's burnt! Even though the kids aren't coconut fans, the tart went over well! I made it in a lovely 7 inch tart pan, I picked up at HomeGoods...5.99!

What a deal!!!!

We give this 4 glasses of milk,

for utter goodness!

One of those days......

Ever have one of those days where things just weren't going your way? A dreary winter day, cold and rainy, with more rain coming in....Your wondering where is the Sun? and when will this sinus infection virus leave our house?...

My mind drifts as I imagine tulips and daffodils..and SPRING!

and of course, lying on a nice warm beach soaking up the sun.

Perhaps I'll play that Sheryl Crow song that I love over and over ...to get me in the mood...

"I'm gonna soak up the sun,

I'm gonna tell everyone To lighten up!"