A Basket Full of 'Snakes'

Gathering ideas from around the web, I decided to make bread sticks in a curved shape for an Amphibian and Reptile party for my son's eleventh birthday. But recently I found a great web site with easy and fun recipes. This recipe for bread sticks not only provided a great dough, it also inspired me to make the shape of the bread sticks more whimsical. I made coiled snakes and filled up a basket with them.






I rolled the dough out, cut it into strips, then rolled the strips into thin snake like pieces.



Finally, I coiled them around in an upward spiral to represent a sleeping snake.



Brushed with butter and sprinkled with garlic seasoning, these pleased every explorer at the party.






Coiled Snake Bread Sticks
doubled recipe from Our Best Bites
3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
6-8 c flour
4 tablespoons butter
garlic seasoning

Combine water, sugar and yeast in large mixing bowl. Whisk together and let sit for 10 minutes.  Add salt; mix. Add 3 cups of flour and mix well using dough hook of mixer {or by hand}. Continue to add flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of bowl and is not too sticky.  Cover the inside of an extra large bowl with oil or butter. Place dough in bowl. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Cover a cookie sheet with foil. Divide dough in half and roll each into a rectangle about 12"x6". Cut into strips, 12 pieces for each half, for a total of 24 strips.  Roll strips between hands to make long ropes. Coil into a round shape, stacking the end of the rope on the bottom coiled layer.

Bake in preheated 425F oven for 10 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic seasoning.

Breakfast Loaf

Hearty. Delicious. Satisfying. Gooey. Terrific. Let's have it again!

That about sums up the comments for this breakfast.

The flavor of the sourdough enhanced by the ham and cheddar and chives was perfect for breakfast. Everyone seemed to like this one.


I served with sliced tomatoes instead of baking them inside of the loaf so my children wouldn't pick at their food!


Breakfast Loaf
adapted from allrecipes
6 eggs
dash of salt and pepper
bit of chives, about 2 stems
1 tablespoon butter
1 round sourdough loaf
1/2 pound sliced Virginia ham
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tomato,sliced

Directions~ Preheat oven to 350 F.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Crack eggs into small bowl, add salt and pepper, then whisk.  Using a pair of scissors for speed and ease, snip chives into pieces. Combine with eggs.  Heat small skillet and melt butter. Lightly scramble eggs. Set aside.  Cut off the top 1/4 of the bread round. Using a knife, trim around the edge of the inside of the bread to make a bowl. Gently pull the excess bread out of the bowl. Use for another recipe.



Place half of the ham in the bottom of the bread bowl. Top with half of Jack cheese, half of cheddar cheese, and half of eggs. Add remaining ham and eggs then finish with cheeses.




Top with bread lid. Wrap the breakfast loaf in aluminum foil, tightly.




Cook in 350F oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cook for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with sliced tomato.



*Update~ Sometimes it is difficult to find bread bowls the correct size for this.  You can make your own bread bowls using this recipe from King Arthur Flour.

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Morning Glory Muffins

Just the name of these make me want to wake up and eat one. Muffins are terrific little bundles of goodness and comfort. And these are no exception.


Almost a carrot cake but not quite, Morning Glory Muffins are packed full of energizing taste bits~ carrots, apples, coconut, the list goes on.

Just look at the batter~ loaded with freshly grated carrots and apples, dried cranberries and almonds. So good, to eat and for you!

I made 24 of these little things and they were nearly gone the first day. It didn't hurt that I found some leftover butter cream frosting to make them more of a cupcake for breakfast. I enjoyed mine without the added sugar though, thank you very much. And they were great.

Actually, I cut back on the sugar in the original recipe, as I do with many recipes I find. I also substituted craisins for the raisins since I despise the latter {sorry to all of those who like dehydrated grapes, just not for me}. Another thing I just don't like in muffins or cakes, walnuts or pecans. So for this little package of sweetness I used slivered almonds; yummy!

After allowing these to cool, I wrapped them in waxed paper liners then placed them in a freezer bag and stored them in the freezer.

Just pop a muffin in the microwave for 20 seconds and your breakfast is ready.

Served with some cheese or a glass of milk for protein, they make a complete and nutritious start to the day.

Thoughts from the peanut gallery on this breakfast. . .
* I found some more muffins!
* Could you pass me another one please?
* Great for a snack later in the day, too.
* Uh, there okay.

This last one was from one who doesn't usually like to eat breakfast. Take my word for it, they were glorious, morning glorious.


Morning Glory Muffins
from allrecipes.com with a few adjustments
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup Craisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 apple, peeled and cored and shredded
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in carrots and Crasins, almonds, coconut and apple.  In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Stir egg mixture into the carrot mixture, just until moist. Scoop batter into paper muffin liners {use an ice cream scoop for ease}.  Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.


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Friday Night Dinner~ McPeak Taco Salad

McPeak taco salad, named so for the friend who taught me how to make this, is a family favorite. 'Taught' is a fitting word here because she didn't write the recipe down for me, she just told me what she did. It's that easy of a recipe. And easy is what we like in our house on Friday nights for dinner, actually quick and easy. Let me just add another adjective: versatile. This is an easily adapted recipe once you learn the basics. It is like 1~2~3.

Versatility Tips~

*Use ground turkey or another meat besides beef. This salad is so flavorful that any meat that doesn't have a strong flavor itself could be substituted for the beef.

*Go meatless. Skip the meat and add beans~ pinto, kidney, black. You name the bean.

*Try a variety of onions. The red onion gives this salad a nice little spice, but add a bit of sweet with Vidalia or do a combination. Sweet and Spicy Taco Salad!

*Add more veggies. Corn would be easy, even in the winter; just use a small handful of frozen corn. What about chopped bell peppers? The garden's the limit.

*Use a different cheese, perhaps pepper jack.

*Try some other herbs and seasonings. Cilantro would be terrific. Or some fresh roasted garlic.

*I found this dressing and would love to try it on this salad~ Creamy Cumin Lime Vinaigrette.

I'm beginning to drool. Happy Eating!

McPeak Taco Salad
1 c real mayo
1 c salsa {use your favorite}
2 lb ground beef
ground cumin, to taste
chili powder, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped and rinsed and dried
1 head red leaf lettuce, chopped and rinsed and dried
1 small red onion, chopped
1 bag tortilla chips {recommend Doritoes nacho flavor}

Put mayo and salsa in a jar; shake to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Place ground beef in large skillet. Season with cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper. I use about 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Season according to your taste. Cook the ground beef. Drain and return to pan to brown nicely. Remove from heat. Top with shredded cheese. Cover with lid; cheese will melt while working on next steps.

Place lettuce in large bowl and sprinkle with chopped onion. Take chips out of bag and crush, using hands, over top of salad. When ready to serve, top with ground beef and melted cheese. Drizzle with dressing {salsa~mayo combination}. Lightly toss.

No need to measure the mayo or salsa. Just fill a 16 oz canning jar halfway with salsa and top with mayo. Shake to combine.

Any tortilla chips can be used to top the taco salad but nacho flavored ones are a favorite in our house.

Prepare all the ingredients ahead of time and keep separate in the fridge. When ready to eat, heat the meat, assemble salad and top with dressing. This way it can be enjoyed anytime.

Southern Biscuit Muffins

Crunch . . crunch . . crunch . . . Oh, pardon me. I was just enjoying my breakfast. I couldn't wait to tell you about it because with just a fraction of the effort it takes to make biscuits, I made these instead with the same benefits.



Golden,



Crunchy,



Fluffy and . . .



Moist and buttery inside.



Normally I don't even make my dough for biscuits from scratch. I use Bisquick. I planned on making biscuits with eggs and sausage for a breakfast sandwich, but found I had no Bisquick.

I went to my favorite cookbook {Great American Favorite Brand Name Cookbook} and found a recipe for Southern Biscuit Muffins. Looking over the list of ingredients and directions, I discovered I had everything I needed and decided to make them.

Excuse me, I have to take another bite. . .



Now that I am all done,



I should just give you the recipe so you can make some for yourself and family or friends.

Southern Style Biscuit Muffins
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
3/4 c cold unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup cold milk*

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease standard size muffin pan. Place flour, sugar and baking powder in bowl; mix to combine. Add butter and use paddle attachment {or two knives} to cut butter into flour. Butter should be about pea size. While still mixing, add milk.

Spoon dough into muffin cup. Fill all 12 cups in pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Let cool in pan. Run knife around edge before removing muffins. Enjoy with butter and jam or sausage gravy.

If the dough seems to thin with this much milk, just add a couple of tablespoons of flour and stir.  Do again, until dough is about the consistency of muffin dough {thicker than cake batter}.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Whenever I need to make something to take to a party or fellowship, I can always count on Robin Sue. Even if the recipes are not original with her, she makes the best dishes~ ALWAYS.

A few Sundays past I made this dip which I found on her site. What a hit it was! I made it with a few adjustments. There was none left to bring home. I made it again today, a snowy cold day with all the children home. It warmed them in no time.

I served this with corn chips before; it was a terrific match. Today we were all out and since we were staying put, I used what we had~ bread. To make extra special dippers, I cut out star shapes with a cookie cutter and toasted them in the oven for 5 minutes on 450 degrees {flipping once during toasting}.



I used to feel guilty about cutting out bread shapes because I never used them. I know many of you probably are extremely organized and frugal, so you make your own breadcrumbs or something like that. Not I. But I did decide that they were perfect for bread pudding.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Ingredients
2~ 8oz. packages cream cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 c. shredded cheese, colby-jack mix
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1~ 8oz. can chopped green chilies
1~ 4oz. can chopped jalapenos, drained

1 c. panko bread crumbs
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Cut cream cheese into cubes and microwave in a microwave safe dish for 30 seconds to soften.



2. Place cream cheese, mayo, colby~jack cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, chilies and jalapenos in a large bowl. Using a fork, mix thoroughly. I decided to change this step to hand mixing for two reasons. First, I hate cleaning the food processor unless I will use it for tasks that I find fairly time consuming or difficult to do by hand. Second, you need to burn off some of the calories you will be eating once the dip is done!


 
This is where the heat comes from, the jalapeno seeds, not the jalapenos themselves.  No seeds, no heat.

3. Using a rubber spatula, spread mixture into a deep dish pie plate or a small casserole dish.

4. Mix the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the cream cheese mixture. Again, I changed the recipe here. The original one called for half a stick of butter. The dip is already very rich with all of the cheese and the mayo {which I also cut back from 1 cup}. The butter does help the bread crumbs to turn a beautiful golden color, but I found the Parmesan does that nicely.

Panko bread crumbs are just a bit more coarse and unseasoned. Most stores carry them now, but I still like to get ours at the Asian markets.

5. Bake the dip in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

A Garden in a Nest~ DIY Floral Arrangment

I have not been putting much thought or effort into my posts lately, but I have been enjoying life! Just this past Saturday, we were able to co~host a dance. I love gatherings~ friends and conversations, food and festivities, any sort of fellowship with others basically.

Whenever we host {or help to host in this case} an event, I like to plan food and decorations around a theme. For our first spring event I wanted a spectacular flower arrangement. After looking at many, I decided to basically copy this one from Martha Stewart: 

Original from Martha Stewart

As with anything done by Martha, the nest isn't quite as easy as she makes it seem. So I made my own version of this completely spring-time arrangement {as pictured at top of post}. Instead of weaving a nest I simply used a grapevine wreath and moss. In all I made three. Actually I did not make the two for the dance hall decorations. A helpful young lady asked what she could do, and I set her to work on them!

See what she created~

A garden in a nest.

My husband pointed out that he has never seen flowers growing out of nests, and our friend pointed out that maybe in heaven they will. Here is how to make a little bit of heaven.

Materials {to make one floral arrangement}
round plastic plate or dish
floral oasis, 1 1/2 blocks
1 grapevine wreath
Suggested flowers~
*3 Gerbera daisies
*3 roses
*2 bunches of tulips
*2 bunches of spray roses {about 4 stems each}
*3 hyacinths or lilacs
moss
plastic speckled eggs
feathers
an ornamental bird

A Garden in a Nest ~ Created for a spring brunch at my home.

Directions
1. Place larger block of oasis in the middle of the plate. Cut the 1/2 block into 2 pieces and place each on either side of the larger block, filling up the empty space on the plate. Run water over so that the oasis is soaked. Drain excess and wipe dry the bottom and sides of plate.
2. Place plate of oasis where you will have your arrangement displayed. Top with grapevine wreath.
3. Cut stems of the daisies and place in the middle of the oasis, leaving space between for roses.
4. Add roses, cutting the stems so they will be about the same height as the daisies.
5. Add a layer of tulips, using one bunch, outside of the daisies and roses. Again, leave space to be filled with other flowers.
6. Add spray roses between tulips and between roses and daisies.
7. Fill in spaces with remaining tulips and hyacinths.
8. Add moss to hide stems and oasis and finish the look of the nest.
9. Place a few eggs in the moss. Toss a few feathers around the "nest" and complete it all with a bird.

10. Add water to your arrangement daily, keeping the oasis moist.

You could easily change the look by using different flowers. This could also be made into a more permanent arrangement with silk flowers. One of the benefits of using floral oasis is the ease of which you can replace faded blooms with fresh ones while still enjoying the longer lasting flowers in the original arrangement.


Some tips on choosing flowers~
*Carnations last a very long time and come in many different colors.
*Spray roses last a bit longer than single stemmed roses and are often more fragrant and dry nicely.
*For more expensive flowers, choose a bold color and just three. They can be left at a longer length and be the focal point of the arrangement.
*Choose at least one flower that has wonderfully strong scent, such as a hyacinth or lily.