Happy Holidays!

Hey all!!  It's been a while since my last post.  I was kinda bummed there for while and didn't know what to do.  But I'm back up on my horse and ready to ride!!  I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season, we sure are.  The little ones are sooo excited this year, I had forgotten how much fun it is to have kids who  believe in Santa.  So, you'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd beter not pout I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town!!  Yes, I am one of those who loves Christmas music everyday, all day long, thank God for Sirius radio! 

We have lots of fun planned here the next couple of weeks and I am planning on sharing it with you.  So check back often.  I will also be posting some pictures of some of the work that I have been doing since my last posting.  I been busy!!

The Sad Truth

As you all know, the past month or so has been a time of trial and error for my dinner service- Bon Appetit.   I have had a consistent flow of orders and business has run smoothly.  With that said, I hit a bump in the
road this week.  Apparently, the state found my website, can you believe that is someone's job, but they referred my information  to the county and that is when I was contacted by the Environmental Health Department (don, don, don).  I have known that I would need a food service permit to fully conduct business, but during my pursuit I felt I would wait until I had solid customers, therefore I did not obtain the permit.  After speaking with the representative for the department, he informed me that the sad truth is, businesses are not allowed to prepare food from their personal kitchens.  I am disappointed to say that I will not be able to continue with this service.  There is a reason for everything, right?  I want to say that I enjoyed it while it lasted, and I hope to continue with something similiar in the future.   We'll just have to wait and see what God has planned for me.   Thank you to everyone who ordered dinners, I appreciated your business.

Bit of Honey

Today I was rambling through the pantry looking for something sweet to cook.  I came across a jar of honey.  This honey was a souvenir from an anniversary trip that Chuck and I took to Asheville, NC.

Ohhh, what a wonderful weekend!!  No kids whining or fighting, just me and my hubby having some fun!!

Gotta love it.  Anyway, if you haven't been to Asheville, you need to go.  It is a great town for a romantic getaway.  Lots of great hiking trails, golfing, and the food there is YUMMY.  The local restaurants believe in supporting the community farmers.  Everywhere we went  there were fresh veggies and fruits and the dishes being served were all made from whatever was in season.  One of the restaurants we tried and LOVED was The Market Place.  This restaurant claims that all their ingredients for menu items come from within 100 miles of Asheville.  WOW!  They even had some local wine, which we had to try, of course!  After eating our delicious meals, we had one of their signature cocktails, "The Bee's Knees".  Mmmm, sweetness.  This drink had gin, lemon and a honey syrup.  This was a keeper.  I will post this recipe another day.  It was sooo good.  Anyway, long story short, I bought the honey so I could recreate the cocktail.  The source of the honey is from The Smokey Mountain Honey House in Asheville, I bought the Sourwood Honey. 

Today, I have decided to make some Honey Roasted Pears from this liquid gold.  I found this recipe at the LATimes website.  Sounds delicious. 

Honey Roasted Pears

1 lemon

Medium ripe pears ( I used Bosc)

2 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup honey

2 1/2 cups water

Heat oven to 425.  Set the rack on the top shelf.  Peel lemon

 zest into strips.

Peel pears and leave stems on. Cup a slice off the bottom of the pear, so

that it will sit nicely in the roasting pan.  Place pears in pan and add lemon

zest, butter, sugar, honey and 2 1/2 cups water. There is no need to premix

ingredients, they will all melt together in pan.

Bake until sugar and  honey have dissolved and the tops of pears begin

to brown, about 30 minutes.  Remove pan from oven. Using a rubber spatula,

gently push over pears so that they lie on their side.  Return to oven and bake

20 minutes more. Turn pears once again to other side and bake another 20 minutes.

The pears will begin to carmelize.  Stand pears up and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Baste pears with carmelized juices every 15 minutes for a total cook time of

45 minutes.  The pears are done when the tops are almost black and the flesh

is a shiny deep caramel color.  Remove pears from oven and baste one last time

with the syrupy caramel.  Remove pears from pan and place on plate to cool. 

Serve warm with the caramelized honey syrup.

BTW- Thanks Hun for the perfect weekend!

A New Beginning!

Alright, alright, alright!  This  post goes out to all my friends and family who've always said, "Heather, you should have your own catering/baking business."  It is because of you that I am attempting this new beginning in my life.  Thank you! 

For about 2 years now, I have been throwing around the idea of starting a business.  Now, I know a lot of you are saying, "where will she find the time?'', and I may be crazy, but I am at a point in my life where I need more.  I am the type of person who has to keep busy, both physically and creatively.  My family keeps me physically fit and I am hoping that this new venture into food service will fill the creative side. 

I am going to be a personal chef!!  My plan is to start out just servicing my neighbors and grow from there.  I am starting with this blog.  This is how it will work.  Every Sunday, I will post a menu of what I will be serving my family on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.   My neighbors will be able to look at the menu and decide if they would like to order a meal for any of the nights listed.   They can then email or call me with their order.  The price of the meal will depend on the amount of servings needed, as well as, the meal being prepared.  It's that easy.  The way I see it is that I am already cooking for my family, why not let me add a little more food and cook for yours. 

I am very excited about this, it keeps me up at night.  I have been testing so many new recipes with my family, some I will keep, others I won't.  Nevertheless, I have a great panel of food critics by my side.  I feel like this is a great time to start this with the holidays on the way.  Everyone is out running around shopping and partying and I will be a great alternative to fast food.  Sorry, Kristy and Scott, but I don't think I'll hurt your sales too  much.  With all this said, I want to thank everyone again for their support.  You're the best!!

Bon Appetit, ya'll!

Good Morning ya'll.  What a beautiful day today has started out to be.  The sun is shining and there is a cool, crisp feeling in  the air.  I gotta get outside.  Before I do, I think I'll start the morning with a good ol' southern breakfast.  How about some bacon and creamy, cheesy grits and big glass of OJ to wash it all down.  YUM!  Now I know some of you may not be a fan of the grit, but really if you haven't tried it, YOU SHOULD!  I have found that this is the best technique for me to use when making grits.

Creamy Cheesy Grits

makes 2 servings

2 cups water

1 tsp salt

1/4 heavy cream or milk

1/2 cup old fashioned grits

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1 Tbsp butter

Bring water and salt to a rolling boil. 

Slowly stir in grits until no lumps remain.

Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened. 

Stirring occasionally. 

Add in the cream, cheese and butter. Serve.

Note:  Many recipes for grits suggest that after you stir in grits that you should

cover the pan.  My experience is that this creates a BIG mess, I have better

luck leaving the pan open, the grits don't seem to bubble as much.

I hope you try it, and love it!

Summer's end.

Can you believe that October is already here?  The summer is coming to an end.  The thought of this makes me a little sad.  I love the summer because it means backyard picnics, playing in the sprinkler, homemade ice cream, and no school.  But, if I had to choose my favorite season, it would be Fall.  Hands down, Fall is the best!  The chilly nights and breezy days are perfect for spending time outside.  I love the festivals,  the apple farms and , the pumpkin patch.  Of course, I can't forget the smells.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, and stewed apples.  Is there a better scent?  Not for me. 

The traditions we create for our families are ones they will never forget.  It is the building blocks for the traditions they will make for their families.  Isn't it amazing how we impact others.  Life is good! 

Time Flies!

 We all know the saying "time flies when you'e are having fun", but personally, I think it always flies.  I need more time.  Time for the kids, time for the husband, time for God, time for business, time for the home, and maybe a little time for me.  I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but there is no time to think about it. 

Where do we find our time?  Mine is often found on the days when Chuck is out of town.  These days I stay up late working feverishly to finish whatever has consumed me for that day, and that is okay with me.  I enjoy staying busy. 

Today is no different.  I have stayed busy with making invitations and designing business cards.  I have played dress up, built block towers and colored pictures.  I washed clothes, made lunch and took the dog out. And all this by noon.  Ahhh-naptime.  I enjoy the peace for a minute and then try to catch up on emails and blogging. Do you see my point?  We all do it, what would we do otherwise?   When the day is done, we look back and say, "where did the time go?". 

One reason that I have enjoyed blogging, is because it is like journaling, something I've wanted to do, but haven't taken the time.  I'm sure one day I will look back at this blog and be proud that I made time for it.  But for now, it's time to move on to the next project for the day. You've gotta love it! 

My 1st recipe contest!

Today I created my first recipe!  I was inspired by the website http://www.mixingbowl.com/.  The site has listed many recipe contests, the one that caught my eye was the quick bread contest.  I saw it and I immediately knew I was up for the challenge.  The grand prize is $250!  This would give me a nice start on Christmas,  I am already preparing myself and my wallet for this occasion.  Anyway, back to the bread.  I chose the main ingredient to be sweet potato.  Surprise, surprise no one else has submitted a sweet potato bread.  This I hope will help my recipe to stand apart from the others.  Now, I'm not sure that I've ever had this type of bread before, but it sounded pretty good to me.  After a couple of trial and errors,  I think I am ready to submit it.  Wish me luck!!  If you would like to see my submission (and vote for me) it will be posted on the mixing bowl website under the quick bread contest entries.   The recipe is named "Sweet Potato Bread with Caramel Pecan Topping".  YAY!! 

Thanks for the votes!!

A Creative Day.

Don't you just love the days when you look back and say, "Wow, today I actually got something creative done".   That was my day.  I started the day with an early shower at 6:30 am, I always seem to get more accomplished on the days that I get up and shower right away.  I'm not sure why, but that's how it works.   Then I sent the big kids to school and headed out to get paint and fabric.  I was on a mission to find some inspiration for our playroom.  And I did!!  The fabric is perfectly polka dot- which I am really liking these days and striped.  I then matched the colors for the paint and headed home.  I am soooo ready for some color in the new house.  These white walls are driving me crazy! 

When I got home I decided to finish the Halloween outfit that I had started for Natalie.  Take a look at the pictures, I think it turned out pretty cute.  Anyway, now I'm off to start dinner and play outside with the kids for a little while.  I hope this post helps to inspire you to get creative!

Online Recipe Community - Share Recipes - MixingBowl.com

Online Recipe Community - Share Recipes - MixingBowl.com

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Worthy websites.

Hey all,  hope everyone enjoyed the weekend.  Ours was a little bumpy, but nothing we can't get past.  Chuck came home with "The Flu", well, I'm not convinced it was the flu because it was really mild (thank God).    He is actually back at work today.  Wheww!!  It's a lot of work  having a sick husband, as you all know, I'm sure.  Anyway, I had some time over the weekend to do a little research for my new business, and while doing so, I came across a couple neat sites that I thought I'd pass on to you.  The first one is

http://www.mixingbowl.com/.  This site is really cool, lots of great recipes that are just passed around from one person to the next.  I like checking out the blogs associated with the site as well.  There are lots of different groups that are categorized according to the recipes.  Pretty neat!!  I actually came across some cooking contests also, I think I might enter.  :)

The next website is http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ .  During the planning of this business, I have tried to find the most economical way to buy food.   I, of course, want to make a profit from my business.  Anyway, I came across this site, which offers to lower your grocery bill tremendously.  Well, our bill runs around $250-300 a week, so if someone can save me a nice chunk of change, I'm in.  This is a subscription service, and there is a monthly charge, but they do offer a free trial month.  I'll keep you posted.  If you do decide to check it out, mention my name.  They  have a pretty awesome referral program too! 

Check it out!!

A Sweet Treat!

It's Friday, Friday, FRIDAY!  In my house, Friday is a good day.  Chuck is home from his weekly travels, and the kids are happy to get a little break from school.  For me, Friday means a little baking time.  Now, that may not sound like much fun to you, but for me it's relaxing.  The end result is always rewarding!  Yum.

This week is a little different, only because we will be sharing our end of week sweets with a few new neighbors.  I thought it would be nice to extend a little welcome with some Banana Pecan bread.  I found this recipe in a Southern Living magazine and we love it!!  It acually tastes more like cake than bread.  Mmmm. 

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread 

( makes 2 loaves, one for my neighbor and one for me- he, he)

1 cup chopped pecans

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 cups sugar ( I add a little extra, well, it is our end of week treat)

2 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas ( about 4)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350*.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6-8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. 

2. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. 

3. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at a low speed just until blended.  Stir in bananas, pecans, and vanilla.  Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8x4in loaf pans.

4. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick comes out clean and sides pull away from pan.  Cool bread in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans  to wire racks and continue to cool  for 30 minutes before slicing. 

They also suggest  a orange glaze, but I don't usually go there.

Orange Glaze:

Stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp. orange zest,

and 3 Tbsp. fresh orange juice.  Drizzle over warm bread.  

Ahhh, happiness.