Classic Focaccia

Day 85 Recipe 58

This recipe was very easy, with good results. It only took 3 hours from start to finish. I was so happy when it looked just like the focaccia that you purchase in the store!! I think next time I will put some herbs in the dough and some sliced tomatoes on top!! YUM!!

Apple Oven Pancake

Day 83 Recipe 57

This is basically 3 apples, chopped and sauteed baked with popover batter poured on top. I have to admit that the boys and I had this for dinner! My husband wasn't home and it is so hard to come up with stuff that my oldest will eat, and he loved this!! It probably didn't hurt that I dusted it with powdered sugar!! There were 2 small pieces left for my husband when he came home from work late... and he devoured it!!

Banana Cream Pie and Pastry Cream

Day 82 Recipes 55 & 56

Always follow directions!! ALWAYS!! I know this... but still I made the pastry cream first instead of the pie crust because I thought it would take longer. So instead of the pastry cream sitting to cool for 20 minutes, it sat for about 2 hours. I was hoping that it would thicken up in the refrigerator as it chilled overnight, but it did not. So it wasn't as thick as it was supposed to be, but the flavors were very good. And I cut open my first vanilla bean! I also have to admit that I did not make the homemade whipped cream to go on the top... I used Cool Whip!! :)

Getting Back to it

I have had such a hard time getting motivated lately. I have been baking, just not from this book!! I have found the most wonderful oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe from a Mrs. Field's cookbook from 1994 that my mom gave me. I have made some other cookies, and a birthday cake for my son. The recipes in the book are now getting more complex, needing some ingredients that I am not entirely sure where to get or even what it is... what exactly is mace, and why is it in cinnamon rolls??

Some people are curious how much this is costing me. So far I have used 2- 25 lb bags of flour from Costco, which only cost about 10 bucks. I go through at least a dozen eggs a week, and about 3 lbs of butter (If I am making my 3-4 recipes). Those are the ingredients that I find I am using the most of. It is just so neat how you can take the same stuff over and over and just mix it in different quantities and different ways and you get completely different results!!

So I am trying to get back into the swing of things!! Next week I am hoping to make banana cream pie, apple oven pancake, and oat scones! YUM!!

Blueberry-Cornmeal Muffins

Day 75 Recipe 54

Yes, you read that correctly... blueberry muffins with cornmeal. I thought it sounded a little weird, but so far all the recipes in this book have been so yummy that I went ahead and made them. It was pretty much a basic blueberry muffin recipe with the addition of 1/2 cup of cornmeal. This gave the muffins a slight crunch, and made them a little heavier than your average fluffy muffin. I had made these for a friend, so my boys only got a couple of mini ones, and they were begging... I mean absolutely begging for more. So apparently they were good!! I will have to keep this recipe for a unique muffin in the future.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Last week I only made one recipe and just blogged about it now. My family was so busy last week, my baking kind of went the wayside. It was my son's 5th birthday on Thursday and then on Saturday we had a big party. Then Monday was my 8th anniversary. My husband is also on vacation this week, so I will only be making 1 recipe because we have a ton of stuff planned!! Even though the recipe is not from my cookbook, I have to post this picture of the adorable cake I made for my son's party!

Baking Powder Biscuits

Day 74 Recipe 43

I have made drop biscuits several times before. They always come out slightly burned on the top and okay tasting on the inside. But these biscuits were delicious. If I would have added a little cheese and some seasoning, they would have tasted just like the Red Lobster biscuits. They were very easy to pull together quickly and baked up nicely. I will definitely be making these again!!

Pain au Chocolat

Day 70 Recipe 42

Basically these are a croissant filled with bittersweet chocolate... enough said.

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

Day 69 Recipe 41

This bread was very good! And even more importantly it was easy to make. It only took 3 hours start to finish and it made 2 loaves! I am thinking Christmas presents... :)