Hospitality

An older woman from my Mom's church gave me a cookbook of recipes the church's women's ministry. These women often shared and used these recipes and home tips for potlucks, get togethers, and for their families. They compiled the recipes into a book as a gift to me. The inscription read: "May you always remember to put God first, and remember, many souls are saved around a  kitchen table."

For those of you with the gift of hospitality and for those of you who just like good food, I will be adding tried-and-true, delicious recipes and homemaking tips weekly. Enjoy!

Heart Pies

What I like about this recipe is that the possibilities are endless. Try ricotta with cherries, yes. But what about ricotta with a mixture of raspberries, blueberries and cherries? How about making it a surprise for the seasons - perhaps replacing the ricotta with pumpkin and adding some cloves and cinnamon for autumn? Or cream cheese with cocoa powder and marshmallows for a wintry treat? Use your imagination! But mostly, bake with your love.

Ingredients

• pie dough
• fresh cherries (or any fruit you like!), chopped
• ricotta cheese
• sprinkle of sugar
• 1 TBSP butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Roll out your pie dough (I like to do this between 2 sheets of plastic wrap). Cut out shapes with cookie cutter.
3. Sprinkle and stir the sugar with the chopped cherries in a bowl.
4. Lay out your heart cut outs on the baking sheet. Spoon on some fresh ricotta cheese, then spoon on the cherries. Lay down the top dough, seal to press with a fork.
5. Brush the top with melted butter.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes or until mini hearts are golden brown. The baking time will largely depend on the thickness of your pastry dough and your oven. Just keep close watch.
7. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cook Time: 15 minutes(s)

Chai Spiced Pumpkin Cookies

The very first thing I will say about these cookies: addictive! One cookie truly is satisfying...until the residue of cinnamon and cardamom and pumpkin settle into your tastebuds. Truly, throughout the day, I found myself craving something and I just couldn't put my finger on it...until I smelled one of the spices. Then, it was back to the kitchen! I promptly gave them to friends and family because otherwise, I would have eaten the entire batch! Good luck!! 

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cup white sugar

(**healthy substitute: agave or sugar in the raw)

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup unsalted butter, softened 

(**healthy substitute: one avocado - avocado holds the same properties as butter in baking)

1 egg

(**healthy substitute: one tablespoon of mayonaise)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Expect:

Prep time: 15 minutes       Bake time: 8-10 minutes      

Makes: 2-3 dozen (depending how small/large)        

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with a non-stick oil like Pam. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking power, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

3) In a medium bowl, combine sugar and spices. Take a little less than 1/4 cup of this out and place in a small bowl. You will be gently dropping and covering the cookie dough in this outer layering before baking.

4) Whisk butter, egg and vanilla together until well blended.

5) Add remaining sugar and spices mix to the large bowl containing your flour, etc. Mix altogether. Then, make a well in the large bowl do pour the butter, egg and vanilla mixture to the center. Gently and slowly stir until your dough is well covered and mixed.

6) Personally, I winged the gathering of dough. Always remember to put flour on your hands so the dough doesn't stick to your hands! If I had to guess, I'd say it was about 1 Tablespoon of dough per cookie. After you have the cookie dough ball ready, drop it and gently cover it in the reserve sugar & spices mixture. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheet about 1 or so inches apart.

7) Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes.

8) Let stand for two minutes on baking sheet before removing to cool on wire racks.

9) Serve with love, receive lots of smiles!

**Store in air-tight container or ziplock bag for 4-5 days. If served with chai tea, be sure to add some milk to your tea to soothe the sharp spices in the tea. It will also help to pick up the spices in the cookie!



Best Biscuits Ever

**Turn on oven to 400 degrees

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of flour

2 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk   (I use skim and it's fine)

Splash of lemon juice

Expect:

10 minute prep time               16-20 minutes bake time             5 minutes cooling

Directions:

1) In a medium size bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.

2) Make a well in center of bowl of dry ingredients.

3) Add eggs, milk and melted unsalted butter

4) Slowly begin to mix together with a fork. Make sure to add in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly.

5) When you've gotten it pretty well mixed, you'll notice that some of the flour is still dry. Add a splash of milk. And I mean splash. Just a tiny amount will do it. Mix this in with two or three more turns.

6) The last ingredient is the lemon juice. You can either use actual lemon juice or squeeze the juice out of an actual lemon. The appearance of the dough will now look "wet" or glistening when you mix this in.

7) On a baking sheet, form balls of dough in your fist. I make mine just under the size of my palm so it turns out as a reasonable side to a dish (shown in picture). If you want it for a breakfast sandwich, make it a bit bigger. It's up to you! The size of my palm yields 12 biscuits.

**Be sure to coat your hands with flour before each new ball of dough that you make in your hands.

**I just toss the dough back and forth in my cupped hands a few times until it is in a good shape.

8) Bake for 16-20 minutes. When they are golden on the top, they're done!

9) Let cool on a rack for about 3-5 minutes.

10) Best served with honey or butter and jam. Also, they are great with an egg and some sort of meat. Serve with love!

Autumn Wreath for Warmth

     Oh yes, the smells of cinnamon and nutmeg and fresh crisp leaves are in the air. The cooler temperatures, the warm house, the pumpkins and earthy tones are among us. 

     A suggestion for your home: a homemade wreath. 

    Wreaths have this astounding ability to suddenly make an entryway or door more friendly, inviting and welcoming. And the best part is that you can create the "look" however you want: classical, whimsical, earthy, bright, anything! 

     Since my core is founded on love, I decided to make this year's autumn wreath heart-shaped to portray that part of me. I found this particular wreath at a craft store on sale for $6.99 and then I had a 40% off of one item coupon. Don't you love when that happens? 

     This wreath only took three stems. I used purple and red holly that came with leaves with sparkles on them. (I also love anything with a little shimmer to it!). The pumpkin and squash came on another stem. The third stem were the two flowers. 

     Left over, I had an additional squash and two flowers which I plan on putting into a bowl with rocks and a small tea candle as a centerpiece for a table. 

    I used two types of ribbon I found around the house from previous projects. The white bow is sheer and the ribbon with writing on it says, "Give thanksgiving always," "Love," and "Fortitude" on it in script. 

    If you're thinking of creating a wreath like this, you will need a hot glue gun and your imagination! 

   ***Tip: Pick a focal point on the wreath. Also, pick the two or three items you want to stick out the most. Start hot-gluing these items onto these focal points after you've placed them and decided that's where and what you want to have the most attention. Then, add in your small details after (for me: the hollies, the leaves, the ribbon).  Enjoy! 



Simple, Nutritious Side Salad

     Have you ever needed a quick side salad at the last minute? Or, what about just something to make you feel healthier? This is a fantastic salad to try and very, very easy.

Prep time: 10 minutes                  Serve: Immediately                Portion: two

Ingredients:

1 Medium-sized Carrot

1 stalk of celery

1/8 head of Red Cabbage

1/4 cup Tahini

Splash of Olive Oil

1/2 can of White Cannelli Beans

Dash of Salt

1 Lemon

Tools:

1 Cutting Board

1 Knife

1 Peeler

1 Blender

1 Medium-sized bowl

Method:

1) Chop celery into bite size pieces. Set in a medium-sized bowl.

2) Peel carrots and place shavings into bowl with celery.

3) Chop and dice red cabbage into small slivers. Place in bowl with celery and carrot shavings.

4) Cut lemon in half. Use one half of lemon to squeeze over chopped veggies. Mix. Set aside.

5) Blend Tahini, Olive Oil, White Cannelli Beans and Salt together. Squeeze other half of lemon. Pulse a few times. Taste. Add more salt if necessary.

6) Place chopped veggies on plate or in a pita. Lamb works very well with this combination and is delicious! Chicken is a great meat for this combination as well.

7) Take a tablespoon and drizzle dressing in blender over veggies on plate or in pita with meat.

8) Serve with love and enjoy!



Delicious & Fast Soft Pumpkin Cookies

The first thing I will say about these: Comfort! They are soft and chewy and perfect for a glass of milk...at any time of day. :)  The recipe yields about 40 cookies, so they would be great to take to a pot-luck or over to a neighbor or two.

Prep Time: 10 minutes       Bake Time: 17-18 minutes
**Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
**Healthy substitute: honey

1 stick melted butter (I used unsalted)
1 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree (I used Libby's)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tools:
2 bowls (1 medium, 1 large)
1 spoon
2 baking sheets (or just 1 and keep rotating it out)

Directions:
1) Mix all dry ingredients together in medium bowl.
2) Mix all wet ingredients together in large bowl.
3) Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until everything is mixed together.
4) Lightly grease cookie sheet. (I spray Olive Oil to keep it healthy)
5) Use a teaspoon to drop cookie dough onto cookie sheet(s).
6) Bake for 17-18 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack. Repeat until all dough is used.
7) Serve with a glass of milk and as always, love.