Tea Party for the Royal Wedding and Bake Sale Update

Yes, I was one of those people that got up at 4 AM to watch the fairy tale wedding of Prince William and Kate.  The wedding was flawless. The bride was stunning in her Sarah Burton Dress and Prince William in his Military uniform. I also watched Diana marry Prince Charles and  watched her funeral, so naturally I would want to to see a happy occasion like the Royal Wedding! I won't bore you with any more of the details, because they are all over the web and TV.

To watch such a pompous occasion, you need a hat, which is my sun hat with a few decorations, which matched my PJ's perfectly.. Then, you have to have English Breakfast Tea in your English China teapot and cup.  Exquisite!  Finally you will be eating scones, with Lemon curd.  I made Tart Cherry Scones, but I didn't have time to make the Lemon curd.  I have been very busy working on the Bake Sale. My husband and I ate the tender scones, and drank the tea, before he had to go to work. A wonderful time was had by all.

I promised you an update on the Online Bake Sale, so here it is.  I'm so excited for Monday May 2nd. There will be a preview with pictures of the all the donated bakers, to whom I am so grateful for their help and support.

Kate from Diethood Chocolate Granola

Gina from spcookiequeen.com  Oatmeal Cranberry and Chocolate Chunk.Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John   Lemon Bread
Reese from  The New Art of Baking  Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
 Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  Chocolate Decadence Cookies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet    Lemon White Chocolate Graham Cookies
Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips  Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola

Kim from Liv Life Lemon Biscotti and-Limoncello

Jennifer from  The Three Little Piglets English Toffee

Debbie from Squirrel Bakes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart Triple Chocolate Vegan Banana Bread

Lindsey from Gingerbread Bagels   Nutella Swirl Blondies

Elisabeth from Food and Thrift Finds  Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Carolyn from All Day Long I Dream About Food Caramel Nut Bars

Dee from Dee Dee's Delights  Lemon Lavender Cookies

Brooks Cakewalker from  Mayan Toffee

Jill from Dulce Dough  Ranger Cookies

Abeer from Cake Whiz    Spring Chocolate Cookies
Kimberly from Little Ray of Sunshine   White chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Tiffany from Como Water Vegan Earl Grey Tea Shortbread
Raven from  Ravie Nom Noms  Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Blondies

Susi from Susi Kochen und Backen    Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Lauren from forevernowandthen  Oreo Sugar Cookies
 Meghan from butrcreamblondi  Tri-color Cookies

Kagi from Sweetened by Kagi

The Absurd Baker

Susan from The Spice Garden  Five Spiced Cut- Out Cookies with Cream Icicng

and me of course. Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Fight Back Brownies


Now for the Recipe

Tart Cherry Scones Adapted from Mary Beth Manfredini

Preheat oven to 400 degrees  Make about 9 medium size scones.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2/3 cup buttermilk, or sour milk

1/3 cup melted butter

2/3 cup blueberries (or whatever you want to put in - kids love chocolate chips)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together with a fork, until sticky.  Drop by tablespoon on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Hope you had a lovely time at the Tea Party!

Margarita Cupcakes and Tornadoes

Last week I went to see my Granddaughter on her Spring Break for a few days. She lives about 20 Minutes from St. Louis in Illinois.  They are always about 3 weeks ahead of the Chicago area in terms of Spring blooming everywhere.  I was desperately seeking, warm Spring weather and visions of gorgeous flowers, but didn't imagine I would find tornadoes.

Friday evening the tornado sirens were going off, and we were in the basement.  We were about 30 miles from the tornado, but the winds were howling.  Her area didn't sustain damage like the St. Louis area and the Lambert-St. Louis Airport did, but it was pretty scary.

When I came home I to get ready for my Bunco group on Monday. We still don't have Spring here, so for dessert I  I wanted a dessert that would bring images of sunny beaches and blues waters, and umbrellas.  I would be the one under the umbrella, with my sunscreen on:) I made Margarita cupcakes, complete with tequila. Now these cupcakes are wonderful with a luscious limey flavor with a hint of tequila, not a strong flavor, but enough to know that it's there.  So if you need a touch of sunny beaches, make a batch of Margarita cupcakes.  Don't forget your sunscreen!

I adapted my friend Stef's recipe for Margarita Cupcakes at Cupcake Project. Her recipe was originally vegan, but I added the eggs.  If you want to make the vegan version, just omit the eggs.

Margarita Cupcakes Adapted from Cupcake Project

Yield: 12 cupcakes

• 1/4 C lime juice
• 1 1/2 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
• 1 C plain or vanilla soy milk (Regular 2% milk would also work.)
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 2 Tbsp tequila
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C sugar
• 1 1/3 C all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, mix together lime juice, lime zest, soy milk, oil , tequila, vanilla and sugar.
2. Add eggs, one at a time to the above, beating after each addition.  Mix well.
3. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 
4. Add the dry ingredients to the lime mixture and stir until just combined. 
5. Divide evenly among 12 cupcake liners.
6. Bake at 350 F  for 20-24 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed.

   Margarita Frosting Adapted from Cupcake Project

2- 2/12 C  powdered sugar

1/4 c butter, room temp

3 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp tequila

Colored, coarse sugar for rims

Umbrellas, optional

Cream butter, until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar , tequila and lime juice, until desired consistency. Spread frosting on cupcakes.  Roll the edge of the cupcake in sugar mixture.  Top with umbrella and dream of those crystal blue waters!

PS  I am so excited for the Online Bake Sale, May 2nd.  Tune in Sunday, May 1st, for the Online Preview, and pick your favorite goodie to bid on May 2nd.  I can't wait!!

Online Bake Sale and Auction 1 Week from Today!!

I am so excited About the Online Bake Sale. I hope to make my goal of $1000 and more for Relay for Life, American Society.  We now have 27 bakers, and I thank each and everyone of them from the bottom of my heart. Now we also need bidders to bid on these wonderful contributions.

Online Bake Sale Rules and Procedures:
Please remember that all donations from this bake sale will go directly to my  Relay for Life efforts to benefit the American Cancer  Society. You will be supporting a great cause and helping to make a huge difference in the lives of many to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays!

On Monday, May 2^nd,  I will post all of the items each baker has donated. Each item will have a minimum bid of $15. Once the items are officially posted all buyers (bidders) will then e-mail me at beckysbakingandcooking@gmail.com with a bid of what they would like to purchase. 

To have an official bid on an item, you must e-mail me at beckybakingandcooking@gmail.com Any bids left in the comments section will not be reviewed, only bids e-mailed will be considered official and affirmative. 

Think of the bid as a silent auction of sorts. All buyers will have until 9pm EST to submit their bid for the auction.
 
I will be updating the current bids at the bottom of the bake sale post throughout the day so that you can see the current high bid. I am hoping this will encourage others to bid higher for the items they really want or bid for items that have not had a bid yet. Let the bidding wars begin!
All winners will be announced a few hours after the bake sale has closed

Each winner will then donate the specified amount to my Relay for Life Donation Page. Once the donation goes through, I will e-mail the baker the winner’s address and it will be the baker’s responsibility to send the baked goods to the winner within 72 hours of notification.

The winner has 24 hours to make the online donation. If in that time frame the donation is not made, the next highest bidder will be contacted or the item will go back up for bid.
A preview of the goodies will be posted on Sunday, May 1^st, so that you have time to look over your options and get ready to bid on your must-have items. 

Please remember that this bake sale is to help raise money for Relay for Life which goes directly to the American Cancer Society.


Now, We have 29 Bakers and counting!  Amazing and I'm blown away by the response. Thank you so much to the people that are participating! We can always use a few more baker, and No, it isn't to late to join in the fun. Happy Baking!!!!

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com  Oatmeal, Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John Lemon Bread
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  Chocolate Decadence Cookies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet    Lemon White Chocolate Graham Cookies
Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola 

Kim from Liv Life Limoncello, Limoncello,Biscotti, and a few recipe cards

Jennifer from  The Three Little Piglets

Debbie from Squirrel Bakes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart Vegan Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Lindsey from Gingerbread Bagels   Nutella Swirl Blondies

Elisabeth from Food and Thrift Finds   Chocolate Chip  Biscotti

Carolyn from All Day Long I Dream About Food Caramel Nut Bars

Dee from Dee Dee's Delights  Lemon Lavender Cookies

Brooks Cakewalker from  Mayan Toffee

Jill fromDulce Dough Ranger Cookies

Abeer from Cake Whiz    Spring Chocolate Cookies
Kimberly from Little Ray of Sunshine   White chocolate Macadamia Cookies

Tiffany from Como Water Vegan Earl Grey Tea  Shortbread
Raven from  Ravie Nom Noms  Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Blondies

Susi from Susi Kochen und Backen. Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Lauren from forevernowandthen  Oreo Sugar Cookies  
 Meghan from butrcreamblondi

Kagi from Sweetened by Kagi

J M Yaceczko Food and Money

Susan from The Spice Garden
and me of course. Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Fight Back Brownies

Banana Rum French Toast with Fruit and 26 Bakers and Counting!

What could be better that bananas and rum with French toast, topped with fresh bananas and strawberries? Nothing in my book.  This would be perfect for your Easter breakfast or brunch.  You can make this on the stove  , or made ahead of time,  let the bread soak in  the custard overnight, and baked the next morning.  You can choose whichever way  you want. The French toast in the picture was made with the whole wheat bread dipped in the custard, for just a  few minutes and cooked   in the skillet that had been sprayed with cooking spray.  You can top with  powdered sugar or maple syrup, or even whipped cream!

French Toast

4 eggs

2/3 c. milk, we used almond milk, and it was fine.

3Tbsp dark rum

2 mashed, ripe bananas

1 tsp cinnamon.

8 slices of whole wheat bread

Whisk, eggs milk, mashed bananas, rum and cinnamon.  Dip slices of bread and place in hot skillet, cooking over low heat, until prefectly browned. Turn over and cook on other side, until done.

If you want to make this French toast overnight, use French bread, sliced in kitchen slices, 3/4 inch thick.  Stale bread works for this method. You just adjust the recipe accordingly for how many people you are having.Spray a 10x15x1 baking pan, lay the pices of bread in the pan, and pour the egg, milk, rum mix over the bread,  Cover with foil, and refrigerate over night   Next morning  preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Remove pan from fridge and foil from pan. Bake  10-15 min, until browned and done.  Top with fresh strawberries and bananas. Enjoy

We now have 26 Bakers!  Thank you so much for those of you baking!  We can always use a few good bakers.  If you are interested, please email me here.

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com  Oatmeal, Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John Lemon Bread
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  Chocolate Decadence Cookies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet Lemon-White Chocolate Graham Cookies

Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola 

Kim from Liv Life  Limoncello, Limoncello,Biscotti, and a few recipe cards

Jennifer from   Three Little Piglets

Debbie from SquirrellBakes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart  Vegan Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Lindsey from Gingerbread Bagels Nutella Swirl blondies

Elisabeth from Food and Thrifts  Biscotti, 2 kinds

Carolyn from All Day Long I Dream About Food Caramel Nut Bars

Dee from Dee Dee's Delights  Lemon Lavender Cookies

Brooks from Cakewalker Mayan Toffee

Jill from Dulce Dough Ranger Cookies

Abeer from Cake Whiz Spring Chocolate Cookiea

Kimberly from Little Ray of Sunshine White Chocolate Macadamia Nut cookies

Tiffany from comowater.com Vegan Earl Grey Tea Shortbread

Susi from Susi Kochen und Backen Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Lauren from forevernowandthen  Oreo Sugar Cookies
Meghan from butrcreamblondi
and me of course. Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Fight Back Brownies

Seared Scallops with Lemon Risotto and Wilted Baby Spinach and an Update! 25 Bakers!

 

 Scallops are my favorite seafood, but they're usually only for special occasions, because they are kind of pricey., or if we got to a nice restaurant.  Several weeks ago, we had gone to the Acquaviva Winery and Estate. There is a 40 acre vineyard and 20,00 sq foot winery in the middle of the cornfields.Now, picture this  winery 50 miles west of Chicago. I'm not kidding. Click on the link and see for yourself. The winery is gorgeous with a stone facade.  Inside there are marble floors, and fresco paintings on the walls, ceilings, and niches.  Just breathtaking. Now, I've not been to Italy, but  hope to get there one day.  If not, this winery might be the closest that  I get to it.  They have a large wine bar, of course and a winery tour on the lower level.  We didn't have time for the tour. Both Scott and I had the seared scallops on lemon risotto, with wilted spinach, and it was wonderful. a word to the wise in the Chicago area. If you don't have reservations, there is a 1-11/2

hr. wait, but well worth it.

We had vivid memories of that wonderful dinner at the winery and wanted to replicate it at home  I had gotten a  Trader Joe's gift card for my birthday, so I went shopping and the first thing in my cart were the scallops, even if they were frozen.  Then I put the fresh spinach, arborio rice, 2 lemons, chicken stock, and Trader Joe's turkey bacon into the cart, along with a bottle of white wine for cooking. The scallops that we had at the winery were wrapped in pancetta, and we wanted to cut the fat and sodium, so we opted for the uncured turkey bacon.  I will be posting the Lemon risotto recipe soon. I had only made risotto once before, and that was a long time ago.

 Seared Scallops- Adapted from Fine Cooking

To get a perfect sear on the scallops your pan has to be hot, and the scallops have to be "dry" At the store, ask for scallops that haven't been soaked in a sodium solution. the sodium solution plumps the scallops, bit then leeches out as the scallops cooks, making it impossible to get a good sear.  .If there is any liquid on the scallops you must drain them on paper towels, and then I put the scallops on my small baking rack to dry further. Actually we had better luck with the frozen scallops, than the scallops we got that weren't frozen.

Once your scallops are thoroughly dry, Slice the  strips of the turkey bacon, down the middle. Then take one of the sliced  strips, and wrap around each scallop, securing with a skewer or toothpick.  Heat your nonstick pan over med-high heat, then add olive oil.  It's ready to use, when a drop of water sizzles in the pan. Place each scallop in the hot pan, but do not crowd the pan.  There should be room between the scallops to sizzle.  That way they will get a good sear. Scallops only need  a few minutes per side to brown, if your pan is hot enough. Brown them quickly. Scallops are done, when they feel barely firm to the touch. Don't overcook or they will be rubbery.

Here is the updated Baker's list  25 Bakers and counting!!! Yahoo!!!!

Here is the updated list of Bakers

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com  Oatmeal, Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John Lemon Bread
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  Chocolate Decadence Cookies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet

Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola 

Kim from Liv Life  Limoncello, Limoncello,Biscotti, and a few recipe cards

Jennifer from   Three Little Piglets

Debbie from SquirrellBakes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart  Vegan Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Lindsey from Gingerbread Bagels

Elisabeth from Food and Thrifts  Biscotti

Carolyn from All Day Long I Dream About Food Caramel Nut Bars

Dee from Dee Dee's Delights  Lemon Lavender Cookies

Brooks from Cakewalker Mayan Toffee

Jill from Dulce Dough Ranger Cookies

Abeer from Cake Whiz

Kimberly from Little Ray of Sunshine

Tiffany from Como Water Vegan Earl Grey Tea  Shortbread
Raven from  Ravie Nom Noms

Susi from Susi Kochen und Backen Nutella Chocolate Cookies

Lauren from forevernowandthen  Oreo Sugar Cookies
Meghan from butrcreamblondi
and me of course. Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Fight Back Brownies

Mark Your Calendars, Monday May 2nd for the Online Bake Sale

I'm so excited!!  The Online Bake Sale is just Two weeks from today!  Are you ready? Are you on the list of bakers?  If not, sign up and join the fun. Together we can make the Bake Sale a success.
 
Here are the official rules of the Online Bake Sale Bidding and how it works:


Online Bake Sale Rules and Procedures:
Please remember that all donations from this bake sale will go directly to my  Relay for Life efforts to benefit the American Cancer  Society. You will be supporting a great cause and helping to make a huge difference in the lives of many to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays!
On Monday, May 2^nd,  I will post all of the items each baker has donated. Each item will have a minimum bid of $15. Once the items are officially posted all buyers (bidders) will then e-mail me at beckysbakingandcooking@gmail.com with a bid of what they would like to purchase. 

To have an official bid on an item, you must e-mail me at beckybakingandcooking@gmail.com Any bids left in the comments section will not be reviewed, only bids e-mailed will be considered official and affirmative. 

Think of the bid as a silent auction of sorts. All buyers will have until 9pm EST to submit their bid for the auction.
 
I will be updating the current bids at the bottom of the bake sale post throughout the day so that you can see the current high bid. I am hoping this will encourage others to bid higher for the items they really want or bid for items that have not had a bid yet. Let the bidding wars begin!
All winners will be announced a few hours after the bake sale has closed

Each winner will then donate the specified amount to my Relay for Life Donation Page. Once the donation goes through, I will e-mail the baker the winner’s address and it will be the baker’s responsibility to send the baked goods to the winner within 72 hours of notification.

The winner has 24 hours to make the online donation. If in that time frame the donation is not made, the next highest bidder will be contacted or the item will go back up for bid.
A preview of the goodies will be posted on Sunday, May 1^st, so that you have time to look over your options and get ready to bid on your must-have items. 

Please remember that this bake sale is to help raise money for Relay for Life which goes directly to the American Cancer Society.

Here is the list of Bakers so far, and I thank each and everyone of them from the bottom of my heart.

Here is the updated list of Bakers.

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com  Oatmeal, Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John Lemon Bread
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More than a Mountful  Chocolate Decadence Cookies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet Lemon- white Chocolate Graham Cookies

Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola 

Kim from Liv Life  Limoncello, Limoncello Biscotti, and recipe cards

Jennifer from   Three Little Piglets

Debbie from SquirrellBakes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart  Vegan Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Lindsey from Gingerbread Bagels

Elisabeth from Food and Thrift Finds  Biscotti,  Chocolate Chip and another kind

Carolyn from All Day Long I Dream About Food Caramel Nut Bars

Dee from Dee Dee's Delights  Lemon Lavender Cookies

Brooks from Cakewalker Mayan Toffee

Jill from Dulce Dough Ranger Cookies

Abeer from Cake Whiz
Kimberly fromLittle Ray of Sunshine White Chooclate Macadamia Nut Cookies
Tiffany from Como Water Vegan Earl Grey Tea  Shortbread
Raven from  Ravie Nom Noms
Susi from Susi's Kochen und Backen Adventures Nutella Chocolate Cookies 
and me of course. Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and Fight Back Brownies

Fight Back Brownies, and a Online Bake Sale Update!

Fight Back Brownies!  Yes, these are fighting words!  I'm fighting Cancer in my own way with the Online Bake Sale May.2nd. Sadly, I am adding two more names to my Relay page in memory of my neighbor, Renate Jennings, who passed away last week from lung cancer.  Then my husband's bosses' brother passed away from pancreatic cancer at 53 yrs. old, two weeks ago.

Last year at the Relay for Life my team, Life's a Beach, sold these Fight Back Brownies, so I wanted to post these now. These are also know as Hershey's syrup, or chocolate syrup brownies. They have very few ingredients and can be made and frosted in 25 minutes, a bonus for sure.  They are so moist and chocolaty. Or you can leave them plain or put powdered sugar on them.  I have made these for so many years for pot lucks, birthdays, graduations, new babies, confirmation, baptisms,picnics, family  reunions, family dinners, funerals, just because, and now to fight cancer!  I am also making these for the Online Bake Sale, unfrosted. .I made some for Renate's family to take over to them.yesterday! Make these for Lora, The Cake Duchess, who is recuperating from Cancer surgery, or anyone else that you know that has cancer, or in memory of of someone who lost the fight, and sign up to be a baker, bid at the auction, or just donate to  The American Cancer Society here.

Here is the updated list of Bakers for the Online Bake Sale, Monday, May 2nd, and counting..  I'm so excited, and I hope that you are too. I can't thank these people enough for their participation.  Together we can make this a success and Fight Back!

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com  Oatmeal, Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  Chocolate Decadence Cookiies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet

Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola 

Kim from Liv Life  Limoncello

Jennifer from   Three Little Piglets

Debbie from SquirrellBakes Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart  Vegan Triple Chocolate Banana Bread

Lindsey from Gingerbread Bagels

Elisabeth from Food and Thrifts  Biscotti

My friend home town friend Maureen

and of course me, Becky,  Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and .Fight Back Brownies



Fight Back (Hershey's Syrup) Brownies  Preheat oven to 400 Degrees F

1 stick 1/2 c , unsalted butter, room temp
1 cup sugar
16 oz chocolate syrup
4 eggs
1 1/4 c flour
1 tsp vanilla

Grease a 15x10x1 pan.  Cream butter and sugar, until light and fluffy.  Beat in chocolate syrup, eggs, and vanilla, mix well. Add flour.  Mix well.  Pour batter, which will be thin, in prepared pan. Bake 17-20 min.
Remove from oven.
As the cake is baking, prepare the frosting, which you can put on the cake right out of the oven.  the frosting tastes like melted  ice cream.  Are you with me?

Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup cocoa
5 Tbsp butter
5 tbsp milk
21/2 -3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Put powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.  In a small sauce pan combine. butter cocoa, and milk Heat until mixtures comes to just a boil, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let it scorch. Pour mixture over powdered sugar and beat until smooth  with an electric mixer. Spread warm frosting over warm brownies and you have heaven.  These brownies are so moist, and keep well, if they aren't eaten first.  They are very addictive and    freeze well.

Online Bake Sale Update! and Beets with Dr. Oz

Firsr things first.  Here is our updated list of Bakers:

Kate from Diethood

Gina from SP CookieQueen Oatmeal, Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Natasha from My Saint John
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  Chocolate Decadence Cookiies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet

Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola 

Kim from Liv Life  Limoncello

Jennifer from   Three Little Piglets

My friend home town friend Maureen
and of course me, Becky,  Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and something else, TBA

Thank you to all of you Bakers.  I can't tell you how much it means to me.  If you can't bake, you can always bid on May 2nd for all of these wonderful goodies, or donate My Donation Page which goes directly to the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life.  Together we can make the Bake Sale a success!!!! 

Now on to Dr. Oz.  for the past couple of months my husband has been on a pickled beets kick.  I don't know why, but he asked me to get him some at the store a couple of months ago.  He just likes them. He never likes anything that's good for him (He didn't know how good they are for him.)  Now, I'm not that fond of cooked beets, maybe because I  had never had fresh ones.  When I grew up My Mom bought those awful Harvard Beets in this sticky sweet sauce, No Thank you. My Husband's pickled beets are wonderful, I even tasted a plain fresh one,  not bad.

 So on to Dr Oz.  The last time that I went to buy the beets, there was a flyer posted by the beets that Dr. Oz did a piece on the health benefits of beets.  Ready for this,  Dr. Oz says that beets are the Super Antioxidant!! Who new?  Dr Oz said that the blood red color of beets should remind you that they are good for blood flow.  The Nitric Acid that beets produce in your body open up blood vessels so that blood can surge throughout your body – to your heart, brain, sexual organs, etc.

Dr Oz also said that beets help to fight off Colon Cancer and Leukemia, because the pigment found in beets helps to prevent cancer cells from forming and growing..  Beets also help to reduce inflammation which can lead to heart disease.

Beets can also help with weight loss,  There are only 37 calories in 1/2 c. cooked beets .  You can boil them or roast them. Here is my husband's recipe for pickled beets which was adapted from Mc Call's Cook Book, circa 1963!

Pickled Beets This recipe is for about 1 lb. of fresh beets.
1 lb. fresh beets, tops removed
1 cup vinegar
4 Tbsp sugar
2 bay leaves
2 small onion sliced                   

Dash of ground cloves

What to do:

Put whole beets in a pan and boil 10-15 min .Drain beets reserving 1/2 cup liquid. Cool beets, slice and put in jar.   Put beet liquid, vinegar, sugar, bay leaves, and dash of ground cloves in a small saucepan.  Bring to boil. Reduce heat,  simmer 5 minutes. Pour over  cooled sliced beets beets in glass jar . Refrigerate until well chilled at least 1 hour, or until ready for use.

Click here for Dr. Oz's roasted beets and another beet recipe.

Are your excited for the Online Bake Sale and Tex- Mex Birthday Fiesta!

The Online Bake Sale is is just three weeks from today, Monday, May 2nd.  I can hardly wait! All of the money raised will go to the American Cancer Society.'s  Relay for Life. I am a Team Captain with the Relay for Life, and my Team, Life's a Beach, is doing the Relay to fight all types of caner, June 24th. If you want to register, please send me an e-mail, here., beckysbakingandcooking@gmail.com. If you are unable to bake or bid, you can make a donation directly to the American Cancer Society on My Donation Page.

Keep checking back for the updated list of bakers!  Together, we can make this Bake Sale. a success.


Here is the updated list

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com
Natasha from My Saint John
Reese from  The New Art of Baking   Old Fashioned Ginger Snap Cookies
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full  chocolate Decadence Cookiies
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet

Molly from Toffee Bits and Chocolate Chips Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter
Charlie from Sweet Salty Spicy  Maple Pecan Quinoa Crunch Granola   
My friend home town friend Maureen
and of course me, Becky,  Raspberry Dark Chocolate Bars,  Chile Spiced-Mango Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and something else, TBA

Thanks to those who have signed up, from the bottom of my heart! You're The Best!

 Now for the Tex- Mex Birthday, which we had over the weekend for multiple birthdays in our family. It was a huge success.  I had one a case full of Tex-Mex mixes, marinade, BBQ Sauce, and spread, that I won from Wendy from  The Weekend Gourmet  a couple of months ago, which I had been saving for this party. We had a lot of food, and it was very hard to take pictures , but I did get this one of the BBQ Turkey Sliders, and they were so good.  We had Scott's Guacamole, Enchiladas, Mexixan Rice,Cookwell's Two Step Chili mix, refried beans, and of course these cute little sliders.A good time was had by all!

BBQ Turkey Sliders
1 lb of ground turkey or beef
3/4 c. BBQ Sauce or mariande  I used Cookwell's  Pecos 86 BBQmarinade.
Lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cheese, or what ever you put on burgers
Mini Burger buns, or dinner rolls

Put ground turkey in large mixing bowl. Add BBQ sauce, and mix well  Form eight patties. Over med/high heat in pan or grill, cook 4-5 minutes per side.(depending on thickness of patties.)  Add your favorite burger toppings. We used the Cookwell's Pepper and Mustard Blend BBQ Sauce for dipping, so flavorful, with right amount of heat.
This Mexican Fiesta would be perfect for Cinco De Mayo ! enjoy!

New Update! Online Bake Sale, Monday, May 2nd is Growing!!!! and How It Works

Raspberry Berry Dark Chocolate Bars

There are now 8 people, including me who will be donating baked goods for the Monday May 2nd Online Bake Sale, so mark your calendar. There was a typo on the post yesterday, and I apologize. The   bake sale is Monday, May 2nd!!!  ( I need a proof reader:)  We certainly need more bakers!!!!  Bidding info will be coming next week. Here they are:

Kate from Diethood

Gina from spcookiequeen.com
Natasha from My Saint John
Reese from  The New Art of Baking
Chef Dennis from More Than a Mount Full
Wendy from The Weekend Gourmet

My friend home town friend Maureen

and of course me.

Thanks to those who have signed up, from the bottom of my heart!

The bake sale runs kind of like an auction. Readers will see the full line up of goodies on my site and they will email me with their bids. The sale will go on all day, at the end, the person with the highest bid wins. I will give you the info for the winner and you will mail your goodie to them. (All the details of how the bidding works will be posted with the online bake sale post)

  The online bake sale will be held Monday, May 2nd. from 7 Am EST to 9 PM EST. For the item(s) that you decided to donate I will need the following information:

• Name of the baked good
• Link to the baked good
• Your name
• Link to your blog/site (if applicable)
• Whether the baked good is customizable
• Whether they are willing to ship internationally
• Photo of your baked good

If you have any other family/friends/bloggers that you think would like to participate please forward this email to them! I would also love if you would promote your baked goodie donation on your site that way we can get more people to get involved in the bidding!

Please have your donation entry submitted to me no later than Thursday, April 28th so that I can get the Bake Sale Post ready to publish. 

  If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. here
 

 

1st Online Bake Sale Update and Lemon Strawberry Bread Shortcake!

First for the very important info. There are 3 people, including me who will be donating baked goods for the May 4th Online Bake Sale so far, and here they are:

Kate from Diethood

My friend home town friend Maureen

and of course me.

Thanks to those who have signed up, from the bottom of my heart!

 I know that is there are still several weeks to sign up for the May 4th event,  and people are busy.  To sign up send an e-mail to me at beckysbakingandcooking@gmail.com.  You'll have to copy and paste this in your browser. The deadline to donate is Thursday, April 28th  If you don't  have time to bake,  you can always be a bidder, or just make a donation on My Donation Page,  which will go directly   to the American Cancer Society.  I also have a badge on the top right of blog page , which connects directly to my donation page.  Lots of ways to contribute! 

Thank you for your support in this very important cause, which is in honor of  mybrother going through his third round of chemo for a rare type of Leukemia, and all the the people fighting the battle of their life against cancer, including Lora, The Cake Duchess.  Please keep them all in your prayers.

Now we all need a treat now and then.  I got this idea to use the Lemon Strawberry Bread to make Short Cake, from Brandie, at The Country Cook.  Thanks, Brandie!  What could be better than two thick pieces of my Lemon Strawberry Bread, with luscious juicy strawberries sandwiched in between, and topped with creamy mounds of whipped cream and topped with a strawberry?  Nothing I know of.  my husband and I shared this magnificent piece of Lemon  Strawberry Bread Short Cake.  If you didn't have a reason to make this Lemon Strawberry Bread before, you sure do now. Because there is Greek yogurt in the bread, the texture is much like pound cake.

Lemon Strawberry Bread

Click here for recipe for the Lemon Strawberry Bread.

1 pint of heavy whipping cream

1 pint of yummy strawberries, cleaned, sliced and mashed or macerated

Powder Sugar to taste

1 tsp vanilla

Wash, hull, and slice berries. Mash or macerate berries, until slightly juicy. Set aside.  Pour whipping cream  into bowl mixer, with whip attachment. Slowly beat cream until it begins to thicken.. Then beat on medium  speed until soft peaks form. don't beat t long, or you will end up with butter!   Gradually add powdered sugar, as desired, along with vanilla.Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cut your Lemon Strawberry Bread in thick planks. Put one plank on a plate or in a bowl add juicy berries on top of bread. then top with another piece of Lemon bread on top, and spoon more strawberries on top.  dollop mounds of whipped cream, and garnish with whole berries. Enjoy.!  I have always been a Purist when it comes to strawberries, and just liked them plain, or mashed, in a bowl.  But now my new love is this Lemon Strawberry Bread Short Cake:)

 

Lemon Strawberry Bread

Did I tell you that I love lemon and I love strawberries? Oh Yah!  This is the perfect bread to eat them both at the same time.  There is lots of lemon flavor with the juice and zest of a lemon, and to top it off,  you pour a lemon glaze over the bread hot out of the oven.Oh Lemon!  Add a cup of chopped strawberries,and strawberry Greek yogurt, and it's pure heaven, comfort food.. As I type, I'm munching on a piece with my morning coffee, so moist, bursting with flavor..  I love making "quick " breads for the fact that they are quick, and so versatile. You can also mix up the fruits, nuts and spices to get your own creation,  Besides being quick, they taste so good. Now go in the kitchen, and whip up a quick bread!  Happy Monday!

Here is  the recipe::

Lemon Strawberry Bread-Adapted from King Arthur Flours
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup) sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt- I used Greek Yogurt
 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup (sugar

For the bread: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar till thoroughly combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the buttermilk or yogurt with the lemon juice and lemon jest, and set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 50-60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven, and poke it all over with a cake tester, or meat fork. 

For the glaze: Five minutes before the bread is done, whisk together the glaze ingredients, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and while the cake is hot drizzle it gradually with the glaze, Set the bread aside, and let it cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove it from the pan, and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

Online Bake Sale for a Cause-The American Cancer Society and More Birthdays

I am excited to be planning my first fund raising event for my team,  Life's a Beach, for The  American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. June 24th-25th.. I have a personal goal of $1000, and all the monies raised will go to the American Cancer Society and benefits all types of cancer.  From the day you are diagnosed with cancer, you are a survivor to fight the biggest battle of your life .We all deserve a world with less cancer and more Birthdays.

I will be hosting an Online Bake Sale which will be Monday, May 2nd. I am looking for anyone who wants to bake and donate baked goods to be auctioned off on the Online Bake Sale Monday, May 2nd.  The deadline to enter is Thursday, April 28th. If you are interested in participating, please e-mail me at beckysbakingandcooking@gmail.com.  If you do not want to bake, you can certainly bid, or just make a donation to My Donation Page  Again, all monies raised go to the American Cancer Society to fight all types of cancer.Every Dollar counts!

I am a 15 yr. Melanoma Cancer survivor, and have been a Team Captain for 7 yrs. Besides being a cancer survivor, so many people in my life have been affected by Cancer.  My Mom had Multiple Myeloma , my brother Tim, is currently undergoing aggressive chemo for the third time for a rare form of Leukemia, my cousin has lung cancer, and I have lost 2 dear friends to cancer. I was so overwhelmed  with all of these people fighting, cancer I had to do something, and went to a Relay for Life. I'm sure that you know a friend or family member that had been affected by cancer A Relay for Life is is a lfe changing event to Celebrate the life you have, Remember those that have lost their fight, and Fight Back to beat cancer.

Thank You for your Help! Also Thank you  Steph!, from Steph's Bite by Bite. for her inspiration and encouragement. Steph had an Online Bake Sale January 31st for her  Team in Training.