Happy

My garden makes me smile.

Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff Lyric Video

http://youtu.be/yPEQKIpFUwI

How many of you are totally digging Francesca's new single? Such a great reminder that God is at work in all of our circumstances. Hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday after the holiday weekend!

Recipe for a Happy Home

What an amazing poem to reflect on this morning, huh?

Gluten-free Toasted Coconut Waffles with maple cream

Gluten-free Toasted Coconut Waffles with maple cream

I love Joy the Baker...and these waffles are going to be AMAZING on Sunday mornin' ;)

Hazelnut Chocolate Custards

Hey Ladies in Blogworld,
Want to make a super easy, super elegant chocolate dessert tonight? I have just the one! It requires hazelnut coffee creamer, which I have almost all the time in my fridge anyways! I found this recipe on Coffeemate's website, which is a great place to find all sorts of cool recipes, by the way! I use the sugarfree variety for this recipe and top the custard w/ whatever I have on hand. My personal fave is Heath Toffee Bar crumbles, which you can find near the chocolate chips at the grocery store :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
2/3 cup Hazelnut Flavor NESTLÉ COFFEE-MATE Liquid Coffee Creamer
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3 large egg yolks

Instructions:
PREHEAT oven to 300° F.
PLACE morsels, Coffee-mate and cream in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until morsels are melted and mixture is completely smooth. Remove from heat.
WHISK egg yolks in small mixer bowl until thoroughly mixed. Whisk about 1 tablespoon chocolate mixture into egg mixture. Continue to gradually add chocolate mixture until combined. Pour evenly into five 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Place ramekins in 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Pour hot water into baking dish to 1/2-inch depth (about halfway up sides of ramekins).
BAKE for 30 minutes or until custards are set around edges and centers still move. Cool ramekins in dish until cool enough to handle. Remove ramekins from water; refrigerate to cool completely. Once cool, cover with plastic wrap. Custards can be made up to 2 days in advance.

NOTE: If using shallow ramekins, reduce baking time by 5 minutes.

Healthy Snacks

apple sandwich with peanut butter, granola & chocolate chips
must. make. immediately

Spiced Couscous and Chicken on the Food Network

Spiced Couscous and Chicken on the Food Network

One of this week's top hits in my kitchen.

Cute Shoes

http://www.wix.com/scrunchnose/web#!

One of my friends from Reno has a few pair of these sweet kicks for her son and I think they are seriously the cutest! I felt compelled to share them with you today. Even if I am getting a little ahead of myself. ;)

Let's Have a Dinner Party

Joe & I had our friends the Youngs over for dinner last night. I really enjoy opening our home for sweet fellowship and of course good food. Though I don't typically decorate for gatherings like this, I found some cute free printables with a spring theme that added a nice personal touch. We dined on a lighter fare menu of fresh fruit, crusty bread with olive oil/balsamic vinegar for dipping, skewers built with veggies and specialty cheeses and salami, and a thin crust vegetarian pizza. Iced tea, lemonade and Girard Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc for drinks. Dessert was my favorite-somewhat-famous Italian cream cake (recipe below).

Italian Cream Cake

Ingredients
Cream Cheese Icing
Vegetable cooking spray
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light butter
2 egg yolks
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon butter extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg whites (at room temperature)

Preparation
Prepare Cream Cheese Icing; cover and chill.

Coat bottoms of 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray (do not coat sides of pans); line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray, and dust with flour; set aside.

Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat at medium speed of a mixer until well-blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine 2 cups flour and baking soda; stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in pecans and extracts.

Beat egg whites at high speed of a mixer until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Fold egg whites into batter; pour batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes. Let cool in pans 5 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen cake layers from sides of pans using a narrow metal spatula, and turn out onto wire racks. Peel off wax paper, and let cool completely.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spread with 2/3 cup Cream Cheese Icing; top with another cake layer. Repeat with 2/3 cup icing and remaining layer, ending with cake. Spread remaining icing over cake.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients

1 tablespoon light butter
1 (8-ounce) package Neufchâtel cheese
1 (1-pound) package powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Cream butter and cheese at high speed of a mixer until fluffy. Add sugar; beat at low speed until well-blended. Add vanilla; beat well.

Weekend Warriors

Joe & I had fun exploring new parts of Folsom Lake on our bikes.
Some awesome views!
Joe took the straight upper path while I got in a little extra cardio workout doing the hills down below :)
Leaving Joe in the dust! This morning we took the boat out and Joe was the lucky one! I didn't catch anything but I got several good bites!

Waiting patiently for the fish to strike!
Joe going full speed on our way back into the dock!
So fortunate to have been able to see Drew & Lea in Lodi for the street faire! Precious family time!