Pink Crepe Paper Flower Project - A Sneak Peek!

Hi, Everybody! I just wanted to give you a little sneak peek at a project I'm working on right now! I've been making lots and lots of these pink crepe paper flowers for it, they are so easy to make and look really pretty! I will show you the finished project once I'm done with it... more flower making to do right now! 

Happy Crafting, Everyone!

Have a great week!

Heirloom Tomato Galette

Hi, Everybody! Happy Weekend! We have a four day weekend here and I couldn't be happier! It's beautiful and sunny outside and for once, we don't have plans to do anything or go anywhere all weekend! What a great feeling! There is a farm right down the road from us that has its own little shop where they sell their flowers, fruits and vegetables (they also sell their own ice-cream that's oh-so-good!) and as soon as I saw these beautiful heirloom tomatoes there today, I knew exactly what I was going to use them for! This Heirloom Tomato Galette is absolutely delicious, and the perfect summer meal! It's light and fresh, and really quick and easy to make! And besides being really good, it also looks so pretty with all the red, orange and yellow tomatoes! Paired with a great salad, a slice of this galette makes for a great summer lunch! Here is my recipe...

HEIRLOOM TOMATO GALETTE

*Serves 4 - 6*

YOU WILL NEED:

PASTRY:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbs unsalted butter, diced
3 tbs ice water
FILLING:
4 large tomatoes (use a variety), thinly sliced
6 slices Mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Start off by making your pastry. Mix together the flour and salt, then add in the diced butter (make sure that it's cold) and mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Then begin adding the ice water, one tablespoon at a time, and mix until a dough forms. Wrap the dough up in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2. While the dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 425deg F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Next, take the dough out and roll it out into a 13-inch circle. Transfer it onto your baking sheet. Arrange the Mozzarella cheese slices on top of your dough, leaving a 1.5 inch border around the edges. Next, arrange your thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the cheese, then fold the pastry border over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and dried oregano, and drizzle with olive oil. Brush the pastry with olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tomatoes are bubbling and the pastry is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with salad.

Happy Baking, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

Mangia Mondays at Delightfully Dowling, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Bubbly Nature Creations, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff and Be Different, Act Normal. 

Butterscotch Coconut Cookies

Hi, Everybody! I hope you're all having a great week! I'm so excited to share this recipe with you today, because it's my new favorite cookie recipe! These Butterscotch Coconut Cookies are AMAZING! I don't think I've ever made a cookie this good. It's sweet and chewy and the butterscotch and coconut are so good together! If you're looking for a new cookie recipe and have never made these before, you NEED to try them! The recipe comes from the Williams Sonoma Baking Book, which is one of my favorite baking cookbooks! Here's the recipe for you...

BUTTERSCOTCH COCONUT COOKIES

The Williams Sonoma Baking Book

*Makes 4 dozen cookies*

YOU WILL NEED:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded dried coconut
1 1/2 cups (9oz) butterscotch chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Next, in your electric mixer bowl, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract and egg, until you get a smooth, creamy mixture.

2. Slowly with the mixer running, begin adding the flour mixture to the butter mixture until it is well mixed. Then, add the coconut and butterscotch chips, mix well, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

3. Preheat your oven to 325 deg F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls (leave space in between the cookies on the baking sheet as they will spread out).  Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are nice and golden brown.

Happy Baking, Everyone!
I will be linking to:
Mangia Mondays, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, and Country Momma Cooks.

Baked Strawberry Oatmeal

Hi, Everybody! As promised, here is my Baked Strawberry Oatmeal recipe! I LOVE baked oatmeal for breakfast, and have tried to come up with different ways to make it, to keep it interesting! This only takes about a half hour or so to make (and that's including baking time!) so it's an easy thing to whip up for breakfast, or you can make it the night before and then heat it up in the morning. I used about a pint of strawberries in this recipe which may seem like a lot, but I love the burst of fresh flavor when you when you take a bite against the sweet, vanilla flavor of the oatmeal. If you are a fan of baked oatmeal, check out my other two recipes that I've posted previously: Baked Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal and Baked Blueberry and Banana Oatmeal. They are both really good too! Here is today's recipe...

BAKED STRAWBERRY OATMEAL

*Makes 8 Servings*

YOU WILL NEED:
2 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups fat free milk
1 pint (16 oz) strawberries, sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Preheat your oven to 375 deg F and grease your baking dish.

2. Next, in a little bowl, whisk together milk, egg and vanilla, pour into the oat mixture, and stir until all ingredients are combined. Slice your strawberries, and use half of them to cover the bottom of the baking dish evenly.

3. Pour the oatmeal mixture into the baking dish over the strawberries, then decorate the top with the remaining half of the strawberries and bake for 20 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles.

Happy Baking, Everyone!

I will be linking to:
Mangia Mondays, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, and Country Momma Cooks.

A Saturday in the City

Hi, Everybody! I hope you're all having a great weekend! After days and days of rain, it's finally sunny and beautiful outside, so we spent the day walking around NYC. I love the energy and creativity of this city, there's always something new to see, a new store to go to, a new place to discover... here are some pictures of our day!

 City Hall Park, not too far from the World Trade Center. I love stumbling upon little parks like this, it's like a green oasis in the middle of a busy, concrete city. 

I LOVED this bronze sculpture at Union Square! It's called the Gran Elefandret, by Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo, it is 26 feet tall and weighs 5 tons. I loved the playful and whimsical nature of this sculpture! It will be there until the end of May 2012.

Standing at Herald Square. It was so hot outside, this was the first day that it really felt like the summer is almost here!

There was a man making a rather large party balloon delivery! I can imagine it must have been very hard trying to run through the busy traffic with all those balloons!

Walking through Soho... getting dangerously close to Bloomingdale's! 

I loved this cool fish flower pot outside of a quaint little cafe in Soho.

 With my favorite man.

I hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

Recycled Gift Wrap Ideas - Part 2

Not too long ago, I shared some of my recycled gift wrap ideas with you, and I got so many sweet comments on the post! If you missed it, you can go back and read it here! Well, today I wanted to show you one more gift wrapping idea - a tissue paper flower wrapped gift! Here's how I made it...

First, I wrapped the gift in some crinkled white tissue paper, then, I tied it with four strands of twine, and tied those together in the center. Next, I made a flower out of a couple of layers of yellow tissue paper, and made the center of the flower by making some twine loops and sticking them in the middle using some hot glue. I cut out two leaves out of a brown paper bag and attached them to the bottom of the flower, and then glued the whole thing onto the gift using hot glue! So easy, so cute!

Happy Crafting, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Tatertots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, Bubbly Nature Creations.

Pasta alla Puttanesca

Pasta alla Puttanesca is one of my favorite go to recipes for a SUPER quick but delicious dinner on those nights when I have no time to cook, or days when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You won't believe how fast this is to make! My husband went to pick something up at the store down the road just as I was beginning to make this, and I was done before he got home about ten minutes later! This literally takes as long as it takes to cook a pot of pasta! It's also one of my go to meals because I usually already have all the ingredients at home, the key ones being anchovies (I know not everyone loves these, but they are used differently here, so read on!), black olives, capers, canned tomatoes and pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti here). I love this Nigella Lawson recipe, I've honestly never cooked something of her's that I didn't love! So if you're looking for a new easy weeknight dinner recipe, this is the one!

PASTA ALLA PUTTANESCA

(Adapted from Nigella Lawson)

*Serves 4 - 6*

YOU WILL NEED:
1 - 2 tbs olive oil
1 lb spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
8 anchovy fillets, drained and mushed
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1x 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups black olives, drained, pitted and sliced
2 - 3 tbs capers, drained and washed
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fill a large pot with water for your pasta, and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, add salt and pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box. You want the pasta to be al dente.

2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil, and once it's hot, add the anchovies and cook them for a couple of minutes, stirring them and mushing them up, they will melt in the oil, and this is what will give the sauce great flavor. After a couple of minutes, add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute or so. Now add the tomatoes, olives and capers, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is ready.

3. Reserve about a cup of the pasta water, and drain the rest. Add the spaghetti to the pan, add the reserved pasta water and mix everything together and let sit for a couple of minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and coats all of the pasta. Sprinkle some fresh parsley and grated parmesan on top if you like! And that's it! I told you it was really quick and easy!

Happy Cooking, Everyone!
I will be linking to:

Mangia Mondays, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Tatertots and Jello, and Country Momma Cooks.

It's the little things...

It's the little things in life that always make my day a little happier and brighter, so I thought I would let you in and share some with you today! 

How cute is my Bonjour Eiffel Tower toast?! I love buttered toast, and even though I know the importance of a good, healthy breakfast, there is nothing that makes me happier in the morning than a piece of warm toast spread with butter. One of my best friends got me this Bonjour Toast Stamp because my husband and I got engaged in Paris. I love it, it always brings a smile to my face!

Flowers from my husband. He is the sweetest man in the world and always brings home flowers whenever he knows I could use an extra smile. 

I have kept a diary ever since I was a little girl, and now I have boxes and boxes full of them! I love starting a new diary, and it takes a very special notebook to be just the right one for it! I love this "Oh... I just love happy endings" one!

I made this Baked Strawberry Oatmeal last night for breakfast this morning. It is so good! I keep trying to come up with new, healthy breakfast ideas that will make me want to eat breakfast every morning, and this is what I came up with this time! A really yummy breakfast! Recipe to come soon!

How cute is this fabric?! I just love this print, now just have to think of a good way to use it!

This is my absolute favorite smell in the whole world. Vanilla Cupcake. I don't know how Yankee Candle is able to somehow put all these amazing smells into these jars, but this is heavenly! It fills the house with the sweetest smell! 

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may realize that they were the big things."

I hope you had lots of things to make you smile today too!

maria xx

Peanut Butter Banana and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Hi, Everyone! I hope that you're all having a great week, and aren't suffering from horrible allergies like I am! I'm so tired of all the coughing, I've never had allergies this bad! Anyway... I have a great recipe to share with you today! I've made and shared lots of different kinds of granola bar recipes with you (scroll down to the end of the post for links to my granola bar recipes!) and I absolutely love these Peanut Butter Banana and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars! I love peanut butter and bananas together, so I thought I would try using these flavors in a granola bar recipe, and then I added some chocolate chips for added sweetness! They are soft and chewy and I love the banana flavor that hits you as soon as you take a bite! If you've never made granola bars at home, you should really give them a try... they are so easy to make and are so much healthier than store-bought ones! I hope you enjoy this recipe that I'm sharing with you today!

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP GRANOLA BARS 

*Makes 12 granola bars*

YOU WILL NEED:
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used all natural creamy)
2 small ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
*Optional - add 1/2 cup peanuts (unsalted, dry roasted) for extra crunch!

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, mix together oats, flour, brown sugar and salt (you don't need to use an electric mixer, this is really easy to mix by hand). Then, begin adding in all the wet ingredients (oil, egg, vanilla extract, peanut butter and mashed bananas). Mix until all ingredients are incorporated, then add in the chocolate chips (and peanuts, if you are adding them). Preheat your oven to 350 deg F.

2. Next, line a 9x13 inch baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the granola bar mixture onto it, and pat it down with your hands to form an even rectangle, leaving about an inch border around the edges of the pan.

3. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes (I only baked them for 15 minutes to make sure they wouldn't get crumbly, but bake for longer if the center is not baked through), until the edges begin to brown slightly. Take out of the oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars using a sharp knife. Make sure you cut the bars while they are still warm, this way they won't crumble. Store in an air tight container for up to four days.

MY OTHER GRANOLA BAR RECIPES:

Coconut, Chocolate and Almond Granola Bars - Click Here

Crunchy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars - Click Here

Raisin and Peanut Granola Bars - Click Here

Happy Baking, Everyone!

I will be linking to:

Mangia Mondays at Delightfully Dowling, Makin' You Crave Mondays, Skip to My Lou, Tip Junkie, Cozy Home Scenes, The Shabby Nest, My Romantic Home, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Bubbly Nature Creations, Tatertots and Jello and Six Sisters' Stuff.