Wedding shower cuties

Darling idea for Wedding shower or birthday cupcakes! The idea came from Grandma's Bakery in Cashton, Wisconsin.

Pastry Cream

Eunice Feller, who owns a bakery in Boston called Bread and Chocolate- shared this recipe on an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Eunice uses this pastry creme in between the layers of cake and chocolate for her Boston Cream Pie(which is really a cake). I use it for the bottom layer of Strawberry pie and to make copycat Raspberry Creme pie from Babe's Bakery in Idaho Falls, Idaho and for cream puffs. It is the best! Be very careful when you are"testing" it-limit yourself to one spoon or you will eat the entire bowl and you won't have any left for your recipe!!

Pastry Cream:

• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 5 large egg yolks
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, cold

Place most of the milk, half of the sugar, and vanilla into a saucepan and bring to a low simmer. Meanwhile, whisk together the rest of the milk, eggs, yolks, the remaining sugar, and cornstarch. Temper the egg mixture with 1/3 of the hot milk, whisk well, and pour back into the saucepan. Over medium heat, continue to cook and whisk until the custard is thick and starts to bubble. Continue whisking and cooking for 10 more seconds. Strain the pastry cream through a sieve, pushing through with a spatula, into a clean mixing bowl. Immediately cover the entire custard surface with plastic wrap and cool before using.

When the pastry cream is cool, remove the plastic wrap, insert the beater attachment into the stand mixer, and beat the pastry cream on medium speed until smooth. Remove the cream to a mixing bowl. Whisk the heavy cream to stiff peaks and fold into the pastry cream in 2 additions. The entire recipe for the Boston Cream Pie can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/boston-cream-pie-recipe2/index.html. It's a great recipe- I'm just not a big fan of Boston Cream Pie but I am of this pastry cream!

Patio "make-over"

After many runs to Ross, TJ Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Lowe's, and the Farm Patch...here are some pictures of my 2 day make-over of our patio. I love the sound of the water fountain! I wish it had looked this way all 7 years we lived here.

New Blog

So this is the reason I haven't had time to post to this blog for awhile. We are selling our house and it has taken some time to get it ready! Here is the blog I have been working on...

www.2002springcreek.blogspot.com

This will have been the longest I have lived in one house in my entire life. I am used to moving at least every 4 years...it was definitely time to clean out the attics!

Frozen Vegetarian Meals...that taste great!!

It has been awhile since I have added to this blog!! I talked to a friend today and told her I would add these frozen vegetarian meals that you can buy at an Indian grocery here in College Station. They are at Mini Mart 3800 South College Avenue, Bryan, TX 77801-4517. Some of my favorites are Palak Paneer, Malai Kofta(probably my favorite, it's vegetable dumplings prepared in a rich and mildly spiced sauce, and a bread that is Vegi's Paratha Aloo. We are so lucky to have this store!

Wish list...

A visit from my parents

A trip to Italy
The next book in the Hunger Games series...
Magnetic measuring spoons!
Another book I am interested in reading...

Arroz con Pollo Peruano(Peruvian Chicken with Rice)
I got this recipe from Milli-a friend from Peru-she had a cooking class at my house and showed us how to make this delicious dish. The way I make it would be called Arroz no con Pollo-because I make it vegetarian, but I will include the chicken recipe at the end. :-)
In a blender, put three sliced green bell peppers(just remove the stem-you can leave the pulp and seeds), about 1/2 cup water, and 1 bunch cilantro. The result should be a sauce that is not too thick or thin(Milli's words :-)
Chop 1 Onion(I've posted this before but I just couldn't cook without this chopper-called the Vidalia Onion Chopper-you can get it at Bed Bath and Beyond for $19.99)
Saute onion in 3 Tablespoons olive oil. Add 3 crushed cloves of garlic and two Tablespoons Cumin. Pour the pepper and cilantro mixture into the pan with the onions and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Boil six cups of water and add 3 cups of uncooked rice. Cook according to directions. Stir COOKED rice into sauce in frying pan and add 2 cups of frozen peas. Mix well and and stir until peas are soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Meat recipe:
5 chicken breasts or thighs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 chopped onion
3 chopped cloves garlic
1 bunch cilantro
3 bell peppers
Cumin
cooked rice
2 cups frozen peas
In a pan with the oil, brown the chicken adding salt and pepper. Remove chicken from the pan. Add the onion and garlic and brown. Use the instructions above for the blender items. Add the sauce from the blender to the onion mixture. Put the chicken pieces back in the sauce. Let it simmer on low for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally and checking to see if the meat is done. When the chicken is done, remove from the sauce and stir in the cooked rice and peas. Add the chicken back to the mixture and let set for 15 minutes. Serve.