Butterscotch Pudding (from Scratch!)

This evening, I tried a recipe for homemade Butterscotch Pudding.

If I may summarize this recipe in one word for you: "YUM."

This recipe was SUPERB!

It thickened up to a smooth, creamy pudding with true butterscotch flavor.

The pudding's color is a bit lighter and the flavor a bit less intense than it's processed, store-bought rival,
But it was ever so much if not more so deeeeelicious!

You can find the recipe I used here:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Butterscotch-Pudding-I/Detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Thumb&e11=butterscotch%20pudding&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page


I did make a few modifications:

• I used skim milk (versus 2% or whole milk) 
• I used "benecol" instead of butter. 

The result was thick and decadent, despite lower-fat substitutes. 


A few ideas (which I got from the recipes reviews section) that I feel helped to produce a smooth pudding were:

• Beating the eggs and then mixing them into the milk beforehand
• Mix the sugar and cornstarch well before adding the milk/eggs to them
• Stirring constantly

And when they say cook till it coats the back of a metal spoon, they aren't kidding.
It happens almost instantaneously, so be ready:
When you feel it thicken up into that "custard pudding" texture, it's DONE. 
(See first picture for illustration).
Take it off the heat immediately.

 

 

There's really not much to it! 

 

Simply:

• Wisk sugar, salt and cornstarch till smooth
• Wisk the eggs and combine with milk
• Beat dry ingredients with eggmilk mixture
• Cook till thickened and remove from heat
• Stir in butter (or equivalent) and vanilla

 

Tah-dah!

 

It's as easy as.... PUDDING! ;D

 

Hope you all are staying warm in this frigid winter weather!

 

~

 

ISA



 

Lamentations 3:22-23

English Standard Version (ESV)

^"22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;^[a]

    his mercies never come to an end;

²³ they are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness."

Breakfast after Lunch

Ok, I'll admit it's been a while since I've posted.

Life is busy

But there's no sense in waiting for things to slow down

It's only getting faster.

So here's a little post about breakfast! :)

On a stormy Sunday afternoon, 3 girls were determined to find something to eat.

Originally they had planned on having take-out Chinese,

But after the weather got bad, plans changed.

Now they were home.  In the house. 

With nothing ready-to-eat, they would have to make something!

But what?

After some searching of freezers, they settled on a plan.

"Hm...."

"Waffles?"

........"LETS MAKE BREAKFAST!!!"

It didn't matter that it was 2:00pm.

It would be an after lunch brunch!

So they began to whip up ingredients

 

 

And brown sausage

 

 

Oh look! 

 

Run outside!

 

A rainbow after the storm!

 

Beat up the eggs

 

Cook the waffels

 

 

And a short while later...

 

 

A breakfast feast!

 

 

Yumm yummmm yummmmyyyy!!

 

 

Speaking of delicious feasts...

 

A happy Thanksgiving to one and all! :)

 

What are you thankful for this year?

 

What are you NOT thankful for? 

Is there a blessing in disguise in the things that are painful or frustrating or unpleasant?

 

God is always good, and always have something to be thankful for:

 

Because we can (and should) always be thankful that he sent his Son to die and take our burden of sin so that we could be right with God and know true peace, freedom, purpose and joy though Jesus Christ! :)

 

Buenas noches, amigos!

 

~

ISA

Mocha Coffee

There's nothing like warm beverages in the cold of autumn and winter!

Tea

Hot water

Chai

Coffee

Warm broth

Hot chocolate

Wassail


I'm a big fan.


Anyways, yesterday I discovered a new way to enjoy my coffee.

Mocha.

It's so yummy- you really should try it yourself!

• Brew 1/2 mug of very hot coffee (It doesn't matter what coffee you use or how you brew it).

While you're making the coffee, you can prep the rest of your beverage:

• In a large mug or travel mug, pour approx. 1/8 - 1/4 cup milk and 2 liberal scoops of instant hot cocoa powder.

• Now pour your hot coffee into your milk/hot cocoa mixture and stir well.

Tah-dah!

Mocha coffee! 

(Sorry, no pictures this time-  I was in a hurry to get out the door!)


It takes just a few minutes

It's delicious!

And you paid far less than Starbucks ;)


Experiment with the amount of milk/powder/coffee till you find your perfect ratio. 


Enjoy!

~
ISA

My Heart Is in The Highlands

 

On cold, damp October afternoons

My heart is in the mountains

In the woods

Soaking in the stillness and the overcast cloudy sky

The smell of the wet woods and leaves

The occasional crow, echoing in the distance

The amber, pine needle carpeted forest floor, which absorbs the sound of my footsteps

The pine trees, tall, dark and slender, with all but the very top branches dead and bare of needles

A group of deer a short distance away, who feel safe to move around on a wet, misty day

My cozy winter coat, with pockets to warm my chilled hands

The sight of my condensated breath in front of me

A rotten, slippery, fallen log, which gives way and breaks apart - *THUD* - under the weight of my step

The sight of a neighboring mountain, who's trees display a brilliant array of color

The nearby rustle of a squirrel in a tree

The clearing of open fields, green with clover

The cold damp setting in

Hiking down the mountain, from whence I came, giving in to gravity's pull and hiking briskly

Slipping and stumbling on wet leaves and rocks and I go down

Down

Finally reaching the bottom of the hill

Stepping onto the winding road, and hearing the crunch of my steps once again

Gazing down the road, towards the river

Turning

Just a few paces down the grey, gritty path

Turn to step through the entry in the old wooden fence

Up the ramp

 

The clunk of my boots on the porch

Quickly opening the screen door

Bursting through the front door

In the warm house

Sitting down in the living room

On a stuffed arm-chair

Boots off.

Coat hung.

To the kitchen!

Time for a mug of hot cocoa
 

 

~

 

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,
The birth-place of Valour, the country of Worth ;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

Farewell to the mountains, high-cover'd with snow,
Farewell to the straths and green vallies below;
Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods,
Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

 

~Robert Burns

Pumpkin Bars

Everybody knows it's not fall without something pumpkin!

Today's baking-with-pumpkin adventure was pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting!

 

 

These would be great for a thanksgiving dessert or family get together.

 

To make them a little healthier I used whole wheat flour in place of some of the flour, substituted half of the oil for applesauce and used neufatchel cheese instead of whole fat cream cheese.

 

As a general rule, anything pumpkin + cream cheese is a delicious combo.  I recommend it.

 

Buenas Noches!

 

~

ISA



Crockpot Cooking Is Not My Forte

So today I made a discovery.

While in theory, the idea of tossing ingredients in a pot and leaving them to cook into a delicious meal sounds genius

In practice, crockpot cooking just isn't my specialty.

This morning I attempted made a chicken crockpot meal.

One piece of advice is: don't try cooking something for the first time for church potluck on a Sunday morning.

I put the chicken and sauce in the crockpot at the right hour and turned it on.

But then came the fatal error...

Putting the rice in too early.

It was microwave rice, and we don't have a microwave at church! 

There was nothing to do but put it in at 9 instead of 11.

But little did I know

That when I put that crockpot meal out at 11 o'clock for potluck lunch

My chicken and rice would become a sort of chunky, gross looking paste.

While the taste wasn't horrible,

The presentation was enough for anyone to think twice before serving themselves a helping.


So the moral of the story:

While all those crockpot recipes look easy-peasy

Crockpot cooking takes skill and these skills take time and practice to cultivate!


Hope you've had a refreshing Sunday-

May we all be relying on God for his strength and joy to serve him throughout the coming week!

Psalm 28:7
" The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him."

~
ISA

Carrot Chicken-Broth Soup

This is a recipe for soup!

You know that feeling when you're sick and nothing sounds appetizing?

Or what about when you're not super hungry, but you still need something for dinner.

Look no further!

Try "Carrot Chicken-broth Soup"!

Essentially, chicken noodle soup... only without the chicken or noodles ;)

It's so fast and easy!

Ingredients:
1 box of chicken broth (I used trader joe's) or frozen homemade chicken broth
Water (several cups)
1 packet of sodium free, msg-free chicken bouillon
3/4 bag chopped baby carrots
Celery salt to taste
Onion Powder
Salt to taste (if desired)

Combine the above ingredients in a pot and cook till the carrots are tender to your liking.

Enjoy!

~~
ISA