A Sweet Treat For Mom

My poor mom, she can barely eat anything. Not because she doesn't want to, but between health conditions and allergies, her "okay" list is pretty short. Think I'm exaggerating? The lady has to check the ingredients on bread because most of them she can't have. No joke. So, when I find something she can eat, and it would be a treat for her, you bet I'm going to! 

Okay, so technically these began as her idea. She emailed me a recipe for pound cake she found that she could actually eat. Well, it sounded just a bit too complicated for this busy food blogger, so I decided to find something with similar ingredients that could be made in "mini" form. More fun anyway, right??!! Plus, with only her eating them, they are portioned perfectly!

Oh, and the other part of this story is the poor lady that can't eat, is now recovering from her 6th operation, in 5 years, on the same foot. Yep, we are holding our breath, and crossing our fingers and our toes (No pun intended) this is the last one! So, you can see why I was totally up for giving her a sweet treat she could really enjoy!

Love pound cake? Then you're going to adore these! Same flavors. Same density. Just individualized for easy snacking! They would make a great breakfast on the go too! 

I love my sweet mom. She is a special lady. Ask anyone who knows her, and they will tell you how lucky they are to know her. But I'm the luckiest. I get to call her mom, and make her special treats that make her smile.

Mini Pound Cakes

1 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3 eggs

2 sticks butter, softened

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 muffin trays with papers. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter, milk and vanilla. Mix until just combined. Using an electric mixer, mix at medium speed for about 4 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each. After all eggs are added, mix at medium speed for another minute. Batter will be thick and fluffy. (It will resemble frosting!) Spoon into muffin in, filling each well 1/2 way. Smooth out with back of spoon or spatula. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.  *NOTE* If you have extra wells in your tin, put some water in them before baking for more even cooking.  

Recipe from Cupcake Recipes
Shared at Weekend Potluck

Soul Food Saturday

Sometimes no matter what you do, you have a huge craving for something that you just can’t get rid of until you have that first bite; okay sometimes you really need the whole plate full. Am I right? This happened to be one of those days. And wouldn’t you know it; the first ingredient was still on my shopping list. So in comes another Internet search. Yep, you guessed it. I loved it enough to make a mountain of pancakes and then share the recipe with you. This baking mix is a good as the boxed stuff, maybe even better dare I say? I’ll let you decide! Grab a fork and your favorite pancake toppers, because this plate is nearly ready!

 

Homemade Baking Mix

 9 c.all purpose flour

1 c. dry buttermilk

5 tbs. baking powder

¼ c. sugar

1 tbs. salt

1 c. shortening

In a large bowl add flour, buttermilk, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir to thoroughly combine. Add half of shortening add a time, and use pastry blender (or 2 forks) to cut into the dry ingredients. Add second half of shortening and continue until the mixture resembles corn meal. Store mix in air tight container, for up to 3 months.

 

Pancakes

  2 c. mix

1 c. water

 2 eggs

All your family favorite toppings- syrup, fruit, jellies, butter, or all the above!

 

In a medium bowl add mix, water, and eggs. Whisk to combine, and continue until smooth. Add ¼ c. amount to a greased pan or griddle. Flip when edges are dry. Cook until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

 

Whether you love them topped with just butter, pieces of fruit on the side, or doused with your favorite syrup; these will definitely be a winner at your table as well. Enjoy!

"Science Only Goes So Far, And Then There's God"...

I found the above quote online last week, and nothing could have been more appropriate for what was going on in our lives at the time.

As many of you already know, two weeks ago tomorrow, we had quite the scare. After four days of shortness of breath, my husband went to the ER, and was later diagnosed with multiple large pulmonary emboli in each lung. In layman's terms, his lungs had very large blood clots in them. Not exactly the news you are expecting on a Tuesday morning!

He was admitted to the hospital for 2 1/2 days for a battery of tests and observation. Many scary causes of PE have been ruled out, and for now they are thinking it might be something genetic, which we will get the results from those labs in another week or so. He was sent home on blood thinners, and since then we've been trying to get back to "normal."

I have been with this man for 17 years, and never has he scared me like this. The doctors told us they had no idea how he was able to walk into the clinic that morning. He was about 15 minutes away from full cardiac arrest; and 1/3 of all patients who present with what he had, don't last 24 hours. It was when I heard those statistics I knew without a doubt my husband is a walking miracle.

And while we are so incredibly grateful to all the doctors, nurses and hospital staff that helped to save his life, we also know there was a bigger hand in play. Even they had to admit, there was no explanation other than God's work as to why he was still with us.

So fast forward to the next Monday, and ironically enough it was his 40th birthday. That's right, we had oh so much more to celebrate this year, and I wanted to make sure it was extra special for him. It was the perfect time to make a new dessert using his favorite summer time berry, black raspberries. But after such a long week, I needed something quick and easy too! He loved every bite, and I was just thankful to have him here to cook for.

Each and every day is a gift. Be sure to tell those you love most, just how much they mean to you. And if you have a husband you love more than life, like me, hug him extra tight tonight for me!

Raspberry Crumble

2 c. red or black raspberries, fresh or frozen, if frozen, thawed

2 TBS sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp. water

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 c. old fashion oats

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 c. cold butter, diced

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Preheat oven to 375. Place berries in prepared dish. In a small bowl combine lemon juice, cornstarch, water, and sugar. Stir until smooth. Pour over berries. In a food processor, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Pulse until crumble mixture appears. Sprinkle over berries. Bake for 25 minutes until bubbly.