Strawberry and Banana Smoothie

After a week filled with rich sweets I am ready for something that does not contain butter or chocolate.
I like to have this smoothie for breakfast along side scrambled eggs topped with cheddar cheese wrapped in a warm tortilla.

For this smoothie you will need...

1 Cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 Cup milk 

2 Frozen bananas, (I find it easier to slice and peel them before freezing)

8 Strawberries (plus 2 for garnish, if you like)

Put all of the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Makes 2 smoothies

A Valentine

Last night I was looking through old cards and I came across my diary from junior high school. As I was turning the pages I found this little folded up piece of paper. This little piece of paper was a sweet note from a boy in my 7th grade class. I remember getting this note, but because I was so shy and embarrassed I didn't respond and I scratched his name out (although, I must have been quite flattered since I tucked it away in my junior high diary).

Happy Valentine's Day!

Heart Shaped Frosted Sugar Cookies

This sugar cookie recipe is a very special recipe to me because it came from my Oma. She was an excellent baker, and one of my fondest memories from early childhood was decorating sugar cookies with her. These cookies are delicious frosted or even just plain with a cup of coffee or tea.

For the sugar cookies you will need...
1/2 lb butter
3/4 Cup sugar
2 1/2 Cups flour
2 Egg yolks
1 Whole egg
2 Teaspoons baking powder

Whisk together the sugar, flour, and baking powder. Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture becomes crumbled. Lightly beat together egg yolks and whole egg. Add eggs to crumbled mixture and knead together  to form the dough into a ball. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Working with half the dough at a time (leave the other half in the refrigerator so it doesn't get too warm), roll out thin and cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until very light brown. Cool on rack.

 

For the frosting you will need...
1/2  lb butter, room temperature
5 Cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons whole milk
1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla

Beat together the butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Start beating on low and gradually increase the speed as the sugar becomes incorporated. Beat for a few minutes to get really fluffy frosting. Add a little food coloring if desired.

Decorate frosted cookies with an assortment of candies if you like. As a kid I would always decorate my cookies with red hots and shoestring licorice.

Coffee for Your Valentine

About a year ago, our coffee maker started making some funky tasting coffee. I tried to remedy this by cleaning out the coffee maker, cleaning out the grinder, and buying a fresh new bag of beans, but nothing worked. So D and I decided to try a french press. The coffee was delicious. So now D and I only make french press coffee. If you would like to make you own french press coffee here is what you do...

For a 32 ounce french press, boil 4 1/2 cups of water (you want a little extra just to be sure there will be enough). Grind between 8 and 10 heaping tablespoons of whole beans (depending on how strong you like you coffee) for 5 seconds, the grounds will be coarse. We use a blade coffee grinder, if you have something else you may have to adjust the time, or just have your coffee ground for you at Starbucks, (I am sure other places will grind it for you too, but D and I are Starbucks fans so that is where we always get our coffee). Put the grounds in the french press and then pour in 4 cups of boiling water. Grab a spoon and stir the grounds and water together. Now put the top of the french press on but don't push down yet. Let sit for 5 minutes then press down. Pour coffee immediately before the particle have time to settle, (the particles are what makes french press coffee taste so rich and creamy).

To turn you coffee into a mocha...
In a small sauce pan heat 8 ounces of milk over medium heat, making sure it doesn't burn. Once the milk is good and hot add 2 ounces of good quality chopped milk chocolate. Stir until chocolate has melted. In a 16 ounce mug, pour in 8 ounces of coffee and fill the rest of the way with the milk chocolate mixture, stir together and top with freshly whipped cream.

To make freshly whipped cream...
In the bowl of an electric mixer pour in a half pint of whipping cream and beat. While beating add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy, (be careful not to over beat or you will end up with butter).

Variations:
To make a raspberry mocha add 1 1/2 tablespoons of raspberry syrup to the mug before you pour in the coffee.
To make a super raspberry mocha add 2 teaspoons of raspberry syrup to the whipped cream.

Simple Tartlets

Since it is the middle of the week I wanted to make something simple. These tartlets are simple not only because they are easy to make, but also because they require only a few ingredients.

You will need...
8 Ounces Bavarian Cream filling
16 Tartlet shells
6 Strawberries

This recipe is quick and easy. It mainly consists of assembly and has minimal preparation. While I usually prefer to make things from scratch, sometimes it's nice to put together a quick and delicious dessert in under a half an hour.

I purchased this Bavarian Cream filling from a restaurant supply store called Orson H. Gygi Company. If you can't find the cream at a restaurant supply store you could whip up some pudding easy enough to use in its place. As for the tartlet shells, I found these at my local market. This recipe is very forgiving, it's just an assembly of fruit, shortbread and cream so feel free to get creative and use what you have or whatever you find in your neck of the woods.

Directions
Wash and dry strawberries. Remove the stems from the strawberries, by cutting off the tops evenly, then slice them about an eighth of an inch thick. Fill your tartlet shells with the Bavarian Cream, (about 3/8 of an ounce of cream per shell). To make the sliced strawberries into hearts, use a pairing knife cut a small triangle out of the top middle of the strawberry. Then diagonally cut off the far right and far left corners of the strawberry, and place heart in the center of each tartlet.

This post is linked with Everyday Sisters