The World Says Come On Over!


Amalfi coast basilica of san andrea



Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Finland 




Château de Chambord, Loire Valley, France 



Seaside, Acapulco, Mexico



Bamboo path, Japan 


Flower Power


Grevillea Beautiful


Flowers blue & white 


Strange flowers 


Corkscrew wine 


Cactus Blossoms

 

Christmas inspiration


A Colorful Christmas Tree Idea!



O Christmas tree!



A Positively Beautiful Gingerbread House! 


Candyland Christmas!


Pretty 



Cheese Stuffed Shells



Ingredients
  • 8 ounces, weight Jumbo Pasta Shells
  • 30 ounces, weight Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
  • 8 ounces, weight Parmesan Cheese, Grated, Divided
  • 1/2 cup Grated Romano Cheese
  • 1 whole Egg
  • 12 leaves Basil, Chiffonade
  • 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley
  • Salt And Pepper, to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1/2 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
  • 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • 1/2 pound Italian Sausage
  • 1/2 cup Red Wine
  • 1 whole 28 Ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 whole 15-ounce Can Crushed Tomatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Minced Parsley

Instructions
  1. Cook pasta shells for half the cooking time; make sure not to overcook. Drain and rinse in cool water. Set aside.
  2. Heat olive oil in large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add Italian sausage and brown, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Pour in red wine and let it cook for a minute or two.
  3. Pour in cans of crushed tomatoes and stir. Add sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check for seasonings; can add crushed red peppers if you like a little heat.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, half the Parmesan, Romano, egg, salt and pepper, basil, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Stir until combined.
  5. To assemble, coat the bottom of a baking dish with sauce. Fill each half-cooked shell with the cheese mixture. Place face down on the sauce. Repeat with shells until cheese mixture is gone. Top shells with remaining sauce. Sprinkle on extra Parmesan.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
  7. Serve with crusty French bread.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting



Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • About 1/2 teaspoon red and 1/2 teaspoon blue food coloring*
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons dried lavender buds
  • 2/3 cup cold milk

For the frosting:
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons honey, plus a little extra for drizzle

Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg. Stir in the vanilla and food coloring.
  3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Chop the dried lavender buds into fine, small pieces. Stir into the flour mixture.
  4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Stir in the milk.
  5. Scoop batter evenly into lined muffin tins. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool in the tins for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. For the frosting:
  7. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on low, until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract and honey.
  8. Scoop frosting into a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip. To create the flower, begin in the center of the cupcake's surface, and slowly swirl in wider circles. (It might be helpful to practice on a piece of parchment paper first, then you can just add the frosting back to the bowl.) You can also simply spread the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cupcakes with a knife.
  9. Lightly drizzle a little honey on top of the frosting. Enjoy!
*Note: If you prefer a lighter color, just begin with 1/4 teaspoon of the red and blue and continue adding drops of each until you like the color. You can also use purple food coloring if you have it.

Source

Hot Chocolate Truffles



Ingredients
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • cocoa powder, crushed candy canes, mini chocolate chips for rolling

Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients in a pot and melt together on low heat until smooth. Stir constantly.
  2. Let cool in the fridge until stiff enough to scoop.
  3. Make small scoops, about 2 Tablespoons each. And place them in the freezer for and hour.
  4. Remove scoops, roll into balls.
  5. Roll in your choice of decoration. Crushed candy cane, cocoa, cinnamon, mini marshmallows. (If you try the mini marshmallows, you really have to push the marshmallows into the chocolate balls.)
  6. Wrap each ball in suran wrap and keep chilled until ready to use.
  7. When ready, drop chocolate balls into 1 ½ cups of hot milk and stir!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin

Winter Wonderland


Snowy moon


Winter Sunset, Lauttasaari, Finland ... 
 
 
A winter drive in Vermont 
 
 
 
All the beauty things 


 
 
Highlander cat · blue british longhair 


Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)