Today would be the 200th birthday of the beloved author Charles Dickens. In honor of him and his works I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes of his with you!


A day wasted on others is not wasted on one's self.

A loving heart is the truest wisdom.

An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.

Credit is a system whereby a person who can not pay gets another person who can not pay to guarantee that he can pay.

Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.

Home is a name, a word, it is a strong one; stronger than magician ever spoke, or spirit ever answered to, in the strongest conjuration.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice.

It is a pleasant thing to reflect upon, and furnishes a complete answer to those who contend for the gradual degeneration of the human species, that every baby born into the world is a finer one than the last.

Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
Charles Dickens

The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again.



With that being said I'd love to know y'alls favorite quotes of his and also favorite book. My favorite is " A Tale of Two Cities"! It is very sad but such a good story of love, friendship, and war.

Sugar Cookies.!

I couldn't be happier that the holidays are rolling around again! :)
It is so much fun to shop, bake, and decorate for the season! This holiday is going to be a *bit* different for us, as we are moving just five days before Christmas. I know...we're crazy like that. Even in the hustle of moving, we will still be able to enjoy our Christmas! We will, like every year, go to my Uncle's house on Christmas eve and celebrate Christ's birth with our family. God has blessed my family and me so richly. His grace is abounding!

Now, as for recipes! :)Here is my absolute FAVORITE sugar cookie recipe. Really, the are PERFECT for decorating with royal icing, and they taste good too!


Best Rolled Sugar cookies:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely


-Sarah :)

Pears

A friend of ours gave me a half bushel of pears today. I`m so happy she did! After seeing her posts on facebook telling about all the differant pear dishes she was making my mouth has been drooling... She made pear cranberry butter, pear relish, pear scones a chedder pear pie and told me she was about to go home to maybe make pear bbq sauce! Now I need to figure out what all I want to make..:)Do you have any favorite pear recipes or for that matter a favorite fall dish you crave this time of year?

Pumpkin muffins

We had a cold rainy fall day a couple of days ago. So I decided to make some fall treats. I made crumb topped pumpkin cream cheese muffins, chocolate fudge scones and a roasted pumpkin caramelized onion and Gorgonzola quiche. Everything was soooo good! Today I`ll be sharing the muffins with you, but I`m sure I will share the scones and quiche with you all soon!


Crumb topped pumpkin cream cheese muffins
p.s The ingredients in parentheses are the ways I adapted the recipe to make them healthier.

Muffins
3 cups flour ( 2c. flour and 1c. whole wheat flour)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of cardamom (I left this out, I did not have any)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar( 1 1/2 c. honey)
2 cups cooked or canned pumpkin
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil ( 3/4 c. applesauce and 1/2 coconut oil)

Cream Cheese Filling
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crumb Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. To make the cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Make the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the melted butter, then pinch the mixture until it forms pea-size clumps. Set aside.
Mix muffin ingredients together except cream cheese filling. Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) 3/4 full. Put 1-2 tsp cream cheese filling in each muffin and lightly swirl (I used a plastic bag snipped as a pastry bag). Top with 1 generous tablespoon of topping.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely. Makes 24 muffins.

skillet cornbread to go with it.

Here is her cornbread as well! I used butter instead of shortening and it turned out great!Enjoy!

Skillet Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1 cup Yellow Cornmeal
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 cup Buttermilk
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 whole Egg
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 cup Shortening
• 2 Tablespoons Shortening

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl. Stir together.

Measure the buttermilk and milk in a measuring cup and add the egg. Stir together with a fork. Add the baking soda and stir.

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir with a fork until combined.

In a small bowl, melt 1/4 shortening. Slowly add melted shortening to the batter, stirring until just combined. In an iron skillet, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons shortening over medium heat. Pour the batter into the hot skillet. Spread to even out the surface. (Batter should sizzle.)

Cook on stovetop for 1 minute, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Edges should be crispy!

Supper for a fall day

Last night I made pioneer women`s beef stew and skillet cornbread. Man were they good.:)
I think the only changes I made to the stew was I added a couple more carrots and used 3 russet potatoes instead of 4 red. Eventually I will buy myself a camera and take my own pictures but for now I guess I will have to satisfy you with hers.

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 2 pounds Stew Meat
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 can Beer, 12 Ounce Can
• 4 cups Beef Stock (or 4 Cups Water + 4 Beef Bouillon Cubes)
• 2 cups Water (additional, If Needed)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
• 1/2 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Sugar
• 4 whole Carrots, Washed, Unpeeled, And Roughly Sliced
• 4 whole New Potatoes, Quartered
• Minced Parsley (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown. Cut pieces in half. Set aside.

Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

*UPDATE: The liquid should cook down to a thicker state. If it gets too thick/reduces too much, add additional water as needed.

Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. (If stew gets dry, just add a cup of hot water at a time to replenish the liquid.) Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Serve in bowls next to crusty French bread. Sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired.

Life, and Chocolate Cupcakes

Wow. We have been so busy lately, and I am sorry we haven't posted in so long! Last week we moved! (sure we only moved 15 minutes away...) It's been crazy around here, needless to say! We seem to have been packing and packing and packing for weeks now! Finally, I think we are at a point were we can sit back and enjoy our new house! It was hard to say goodbye to our old house though, we had lived in it for 7 plus years! But, it is nice to have a larger home, and for that I am so very thankful! God really has blessed us!
Also, my sister Lauren had her birthday yesterday! We ate out with all the family, and then did some shopping! Also, we went to see "Car's 2"! I enjoyed the movie, but It definitely was not the quality story line of the first. *sigh* I am still a huge Pixar fan though!

Alright, now for the recipe! These cupcakes are AWESOME! I found the recipe off of "My Baking addiction". I love that blog! It's the best place to go if you need a good dessert or other baked treat! The only thing I changed for the cupcake was I added just a tiny bit of cherry flavoring to the frosting! It was soooo good. The cake was very moist, and how can you go wrong with creamcheese frosting??

Here is a link to the recipe!