Friday, February 28, 2020

Rub a Dub Dub: Funny Friday

Today’s post is this month’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.


Funny Friday:a multi-blogger challenge: one picture, five captions,  | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics

Here's today's picture. It was submitted by Minette of Southern Belle Charm.

Funny Friday, a multi blogger picture captioning challenge | Picture submitted by Minette of Southern Belle Charm | Featured on www.BakingInATornado.com | #funny #laugh




1. Dog to owner: He's the one that got into the laundry detergent, don't blame me. 

2. Dog to owner: Don't you dare put this picture on social media, I'll never live it down.

3. Dog to owner: "Take a bath" you said, "it'll be fun" you said. Yeah, not so much.

4. Mom to dad: Well, it could have been worse, he could have brought in the ferret instead of the dog.

5. Dad to mom: I take it you didn't hide your bubble bath on a high enough shelf?



 And now for something yummy: 


Sweet Pickle Chicken Salad Sandwich, lunch in a minute. Chopped sweet pickles and a little poppy dressing add flavor to precooked shredded chicken. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #chicken

Sweet Pickle Chicken Salad Sandwich
Sweet Pickle Chicken Salad Sandwich, lunch in a minute. Chopped sweet pickles and a little poppy dressing add flavor to precooked shredded chicken. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #chicken

Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile: 
Spatulas on Parade 
Southern Belle Charm 
Follow me Home 
Medicated Musings 



Baking In A Tornado signature/logo | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


Sweet Pickle Chicken Salad Sandwich
                                                         ©www.BakingInATornado.com


Ingredients (makes 4):
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
1/3 cup mini sweet pickles, chopped
3 TBSP mayonnaise
1 TBSP poppy seed salad dressing
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 English muffins, split
4 slices provolone cheese 

OPT: lettuce and/or tomato as garnish

Directions:
*Mix together the shredded chicken, chopped pickles, mayonnaise, poppy seed dressing, celery seed and black pepper.

*Toast the English muffins and top each with a slice of cheese. Add 1/4 of the chicken salad to each of the sandwiches. Top with lettuce and/or tomato if desired.

Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Call Me Bob the Build It and They Will Come

Just call me Bob the Builder. Except my name's not Bob. And I can't build, well, anything. Actually, is there a word for someone who's the opposite of handy? Inept? Clumsy? Yeah, that's me. I'm not allowed near tools. I'm even dangerous with a glue gun.

I guess I should start with a little background:

Unfortunately, I've had this earworm lately. Not the same earworm I talked about in my post a few weeks ago. That time it was "Eensie Weensie Spider". I know what you're thinking, but in my defense, you don't get to pick your earworms.

What's been going through my head lately though, probably wouldn't meet the parameters for an earworm since it isn't actually a song. It's a line from a movie. Not even that, really, but an overused (and actually incorrect) version of one. 

Maybe I better go back a little further:

We've had a lot of bad luck lately. Last weekend it came in threes, as it often does. And every time I've tried to calm myself down and figure it out, what I'd hear in my head was "build it and they will come." Huh? Really? I haven't got enough problems, I need cryptic subconscious messages too?

Of course, "If you build it, he will come" is the actual quote but, again, I didn't pick this phrase, nor ask it to run through my brain like a hamster on a wheel. I am at the mercy of my mind, and that can be a terrifying thing.

I just want to be on the record as saying that all earworms should be required to be melodious. I mean, if I have to be tortured, I should at least be able to hum along, right? Apparently not. {{sigh}}.

Back to the whole builder thing. The third of our issues started with a visit from our next door neighbor (note to self: when going through a bad luck streak, it might be wise to just not answer the door). "Have you seen the side of your house?" Ken asked. That sounded ominous. And, of course, it was. Somehow our sump pump, which drains there (and has, successfully, for over 20 years), decided to dig a canyon in our side yard along the shrub line. Perfect. And all of the soil that had been there had become a mudslide (and not the yummy cocktail kind), partly on our lawn and partly on our neighbor's. 

Flooded side yard | Picture property of www.BakingInATornado.com


Imagine Hubs' surprise when we sat down to figure out what to do about the situation and my answer was "build it and they will come." 

"Listen," Hubs said, "I'm going to have to put off having you committed until later, for now I need to deal with the yard."

He went off to the home improvement store and I went into the kitchen. There I know I could start building a new recipe that would get my mind off of the stress and block out any baseball movie sayings.


Tropical Rugelach is cream cheese based dough, topped with a sweet filling and rolled up crescent style. Featuring orange, pineapple and ginger this cookie makes you long for summer. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #bake

Tropical Rugelach
Tropical Rugelach is cream cheese based dough, topped with a sweet filling and rolled up crescent style. Featuring orange, pineapple and ginger this cookie makes you long for summer. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #bake


Later (and calmer), we checked out each others' work. He had built an aquaduct. I had built a new cookie (well, a new version of an old cookie). And when it comes to a day's work, I won.

Because although his build solved a serious problem (well, temporarily) . . . no one came. My cookies, as always, are another story completely. My build brought Hubs, my older son, the neighbors (and I think I saw a few dogs scratching at the front door too). 

Just call me Bob the Builder.

Now if I could just figure out how to build summer. Think I could do that with legos?



Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics





Tropical Rugelach         
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 small block (4 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 TBSP orange juice
1 1/4 cups flour

powdered sugar for rolling

1/4 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup sweetened dried pineapple, chopped
1/4 cup ginger snap cookie crumbs (can substitute vanilla wafer crumbs and 1/4 tsp dried ginger)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg beaten with 1 TBSP water
2 - 3 TBSP sugar

Directions:
*Cream the softened cream cheese, butter and orange juice. Starting at the lowest speed, incorporate the flour. Form into a ball, using a spoon or your hands, and cut in half. Place each half on a separate piece of plastic wrap, flatting into a disk, encase completely in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
*Mix together the orange marmalade, chopped pineapple, ginger snap cookie crumbs, cinnamon and brown sugar.
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
*Sprinkle powdered sugar over 2 pieces of parchment paper, then roll each dough half out, individually, with plastic wrap over the top. You want to end up with an approximately 9 inch circle.
*Remove plastic wrap and gently spread each circle, leaving about 1/4 inch border around the edges, with half of the orange marmalade mixture.
*Using a pizza cutter, cut, like you would a pizza, each circle into 12 slices (triangles).
*Roll each slice up like a crescent roll. Using a pastry brush, paint the tops of the cookies with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place, point side down, onto the baking sheet.
*Bake for 20 minutes or until they just barely start to brown.
*Cool for one minute before removing to cool completely.

Friday, February 21, 2020

Happy to See Me: Fly on the Wall

Welcome to a monthly Fly on the Wall group post. Today 4 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house. At the end of my post you’ll find links to this month’s other participants’ posts.

Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


I've talked about the fact that PurDude doesn't read cues. Well, here's where he got that from:

Hubs came home late from work and I had left him a plate of food on the counter. He was eating dinner with his back to me, in the den watching Purdue basketball. 

Me: Damn!

a few minutes later:

Me: Come on!

a minute later:

Me: Give me a break!

Hubs: Are they winning?
Me (rolling my eyes even though he can't see them): Seriously? Do these sound like happy sounds I'm making?



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


Hubs went out to pick up dinner when I noticed that he left his cell phone on the counter.

So I immediately grabbed my phone to call him and let him know where it is.

I'm sure you know how that went.




Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


After doing the laundry, I couldn't find one of my socks. It was just a plain black sock, but it bothered me that I couldn't find it. I looked in the laundry chute, the washer the dryer, all the folded clothes, but it was gone.

I've been doing this laundry thing for years so losing a sock is hardly anything new. Nothing fancy about it so I just forgot about it, I have plenty of socks so I didn't even really miss it.

Apparently, though, it missed me. 

A few weeks later I caught a glimpse of something black wedged between the washer and dryer. Once retrieved I saw that it was my sock.


Happy to See Me, a funny Fly on the Wall glimpse into life | Picture taken by and property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #funny #blogging


And is it my imagination, or was that sock happy to see me?


Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


Hubs comes home from work, I hear his garage door go up, his car pull in and stop and his car alarm go off. Huh?

I open the house door to the garage and he's stopped the alarm but his car is turned back on. He turns the car off again and the alarm starts up again. 

Me (yelling over the alarm): What are you doing?
Hubs: I don't know, when I turn the car off, the alarm starts.
Me: Press the button.
Hubs: What button.
Me: On the key fob.

Hubs looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language and turns the car back on to stop the noise. I tell him to shut the car off again and I turn to grab his spare key hanging in the laundry room. The alarm starts again, I press the button on his spare key fob and the alarm stops.

Hubs: What did you do?
Me: I pressed the button on the key fob.
Hubs: What button?
Me (rolling my eyes): Am I going to have to follow you around from now on?

Hubs: Yeah, probably.


Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


By now you all know that my youngest moved to Boulder in September. I'm thinking Colorado, with the mountains has to be much colder and snowier than our winters. He may have all kinds of fun stuff to do that I don't have, but at least I don't have to deal with all of that snow and cold.

One Monday afternoon recently it was snowing yet again and it was absolutely freezing out. I sent PurDude a PM:

Me: I'm having your weather. It's snowing for the second time this week and it's 2 degrees out.
PurDude: I went skiing yesterday, it was 50 degrees.
Me: No way it's that warm in February, but that's great skiing weather.
PurDude: Yeah, it really is that warm, and it's going to get up to 53 degrees later this week. 
Me: You're killing me.
PurDude: Trying.

I googled the weather in Boulder and nope, he wasn't kidding. I may have to move to the mountains. 



Toffee Turtle Cookies are a cookie reminiscent of a well known candy treat. Pecan and mini chocolate chip cookies are topped with a miniature toffee and pecan half. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #chocolate

Toffee Turtle Cookies
Toffee Turtle Cookies are a cookie reminiscent of a well known candy treat. Pecan and mini chocolate chip cookies are topped with a miniature toffee and pecan half. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #chocolate




Ah, the power of baked goods. I wrote a post about it recently called Bring Me to You. Now I've seen more of that power. I had achieved symbiosis.

I had baked a batch of my Toffee Turtle Cookies. We all loved them, but Hubs and College Boy had their favorite parts. Hubs loved the cookie with all of the pecan pieces. Nuts aren't College Boy's favorite, but he loved the toffee.

I came downstairs to find Hubs and College Boy sitting at the counter. In front of Hubs were cookie pieces. In front of College Boy were toffees. My cookies had achieved symbiosis.


Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


Every time College Boy is here, when he leaves I tell him to be safe and make good choices. He got a little sick of it, I suppose, although I don't know why. I know he's grown, but I'm still his mom. Anyway, he'd sort of playfully mock me as he left the house so I decided to change it up a bit.

The next time he left the house, I called out to him:

Me: Drive carefully . . . and don't deal any drugs!

That shut him up! 



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



It's been a tough sports year for me. The Red Sox sucked, the Patriots sucked, the Celtics dropped from 1st to 4th and even the Purdue basketball team had a dismal record.

Normally, if I'm yelling at the TV, my family knows I'm watching sports, but at the beginning of this month the games that would a Boston fan might want to watch (ie: yell at) were few and far between. So it was a surprise when my family walked in the door and I was yelling at the TV.

Me (yelling): Give me a break, what are you, blind?
Hubs: What are you yelling at? There aren't any games on today. 

Me (watching the impeachment trial): There may not be any sports on, but I'm still sitting here watching a bunch of grown men punt. 



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


Hubs needs a part for his razor and can't find it locally. One afternoon he comes over to me and shows me a picture of the part on a website. It's a $10 part.

Hubs: See this?
Me: Yeah.
Hubs: Can you order it for me on your account?
Me: Why don't you order it yourself?
Hubs: I'm sure I'll screw it up.

Me: It's very easy, just put it in your cart.
Hubs: OK. Now what?
Me: Go to your cart. 
Hubs: How?

I take his phone to show him where his cart is and it has $800 worth of stuff in it.

Yeah, I grabbed my laptop and ordered it for him. Saved me $790.



Fly on the Wall, a multi-blogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


Hubs and I were going out and I was wearing my olive colored jeans.

Hubs: You ready to go?
Me: I just have to run upstairs and grab my purse.

Hubs (pointing to my maroon purse sitting by the counter): It's right there.
Me: That's the wrong color, I'll go get my olive purse and move everything into it.
Hubs: Just take this purse, it's already here and has all your stuff in it.
Me (heading up the stairs): Fine.
Hubs: Then where are you going?
Me: To put on my maroon jeans.


Now click on the links below for a peek into some other homes:

Never Ever Give Up Hope  
Menopausal Mother 
Spatulas on Parade 



Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics






Toffee Turtle Cookies
                                                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 stick margarine, softened 
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar 
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 
36 Heath Toffee Bar miniatures, unwrapped
36 shelled pecan halves

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
*Cream the butter, margarine and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, then the flour, baking soda and salt.
*Mix in the chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips.
*Roll into about 1 inch balls and place on the baking sheets. Press down slightly with the heel of your hand.
*Bake for 14 minutes and immediately press a Heath miniature into the top of each cookie. Allow to cool for 2 minutes before removing from the baking sheet. 
*As soon as the top of the toffee bars start to melt, press a pecan half  into each. Allow the melted chocolate on each cookie top to harden before storing cooled cookies.


Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Cold: February Word Counters

Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. The bloggers who are joining me this time all picked a number between 12 and 74 and sent it to me. I gave the numbers out as assignments to other bloggers who are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with.

Word Counters, a multiblogger writing challenge | Developed, run by and graphic property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics



I got the number 14. It was submitted by Dawn of Spatulas on Parade.

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme Cold. I bet you can figure out why.


~ You feel the need to say a prayer EVERY time you start the car.

~ Don't be gloveless, the steering wheel will claim the skin right off your fingers.

~ Whipping winds take your breath away, require zipping my coat up over your mouth.

~ You lose feeling in your feet, inside your boots, just walking to the mailbox.

~ Your groceries begin freezing in your trunk on the ride home from the store.


Crockpot Pepperoni Pizza Soup is a fun and filling way to have your soup and pizza too, pizza night in a quick and easy slow cooker soup form. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner

Crockpot Pepperoni Pizza Soup
Crockpot Pepperoni Pizza Soup is a fun and filling way to have your soup and pizza too, pizza night in a quick and easy slow cooker soup form. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner



~ You walk to your neighbor's house and end up with icicles on your eyelashes.

~ Stick your nose out of the covers, if it turns red, stay in bed.

~ How many pairs of socks can you wear at once? Asking for . . . me.

~ Damn whoever thought up daylight savings, the early dark plummeting temps in the afternoon.

~ But . . . a hot drink (with a shot) is medicinal on freezing days. Cheers.




Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:
Spatulas on Parade 
Messymimi’s Meanderings 
On the Border 



Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics





Crockpot Pepperoni Pizza Soup
                                               ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Ingredients:
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth 
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tsp Italian seasoning
3/4 cup pepperoni slices
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 small red onion, sliced then cut in quarters
1/2 green pepper, sliced then cut in quarters
1 clove minced garlic
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

OPT: naan or small premade pizza crusts
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
OR: Italian seasoned croutons

shredded mozarella cheese for serving

Directions:
*Place the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vegetable broth, sugar, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning and pepperoni in a slow cooker and turn to high.
*In a saute pan, heat the 2 TBSP olive oil over medium heat until hot. Stir in the onion, green pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until the onion is just soft. Add to the slow cooker.
*Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce to low and cook for 3 hours. Add the mushrooms, ricotta and parmesan and cook another hour.
OPT: just before the soup is done cooking, brush the remaining 1 TBSP olive oil onto the naan, then sprinkle with garlic powder and parsley flakes. Toast until the bread is hot, crisp and browned. Cut into about 1 inch slices.
*To serve, top each bowl of soup with the shredded mozarella cheese, then serve with the toasted bread or top with the Italian seasoned croutons.


Friday, February 14, 2020

A Song, A Raven, and Shrimp?: Use Your Words

Today’s post is a monthly writing challenge. If you’re new here, this is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once. All of the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the recipient will take them. Until now.


Use Your Words, a multiblogger writing challenge | developed and run by www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics


At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featuring this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they got and how they used them.
I'm using: vile ~ well known ~ shock ~ song ~ bug ~Raven
They were submitted by Jenniy of Climaxed.

                          
Perspective is a funny thing. I took a look at my assigned words for this month and I was stuck. The reason? The order in which Jenniy submitted the words. I see that first word, vile, and in my mind I'm using that as a starting point. I don't want to write a post about vile. Well, actually, I do. I received these words, exactly 2 weeks ago today, the day the senate voted (again) to hear no witnesses and subpoena no documents. The vile way senators (I won't call them representatives because they're not) blatantly put their own political aspirations ahead of the best interest of our country (so . . . guilty of the actions they were charged with judging, how's that for irony?) really is something I could write about at length. But then so is shock, another one of my assigned words.

I'm not going there though (despite the fact that you could argue that I sort of just did, but oh how much more I have to say). I've done it before on this blog, my political viewpoints are well known here. But I just don't have it in me to get started on what I think about that mock trial. If I were to write about it, really speak my mind, I know how it would end, with the bottom line of how I feel about the state of our union, of the star-crossed hopes of anyone who values democracy:

Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore".

So I'm going to change my perspective. Throw the words (well, there are only two left) into a dice shaker, roll them out again and talk about something else.

"Bug." Great, the perfect segue to sharing a new recipe . . .

Creamy Shrimp Rotini, fresh shrimp and vegetables are mixed with pasta and served in a creamy sauce. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner

Creamy Shrimp Rotini
Creamy Shrimp Rotini, fresh shrimp and vegetables are mixed with pasta and served in a creamy sauce. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #dinner


I hope you don't mind if I move right along to song, a nice, benign, happy word. 

Or at least it should be. But thanks to some weird game app, and egged on by my words today, the song that's become today's earworm is about a bug. Technically (for the record), not a bug although (also for the record) a Raven would eat them. Nonetheless, "Eensie Weensie Spider" is circling my brain like kids playing a game of musical chairs. I was innocently playing my daily Sudoku game and when I beat it, I am always encouraged to download other game apps before my win is registered. Today's was a game where a spider is in one drain connected to a man in another. There are blockages in the drain and you are supposed to open the blockages that would allow the water at the top to drown the spider and not the man. Absurd game, in so many ways. I'd just leave all the blockages there, they're both safe and the spider's unable to get to the man. There, I win. Not much fun, but then neither would be playing the game as it's intended. 

Hence, the unwelcome (dare I say "vile") earworm of the day.

As well as the final proof that I'm not really accomplishing anything with this writing challenge {{sigh}}.

To that end, I guess I should end with an apology. Maybe two. First to Jenniy, I'm afraid I didn't do your words justice this month, I'm sorry. Second to the rest of my readers, if you look at my word count, seems I spent more time writing about why I didn't want to write about "vile" than I did saying much of anything else. Guess it's true that words are powerful, and sometimes they just won't be denied.

But there's a bright shiny object recipe. It's easy and it's delish. 

Yeah, deflection. Hope it works as well for me as well as it works for . . . 

Oh, and happy VD to you all. Wishing you love and happiness and flowers and champagne. And no spiders.




Baking In A Tornado signature | www.BakingInATornado.com | #MyGraphics






Creamy Shrimp Rotini        
                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com


Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 box (12 oz) garden rotini
1 cup spinach (uncooked)
4 TBSP butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped red pepper
1 TBSP olive oil
24 oz raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 TBSP flour
1/4 cup white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 milk
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

OPT: shaved or grated parmesan cheese for serving

Directions:
*In a large pot, cook the garden rotini to al dente. Drain, add the spinach to the pot and keep warm.
*In a large saute pan, melt 1 TBSP of the butter over medium heat. Add 2 cloves of the garlic, the onion and the chopped red pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft, then add them to the pot with the pasta.
*In the same saute pan, melt another 1 TBSP butter with the olive oil and the other clove of garlic. Add the shrimp and cook, turning once, until just pink. Add to the pot with the pasta.
*In the same saute pan, melt the remaining 2 TBSP butter. Whisk in the flour. Cook and whisk for 1 minute until it's thick and the flour starts to brown. Whisk in the wine, heavy cream, milk, dried pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the sauce thickens. 
*Add the pasta mixture to the sauce and gently stir to coat the pasta, shrimp and vegetables. 
*OPT: serve with grated or shaved parmesan cheese.

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Can't Just Go: Escape Poetry


February, dark and cold,
leafless trees, sad to behold.
Even Valentine's a day of love,
can't these dreary feelings shove.

Monthly Poetry Group considered all,
this was our resulting call:
when it comes to February in prose,
Escape is the theme that we all chose.


Escape, a monthly poetry challenge based on a theme. | Graphic property of www.BakingInATornado.com | #poetry


But my poem today isn't about the weather.
Can't Just Go


"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
"Go laugh, have fun,
you need to run."

"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
Stop being naive,
I can't just leave.


"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
Can't just dismiss,
signed up for this. 

"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
But I can't go,
needs me to grow.

"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
Just eats sweets without me, 
I'm no longer free.



Big Heart Cookies aren’t just for Valentine’s Day, share them with the ones you love on any occasion. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #cookies

Big Heart Cookies
Big Heart Cookies aren’t just for Valentine’s Day, share them with the ones you love on any occasion. | Recipe developed by www.BakingInATornado.com | #recipe #cookies


"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
Though tempted to run, 
she loved her "bun".


"Escape" it said,
voice in her head.
"Hang in" thought she,
he'll soon be three.


Before you go, click on these links to more poetry from some of my friends:
Dawn of Spatulas on Parade shares The Great Escape
Diane of On the Border shares Escaped.
Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares Escape the Madness.



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Big Heart Cookies  
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients (makes 12 large cookies):
1 stick butter,room temperature
1 stick margarine, room temperature 
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg 
2 tsp strawberry extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 TBSP red colored sugar
2 - 3 drops red food coloring

Directions:
*Cream together the butter, margarine and both sugars. Beat in the egg and strawberry extract. Mix in the flour, baking power, salt and red colored sugar, then use your hands to form into a dough.
*Place the dough onto plastic wrap and flatten to form a disk. Wrap the dough completely and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.
*Cover baking sheets with parchment paper.
*Roll out the dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut out 12 hearts with a large heart shaped cookie cutter. Using a small heart shaped cookie cutter, cut and remove a small heart from the center of each cookie and set aside with the excess dough. Move the large hearts to the baking sheets and refrigerate.
*Add 2 - 3 drops of red food coloring to the remaining dough, form a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Roll out this dough and, using the small heart shaped cookie cutter, cut out 12 hearts. Place these into the center of the large cookies, gently manipulate them with your fingers so they fill the entire space, and return them to the refrigerator.
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
*Remove the baking sheets from the refrigerator and bake for 15 minutes. Cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheets before removing to cool completely.