Star Cottage Cafe

I have such fond memories of playing restaurant with my best friend Kate and her little sister Sheila, when I was a little girl. It was so much fun, and I often reminisce about it when I see my own girls playing with their little kitchen. And now, even at thirty something, I sometimes like to don my apron and pretend I own a cafe, where I serve up delicious salad, fancy sandwiches and hot soups followed by irresistibly yummy deserts. Only difference is now I am actually playing with real food instead of that of the plastic, wooden or play-doh variety. My friends and family are gracious enough to play along. It really is quite fun. And I don't think we are ever too old to play pretend ;)
I only wish I lived close enough to my dear friends Kate and Sheila for a restaurant reunion.

Today's Lunch Menu~  

Piping Hot Panini, Fresh off the Press!~Hummus, Pesto, Spinach, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Shredded Carrots, Shredded Chicken (Marinated in Ranch Dressing) and Provolone, all Melted to Perfection on Home Made Sun Dried Tomato and Herb Bread.

Salad~ Spinach, Arugula, Romaine, Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Chopped Celery, Cucumbers, Yellow Peppers, Sliced Apples, Craisins, & Sunflower Seeds tossed in a Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette.

Soup Du Jour~ Creamy Tomato

And For Dessert~ Strawberry Shortcake!

Banana Sandwich

Daddy makes them Delicious, With Peanut Butter and Honey ;)

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are enjoying the holidays. We sure are! We are keeping it simple and Homespun here a Star Cottage, by making the majority of our gifts this year. So needless to say, we've been quite busy.

I posted Pictures on Facebook a couple of days ago, of The Girls and I, making White Chocolate Peppermint Bark. One of my favorite things to make. And due to the overwhelming number of phone calls and e-mails asking me for the recipe etc. I decided to just post the recipe Here. It is so easy to make and its a really fun project for kids ;) It's always a hit at parties. It Makes for great chrismas gifts for friends, family, teachers, neighbors, etc. I Hope you all enjoy the recipe and have a fabulous Christmas Season with your families.  And don't forget Jesus is the Reason! ;)

God Bless, Molly

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
You will need about 2 1/2 lbs of White Chocolate Wafers, the kind you make molded candies with.
And 1 full cup of crushed peppermint candies, (Put candies in ziplock bags and let the Kids go to town hitting it with a wooden spoon, ladle, etc.)
Melt the chocolate it in a double boiler. Then stir in 3/4 cups of the crushed peppermint candies and mix well (save a quarter cup of the candy bits to sprinkle on top when you are done)
using a rubber spatula, spread the chocolate mixture onto a waxpaper lined cookie sheet (the bigger the cookie sheet, the thinner the bark and vice-versa) Then to finish it off, Sprinkle with the leftover candy bits to make it pretty ;)
Let it cool over night (Hide it from the midnightsnacking Hubby) and then break it into bits in the morning.

*Variations*
You can switch out the peppermint for crushed lemon candies instead, and it's amazing! Or use Dark Chocolate and Crushed Almonds or Craisins etc. Have fun expirimenting with different kinds of Chocolate and crushed goodies.

Somebody's sad because she didn't want to share the candies with anyone ;(

Then Edy the Sweetie got happy, when she found out she got to crush them to bits ;) 

Lily lou lou Checking her Progress ;)

A Monastery Kitchen

I was so surprised & excited to receive these cookbooks as a gift from Grampa Gary for Resurrection Sunday. I can't wait to dive in and try some of these tasty recipes.

Easter Cookout @ Auntie Shawna's

Strawberry CheescakePeanut Butter Pie Chocolate Mousse

Kevin's sister hosted Easter at her new house on Saturday instead of Sunday. Rather than heat up the house baking and cooking all morning on an 86 degree day, Auntie Shawna and Uncle Nick decided to have a lovely cookout to enjoy the weather. It was a great Idea. We ate lots of delicious food including the desserts Grandma Karen bought from Wegmans. (We threw our healthy diet we've been working on out the window for the day.) Yumm! Then we worked off all those calories playing volleyball, horseshoes & hide and seek with all the kids. It was a wonderful day with family & friends.

Asian Stir Fry

Kevin and I love Chinese Food, but let's face it, it's expensive and not all that healthy.

So I've been experimenting @ home with some more healthy versions. I made a Low Cholesterol, Low Sodium Stir fry and served it over Low Sodium Fried Rice. I found a low sodium soy sauce we like @ Wegmans, and a great recipe for fried rice from Average Betty, the video is hysterical, be sure to check it out. It was so easy, I am kicking myself for not trying it sooner. Next time I will try making the rice with egg whites instead, to cut out more cholesterol. It was Delicious and so much Better for our Body and our Budget. It was so good, that I made it Twice this week. We set up a blanket & cushions on the living room floor, ate out of our Asian dishes, and drank some Oolong tea ;) The Girls thought it was wonderful.

Bruschetta

I've Just Gotta Have Tomatoes!

I made some quick bruschetta using what I had on hand. I didn't feel like running out to the store for Baguette so I searched my pantry for a substitute and found some country white bread. It worked out well. Here's what I did. First I lightly toasted the slices in my toaster oven, just enough to make them a little rigid, but not at all brown, then I topped them with my tomato mixture.
12 roma tomatoes (diced)
3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3tsp balsamic vinegar
3tbsp fresh basil (chopped fine)
3 cloves garlic (crushed)
salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkled them with mozzarella and popped them back in the toaster oven @ 450 until the cheese melted and the bread looked nice and brown on the edges.

I made several batches and we all devoured them. Yumm!

Home Made Pizza

This is the kind of Pizza that My Boss and his wife from the Ice cream stand used to make, when we would all hang out.
It's simply a crust with sliced tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and herbs. It's So easy and I absolutely love it.

I've been craving tomatoes in all forms lately, so I thought I'd make some the other night.
I didn't have pizza dough ready since I decided to make it last minute. I really wanted my pizza right away. So I googled quick and easy crust recipe and found one on all recipes, that didn't require letting it sit overnight. Yippee! It wasn't the best crust I've had, but I didn't want to wait, so I really can't complain. Next time I'll try to plan ahead.

Any way here it is. It was yummy and took about 30 min from start to finish! I also used roma tomatoes, because that's what I happened to have on hand.

Oh and just a cheesy bit of information, I always sing "Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme" by Simon & Garfunkel, when I make pizza, because those are the herbs I use, with the addition of Garlic Basil Salt and Pepper.

Licking the Spatula

Edy the Sweetie, Loves he sweets ;)

Aprons

I made some Aprons for a few of my Friends and Family members for Christmas. I wanted to wait till they had received them in the mail before I posted pictures.

Since I made all the patterns myself, I am still working out the kinks and trying new things with each one I sew.
I can't wait to make more and even one for myself would be nice, but finding the time to sew has been tough lately. I am quite busy with the girls between homeschooling and all the regular day to day stuff of having a young growing family.

Some of these photos were taken at night so the colors are a bit off.3 photos of Apron # 1 above

Apron #2 above

Apron #3 above And finaly the Children's Apron

apron # 4 above