Happy Monday blog friends.
It's hard to believe that Wednesday is St. Patrick's Day.🍀
I love baking Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's Day and I usually make this bread every year.
This recipe was given to me by our friend whose mom was from Ireland. Below is the recipe to make this Irish Soda Bread.
IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups regular flour
1 egg
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 stick margarine
1 cup raisins
1/4 box caraway seeds
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
(Dash of nutmeg or cinnamon - if desired)
DIRECTIONS:
All ingredients at room temperature
Use shallow greased 9" baking tin. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring raisins to boiling point only. Drain and cool. Sift together all dry ingredients. Rub in margarine. Beat egg and buttermilk together. Add to mixture using a wooden spoon. Fold in raisins. Mixture will be on the dry side- light dough. Roll into baking tin. Smooth top with spoon. Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool on rack thoroughly. Glaze with melted sugar (2 tablespoons) in 1/2 oz. boiling water. Top of cake only, sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. Slice and serve with butter.
Enjoy!
** NOTE: I did not use the caraway seeds or the sugar glaze on top of bread that the recipe calls for, and it still tasted amazing.
IRISH SODA BREAD MUFFINS
Last year I decided to make Irish Soda Bread Muffins instead of the bread. These muffins were easy to make and they tasted so yummy. Irish Soda bread muffins will go perfectly with a traditional Irish meal of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes.
You make the muffins the same as the recipe above but bake them at 400 degrees F. for 20 to 30 minutes.
I hope you enjoy making Irish Soda Bread or Muffins for St. Patrick's Day.
Yummy Irish Soda Bread Muffins!
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
We were gifted back in February with an assortment of Girl Scout cookies our daughter sent to us in the mail.
We love Girl Scout cookies and it was a nice surprise and so thoughtful of my daughter. I always order an assortment of cookies whenever the kids on my block come knocking on my door. I love the Do-Si-Dos and Thin Mint Cookies.
I thought it would be a fun idea to make Thin Mint Brownies. Below you will find the recipe to make them.
THIN MINT BROWNIES
** Recipe found at Girl Scouts
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 box of crushed Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies
1 box of brownie mix
2 eggs (3 eggs for cake-like brownies)
1/4 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
- Crush Thin Mints into medium size chunks.
- Mix all ingredients into mixing bowl. Do not use electric mixer - batter will be stiff.
- Spread batter evenly in greased baking pan. (13x9x2 inch)
- Bake in center of oven at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool before cutting. Serve with mint-flavored tea.
YUMMY THIN MINT BROWNIES!
What is your favorite Girl Scout cookie?
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Hello blog friends and happy March!
I have my Friday Favorites - March Edition:
1. Exercise
I've been doing some yoga on YouTube, Yoga with Adriene. These yoga lessons are great because you can do them whenever you like. Adriene has so many different levels of yoga lessons available. Have you tried any of these yoga videos yet?
I love using my new Lululemon reversible yoga mat that I received this past Christmas.
When I saw this photo on Instagram, I thought this puppy looked adorable and ready to do yoga. Maybe downward dog pose?
2. College Drop Off and Shopping
We dropped off my daughter at college back in January. We decided to go shopping at the mall and stop for lunch afterward.
We were able to shop without any large crowds of people in the mall. We've never heard of the store Boscov's but my husband bought some Ralph Lauren shirts on sale. I was happy to buy new Ray-Ban sunglasses.
In Rhode Island, they have dine-in at restaurants so we had lunch at Panera Bread. We felt safe as the tables were spaced apart and there weren't too many people eating lunch. We both shared a salad and sandwich and then it was back on the road to go home.
3. Eating
My daughter bought this mini Dash egg-making machine at Target. We tested out the machine before my daughter went back to college. The egg machine went back with her and makes the cutest egg bites.
My daughter's roommate brought this mini waffle maker to college too. Now they can all enjoy homemade mini waffles and eggs.
I've been making turkey grilled cheese sandwiches lately. I usually make a whole sandwich and split it in half with my husband for lunch.
We were surprised in the mail with a big box of Girl Scout cookies my daughter sent us. We love these cookies but I'm splitting the box with her as we are trying to be good about eating sweets.
4. Creative
I was recently requested to make a crocheted baby Yoda for my Zumba teacher. I found this pattern to make baby Yoda.
My daughter is showing off a new fleece Appa hat her friend gave her. I think my daughter looks adorable and the hat matches the crochet Appa I made her. I'm working on making another Appa for my daughter's friend.
I used to do calligraphy many years ago. I was inspired to try it again after seeing the book and pens on Tanya's blog, The Other Side of the Road. I'm a little rusty doing the letters but I'm having fun.
5. Watching
In keeping up with watching the Marvel movies, we saw Iron Man 2, Thor, the Avengers, Iron Man 3, and Thor-The Dark World. We both like watching Marvel movies on the weekends.
Thor
The Avengers
Iron Man 3
Thor - The Dark World
6. Snow
We had 17 inches of snow at the end of January that lasted for three days. We cleaned everything up and then had another five inches of snowfall a few days later. We had another snowstorm in the middle of February. We've had snowstorms on and off for most of February. This is a photo of Bosco on our front steps watching his Dad clean up the snow. I hope we won't have anymore snowstorms for the month of March. I can't wait for winter to be over and I wish it were April already!
Have a happy Friday and weekend.
Click HERE to see the blog parties I will be linking up to.
Julie
Hello blog friends and happy March!
I'm joining Tanya for her Amazon Prime Purchases link-up. I have combined Amazon orders between my daughter and I again this month. You might find some items here and at Tanya's link-up that might be of interest to you.
Here are a few items my daughter ordered from Amazon while away at college:
2 Natural Himalayan Pink Salt Lamp w/ Bulb & Cord
My daughter ordered this cool looking salt lamp for her dorm room.
Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier, Electrolyte Powder, Easy Open Packets, Supplement Drink Mix (Lemon Lime, 16 Count)
My daughter likes to add this hydration powder to her water.
30pack PM 2.5 Activated Carbon Filter Insert Ship from USA
Using these filters are useful for wearing face masks.
Rayson Empty Spray Bottle, Frosted Assorted Colors
My daughter loves succulents and uses a water bottle to take care of her plants.
My orders:
JIGA 3 Pack Toilet Brush and Holder Set, Toilet Bowl Brush Cleaner with Caddy Bathroom Stiff Bristles Toilet Scrubber Brush, White
I ordered these toilet bowl brushes again since they are a great price for 3 brushes. The brushes work great too!
Spacesaver Premium Vacuum Storage Bags. 80% More Storage! Hand-Pump for Travel! Double-Zip Seal and Triple Seal Turbo-Valve for Max Space Saving! (Jumbo 3 Pack)
I ordered another package of these space saver bags for our sheets and blankets. These bags help save space in a closet.
bebe Hand Weights for Walking, Running Jogging, Set of 2 | 2lb Pair, 1lb Each Weight | Soft Neoprene, Reflective Strap for Women
I ordered these weights for my online Zumba classes. We dance with weights for about 3 songs. These weights are easy to use since you have a handle to grip onto.
To see my Amazon purchases from last month you can click HERE.
Have you bought anything lately?
Hello blog friends. I can't believe it's the last week in February. It makes me happy because I know we are getting closer to spring.
I like ordering my books online for convenience, but I also enjoy visiting book stores. How about you?
I've never been to the Strand Book Store. I was so excited when we all decided to visit the store in New York City.
We drove into the city early on a Saturday morning and found a parking spot right across the street from the store. We got there early so we had to wait in line before the store opened.
My daughter has been to this store many times and she enjoyed giving us a tour of all three floors.
They had carts filled with used books lined outside of the store.
They had so many tote bags to choose from and my daughter helped me pick out this bag. I'm using it now to store my yarn and crochet projects.
We all bought books. I bought the tote, one new book, and a used Mary Higgins Clark book.
I am currently reading Park Avenue Summer. It's about Helen Gurley Brown and her life working as an editor in chief at Cosmopolitan Magazine.
In each book, we received a Strand bookmark.
This was such a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. I could have spent hours looking at books in this store.
Do you have a favorite book store? What book are you reading now?
Julie
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