What's in a treat?

All my time spent in the kitchen creating TREATS... this blog called "Classy Treats"... I got to wondering what the exact definition of "treat" actually is.  I wanted to find out the precise definition. So I turned to Webster.

treat (noun):

an especially unexpected source of joy, delight, or amusement

I just love that definition, don't you!? It is fun making it a priority to bring little glimmers of joy into people's lives through making normal, regular days special. It is so rewarding to see the smile on someone's face after bringing them a "treat" ... whatever that might be. It doesn't have to be from the kitchen. It doesn't have to be something you spent hours planning, creating, cooking, or baking. It doesn't have to be something expensive. A treat is something that brings someone joy or delight.

In this culture of over-scheduling, rush rush rushing, long hours, late nights, and early mornings, most people have difficulty just managing their own every day lives, not to mention trying to provide unexpected joy or delight for someone else. It's so rare to receive treats. It's so rare to be treated to hospitality (that's always a treat!) And because treats are so rare, I think that makes it even more fun to give them.

Everyone enjoys a little treat now and then. Other than treats from the kitchen and the treat of hospitality, (both of which I obviously favor) here are a few other things that could be seen as "treats" for people in your life:

• washing hubby's car
• putting a little note in a child's lunchbox
• making a double batch of dinner and taking one to a neighbor
• ordering "have a great day" flowers for someone (or picking some from your garden!)
• bringing Starbucks to a co-worker on a Monday morning
• meeting hubby at the office for lunch
• meeting a friend for coffee or tea

The list could go on and on. Think about the people you know. What do they like and value? What are your own gifts and talents? What can you give as a "treat" to someone special in your life?  What can you give that would be an especially unexpected source of joy, delight, or amusement?

Think about it. And while you do that, I need to go whip up a birthday treat for someone special in MY life!

Classy little breakfast

Wednesday is a busy day for my family. We race around and squeeze a lot in between school and bedtime. It's a late night by the time extracurricular and church activities are done, homework is done, and everyone is tucked into bed. So Wednesday is a fun day to start with a special breakfast. Even better (for me!) is when the breakfast is made the night before and I just pop it in the oven.  This is a great recipe for sticking in the fridge the night before. Days we know will be busy are the best to be sure to start out on a positive note... with a classy little breakfast!

Raspberry-Almond Coffee Cake
serves 8

1 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. butter, cut into pieces
1/4 c. sliced almonds
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/3 c. sour cream (regular, light or fat free)
2 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
1 large egg
3 oz cream cheese (regular, light or fat free), softened
2 T. sugar
1 egg white
1/4 c. raspberry preserves
1/3 c. raspberries
powdered sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8-inch round cake pan.

In large bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and salt in bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender (or 2 knives) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Measure out 1/2 cup of mixture and combine with almonds in small bowl. Set aside.

To mixture in large bowl add baking powder, baking soda, sour cream, milk, vanilla and almond extracts and egg. Beat at medium speed until blended. Spoon  into prepared pan.

Using same bowl (does not need to be washed first) combine cream cheese, 2 tablespoons sugar and egg white. Beat at medium speed until blended and creamy. Spoon over batter. Dot with raspberry preserves. Top with raspberries. Sprinkle almond-crumb mixture over raspberries and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before cutting. Sift powdered sugar on top of cake if desired.

** Can be refrigerated for baking the following day. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking and add 5-10 minutes to baking time.**

Enjoy!

Memories of guests...

Yikes! It's time for a new guest book. This one is about full! 2011 will start a new book for us.

When I was growing up, my mom had a guest book. Anytime we had guests over, she would ask them to sign their names and write the date they visited and a message if they wanted to. It was always lots of fun to read back through the guests' names and messages. We liked to look at the messages written by the people who had been at our home in past months and years. Usually the names and messages would trigger memories about the specific evening, event, meal, or activity that took place.

I remember when my mom's friend stayed for a few days and helped paint the dining room a peachish, pinkish color. When she signed the guestbook she also wrote "PINK!!!!!!"  I also remember impressing my friends with  a signature and message from Tom Cruise. It wasn't THE Tom Cruise, but there was a Tom Cruise who ate dinner at our house. And Mom has the signature in the guestbook to prove it!

When I got married, my mother gave me a guestbook. My own little family has now  loved remembering our guests in this way, and reliving the memories of time spent with friends and family.  As you might remember, I am taking the month of January off from hosting people at our home as we try to finish UNPACKING our home and getting settled. But  be assured that next month I will be ready to get out the guest book again!

Too much organizing makes me need chocolate

Well, we all need a little break from the cleaning out and organizing. I personally like to have chocolate during my breaks.

In my newlywed days, when I apparently didn't know any better, I always used frosting that came in a tub. I always bought my frosting. Sometime over the years, I made my own frosting. I couldn't believe how good it tasted! So fresh and flavorful and  non-preservative-y.

This is one of my chocolate frosting favorites.  It is smooth and creamy and not too rich. My hubby declared this one of his all-time favorites, and he has an All-Star Sweet Tooth. I typically use this on cupcakes, but it would be yummy on anything-- cake, brownies, whatever you want to put some chocolate on! And of course, it is also good by the spoonful.

The photo isn't the best quality... a little blurry, probably because the camera was dizzy with excitement about our chocolate break!

Easy Chocolate Frosting
enough to frost (but not fill) an 8 or 9 inch cake

3 c. powdered sugar
7 T Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
7 T butter, softened
6 T evaporated milk or light cream
1 1/2 t  vanilla extract

Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa. Set aside. In large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar mixture alternately with evaporated milk. Stir in vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Adjust consistency with a little more milk or sugar if necessary.

Enjoy!

Take baby steps to organize your kitchen.

January is the typical "clean up your life and get organized" month. You're seeing it all over the place-- sales on bins, shelving, bulletin boards, containers... anything you could possibly want to try to get yourself organized. It really does make sense- start the new year with a newly-organized house/ kitchen/closet/ basement/ whatever. But it can be downright overwhelming, especially for the organizationally challenged. So some people just don't do it. My brilliant solution, and what has kept me fairly organized for quite some time, is to take baby steps when organizing.

To tell myself that I would organize my kitchen on a Saturday (or an evening or whatever chunk of time I could set aside) sounded like a huge undertaking. But if I told myself that I would organize the pantry, or the kitchen drawers, or some other aspect of the kitchen, now THAT seemed manageable. Organizing portions at a time, in a systematic way, as I have time, has proven to be an almost fool-proof strategy to keeping up with the clutter and disorganization that comes with... well, with LIVING.

Here are my clear, concise, magical keys to organizing. (No wand necessary!). Once you decide what baby step you are taking in organizing your kitchen, you need to:

1) Empty out
2) Pitch
3) Relocate or rearrange

For instance, using my pantry as an example (which has food on the top shelves and some cookware and gadgets on the bottom shelves): My first step is to completely empty out  the contents of the pantry, preferably when Hubby and small people are not around to get excited and go through all the piles. I vacuum out and wipe down the shelves, replacing shelf liners or shelf paper if necessary. After all, I am getting ready for a new year, so everything should be nice and clean!

When everything is out,  I can look at the contents, figure out what I don't need, haven't used, or is broken or damaged. I throw away broken things, and put items to donate in a box. This is called my pitch phase since I usually end up pitching an awful lot of stuff into the donate box or directly into the trash can. When cleaning out pantries or cabinets where food is stored, I am sure to pitch (into the trash can) any expired or questionable-looking foods as well.

The things that don't get pitched get relocated or rearranged. Things that I don't use regularly but don't want to get rid of need to be relocated. They shouldn't  be taking up prime real estate in the kitchen if they are only used several times a year. I find a place in the basement, laundry room closet or hall closet and store my rarely used kitchen items there. (These are things like a fondue put, punch bowl, holiday jello molds, etc.) Things that aren't relocated get rearranged. This takes more time than the relocating. I put things back into my pantry being sure to group like items together: canned goods together, boxed foods or mixes together, baking items together, breakfast foods together, and so on. Small things like jello and pudding mixes, taco seasoning, and other packets of things get put into a small plastic bin or basket  so that they don't get lost in the depths of the pantry. I like to use small shelves, hanging baskets, stair-step risers or turntables in my pantry and cabinets so that I can fully use the space in between the shelves and can easily see or find what I have. (Now is the time of year when all of those organizational aides are on sale, so run out and get them now if you need some.)

So there you have it. One baby step to a fully organized kitchen. Doesn't that seem a lot less intimidating than tackling the whole thing at once? And when I have a clean, organized kitchen, I spend more time there (is that possible?!) -- or at least enjoy the time I spend there more.

Cheers (!) as you take baby steps to organize your own kitchen. I hope you create an organized space that you love to use. And who knows-- your baby steps that start in the kitchen might just take you all over the house in 2011!

A New Year's Resolution...from the kitchen

I'm a big goal-setter. I like to make lists, accomplish things, cross things off. So naturally I am all about New Year's Resolutions. I usually have a goal for the new year in each of various categories of my life (spiritual life, family, finances, career..) and this year I am adding a new category:  the kitchen!

This is my New Year's resolution related to the kitchen: I want to be a better steward of what comes in and goes out of my kitchen. Lack of planning often results in poor stewardship. This is how it often goes for me:  I "don't have time" to sit down and make a grocery list, so I frantically race to the store in the 15 minutes of free time I have and grab whatever I can find to feed the family for a few meals. Or I go to the grocery store and buy more things that we "need" without finishing what is in the fridge already, and then end up throwing out bad/rotten food a few weeks later. Wastefulness. I am determined to be more responsible with my time, prioritizing the menu planning and grocery list planning that happens in my kitchen. Increasing my planning should decrease my wastefulness which should decrease my grocery bill. Sounds like good stewardship, right?

Also related to my resolution is monitoring the quality of food that comes into the house. As primary grocery shoppers, women have the responsibility (and privilege!) of controlling much of what our families eat. When my family moved this past summer and I was clearing out the pantry, I realized how much "snack food" we had: chips, crackers, popcorn, pretzels, gummi snacks, Chex mix. I always was buying more snacks. I started paying attention to how unhealthy they are and how unnecessary they are, and I  gained a new snack mentality. Healthy foods can be snack foods too. (What a novel thought). I started serving -and packing in lunches- things like cheese, fruit, yogurt, and nuts.  I made a point of buying and serving foods with fewer  preservatives, less salt, and more nutritional value. I felt a lot more responsible and surprisingly, no one complained. My husband lost weight without really trying, because there were less fatty foods around for his late-night munching. So our snack transition was a success, and I am planning to keep it up in the new year.  I still buy the occasional chips and junk food. But they don't fill our pantry on a regular basis. Obviously, we still have treats around here. A treat a day keeps the doctor away. But we give away as many (or more) treats than we eat.

It's a lot of fun to go down the snack aisle at the grocery store,  use coupons (ever notice how many coupons there are for snack foods--foods no one really NEEDS?) and buy things cutely prepackaged in "snack sizes", perfect for the kids' lunches. But it's a lot more fun knowing that I am feeding them healthy snacks. Plus, without all the chips hanging around the pantry, I don't sit down on the couch with a bag and nibble into the wee hours of the morning.

So there you have it--my New Year's resolution from the kitchen. In 2011 I will be a better steward of what God has given me. I will plan carefully, spend carefully, and prioritize providing healthy foods for my family.

And yes, we will still be eating classy treats in the new year.

Thanks, Honey. And thanks, freezer.

Every once in a while, my sweet hubby forgets to communicate an important piece of information. For example: we were invited weeks ago (by his friends through an email to him) to a New Year's Party, and I had asked Hubby if we were told to bring anything. He said, "no". This morning, when re-reading the email, he announced that we need to bring a dessert or finger food.  Thanks, Honey. I wasn't really planning on cooking today. And I wasn't really feeling very creative. And I had a gazillion other things I was planning to do today.

So I took a little peek in the freezer. Surely with all of my Christmas delights and my baking frenzies during the holidays I had something wrapped up and tucked away in the freezer. Surely there was something I was saving for a rainy day, saving for a day when I was overwhelmed by a sweet treat craving. My freezer didn't disappoint.  There were three treasures (!) :  an unbaked pie crust in the pie pan, ready to be filled, a foil packet of 9 chocolate mint cheesecake bars (see my "Taking Christmas to the Cabin" post), and some snowflake sugar cookies waiting to be decorated.

Since I was just on my Winter decorating spree the other day, I decided to decorate the snowflakes. Yesterday I bought some little edible mini-pearls on Christmas clearance (which I was so excited about), and thought I'd use them on my winter-y treats. What a relief to have some things in the freezer. My freezer treasures have saved me on many occasions! That is why I love freezer meals, desserts, snacks, coffee cakes. The dreary, gloomy January days can be a great time to cozy up in the kitchen and do some cooking and baking and get the freezer stocked with treasures. You never know when you're going to need a little something from the freezer. Thanks again, freezer.

In the new year, as you are getting your kitchen organized, go through your freezer and get things in there organized too. You'll need to make room for the freezable treats and eats that I'll be telling you about in 2011. We'll start the year with organizing tips for the kitchen, so get ready to clean out and ORGANIZE.

Happy New Year!