TOH Recipes - Ittybit's Kitchen

                                Chicken Skewers with Cool Avacado Sauce 

                                           (picture via TOH)

                                      Click here for recipe.

                                                     Mango Shrimp Pitas

                                           (picture via TOH)

                                      Click here for the recipe.

                                                Chocolate Cherry Cake Roll

                                            (picture via TOH)

                                       Click here for the recipe.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I enjoy eating.  I wish I had the job of these world class travelers that all they do is go to other countries and try different foods.  Don't get me wrong...there would be things that I wouldn't cross the line with...such as bugs, alligator, snake...I can't do that.  But some of the Food Network shows that I watch I literally find myself gaining weight watching these shows and then find my mouth salivating at wanting to eat some of these dishes!!  I may not be able to travel to these wonderful places and try some of their excellent and inviting dishes but I can certainly try and replicate them at home as much as I can.  I enjoy baking so why not take it a step further with food.   So upon dreaming of these wonderful dishes I came upon some wonderful Taste of Home recipes which absolutely look delicious and won't take long to make.  

If you do decide to make them you will need to let me know the outcome and what you thought from your end! 

Until my next blog...happy recipe/dish making!

Ittybit

Lavender Lemonade (TOH) - Ittybit's Kitchen

                                     Photo via Taste of Home

Who doesn't enjoy summer?  It's the time to put away the winter clothes and pull out the summer time fashion threads.  Slip into your flip flops, apply the sunscreen and kick back into an over sized beach chair.  And what could complete this picture perfect ending???  A nice glass of lemonade. Perhaps lavender lemonade. And what could be wrong with adding a little calmness to a relaxing day?  Here's a great lavender lemonade recipe to get you started.

Until my next blog...Happy lemonade making. 

Ittybit

Chocolate Covered Strawberries - Ittybit's Kitchen

I absolutely love chocolate covered strawberries.  So the other night I decided to treat the hubs and I and made a few.  YUMMO!   Delicious! 

Until my next blog...Happy Chocolate Making!

Ittybit

Lemonade Meringue Pie TOH - Ittybit's Kitchen

                                   Photo via Taste of Home

I don't know about you but I absolutely love eating a piece of lemon meringue pie.  There's just something about the first bite.  It's almost like there's a big party happening with my taste buds.   The mixture of pie crust, lemon and the meringue.  I personally haven't made my own lemon meringue pie I usually run to Marie Calender's and buy them but now I have reason to try and make one on my own.  And now that spring is in full force it's time!   I found this great lemonade meringue pie recipe done by Kay Seiler in the April/May '08 issue of TOH. 

Until my next blog...Happy Dessert Making!

Ittybit

Spring Time in Full Bloom - Ittybit's Kitchen

                                   Photo via Taste of Home

With Spring time in full bloom (even though our weather has been so crazy lately) I've already noticed the beautiful colors and the wonderful aromas of flowers blossoming.  There's nothing better than sitting on my patio and enjoying the sounds of birds chirping and watching the humming birds drink water from our patio fountain.  I also enjoy feeling the warmth of the days sunshine with the light cool breeze filling the air. 

Here's an excellent refreshing dessert idea to satisfy those taste buds without that guilty feeling.  This wonderful creamy lime sherbet with candied flowers dessert comes from Betsy Hedeman.  This recipe was found in the April/May 2008 issue of TOH or you can click here for the recipe.

Until my next blog...Happy Dessert Making 

Ittybit

Asparagus-Fennel Pasta Salad from TOH - Ittybit's Kitchen

                                  Photo via Taste of Home

I personally enjoy eating asparagus.  Especially when my husband prepares his special asparagus side dish.  But while flipping through my Taste of Home (April/May 08 issue) for more dinner ideas I came upon this wonderful dish titled "asparagus-fennel pasta salad" by Linda Lacek. 

Until my next blog...Happy Cooking

Ittybit

Breakfast Granola Yogurt Recipe (TOH) - Ittybit's Kitchen

                                      Photo Via Taste of Home

I enjoy eating breakfast but sometimes there are mornings where I can't sit down to a big meal that consists of eggs, hashbrowns, pancakes or waffles.  Sometimes I like having a cup of coffee or tea along with a bowl of granola and yogurt.    I received this wonderful breakfast granola yogurt recipe from Taste of Home the other day and I wanted to share it.   Click here for the recipe.

Until my next blog...Happy Baking

Ittybit

'41 Willies Handcrafted Gingerbread Cookie - From Ittybit's Kitchen

This is a handcrafted '41 Willies Coupe that my husband and I designed for my father-in-law during Christmas time.  My husband designed a cookie cutter in the shape of a Willies for me. It measures 10" in length and 3 1/2" in height.   It's all gingerbread and we decorated it using thinned downed royal icing in shades of blue, black and gray.   My father-in-law (and mother-in-law) absolutely loved.   It took him a few days before he would indulge in his cookie.   How funny!  

Cherry Gingerbread Cupcake Recipe - From Ittybit's Kitchen

                                    Photo via Taste of Home

Since we are in the holiday season it's a great time for baking.  All kinds of eye tempting treats, aromas that will fill our kitchens and just plain good times.   I enjoy eating gingerbread cookies but why not try it as a cupcake?  Especially with cherries!  

This recipe can be found in the Apr/May 2007 issue on page 29.  Recipe was submitted by Laura McAllister.

Lebanese Fatoush Salad Recipe - From Ittybit's Kitchen

Click here for the Lebanese Fatoush salad from the July 1998 issue of Cooking Light.   Garden-fresh veggies make this salad refreshingly crisp and cool, and it's simple too.  It's so tasty you might want to make it your whole meal!  

Sweet Spiced Caramel Apple Recipe - From Ittybit's Kitchen

                                                         Photo via Taste of Home 

I absolutely love caramel apples.  And not just during the holiday season either.  So when this one caught me eye I knew I would have to try it out. It looks absolutely delicious!    Please click here for the Taste of Home recipe.

Cranberry Festive Sparkler Drink - From Ittybit's Kitchen

I came across this great sounding refreshing drink in the Oct/Nov 2010 issue of Taste of Home.  Presented by OceanSpray.

Ingredients: 

8 ounces Ocean Spray cranberry juice drink, any flavor, chilled

2 ounces sparkling water

Lime wedge, garnish

Directions: 

Fill a tall glass with ice.  Add cranberry juice drink.  Top with sparkling water.  Garnish with a lime wedge. 

Makes 1 serving. 

Pistachio Cupcakes With Rose Petal Flavored Buttercream Recipe - from Ittybit's Kitchen

These are some great tasting cupcakes.  I made these cupcakes awhile ago but I found the recipe on 52 cupcakes' blog.   It's titled "Week 39-Pistachio Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Frosting." 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F  (makes 18 standard cupcakes)

Here's the recipe: 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 (3-1/2-ounce) package instant pistachio pudding mix

2/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pistachios

Directions: 

1. In a mixing bowl, add the first 5 ingredients; stir to combine. 

2. Add in the mini chocolate chips; stir to combine.

3. In another bowl, add the eggs, milk, oil, chopped pistachios, and vanilla;stir to combine.

4. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture; stir until well mixed.

5. Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full.

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until pick comes out clean. 

7. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. 

*Instead of using vanilla cream frosting I simply used pure rose extract that I purchased at Sur La Table and added a little to my butter cream frosting. I added a handcrafted sugar rose that I made out of fondant and gumpaste.

I really enjoyed these and plan on making them again.  :)

Happy Baking!

Pumpkin Cupcakes - From Ittybit's Kitchen

Mmmmmm....pumpkin cupcakes.  What a tasty little treat.  I made these for my Church's Harvest Festival.  I took a basic white cake (from the box) used some orange gel to tint my white batter.  I made some butter cream frosting from scratch and tinted that green so I could use as the main frosting on my cupcakes. For the pumpkins I made them using krispy treats. While melting the marshmallows I added a few drops of orange gel and then once again in the process of adding the rice krispy's.  Once the rice krispy batter was ready I could start making the pumpkin ball.  This part was a little tricky plus I had to work fast so the rice krispy's wouldn't harden. I used shortening on my hands so the rice krispy treats wouldn't stick to my fingers.  For the stem part I took a piece of a tootsie roll and cut it in half. I then piped some leaves and vines to finish these pumpkins. 

A Tasty Little Treat From Ittybits Kitchen- the Crepe-Tastic Cake!

My chef (aka "hubs") definitely knows his way around the kitchen. Not only does he know to make gnocchi from scratch but he can make a killer crepe cake from scratch as well. This cake is made from handmade crepes, homemade filling (can't reveal the secret) and fresh strawberries with a light caramel drizzle on top. It's very light so once you're done eating a piece you don't get that "I shouldn't of eaten that" feeling.

October is here! - From Ittybit's Kitchen

What a great way to start the Halloween fun! Some homemade shortbread cookies made from scratch. These cute pumpkin cookies have been decorated with colored fondant and colored royal icing.

Festive Treats From Ittybit's Kitchen!

A holiday basket filled with delicious treats to satisfy the soul.

Cranberry sugar cookies dipped in white chocolate.

Homemade almond toffee from scratch.

Gingerbread cookies made from scratch.

Cherry Cookies made from scratch.


I absolutely love the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time to spend with family and friends, eat, drink and be merry. It's when you walk into a home and the delicious aromas tease your taste buds of what's ahead and friendly faces to greet you. I love this time of the year because I love to bake. These are just a few of things that family enjoys every year from my kitchen. Homemade cherry cookies, almond toffee, cranberry sugar cookies dipped in white chocolate and gingerbread cookies made from scratch.

Sushirific!!!

This past weekend I made some birthday cupcakes for a friend. I made two types one of which are these fabulous sushi cupcakes and the others were some wonderful chocolate ganache dipped cupcakes. This post is all about the sushi cupcakes that were done. My husband and I actually thought of this idea while waiting for "Inception" (great movie by the way!) to start. So naturally my wheels started turning. So as soon as I got home I gathered all my ingredients and I went to work. Remember...when creating little masterpieces such as this one it does take time...so patience is definitely a virtue. I was truly happy with the outcome and so was my friend. I admit...I love seeing the reactions on the face of the person that this edible art piece has been designed for. I hope you enjoy as well. Until next time...