Baked portobello mushroom omelet caps

Wow!  That title is a mouthful, isn't it?  However, it is a delicious and healthy mouthful, that's for sure!  The other day, I was walking through the grocery store, and as so often happens to me, I found some great veggies that they had marked down for quick sale.  Among them, as a pack of two big, beautiful portobello mushroom caps!  Needless to say, those babies jumped in my cart and came home with me!

Fresh bread!

When you think of a comforting smell, what comes to mind?  I mean, something that you'd love for your house to smell like 24/7?  Vanilla?  Cookies?  Flowers?  All good answers, but for me, I'd say my favorite smell is fresh out of the oven bread.  Smear some butter on it, and forget about it...I'm in heaven!  

Beef Stock

I love my pressure cooker.  I went for years without using one, but boy oh boy was I hooked after my first experience, that's for sure!  There is almost no limit to the things you can do with a pressure cooker, but I use mine most often for making stocks.  I've already shown you how easy it is to make chicken stock in a pressure cooker, but today, we're going to see how easy it is to make beef stock!  The process is very similar, however, there are a few extra steps.

Marshmallow Fondant

Okay, this is the third (and final) installment of my mini series on my Chocolate Lavender cake how-to!  I broke this up into three posts, because each of these items on their own would be great!  Or mix and match for an entirely different taste!  Do a store bought frosting on the cake, or use the Earl Grey buttercream frosting on a different cake (a spice cake would be lovely!), and this marshmallow fondant would be great on any cake, cupcake, or even cookie!

Earl Grey Buttercream Frosting

Alrighty, today we're going to continue with our cake building posts, picking up from baking our chocolate lavender cake!  We're going to make a really lovely, smooth Earl Grey buttercream frosting!  This frosting would pair beautifully with any cake, really, and while there are a few steps to it, it is pretty easy (especially if you've made any of these ice creams, like my Brown sugar peach ice cream or Caramel ice cream....the process of making the base is the same!)  Are you ready to get started??  Let's go!

Chocolate Lavender Cake

Okay, I've been on a bit of a lavender kick lately.  First, I made lavender tea scones, and figured since I had so much lavender leftover, I would make a chocolate lavender cake!  I also figured I would go ahead and post it, since the coupon code so generously given to me from Herbs & Everlastings, for 10% off of your total order of $5 or more (not counting shipping), good through 9/30/2014, so if you need to get some lavender, this is a great place to get some, and you may as well use the coupon code and get a discount!
This chocolate cake is so moist, and decadent!  It is rather time consuming, but its really not too bad!  This cake process I'm going to break up into three segments, because there are quite a few steps.

Smothered chicken

Hello, everyone!  As you probably know by now, I love chicken.  It is probably my favorite proteins, yet, every time I go to cook it, my mind goes blank.  There are a million ways to cook chicken, and I can't think of one.  However, this smothered chicken is so easy, and such a crowd pleaser every time I make it, that I probably make it more often than I should!

Lavender Earl Grey Tea Scones

I remember when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade, my teacher had a chef come in, and show the kids how to make scones.  I was fascinated.  I'd never heard of scones, but they were pretty easy to make, and I loved the process, and, of course, I really loved eating the finished product!  

Flash forward to the other night, I was catching up on "Downton Abbey", and thought that it would be fun to make some scones!  Now, what kind of scones to make....hum....lavender Earl Grey tea scones sound fancy enough to be served to Lady Grantham, and if they're good enough for her, they're good enough for me!