soup & crackers

Basketball practice didn't get over until late on Friday night so by the time everyone arrived home it was almost 8:00pm. By that time we were more in the mood for a light supper rather than a heavy dinner so I made a batch of 

Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup

which was perfect!

Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Soup Recipe from: Jennifer {at} the Grand Surprise Yield: 6 servings 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 cups chopped onions 4 1/2 cups chicken broth 2 cups jarred roasted red pepper 29 ounce can whole tomatoes 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil salt & pepper Saute onions in oil 8-10 minutes. Add broth, red peppers, basil, tomatoes & sugar. Cover, bring to boil, reduce heat & simmer 15 minutes. Blend with emersion blender until smooth. Season with salt & pepper. Garnish with sour cream and/or parmesan cheese.

{I do not have an emersion blender so I use my regular blender which isn't as convenient but works just as well. I did try my food processor however I prefer the regular blender as the alternative for this recipe.}

I served homemade crackers with the soup along with grilled cheese sandwiches.

Mmm, mm GOOD!   

Sweetheart Crackers Recipe from: Country Living February 1992 MAKES ABOUT 36 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1 tablespoon butter or margarine 1/3 cup milk Sesame seeds {optional} 1. Heat oven to 325℉. In food processor with chopping blade,      process flour, baking powder, and butter until coarse crumbs     form. Slowly mix in enough milk to form a soft dough. 2. Divide dough in half. On floured surface, roll one dough half      until paper thin, lifting dough often to dust with flour to prevent      sticking. With 3 inch heart~shaped cutter, cut rolled dough into     crackers. If desired, lightly sprinkle crackers with sesame      seeds.Gently roll rolling pin over the dough to press seeds      onto each cracker. 3. Transfer crackers to ungreased baking sheet. With fork, pierce     each cracker 4 or 5 times. Bake 10 minutes; turn crackers and      bake 10-15 minutes longer until lightly browned. Cool crackers;      store in airtight container.  Jennifer@the Grand Surprise

Have a great week!

more Valentine Lollipops

Earlier in February I shared a  sneak peek of a 

 Valentine Lollipop 

that I had made. I was so excited about these lollipops and was anxious to get them posted since the next day was Valentines Day. Unfortunately I did not have time that morning to finish taking pictures of all the lollipops or write more about my

 lollipop making experience 

because they had taken a bit longer to make than I had planned. 

So, now I am finally back with the rest of my 

perfectly imperfect 

Valentine Lollipops!

♥

What you see here is my 2nd attempt at making lollipops. My first batch of candy did not turn out as expected {it was opaque and I wanted transparent} so I started again with a new recipe which looked more promising.  I was very pleased the second time around although I could use some practice shaping the hot candy into perfect circles before it hardens. A candy mold is probably the answer, however, there may be something to be said for irregular shaped lollipops...possibly, 

handmade

 with 

love!

♥
These sweet lollipops are simple to make. The only ingredients you need are corn syrup, sugar and water. Flavoring is optional however I wanted to experiment so I added a little peppermint extract which we really liked.
♥
You will also need a candy thermometer. 

This vintage thermometer was handed down to me and is the one I always use. It has been in our family for a long time and still works great. 
 ♥
The RECIPE I used can be found HERE.

♥ ♥ ♥

I thought this was fun...

...a spatula that looks like a lollipop!

{ I ♥ holiday spatula's! }

More holiday themed lollipops??

I haven't decided but it is definitely a possibility!

♥

from my list of one thousand gifts 

::Parents/Grandparents::texts and calls from college kids::father/daughter preparing dinner::sisters::dinner with friends::days getting longer::the sound of birds singing::the first spring flowers getting ready to bloom::a very special Grand Surprise::safe travel::

Have a lovely Day!

Varsity SENIOR NIGHT cupcakes

Some vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting

decorated with sprinkles in team colors

to celebrate

Women's Varsity basketball

SENIOR NIGHT!

I even made some "mini" cupcakes too. 

So cute!

Vanilla Cupcakes 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 cups flour 1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup milk Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla.  Combine flour and baking powder and add to sugar mixture with milk. Place paper liners in cupcake pan and fill each approximately 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.  Yields 12 cupcakes Jennifer@theGrandSurprise

Happy Presidents Day

Starting our week off with 

CHERRIES!

Have a wonderful holiday!

pecan breakfast rolls

I tried a new recipe:

Pecan Breakfast Rolls

{which I served with hashbrowns and eggs}.

This recipe calls for two cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls however I actually only had one  so I made half the recipe instead which was plenty for the three of us. Two cans would have added another layer on top making the finished loaf a bit taller.

Pecan Breakfast Rolls recipe from: Savor the Flavor of Oregon cookbook Yield: 6 to 8 rolls 2 cans Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 1/2 cup sugar 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/4 cup chopped pecans      Topping: 2 Tablespoons honey 1/4 cup powdered sugar 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 cups pecan halves Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 16 triangles.  Spread each triangle with butter. Combine sugar, cin- namon and chopped pecans. Sprinkle on each triangle.  Roll up each triangle starting at widest end and roll to opposite point. Place rolls point side down in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan, forming 2 layers of 8 rolls each. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. If rolls start to  brown, cover pan with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking. Remove from pan at once, placing right side up.  Topping: In sauce pan, add all topping ingredients  except pecan halves. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Drizzle over warm rolls, then top with pecan halves. Jennifer@theGrandSurprise

Also,

today I am celebrating my

2 year

BLOGiversary!!

It's hard to believe it has been 2 years since I published my first post. 

Thank you to my family, friends, followers and everyone who stops by to visit my blog. 

I appreciate all of your comments, emails and words of encouragement! 

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

 

Valentine sugar cookies {frosted & personalized}

Personalized sugar cookies shared with 

family and friends 

on 

Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentine Lollipops {sneak peek}

I am in the kitchen today working on more Valentine treats but will be back soon with some YUMMY posts, including more about these 

cute 

Valentine Lollipops! 

Have a fabulous Wednesday!!

French Silk Pie

Over the weekend I was in the mood for something 

chocolate  

so I made this yummy pie.

I think this would be a great dessert to serve on

Valentines Day!

~Happy Valentines week~

we ♥ breakfast!

Our favorite coffee cake recipe baked in a 

 ♥ 

shaped pan. 

 Have a great weekend!!

more baking....{cookies}

I needed cookies for lunches so made these 

white chocolate MACADAMIA NUT cookies

early yesterday morning. 

They are a favorite here 

so 

they won't last long!

Happy Friday!!

HAPPY National Pancake Day!

To celebrate

 NationalPancakeDay 

I made some 

pancakes & sausage 

Breakfast  Muffins 

 These are so easy to make ahead and a great

 grab~and~go breakfast.

 On Saturday, while I was making biscuits and gravy, I cooked some extra sausage and saved half to use for the muffins and eggs which I made yesterday.  After greasing the muffin cups I filled the bottom with the sausage, made my favorite pancake recipe and filled the cups about 2/3rds full with the batter. In a few of the cups I covered the sausage with an egg and baked those together with the pancake muffins. I will toast some english muffins or toaster biscuits, put a egg in between and make breakfast sandwiches for another easy breakfast to pack for work or grabbing on the go. 

Happy National Pancake Day!