Christmas Scent

Tis the season for your house to smell Christmas-y!  Here is a quick and easy way to fill your house with the best scents of the season without shelling out big bucks at Yankee Candle or Williams-Sonoma.  Yesterday I made breakfast, which included bacon, eggs, and biscuits.  Long after the kitchen was cleaned, the bacon smell was still hanging around.  So, I threw together a batch of Christmas scent, put it on the stove, and within 15 minutes the bacon smell was replaced by citrus and spice and everything nice!

Christmas Scent

Ingredients:

One large navel orange
25-30 whole cloves
Cinnamon stick(s)
Handful of fresh cranberries

Peel your orange in a spiral motion, so you end up with a couple big curly pieces.  Then take your cloves and stick them through the orange peel. 

Place the cloved orange peel, cinnamon, and berries in a pot and fill 2/3 full with water. 

Simmer, uncovered, over low heat.  When water gets low, keep adding more, and your Christmas Scent will last all day. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Another thing I love about fall is all the pumpkin-y treats.  The Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks are one of my favorites.  I rarely have them though because they leave me with that hungry-but-fat feeling.  You know what I mean.  It's that feeling of, hey, I just consumed 550 calories from a $6 coffee drink, but I'm still hungry because I haven't even eaten anything yet.  Blah.  Which leads me to my at-home version.  Each one is around 100 calories, is delicious and pumpkin-y, and best of all, you can still eat some actual breakfast along with it.  It's best enjoyed on a crisp autumn morning, on a mountaintop veranda overlooking a colorful landscape of changing trees.  Or while sitting at your computer.  Whatever.  It's good either way.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

2 cups skim milk
3 Tbsp canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbsp sweetener of your choice (honey, stevia, splenda, etc)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup coffee
Garnish:  Fat Free Whipped Cream, pumpkin pie spice

Combine milk, pumpkin, spice, sweetener, and vanilla in a small saucepan.  Heat 10-12 minutes over medium heat, stirring often, until foamy.

Remove from heat.  Add hot coffee.  Pour into two coffee mugs.  Garnish each with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.  Makes two servings.  Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza Dough

4 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups ice cold water

2 Tbsp olive oil

Place first three ingredients in the bowl of stand mixer; beat at low speed using dough hook attachment until blended.  Gradually add water and oil in a slow, steady stream, and beat at low speed 3 minutes.  Beat at high speed 5 minutes.  

Cover dough with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees+) for 1.5 to 2 hours or until almost doubled in bulk.  Punch down, and divide in half.  

Roll each piece of dough into a ball.  Stretch top of dough around outside of ball, and pinch the edges together, forming a smooth ball.

Place dough balls on a lightly greased baking sheet, and dust with flour.  Cover with a damp towel.  Let stand in a cool place 1 hour.  

Freeze any unused dough in airtight bag.  Thaw in fridge 24 hours before using.

-A la Southern Living, June 2011