Seriously...

...can it get any cuter than this..? I have a well known fixation with wiener dogs and I'm sharing some photos, just to make your day!

 

S.P.R.I.N.G. swap

This is my version of the S.P.R.I.N.G. swap that I still owe Patumma.

I have included the following items:

Sharpie
Pin
Recipes
Icecube tray, ink pad
Notebook, nail file
Gum, gummies

I have the package nicely assembled and ready to go, I just need to find the strength to take it to the post office! :-(

Red Lucky Parcel - received

This is the lovely red lucky parcel that I received yesterday from Ayates on Swap-Bot.

Anna took time to go through my profile and included the following: A flower shaped lip gloss, a cookie cutter, a red nail polish, some sticky notes, a red pen, a red pair of scissors, some cute wooden toadstool embellishments and an ink pad. She also included the following notecard: 

Thank you Anna for the lovely package!

Lenna’s chicken a la crème

This is a relatively easy dish that I made yesterday for lunch-it is my interpretation of chicken a la crème, a favorite dish for many.

In order to make it (for two people), you will need:

-          2 large chicken breasts

-          3-4 large peppers

-          A bottle of cheap white wine

-          250 ml of single cream

-          2 garlic cloves

-          Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the chicken breast in bite-sized cubes and sauté in a pan. Add the peppers, cut also in bite-size pieces and the crushed garlic cloves and sauté for a while, until the peppers become tender. Cover with white wine and allow to cook thoroughly, until there is almost no wine left. Then, add the cream and some salt and pepper and boil until the cream thickens. Serve with rice and a very easy and crisp Greek lettuce salad.

In order to make the salad, slice some lettuce and a fresh spring onion. Add also some cherry tomatoes, cut in two. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Add some olive oil and a drizzle of wine vinegar and you’re ready!

S.P.R.I.N.G. swap - received

Yesterday I received this lovely package from Maggmurp, all the way from the United States. For this swap, we had to send our partner items beginning with the letters found in the word S.P.R.I.N.G., so here is how everything looked together:

The package contained some sweet cookie cutters that will be utilized soon...

...some cupcake themed napkins...

...some stationery items, which will definitely come handy...

...and some really great recipe cards, with individual "pockets" of spices you can mix to make Chicken Tikka Masala (which is my favorite dish, how did you know?) and Carribean Grilled Steak:

Thank you so much Maggmurp for making my day!

Finally...

...this is what I did with them!

Extremely simple, yet at the same time, mouth-watering!

Homemade banoffee pie

A while ago I was invited by a friend to dinner at her place and as I always like making something to offer the hostess, I made this easy banoffee pie.

To make this, you will need the following:

- One and a half packages of petit beurre biscuits
- Half cup of lukewarm milk
- A shot of rum
- A can of dulce de leche 
- 4 bananas
- 400 grams of whipping cream
- some confectioner's sugar
- grated dark chocolate


For making the dulce de leche:

Buy a few cans of sweetened condensed milk. Fill a large cooking pot with water and place inside the cans. I usually make 4 at a time and keep the rest in my cupboard, they keep for 3-4 months. Simmer the cans-closed-for approximately two and a half hours and make sure that they are covered by the water at all times. Add some extra water as needed. Remove from the pot and allow to cool.

Mix the lukewarm milk with the rum and dip the biscuits. Arrange them in two layers in a tray. Open the can with dulce de leche and spread on top of the biscuits. Cut the bananas into slices and arrange on top of the dulce de leche.

Whip the cream and add confectioner's sugar to taste. Spread on the dessert and finish with grated dark chocolate.

Guaranteed success!