Love Big, Bake Often

Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Pudding Tarts

2012-02-13T00:20:00.001-05:00

My dear friend, Jen, sent me a link to a contest. The message said “you should do this”. Yes, yes I should. So here we are. Girl Scout Cookie time. Jen’s daughter is a Girl Scout, so I knew I would be getting my hands on all the cookies I could handle (and then some), but this contest was right up my alley.

Think outside the box. Think about how you can take a Girl Scout cookie and turn it into something more. The Girl Scouts have so many different kinds of cookies these days, so deciding which cookie to transform into something more delicious wasn’t an easy decision. I couldn’t decide which to work with when ordering, so I ended up with four different kinds and a TON of ideas going crazy in my head. After taste testing them all (such a “hard” task) it was clear which one I wanted to work with. Since we just came from Georgia, birth place of the Girl Scouts, and the fact that Meyer Lemons were in season, I had no choice but to go with the Savannah Smiles. Lemon, sweet, cookie, goodness.

Look at these Meyer Lemons….how could I not?

So here I have these delicious Meyer Lemons, buttery lemon cookies, oh and whipped cream.

I thought parfaits, cupcakes, lemon curd, but what I really wanted was something that was going to highlight all these flavors and textures. The sweet and tart of the lemon needed to be brought out by the Savannah Smiles. So…..I present to you, my submission for the Girl Scout Cookie Recipe Contest…..Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Pudding Tarts!

Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Pudding Tarts

Makes 4 – 4 inch Tarts

Crust:

Ingredients:

1 box Girl Scout Savannah Smiles

1 tbsp Meyer Lemon Zest

2 tbsp Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 350 deg.

Put Savannah Smiles cookies in a food processor. Pulse until cookies become crumbs. Add crumbs to a medium size bowl, then add the Meyer Lemon Zest. Pour melted butter into the cookie crumbs and using a fork blend together. You will notice that the cookie crumbs will start to come together. Divide the cookie crumb mixture into four and press the mixture into four buttered mini tart pans.

Put the mini tart pans on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated oven for 8 minutes. Let tart crusts cool completely before filling with the Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Pudding.

Pudding:

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 1/2 cups whole milk

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

2 tbsp finely grated Meyer lemon zest

1/2 a Vanilla Bean, split and seeds scraped out

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice

2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch.
Add the milk, egg yolks, zest, vanilla bean and salt and whisk until smooth.
Over medium heat cook mixture, stirring frequently and then constantly toward the end as it thickens.
Remove from the heat and stir in Meyer Lemon juice and butter.
Place a sieve over a bowl and pour the mixture through the strainer.
Let the pudding cool to room temperature, cover with saran wrap – pressing to the top of the pudding to prevent condensation or that dreaded “pudding skin”.
Chill pudding in the fridge for at least three hours.
When pudding is chilled and ready to serve the tarts, fill the cookie tart crusts with the Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Pudding. (you will have leftover pudding – feel free to grab a spoon and indulge!)
Top the pudding with freshly whipped cream….trust me. You will want this.

I also decided to pull some Marionberries from the freezer and made a sauce to drizzle over the tarts…..it was awesome – but not necessary….the tarts are spectacular on their own.

If you don’t have a daughter or neighborhood Girl Scout to purchase these delicious cookies to make these tarts, here is the link to find out where you can stock your pantry! There is even an app for that! Public Cookie sales are from March 2nd – 18th. Go out and support these great girls.

Here’s to hoping that they chose my recipe as a finalist….and then the eventual winner!

Apple “Pie” Oatmeal

2012-01-23T14:53:00.001-05:00

Today is National Pie Day….so I should really be posting about this pie:

But to be honest, the recipe needs a little tweaking before I share it with you.

So, instead let me tell you about this Apple “Pie” Oatmeal.

I rarely eat breakfast. I know, Most Important Meal of the Day….blah blah blah. I often find myself starving at 1pm realizing that I haven’t had anything in my belly all day. Growls heard for miles. So I decided that I need to make it easy, and quick, if I am going to give breakfast a go in the mornings. On colder winter days, I really like something warm. Cold cereal and milk on a WA rainy morning isn’t going to cut it. And I don’t have time in the morning to make a hot delicious breakfast. So I am taking a short cut. I can pre-make this Apple Pie topping for my oatmeal, and then in the morning it just takes about 5 minutes to make some hot oatmeal. I have time for this. And it is so delicious…..and kinda healthy. All that fiber from the apple and oatmeal. I keep telling myself this…..it’s working.

Apple “Pie” Oatmeal Topping

Makes enough for four servings

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and diced small (I like G.Smith because they hold their crunch after cooking)

1 tbsp Butter

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Cinnamon (depending on how much you like cinnamon)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a skillet. When melted, add diced apple to the pan. Let the apple “sweat” and soften a little (not too much). Then add brown sugar and cinnamon, stir to combine. Continue to cook the apples for about another 5 minutes to give the sugar a chance to caramelize a little.

Put the warm apple mixture into a heat proof container that can be sealed and put into the fridge. Allow the mixture to cool before closing and refrigerated.

Use within 5 – 7 days.

It’s simple. Cook up your oatmeal, either on the stove or in the microwave. Take a 1/4 of the mixture and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, and top your hot oatmeal with it. Delicious and good for you. And I will admit, when I eat it it gives me an extra boost of energy…..and the neighbors don’t complain about the growling my stomach makes.

Well….happy National Pie Day! Hope you are enjoying some yummy pie today!

Wordless Wednesday, and a happy new year!

2012-01-04T17:19:00.001-05:00

This year I am trying to find the good in things, the good in everyday…..with “rainy season” kicking in in WA it is a good time to find the good in these gloomy days. Today, for example, started with the most amazing sunrise. I knew that it was scheduled to rain all day today, but waking up with that beautiful sunrise coming, walking Jakob to school while it got brighter and brighter, made me just smile.

It started to rain 10 minutes later and hasn’t stopped since, but this is a great day.

It’s a Pie Party….

2011-11-16T18:58:00.001-05:00

And do I have a pie to share…

Blueberry Almond Cream Pie…..to die for.

I have become obsessed with making pies these past few months. The joy and patience that a great flaky crust takes, the limitless varieties of pies you can create….I dream of pie. Often.

So making this pie for my family was a treat for me. Taking a fellow blogger’s Blueberry Cream Pie and giving it a twist to make it for my boys was just plain fun.

Blueberry Almond Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1 – 9 inch unbaked pie crust – I used this recipe here from Melissa Clark

Filling:

3 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 350deg.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients (except the blueberries) until smooth and wonderful.

Pour the blueberries into the unbaked pie shell, spread evenly. Then pour the filling over the blueberries.

Crumb topping:

2 1/2 tsp light brown sugar
2 tbsps sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 ½ tbsps almond meal, or ground almonds (I get mine at Trader Joe’s)

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a bowl, then pour melted butter into the bowl and mix together using a fork until crumbles are formed.

Spread the crumb topping over the blueberry cream filling.

Bake in a 350 deg oven for 50 – 60 minutes. Cover crust with foil if it starts to brown too quickly.

Cool completely, slice, and enjoy!

Before:

After:

Enjoy!!

And check out all the wonderful pies over at Tidy Mom and her #LovethePie Party!!

“Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom sponsored by Cherokee USA, Le Creuset, Wilton,Bags by Bloom and Harvard Common Press”

Got Bundt?

2011-11-15T12:59:00.003-05:00

Today is National Bundt Cake Day…another food holiday that I can appreciate. I love a good Bundt cake, I like the shape, the moist dense texture of a good rich Bundt cake, and how versatile Bundt recipes can be.

I recently found my favorite Autumn Bundt on Amanda’s Blog, I Am Baker. Kristen, from Dine and Dish, was guest posting and posted her Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake. I have now made this cake THREE times. Once as Kristen posted with the pumpkin glaze, and twice with a Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. To find the recipe for the cake, check out the post on I Am Baker, but scroll down for my Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.

Oh, and here is the beautiful Bundt….

Ok, so it’s not the greatest photo, or the prettiest Bundt cake…..but it is delicious!

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

5oz Cream Cheese, Softened

1 1/2 – 2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 tbsp. Milk

1- 1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Cream ingredients together. If too thick or too thin, add more sugar or milk until desired consistency is reached. Spread onto cooled Pumpkin Spice Cake.

(this frosting is also fantastic on Banana Bread or Carrot Cake too.)

Hope you get a chance to make this cake, you wont regret it.

Happy Autumn!

Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Spice Cookies

2011-11-14T14:34:00.002-05:00

Oh yes, I went there. I am all about the Autumn smells and flavors….it is truly my favorite time of year. I find myself in the kitchen creating as many fall treats as possible lately, anything with apple, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg….mmmmmm. I decided that I wanted to create a cookie with the spices of the season and add in some creamy caramel to the mix. And these are what I came up with….

Caramel Stuffed Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Ingredients:

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons cream of tarter

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice mix

Unwrapped Kraft Caramels cut in 1/2’s

For the Pumpkin Spice sugar:

2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix

½ cup sugar

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tarter, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice mix and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined. The dough will be soft and too sticky to roll. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Position a rack in the top and bottom thirds of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350f. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

For the Pumpkin Spice sugar: Combine the pumpkin pie spice mix and sugar in a small bowl.

Using a 1 ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon, shape the dough into balls, place caramel 1/2 in between two balls, press gently until caramel is completely surrounded by the cookie dough, keeping it’s “ball shape”. Roll the stuffed dough in the Pumpkin Spice sugar.

Place the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Flatten them slightly with your fingertips so they stay put. Bake for about 12-13 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden in color. These cookies are supposed to be chewy, so do not overbake. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

These cookies are just made to be enjoyed warm from the oven, with a cup of tea….just a suggestion. It is truly a challenge to eat just one!

Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temp for up to 4 days.

Do you have favorite seasonal flavors you LOVE to bake with? What are they? Please share links…always looking for new tasty treats to make.

Darn you Daylights Savings Time!

2011-11-07T16:21:00.001-05:00

Pre-Children I loved the fall back of Daylights Savings Time….that extra hour of sleep was precious. Now that I am the Mama of two early rising boys, I kind of hate it. It screws everything up. This morning both boys were up at 6:10am – a whole hour before my alarm goes off on a Monday. I tried my best to keep them quiet in hopes of them falling back asleep, even crawled into bed with Aiden to see if he would just shut his eyes for a little longer. But no luck. This happens every year. Twice every year. The time change screws with our sleep schedule. And it really messes everything up for about a week. The boys seem to have a hard time adjusting to the change, they sleep less, eat more, and even throws off their behavior. It might be a good thing that Aiden doesn’t have school this week and Jakob has 1/2 days – will make it easier for their teachers.

Do your kids have trouble with the time change? Do YOU have trouble with it?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T15:00:00.001-04:00

I adore Fall….it is my favorite season, bar none. Living in Georgia there really wasn’t a fall season. Last year at this time the boys were still running around in t-shirts and shorts. Thank goodness Washington has seasons…and has THIS season. Yesterday was a perfect fall day. Slight crisp. Clear sky. Sun shining. And what better thing to do on such a day then take the boys to the park afterschool to play with their friends. Perfect.

Pillsbury….mmmm….brownies

2011-09-26T19:55:00.001-04:00

A while back, quite a while actually, Pillsbury sent me a goodie box. They had contacted me and said that they “saw that I like sweet things” (tee hee) and would I enjoy some of their treats. Yes, please. I had no idea what they were sending me, and that was part of the fun of it. I was happily surprised when the package arrived. I seriously love getting mail – it’s kind of obsessive for me. Not bills, but packages and letters….make me happy.

Now, understand that I usually like to make all my desserts and treats for my boys from scratch, but there will always be times when I need a little help. I may cut corners on a pie crust, crescent rolls for a meal, or pick up a bag of treats for my boys when I know I am going to be super duper busy. So when I opened the box to find two bags of their new Sweet Moments Brownie Bites….I realized that they do know that I like sweet things. I decided that night that dessert was on Pillsbury! I hate to admit that we almost ate a whole bag in one sitting…the boys liked them. Jason liked them. Even I liked them…and I am a tough one to win over with bought desserts. These were good. A good substitute for homemade for those days when I just can’t get in the kitchen. (I would like to point out here that we do NOT eat brownies, cake, or pie for dessert every night…that would be ridiculous)

Have you tried these?

(Image from Pillsbury.com)

You should….trust me.

A Big Thank You to Pillsbury for thinking of us, and for sharing your delicious Sweet Moments with us.

Madeleine LOVE

2011-09-21T13:50:00.001-04:00

Thank you Donsuemor! Thank you for sending me these incredible little cakes. It was difficult for me not to eat them all before making this Raspberry Tiramisu, very difficult. I am excited to be participating in Donsuemor’s Dessert a Day project. Being asked to make a recipe using one of their delectable desserts was an offer that I jumped on. From their list of French treats I chose the Madeleines….and they live up to their description. For those of you not familiar with Madeleines, they are small, light, sweet little cakes that are made in a very special pan. (A pan that has been on my wish list for way too long, must purchase!)

“Our Madeleines

Donsuemor madeleines are elegant little French cakes with distinctive shell shapes. Rich and buttery with a unique flavor and texture—soft and moist with lightly crisped edges—they are made with the finest quality, all natural ingredients.

Donsuemor is inspired by spirited legends and romance of madeleines. In France, they are most often linked to the town of Commercy, in the region of Lorraine. One narrative suggests King Stanislas Leszczynska sent the recipe for madeleines to his daughter Maria following her marriage to Louis XV at Versailles. She named it for her father's French cook, Madeleine, who learned the recipe from her grandmother in Commercy. A slight variation of this story suggests that King Stanislas was hosting a luncheon. The court's chef did not prepare a dessert, and Madeleine, a young assistant saved the meal by preparing a little cake made at home in Commercy.

Another version suggests that madeleines were invented by Avice, the pastry chef of an influential nineteenth-century French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, who placed the batter in scalloped-shaped molds.

And in Spain, the magdalenas, resemblance to the madeleines, are created to mark the Christian pilgrimage route that ends in Santiago de Compostela, in which sea scallops are the symbol most closely associated with this journey.

And for others, it is the French author Marcel Proust who immortalized them in his vivid description of savoring petites madeleines in his novel Remembrance of Things Past.

Donsuemor captures the tradition of these little French cakes, and creates a madeleine unlike any other. Once you taste them you will know why Donsuemor is the one you remember.

Donsuemor madeleines are available in five flavors, Traditional, Dipped, Lemon Zest, Chocolate, and Dipped Chocolate.” Text from Donsuemor.com

I pondered the ideas of what to make with these sweet treats. I thought a trifle, I thought ice cream, but I wanted to showcase the spongy goodness of these cakes….so I went with this….a Raspberry Tiramisu.

See the lovely seashell shape of the cake…the traditional Madeleine shape…so beautiful.

Raspberry Tiramisu for Two

Ingredients

6 – 10 Madeleine Cakes (depends on size of your dish)

1/2 Seedless Raspberry Jam

1 tbsp Raspberry Liqueur

2 tbsp Whipped Cream Vodka

2 tbsp Water

1/2 cup Whipping Cream

1/2 cup Mascarpone Cheese

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/8 cup Sugar

1 cup Fresh Raspberries

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract together until stiff peaks are formed. Cover bowl and put in fridge to keep cold.
Stir together mascarpone cheese and 1 tbsp of whipped cream vodka. Set aside.
In a small pot, over low heat, whisk together raspberry jam, raspberry liqueur, remaining tbsp of whipped cream vodka, and water. Stir to combine and continue to stir until jam has thinned.
Take whipped cream out of the fridge, whisk 1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone cheese to lighten it up, then fold in remaining whipped cream.
Pull out your cute clear dish….you really want it to be clear so that you can see the pretty layers as you serve it.
Unwrap the individual Madeleine Cakes and try not to eat them all.
Dip the cakes into the raspberry jam mixture to completely cover them, give them a bit to soak up some of the saucy goodness.
Spread a light layer of the raspberry jam mixture on the bottom of your dish, then place one layer of the cookies in the dish.
Spoon and spread half of the whipped cream/mascarpone cheese mixture on top of the cookies.
Dip more cakes and place on top of whipped cream layer.
With remainder of the whipped cream mixture top the second layer of cakes and smooth nicely.
Cover dish and place in fridge to chill until ready to serve.
Decorate top of tiramisu with the fresh raspberries when ready to serve.

You will need to use a knife to serve this tiramisu as the cakes will still have their spongy texture.

First layer of saucy cakes:

Look at these layers….

Thank you, again, Donsuemor for these delicious treats. Jason and I certainly enjoyed this fantastic dessert after putting the boys to bed….we weren’t willing to share, and with the alcohol in the dessert we shouldn’t be sharing anyway!

You should definitely check out Donsuemor for more of their delicate treats, and also pop over to Cupcake Rehab to see what she made with Donsuemor’s French Almond Cakes.

Monkey Monday…..FINALLY!

2011-09-12T22:23:00.001-04:00

The day finally came…Aiden has been waiting for this day all summer. Actually, he has probably been waiting for it since the last day of school. Today was the day. Aiden’s first day of school finally came. Today was the first day of Preschool for Aiden. Thank goodness. Taking Jakob to school last week and having to tell Aiden that he would have to wait a week was just torture. Absolute torture. He didn’t understand.

This morning when we all woke up to start the day, I whispered to him “it’s the first day of school for you, do you want to see Teacher Shelley?” , he practically JUMPED out of bed. He was so excited and so proud.

Just look at this smile and see….

Could his grin get any bigger? He had a great first day, full of old friends and new, and happy that he got to go to school, finally, just like his big brother.

Wordless Wednesday….First Day of 1st Grade

2011-09-07T18:22:00.001-04:00

Also known as “The Best Day Ever”.

Monkey Monday: A Friends List

2011-09-05T12:57:00.001-04:00

Yesterday the boys and I went to Priest Pointe Park for the afternoon….to make new friends. Finally, Amanda and my schedules worked and we were finally getting to meet face to face. The boys were excited to meet new people and have some fun…my little extroverts. It was a beautiful day, a fun afternoon filled with yummy snacks, sunshine, and new friends.

On the way home Jakob suggested we make a “Friends List” to keep track of all of our friends. And while that seemed like a good idea for them, it got me thinking about my own “Friends List”. Are there people on my list that I need to erase? Are there people who got left off the list that I need to put back on? Definitely, on both counts. I need to work harder to put those people back on it….desperately. And those that need to be erased…need to do that too…don’t need the negativity and stress that comes along with it. I am exhausted from trying to keep those people on the list when they don’t make the same effort.

Do you have a Friends List? Do you need to do some housekeeping to your List? What do you do to help rebuild a damaged friendship?

Wordless Wednesday Silly Boys

2011-08-24T00:53:00.001-04:00

My Mother took these pics during her visit with her fancy DSLR…..I now desperately want one.

A Pie For Mikey, Jennifer and their Girls

2011-08-12T18:11:00.001-04:00

I bake with love. It is the most important ingredient that I have. It goes in to everything I make. And today, it is going in to this Peanut Butter Pie….for Mikey, for Jennifer, for my family, for those who are no longer here to enjoy it.

The pie is chilling. And I am emotionally wiped. It has been a heartbreaking week. Hearing of Jennifer losing her husband, Mikey, this past Sunday has left many of us spinning, wondering why?, how?, what now?…an outpouring of love for someone that many of us only know in the virtual world. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Jennifer in person, though I feel as though I know her. I wish I could give her a hug, comfort her, FEED her. I am on the other side of the country, I cannot do any of those things. There are people there to do it for her, and for those of us who cannot be there, we can do one thing for her today…make a Pie for Mikey, at her request. Read the pie story here. I still cannot believe that she was able to string such beautiful words together, but then again that is what we do, we write, we share.

I wanted to share a poem with Jennifer, one that brought me comfort when I lost my Step Father to a sudden heart attack, and then again 10 months later when my Father died. Today I felt their presence as I made this pie. When I share it later today with my boys I will tell them a story about both of them, as I am sure Jennie will do when sharing this pie with her daughters the next time she makes it.

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die!

Mary Frye (1932)

I hope you find peace. May your memories and love get you through this incredibly hard time.

Much love.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-11T00:41:00.001-04:00

Happy National S’Mores Day!

Immobile Parenting

2011-08-05T18:23:00.001-04:00

I can barely move. The past couple weeks have been a little stressful. My body is rebelling. The worst of it is my neck and shoulders. I woke up this morning in immense pain, to the point that I had to roll out of bed rather than sit up because all my muscles in my neck and shoulders were screaming at me. Torture. Literally. It is now 3pm, I am sitting on the couch stiff as a board, smelling like a wintergreen factory (thank you Icy Hot Rub), with a heating pad across my shoulders, and praying that the boys continue to play nicely upstairs for just a little while longer.

Jakob has noticed that I am not moving as quickly today…that I seem a little stiff. He asked, I told him that I was sore, I think he is now upstairs plotting with Aiden for a hostile takeover. Plotting how to get away with doing all the things that he knows I can’t prevent him from doing. I am afraid to let them out of the house , as there is no way in hell that I could catch them if they decided to take off on me….which Aiden has a tendency to do if he thinks he can get away with it!

Do you ever feel that when you’re under the weather that your kids are plotting against you? Can they smell it on you? No, not the Icy Hot Wintergreen Scent, the weakness – the inability to act as quickly and swiftly as you normally can?

Next time I will be buying the unscented Icy Hot, just in case.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T12:57:00.001-04:00

I love them best when they are….

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-06T11:50:00.001-04:00

THIS….is how we spent out 4th of July….

Such a beautiful day for a doggie swim at the beach in Gig Harbor.

Show me your pie!

2011-07-05T18:03:00.001-04:00

Today is the Pie Party! Time to show me your pie! Seriously…..show me your pie! Pretty Please?

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a lot of talk of pie, and a pie party….on twitter of course. And then a Pie Party event on FB….realized I must participate. I bake enough pie. And I had a couple of pie recipes that I wanted to try out too. So the wheels started turning. Thank you so much to Shauna, Gluten Free Girl, for starting the Pie Party….hope we have more of these!

First, I made this Blueberry Cream Pie….and damn was it good.

Then, I got the idea of making a S’Mores Pie in my head. And couldn’t shake it. Canada Day was coming up, 4th of July right behind it….and what says summer celebrations more than a S’More?? Not much.

Attune Foods was kind enough to send me a box of their Organic Honey Graham Crackers a few weeks back, with hopes that I would make something delicious with them. And I sure did. This pie is incredible. At first I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough of the Attune Foods graham crackers left to make the crust…the little mice that are my children seem to have been making their way into the box and helping themselves! Luckily after turning them into crumbs in the food processor I measured….and voila…enough. whew. minor crisis averted.

I love a baked Graham Cracker Crust…I think baking it just gives it a nuttier flavor and tends to be more stable when slicing.

Graham Cracker Crust:

Measure 1 1/3 cup of graham cracker crumbs, mix with 1/4 cup of sugar, add 5 tbsp melted butter, mix together to coat all the crumbs with a bit of butter. Press into pie dish. Bake at 350 for 8 – 10 min. Let cool completely before pouring in pie filling.

Easy Peasy right?

Now I have a love of all things pie, but lately a GOOD chocolate cream pie has been creeping its way to the top of my list lately. And this recipe makes a GOOD chocolate cream pie!

Chocolate Cream Pie Filling:

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream, plus 1 3/4 cups
3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
Pinch salt
4 egg yolks
4 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions:

In a small saucepan combine sugar, 3/4 cup heavy cream, milk, cornstarch and pinch of salt, and whisk until smooth. Place over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, whisking from time to time for the sugar and cornstarch to dissolve and the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Continue cooking at a low boil for an additional 5 minutes, whisking constantly.

In a bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and whisk over the heat until thoroughly combined and very thick, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, and whisk in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Continue whisking until thoroughly combined (it will be very thick). Cover the mixture with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Once the chocolate mixture is cooled. Whip the 1/2 cup of whipping cream with powdered sugar until you get stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture. Pour the chocolate filling into the graham cracker pie crust and chill in the fridge for about 3 hours.

Now….for the Marshmallow part of the S’more….the most important part! (in my book) You can’t just throw on a marshmallow and all it good. It MUST be toasted. right? So I cut marshmallows in half, covering the chocolate layer with them….then let Jason take the torch to them to “toast” them for me…..he did such a good job…look:

And then….you have this:

Beautifully toasted marshmallows, creamy rich chocolate filling, amazing graham cracker crust….S’MORES PIE!!!

Perfect for any summer night.

Did you make PIE for the pie party?? Show me your pie….leave me a comment with a link…would love to see what you made!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-29T12:24:00.001-04:00

Last day of KINDERGARTEN! I am officially the Mama of a 1st Grader….gulp!

I am so proud.

Monkey and Military Monday

2011-06-27T17:39:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jason’s Platoon was helping put on a field day at a local elementary school, including bringing a few of their vehicles for the kids to climb on and explore. Jason invited me to bring the boys so they could see the new vehicles that Daddy was working with (Jason is no long on the M1A tank)…..of course I said YES! They would love it. It was the perfect day, warm – not hot, sun was shining – not a cloud in the sky, though of course we forgot the sunscreen. The boys ended up with red cheeks, and Mama ended up with one heck of a sunburn. Oh well, was almost worth it.

Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

Please make note of the name of the MGS….CUPCAKE!!! Perfect right?

It was a great afternoon and the boys and I really enjoyed seeing who and what Daddy’s working with. Now to see if I can get them to come to Jakob and Aiden’s school next year….

I owe someone a huge apology…

2011-06-12T00:14:00.001-04:00

I am an idiot. Plain and simple. I have a very bad habit of jumping to conclusions and making poor first impressions. I admit that. I also have a bad habit of assuming that those in my real life are unaware of my online life. Tonight I got that slapped back in my face. Again, I am an idiot. And now I need to make up for it. I am at a complete loss as to how. So this is where I start, because it is 9pm, and walking across the street and knocking on their door when they have little ones they might be trying to put to sleep is not ok to me. So here I go,

Dear J, M, J, and A,

I am truly sorry. I don’t think sometimes, and I am sorry for the things I said. My blog and twitter are how I vent. I had noticed a change in how you all were not talking to me, or my boys, and had wondered if you had read my blog. So I removed the post. It was a rash post, before giving a true chance at our boys being friends and I regret it. J is a great kid and my boys enjoy playing with him. A is a wonderful little girl who Aiden adores. And I fear that my words may have ruined what could have been great friendships. One more time, I am an idiot.

Today I couldn’t figure out what was going on, it seemed like I was getting the cold shoulder so I vented to the one place I didn’t think I could hurt feelings. The people who only know me online. Mistake again. I avoid confrontation. I prefer to vent to people who I can’t see. I am a bit of a coward that way. Again, idiot.

I wish I knew what I could do to make it up to you. Maybe you could let me know. Maybe this public apology is a start….I hope it doesn’t make things worse.

Please know that I am ashamed of this and hope that maybe we can work this out.

Sincerely,

me…..the idiot.

Military Monday

2011-05-30T15:48:00.001-04:00

Happy Memorial Day. Spending the day with my favorite soldier. Thinking of all those that can’t be with the ones they love. Was checking out some of the posts of friends on FB…one stuck out in particular. Written by a wonderful leader who I am proud to call my friend. Much love Cory.

“Much respect to the fellas who never made it home. Our thoughts are constantly with your families and with your memory. Miss and love each and everyone one of you.”

Take some time to thank those who are serving and have served. Remember.

Wordless Thursday…

2011-05-26T12:21:00.001-04:00

I know I am a day late with this post….and I hope you will forgive me. The day got away from me.

A great friend of mine (Mia Cupcake) asked if I would be interested in a 30 Day Photo Challenge….of course I said yes, and that I would give it a go….We started last week and decided to post ever Wednesday. Here are my first 6 photos….

1. A photo of yourself:

2. A photo of what you wore today:

3. A photo of your favorite place to be: (Wherever these two are!)

4. A photo from a high angle:

5. A photo of whatever you please: (Jason bought these for me….good husband)

6. A photo from a low angle:

Come back next week to see another weeks worth….

Mixing together two favorites

2011-05-24T15:27:00.001-04:00

Every once in awhile a light bulb goes off on the baking side of my brain. And sometimes that light bulb ends up with awesome results like this one…..

I was having a pretty crappy day yesterday, but this is not the time or place for those issues….so when I have a crappy day I try to think of things that make me happy. I will also say it was a little gloomy yesterday too, and I was missing all the sunshine we had last week. So I decided to create some of my own sunshine, in the form of LEMON CURD. And even though I would be happy just eating said lemon curd out of the jar with a spoon….I figured the family would rather something else yummy for snack/dessert. And since this pound cake recipe turned out SO well, I decided to combine the two.

I bring you….Vanilla Bean Pound Cake, with Lemon Curd swirled inside. It is TO DIE FOR. Basically I just layered the pound cake batter with the Lemon Curd in between….and the curd stayed nice and soft. Just perfect.

If you are every having a bad day I strongly suggest you make some of this….you can’t help but smile at a bowl of bright yellow lemony goodness. Trust me. It worked for me.

Look at this cake:

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T23:50:00.001-04:00

LOVE these freckles….

PS….I am starting a 30 day Photo Challenge with my good friend Mia Cupcake, so next week will be a 7 day round up of the weeks photos.

Old Fashioned Recipes

2011-05-17T17:54:00.001-04:00

I love recipes that get handed down from other generations. I have several that I have been lucky enough to receive from my mother and Omi. But this one isn’t from my family. My amazing friend, Laurie (aka @SuperSlush) was kind enough to share her Grandmother’s Pound Cake recipe with me….and told me it would be ok if I posted it here to share with you all. This recipe is very basic, but absolutely delicious. There are so many different things you can add to this recipe to make it even more delicious depending on your mood….on my first attempt to make this recipe I was in the mood for a Cherry Lemonade….a la Sonic. So I added these…

Maraschino Cherries!! Oh, and some lemon. I love these cherries…I really don’t care how they are made, or what goes in them…they are yummy.

Old Fashioned Pound Cake Recipe Graciously Given by Laurie

Preheat to 350. Grease a 10 inch bundt or tube pan.

Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
2 sticks butter
1/2 cup shortening
6 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup milk

Cream sugar, butter and shortening until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping sides in between additions. Alternate flour and milk, starting and ending with flour. Pour into greased bundt/tube pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

To make this a Cherry Lemonade Pound Cake zest and juice two lemons and add to the sugar, shortening and butter while creaming. Drain a jar of maraschino cherries (save the juice to make a powdered sugar glaze), and fold in cherries before putting batter in pan.

To make the cherry glaze mix the juice from the jar of cherries with powdered sugar until you achieve the desired consistency. Pour over cooled pound cake.

Look at this cake….but look quick, it wont last long….

Thank you, Laurie for sharing your Grandmother’s recipe with me…and for letting me pass it on to all of you.

Monkey Monday

2011-05-16T16:30:00.001-04:00

I got my “craft on” yesterday. I use to be a big crafter. I would obsess over scrapbooks, card making, knitting (failed miserably), attempted to crochet, quilting, stamping….you name it – I have the supplies for it. Seriously, I have enough crafting supplies to open a small store. When we lived in CT I would visit the JoAnn Fabrics so often they knew Jakob by name! But baking and cooking have temporarily taken over my creative brain. I really should sort through all the crafting supplies and sell some of it…to pay for new baking pans and sprinkles.

I saw a picture of this on Pinterest (if you love to be inspired by all things beautiful you must check out pinterest) and thought it would be a fun thing to make for the students in Jakob’s class. A cute little incentive to do some reading. And it involves gummy candy…come on, we all love gummy worms.

So easy. I took little cellophane bags (the same ones I use for my cookies), put in three gummy worms, and staple on the cute little tag. I downloaded some free tag templates, glued onto red card stock and folded it over the top of the bag.

Jakob was SO excited to take them to school and hand out to his friends. And they were all pretty happy to receive them.

Are you allowed to take in treats like this to your child’s class?? If so, what do you like to take in for a special treat? Ideas and links always appreciated!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-11T15:53:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favourite coffee mugs….

Meatless Monday

2011-05-09T12:16:00.001-04:00

I am guest posting over at Piccante Dolce, pop over and check out my recipe for an Asparagus & Goat Cheese Quiche. Leave some comment love while you are there. Look at this….it’s delicious. Seriously.

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-05-05T13:15:00.001-04:00

I am now 37. I celebrated my birthday last Sunday with my favourite three boys….it was perfect. A laid back morning, coffee and chocolate croissants, an early lunch and then off to the Children’s Museum in Tacoma and Hello, Cupcake for a birthday cupcake. Perfection.

Jakob wanted to bake me a cake. He was asking me about what kind of cake I wanted for a few weeks. And it would have been the best cake I have ever had, I know this. But with Jason’s birthday just a week away, and all the other stuff that I had been baking for fun, I knew that we really didn’t need another cake in the house. (no matter how delicious and sweet it would have been) So we decided to go out for cupcakes. Jakob was VERY excited by this. He wanted to go back to Hello, Cupcake since he loved it the first time. They like being able to pick what they want and never get the same thing. And Hello, Cupcake has fantastic cupcakes. And some great little toppers. Jakob picked this one for me…..because I am a girl. Love that kid.

I love that Jakob wanted to bake cake for me with his daddy. But a great day, and a great cupcake made it just what I wanted. I mean, look at these boys….they are so happy. It was a great way to celebrate getting old!

I am madly in love with these two!

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-04-28T13:46:00.001-04:00

It’s not them, it’s me…

I realized this morning that the escalation in naughty behaviour by my precious little boys isn’t actually so, and that the problem has been with the way that I have been reacting to said behaviour. I have lost my Zen Mama Groove. I am usually a much more mellow, easy going Mama. Not letting the small things get to me. Something changed. Since the move here I have been saying that they boys behaviour has deteriorated to the point of disaster, and that I am at my wits end. But maybe it is me. Have I just given up trying? Have I just lost the ability to handle them? To have fun with them and enjoy their craziness and go with the flow? I think so. And this makes me sad.

I need to lighten up. Find my place again. I have started taking the steps to get back into the groove that I enjoy. Playing with my boys, baking, creating, getting involved in volunteering, learning. Do what makes me happy. Tired of worrying what people think or perceive as reality and get back to what really matters. My boys. All three of them. Be kinder. Talk sweeter. And stop being so hard on myself.

Gone in 21 hours….

2011-04-27T13:14:00.001-04:00

And 10 of those Aiden was sleeping! Aiden has devoured 75% of this yummy cake:

Aiden is my baked goods fiend. He will try my creations and ask for them over and over again. Jakob likes certain things I make; chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, sugar cookies, and chocolate cake. But when it comes to new things like scones, biscuits, or this ah-mazing Strawberry Cake, he hesitates. Not sure if he will like it he immediately says “No, Thank You” rather than taking a bite to see if he likes it. Quite frustrating as this goes with ALL food, if he isn’t sure he will like it he refuses to try it. Makes for a very limited diet for him. But I digress.

Aiden makes it easy for me to consider if a recipe is a success or not, usually by how quickly he devours it. And I will guarantee that this recipe from Maria, Two Peas and Their Pod, is a KEEPER. With strawberries about to come into season here, I can picture this being made many times over. And will make it with other berries as the seasonal fruit comes in. I look forward to making it again and adding a little bit of lime to it….maybe a glaze? Not that it needs it. It is light, a delicate crumb, with the burst of berry slices peeking out. It is called a cake, but I had no problem serving and eating this for breakfast….Aiden inhaled his piece! (I also recommend eating this with a little dollop of whipped cream….just saying!)

You can find the recipe HERE. And while you are there, check out Maria’s recipes for cookies….she always has great cookies going on!

Happy Jelly Bean Day

2011-04-22T18:07:00.001-04:00

Another obscure food holiday….just in time for Easter. National Jelly Bean Day!!

My lovely husband, Jason, is a jelly bean fiend. Probably eats at least a full bag by himself each Easter. But they have to be the right kind, NO fancy Jelly Belly Beans here, he like the cheap Brach's beans. Like these….

I, personally, LOVE the black ones and am glad that you can now buy bags of ONLY black.

What’s your favourite colour of jelly bean??

If you are still looking for more Easter treats….check out this post from She’s Becoming Doughmesstic, or this one for JELLY BEAN cookies from In Katrina’s Kitchen.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T13:45:00.001-04:00

He has a new habit of sneaking in my bed and stealing all my pillow. And I love it.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Salted Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce

2011-04-14T11:47:00.001-04:00

Yes, it is as wonderful as it sounds….check out my guest post over at She’s Becoming Doughmesstic and show Susan and I some LOVE!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T03:00:00.000-04:00

Cherry Lime Scones….

I used my “go to” scone recipe (find it here) and added in HUGE dried cherries, some lime zest, some lime powder, and then glazed them with lime juice, powdered sugar and more lime powder.

Just for an afternoon snack with a good cup of coffee.

Monkey Monday–Brave Mama

2011-04-11T17:27:00.001-04:00

We are expecting a visit from the Tooth Fairy any day now. Jakob has his FIRST loose tooth. And this freaks me out. Totally. Jakob is quite relaxed about it all, when asked how is tooth is doing he basically shrugs his shoulders and says “good”. Nothing more. He is not one of those kids that is constantly wiggling it either. I can remember pretty much wiggling it till it popped out!

There is something about my big boy losing his first tooth that totally grosses me out. It’s icky. A part of him is going to fall out of his mouth. And even though it is a fact of life, that it means that he is growing up (which also makes me sad), it still gives me the heebie jeebies. Totally irrational.

So now comes the planning. I try (and sometimes fail) to make the big milestones something to remember. We make a big deal out of family traditions around the holidays, birthdays, etc. I am trying to figure out what to do for this first loose tooth. I am thinking tooth cookies (I already have the cutter), a dinner of his favorite soft foods, and…..I am stumped. I need your best ideas. Oh, and I need to know how much does a tooth go for these days?

I did a little bit of surfing on Etsy and found these lovely little tooth fairy pillows….

I suspect there will be a late night Etsy purchase later today…I mean, they are just the cutest right?

Please….let me in on your families traditions for this huge milestone. If you have blogged it or read about someone else’s experience, leave me a link. I need your help! Jakob will appreciate it.

A Wednesday Night Treat

2011-04-07T14:10:00.001-04:00

It has been a long week. The boys have been home from school for Spring Break, Jason has the car at work, so we have been homebound in not so nice weather. I know, I know, it is Washington, and it rains here. I get it. The boys and I have been getting out of the house and taking a quick trip to the park to avoid the cabin fever. Though when you are there for just 10 minutes and see the rain clouds rolling in, it isn’t much of a break. A touch of fresh air? Yes. A cure for cabin fever? not so much.

But yesterday was not a day for complaining. Jason would have laughed at me if I had complained about my day indoors, a full night’s sleep, and fun times with the boys (even if it was indoors). You see….Jason had to get up a 02:20am, be at work by 03:00am, and then do a ruck march of 12 miles. A ruck march meaning full uniform, a backpack with 35lbs of gear, his heavy helmet, canteen, and weapon. 12 MILES….in three hours. I cannot fathom how awful that would be. This is another reason why I could NEVER be in the Army. I would probably tell my 1SG to pound sand, and that would not be good. It has been a long time since Jason has had to do such a march….it is usually done by infantry units. Jason being a tanker they don’t march, they drive tanks! But the new unit he is in IS an infantry unit with Strykers attached. So what the infantry guys do, he and his platoon do. Luckily he completed it with little damage. His feet are in good shape, but his legs and back are awfully tired. He was definitely moving a little slower last night!

So….I decided he (we) deserved a little treat last night for after the boys went to bed. Yesterday I had made a jar of Salted Vanilla Caramel Sauce (For Caramel Day!). And even though we were tempted to eat the sauce out of said jar with just a couple of spoons….it made more sense to drizzle this amazing sauce over something chocolaty. Like these, Mini Flourless Chocolate Cakes.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Makes 2 mini cakes in 4 inch springform pans

2 1/2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

4 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate – chopped

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

1 large Egg (at room temp)

1 large Egg Yolk (at room temp)

3 Tbsp Sugar

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 deg. Butter your springform pans. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment circles and butter them too! Then flour your greased pans.

Place the butter and chocolate in a medium sized microwave bowl and microwave for about 1 minute until melted. Stir until smooth and shiny. Add vanilla and set aside to cool a bit.

Put egg, yolk, and sugar into a medium sized bowl and with a hand mixer, whip until tripled in volume (about 4 – 5 minutes).

Fold 1/4 of the egg mixture into the chocolate mixture until combined. Then gently fold all of the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture.

Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake the cakes for 20 minutes, til a toothpick comes out clean and the cakes have kind of pulled away from the sides of the pan. The cakes will have puffed up while baking, and then settle while they cool – creating a rich cake with a light crust on top. mmmmmm

Let the cakes cool in their pan for about 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the cake and release them from the springform pan. GENTLY lift up the cake and peel off the parchment paper.

Serve them warm or at room temperature (after the boys are in bed). Top with ice cream, or whipped cream, and Salted Caramel Sauce!

It was a great treat to make the end of a not so fantastic day…well…fantastic.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T13:44:00.001-04:00

THIS is how you eat a cupcake….

Stop the Search….I found it.

2011-04-05T21:47:00.001-04:00

I have always talked about the search for the best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. And I have no idea why I haven’t tried this recipe sooner. I have heard about it often from friends.

Cook’s Illustrated did some serious work testing for this recipe. And I think they NAILED it. They are just what they claim. “A chocolate chip cookie that’s moist and chewy on the inside and crisp at the edges, with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch” These cookies TOTALLY live up to the hype.

Cook’s Illustrated is kind enough to have their recipe on their website without having to be a member to their site. (Thank you very much!) Also instead of chocolate chips, I used Trader Joe’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups….couldn’t resist. I put them in the freezer for a bit so that they wouldn’t entirely melt while the cookies baked. FYI.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies (Source: Cook’s Illustrated)

Ingredients

1 3/4cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2teaspoon baking soda
14tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3/4cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)
1teaspoon table salt
2teaspoons vanilla extract
1large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)
3/4cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.
3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)
5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

I had to take a picture of the perfect scoop before I baked them!

I also think that this is a great cookie base and look forward to trying it with chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and any other goodies I can think of.

Monkey Monday

2011-04-04T01:38:00.001-04:00

I wanted to post Jakob’s birthday cake. He LOVED it. I always ask the boys what kind of cake they want for their birthday, and then do my best to make it just they way they want. In December, Aiden asked for a PURPLE cake. He didn’t care what flavor, shape, etc….he just wanted a purple cake. LOL Too funny.

Jakob was VERY specific this year about what he wanted. Chocolate Layer cake, filled with strawberries, and white vanilla frosting. Easy.

So I used this recipe from Hershey’s. It is super easy, and SO chocolaty and moist with a beautiful crumb.

He didn’t want frosting in the middle so I just “marinated” some sliced strawberries with some vanilla sugar for an hour or so and then put them in-between the two layers.

For his white vanilla frosting I did a vanilla buttercream. And used an ENTIRE vanilla bean. (I get my vanilla beans HERE, but that is a whole other post).

It was IN-credible. He loved it. Just look at the smile on this face.

Happy Birthday Buddy….I hope you had a wonderful day and a delicious cake!

Love,
Mama

Bundt Cake Love

2011-04-03T23:57:00.001-04:00

I love Greek yogurt. I like to just eat it for breakfast, but I really love to bake with it. It gives cakes and baked goods that tang that I love. With Jason doing a 24 hour shift I decided that I needed to pass some time baking. I wanted him to have something yummy to come home to and have for breakfast after his all-nighter. So I made this….

Marbled Bundt Cake

I adapted a recipe from Baked. And by the way….if you don’t own Baked…you need to buy it now. And their second book just came out too – Baked Explorations (which I just got and need to start baking from!)

Marbled Bundt Cake

For the Chocolate Swirl

6 oz dark chocolate (I used 62% choc discs from Trader Joe’s)

1 tsp unsweetened dark cocoa

For the Cake

3 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into pieces

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

16 oz Greek yogurt – for that tang, I used Fage 0%

1 1/2 tsp vanilla – I also scraped the seeds from half of a vanilla bean

Make the Chocolate Swirl

In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the chocolate pieces. When he chocolate is completely melted, stir in the cocoa powder and whisk until completely incorporated. Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the Cake

Preheat the oven to 350deg. Spray the inside of a 10 inch bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Sift the flour, baking and soda powders, and salt together into a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and cream the two together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and vanilla bean (if using).

Add the Greek Yogurt and beat until just incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do NOT over mix.

Pour 1/3 of the cake batter into the chocolate swirl mixture. Use a spatula to fold the batter into the chocolate.

Spread 1/2 of the remaining batter into the pan. Dollop the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter. Use a butter knife to swirl the chocolate and plain batter together. Pour remaining vanilla batter on top of the chocolate layer and again swirl the layers together. Smooth out the top.

Bake for about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. Bake until a knife comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 min. Use a knife to loosen the edges and invert onto the wire rack. Let cool completely (I couldn’t wait and cut it warm).

The cake is moist, the chocolate is deep and rich. Perfect for breakfast with a cup of good coffee and is great for dessert too! (or an afternoon snack for hungry little boys)

Make it!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-30T18:17:00.001-04:00

Birthday Boy…..and his cake.

Happy Birthday, Jakob!

2011-03-29T13:13:00.001-04:00

Today Jakob is six years old. Holy Smokes, we managed to keep him safe and sound (minus a few bumps and bruises) for six whole years. That is an accomplishment. Seriously, it is.

Last night I was trying to remember what I ate for dinner the night before Jakob was born, and I was sad that I couldn’t remember. Probably not the most important thing to have to remember, not like his birth weight, the hours (minimal) of labour….etc. Jason looked at me like I was crazy. Guess he didn’t think it was so important to remember either.

I cannot believe that this little babe is now six.

And that he is now this big.

I cannot wait to see what he will look like in another six years. I wonder (probably too much) about what my boys will be like when they are older. I should probably slow down and enjoy them as they are now instead of wondering what they will become.

Well….Happy Birthday Jakob! We love you will all our hearts.

ps….this is one of my fav Jakob’s Birth pics. It is Grandpa with Jakob in the hospital. I miss him every day and know that if he was still with us, he and Jakob would be the best of friends.

Pie Love(r)

2011-03-27T13:39:00.001-04:00

I adore a good piece of pie. The flaky crust, the yummy filling….I am drooling. I prefer a fruit filling, but am not one to turn down a cream, pumpkin or pecan pie.

When doing some research a few months ago about all the places (mostly food related) that I wanted to visit in Seattle when we moved out West, I stumbled on High 5 Pie.

I knew that it would have to be one of the first places I check out. So last week when I was in desperate need for a break from these crazy boys, I tweeted that I was heading to Seattle for some pie, and did anyone want to join me. I was super excited when a new (and awesome) friend said that she would be in the city and would love to join me. Yippee! Pie and conversation….yes, please.

Libby and I decided to share a couple of slices so that we could, without huge guilt, try two slices out of their incredible looking selection.

Lemon Shaker

and Maple Blueberry

I have to say that I can’t decide which I enjoyed more….they are both delicious and so different from each other. I had never heard of lemon shaker….but it is a candied lemon peel filling. Tart, tangy and just a little sweet. Perfection. Loved that the Maple Blueberry was a one crust pie with a crumble topping…it was so great. Had those tiny blueberries that just burst with juice when you bite them. It was so good that is what I chose to bring home to Jason.

So, if you are ever in Seattle, and want to go for some pie….this is the place. And call me, I’ll join you for a slice!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-23T11:21:00.001-04:00

I am kind of in love with the hipstamatic app on my NEW iPhone.

Root Beet Bundt Cake, Root Beer Chocolate Frosting…..and of course a scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.

THAT? That would be MY kid….

2011-03-05T19:42:00.001-05:00

If you are ever at a restaurant in WA, and you see a small hippie running around with a haggard looking Mama following him to make sure he isn’t getting into TOO much trouble….THAT would be MY kid.

Traveling across the country and not being in a house of our own quite yet has shown us just how difficult it is for us to eat out as a family. Every couple of days Jason and I decide to test things out and see if it is possible for our two boys to sit still long enough to have a meal at a restaurant that doesn’t have a drive thru….and then we are snapped back into reality with a scream, a tantrum, a refusal to eat….or a small child running around the restaurant instead of sitting in his seat.

Trying to balance the need for a good meal, the need to get out of the hotel, while not disturbing those around you is not easy. It’s hard. The boys have been cooped up, strapped in, and dragged around. All they want to do when we stop is RUN. I don’t blame them. I understand. But the little old couple and the judgmental couple with no kids sitting next to us don’t get it.

So, if you happen to end up at a restaurant with us, and my boys are acting out….please understand. I’m doing the best I can. And am just trying to have a meal that doesn’t come in a paper bag.

A Chance Meeting - Military Monday

2011-02-14T20:21:00.001-05:00

Last Friday, I received a very normal text message from my amazing friend, Kristy, seeing if she could ask me a “weird question”….. I had no idea that the question would be “would I like to come to a luncheon where the Second Lady, Dr. Jill Biden would be speaking”? My answer was “OF COURSE!!!” What an opportunity. A very few wives from each unit on Fort Stewart were invited and Kristy thought of me…..quite an honour to be chosen. Oh, and I got to bring Jason too….a “BONUS” as Jakob would say. Also, I should mention, that the wife of the Chief of Staff of the Army would be there as well.

Today was the day…lunch and a chance to hear the VP’s wife speak. I dropped Aiden off at my friend, Tracy’s and headed over to post. Met up with Jason, Kristy, her husband Dan, and the other wives of 1-30 outside Club Stewart. We went in together…and too be honest I expected more security. LOL I was expecting to have my ID checked, my purse searched, etc. Apparently they were very trusting. It was a smallish group of us…I would say about 70.

We ate while we waited for Dr. Biden and Mrs. Casey to arrive. It wasn’t long before we were on “lockdown” as she entered the building. She was welcomed with great applause. She spoke of the strength of military wives, military mothers, and our military children. She thanked us for our service…our sacrifice. Then she made the rounds to all the tables and also posed for pictures, like this one:

It was a great day. A great opportunity. I am inspired to do more. I am looking forward to getting to Washington, figuring out the new unit and getting involved in the FRG. I miss being involved in the FRG.

Oh, Jason and I were interviewed by a local news station…I am not sure if it aired. I will be staying up late to see if they show it, and will post a link if they do!

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-02-10T19:54:00.001-05:00

Those of you who know the Army, you are not going to be surprised by my next statement. LOL

Sometimes the Army just doesn’t make sense to me. Tee Hee. But seriously, Jason just found out that at the end of June he will be heading BACK to Georgia for two months for a course. (Don’t ask me what course, I didn’t get too many details) Crazy right? We report to Washington March 10th, hopefully get settled quickly and then three months later he is gone for most of summer break, back to where we just left. Seems a little silly to me.

I should be use to being dropped off in new places and then have him disappear to a course, or deploy. He has “done it” to me at each duty station. Not by choice, I understand this, but still…come on people! This wont be as bad as when we moved to Colorado and he left within a few weeks and left me with no drivers license, no ability to drive for that matter, no friends, a dog, and NO IMMIGRATION status….I did it all by myself that year. And gained so much independence. It made me realize that if I had to, I could do it all alone. Kind of like this last deployment. I was really scared to be a single mother for a year, but it helped me understand my strength….that if need be we would be JUST FINE. And now we are happy to have him home and dread the day when he leaves us again…which apparently will be the end of June.

Never a dull moment. Thank you Army for making me say, HUH?

Nutella Crème Brulee

2011-02-08T19:52:00.001-05:00

I do not have any pictures for you today. I made these later in the day, and after 4 hours chilling in the fridge and then getting the boys settled, it was too dark to get any natural light, and the lighting in this house is not photogenic AT ALL.

So, for the recipe, and pictures of said Nutella Crème Brulee….you will have to go HERE….and then go to Bella Nutella to see all the other Ah-Mazing things you can make with Nutella….you wont be sorry (well, maybe your waistline will!)

Day two of sweet treats for love day was a huge success….I love this recipe! They are delicious. Perfect end to a really good day.

What did you bake today? Or enjoy?

Blueberry Pie Love

2011-02-07T17:07:00.001-05:00

It is a week until Love Day. I adore Love Day (otherwise known as Valentine’s Day)! Even though I try to Love BIG every day, there is still that spark of Valentine’s Day that fills me with even more love.

To celebrate this upcoming day of love, I thought that it would be fun to shower my loved ones with some of my favorite goodies…..one for each day of the week before the big day. Fun and full of love right?

So today I decided to make a couple of mini Blueberry Pies. I don’t think the boys have ever tried blueberry pie…..a shame, I know.

Mini Blueberry Pie (makes 2 – enough to share with little ones)

Blueberry Pie:

Ingredients:

2 cups Fresh Blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp Flour

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Preheat the oven to 425 deg.

I will admit – I cheated and used a store bought crust – and this brings me a little shame (I suffer from sever pie crust failure).

Roll out the crust a little bigger than pre-made – you need it a bit bigger to cut out the right size for the bottom crust. Use the edges of the pie dough to cut strips to make the lattice top. I chose to cut out a few little hearts to celebrate the occasion.

Butter the cute mini pie plates, place the dough in the plate and make sure there aren’t any air bubbles under the crust.

Place berries in a medium sized bowl and gently stir in the sugar, flour, and lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes to merry before spooning into your pie shell. Gently give the berries one last turn and then spoon the mixture into your pie shells.

Take the strips of pie dough and create the lattice top. Use a wet fingertip to secure the lattice to the bottom shell. Cut off excess.

Using 1 egg and a tsp of water create an egg wash. Brush the egg wash onto the crust and then sprinkle with some sugar.

Bake at 425 deg for 15 minutes. Then reduce oven temp to 375 deg. At this time check to see if the lattice top is getting too dark (mine was a little) – if it is tent the pies with foil. Bake for another 30 – 40 minutes til filling is bubbly and crust looks baked.

Let cool before digging in. I recommend eating Blueberry Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream, if you have it.

Enjoy….and don’t forget to Love BIG.

Monkey Monday

2011-02-07T13:59:00.001-05:00

I am working on figuring out a way for Jakob to say goodbye to his friends. We are moving in less than two weeks. He is very excited about the move, but a little sad about the friends he will be leaving behind. Jakob is a well loved boy…he has made many good friends here, and they have voiced how much they will miss him. So how do I do this?

Maybe Jakob is old enough to start having pen pals. I could help him write letters, we could put the stamps on together, mail the letter together. I think it would be fun for both of us. Could be as simple as a postcard, a picture, a special treat. I have been wanting to do this with my cousin, Michelle’s little girls (she has three beautiful little ones), for a while, and I have decided now is the time! As well as the friends Jakob is leaving here.

As I have mentioned before, my grandmother was the most amazing woman when it came to keeping in touch and corresponding with family and friends. She started at a young age with friends in Germany, they kept a journal and mailed it around to each of them who filled pages with updates of what they were up to, how they were doing, etc. What a wonderful idea. For years and years, these women kept in touch. My Omi was the best at keeping in touch with us grandchildren too, I always knew when I found an envelope from her in the mailbox that it would be filled with wisdom and love. Now that she is gone I truly miss the anticipation of a letter from her.

Today I am looking for tips, links to ideas on how to get your child interested in being a pen pal, and of course cute boy stationary…LOL. Help a girl out?

Nutella Memories

2011-02-05T09:38:00.001-05:00

Nutella….awesome chocolaty hazelnut goodness. Oh, how I love thee. Nutella holds many memories for me. I can remember eating it as a child, my mother would let us have it on toast as a treat. Though I would always prefer to sneak it and eat it on a spoon…..savouring every lick. But my fondest Nutella memory has to be when I was pregnant with my boys. It started with Jakob, at about month 4 into my pregnancy I started having weird cravings. I began my pregnancy with three months of the dreaded morning sickness, and couldn’t stand more than a sausage mcgriddle and coke slurpee….weird, I know, but it made me feel better. Didn’t question it…just went with it. After I started to get these cravings I rediscovered my adoration for Nutella…..on wobbly white toast…nothing whole grain, no whole wheat….but wobbly Wonder Bread - lightly toasted. And I would eat a LOT…several slices in one sitting, with a tall glass of the much needed milk (have to get in those nutrients!) I didn’t have the same morning sickness issues with Aiden, but the Nutella toast craving came back with a vengeance!

These days my boys are enjoying discovering Nutella. Jakob and Aiden often ask for “chocolate toast” for breakfast or snack. They don’t get it every day….but I don’t have any qualms about giving it to them, it’s part of their history! LOL

Now I enjoy my Nutella on toast once in a while, but prefer to make desserts with it, like this cake:

It is a very dark chocolate cake, covered in Nutella and then decorated with a Nutella buttercream. I made it in a Pampered Chef Torte Pan….and since it is so rich, you only need one layer…it is divine. Seriously.

Dark Chocolate Cake

Recipe adapted from Recipe Girl

Ingredients:

1 oz Chopped Semi Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup Hot Coffee

1 cup Sugar

3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa (it’s this cocoa that gives it the dark colour)

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/3 tsp Salt

1 large Egg (at room temp)

1/4 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 deg F, grease torte pan. Spray pan with nonstick spray. I lined the center part of the torte pan with parchment paper and then sprayed again. (I am always so nervous about it sticking)
In a bowl, pour in the hot coffee….add chocolate and let sit for a few minutes to let the chocolate start to melt. Stir until mixture is smooth and all chocolate is melted.
In a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg until a little thickened – about 3 minutes. Slowly add the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and chocolate/coffee mixture to the egg. Mix until well combined. Add the dry mixture and beat together until just combined.
Pour batter into torte pan and bake for about 45 – 60 minutes….or until tester comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan until completely cooled. I ran a knife gently around the edge of the cake before inverting onto a cooling rack – then I flipped it over again onto serving plate.

To Decorate Cake:

Warm jar of NUTELLA in the microwave until it is pourable consistency….start at about 15 sec and go from there. Pour the nutella into the well of the torte cake and spread until it looks pretty. Like this:

Nutella Buttercream

Cream together 1 stick unsalted Butter, 1/2 cup Nutella, and 1 tsp vanilla extract with enough powdered sugar until piping consistency is achieved. Fill piping bag (with decorative tip attached) with the Nutella Buttercream and decorate cake.

Pretty, eh?

There is a new Nutella food blog that you MUST check out….BellaNutella. It is dedicated to recipes using Nutella! I can’t wait to bake pretty much everything on this site! If you have a Nutella recipe that is a MUST make…you can submit it to this sight as well. Cool, right?

What is your favourite way to enjoy Nutella?? Share links to your recipes….please!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-02T20:08:00.001-05:00

I made Rachael Ray’s Pistachio Crème Brule last week….it was delicious.

Make it. That is all.

Monkey Monday….err….Tuesday

2011-02-01T20:31:00.001-05:00

I totally meant to post this yesterday….oops.

After a brutal parenting week with the boys, we decided to put it all aside and try to have a wonderful day out together at the Jacksonville Zoo. I told Jakob and Aiden in the car that I was going to try to not raise my voice (a.k.a yell) if they would try to not spend the whole day whining. They both agreed, so we had a plan. The whole family was on board for having a great day out.

I love the zoo. I can remember going when I was young, seeing all the animals. And the Jacksonville Zoo is beautiful. We had a blast. The carousel was fun, Aiden wouldn’t get on anything so Daddy held him. Jakob grinned from ear to ear. Aiden’s pleasure came from the train ride….there is a train that goes around the whole zoo – the boy loves his trains. They also got to feed the giraffes. SO cool.

They look like they are having fun right?

And this is my favourite picture. It is very rare that I am in the pictures….isn’t that always the way for Mamas?? So this outing I gave the camera to Jason half way through and told him to make sure there were some pics of me and my favourite boys. And this is what was taken…..we look pretty good.

It was a great day. One that reminds me of how amazing these boys are, and how quickly they are growing up. Time to not let the everyday get in the way of appreciating them.

Hope you all had as wonderful weekend….what kind of trouble did you get into?

Thoughtful Thursday

2011-01-27T13:26:00.001-05:00

Well, the Mama Guilt is on overload today. My buttons are like a brand new touch mouse pad….so sensitive. I am not sure what is going on, but Jakob and I have been battling for weeks. We have our good days, and good moments, but for the most part we are not liking each other very much. There are just a few behaviours that drive me up the wall, WHINING and BACK TALKING are at the top of that list. Jakob has always been a whiner….he thinks that if he whines he will get what he wants. Not so much. For some strange reason he has now decided that back talking is the way to go as well. Again, not so much. There are days that my tolerance for his behaviours is pretty high, but these last few days that is not the case. I have spent more time yelling and arguing with him (I know, arguing with him is not the way to go), than I have loving on him. This makes me feel so guilty. I understand that this is just a few days out of a (hopefully) long life together, and that I shouldn’t let it get to me, that we all have these days….but it kills me.

I want to have fun with my boys. But it is hard for me to have fun with them when I don’t feel that they deserve it for acting poorly. I am in a catch 22 position. And here we are thinking about driving to the Jacksonville Zoo on Saturday….and Jakob has been misbehaving in school and he and I had a huge blow out this morning walking to school. Do we still go? Will he consider it a reward for his bad behaviour? Or do we suffer for it too and stay home, knowing that it will be a rough day of whining that we didn’t get to go?

I need help. I need a way to hold back my anger and not let this take over. I need to figure out how to explain to Jakob that this behaviour wont be tolerated and that it is just disrespectful to talk to us like that. I need to get back to parenting with love, not a raised voice and punishment. I am taking any advice you may have for me. Lay it on me, books, strategies, things that have worked for you, bribes, anything….please. I feel desperate at this point.

Happy Pistachio Day

2011-01-26T07:55:00.001-05:00

Did you see these? I tweeted and FB a sneak peek of their deliciousness…

No? Well head over to She’s Becoming DoughMessTic or Food Holidays to see my guest post and get the recipe.

Make these….the recipe is simple, the end result ah-mazing.

Homemade Granola Bars

2011-01-25T13:33:00.001-05:00

As I have said before, if there is a recipe I can make instead of buying snacks for my boys I try to make them. Not that it is always cheaper, because sometimes it definitely isn’t, but because I like knowing what is going in them, and I like to be able to add that special ingredient….LOVE.

My boys love granola bars. Aiden especially. Plain old chocolate chip granola bars. So I looked up simple recipes and found one. It is pretty great, claims to be chewy, and they are chewy. But they are rich, sweet, and delicious. Aiden really enjoyed them. Jakob said they had a weird flavour, and I am thinking that the honey I used in the recipe must have been it…..it is a local honey, very fragrant and quite delicious, but definitely a strong flavour. Aiden asked for milk with these, just like he does when we eat chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe: (Adapted from Allrecipes)

Chewy Granola Bars

4 1/2 cups of Rolled Oats

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

2/3 cup Softened Unsalted Butter

1/2 cup Honey

1/3 cup Packed Brown Sugar

2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (this is where we can mix it up….change it to raisins, nuts, peanut butter chips, dried cherries, etc…you get the idea!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 deg. Lightly grease one 9 x 12 inch pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla, butter, honey, and brown sugar. Stir in the 2 cups of chocolate chips.

Lightly press mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 325 deg for 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cut into bars. Allow the bars to cool completely before removing from the pan.

Store in a sealed container. Yields about 18 bars – depending the size you want.

I will be making these again for sure….with a milder honey.

Monkey Monday

2011-01-24T19:48:00.001-05:00

Today Jakob’s class sang a song during this month’s PTSO meeting. I think it is just a ploy to get parents at the meeting, but I could be wrong! (not)

Here it is….he’s the one on the right, second row, the one that can’t stand still….

And don’t for get to “Brush your teeth…..”

Sunday Supper and a National FOOD holiday!

2011-01-23T16:53:00.001-05:00

Happy National Pie Day!! I know, holidays for food. But did you know that each day of the year is a holiday for a different kind of food? Check out my friend Susan’s blog for a daily round up for each special food’s holiday. Incredible, right?

Pie Day! I have many favourite kinds of pie. I love a great lemon meringue, chocolate cream, strawberry, cherry….etc. But nothing beats a really great APPLE pie. It has to be really great. This past Thanksgiving the Stenzel’s were invited over to the household of Team Wallace for dinner. It was an honour to be included in their family celebrations. And of course I wanted to contribute, I begged to be able to contribute. To show up empty handed would have been awful for me. Nikki was kind enough to oblige my desire to cook or bake and asked me to bring an apple pie. Just one?? Yup, just one. So I was on the quest to make the BEST apple pie I could find. And it would have to be tested before Turkey Day. Poor Jason. He a lot of pie that month (though didn’t complain once). After several different crust and pie fillings, it was decided that The Pioneer Woman’s Dreamy Apple Pie would be what was served at Casa Wallace. It is perfect. It isn’t easy to describe this pie. Just perfect. I love a single crust apple pie. Don’t get me wrong, I love a flaky pie crust…but this pie doesn’t need that double crust. It has a crunchy nutty topping that is heaven….probably why she called it a Dreamy Apple Pie.

For National Pie Day, I decided to make mini versions of this pie. I cut the recipe into thirds and baked them in these really cute mini pie plates I picked up at World Market (did you know I collect pie plates??). A third fit perfectly….baked them for 45 minutes and they were done. As all apple pie should be served, I scooped a perfect scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. And then Jason suggested some caramel sauce….a decadent finish, but not necessary. For Thanksgiving I made The Pioneer Woman’s Maple Whiskey Sauce, which later was named Pie Crack by a certain Wallace.

I recommend pie. For any occasion. A simple Sunday Supper, a birthday, a more traditional holiday, but definitely for today….National Pie Day!

Did you make a pie today?? What kind? Have a recipe to share? Share a link!!

Frosting for the Cause

2011-01-20T19:22:00.001-05:00

Have you seen this?? No? You need to. If you bake, if you don’t bake for that matter, you should sign up. Do it. Volunteer to bake, donate what you bake to your local Women’s Cancer Hospice, agree to donate $25.00 to the American Cancer Society or to a Women’s Cancer Research Project of your choice, and blog it.

I was waiting to sign up. I knew that Paula had people lined up until some time in March. But March didn’t work for me. I wanted to make sure we had time to settle into our new place before I had anything going on. And today she tweeted that they were almost at the end of April with sign ups. So I jumped. I sent her my request to participate (which you can do by going HERE – DO IT!) and she emailed me back with the date of APRIL 25th. Very Excited!

Now….what should I bake??

AboutOne Twitter Chat….Raising Kids

2011-01-19T13:47:00.001-05:00

I have recently discovered AboutOne. It is an online website to “Safely Store and Manage Your Household Information”. A great site to record memories, scan and keep important documents, and health info about the whole family. And now I am going to be a blogger for them, check it out. (scroll down and you will see me!) I am going to write bi-monthly posts about Military Life….the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Today’s twitter chat was about raising kids. Some great questions, some interesting answers.

Question #1: What are your tips for traveling with children? Do you travel a lot with your family?

We use to travel quite a bit. When we were living in Connecticut we were only about 8 hours from my parents and I would make the drive with Jakob (and then Aiden too) about every three months. It was a long day of driving, but worth it. Most visits it would be just me driving, leaving Jason at home, so I had to make sure I was prepared. Snacks, drinks and toys all within reach. I made sure that all the snacks were portioned out, and easy to open. Drinks were either juice boxes or premade sippy cups. And when Jakob and Aiden were infants I made sure to have water from home, or bottled water, for their bottles so that there wasn’t anything in the water that their tummies weren’t use to.

The other side of travelling with children is entertainment….keeping them occupied = happy children! DVD players in the car was key for us….the perfect distraction. Now it takes a bit more. Both Aiden and Jakob are obsessed with my iTouch. They love the games (the free apps are awesome), and the videos and sometimes the music. I have a feeling it will be a lifesaver for our cross country trip to Washington. 8 days on the road…help me!

Question #2: How much TV do you let your kids watch? Do you limit? What are their favourite shows?

I am guilty of my boys watching a lot of TV. I know it isn’t right, I know it isn’t good for them….I know. Enough said.

Shows…..Phineas and Ferb, Team Umizoomi, Magic School Bus, most of the shows on PBSKids, and the Food Network!! LOL

Question #3: Has your child ever been bullied? Have you talked to them about this issue?

Jakob has not been bullied at school. And Aiden isn’t in school. Jakob is a pretty popular kid, bit of a teacher’s pet too. But there have been days that he has come home and said others were mean to a friend, which strikes a convo about how it isn’t nice to be mean to someone. He knows what is good and bad behaviour, what is nice and what is mean. He’s a good egg.

Question #4: How do you give your children quality time?

Jason and I try our best to spend some one on one time with each of the boys. Jakob is old enough to sit through a movie, but Aiden isn’t quite there yet, so Jakob gets some one on one time going to the occasional movie. Aiden gets special treats like trips to the ice cream shop. We also do things like taking one out to run errands while the other stays home.

We also swap out bedtime. We each take a boy, read or talk, and tuck in. That way they are getting equal attention from us.

It’s important. We make it a priority.

Question #5: How do you treat yourself?

I am happy to say that I am pretty good at treating myself. I work dinners out into our budget so that there are days that I don’t have to cook. I take time with my friends to get our nails done, go out for lunch, or even go to the bookstore for a coffee and poke at some books. I am lucky. I have a great husband who understands that “if Mama ain’t happy, no one is happy”. Jason is great at hanging with the boys so that Mama can have some me time.

I also find a few minutes at the end of the day to reflect. I keep a gratitude journal and write the highlights of the day. Things I am thankful for. AboutOne has a section on their site for keeping track of memories and I am looking forward to adding to that part of my account as well.

Whew….Those are some great questions, and long answers. It was a great opportunity to hear what some other mother’s are going through, and realizing that I am not alone, that we all have similar things going on, choices to make, and love for our children. I will definitely be participating in the AboutOne chats on twitter. You can too! Wednesday mornings, 10 am EST, #AOChat See you there?

Monkey Monday

2011-01-17T19:00:00.001-05:00

This is how I spent 3 hours of my day…

at the ER with Jakob. Unfortunately, he has a massive strep throat infection. Oh, and did I mention he is throwing up too?! Yes, fun times here at LBBO.

Sorry I don’t have a more interesting post today, and for the sad cell phone picture.

Hoping for a speedy recovery and some sleep sometime soon. Fingers crossed.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T08:46:00.001-05:00

Our Pooch

Cannot believe that she is going to be 8 next month….look at that grey muzzle.

Military Monday

2011-01-10T14:05:00.001-05:00

Getting ready to pack our bags and head out West. Time for the Stenzels to conquer a new post and a new state. Jason has orders to report to Ft. Lewis, Washington in March. We have known about this for a few months now, but I haven’t really let it sink in. The Army is known for changing it’s mind! The fact that the movers will be here next month to pack up the house and move all our belongings to the other side of the country has crept up on me. I know, that sounds silly, but it is true the holidays kind of sucked up the time I thought I had. So now the planning begins.

My first research project was schools. School for Jakob and Aiden. I *hope* this is our last duty station and they wont need to make another change for several years. This became a project of looking things up, asking people who had been there, or people who were going there where they were planning on living…etc. I found out that the waiting list for living on post was looooong. And the living spaces weren’t anywhere near what we would be able to get for our housing allowance. So we are searching for a house to rent. And I think we have narrowed it to Lacey, Washington. Good schools, close to post for Jason’s commute, and close to everything I need. There are a few great houses that we are looking at – 3-4 bedrooms, great kitchen (a MUST for me), and backyard for the boys to play. I also LOVE that most of the houses in WA have fireplaces. I have not had a fireplace in my house in over a decade….I miss it so!

I will say that there are a couple things that I will miss about Georgia. Definitely not the heat of the summer, that’s for sure. But I will miss the friends I have made here. I will miss the neighbours on my street. The kids all around for my boys to play with. The support and care they gave me for the year that Jason was gone. I will also miss the great Company that Jason is in. The guys that he works with are pretty great. His 1SGT, Hamilton, was amazing. His Cpt, Cory Wallace, was the best leader I have met. His LT, E. Olvera, is fantastic. And the guys under him made the platoon a great one. They helped bring him home safe and sound, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Getting off topic now. The move is right around the corner. I need to get on it, stop being in denial of it actually happening and get my butt in gear. Washington is waiting for us.

What is the first thing you do when preparing for a move? Help a girl out, I could use a great checklist to make sure I am not missing anything!

PopTarts

2011-01-06T14:23:00.001-05:00

I always worry about the snacks my boys eat. I push for the healthier snacks. I push for fruit, whole grains. And they don’t complain….they love it. But sometimes I like to treat them. There are a brand of Organic PopTarts that they really like. But they are expensive, and not often on sale. And when they are on sale I buy some and they are gone the next day! C’est La Vie!

Some time last year I saw this post over at Oven Love. It was perfect. Homemade PopTarts. Totally up my alley. And the boys LOVE THEM. I realized last week that I hadn’t made them in a LONG time. So I made a plan, read : scheduled them in, and made my boys Homemade PopTarts filled with Nutella!

Pretty cute, eh?

Here is the recipe I followed, though I used 1/2 cup butter….I am not a shortening gal.

Homemade Pop Tarts
(original recipe from Peabody)
For Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tbsp. cold water

For Filling:
Jam (your choice) Or you can use Nutella like I did!!

For Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
milk to thin
Sprinkles

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add shortening and butter and blend with a fork, pastry cutter, or your hands. Blend until mixture is fairly coarse. Add water, 1 tbsp. at a time, gently mixing dough after each addiction until dough forms a ball.
2. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a square/rectangle. To about 1/8 thickness. Cut out long strips about 2 inches wide and 3 inches long. Repeat until dough runs out.

3. Take one pie crust rectangle and lace 1 tsp. of jam on top. Cover with another piece of pie crust and crimp all four edges. Repeat with the rest of dough. Place Pop-tarts on a baking sheet with parchment paper, and bake for 7-8 minutes.
4. While pop-tarts are baking, make glaze. Place powdered sugar in a bowl. Pour milk slowing until it has a consistency of really thick syrup. 1/2 a tbsp. to 1 tbsp. might be enough.
5. Once pop-tarts are done and cooled, top with glaze. Add sprinkles and serve.

Trust me, make these…..your family will thank you.

What snacks do you like to make homemade for your family??? Send me links – I am looking for more things to make a healthier version for the boys!

Sunday Suppers

2011-01-02T20:24:00.001-05:00

Growing up we had dinner together most nights. Nothing fancy, typical dinners. My mother expected us home for dinner unless we had told her otherwise. At dinner we would discuss our day, school. etc….or we would just sit and not really talk about anything. Typical family dinners.

Jason and I try to do the same, but with more fun! But there were nights when the boys were hungry before we were, and I had fallen into the habit of making them something different from what Jason and I were eating. I had gotten tired of hearing “I don’t like that” or “That looks yucky”. I am hoping to turn that around. We are going to sit as a family – and dammit we will enjoy it! :) Starting with Sunday Suppers. I am going to introduce my boys to the old fashioned Sunday Dinners that you read about, or see in movies. Traditional meals like Roast Chicken, Lasagna, Meatloaf (have never made one in my life), Fried Chicken, Pot Roast… etc….etc….those meals that you take your time making without the weekday rush.

And for these meals I will blog about one component…so Today I want to share a Sweet Potato recipe with you. Tonight’s menu included Roast Turkey Breast, Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans Almondine, and Pumpkin Pie. Mmmmmmmmm…….a delayed Thanksgiving meal. Perfect for a rainy Sunday dinner. Fingers crossed the boys will eat it.

Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 Medium Sweet Potatoes

1 – 2 Tbsp Butter

2-3 Tbsp Heavy Cream (or Whole Milk)

2 Tbsp Maple Syrup

Directions:

1. Peel Sweet Potatoes and slice into chunks. Boil until tender – approx. 10 minutes.

2. Drain Sweet Potatoes (save water for your dog – makes their dinner delicious).

3. Put Potatoes back into hot pot, add butter, cream, and Maple Syrup. Mash until desired consistency is reached. Add more cream if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Simple….but adds a nice touch to Sweet Potatoes. My family loves them.

I hope your family enjoys Sunday Suppers as much as I hope my boys will remember them.

If you have any suggestions or traditional recipes for Sunday Suppers, please pass them on….always on the lookout for new things to try/make.

Tuesdays With Dorie….MY choice!

2010-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to write this post for over two weeks. Seriously, two weeks. And I had hoped to have something clever, something inspiring, but alas….my writer’s block continues. I was hoping to get my mojo back once Jason got back from Iraq. Having him home on vacation this past month has sent me into a bit of a tizzie….my routine was pretty much turned upside down. Not that I am complaining (well, maybe a little), we are SUPER happy to have him home. It has been nice to have someone to cook for, and to bake for….especially breakfast treats on the weekend, which brings me to this week’s Tuesday With Dorie goody….Devilish Shortcakes!

I was perusing the TWD website the other month looking for my name to see when I would be making my choice and noticed that my name was NOT on the list. I tweeted Mrs. Laurie lickity split and she quickly rectified the situation and let me know that my turn would be in November! WHOO HOO….then came the challenge of choosing the right recipe, a daunting task. And after choosing a couple of recipes that had already been done (before my time, and coming up the next week – duh) I chose the amazing, chocolatey goodness of the DEVILISH SHORTCAKES!

These shortcakes are fantastic. They are light and airy, and have JUST the right amount of chocolate in them….enough to call it a dessert….but not too much that you can’t indulge and have them for breakfast – which is what we did. I whipped up some cream, defrosted some mixed berries….and voila…breakfast. All three of my “boys” were delighted. They were quite the treat.

Thank you Dorie for providing me with a recipe that I can use as a weekend indulgence!

Devilish Shortcakes, from Baking; From My House to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the Biscuits:

1 1/3 cups Whole Milk

1 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Large Egg

3 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour

2/3 cups Cocoa

2 tablespoons Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Sugar

1 1/2 Sticks (12 tablespoons) Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

To Make the Biscuits:

Whisk the milk, vanilla and egg together.

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar into a large bowl. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (Dorie’s favorite method), or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes, and pieces in between – and that’s just right.

Pour the milk mixture over the dry ingredients and toss and gently turn the ingredients with a fork until you’ve got a very soft dough. When the dough comes together, you’ll probably still have dry ingredients at the bottom of the bowl – just use a spatula or your hands to mix and knead the dough until it’s evenly blended. Don’t overdo it; it’s better to have a few dry spots than an overworked dough. Even with all the flour mixed in, the dough will be soft and sticky.

Spoon out about 1/3 cup of dough for each shortcake onto the baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches of space between the mounds. Pat each mound down until it is between 3/4 and 1 inch high. (The shortcakes can be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting – just add at least 5 more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, rotating the sheet from front to back at the midway point, until the shortcakes are puffed and give just a bit when prodded. Pull the sheet from the oven and transfer the shortcakes to a cooling rack.

Then you can do with them what you please….we chose to cut them open and fill them with mixed berries and LOTS of whipped cream….see? like this:

They are light, airy and oh so delicious. Plain and simple. We ate them later in the day plain, with large glasses of milk. Thumbs up from the WHOLE family.

I hope you all enjoyed making them. Everyone needs to check out all the others on the Tuesdays with Dorie Blogroll.

Thank you all for your patience. I will be doing my best to get back my blogging mojo….and have fun things starting in the new year. 2011 is going to be MY year. I can feel it. Do you have anything planned for 2011? Tell me…maybe we can inspire each other.

French Fridays With Dorie

2010-10-01T20:11:00.002-04:00

Yes, another blogging/baking & cooking group!

I LOVE DORIE GREENSPAN. She has helped me learn more about baking in the past year than I thought possible. I adore her recipes. There are few that I have not just LOVED. When I heard that she had a new book coming out I could not wait to get it. I was VERY excited to find out that it was being released early. Then, I was even MORE excited to find out that my amazing friend, Laurie, was going to be heading up a new blogging group to cook their way through the new book, Around My French Table.

The first month’s recipes were chosen by Dorie herself. This weeks recipe is the “Goureges”….a yummy, light, and delicious cheesey puffs of air. They are simple to make, quick to make, and didn’t last long! Aiden wasn’t sure about them….but Jakob inhaled one after another!

Look at these….don’t you just want to jump through the screen and eat one?

I put the Goureges “batter” into a pastry bag and used a large star tip to “pipe” them onto the silpat! Can you tell???

Now….go to the new website and see all the amazing people that are participating in this new group….last I heard there were about 500 people signed up!!

12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

2010-10-01T19:55:00.001-04:00

This year I decided to participate in….

Friends have put together the group, and since I am always looking for new and fantastic Christmas cookies to try and add to my array of goodies, it was a no brainer to join them.

I was SO looking forward to having a really good first cookie for this event. I had it picked out over a week ago. But being the procrastinator that I am I waited until this afternoon to bake them. I know, I know….you would think that I had learned my lesson by now, but apparently not.

I found this recipe in this years “Better Home and Gardens Christmas Cookies” magazine. They were suppose to be Soft Maple Sugar Cookies, with a maple glaze. I had looked at the recipe, and thought I could just swap out the 1/2 cup of shortening, for another 1/2 cup of butter. Maybe that was be problem I made. But the dough was SO soft that there was no way I could roll it into balls….and even after chilling the dough for two hours it was still too soft to do so. I used my cookie scoop to drop nice formed globes onto my cookie sheet and hoped for the best. NOPE. Did NOT turn out. Too soft, falling apart. I didn’t even bake all the dough. Made me sad. I had high hopes for some yummy maple cookies. Fall and Christmas rolled into one cookie.

Look at how sad these look….

I promise to not wait til the last minute to make next weeks cookies so that I have something spectacular to see!

Sorry!!

A Lazy TWD….

2010-09-28T20:18:00.001-04:00

I think the Tarte Fine is a perfect Lazy TWD dessert. It is so simple to put together, quick to bake, and tastes really good. And if it wasn’t easy enough….I got lazy with it. Which I shouldn’t have, because now I have chunks of apricot jam in my glaze that you can see in pictures….and undercooked puff pastry. And there is nothing worse than undercooked puff pastry, it’s chewy and a little gross. I got lazy. I wanted to glaze it and eat it. So when I saw the edges of this simple, easy tarte getting browned I pulled it! I should have foiled the edges like Dorie told me too and let it bake longer.

So even though my pictures are spotted with bits of apricot, and my puff pastry is a little chewy, I think it looks good, and the edges are really good!!

I, of course, added a little caramel sauce! I think it really goes with everything!

Enjoy!

And be sure to go and check out all the other TWD creations of the Tarte Fine!

I just want to make cookies!

2010-08-06T21:13:00.001-04:00

I had thought about making this title “Frustration Friday” to match my mood. But that doesn’t really have a lot to do with the cookies! But it does have to do with the fact that I missed the boat by just a few weeks. And I am kicking myself for it.

Let me backtrack a little……

There is this great party place here in Richmond Hill called Cutie P’ Tutie. It has some of the cutest gifts, toys and throws an awesome party. They host different themed parties for both boys and girls. They go ALL out – including goodie bags and treats. So a little light bulb went off for me. Maybe I should make some cookies to go along with their themes, take them down to them, and see if they would be interested in having me make cookies for their parties.

So these are what I made:

For the Spa Party…..

For the Pirate Party…..

For the Diva Party…..

Cute right?!?

Unfortunately, they had just signed a contract with the company that does their themed cakes to also provide cookie favours. Bummer right?

Maybe I shouldn’t have waited so long. Maybe next time. Trying to not let it discourage me. Just going to keep on making cookies and get them out there.

Wish me luck!

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-04T21:10:00.001-04:00

Are you kidding me?

Where did the time go that I am now the Mama of a Kindergartener?

How is it that Jakob is so grown up already?

Slow Down! Both of you, please, just slow down.

I think of how much he already knows, and what he will be learning this year, and I am amazed and excited for him. This is a big time for him. And I hope to make it as enjoyable experience as possible. These are the years that will set the bar for his enjoyment of school for possibly the rest of his education career. This is HUGE. I am so lucky that he was looking forward to school, strutted his stuff walking in, and that he was sad that I had to leave. It showed me that he was confident and independent but still needed me a little. Thank you for that Jakob!

Here is my very excited little man on his first day….

Oh….and since I love to commemorate every occasion with cookies….I made these for Jakob to take to his class for snack time….

At then end of the day he was happy to start school, was excited to meet new friends (even though he couldn’t remember ANY of their names), and is looking forward to going back tomorrow.

The only thing missing on this day is Jason. Jakob really misses him and was sad that Daddy couldn’t be here. But the good news is since we are moving mid-school year, Jakob will have another “first day of kindergarten” and Jason can take him that day. ALWAYS look for the silver lining.

Military Monday….a farewell and a hello!

2010-07-12T21:24:00.002-04:00

I am going to miss Nikki. Next week there is a change of command happening…. Nikki’s husband Cory, Jason’s current Commanding Officer, is being moved to a different “company” and a new Commanding Officer is coming in….I don’t do well with some change. But what this change means for me is a new FRG (Family Readiness Group) leader. I am sure that JoAnn and I will get along well. I am just sad that I wont be able to finish out my time at Ft. Stewart with Nikki as my partner in crime.

Anyway…..so a few weeks ago we had a meeting to welcome JoAnn, and say goodbye and THANK YOU to Nikki. Nikki has done a phenomenal job pulling all us crazy wives together and into a cohesive group. She will be greatly missed.

So, as co-leader of the group I thought it was only appropriate to acknowledge the occasion with cookies! LOL

Here are my Thank You and Welcome cookies for Nikki & JoAnn.

Thank you Ladies for all your hard work.

One Word Wednesday!

2010-07-07T18:57:00.003-04:00

Fearless!

Military Monday

2010-07-05T21:13:00.001-04:00

I guess I should have posted these over the weekend for 4th of July inspiration….whooops.

I made these cookies for a bake sale on Fort Stewart this weekend. The proceeds will be going toward Jason’s Brigade….including the Brigade Ball in December. I decided to do the stars for the 4th, and the yellow ribbons to represent those waiting for their loved ones.

Happy Fourth of July Everyone!

Thoughtful Thursday

2010-07-01T21:06:00.001-04:00

I am not sure if I have mentioned it on here….but I am starting my own ”Happiness Project”. If you aren’t familiar with it, you can check out the blog here….and pick up the book here. Gretchen Rubin spent a year working on becoming a happier person, one month at a time, tackling new resolutions and creating her own Twelve Personal Commandments, the Secrets of Adulthood and Four Splendid Truths.

The basic premise of it is taking small steps each month to try to be a happier person! And this is not to say that I don’t think I am already a happy person, because I am. I love my life. My marriage is in a great place, even though he is thousands of miles away. My boys are a joy as always, even when they drive me to pour a glass of wine at 5 pm. And I a loving being a stay at home Mama again, and working on my cookie biz. I just believe that there are things that I may be missing that could make me a happier person. Personal growth is never a bad thing right??

I find her Twelve Personal Commandments to be inspiring in themselves. I forsee post it notes around the house reminding me of them. Here they are:

Be Gretchen – I plan on Being Tania!
Let it Go
Act the way I want to feel
Do it NOW (this is going to be a tough one for me)
Be polite and be fair
Enjoy the process
Spend out
Identify the problem
Lighten up
Do what ought to be done
No calculation
There is only LOVE

Pretty simple, yet kind of profound. Wouldn’t life be easier if we all followed these?

So today was my first day. I have decided to pick and choose the different “resolutions” from each month and add a couple of my own. Make sense? To kick start my Happiness Project I will be making the following additions and keep track of them each day – giving myself a gold star for each as Gretchen would say.

Clean the kitchen before going to bed (I am sad to say that this is hard for me! but Jason will be happy about it!!)
Clean out the closets (time to downsize this place before we move – this make take more than one month!)
Tackle a nagging task
Use my To Do list
Follow the “One Minute Rule” – don’t put something off that only takes a minute to do
Observe the evening tidy up – pick up the toys, shoes etc before going to bed
Try not to raise my voice as much
Exercise – this is going to be another toughie – but there is no reason that I can’t fit it into my day

There you have it. This is the start of something good. I can FEEL it. And I plan to post my way through it.

Let me know if you have any tips on being a happier person, if you have done your own Happiness Project, or leave me a comment of support!

I have always wanted to belong to a club…

2010-06-30T20:57:00.001-04:00

Seriously….I have always wanted to belong to a book club. The idea of reading a novel and then spending time with like-minded people talking about the book….that would make me happy. I just never found the time, the right group, or the right books. So I have decided that since I have made so many great online friends that are also interested in joining a book club but just can’t seem to find the time, the right group, and the right books….that we should have an online book club. I am still fine tuning the plans for this, but I wanted to put it out there, to get some ideas of what kind of books people want to read together, how long do think we need to read said book, etc.

So these are the questions….leave me a comment if you would like to join us, or email me (lovebigbakeoften@gmail.com).

1. What are some books that you have been meaning to read? What “genres” would you like to read?

2. How long do you think you would need to read a book? Is a book a month too much?

3. Would you want to be checking in through the month and discuss or just discuss after everyone has read it?

4. Do we want to take turns choosing the books we read, or take a poll/vote?

I think that is all the questions I need some help with. Hope you will join me.

One Word Wednesday…..

2010-06-30T17:18:00.001-04:00

ONLINE!!

Computer is back in my possession….after spending a week with Geek Squad. But still having an over heating issue so may be going back in!

Time to get blogging!

Technorati Tags: one word wednesday

I’m Back

2010-06-21T22:23:00.001-04:00

Did you miss me? I cannot believe that it has been SO long since I have blogged. Time to get back in the groove as I feel like I have a LOT to say these days. Posts are running through my mind!

But I wanted to post something to show off my new design….thanks to Jessica of Frilly Coconut. She was so amazing to work with…so easy to get in touch with, answered emails lickity split, and answered all my silly questions. And look at how beautiful she made my little blog! Gorgeous right??

Thank you, Jessica!!

Stay tuned….more coming this week….promise!

My favourite “Men”

2010-04-19T20:31:00.004-04:00

I love them…with all my heart.

Take Care,

Tania

Love Big, Bake Often

About ME!!

2010-01-20T20:35:00.000-05:00

Hi there....

Welcome to Love Big, Bake Often. I am a stay at home mom to two amazing boys, Jakob and Aiden, wife to a pretty awesome Army man, named Jason. Our life is never dull, the Army has had us moving around the country and in about 6 months we are heading to the West coast for the first time for both of us. We roll with the punches and know that as long as we are together, life is good!
I live everyday loving to the fullest, and baking as often as I can. I enjoy baking for others more than anything! My dream is to raise two beautiful, confident, kind boys....while running a small bakery. A girl can dream right?!?

I hope you enjoy my blog. LOL

Take care,
Tania

Contact Me

2010-01-20T20:31:00.000-05:00

Hi there....Feel free to give me a shout if you....

Have a baking question or just want to say hello?

Would like to sponsor a giveaway or have a baking product, gadget, cookbook reviewed?

LoveBigBakeOften@gmail.com

Take Care,
Tania

Monkey Monday

2010-01-18T21:03:00.002-05:00

A belated Christmas video...but I had to post it! LOL

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Thoughtful Thursday

2010-01-14T19:59:00.001-05:00

I have so many things going on in my head right now….and really not capable of putting them down on “paper”.

There is a lot going on in our household…changes happening, Jakob and school, Aiden and his speech (doing much better), Jason coming home in a couple of months (even if it is only for 2 weeks), changes in me – or at least I am working on making some changes….

I apologize for the short post. I am tired tonight….have been spending too much time staying up late watching TV. Such a sad little life I lead.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Monkey Monday

2010-01-11T20:06:00.001-05:00

This is a true Monkey Monday post….we have found this year’s location for Jakob’s birthday party…..drum roll please……MONKEY JOE’S!!

Here is the link. Monkey Joe’s is an indoor bounce house place…filled with slides, bounce rooms, and fun! Lots of fun. They have a small area for the younger kiddos too. Though when we were there this past weekend Aiden refused to go in any of them and spent his time running around the place and pretending to play the video games. But both had so much fun!

On the way home Jakob declared “That’s where I want to have MY party, Mama!!”

It’s going to be a blast!

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Thoughtful Thursday

2010-01-07T20:26:00.001-05:00

It has been a very long time since I have written a Thoughtful Thursday post…but today I am feeling inspired. I had a really good day. We had a good morning routine, out the door on time, no arguments, had a great day at work, picked up the boys, no problems at school or daycare, had a pretty good dinner, a great tubby time, no fights to get dressed or brush teeth, and no fights going to bed! It was a really good day. And now I am sitting on the couch, watching some random tv show and blogging.

I have been reading a parenting book…which I will get more into on another post…and am trying to better my parenting techniques as what I was doing certainly wasn’t working. I was tired of the constant battles with Jakob, the yelling, the ultimatums, the threats, and none of it working. I don’t want out time together to be spent fighting, battling for power, or for him to be scared of me. Fear is not a parenting style!

So we are trying some new things. Jakob is being given choices – choices he can understand – choices he gets to make to learn the consequences and how they affect him. Simple choices. For example, to avoid the battle of putting on his jacket before going out into the cold, he has a choice – put on the jacket or carry it in case he gets cold. This is a good one – he and I would always battle over this. I was always thinking that I was doing him a disservice by forcing him to wear his jacket, thinking that he HAD to wear his jacket. But that’s not true. By letting him decide he feels empowered in his choice, and when he realizes that it is butt cold outside he will have his jacket to put on should HE choose to do so. This was tough the first day of school…it was COLD. And he chose to carry his jacket in his bag instead of wearing it. So when he was getting out of the car I could hear the gasps from the teachers, and feel the glares…of “how could she let her son come to school in just a long sleeved shirt and a hoodie?”…sooooo I loudly declared….”Ok Jakob remember that since you chose to carry your jacket instead of wear it this morning, it is in your bag should you get cold.” It didn’t get rid of the glares but it made me feel better, and I think it made Jakob feel good too….he was able to make a choice and we didn’t fight about it.

Now, I wouldn’t allow choices to be made that would put him in danger, or harm him in any way. He would not be given the choice to leave the jacket at home, but it is his choice to be cold should he chose – it wont kill him! LOL

So we have been making choices….what to wear, either eating dinner or not – there are no more choices with dinner, if you don’t like what is for dinner you have to take one “no thank you” bite and move on. I am not making different meals for us all….one meal – eat it or don’t. The next meal is hours away….you will be hungry! Aiden is having trouble understanding this but we are working on it.

I want my boys to be able to make their own decisions, to learn the consequences of their actions, to think before they act. And I want them to learn how to do this at a young age.

I want to rethink the way I have been parenting…I want to have more days like today….because it was a really good day.

Take care,

Tania

Love Big, Bake Often

Monkey Monday

2010-01-04T22:09:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday was the first Home Depot Day of the year….and we decided that Aiden was old enough to try his own….Yes, I gave a two year old a hammer!

I was a little bummed that they didn’t have any little aprons for him to get that day….but they say that they should have them by next month.

Too cute, Right?

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Welcome to 2010…..

2010-01-01T20:20:00.001-05:00

Where did the time go? I am so glad that 2009 is over…it was not my best year. I don’t want to get into all the things that went wrong this year, so lets just say that they were rough and move on!

2010 is going to be a better year….and I feel strange saying that considering Jason will be gone for most of it. He should be back for good in October, and home for a couple of weeks at the end of March. But even though he wont be here on a daily basis I am determined to make it a better year. To focus on my family, what is important, rebuilding our marriage, maintain and mend some friendships, reconnect with family, and starting taking better care of myself. Sounds pretty simple right? I am not sure about that, but I do know that I am going to do the best I can.
For starters I have signed up to participate in 10 in 10….a great blogging event put together by the awesome Lori, of Recipe Girl. She and some of the other gals I adore came up with this blogging group – a support group for all of us with similar goals of getting healthy this year….10 weeks in 2010… check it out, sign up, participate and join us. It’s going to be fun.

As part of my changes in 2010 I am including my parenting techniques….I need to find something that works. Jakob is totally out of control. He and I are not getting along very well, he is hitting his little brother, talking back, being uber disrespectful….you name it – it is an issue these days! I am hoping it is a phase that we can work through together, but it is pushing my buttons and I am not handling things very well. I am acknowledging it, but stumped as to how to fix it.

So that is where we are on this first day of 2010….plans, goals, hopes, dreams, and hopefully a successful blogging year. Thank you to all my followers, and for understanding that there were constant lapses in the past, and hoping there will be less of them this year. The key is to not get bogged down or feeling overwhelmed….this year is all about simplifying.

Hope you all have your goals and dreams for 2010 set…would love to hear what they are…leave me a comment would ya?

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Monkey Monday

2009-11-30T20:23:00.001-05:00

This is what Aiden looks like when he tries to say “cheese” for the camera!!

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Getting back here….

2009-11-29T20:21:00.001-05:00

I am upset with myself…..I shouldn’t have signed up for NaBloPoMo this month. I knew going into it that I wouldn’t have the time or the material to keep up with it. And with Jason gone and all the emotions that go along with that made it difficult to find the motivation to blog…

But I had such high hopes!

I have been baking, but not taking the time to get the good shots and actually blogging the recipes. That’s not good. I really want to make this blog into something that people really want to come and read all the time…to have it in their reader so they don’t miss anything. And so far I am failing myself on that.

It’s going to change. I have some product reviews, some giveaways, and some awesome recipes to share with you all. Bear with me….don’t give up on me yet. I am getting on the blogging train and promise great, information rich posts.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Take care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-18T20:25:00.001-05:00

Ok…I am so cheating….here are my pics of the Molasses Cookies for Tuesdays with Dorie. Sorry!

These are AMAZING…I will be making these frequently! Aiden really loves them.

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

At a loss of words

2009-11-17T20:17:00.002-05:00

I am sorry friends, I truly have nothing to say today. I have been living in my head the past couple days and am trying to dig my way out. I will be back with bells on tomorrow....and hope to post a Wednesday with Dorie....if I can remember to take some pics in the morning as it is WAY to dark when I get home at night!

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big Bake Often

Monkey Monday

2009-11-16T19:57:00.002-05:00

While paring through some pictures I stumbled across this video of my three “men” from last November. I cannot believe this was a year ago.

Take Care,

Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Lavender Sugar Cookies

2009-11-15T20:40:00.001-05:00

Let me just start off by apologizing for the lack of pictures with this post. I had the camera out at the book fair yesterday and the batteries ran out. And of course today while out shopping I knew that there was one thing that I was forgetting, and for the life of me couldn’t remember and of course those were it. And once home and remembered right away, I refused to go back out as Sunday’s are a very lazy day for me these days.

So I have a recipe for you…and they turned out really great. But no pretty pictures of cookies surrounded by lovely purple lavender. You will just have to picture them. Perfect circles of yummy goodness, coated in sugar with bits of fragrant lavender peeking through the dough. Can you see it?

Here is the recipe, I kind of adapted from Susan, at She’s Becoming Doughmesstic’s, Sugar Cookie Recipe.

Lavender Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp Lavender

In mixer, cream together butter, cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and lavender until incorporated. Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight). Then roll tbsps of dough into balls, coat in sugar, and flatten balls with the bottom of a glass. Bake at 390F for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool….pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy!

They are fantastic. And soon I will show you a picture of them….I promise!

Take Care,

Tania

Love Big, Bake Often

Eggnog French Toast

2009-11-14T20:14:00.001-05:00

Last week I was on an Eggnog high….the scones I made were stellar, so I continued with the Eggnog and made some Eggnog French Toast. And we LOVED it…the boys both asked for seconds and Jakob asked for some later in the day (sadly it was all gone!).

Look at this….who wouldn’t want to eat it?!?

Ok, so it’s not easy to take a “good” picture of baked French Toast. But it does look yummy, right?

It is easy to make, I use this recipe from Aimee, at Under the High Chair, as a basis for all the French Toasts I have been making.

This is what I did for this one:

Eggnog Baked French Toast

4 – 5 cups stale or day old French Bread (or Baguette)

4 Eggs

200 mls Eggnog

50 mls Skim Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tbsp Cinnamon

Directions:

Cut up French Bread and spread out in a buttered casserole dish. Mix together all other ingredients and pour over bread. Push the bread into the liquid to ensure even soaking up of all the eggnog goodness.

Cover the casserole dish with Saran wrap and put in fridge overnight. In the morning pull out the dish, preheat the oven to 350F. Bake at 350F for 35 – 45 minutes until it is brown and toasty and the eggs are set. If it starts to brown too soon cover with foil and continue until eggs are set.

Then pull out this….

And enjoy!

Take Care,

Tania

Love Big, Bake Often

I have two words for you….

2009-11-13T20:27:00.001-05:00

Chocolate Bread!

That’s it. Stay tuned!

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often

Whining…..It Doesn’t change Anything!

2009-11-12T20:25:00.001-05:00

I absolutely HATE whining. It is really one of the biggest button pushers for me. It can send me into parenting “fit” in seconds flat….it wears on my nerves. You get what I mean!

Jakob is the King of whiners…..he should have a crown! Seriously. Those of you who have spent time with him and/or heard stories about him know what I am talking about. He whines about anything and sometimes everything. And the one thing that I continuously tell him is this…..”whining doesn’t change anything!” Whining will not make me suddenly say “Yes” to eating candy with breakfast. Whining will not make me agree to watching more TV after I have told you that was it. Whining will not make me clean up your mess for you. It doesn’t change anything! It makes it WORSE! It makes me want to pull out my hair and rock in a corner!

I don’t understand where whining comes from, is it genetic? Is there a switch that is flipped when children hit a certain age that programs them to whine? Is there some older child that pulls yours aside at the playground and teaches them the technique? I certainly didn’t teach him. And now I am worried that he is whispering in Aiden’s ear about whining.

Whining is hopefully a habit that he will soon outgrow, and I know I am probably dreaming, but I hope everyday to get through it without just one whining session.

But on to me……and my attempt to get through a year without Jason and without whining. I hear from people how brave I am going through this and how tough it must be, and it makes me think. Should I be complaining more? Will that change anything? No…as I said before….whining doesn’t change anything. It goes for adults too. I am not only being strong for me, I am trying to be strong for my husband, for my boys. It’s important to keep it in perspective. It’s not forever, the happier we are going through it - the easier it will be. Now don’t get me wrong….I miss Jason every day and would be super happy if they called me and told me he was coming home tomorrow, but that probably wont happen so I wont sit around holding my breath, whining about the situation. As my friend, Susan, use to tell me….I will “pull on my big girl panties and drive on!”

And that is my opinion on whining….for everyone.

Take Care,
Tania
Love Big, Bake Often