let the creative juices flow

Or in my case, the creative sugary royal icing and cookie cutters!

First let me just say that I am actually getting this posted ON THE RIGHT DAY!!! Usually I run a day or two behind with these things. I try, I really do, but somehow the day always seems to get away from me. So I'm pretty excited. Okay, onto the challenge. The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

I have to admit, when I first saw the challenge, I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to do sugar cookies again. As you may recall, last May I was hired to cater these cookies for my son's preschool graduation.
350+ cookies to be exact, and while I truly enjoyed the opportunity...I also steered clear of sugar cookies for awhile! But I quickly got excited about the challenge. We were supposed to decorate the cookies in a way to tell about what September means to you. This was hard, because for us, September has lots going on. My hubby and I both have birthdays, the boys are both in school (one kindergarten and one at preschool for the first time), and its also the beginning of all those fun fall outdoor activities. We have been doing a lot of outdoor stuff this month - hiking, apple picking, going to cider mills, etc. so this is the theme I went with.

The recipe we used was okay, and the cookies tasted good, but I am still a fan of my "go to" recipe that I used for both the baby shower and the butterflies. It's my all time favorite and I don't know that I'll ever find one that I like better. I found this recipe to be a little dry and hard to roll out - but that could have been an error on my part.

To decorate I whipped up some royal icing. I like this method of decorating sugar cookies because it gets nice and hard so you can store them easily and they look great all packaged up.

After the icing was (mostly) dry, the boys enjoyed their cookies for dessert.

The husband and I enjoyed one as well. Sorry for the lighting...it was dark out and my kitchen doesn't have the best light. If you want the recipe that we used, you can check it out HERE.

Falling for apples

Well the 14th came and went, which means I didn't get to post my Daring Cooks challenge...but have no fear, I'm posting today. Yesterday was just one of those days, when everytime I wanted to sit down and do my post, something else came up - like my dog getting sprayed by a skunk...seriously - I'm not kidding and it was TERRIBLE!!! It took me all day today to "de-skunk" my house!

Okay, well onto the challenge. The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation. If you're interested in the recipe used for the challenge you can check it out HERE.

I chose to go with the freezing method, mainly because it saved me from going out and looking for the items needed for the canning method. Although, now that things are finally starting to settle down from the move, I think I am going to try some canning in the near future.

The first step was obtaining the apples. For this job I employed two wonderful little workers to help me out! They did a fabulous job, and I not only had enough for a full batch of apple butter, but I still have enough left for at LEAST one apple pie! YUM.

The whole process (minus the picking time) took less than two hours. To get the right consistency I did it in two parts. After the apples were cooked down and in a "mushy" state, I buzzed them in the food processor, returned them to the pot, and let them cook on low for awhile to thicken them up. It was at this point (the applesauce stage) I removed some of the mixture and put it aside for my boys to eat this week. With the rest I took out small batches and buzzed it in my blender to get it nice and smooth. Once all was buzzed, I cooked another 20 min or so just to get as much liquid as I could out and called it good.

I have to say it turned out really nice. I've been enjoying it on toast for snacks and such, and think I will use one of my freezer packets for a pork tenderloin later this week.

So there you have it, my DC challenge for September. I'm glad I was able to get this one done. With the move I had to miss out on all the fun, but now I'm back...well until we move again that is :P.

Hope all of you wonderful people are having a great week so far!

and we're done...

Unpacking that is!

It took me MUCH longer to get unpacked this time around then in the past, but there was just a lot going on right when we got here, and packing sort of took a back burner. But we are done now (thank goodness!!!) and it looks more like "home" than just a house. The only thing we have left to do is hang our pictures, and put up some curtains. Oh - and make one last run to the Goodwill because in the unpacking we unearthed some other "treasures" that we no longer need to haul around.

We really enjoyed our Labor Day weekend. Saturday we went to a beach for a bit to hunt for shells, then to this great little farmers market where I had the best breakfast sandwich EVER. We're going back this weekend just so I can have another. I'll even take a picture to show you all...you'll be drooling.

Sunday we went hiking. It was the longest one we've done so far, and I am very proud of the boys. We did a loop out to a lookout point and back, and total it was about 3 miles, which is pretty good for a 3 and 5 year old.

They had a blast and really enjoyed it - as you can see they were some happy hikers -


...so we are going to hit up another area this weekend. One of the coolest parts was at the end we stopped by a waterfall. It was incredible.


This week is going by fast. I can't believe it's already the middle of the week. I guess that's due to the longer weekend. Next week is the hub's b-day and I am at a loss of things to get him. Any ideas out there?? Well, my attention is being requested by my little munchkin, so I am out until next time. Enjoy the rest of the week folks!

Settling

Things are falling into place...for the most part.

Big kid started KINDERGARTEN last week, and today will be his first full day. Can't believe my little man is in school now. Crazy. But he absolutely loves it there, and the school he goes to is just wonderful. I tell you what though, not having him around is sure strange. Maybe I'll get the rest of these boxes unpacked after all...

All ready for the first day

We still have a few boxes here and there, but most of that is due to the fact that we are waiting for our "media hutch" to arrive so we have something to put our tv on and all of the various devices that go along with it into. We were spoiled in NE and had built-ins so we didn't have to worry about such things. There are some others too, but we've been having a lot of fun so they have been pushed aside! I LOVE LOVE LOVE our new neighborhood! There are TONS of kiddos everywhere, all close to the same age as our boys, and it has just been non-stop playtime outside. And it turns out that a friend of mine from when we lived in GA (her hubs was on a different boat) lives right across the street from us!! Her son is a week older than my oldest, so that has been really great, and she has been awesome and introduced us to everyone on the street I think. Not really, but it feels like a lot. I'll be sad to leave next spring.

And speaking of leaving. We do have "verbal orders". The hubs is (for now) going to be the Weps on a boat out of Norfolk. We were not expecting this location, but are happy with it none-the-less. It will be nice to be within a days drive of our family, and we've got some good friends going there as well. :) Although I'm trying not to get TOO attached because I know that things very well could change.

This weekend we spent probably 95% of both Saturday and Sunday enjoying the outdoors. We went hiking, kite flying, and got in a few trips to the beach. The weather here is absolutely beautiful and we have been exploring our new surroundings. There is so much fun stuff to do, I'm already making our list for next weekend!

Well I should wrap this up and get a move on my "to-do" list. Maybe now that I have a little "kid free" time again, I'll actually update this blog in a somewhat timely fashion...maybe. *wink*

Later folks :)

Safe and Sound

We've arrived...safe and sound and are (slowly) getting settled. Actually we've accomplished a lot, but as I look around at all the boxes, I realize there is still more to be done. We woke up to a rainy day, so I've been slow getting things together - so I figured I'd update. But I can't stay on TOO long because I am *a-hem* borrowing wireless at the moment. So bad I know...

However, I did get lots of important things done in the few days that I've been in my new residence. I got our insurance stuff switched and the boys and I are all set up with new docs. The boys have dr. apts for school physicals. Dentist appointments have been made. Cable/internet/phone is processing and will be installed on Friday. Big kid will be all set for school tonight after open house. You get the idea. We've been busy.

The hubby doesn't have to start school until middle of next month, so we have a few weeks to enjoy family time. I think we are going to take a weekend trip in the next few weeks, somewhere by train, still have to figure that one out.

Okay, well I should run. I'll be back after Friday when our internet is installed.

Catch ya later folks.

let it begin!!

Hey Folks! How are ya??

We are HOT. It is just scorching here these days, to the point that you doing even want to go outside!! Thankfully by midweek it's supposed to cool down a tad. Don't get me wrong, I love summer, but when it feels like 115 outside...that's a little extreme for my taste. :)

Today begins "massive to do list" mania - bring it on I am SO ready!! We are now close enough to the move to begin fun things like packing and cleaning the outside windows. There is more on the list for today, but those are the first two that popped into my head. I am getting really excited for the move. Not the whole pack-out load up process, but the actual driving to our new home and getting settled is always fun for me. Our boys are troopers in the car, which is AWESOME when you have 4 days of driving ahead of you.

But the best part about the drive is that we get to make a stop in OHIO to visit Nat!!! I can't wait. Nat, if you're reading this check your email if you haven't already because I sent you the info about the day we are coming.

Okay, sorry.

So, I promised some video of big kid and the NEW bike. So here it is. Enjoy :)

It's super early here, my littlest one woke me up around 5:30 to make a trip to the potty. So it looks like I'm going to get an early jump on the day. So with that I'm going to leave you all. Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend. xoxo.

A most useless place...

Last night the hubs and I took the boys to the bike shop to get the big kid his brand new bike. He had been riding around on a pretty piece-tacular bike that was falling apart and was too small, but we figured it would be perfect for him to learn on. We had told him once he decided to do it without the training wheels, he could go get a nice new one. Anyway, while we were driving to the shop, I realized something...I'm in the Waiting Place. I'm sure you've all read the Dr Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go". It's one of my favorite ones to read my little ones. And it dawned on me today - we are very much in that place - a most useless place...

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

In our case we are waiting for all sorts of things. Phone calls from detailers and landlords, doctor appointments, moving day, etc. I just feel like we are in a holding pattern this week. It's still too soon to do a lot of the packing prep (that hasn't already been done) and my "to do" list for when we do arrive in the northeast keeps growing, but I can't do anything on that until I'm there. I'm trying to remind myself to just take it easy this week and enjoy my last "quiet" week before next week comes and I'm running around like a crazy lady. But the anxiety is really getting to me. And I can't even bake because I don't want to go buy stuff that I won't use up before next week! :)

{deep breath}

Okay, I feel better. I'm just going to focus on the fun stuff that is going on this week. We have baseball for the big kid, a trip to the children's museum with friends, more baseball this weekend, and maybe a day trip one day to KC for one last visit to my favorite place on earth. I have so much to be thankful for!! So while I am indeed in the "waiting place" I know it's only temporary and I can move on because...

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Well...that kind of a girl rather...and yes, I am that girl indeed...ready for anything under the sky!

This and That

Is the weekend almost over already?? Eeesh, where does the time go? And it's AUGUST - wowza.

So, in-case you aren't crossing off the days until my move on your calendar (although I can't see why you wouldn't be - hehe) we are down to 13 days!! WOAH!! We officially have an address now for when we get to our new location, so that is always a plus, and I've taken care of stopping all our services here minus one more that I have to call about tomorrow.

THANK YOU THANK YOU folks who gave me such awesome moving tips!! I will make sure to have my video camera charged, sharpies ready, and my best "I'm the boss - but a nice one" attitude in check!

This morning we went to church, then home to get some stuff done around the house. The hubby cleaned out the garage, and I've been working on getting together all those things that DON'T go with the packers because I would be heartbroken if they were damaged or lost (mainly my pictures, a few letters, etc.) I also have yet another bag of stuff going for Goodwill - this will be trip number 4 I believe!

Yesterday the hubs and the munchkin went to a bbq at a co-workers house. Big kid and I stayed behind because he woke up all snotty and coughing and we didn't want to share the love. BUT I did take full advantage of the "bring a side or dessert" to unload a bunch of stuff in the pantry! I sent brownies, blondies, a unopened bag of tortilla chips, and some fresh salsa. I got major "points" in the clean-out process for all that!

I tried a new recipe for the brownies - it's one I've had on my "to bake" list for awhile, but always seem to fall back on my favorite Ina recipe. But because I didn't have everything for that one, and I DID have everything for this one, I took a chance. The recipe is from the back of the King Arther bag of AP flour and it's labeled "The Best Fudge Brownie Ever" (click on that for the recipe). I was skeptical because I've had some amazing brownies - so to claim these were the BEST ever...well I just wasn't so sure. Sorry for the bad picture...I was in a hurry and it shows.

My review. They were quite tasty - very moist and fudge-y and the chocolate chips in the batter really do add a little something, but I think I still would chose my Ina recipe over this one. But the hubby said they, and the blondies both went over well.

Today we also had a big moment in "kid world". The big kid learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!! We are very proud. He must have been ready because he picked it up like a pro. Well folks - I need to run. The hubs just informed me he is due for a haircut, so I'm going to go help get the little ones to bed, then do that, then curl up with my book. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Swiss Swirls

It's the 28th...that means it's the day AFTER it was time to reveal our Daring Bakers challenge of the month (yes I am a day late...sorry folks)! The July 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Sunita of Sunita’s world – life and food. Sunita challenged everyone to make an ice-cream filled Swiss roll that’s then used to make a bombe with hot fudge. Her recipe is based on an ice cream cake recipe from Taste of Home.

This was such a fun challenge, and perfect for us here in the Midwest with the humidity in the upper 90's and temps over 100!! We were to make a swiss cake roll from scratch, homemade ice cream, and a homemade hot fudge sauce. Having never made any of these on my own (with the exception of making ice cream one time last summer at my parents house) this challenge was exciting.

For my cake, hot fudge and chocolate ice cream I used the recipes that can be found HERE on the Daring Kitchen website. But for my second ice cream I went with plain old sweet cream ice cream - my FAVORITE. I'll include the recipe below, but it's SUPER easy. Just three things!! Here are some pictures I snapped of the cake making process and begining layering stages.

The batter

It ended up taking two full days for the challenge. One day to bake, cool and fill the cakes, along with making the ice creams, and the second day to assemble and make the hot fudge. It's not too hard to pull together, but there is a lot of waiting involved with all the different layers. This did get me into a little bit of a time crunch. The hot fudge layer took much longer than I expected to fully freeze up, so that is why I am posting a day later. I needed another few hours after adding the last layer of chocolate so it could harden back up to slice.

Adding the last layer of chocolate ice cream

all finished and ready to slice - the little one is eying his share
ready to eat
big kid gives a "thumbs up"

This was a big hit with my family, but then again, what's not to love about cake and ice cream!!!

Okay well that's it for this swiss swirliness. I think this would make a really fun birthday cake, and may just try it next year!

For the sweet cream ice cream you can find the recipe HERE. Enjoy - it's DELICIOUS!! Oh, and I used base #2 for my recipe. I was a big fan of the not having to cook it part!!

Some of the leftover ice cream after filling the first layer

I. will. post. today.

That is my mantra for today - I started this post back on Monday - it's now Friday.

Of course my original post was super cute, and I had a few clever nuggets in there, but now it's just too far gone to be very cute...although I may leave some of it here - we shall see.

I made some knock your socks off brownies last night for the hubby to take to work today. I am calling them S'm-oreo's brownies. It's an oreo brownie recipe I have kicked up about 10000 notches. In addition to oreo's, I used chocolate covered graham crackers, and marshmallow fluff - to-die-for. Get ready to drool folks...

I will include the recipe at the end in-case any of you need an insanely good brownie recipe!!

I've been baking a lot for many reasons, A#1 when I need to focus on other things I bake, B#2 it helps me use up some of the butter I need to get rid of, and C#3 its lots of fun to do with my little helpers. Before the brownies we made chocolate chip cookies. I have learned that when it comes to homemade cookie dough, I have no control. I also learned that after giving in and eating said cookie dough - you will walk around for a good while feeling not so hot because sometimes you CAN have too much of a good thing.

Tuesday the lady from the moving company came and surveyed the house to see how much stuff we did indeed have. Just one more step along in this crazy military moving life :). Any of you ladies (or guys too) have any good tips on ways to get your stuff ready for the packers?? A friend of mine gave me the idea to go through your kitchen/bathroom drawers, and put all those little things (pencils, notepads, hair stuff, etc.) into plastic zip-lock bags, that way when they get packed you don't end up with 27 pencils all individually wrapped, along with that stray gum wrapper.

We are now at the 3 week mark! I'm getting really excited about being somewhere new now. Of course it's always tough to say goodbye to those that I'm really close to, but I'm hoping to see some of them again...somewhere down the line! We don't have any other really big news around here...just the move and all that goes with it.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back soon! :) But for now I leave you with this. Warning: if you're watching what you eat, and don't have superhuman willpower don't make these unless you can remove them from your house ASAP.

Sm'oreo Brownies
Adapted from Ina's Oreo Brownies

1 lb butter
1 lb bittersweet chocolate
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
7 large eggs
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp instant coffee
2.5 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup ap flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 pkg oreo cookies
1 pkg chocolate covered graham crackers
1 small jar marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Chop cookies and place in bowl with 1/4 c. flour - shake to distribute flour. Spray BIG cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter and chocolates in a heavy saucepan until smooth, then let cool slightly
3. Mix together eggs, vanilla, coffee, and sugar
4. Blend in cooled chocolate mixture to egg mixture
5. Mix in remaining 1 c. flour, baking powder and salt. Gently stir in cookies.
6. Pour 1/2 of mixture into pan, then drop fluff by the spoonful onto batter, trying to distribute evenly. Pour the remaining batter on top.
7. Bake for 30 min. Do not over bake. Let cool completely at room temperature, cover, then stick in the fridge overnight to get one amazing brownie!

*this recipe is HUGE it makes 30 big brownies, or 40+ smaller ones. Great for events or a big crowd.

Use it or lose it...

That's what I'm calling our current moving phase. I've been going through our house, room by room, closet by closet deciding what stays and what really just needs to go. We've already dropped off numerous boxes at the Goodwill and I have the back of my car loaded up with more to go tomorrow. Not to mention multiple boxes of baby clothes to be sent to my sister-in-law for my cutie nephews. I am also trying to use up goods in our pantry that need to go, so I made some banana bread. I tried a new recipe, and the jury is still out because it's cooling, but it sank a little after coming out of the oven, so I'm not sure what to expect. If it's good, I'll post pictures and the recipe soon - if not we will just forget I made it and I'll post something else!!

The hubs and I have been working really hard getting the house ready to turn over to new tenants. We also started P90X last week which means that I've now been sore for a week straight. With all this hard work we decided it was time to put to use our couples massage gift certificate! Ahhhhh...that's that sound of my relaxed and well massaged muscles. Back in November two of my best friends were out here to celebrate our anniversary and they gave us a gift certificate for a couples massage. Well, months later we finally got around to using it and it was FABULOUS!!! It was an hour of pure wonderfulness - THANKS AMANDA AND NAT for the great gift!!! We are very lucky to have such wonderful friends and it was much needed!

After that we went to a nice dinner, walked around and did a little window shopping, shared ice cream, and then home to send the babysitter off, and watch a movie. It was a great way to spend the afternoon together. Date nights are a treat for us, so we really enjoy our time out together. I think I'm going to call our sitter and arrange another here soon before the big move.

The move is coming soon...very soon. 27 days to be exact!! Can't believe we are below 30 days now. I had a minor freak out this morning about all that we still needed to do, but was over it pretty quick after getting out my planner and going over my to-do list. We're in good shape. I hired a cleaning company to take care of the cleaning after the movers load up, the moving company is coming out this week to do our house estimate, and I'm just about done going through our stuff to find donations. Things are moving right along.

Okay folks well that's it for me. OH...thanks for all the well-wishes on my ankle. It's doing much better and I've even been able to go on a few runs. My pace is a little slower, and I can't go as long because my shoe starts to rub on the part that is cut, but overall I'm recovering very well!! So thank you. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!!

Hugs.

The Peanut Gallery

Hello Folks...

Well as I write this post I am laid up on the couch with ice on my ankle. Why you might ask...well it seems that I am not strong enough to move large heavy objects (like TV's) and happened to drop the TV I was moving on my ankle. Thankfully it sort of just went down the side and not directly on top of my foot, but I do have a nasty gash and a little swelling. However...today is the 14th which means its posting day for Daring Cooks, and because I really enjoyed this challenge, I wanted to be sure to get it posted on time!

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

I had NO idea how fun, and super easy, it is to make your own nut butter. I chose to do peanut butter, but I have lots of recipes bookmarked for all sorts of butters. But because we are moving next month, I didn't want to go TOO crazy making stuff that we would then have to try and hurry to use up. Here are a few pictures of my peanuts and butter...forgive the poor quality, I used my phone to take these pictures because I didn't want to go up and get my camera...I know lazy, but sometimes that's just how I roll.

The recipe I made was delicious. I sort of used a combination of two different curry recipes that I had on hand. I only had about 1/2 the ingredients for each, so I did a combination and it turned out wonderful. AND the whole family loved it, which is always a plus. It's a chicken and vegetable curry and at the end I tossed it with some noodles (we didn't have any rice)...YUMMY!



I still have some of my peanut butter left and I've been using it in my oatmeal, on crackers, celery, really anything you can put peanut butter on, I've been using it. I think after the move, homemade nut butters will become more of a standard in this house! :)

Okay folks, if you are interested in the directions for making your very own nutty butter wonderfulness, you can check out the info HERE. I highly recommend giving it a try!!

This post is going to be short and sweet. I should probably take the ice off my foot and check on the swelling, so with that I'm off. I'll be back soon though - later gators.

Big Threes!!!!

Hello folks, how's it going??

It is a beautiful morning here, just one of those days that makes you want to get out there and do stuff. Which is good because later we have a picnic for the hubby's work that we are going to. This morning I have dedicated to getting things done. So far I've done my bible study, had breakfast, folded the last of my laundry, and loved on my kiddos. Now they are watching a show before breakfast, so I figured I would use this un-disturbed time to do some bloggin'. :)

How was everyone's Independence Day weekend?? What did you do to celebrate our country's independence?? We had a FABULOUS weekend. My mom and dad came up for one last visit before we move on to celebrate both the 4th and then our little munchkin's THIRD birthday!! I can't believe my "baby" is three. He is doing fabulous, and just such the little man now. It seems that overnight he went from my little guy, to full fledged "big kid" that no longer needs much help from Mama and Daddy. He's 100% potty trained (has been for about a month now) and into everything that big brother does. So here's a big birthday shout out to my little man - Happy Birthday Sweetie...Mama LOVES you bunches!!! Here he is with his Lightning McQueen cake that yours truly made. It's a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and Lightning McQueen of course. The recipe was wonderful and I'll post it at the end.

Three years ago...

My sweet boy

Here are some more pictures from our weekend. For the 4th we went to see fireworks, and the next night we did lots of fun fireworks here at the house. The boys had a blast, and really got into it this weekend.



The hubs and I even got a date night which was awesome. I dragged him to see Eclipse so I could get my vampire fix (I know...me and all the other little teenagers). It was much better than New Moon, but I really can't wait for the last one. That was my favorite of all the books...but waiting is something I will have to do because it's like 500 days until it comes out or something like that...hmmmm.

So, we are at 5 weeks until our moving day! I can't believe it's so close - CRAZINESS!! It's hard to believe that our time here is just about up. I'll be sad to leave, but am also really looking forward to our new adventure. I just wish I knew where we would be AFTER SOAC, but I'm going to have to be patient on that one (yet again just like above) because we still have awhile before we know anything that is "final". However, I'm not so much looking forward to the whole "going out to sea" bit again, but I'm sure I'll get into the swing of it again...sooner or later. :)

In-case you missed it on my FB, check out Matt's claim to fame. Okay maybe not "fame" but he's in a recruiting video for the Navy.



Hehe...

So, I think that is about it for our updates. We are still making the most of our summer. Lots of time at the pool and the parks, and playing with friends. Okay, well here is that recipe I promised. My mom found this recipe and brought it with her, it was the one my grandma used and she always made the BEST stuff so I was excited to try it. She didn't let me down, it was AWESOME! I'm a big fan of carrot cake, but I'm kind of picky about it. I don't like it to have a bunch of extra "stuff" in it, I just want the wonderful carrot-y cake-ness. For our cake I did omit the nuts, because both my hubby and daddy are not a fan of nuts in baked goods, so I left those out, but everything else I kept the same.

Grandma's Carrot Cake

Ingredients and directions

- 1 1/2 cups oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs

Mix the above together. Combine the following separately then add to the above.

- 2 c. sifted flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp cinnamon

Stir in the following:

- 3 c. shredded carrots
- 1/2 c. chopped pecans (optional)

Cook @ 350F for 30 min in (3) 8 inch cake pans. Let cool on rack then frost with cream cheese icing. * Note: this recipe makes three very thin layers, if you want two thicker layers you will need to increase the baking time.

Enjoy!!

Okay, well that's it for me folks. I really will try to be better about posting, but I can make no promises! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend - I know we plan to!!

Daddy's Day Deliciousness

Is deliciousness a word?? It must be because I didn't get the little red squiggly line indicating I spelled something wrong. Good thing because that totally describes the wonderful creation I made to celebrate my sweet hubs and what a wonderful Daddy he is to my boys.

But first, let me back up a bit. A few weeks ago I asked my dear husband what he wanted to have for dessert on father's day, and he said he wanted chocolate chip cookies...to which I responded...Seriously??!!?! I'm offering to make anything and you want cookies?? Well, he did, but I just didn't feel that was enough to show him what a great dad he was. He did get his cookies, but I made them a few weeks ago (you all remember my post about those cookies right??) to satisfy the cookie craving. Then...for fathers day I made chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake - AMAZING.

I don't think I could have made him anything better. It was creamy, the cookie dough was amazing, it didn't even crack...perfection! Again I turned to my trusty A Passion For Baking book that has quickly become my "go to" book for all baked goods. I have yet to make anything out of that book that isn't truly amazing.

Home made cookie dough for the cookie dough parts

The middle layer - cookie dough and mini chocolate chips

Ready to go into the oven

one happy daddy :)

Aside from sitting around eating lots of cheesecake, we had a wonderful Father's Day. We went to church, then brunch at one of our favorite brunch places, then home so we could all just lay around and relax and enjoy time together. Dinner was light, quick and easy then it was off to the movies to see the new Toy Story 3 movie. We had a great time, and the movie was really cute. Both boys really enjoyed it - although I swear my little one just goes for the popcorn.

I am truly blessed that my boys have such an amazing daddy. Because of his job, there is a lot that he has missed, and that will continue to happen. But when he is here, he makes every SECOND with those boys count. One of my most favorite parts of the day is when I'm in the kitchen fixin' supper and my boys (all three of them) are in the next room wresting or playing some sort of "tag - you're it" game. The squeals of laughter just melt my heart. I thank God everyday for my wonderful family.

I hope you are all having a great week so far. We have been enjoying the hot sunny days of summer and spending a lot of time at the pool and playing in the sprinklers (or sprinkles as my little one says). There is just something about running through sprinklers that defines summer.


If I can figure out A. how to get video off my phone to my computer, and B. how to post it on here I'll post some footage of my big kid swimming. He is a full fledged swimmer now - the kid even went off the high dive!! Alright, I really do have to wrap this up! Until next time...later gators.

Pesto and Pate...

Yes, you heard that right, pate (I don't feel like figuring out how to add all the little symbols above the actual spelling of the word, but I'm sure you all will forgive me), but not the liver kind, this was a veggie based one, and over all I'd say it's pretty tasty.

Maybe I should back up a bit - It's the 14th, which means Daring Cooks posting day. Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pate with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pate recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

I'm going to report in steps. First, as I mentioned above, I chose the veggie recipe that they provided. It wasn't as challenging as some of the others, but it's the only one that I was sure my hubs and kiddos would eat. I did most of it with the food processor, layered it in the little dishes, and then stuck it in the fridge for about 24 hours. Here area few shots I took along the way - as well as the finished product.


As always (if your interested) you can find the pate recipe here.

The next part of the challenge was the homemade bread. First off let me say that while I have made cinnamon rolls, and pita bread one time, this was my first time making loaf bread. It took me awhile to decide what KIND of bread I wanted to make - but I referred once again to my handy "Passion for Baking" cookbook, and found a recipe for a Pain Pesto. YUM! I figured this would go nice with the pesto in the pate as well. I was a little nervous when after mixing in all my flour I realized that I measured my water 1/4 c. short, but it still managed to turn out wonderful!


Sorry there aren't many pictures of the early bread stages. My camera battery was dead and it took the first part of the bread making process to charge up.

And here is the bread and pate together. It makes for a good hefty snack that's for sure. I think the pate would also go very nice with pita chips - the bread was great, but maybe too much for the pate.

Okay well that's it for me and this month's DC challenge. I'll be back soon with some other goodies that I'll be cooking up this week.