Cookies with Boys

Back to Craving Ellie...

2012-01-27T10:17:00.001-05:00

When I started blogging, TWD was the main reason. I had always wanted to have a blog, but I didn't really know how to begin, nor did I think that anyone would actually ever read it. But signing up to bake with the TWD group gave me the push that I needed. And, wouldn't you know it, people actually read my blog. They left comments, too! What a nice feeling.

I have met some wonderful people in the blogging world, and several of them introduced me to the Craving Ellie weekly blog group. I have always enjoyed Ellie's recipes, but I fell out of the group quite a while back. As I continued to read the blogs of those who still cooked along, I would think, "That looks so good! I need to make that."

Well, I'm back. The new format is great, in that you pick your own recipe for 3 of the weeks and once a month, we all make a recipe together. This weeks recipe was chosen by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory. She chose Ellie's Spicy Fried Rice with Peanuts and has the recipe posted on her blog.

I forgot to add the chili flakes, so we really didn't have the spicy factor. I also only made half the recipe and Marc and I really enjoyed it. I didn't have peanuts, but I did have an open container of cashews that were a yummy addition.

This came together so quickly, too. I had forgotten to make the rice earlier in the day, so I boiled it up and tossed it into the freezer to chill for about 45 minutes. Worked great. Lots of flavor in this one, as usual. For us, Ellie is rarely a disappointment. Looking forward to participating every week!!

Scalloped Potatos for Two from Cooks Country

2012-01-25T00:05:00.001-05:00

So, I am starting to get back into the blogging game. I do have many posts started, but unfortunately, most of the posts contain only a title and maybe a few pictures. That means I have lots of posts about food that, unless it knocked my socks off, I don't really remember much about the recipe. Such a terrible food blogger I have been. But hey...enough negativity! I'm trying to change all that now.

This recipe from Cooks Country really did knock my socks off. I'm not much of a potato fan, mainly becuase when I eat them, I like them dripping with butter and all kinds of fat-laden goodness. I like them well enough, but I tend to eat them baked, with a little salsa and maybe some low-fat sour cream. Marc, however, is a big fan of spuds.

When I saw this recipe in Cooks Country, I knew that I had to try it. It was a recipe built for two, which worked perfectly, since I knew the boys would be put off by the cheesy looks of it. Odd little fellows, aren't they?

This dish was so delicious, and it worked so well with the ham steaks I had served for dinner that night. So good! Not only was it just perfect for dinner, but it came together quickly. Bonus! I've been thinking of making these again recently. This one is definitely some serious comfort food.

CHEESY SCALLOPED POTATOES FOR TWO
Cooks Country Magazine, Oct/Nov 2011

2 ounces mild cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 medium or 1 large russet potato, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss cheddar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch together in bowl until well combined. Toss Parmesan and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch together in second bowl until well combined.

Heat oil in 8-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add broth, cream, potatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are nearly tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

Off heat, stir in cheddar mixture and press potatoes into even layer. Sprinkle Parmesan mixture over top and bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Let potatoes cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve.

Finding my way back...

2012-01-24T14:45:00.002-05:00

Well, it's taken me 3 months, but I have finally found my way back to my blog. I don't know if anyone is reading this, but maybe in time, they will once again.

I have definitely missed the blogging. It's not my first time dealing with a blogging slump. I don't know where my passion went. I think it took a detour for a while, but I am hoping it's back to stay.

Along with the blogging slump came a lack-luster desire to cook. I feel as though I was floundering in my kitchen during the late fall. Then, of course, came the holidays and a busy weeknight schedule with the boys and a part time job baking cookies for a friend. All of the hustle and bustle lead me to a feeling of BLAH! Totally unmotivated and feeling blue in general, not just in the kitchen. Hate when that happens.

Now that things have quieted down quite a bit, and I am putting myself higher up on the list of priorities, I feel that interest picking back up again. I find myself marking all kinds of new recipes and getting psyched up to try new things. I know Marc is happy, too. He will gladly eat anything I put in front of him, but he's been missing the menu variations, too.

And then I saw one of my good friends this past weekend and she asked me again about my blog. She said she's been looking at the caramel popcorn for a long time, and she's waiting for something new to pop up. Hopefully, she will like one of my future posts. Thanks for the motivation, T!

Week 5--12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

2011-10-27T20:27:00.004-04:00

Okay, so this week I do not have a cookie for you. But what I am offering up is certainly a treat that most people would be delighted to find among the Holiday goodies.

Homemade Caramel Popcorn! This stuff is so good and so easy. Once you've made it yourself, you'll be surprised what a simple and delightful treat it is to make at home.

Last year, I made Gingerbread Popcorn that I shared with the teachers at my son's schools, and I also shared with the neighbors. We had plenty for here at home, too. This year, I will probably do this simple recipe in it's place.

This is some good stuff!!

The recipe is courtesy of Recipe Girl and can be found here!

Week 4--12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

2011-10-20T07:54:00.004-04:00

This week, it's Earl Grey Tea Cookies, courtesy of Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook.

I remember sampling one of these cookies last year at a cookie exchange with some friends and I thought they were very tasty. I don't remember having them such a nice orange flavor to them, but they are lovely.

This shortbread cookie is a lovely addition to any holiday cookie tray. I don't know what it is about orange that makes me think of the holidays. I guess it's the memory of finding an orange or some clementines in the foot of my stocking each year on Christmas morning when I was a girl. That's a good memory! :0)

Earl Gray Tea Cookies
Martha Stewart

Pumpkin Bread for Handmade Loaves

2011-10-16T08:23:00.005-04:00

Several weeks ago, I received an email from Di about the Handmade Loaves Seasonal Blog event she was putting together. I was very excited to participate and ideas started running through my head about what to bake.

Since it's fall, I decided to bake some pumpkin bread. It's been quite some time since I have made pumpkin bread; I don't think I even made it at all last year. But I wanted to try and get creative, so I added some Biscoff spread to my pumpkin bread batter. I followed this recipe pretty much to the letter, only subbing a hefty 2/3 cup of Biscoff for the peanut butter called for in the recipe. Oh, and I did 1.5 cups each of brown sugar and granulated sugar instead of a full 3 cups of granulated.

This recipe gave me a lot of batter, so I managed to get 3 small mini loaves and 2 full size loaves, somewhere in the 8 x 5 range, I think.

The pumpkin bread is very moist and tender, with very mild pumpkin flavors. Sadly, the Biscoff was pretty undetectable. I was hoping for more of a punch from it. I probably could have upped the spices called for a bit more, as well.

My boys loved the pumpkin bread, which is really saying something. AS much as I bake, they don't always try everything I make. But when we came home from the school pick ups, Vincent wanted to know what smelled so good. I gave him a slice and he has been loving it. Even Christian, who is never very willing to try new things, loves this stuff! Go, Mommy! :0)

I happened to have some caramel on the counter, thanks to Tracey and this amazing post. Caramel so quick from the microwave, I may never do it on the stove top again!

Anyway, I poured off some caramel and warmed it up, and stirred in a big spoonful of Biscoff spread. The caramel thickened and became a little bit chewy when I poured it on top of my Biscoff Pumpkin Bread. Gladly, and sadly, I didn't make a ton of the Biscoff caramel. It was very good.

I have to say thanks to Di for organizing this wonderful event. I have been so spotty with my blogging, and this really got me excited. Not to mention, it was so tasty stuff to eat!

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Bread
All Recipes

Losing a Tooth...or Two.

2011-10-14T00:05:00.002-04:00

We are on a tooth loosing spree over here at our house. Vincent recently lost both his front teeth just a few days apart from one another. And then yesterday, he lost another bottom tooth.

Tooth #1 gone on a Monday...

Tooth #2 gone on Friday.

Once again, things are moving WAY too fast!

Week 3--12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

2011-10-12T20:33:00.004-04:00

When it comes to Holiday Cookies, I think they should be super special. I'm sure many of my fellow bakers agree.

You want to put a cookie on a Holiday Tray that you might not see every day. Or maybe it is a regular cookie that has something just a bit more alluring to it. Holiday cookies should call out to you to indulge in something special.

Well, I have one of those cookies here. I give you, Pecan Bars, from Martha Stewart. I recently received her Cookies Cookbook and flagged a few of the recipes that tempted me the most. This one was high on the list and I must say, it did not disappoint.

The recipe is made in a 9 x 13 pan, so the yield is pretty hefty. I didn't really cut them up yet, just wrapped big chunks of the cookies to keep them safe (and out of my clutches!) in the freezer. I did cut up a few, just for the photo...and to eat.

Folks, these are dangerous! And, in my opinion, everything that a holiday cookie should be! Hope you try them out soon!

Pecan Bars
Martha Stewart

Week 2--12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

2011-10-05T16:41:00.010-04:00

So, here we are! It's week of 2 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookie blog hop.

I've been so busy, I really haven't had the time to get to each of the other participating blogs just yet. However, I definitely will get there, because I love seeing the ideas that everyone has for Holiday Cookies. Who cares if it's not even Halloween yet?!? :o)

Anyway, this week, I decided to do Gingerbread Cookies. While rearranging my freezer, I remembered that I had frozen Gingerbread dough in there from last Christmas. In an effort to not waste, and out of shear laziness, I decided to bake some of the dough up to see how it fared.

Well, it turned out great. This recipe is from Food Network magazine, and it was featured on the cover of the magazine last November/December. I highly doubt that they recommend freezing the dough for so long, but it tasted good to us.

Rather than roll out the dough and make gingerbread people, I used a little tool from our play-dough set and just rolled out some gingerbread planks; sorta like flat-bread, gingerbread style.

I dipped a couple of pieces into some red candy wafers and added some sugar for added sparkle. The boys LOVED these. They were just spicy enough and a little of the softer side.

All of the cookies were gone within a day, so I would definitely make this one again. Again, thanks to Brenda for hosting the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies!

I was unable to find a link to the original Food Network recipe, but I did find the recipe here.

Summer Fun--Last Days of the Sprinkler

2011-10-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

One more photo soaked post about summer. These pictures were taken in mid-August and the boys had a blast in the sprinkler. As you can see, we are fortunate enough to have a pool. However, we had experienced some cool and rainy weather which left the pool feeling might chilly for some time. One super hot and humid day, the boys decided to skip the chilling pool water and go for the icy goodness of the sprinkler. Good fun!

Such Concentration!

Spraying his brother. Insert evil laughter here...

What Mom??

I don't know what he's doing...

But he is having fun!

And of course, the requisite "Let's sit on the sprinkler!" shot.

I love watching them play. Days like this won't last forever.

Summer Fun--Land of Make Believe

2011-09-30T00:05:00.001-04:00

I know that September is almost over and this is a "late entry" to the blog, but I figured I would share these pictures anyway.

The boys and I escaped to The Land of Make Believe in Hope, NJ one late summer day along with some very dear friends of ours. There was some splashing and swimming and rides to be ridden. Oh, and of course, the necessary ice cream and other treats that add to the summer fun.

Not happy about this pose.

Me and the boys!

CHEESE!!

Getting ready to Hop!

Surfing on the Croc.

More CHEESE!

Vincent and his buddy, Anthony, on the lazy river.

The lazy river was not so lazy for Christian. He spent most of the ride trying to keep his skinny little butt from falling through the tube. :o)

It's a very small amusement park meant for the little ones, and they had just enough to do. Hope we can go again next year.

Week 1--12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

2011-09-28T20:39:00.007-04:00

Yes, you read that title right! This is the first week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies Blog Hop. It's being hosted by Brenda, of the blog Meal Planning Magic. Feel free to hop on over to her blog to sign up, if you are feeling so inclined.

I've seen this Blog Hop in the blogosphere for a few years now, and I always think, "What a great idea!" Yet somehow, I always manage to miss out on the start up date and find myself really getting into it about week 4 or 5. And by that time, I feel like it might be too late to join in.

This year, however, I was up to speed and really paying attention and have decided to bake along. I have been trying to bake and cook more often, and blog about the happenings of my kitchen and life. So, Christmas Cookies were a good way to get back into that.

So, what's my first cookie, you ask? Why, it's a Life Changing Vegan Thumbprint Cookie!

I know that title leaves some pretty big cookie sheets to fill, but these were a fantastic cookie.

I originally made these the week before hearing about the 12 Week Christmas Cookie challenge, and once I did hear about it, I knew that they would be a perfect entry. I baked these for my brother in law as a dessert option when he came with the rest of the family to celebrate Vincent's and Christian's birthdays. These were filled with raspberry and blackberry jam. Yum!

Full of chunky almonds and sweetened only by maple syrup, these cookies were outstanding! I was sorry that I had only baked a half-batch. Seriously, sometimes with "healthy" cookie, you can tell it's healthy by looking at it or after just a nibble. But these were truly delicious. Everyone raved about them. Sure, they had a rugged and semi-healthy look to them, but that could have been better disguised with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar.

Bottom Line? I am definitely making these again! And this time, when I bake the full batch, half will probably be filled with Nutella! These will definitely be a fantastic addition to any Christmas Cookie tray. Can't wait to see what the rest of the Christmas Cookie Bakers have on their cookie plates.

Life Changing Vegan Thumbprint Cookies

TWD--Flip Over Cherry Cake

2011-09-27T19:27:00.004-04:00

I did it! I am late, but I did it. I baked a whole month with TWD. It's been a while, but I feel happy that I baked all of the recipes for the month. Once again, I wasn't sure if I was going to get this one done.

But I did! And here I sit, at 7:28 pm EST, blogging about the recipe. Originally, the cake was supposed to be made with plums. But I am not a fan of plums, but I do like cherries. And since that's what I had in my freezer, Flip Over Cherry Cake it was.

I baked a half recipe of this Monday afternoon and tossed it into the oven just before driving Vincent to his religion class. I was sure I would be back to check on the cake, but Marc was home, so I knew it would be safe. Well, when the timer went off, the cake came out of the oven, thanks to my attentive husband. However, I think this one could have stood a few more minutes in the oven.

Dorie says that the cake will be pudding like, and it was. The juices from the cherries combined with the batter of the cake for a gooey like surprise. This would be awesome warmed with a little vanilla ice cream on top. Too bad I'm out of ice cream.

Oh well...at least I got it done. Hope I can repeat this in October.

The recipe can be found here, on Becky's blog, Project Domestication. Thanks, Becky!

I Have a 5 Year Old!

2011-09-25T10:02:00.010-04:00

Christian turned 5 today. FIVE!!

Last night, before bath time and after dinner, Marc and the boys sat in the living room playing and watching some television. I sat alone in the kitchen, smiling and laughing as I watched a video of Christian's first days of life outside of me. Okay...maybe I cried a little bit, too.

Christian, when you were born, I wasn't sure I was really ready for another baby. But after one look into your sweet eyes, I knew that you were meant for us and we were going to be just fine.

You've kept things very lively over the last five years. You are all action, all the time. When you stop moving and do nothing, I know something is seriously wrong.

You are curious and imaginative, stubborn and temperamental. We can often butt heads, since stubborn ways tend to run in the family. And, I am ashamed to say, that you get that bad temper from me. Thank goodness you are not a girl! I don't think I could stand to battle myself for the rest of my life. Though I suppose in some ways, I will.

2-ish

But along with all of the action and strength packed into you, there is sweetness, compassion and kindness.

almost 3

You are constantly telling me how much you love me, and you are never stingy when it comes to the kisses. You love to sing songs with me and stroke my face with such tenderness, it can make my knees weak.

4 years old

It's been an amazing and alarmingly quick 5 years. I am so thankful you are a part of our lives.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Christian!

Christian turns 4

Christian turns 3

Fifteen Years Ago...

2011-09-20T18:28:00.001-04:00

Fifteen years ago, I married him.

And for 15 years, he has...

Made me Happy.
He has comforted me.
He has given me pep-talks to boost my confidence.
He has made me feel secure.
He has made me laugh hysterically.
Frustrated me, as I know I have him.
He has surprised me.
He has shown me how good a man can be.
He has been an incredible friend, and an even more incredible father.
He has supported me in all manners of the word.
He has been incredibly patient.
He has flattered me.
He has wholly loved me.
He has believed in me.
And in all of those 15 years, he has never hurt me or let me down.

I am a lucky girl. And I think he is a pretty lucky guy, too. ;0)

Happy Anniversary, Marc! Here's to another 15 years!!

TWD-Cocoa Salt & Pepper Shortbread

2011-09-20T00:05:00.001-04:00

Hooray for me! Another TWD recipe. In on time and my 3rd for the month!! I think I just might get them all done this month.

Anyway, this weeks recipe was chosen by Tia of Buttercream Barbie. Be sure to check out Tia's blog for the recipe.

So, I almost skipped out on this one, too. I've been terrible about baking lately. I want to bake and now that the weather is cooperating, my desire to bake has gone into over drive. However, often I am the only one who can't keep my hands off the things I have baked. In an effort to keep my hand out of the proverbial cookie jar, I made a half batch of the recipe this week.

These were very easy to toss together and once I did make the batter, I tossed my little rectangular log into the freezer. I baked these up at the end of the day, as the boys were playing in the dimming evening light. The smelled tasty and after they cooled, I sampled one and thought they were just okay.

Today, as I write this, I had another one, and I must say that I can actually taste the salt and pepper in the cookie. Maybe because I know it's there, I don't know, but I like it. These aren't the type of cookie I would eat a whole plate full of, though.

Heck, I don't even know if these would appeal to me at all if I saw them on a plate of cookies. I am definitely more of a gooey, soft cookie type of gal. But these were good and I am very glad I made them.

Thanks to Tia again, for choosing the recipe!!

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

2011-09-15T09:15:00.001-04:00

We were going to a party one weekend in August and I volunteered to bring some cookies. Surprised? Of course you're not.

I wanted to make some thing lemony, but not a full-on lemon bar. So I went with this recipe from Bon Apetit. I spotted the recipe as I was sifting through my cookie file and thought it would be a good one to share. The recipe does call for some fresh berries on top, but since I didn't have them on hand, I went ahead and added just a little more lemon zest.

These went on the plate along with these Caramel Crumb Bars and were a very big success.

Lemon Cheesecake Squares
Bon Apetit

Vincent Rides a Bike...

2011-09-14T00:05:00.001-04:00

These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago, and now my boy is a full fledged bicycling fan. He spent close to 2 hours today, riding around an empty parking lot with his dad.

Only a week before these shots were taken, Vincent decided to give riding on two wheels a chance.

He tentatively pedaled all over the drive way for an hour, and then for some reason, suddenly dropped his bike on the ground, stomped off and called to me that he "quit!"

Imagine my surprise, when I pulled into the drive way and saw this.

Another milestone achieved!

Slow down, Boy!!

P.S. Apparently, crashing into your brother NEVER gets old!!

TWD--Classic Brownies

2011-09-13T09:15:00.001-04:00

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Anne and you can find the recipe on her blog, Anne Strawberry.

I was determined to bake these because they're brownies. In my opinion, I think all brownie recipes deserve a shot, sort of like chocolate chip cookies.

These were very easy to toss together and I loved they way the batter looked, with all of that chocolate goodness in there!

However, I think I may have slightly under-baked these. I baked for the full 33 minutes, and then got lazy and never tested to see if they were done. Had I not been lazy, I might have seen that they were still quite gooey. Gooey is usually good, but I wanted to bring these to a concert going on in our village, but I decided not to. I thought they might be a little too gooey for my friends, who may have thought them under-baked. So, I tossed them in the freezer.

This way, we can eat one when the urge for chocolate kicks in, or I may just toss them into some vanilla ice cream soon. Either way...it'll work.

Thanks Anne, for choosing the recipe.

He's Seven!!

2011-09-12T00:05:00.001-04:00

I don't know how it happened, but Vincent turns 7 today!

As any parent can surely agree, the time is flying by and I don't know how on earth we went from this

to this.

Where has the time gone??

Vincent, I am truly blessed to have you as one of my energetic, imaginative, creative and funny sons. I love all of the time we get to spend together and the interesting things you have to say. The stories you tell, and the pictures you draw, and all the things you do and say. I am lucky to be able to call you mine and to be able to watch you grow into the thoughtful and caring young man you are becoming. What a privilege to be your Mom! Happy Birthday!! I love you, Sweet Boy.

Memory Lane:

Vincent turns 4

Vincent turns 5

Vincent turns 6

TWD--Chocolate Spice Quickies

2011-09-06T12:29:00.003-04:00

I'm late! For the first time in quite a while, I managed to get a TWD recipe baked. But then, last night, I remember that it was Monday and not Sunday, even though it had felt like Sunday the entire, rainy day. So, I thought I had one more day to post about these. Oops!

Well, here they are. These were much more tender than I expected them to be. I saved only 3 and sent the rest off to the PTA Teacher Luncheon at Vincent's school. Today was the first day!

The recipe was chosen by the lovely Jessica, of the blog My Baking Heart. If you would like the recipe, click here.

Blog Action in August...

2011-09-01T00:05:00.002-04:00

Blog Action in August is COMPLETE!!

I did it. I posted something on my blog for 31 consecutive days. And it has gotten me back into the groove of blogging again. I can't say that I will post something every single day forever, but I am certainly going to try to post much more often.

Doing this has really helped me to remember just how much I enjoy blogging. Thanks to all those who have stopped by and read, or those who have left comments. I truly appreciate it. It's nice to know that someone out there is reading.

Reorganizing the Pantry

2011-08-31T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 31!!!!--Blog Action in August

Since we were stuck in the house all day on Saturday getting ready for Irene, I decided to finally tackle reorganizing my pantry. It's been on my list of things I wanted to get done for a while, now. And since the boys were occupied and Marc was putting his feet up for a bit, I decided that it was an excellent time to get it done.

When we moved into this house, we decided to put this closet to use as a pantry. It's right off the kitchen and we weren't going to be using it for much else. It's a double door closet with some shelving on the right side and 2 full length shelves on top.

BEFORE:
Almost a full shot of the pantry. Bursting with plastic shopping bags, opened bags of chips, and a random box of cereal.

Top Shelves in the Pantry. Crock Pot, mixing bowls, foil pans for baking and plastic serving trays. Top food shelf is just stuffed randomly. Don't know how it got so messy.

Middle Shelf and Top Shelf for food. This is usually used for cans, spices and granola bars or snacks for the boys. Although you don't see it, the bottom shelf is used for mostly baking items.

Once upon a time, it was neat. But somehow, it seemed to be catching lots of opened bags of chips, boxes of granola bars, and things that should have been put in the basement, but weren't. There were a few items that I knew we would not use and they had expired, so out those went. A couple of repeat items that were still usable went into the food pantry donation bin.

About an hour later, my pantry was clean and reorganized.

AFTER:

Top Shelves are neater and better organized. Extra dish towels are stored on top of the large mixing bowl. Cookie decorating items are in a plastic tub under plastic serving dishes. The top food shelf may still look a bit unorganized, but it's really not. Glass bottles are up there, behind the Craisins. And I had room for battery storage, behind the Ziploc bags, in their own plastic bin.

The second food shelf is still used for can goods and spices. There is room for some snacks for the boys, which can be easily accessed, and the napkins.

Full pantry shot shows more storage on the floor, for my large stock pot, cookie cutters, food saver bags, and extra flours and sugar, stowed on a cardboard tray.

Bottom shelf is still my baking center, for the most part. All baking chips and chocolates are stored in 4 plastic shoe box sized bins. Sugars are there, as well as some flax seed and various oils. Large bags of nuts are there and so is some cake flour. Pickles are important, so they are always in the pantry. The pineapples got used last night. ;-)

So, if you are stuck inside on a rainy day, and everyone around you is occupied, organizing the pantry, or any old closet, can be a pretty good thing to get done.

Marc's Birthday

2011-08-30T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 30--Blog Action in August

Saturday was Marc's birthday, the night that Hurricane Irene blew into town. After a full day of battening down the hatches, Irene arrived later than expected.

So, we enjoyed our peaceful dinner and then had some ice cream cake and some cupcakes to celebrate. I recently saw this recipe in Cooks Country magazine for a copycat of the Hostess Cupcake.

It's not one of Marc's favorites, but since I am in charge of baking, I decided I would try it out. Don't worry, I did ask him what I could bake for his birthday, and he requested a Carvel Ice Cream cake. Store bought! What?!? Big Huffy Sigh!!

I did buy the cake for him, but decided to bake the cupcakes anyway. Originally, we were supposed to be celebrating his birthday with his family, so I bought the cake and made a dozen of these cupcakes. But then, the party was cancelled. And I was stuck with a giant ice cream cake that cost me $25 in my freezer, and 12 cupcakes that sat taunting me.

I only filled and frosted 4 of these cupcakes. The rest went into the freezer for another day.
Although those were a bit time consuming, I am glad I tried them. I baked the cupcakes Friday and filled and frosted them on Saturday afternoon.

The filling is mixture of marshmallow creme, gelatin, butter and some vanilla. The frosting is simply melted chocolate and butter. I think they looked pretty good. I will say that I was lazy when it came to the swirl, though. I just tossed some filling into a sandwich bag and snipped off the corner, which is why my swirl isn't slender and loopy. I was too lazy to get out the piping bag and tips.

The boys loved that there was a secret stash of cream in the center of the cupcake. They just about licked the middles clean. Marc obligingly ate a cupcake with his cake, because that's how good he is. I took a bite of the last cupcake, after I had cut it open for the cross section shot.

It was pretty good. Would I make them again? Maybe. So many desserts...so little time.

Hostess Cupcake/Copycat Recipe

After Irene...

2011-08-29T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 29--Blog Action in August

Well, as much as Hurricane Irene battered the East Coast, we fared pretty well here at our house. Although we did get a little water in the basement, everyone is safe, nothing was lost, and we never lost power. We live in Orange County, New York and this little county got hit quite hard.

As I write this post, the winds seem to be slowing down a little bit. Our pool is full of twigs and little branches, pine needles and leaves, and there are lots of little branches throughout the yard, but it's fine.

In the late afternoon, long after the rain had stopped and the winds kicked up, Marc decided to take a little spin on his bicycle to survey some of the local damage around our village.

From what we knew, aside from the flooding, a couple of bridges were washed out, power lines were down, roads buckled and a damn at the local reservoir was threatening to break. We had seen some pictures on FaceBook and much of it was very close by.

Here are just a couple of photos of some of the havoc that Irene brought to town.

Okay...see those green bushy things in front of the fence? Those are little trees and they are standing in the creek that runs underneath that pedestrian foot bridge those people are standing on. Those people are looking into what should be a parking lot, but it is completely flooded. Oh, by the way, that parking lot, anything on the far side of that little black fence, is where our Farmer's Market is held every Sunday. Not this week...

Another shot of the same creek and parking lot area. I have never seen it like this, and I have lived here almost all of my life.

Here is half of a giant tree, resting precariously on some live wires.

Thankfully, we are fine. We love our town and know that those who run it will do whatever it takes to get it back to functioning fully as soon as possible. Be safe, everyone!!

Waiting on Hurricane Irene

2011-08-28T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 28--Blog Action in August

We are awaiting the arrival of what's left of Hurricane Irene. I am writing this post late on Friday night and I'm not really sure what the weekend will bring.

Of course, I am hoping that we won't lose power and it won't be as bad as some are predicting. But just in case I can't get on here, I wanted to post this little blurb. Hopefully, I will be back to finish up the rest of my Blog Action in August project. Fingers crossed!!

See you soon!

Happy Birthday to Marc!

2011-08-27T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 27--Blog Action in August

It's Marc's birthday! We celebrated together last night, finally securing a babysitter and spending a few precious hours alone.

Today, we will be having fun with his family at a BBQ. Here's hoping we don't get rained out!

Birthday #37

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Marc! You have given so much to me from your heart, and so much to our family.

Birthday #38

I am so happy to be sharing my life with you. Just think, 20 years ago, I sat with you at a local bar with some friends and toasted you as you took your first legal drink at the age of 21. My, how time flies.

Smoking a stogie with a scotch in the middle of winter. Not a birthday shot, but still fun!

Here's to many more birthdays!! All of my love, always.

Cooks Country Fried Chicken

2011-08-26T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 26--Blog Action in August

I have terrible photos of this fantastic fried chicken recipe. Please forgive me in advance.

When I recently began subscribing to Cooks Country magazine, I became enamoured with this recipe for fried chicken. I haven't made fried chicken in a very, very, very long time. I don't think I have made fried chicken since my single and living at home days! And when I did make it, all those years ago, the chicken was undercooked and the outside was burnt. I didn't care for cooking much back them.

So one afternoon, the time was right. Now, we eat pretty healthy around here on a regular basis. I don't usually fry anything that we eat. But I wanted to give this recipe a try and I knew it would be a treat. Needless to say, I was hoping everyone would enjoy it and I was not disappointed!

The chicken sits in a brine for about 30 minutes or so before frying. The batter is made up of equal parts flour and cornstarch, along with some baking powder, cayenne, paprika and black pepper. I fried it using a mixture of peanut oil and canola oil.

The boys each had 2 pieces of this crunchy chicken.

Marc enjoyed it very much and the friend who stopped by just before dinner was able to join us and was more than happy to help us eat the chicken. There were no left overs.

I have made this recipe 3 times so far this summer, after getting the recipe in June. Good stuff!
I am not going to post the recipe here, but if you would like, feel free to email me.

Summer Fun--Getting in on the Fun

2011-08-25T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 25--Blog Action in August

I have enjoyed spending the summer with my boys. We had a fairly laid back summer. Lots of time in the pool and hanging out with friends. Going to the local lakes and parks and amusement parks. We are often on our own, and sometimes, you've just gotta squeeze in a photo op whenever you can.

This was one of those times. Not the best pic, but it's fun and a keeper.

Caramel Crumb Bars

2011-08-24T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 24--Blog Action in August

After seeing so many incredibly tempting posts of desserts from the recipes of Nick Malgieri, I went ahead and finally purchased my own copy of his book, Modern Baker.

I know that Kayte, Phyl and Margaret all bake from his recipes on a regular basis. Therefore, I am regularly drooling over these amazing posts.

After borrowing the book a couple of times from the library, I knew I liked what I saw. Even though I didn't get the chance to bake from the book until it finally arrived on my doorstep. I was happy to get a good deal on the book from Half.com, only $8.00 brand new! That site can be very dangerous for a book lover.

Anyway, the first recipe I have made so far were these Caramel Crumb Bars.

Since I was attending a party, I wanted to make a cookie platter and bar cookies were an easy choice. In the notes of the cookie, Nick mentions that if he had to choose just one cookie over all others, it would be this one.

With that kind of endorsement, I knew I had to try them.

The caramel is easily made using butter, a touch of corn syrup, brown sugar and condensed milk. Sandwiched between two layers of shortbread, these were very good.

The shortbread was simple and perfect for the sweetness of the caramel. These were great and enjoyed by all.

You can bet that I am looking forward to my next Modern Baker experience!

Caramel Crumb Bars
The Modern Baker/Nick Malgieri

2 sticks (1/2 lb) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Caramel Filling
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 F with a rack in the bottom third of the oven.

Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray, then line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment (leaving an overhang so you can lift the bars out) and spray again with cooking spray.

To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and salt on medium speed until soft and light, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, add 2 1/4 cups of the flour, beating just until the dough is smooth and the flour has been absorbed, and stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle as necessary.

Transfer 3/4 of the dough into the prepared baking pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan to form the bottom layer. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator while you make the filling and top layer.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour to the remaining dough in the mixer bowl and work it in with your fingertips until 1/8 - 1/4-inch crumbs form. Set aside.

To make the filling: In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and condensed milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. When the mixture begins to boil, whisk frequently until it begins to thicken and darkens in color slightly, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the refrigerator and pour the filling over the bottom crust. Use an offset spatula to spread it evenly then distribute the crumb topping over the filling. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the filling is gently bubbling and a dark caramel color.

Cool the bars in the pan on a wire rack until lukewarm, about 15-20 minutes. Use the foil (or parchment) to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Once completely cool, cut into 2-inch squares.

TWD--Golden Brioche Loaves

2011-08-23T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 23--Blog Action in August

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Margaret, of the blog Tea and Scones. Not only does she know how to bake like crazy and choose fantastic recipes, she is encouraging and kind and can kick my butt on Words with Friends!

Although I technically did not bake the Golden Brioche Loaves this week, I have made them before. As a matter of fact, it was the first recipe ever posted on my blog. Way back in May of 2008, when I first started my blog. And the blog, by the way, was stared solely I could participate in TWD. Although my blog is no longer only food related, what an amazing journey it's been.

So, if you're interested in reading the second post I ever posted here 3 years ago, check it out. No one ever read about my Golden Brioche Loaves that time around.

Thanks for choosing this one, Margaret! If I wasn't really limiting my carbs, I would absolutely make it again. It is definitely worth all the sweat, tears and butter!

Grilled Marinated Swordfish

2011-08-22T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 22--Blog Action in August

We tried this recipe from All Recipes recently. We are trying eat more fish on a regular basis and there was a good price on these swordfish steaks.

This recipe was good, but I thought with all of the rave reviews, the flavor would be huge. We liked them well enough, and Marc did compliment the recipe. But I guess I was expecting more.

Still, a good meal. And I would even try this one again and marinate longer, to see if that does anything for it.

A good summer meal, though.

Summer Fun--Lazy Days at the Park

2011-08-21T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 21--Blog Action in August

One morning, we had nothing scheduled, so I packed a lunch and we took a lovely trip to Van Saun Park, home of the Bergen County Zoo, in River Edge, NJ.

We've been there many times before, but hadn't gone yet this year. My boys are getting bigger every day, so I want to try and create these memories for them, while they'll still let me. Usually, Marc goes along for the fun, but he had to work.

It was a super hot day, but we stayed and played for several hours. Topped off with a swim in the pool when we got home, it was a darn good summer day!

On the Train Ride...

In the Zoo...

Showing off on the Monkey Bars...

Goofing Around...

Summer Fun--Painting on a Rainy Day

2011-08-20T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 20--Blog Action in August

On a recent rainy afternoon, we broke out the paints. We used brushes and fingers and came up with some masterpieces.

The boys LOVED being able to finger paint.

The painting paper became a wet mass of dark, murky color. They couldn't have been any happier.

Mostly, they just wanted to rub their hands in it.

Two hours later, we were all finished and everyone was happy.

Oh, and by the way...here is my masterpiece.

No finger painting for me, I used a brush and lots of color. This looks about the same way as my Kindergarten paintings looked!

Anyway, it was a good day.

Smiley Face Cookies!!

2011-08-19T00:05:00.003-04:00

Day 19--Blog Action in August

Here's another post about decorated sugar cookies!!

As you may or may not remember, my first go around at really doing a nice decorated sugar cookie was with these Baseball Cookies. I think they turned out well.

I was feeling pretty good and really wanted to make another kind of cookie.

As the school year drew to a close, and the end of year party for Vincent's kindergarten class presented itself, I felt like I had a perfect opportunity for a cookie.

25 cookies, to be exact!

They went over great! All of the parents loved them, almost as much as the kids.

They loved their smiley face cookies. This time around, I put the darker icing on to the still wet flood icing, and the cookie became flat and pretty.

Each cookie was bagged up and tied with a bow and a little card featuring Vincent's contact info for summer play-dates.

I can't wait to do it again sometime!

Marinated Tofu with Stir Fried Bok Choy

2011-08-18T00:05:00.000-04:00

Day 18--Blog Action in August

I'm not a huge Tofu fan, but I do like to try new things. When I took a peek at what the CEiMB fans were cooking up in July, I decided to play along. Unfortunately, I never got it posted when they all did, but it's here now. And I guess that's the whole point of my Blog Action in August plan, isn't it?

Marc and I enjoyed this one. Of course, my children were not even interested in giving it a little sample taste, and that was fine. We finished the entire pan between the two of us.

I don't know if I would repeat it, but it was a pretty good little meal.

Stir Fried Chinese Cabbage with Marinated Tofu

Cinnamon Rolls from Pioneer Woman

2011-08-17T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 17--Blog Action in August

Way back in March, I went away with some of my very best girlfriends, to our annual Girls Weekend. We do it every year, and we have been for at least 10 years now.

And for almost as long, I have made some version of a cinnamon roll to bring along to be baked up fresh on our first morning there.

This year, it was Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Roll recipe.

I even went ahead and used her decadent frosting recipe, too.

I did cut the recipe in half, though.

It was still plenty of gooey, cinnamon-y goodness for us. The photos here are showing the test rolls I made the day before we left.

I baked them in mini pie tins and had to taste them.

You know...for the sake of our group.

PW Cinnamon Rolls

TWD Rewind--Blueberry Shortbread Bars

2011-08-16T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 16--Blog Action in August

This weeks TWD recipe is Tropical Crumble, and it was chosen by Gaye of Laws of the Kitchen. You can find the recipe on her blog.

Although I've been out of the TWD loop, but I have made a couple of favorites recently. Back in November, we made Cranberry Shortbread Cake for TWD, and I absolutely fell in love with the recipe. I had made it a number of times before the year was out, and each time I shared with someone, they fell in love with it, too.

Fast forward to earlier in July, when I had an abundance of fresh blueberries and a picnic to go to. I just cooked down the berries in a bit of sugar, some lemon juice and lemon zest and layered it in between the shortbread base.

Whenever I make this recipe, I bake it in an 8 x 8 pan and cut it up into bars. This is a fabulous one to share with others.

And it's so versatile, you could fill it with just about anything and have a hit on your hands.

Salty-Sweet Butter Pecan Cookies

2011-08-15T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 15 --Blog Action in August

One day, while catching up on my blog reading, I saw this post on Baker's Banter, the blog for King Arthur Flour. The post had me drooling and wishing I had butterscotch chips and pecan halves so I could bake these immediately! But, I didn't. I did, however, have my debit card handy. So, I placed an order for some Guittard Butterscotch chips here and added pecan halves to my shopping list.

I also ordered a couple of things from the KAF website, including Butterscotch and Vanilla Butternut flavorings.

Everything arrived and then I didn't bake the cookies until just before Mother's Day. I brought them to our cousins house, since he was hosting the Mother's Day celebration. They were very well received. These were crunchier cookies than what I am used to, but I really liked the way everything worked together.

The cookies have a sugar and salt coating on them before they are baked. So good! And the butterscotch chips along with the toasted pecans just make these cookies DEE-licious.

Salty-Sweet Butter Pecan Cookies
King Arthur Flour/Bakers Banter

Summer Fun--Dollar Store Toys

2011-08-14T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 14--Blog Action in August

Sometimes, you just can't beat a dollar store toy. They had fun with these, so I though I'd share.

Summer Fun--Face Painting

2011-08-13T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 13--Blog Action in August

We went to a birthday party for one of the boys friends recently, and they had an enormously great time. Aside from the giant bouncy house, the big, inflatable water-slide and lots of time with their friends, they got to have their faces painted.

The amazing mother at this party, my friend Karena, took the time to paint each child's face in what ever design they chose. She even had a book for them to look through. Most of the boys decided on a batman mask. There were a couple of tigers, a clown and some fairies. But Vincent had to have a special design of half Batman and half Spiderman.

Leave it to patient Karena to make his wish come true! I would have gotten a photo of Christian with his batman face painting, but it melted off in the heat and was aided by the water slide. All good summer fun!

Playing in the Kitchen

2011-08-12T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 12--Blog Action in August

There are many days I am in the kitchen and happily working alone. It's peaceful, I crank out the recipes and I feel very content to be in there while the boys are busy playing quietly together.

And then there are a number of days where I have some company in the kitchen. The boys are getting bigger everyday, but they still love to squeeze themselves into this one little cabinet by the stove.

We've always called it their "house", and each of them played for many hours in there when they were smaller. Even now, as they fold their legs up to crunch themselves in there, they giggle with glee, and the actually take turns without being prompted. They knock on the door and play all sorts of different games with each other.

Watching those smiling faces and hearing that laughter is totally worth stepping on pot lids and tripping over pans. Time is going to quickly...

Here are some pictures of the boys in their "HOUSE", through the years.

Vincent, about 15 months

Almost 2 in these shots

Almost 4 in these

And now...almost 7!!

Christian's turn...

He's about 15 months in these 2 pictures

Almost 2

And here is now, weeks away from 5 years old. He has been away from the house for a while!

Thanks for looking!

Soba Noodle Vegetable Salad from Ellie Krieger

2011-08-11T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 11--Blog Action in August

Even though I don't officially participate in CEiMB any more, I always peek in and see what recipes they have listed for the month. If something catches my eye, I add it to my list of things to make.

This one sounded pretty good to me, and I had the fresh herbs in my CSA basket for the week. Gotta love when that happens!

The boys didn't care for the noodle salad, but they did enjoy the Chicken Sate from Ellie that was served along with it. Gotta love some chicken on a stick!!

Soba Noodle Vegetable Salad

Chicken Sate with Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce

Cooks Country Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce

2011-08-10T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 10--Blog Action in August

I recently began subscribing to Cooks Country Magazine. Although I don't get to watch much television, it seemed that whenever I happened upon this show on PBS, I was left with a desperate need to make whatever they had just made on the episode.

I have made a few things from the magazine and I find all of the research that they do to be so interesting. They really test these recipes, that's for sure. And now, I am anxiously awaiting my first issue to Cooks Illustrated. Hope it gets here soon!

So, I decided to make this Manicotti recipe one afternoon after flipping through the magazine that morning. I gathered all I needed and the boys joined me in the kitchen to keep me company. The recipe uses no-boil lasagna noodles that are just soaked in some boiling water. Once softened and patted dry, you fill the noodles with the cheese mixture and roll them up.

This recipe also caught my eye becuase it called for some pepperoni to be used in the meat sauce. And then, some of that mixture is added to the cheese filling. Vincent is a huge pepperoni fan, so that was one more reason to give this one a try.

The result was a tasty dinner that almost everyone loved. Christian wouldn't even give this one a try, since he seems to be going through a prolonged picky phase. Vincent, however, thoroughly enjoyed it.

You can find the recipe here.

TWD Rewind French Lemon Cream Tart

2011-08-09T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 9--Blog Action in August

Obviously, this is not the selection for this weeks TWD. Carrot Spice Muffins was chosen by Nancy, and they sounded delicious. However, it's been pretty humid around here and I just barely have the gumption to make dinner. Sadly, those muffins will have to wait. But be sure to check out Nancy's blog, The Dog Eats the Crumbs, for the recipe.

Lemon. Gosh, I love lemon.

I wasn't part of TWD when the Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart was chosen. But I do remember reading how everyone loved this recipe. Some even claimed that it was their top TWD recipe. I knew I had to make it, but I had to wait for the right time.

Otherwise, I might end up making a Lemon Cream Tart that only I would be eating. And that would not be good.

I baked this for Easter here at our house. Yes, and here I am now, just getting around to blogging about it. So lazy. But...better late than never, right?

Anyway, very lemony. Very delicious.

Baseball Cookies

2011-08-08T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 8--Blog Action in August

For the last game of Vincent's T-Ball team, I was the snack mom. A few weeks prior to the last game, I mentioned to Vincent that baseball cookies might be fun to bake and share with his team. He seemed very excited about it, but then promptly forgot.

And while I did think it was a good idea, I wasn't sure if I would have the time to come through on this one, so I was sorta relieved that it seemed to slip his mind. Of course, a couple of days before the last game, Vincent said that he couldn't wait to see those baseball cookies. Needless to say...I got to work.

I saw this post on Recipe Girls blog quite some time ago and fell in love with the cookies. I have always wanted to try my hand at decorated sugar cookies, and these seemed like a good place to start. They're pretty basic with minimal decoration, so I wasn't too worried.

I used the "No Fail Sugar Cookies" recipe that is listed on Recipe Girls site. But I used this recipe for the royal icing , found on Bake at 350. She is one of my cookie decorating idles!

Since it was one of my first times trying to make these lovely cookies, I had a difficult time getting the red icing I wanted to use for the stitching just right. Vincent asked me if I could make it blue, so I just went ahead and did that.

I didn't put any of the players names on the cookies, which was good because for some reason, half of the team didn't even show up for the last game. Too bad...they missed a tasty treat!

Who cares if one of the coaches told me I had too much time on my hands...while he was eating my cookie, I might add. I'm glad I made these and I am looking forward to more decorated cookie adventures!

Vincent's Real Mohawk

2011-08-07T00:05:00.000-04:00

Day 7--Blog Action in August

Here it is...

On the last day of school at the end of June, I took Vincent to get his Mohawk. It's grown out quite a bit since then, but he loved having it. He radiated cool as he sat in the barber chair getting it done. I would have done it myself, but I had a pretty good feeling that he wanted it to look good. Therefore, I left it up to the pros.

These are just a few of the shots we have for our memories. Thanks for reading!

Shrimp Panzanella Salad

2011-08-06T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 6--Blog Action in August

I saw a recipe in the August issue of Cooking Light for a shrimp Panzanella salad. It sounded simple and easy a perfect treat for my quiet birthday at home.

I didn't follow the recipe really, I just cooked up some shrimp and tossed it on to my salad with some fresh croutons. Delicious little meal.

Thank you, Cooking Light, for a tasty idea!

Cooking Light
Tomato Panzanella with Shrimp and Basil

Ice Cream Cake for My Birthday

2011-08-05T00:05:00.002-04:00

Day 5 --Blog Action in August

When I saw this recipe in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine, I began trying to find some occasion to make it for. I couldn't find one, so I just put the magazine away and filed the recipe in my mind, hoping something would come up to give me a reason to give it a try.

Along came July and my birthday, so I figured, why not? I was very curious about the way the crunchy bits would turn out in this cake. Anyone who's ever had a Carvel ice cream cake know that the crunchies are the BEST part of the cake. This recipe uses Nabisco chocolate wafers and some magic shell all pulsed together.

Well, I ended up with an enormous layer of chocolate crunchies. And that would not have been bad, except that the crunchies froze solid and were difficult to enjoy. Maybe I pulsed up the cookie crumbs to fine, or perhaps I should have lessened the amount of crunchies in the layer. Who would have thought that more crunchies could be not such a good thing.

Anyway, my cake did turn out lovely, if the birthday girl can say that about the cake she made herself. I liked the why the cake looked with the whipped cream and some sprinkles on there. Very festive.

dark photo, taken just at dusk

But, like so many ice cream cakes that have come into our home, we didn't eat the whole thing. Seems sort of wasteful, I know. But we enjoyed it while we could. I can't help but think if I had only made that crunchies layer a little bit thinner, this might have been a bigger hit.

Live and learn...

Ice Cream Crunch Cake
Food Network

Browned Butter White Chocolate Blondies

2011-08-04T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 4--Blog Action in August

I saw these in Relish Magazine one day and really wanted to make them.

I tore out the recipe and it sat on my counter, with some cookbooks and my notebook and folders of recipes, for a while. I finally picked up some macadamia nuts, specifically for these blondies, and made them shortly after that.

I followed the recipe as it was written, baking in a 9 x 13 pan. I added some extra semi-sweet chocolate chunks, because it sounded good to me.

The verdict was that these were just okay for us. The blondies themselves had a sort of cakey texture, and that's not my favorite texture for a blondie. The white and chocolate chunks worked well in the blondie, as did the nuts and the cranberries. I couldn't really detect the browned butter in them, so I missed that.

I put them in the freezer and then gave them to the preschool teachers. While these were okay, they weren't so tempting that I would waste my dessert calories on them. Still, I am glad I tried them!

Browned Butter White Chocolate Blondies
Relish Magazine

Faux-Hawk

2011-08-03T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 3--Blog Action in August

In early May, I took Vincent for a haircut. We had been growing out his hair, mainly because I like the way it looks when it's a little longer and can be swept to the side. He wasn't into it at first, but then he really liked it.

It was getting super long though, so Marc begged me to get it trimmed. We did and Vincent wanted it on the shorter side again. Ugh...it pained me when all of that fine, soft hair that had been growing for so long fall to the floor of the barber shop.

Vincent has been angling for a Mohawk hair cut for quite some time.

It didn't happen during this trip to the barber shop, but the barber was kind enough to style it for him in the Mohawk fashion. Vincent LOVED it.

Once school was over, I agreed that he could sport a real Mohawk for the summer. Not my choice, but I guess you've gotta pick your battles.

And hey...it's only hair, right?

Revisiting Dimply Cherry Cake for TWD

2011-08-02T00:05:00.001-04:00

Day 2--Blog Action in August

Recently, I had a boat load of cherries that were begging to baked with. I had just finished looking at some past posts and I came upon this one. I remember being so unsure about this recipe, but curious as well.

And of course, like just about every other TWD recipe I have ever tried, it was amazing. I fell in love with this cake the first time I made it, and we ate the small, half-recipe cake in a matter of hours. Seriously, can it really be almost 3 years since I have made this cake?? Where has the time gone!?

I baked this one up and I made the full recipe this time. And I even had a little cardamom to add this time around. This cake is a keeper and so good with the cherries and some lime zest. Make this one again, soon. So good!

Hello...Is This Thing On??

2011-08-01T00:05:00.001-04:00

Well, on the off chance that there is anyone out there who still reads my blog...GREETINGS!

I have decided to make a commitment to myself and my blog for the month of August. This commitment involves me and a post of some sort for the whole month. I really miss my blog and I don't like that I've gotten so lazy with it. It's not so much that I feel it's a chore, it's pretty much just laziness.

That and I am a giant procrastinator, but only when it comes to things that pertain to me. If it's about my kids or my husband, I am usually all over it.

So anyway, this is it. Day 1 of Blog Action August. Like that? I just came up with it. So, there will be more tomorrow.

In the meantime, I give you two smiling faces enjoying summer...

TWD--Chocolate Chunk Muffins

2011-07-05T00:05:00.002-04:00

I have seen these many times as I have flipped through the pages of BFMHTY. These muffins, with the chunks of chocolate poking out through the top, have always caught my eye and begged me to bake them. But I never have, until now.

Chocolate Chunk Muffins were chosen for this weeks TWD recipe by Bridget, who has a great blog entitled The Way the Cookie Crumbles. Check it out for the recipe. Although my muffins did not have chunks of chocolate tempting me from the top of the muffin, they were still pretty and looked yummy enough for me!

I followed the recipe as it was written, but I had to use semi-sweet chocolate in place of the bittersweet chocolate. I also decided to toss in a very generous handful of chocolate chunks to mix into the muffin batter. My chocolate chunks were semi-sweet, milk chocolate and white chocolate.

A delicious mixture! The recipe yielded 12 large muffins for me and I had enough left to fill one mini loaf pan, which was perfect for slicing up for a photo op.

Thanks Bridget for a tasty choice. What will I bake without TWD??

Cookies for the 4th of July!

2011-07-04T18:46:00.006-04:00

Well, like many other food bloggers, I made the Fireworks Cookies that were featured on the cover of Martha Stewart Living this month.

I first saw them at the end of June, when I went to the salon to get my hair cut. The cover immediately caught my eye and I wanted to make them. Then I decided that I didn't have time and I wasn't really going anywhere for the 4th, so cookies didn't seem necessary. But then, my brother called to invite me to a party for that weekend and my whole family and then some were going to be there. Hmmm...

And then, I saw the cookies posted on Recipe Girl's blog and I knew that I had to give them a try for myself. Four days later, there I was...running toothpicks through multi-colored royal icings to get the right look.

I must say, these cookies didn't turn out as good as I had hoped. I have recently made a bunch of decorated sugar cookies for the boys and they've turned out great, but these weren't what I had been hoping for.

I think it was my fault and I will place partial blame on the weather, since it was a touch humid here during the icing process.

I used this cookie recipe and this Royal Icing recipe, which I have used before with great success, and which I will be posting about in the future. But this time, my frosting didn't really harden until two days after I had made the cookies.

Some of the cookies firmed up okay, but there were finger smudges here and there. And also, the icing got sort of splotchy and took on a slightly bubbled appearance.

Of course, everyone who saw the cookies loved them and thought they were great. And they tasted great, too. The kids loved them and they were all gone at the end of the night. We are foodies always so hard on ourselves??

I even made a special cookie each for the boys, which we saved here at home for them.

Even though decorated sugar cookie are time consuming, I think they are a lot of fun. And the more you make them, the better you get, right? Maybe I just can't do them in the heat and the humidity, especially since there is no AC in my kitchen.

Still, I would love to bake something more just for the practice. So, I'm looking forward to the next party so I can get creative!

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Strawberry Salad--FFwD

2011-06-24T00:05:00.002-04:00

Strawberries! They are in season here and the picking is fantastic.

I love that classic, indulgent salad of tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella. Here, it's made even better with the addition of sweet, insanely good strawberries!

I made enough of this French Fridays salad for just Marc and I, since the boys were not the least bit interested. They don't want to eat the strawberries, or the cheese, or the tomatoes. Crazy, I know. But I'm working on them!

Needless to say, we loved this salad. I truly enjoyed the look on Marc's face when he came home from a long, hot day at work and found grilled London broil and this salad waiting for him.

It was a good day. :o)

I Got it in Writing...

2011-06-23T00:05:00.000-04:00

Here it is.

The written proof that he loves his family. I will hang on to his one for the days when he says he hates me.

Sigh...I hope they are a long way off.

Christian got in on the action, too. He loves Mom!

I love these boys!

Braised Short Ribs

2011-06-22T00:05:00.002-04:00

Some times, when I hit the grocery store in the afternoon, my timing is just right and I find that they have marked down a good selection of stuff in the meat case.

Such was my luck one afternoon, when I was also lucky enough to be alone on my jaunt through the store, which I find is always a plus. I found some very nice short ribs that had just been reduced 50%! Into the shopping cart they went, along with a half-priced brisket.

I tucked them into the freezer when I got home and bragged to Marc about my score at the store. He wasn't as excited as I was, but he was kind enough to listen.

A few weeks later, I started browsing the Internet for a new recipe to try and I saw this one on David Lebovitz's blog. I had everything I needed, and was very intrigued by the addition of chocolate.

Well...these were AMAZING! I loved this recipe and wanted more...more...more. These will definitely be repeated, for sure. Now, I am on the prowl for more discounted short ribs!

I cooked these in the crock pot after searing them first. I can't recall how long exactly, but I would say they were on low for at least 6 hours. I served them with a simple green salad and some bread and everyone, yes everyone, was happy.

Braised Short Ribs
David Lebovitz

Cooking Light Onion Tart

2011-06-20T00:05:00.001-04:00

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light one afternoon and made it for dinner a few hours later. The timing was perfect, really.

I didn't know what I was making and then this recipe appeared. And, I happened to have one leftover ready-made pie crust in the fridge. Perfect.

Carmelized onions are nestled into the pie dough, along with thyme, swiss and feta cheese. Good stuff.

My onions could have been, and should have been, so much darker. I don't know why I took them off the stove so early. They were way too light for me. However, the recipe was still very good and I loved it.

It was the kind of recipe that I couldn't wait to eat the left overs for lunch. A keeper and a repeater for me!

Onion Tart
Cooking Light

Banana Crunch Muffins

2011-06-17T00:05:00.001-04:00

If you have bananas, here's a muffin recipe you should try. These are loaded with delicious add-ins and so very, very good.

I don't get to watch television very often. Every once in a while, if I am folding laundry in the middle of the day and I am all alone, I will flip on the Food Network or HGTV to see what's on.

One afternoon, I caught Ina Garten making these Banana Crunch Muffins on her show. I have to say, once I heard the name, Banana Crunch Muffins, I pretty much put the laundry aside, sat down and watched as she dumped lots of good stuff into that muffin batter.

I was all ears, and drooling.

Finally, the day I had been waiting for arrived...the day of over ripe bananas sitting on the counter. I was ready. Although I didn't have granola on hand, I did have some Kashi cereal, so I used that.

I also added some white chocolate chips to a couple of muffins in an effort to entice Vincent to try one of these. It didn't work.

I ended up with 18 muffins and 2 mini Banana Crunch loaves. Those loaves were pretty much for us and I sent the bulk of the muffins over to my neighbor. Good thing, because I might have eaten them all.

I'm currently looking for excuses to make these again.

Banana Crunch Muffins
Ina Garten

Cola and Jam Spare Ribs--FFwD

2011-06-15T00:05:00.001-04:00

I have been sporadically participating in the French Fridays with Dorie group. I've also been trying to get better about my menu planning, which is something I've been trying to improve upon for quite a while now.

I checked out June's recipes as soon as they were posted and knew that I wanted to make the Cola and Jam Spareribs as soon as I could. They sounded delicious to me and, as luck would have it, I happened to have ribs waiting in the freezer.

I was the tiniest bit shy in the jam department, but it seemed to work out fine. I thought these were pretty good ribs, but I don't know if I am a fan of the five spice powder used in the seasoning. I will definitely give the seasoning another shot in something else, but I found myself a little let down by this one. I think I was expecting a little more sweet or tangy or something from the recipe.

We still ate them and we all enjoyed them, but I thought it would be a little different.

Anyway, as you can see, I served the ribs with corn and a cold pasta salad with grilled vegetables. Good dinner for a beautiful day.

TWD--Chocolate Biscotti

2011-06-14T00:05:00.001-04:00

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Jacque, who has a lovely blog called Daisy Lane Cakes. Check it out for the recipe.

Biscotti is not my number one cookie choice. It's often too crunchy for my liking. But since I haven't made a chocolate biscotti in quite some time, and this is a Dorie recipe, I decided to bake along. It was helpful that the weather was cooperating that day, too!

This was actually a pretty easy recipe to toss together. I mixed all of the dry ingredients a day ahead of time, so when it was time to make the dough, I was ready to roll. The dough tasted great and I could really detect the espresso powder, which I thought added so much to the chocolate.

They came out of the oven after the first bake and I had to run and get Vincent from school. So, they might have cooled a little longer than the recommended time. Anyway, I sliced them up as soon as I got home and slid the tray into the waiting oven and baked for 10 minutes.

The resulting biscotti was very tasty. It had just enough crunch and a bonus of raw sugar sprinkled on top. The bulk of these was brought to the lovely ladies at the library, who were dealing with crowds for the summer program sign up frenzy. They were very excited about chocolate biscotti, and I was more than happy to share.

Be sure to check Jacque's blog for the recipe!

Shedding a Tear...

2011-06-13T21:42:00.005-04:00

I don't remember why he was crying, but I was so happy to have my camera handy. That one single tear...

He doesn't look very sad though, does he? He saw the camera and was most definitely ready for his close-up.

Day 4 in Disney...Our Last Full Day

2011-06-09T00:05:00.001-04:00

It was over too quickly for me. The morning of Day 4 dawned and we were ready to have breakfast with the characters. We made reservations at the Beach Club Breakfast. The food was good and it was probably one of the best meals that the boys ate, so they were off to a good start.

We had reservations for 10 that morning, but we arrived a little after nine and when I checked in, the woman handed me a beeper and we sat down to wait. I took this picture of Vincent when I thought we'd have lots of time to kill. I love this forced smile.

He does it every time I ask him to smile for the camera. He's something else! I was pleasantly surprised when the beeper went off about 5 minutes later.

We sat down and were soon met by Goofy!!

We ate a few bites and then Minnie made the rounds.

Christian was so excited to see some of his favorite characters.

A few minutes later, Donald Duck appeared!!

Christian and I get a shot together after the excitement.

Followed by a picture of Marc and Vincent.

Fueled up and ready for action...

After breakfast, we hopped on the next bus to the Magic Kingdom. We didn't have the chance to explore Fantasy Land on our first night, so once we got in, we boarded the Walt Disney World Railroad, since Christian didn't get the chance to ride on it during our first night. Vincent checked out the map while we waited for the train.

A parade come through on the street below as we were waiting on the platform, but Christian was cranky and didn't want to watch, he said it was too loud. So, on to the train, and we hopped off in Frontier Land and walked the short distance over to Fantasy Land.

Our first stop was the Haunted Mansion, which took a little bit of persuading to Christian to ride with me. He was a little nervous as we got on to the ride, but I kept him calm and soothed him. He liked the part where the mirror shows a ghost riding with you. The ride did stop twice while we were on it, but luckily he wasn't upset about that. He complained that the air conditioning was blowing right on him and making him cold! It could've been much worse!

Once that was over, we moved on to It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Scary Adventure, the Carousel, Stitch's Great Escape, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, Mickey's Philharmagic...pretty much anything we could find, we got on. The longest line we encountered was for Peter Pan's flight, but I think that's because it was pretty new. Cute ride though, the boys loved it!

We were getting hungry and needed a break, so we bought some burgers and sat near the castle to eat. Christian was exhausted and after eating a handful of his fries, he fell asleep on the table at lunch.

I think if there could be one picture that would sum up the vacation, it would be this one.

I love the castle in the background, the uneaten food on the table. We were moving fast and we were all exhausted. He just had the good sense to not fight it anymore and let himself go when he needed it.

During Christian's quick 15 minute snooze, we finished our lunches and recharged, we were on our way again. Christian was leading the pack and ready to roll!

We waited patiently on the quick moving line of Tomorrow Land Speedway. Vincent rode with Marc and I rode with Christian. It was fun. Can you not feel the joy from Vincent in this picture?

Here I am...the passenger. We had a blast.

We decided to take one more ride on the Buzz Light Year Space Ranger Spin. Here's the thinker, waiting patiently...

Zurg got a hold of the boys after the ride.

It was just a great, long day in the Magic Kingdom. We spent the whole day there and didn't try to squeeze in another park. We tried to take it easy and let the boys lead us on that day. And I personally think we could have used another day or two, just to move at a slower pace. Also, to have more down time, maybe even a whole day off at the pool to relax.

But this was such a lucky vacation. We were lucky enough to be able to take it and share it with the boys. And I've learned so much about what I will and won't do next time around. I can't wait to be able to do it again.

Day 3...Disney World

2011-06-08T00:05:00.002-04:00

Disney Hollywood Studios and Start Wars Weekend! And so began Day 3 of our Disney World Vacation. We were greeted by these 2 Storm Troopers and hundreds of Star Wars fans who had been waiting outside the gate since 3 in the morning.

I believe the park opened at 8 that day. I know that the Star Tours Ride was reopening that weekend, so that line was unbelievable. Even the fast pass machines had a line.

We had hoped to sign the boys up for the Jedi Academy and a chance to fight Darth Vader, but that is going to have to wait until our next visit. All the slots were filled within 30 minutes of the park opening. Thankfully, they weren't too disappointed!

Here's another shot of Squints McGee with his brother, Chuckles, who loves being told to pose.

See how hard he's trying to keep his eyes open? :o) Chuckles just gave up and walked away.

We rode The Great Movie Ride and then took the boys over to see Disney Junior Live, which Christian was quite happy about. After that, we watched the Indiana Jones Stunt show, which Vincent loved. Christian enjoyed it okay, but he's not that crazy about all of the noise. Funny, since he's the loudest one in the house. We saw the Muppet 3D movie and caught some of the Star Wars parade.

But since it was so crowded and so hot, we left the park a little early and went back to the pool to spend time swimming. They boys were ecstatic! The water was great and we relaxed in the pool for about 3 hours before getting cleaned up and heading out to Epcot for a while.

These are the only shots I got in Epcot. We thought the Mickey and Minnie topiaries were just so pretty and a great place for a picture. Show some love, fellas!

Wait for it...

There we go...brotherly love on a hot day when you're starving. We know how to work it, don't we??

After this, we grabbed some dinner and were lucky enough to land a table overlooking the water, just in time for the Illuminations Light Show and some ice cream. The evening was made even better when we snagged the first bus out of Epcot to our resort...with seats, yet again!! Sigh...

TWD--Blueberry Brown Sugar Plain Cake

2011-06-07T00:05:00.006-04:00

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Cindy, from the blog Everyday Insanity. I love that blog title...I think we can all relate.

This was a delicious cake. Honestly, though the title is really catchy and I love anything with blueberries, I probably would have skipped this one without TWD. There's no picture and since there's no picture, I probably would have only just glanced and the page.

But since becoming a part of TWD, I am really changing my old page skimming habits. If the recipe title sounds good, I will really read it and pay attention to it.

Heck, now I even read cookbooks in bed...who am I kidding?

Anyway...this one was a simply delicious winner here. I baked it in a 9 x 9 pan, since I couldn't find my 11 x 7.

It baked up quickly and looked great, but my berries did fall to the bottom of the pan. Still yummy, though! I gave most of the cake to the office staff at the elementary school. After my third slice of cake, I decided it was too good to hang around.

Be sure to check out Cindy's blog for the recipe!

Disney World...Day 2

2011-06-06T00:05:00.000-04:00

Our second day at Disney World was going to start with a visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios. But since it was the opening day of Star Wars Weekend, which we knew about, we decided to stay away for the day. Of course, we hoped that the crowds might thin a little bit on Saturday, but that didn't happen.

Anyway, our Day 2 began with a journey to Animal Kingdom. We arrived just as the park opened and were able to hop right on to the Kilimanjaro Safari, which was great.

After that, we took a train ride to Rafiki's Planet Watch area, and we watched the doctors checking on a Malaysian bat that was about as big as some newborns I've seen.

The boys enjoyed that, and they also enjoyed just looking around at everything, not to mention the air conditioning. ;o)

Our timing was good and we met up with Jiminy Cricket and Rafiki there, a perfect photo op!

It would've been perfect for autographs, too...if I didn't forget to unpack them!!

Bad Mommy! Well, at least we got the pictures.

After a brief visit to the petting zoo there and a bit of time talking Vincent out of a giant stuffed bat, we boarded the train back to Africa and had a bite to eat.

While we were sitting and eating, an African drum band set up and played some great music.

Of course, they grabbed some audience members and the only man above the age of 4 was Marc.

Good times...

After that, we caught The Festival of The Lion King show and headed to Dino Land.

On our way to DinoLand, we were steered towards Pooh, Tigger and Eyore for pictures and no lines and no waiting. Christian wasn't interested in this photo op, oddly enough.

And of course...still no autograph books!

The boys loved playing in The Boneyard and I got to ride on Dinosaur with Vincent. Marc took Christian for ice cream while I did that and he grabbed a fast pass for Expedition Everest for him and Vincent. But apparently, there was a an...ahem...incident involving the ice cream that resulted in tears flowing from Christian and tempers flaring from Marc.

So, even though I told him to ride the ride, he didn't. And we all went to Finding Nemo, The Musical, instead. Not as exciting as Expedition Everest, but it cooled everyone down for a while.

I promise you, I am not riding this alone. Vincent and Christian are both in the front seat!

We rode a bunch more rides, had a lot of laughs and decided to head to the Downtown Disney area for dinner. The boys were very excited going to the Lego store and Christian was adamant about getting a watch. We all had our missions that night.

We spied Buzz LightYear as soon as we got there. Not the best picture because of the sun, right Squints McGee??

See, he's trying to smile here. I can tell by the grimace. But he's just so pained because of the sun. Gotta love it, though.

I don't have anymore pictures from Day 2. I'll recap it to say that we waited an hour and a half for a table at a very mediocre restaurant...so not worth the wait. But at least it wasn't another burger from some place in the park. Still, we won't be going back there next time.

After dinner, we hightailed it over to the Lego store, which was insane, of course. Vincent was in search of Lego Batman and Star Wars, but he was disappointed to only find the Star Wars set. I think Batman's been gone for a while. Christian was a little let down that he couldn't find the perfect watch. He did settle on a digital number with wrist straps that we could swap out, so he left with a smile on his face. Marc and the boys each got Mickey T-shirts that matched, but aside from a headache and a desire for a seat on the bus, I found nothing in the store that I wanted.

We left soon after that and lined up for the bus, and we were pleasantly surprised to be on the first bus out, with seats! Yeah!

Our Trip to Disney World...Day 1

2011-06-04T21:02:00.009-04:00

We had a great trip to Walt Disney World! We arrived there on the 19th of May and left on the 23rd. So, in essence, it was basically a long weekend, but a busy and fun filled long weekend, for sure.

It was the first time for Vincent and Christian, and we were so excited to share this with them. Marc and I went back in 1997, to celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary, so we were pretty psyched to get back down to Orlando as well.

The weather couldn't have been better. It was hot, like 97 degrees, every day we were there. But we didn't have any rain, and the lines weren't that bad for the rides we were going on. And as a bonus, the world did not come to an end during our stay in the "happiest place on earth", so all was good for us!

We decided to stay in the Caribbean Beach Resort, since we had stayed there during our last visit. This time, we were in the Martinique section, which was steps away from the food court area and the theme pool that the boys LOVED! You've gotta love a pool like that on a sweltering day. And even though the pool was pretty crowded, it wasn't like we had to dodge people during our swims.

We arrived in the afternoon on the 19th, and were lucky enough to be able to check into our room early and right away. We grabbed a bite to eat and hoped that our luggage would appear during our trip to the food court, but no luck. I forgot to pack a pair of shorts for the boys and they were stuck wearing their long, light pants until about 10 that night. Disney's Magical Express picked us up and delivered our luggage on a separate trip. Initially, we thought that the wait would be about 3 hours, but it turned into about 6. Well, lesson learned for better traveling next time...pack back up clothes in carry on!

Our first stop after food and realizing we would all have to tough it out in what we were wearing for a while was The Magic Kingdom!

We spotted Pluto as soon as we walked into park and we were able to get a picture with him in minutes.

Unfortunately, our nifty autograph books were still in our luggage. Another lesson learned!

We hit Pirates of the Caribbean first, as Vincent was anxious to find Jack Sparrow in there. But Christian was not as enthusiastic as his brother. He cried for some of the ride and proclaimed that he never wanted to go on it again. He has since changed his mind.

Towards the end of the day, as we meandered through Tomorrow Land, a very nice woman gave us her 2 Fast Passes for Space Mountain. The timing was perfect, so Vincent and Marc walked right on the ride and had a blast.

Christian had no problem waiting around with me, since he picked out his first pair of Mickey Ears. He wore them the entire trip, through every hot and sweaty moment, taking them off only to bathe and go in the pool!

We were in the park until darkness fell and the Electric Light Parade came through. The boys weren't really that interested in the parade, though. Christian was anxious to ride the WDW Railroad around the park, but the crowds were so thick, and the boys were about to implode, so we called it a night and saved the Railroad for a different day.

Once back at the hotel, we found our luggage waiting for us in our cool and comfortable room and we were all looking forward to a new adventure on Day 2.

Guess Where We've Been...

2011-05-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

Guess where we've been...

I'll be updating here in a day or so. But if you'd like to find out more about these awesome Mickey Autograph books, click here!!

FFwD Scallops in Orange Caramel Sauce

2011-05-22T00:05:00.002-04:00

I am a lazy and "sometime" member of French Fridays with Dorie. I made this during the month it was due with every intention of getting it posted on the correct Friday. It would have been the first time in months that I got a FFwD recipe in, and on time, no less.

But I went away for my annual Girls Weekend trip the Friday this one should have been posted. And of course, I had forgotten about writing a post and setting it up before I left.

So, here it is now. And let me just say, I loved this one.

I honestly wasn't sure how scallops would work with a sweet, orange caramel sauce, so I was really feeling uneasy when this one was on the stove. But when the caramel was finished and I spooned some over my scallops...WOW! What a phenomenal dinner this was.

Marc was quite impressed to come and have such a lovely, restaurant worthy meal sitting and waiting for him. Excellent!! Dorie does it again. And to stay true to the FFwD group, I will not be publishing the recipe here.

Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli from Cooking Light

2011-05-21T00:05:00.001-04:00

Here was a very simple meal to toss together. I had frozen shrimp in the freezer and had just purchased some fresh broccoli.

I started the afternoon not knowing what I would make for dinner, but after a quick flip through last month's issue of Cooking Light, I found this recipe. I did a quick thaw with the shrimp by soaking them in some cold water and then drying them off. After that, I simply chopped up some broccoli florets.

There was some lemon added for some great flavor. We enjoyed this one, but I would've liked just a touch more sauce on the broccoli. Still, this was great for a quick meal.

Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli
Cooking Light

Shrimp Fried Rice from Ellie Krieger

2011-05-19T00:05:00.003-04:00

Way back in February, I made Ellie's Sesame Shrimp with Fried Rice.

It was the featured CEiMB recipe for February 10th, but I never posted about it. I don't even think I was a member then, just like I'm not an official member now.

But, it's Thursday, and it's the day that many of my CEiMB buddies post about their Ellie adventures. And this was a very good recipe, so I'm posting it today.

Eventually, I will get my act together and get back on the official CEiMB blog rolls. Until then, I have this post and these photos of Ellie's Shrimp Fried Rice.

I served this along side some teriyaki chicken. I think it may have even been Ellie's recipe.

However, since it's been so long, I can't be sure. It was very good as well, though. This I remember!

Sesame Shrimp Fried Rice
Ellie Krieger

Cooking Light's Texas Sheet Cake

2011-05-18T00:05:00.001-04:00

I have a neighbor who is not feeling good. She's going through some treatments for cancer and her family is taking excellent care of her. Frequently, as I look out the window at all of the cars in her driveway, I am overwhelmed with the need to help. And since I love to feed and nurture, I help in my own way.

I made a couple of trays of delicious stuffed shells to take over for the family. There are so many rallying around her, so even though she may not have a strong appetite, her care-givers probably do. As the shells were cooking, I decided that they could all use some sweetness to go along with their dinner.

Originally, I was going to make PW's Texas Sheet Cake, but I didn't want to use all of that butter. It does look extremely good though, and some day soon, I know I will bake it up and give it a try.

Anyway, I have made this one from Cooking Light before and remembered thinking it was mighty good. So, I baked it up in a 9 x 13 pan, and it was still warm when I took next door.

They all enjoyed the food and I feel like I am doing something to help. It feels good, that's for sure.

Texas Sheet Cake
Cooking Light

TWD--Maple Cornmeal Biscuits

2011-05-17T00:05:00.002-04:00

I am a sucker for all things maple. Love the way it smells and tastes, so this one was high on my list for making when the May TWD recipes came out. It was chosen by Lindsay of A Little Something Sweet.

What a simple little recipe to throw together. I was tempted to break out the food processor to get it done quicker, but then I didn't feel like cleaning it. So, I went the old fashioned route and just used my finger tips.

I did add a tiny touch of maple flavoring to the dough, just because. I didn't really end up tasting much of it, but I loved the way it smelled! These were tender and just sweet enough.

Thank you, Lindsay for the recipe choice!! Check out Lindsay's blog for the recipe.

FFwD--Bacon and Spinach Quiche

2011-05-13T00:05:00.001-04:00

Admittedly, considering my blogging slump, I have done very little to participate with the amazing group of cooks and bloggers of French Fridays with Dorie.

I have made a couple of the recipes, but haven't posted anything since this post in October! Bad, bad blogger! I did make this weeks Bacon and Spinach Quiche, though.

I made this one for Easter dinner, but since my tart pan was being used for another tart, I baked the quiche in a pie plate. It was very rustic looking, but still very good.

Of course, since I was busy making Easter dinner, chatting with our family members who came to join us for dinner, and trying to keep the boys out of the Easter candy for 5 minutes, I forgot to put the quiche on the table with dinner!! No problem, though. I happily shared it with everyone, packing it up for them to take home.

Very tasty!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

2011-05-12T00:05:00.004-04:00

I am not a fan of Snickerdoodles. When it comes to cookies, they are usually the last type of cookie I would want to bake, mainly because I don't want to eat them. I'm not normally a selfish baker, but everyone has their moments, right?

However, I saw this recipe on Tracey's Blog and was immediately smitten with them and the idea of baking a batch up in my kitchen. The photos that Tracey had posted looked divine and I could almost smell them baking in my oven.

After reading the post and drooling over the photos, I decided to bake up half a batch for a play date we were going to. And I was right, that smell was incredible!! As I cut the blondies up to go to the play date, I sampled one, of course. But then, I had several more before we even got out the door. I kept only a handful and brought the rest to the play date, where everyone enjoyed them.

I made them again recently and even Marc enjoyed them. And I have been thinking of them so much lately, that I might have to bake them yet again! I have found a new favorite as far as Snickerdoodles go. A definite repeater!

Ellie's Crispy Chicken Fingers

2011-05-11T08:53:00.000-04:00

As you may have noticed, I have been out of the blogging loop recently. Mainly becuase I have been feeling uninspired and just not all that interested in planning my menus. Also, some days are busier than others with occasional work at the Cookie Shop where I've been helping out. With the rush in the late afternoon, I just want simple meals to throw together without a lot of thought.

But my family has been unhappy with the plates that have been landing in front of them. And honestly, so have I. Talk about lazy!

So, I have been dipping my toes back into CEiMB lately. This recipe was chosen by Jennifer of The Rookie Baker for the week of April 7th. And I did make it before that date, but I just never blogged about it. No time like the present, right? :o)

These use Corn Chex as the coating on the chicken and what a nice crunch it added. Once the cereal was crushed up, this one came together in a real jiffy.

My kids loved this one! I was pretty nervous about serving it to them, because (1) they can be picky, (2) the chicken was in bigger pieces and not at all shaped liked dinosaurs and (3) the color wasn't the same as the nuggets they are used to.

But these little men surprised me and ate all of their "crunchy chicken" and liked it! Yay! Gotta love when that happens.

Crispy Chicken Fingers
Ellie Krieger

TWD--Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

2011-05-10T00:05:00.001-04:00

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited. Peggy is so nice and she always leaves sweet and supportive comments. Thanks, Peggy! Be sure to swing by her blog for the recipe.

So, once again, I wasn't going to bake this week. But then I remembered that I really wanted to get all of May's recipes done, since I've been slacking in the participation department lately. I almost went with half the recipe, but decided to go for the whole thing at the last minute.

This cake has called to me when I have flipped past it in the book. Brown Sugar Bundt Cake just sounded so tempting to me. However, when I read through the recipe, the idea of pears and raisins just didn't do it for me. Still, I knew I should give it a try and I would probably end up loving it.

Then I realized I didn't have any pears, and raisins in my cake doesn't really float my boat. So, I poured in a cup of toasted pecans and a handful of butterscotch chips and baked the cake.

The results? Well, I tried a piece the first day and it was okay. Didn't knock my socks off, but it was good. I decided to let the cake sit, wrapped in plastic as Dorie suggests, to see if I would like it better the next day. It was better and moist, just now what I was hoping for. Who knows, maybe it would've been if I had added the pears and the raisins as the recipe was written. I may never know. I gave most of it away to the office staff at the Elementary School. Hope they liked it!

Either way, I'm glad I baked it! Check another one off for the month of May! Thank you, Peggy for choosing this one! Can't wait to see what everyone else did with this recipe.

TWD--Basic Marbled Loaf Cake

2011-05-03T00:05:00.001-04:00

Well, I am pulling myself out of a blogging slump...AGAIN! My apologies to all of the lovely bloggers who chose April's TWD recipes. Yeah...I didn't get anything done last month as far as TWD goes.

But, I'm here right now and this month is looking pretty good for me. I'm thinking positive and I am determined to keep it that way!

This weeks recipe was chosen by Carol, whose blog is called The Bake More. Sounds good to me!! She will have the recipe listed over there, so go and check it out. That is, if there is anyone still reading my blog! :o)

Anyway, I opted to make the white chocolate and mint variation that Dorie says was her favorite. I had everything on hand and the combination sounded very tempting to me.

It came together pretty easily and I was pleased with the way my marbled loaf cake turned out. I cut off a few slices and sent the rest to work with Marc to give to his crew. Hope they enjoyed it!!

Thanks, Carol for the recipe choice. It's gotten me back into the kitchen and onto the blog. I'm hoping it's the start of a very good month in my kitchen!

Sigh...

2011-04-15T00:05:00.001-04:00

I love these kids.

That's all. Nothing else today...

OMG Baked Onion Rings

2011-04-14T00:05:00.001-04:00

I found this recipe one lazy Sunday, while I was reading through my stack of news papers. I love Sunday. And I love discovering a new, fabulous sounding recipe.

I really enjoyed Ellie Kriegers baked onion rings, but it had been a while since I made them. And since this one had the "OMG" in the title, I figured I had to give it a try.

The thing that really caught my eye about these was that they were considered Vegan. A mixture of Almond Milk and flour is used in the dredging process, and I'd never made onion rings like that.

Admittedly, they were a little time consuming to make, but all good things come to those who wait, right?

These were very good. The flavor was tasty and the coating was crispy, which is what you want in an onion ring. Marc and I enjoyed them, but of course, the boys were not interested. And that was fine...more for me!

As I said, I originally found this recipe in a section of the New York Daily News. But the recipe is easy to found on the web. Just Google "OMG Onion Rings". And I do believe that this is the Facebook page of the recipe creator.

It's GIVEAWAY Time!

2011-04-12T18:10:00.004-04:00

I recently received dinner and drinks thanks to the kind folks at Buitoni.

As I'm sure many of you already know, Buitoni makes delicious and simple fresh pastas and sauces that are readily available at the grocery store. These can be yummy options for nights when you just aren't sure what to put on the table.

Such was the case on Monday evening, when the boys wanted left over pizza, but I knew that probably wasn't going to go over so big with Marc. Enter Buitoni Spinach Tortellini and Light Alfredo sauce.

Super easy, quite tasty and dinner was finito! We haven't gotten to use the $25.00 Wine.com gift card they sent...yet!

Right now, Buitoni is having a Masterpiece Challenge over at their FaceBook page. Check it out, because there is a chance to win a $100 gift certificate towards kitchenware. Ya gotta love that!

And now...for the GIVEAWAY! Leave a comment here letting me know that you have hit the LIKE button for Buitoni on Facebook, and you will be entered to win the following prize:

TWO VIP full-value product coupons
$25 Wine.com gift card

Winner will be chosen on 4/15, Friday morning!

Buitoni did supply me with 2 full value product coupons and a Wine.com gift card in return for this review.

BA's Cover Story Brownies

2011-03-25T00:05:00.001-04:00

Greetings! I'm off on my annual Girls Weekend with my friends! In honor of that, where I'm sure that there will be a certain amount of chocolate consumed, along with plenty of wine and tea, I give you this post about some fabulous brownies...

So, about a month or so ago, while passing time on FaceBook, I noticed one of my friends taunting another with a brownie she had made. It looked so good. My other friend said she would have to make the brownies from scratch, but then said something about how the boxed version is always better anyway.

And that brownie conversation got me thinking about these. Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter & Walnuts was on the cover of February's Bon Appetit magazine. Ever since it arrived in the mail, the magazine and it's alluring cover were sitting on my kitchen table, calling my name. I was trying to ignore it, since I am really watching my calorie and sugar intake. And also, because they state right on the cover, "Warning: You will eat the entire pan."

But, faced with yet another snow day and a burning desire for chocolate, I mixed this one up in no time flat and had it in the oven. This one is made with only cocoa powder, no chunks of chocolate. And as luck would have it, I had just a bit more than a cup of those chunky walnut pieces. I guess it was fate.

Now, I must admit, that sometimes when it comes to brownies, the boxed versions are pretty darned good. I've made several brownie recipes from scratch that leave me feeling like I've just wasted something on them.

But not this one. This one, in my opinion, is so worth your time. Fudgy, rich, and dense, just what I think a chewy brownie ought to be. The walnuts were wonderful in there, providing just the right amount of crunch against the richness of the brownie. I believe that the browned butter added a little something special to this one. Is it the best ever? I don't know, but I do know it's one of the best I've ever made.

Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter & Walnuts
Bon Appetit

Ellie Krieger's Chinese Chicken Salad

2011-03-24T00:05:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time, I was a faithful member of CEiMB. But then, I slacked off and got pretty darned lazy about it and fell off the blogging bandwagon and out of the CEiMB group.

When I visit the blogs, I see the Ellie recipes that many of my friends have made and think, "Damn, that looks good!" And I've been feeling that way a lot lately. So, when the March recipes for CEiMB went up, I took a peek and there were a couple there that really piqued my interest. I wanted to bake up the Blueberry Coffee Cake that's listed over there this week, but I never got around to it.

I did, however, make the time for this fantastic Chinese Chicken Salad. Seriously, this one was fabulous! I loved all of the flavors and have already made it twice within a 2 week period. The second time around, I simply tossed all of the ingredients together for the salad and chopped up some cold chicken from the fridge to add on top. Still fantastic!

This one is definitely a repeater here and I know that I'll be making it come summer time. I sprinkled some crunchy Chinese noodles on top, just because. Good stuff!

I've gotta get back into that group!!

Chinese Chicken Salad
Ellie Krieger

Making a Come Back...

2011-03-23T00:05:00.002-04:00

I'm trying! I am trying to get back into the groove of blogging. We all lose it every once in a while I guess, right? I try new recipes, I take pictures of them, I start blog posts, and then...well, then I get lazy, I suppose.

I guess I'm feeling uninspired, even though I've tried a bunch of tasty recipes. I appreciate all of the comments I get on the blog posts I do get up. And I do try to visit all of the blogs, but I don't always comment.

Anyway, as I said, I'm trying. So, here are a couple of pictures of things we've been up to lately. We've gone a couple of rounds with colds and once around the block with the flu here. It's been just the boys who've been battling the illnesses, but I've been with them every step of the way.

My pink-cheeked, feverish boy. Don't you love have a camera shoved into your face when you're not feeling good?? He was loving me, can't you tell? :o)

He was feeling MUCH better when this picture was taken.

We celebrated our Nana's (Marc's grandma) 85th birthday!!

We hung out and fell asleep with our fantastic Uncle Dan.

We made a fun Leprechaun trap for Kindergarten.

Vincent took a nap after pleading his case for 10 minutes that he was absolutely NOT tired.

And finally, we have Christian in a losing battle with his turtleneck. Stinking cute!

So there you have it. That's my update. Food posts are coming up next! Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

TWD--Honey Nut Brownies

2011-03-22T00:05:00.001-04:00

This weeks recipe was chosen by Suzy, whose blog is called My Suzy Homemaker. If you click here, you'll be sure to find this weeks recipe.

I was intrigued by these brownies. I do love a good brownie, and even though these really didn't sound like my idea of a fabulous brownie, I decided to bake them up and give them half a chance.

Made with honey and tossed with some almonds, they weren't the dense, fudgy kind of brownie that I normally enjoy. They were good enough to share, which I did when I had a lunch date with some friends while the bigger kids were in school. But the remaining brownies never really took off here at home.

And so, I must say that these will probably not get made again here at our home. But I am very happy that, thanks to Suzy and TWD, I had a chance to give them a try. Maybe you should, too. They just might be the brownie you've been waiting for.

TWD--Citrus Currant Sunshine Muffins

2011-03-15T00:05:00.001-04:00

These TWD muffins sounded extremely optimistic and cheerful, which is how I try to be most days. So, I knew I had to bake them up and give them a try.

I knew we'd never eat a dozen muffins, but I decided to make the full amount and give Marc the majority of them to bring to his Sunday morning Tai Chi class.

They were more than happy to eat them for me. And now I know that I have a bunch of new, willing recipients of fresh baked goodies!

I kept 2 with me for pictures and for sampling. Good stuff!

Check out the lovely Lauren's blog, Bella Baker, for the recipe!

TWD--Toasted Almond Scones

2011-02-22T00:05:00.001-05:00

Toasted Almond Scones was chosen this week for TWD by the Mike, who will have the recipe posted on his blog, Living Out West.

I really enjoy visiting Mike's blog to see his creative take on different recipes. His pictures look luscious and he just a down-right nice guy, in my humble opinion.

At first, I wasn't really in the mood to bake this one, but when I saw it was Mike's choice I really made an effort to get them baked. These sounded so tempting to me, that I decided to only bake a half batch.

They were easy to toss together and baked up nicely. Turns out I'm not as big a fan of scones as I thought I was. I liked them just fine, but I didn't go crazy for them. Marc, however, told me that I should be baking him fresh scones every weekend morning. He was a BIG fan.

Thanks Mike, for choosing this one! I'm so glad I tried them and now, as per Marc's request, I know I will be making them again!

TWD--Chocolate Oatmeal Drops

2011-02-15T00:05:00.001-05:00

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Caroline and Claire, and they will have the recipe posted over at their blog, Bake with Us.

Since this one was a cookie, I baked it up as soon as I saw the February recipes. These weren't the prettiest cookie I've ever made, but they were pretty tasty.

Looking at the P & Q for these, I must agree that I also had some butter separation issues with my batter. Lots of liquid as the dough sat there, waiting to be made into cookies.

My cookies did spread a little, which resulted in a crispy outside and a chewy, brownie-like center.

I served half to Marc and his friends, who were watching a football game, and there were no complaints. The remaining cookies went out to my mechanic and his team the next morning when they did my oil change.

Be sure to stop by Bake with Us for the recipe!

Spinach Cheese Pie

2011-02-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

This one comes from Relish Magazine.

I think I automatically started drooling when I saw this one. A low fat spinach and cheese pie full of feta with some phyllo dough on top. YUM!

When I made this for dinner, I didn't tell Marc that there was feta in there, since he's not a fan. But he enjoyed two slices of this for dinner and didn't mind the feta at all. The recipe has lemon zest in the filling and let me tell ya...it added SO MUCH flavor to this dish!

I absolutely loved eating the left overs for lunch and I can not wait to make it again.

Spinach & Cheese Pie
Relish Magazine

TWD--Bourbon Bread Pudding

2011-02-08T00:05:00.001-05:00

No TWD this week! Thanks for stopping by, though!

Raspberry Squares from Tate's Bake Shop

2011-02-07T00:05:00.001-05:00

With all of the snow we had in January, it was easy for me to get into the kitchen and get baking.

My friend, Lisa, makes the most rocking Raspberry Bars. Since I haven't seen her in a while, I went looking around to see if I could find something remotely similar to quell my yen for these cookies.

I flipped through my Tate's Bake Shop cookbook and found these by chance. The recipe is a good one, but it didn't quite give me what I was looking for. I guess Lisa has just spoiled me with her raspberry bars!

The ones I'm used to have a richer, more buttery flavor along with the raspberry filling. While these were good, they could have used more flavor in the base and topping. Just a little on the bland side. But we still ate 'em!

Tate's Bake Shop Raspberry Squares
Tate's Bake Shop

Garlic Basil Shrimp from Ellie Krieger

2011-02-06T00:05:00.001-05:00

I remember seeing this dish when the CEiMB gang cooked it up for dinner almost a year ago!

I used to participate weekly with the CEiMB bloggers, but life got in the way and I got lazy and blah...blah...blah. I actually really enjoyed cooking with the group because so many of Ellie's recipes were wonderful.

Not to mention the fact that cooking with them meant that I had at least one meal planned for the week. I've gotta get back there!

Anyway, this one was a winner here.

Garlic Basil Shrimp
Ellie Krieger

TWD--Great Grains Muffins

2011-02-01T00:05:00.001-05:00

This weeks TWD recipe was chosen by Christine, who will have the recipe posted on her blog, Happy Tummy.

I wasn't going to make these originally, and I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately. However, I asked some of the TWD gang over on Twitter what their opinion was about them and Nancy said that they were some of the best muffins she'd ever made. So of course, I had to try them.

I made the full dozen, since Marc was off from work for a week and muffins are a quick and tasty thing for him to grab when he's hungry. But I also shared 6 of the muffins with the teachers at Christian's preschool. I've noticed they smile bigger when they see me coming holding some goodies. :o)

They only changes I made to this one was to use dried cranberries and some chopped pistachios. These muffins have lots of flavor and some crunch from the pistachios and the corn meal in there. I definitely preferred them the day they were made.

Thanks to Christine for choosing the recipe, and to Nancy for giving me a the little bit of nudge that I needed to get in the kitchen to bake these!

What a Way to Start the Day!

2011-01-31T00:05:00.001-05:00

Black Forest Oatmeal! This one was so good.

I noticed the recipe was I was slowly flipping through my Sunday papers and even though there was no photograph included, the name alone hooked me.

Since I had everything on hand, I decided to make half the recipe and give it a try. It was rich and creamy and full of chocolate flavor. Not too sweet, which is good at breakfast.

Oatmeal is such a wonderful way to start a cold winter morning. This version is satisfying and decadent, in it's own way.

I've eaten it a couple of times and even Marc enjoyed this. I've also tried it using vanilla Almond milk as the cooking liquid with a dash of vanilla extract...also delish. Sadly, my boys won't try it. Someday they will, though!

Black Forest Oatmeal
Pam Anderson

Italian Wedding Soup

2011-01-27T00:05:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to get better with both my blogging and trying new recipes. I am working really hard at making weekly menu planning a habit. It's going slow, but it's better than nothing.

I had a pretty good handle on planning our meals in the beginning of the school year. But then, I started working a little and then the holidays came and BAM...I wasn't planning a thing.

So, a couple of weeks ago, inspired by a friend on Twitter who mentioned her weekly menu planning, I got busy and made a plan. And, I actually stuck to it!

One of the meals that week was Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup. I received her Back to Basics cookbook for Christmas and Marc had requested this soup, so it immediately went on the menu.

This one is different than the recipes I have tried in the past, because Ina uses ground chicken and chicken sausage to make the little meat balls for the soup. I really enjoyed the flavor of them, not to mention that they were baked and not fried!

I followed the recipe as written, but I did sub canned chicken stock for the home made that she calls for. Making home made stock is on my list of things to do in the very near future. As a matter of fact, I just picked up my first stock pot today! Yahoo!

This soup is delicious and has been wonderful to have in the fridge as leftovers! Marc liked it, but prefers beef for meat balls. And my sister said it tasted like something from a restaurant. Now, that's a compliment I like to hear. :o)

Italian Wedding Soup
Barefoot Contessa

TWD--Nutty, Chocolaty, Swirly, Sour Cream Bundt Cake

2011-01-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

Bundt Cake? I'm in.

Hmmm...orange zest? Cinnamon? Chocolate? I dunno...

Oh, yeah. I do know. I know it was so good. So much better than I had anticipated. So good, that within a couple of days, half of the cake was missing. That's right. Missing!! Not sure where it went, (burp) but it was GONE!

The other half wrapped itself in plastic and hid in the freezer for safety reasons. I took it to a friends house recently, thank goodness. However, I noticed that the orange flavor intensified quite a bit after a rest in the cold. Still, very good stuff.

Oh, and I skipped the raisins and added extra chocolate. YUM!

This fabulous TWD recipe was chosen by the very kind and thoughtful Jennifer, of the blog Cooking for Comfort.

Be sure to visit her over there for the recipe.

Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

2011-01-20T00:05:00.001-05:00

Before we had kids, I claimed Sunday as "my day". I worked in a bank and worked many Saturdays and so Sunday was the one day I didn't have to do anything, and I liked it.

So, most Sundays, while Marc would go climbing, I would get up early, go for a long walk, pick up a few bagels and the Sunday papers on the way home and have a great start to my day. I love reading the papers on Sunday, and I feel like I am finally getting back to having Sunday truly be a day of relaxation. It may take me several hours to read the papers, and those hours probably aren't consecutive and they may not all be contained on Sunday, but I eventually get it done.

I found this recipe in the New York Daily News one Sunday, jsut before the start of Chanukah. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it. This one's a keeper. Loved the easy blueberry syrup, too.

Give it a try.

Blueberry Lemon Pancakes

TWD--Lemon (no Poppy) Loaves

2011-01-18T00:05:00.001-05:00

I am trying very hard to get my groove back for my blog. And I have missed TWD so much and I am so happy to be back at it, even though I have decided that I probably won't be able to swing them all. I'm still trying.

This weeks recipe was chosen by Betsy, who has a great blog called A Cup of Sweetness. She'll have the recipe posted over there this week. And while your there, you can swoon over her sweet baby!! So cute!

So, I wasn't sure if I was going to make this weeks recipe of Lemon Poppy Seed muffins. I decided when I was shopping to pick up some extra lemons, just in case. I looked for poppy seeds, but didn't see them. So, that was that.

And then, last Wednesday, we were snowed in and the boys were home from school. While they happily played on their own, without a fight or a cross word between them for 4 hours...yes, that's right...a new record in our house. Four kind, loving, fun-filled, tear free, uninterrupted hours of brotherly love. Sigh...

Anyway, they were happily occupied and I decided to toss this recipe together. Skipping the poppy seeds, I decided to add a layer of raspberry preserves in the middle of my mini loaves. So good!! Even better with a little glaze drizzled on top.

Thank you, Betsy! When I take these loaves out of the freezer, I will sip some tea and think back to that amazingly calm snow day. Good times...