The white puppy chow made a perfect backdrop for some of the red, white, and pink Valentine’s Day M&M’s, so I *had* to add some to the mix Whip up a quick batch for the love of your life!

WHITE CHOCOLATE PUPPY CHOW
9 cups Corn Chex cereal
1 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 package Valentine’s Day themed M&M’s (optional)

In a microwave safe bowl put white chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir to combine. If mixture isn’t creamy microwave in 30 second intervals until everything is smooth.

Measure the 9 cups of cereal in a large mixing bowl. Pour the white chocolate and peanut butter mixture over the cereal. Carefully stir to coat all the cereal evenly.

In a large ziplock bag pour in the cereal mixture. Dump in the 3 cups of powdered sugar. Zip the bag closed and give it a shake to coat all the cereal with the powdered sugar. Pour into a large serving bowl and gently stir in the M&M’s.

Yesterday I wrote my goodbyes to 2011 in part 1. Today I am anticipating what 2012 will hold.

We kicked 2012 off with a wonderful brunch with a few friends. I love brunch and would love to see this become a tradition. I’m not much for going out and getting crazy on NYE, especially now that I have three little ones to care for. So hosting a cozy brunch was the winning ticket.

Here are some of my goals for 2012:

Be a better menu planner -we ate out FAR too much the last half of 2011. I saw someone say she wants to go out for dinner because she wants to (for fun) instead of have to (lack of ingredients for dinner), this is exactly how I feel. Going out for/ordering dinner needs to return to being a special treat NOT a default.

Be active -I want to run a marathon some day but short term goal is to run some 5Ks and hopefully 10Ks this year. That means I need to start putting one foot in front of the other everyday.

Quiet time for Mom -as sleep deprived as I am I think I am going to start getting up a little earlier than rest of the family, so I can have time to myself. Just a quiet 30 minutes to sit, pray, reflect, read, write, whatever it may be, at the beginning of the day might just be what I need to recharge my soul.

Garden -I want to have a nice garden this year.

Be more feminine -I’m not sure what this means. I bought a great pair of high heels and I realized that I don’t really have anything to wear them with. I don’t want to fall into that stay at home mom yoga pants rut. I’m not a beauty queen nor do I intend on looking like I am competing for a crown. I just want to look nice, and lady like -feminine.

Entertain -I love hosting gatherings and I hope to do more dinner parties this year. Coupled with this is I want to be more organized so that I can entertain on a drop of a hat without worrying about piles of stuff (mainly laundry) sitting around my house.

Kitchen remodel -This may not be so much a goal as a hope. We’ve talked about the possibility of remodeling our kitchen in the spring, I hope it becomes a reality. I’ve been cooking off a range that has 1 large burner and 3 small burners and a teeny tiny oven. A full size oven would be so great!

Baby food chef extraordinaire -Kasper will be eating solid food soon and I want it to be food I’ve cooked. My sister did this with her youngest child so I have an expert living close by.

Learn how to use my camera -We have a nice camera with a new lens and flash, and I have no clue how to use it.

Food goals -Simply it would be bread baking (especially sour dough), cheese making, beer brewing, and canning.

What are your goals for 2012? 

2011 was a great year. The highlights reel:

At the beginning part of the year we became a minivan family. I never saw myself as a minivan Mom, but with baby #3 on the way, there was no way another car seat was going to fit into our Honda Civic. After getting rear-ended and totaling our minivan we quickly replaced it with another minivan. Seeing how well the van took the impact and protected my children, I will gladly be called a minivan mom.

At the beginning of May I did some recipe development for Diabetic Living. I wrote six slow cooker soup recipes for a bookzine they released. It was so much fun writing and testing recipes for them.

In June we took our new to us minivan on a family vacation to Lied Lodge in Nebraska City –very, very beautiful! And then headed a little further south to Kansas City where we took the girls to their first baseball game. It was a wonderful time.

During July we had unbelievably hot temperatures. Several days in a row the thermometer reached 100+ degrees F with heat indices in the 105-110 range. Being 9 months pregnant it was incredibly hot!

Finally 10 days after his due date our baby boy arrived -I just new I was going to have an August baby! A week and half after Kasper’s birth Sasha started kindergarten and I began packing cold lunches (I packed 78 lunches the first semester!).

The last few months have been full of traveling to see family.

Last year’s resolutions:

My biggest resolution last year was to not eat at McDonald’s. I went all the way until June before I broke this one. We were traveling and Mc Donald’s was right off the interstate (damn them!). I had McDonald’s a total of 3 times this year, all while traveling, so I think I did pretty darn good.

FOOD GOALS 2011

1. Bake more bread (FAIL My bread maker died and I don’t have a dough hook for my mixer so I didn’t make very much bread this year. It will go on my 2012 goal list)
2. Make delicious flour tortillas (I did this a few times and they were good!)
3. Master naan (FAIL)
4. Have a freezer stash of stock (No stash, but I did make stock several times over the year)
5. Make jam/jelly (Canned my first strawberry jam during the summer. I am looking forward to more jelly/jam making in 2012)
6. Try canning (Canned only jam. Husband bought  me canning supplies for my birthday, I’m hoping to give them a good workout summer of 2012)
7. Make my own sourdough (Tried a couple times but never followed through)
8. Figure out how to make a good dal & saag (FAIL)
9. Make cheese (Made paneer)
10. Expand the soups in my arsenal (SUCCESS! I even got paid to do it!)
11. To cook more from the recipes I have cut out or bookmarked (FAIL)
12. Come up with a creamy baked macaroni and cheese (FAIL! Anyone know a good creamy baked mac & cheese recipe?)
13. Make my own pasta (Made egg noodles a few times. Would love to make lasagna and fettucini. A pasta roller would be nice)
14. Make my own mayonnaise (FAIL my blender broke, but I did get a new one for Christmas so this is going on the 2012 list)

Today the girls and I were back in the kitchen and we made peanut brittle. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. I wonder why some things, like peanut brittle, are only eaten during the holidays.

Sasha and Penelope helped measure out the ingredients while I manned the actually liquid magma that is boiling sugar. Once your caramel is ready, you’ll want to work quickly stirring in the other ingredients and spreading in out on your pan before it hardens.

PEANUT BRITTLE
from Cookie Talk adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Vegetable-oil spray or 1 teaspoon butter, for lining the tray
2 cups sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse or flaky sea salt (I used Kosher salt)
10 ounces salted, roasted nuts, not chopped

Line a half sheet baking pan with parchment paper, or silpat, and lightly coat it with vegetable spray or butter. Lightly spray a spatula and set aside. Measure your peanuts, salt, and baking soda separately and set aside.

Put the sugar, butter, corn syrup, and 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water to a large saucepan, and stir together until all the sugar is wet. Cook over high to medium-high heat, but watch it carefully as it will foam up. Once it does, turn it down to medium.

Once the mixture turns a medium golden (took about 20 minutes for me) immediately remove from the heat, and carefully whisk in the baking soda followed by the salt (be careful the caramel will want to bubble up on you). Switch to a wooden or metal spoon, and fold in the nuts.

Quickly pour the mixture onto the sheet pan, and spread it out over the pan using the back of your greased spatula before it starts to harden. Let cool completely then break in to chunks.

If you’re making Christmas sweets and treats please let me know what you’re making! We love trying new things! 

Check out the other Countdown to Christmas treats:
Thin Mint cookies (gluten free)
Soft Ginger cookies
Moldy Cornflakes

I first saw these on Crepes of Wrath’s site and she found them at Baking Bites. This batch I whipped up I substituted Multi-Purpose gluten free flour the flour in the recipe. If you really like mint I recommend adding more mint extract –I didn’t find them minty enough for my liking.

I recommend keeping these in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready to serve them. The chocolate coating might get a little soft if kept at room temperature for too long.

THIN MINTS
from Crepes of Wrath

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Flour multi-purpose gluten free flour)
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind – I used 1%)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled -its ok it is supposed to. Slowly, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.

Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick – if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp – and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

CHOCOLATE COATING
10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate (I used milk chocolate and they turnout out well but I do recommend using dark if you want the most Thin Mint like cookie)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.

Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.

Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.

You can see the other countdown recipes:
Soft Ginger Cookies
Moldy Cornflakes 

Are you still baking/making Christmas treats or have you finished? Let me know what you’re making! 

I love the strong spicy flavors you find this time of year. These ginger cookies are chock full of the wonderful spicy combination of ginger, molasses, cloves, and cinnamon. Before baking I rolled them in turbano sugar which gives these soft cookies a nice crunch.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen baking cookies you should give these a try. The mix up in just a couple minutes and bake for 10 minutes.

GINGER COOKIES
recipe from Better Homes and Gardens recipe app 

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup coarse turbano sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In your mixing bowl beat butter on high for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup sugar, soda, and spices. Mix until combined, scrapping sides as needed. Beat in egg and molasses until combined. Turn mixer down to medium and mix in flour.

Shape dough into 1-1 1/2 inch balls. Roll in the coarse sugar. Place dough balls on parchment lined cookie sheet abou 2-2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Cookies will be puffy when you remove them from the oven. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

Bakes about 2 dozen cookies.

Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

What are your favorite Christmas cookies or treats? 

Check back tomorrow for another Christmas goodie!

Now I’m not sure where the name moldy cornflakes came from but that is all I’ve ever heard them called*. They actually resemble holly and berries and are similar to rice crispy bars, except here we’re using cornflakes.

*update: Grandma Bonnie left this comment on my facebook wall about moldy cornflakes. I thought maybe you would enjoy reading it too.

“I guess I should tell the true story of moldy cornflakes. Found the recipe for Holly Candy, made them, and at first, MY children (this would be my Mom and my Uncle) refused to eat them because they were green like mold. Our rule was you had to try everything once. After they tried them they loved them and have forever after called them moldy cornflakes. Then the grandchildren and great grandchildren have continued the tradition. Way to go, Michelle and Jeff!!”

MOLDY CORNFKAKES

1/4 cup butter
1 package mini marshmallows
5 cups cornflakes
Green food coloring
Cinnamon imperials (red hots) candy

Put butter and marshmallows in a microwave proof bowl. Cook for 1 minute on high. Stir and cook another 30 seconds to 1 minute until the marshmallows are melted.

Stir in a little green food coloring at a time until the desired color is achieved.

In a large bowl measure out 5 cups of cornflakes. Pour marshmallow mixture over them. Stir to completely coat all the cornflakes.

On waxed paper or parchment scoop out small bundles of cornflakes. Place a few red hots candies on top.

Enjoy your holly and berries aka moldy cornflakes!

Today I want to share with you some of my favorites and reader’s favorites.

THE SWEET STUFF

Chocolate Covered Toffee. Heath bar lovers you NEED to make these!

Monster Cookies Use the red & green M&Ms and you’ll have yourself festive cookies

Andes Mint Cheesecake No photo for this one (I should make it again!) but trust me it’s delicious!!

BREAKFAST/BRUNCH

Gluten Free Sticky Buns Do you have a family member with Celiacs disease? Surprise them with some sweet rolls they can eat!

The BEST Cinnamon Rolls Delicious GIANT cinnamon rolls that you mix up in your bread machine.

Blueberry Scones Easy to whip up and put on the brunch buffet

Pumpkin Æbleskiver Danish pancake balls. Easy to make a little or a lot.

APPETIZERS

Penguin Olive Appetizers These are a fun addition to the relish tray, and a perfect way to get the kiddos involved!

Swedish Meatballs Stick a toothpick in these puppies and they become the perfect snack.

Boneless Hot Wings Easier to eat and less mess

What are your Christmas traditions? This year we are doing soups & appetizers at my in-laws, my Grandma is serving brunch, and my Mom is still deciding.

My mother in-law has requested I bring my toffee and I’m hoping my Grandma will be making moldy cornflakes (I will share the recipe with you) this is a MUST have treat on the dessert platter.

Please share your family’s favorite Christmas tradition or treat, I’d love to try them!

Have faith dear reader, you can make these yourself. You need to be patient and keep a watchful eye on the candy thermometer. Some people (more experienced than I) can do this without the trusty thermometer. If that is you congratulations. The sugar mixture will turn a lovely caramely brown when it is done. Or if you are like me and prone to burning sugar when you try to do it by “eyeing it” it is done when the thermometer reaches 300 degrees F.

These toffee bars should be added to your holiday treat platter. Make them for your family, make them for your friends, make them for your neighbors, and snitch some for yourself. Wrap them up in pretty paper and give them as gifts.

CHOCOLATE COVERED TOFFEE “HEATH BARS”
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
2 T water
1/2 c chopped pecans
2 c chocolate chips

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Lightly grease the foil, and set aside. Melt butter, sugars, and water in a heavy sauce pan over a medium high heat. Using your candy thermometer monitor the sugar temperature. Stir constantly until it becomes a carmely brown color and the temperature reaches 300 degrees F, turn off burner and remove pan, stir in pecans (I forgot this step so I sprinkled them on top once they were covered in chocolate). Pour sugar mixture onto jelly roll pan and spread out. Wait a couple minutes as the sugar cools and the toffee begins to set.

Using a pizza cutter slice toffee into desired size. Let cool completely. (As you can see in the top left corner my daughters and I had to sample the plain toffee. It was amazing )

Once toffee is completely cooled and hard, gently break apart into individual pieces. Put chocolate into a double broiler and melt gently. Drop one piece of toffee in at a time, cover completley with chocolate, shaking excess off, and place onto parchment paper to cool completely and have the chocolate set.

If you want to sprinkle with chopped nuts do so before the chocolate cools. ENJOY!

Becoming a food blogger has caused my children to want to pose with the food. They are some silly girls!

HOMEMADE “BAILEY’S” IRISH CREAM

I made this for the first time in the spring. It was deliciously creamy and would make a wonderful addition to your holiday party.

LOW FAT PUMPKIN BARS

If you aren’t all pumpkind out from Thanksgiving, give these delicious pumpkin bars a try. The cream cheese is swirled into the bar instead of smeered on top. They clock in at just under 70 calories per bar. Not too shabby, concidering all the high sugar and fat filled treats that are tempting us on every holiday table. *I am pretty sure these bars would taste wonderful with the Irish Cream.

APPLE PIE TWO WAYS:

APPLE PIE WITH STRUDLE TOPPING

The studle is made of oats, flour, and sugar. I personally love oats and apples together.

APPLE BRIE PIE

This pie is the first time I made a double crust pie from scratch. I hadn’t realized how easy it was before. The combination of brie and the spiced apples is one of my newest favorite flavor combos. Don’t be afraid, give it a try!

OATMEAL CRANBERRY COOKIES

For me cranberries are a favorite this time of year. These cookies are also lower in calories than your typical Christmas cookie. If you aren’t concerned about calories (lucky you!) you could toss in some white chocolate chips to take them to another level.

EGG BAKE/BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

I love brunch! I think it is a perfect meal/menu for family get togethers or an office party. Eggs are so forgiving, if meat isn’t your thing you can toss in roasted vegetables and this dish is still delectable. This strata/casserole is wonderful hot out of the oven but if you need something to bring to your office potluck it is still delicious served at room temperature.

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite seasonal recipes. Happy eating!

The List and Photos- Part One
Potatoes -460 hills or 50 pounds of seed potatoes

Next to the potatoes are Yellow Onions -60 plants

Green Beans -1 package –it is barely poking through the ground

Red Beets -half a package –they have just broken ground too

Click here for some of the first photos from the garden.

You can follow up on the garden with part two here.

Take note fathers and children, Mother’s Day is quickly approaching. Do you want to serve your mother or wife breakfast in bed? Bless your heart! These breakfast cups take little effort to put together, and they can be personalized to your family’s flavor preferences. In the bottom of my cups I have colby-jack cheese and bacon, you could substitute any meat or cheese you would like. I left my egg whole, but you could lightly beat it and stir in some chopped veggies, which would be delicious. Using crescent rolls from the refrigerated section at your local grocery store make this breakfast a cinch. Have fun coming up with your favorite meat, cheese, veggie combos! I think these would also be cute for a bridal shower or baby shower brunch. Yum!

BREAKFAST CUPS
Serves 4

1 package crescent rolls
4 eggs
2 pieces bacon, cooked
cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 4 muffin tins. Unroll crescent rolls, pinch together two triangles and fit to muffin tin. Place a little cheese and half a slice to bacon in bottom of crescent-lined muffin tin. Carefully add egg. Cook for 10-15 minutes. You want the crescent roll to become golden brown and the egg to be set. ENJOY!

A quick history about Cinco de Mayo: It is NOT Mexico’s Independence Day (that is Sept 16), but it is a holiday celebrating Mexico’s defeat of a larger and better equiped French army at the Battle of Puebla back in 1862.

Here in the United States Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican culture, with food, drinks and dancing. I think Cinco de Mayo is a day for us Americans to be as Mexican as we are Irish on St. Patrick’s day. I love to eat, drink, and if I’ve had enough to drink you may even catch me dancing; so this is a favorite “holiday” for me.

Here are some of my favorite tried and true Mexican recipes that I hope you will try for your Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Feliz cinco de Mayo!

MEXICAN TORTAS

BEER AND LIME CHICKEN FAJITAS

Recipe for delicious Mexican ground beef.

A yummy and easy margarita recipe.

I am excited to see what 2009 will bring (hopefully a new house by the end of the year). This new years eve I am celebrating it quietly with my husband and little girls. Today I have been thinking about resolutions, since it is so common to make them this time of year. Last year I wanted to lose weight, and I did really well with that resolution. I lost twenty-five pounds, TWENTY-FIVE lbs in 2008. That was all the baby weight I gained with Penelope. This year I am not going to resolve to lose more weight, although a little bit would be nice. Some of my resolutions include finding a church that will meet the needs of my family, develop and maintain a healthier lifestyle, and learn to cook vegan/vegetarian dishes.

I have been so blessed in 2008 and I look forward to what God has in store for 2009. Have a SAFE New Year!

Last week we had a cookie decorating play date. We had so much fun decorating our gingerbread people and our sugar cookies. Many cookies were “lost” during the decorating process. Our little friend M concentrated so hard on completely covering her Christmas tree cookie in yellow frosting that I don’t think she decorated that many cookies. Sasha and Penelope were more into eating the cookies than worrying about whether or not they were adequately covered in frosting.

I found my sugar cookie recipe on one of my favorite blogs (Pinch My Salt). Nicole made her recipe for Halloween cookies. She uses powdered sugar and a tiny bit of almond extract, which I believe makes these cookies the BEST COOKIES EVER! I will be using this recipe for my Christmas cookies from now on; I may even use them for my Valentine’s day cookies, St. Patrick’s day cookies, April Fool’s day cookies, and every other holiday they are THAT good. Thank-you Nicole, we now have a family favorite that I am sure is going to become a tradition. I am sure her recipe for cream cheese frosting is lovely, however I decided to use a powdered sugar frosting that would harden. You must make these cookies, at least once. ENJOY!

Check out her recipe here.

If you want to read more about our gingerbread people check it out here.

Here are some photos of our decorating.

Here is M concentrating so hard on her yellow Christmas tree.

Sasha enjoying her hard work!

Penelope ate her cookie so fast. I told you these cookies were good!

Here are some of our sugar cookies and gingerbread people.

Here is M’s cookie that she worked so hard on. More sprinkes ended up on the plate than the cookie, oh well.

This year I made real gingerbread people. Last year I made them from a dry mix I bought in a box. The real deal is no comparison, these little cookie people get better each day. The girls and I had some friends over for a cookie decorating extravaganza. I think everyone involved had lots of fun. I told the girls that we were going to “paint” the cookies with frosting, this excited Sasha (2 1/2) and our friend M (almost 2). We used popsicle sticks as our paintbrushes, which worked wonderfully for our needs. The cookies may not win any awards for beautiful design, but I think they are the best looking gingerbread cookies I’ve ever seen.

My girls kept eating the cookies. As you can see Sasha hardly has any frosting on her cookie, just enough to say she frosted it.

I got the recipe from Martha Stewart’s website, and it was delicious. This week I will be making more gingerbread people for our families. We also made cut out sugar cookies, I will post the recipe tomorrow.

Martha’s Gingerbread People

The frosting is a powdered sugar, a tiny splash of vanilla, and a splash of milk. I used Wilton’s Icing Color in red, blue, green and yellow.

Tis the season for stuffing our faces. Sounds pretty doesn’t it? From October 1 until January 1 is when my willpower is tested constantly.  In October I had celebrated  three years of marriage with my husband, two birthdays (next year it will be three), and Halloween. November brought three Thanksgiving dinners (eek!), now December we celebrated my SIL’s 30th birthday, and we will have a Christmas Eve dinner and three Christmas dinners. Now I wish I could say that I did not over indulge; I did however, try to eat consciously. It must have worked because the first time in a long time I am actually losing weight during this long holiday season (WOOP WOOP!).

We currently live in an apartment that does not allow for entertaining the whole family, so until I am able to host my first holiday meal, I will have to bring something to the dinner table that I know will not completely sabotage my waist line. These pumpkin bars are fabulous if I do say so myself, and they are a dessert that isn’t going to ruin your diet.  This recipe was emailed to me from Sparkpeople.com recipe of the day. These bars are delicious and moist, a great alternative to pumpkin pie. No one will know that they only have 67 calories per serving if you don’t tell them! ENJOY!

PUMPKIN BARS
serves: 48

2 cups flour
1-1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup light butter or margarine, softened (I used Smart Balance)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 large egg whites
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin pie filling
1 cup carrot, finely shredded

Cream cheese topping:
4 oz light cream cheese, softened (I used fat free)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon skim milk

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10 jellyroll pan.
Prepare Filling:
In small bowl: combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder & baking soda.
In larger bowl: Beat sugar, butter and brown sugar until crumbly. Add eggs, egg whites, pumpkin pie mix and carrots. Beat until well blended. Add flour mixture and mix until well blended. Spread onto greased pan.
Prepare Cream Cheese topping:
Mix together cream cheese, sugar and milk until thoroughly blended.
Drop teaspoonfuls of topping over pumpkin batter and swirl mixture with a butter knife.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cake tester (inserted in center) comes out clean.
Cool in pan completely on wire rack before cutting into 48 squares.

NUTRITION INFO (per serving)
Calories: 67.2
Fat: 0.9 g
Carbohydrates: 13.6 g
Protein: 1.4 g

What’s more American than apple pie? Apple pie is probably one of my favorites pies. There are all sorts of variations of this pie. You can find double crust, lattice top, strudel top, crumble top and so on. I have never made my own pie crust, this is something I want to try and have several recipes bookmarked. For this pie, I used store bought pie crust, the kind you unroll and place in your pie dish. I did however, make my own studel topping. This is a great dish to serve during the holidays.

APPLE PIE WITH STRUDEL TOPPING
1 (9 inch) pie shell
5 cups apples (it is nice to use a variety)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

STRUDEL TOPPING
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Unroll pastry shell into pie pan and place in freezer. Place peeled, cored and sliced apples in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine 2 tablespoons flour, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Toss with apples until they are evenly coated. Remove pie shell from freezer. Place apple mixture in pie shell. Cover lightly with a sheet of aluminum foil, do not seal. Bake 10 minutes.

Make Strudel Topping: Combine flour, cinnamon, brown sugar, and oats. Mix thoroughly, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Remove filling from oven and sprinkle strudel on top.

Reduce heat to 375 degrees F. Bake pie 35 to 40 minutes, until strudel is browned. Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning.

Five Generations
Great Grandma Bonnie, Sasha, Grandma Michelle
Great Great Grandma Dorothy, Penelope, Momma Jamie

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. You may think you have a great mother, but you probably haven’t met my mom. I have the WORLD’S BEST MOM. My mom stayed home to raise her three children. When I was a child she ran a small in home daycare to generate extra income. She sacrificed selflessly to ensure her children were happy, and that we had what we needed. She provided an example of a loving Christian wife and mother. She is my role model. Happy Mother’s Day mom, I love you.

Lately it seems like I have the best intentions of writing, I just never follow through with them. Ugh! My goal is to post something more often. I have so many recipes and photos of different food that I haven’t posted yet. This weekend I was really ambitious, I made homemade doughnuts, that is going to be another post, however.

I made this heart cake for Alex on Valentine’s Day. It was delicious! Target had heart shaped silicone pans on sale for $2.50 after Christmas, so I picked one up and stashed it away until Valentine’s day. I have to apologize, I was going to make a cake from scratch. I was determined to make a beautiful made from scratch heart shaped cake, I even bought cake flour at the store. But… that didn’t happen. I was so busy on Valentine’s day, running around trying to make sure everything was just perfect, that I resorted to the fail-safe boxed cake mix. I did take the time to make my own buttercream frosting!

I baked the cake according to package directions. It was my first time cooking with a silicone pan so I was a little unsure of how long it would take to bake. Heads up –it took 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Once the cake came out of the oven I let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool completely before working with it. Once the cake was completely cooled, I sliced it in half. I then took a generous amount of buttercream frosting and spread it on top of the bottom layer, replaced the lid and completely covered the cake with the remaining frosting. I garnished the cake with chocolate covered strawberries. It was a beautiful and tasty dessert.

I got the buttercream frosting recipe from Wilton.

Buttercream Recipe
(Medium Consistency)
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approx. 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

YIELD: Makes about 3 cups.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

For Pure White Icing (stiff consistency), omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

Last Thursday, January 3rd was caucus night here in Iowa. I think both the Democrats and Republicans did a great job choosing their first place candidates. To celebrate I made Chicken and Broccoli Obama Stir-Fry with Edamame Fried Rice. It was tasty! We enjoyed our dinner while watching the victory speeches. I did not measure my ingredients, so I do not have an exact working recipe. I will give rough estimates below, adjust according to your seasoning preferences. Basmati rice is the rice I chose to use for my fried rice. I enjoy the softness and flavor of Basmati rice. I hope you enjoy my political dinner!

Chicken and Broccoli Obama Stir-Fry

3 large chicken breasts-thinly sliced
Soy Sauce
Sugar
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 heads of broccoli chopped
1 c chicken broth
1 T corn starch
2 T peanut oil

Use frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Set out to thaw for 30 minutes. While chicken is partially frozen, slice into thin strips. Put in dish to continue thawing. Once chicken is fully thawed, pour soy sauce over top of chicken and sprinkle with sugar. This creates a marinade, marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature. Heat wok over high heat. Pour in 1 T peanut oil. Stir-fry broccoli, garlic and ginger for 1-2 minutes, take out and set aside. Add 1 T peanut oil, add chicken and marinade (may need to work in batches) stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add broccoli to chicken mixture. Mix the cornstarch and chicken broth together, pour into wok, and stir until thickened. Serve over rice.

Edamame Fried Rice

1 package pre-shelled edamame
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
2 c cooked/cooled Basmati rice
1 T soy sauce
2 eggs beaten
2 T peanut oil, plus a slash

Add 1 T oil to hot wok. Add edamame and stir fry until soft 2-3 minutes. Remove from wok. Add 1 T oil to wok, add garlic and ginger; stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add rice, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Make a well in the center of the rice, add a slash of oil and the beaten eggs. Incorporate the egg into the rice mixture. Add soy sauce and edamame and mix well. Remove from wok and enjoy.

Sunday evening Alex, the girls and I started a family tradition (hopefully). ‘Tis the season to stuff ourselves with sugary treats. We put on some Tchaikovsky and let Sasha dance away while we made Christmas treats. Alex dipped pretzels in vanilla almond bark and I whipped up some chocolate creme de menthe cookies.

When I was shopping the other day I saw a package of Ande’s baking chips. They are chopped up Ande’s creme de menthe pieces. I decided to use these baking chips in a chocolate cookie. It has been years since I’ve made chocolate cookies, and I could not remember the recipe I used, so I searched Google for a chocolate cookie recipe. I came across several, and decided to use a recipe from www.extremechocolate.com with my own substitutions. These cookies are minty and delicious. I will upload photos really soon.

Ultra-Chocolate Creme de Menthe Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 package Ande’s creme de menthe baking chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour, baking soda, and salt in one bowl. In another bowl mix together sugars, butter, eggs, cocoa powder and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture until well combined. Stir in baking chips. Using tablespoons drop cookie dough onto greased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute before moving to baking rack. ENJOY!