Cooking! Food! Dancing!

I love to eat.

But, I will eat anything.  Junk, good stuff, meat, veggies, tofu.

In my quest to 'toiten' up, I am trying to eat better, and not snack.

Last night was pizza night.

I made my own concoction on a whole wheat tortilla.

A splash of good olive oil, a sprinkle of parmesan, and load of fresh stuff...onion, broccoli, spinach, shrooms, and tomatoes after it was baked at 350 for about 8-10 minutes.  Did I mention the goat cheese?

Just a few dabs here and there.

It was delish.

My husband and boys would never eat it.

Ever.

Sigh.

In order to keep a good thing going, 

I cut up a bunch of fruit and veggies and put them in the fridge ready to go.  

That's part of the problem.

Convenience.

If it's all ready to go, I'm way more inclined to eat it.

Also, I like to dance around while I'm cooking or baking.

This is a good song for that...

It's Friday...so DANCE!

Need to know.

If you don't put buttermilk in your mashed potatoes, 

you really need to.

Peace out.

Dough & downstairs.

This is one of my new favorite things.
It's pizza dough from Trader Joe's, and it is awesome!

Not only does it taste good,

but it's very versatile.

You can use it to make rolls, breadsticks, calzones, bread.
If you brush a bit of honey on it after you roll it out for pizza, it's so yummy!

It's all natural, too.

Best part...

it's $.99 a bag!!!
I highly recommend picking up a bag.
AND, the kettle corn in the pink & white striped bag.
$1.99, 4 ingredients, A+.

Also, I've posted lots of photos of the basement.

FINALLY!
It still needs some finish work, but I figured it's about time.
You can take a look right here.

Have a great Easter weekend!
Hope you all get lots of eggs in your basket {but mostly chocolate}!

Bowls and more Spongebob.

Latte bowls.

Who doesn't love 'em?

We all know of her admiration for them.

And, I agree.

They are pretty wonderful.

Perfect size for the palm of your hand.

Soup, cereal, oats.

But, alas, I love the minis more.

They are great for little snacks; pretzels, cheerios, cheez-its, raisins.

And, the kids go nutty over them for ketchup or honey mustard.

Keeps the dip separate from all the other food, see?

Nice.

Anthroplogie only carries them in the store.

But, I HIGHLY recommend them.

In other, completely unrelated, news...

Tiny*Prints delivers once again.

The invitations for Rosie's party are great.

I straight stiched some hot pink tulle on Bob, and voila!

Spongebob pink tutu party!

Couldn't be happier.

Never would have thought...

image & recipe from serious eats via birthday girl

Do these sound oddly enticing?

Or is it just me?

Actually, I am not a huge bacon fan,

unless it's on a spinach and egg salad with warm dressing,

or in a bittersweet and bacon truffle from Bailey's Chocolate Bar.

But, I am going to give these a whirl.

Sweet & savory is my favorite, after all.

Bacon, Cereal, and Orange Juice Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons thawed frozen orange juice concentrate

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 1/4 cups flour1 teaspoon baking powder

6 strips bacon or veggie bacon, cooked very crisp, drained and crumbled

1/2 cup Grape-Nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg, orange juice concentrate and peel, until light and fluffy. Add flour and baking powder, beating until well blended.

3. Stir in bacon and cereal, stirring only until incorporated.

4. Using an ice cream scoop (I used a big one), drop 3 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

5. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove cookies from sheets while still warm and cool on racks.

2 tidbits.

#1
In honor of the Duggar's 19th bun-in-the-oven...
I am making Duggar Tater Tot Casserole tonight for dinner.
Not the healthiest thing to have (by far), but quick, easy, and tasty.

TATER TOT CASSEROLE

1 lb ground turkey cooked, seasoned, drained

1 & 1/2 2lb bags tater tots (3lbs. total)

1 cans cream of mushroom

1 cans evaporated milk

1 cans cream of chicken

Brown meat & place in large casserole dish. Cover with tater tots. Mix soup & milk together. Pour over top. Bake at 350 for 1 Hour. (One of Jim Bib’s Favorites!) Makes 1- 9”X13” pan

#2
Yesterday, Rosie pleaded to go in the back before I was ready to go with her. I, obliged, because I was unloading/loading the dishwasher and could see her from the door. She DID take a quilt and throw pillow out with her, but I just figured she would put it in the 'trunk' of her cozy coupe. Boy, was I wrong. I spied on her until she seemed settled into what she was doing. And, after 5 minutes time, this was the scene...


She is, without a doubt, my kookiest kid. She makes me laugh.

1 more day 'til a 3 day weekend!

Betsy's 5th...take 1.

Some of Betsy's birthday decor.

Homemade party bunting.

Little apple shaped cake balls.

and....

the cake!

The cake was, by far, my favorite thing that I made for the party.

Stay tuned tomorrow for 'Betsy's 5th... take 2' .

Happy birthday, Betsy!

Fondant: postive & negative (and, other party business).

So, I settled on a 'theme' for Betsy's big birthday #5! I didn't want anything to0 tacky, or too commercial, or just plain stoooooopid. I stumbled upon this lovely little paper website, Imprintables. I fell head over heels for their 'apple' birthday(see the invite here and the party here), but, I'll be honest, I didn't want to shell out the bucks for the invites. What's a girl to do? I know. Make my own! Using picnik.com, I whipped those puppies up in about 10 minutes, along with favor tags, thank yous, and return address labels. All feature that plump, green apple, and that beautiful green & turquoise damask. Love, love, love!

I have a whole 'apple' inspired menu...

mini ham & white cheddar with apple butter panini sandwiches

beer & cheddar fondue with sliced green apples & assorted breads

apple chips with caramel dip

apple lemonade

Jones Soda ~ green apple and blue bubble gum

cider ~ for the adults ;)

green candied apples for favors

And, what apple party would be complete without bobbing for apples? Who says that's a fall only acitivity?

Decor will include apple green and turquoise tissue poms hanging EVERYWHERE. I also think we will be doing a balloon release. Maybe I'll even make a pennant banner in coordinating fabrics. Hmmmm? I'm also going to make the birthday girl a pillow case dress out of some really cute fabrics I found on etsy...lime green faux bois and an apple print for a darling apple applique (say that three times fast). I can't wait to see it all come together!

I also, really, wanted to make the cake for this occasion. I have been wanting to try fondant for awhile, and thought this would be a good opportunity to do so. Let me stop here, and say that I, personally, think fondant tastes like poo. But, it is just so darn purdy! The clean, crisp look you get is unattainable with butter cream, and the sculptural things you can do with it are amazing. So, with this cake it's all about aesthetics over taste. Well, not entirely. The cake itself will be caramel apple with caramel butter cream. In fact, you need a nice layer of butter cream for the fondant to 'stick'. And, when you get a big, fat piece of fondant covered cake, you simply peel the fondant off like peeling an orange to get to the fruit. See? It's not all bad.

We will have prettiness AND goooooooood cake! The best of both worlds!

Did I mention how much I would LOVE to plan parties for a living? I 'heart' the details!

Party pics coming in August!

Treats for daddy.

photo bakerella

We will be attempting to make these today. We shall see...

Hope everyone has a great weekend and an even better father's day!

Buh-bye!

The transformation and somethin' sweet.

Seriously. Can you believe it? You could actually roller skate down there. It is fantastic. I'm lovin' the curtains I made to cover all of our storage containers. They were super easy. $8 flat sheets from Wal-Mart (did I ever tell you I HATE Wal-Mart?), an eyelet kit, some thick wire/cable, some hooks, and voila! The other cool part is we left some space between the curtains and the shelves, so, now, the kids can even use the curtains for "performances" or whatever else lil' kids can come up while employing the use of floor to ceiling draperies. Sha-weet, huh? Geez, I feel so much better!

PS make this...

pound cake

chocolate reddi-whip

raspberries

melted nutella drizzled over the top

yum!

See Ya!

Guys and chicken.

I love that guy, up there. ^^^^^^^^^ Go here , here, here, here, here, here, here or here and you will, too.

And, seriously, that is just a speck of that handsome, Irishman's talent. Seriously.

(I'll even include some Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears covers for you pop fans.)

BUT,

I love that guy below, even more. A lot, a lot more.

A lot.

Love you, Jake!

Incidentally, I also love fried chicken. So, that's what we're having for dinner.

Happy Prez Day!

Feel like makin' love.

If you or someone you know has not been in the 'whoopie' making mood, as of late, I highly suggest concocting the following: Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. They are like pullin' out the heavy aphrodisiac arsenal. I highly recommend eating them only with the one you love.

I am not responsible, otherwise.

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1 oz. bottle red food coloring (2 Tbsp.)

*Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
*In medium bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
*In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium/high for 30 seconds. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Alternatley add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating after each addition until combined.
*Gently stir in food coloring.
*Spoon batter in 2-inch diameter rounds about 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
*Bake for about 11-13 minutes, or until tops spring back.
*Put baked cookies, while still on baking sheet, immediately into the freezer for about 3-5 minutes.
*Once they have cooled quickly in the freezer, put on cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Filling
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme

*Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.
*Fold in marshmallow creme.
*Dollop filling on flat sides of half of the cookies.
*Top with the remaining cookies, and let the lovin' begin.

These cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.

Serve at room temperature.

Je t'adore!

Nothing better going on.

It was a rice pudding kind of morning. I like it with a smackeral (or drizzle) of honey and some cinnamon. And, contrary to how most people serve it, I like it served warm.

But, whatev.

This particular recipe came from the recent object of my affection, Joy the Baker. Her and I are going to be best friends someday, I just know it.

And, you can suck it, Vince (that's my dad). My rice pudding is sooo not watery.

In other news...

Rosie likes to 'help' me wash her hair.

Even if she's not in the bathtub, or anywhere close.

Thanks, Rosie.

fyi~her hair was completely dry prior to the application of conditioner
nice, huh?

Still just trying to get back into the swing of things. Everyone's readjusting to our 'real' life schedule.

...so far, so good.

Yes, I'm OFFICIALLY feeling better.

But,

because it was Nestle Toll House kind of morning...

I think it will be a green kind of afternoon.

Maybe a little goat cheese, almonds, pomegranate dressing.
Yum.

ps go here and be thankful for the health of your family, and to learn why you should pray for little Tuesday. It makes my post today just seem silly.

Peace out!

the 'comfort' of holiday baking.

baking continued today...

pumpkin bars.

can you deal with that?

best part,

they have bourbon in them.

a little for the bars,

a little for me.

now, isn't that 'comforting'?

ps

after looking closely at this picture,

i am wondering what the needle-nose pliers is for.

maybe i sampled a little too much of the ingredients.

and, please, don't judge.

the kids are on winter break!

now, do you really believe I drink liquor

while caring for my children

in the middle of a tuesday afternoon?

...maybe so, maybe not.

i'll let you decide.

for recipe: go here

8 of these 'moes' later...

image taken from Joy the Baker.

...and I am starting to know why

I have a large pocket of gelatenous goo

that is beginning to hang

over the top of my jeans.

I am convinced that

holiday baking is a

conspiracy created by the

diet/exercise capitalistic machine.

But, I guess I could always try

an ounce of self-control,

or a couple of crunches. Whatev.

Cheers!

the butcher, THE BAKER, the candlestick maker.

I am really trying to refrain from posting on Sunday, but I digress. I just couldn't keep this to myself. I'm pregnant (woo-hoo, baby #5 on the way!)...just jokin'.

What I really wanted to tell you all is that my baking proweress has vastly improved, as of late. Joy the Baker has inspired me. I am, generally, NOT a baker. I really enjoy baking, it is just that I usually don't yield the results that I am after.

Tonight, is truly the exception to the rule! I have been following Joy the Baker's blog for some time, but this is the first recipe that I have actually tried of her's. And, uh, hello, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Introducing, BLACK & WHITE COOKIES (not that the institution of Black and Whites needs an intro, but the ones that I made do).

Enjoy your B & W with a tall glass of candy-cane milk.

What a Christmastime treat!

Bye, now!