Indigo's Sugar Spectrum

Lemon Wedge Jello Shots

2012-02-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

There are many things that make a pregnant lady sad. This my friends is my intro into yet another one of Indigo's Sugar Spectrum's lists...

5. The end of dinner. Yes my friends when I get down to last last fork or spoonful it is such a travesty. Have you ever wished you could do dinner all over again? I'm not talking about some fancy 5 star restaurant dinner, being pregnant you are sad once your Pasta Roni is over...the pasta roni you topped with 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

4. Stairs. Not the Stair Master, I'm talking the 20 stairs that lead up to our 2nd floor. Is it wrong that I now ask my 3 year old to fetch me things and to bring laundry up?

3. Lack of TUMS. Not sure how it happened but I have like 5 empty bottles in my house. I guess I could make some rattles for the new arrival out of them.

2. Sneezing, sneezing is fine if I have time to prepare but if I don't then it pretty much means I am going to pee myself. Not attractive.

1. Not being able to party down with the following Jello shots...the tears.

INGREDIENTS (36 wedge shots)
Delightfully borrowed from LivLife

1 cup water, boiling
1 cup vodka
1 envelope of Lemon Jello
6-8 lemons, limes, oranges

DIRECTIONS

Half then hollow out your Lemons. Take a paper towel and really try to remove all the moisture.

Add one cup of boiling water to your one envelope of Lemon Jello, stir for 2 minutes. Add in your vodka.

Place each Lemon Half in a muffin tin, you can use foil if they will not remain up right and steady. Fill each half with your jello mixture, refrigerate over night.

When ready slice wedges off of the Lemon Halves and serve, flipping adorable!

CheeseCake Macadamia White Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-01-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

Did you ever notice the following things...

Did you ever notice that whenever you go to place something dirty in the dishwasher it always needs to be emptied? Why is this? Why oh why can't I just one time show up to the dishwasher without having to unload that darn thing. And people who don't have a dishwasher, this should just go to show you that once you have one you will just have a new thing you hate to do, and find all too time consuming.

Speaking of unloading the dishwasher, did you ever notice there is always another pile of laundry waiting for it's turn in the washer. Not only that, did you ever notice there is always a load in the dryer...or perhaps it's been there for days and has been re-fluffed about 5 times in hopes that you would finally bring it upstairs to fold?

Did you ever notice that as soon as your child lays down for a nap one of the following things happens - Neighbors dog starts the symphony of neighborhood dog barking, someone decides to saw wood next door, your parakeet makes friends with outside free birds and they decide to sing love songs to each other.

Did you ever notice that cookies taste yummy?

INGREDIENTS (makes 2-3 dozen)
{FULL Printable Recipe}

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped coarsely
1 envelope cheesecake flavored pudding mix

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350, line a baking pan with Parchment Paper.

Cream butter and both sugars until nice & fluffy. Add in the Vanilla & eggs, mix well. Next blend in flour, baking soda, pudding mix, and salt. Stir in the white chocolate chips & nuts. Round off by the tablespoon full (i like big cookies) onto your baking pan. Bake for 11-14 minutes, depending on how large you made the cookies. Move to a cooling rack.

Fresh Raspberry Cupcakes with Fresh Raspberry Buttercream

2012-01-23T09:10:00.000-08:00

We made a valiant effort to eat all of our meals at the table this weekend, dinner not coffee table. During one of our little stints scarfing down the 4th burger of the weekend (I blame me totally..and the male child in my belly). During one of these stints my daughter said to us "we need to pray, we need to pray".

Normally Indigo and I say a nightly prayer and that's it, so I thought it was adorable that she wanted to say a prayer before our 4th burgers...um...OK maybe 5th. So the prayer went a little like this...

Indigo : "Dear god thank you for this food, please keep everyone safe in warm beds tonight. Bless Jesus Christ, and Jesus please make my friend Jack invisible- AMEN." And then she ate her lunch.

If that lovely adorable over the top cute prayer doesn't get answered, I will go make Jack invisible myself - or at least offer him a burger to remain scarce.

INGREDIENTS
Raspberry Cupcakes (makes 24 cupcakes)
{Full Printable Recipe}

• 3 cups raspberries
• 3 tbs sugar, for the raspberries
• 1/4 cup half & half, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

DIRECTIONS

Three hours before baking, toss your raspberries with 3 tbs white sugar. Smash raspberries with a fork or potato masher. Let them sit in a bowl and become nice and juicy (3 hours time). Once ready, puree this mixture in your food processor. Reserve ¾ cup of this puree for the cupcakes, 3 tbs for the Butter Cream. The rest can easily be used over ice cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare your baking dishes. I made 24 cupcakes in liners. You could always make a cake if you prefer. In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans or into your cupcake liners about half way. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary).

Let cupcakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cupcakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

INGREDIENTS
Raspberry Buttercream

• 3 tbs fresh raspberry puree
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• 3 1/2 - 4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons cherry puree.

PS - Raspberries do have seeds, so if you have an aversion to the texture in general I would not recommend these cupcakes...but if you love a freshly made cake that is flavored with fresh fruit, then by all means...OPEN UP.

Merlot Mushrooms

2012-01-16T09:07:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you that from Friday at 300pm when I picked up my child until last night at 800pm my child's lips never stopped flapping - How is that even possible? Don't answer that, I know the answer.

Being 3 1/2 means you can run at 100mph and sleep 12 hours everyday (and all your bills are paid!!!!)...Is that not every mid thirties ladies dream? It happens to be mine these days.

Also she gets to ride a scooter and those things are darn fun. She also gets to try new things everyday of her life right now...Remember those days? Not me, my memory is shot due to lack of motivation and illegal substances. (Consider that confession number 2 for the year)

Just this weekend Indigo got to try some food she has never ever ever tried before. She tried things like angel food cake, fresh whipped cream, manicotti, and juicy fruit bubble gum (staple in moms diet).

What did mom try that was new? I actually have some!!! I got to try standing for 9 hours straight while preparing a fabulous 4 course meal, a new vampire flick (6 outta 10 from me), and Merlot soaked mushrooms...dear lord...you must try them!

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)
Delightfully borrowed from PW
{FULL Printable Recipe}

2 pounds White Button Mushrooms
1 stick Butter
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 liter Merlot Wine
1/2 teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 cups Boiling Water
2 whole Chicken Bouillon Cubes
2 whole Beef Bouillon Cubes
1/2 teaspoon Dill Seed
4 cloves Garlic, Peeled
Salt for taste

Directions

Thoroughly wash the mushrooms and throw them into a large stockpot. Add all the remaining ingredients except the salt. Stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for five hours.

Remove the lid, then continue cooking, uncovered, for two hours.

Add salt to taste at the end if desired. Also drink the other half liter of Merlot if desired, in case you needed a reminder.

PS - I halved PW's recipe, and altered the cooking time slightly. For the true recipe use hers....9 hours of glorious simmering means heaven.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cheesecake

2012-01-12T08:20:00.000-08:00

I like to try and teach my toddler random things, stuff like countries and capitals fits in to this category. One of the current ones I thought she knew is Turkey, the capital of Turkey is Ankara FYI...

So one evening my kidlet decides that she is going to quiz me and she started rattling off countries and I gave her the capitals.

Indigo - "Mom what is the capital of Egypt?"
Me - "Cairo"
Indigo - "Good mom, that's right"
Me - "OK, ask me more"
Indigo - "Mom, what is the capital of Chicken??" (very serious face)
Me - "ummmm... (confused face)...ummm, giblets?"
Indigo - "NO mom, the capital of Chicken is Ankara"

Yes, Chicken has replaced the country of Turkey in her brain...hehehehehe. Have to love the things kids say.

I also have to let you know that apparently Indigo is also carrying twins, I was informed of this last night when she made me feel her babies kicking. She has named them Rosie...yes both of them.

They are due in April just like her big brother, looks like this house is going to be filled with babies.

Speaking of what houses are filled with, mine is filled with dolls and barbies. I find that in the late evenings when Indigo is already in bed these dolls and barbies start freaking me out. When I clean up I am always sure to be gentle for fear that they will hurt me in my sleep

Am I the only one? Never mind, don't answer that!

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed and adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
{FULL Printable Recipe}

1 1/2 cups crushed Graham Crackers
1/2 cup + 2 TBS Butter, melted
2 TBS Sugar
(2) 8oz packages Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
2 tbs Half & Half
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 300. Combine the crushed grahams with melted butter & 2 tbs sugar. Press into a lightly buttered 9-inch spring form pan, sides should rise 1 1/2 inches or so.

Beat 1 package of your cream cheese with your mixer until smooth. Beat in Peanut Butter and 1/4 sugar until combined. Fold in one slightly beaten egg and set aside this mixture.

In a saucepan stir chocolate chips over a low heat until fully melted and smooth. Cube remaining cream cheese and add to mixture until it re-melts, stir constantly to combine. Stir in milk and vanilla until smooth. Remove from heat, fold in 2 slightly beaten eggs - slowly.

Now we can assemble. Spread half the chocolate mixture into your spring form pan, next layer is the Peanut Butter layer (use it all and flatten it) - Top with the last half of your chocolate and smooth the top.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until center is set. Once removed, set on a wire rack to come to room temperature. Cover and chill in your fridge for 4 hours before serving.

PS - One slice equals 5 miles of running, just helping you with the math

Grilled Cinnamon Chicken over Sweet Potato Grits

2012-01-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

I did something really really really out there last night...any guesses? Let me give you some multiple choice answers so we can narrow down the field of craziness that was my evening.

Here are your choices

1. Went out to the club to party down doused in glitter?
2. Went out to the club to party down doused in perfume?
3. Went out to the club to party down doused in a dress made out of steaks?
4. Stayed up until 11pm watching House Hunters?

So, take a guess - which one?

Nope your wrong, I DID NOT go clubbing...I totally stayed up until 11pm watching House Hunters. Let me tell you...when you realize that you stayed up WAY past your bedtime and come to the realization that your child is getting up at the same time no matter what...

You get sad...and then you worry about how bad the day is going to suck...which makes sleep further and further away... LOL.

But you know what makes me happy? Waking up to the old ball and chain making French Toast & coffee...already getting mini me ready to go. It totally ended up being a rocking morning and I got to stay up late and party like a rock star.

Rock Stars watch House Hunters right?

INGREDIENTS (serves 6)
Delightfully Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens
{FULL Printable Recipe}

6 Chicken Breasts (thin)
1 TBS Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Salt (or amount you prefer for taste/health)
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
3/4 cup Quick Grits (or enough to serve 4-6)
3 cups water (or amount called for on your box for grits)
1/2 cup canned Sweet Potato
1/3 cup shredded Cheddar
2 TBS Butter
Fresh Sage

DIRECTIONS

Drizzle Chicken with oil, coat chicken nicely. Rub chicken with the Cinnamon, Pepper, and 1/2 tsp Salt.

Pre-Heat grill to 350-400, according to the thickness of your breast - grill until juices run clear.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring your water to boiling. Stir in grits, sweet potato, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Return to boiling then reduce heat and simmer covered, stir frequently. Once grits have thickened add in the butter & shredded cheddar.

To serve, spoon generous portion of grits onto your serving plate - top with one chicken breast and sprinkle on diced fresh sage. Season to taste with more salt & pepper if desired.

Fall Leaf Salad

2012-01-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Just yesterday I removed chocolate from my child's cheek by licking my hand then wiping her face.

Just yesterday I realized that I have made up over 7,942 songs about Cinderella to get my child to brush her teeth..

Just yesterday I traded my child a marshmallow for a nap.

Just yesterday I pulled out 4,342 hairs from my child head trying to remove one of those uber small plastic hair bands...same ones my mom tortured me with.

Just yesterday Indigo asked me to tickle her and I obliged, 20 times.

Let's just hope making her laugh is something she always wants...and marshmallows too.

Creamy Crabby Macaroni & Cheese

2012-01-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

Wife -       "What year is it going to be honey?"
Husband - "What year do you think it's going to be dear?"
Wife -        "Ummm, ummmm 2013?"
Husband - "Are you kidding me?"
Wife -        "2012????, It's not like I write checks anymore!"
Husband - "Do you know how old you are?"
Wife -        "I'll pretend like you didn't ask me that"

end conversation.

We are such a loving family - and we Welcome in the year 2012...right??? Confirmation please. All I really know is I am that much closer to get the pee inducing creature outta me for good...wait one sec....gotta go pee....

OK, back now. Last night the New Year was rung in with a movie and the couch...actually now that I think about it that is pretty much the way I currently celebrate any holiday. I did manage to make it till 1030pm, sort of my personal best record.

Beings that I have a living alarm clock that wakes me at the first shot of sunlight beaming from the east (aka 630am on the freaking dot every single omg time) I sort of feel it's OK that I'm in bed by 1030pm.

Also I ate 16lbs of pasta, taquitos, and corn dogs - sort of coma inducing...Let that be the first confession of 2012.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Eatin on the Cheap
{Full Printable Recipe}

1/2-3/4 pound elbow macaroni (less mac the creamier)
4 T unsalted butter
1 c. Panko Bread Crumbs
2 3/4 c. Half & Half
2 T minced fresh parsley
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 t. salt
1/4 c. AP flour
1/4 t. cayenne
1/2 t. ground mustard
1/2 t. old bay
2 c. Fontina
1 c. Gruyere
2 (6 oz) cans crab meat, drained

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta for directed amount of minutes. Drain, set aside covered.

Place Panko crumbs in a small bowl. Melt 1 T of butter and toss with breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Pan fry the panko crumbs in a small pan over a medium heat until toasty. Next add in the parsley, garlic powder, Parmesan. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the half & half until the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook and stir until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in cayenne, old bay, mustard, and salt. Stir in cheese until it has all melted. Give it a little taste test to see if you want more seasonings.

In a large bowl, stir pasta, cheese sauce and crab meat together well. Place your macaroni in serving bowls and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Enjoy!

* This recipe from the original inventor called for baking the dish, but I prefer a creamy macaroni and cheese - so if you make it my way be sure to serve it asap *

Cinnamon & Vanilla Marshmallows

2011-12-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

I would like to announce that I received the trifecta of wonderful present combinationess. I would also like to announce that I LOVE to make up words.

I received the following :

1. Kitchen Aid Mixer - To make wonderfully calorie ridden food.

2. P90x2 - To work off all the wonderfully made calorie ridden food.

3. Armani Code Perfume - To make me smell wonderful while doing either of the above.

Now the P90x2 will have to wait until after baby Gage/Silas/Soren/Max/Archer arrives...

Yes, picking a name is not getting anywhere so far. The Kitchen Aid Mixer was put right to use though...I knew what I was making before I ever opened the box that had a tag on it that gave away it's contents.

Not that I looked at the tag or amazon.com before Christmas...I have morals people!!

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed, slight modified from Brownie Point
{FULL Printable Recipe}

4 Gelatin Envelopes
3/4 cup Water
1 tbs Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

3 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Water
1 1/4 cups Corn Syrup
1/2 tsp Salt

Powdered Sugar for dusting
Parchment paper
Non-Stick Cooking Spray

DIRECTIONS

Line a 9x13pan and a loaf pan with parchment paper. Spray the paper with non-stick spray.

Fit a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. In the mixer bowl combine the first ¾ cup of water with vanilla extract. Sprinkle the gelatin over the liquid to soften, add the cinnamon.

Add the sugar, salt, corn syrup, and remaining ¾ cup water to a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil without stirring over a medium-high heat. When this mixture is at a boil,let it go without stirring until it reaches the soft-ball stage (234-240 F)Be sure to watch that it does not boil over, simply reduce heat a little if it reaches near the top.

With the mixer at medium speed, pour all of the hot syrup slowly down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Be careful as you pour. When all of the syrup is added, bring the mixer up to full speed. Let it go for 8-10 minutes.

Pour marshmallow into the parchment-lined pan and smooth the top if necessary (make sure your tool is oiled). Allow the mixture to sit, uncovered at room temperature for 12 hours.

When ready, coat the top of your pan with sifted powdered sugar. Flip the Marshmallows out on to a piece of parchment paper. If you have trouble getting it out, just pull the sides away from the pan - This should help to release the Marshmallows. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter, coat with powdered sugar.

Enjoy in a nice cup of Joe, or bribe your children with them...your choice

Triple Cheese and Beer Quick Bread - Merry Christmas!

2011-12-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

How on earth is it Christmas week already? I have to say I am uber ready. I am beyond excited to watch my child's face light up with every present she opens. The gift of giving is so easily felt when you gift to a child...they can't fake happiness, it's true from ear to ear as they flash those pearly whites.

So I would love to list out some things that my family is happy about, it's been a good year for us.

Husbands TOP FIVE LIST

5. Cheez-it Crackers
4. Beer
3. Chargers finally winning
2. Pregnant Bust lines (mine of course - lol)
1. Golf

Indigo's TOP FIVE LIST

5. Cinderella
4. Castles
3. Apple juice
2. Cinderella and Castles
1. Cinderella

Moms TOP FIVE LIST

5. Food
4. Food and my couch
3. Food and my couch and my Indigo
2. Food and my couch and my Indigo and my TV
1. Food and my couch and my Indigo and my TV and My hubby

PS - This triple cheese beer bread is a fabulous gift for friends or family, or a nice addition to a pat of butter and warm fire or soup or cheese or butter or soup...yummmmm

INGREDIENTS (makes 2)
Delightfully borrowed from CookingBread dot com
{Printable Recipe}

6 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon Italian dried herbs
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 cups room temp beer
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 beaten eggs
2 cup or 6 oz Gruyere cheese
1 cup or 3 oz Parmesan cheese
2 cups or 6 oz white cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Grate all your cheese into separate bowls. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, slat, dried mustard and the Italian herbs. Using a whist mix them all together. Remove a 1/ 2 cup of the white cheddar and 1/2 cup of the Gruyere cheese and a 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and set aside for the topping of the bread. Add the rest of the cheeses to the flour mixture. Use your fingers to mix in the cheese so all the cheese is coated.

In a separate bowl combine the beer, sour cream, tomato juice, eggs and Worcestershire sauce and mix well. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Do not over mix. Pour the mixture into 2 greased 9x5 loaf pans and press down with a spatula or hands.

Sprinkle the cheese on top that you set aside. Place the loaves into a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 50 -55 minutes or till done. Allow to cool in the pans for 15 minutes before removing them from the pans. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy with a pat of butter or slice of cheese...I'm pregnant yo - I realize there is a ton of cheese already in there but....a little more is not going to hurt you.

Merry Christmas, from my family to yours.

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Pork

2011-12-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

A long time ago (3.5 years ago to be exact) I was pregnant with my first child. You currently know her as Indigo. When you're with child you often crave certain things through out your pregnancy. Don't get me wrong you get sporadic cravings, but you might notice a pattern with certain things.

My top 3 things with little sweet Indigo were:

1. Vanilla Milkshakes from Coldstone
2. Peanut Butter on Toasted Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
3. Pancakes with butter and syrup

As you can tell, I might have had the sweet tooth with her, now on to this current baby. I happen to be 3.5 years older and maybe 3.5 inches wider..hehe. I have to list out the things that a "boy" child is making me crave.

1. Burgers smothered in cheese and mushrooms
2. Shredded Pork Sandwiches
3. Burgers & Shredded Pork sandwiches
4. Eggs fried on top of things like Burgers and Shredded Pork Sandwiches
5. Cake

Now you can see why I need to get the P90X part deux for Christmas...hint hint...Husband....Are you listening????

So lets see little girls make me crave sweets and this darn male child has me consuming cows and pigs like it's my job! Not only does he make me eat a cow and pig per week he likes it if I smother it in cheese,eggs, and sauces...dude...and very sorry to the vegetarians out there.

Next things I know this kid will have me playing golf, changing my cars oil, or spitting on the sidewalk.

Now go make this easy peasy pork, probably a welcome change from regular holiday fare.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from a friend
{Printable Recipe}

1 pork roast 3-5 lbs
1 large jar Salsa Verde

Optional :
Cheese
Tomato
Tostada shells
Salsa Verde

*after a few days of tostadas I poured in some BBQ sauce for a BBQ pork Sandwiches*

DIRECTIONS
Pour half your salsa verde into your crock pot. Set your pork roast in the slow cooker and place the other half of the salsa verde on top of it. Set on low for 8 hours (flip once while cooking). Remove from slow cooker and shred. You can add a little of the juice if you like after shredding.

Now assemble to your hearts content...and it goes a little sumthin like this..

Tostada, pork, salsa, cheese, maters, cheese, cheese, eat. WORD

Shared this Recipe with lots of other foodie lovers @

Baked Toffee Peanut Grahams

2011-12-10T18:34:00.000-08:00

Man.... I am beat. So far this weekend has just been filled with activity.

Being the action packed mom and wife that I am I hit the road running this Saturday morning...we're talking coffee brewing, shower taking, peanut butter and jelly eating...which is what I had accomplished all by the early hour of 8am. (mostly because I was forced to...Indigo likes to wake me up before the sunrises.)

By 8:30 I had my minion dressed in an adorable outfit, fed, piggy tailed, and sippy cup'd. Needless to say this is all she requires to be happy so we were golden for a Santa Claus visit. We packed in my car and made the drive over to where most of us spent our teenage years trying to look cool (where you may ask??), the mall!

At the mall there was barely a line for Santa, in fact we were the 4th people to get to him. Being that I want my girl to have a super good Santa experience I figured Santa would be fresh & jolly. Unfortunately I think he might have needed some coffee or illegal narcotics because he was a total flub and BORING. Basically if this poor excuse for a Santa doesn't bring Indigo the human sized castle she asked for...I will hunt him down and stripe his beard with kool-aid.

Top 3 things that have more energy then the Santa we paid 30 dollars to for crappy sub-par pictures :

Number 3 -most snails
Number 2 - my flat-iron
Number 1 - dirt

Have you also noticed the quality of Santa Pics and School Pics are just terrible? I was telling my hubby that back in the day, those two pictures were the pinnacle of pictures we took...now not so much.

How did we spend the rest of our day. I can sum it up for you.

1. Eloise, Little Miss Christmas
2. The Grinch who stole Christmas
3. Extreme Couponing (I needed a break, and Indy needed a nap)
4. The Little Mermaid
5. The Ant Bully

Obviously I am not a mother against using the TV as a babysitter. Feel free to un-follow me...no please don't, It's Christmas time for heaven sakes.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from tasteofhome
{FULL Printable Recipe}

12 Whole Graham Crackers
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed Light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup chopped Butter Toffee Peanuts

DIRECTIONS

Line a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan with heavy-duty foil. Break the graham crackers at indentations; place in a single layer in pan.

In a small saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; add nuts. Pour over crackers. Try to spread it out evenly.

Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand for 2-3 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Now these little cheap wonders are a fab addition to your Christmas Cookie delight boxes that you plan on handing out to the neighbors. Give them a shot.

Muffins with Apple, Carrot, and Dried Apricots

2011-12-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but I was at the grocery store yesterday with a list. No, being there with a list is not the odd part. The odd part is I thought that bringing a list to the grocery store would help me NOT to fill my cart with an extra two tons of things NOT on that list.

Husband if you are reading this it might be time to pick up some overtime since no household can go without a large box of 200 frozen Taquito's, 3 varieties of mega sized cereals, and 4 heads of cauliflower.

I guess at least the cauliflower is a nice and healthy craving, to bad I plan on smothering it with the 2 bottles of buttermilk ranch that fell into my cart. Ooooops.

I would also like to publicly call out the other shopper who felt a need to steal a pregnant woman's cart while she was peeing, yeah buddy good move and lots of karma coming your way.

Other people that need to be called out during my journey to the grocery store? You know I have some.

Indigo, thanks for storing your candy cane in my purse - how nice of you. I will enjoy the random sticky fingers I will have each time I search for my lipstick, credit card, and Tums.

Baby boy in my belly, thanks so much for making me pee 85.9 times per day. Not only do you cause my shopping carts to be stolen but heck, I might start a new blog called "This is what the inside of the women's restroom looks like in every store in the greater San Diego area"...maybe not though.

INGREDIENTS (makes 18)
Delightfully borrowed, slightly altered AllRecipes
{Full Printable Recipe}

2 cups shredded tart apples
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

In a large mixing bowl, combine apples and sugar. Gently fold in cranberries, carrots and nuts. Combine dry ingredients; add to mixing bowl. Mix well to moisten dry ingredients.

Combine eggs and oil; stir into apple mixture. Fill 18 greased muffin tins 2/3 full. The batter is extremely thick! Do not worry, muffins are delightful! Bake at 375 degrees F for 17-23 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tins.

The Verdict = Yummy in my tummy, now I have to go pee so see you later gator.

Knock your socks off - Corn and Bacon Casserole

2011-11-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

A girl should be two things, classy & fabulous!

Things that make a girl "fabulous" at 22 weeks pregnant :

1. Remembering to turn the coffee pot on every night.
2. Shaving her legs everyday.
3. Spending 45 minutes on the Elliptical Machine.
4. Making the above Corn and Bacon Casserole...and not eating it all before it made it to the Thanksgiving Feast! SCORE

Things that make a girl "classy" at 22 weeks pregnant :

1. Eating the Bacon one strip at a time and chewing with her mouth closed.
2. Letting the bacon cool down before putting it into her belly.
3. Sharing the bacon with her 3 year old.
4. Contemplating...sharing with her husband.
5. Saying excuse me after the 6th piece of bacon...and cooking more to make sure the casserole did not suffer.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from The Slow Roasted Italian
{Full Printable Recipe}

6 bacon strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3-1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 tablespoon of drippings. Crumble bacon then set aside.

Saute onion in drippings until fairly tender. Add flour, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more.

Remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Add the corn, parsley and half of the bacon; mix well. Pour into a medium sized baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining bacon. Bake, uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

Twix Cheesecake Pie...oh my!

2011-11-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

Ding Ding Ding, sound the bells it's Holiday time.
Ding Ding Ding, time to run ~~5 miles~~ before you keep reading.
Ding Ding Ding, time to run ~~7.8 miles~~ before you keep reading.
Ding Ding Ding, time to add a treadmill to your Holiday Wish List...yeah that should cover this post.

So - I have told you I'm pregnant and well.. we all know what controls your life while in that state right...Guesses?

Creating a lovely room for the little one? nah
Preparing your existing little human for the new arrival? nah nah
Making sure you have all the proper contraptions to keep the baby entertained? triple nah

NAHHHH, none of those things, let's be honest. The true things that keep your mind entwined in a pregnancy are...

1. Food.
2. Food with extra cheese.
3. Food with extra cheese and butter.
4. American Horror Story (LOVE IT) Had to throw that in here.
5. Candy leftover from Halloween - specifically chocolate bars.

There, you've been informed of how the pregnant mind works.

So basically I blame this on a co-worker, you can too should you decide to walk on the Twix Side with me...I have long had an affinity to its goodness...and how do you eat your twix? Eating a twix is like eating an Oreo cookie (also in this recipe), everyone has their own methods.

I like to eat the cookie part off first because I'm a 33 year old lady and that's how I roll. After the cookie is devoured I eat the caramel...then I go back for more. After 5 twix bars I sort of go cry in the corner and count the chins starting to form on my face.

Try it!

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Recipe Girl
{Full Printable Recipe}

CRUST:
20 Oreo cookies (with creme filling)
3 Tablespoons melted butter

FILLING:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
16 coarsely chopped Twix "Fun Size" Candy Bars (2 cups total)

TOPPING (optional):
10 Oreos crushed
Strips of Parchment Paper

Directions:

Crust: Crush Oreos (either in a plastic bag or in a food processor) and mix with melted butter.

Using your fingers to press into a 9-inch pie dish; place into the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Filling: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. With an electric mixer in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar and eggs until mixture is smooth. Stir in chopped Twix bars. Pour into frozen pie crust.

Bake until set, 35 to 45 minutes (mine was 40); let cool for 20-30 minutes.
Tip - Not sure your pie is set? Give it a jiggle, if there is NO wiggle in the middle your done.

Once your pie is fairly cool you can "stripe it". Press the parchment stripes slightly into the pie. Once stripes are placed, press crushed oreos over the exposed part of the pie. Before you move those parchment stripes you need to tap & blow off the excess. When done pull up the stripes very slow.

Chill in the fridge for a few hours before eating.

Don't worry about perfection, worry about your hips...actually scratch that, cut yourself some slack and enjoy this super food holiday week.

Angel Whispers - Lemon Sandwich Cookies

2011-11-13T11:49:00.000-08:00

I knew beforehand but the fact that I wanted to wake up my husband and ask him to please fix the dang Internet for me proves how lazy I am. Our wireless router is on the 2nd floor and having to go up there three times was really hurting my couch lounging time.

On my three trips up to the wireless router I passed by our senile cat Bella, I was so angry over the manual labor I was having to do that it was really hard for me not to take it out on her....her little tail was begging to get stepped on since she was evenly spread out over one whole stair.

Don't worry, I didn't...I might have called her a few names though.

Any more things to prove the laziness going down in this house...I have a few.

1. Running the dryer on the same load of clothes for the 5th time..in 3 days..
2. Letting my child eat cheese puffs off the floor...we haven't had cheese puffs in the house for weeks.
3. Pee Sneezing...because god forbid I get off the couch to pee when I need to! But seriously as a pregnant woman my work should just give me a network jack near the potty with the amount of pee breaks I take.

TMI? Sorry! Let get to the cookies shall we.

INGREDIENTS (Cookies)
{Printable Recipe}
Delightfully borrowed from AllRecipes, slightly altered.
Makes 2 dozen

1 cup butter
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice (if needed for dryer dough)

INGREDIENTS (Cookie Filling)

1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 tbs cornstarch
1-2 cups powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and confectioners' sugar until light. Stir in the lemon peel, flour and salt. Cover bowl, and chill for about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Flatten teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets, and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until light brown just a weeeeee bit on the edges. Remove from baking sheets to cool on racks.

To make the filling, combine the beaten egg, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch and butter in the top of a double boiler over high heat. Stir until thick (10-15 min).

Remove from heat and add enough powdered sugar to form a thick movable paste. Sandwich cookies with filling. Remember that if your filling is still super hot the cookies might slide a bit, I recommend letting the batter cool for just a bit to prevent this.

A Very Simple Coconut Cookie

2011-11-06T08:39:00.000-08:00

OMG I am so tired. Before becoming pregnant with number 2 (19 weeks now), I had sleeping issues. I would find myself thinking about falling asleep hours before bedtime, basically psyching myself out. Insomnia was my enemy.

Every Sunday after my normal glass of vino and an hour of America's Funniest Home Video's I was already pondering the lack of sleeping that would happen that very night. Basically, I suck when it comes to falling asleep - or maybe it's the barking dogs and loud neighbors that suck...hmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Now I am some sort of expert....AT BEING TIRED. Oh how I wish I had a babysitter I could pull outta my closet at any time. Is that not the best idea ever?

Almost anything makes me tired these days.

Drinking apple juice makes me tired.
Holding up the blow dryer for more then 30 seconds makes me tired.
Figuring out what fast food I want makes me tired.
Working out makes me tired (LOL, total lie I haven't worked out in like 2 weeks)
Eating cookies makes me tired.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzz... oh wait....am I typing a post?

The only things that don't make me tired?

I'm not tired for The Real Housewives of Atlanta
I'm not tired for lasagna...yum...from my slow cooker...wowzer
I am not tired when my husband tells me to go to sleep and tells me he's doing all the laundry
I am not tired when someone sends me money
No one ever send me money!!! wahhhhhhhhhhhh

Ingredients
Delightfully borrowed from Martha
{Full Printable Recipe}

1 package (14 ounces)
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside 2 loosely packed cups of coconut on a plate. Place remaining coconut in a food processor along with sugar, salt, and baking powder; process until finely ground. Add butter, and process just until no lumps remain. Add egg and vanilla; process just until smooth. Add flour; pulse until a crumbly dough begins to form, scraping sides of bowl as needed (do not overmix)I totally overmixed and they were still divine.

2. Form into golfball sized balls, and roll in reserved coconut. Coat heavily with coconut (lots of it please).

3. Arrange balls, about 2 inches apart, on baking sheets. Bake until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now..please don't fall asleep - have a cookie please.

Marshmallow Meringued Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

2011-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

It's that time ladies and gents, what time may you ask? Time for football, well sure. Time for the time change, very soon yes. Time for watching Love Actually, yeah almost. What is it truly time for though...?

Well folks I believe it's time to upgrade your pant size for the holidays, or better yet...might I suggest elastic. I am quite lucky to be pregnant right now, or perhaps it's a curse...I almost feel I have permission to eat what I want. It's hard to tell a Jennifer craving from a baby needs it to grow craving. I mean who am I to deny my child a cupcake?

Shoot maybe that cupcake is growing that part of my babies brain that could make him president one day? Or better yet, maybe that cupcake is happening to up his "luck factor"..the kind of luck that has him force me to buy the winning lottery ticket one day while were buying Slurpee's at 7-11.

Now that you have that to chew on, perhaps you should make this..and have a whole dang pie to nibble, shoot I won't lie - this makes two pies!

One for me, one for baby.

Ingredients (Cream Cheese Pumpkin Pie) Makes 2 Pie's
Delightfully borrowed from Paula Dean ya'll
{Full Printable Recipe}

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional

- 2 Store bought crust, 9'.

Directions (Pumpkin Pie)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Pre-bake your pie shells for 10 minutes.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crusts and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the center is set. I covered my pie edges with aluminum foil. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Ingredients (Marshmallow Meringue)
Originally borrowed from Sprinkles Bakes

3 egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 -7oz. jar of marshmallow creme

Directions (Marshmallow Meringue)

Beat egg whites, vanilla and salt at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar 1 tbsp at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

Beat in 1/4 of the marshmallow creme. Repeat with remaining creme until meringue is well mixed and fluffy.

Heap meringue in the middle of the cooled pie and swirl with the back of a spoon or spatula. (I used fork to make the stripes.) Bake at 400 until browned.

Oh Yeah baby..literally

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

2011-10-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Man do I hate being sick. When I'm sick my whole personality suffers, not to mention all other humans within 3 miles. I am definitely not the easiest person to get along with when the coughing, fever, and general crappy feeling strike. In fact, I can list out things and people that suffer when I'm sick…hope they are reading…

The first thing that suffers while I am sick is my husband. Let’s face it, as my husband he probably has a hard enough time trying to please me 100% of the time…but when I am sick it’s on like Donkey Kong.

First off, why has my husband not developed the ability to read my mind yet? Is it too much to ask that the house be cleaned, dinner be made, child be washed, clothes be folded, refrigerator cleaned, bath tub scrubbed, tables wiped down, lawn be mowed, sidewalk swept, garage cleaned, closets organized, candles lit, grilled cheese and soup for me, beds made, ice water on my bed side table, etc…all without me asking? Come on DUDE!

Second notes go to my lovely daughter Indigo, she cannot read just yet but since my husband has now been informed that he should read my mind he should already know to tell her this.

Indy…darling…If I ask you to go play nicely with your toys that does not mean to go find that one Dora guitar that only has one setting…that setting being *SO FREAKING LOUD I WANT TO GO AND DICE MY EARS OFF*. Also I really cannot watch Megamind even one more time, nope – NOT going to do it.

Thanks honey, mommy loves you. I'm sick, please forgive me.

INGREDIENTS (Sheet Cake)
Delightfully borrowed from EatatHomeCooks.com
{Printable Recipe}

• 16 oz can pumpkin
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin, sugar and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Combine the dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mixture, beating until well blended. Pour into a greased 10×15 inch baking pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

INGREDIENTS (Frosting)

• 5 Tbs. butter, softened
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tsp. milk

*The Orange decoration on my sheet cake was made with 2 tbs butter, 2 tbs milk, orange food coloring, and a couple of cups of powdered sugar.*

DIRECTIONS

Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and blend till smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the milk a bit at a time until it is nice and easy to work with, spread a super thin layer on your cake. Easy peasy and delishishy..I can make up words when I'm sick.

Now I must bid you farewell, my family is getting outta line during this sickness and I need to whip them back into shape. That shape being the kind that listens to every word I say and only lives to please me.

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout baby.

Apple Hi!! Umm, I mean Pie...

2011-10-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Me
Me who?
Me who said I was leaving but am now showing up two months later because making food and taking pictures is like a drug I need in my life.

Hi, My Name is Jennifer and I like to cry wolf...and eat...tons..and document it..

Do you guys think we can just pretend like I took a long vacation? You can? Well that's great!

So let me get you guys up to speed.

1. I am now 4 months pregnant with what we believe to be a little man! Yeah.
2. I did the calculations and I can now consume about 2,300 calories guilt free since I am eating for "two".
3. I consume about 3,000 calories a day. I guess that is more of a confession.
4. Indigo wakes me up before 6am every morning.
5. Hey, if a girl is up from 6am until bedtime what can you expect but eating 3,000 calories a day.

I rest my case.

So there you have it, I eat alot and I missed you!

YOU = Fellow bloggers and blogging and having a free place for my lists and confessions and sugar and chocolate and recipes and pictures and run on sentencing in general.

You like apple pie? Well sure nuff I bought apples to curb the calories and didn't eat them. Shocker, so into the pie they went. Logically if you buy something to eat healthy you should add at least 1 stick of butter.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Allrecipes
{Printable Recipe}

1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6-8 apples - peeled, cored and sliced

*1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice and or cinnamon*

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer for 20 seconds.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly in the center. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and cover with foil very loosely, sprinkle with turbinado sugar if you like. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft. My pie went for 40.

So posting might be a little less frequent but I do need a little outlet that doesn't include me yelling at my 3 year old...and husband....and cat...and television screen..

You get the point.

Chow.

It's been fun

2011-08-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, well I don't have the stomach flu I actually caught a bad case of the baby in my belly! ha, Everything looks good for baby #2 so far.

For right now I am going to stop blogging, the time I have left over every evening during this break is what my body and mind have been craving...well besides Taco Bell and Peanut Butter..not together of course

I will still visit all of you though, and wish everyone the best - you have all been very sweet. Food Blogging has been so much fun and I can swing my way through the kitchen now...without my camera of course.

Indigo's Sugar Spectrum OUT - Love Jennifer.

PS - I reserve the right to return if I wake up in a panic one morning over this.

Black and White

2011-08-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

So sorry my posting has been sparse
but the flu has hit my belly

I swear I will be back soon
with food the is deliciously smelly

So please enjoy these black & whites
they are sure to make you happy
Give big hugs to your pups and kids
Even if they are mildly yappy

See you soon!

Chocolate Caramel Bit Cookies

2011-08-07T11:18:00.000-07:00

I should have guessed it.

Picture this. Your husband and your 3 year old go on a daddy daughter vacation for 10 days to the east coast. You have never ever ever been alone in well, 3 years. When you first ponder this trip you day dream about all of your time, naps, and general goofing off that will take place.

Now the day has arrived and they are gone, and your lost. My heart aches a little, my time away is super hard to enjoy.

The oddest thing, I miss them and they are so much a part of me that I would rather be drop dead tired taking care of my family then lounging around the house alone.

"Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." I miss them.

Here are the things I miss currently

1. Indigo & Husband
2. Fitting into Size 8 pants
3. Eating everything that I want when I want
4. Eating everything that I want when I want and fitting into a size 8 pant
5. The chocolate caramel chip cookies in this post - yes they are gone
6. Fitting into size 10 pants after number 5

INGREDIENTS (2-3 dozen)
Delightfully borrowed from Rookie Cookies

2 cups flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup caramel bits or chopped up caramel squares
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Set oven to 350°F.

Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar. Add eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in caramel bits and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Open up and say “yes please”, then sign up for a membership at your local gym.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

2011-08-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

This weekends party was a smashing success. I don’t know about you but when we throw parties it is almost like I’m working. My whole goal is to keep smiles on faces and working is no problem for me if my goal is reached.

Enter, Princess Package Bouncy House…

Parents, this contraption really makes life easier. I dubbed this bouncy house the “container of happy children don’t have to worry about what my kid is up to wonderful colorful and great now I can be a lazy parent built in babysitter bouncy house”.

Basically – Bouncy Houses R U L E

What else ruled about that day you might ask? Great, let me tell you.

1. Bouncy House (that is numero uno)
2. Snow Cone Machine (came with the package, and yes it totally ruled)
3. Me & Dear Husband
4. Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
5. All the kids emptying the bouncy house to eat the cupcakes, which makes me rule doubly because I made them and also I forgot to put on Mascara that day and wondered why I looked so odd - didn't figure it out till that night and yes that was random and yes this is s very run on sentence.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (2 dozen)
Delightfully borrowed from Half Baked
{Printable Recipe}

For the cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Pink Lemonade powder mix
1 cup milk
3 Tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest (zest of 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners
2. In medium bowl mix together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, lemonade powder and lemon zest, set aside.
3. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter and sugar on medium speed until combined.
4. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
5. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix well.
6. Gradually add the dry ingredients and milk, alternating starting and ending with the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
7. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
9. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.
10. Once cupcakes are completely cool, ice with Strawberry Lemon Frosting and garnish with a jelly belly on top.

For the Strawberry Butter cream:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 Tbsp strawberry puree (from about 5-6 strawberries)

DIRECTIONS

1. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter for 1-2 minutes.
2. Gradually add confectioner’s sugar and continue mixing scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Mix in strawberry puree
4. Place the icing in a piping bag and Squeeeeeeze.

PS – I did everything with my hand mixer.
PPS – Decorated my cakes with Jelly Bellies

Her First Haircut

2011-07-29T09:30:00.000-07:00

Since we just recently discussed my bangs, and let's face it one of the most horrid trends of growing up in the early 90's - I thought it fitting to capture My Indigo's first haircut.

My daughter is like a child on caffeine all day long, when we asked her to sit still under this cape she was almost traumatized. She was almost zombified!

My wonderful stylist friend volunteered to cut her locks since she too has curly hair. I wouldn't trust anybody else.

This weekend we rented a massive bouncy house that is going to fill my backyard for a belated party for Indy.

Just think of all the fun pictures I will have for you next week, not to mention Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes - word

Enjoy your weekend!

Double Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Cream

2011-07-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

OK- this settles it, I’m on some sort of cake kick.

There are many things that could be worse of course. I could want to have butter shakes, bacon sprinkles over frosted lard, or deep fried peanut butter burritos…come to think of it that last one sounds kind of good.

Yes I made all of those up, but I simply had to prove a point. I need an addiction to lettuce not cake. I mean why can I not get addicted to working out, saving my money, or tossing out barely full shampoo bottles?

Those things would actually help me, but no cake is my kick.

Let’s see one of my very first kicks was hair related. Let me take you back, here are the items you will need to join in on my kick.

1. Aqua Net
2. Blow Dryer
3. Zits
4. No self esteem
5. New Kids on the Block tapes

I would wake up every morning and perform the following : Get dressed, brush teeth, turn blow dryer towards hair, close in on my bangs, reach for Aqua Net and…..

Spray, Spray,Spray…stop to breathe

Spray, Spray, lean a certain way, Spray & breathe

Now this is all with the blow dryer still pointed at my bangs. The point was to get those bangs pointed straight up…only on one side though, the other side was reserved for a sort of waterfall affect created with the curling iron.

HOT

Double Chocolate Cake
Delightfully borrowed from Handle the Heat
{Printable Recipe}

· Butter, for greasing the pans
· 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
· 2 cups sugar
· 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
· 2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
· 1/2 cup vegetable oil
· 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. (I used my hands, burn those cake calories ladies!)) In a large measuring up or small bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.

With mixer still on low, add the hot coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Don't over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Butter Cream

· 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
· 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
· 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
· 1/2 tablespoon instant coffee powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

With a mixer beat your butter for at least one minute. Add in the yolk and vanilla extract. Next add in the confectioner’s sugar cup by cup until well blended.

In a double boiler melt your chocolate and then mix into your butter mixture. Frost your cake! I did a crumb coat, placed in the fridge for one hour, then a second coat of frosting.

I made the stripes by cutting stripes of parchment that I placed in a pattern over the top. I sprinkled with cocoa powder then blew off the excess…it was a *wee* bit messy but worth it.

CHOW

Edamame & Avocado Spread

2011-07-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

You know you have kids when the way you think about your cat changes.

Case in point. About 10 years ago one of my cats went missing for a few days. I was out night and day calling for that little beast. Beat me if you must but our cats are inside/outside cats. About a week after the kitty went missing I found Izo (that's his name) wandering up to our beach apartment barely able to hold himself up.

We took Izo to the vet and little man had done so much damage to his legs he required orthopedic kitty surgery that set our broke butt’s in debt to the tune of 3,ooo dollars. We took out credit and didn’t wink an eye over it.

Once surgery was over we made sure to take the best care of him, tuna, lounging, ear rubbing. Anything to make little dude happy

Fast forward to now (1 kid later) and I just have to list out the things Izo does that make me crazy.

First thing, wants feed. Seriously dude, home those hunting skills because obviously opening up a can of food has become too much of a hardship to me. Not to mention, cat food is stanky. Not to mention, how the hedge fund does it end up all over the floor....in another room??

Second thing, this cat wants to come in…and then go out? Sometimes he wants to do this in a very short time period. Obviously I being such a busy woman cannot be made to expend extra energy on things such as…opening a door or closing one. On the couch with the remote is where I choose to burn extra calories

Third thing, cat wants water. No cat can not drink out of bowl. Being the prince he is, only fresh tap water will do…especially fresh tap water when you want to brush your teeth.

Fourth thing, cat want some lovin. Now this would be OK if kitty didn’t demand it by climbing onto my chest at 2am in the morning. Izo, mom does not keep those sort of hours anymore.

Also one little pet down of a cat = 2 trips around the house with your Dyson.

How are they not bald after the 16 million hairs they lose everyday?

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed/altered from HERE
{Printable Recipe}

1 Avocado, diced
¾ cup Edamame
2 tbs mayonnaise
1 tbs lime juice
¼ cup parsley
1 clove garlic
1 tsp Coriander

DIRECTIONS

Toss all ingredients into your food processor and blend, brain surgery I tell you. I had this spread on toasted bread with some buffalo chicken and Havarti. NOM to the second power.

Bright and refreshing - sure to wake up an everyday sandwich.

Now excuse me while I kick a cat....JOKING!

Fresh Cherry Cake & Fresh Cherry Butter Cream

2011-07-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well it’s that time again. What time you ask? Well, it is time for me to congratulate myself for keeping my little human alive for another whole year!

AKA – Happy Birthday Indigo! You are the big 3! (OK, 3 on the 21st we are one day early but today we celebrate)

Oh how I love thee.

I love you soooo much I made you a Fresh Cherry Cake & Fresh Cherry Butter cream, I have the stained fingers for proof!

There are few things “batter” than cake, but of course I can think of a few..

1. Indigo (except at night at about 130am, OK even then!)
2. Husband (most of the time. LOVE you honey bunny)
3. 3 day weekends
4. Finding a 20 dollar bill in the washer, finders keepers dude
5. Telling your husband that you found 20 dollars, and no he cannot have it back (I’m mean like that)
6. Winning the lottery, never won the lottery but I am quite sure this would be better then eating cake.
7. Indigo

Now, there are also things that are 50 gabillionzillion times worse than eating cake. I won’t get to crazy here but let’s list some out.

1. Your husband finding the 20 dollar bill in the washer
2. Your husband telling you he found the 20 dollar bill and then saying “finders keepers”.
3. Not winning the lottery
4. Winning a lottery that involves you doing the laundry for your household exclusively.
5. The movie SkyLine
6. Zombies, like real ones..not movies because those are awesome

Everything always comes down to Zombies you see.

But let’s get back to the cake and the reason for it.

Indigo I love you, happy birthday daughter. Your are lovely, cool, stubborn, cute, smiley, interesting, chatty, batty, witty, thoughtful, forgetful, awesome, bodacious, spontaneous, and scared of garbage trucks…which makes me love you all the more.

INGREDIENTS for Fresh Cherry Cake
Adapted from this Cake
{Pintable Recipe}

• 2 cups pitted red cherries
• 3 tbs sugar, for the cherries
• 1/4 cup half & half, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

DIRECTIONS for Fresh Cherry Cake

Three hours before baking, toss your halved and pitted cherries with 3 tbs white sugar. Let them sit in a bowl and become nice and juicy (3 hours time). Once ready, puree this mixture in your food processor. Reserve ¾ cup of this puree for the cake, 3 tbs for the Butter Cream.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare your baking dishes: coat inside with butter and flour. I made 12 cupcakes, and 1 - 8 inch cake round.

In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.

Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans or into your cupcake liners about half way.

Bake for about 25 minutes (cake round) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary, cupcakes are less time). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

PS - The small round cake was used cutting out circles from my cake round and stacking them with some buttercream in between each layer. So adorable, a mini cake for the guest of honor.

INGREDIENTS for Cherry Butter Cream

• 3 tbs fresh cherry puree
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS for Cherry Butter Cream

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons cherry puree.

- The result, a wonderful Fresh Cherry Flavored cake and butter cream. It was fabulous. It tastes likes cherries and is speckled with their wonderfulness. Happy Birthday Indigo.

Cilantro, Lime, Jalapeno Pesto with Soba Noodles

2011-07-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I was engaging my daughter in normal car conversation. We always talk about her day and things like what food, art, stories she partook of during the week. At almost 3 years old she is a full on non-stop make you beg for mercy till she even considers stopping talking talker.

A normal conversation goes a little like this.

“Indigo what did you do at school this week?”
“I played with Jack.” (Jack has been her boyfriend for at least 1 year already!)

“Oh, what toys did you play with today Indigo?”
“Ummmm, I played with Poop! “ (Said with that little 3 year old cutie patootie voice)

“Oh I see, what did you eat for lunch at school?”
“Poop” (Said with a twinkle in her eye)

“Oh I see, Indigo would you like some Spaghetti and Poop balls when we get home?”
“Yes.” (We both giggle here)

So those are the normal questions I ask, and normal answers that she gives. Well today we were on our way to church and talking about daddy. She loves to talk about daddy, and since he was away at work she was missing him.

I started to lead the questions and ask why she was missing him and of course what she liked about her papa. It is always nice for her form her own answers and sometimes they are hilarious. Like today's answer.

Here is what she said.

“Indigo, what do you like most about daddy?”
“I like his wallet” (completely serious toddler face)

I swear to you that is what she said, and I almost peed my pants! And since her answer was wallet, I’m thinking she might be watching The Real Housewives after I got to bed.

INGREDIENTS
{Printable Recipe}

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro (2 cups, not packed)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts
• ¼ - ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Soba Noodles, or any pasta you prefer
• Parmesan
• Salt

DIRECTIONS

Combine the cilantro, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, and Parmesan cheese in a blender; pulse mixture. I started with a 1/4 cup of oil but added another 1/4 cup to reach the consistency I like.

Next cook your noodles according to package directions. For the Soba I brought the water to a boil, then dropped in handfuls of noodles at a time. I made sure to keep them from clumping. I then brought down the temp to medium, a very soft boil. After about 7 minutes I drained the noodles and rinsed with hot water.

Toss with Pesto, Parmesan, and Salt. Enjoy this pasta hot or cold.

PS - Indigo is 3 really soon, I made a fresh Cherry cake with fresh Cherry Butter Cream this weekend for us, recipe to come shortly.

Little Kitchens - Strawberry Soup

2011-07-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hello and step right up for the second installment of Little Kitchens, not only does it involve my truly little kitchen it also involves my little human, Indigo. Why Little Kitchens, well if you must ask..

1. It’s fun
2. It’s fun
3. Don’t we all plan on our kids being zillionaire chefs who support us into the Twilight years?
4. I saw the Twilight movie before I read the books so it totally didn’t ruin it for me.
5. We have a neighbor”hood” crow, we named him Russell and he likes Saltines.

Do we have an understanding, or have I lost ya? If you know me you know that you get all sorts of random good information.

More information on this soup, this stuff is good – like real good.

Where should you eat this soup? I can give you a few ideas.

1. Eat it for Breakfast, Lunch, Linner, and Dinner – or while watching True Blood if you need a snack.
2. Eat it for every day that ends in day
3. Eat it because Pink soup is all sorts of cool
4. Eat it because it’s intriguing, just like you..no I am not trying to butter you up.

Speaking of butter, Indigo is the butter to my bread and I just love her to pieces. She stole a few Strawberries though and I found them all over her shirt. This was after I walked up to her room at nap time and found her bottom less and covered in sunscreen.

I mean it’s only logical to find some sunscreen and then feel the need to disrobe from the waist down and smear it all over yourself, oh wait maybe that just me.

So as you can tell I need to entertain my kid and of course come up with some bloggy goodness. So pull on up your kids and lets make some Strawberry Soup.

INGREDIENTS for the Strawberry Soup:
Delightfully borrowed from Joy Of Baking

1 pound (454 grams) fresh strawberries
1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar, or to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 - 1 cup (120 - 240 ml) milk or cream, or to taste
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice, or to taste (optional)

GARNISHES for the Strawberry Soup:

Crushed Graham Crackers
Mint leaves
Extra berries of any kind
Dollop of whipped cream & shaved chocolate

LITTLE KITCHENS Print ART
Strawberry Print Outs
Find parts to the Strawberry Plant

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Let your little one line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Now it’s time to plop their little butts right up on the counter. You have my permission! Now let’s get to it. Place all of your Strawberries into a pasta strainer and run them under cold water.

Have your child wash each and every one under the water, great time for counting lessons here. My daughter also devoured a few.

Wash and cut the strawberries in half, my little one watched this step…she’s to crazy for cutlery.

Next on our list is the corn syrup. Carefully measure out ¼ cup. Place your Strawberries in a medium sized bowl.

Now pour in the corn syrup little ones.

And now it’s time to stir, stir, stir

Have your little one place the strawberries on a baking sheet (we used a spatula) and bake in preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until the color of the strawberries intensifies and the syrup is thick, about 45 - 60 minutes.

Here is where we get to do some art…have your little one color this luscious strawberry and the full Strawberry plant. Be sure to google the plant and name all the different parts. By the time you are done, we can complete our Strawberry soup.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly, have your little one place the Strawberries in your food processor (keep a close eye on them of course!)

Process until the strawberries are pureed. Pour your berries into a medium sized bowl and add the sugar, yogurt, milk, and lime or lemon juice and have your little one stir until combined.

Now place back in your blender and process one more time. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.
Ladle the strawberry soup into dessert bowls and garnish with crushed grahams.

Makes 4 servings.

- Do let me know if you try Little Kitchens at home!

Cheese & Broccoli & Cheese & Bacon! Bake

2011-07-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

So here is the tale of my weekend.

So this random flooring guy comes over to our house, you know so we can look at new flooring for our pad. As he brought in sample upon sample of tiles and wood a funny thing happened, I got the fever. What fever you may ask, well let me tell you.

Here are variations of “the fever” :

“OMG I want to replace everything in my house right now fever.”

“I don’t care how much debt I go into I must have this to make me happy with my life fever”

“All I have to do is work 9,242 hours of overtime to make this work fever, totally possible”

Ever had a fever like that? My guess is yes…if not please just let me think I’m not the only one because my feelings would totally get hurt and that is NOT cool.

So what happened after I realized I had the fever? Yep you guessed it, I sent the guy packing. I sent him packing so he could coordinate the installation of all my new flooring.

Now for something that if you dropped on your floor you would still eat the whole thing!

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Simply Recipes
{Printable Recipe}

• 2 pounds broccoli, stems removed,large florets cut, yielding about 8 cups of broccoli florets
• Salt for blanching water
• 3 strips of thick-cut bacon , diced
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and boil for 3-5 minutes or until just tender enough so that a fork can easily pierce the floret, but still firm. Strain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Cook the bacon pieces on medium heat in a frying pan until lightly browned, but not crisp. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess fat. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. In a bowl, whisk the eggs into the flour, then whisk in the cream and milk.

Add the black pepper (more or less to taste), salt, and mustard. Mix in about a third of the cheese.

Place the parboiled broccoli florets in the casserole dish, sprinkling about a third of the cheese over the broccoli florets as you lay them down. Sprinkle the bacon pieces over the broccoli. Pour the egg, cream, milk, cheese mixture over the broccoli, moving the broccoli pieces a bit so that the mixture gets into all the nooks and crannies. Sprinkle the casserole with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 25-40 minutes, or until set.

This is just so decadent and wonderful, I highly recommend this dish. My family devoured it!

Crostini with Salami, Gouda, and Lemon Ricotta

2011-07-08T10:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think Target and Trader Joe's must be partners of some sort, partners in sucking all the money out of my bank account. Do you think I can press charges for their thievery?

Can I also presses charges against daughter for stealing sleep?

How about charges against my husband for not cleaning the house right?

Can I press charges against my cats for assault with the meows when I pass by? Or how about that one time when Bella decided the only logical place to cough up a fur ball was the couch - whole house FULL of tile and the couch is the spot? Seriously dude?

How about the workplace? What kind of charges can I press there...How about the parking spots are to dang small charges? I need a can opener some days. Another charge, how about Starbucks is not close enough for me to make it a full 9 hours a day charge?

Well if I can't press charges lets just eat baby, on to the appetizer.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from MUAH
{Printable Recipe}

1 French Baguette, thinly sliced
Olive Oil Spray
Small tub of Ricotta
Zest of 1 Lemon
Salami, sliced thin (I used TJ's Pinot Grigio White Wine Salami)
Gouda Cheese, sliced or cubed (I used TJ's Goats Milk Gouda)
Dill

DIRECTIONS

Spray your thinly sliced crostini on each side with your cooking spray. I used Pam Olive Oil Spray. Over a medium high heat, pan-fry the crostini on each side until lightly browned. Set Aside.

In medium sized bowl mix your ricotta and lemon zest. Next comes assembly. I recommend assembly at the last minute, the crostini can soften up with the ricotta mixture.

Assembly goes like this

Ricotta
Salami
Gouda
Dill
Mouth
Repeat
Repeat
etc.

Have a super weekend!

Pineapple Cake with Coconut Topping

2011-07-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

So there where things I was always scared of once Indigo was old enough to sleep in a bed and roam freely at night. Things like falling down the stairs, wondering the house getting into things, falling in the toilet. Well for some reason I left off that one freakish thing that can give you nightmares…

You know, that time where you wake up in the dead of night and your little human has made her way to your room and stares at you square in the face all horror movie like. Yes, that is some freaky stuff.

My first inclination was to identify the creature so I said her name “Indigo?” I thought if I quickly got her to talk I could see if perhaps she had been changed into a zombie before she got even closer. There was no response so I quickly scooped her up, I pinned her arms to her side to prevent any zombie like flailing or biting...I've seen movies people!

My next move was to kiss her head, because perhaps if she were a zombie a mother’s kiss would make her feel some emotion and not harm her own mom. After a few minutes of this she fooled me into thinking she fell asleep, stupidly I released her and she started the zombie toddler bed boogie.

What is the zombie toddler bed boogie? Let me explain. Lots of times when you’re tired you think that you’re doing yourself some favor by bringing your loving kidlet into your bed when they are already up. What this truly leads to is a kicking, hitting, poking assault on you. I always think we will cuddle and sleep deeply but end up needing to file assault charges by morning.

So after the toddler boogie assault of over 45 minutes which led to the poking of my eyes, I gathered up my toddler Zombie baby and re-deposited her into her own bed. I ~~strapped~~ neatly tucked her in bed and placed a thoroughly loved teddy bear in her arms for further assault on her part if desired.

Then I went back to bed, and woke up 15 minutes later when my alarm clock went off.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from AllRecipes, slightly altered
{Printable Recipe}

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flaked coconut for topping
• 1 ½ cups flaked coconut to sprinkle on topping

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan, or 2 cake rounds.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, oil, pineapple and vanilla, mix until well blended. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

To make the topping: In a small saucepan, combine butter, evaporated milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 cup coconut. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until hot, pour in the powdered sugar and whisk till smooth. Poke holes in the cake with a fork, then pour the warm mixture over the cake. Sprinkle cake with the rest of your coconut.

Be warned this topping is fairly thin. I placed a ¼ cup between my cake rounds. Under the rounds I had parchment paper because the topping runs down the sides when poured. Originally this was a sheet cake, in my opinion that would make making this cake way less messy.

Keep this cake refrigerated overnight, even better the 2nd day. Cake slices much easier when cold...and zombies are cold so now we have come full circle with this post.

Feta & Herb Shrimp Pasta

2011-07-04T15:35:00.000-07:00

Do you know how much work it is to re-do cabinetry? Let me tell you the funny chain of events that led to us never quitting our day jobs and becoming cabinet re-finishers.

1. Our obvious blind spots which led to Niagara Falls type paint drops.

2. Drilling holes into the wrong side of the doors, right after you had just spent 4 painstaking days completing several layers.

3. Finishing up the paint on the last 8 doors and having 3 white hairy dogs come running through your garage as you scream in horror…the color of the cabinets is espresso…with a sprinkle of fur at this point.

Number 3 is actually true, you really can’t make stuff like that up. The kind of stuff I do make up always has to do with my Indy and how well behaved she is. Sometimes you just can't let the teachers know that well...you know.

“Really, Indigo? She tried to drop kick her one of her teachers today?” “Well that is so strange, she never act’s that way at home.”

Could you tell I was lying there? Well good, because I totally wasn’t….

Also dear husband I hardly spent any money at Target this weekend I swear…

Totally telling the truth.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully Borrowed, slight altered from Annie’s Eats
{Printable Recipe}

1 lb. pasta shapes
1 lb. raw shrimp (31-40 ct.), peeled and deveined, cut in half (if desired)
7 oz. feta cheese, crumbled and divided
Zest of 1 lemon, divided
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped, divided
5 tbsp. butter, divided
4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
8 oz. Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions. Drain well; set aside. Add the raw shrimp to the warm pasta and toss together. The heat from the pasta will partially cook the shrimp.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400˚ F. In a small bowl, combine a handful of the feta, a pinch of the lemon zest, the panko, 2 teaspoons of the parsley and 1 tablespoon of the butter, melted. Toss with a fork to combine; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour to form a paste. Cook 1-2 minutes, whisking constantly, until light golden brown.

Whisk in the milk. Continue to heat the mixture, stirring frequently, until it bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes. As soon as the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the remaining feta, Monterey Jack, remaining parsley, remaining lemon zest, dill, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the pasta and shrimp and mix well.

Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased large baking dish. Sprinkle the breadcrumb-feta mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbling. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

This pasta is so super good and tasty, a refreshing summer pasta for sure. NO LIE.

Happy 4th of July Weekend!

2011-07-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Break out the dog and burgers
Get ready for the buffet
Bust out the grills
It's almost Independence Day

It's hot outside
and the sun is shining down
Parents breaking out the kiddy pools
so their kids can boogey down

Fireworks of the day
Streaming sprinklers with water shining
Fireworks at night
So bright and got babies whining

Be there NO doubt
calories will be my friend
Until 4 days later
When they add on to my back end

So savor every moment
This long weekend will come to an end
Apply that sunblock ladies
and have lots of fun which is what a recommend

White Sheet Cake

2011-06-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday under extreme pressure due to a looming evening work event, I was able to complete a massive amount of work fast. I was able to drive home 30 miles, feed my child a Popsicle ~~for~~ and dinner, work out, cook myself dinner, empty the dishwasher, then reload the dishwasher all in one hour and 45 minutes.

Who knew I could do it that fast, please don’t tell anyone. My husband could obviously read this but him reading this is like me being interested in his golf score - so I think I’m safe.

Speaking of being safe, liking this cake is surely a safe bet. I liked it so much I sampled about half of it in 2 days. I also made those twix bars on the same weekend so you can imagine that it was a fierce battle for my attention…I would call it tie in all honesty, the only loser = my pants.

On the subject of pants, I have noticed a few things.

1. Stacy and Clinton do not lie, get those puppies altered.
2. Jeans exist to make us crazy in dressing rooms, well jeans and bikini’s..OK maybe bikini’s are one step in front of jeans.
3. Bra’s also make me crazy in dressing rooms, glad I don't have to put them back on the hangar right because that's brain surgery for sure.
4. I hate limits in dressing rooms
5. Don’t eat this cake and then try on clothes in a dressing room

There now you know how I feel about pants…speaking of feelings have I told you about my demanding kitties lately? I feel like they are playing games with me. Just this morning no matter which way I moved I had one just under my feet and was on the verge of tripping. How does this happen? It’s like when you’re walking down a hallway and start dancing back and forth with the person walking straight at you. Why is it as soon as your break left…they do too, then right, then left, then right?

The other cat kept demanding fresh sink water while I was brushing, seriously dude there is a water bowl downstairs…like right next to your stinky cat food. I will not, I repeat will not be the sink turner on person for you. Let me say that in a language you understand “meow , meowwww, umm meow”.

Now let me talk to your food lovers in a language you understand, on to the recipe!

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed with itty bitty changes from AllRecipes
{Printable Recipe}

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon of Vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• Sprinkles (NOT optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup butter or margarine and water to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda until smooth. Pour batter into a greased 10 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 20 to 22 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.

For the Icing

Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar and 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract. Spread frosting over warm cake. The icing will set up quickly, so spread fast. Dot with Sprinkles.

Need something fun for kidlets? I cut out little squares and placed them on straws and handed over a tall glass of milk with them. Kids can eat the small square of cake then sip their milk from the straw the cake was on. Easy peasy.
Peace Out.

Homemade Twix Bars

2011-06-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Holy crap ya’ll I just used 2lbs of butter while baking over the last 2 days. Just so you know it’s not an equal trade when it comes to poundage. My bootay is approximately 5lbs heavier, and my conscience can only handle so much more…so I am going to have to unload on you. Consider me the co-worker who brings all their goodies in on Monday to fatten you up.

Does anyone have any objections?

Well since you guys seem up for unloading let me get the rest of this week’s confessions off my chest.

I confess that I told Indigo that we were going to get a smoothie if she promised to leave the park like a good girl, she did…and then I drove her straight home. I did however supplement with a Popsicle so I’m not all bad.

I confess that I wiped something off the floor with a sponge..the same sponge we use to wash dishes off. There I said it. I’m gross.

I confess that sometimes I steal time from work, someone has to make sure the Internet is still working right?

I confess that I chew a pack of juicy fruit per day.

I confess that I bought 5 apples for snacks for this week’s lunches, and I have 5 left.

I confess that on Friday I had 2 donuts, and I didn’t go back for seconds – I grabbed 2 from the get go.

I confess that while driving I pretend like I don’t notice that someone is trying to get over into my lane because I really just don’t want to let them in. In all honesty they should have thought about getting over earlier and not at the last freaking moment!!! Not getting a car length ahead of me buddy!!

There now I feel better, the only thing left to do is work out for 2 weeks.

INGREDIENTS
Delight fully borrowed from The Sweet Details
{Printable Recipe}

Base:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter

Filling
1/2 cup butter
2 tbsp Corn Syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup brown sugar

Topping
1-bag of semi-sweet choco chips

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix together all the base ingredients until crumbly. Press into a 9x9 dish that had been lined with aluminum foil. Be sure to lightly coat foil with cooking spray. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes, or until a nice golden brown.

Combine all filling ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil,.reduce heat and stir for 6 minutes . Pour over warm base. Let cool for at least one hour.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler and pour over filling, spread with a spatula and cool to room temperature and then place in your fridge for 4 hours before cutting.

I cut and wrapped them individually in wax paper. Keep these puppies in the fridge for storage. They keep well.

Pasta with Escarole, White Beans, and Sausage

2011-06-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Today I bid farewell to TV that has entertained me over the last few months..and welcome a few.

Games of Thrones, oh how I love thee. I must admit at first I thought, how could I ever watch such fantasy…and now I wish I had a mini dragon of my own.

Nurse Jackie? If ever there was a nurse who was on drugs you would want to take care of you, she's it. Take it easy on your husband lady….PS Coop is really cute.

The Borgias – You are boring and can leave.

Freaky Eaters – Actually I have no idea if their season ended but dude I LURVE this show. If someone who eats couch cushions doesn’t peak your interest then nothing will, not to mention there was a lady who would eat the couch too - as long as you put tartar sauce on it.

Intervention – A solid show in my arsenal for years, I root for each and every person!

True Blood & Boardwalk Empire – “Woot Woot”, I think that says it all.

Toddlers and Tiaras – You can quit following me for liking this show, I know it is all sorts of wrong but I also love all the Housewives so as you can see I rank low for quality programming.

So as you can see I spend a large portion of my day sitting all still like on a couch.

Since you can’t grill and keep a keen eye on the TV, I decided to whip up some pasta over the weekend to keep us fed during the week. I am super smart this way with planning. I mean how can you watch all this goodness and cook dinner at the same time??

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed (slightly altered) from The Food Network
{Printable Recipe}

• 3/4 pound pasta, I used spiral
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Large Links of Italian-style chicken sausage, casings removed, crumbled
• 1 medium head escarole, rinsed, drained and chopped, about 8 cups
• 1(14-ounce) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large, deep saute pan or 8-quart stockpot. Saute the onion until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 1 minute. Stir in the sausage and cook until heated through and browned, about 4 minutes.

Add the escarole and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the beans, 1 cup of chicken stock, sage and red pepper flakes and simmer until the mixture is heated through and liquid is slightly reduced.

Add the sausage-bean mixture to pasta and toss well. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste….then toss on the Parmesan baby.

Now plop down on the couch and eat…get your TV on all proper like with a big ole honkin bowl of pasta - and if you have some time please check out a food bloggers tribute to Monet. Want to try out the recipe I supplied....Gingersnap Tart with Pumpkin Pastry Cream!

Future Ballerina?

2011-06-21T07:58:00.000-07:00

This little number is courtesy of a little re-sale boutique called The Bird's Nest.

This little 6 dollar ballet dress made my million dollar Indy very happy! She twirled, she whirled.

She was transformed and had so much grace! Such a little lady. I could envision her sipping tea and then taking a stroll through fancy streets.

Then she turned to me and said "Poopy head - get me some milk". I love that girl.

Chianti Pot Roast - Pressure Cooker Meal

2011-06-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

I’m back, and I have lived to tell the stories.
I missed 2 flights.
I had about 3 breakdowns.
I ate about 12 fast food meals.
I watched about 20 episodes of Bridezillas.
I saw 3 in the flesh deer and 1 fawn and a toad.

I had way too much fun and have 548 pictures to prove it.
I learned that pressure cookers are AWESOME.
I learned that mole rats are freaky.
I learned that my daughter can talk for 7 hours straight without breaking a sweat.
I learned that Alvin and the Chipmunks are a lifesaver when you have no more life left in you. Thanks Alvin.

Notes from Travel :

One hour lay overs are just not enough.
By the time the food cart gets to you…what you want…yeah it’s gone
You really don’t want the seats near the restroom
If your baby isn’t crying, someone else’s is..however this makes you feel oddly satisfied.
And..if your mom has a new pressure cooker – be sure to break it in

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from a cookbook that lives in Ohio.
{Printable Recipe}

4 tbs Olive Oil
2-3 lbs Beef Chuck Roast, cubed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
Black pepper, just a pinch
1 ½ cups Chianti, split into two ¾ cup portions
1 ½ tsp beef base, mixed with 1 ½ cups water
3 oz tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
2 tbs minced garlic
1 ½ tsp Italian Seasoning
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
4 med tomatoes, cut into large chunks
2 tbs corn starch

DIRECTIONS

Add the oil to the Pressure Cooker and heat on high heat or “brown” with the lid off.

Sprinkle all of your cubed beef with the salt, garlic powder, black pepper. Add into the pressure cooker and sear on all sides.

Pour in ¾ cups of the Chianti. Add the beef base, tomato paste, sugar, garlic, and Italian Seasoning into the pressure cooker. Secure the lid and set on high for 40 minutes.

Perform a steam release on the cooker, and remove lid. Remove the meat and cover with aluminum foil. Add mushrooms and tomatoes into the cooker, if low on juice add the leftover ¾ cup Chianti. To thicken the sauce, stir in the 2bs of corn starch.

After 6-8 minutes, pour the mushroom and tomato mixture over your beef. I served mine over Gnocchi. It was delish.

Little Kitchens - Interactive Baking for Children

2011-06-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first edition of Little Kitchens. I hope to make this a new feature that we can have at least once per month. What is Little Kitchens?

Number one this is simply a chance to bond with your child. Sometimes we might get caught up in everyday life and it’s always nice to fully focus on your child while doing something you love at the same time.

Number two is teaching, we are our children’s number one teacher. Why not move that to the kitchen? And so Little Kitchens is born.

Let’s get interactive, let’s forget perfection and bake our little hearts out.

Let’s measure flour, sugar, butter, and chocolate chips…and eat the evidence.

Let’s color, glue, cut, and place our art from Little Kitchens on the fridge.

Let’s teach our kids how to cook – Lets bake cookies and roast vegetables.

Today we are going to bake Oreo Pudding Cookies. There are a few things you as the parent will need to print out before we get started.

INGREDIENTS 4 Little Kitchens

Cookie Print Out
Ingredients Print Out
Crayons
Glue Stick
Scissors (to cut out the Baking Items and cookie)

*Print out the 2 items above, carefully cut out ingredients for your child to color & glue*

INGREDIENTS 4 Oreo Pudding Cookies
Delightfully borrowed, slightly altered from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Hershey's Cookies N Cream Large Candy
1 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

Mom or Dad, Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Let’s get out our measuring utensils. I like to go over the different measurements with Indigo. For each measurements I filled the cup and let her pour the ingredient in to the bowl. I placed Indy right on the counter, that’s right girls butt all up on the counter..live a little.

First pour the flour into a bowl.

Next measure out the baking soda, and salt and let your child pour over your flour. Hand over the whisk and let your little one stir gently.

Cream together butter and sugars. We used a hand mixer, I let Indigo hold on and help. Remember to let your little one count measurements with you.

Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix to combine. Stir in cookies n' cream pieces and chocolate chips. Now taste the dough together, good habits start early.

Using a cookie dough scooper, place golf ball sized dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cookie stays a very light color, not brown at all. They stay quite “puffed” too. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Now while the cookies are in the oven, we can make art. I covered my table with some white paper, and placed the cookie and ingredients on it.

Me & Indigo talked about the ingredients while she colored each one and then glued them on to her large cookie.

Presto – Little Kitchen art.

I hope you enjoyed your time, I know me & Indigo sure did. It only takes an hour to have a very special moment with your child. One she or he will never forget. Let me know if you try this out 

PS. This is Indigo pre-face plant on the cement

PPS. I will be on vacation next week.

PPPS. Love ya’ll, don't party too hard while I'm gone...because I would be jealous.

My Favorite Things

2011-06-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

Baked Chicken and Rice with Black Beans

2011-06-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

We were having one of those particular days where Indigo was well, clumsy. We spent lots of time at a water park and Indigo spent lots of time running and well, tripping. I am pretty sure her knees are reluctantly familiar with the turf at our local park…

Later that day was spent falling off things like Coffee tables, chairs, and her bed…and tripping over things like the air. Yes I said air, yes you have permission from me to laugh...

As we were walking out the door to procure some fast food (because I’m just keeping it real). As we were walking out the door my husband said to me “man, Jen today could have been one big long blooper reel!”. I agreed and out of the corner of my eye I spied Indigo going air born..then she went cement surfing with her gorgeous little face.

3 band aids, 2 bowls of cheese-its, and 1 dose of ibuprofen later I think we might be *almost* better. Nothing a little ice cream can’t cure (for both child and parent!).

And now might I present to you a nice little dish that can feed the family all week. Bake this and re-heat all week with some fresh cilantro, parlsey, and sour cream. YUM.

INGREDIENTS (serves 8)
{Printable Recipe}

10oz package of Yellow Rice mix
¾ cup Onion, Chopped
¾ cup Green Bell Pepper, Chopped
¾ cup Carrot, Chopped fine
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 small rotisserie Chicken, or 2 cups
15oz can of Black Beans, drained & rinsed
7oz can Green Chile's, undrained
1 Jalapeno, minced
2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
½ cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS

Pre-Heat oven to 350. Butter a large 13x9 pan or two smaller baking dishes. Prepare your rice according to package directions.

Over a medium heat saute your Olive Oil, onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and carrots in a medium skillet for about 10 minutes or until tender.

Combine cooked rice, onion mixture, chicken, black beans, chile's, ½ cup cheese, and sour cream. Spoon into your baking dishes then cover with the remaining cheese.

Bake, covered, at 350 degrees for 25 minutes; uncover and bake for 10 more minutes so the cheese is nice and melty.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead and grab a fork…just be careful not to trip

Caramel Frosted Torte with Candied Pecans

2011-06-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Normally I talk about my little ball of joy Indigo, but today I thought I would share some things about myself…I mean Indigo got her personality from someone right? Shall we go through a musical timeline? This could help shed light …or make you want to hide in a dark corner.

Back in the days I used to love to perform for friends and family. The first artist that I remember being a copy cat of was JEM! That’s right Jem of Jem and the Holograms. I used to actually set my tape recorder in front of the TV and record it that way. I was “Truly Truly Truly outrageous”.

Next in the line of musical performances came from Tiffany (I think were alone now) and Debbie Gibson (Out of the Blue)…and then boy crushes reared their ugly head via NKOTB yo! I know anyone who is anyone remembers those hunks.

Naturally being that if you’re from Florida you only have access to shorts that are 2 inches long I moved on to booty music…Can I get a WHOOMP THERE IT IS, or “Tootsie Roll”.

“To the left to the left …to the right to the right…dip baby dip, dip baby dip”

Please forgive me if none of this was not part of your world growing up..If you do remember these songs, well then by all means - get down with your bad self.

Next came the days of dance. I am seriously a skilled liquid dancer…if you ever accidentally eat a “bad” mushroom (were all foodies, it could happen!) and need some entertainment you can totally call me! Hehe.

My most Favoritest wonderfullest spectacularest song of all time is Porcelain by Moby, if I were walking around living life and was given a choice for background music..this would be it.

What would be your song, the song you want on in the background of your life?
OK musical history over, now let’s talk sweets.

INGREDIENTS (Chocolate Torte)
Delightfully borrowed from Joy of Baking.com
{Full Printable Recipe}

6 large eggs, separated
1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
9 ounces (255 grams) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chopped
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar, divided
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Candied Pecans (mine were from Trader Joes)

DIRECTIONS (Chocolate Torte)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter a 9 x 3 inch (23 x 8 cm) springform pan or spray with a nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

Separate the eggs while still cold, placing the egg whites in one bowl and the egg yolks in another bowl. Cover both with plastic wrap and bring to room temperature (about 30 minutes).

Meanwhile, melt the butter and chocolate in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water.

Place egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar in the bowl of your electric mixer (can also use a hand mixer). Beat on medium high speed until thick and lemon-colored, about 3-5 minutes. (The eggs should have tripled in volume, look thick and soft, and when you lift the beater the mixture falls back into the bowl in a slow ribbon.) Beat in the vanilla extract and melted chocolate mixture.

In a clean bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula or whisk, fold a small amount of whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten the batter. Add the remaining egg whites, folding just until incorporated. Do not over mix or the batter will deflate.

Pour into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake the cake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. (During baking the surface of the cake will form a crust which will collapse when the cake is removed from the oven.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. The top of the cake will have become hard with a cracked surface and lots of crumbs.

INGREDIENTS (Caramel Frosting)
Delightfully borrowed from nestMeg

1/4 C. butter
3/4 C. light brown sugar
1/4 C. evaporated milk
2 1/2 C. confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt

DIRECTIONS (Caramel Frosting)

Melt butter in a heavy pot. Slowly add brown sugar, combining quickly. Stir in evaporated milk. Remove from heat.

Stir in confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Pour frosting on to you torte, spread quickly because this frosting get’s less “pourable” by the second! The torte is very touchy when it comes to forcibly spreading so use frosting right away.

Last step is to place pecans on top of the frosting, give each a little press to settle them in. This cake set’s up fairly quick. Enjoy!

*shakes booty*

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Frosting...again

2011-05-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Did you know that today when I went to Target (aka just drop your whole paycheck off at the register store) I decided to let Indigo walk with me versus ride in a cart….Did you know not 3 minutes into the store trip she had managed to pick up a Luna Bar, bathing suit, lipstick, and get a piece of gum in her mouth…no I have no idea where the gum came from…no I refuse to think about it any longer.

I NEVER learn!

Any parents like me? Do you do the same thing over and over and expect a different result? It’s like I magically thought my little 2 year old was going to be my best buddy shopping pal and just gently suggest things she thought we should purchase…and tell me how great of a hair day I was having…I was really.

I also can’t believe I went to Target again thinking I could possibly get out of there without 16.5 more items then I originally went in for…DOH

Speaking of desserts, oh wait were we not talking about desserts? You don’t mind do you?

Some things are totally worth doing twice, not going to Target – gosh no, If I did that I couldn’t pay my mortgage this month. This dessert however is something that you can and should do over and over!

So make it for spouse
Make it for your neighbors

Make it for your toddler, and don’t tell them because you’re really using that as an excuse to make it for yourself…again.

INGREDIENTS (Red Velvet Brownies)
Delightfully borrowed this whole recipe from How Sweet It Is
{Printable Recipe}

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons red food coloring
2/3 cups chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS (Red Velvet Brownies)

Preheat oven to 350 & Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan (I ended up doubling the recipe for a party).

In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread in the 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. This recipe develops a thin top layer, remedy this by inverting the brownies and icing the bottom!

INGREDIENTS (White Chocolate Frosting)

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1-2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS (White Chocolate Frosting)

Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed.

Stuffed Shells

2011-05-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Are we ready for the weekend? Quite frankly I am always ready for the weekend, unless it's donut day here in the office and then I can totally be here no questions asked...except for around 2pm where I ask if I can go home early. Southern California traffic is a nightmare.

Speaking of nightmares, just this past weekend I watched the new Nightmare on Elm Street. This was a big cheese fest seriously, I could have spent that cash in much better ways.

Speaking of cheese, I shared a giant plate of it last night. I shared a giant plate of it right after I also sampled 17 other restaurants participating in Taste of Little Italy in downtown San Diego. I also got to sample some homemade wines from locals, it's sort of tough not to feel pressured to buy wine when the maker is right in your grill.

Speaking of wine, I was told May 25th was National Wine Day (not into wine, how bout celebrating National "Whine" day?), I was also told that this was NO coincidence since this is also my birthday.

I am now 33 years happy, that's right folks - I'm happy. Word.

Speaking of happy, things that make me happy..

1. Family, duh.
2. Wine, duh.
3. Zombie Movies, double duh.
4. Good hair days, uh yeah!
5. Zombie Movies, just in case you do not understand yet my LOVE for them.
6. Stuffed Shells, with family, wine, a good hair day, and a Zombie Movie...Oh yeah that's heaven baby.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Simply Recipes
{Printable Recipe}

1 12-ounce package jumbo pasta shells
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large egg
16-ounces ricotta cheese
10-ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped further
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 28-ounce can tomatoes with herbs, including the liquid, tomatoes broken up (or your favorite tomato or pasta sauce)
2 9x13 shallow baking dishes

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta shells according to the instructions on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage to the pan, breaking up the sausage into smaller bits. Cook sausage until cooked through, and no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove pan from heat.

Beat the egg lightly in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and sausage mixture. Fill each cooked pasta shell with some of the ricotta, spinach, sausage mixture.

Spread 1/2 cup chopped canned tomatoes over the bottom of each of the baking dishes. Arrange the stuffed pasta shells in the dishes. Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.

Heat oven to 375°F. Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese, bake uncovered for 10 more minutes.

Enjoy your weekend..

Toddlers & Tiaras...umm,,,, I mean Tattoos

2011-05-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
If you don’t check in on your toddler
This is what she'll do

I peeked around the corner
And to my surprise
My girl had tatted herself
All over her thighs

With black pen she scribbled
From her head to her toe
Making many a mural
Channeling Van Gogh

Then she flashed a smile
And I laughed so hard
Today she scribbles with pen on her legs
In a few years she’ll be stealing my bank card

PS – 3 baths later and it is still there…
PPS – OK now 4 baths *update*

Earthy Chicken and Rice Casserole

2011-05-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

I am having one of those days where I gave it my best mommy shot, but didn’t get the particular results I wanted. First things first, lets go over today’s timeline…just so you can know what I'm working with.

4am – Wake up to Indigo crying in her room.
412am – Bring Indigo to your room, snuggle, beg her to go back to sleep.
414am – Indigo says “Mommy, I have to pee.” Take her to pee
416am – Put the wiggle worm back in her bed. *She actually goes back to sleep* score!

418am – 718am – Suffer what can only be described as cramps from the devil monster horrific cramp inflicter all women should suffer man.

719am – Indigo is now awake
719am-1020am – This is sort of a blur, I do know that I managed to roast some beets.

1022am-1055am – Leave to go to a sing and dance play time at a learning center...sit in traffic since they reduced the freeway down to 1 lane. WHY???? Am I the only one who seems to find road construction around every corner and even on a Saturday morning for goodness sake? I sure hope not.

11am-1145am – Make a drum with Indigo at the Learning Center, watch her play games, think to myself this is a good last day if I am raptured tonight at 6pm – oh yeah and we got ice cream..and Chick-Fil-A, so sue me.

So after all this momma work I put in I thought FOR SURE nap time would be easy.

1205pm – Read a story, shut the door.
1215pm – Toddler party begins in her room. I stop my workout tape and angrily fly up the stairs. Politely talk to toddler in a stern voice, tell her to lie down and take a nap.

1225pm – Shut off work out tape again, run furiously up the stairs and launch a few stuffed animals over the railing. (Total nerve release, you should try it).

1235 – repeat
1245 – repeat with more angry face then time before and also even once beg in a very nice mommy voice (revers psychology and all).

1255 – Call husband and say there is NO WAY you’re ready for another at the moment thank you.
105pm – eat

INGREDIENTS
Delightfull borrowed from Simply Recipes

• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces, patted dry
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 IL button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 cup long grain, white rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon each of Italian seasoning and poultry seasoning
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley & chives

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high or high heat (hot enough to brown but not burn). Sprinkle a dash of salt on the bottom of the pan. Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the chicken pieces on two sides, about 1-2 minutes per batch. Add a little more salt to the pan (and more olive oil if needed) after every batch. This will help prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan. Remove chicken pieces and set aside in a bowl. Chicken does not have to be cooked through, only browned.

In the same sauté pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil, lower the heat to medium, add the onions, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cook 30 seconds more. Remove onions and garlic to a shallow (9 x 13 x 2) casserole dish.

Raise heat to medium high, add the sliced mushrooms. Dry sauté them, allowing the mushrooms to brown lightly, and release some of their moisture. Add the mushrooms to the casserole dish.

Add 1/4 cup dry white wine to the pan to deglaze the pan, scraping off the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Let the white wine reduce to about 1 Tbsp, then add the chicken stock, and remove from heat. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoon salt, the cream, and the sour cream.

Add the raw rice to the casserole dish. Then pour the stock, white wine, cream, sour cream mixture over the rice. Add the Italian and poultry seasonings to the dish. Stir the rice, onion, mushroom, herb mixture so that they are evenly distributed in the casserole dish.

Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture. Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil. If the casserole is still too liquidy, let it cook a few minutes more, uncovered, until the excess liquid has evaporated away.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley and chives before serving. I like to dub this dish, Thanksgiving in a bowl..with chicken of course.

Indigo and the S'more

2011-05-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

First comes rolling over, then comes sitting up, crawling, walking, talking, counting, potty training..but do not I repeat do NOT forget to have your kid try S'mores. It is an American Past time and must be strictly enforced if you are not to be deported.

I got this S'mores kit for the kids intro, how cute is this! I bought it at a blogger bake sale from Meandering Eats. Quite a treat if you ask me, and I’m a sucker for packaging.

Let’s crank up the gas stove top shall we…

I have no excuses for my ugly stove, Magic Erasers can’t cure everything. So please just move your eyes down to the bomb photo below. I am not the biggest fan of Smores…but homemade makes it OH SO NICE.

Now Let’s check out how my munchkin did..help provided from pops. First you have to do a finger check, must make sure not to burn your lips off.

Take a bite..contemplate…savor…think about elmo..whatever floats your boat.

Look at daddy with loving eyes, and a S'more smeared face.

Resume eating…and dreaming of Elmo…seriously what is this kid thinking about?

Peanut Butter Cookies with White Chocolate Frosting

2011-05-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Was it a good weekend? I sure hope it was. I did you normal run of the mill things.

1. Spent 1 hour trying to find a park that was only 3 miles from my house. Once I finally got there after calling my husband 35.9 times…it began to rain. All I can say is “Really Dude??”.

2. Went to H&M after seeing 3,000 commercials about their bathing suit tops only being $4.95. Once I got there I was told that anything I saw on a mannequin was what they had left. All I can say is “Really, Come on Dude!”.

Don’t worry I went and got truffles for my trouble, and I thank the nice lady who checked me out for giving me extra samples…well I thank you, but not my thighs.

3. Next I went to Target to try and find a bathing suit….6 items limit for the dressing room – It’s not fun trying on bathing suits in the first place but when you have to get re-dressed ever 6th item to come get 6 more…you start to break a sweat and it’s not all nice and pretty under those lights. “Target, really Dude…up the limit to the 50 I need during bathing suit season!”.

INGREDIENTS (PB Cookies, makes about 50)
Delightfully borrowed from David L
{FULL Printable Recipe Here}

8 tablespoons (115g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (120g) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup (200g) creamy salted peanut butter (see Note)
1 3/4 cups (250g) flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Sprinkles are so not optional, get em!

DIRECTIONS (Cookies)

With an electric mixer, or by hand, make the cookie dough by beating the butter, brown and granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. If using an electric mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the peanut butter.

In a separate bowl, whisk or sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter mixture and stir until there are no patches of flour. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.

After chilling, pre-heat your oven to 350, scoop up tablespoon-sized portions of the dough. Roll into nice balls then place on cookie sheet, refrigerate for another 10 minutes before baking. This will help hold the shape well.

Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until just golden.

INGREDIENTS (White Chocolate Frosting)
Delightfully borrowed from How Sweet It Is

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1-2 tablespoons milk

DIRECTIONS (White Chocolate Frosting)

Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed. .

ASSEMBLY OF THE COOKIE...

Place cookie in hand (a cooled one), top with a *BIG OLE* dollop of frosting, smooth, give it a dose of Sprinkles…Place cookie in mouth…repeat…..repeat…repeat.

Creamy Shrimp Pasta

2011-05-13T13:25:00.000-07:00

Things that take skill.

10. I love the way that you are able to knock a glass of wine off the coffee table from 17 paces away. That takes skill dude.

9. I love the way that I have bought you over 87 pairs of socks and we still only have 3 that match. That takes skill dude.

8. I love the way that you always know when to blink or turn your face away, causing only one in every 10,342 uploaded pictures to be printable. That takes skill dude.

7. I love the way you created a Picasso painting of our cat to appear in the carpet, made with smashed and trampled on Strawberries. That takes skill dude.

6. I love the way you pull out those little hair ties just right so that only a local anesthetic could prevent you from not feeling the pain that comes with pulling rubber bands out of thin toddler hair. That takes skill dude.

5. I love the way that you can spot a cartoon from a mile away as I am frantically try to channel surf around them. Eagle Eyes I tell you, that takes skill dude.

4. I love the way like me to brush your teeth, clenched with screams. That takes skill dude…on my part! Ha

3. I love the way you have made me advance my vocabulary… “Indigo, would you like some Spaghetti with Poop Balls? Indigo, would you like some Chocolate Chip Poopkies? Indigo, would you like some Pizza with Pooperoni?” It takes mad skill to teach an old dog new tricks.

2. I love the way I found corn on the ceiling. That takes skill dude.

1. I love you. That takes no skill on my part, it’s flipping easy!

Ladies and Gents this Pasta is soooo good! Easy, Preasy, Creamy, Delish. I really loved it. I have tried so Many Pioneer Woman Recipes and this one is my favorite so far.

Ingredients
Delightfully borrowed from P-Dub, slightly altered

• ¾ pounds Penne Pasta
• 1 pound Shrimp
• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 whole Onion (small)
• 2 cloves Garlic
• ½ cups White Wine, Or To Taste
• 1 can Tomato Sauce (8 Oz)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• Fresh Parsley, ½ cup + 2tbs
• Fresh Basil – ½ cup
• 1 jalapeno
• Salt To Taste
• Pepper To Taste
• 1 tbs flour

DIRECTIONS

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm, also known as al dente.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Mince your jalapeno, Chop up 2 tbs of parsley, toss both with 1 tbs Olive oil then coat your shrimp with it. Let marinate in your refrigerator for 2 hours.

Heat about 1 tbsp. butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails. Chop the shrimp into bite –sized pieces and set aside.

Finely dice one small onion. Mince two cloves of garlic.

In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. If you would rather not use wine, you can use low-sodium chicken broth instead (about ½ cup).

Now add an 8-ounce can of plain tomato sauce. Stir well until combined. Then add 1 cup of heavy cream. Continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer. Next melt 2 tbs of butter and mix with flour. Add to your sauce and stir.

Now chop your herbs, about a ½ cup of chopped parsley and about the same amount of chopped basil.

Now add your chopped shrimp back into the tomato cream sauce. Give it a stir and add salt and pepper to taste. Throw in your herbs and stir until combined. Finally add your cooked penne pasta and stir.

Now’s the part where you gather your family and let them tell you how “skilled” you are in the kitchen.

PS, Blogger ate this post the first time - so if blogger spits it back out after I just retyped it I will go fight blogger. I am so very tough and I mean it!

Indigo Dog Shizzle Fizzle

2011-05-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

{Please note this should be rapped}

My name is Indy
I’m no fool
I’m gonna rock this rhyme
Like I’ve been to grade school

*insert beat box sounds*

I have two cats
They love to hide
I love to put stuffed animals on their backs
To ride

*beat box sounds again, right here*

I drink my chocolate milk
I drink my apple juice
NO WATER mom please
It ain’t got no use

*break dance head spin move right here*

Nap, not me?
Don’t waste my time
Now watch me while I spit
Out my nursery rhyme

*smacks butt*

I give hugs - then I give kisses
Like no other
Tell it to your friends
Word to your mother

*Indigo out, peace sign*

Peach Filled Champagne Cupcakes

2011-05-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

Things I did over the weekend, besides make the cupcakes below (From Paula Deen, ya’ll) List to follow.

1. I ate at Taco Bell, Chik-Fil-A, In & Out, Coldstone, and The Golden Donut this weekend. You can all un-follow me now, it’s ok…I totally deserve it.

2. At our trip to Coldstone Indigo ordered vanilla ice cream with sprinkles and M&M’s. The guy behind the counter must have sensed we all know how to share really well *cough cough* and gave us all of 6 M&M’s..yes we fought like dogs for those morsels of chocolates…yes I won because it’s Mother’s day and I am pretty cute too.

3. To burn off all the fast food calories we went to Fry’s, I was all excited to get some photo editing software. After I saw the price tag (HOLY CRAP), and was told by someone who works there that they were a photographer and didn’t need that sort of thing…we left…booo

4. My last totally random thing. As we were driving to Coldstone…and all you people with kids will know what I am talking about. As we were driving to Coldstone I was trying to talk to my husband and Indigo is in the back seat repeating “Where are we going?, Where are we going?, Where are we going”.

As a parent at first you can totally tune the repeating sentence out, but come the 17th or 18th repeat it’s like the sentence repeats it self 18 times all at once in your head and I whipped my head around and said “OH MY GOOODNESS CHILD” to which she replied “You’re a poopy head Momma”.

INGREDIENTS (Cake,makes 12-16)
Delightfully borrowed from Paula Deen Ya'll
{Printable Recipe}

3 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup champagne
1 ½ cups cake flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS (Cake)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In small bowl, mix egg whites and champagne. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Mix butter into dry ingredients until it resembles moist crumbs.Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients until fully combined.

Divide evenly between twelve cupcake liners. Bake for 15 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched.

INGREDIENTS (Filling & Frosting)

15 oz can sliced peaches
½ cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS (Filling & Frosting)

Melt two tablespoons of butter in a medium-sized skillet on medium heat.
Drain and discard liquid from peach can. Use a towel to pat dry the peach slices, removing excess moisture.Place the peaches in a single layer in the hot skillet.

Cook for about three minutes or until the bottom side is browned, then flip.

Repeat until all sides of the peaches are browned.Remove peaches from skillet and cool.Use a food processor or immersion blender to puree the peaches.

Use a small paring knife or cupcake corer to remove a piece of cake from the center of each cooled cupcake. (You will not need the pieces that you remove, so feel free to eat them!)

Fill each hole with approximately two teaspoons of the peach puree.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter on high speed for five minutes. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and beat for another five minutes. Mix in vanilla extract, salt, and ¼ cup of peach puree and beat for two minutes.

Top those cakes, and dive on in.

PS. My opinion is these are great cupcakes with an awesome peach puree, they don’t really taste like the Bellini drink but they are darn good! I have shared this recipe on Seasonal Saturdays.

Sweet Strawberry Cake & Sweet Mothers

2011-05-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

A mother, mom, mum, momma or mama, is a woman who has conceived, given birth to, or raised a child in the role of a parent.[1] Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to define a mother to suit a universally accepted definition.

It is very hard to please everyone when defining a mother, if we all had to define our mother I would venture to say that some would not even describe the person whose belly they filled.

Now I am a mother, and I will absolutely do my best to make sure Indigo does not have any bad feelings towards her Mother "experience". I will fight with all my will power to provide her with Love, listening ears, an understanding heart, and deep belly laughs.

I will kiss her sweet face for as long as she lets me.

I will laugh at her jokes.

I will read her stories until one day she is reading them to me.

I will let her know that she is so beautiful in more ways than one, and then I’ll hug her for a very long time.

I will teach my girl to bake a birthday cake, engagement cake, and a baby shower cake.

I will teach her how to be a friend and how to be a wife.

I will teach my girl how to be a mother, just right after she finishes teaching me.

I love you Indigo.

Ingredients (Strawberry cake)
Delightfully borrowed from Confections of a Foodie Bride
{Printable Recipe}

• 24 oz very ripe fresh strawberries, hulled (if frozen, thawed)
• 1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
• 1/4 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened (not melted)

Directions

If using frozen, thaw frozen strawberries in whatever form (sliced, whole, etc) and in whatever container/bag you have them in. Pour into a fine strainer placed over a bowl and let sit. Lightly toss the strawberries occasionally to remove any pockets of excess liquid. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard.

Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree. (You can use fresh berries too, this is what I used. Just hull, slice and toss with a teaspoon or two of sugar and cover. Let them sit at room temperature for a couple of hours, until nice and juicy. Place strawberries in a food processor and puree.

Reserve 3/4 cup puree for the cake. Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting (which is what I did).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare two 8 inch pans: coat inside with butter and flour.

In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs (you can also do this with a hand mixer or by hand).

Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Divide the batter evenly among the pans and smooth tops.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

Ingredients (Strawberry Frosting)
Delightfully borrowed from Sprinkles
{Printable Recipe}

• 1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed (NEED 3TBS, I used the leftover puree from my cake.)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold
• Pinch of coarse salt
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree.

I made this a 2 layer cake, place a nice thin layer of frosting and leftover puree in the center. Next frost the outside.

Tip : Apply a super fine layer of frosting to your whole cake then place your cake in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove cake then apply a “2nd” layer of icing, the result is perfection.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to my Mother, you are such a peach and it was a pleasure being raised by you.

Oatmeal Cookies with Strawberries

2011-05-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

Did I ever tell you guys that I am lazy but at the same time have super freaky high anxiety? Basically this means that I want to sit on the couch while my house cleans itself because I can’t deal with a messy house or crazy food smooshing in your carpet toddlers.

My little human stomped Strawberries into the carpet. Anxiety meter on high alert *beeeeeep*

I still took her punk butt to Chuck E. Cheese's, and won her a plastic straw - that plastic Straw set me back like 10 bucks but was totally worth it. I also might have taken some tokens from Indy because well I hadn’t played that throw the ball game in quite some and when she launched her ball 6 rows over I sorta felt like I should take over. *beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Right now she keeps putting her freakin feet on me and this laptop *beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Activate Disney Channel Stat, or this post might not make it up here.

INGREDIENTS (makes 16)
{Printable Recipe}

½ cup + 2tbs butter, softened
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
1 ½ cups quick cooking oatmeal
¾ cup, diced strawberries

DIRECTIONS

Pre-Heat your oven to 350.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl cream together your butter and both sugars. Add in the egg and the Vanilla Extract. Next stir in the quick cooking oatmeal.

Now add in the strawberries, be light handed so you don’t injure those sweet berries. Roll dough into large tablespoon sized balls. These cookies do not spread very far, so you can put a decent amount on your pan.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool. As with any dessert with fresh berries, the cookies will become more moist over time and are best enjoyed as soon as possible.

Oh crap…what was that, “Indy?? Indy, what are you doing??”

*beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Shrimp Fajita's with a Tangy Cilantro Lime Sauce

2011-04-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am kicking it to you old school today with some old facts about my life, why not I share all of my little Indigo’s stories..might as well embarrass myself too!

I am from Florida, my daily outfits consisted of booty shorts and tank tops. I have been 6ft tall since the day I was born (sorry mom). I got sent home all the time for my skimpy shorts! Ha Yes, in Florida they have a short shorts rule, must reach to your finger tips.

I also danced to booty music “whoomp there it is, WHOOMP there it is!”

*shakes booty*

I was on the school dance team, this involved lots of sparkles and one time I had to dance on a toilet that was 6ft high.... to the song “Push it”.

I lived on Ramen and Grilled Cheese sandwiches, and I LOVED it.

I was obsessed with being popular, I was obsessed with having bigger tata’s, I was obsessed with anything but school.

INGREDIENTS Marinade
Delightfully borrowed from Gina, albeit cooked a lil differently
{Full Printable Recipe}

1 lb Shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 ½ cups cilantro
3 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lime
Salt & Pepper

DIRECTIONS

In your food processor blend together your Olive Oil, Cilantro, garlic, and lime juice. Pulse until well blended.

Place your shelled and deveined shrimp into a bowl and coat with salt & Pepper and your marinade. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Once marinated, we are ready to pan fry. Heat up a pan over a medium high heat, place the shrimp in a single layer in the pan. Each side will take about 3 minutes. You should get a nice little product if I do say so myself...and I do.

Set your shrimp aside whilst we prepare the rest..yes you can sample 1 or two.

INGREDIENTS Tangy Cilantro Lime Sauce

1 ½ cups plain greek yogurt
2 cloves garlic
¾ cup cilantro
Lime juice
Cayenne pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients into your food processor and blend, add cayenne pepper to your spice love level.

And what is the last step? Glad you asked…here is what you will need

1 Onion, sliced
1 cup Roasted Red Peppers, diced
Whole Wheat Tortillas

Pan fry the onions and peppers, then layer into your tortilla with all the rest.

Obviously you can assemble with any ingredients you have on hand! Feel free to stuff these babies any way you like because you totally have my permission.

Tortilla + pan fried onions & peppers + Shrimp + sauce = World Peace

Egg Hunt Yo'

2011-04-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

The night before Easter mom does her work
Stuffing 55 plastic eggs is a heck of a lot of work
The 99 cent store provided the fun
After all this candy was consumed the kids would weigh a metric ton

The very next morning the kids were all gathered
Dressed in cute dresses, gel in their hair was slathered
I yelled out “GOOOOOO” and sent them out for the eggs
The kids were running rampant like they had been drinking from a keg

Each egg found in the grass was promptly plucked
And out of it the chocolate candy was shucked
It was all over their faces as each child smiled
The sugar was spreading and driving them wild

And that when the parents realized their fault
For the next few hours there would be a sugar assault
The couch was a victim to thick chocolate layer
For the carpet to survive would take some great prayer

So we decided to do what all parents would do
Cracked open the red, and hit up the booze (moderately of course!)
Grilled up the burgers & busted out the cake
In 4 hours time the loss of sugar will put on the kids hydraulic brakes

And that is what happened just a little time later
The lack of sugar hit them, just like a freighter
Piled them into bed, and read them a story
Dinner tonight was chocolate but tomorrow is chicken cacciatore.

- All rhymes courtesy of Jennifurla-dog yo to the shizzle wizzle

White Chocolate & Strawberry Muffins

2011-04-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hi ya’ll

Guess what, I saw Alvin and the Chipmunks for like the 87th time this weekend! Word. There are things in life, especially when you have a toddler that you are surely going to repeat a few times. Indy has a nice list of repeats.

Below are a few things.

1. See above (Alvin and the Chipmunks)

2. Chocolate Milk, this is a serious obsession that I am having trouble not using as a coercing item. Basically if I need the mini-me to move, I offer up the dark chocolate juice that calls her name. Please tell me I am not the only mom to do such things?? Anyone… *taps mic* Is this thing on?

Also while typing this out I just fed my girl a Cadbury Egg, her favorite and #1 reason she is potty trained. It’s starting to look like I have a serious problem with begging my daughter to do things with chocolate…she has it SOOOOO good.

Below is a chocolate recipe fit for begging a toddler or adult to do your bidding. So ladies..and gents – Make out that Honey do list and get your baking on.

PS. 2nd week of P90X completed

PPS. Thanks for all of your prayer requests, it was an honor to incorporate you & your family and friends into our Easter. I kept all your names on the chair next to me.

INGREDIENTS (makes 12)
{Printable Recipe}
Recipe delightfully borrowed off the back of a Ghirardelli Bar

¼ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tbs baking powder
1 cup flour
8 oz White Chocolate, chopped
¾ cup, diced strawberries

DIRECTIONS

Pre-Heat your oven to 375.

Butter and Flour your muffin pan, add parchment to the very bottom of each muffin spot. This makes for very easy removal.

In a medium sized bowl, cream together the sugar & butter. Next, add in the egg, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and chopped white chocolate. Gradually add this into your wet items until just combined.

Now add in those gorgeous Strawberries. Stir only enough to evenly distribute them. This batter is quite lumpy, and that’s a good thing.

Fill your muffin cups ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20-25 minutes for large muffins.

Now I'm off to run our Easter egg hunt.

Happy Easter & Prayer

2011-04-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

Can my family Pray for yours?

If you, your family, co-workers, or friends

Would appreciate a prayer said for them this Sunday

Just leave their names here, me & my family will be happy to say a prayer over each name left in the comments section below...No explanation needed we are just feeling blessed and would love to wish blessings over you too.

Red Velvet Brownie Bunny with a White Chocolate Frosting

2011-04-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have one more confession to make about this weekend then I totally promise to move on.

I confess that I ate a whole pan of brownies, a whole mould of brownies shaped like the Easter bunny. Actually I ate a pan and a half because I had to almost double the recipe to fill my mould.

OK, one or two more confession then I’ll stop.

I confess that I would do it ALL OVER AGAIN BECAUSE IT WAS THAT FLIPPING GOOD.

I confess that my husband helped me eat the rabbit, actually he should confess that but I’ll do it for him because this is MY blog, ha.

Indigo confesses that she had only one because well, I made them and their MINE ALL MINE!

I confess that I watched Hoarding : Buried Alive , Teen Mom Part Deux, and House Hunters - while eating this brownie rabbit.

I confess that I liked watching Hoarding : Buried Alive , Teen Mom Part Deux, and House Hunters, but not as much as eating those brownies.

I confess that I should probably be running 5 miles versus watching TV, since I don’t want to run I’ll just eat another brownie.

I confess that my confessing is out of hand but I am really trying to amuse my lovely readers! High five, oh wait I can’t because I have a brownie in my hand.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from How Sweet It Is
{Printable Recipe}

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons red food coloring
2/3 cups chocolate chips (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter and flour your baking dish, I used my bunny mould.

In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla.

With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Isn’t it gorgeous!

Spread in your pan or baking mould. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. My brownies developed a thin crust, but I inverted mine and frosted the bottoms because I was using a mould.

Tips for RED dye – GLOVES! Seriously that stuff is potent! I used some small gloves I had so I could hand smooth the batter perfectly into my mould

Tips for filling the Mould – Remember the rise of your batter, mine rose a bit above the mould. It was easily trimmed with a sharp knife after cooling. Before you remove anything from your mold, it must cool ALL the way. If you remove it to soon, warm brownies fall apart.

White Chocolate Frosting

1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces white chocolate, melted (I used Giradelli)
1-2 tablespoons milk (or more if needed)

Directions

Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed.

I realize the picture above is a little sick, I mean I totally dug right into the Easter Bunny! Indigo didn’t seem to mind nor notice the gore of it all.

Open up folks.
Thanks Sarah-Jane for letting me try out one of your great molds!

Chicken with Spinach & Roasted Red Peppers

2011-04-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

You know what? I have to be totally honest with you, this weekend knocked the crap out of me. Not because I was sick, that has passed. This weekend kicked the crap out of me because my fuse must be like .0295 milli-micro-supersmall-nano-seconds long.

Yeah. There were all sorts of challenges. Challenges that made me put on full display mom and wife melt downs, I am so not proud.

So there are those days when your toddler will not take a nap. You know, the ones where stuffed animals get tossed over the railing…by you. Yeah, I’m not proud – Sorry Mickey…and Minnie..and Bear..etc..

There are also those days when your partner sort of rolls their eyes at you, or thinks you lost something of theirs, or thinks you gave the computer a virus…NO IT WAS NOT ME I SWEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And yes I am pretty sure I yelled worse than that, and rolled my eyes right on back...thrice

Calgon, take me away.

PS..The P90x is kicking my butt.

PPS..I am so glad that Indigo's #2 accident came after everybody else left the park.

PPPS..I am sorry Indigo for letting the world know about the #2 accident.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Gina
{Printable Recipe}

4-6 Chicken Breasts, thin cut
1 bag spinach, pre-washed from the salad aisle
1 jar, Roasted Red Peppers
2 cloves garlic
Mozzarella Cheese
Cayenne Pepper for a little heat
Salt & Pepper
2 tbs flour
Olive Oil, for sauteing the Chicken and Spinach

Directions

Pre-Heat oven to 350

First you will want to season your chicken with salt ,pepper,and Cayenne. Next lightly drizzle a little bit of flour onto the chicken. In a large pan over a medium high heat, sauté your chicken until cooked through.

Heat a sauté pan or pot over medium heat. Add oil (1-2 tsp) and garlic, sauté a few seconds, add spinach, salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes until heated through.

When chicken is done, lay on a baking sheet lined with foil. Divide spinach evenly between your chicken breasts. Top each with mozzarella, then slices of roasted pepper and bake until melted, about 6-8 minutes.

There, were all done cooking - phew. I am super beat! This weekend took one look at me and gave me a big ole whooping. Weekend, I give up. Take me to Monday.

PPPPS, I can’t believe I just said that.

French Roast Brigadeiro

2011-04-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

I just hate being sick. I already have about 3,942 excuses not to do things and being sick is like the icing on the “I don’t feel like doing that cake.”

If you get sick you have full on permission to

1. Not work out, not really…you must! (I just started the P90X)

2. You sure don’t have to eat healthy, bring on the calories..calories cure sickness

3. Be lazy and leave the dishes in the sink, practically taunting you.

4. You have full permission to NOT play with your toddler, however your toddler will not comprehend this fact nor comply

5. You have permission to wine I mean whine on you blog, see I’m doing it “waaaaaaaaa”

6. You have permission to eat all these candies we are about to make.

Ingredients
Learn More About Brigadeiro
{Printable Recipe}

1 can of condensed milk – 395g
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 tsp StarbucksVia Instant Coffee, French Roast
1 cup Shredded Coconut, blend in food processor

Directions

Mix the condensed milk, butter, cocoa powder, and Via coffee in your pan. Turn the heat to medium high. Be sure to continually stir for 5-7 minutes, make sure that you fully stir on the bottom to prevent burning.

You will know when it is done because as you lift one side of the pan, the Brigadeiro sits down and reveals the clean bottom of the pan.

Once Brigadeiro is fully cooked, remove from the heat to cool. Once Brigadeiro is cooled to room temperature then place it in your refrigerator for another 2 hours. This will make it much easier to handle.

Rolling is simple. Place a tablespoon sized ball onto the end of a spoon, next slightly dampen your hands (I’m talking a drop or two!) Take the candy off the spoon and roll into a ball between your palms. The slight bit of water really makes it easy.

Now, roll the Brigadeiro ball into your coconut. Alternatives could be crushed nuts, cocoa powder, or a simple powdered sugar..and for a real kick more via powder.

I served these up in mini cupcake holders, how adorable. The consistency is a soft fudge like feel, the taste is divine! Leave out the coffee for kids, but I think the coffee addition makes this a perfect little after dinner treat for adults.

It's fun to throw kids

2011-04-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

No Children were injured during this photo shoot.

You will see why I said that in T-minus 2 seconds…two..one..blast off

Check out Indigo’s form, Mommy gives that a 10 Indigo!

However with this landing I will need to make subtractions

She has many toys, but just like the cat she prefers to play with the packaging…aka Mommy & Daddy.

PS, I’m sick. Boo.

Spaghetti with a Tomato & Anchovy Sauce

2011-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

Oh Oh Oh, I’m tired. Date night was fabulous but let’s face it…Parents don’t get to sleep in! So right about now I feel like whining to the world.

“HEY WORLD!!!! Can a girl get a nap around here?” *said with an Italian accent*

I have news for you, the world has no nap in store for me. I have quite the list of things to accomplish.

Jennifer's To Do List :

1. Grocery shopping
2. Teach Indigo how to tie her shoes
3. Watch America’s Funniest Home Videos
4. Drink a glass of wine
5. Pick up goldfish that are littering the living room carpet
6. Let the cat out…Let the cat in..Let the cat out….Let the cat in…
7. Drink a glass of wine, this is not a typo.

Told you it was a FULL day.

Ingredients:
Delightfully borrowed from Rachel Ray
Jennifer's slightly altered {Printable Recipe}

• 1 pound thin spaghetti
• 1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 red chile pepper, fresno, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lemon, for juice
• 1/4 cup EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
• 6 anchovy fillets
• One 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes

Directions:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta. Coat pasta with a little bit of Olive Oil.

Meanwhile, using a food processor, puree the onion, chile, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves and lemon juice.

In a large saucepan, heat the EVOO, 4 turns of the pan, and the anchovies over medium-high heat until the anchovies melt. Add the onion-chile paste and stir for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with juice, breaking up the tomatoes with a spoon. Cook the sauce until thickened, about 20 minutes. Toss the spaghetti with the sauce.

Now eat this up and then go take a nice long nap for me, just don’t tell me about because I would then become insanely jealous and ….yawn, snore…*eyes closing*

Red Pepper & Goat Cheese Risotto

2011-04-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

Is it the weekend yet? I start getting a little giddy beginning on Thursday, by Friday (donut day in the office) I am beaming.

I planned a date night for this Saturday, Filet’s at Ruth’s Chris. I am dreaming about it nightly! So goes the life of a food lover.

What other things do I dream of? Well, glad you asked.

Sometimes I dream of being able to play hookie from work so I can watch Zombie movies all day.

Many times I dream of being able to eat three Cheesy Gordita Crunches at once…and I also dream that they are -5 calories a piece…

I dream about someone accidentally painting the whole inside of my house for free, and then accidentally throwing in a whole new set of wood floors too, then they feed my cats, then they mop the tiles, then they deposit 50,000 dollars into my discretionary funds… Come on, it could happen.

Ingredients
Delightfully borrowed from Pioneer Woman
{Printable Recipe}

• 8 cups Chicken Broth, Low-Sodium
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• ½ whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Diced
• 1-¾ cup Arborio Rice
• ¾ cups Dry White Wine, I used a Sauvignon Blanc
• Salt To Taste
• 5 ounces, fluid Goat Cheese (I used TJ's Double Milk Melange Cheese)
• ½ cups Grated Parmesan

Directions

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium pan. In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium to medium-low heat. Add diced onions and cook until translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add red peppers and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Add uncooked rice and stir for a minute or two, allowing it to be coated with the other ingredients.

Pour in wine and cook for a minute or two.

Now, start adding broth a cup to a cup and a half at a time, stirring gently and allowing each addition to absorb into the rice. Repeat for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.

Next comes the cheese, glorious goat cheese! Now I know goaty cheese is not everyone favorite so feel free to replace it with your favorite – Monterey jack would be a great substitute.

And to really make it a show stopper, I saved the Pepper stems and added them for decoration. So adorable – and free.

Wings

2011-04-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

There are

only two

lasting bequests

we can

give our

Children.

one is roots,

the other wings.

Coconut Cookies

2011-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

I started off motherhood thinking that I would be raising the loveliest behaved angel on the planet - that lasted all of 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 42 seconds. The minute she threw a fit…I decided by any means necessary I would calm that beast.

Thing is, if you have done the same thing I did - Give into their whims, bribe them, and let them watch The Real Housewives with you – chances are you might have a little problem on your hands.

Indigo did not I repeat did not dismantle the bush outside of our house, making herself leaf salad, using roses for tomatoes.

Indigo did not I repeat did not throw a ball 46mph into the head of a one year old, no ma’am not my Indigo.

Indigo did not I repeat Indigo did not make me drag her through Target all the while still giving in when we hit the 1 dollar bins...give me strength lord.

Anyways I just thought I would throw that out there for you, we are all learning as we go! I turn red probably 86.5 times per day for fear of other mom’s judgements…but hey I promise to cut you slack if you cut me some right back.

Deal?

Cool, deal.

INGREDIENTS (makes 25-35)
delightfully borrowed from AllRecipes
{Printable Recipe}

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
• For my glaze I simply mixed ¼ cup ½ & ½ with powdered sugar until it reached a thick consistency.
• Extra coconut for decoration

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 9 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks. Once cooled mix up your glaze. Dip each cookie half way in, and then sprinkle coconut on the glazed area.

Texture for this cookie is a slightly crispy edge and soft center, cookies do flatten a bit but taste great! I would love to stay here and chat but I hear meowing and Indigo is nowhere to be seen…

Spicy Queso Yo

2011-03-31T07:57:00.000-07:00

When I first named this blog I got nervous after a few weeks. I thought to myself, my name is too long. My name is too weird, I am going to scare away people without kids and make the foodies reject me for the kid element. Then Indigo bit me (literally), and I came back to reality (seriously how old am I to be debating the name for 2 hours?!!) - the name works.

But…always a but!

Lately I have thought a few other names would work here too. Let’s see what they are.

1. The “I just potty trained my daughter now where is my trip to Hawaii blog”

2. The “OMG is it Monday again, why is it always Monday again blog”
Seriously..it is always Monday!

3. The “Why can’t I pay someone else to work out for me blog” You could be rich if working out was your thing.

4. The “I copy everything that the Pioneer Woman Does Blog” That one fits the most today, girlfriend makes the kind of food I adore.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Pioneer Woman
{Printable Recipe}

• 32 ounces, weight Velveeta Cheese Loaf
• 10 ounces, weight Rotel
• 1 pound Jimmy Dean Hot Breakfast Premium Pork Sausage
• 7 ounces, weight Chopped Green Chilies
• 1 whole Yellow Onion
• 1 whole Jalapeno, or more to taste (I left this out for the little one, still plenty of heat!)

DIRECTIONS

Dice the onion. Using a nonstick sprayed skillet, cook sausage and onions until brown, stirring occasionally. Once browned, drain some of the fat from the skillet.

Cube Velveeta loaf. Add cubes to browned sausage and onion mixture. Add can of Rotel (juice and all), can of green chilies (juice and all), and stir over low heat. It will take almost 10 minutes for everything to get all nice & MELTY.

Now if you please you can chop up a jalapeno and add that into the mix, I had my little ones taste buds to think about so I skipped that. The Queso was still plenty hot, and oh so tasty. We ate only 1/3rd of it and saved the rest in 2 ziplog bags. Easily Freezable.

Happiness

2011-03-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

This

Is

What

Pure

Happiness

Looks

Like

Soda Pop Pulled Pork with a Spicy Cilantro Pesto

2011-03-27T16:05:00.000-07:00

Just in the last year I became a Christian. This is a whole new world to me, lots to learn and I am just gobbling it up. Like always my little one, Indigo is a huge influence in my life and I am really enjoying sharing my new faith with her.

Each night we pray. It is so very adorable for my daughter to stop me as I leave her room for the night and remind me that we need to pray.

Our prayers are quite simple, I let her lead.

“Dear God, Bless Daddy, Mommy, Indigo, Grandma, Grandpa, Jake (current boyfriend of hers) Praise Jesus, Amen.”

Well last night she strayed! At the part where she normally says “Praise Jesus” she was mumbling…I repeated the statement and she said :

“NO Mommy, I said praise Cheez it’s! – not Jesus!”

Oh my little heathen.

Ingredients for Pulled Pork
Delightfully borrowed from Pioneer Woman
{Printable Recipe}

• 1 whole Large Onion
• 1 whole Pork Shoulder/Butt - 5 To 7 Pounds
• Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
• 24 ounces of Dr. Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Directions for Pulled Pork

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Peel the onion and cut it into wedges. Lay them in the bottom of a large dutch oven.
Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.

Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour all of the Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.

Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, pour another ½ cup of cooking liquid over the pork.

Now let’s add some more spice!

Ingredients for the Cilantro/Jalapeno Pesto
{Printable Recipe}

1 ½ cup Cilantro
½ Jalapeno, chopped
¼ cup blanched almonds
¼ cup Olive Oil

Directions for the Pesto

Place it all in your food processor and blend! Easy Peasy, sinfully good! If you like super heat add the whole jalapeno.

And now the story ends, I served this pulled pork and spicy pesto on Mini Sweet Hawaiian Rolls, the were outrageously good.

Much better than Cheez it’s!

Sharing this recipe at :

Kono Sauvignon Blanc 2010

2011-03-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

Wine, how I love thee – Let me count the ways.

I love how you make me feel better after a long day at work.

The list goes like this :

1. Indy’s smile
2. Husbands Kiss
3. Kick butt bottle of white

I love how you make Four Weddings & Say Yes to the Dress a fabulous Friday night.

I love your bottle? I love wine bottles, I love the cork – at least I think I do because I have saved at least one thousand of them!

I also love Trader Joe’s. Joe hooks me up with cheap wonders. So I have one for you!

KONO Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2010

A blend of fruits from the Awatere, Waihopai, and Lower Wairau Valleys gives this Sauvignon Blanc the classic Marlborough fruit burst with great palate weight and a clean, acid finish.

This wine is available at Trader Joe's for $7.99

Try it this weekend! It gets a standing ovation from me and two somersaults from my daughter…that means it is super good.

Have a "smashing" weekend.

Lemon & Herb Spaghetti

2011-03-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

So, did I tell you the hilarious story about my Indigo, The one that involves her layering no less than 17 pieces of clothing on to her body? No? Well sit on back ya’ll.

Picture this. . . . .

After 32.5 minutes of book reading, toddler huggin, and general stalling…by the toddler, Indigo finally fell asleep. Mom went downstairs and began re-doing her kitchen cabinets. Dad was busying himself by exercising the remote control (if not properly utilized they can break you know!!).

Fast forward 2 hours later, and this is what went down.

Indigo woke up, girlfriend had to pee and is freshly potty trained. Indigo scurried into to her bathroom and all 3ft of her tried with all her might to climb the toilet…

FAIL

Failing to a toddler is heartbreaking, they only want to please you and I assume her bottom lip protruded when she peed all over the floor. Being that she is a smart gal, she hatched a plan.

She ran into her room and disrobed, placing the wet clothes in her trash bin. She then proceeded to find a new outfit. With 3 shirts, 2 skirts (over her arms), and 4 pairs of pants (on various parts) she was ready for her debut…and that is how the husband found her.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed from Smitten Kitchen
{Printable Recipe}

1 pound spaghetti or linguine
Salt
3 lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus additional for serving
1/4 cup heavy cream
½ cup of Parmesan, plus more for the final product
Ground black pepper
1 cup chopped basil or chives…or both! Live dangerously.

PS – I tried both and preferred the basil, but chives rocked it out too. Lemon is the true star. Might I also add, I ate this no less that 5 days in a row – It re-heats well! Perfect for a nice week at work.

DIRECTIONS

Cook linguine or spaghetti in well-salted water to your al dente tastes in a large, wide-bottomed pot. (You’ll have fewer dishes to wash if you use this pot to assemble the dish as well.)

While pasta is cooking, zest lemons until you have a little shy of a tablespoon of zest. Juice lemons — you’ll have anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 cup lemon juice.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water. Dry out your pot, then boil the olive oil, cream, zest and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water together for two minutes over high heat. Return pasta to pot and stir until coated. Add the cheese and 1/4 cup lemon juice and toss everything together. Add more pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, until the noodles are nice and loose.

Add remaining Lemon Juice, then toss in the basil or chives.

When serving top with more fresh herbs and some more parm, and Olive oil..and bread…and maybe some wine?

Jackson Hole & Random Squawking

2011-03-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Please join me in a trip to Jackson Hole Wyoming.

Random #1 – It takes 17.5 minutes of typing to check for flights, how complicated can their databases be?

Random #2 – Your child will fall asleep on the plane….10 minute before landing.

Random #3 – If the view from the airport is this good, you are golden.

Random #4 – Thank god for the blessing of staying in a beautiful place like this, and the greater blessing of sharing it with family.

Random #5 – Take a picture of the kitchen for all your foodie blog friends. I cooked up Beef Bourguignon, corn, mashed potatoes with chives, and a salad of Beets & spinach for 12. It was quite the hit.

Random #6 – How much fun are family style dinners? Do it!

Random # 7 – Make snow angels for the first time

Random # 8 – Throw Snow Balls for the first time

Random # 9 – Throw your kid in the snow

Random # 10 – Throw your kid in the snow 1,234 more times..phew

Last Random – People who live in San Diego are not very good at building Snowmen.

Chestnut Cake with Whipped Cream and Strawberries

2011-03-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

I’m back from vacation and ready to go out the airplane gates. I learned a few things on the plane rides, and being my first post back I thought I would share.

- Eating at the airport requires the payment of half a paycheck or your first born…which if she behaved like mine you will hand her right over.

- Escalators and moving sidewalks provide all the entertainment your toddler desires and all the exercise you can handle.

- Stickers and coloring books can only keep your kids attention for so long. Airplane silence except for your kids screech is mortifying, even if everyone says they understand.

- Kids think that farting is funny (your neighbors may not)…on a very silent 650am morning flight.

This is random, and so am I. On my way back from the airport there was a homeless man with a sign that read “Bet you can’t hit me with a quarter”.

I am so glad to be back and will share some great vacation pictures soon! And now on to a great cake, chestnut cake. So fabulous and a great vehicle for anything.

INGREDIENTS for Chestnut Puree
(Full Printable Recipe)

12 oz (2 cups) chestnuts, roasted and peeled
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla

INGREDIENTS for the Chestnut Cake

· 2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 3/4 teaspoon salt
· 1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
· 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
· 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
· 4 large eggs, separated, plus 1 large egg white
· 1 cup Chestnut Puree
· 1/4 cup whole milk

- Whipped Cream and strawberries for topping..your choice!

DIRECTIONS for the Chestnut Puree

In a saucepan, combine chestnuts, sugar and water, bringing the liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 25-35 minutes, until the majority of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Strain chestnuts, reserving sugar syrup, and transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add in syrup slowly until desired consistency is obtained. Allow to cool before refrigerating.

DIRECTIONS for the Chestnut Cake

Pre-heat oven to 350, select a baking pan to butter and flour. I used a mini loaf pan to make lots of little cakes.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Place Vanilla Extract in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Add butter, and beat until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with chestnut puree after first addition and milk after second, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer batter to a large bowl.

Beat egg whites in a clean bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

Whisk one-third of the egg whites into batter just until combined. Gently but thoroughly fold in remaining whites. Scrape batter into prepared pan, and smooth top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour for a full cake, mini cakes are about 25 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Top with Whipped Cream and Strawberries, and let me add...you have been missed.

Chocolate Cake, Zombies, See You In 2 Weeks...

2011-03-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

You know, I just love Chocolate. Do you?

I will be taking the next 2 weeks off for a glorious vacation, I wanted to leave you with a chocolate dessert that can feed the masses properly.

So I ask again, do you love chocolate? I sure do…and as always there are other things I just LOVE.

I love my first cup of coffee in the morning, it screws my head on straight.

I love to drink coffee on a cold day, stay home and watch a movie.

I love Zombie Movies.

My house has so many windows that I would totally die if zombies attacked. . . .also, why in zombie movies do people not know that the zombies are zombies??? I mean is it not common knowledge that the walking dead are called ZOMBIES.

Oh wow, yeah…so off track now.

Let’s get back to the chocolate…zombies don’t eat chocolate, they eat people!

If I don’t have a cup of coffee in the morning I am a zombie! Ha, see how I brought this whole conversation full circle. Genius.

PS…I will see you in 2 weeks here, but still plan to visit you in my spare time...I am going to be a snow bunny in Jackson Wyoming.

Delightfully borrowed from Ree aka most stalked by me blogger on the web

INGREDIENTS
(Printable Recipe)

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add cocoa. Stir together.

Add boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Pour over warm cake.

Now eat it like you mean it…get all zombie on it’s butt

Blueberry & Goat Cheese Focaccia with Honey

2011-03-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

Things that children do that we no longer partake of.

1. Right now I keep reminding Indigo to eat her hamburger, not just to dip and lick the tomato sauce off of it. How gross it that? I, Jennifer can be counted on to be much more civilized when it comes to hamburger consumption. Unless of course I am at one of those restaurants that make the burger 8.5 inches tall, come on man! I like a bite of each ingredient, don’t like to eat my burger in layers thank you very much.

2. Singing, have you ever been in a supermarket and heard a kid singing at the top of their lungs? Perhaps it was the ABC”S, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider? Well that was not us. Mine was singing at the top of her lungs about the sweet subject of poop today.

You will never catch me singing about that subject, I have progressed you see. 33 years of living teaches you one thing, people will think you’re crazy if you sing about poop, and know how to drive already.

Word.

3. Right now there is about a 1 inch layer of ketchup around Indy’s mouth. Right now there is napkin on the table. You see, Indigo has no idea of this thick layer of muck on her face…she would actually never notice unless you point it out to her, the napkin is in no danger. See girlfriend just does not mind it, she is on her 4th apple juice of the day and well…she’s darn happy, layer of ketchup or not.

Now…that might be something I need to learn from her -

INGREDIENTS

*Please note the dough must rise overnight.
This Focaccia recipe is delightfully borrowed from Anna’s Table

Dough
(Printable Recipe)

3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons light virgin oil
2-3 Tablespoons honey

The Topping (add your desired quanitity)

Fresh Blueberries
Goat Cheese
Zest of one lemon
Honey

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl add the flour, the yeast and the salt. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, blend the dry ingredients.

Pour in 1 1/2 cup of water, 3 tablespoons of light virgin oil, and mix. Pull together the dough using your hands or a wooden spoon. Scrape any excess flour from the bottom and sides of the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well incorporated and form into a ball. The dough will have a stringy texture. Cover and place in a warm draft free are to rise overnight, at least 12 hours and up to 24.

Transfer the dough to a greased and floured 12 " pizza tray. Dust the dough lightly with flour, and with your hands spread out to the edges of your pizza pan, forming a disk. Drizzle with oil & honey and season with salt.

Next add on the blueberries, goat cheese, and zest. Set aside and let dough rise again for 2 hours.

When ready. Bake your focaccia at 500 for 20 minutes. Since we are baking with honey, you might get a little smoke if it slides off the bread.

I served each slice with a tablespoon of honey and a smile.

Cheeseburger Risotto

2011-03-03T09:16:00.000-08:00

Let’s go back in time, via the TV. Before Teen Mom, Dancing with the Stars, Talk Soup, and Gossip Girl there were some super classics!

A Different World –

I know my parents love me,
Stand behind me come what may.
I know now that I'm ready,
Because I finally heard them say
It's a different world form where you come from.

Here's a chance to make it,
If we focus on our goals.
If you dish it we can take it,
Just remember you've been told
It's a different world form where you come from.
It's a different world form where you come from.

I can hear that song in my head. This was one I watched ALL THE TIME! Remember Whitley! Oh how we loved to hate her, before she grew on us..and grew on Dwayne Wayne.

My Two Dads – OK..I think we all wished that Joey was our dad! LOL. I think more than that I was in love with Nicole’s impeccable style and gorgeous hair.

And what about…Beauty And The Beast? Remember that one? It was one my favorites. Vincent and Catherine were spectacular. Remember Vincent lived underground beneath New York City, he and Catherine were a whirl wind love.

• And now on to a classic with a twist. A cheeseburger is pretty much number 1 as far as a classic food to eat in the states…let’s twist it up and make it into Risotto! Feel free to mold this risotto in to your favorite burger.

INGREDIENTS
(Printable Recipe)

1 lb Lean ground beef
1 onion, diced nicely
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup uncooked Arborio Rice
3 ½ cups beef broth
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup or more chopped green onion
Worcestershire Sauce
salt for taste

DIRECTIONS

In a non-stick skillet, cook beef,onion, and pepper until nicely browned adding in the garlic during the last minute. Do not drain once cooked…we are living dangerously…if you are not, drain it.

Next stir in the rice, constantly stirring for about 2 minutes.

Now add in all of that broth! Careful now! Heat this mixture to boiling, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

After those first 10 minutes, cook uncovered for another 5-7 – or until all the liquid is absorbed. Once the liquid is gone, mix in your cheese and green onions.

Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes before serving, as a last minute addition I squeezed a healthy dose of Worcestershire into each bowl..DO NOT SKIMP! I added 2 tbs per bowl. This is the cheeseburger taste overload addition.

Add another dash of onion too...love them

Girl Scout Truffles

2011-03-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

That’s right Girl Scout Truffles, do I have everyone’s attention?

I have to say I just couldn't take it anymore. After being bombarded at Payless, Stater Brothers, Target, Trader Joe's, and Old Navy I simply swiped those girl scout…cookies up and got my brain to work on a proper way to convert them into decadence.

I so succeeded. All my friends told me so and they are fine upstanding citizens…on Mondays.

Actually my husband just ate the last one. Don’t worry I will make him pay for it later…into the week.

This recipe is delightfully borrowed from me! I paid myself in wine & Cheese, and feel properly compensated. So if you have someone that needs a treat, perhaps a truffle made out of one of the 85 boxes of Samoa’s you have would work?

INGREDIENTS (Makes 18 truffles)
(Printable Recipe)

(1) box of Samoas
4 oz Mascarpone Cheese, softened
1 cup quick cooking oats
½ bag of semi -sweet chocolate chips
4 tbs of butterscotch chips

DIRECTIONS

Place the Samoa Cookies into your food processor and blend into fine crumbs. I did mine in batches because a Samoa is one tough cookie (no pun here at all!). Place the cookies in a large bowl, then add in the Mascarpone and quick cooking oats. Blend well, place in your refrigerator for 30 minutes. This will make them easier to roll.

Once properly chilled, roll the dough into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment lined pan. Place back in your refrigerator for another 20 minutes to set up again.

Next place your chocolate & butterscotch chips in a double boiler over a medium high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until the chips are completely melted.

Now we get messy. I dropped each truffle in to the double boiler until coated. I retrieved it by poking the truffle with a metal skewer and then tapping the excess off. Place each truffle on your parchment lined pan.

As per the picture above, after all the truffles were coated I added a topping. I used a kids medicine syringe to suck up the melted chocolate then squeezed a design on to each truffle. You could also use nuts, cocoa powder or anything else your heart desires.

Chill truffles in the refrigerator for 2 hours before eating.

Now go find a Girl Scout..cookie

Also. This is a PS - COme Visit Tomatoes on the Vine for Wordless Wednesday!

Adding this post to:

Daring Bakers February - Honey Mascarpone Panna Cotta & Coffee Gelee

2011-02-27T06:16:00.000-08:00

The pitter patter of little feet, this is what I am listening to right now. I have tried my darnedest to put Indy down for a nap but I hear lots of movement upstairs. Here is how it went.

Place child in bed
Read story to child
Walk out of room
Child opens door
Mom closes door

Child laughs says “Come get me momma!”
Door opens, child laughs
Mom closes door, holds knob, child turns light on and off (laughing)
Mom tries not to laugh (this can only invigorate child)
Kid sticks fingers out from under the door
Mom restrains herself from poking at childs finger and snickers a bit

Mom walks downstairs and writes her Daring Bakers post…having no clue what is taking place upstairs but it sure does sound like clown training school….for elephants

INGREDIENTS (Panna Cotta)

1 PKG. PLAIN GELATIN (OR 1 TABLESPOON IF YOU BUY IT IN BULK)
1 L HALF & HALF OR 18% COFFEE CREAM
1/2 CUP MASCARPONE
1/4 CUP HONEY
1 TSP. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
Find delightful instructions here

Coffee Gelée
Adapted from this recipe in Gourmet Magazine

Ingredients:

2 cups brewed coffee
1/4 cup hot water + 2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place granulated sugar and 1/4 c. hot water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Sprinkle gelatin over 2 Tablespoons cold water and let it soften 2 minutes or so.

3. Stir the coffee, sugar, hot water, and vanilla into a small metal bowl, add gelatin mixture and stir well until gelatin has dissolved. If pouring over Panna Cotta, be sure that this mixture is no longer hot, it will melt Panna Cotta if it is, let it come to room temperature.

UPDATE – A TEDDY BEAR HAD TO BE PUT IN TIME OUT.

Ps. If you havn't already be sure to check out my Guest Post at the Mount!
PPs. The hostess of Daring Bakers this month was Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen , sign up for Daring Bakers if you havn't already!

Guest Post at The Mount

2011-02-24T18:37:00.001-08:00

Please join me at More Than A Mount Full with Chef Dennis

I am honored to be a guest over in his neck of the woods!

Spectrum Squawking

2011-02-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

Because we were all feeling a cold come on this weekend, we decided to go to a museum - you know to share the LOVE.

We also decided to go because we had hit our limit of Dora, Diego, Olivia, Wonder Pets, Backyardigans, Blues Clues, Pixar, Disney...etc....Cable Companies must love us.

Check out this super cool building!

Disregard the rear view mirror.

What rear view mirror you ask? Exactly...quick learner you are.

I quite possibly should by stock in detangler for Indigo...whatcha think?

Oh Oh, I could also buy stock in Lolipops, stickers, and chocolate milk.,,says my daughter, right after she bit me...joking..most of the time

While we were at the museum me and Indy had a photo shoot while daddy waited in line for tickets...that's what a real man does for his ladies.

We jumped over puddles too, cause real ladies do that every once and awhile.

When we got inside I took pictures of stuff.

Stuff like water faucets with fake water, what can I say it was calling my name. Or maybe it was the fact I was dying of thirst.

Also one of my cats will only drink from the faucet. I oblige.

My cat smiles like this and I can't resist turning on the faucet for him, plus I let him in and out of the house at least 15.8 times per day.

Right now one of my cats is trying to get on my lap. The other one is making sounds like a furball might make an appearance by morning.

We built stuff at the museum like houses, fences, and a stronger family bond

I think we will go back soon.

Thanks for joining me for a Spectrum Squawk, basically we just got our squawk on. Word.

Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Strata

2011-02-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

YEAH YEAH YEAH, it’s my 213th post! You know what that means don’t you? That’s right my fellow friends, it means that it’s my 213th post! Yippee.

So even though I have a slight cold I am giving you all a virtual hug, and a small bottle of Purell..just to be safe! Normally I would hand out a bottle of wine (or at least a glass, because I have an addiction) but dear lord my house just keeps passing around this sickness and I just can’t let you catch it.

Did I mention my head hurts? Did I mention it’s my 213th post? Did I mention I survived a weekend where my Indigo received a small kid piano for a new toy? That is what I deserve an award for, well that and also for tolerating the movie Dinner for Schmucks (DO NOT RENT!!).

Let’s move on to the food so momma can go back to resting. ..I mean ummm working.

INGREDIENTS
Delightfully borrowed and just slightly changed from Epicurious

• 18 slices firm white bread , crusts removed
• 8 ounces prosciutto, thin slices
• 8 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 4 ounces provolone, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped chives
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

• 5 large eggs
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS

Line bottom of 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish completely with 1 layer of bread, cutting some slices to fit. Arrange half of prosciutto evenly over bread. Sprinkle half of goat cheese and half of provolone over. Sprinkle with half of chives and half of basil. Top with second layer of bread. Layer remaining prosciutto, goat cheese, provolone, chives, and basil atop bread. Cut remaining bread into 1/4-inch cubes. Sprinkle over top.

Whisk eggs, milk, mustard, and salt in bowl. Season with pepper. Pour egg mixture over strata; press down on bread with spatula. Drizzle melted butter over strata. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover strata and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Bake until center is set, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Preheat broiler. Place strata under broiler until top is golden, about 30 seconds. Cut into large squares and serve.

Olive & Chive Ricotta Bake

2011-02-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend has been pretty nice to me. Let’s see what we were up to at the Spectrum.

1. I got to buy new make-up, Bare Minerals – my favorite! I also got have some new lipstick and liner applied by one of the nicest people there…only thing is why on earth do they always over line my lips by about 3 inches? I looked like Real Housewife of Ghetto-ville.

2. I took Indigo to a Kid’s Museum. I took Indigo to a Kid’s Museum and so did 2,345.9 other parents! Yippee, can you say petri dish? Yeah, I’m coughing just thinking about the amount of children, parents, and expensive camera’s all in one small room.

3. Taco Bell, this is also my confession. I probably don’t have to explain why anything that involves taco bell ends up being a confession for me. Taco Bell is like this thing that won't let go of me..claws and all.

4. Indigo was booted out of the little kids room at church for a runny nose. Don’t people know that kids have runny noses for like 4 months straight during this time of the year?

5. I love a good Sunday, don’t you? It is actually a cool 59 degrees in San Diego right now…brrrr

INGREDIENTS

1 (15oz) Container of Ricotta
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup Monterrey jack cheese
¼ cup chives, chopped
1 can of black olives, drained & lightly chopped
Zest of half a lemon
1 loaf of French bread, cut into rounds
Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

Pre-Heat your Oven to 375. Lightly oil a small baking dish.

In a large bowl combine everything and I mean everything! Press this mixture into your prepared baking dish. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, during the last few minutes you will want to broil the top to slightly brown it.

Cut your French bread into rounds and cover it with Olive oil, place under your broiler to lightly toast.

Now comes the good part, you take that bread and you smother it like it’s your job. Actually it is your job, and quite frankly the only one I want to be responsible for on a nice Sunday like today.

Pistachio Cookies with a White Chocolate Glaze

2011-02-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

So in a few weeks we are going on vacation and beforehand me & the hubster wanted to shed a few pounds. We want to shed them so we can gain them back during vacation. So my husband just called me and told me the following.

Husband “Jen, I just ate two donuts, Krispy Kremes”

Me “You bad boy, did you heat them up in the microwave?” (my favorite way to eat them.)

Husband “Yes the first one I did, but the second one I just ate like a shark”

This made me laugh out loud.

PS. Indigo ate like 12 of these which is really shocking, BAD BAD ….I mean thanks for saving my hips lady

PSS. Yes the picture below is of me balancing 2 cookies on a wine glass, I really have no excuse for this food styling choice. No judging please.

INGREDIENTS (makes 10-12)

¾ cup flour
¼ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter, softened
¼ brown sugar, + 1 tbs white sugar
2 TBS of Pistachio Pudding Mix
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 egg, beaten
2 drops of green food coloring (can be omitted)

· The white chocolate glaze is a handful of white chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons of milk, and enough powdered sugar to thicken it to your liking. Simply microwave the chocolate and milk at 50% power until melted then add in the powdered sugar.

DIRECTIONS

Pre-Heat your oven to 375

In a medium sized bowl mix together your flour, baking soda, and pudding mix.

In another bowl beat together your butter, egg, sugars, food coloring, and extract. Combine the two mixes, cover in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours. When ready fashion those bad boys into medium sized balls.

Place each cookie ball on to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes (just keep an eye on them). The bottoms might be slightly browned, but I will promise you the inside is simply divine. They also hold up quite well…little puffs of joy!

So channel your inner shark and get your eat on.

Adding this to a great site..

Mango Chutney & White Cheddar covered Crackers

2011-02-15T08:04:00.000-08:00

The following is a list of things that used to be perpetrated against my brother in hopes of breaking the poor boys spirit…by me…the older, meaner sister.

My brother had this habit of leaving cabinet doors open in the kitchen. I must have been such a little teacher because anytime he did this I would then proceed to open every one of those cabinets and force the boy to close them…you know…to “teach” him.

Gizmo. This was our Pekingese dog. I would sit on my brother’s chest and hold his arms down while the dog frantically licked every last inch of his face. Take that bro, don’t you come in my room again.

I also have to say that one time while fighting with him in my dad’s old school wood paneled station wagon, I might have pushed him out…while it was still moving, but don’t worry! He got me back by rolling up the electric window on my neck..Score one for the brother.

Love you bro!!

Now on to this happy lil treat.

INGREDIENTS

Crackers (Ritz) or Flat Bread (cut into rounds)
Mango Chutney (got mine from Trader Joe's)
Sharp White Cheddar

DIRECTIONS

Oh so gently place a few crackers on a gorgeous plate. Slice up a thick sliver of Sharp white cheddar and lay it carefully upon the crackers or bread. Open up your Mango Chutney and spoon a hefty dollop of it on to the cheese covered cracker.

Serve.

Our Valentine

2011-02-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

(ME) I love it when you run to the store the instant I need something.

(Indigo) I love when you make pancakes daddy, and chocolate milk!

(ME) I love it when you steal the leftovers, that means you liked it…and it helps my ego

(Indigo) I love it when you hang my upside down, 20 times in a row!

(ME) I love it that you don’t notice when an hour passes you by at the park.

(Indigo) I love to make a mess, I mean art with you daddy.

(ME) I love that you and our daughter can both do “taco tongue”.

(WE) LOVE your smile