GabesBabyMomma

Over Easy Does It

2012-01-24T20:28:00.000-06:00

Eggs Over Easy with Gruyere Cheese

Putting the toddlers to bed is NEVER easy in the Little household. Trust me. It takes a good 30 minutes of fussing and whining, before the kids let us leave the room. Then, it is another 15- 30 minutes for them to fall asleep, if we are lucky. By the time it is all said and done, we are wiped out. Yes, we feel like we have been put through the ringer. Toddlers have a way of making you feel like you have met your match, if you were a match for them.

With this chaos awaiting us every night, it is no wonder that I really like to cook up simple foods for the family, especially in the morning. Here is a recipe that I saw on The Chew the other day while I was running on the treadmill in the gym. While I am not a big fan of the show, it is something to watch while I am running out my miles. Mario Batali demonstrated one of his favorite meals to make for himself while his family is away, Duck Eggs Over Easy with Fontina. Since I did not have duck eggs (which sounds amazing to me) and no fontina, I improvised. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. This is what I did:

Cooked hen eggs sunny side up on medium heat with melted butter until inner whites are firm with melted butter.
Then, topped with Gruyere cheese.

Gently flipped egg over to cook over easy for 15 seconds.
I did baste it with a little butter.

Did the other side as well. Be careful NOT to over cook.
Should take a little less than 15 seconds more.

Finally, I topped toasted wheat bread with the over easy eggs. Sprinkled salt and pepper and more cheese over eggs.
Next time, I will use a heartier whole wheat bread that this meal deserves.

For me, the best part of the meal, besides being quick and easy, is the runny yolk flavored with nutty and slightly sweet gruyere cheese oozing all over the toasted bread as you cut into it. The taste is simply divine. It is a simple meal to make every day, for a Sunday brunch, or a solo dinner. Paired with fruit and a good juice or my preferred cup of coffee, this dish is just SIMPLY perfect.

What takes do you have on making this dish even better?

Cooking Light's Incredibly Easy Cocoa Fudge Cookies

2012-01-21T15:44:00.001-06:00

Cooking Light Cocoa Fudge Cookies

I absolutely love to bake on the weekends. For me, it is my "me" time. I especially love when I find a recipe that is easy to make and tastes like it wasn't. This is one of those recipes.

When I woke up this morning, I knew I had to bake something, but since my hubs and I are doing the buddy-system weight-loss thing, I had to make sure that whatever I baked was semi- lightened up. We have been doing a pretty good job so far counting calories, but I must create something sweet. Anything. So, it might as well be a lower calorie, lower fat recipe that promises to taste like the real deal.

I scanned for chocolate treats on the Cooking Light website. One because we love chocolate. Two because chocolate is therapeutic. Three because Valentine's Day is around the corner and well, I promise that day will be full of tempting treats coming out of my kitchen. I can't help myself. Food is love d@m*it!

While there were several beautiful recipes to be found, I settled on this one, because it looked easy and pantry-friendly. Looks can be deceiving , but not in this case. This recipe is really easy to do in a pinch and if you are used to baking semi-regularly, then you should have most of the ingredients on hand. This is close to being a 30- minute recipe.

Here is how it went down:

Melt butter. Remove from heat and add cocoa. This is glorious.

Next, add sugars to the cocoa mixture. Will look coarse.

Add yogurt and vanilla extract to the mix.

Then, stir in the flour mixture.

This is how the battered looked after I was done. Ugly, but tastes so good!

Drop the batter into tablespoon balls on lightly greased pan. Then, bake in a preheated 350F oven for 7-10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on pan until firm (2-3 minutes).

Then, allow cookies to completely cool on rack. Recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

I made one substitution. I used vanilla-flavored low fat yogurt instead of the plain stuff. I never buy the plain stuff, but I should for instances like these. However, I lucked out, because vanilla extract was an ingredient called for in this recipe, so I felt justified. To make up for the yogurt, I reduced the extract to half a teaspoon.

These cookies were super-fudgy tasting. They also had a cake-cookie texture. My husband agreed and said he could eat the whole batch, so I put them out of sight in the pantry. They are now property of the boys and girls in the Little household. If we do well on our calories for today, I will sneak one out for me and him. To the victors...

Next time I bake these babies up, I am going to dip half of them in dark chocolate. I think that would dress them up nicely. A little sprinkle of flour de sel may look spiffy, too. These are definitely the little black dress of cookies.

Give them a try and tell me what you think. Time for me to go run, so I can earn my cookie!

Cooking Light Enchilada Casserole

2012-01-14T17:11:00.001-06:00

Here is a post for those of you who made the resolution to eat better in the New Year for health reasons or to lose weight. My hubs and I are always interested in eating a low-cal, low fat recipe that does not involve rabbit food. We are all about the comfort food. While I can appreciate a good salad and a side of fruit, it is just not his thing. For this reason I am always on the hunt for a hearty meal that has been lightened up. Hence, today's post reviewing Cooking Light's Enchilada Casserole found in their Jan/Feb 2012 edition.

Enchilada Casserole from Cooking Light

The recipe ( <-- click for the recipe) is ready in 40 minutes and what I especially like about Cooking Light is that they offer you a game plan (Rachel Ray's magazine does the same thing). This is a big help. What I HATE about some recipes that have "Ready In So Many Minutes"- claim is that they usually don't come anywhere near that time frame. They usually go over. This one doesn't. In fact, because I did not make the spicy black beans side that accompanied this recipe in the magazine, my time was shorter by five to ten minutes. Even if you make the beans and should see the 40 minute mark, then I promise you, this meal is really easy to make, even for a weekday.

While I usually try to stay true to a recipe, I did make some substitutions. First, I added corn tortillas instead of whole wheat flour. To make the serving size of 4 spread out, I used extra layers of tortillas. I also used lean 96/4 ground beef instead of sirloin. I also used fresh minced garlic instead of minced garlic from a jar. The casserole hit the spot. The only tip I would use when I make this recipe again (and I will make it again soon since the entire family liked it) is to dip the tortillas in the sauce tomato mixture before layering and baking. The tortillas need to be soft like a really enchilada. My casserole had al dente tortillas if that makes any sense, but it was still good.

What is the damage after it is all said and done? According to Cooking Light it is the following:

Calories- 377, Fat- 14.6g (sat 7g., mono 5.3g, poly 1.6g), Protein- 302g, Carb- 32.4g (please visit the recipe for the rest of the nutritional values)

Not too shabby, when you consider the non-lightened up versions can run you up to twice that or more.

How to make your house smell like a Mexican Cantina...

Well, I am looking forward to starting up Tuesdays with Dorie soon. We will be baking from Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan. I am sure my coworkers will enjoy it too, since they will be getting most of the goodies so that all my Cooking Light efforts are not in vain!

Louisiana Fish Fry Cajun Etouffe Review

2012-01-08T10:33:00.003-06:00

photo courtesy of Louisiana Fish Fry website

I moved to the great city of Houston, Texas, almost 11 years ago from my hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas. To that point, the most exotic food I had eaten was Chinese. However, after living in an international city such as H-Town for over a decade, I have been privileged to taste all types of cuisine from Indian to Brazilian and everywhere in between and beyond. However, the food that I have come to adore the most is Cajun cuisine. I had lived here for well over 7 years before I really came to appreciate the stuff. It is no coincidence that this happened to be about the time I married my hubby and he took me to his hometown of Lafayette to show it off. While not all of the food joints he took me to upon our visit were Cajun, the ones I remember fondly are. Since eating at the abundant Cajun places there and here in Houston, one of the foods I crave the most BY FAR is étouffée. I love it! It is a well-spiced gravy-like dish usually served with chicken, shrimp, or crawfish blended in over rice. I love it served over a good buttermilk biscuit, too. It is great comfort food. While it can be served as a side, I tend to eat it as a meal. I guess you could think of it like macaroni and cheese, but better.

My thing is to compare homemade recipes with grocery store fare. I will try lots of short cuts and mixes just for fun and to share with busy cooks. While homemade étouffée is not hard to make, nothing is easier than ripping open a bag and mixing stuff in and allowing the combination to cook. The hardest thing is making such an effortless concoction taste, well, as good as homemade. So when I browsed the aisles at the grocery store for étouffée mixes, I came across Louisiana Fish Fry 's Cajun Étouffée mix. It had received great reviews, so I was very eager to try it!

Here is how it goes in a nut shell:

Melt butter in a good pot, like a Dutch oven.

Then, slowly add mix into the melted butter while stirring.

Allow the mix to cook just until the mix turns a medium brown.

Finally, add water and meat of choice (in my case shrimp) and allow dish to finish cooking.

Serve étouffée over cooked rice and enjoy!

It was really this easy to do. The cooking and setting time (after dish is made) take almost 45 minutes. But it is a dish you can bring together in a pinch and walk away from with just occasional stirring in between. I made this dish on Thursday night for my family, so it is definitely easy to do during a work week.

But how was the taste? The taste was really good and authentic, but a little cheesy tasting, which is not a bad thing at all! My hubby really liked it and so did my boys. While it does contain Cajun spices, it is not overly spicy. But, if you have kids who do not like spice even in moderation, then this is not the meal for you. But, it is definitely a good meal to choose for company. When using shrimp, add less water than the instructions call for, because of the extra water the shrimp will release upon cooking. I used 3/4 cup less and that seemed to work fine.

On the Louisiana Fish Fry site, I gave this mix a 4.75 out of 5. All products have room for improvement, especially regarding salt content.

Well, that is all I have for now folks. Happy Sunday and happier eating!

Now, GEAUX try it.

Hold-The- Mayo-Please- Artichoke Spinach Dip

2011-12-31T17:09:00.002-06:00

Healthy and Delicious: Spinach Artichoke Dip from Serious Eats

I miss blogging. How many times have I said and written this? Several. I still cook and bake like crazy. I still take photos using my trusty iPhone. I still think of how awesome it would be to blog about what I am cooking and baking on a daily basis. After all, my number one way to show I care is too cook and bake for someone or everyone and/or to share recipes that I am excited about or have tried. While I never make New Year's resolutions, I do think that it is as good as a time as any to recommit myself to my blog.

I had hope to share the following recipe on Shelby's site over at The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch for her 4- year blog anniversary highlighting appetizers, but of course, I ran out of time and steam. So, dearest Shelby, I am sorry, but I want you to know that your blog is one of the first food blogs (or blogs period) that I ever followed and you will always hold a special place in my blogosphere for that very reason. Another reason is Shelby has a really down-to-earth and amazing looking blog. Her site is really good. I strongly recommend that you go over there and take a look at her life and loves and cooking.

If you know me, then you know I HATE mayonnaise and Miracle Whip. I can't stand either of them and never use them when I can help it. That is why when I was looking for a spinach artichoke dip recipe that did not use mayo, I googled, spinach artichoke dip that does not use mayo. Brilliant, I know. The recipe that came up was this one from Serious Eats. I especially like that it does not use frozen spinach, which at times, IMHO, tastes like seaweed. I love using fresh spinach. The recipe is deemed as "aces", so I just had to try it and see if it is.

It is.

My spin on the recipe was to divide it into individual ramekins for serving and placement. I also added extra mozzarella on top of the spinach artichoke mixture before baking it to give the dip a little more poof and brown puffiness. Other than that, I stuck true to the recipe and LOVED it. The recipe calls for three cloves of garlic which really is perfect for a garlic lover like myself. This dip came out creamy and rich and complimented the Stacy Pita chips I served along with it. I highly recommend this recipe EVEN if you like mayo.

I wish all of you a Happy New Year! I really hope to see more of you in the New Year and will stop by your blogs very soon to see how y'all are doing and what y'all are making.

Be safe and be happy!

Easy Does It: Homemade Candy Bars

2011-11-05T09:57:00.003-05:00

With a house full of chaos, a full-time job, and a passion for cooking and baking, the saying, "easy does it" fits right in in my household. I found this recipe somewhere last year and fell in love with it. It is easy and tastes just like a Butterfinger.

I took a dozen to work and they were gone in minutes! Made some more for a quick dessert after work last night.

Crisp peanut butter centers covered in smooth milk chocolate.

They are so good that people will assume they were difficult to make, but they are not. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 Jar of Smooth Peanut Butter
1 box of graham crackers
Melting chocolate (I used bark chocolate)

Directions

First, make small peanut butter sandwiches with graham crackers. Then, chill the sandwiches in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Finally, dip the sandwiches in the melted chocolate using tongs or roll the sandwiches around with a fork in the melted chocolate. Place the chocolate- covered sandwiches on wax paper until the chocolate sets. For the swirls, dip a fork in the melted chocolate and swirl over set chocolate sandwiches. Then, let the sandwiches sit for just a little while longer until that chocolate sets. If you wish, place the now candy bars into the fridge to have icebox candy bars or eat as is.

This is a really simple recipe with three ingredients. These are great for an after school treat or midnight snack. However, for Christmas, I plan on making a variety filled with marshmallow creme, Nutella, and caramel, as well as, peanut butter. They are a thoughtful and inexpensive gift to make for several people, such as, coworkers and neighbors. I may even take them to my next cookie exchange.

I have been gone for a long time and have missed blogging. Now, I hope to come back more often, at least once a week, to share my fall baking and kitchen adventures with you all once again.

Happy Fall Back, everyone!

Très Chocolates Cake

2011-08-11T17:43:00.005-05:00

I love to bake cakes for people. I will volunteerevery chance I get to make one for a special occasion. Well, if it is for asmall crowd - occasion. I guess it is the artist in me. Not the artist thatdraws a horse that looks like a messed up dog but the artist that can seechocolate for what it is, perfect, especially layered.

So, when my colleagues decided to throw ourcoworker a bridal luncheon for just us gals, I volunteered to make the cake.Not just any cake, but a Hershey's chocolate cake. Dressed from bottom to top andin between with more and more chocolate.

I added the batter into two 9" pans. Baked thecakes and cooled them. While the cakes baked and cooled, I made the frostingfilling and ganache icing. I always use the same ganache recipe found onthe Joy of Baking site. It also gives you instructions on how to properly layer and ice a cakewith ganache (or any frosting or icing for that matter). First, I sliced the 2cakes in half to make a 4- layer cake. I added my frosting to the layers andstacked them, making sure I put a nice flat smooth cake layer on top to roundoff the cake. I then, brushed off the excess crumbs from the cake with a papertowel in a sweeping motion. I highly recommend Youtube for demonstration videoson how to do this. A smooth side and crumb coating make a big difference to ahomemade cake. The crumb coating is a thin layer of the frosting or icing, inthis case, ganache, applied to the outside of the cake. The crumb coating trapsthe crumbs and keeps a smooth finish on your cake while you frost. I left mineon my cake for about 30 minutes in the fridge just to be safe. For regularfrosted cakes not using ganache or whipped topping, you can let the crumb coatset for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Next, I frosted the Tres Chocolates cake with theganache icing by basically dumping the melted chocolate over the cake andspreading it evenly over the cake. If some of the chocolate drips on yourserving platter, just use a warm, clean cloth to wipe it off the edges. You caneven place the cake on a wire rack with a catching tray or liner of some sortand frost it that way. Then, you let the chocolate on the cake set really goodbefore lifting it up and placing it on your serving tray.

Finally, I added dipped strawberries that I madewith seasonal fresh fruit and melted Hershey's kisses with a touch of butter.Of course, you dip the strawberries in melted chocolate and let them set on waxpaper until hard. Then, you transfer the dipped strawberries on top of thecake. I made one for each lady that RSVP'd.

The result? A very rich chocolate cake that made ablushing soon-to-be bride very happy. Her guests, too.

I really loved the moist, dense texture of the cakeand the combination of different chocolates was really nice. The strawberriesadded a special touch, too. This cake goes perfectly with a nice glass of wineor champagne, even a tall glass of cold milk!

This cake is not difficult to make, but it doestake a little time.

I will definitely make it again for fellowchocoholics like me!

Banquet: Quick and Easy Dinner Fix

2011-07-30T19:16:00.001-05:00

Yes, I am one of those mothers. A mother who shamelessly buys her kids frozen nuggets for a meal in a pinch. I am guilty. If you are guilty of this too, then here is a good recipe for you to try out during the weekday when you need something fast, easy, and filling! The recipe is courtesy of Banquet of ConAgra Foods.

photo courtesy of ConAgra Foods

Chicken Broccoli Rice Skillet

Ingredients

18 frozen Banquet® Chicken Nuggets
PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
2 cups frozen broccoli cuts
1 cup whole milk
1 cup water
1 can (10-3/4 oz each) condensed broccoli cheese soup
2 cups instant white rice, uncooked
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Bake chicken nuggets according to package directions. Spray large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat until hot.
Add broccoli*, milk, water and condensed soup to skillet; stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil; add rice and stir. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes or until water is absorbed.
Top rice mixture with hot nuggets and sprinkle with cheese. Place skillet in oven 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese melts.

*If your kids are picky and do not like broccoli, add corn or green beans instead (or another veggie they will eat).

This is really a nice combination of comfort food, but it can have some healthier substitutions made in place of many of the ingredients. For examples, you can replace the whole milk with 1% or 2% milk and add low fat cheese soup with a combination of brown rice and white rice. If you use brown rice, add EXTRA water (1/2 to 3/4 cup) for the brown rice to have enough water to absorb and cook. You could also use low fat cheddar cheese.

Enjoy an easy and tasty meal without the fuss. The battered chicken gives a nice touch to the ordinary chicken and rice casserole dish.

My Comeback: Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake

2011-07-12T20:07:00.001-05:00

It has been a long time since I have posted. I have missed my blog while adjusting to being back at work full time. It has been a successful return and now I am ready to pick up where I left off when I stayed at home. I still bake and cook. It's my therapy. Of course, with school out, the meals are slim on the weekdays and usually I save the special stuff for the weekends. With everyone here and there and everywhere since curfews are later, it is just easier this way.

So when a special occasion comes along, let's say for example, a birthday...Well, I am bound to go a little crazy with the food.

This is just what happened when I hosted my daughter's Big 3 birthday party with a small turnout. I laid out her favorite foods (okay, and some of mine, too).

Since the theme was Summer, I laid out picnic-like fare meets toddler treats spread. In the background, you can see the main attraction, Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake.

Now, I have made a copy cat version of this recipe years before (which explains why I didn't remember it being hard the last time, since I cheated by using a box mix two years ago, unlike this time around).

While this cake does have several steps to it, it is by no means difficult for semi-experienced bakers. Beginners may want to plan well ahead for it. It does take a little more time and effort than a box mix, but, to me, it was and is worth it. I am on a roll for over four years now making homemade cakes for ALL special occasions in our home instead of buying them, not that I mind store-bought cakes at all. However, there is simply something magical about homemade cakes, especially ones that are fluffy white with sprinkles. Notice the smash cake next to the big cake? Cute, huh?

Here is a closeup of the moist, fluffy, light-tasting lemon-raspberry cakey goodness. While Dorie suggests eating this cake the day it is made, I find that the cake tasted better a day later. The lemon flavor seemed to perk up a little more the next day in the cake and in the frosting.

While my cake layers do not look as pristine as Dorie's, I was pretty happy with the final result. I think with a little more time and room in my fridge, I will be able to set the cake with jam first. Then, add the buttercream last and chill in the fridge again for a final set and more distinct layering. Also, I will make 1 1/2 servings of buttercream for this cake, since I like a thicker topping.

It's a pretty safe bet that make this cake again. I think it is a perfect base cake for an ice cream cake, without the jam filling. The buttercream is light and fluffy (and would also work on an ice cream cake), although I will probably add a little more lemon juice to it in the future and some butter flavoring extract, too.

It really is a pretty cake. Perfect for the summer. Really perfect for a Princess' cake. And I am so happy it is my first Comeback Post.

If you would like to give this awesome cake recipe a try, you can find a great post by Ezra Pound Cake about it and the recipe here. Before you make it, here is a post with some very helpful tips from a site I used to participate in ages ago.

It is good to be back!

Easy Icebox Pudding Cake

2011-05-01T18:46:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year for picnics and BBQ's. I have been to several already and don't let my lack of posts fool you, I have been busy in the kitchen. I wish I could sit down and share some recipes with you more often. I really love to share the easy ones, that is why I just had to make the effort to post this summer time favorite treat. It is simple and so good. It is convenient and affordable to keep the ingredients on hand and make in a pinch. My Aunt Becky taught me how to make it many many years ago. I committed it to memory, which is always a crap shoot with me, but when you taste it, you will see why it stayed. To date, it is one of my twin sister's favorite dish.

Here is how I did it:

Ingredients
1- box of graham crackers
2- boxes of French Vanilla Pudding
1- container of chocolate syrup
Large container of whipped topping
or
4 cups of Homemade whipped topping

Directions:

1. First, layer your graham crackers all around a 13 X 9 dish. I made sure the entire bottom was lined. I had to crack the crackers in irregular pieces to get the entire sides covered (not shown here). It does not have to be pretty. Trust me. It will still look layered.

2. Next, make your pudding according to directions. Add 1/2 of whipped topping to the pudding.

3. Then, cover top of graham crackers with 1/2 of the pudding mixture.

4. Drizzle chocolate syrup on top of the pudding layer.

5. Stack another layer of graham crackers as before. Repeat pudding and chocolate syrup steps again.

6. To the last graham cracker layer, add a generous amount of chocolate syrup.

7. With the back of a large spoon or spatula, smooth the chocolate syrup out evenly.

8. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before topping with whipped cream. If you are taking it with you, add the whipped topping after 30 minutes. Then, let the topped dessert set in the fridge for another 30 minutes or as long as possible before covering with plastic wrap. If you are using a casserole dish with cover ignore that step.

9. Enjoy!

I added chocolate shavings to the top of dessert. I have also used mini chocolate chips, cocoa dust, and toasted pecans in the past.

Just have fun with it. It is easy and it goes QUICKLY. Kids love it, too!

There are many versions of this dessert. I have made several different ones, too. This is still my favorite. All though, going all chocolate ties easily (chocolate graham crackers, pudding, and topping)! I would really be interested in seeing others, so let me have them.

Banana Birthday Cake

2011-04-18T19:59:00.001-05:00

Lilah's First Birthday Banana Pudding Cake

I have made a lot and posted a lot of recipes. But even I was shocked when I got such a big response from this cake after posting a picture of it on Facebook and Twitter! It was something I threw around in my head when I was trying to figure out what my Lilah's First Year birthday cake would be.

Lilah LOVES bananas. She will eat several of them at a time if you let her. It was her love for this fruit that inspired me to make her this Banana Pudding Cake for her smash cake and one for our sweet tooth, too. I have some really great pictures of this cake and her smash cake on my hubby's camera. As soon as I can, I will share those pictures with you. For now, I will share the few I took with my iPhone and the recipe!

Here is how I did it:

First things first, the ingredients:

1- Box of Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix
1- box of Vanilla Wafer mini- Cookies (you can use regular, too)
1- large firm but ripe banana sliced into thin medallions
1-family-sized box of JELL-O Banana Flavored Pudding
1-large container of whipped topping, or 3 cups of homemade whipped topping

Directions:

Step 1: Bake yellow cake according to box directions. Use either a large round pan (I used a 10" X 3" round pan) or 2 -9" round pans. After the cake is baked, allow to completely cool. I baked my cake the night before I was going to decorate it and let it cool over night.
Step 2: Make pudding according to package directions and allow to set for 5-10 minutes. I used the directions to make Pudding for a Pie Filling. I like a thicker pudding. I also made this pudding the night before. I highly recommend doing this!
Step 3: Crush 2 cups of vanilla wafers.
Step 5: Level the top of your cooled cake or cakes. If you do not care if it is leveled, then skip this step. I barely had a dome, so I skipped this step.
Step 6: Once the cake has completely cooled, torte the cake in half or more if you would like. I only cut the cake in half. Next time, I will do it in four layers. If you used cake rounds you can skip this step.
Step 7: Place the FLIPPED top part of the cake on the bottom of your serving platter or cake board, whatever you are decorating on.
Step 8: We are at the fun part! Place a generous layer of pudding on top of the cake layer. If your are using more than one layer, then don't be so generous. You'll need some for the other layer(s). Reserve at least 1/2 a cup.

Step 9: Next add some of those crushed wafers on top of the pudding. Trust me, it is AWESOME!
Step 10: Then, add your sliced bananas.

Step 11: Add a thin layer of whipped topping on top of the bananas with some extra crushed wafers on top. Why not?

Step 12: You are ready to place the FLIPPED bottom cake layer on top.

Step 13: Use the reserved 1/2 a cup of pudding to frost a light crumb coating, so you will not get crumbs when you decorate. Refrigerate the cake at this point (DO NOT WRAP) for 30 minutes. This coating traps the crumbs so they do not mix into your decorative frosting.

Step 14: Take the cake out of the fridge after 30 minutes and frost generously with whipped topping. PLEASE for the LOVE of GOD use homemade whipped topping if you can! I am a semi-homemade-kinda- girl for sure, but homemade whipped topping can't be beat!
Step 15: Add crushed wafers to top and sides of cake. Then add some whole wafers on top for decoration. You are ready to grub!

I let my cake sit in the fridge for almost 2 hours before serving. Even though it is not necessary, I highly recommend it for the cool, pudding taste. It tastes really good at room temperature, but even better if all the cake is cool from the fridge and the pudding is allowed to mellow the cake as it chills.

Trust me, this cake is EASY to make. It takes no time to throw together. I plan on making it again really soon. After all, what is summer time in Texas with out some banana pudding at a BBQ? or a birthday?

Lilah,The Birthday Girl, enjoying her Banana Pudding Cake!

Tips:
1) Bake cake night before decorating. Saves time on the big day for decorating.
2) Crush cookies the night before.
3) Make and chill pudding the night before.
4) Buy store prepared pudding.
5) Use a rich whipped topping for decorating
6) Caramelized bananas would be awesome on this!

Cook's Country Ultimate Banana Bread?

2011-04-03T17:43:00.002-05:00

I am always on the lookout for a good quick-bread recipe, especially banana bread. I LOVE banana bread. I am crazy for bananas. To me, they are the perfect snack or add-in. I love mixing them into my oatmeal and cereal. I love blending them into my yogurt. I love them in a peanut butter sandwich. I love them in pancakes and muffins, so it is not a stretch to see me mixing them up in a good ole fashioned bread recipe. Recently, I came across Cook's Country Ultimate banana bread recipe. While it did call for a little more work than I am used to for a banana bread recipe, I just had to try it. After all, they hailed it as the best recipe of the best. Plus, it called for caramelized bananas on top! Say, what? Yes, test kitchen folks, you have my attention.

So I planned to bake this banana bread to beat all banana breads this overcast and subdued Sunday. It just felt right. I wish I could tell you that upon baking this little bundle of buttery banana goodness that the heavens opened up, the angels sang, and all became wonderfully bliss in the world, but it didn't. The baby was fussy. The toddler was acting the diva. The young son had his video game blaring. All this, while I was in the middle of baking. I hear you asking yourselves, was the bread worth it?

First, let's take it from the top.

1. Start off with 5 VERY ripe bananas, as any self-respecting baker of banana bread knows; the darker the banana, the sweeter the fructose. You microwave them until they get very soft and a pool of juice collects at the bottom of the bowl. Strain the bananas through a fine-mesh strainer (or totally forget to, like I did). Then, reduce the banana juice to a 1/4 cup over medium heat on the stove.

2. Then, mash the bananas with NOT a pastry cutter as shown in this picture, but a potato masher (which I eventually used) until they are nice and smooth. Then, proceed to whisk in the melted, slightly cooled butter, eggs, vanilla, and brown sugar.

3. Once it is all whisked together, add it to the flour portion of the recipe that is in a separate and bigger bowl. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda before you begin with the banana mixture. Just combine it until only streaks of flour are showing. Do NOT over-mix. Fold in walnuts here.

* - See the streaks of flour?

4. Finally, pour and even out the batter in an 8"X4" pan that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. I use a wooden spoon to smooth over the top. Then, add banana slices from ONE FIRM banana (1/4" thick apx.) to the sides of the bread. Leave the center free of bananas to ensure that it rises properly. These test kitchen people are really smart!
I had an awfully small firm banana. It only did a row on each side. Next time, I will try to make two rows for each side.

5. Sprinkle the top of the batter, especially the bananas, with granulated sugar. I used a pinch of leftover brown sugar. Waste not, want not.

6. You are ready to bake. After baking for 55-75 minutes ( I know right? Check.Check. Check.), your bread will come out looking just lovely. Just look at those banana slices! Nice touch. Love it!

7. Allow bread to cook on a rack. Then, slice.

The verdict:

While I did love the caramelized bananas on top of the bread, the bread was just so-so for me. Don't get me wrong, I will still eat it, but I think when you claim something is the ULTIMATE of anything then it better know your socks off (okay, I was barefoot, but you know what I mean). This recipe didn't do that. It was not popping with the banana buttery goodness I am used to. In fact, my favorite go-to recipe is still safe, because not only is it easy, but it bursts with banana buttery flavor. I do love the caramelized bananas on top, though. I am going to incorporate that part into my recipe. I just don't want to go through the extra trouble that the Cook's Country recipe calls for. If it was the ULTIMATE, then I would, but it's not, in my ever-so humble opinion.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know what you think. Maybe, it was just me. Nah.

J/K. Let me know.

Until next time, good people.

Notes:
1) I should have used my frozen blackened crazily speckled bananas. They may have boosted the banana flavor more than the overly-ripened ones I had in the fridge. See the Cook's Country note regarding this in their recipe.
2) I used my grandma's old loaf pan. It is better than ANY pan I have in my kitchen. Bar none. Bread slides out easily and bakes perfectly every time.
3) A lot of baking recipes call for "bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean". I usually under bake by a FEW minutes than this. The pans stay warm for a while, so the bread (or baked good) is still baking even while it is cooling. I proceed with the cooling instructions as written though.
4) In retrospect, I think I should have toasted my walnuts a little more...

Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

2011-02-28T15:21:00.000-06:00

For me, it is such a treat to have a muffin in the morning. Or in the afternoon. Or before bedtime. Or while in bed. Okay, for me it is such a treat to have a muffin anytime, especially in the morning. It is always nice to have something special alongside your morning cup of coffee.

Today, I decided to bake some muffins using this recipe I discovered on the side of my Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Graham Flour bag. I made two substitutions: 1) Apriva (Kroger sugar substitute) for the sugar and 2) pecans for the walnuts. I wish I had made a third substitution, applesauce for the oil. I usually substitute half of the oil with unsweetened applesauce when I am baking. This substitution makes recipes low-fat, as well as, low-calorie. I also added 2 tbsp. of Hodgson Mill Milled Flaxseed to this batter. I wanted to soup these babies up to a higher level of nutrition awesomeness.

This is how I did it:

First you preheat oven to 400F and grease your muffin tins. Then, you mix sugar (or substitute) with all the wet ingredients in a large bowl.

Next, you mix all the dry ingredients in a separate, smaller bowl.

Then, you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until combined.

Lastly, you stir in the raisins and chopped pecans to the batter until combined.

Your batter will not be anything close to pretty. In fact, it looks like mushy, brown oatmeal. It has to sit around for a while, an hour to be exact. That ugly.

But, after a quick bake in the oven for 15-20, the batter magically transforms into baked beauties. An extreme makeover.

The recipe says it will make 24 muffins. I got 18. I filled my tins 2/3 full.

These muffins are dense, moist, and are perfectly spiced. They go great with hot coffee or Chai tea.

They also look great when accompanied by a flower.

Baked Chicken Parmesan

2011-02-21T20:09:00.001-06:00

I love chicken parmesan. I had quite the torrid love affair with it when I worked as a server at the Olive Garden during college. Back then, I had a 50% discount, so I took advantage of it every chance I could. My favorite dish was the chicken parm (that is what us restaurant folk call it) sandwich served up with seasoned fries. OG no longer serves up this favorite of mine. Sigh. Ah, to be in my early 20's surrounded by fried foods. I would still eat like that if I could. While I am no rabbit food girl, I do try to eat in moderation.

Now, that my man has joined Weight Watchers along with his work colleagues, I have been recruited to cook up some WW recipes. So far, it has been pretty neat cooking these meals. I feel challenged and rejuvenated! Somehow, I have managed to pick recipes that everyone in the house will eat. Like this Baked Chicken Parmesan from Gina's Skinny recipes.

If you have a chance, please go over and visit her site. I just discovered it recently from my husband's colleague who raved about it. It is all that and a bag of fat-free chips. I love how the meals are not all about rabbit food. That would be a serious bummer not only for me, but for my husband as well. He hates 98% of veggies.

The meal is simple enough to prepare:

1. Bread your defrosted chicken breast (sliced in half to make appx. 4 oz. servings) by brushing each breast with melted butter and rolling it around in some freshly grated parmesan cheese-seasoned bread crumb mix. I added 3 rounded tbsps of Italian Seasoning to a Panko and regular bread crumb mixture.

2. Then, bake in a preheated oven on a slightly sprayed baking sheet at 450F for 20 minutes. Then, turn the Chicken breasts over and bake another 5 minutes. I did not do this as my chicken breasts were thin.

3. Next, top with marina sauce (pasta sauce works great, too) and mozzarella cheese. I used Kraft Skim Mozzarella Cheese and Ragu sugar-free pasta Basil and Tomato pasta sauce. Bake for 5 minutes more, then you are done. Let chicken set for a few minutes before serving. There is NOTHING like melted, toasted cheese.

4. Serve it up with a little garnish of basil and serve a healthy side along with it.

It is a satisfying meal. It tastes great! Seriously. I may even serve it up old school on a toasted bun with some seasoned fries next time.

Enjoy!

Extreme Chocolate Pie

2011-02-16T10:00:00.001-06:00

I have been known to go to extremes. My hubby has seen me go from happy to scary in .25 seconds flat. More than once.

I have jumped out of airplanes, run 6 miles in a thunderstorm, gone cage diving to see Great Whites, and eloped with a man I only knew for 7 weeks (it's working out swell!). Those are just a few examples that come to mind.

I am also known to have an extreme passion for chocolate. I love the stuff. I can smell it from miles away. Chocolate and I have an affinity for one another. It's a crazy addiction of mine. Like most addicts, almost any chocolate will do for a fix. I am not a chocolate snob. Fancy or foil-wrapped, I'll pop it into my mouth. It is the easiest way to distract me, bribe me, or ease my trouble soul. Add a glass of red wine, and it's all good. The world is a beautiful place and everyone in it is perfect.

So, when I saw this BH&G recipe come across my desk, I just knew I was going to try it in this month designated for lovers...of chocolate.

It is as simple as baking brownie mix into a pie pan.

Allow the brownie crust to completely cool. Adjust for thinner crust or thicker crust as desired.

Add prepared filling made with sugar, butter, melted chocolate, vanilla, and egg product on top of pie crust.
My filling came out lumpy. The power kept going off (rolling black outs), so my chocolate cooled while waiting to be mixed.

Wrap pie and place in refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours.

Once it has set, spread whipped topping over it and sprinkle chocolate shavings or chunks. I dusted mine with cocoa and grated milk chocolate.

It is really moist and rich. If you like an extreme chocolate concoction, than this is a dessert for you. It goes well with coffee or...red wine.

Go ahead and make this. You will hear Louis Armstrong begin to sing, "What a wonderful world..."

Rocky Road Brownies: An Easy Road to Take

2011-02-03T13:55:00.002-06:00

I really love chocolate. I really love brownies. I really love easy recipes. And, I really love baking gifts for friends, especially ones who go above and beyond the call of friendship day by day.

I have such a friend. She lives in my neighborhood. She is always eager to lend me a helping hand and lately, I have really needed it with my hubby out of town and the arctic invasion. Hey, people who need people are the luckiest people in the world or so the song goes...

And this friend, LOVES brownies. In fact, I thought I loved brownies, but my love pales in comparison to the sparkle in her eyes when you mention the word brownies. Seriously, she glows at the mere mention of them. It's hard to believe that a girl as tiny as she is can really put a hurtin' on a pan of brownies.

After helping me find a ride to school for my son in this crazy cold weather and picking up milk and such items for me at the store three times this week, I just knew I was going to have to bake her something special. Hence today's post is none other than a brownie recipe. Not just any brownie recipe, but a ROCKY ROAD brownie recipe. If you like a moist, rich brownie topped with nuts and marshmallows, then this brownie recipe is for you and it is easy.

Carolina Little's Rocky Road Brownies

Ingredients
1- box of your favorite brownie mix (Yes, homemade will work fine!)
1 cup of miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup chopped nuts of your choice
1 oz. of melted chocolate (bark, chocolate chips, candy chocolate)

Directions:

1. Prepare brownie mix according to the package directions. Pour in a greased pan of your choice. The smaller the pan, the thicker the brownie, the longer the bake time. If in doubt, use typical pan sizes with the baking instructions located on box. I also dust my pans with powdered sugar. This helps keep the brownie from sticking with a sweeter powder than flour.

2. Next, sprinkle chopped nuts evenly on top of brownie mix. Then, with your fingers or then end of a handle gently tap nuts into the batter. Now, you are ready to bake. Place brownies on the center rack and let them bake, BUT take them out 5 minutes before they are done.

3. Immediately after removing brownies from the oven, sprinkle marshmallows on top (NOT TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER or you will have a melted marshmallow mess) and bake for the remaining five minutes or until marshmallows soften to a slight melt.

5. Allow brownies to cool completely before cutting.
6. Cut brownies into serving sized-squares and drizzle with melted chocolate. Allow drizzled chocolate to set (a few minutes), then serve or package.

Voila! They are ready to eat with a glass of milk. Unless you ran out of milk. Then, I hope you have a great friend like my friend, Angie, who will grab a gallon for you in this crazy cold weather and let you put it on credit!

Thanks, Angie, you rock! Hence, the "Rock"-y Road brownies baked in your honor!

Souper Baked Potato Soup

2011-02-01T13:06:00.002-06:00

It does not really get cold in Houston, at least not when compared to states like Minnesota. We are really lucky to have mild winters here, but that does not mean we Houstonians do not have more than our fair share of whining when the temperatures drop below 50F. Add in a high wind, and we are miserable creatures to be around, if not down right annoying.

Here we simply can not wait for cold weather to have soup, so we settle for cool. If we did, our moments of bowling for soup would be few and far between. And I'd hate to wait that long for my favorite soup of them all, Baked Potato Soup.

See how dreamy it is? I love this soup. But something is missing. Can you tell what it is? Yes, bacon. The crispy, smoky stuff sent to us from the gods. I feel practically naked (eew!) sharing this recipe with you and not having bacon in the photo or in the soup to be honest. I ran out and was on a deadline to make this soup before my daughter came home from work, since she requested it for dinner. But usually, I do have bits of bacon swimming in this steamy, swanky soup. So now that I have gotten all that out of the way, let's get to the recipe.

Carolina Little's Baked Potato Soup Recipe (serves 6 healthy portions)

Ingredients
8 slices of bacon of your choice (if you remember it!)
1/3 cups of unsalted butter (salted will work, just omit extra salt in recipe)
1/3 All Purpose Flour
2 cups of milk
1 cup of chicken broth
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 packet of onion soup mix
3/4 cups of shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of sour cream or nonfat- or lowfat- plain yogurt
Salt and Pepper to taste (less salt is always best for your health and weight management!)

Directions:
1. Place cubed potatoes in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with damp paper towel(s). Cook in microwave on high until a fork pierces through the tender potato. Usually takes 10-15 minutes.
2. Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain. Crumble. Set aside.
3. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over MEDIUM heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, broth, and cream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.

4. Stir in onion soup mix. Then add potatoes. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
5. Next, coarsely mash potatoes until the soup has bits of potato and mashed potato in it. This will add texture and creaminess to your soup.

6. Finally, mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Parsley and chopped green onions are nice touch, too. Just go "loaded baked potato"- crazy! Serve after cheese has melted.

I really never make this soup the same way twice. This is just a starter recipe. Sometimes, I just throw in a little bit of this and that in it. It all depends on my mood. And what I have not run out of!

Anyway, there is not much we can do about the weather, except to make soup when life hands us temperatures below 50F.

I can really butcher adages.

Tips
1. Onion soup add in extra spices such as garlic. "All- in- one" seasoning packets are awesome.
2. Onion soup mix hides the onion from discriminating noses, but adds in the flavor!
3. Microwaving the potatoes reduces cooking time, big time!
4. You can replace the chicken stock and cream with all milk in this recipe.
5. You can substitute low-fat products for their fattier counterparts in this recipe.
6. Margin will work in place of the butter. I just LOVE butter, though.
7. Croutons are amazing on top of this soup. Toast up some bread and cut it into cubes for quick homemade croutons. I refrigerate or freeze leftover garlic bread for this purpose.
8. You can use leftover mashed potatoes. 4 cups should be a good substitute.
9. If soup is too thick, add in extra stock or milk to thin out to desired consistency.

Cooking Light's Superfast Kofte

2011-01-29T15:26:00.000-06:00

(please forgive our iPhone picture and paper plates)

Usually, I'm a very skeptical human being. I don't believe in get-rich-quick scams, fad diets, dressing room mirrors, and recipe for meals in 30 minutes or less. However, I find myself still trying to get one of the recipes to succeed, even if I can't get the dressing room mirror to lie to me.

Since my hubby is still trying to lose unwanted pounds through Weight Watchers, I thought I would try some Cooking Light recipes in addition to the Weight Watcher ones. It seemed like an even trade off, or maybe I was hoping it would be after I saw the Superfast Kofte recipe in my email update. I absolutely LOVE Mediterranean food. I really can't get enough of it. I love the grilled meats and traditional rice dishes served with warm breads. So when I saw this recipe, I just had to try it. It was light and Mediterranean!

(now this is some picture! courtesy of Cooking Light)

Now for the review. I really liked this recipe a lot, so did the kids (except for my youngest son). I forgot to keep the onions and cilantro out of his portion, so that killed it for him. Yes, I subbed in cilantro for the mint. I knew I was already cooking for a picky crowd. No need in pushing it. With the exception of my youngest son who ate cereal in lieu of the onion-laden lighter fare, it was a hit. My eldest son devoured several helpings.

Cooking Light recommends serving the Kofte in pita bread topped with sliced tomatoes and a drizzle of fat-free or low-fat plain yogurt. My hubby hates tomatoes, so I left them off his (as you can see in our photo). The rest of us loved the slice of sweet cool tomato against the warm grilled meat. My oldest son even added ketchup to his sandwiches! I know that is a big no-no to this traditional dish, because it is not a hamburger. He just could not help his American tendencies. We also forgot to add the yogurt, but imagine that it would have tasted awesome in the sandwich. There is always next time. And there will be a next time, because my youngest son said he loved the pita bread, which was low- carb, haha. All I have to do is keep out the onions and cilantro from his patties.

I served our Kofte with some some brown rice infused with ham seasoning and low-fat corn chowder (this recipe to follow). It was an eclectic meal. However, according to my hubby the Kofte may have been light, but NOT Weight Watchers-friendly. Half a pita sandwich was 11 points! Not including the sides. It may have been more than that, but don't tell him. I just noticed that one patty was placed in one pita half. I put two. Oopsies. Lesson learned: light does not necessary mean diet-friendly. Portion control is key for meals like this one. Having half a serving helped a lot. 11 points versus 22 is a big difference!

Anyway, this was a fun and simple meal to make. If you have everything mostly prepped it will take no time to make as a weekday meal. Just be sure to leave out ingredients that may cause the little people to scrunch their noses up. You may also want to have some ketchup on hand just in case, too.

Tips for a faster meal:

1) Put meat out to defrost night before.
2) Take an hour once a week or so to pre-chop ingredients such as onions for future recipes. Can freeze them, too.
3) Frozen veggies are good sides. Green beans would be a great side for this dish. Or omit the sides.
4) Flavor plain yogurt with a drizzle of lemon juice. Good sauce for sandwiches and grilled meats.
5) Rice cookers are amazing! Add seasonings such as Goya Jamon flavoring to make plain rice a more exciting side. Use chicken broth instead of water to cook your rice in too.

Soups, Cornbread, and Kitchen Gadgets!

2011-01-24T14:17:00.002-06:00

There are two things in life I absolutely love to try: 1) new recipes 2) new kitchen ware and gadgets

This Sunday I had the pleasure of doing both.

For Christmas, my M-I-L gave me a Kitchen Aid Dutch Oven as one of my awesome gifts. She also gave me new dishes that I had been hinting at. My wish for the longest time was to convert over from mix matched dinner ware to all white uniformed ware. I tossed the old dishes and organized the new ones into my cabinets. My kitchen is getting closer to where I want it but there is still a lot of work to do. It's coming along nicely, though.

My hubby joined Weight Watcher's this past week. I am so excited that he is sharing recipes with me that he would like to try. Since the weather has finally cooled down enough in H-Town, I decided to make his requested soup this past Sunday with my new KA dutch oven.

First, I began with the cornbread. While the cornbread is not Weight Watcher's-friendly, it is a nice compliment to soup or chili. If you do not use parchment paper to line your pans, for cornbread I highly recommend spraying the pan with cooking spray and sprinkling the pan with a combination of cornmeal and flour (2 tbsp. to 2 tbsp. should do the trick).

Next, follow this amazing recipe I borrowed from Shelby Ruttan of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch. Shelby has an awesome site that I have followed for quiet some time now.

I actually forgot to add in the melted butter which was left behind all by its lonesome in the microwave. It was discovered by my hubby who went to warm up some vittles. He asked me if I needed it to which I quickly responded by slapping my forehead and shouting some explicatives. Much to my relief, in the end, it worked out!

I poked holes on the top of the cornbread and used a pastry brush to add the forgotten melted butter over the bread.

Perfection.

While the cornbread baked, I started the soup. While I had prepped everything for my South African Corn and Tomato soup, I soon discovered I had no corn. However, I did have some frozen mixed veggies. So, my South African Corn and Tomato soup, became South African Vegetable soup. No biggie.

See my nice new dutch oven? It did an awesome job of heating up and cooking. The clean up was super easy, too! The lid is the best I have come across in a dutch oven, including my prized Le Creuset. I can hardly wait to use this new dutch oven to bake with, too!

We like creamy soups in our family. Creamy soups usually have added in, well, cream to thicken them up and give them body. Well, it will do the same thing to you, too, so I used a trick I learned a long time ago from Oprah's chef's, Rosie, cookbook. Remember her? Rosie, not Oprah.

Take some of the soup (about half) and blend it. Then, add it back into the original soup and mix it. The soup will be hot, so an immersion blender works best. If you are like me and do not have an immersion blender (another hint?), then reserve some of the chicken broth called for in the recipe (or liquid stock in any recipe) and add it to the blender with some of the hot soup (enough in total to make half). Make sense? Or you risk hot liquid spurting out of the blender in all kinds of directions (heat creates pressure). If your idea of a kitchen adventure is darting away from hot liquid and cleaning up soup from walls, cabinets, and ceilings, then disregard my tip. If I lost you, here is a picture.

I added one cup of broth (room temp) that was called for in the original recipe, then added enough soup to be about half of the total batch. Then, I blended it nice and good. I added it back into the gorgeous dutch oven and stirred it back together.

The soup will be thicker and have the texture of a creamy soup, but not the calories of one! Whew.

When you are done, you will have this on a cold day. Or any day.

Garnish the soup with chopped fresh Basil or Cilantro and black pepper. Then, your in business!

All these pictures were taken with my iPhone. One day, I plan on working on my photography and editing skills, but for now, I am happy to share with you my "humble" triumphs in the kitchen which now involve lighter fare and new dishes! Did you notice those, too?

Both recipes were great! I imagine I will be making both again soon in the near future which is looking so bright I gotta wear shades.

I don't have any of those either. Hhhmmm.

* Note: Total WW points: 10 for 1 serving of soup and 1 serving of cornbread

Recipe for the Cold Days Ahead

2011-01-20T20:03:00.002-06:00

Super Easy! Perfect for tomorrow's cold day!

Cheesy Chili Hashbrown Bake
Recipe courtesy of Southern Living

1 1/2 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 (15.5 oz. ) can of sloppy joe sauce
1 (15-oz.) can chili with beans
1/2 (30-oz) package frozen country-style shredded has browns (about 4 cups)
2 cups (8-oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Brown ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 7-10 minutes or until meat crumbles and is no longer pink. Stir in sloppy joe sauce and chili.

2. Spoon chili mixture into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish. Top with frozen hash browns.

3. Bake, covered, at 425F for 30-minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until brown and crisp. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Enjoy! Sent from my iPad

Posted via email from gabesbabymomma's posterous

You Use That For What?

2011-01-14T14:13:00.003-06:00

Photo courtesy of Chiot's Run

I like to find new ways to do things. But sometimes, the old ways are the best ways. Here are some new tips, I mean old tips, I have gathered from Apartment Therapy New York. While I live in a house, I love reading Apartment Therapy because it helps me get creative and budget-friendly ideas for the small spaces in my house.

In their recent Reader's Intelligence Report, they came up with this collaboration of cleaners from their subscribers:

1) Club Soda - According to princesspea, it is a miracle cleaner. She uses it to clean windows, steel appliances, chrome fixtures, glass stovetops, wall smudges, and white leather upholstery. She also claims that what club soda does not take care of, vodka will. Not that is my kind of cleaner. She has used vodka to take out pen and sharpie from white sofas!

2) Regular Toothpaste - AngelaDee76 suggests using toothpaste to remove stubborn stains from delicate surfaces requiring non-abrasives, think tennis shoes.

3) Liquid Dish Detergent - mdorothy recommends dish detergent for cleaning bath tubs and showers. It is great for removing body oil and soap scum.

4) Olive oil - ljpasacre uses it to give her stainless steel appliances a shiny surface and uses a dry cloth to buff it out.

5) Baking soda and water paste - Lizliterarius uses it to clean her tile grout and remove stains from stainless steel dishwasher.

6) vinegar - veslabeachgirl recommends it for windows and stinky odors. Here is a link I found to help you with this.

and a last one to share, but not least:

7) FLOUR - also used by veslableachgirl to shine stainless steel!

Other affordable cleaning agents that made the list were:

Non toxic Borax 20 Mule Team

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (LOVE THEM!)

Rubbing Alcohol (interesting)

Microfiber Towels (Great gifts!)

Bar Keeper Friend (must try soon)

and

Water! (hot water does wonder for pipes)

Hope these help save you money and help your abode to sparkle and shine.

Happy Cleaning!

Posted via email from gabesbabymomma's posterous

Memory is a Gift from God

2011-01-12T10:39:00.002-06:00

Lilah Abigail Little with her great-grandma Elizabeth Contreras Rangel (January 2, 2011)

Last night, I was talking to my grandma. Once again, she asked me if it was true that my grandpa had died.

“Mija” she starts. By the tone of her voice, I can guess what is about to follow. “ Es cierto que Nato se murio?” I always hate to tell her that it yes, it is true. My grandpa died. He died over five years ago.

My grandmother like her mother and aunts before her is suffering from Alzheimer's. What was once just quirky forgetfulness, then typical old-age forgetfulness, followed by erratic dementia, is now subtly evolving into Alzheimer's.

Unlike past conversations I have had with her, she also asks me now that I have now cooperated with her first question (she no doubt thinks we are in cahoots of some sort) if it is true that her mother also has died. This question I did not expect. It takes me by surprise and I hesitate. My great-grandmother has been dead for over a decade.

Again, I have to tell her that yes, that too, is true.

She is quiet. I hear a soft sob, but she stops. Then tells me in a quivering voice,

“Well, it is what we will all have to do one day.”

I spoke with my grandma for about 20 minutes. In that 20 minutes, she asked three times how my daughter, Savannah, was doing, if it was true my grandpa had died, and if Omega (my sister) was married. Each time she asked, it was like it was the first time she had asked. She had no memory of the first two times. It is heartbreak after heartbreak. Having to rediscover time and time again that my grandpa has passed.

This is how it is. She forgets. She remembers. Then, she forgets. One day, she will just forget. This thought is what prompted my sobbing after we hung up. My body collapsed into my soul and made my mind and heart meet again.

I am losing her.

One day, she will not be able to share in stories of past memories. One day, she will just be silent and stare. One day, she will not remember me or her grandchildren or the life we all lived under one roof at one time, one glorious time in the past when we didn’t have much, but we had each other and that was such a gift. And as I write this, I still cry. I cry with the hope of a child, that one day I could tell her that my grandpa didn’t die. That she must have been dreaming. That we all must have been dreaming. And my grandpa will walk in through the back door of the house into the kitchen. Humming. Wearing his old overalls that my grandma hates so much because they are torn and full of holes. He will tell her, “ Hello, hunny bunny.” and look at me and say, “ Mija!” and smile that beautiful smile that he shares with his eyes. And we will all sit at the table. We will drink coffee. We will eat my grandma’s tortillas. And we will laugh. We will talk about everything. The past. The present. The Bible. The grandchildren. The dumb Cowboys.

Before we hung up, she asked me one more time if it was true that my grandpa had died. After I told her once again that it was true, she said she did not know why anyone had not told her. I told her that we had, but she probably had been too tired to remember. For whatever reason, she accepted this. Then she said with such clarity that she had heard or read somewhere that memory was a gift from God. She said when we lose those we love, God still lets us keep them by being able to remember them even after he has taken them. She said, “Mija, that is why we have to be faithful to God.”

I told her that she always had been faithful to Him. She said yes, she had.

It was the most ironic thing for me to hear on so many levels in my entire life.

For many who remember my grandma, they will remember her gift for gab. You could sit with her for hours listening to her talk and never get a word in. She would tell the same stories over and over again. She loved company. She loved an audience. She had a wonderful sense of humor. You could tease her and she would tease you back, right back, always quick on the draw.

Now, she is not very chatty. You can get in a lot of words. I find myself in uncharted territory. Now, I have to develop the conversation. And now when I tease her, she only smiles. She does not often have a witty comeback. I miss that.

When she sees my children, I sense she is confused. I know she wonders why they look so grown, when to her they should still be babies. She tries her hardest to understand where the baby (Lilah) comes from, but she enjoys her company. Her eyes watch her joyfully as she plays.

In our conversation, she mentioned how my sister had visited her a while back. It was me, but I did not say so. She said that my sister came with my brother. I visited with my sons and my baby daughter. I did not mention that either. She said she knows other people came with them but could not remember who.

“ All I know, Mija, is that we had a good time. They spent the whole day with me. And we laughed a lot. “

I told her, “Good, grandma! It’s nice to have company isn’t it?”

She agreed. And told me to always remember that she loved me.

Now that is something I could never forget.

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And the broom goes to....

2011-01-10T09:41:00.001-06:00

Many of my readers (all three of you), will notice that I have not blogged in a long time. Yes, my time is not what it used to be since the addition of Baby Lilah nine months ago to my already robust family of four kids. However, that is not exactly what has kept me from putting my culinary creations online. Mainly, I just do not cook or bake the way I used to. I miss it, but with a hubby who is watching his weight and kids who sadly, I must admit, would rather eat Ramen noodles every day, I just do not make the effort very often anymore to create anything special. That is why I cook like crazy for guests or events. One day, my family will all come crawling back for my pork roasts and dessert pies, but for now, they are content with simple foods. I am learning to deal with it.

Since one of my passions is on simmer, then another one must come to full boil (that is just the way I operate). Hence, this picture:

Except in my case, I am not usually chasing a mouse, but dust bunnies. I can usually be found frantically cleaning or planning my house cleaning at any given moment. You laugh. My family isn't. I am a certified madwoman.

While it is funny sometimes, my obsession with staying on top of my house can frustrate my family, especially my husband who wishes I would just sit down and watch a movie. We have compromised by making it a t.v. show. Trust me, it takes everything in me not to move.

I am known to have a conversation with a visitor while sweeping. I am known to talk on my phone while cleaning anything. I am known to dust, fold clothes, organize anything, and wipe down surfaces while watching t.v. If you notice me looking over your shoulder while we are talking in my house, I may reach over or past you to straighten out something that is out of place, and usually it is a picture or knick knack, not your hair. I would probably not notice a stray hair, unless it was on a knick knack.

I can't help it. I am literally OCD when it comes to MY house.

Before I became a stay-at-home mom (which is a mental roller coaster in itself), I enjoyed a clean house, but I usually took out my OCD at the gym or work. I was a so-so organizer at home and some now would be surprised to know that I was actually a borderline HOARDER (until my hubby entered my life and showed me the way), usually of pantry staples and paperwork. I am still shocked to see remnants of my hoarding actually exists until this day. Since I do not have a career to kick around now, I just try to succeed in the domestic engineering department. My passion now is reading professional organizing, good housekeeping, home decorating, and domestic time management blogs and articles. Crazy, sexy stuff, I know.

As I ring in a New Year, cleaning and organizing still hold my number priority outside my family (although, they would probably say differently). This year, while and when I can, I will change the direction of my blog to include many of the numerous tips I come across to help save time for all of us who remain busy, from cooking to cleaning, organizing and shopping. I know very few leisurely homemakers. While many of us would love to devote 100% of our time to uninterrupted errand running and cleaning, it simply does not happen. I wish! If the truth be told, most of us would hit the ground running to work outside the home if we could, as many of us once did in our former lives.

For now, I will list the Pro's I have found to this OCD (organizing, cleaning, and domestic) obsession (clever, huh?):

1) I am always prepared for company.

2) I am always active and energetic.

3) Cleaning is my workout. No joke. It keeps me fit.

4) I am a much better organizer. Therefore, more efficient.

5) It makes me feel accomplished and proud.

The cons? Well, lets say I will save those for another day. It is the New Year after all. But, in my humble opinion, the Pros outweigh the Cons.

And a clean house is a happy house after all...

Unless you ask my family.

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Sweety Pies Sweet Potato Pie

2010-12-06T12:24:00.001-06:00

Our theme for Thanksgiving this year was Cajun food, so to round out our menu, I decided to add a Sweet Potato pie alongside a pumpkin and chocolate chip pecan pie for dessert. Now, if I have made a Sweet Potato Pie, I do not remember it. From everything I read, a TRUE Sweet Potato pie does not taste like a pumpkin pie and it will convert you from its more traditional and popular counterpart. Keeping this in mind, I disregarded any recipe that seemed pumpkin pie in nature. For a true Southern influenced recipe, I turned to my favorite pie recipe book, Sweety Pies, written by Patty Pinner. However, I read in her prologue that she grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. I almost chose the recipe that was featured in Southern Living's Thanksgiving 2010 edition, but something kept calling me back to Patty's submitted recipe. If you do not have this book (Sweety Pies), I highly recommend it. It is full of wonderful stories of the women the wonderful recipes belong to.

Sweet Potato Pie (Cousin Caldin's Rendition)

One 9-inch single flaky pie crust, rolled out, fitted into a pie plate, and edge trimmed and crimped

3 hand-sized sweet potatoes

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1 tsp. lemon extract

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted unsalted butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk

Makes one 9-inch pie

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust and set aside.

Place the potatoes in a medium-size saucepan, cover generously with water, bring to a boil and cook until fork-tender. Drain and, when they've cooled enough to handle, peel and mash them in a large bowl until there are no lumps remaining. Using a fork, remove any strings from the filling. (If you are using an electric mixer, remove any strings that might have collected around the beaters.) Add the eggs, sugar, lemon extract, salt, and nutmeg and beat together until thoroughly blended and smooth. Add the melted butter and evaporated milk and beat until creamy. Pour filling in to the pie crust.

Place the pie in the oven and bake until the center is set (it shouldn't jiggle when the pie is rocked back and forth) and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let the pie cool complete on a wire rack.

I did add a Southern Living touch to my Sweet Pie's pie. I added a marshmallow meringue. I used a recipe adapted from Allrecipes, not the one from SL magazine, but it was my inspiration.

The pie turned out beautifully, It was minimal fuss to make. Well worth the efforts! It tasted light and creamy. I loved it! The pie does have a noticeable lemon-flavor, so if you do not care for lemon, you may want to adjust the extract to your taste. I would not eliminate the lemon extract, because it does bring out the flavor of the sweet potato. This pie is now one of my favorites and yes, it did replace pumpkin on the list. I just loved the taste of it.

While you do not have to add the meringue (the pie tastes great on its own), I thought it added a beautiful touch to the pie and a nice complimentary texture. Definitely, a great way to dress it up to gift to someone, too!

I used one of my grandmother's old pie plates to make this pie in. While, I had great recipes to work with, I am sure her plate added that special and magic touch to my pie. I rarely make a pie and not think of her. I see her with her apron on, her rolling pin and mat laying across her wood table, and she is spinning the pie plate as she trims the crust. She will always be my number one culinary idol.

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Spicy Holiday Meatballs

2010-11-14T15:45:00.001-06:00

It is a nice cool overcast day today. The kind of day you just enjoy the warmth of your home, a warm cup of something, your children keeping themselves entertained, and forego the "to-do" list. Yes, I have managed to only to one thing on my list today, because I promised my husband that I would ditch the list today. I have a huge desire to bake, but I am out of eggs. Of course. It is always that one ingredient that will hold up your plans of playing kitchen diva. I am waiting for my oldest daughter to get off of work and run to to store for me, since she is already out and about and dressed, unlike me who is still in p.j.'s. I must admit I could get used to this or try to at least, until the world falls apart, because I did not do that load of laundry or hang up that one picture. I mean if a butterfly wing can create chaos in the universe surely not doing #3 on my "to-do"list will cause it to spin out of orbit! So since I must do something, I will post a recipe from a dinner I had a little over a week ago. It was my pre-Thanksgiving run. Lots of food. Lots of good conversation. Lots of new recipes. Here is a new appetizer recipe I tried that I found in the Thanksgiving edition of Southern Living, my FAVORITE magazine of all time! They have one of the best test kitchens around. I sometimes pretend that I am working in their test kitchen. Some people fantasize about being on the beach with a cocktail in hand, I fantasize about creating a masterpiece in their kitchen with an awesome utensil. Dream big, baby!

(photo courtesy of Southern Living Magazine)

Holiday Meatballs

Makes 10-12 appetizer servings

Hands-On time: 30 minutes Total time: 30 minutes

For a main-dish meal, serve meatballs over rice with cooked vegetables. You may also prepare meatballs in a 6-qt. slow cooker at HIGH for 2 hours.

1 (16-oz.) can whole-berry cranberry sauce (I used Ocean Spray)

1 (12-oz) bottle chili sauce (I used Sriracha HOT chili sauce)*

1/4 cup orange marmalade (I used Smuckers)

1 Tbsp. soy sauce (Great Value brand)

2 Tbsp. red white vinegar

1 tsp. crushed red pepper (out of red so used black)

1 (32-oz) package of frozen meatballs (SL used Farm Rich. I used Great Value)

Stir together first 6 ingredients in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until smooth.

Add meatballs, and cook, stirring occasionally, 20-25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

*- Will come out spicy! So adjust to taste buds. Next time, I will use a little less for the wimps.

As I noted, the meatballs will come out really spicy if you use the full 12-oz chili sauce. So imagine how mine turned out when I used 12-oz of Asian HOT chili sauce. Seriously, those of us who liked spicy loved them. Those with a more demure palette, well, needed fire extinguishers. When these babies were done, I went to rinse out the container they were in and I choked on the SPICY fumes.

Now that you have been warned about the potential kick-factor, these meatballs are really good. So if you like a sweet and spicy dish, then these are for you. If you don't, just play with the recipe until it gets to the kick you can handle.

I plan on making these again. They are easy. Really good. Awesome grub apps (way better than celery sticks with cheese sauce). And perfect for holiday entertaining.

Tomorrow, I will resume never ending Operation To-Do List. After all, I swear by it as my fitness and weigh loss secret. However, I may just have to keep on the p.j.'s Why not?

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Want Some More? S'mores

2010-11-08T16:10:00.001-06:00

Free time is a luxury. I really miss doing a lot of things I used to do. Even when I have the time, there is no gaurantee I will have the energy. It can be extremely frustrating, especially for some one who has a mind that will not shut off. My "To-Do" and "Must-Get-To"- lists overwhelm me on a daily basis. The plus side is that I stay moving and that keeps me in shape. The down side is I know I must drive the household crazy with my OCD. So if I can find an easy, recipe that they will enjoy and accept as a bribe, I am all over it. Here is such a recipe. It is cute. It is fun. It is simple. It's dessert! Win, win all around.

I found this idea on this site.

(photo courtesy of dyerweb.com)

My kids loved this! I think you will too, because you are busy and want to do something special for your loved ones, especially if it is easy and fun. It is a perfect treat for this time of year.

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Sandwich Cookies courtesy of Giada D.

2010-10-26T18:35:00.001-05:00

Okay, for those of you familiar with The Food Network, you know how addicting it can be. I had to wean myself from it almost two years ago, because all I wanted to do was blow all of our money and my time making everything I saw on there. The other day, I sat down for a while and for the lack of knowing what is on t.v. at any given time, I turned it to The Food Network. I just happened to catch Giada's tailgating episode.

Giada. Her perfect model-self baking and cooking with not one drip of sweat or spot of mess in her kitchen. She moves her hands too much and shows off her annunciation of Italian words as often as she can, but for the most part, I do like her recipes. She made these cookies that I just had to try. Except, I left out the filling. Nothing against the filling, but I am all about the cookie. And I am all about a cookie that is a perfect match for my coffee and this one is IF you leave out the filling. If you leave in the filling, then it definitely going to need a dunk in some cold milk.

You can find her recipe here, Giada D.'s sandwich cookie recipe

Now, for my review. Considering I was near death's door after a much painful wisdom tooth extraction when I made these babies, I agree that they are very easy to make. The texture of the cookie is like biscotti, so if you like biscotti, and I do, then you will LOVE these. Scratch that if you like biscotti and love chocolate (and I do), then you will LOVE these. Yes, that is much better.

Here is my not so good picture of some of my cookies:

And here is a picture of Giada's cookies minus her cleavage. When I googled this, I discovered that it is a big thing (no pun intended) to post photos of her cleavage online. You can learn so much on the internet. I will never watch Giada the same.

Baking these cookies made me realize that I was wise a couple of years back to turn off the tube, because I quickly added Ghiradhelli Bittersweet Chocolate chips to my already budgeted grocery list.

But, I do hope to turn it to Food Network one day and find that Giada has worn something that hides her cleavage and has flour on her counter tops and marinara on her shirt! Seriously, you can not be that perfect in the kitchen.

Carolina R. Little
gabesbabymomma.blogspot.com

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Amish Apple Crumb Pie Post and Friendship

2010-10-17T12:16:00.001-05:00

Whatever people may say about Facebook, myself included, there is no doubt that it really does help you connect with long lost friends. Last year, I was blessed with reconnecting with my BFF from high school, Janie. After graduation, our friendship was a casualty of life and all its distractions. But, I never stopped remembering her and wondering how her life was going. After all, the older you get, the more you appreciate the friendships that mattered and the experiences that shaped you. She was a part of both. Once my oldest daughter asked me what I remembered the best from high school. I told her that was easy. I remembered my best friend Janie picking my sister and I up for school in her little blue Toyota truck. We'd roll the windows down, blast the radio up, and laugh, while my sister, herself, and I all shared drags from a Capri cigarette (of course, I left this part out). Yes, we were rebels. That kind of freedom is only felt when you are that young and can only be equaled to hearing the recess bell in elementary school. Both feelings, in my older age, I remember well. I think I try to capture it every time I go running in the sunshine.

Fast forward almost 20 years, I traveled last week to visit my BFF because I promised her last December when we met up in our home town over the holidays that I would go visit her. I try to never break my promises. It was a soulful and happy reunion. I felt right at home and we fell right back into our old friendship like true friends do. After all these years, we still know each other, because we knew each other when. True friends connect to your soul and never let go no matter what happens.

Here is the part where I tell you that Janie lives in Iowa. Yes, Iowa. So you can imagine the feedback I received from my hubby and friends when I told them I was going to Iowa for vacation. I didn't care. I love to travel and will travel almost anywhere, but if Iowa could only boast that it had the world's biggest wooden nickel (I have the picture), I still would have gone to visit, because my BFF from high school, Janie, lived there and I had a promise to keep. As it is, Iowa has a lot to see; the proud University of Iowa, rolling farmlands painted with harvest colors, trees painted in autumn glory, charming midwestern homes with screened in porches and lots of character, and a fascinating Amish community which contributes a contrast of old world into the new world but somehow makes sense in the mostly rural scenery.

Janie took me to an Amish grocery store where I found the cookbook that gave me the recipe for the Apple Crumb Pie I made for my family this Saturday.

Apple Crumb Pie

adapted from More Family Favorites submitted by Linda Gingerich

6 cups of Chopped Apples (I used a combination of Granny Smith and ____, and only used 5 cups)

2 tablespoons of margarine, melted (I used butter)

2 tablespoons of sour cream

4 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 tsp. of cinnamon (used a teaspoon)

1/2 tsp. nutmeg (used a teaspoon)

Pastry for a single 9" pie crust (I used a store bought Pillsbury crust and dusted both sides with flour)

In a bowl, combine the apples, butter, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon filling into pastry shell. For topping, combine 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a bowl; cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (I doubled the crumb topping recipe to make sure I had a nice thick topping). Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 375F for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender. Personal note: Let pie sit for about ten minutes before serving.

This was the first recipe I made from the cookbook. To me, it seemed appropriate. Apple Pie is old school comfort food. It is simple and just like true friendship it feeds the soul.

I can hardly wait to visit Iowa again. It is everything I expected from the Midwest and more. I was so happy to see my friend, Janie, and get a glimpse into her life. Janie drives a Ford Expedition now and neither one of us smokes, but I know we'd do almost anything to resurrect her little blue truck and take a drive down memory lane.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Easy Pumpkin Muffins

2010-09-29T11:33:00.001-05:00

I wish I had more time to post like I used to. Heck, I wish I had more time to bake like I used to. I do make time to do some baking, but can not always manage the pictures or the posts! Oh, well, one day. I hope.

Here is a recipe I just tried that takes almost no time at all. It is my kind of recipe, easy. It is easy to put together, easy to bake, and a super easy clean up.

I love fall baking and I love baking with pumpkin as often as I can. I wanted to share this recipe with you all to help you make something special (but easy) for your homes or to share with the special people in your life!

I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com submitted by Cindy Costa. To view the recipe, click on this link. This recipe earned a great review.

For my own personal review, let me just say, I loved them. I loved the color and texture of the muffins. They came out with very full muffin tops. Perfect. The batter is thick, but even if it is not perfectly spread in each tin, the muffins will come out looking rustic and lovely. More importantly, they will still taste great!

I gifted mine in a tin. I could only fit 9! They were so big and pretty.

Yes, we had to eat the other three. Could not let them go to waste and had to taste-test them first before I gave them to my friends.

The only modification I made to this recipe was to add more spices to the batter. I love a spicier cake. I added a pinch more cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, and 1 tsp of pumpkin spice (not called for in original recipe) jut for good measure. I used Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix and Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling.

For the gifted muffins, I sprinkled sweet nutmeg on the tops. It is fun baking gifts!

Happy Fall Baking!!!

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Keep It Simple and Sweet

2010-09-08T09:53:00.001-05:00

I can not tell you how many times I drool over my recipe books or baking blogs. In fact, if the truth be told, at random times of the day I can be found fantasizing about baking. This week's cooler temperatures and rainy days, reminded me that fall would soon be here. With fall comes Mexican hot chocolate and baked goods, especially if they are little treats that can be eaten as dessert or for breakfast. Muffins and cupcakes always seem to fit that bill.

If I could, I would convert my kitchen into a test kitchen. I would cook and bake until I collapsed. I would invite anyone over to be Guinea pigs, I mean, taste testers. I would just line up the recipes and break the bank buying ingredients. Oh, if I could, I would. Believe that.

But in the real world, which I seem to inhabit most of the time, I just can't. In fact, many of my baking adventures are in my head. I reread my magazines, cookbooks, and blogs just fantasizing about the day I make whatever it is...Of course, in my fantasies it all turns out fantastic and is received with rave reviews.

My mother-in-law and I share many interests: coffee, reading, collecting cookbooks, and baking. She is the first person to tell me about the Weight Watcher cake recipe using diet soda years ago. She shares many of her newly discovered baking secrets and shortcuts with me. Many times they are so easy and affordable, I run right out to buy the ingredients to bake the goods, especially if those goods are "lowfat". Her latest share was Hungry Girl's recipe which substitutes lowfat Greek yogurt into a cake recipe. I knew I was going to try the recipe because it only uses three ingredients: cake mix, Greek yogurt, and water. That is it. I tried her Devil's Food cupcakes using this recipe. They tasted great! She told me while Hungry Girl recommends Devil's Food cake mix for this recipe, she heard spice cake mix tasted good, too. Well, with the weather being the way it is lately, that is what I was inspired to make; HG Spice Cupcakes with a Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting.

Here is how I did it:

Cake Batter

1 Box of Spice Cake Mix (I use Duncan Hines)

1 cup of nonfat or lowfat Greek Yogurt (I used Kroger's plain, nonfat brand)

1 cup of water

If time permits, allow yogurt and water come to room temperature. Cakes and cookies seem to come out better when you use room temperature ingredients. Mix cake mix, yogurt, and water together. That is it. Nothing else needs to be added in. Bake according to cake mix directions on the back of the box. After baking, allow cupcakes or cake to completely cool before frosting.

Low Fat Cream Cheese Frosting
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
8 oz 1/3 fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.

These were a big hit with the family. Even my oldest son who really does not care for sweets gave me a big thumbs up. Don't just fantasize about baking these babies, bake them into reality (Kinda cheesy, huh?) ! They are super easy and really good, plus they make the house smell all kinds of good.

Thanks to my M-I-L for another awesome tip!

Speaking of tips, here are a couple:

* - add a little more nutmeg to batter for a spicier taste

* - add in diced baked apples or currants for a nice touch

* - sprinkle a touch of cinnamon or nutmeg on top of frosting for a nicer presentation

* - these taste better the next day (remember to refrigerate if using cream cheese frosting)

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His Eye is on the Sparrow

2010-09-02T12:14:00.001-05:00

Today, I woke up determined to feel sorry for myself. Today was one of those days that have become more common than not, since I left my career three years ago to become a homemaker. Today is not the day I want to talk of that struggle, but to share instead how my day was turned around by my awesome friend, Marina, who is one of the most giving persons I know.

Today is one of my two days of the week where I take the girls to be cared for by Marina, so that I can have 4-5 hours of "me" time. It is a gift to me from my loving husband. Today, I had plans to take my eldest daughter shopping and have a nice lunch with her. Yet, in between the day, while being positive and peppy, girly and whimsical, I would think how I should be doing something more worthwhile, like presenting some new innovative technology, helping to bring humanity into science, being involved with community service, and making my mark on corporate America. That is what the plan was at one time. Now, I am a homemaker. Have been for three years. I am often overwhelmed by the demands of the household and two babies. I know, poor me.

It is easy to feel sorry for yourself, even when you live in a nice neighborhood with a great husband, healthy and happy kids, and a dumb dog.

Then, today, happened. I took the girls to meet with Marina and the playgroup at McDonald's. While I said hello and settled the kids in, she was making phone calls, phone calls that I learned were to help her friend who needed someone to send emails and faxes to the mortgage company in order to help save her home. I had just met Marina's friend this past Tuesday. She was showing us her three week-old baby, full of pride, smiles, and laughter. I would have never known that her light was going to be cut off today, that her husband makes a meager living, that she works at the flea market when she can to make ends meet, that she too has five kids, and that she is about to lose her house.

I would not have known if her friend and my friend, this amazing angel disguised as a human being here on Earth, Marina, did not share her story with me.

Now I know. I know more than her story. I know mine:

I have 5 amazing kids, an awesome husband, a good life, and an afternoon to myself.

An afternoon I almost used to feel sorry for myself, because I have so much and wanted more. Now, I will use it to do good. And it will be better because today my daughter and I are going shopping for my friend's, friend.

And over lunch, I will remind my daughter that He watches over the sparrow like my grandma always said He did.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

The Dalai Lama
Tibetan Buddhist religious leader (1935 - )

--
Carolina R. Little
gabesbabymomma.blogspot.com

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Tie-Dye Funky Birthday Cupcakes

2010-09-01T09:42:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love birthday parties, especially backyard birthday parties? They are my favorite kind of parties. To me, homemade cakes go hand in hand with backyard birthday parties, especially when they are homemade cupcakes.

Last month, my good friend and guardian angel on earth, Marina, fell in love with the cake I made for my daughter's 2nd birthday party. She was excited to see it had a rainbow of colors inside when you cut into it. She asked me to make cupcakes for her grandson's, AJ, birthday party in August. My kind of request. I love making birthday cakes and cupcakes for kids!

The tie-dye effect is so easy. Since I did not take step-by-step pictures, here is demo on the site I used.

I chose this method, because you could go crazier with it than your typical rainbow cake with even layers. Plus, you can scrape all your batter and just dump it in in all kinds of ways and it would look extra funky! I try to use all my batter without wasting a drop. Scrape, scrape, scrap it all in. If you are using a box, which I do for kids' parties unless there is a special request, I highly recommend Duncan Hines. It delivers a generous 5 cups of batter, unlike its other counter parts, which deliver between 3-4 cups. I also use store bought frosting when I am in a pinch. I recommend buying white. Flavor it with your favorite extract (I often use butter flavor). Then, dye it. Be sure to buy extra frosting to decorate your cupcakes. One container is usually not enough if you are going to frost your cupcakes with a pastry bag.

For AJ.'s cupcakes, I colored my frosting and added sprinkles on top for extra cupcake confetti.

It is really pretty easy. Just dump the colored batter in as you like until it is a little over the half way mark in the muffin tin. Lightly tap the pan on a hard surface a few times to break up bubbles in the batter and to even the batter out. Bake cupcakes according to directions. Then, completely cool them. Frost and decorate. Finally, they are good to go.

Let the party begin!

No one appreciates a cupcake more than my 2-year old, Gabby.

Have fun creating these quirky cupcakes!

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Arepas-Muy Delicioso!

2010-07-15T22:23:00.001-05:00

What do you give your man who is hard to buy for on Father's Day? Well, like with all occasions around here, I give him food. One of my go to desserts for him is his favorite, Tres Leches, which I included on this occasion with Arepas and freshly made guacamole. Arepas are a South American comfort food easily found in Houston, but which I did not try until we were married and honeymooned in Cape Town, South Africa. A Colombian friend of my husband's that lived there introduced us to the dish. It was one of those foods that you never forget.

Arepas are warm corncakes that you can eat as is or split in the middle and fill with meat, cheese, grilled veggies or whatever your heart desires. Arepa recipes vary from region to region. While we were treated to our friend's Colombian version that is made with cheese and eaten as a side dish, I made mine using a Venezuelan recipe from the website Whast4eats.com that calls for the Arepas to be filled. After all, I had made my husband's favorite slow-cooked pork tenderloin and shredded it to use as a filling. I also had guacamole and salsa verde that wanted in on the action.

The recipe I chose was easy and similar to the many other versions I found on the web. The main ingredient, Harina Pan, can be found using an online locator or ordered online IF you can not readily find it at a local grocery store. This was not a problem for me as my local Fiesta and Food Town both sell it here in my neck of the woods.

Arepas adapted from What4eats.com

Makes 5-10 arepas

Pre-cooked cornmeal (see notes) -- 2 cups
Salt -- 1/2 teaspoon
Boiling water -- 3 cups
Oil -- 3 tablespoons

Method

Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal and salt. Pour in 2 1/2 cups of the boiling water and mix with a wooden spoon to form a mass. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside to rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Using wetted hands, form balls of dough out of about 1/4 cup of dough and press to form a cake about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. If the dough cracks at the edges, mix in a little more water and then form the cakes.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the patties, a few at a time, to form a light brown crust on one side, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip and brown on the other side.
When all the patties have been browned, transfer them to a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they sound lightly hollow when tapped. Serve immediately.

After you locate this ingredient, you are good to go, because the other ingredients are very simple; water, salt, and canola oil. I used garlic salt instead of regular salt which added a nice touch.

First, form patties. The dough should not be sticky. If it is, add a little more Harina Pan, until dough feels soft and malleable.

Next, grill for about five minutes on each side. Grill marks are a signature of this dish and add a great touch!

Finally, add to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check to make sure they are not overly browning. To make sure, initially bake for 15 minutes, let arepas rest for a minute, then tap center of an arepa. If it sounds hollow, then you are done. If not bake a little longer.

Aren't they are gorgeous? Let them rest for a few minutes before you slice them in half.

They taste just as good as they look. Promise. I paired mine with black beans and Mexican rice.

Here is a closeup of the little divas, or mozas.

If you give them a try, let me know how it goes. Happy cooking!

Carolina R. Little
gabesbabymomma.blogspot.com

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TWD: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake (cont.)

2010-06-25T18:23:00.001-05:00

Life is crazy sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. These past weeks were no exception.

When I can, I try my best to kick out baked goodies with my TWD baking group. And while every week is not always a good week to fit that one more thing in, this week, I managed to participate with the bakers and do my thing.

This recipe was very simple. Very easy. It was basically in three stages: prepare cake, fill cake, and dress cake. Of course, I thought my cake needed some accessories. Therefore, the chocolate chips.

You see her flaunting her stuff?

But as we all know, beauty comes from within.

I had to substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream called for in this recipe. I was all out of sour cream, but I was pretty confident that this recipe could handle the rich yogurt. And it did!

The filling was slightly detectable among the strong chocolate cake and tangy frosting flavors. I used strawberry preserves instead of the recommended raspberry.

Hey, if a real strawberry is good enough for chocolate, why not its preserves on a cake?

Since I can not stand a bare looking cake, and this cake after all is supposed to be dressy, I adorned her with kisses. Black and white for effect.

Things I would do differently next time I make this cake:

Make triple the filling (I doubled it and it still does not seem like enough)
Make double the frosting (I just barely had enough)
Fill with ganache instead of preserves like some other TWD'ers did.
Sprinkle with chocolate shavings or chocolate covered strawberries.

Even though I LOVE chocolate, this was not my favorite TWD recipe. I would probably make it again as a welcoming gift or potluck dessert, but not for my sweet tooth. This just did not do it for me.

But for a crazy week that got even crazier, it was nice to have such an easy recipe to throw together that looked elegant without all the effort!

Thanks to Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes. Go take a peek at her site. She did an amazing job dressing up her chocolate loaf cake! As did many of the other TWD'ers!

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TWD: Dressy Chocolate Loaf Cake

2010-06-22T22:23:00.001-05:00

Posting this to make the TWD Tuesday Deadline. Will post more pictures with review tomorrow...

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Symphony Brownies

2010-06-15T20:14:00.001-05:00

I was not able to do this week's TWD. I wanted to, but simply could not find enough people who liked raisins in my house in order to make Raisin Swirl Bread. Normally, I would give my baked goods away in a case like this. But alas, I did not ask any of my awesome neighbors if they liked raisins. So, no TWD this week. However, I do want to make Dorie's Raisin Swirl Bread, but just not for me to enjoy, because I LOVE raisin bread. I will just have to wait for the PERFECT occasion. You know, when others can help me intake the calories!

Here is something I made while my sister was visiting.

Aren't they beautiful?

I craved these brownies so badly that I waited for company (i.e. my sister) to visit so that I could eat some and share the rest!

There is a story behind these brownies. Not these brownies, but the recipe.

After I came home from birthing my baby, Lilah, many of my AWESOME neighbors took turns making me and my family dinner. It was the best present anyone could have given us. It was like getting a surprise everyday, but an edible one.

Well, my neighbor and friend, Cissy, brought over a great meal of ravioli and fixin's. But, the star of the show was definitely these brownies! I will never forget the moans of ecstasy that filled the house as these babies were bitten into. I must confess that we ate the whole pan in one night. Yes, we did. All of us. Well, except for the baby.

After much persistence, I finally got the recipe from Cissy (Thanks, Cissy!). I could not believe how easy it is to make these babies.

Symphony Brownies Recipes

adapted from Cissy H.

prepare your favorite brownie recipe (I used Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix)
buy 2-3 Symphony bars with toffee (depending on what size you use. I used Theater Sized)

For thicker brownies:

Fill an 8X8 baking pan half way with prepared brownie batter. Then, lay Symphony Bars vertically along pan. Finally, cover bars with remaining batter.

Bake according to directions. Cool completely! Then, cut.

For thinner brownies:

Fill an 13X9 (or so) pan a little less than half with batter. Then, add Symphony bars to middle. Finally, cover bars with remaining batter. Do not worry if the mix does not completely cover bars. The batter will rise and cover them. Also, you will get a cool grid made from the bars that will show on the surface of the brownies. Makes the brownies look artsy and easier to cut! This is what I inadvertently did. Bake according to directions (baking time should be less). Cool completely! Then, cut.

I warn you; these brownies will go quickly. They are as addictive as crack. Seriously.

Everyone seems to know about these brownies around our Sub-D. Apparently, they have made the rounds at PTO functions and suppers!

Have fun making these and enjoying them with your loved ones!

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Yummy Chocolate Cake

2010-06-10T21:39:00.002-05:00

I freely admit that I am a certified chocolate lover. It is no secret. I don't try to hide it. If you want a favor from me, bring me some chocolate. I am so far gone, it does not even have to be expensive. Just chocolate. Seriously, hand it over.

You can imagine how thrilled I was that I found a good chocolate cake recipe in my Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook. I LOVE this book. I am trying to cook out of it a lot. When, my hubby comes home, it will have a standing gig on my kitchen island. We are both determined to drop our pregnancy weight. Since he hates vegetables, it is so hard to cook light fare. I do believe this book will revolutionize my evening dinners and help us all out!

I made this cake for my bestie, Linda. She has been with me through thick and thin, literally! We both try to watch our calories. When I went to visit her the other day for lunch, I took this for our dessert.

It looks luscious, doesn't it? It was rich and decadent and low in fat and calories.

Here is the recipe:

Yummy Chocolate Cake

La Donna Reed

adapted from ToH Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

1 package (18-1/4 oz.) chocolate cake mix

1 package (2.1 oz.) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix

1-3/4 cups water

3 egg whites (I used meringue powder)

Frosting:

1-1/4 cups cold fat-free milk

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 package (1.4 oz.) sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix

1 carton (8 oz.) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

Chocolate curls, optional (yeah, right!)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, and egg whites. Beat on low speed for one minute; beat on medium for 2 minutes.
Pour into a 15 in. x 10 in. x 1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 12-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
For frosting, place milk and extract in a large bowl. Sprinkle with a third of the pudding mix; let stand for 1 minute. Whisk pudding mix; let stand for 1 minute. Whisk pudding into milk. Repeat twice with remaining pudding mix. Whisk pudding 2 minutes longer. Let stand for 15 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Frost cake. Garnish with chocolate curls if desired. (uh, duh!)

My eldest daughter frosted and decorated the cake. She did a great job! I placed in the fridge to give it an ice box taste. It seemed appropriate for the summer.

This cake is seriously good and pretty much guilt-free. Here is the nutritional values calculated without the chocolate curls (those you will have to do for yourself. I made them 0 calories, haha).

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece (calculated without chocolate curls) equals 197 calories, 5 g fat (3 g saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 409 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein.

Diabetic exchanges: 2 starch, 1/2 fat.

After all, nothing says love like somethin' from the oven, especially if is chocolate and low in fat and calories!

Enjoy!

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TWD: Tender Shortcakes, Sweet Success!

2010-06-08T06:35:00.001-05:00

Oh, my White Chocolate Brownies were such a disaster! They were to be my contribution to our Memorial Day feast. I had not read the P&Q's on the TWD site. I was completely clueless to the controversy that surrounded those tasty little treats. I gushed at the site of the meringue as I took my brownies out of the oven. It looked divine. Whew, there was nothing to these brownies, except a little elbow grease and expense up front (raspberries and almonds can make a dent in your wallet!). So, I let them rest on the counter. When I went back to check on them an hour later, what did I see? A soupy meringue on a brownie puddle. I was so embarrassed, I did not even take a picture of them or post my failure!. Had I know then that it was a troublesome treat, I would have taken snap shots left and right and to the center! Alas, I did not, could not, devote any more time to my failure on the road, in another person's kitchen. It was not until I made it home that I discovered via TWD bloggers that I was not alone. I was not alone! I was not a failure. It was not because I dared bake in a lesser kitchen (no offense, my dear sissy). I was simply, one of the many who under-baked their brownies by following the recipe instead of the knife test. Yay! I did not mess up on a simple brownie undertaking.

But this week's TWD recipe, offered up no surprises. Thank God! I needed things to work out and come together in a big way after the last faux paux. I could not let my babies down again.

And I didn't.

This recipe is simple. It is a delight. It is so my kind of recipe!

I made no substitutions to the meat of the recipe, the shortcake, but did to the sides, the strawberry filling and topping. I used fat-free topping with strawberries sweetened with Splenda. Next time, I will sub in skim milk for heavy cream. I am also thinking of adding pecans or chocolate chips to the batter, too. My friend and neighbor, Dragana, posted Dorie's shortcakes a while back on her blog. Here is the link for her ingenious presentation of these tiny little cakes of goodness.

Thanks, Cathy of The Tortefeasor, one of my favorite foodie blogs, for choosing this nice and simple recipe. I really liked it a lot. It was the perfect treat for a Sunday brunch.

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Pineapple Pudding Cake

2010-06-03T17:04:00.004-05:00

Normally, I try to add some cute little anecdotes while I am submitting a recipe on my blog, something to draw you readers in (all one of you), share a little of my life, and give you something to smile about as you read along. However, I am happy to just have a few moments to sit without interruption from my two youngest ladies, ages 2 months and almost 2 years, so I will just have to say that this recipe is a must-try dessert! It is reduced fat and lower in calories than its non diet counterpart. It was a success around these parts and is perfect for the summer.

Pineapple Pudding Cake

adapted from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook, page 277.

1 package (9 oz.) yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups of cold fat-free milk

1 package (1 oz.) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix

1 can (20 oz.) unsweetened crushed pineapple, well drained

1 carton (8 oz.) frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

20 maraschino cherries, well drained

Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions; pour into a 13-in. X 9-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in pudding mixture until blended. Spread evenly over cake. Sprinkle with pineapple; spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle with walnuts and garnish with cherries. Refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 20 servings

Nutrition Facts: 1 piece equals 131 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 217 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchange: 1 1/2 starch.

It is a nice, cool, sweet treat to help forget the summer heat! Enjoy!

Tips:

1) Reserve cherry and pineapple juices and include them in the water portion for the cake mix of this recipe. In other words, substitute juice for the water portion, then use water to make up for the rest.

2) Don't worry if the pudding mixture and pineapple do not look perfect. In the end, the whipped topping, cherries, and walnuts cover the imperfections!

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TWD: Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie

2010-05-25T11:35:00.001-05:00

I love bananas. And ice cream. And coconut. So when I saw that Spike chose Banana Coconut Ice Cream Pie, I was happy. Even happier when I saw that I did not have to make the ice cream. That is something I wish to try at a later time. Right now, it seems like too much, especially when Blue Bell is on sale at every store within 10 miles of me!

This recipe started off easy enough for me.

Melt some butter and stir in some coconut until browned. Ahhh, coconut. So tropical. So exotic. Loved by some, hated by others. Then, pat this mixture into the BORROWED deep dish pie pan (Thanks, Dragana!).

All I had to do next was press the mixture into the pie pan and freeze it for 30 minutes. I had a WHOLE 30 minutes to get prepared for my filling, which contained this stuff. Again, thanks, to my awesome and talented friend, Dragana, who let me borrow the rum or else this would have been a whiskey ice cream pie. And thanks to my newborn, Lilah, who let me at this point in time, finish my filling.

Ah, you see it. The FAKE lemon juice. I know the recipe called for fresh, but I did not have any like I thought...and well, you know...

You also see the wonderful (not-very-ripe) bananas. Again, like coconut, either loved or hated. I LOVE them.

Next, all I had to do was add thinly cut banana slices and place them on the frozen coconut crust. It is hard to keep cutting a banana straight across. I kept cutting in slants!

Then, I had to add the filling on top (not pictured), cover with wrap, and freeze for four hours before serving. I used Nutter Crunch Ice Cream from Blue Bell. I thought it was going to be a chocolate peanut butter ice cream (I was in a rush picking it up), but it was vanilla with peanut butter and nuts.

This is how it looked after four hours...

Yes, I have an overly ambitious freezer! After four hours, it managed to form a sheet of ice over my entire filling! To summarize my kitchen, my oven cooks 25 degrees over, my freezer loves to freezer burn everything, and the grill on my range is too loud for me to use, which leaves me with only two terrible electric burners to use! Yes, me. The girl who likes to create food art in her kitchen has a poor studio to work in (my hubby hears me complain about so often)! I do have awesome counter, cabinet, and island space, though! See I can see a silver lining, even though I am blind as a bat. I digress...Back to the pie.

Here is how it ended up looking:

Not, bad, after I added in the additional banana slices and chocolate chips. I did manage to cut a slice of this pie, but it was very difficult. I had to let the pie thaw out for about 20 minutes and it still was hard. Like I said, my freezer is a beast! I managed to taste a few bites before the baby started crying and could not taste much flavor. I think the freezer took care of that! I also did not use the ripest of bananas. Next time, I am pressed for time and can not use ripe, but firm, bananas as the recipe calls for, I am going to boost the filling with some banana extract.

Of course, I was not able to take another picture of a pie slice. We did add chocolate sauce to the one slice we all tried. However, Ms. Baby Diva Lilah had other plans for me that did not involve thawing and cutting out another slice and posing it for a picture. My oldest daughter rewrapped the pie and threw it back in the freezer for me. If I can manage to cut another slice after some serious thawing, I may post that picture and see if the taste improves upon further thawing.

If not, it is back to the cutting board! I love the crust and plan on using it again for other desserts. I also plan on making Dorie's chocolate ganache ice cream that everyone is raving about on TWD. I just need to find another person who will help me use their ice cream machine and give it a go.

Oh, Dragana....!

For the pie recipe go take a looksie at Spike's blog. His pie looks amazing!

To see the other works of art, go to the TWD blogroll. You will be drooling at your seat.

This is really an easy recipe to make. I highly recommend it. Just don't use my freezer.

gabesbabymomma.blogspot.com

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Easy-To-Do Donuts (or is it doughnuts?)

2010-05-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

As a kid, there is something magical about donuts. As an adult, donuts become a guilty pleasure that rings a nagging tone in the back of your head as you finish just one. But, as a kid, donuts are something special reserved for the weekends, and even more special if you can snag one during the weekdays, like playing hooky. As a kid, you feel something close to euphoria if you are allowed to eat more than one donut (probably from the sugar high). As an adult, well you just feel the pounds and cholesterol coming on.

For me, donuts equal a special time in the past, when my grandfather would take us to Southern Maid Bakery (because we did not have awesome Shipley's in my hometown) on our way to school, especially if we were running late anyway, and let us get a donut and a carton of chocolate milk. It was his special treat and time with us. I remember the smell of donuts and coffee walking in and the feel of comfort and glee walking out with a white paper bag stained with grease in one hand and a opened chocolate milk in the other. Later, it would be bear claws and chocolate eclairs and a steaming cup of hot coffee.

It is with this remembrance that I happily made my babies donuts this morning. Usually when my hubby is home from work, I will let him go buy the kids donuts at the donut shop nearby. However, he is out of town and I had this new donut recipe from the Naked Baker I just had to try. I combined her recipe with Paula Deen's and it went a little something like this;

First, I mixed up Paula Deen's Glazes.

Then, I cut holes out from the center of the biscuits using my 2D decorating tip (that died shortly after this when it met Mr. Garbage Disposal).

Here is how that turned out! I even kept the donut holes.

Then, I fried them up. It took around 30 to 40 seconds on each side.

Finally, I drained them on paper towels, rolled them in cinnamon-sugar, and added glaze and sprinkles.

My tips:

1) Make glazes while you are heating oil (I used Canola, but you can use peanut, vegetable, or corn).

2) Add a donut hole to the oil first, to see if oil is hot enough, if you do not have a thermometer handy.

3) You can use biscuit cutter and bottle neck without lid to make holes in the center of the biscuit.

4) If you drain on paper towels, the donuts may stick to them. I ended up placing the donuts on a plate, then dabbed them with a paper towel.

5) Use light-weighted tongs. Also, place the tongs between center of the hole and donut edge. Using heavy tongs or pinching donut on the edges, causes the donuts to deflate, as mine did at first. A fork can also be used to pick the donuts up.

6) Cover up imperfections the best you can with sprinkles and glaze.

My boys ate 6 donuts in no time flat! Ah, to be young.

I made them go brush their teeth right after.

I only ate one...and a half.

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Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

2010-05-21T21:21:00.001-05:00

I love breakfast! In fact, we all love it around here so much that we have designated Wednesdays as "Brinner" night. That is breakfast for dinner. It makes dinner time for that night easy to make and very affordable. I confess that I could have breakfast for all three meals. I love breakfast! I wake up every morning looking forward to my hot cup of coffee and my breakfast goodies. I wake up hungry after all. I always have. My doctor told me once that it was a good sign to wake up hungry. It means you have worked off all your calories. Hhhmmm. I will take his word for it.

In fact, one of my husband's earliest memories of me during our courtship days is that of me waking up enthusiastically to eat breakfast. When I traveled overseas with him (ah, the good ole days), jet-lagged or what, I would always make him get up early to go with me to eat breakfast. I mean there were way too many good spreads to pass up.

This past Wednesday, we had eggs and bacon for dinner. Although it was a good dinner, the kids felt cheated. They had hoped for pancakes. So as a special treat, I made them some. I mean it is Friday night and I was feeling alright, plus they can be so darn adorable! Sometimes.

So tonight, while I have time, before a little person stirs and interrupts this blogging interlude, I would love to share my FAVORITE go-to pancake recipe. It is quick, easy, and makes awesome buttery, crisp, fluffy perfect pancakes.

Good Old Fashioned Pancakes

Adapted from Dakota Kelly

prep time: 5 minutes

cook time: 15 minutes

ready in: 20 minutes

Servings: Makes 8-10 pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (can sub in 1/2 to 3/4 cup of wheat flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt (original calls for 1 tsp)

1 tbsp white sugar (I use powder sugar)

1 1/4 cups milk (can sub in skim milk)

1 egg

3 tbsp butter, melted (real butter tastes the best!)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg, and melted butter; mix until smooth.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

To me, these pancakes are reminiscent of Bisquick pancakes. I love Bisquick. With a family this size, we can go through a lot of Bisquick. That is why mixes like this are really good for us; They save us money and are yummy.

Hope you enjoy them!

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Sopa de Fideo: Mexican Spaghetti and then some...

2010-05-18T15:42:00.001-05:00

The house is unusually quiet and clean without my almost 2- year old around. She is visiting her grandparents in OK. This is normally where I would make a funny about OK, but alas, I am still a little sad about my crazy-haired girl not being around. Yes, I know she is getting spoiled and has forgotten dear old, I mean, dear young, mom, but that does not make me miss her less. While she is away, I plan on doing some therapy cooking and therapy blogging.

Last night, I got a hankering for some comfort food. I was still too sad to pull out the big oven mitts and make anything to fantastic, so I chose good old comfort Mexican food, Sopa de Fideo. Many Mexican households make this dish and many of them have different versions; with or without meat, with or without tomato sauce, use of different spices, thick or soupy. Any version is best served with tortillas. It is very inexpensive to make and versatile. Plus, it is super easy to throw together and is regarded as a one-pan meal! Win-win all around.

Sopa de Fideo was a staple in our house growing up. I remember getting so tired of eating it. Now, as an adult far removed from home, I miss my grandmother's fideo. How could I ever have gotten tired of eating fideo? I would love to go back in time and eat at my grandmother's table. My good friend and babysitter, Marina, has a wonderful version of this dish as well. In fact, I do not mind telling you that my family loves her version better than mine. Heck, I love hers better than mine. In fact, I plan to have her teach me how to make my sopa de fideo like hers.

However, mine will do the trick. It is not chopped liver. Although, I LOVE chopped liver, so if it were I would be fine. My family would not be.

Here is my version:

Ingredients

1 lb. of meat (chicken, hamburger meat, pork, anything)

5 oz. of Fideo a.k.a vermicelli (found in pasta or Latino section of grocery store)

1 TBSP of Cooking Oil

1/2 - 1 cup of diced onion

2 cups of chicken broth

1/2 cup of water

2 TBSP of tomato sauce

2 TBSP of ground cumin

1 TBSP of taco seasoning

Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook meat. Remove meat from pan. Preferably in the same pan that meat was cooked in, heat oil with meat juices and fat over medium heat. Add fideo and lightly brown, constantly stirring to avoid fideo from burning and sticking to pan. Add chopped onions while lightly browning fideo. After fideo is lightly brown, add chicken broth, water, and tomato sauce. Stir to blend in liquids. Then, place cooked meat back into the pan. Add seasonings. Cover and simmer for and additional 15 minutes.

Serves 4.

Voila! Dinner is served. It really is a dish that takes less than 30 minutes to cook. I make it shorter by adding leftover meat or pre-made meatballs. I also add vegetables to it from time to time.

You can also omit the tomato sauce or add more tomato sauce to taste. You can also play with the liquid ratio and make this dish as soupy or thick as you want. Remember to adjust the seasoning with extra liquid addition.

This dish taste great with any meat. I especially love it with pork chops and bits of potato. Good stuff.

My kids think it is the Mexican answer to Italian spaghetti.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

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My Sweet Tooth Tart and Muffin Fix

2010-05-15T14:09:00.001-05:00

So on Friday, I had the ladies over. I made this.

This is the Classic Berry Tart from TWD's Tuesday Challenge. For the recipe, please visit Ms. Cristine's site. My filling is chocolate pudding, since I had to sub it in because my pastry cream did not set! I still topped it off with "fresh" berries from Wally World. It tasted great! I mean I could eat the tart shell on its own. Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough recipe is "Crack". I am so addicted to it. I could eat the whole tart by myself. I could eat the shell without any filling. To, me it is that good. I love it! Gotta have it! Need to give it away. There is still plenty left in my fridge and it is calling my name! I am happy because I am slowly but surely getting much better at making tart shells, in my humble opinion.

I also made these.

The Cinnamon Donut Muffins with raspberry filling that I can not get enough of since being introduced to the recipe! Another addiction of mine. I need help. Seriously.

Now, I think I hear the treadmill calling me.

Posted via email from gabesbabymomma's posterous

Repost: Ice Cream Cupcakes!

2010-05-11T15:46:00.000-05:00

From Ice Cream Cupcakes

I thought this post was worth revisiting. It is summer time. It is ice cream time. It is lets-get-our-party-on time!

This is an oldie, but goodie for me. I love to decorate cakes, in my spare time, which I have little of now, so it was fun to stumble back on this post while I was searching my site for an old recipe.

I miss creative cooking, blogging baking, daring decorating, and pretending I was on the Food Network. It is not only the lack of time to prep and cook or bake and decorate, but the time to get out and buy the stuff and then finally having the energy to do it. To me, this staying at home business is way more draining and exhausting than working on the outside. I worked god-awful hours then, and still had time to do my "fun" and "to-do"stuff. Now, I am just happy to get half an hour of "me"time. Seriously. By the time I have one of my precious little baby girls' "divatude" settled, the other one throws a Naomi Campbell fit. It can be a circus around here! And while I'd like to say I am the ring leader, I think we all know I am more like the clown or monkey. At different times, they both fit!

Anyway, I digress. If you make these cupcakes, let me know how they turn out! Would love to see them. I am curious to see what flavor combinations are out there in those clever minds of yours.

This site is about to undergo construction-again- in 6 weeks when my hubby comes home. I hope. Last time, we started and never finished. You know how that goes!

Post #189: I'm late, I'm late, I am so very, very late, cookies! TWD: Chockablock Cookies

2010-05-03T13:40:00.001-05:00

Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland
No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow.

Okay so I think my clock is running even slower than that, almost one week slower. With a newborn in the house and so many activities to do with all the kids during a day, I think I have finally found my match. If something has to give, it has to be my blogging. What I miss most, is reading and commenting on other blogs. I can hardly wait to get my energy and schedule realigned, so that I can do it all! One day soon, I hope.

For now, here is how my cookies turned out.

From chockablock cookies

The only substitutions I made were to substitute 1/2 cup of wheat flour for some of the white flour. I also used white chocolate chip and milk chocolate chips instead of bittersweet chocolate. For the dried fruit, I used cherry flavored Craisins. These cookies went fast. They were like a souped up oatmeal cookie with so many little goodies inside! I was a little weary of using molasses, but the flavor proved to be just right. It is easy to pretend these cookies are good for you with all the oats and ingredients of a granola bar, so that is just what I did. Gotta fool yourself some times.

Thanks to Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet for choosing this very easy recipe that I am definitely going to make again soon, especially since I have leftover cookie batter. Next time, I am going to add some cocoa powder and extra coconut flakes. I love the versatility of this recipe (which is posted on her site). It is very easy to use pantry products in and help dump your leftover baking stash.

From chockablock cookies

Alice
I wonder if I've been changed in the night? Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!

I need sleep!!!

Skipping all the ice cream recipes. I do not have an ice cream maker or know if I would have the time needed to make homemade ice cream. Not something I want to chance just yet. Seems like fun, though!

Next up for me, Southern Living's Chocolate Chip Bundt cake!

Post #188: TWD Sweet Cream Biscuits

2010-04-20T10:51:00.003-05:00

Hello, out there! I am back. I may be in and out, but I am definitely back. Since I have been gone, I have given birth to the last (yes, for sure) addition to our family, Miss Lilah Abigail Little.

From TWD Sweet Cream Biscuits

It is a crazier new world with two babies in the house, but it is so much fun, too! Now we are a family of seven (us and 5 kiddos). It can be hard work, but it really is worth it. I can not imagine my life without them.

I am so behind on everything! I am behind on grocery shopping. I am behind on decorating my house. I am behind on my "to-do" list, which drives me battier than any bat in a belfry! I am two books behind in one book club and one behind in the other. I am also behind in my TWD challenges. I really wanted to make the Swedish Visiting Cake, especially since it seemed so easy and is my kind of dry cake for coffee, and the marbled loaf from a few weeks back. I really intend to make those two really soon to give away to my awesome neighbors.

With all the craziness of the past days sprinkled with interrupted sleep, I really appreciated the simple recipe presented as this week's TWD challenge. It does not get any easier than biscuits! It really does not taste any better than Sweet Cream Biscuits! Sweet biscuits = Happy Southerners. Therefore, the lavishing of these baked babies with honey or preserves and sweet butter. We will not even start talking about topping them off with white gravy and crumbled sage or maple sausage. My mouth is watering.

When making biscuits, one of the most important ingredients next to the flour, is the baking powder. I found out that both my containers are expired! Yikes, how did I let this happen? Luckily for me, my biscuits rose a little.

From TWD Sweet Cream Biscuits

In order to compensate for the lack of my powder's power, I cut my biscuits 1- inch thick, instead of Dorie's recommended 1/2- inch thick. Here is how the difference looked:

From TWD Sweet Cream Biscuits

Since I am watching my caloric intake now (the party is over!), I tasted half a biscuit. These biscuits were pretty good. I think I will try them again with better baking powder and a little more sweet cream. I tasted a hint of the sweet tart doughy yumminess that is signature Dorie Greenspan. These babies were definitely easy to throw together (I made mine while getting the boys ready for school) and pantry friendly!

Thanks to Melissa of A Love at First Bite. This was a very easy recipe to get myself back into the Foodie Groove. Please visit her site. Her biscuits look amazing!

Don't forget to check out the other TWD'ers masterpieces at the TWD site blogroll.

Post #186: TWD Coconut Tea Cake

2010-03-30T09:02:00.000-05:00

Only 2 weeks until the arrival of our new baby girl! I am so pressed for time. Luckily, today's TWD challenge was easy. It smelled great while making and baking. It was a sweet cake smell.

Now, if I could only find time to create a good presentation and write up...
For now, my finished cake will have to do.

From TWD Coconut Cake

Thanks, Carmen of Carmen Cooks for hosting this week's delightful and easy recipe. I absolutely love a good bundt cake recipe, especially one with coconut! I love coconut.

Please check out what the other lovely bakers at TWD created. Just scroll down and choose from the blogroll. They are such a creative group of bakers!

Remember to always make time for dessert!

Post #185: TWD Soft Chocolate Raspberry Tart

2010-03-16T12:04:00.002-05:00

From twdtart

I am out of town and unable to work any kind of digital magic using my sissy's archaic PC. This is as good as it gets.

I actually made this lovely recipe twice! Yes, twice, in a matter of days! The first time I forgot to adjust the recipe for my 11-inch tart pan. The filling was thin, the crust overdone. However, it tasted really good. We liked it better cold, straight from the fridge. Call us crazy. I heard that.

The second time was yesterday. I used my friend, Dragana's, William Sonoma 9-inch really deep and very shiny new tart pan. I had to buy it for her after my hubby accidentally threw away her tart bottom (haha, that reads funny) from her old pan that she had brought over with goodies.

Luckily for me, she gave me another chance. The picture above represents try #2 made in her pan. Tart #2 was given as a gift to my good neighbors who are sure to get more treats as I exit pregnancy and reenter the world of skinny jeans!

For both tarts, I used the leftover hazelnuts from last week's thumbprint cookies. I love being able to be resourceful like that. For tart #1, I used only raspberries. For tart #2, I used a blend of raspberries and blackberries. Thanks to my hubby for letting me splurge on the berries. He is a good man, even if he throws away perfectly good tart bottoms (haha, still funny). I really liked this recipe. It was easy to put together and shortbread crusts with chcolate ganache filling is always a good thing! Great dessert for entertaining.

As you can see, I still need HELP with pie and tart crusts. It is my achilles heel in baking. However, in two weeks, I am going to take the Wi-So pie and tart class. Hopefully, I will learn something to help me out. If not, I am sure they will convince me that I need very pricey materials to help me in my pie perfection quest. And it just so happens that they sell such things...

Please visit the TWD (www.tuesdayswithdorie.com) site to see the great tarts everyone made!

Post #183: TWD Thumbprints for Us Big Guys

2010-03-09T18:59:00.000-06:00

I have no steam in my engine. No gas in my tank. I tried to bake these cookies with as much energy as I could muster. They never took off. The shortbread texture is really good. Mine came out a little browner than desired. I baked for 8-10 minutes, rotating the baking pans halfway. Nothing worked. Still, they are easy to make. I just could not get mine to look like the book, though. Oh, well. Maybe, next time! I opted for chocolate topping instead of jam. Just needed my chocolate fix. The shortbread taste coupled with chocolate was really good!

Thanks to Mike of Ugly Food for an Ugly Dude for hosting this week's TWD. I am sure to follow him from now on! His site is great! Very real and down to earth. My kind of blog. Visit him and give him a shout out on his cookies. This is really a great Dorie recipe. It is so easy, good, and simple, even if you do have to splurge on the hazelnuts ($5 per 8 oz.)!

Here are my measly little cookies. I still have some dough left, so I am gonna wait until I am more refreshed to try them out again. I took these photos with my iPhone. Too tired to trek up the stairs to get my camera. As I always tell my hubby, those stairs will be the death of me.

Stay tuned..Will be back with a more energized post. Just wanted to go on record for TWD!

Coming Soon: Relaunching of this Blog!

2010-03-05T10:32:00.000-06:00

This is my mission. Thanks for those of you who keep checking in to see what I no-good fun I am up to. I am clearing things off my plate and gearing up to jump back into the kitchen and into the blogosphere!

Coming Soon: Relaunching of this Blog!

2010-03-05T10:31:00.001-06:00

Post #180: Introducing... Pizzcuits

2010-02-09T17:53:00.000-06:00

I love pizza. Love it. On a good day, I love to make my pizza dough from scratch and go crazy. On a crazy day, like the ones I have been having, I opt for semi-homemade pizza. I have always big a big fan of semi-homemade. From being a single working mother of three to a married homemaker of four (soon to be five), the inspirations and motivation for my home-cooked meals are time, energy, and budget.

Here is a recipe my daughter says I came up with on my own a long time ago when we were down to slim pickings in the fridge. I made it the other day for kicks. What I like about this recipe is that it is good for families and single people alike. I think it will be especially great for my daughter to use when she goes off to college and has to fend for herself!

Pizzcuits

Ingredients:

1 can of refrigerated can biscuit dough (I used Pillsbury Grands Biscuits)

Spaghetti or Marinara Sauce

Mozarella Cheese

Toppings of Choice

Directions:

(Preheat Oven to Temperature indicated on Can of Biscuit dough)

1. Lightly flour a clean, smooth surface and rolling pin to roll out dough.

2. Separate biscuit dough into individual servings.

3. Take biscuit dough and roll out into a 4-6 inch circle. The thinner, the crispier. The thicker, the doughier. Thickness will affect baking times as well, so check pizzcuit midway.

4. Place dough circle onto a baking sheet or pizza pan.

From Easy Pizza

5. If you would like an extra crispy pizzcuit, then prebake dough for 3-4 minutes before adding sauce and toppings.

6. For a softer crust do not prebake. Add sauce, then toppings. TIP*- add only enough sauce to lightly cover the dough. This will help keep your pizza crust from being soggy.

From Easy Pizza

7. Bake 4-6 inch pizza circles between 8-10 minutes.

From Easy Pizza

8. Let pizza rest for a few minutes.

From Easy Pizza

9. Then, enjoy!

This is a great recipe for a quick bite to eat and individual portions. I refrigerate the leftover unused biscuits in a Ziploc bag for later use.

You can also make a good dessert pizza with this same recipe following the same steps and brushing the raw dough circle with melted butter and sprinkling with cinnamon-sugar or topping with apple pie filling. Then bake. You can also bake the pizzcuit and spread with melted chocolate for an extra special treat.

Have fun making these!

Post #179: "The Sun is Out!"-Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

2010-02-06T11:33:00.000-06:00

I must confess here and now that my favorite doughnut is a cake doughnut. I love cake doughnuts. We do not eat doughnuts much in our house. Don't get me wrong. If my hubby decides to go out and pick up a dozen, then I am not one to object. I display my lack of objection usually by eating two of my favorite kind of blueberry cake doughnuts, just to prove my point.

Cake doughnuts were not always my favorite. I think my journey through the land of fried dough has been something like this:

1. ages 2-5, any doughnut
2. ages 5-9, doughnuts with sprinkles (like most kids)
3. ages 9-12, chocolate glazed doughnuts
4. ages 12 -16, eclairs
5. ages 16- to present, cake doughnuts

When Shelby of Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch featured this cinnamon doughnut muffin recipe from the Noble Pig site, I just knew I had to bake these babies this morning and add Cathy's wonderful Noble Pig site to my Google Reader. Check out both ladies' sites. You will be hooked like I am.

The menu this morning was cereal, fresh coffee, fresh cantaloupe, and these amazing muffins!

From Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

These muffins are so easy to make. They also are better than doughnuts from a bakery or store! Much better. I used raspberry preserves to fill mine (refer to Cathy's recipe for step-by-step directions). They are a combination of a cake doughnut (my favorite!) and a jelly doughnut wrapped up nicely in a cinnamon-sugar dusted muffin! I mean does life get any better than this?

From Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

I made mine a little bigger than Cathy's recipe called for, filling my tins more than 3/4 full. I was able to make 7 big muffins. They were big and beautiful. Just like me at almost 31 weeks of pregnancy!

Here is a close-up of one of the TWO muffins I ate.

From Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

Okay, one and a half. The other half went missing. Wonder where it went...

From Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

A mystery.

Post #178: TWD Mini Milk Chocolate Cakes

2010-02-02T20:34:00.000-06:00

There are many things I do not trust in this world:

1) Politicians
2) Lawyers
3) Sales People
4) People with dogs who look just like them
5) The scale at my doctor's office
6) My children being helpful at odd times
7) My mini bundt pan

For this last reason, I chose to make my TWD cakes in my mini round cake pans.

This recipe seemed so easy that I waited until last minute to do it. Boy, did my little 18- month old daughter make me pay for it! For all the time I had to stop, I could have made an 8- course dinner. Luckily, I just made five little cakes. Three were decorated for the school-aged children coming home for their snacks.

This is how they all started out:

From twdminicakes

Yes, I left them in a little too long while tending to little Miss Diva. I heard the timer going off and could do nothing about it!

This is how they ended up looking:

From twdminicakes

My take on this recipe, not my favorite. The cake tasted okay, not at all what I was hoping for. The nut swirl was just not a winner for me. I was confused by it all together. It really did not add much to the flavor. I HATED the glaze. Mine came out clumpy. I really hate using corn syrup in glazes. It never works out for me. It makes a thick glaze. I love ganache and should have used that instead.

I do plan on trying the recipe again. I am a sucker for bundt cake recipes, plus I know there are better substitutions I will make next time, mainly using buttermilk instead of regular milk and my ganache! I also plan on NOT over baking it.

I also will make sure the little Diva is in the company of others while I bake. That is the only time she really is not hell bent on making me her personal assistant and minion.

Maybe, I will also buy a new mini bundt cake pan. That would be nice!

Thanks Kristin of I'm Right About Everything for hosting this week's challenge. I noticed she has a wee wun named, Gabby, as well.

I wonder if her Gabby interfered with her creative process, too...

Next up, Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia. Keep bringing on the chocolate!

DOWN WITH MACMILLAN!!! (Amazon's Response to my Email)

2010-02-01T10:25:00.001-06:00

Dear Customers:

Macmillan, one of the "big six" publishers, has clearly communicated to us that, regardless of our viewpoint, they are committed to switching to an agency model and charging $12.99 to $14.99 for e-book versions of bestsellers and most hardcover releases.

We have expressed our strong disagreement and the seriousness of our disagreement by temporarily ceasing the sale of all Macmillan titles. We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan's terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books. Amazon customers will at that point decide for themselves whether they believe it's reasonable to pay $14.99 for a bestselling e-book. We don't believe that all of the major publishers will take the same route as Macmillan. And we know for sure that many independent presses and self-published authors will see this as an opportunity to provide attractively priced e-books as an alternative.

Kindle is a business for Amazon, and it is also a mission. We never expected it to be easy!

Thank you for being a customer.

Did I solve your problem?

If yes, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-y?c=wfwhdrfh3346345685

If no, please click here:
http://www.amazon.com/rsvp-n?c=wfwhdrfh3346345685

Please note: this e-mail was sent from an address that cannot accept incoming e-mail.

To contact us about an unrelated issue, please visit the Help section of our web site.

Best regards,

Steven P.
Amazon.com
We're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company
http://www.amazon.com/your-account

Post #176: Our First Dinner

2010-01-28T15:53:00.003-06:00

Today, all my plans were done in. I was to go book club today to discuss, The Ha Ha: A Novel by Dave King (HIGHLY recommend this book!). However, my sitter had to take her husband to his doctor's appointment! We all know men can not go to dr.'s by themselves! Book club was my big outing for the week. My other plan for today was to finally dump all the boys' clutter in their room. This may still happen but not as sprightly as I had hoped. You see, I was up until 2:00 a.m. this morning with preggers insomnia. Some of you may know what I am talking about. It is that combination of backache, restlessness, heart burn, and hormonal heat that keeps you from getting some decent sleep. I have dragged the whole day. The overcast weather does not help either.

As I often do when I lie awake and my hubby is gone off to work in the tropical paradise that is Nigeria, I reflect on many of our moments together, especially those of us when we were still courting, as brief as that time was. These memories are further reinforced by browsing through the endless digital "photolog" I have created since knowing him, far cry from my boxes of "old school" print photos he discovered when we were hitched and moved in together! Yes, he proudly takes credit for bringing me into the digital world full of electronics and technological gadgets. Alas, Babylon! Since him, I now run with an iPod (before I ran with no music), run with gadgets strapped to my shoes and wrists, upload all my pictures, use a Kindle, use an iPhone, and am the proud owner of a very user friendly Mac. I also am a better blogger (especially since he edits my posts when I am asleep), since he switched me to Google and swept me away from Yahoo. And with everything he has introduced to me to, perhaps the one thing that is the most precious to me is just him. Okay, my iPhone runs a close second. On many days, I could do without monitoring my run times, too.

From Around the Apartment

Here is a picture of me making our first dinner. Before this, I had never tried to cook for him. We usually went out. This time was different. We were in his apartment in South Africa about to entertain his good friends to ask them to be our witnesses at our secret lighthouse wedding taking place in a few days. I had the brilliant idea of making a traditional Mexican meal for the occasion, Arroz con Pollo, in South Africa. Mexican restaurants are hard to come by over there. Even harder are Mexican ingredients! This Mexican-American also did not know that icing sugar was the same as confectioner's sugar or powdered sugar. My un-savvy hubby did not know either. I could not make my Tres Leches. I think in the end he picked up a dessert that I made into semi-homemade parfaits. We topped the meal off with Sangria that I nervously overloaded with fruit! Some of the few things I remember about that dinner was 1) I hated searching for things in that kitchen but was to sweet on my man to complain 2) while I loved the South African grocers, I hated not know where everything was or how it was labeled! 3)being nervous about my Mexican rice being too soggy 4) wishing I had not volunteered to make such an ambitious meal in a strange place!

What my husband remembers is that it was the first meal I cooked for him and that while I cooked it, I danced to music in the kitchen. He has it on video. Which I have threatened him to NEVER air.

What still brings tears to my eyes is that he acknowledged later that he did not know I even knew how to cook, but was proud of how great everything turned out. Something that simple (so to speak) made him beam with pride.

From Around the Apartment

Bringing my memories into the present, making dinner for him is still something I love to do. It is hard not to love it, when he always thanks me and kisses me on the cheek. He is my best food critic and fan!

Looking back at these pictures I see things that traveled with him into our kitchen, such as the bread basket and the food scale. Neat.

I also see how long my hair was!

Post #175: TWD Cocoa-Nana Bread and My Baking Soundtrack

2010-01-26T08:28:00.001-06:00

From TWD cocoa-nanabread

I know many of you have iPods or radios on when you are shaking and baking in the kitchen. When I strut my stuff in there however, I have iKids. Yes, this soundtrack includes many of the oldies but goodies, such as "Mom!". It also contains such new hits like, "Mom, doesn't the ball have to pass inside the orange things (pylons) before it is a touchdown?" Since the playroom is right next to the kitchen, I get all kinds of treble and bass. Then, there are the groupies of the band. In this case, the baby. She is all over the place screaming and squealing at the heroics or silliness of her big bros. They will parade into the kitchen with their noisemakers. She will make time for me too. Often this includes, clocking me in the legs while I am baking, whining for me to pick her up, or she passes by me to let me know that she has made me a special present and that she waited right until this particular moment when I am in the middle of things or almost finished to give it to me! Yes, I can not describe how calming it is to hear my other name, MOM!, called out so many times or those of my children, James!, Justin!, Savannah!, Gabby!, Simon! Alvin, Theodore! (okay added the last three to make my point). Yes, all of our names end with exclamation points.

Lucky me, I dealt with all this merry making and more while baking this week's TWD challenge! It is a familiar soundtrack filled with chaos and sometimes just down right mayhem, but it is mine and theirs. It is home.

From TWD cocoa-nanabread

This morning we had kid coffee (half milk/ half coffee/half sugar) with this bread and bacon (the teachers will love me). Quite the treat. The banana taste was very subtle almost lost, which surprised me because I used three of the ugliest bananas I had in the freezer! I mean they were reject city. Perfect for baking. Not perfect for a midday treat. I thought the over-ripeness would add a burst of flavor. Not. It still was subtle (a complaint I had read about when reviewing this recipe). Next time, I will tone down the cocoa (even though I am a chocoholic) and add some banana extract. I may even add peanut butter chips! Although the boys were okay with the flavor. What do they know? They are just kids who make a noisy soundtrack and still ask their momma for the rules on football!

From TWD cocoa-nanabread

Thanks to Steph of Obsessed with Baking for hosting this week's TWD. It really is a good moist bread with a special flavoring. The only substitutions I made were semi-sweet chips for bittersweet (wish I had them on hand, love them!) and regular milk with some cream for body to replace the buttermilk I did not have!

Have a good rest of the week all!

Post #174:" It Is So Easy Even a Caveman Can Do"-It Scherben!

2010-01-12T19:10:00.001-06:00

From Mrs. Vogel's Sherben

I can not even remember the last time I did a Tuesdays With Dorie. I have been meaning to get right back into it week after week, but the timing always seems off. Well, I looked and saw that Teanna from Spork or Foon? picked a super easy TWD recipe for this week's challenge. At last, my opportunity!

First let me tell you, you must go over to see Ms. T's blog. It is a great one. It is full of energy, laughs, and great recipes with pictures. Second, on her site you will find the recipe posted for Mrs. Vogel's Scherben, Dorie Greenspan's borrowed recipe. In her post, Teanna apologizes for worrying TWD'ers about working with hot grease. Being one who was raised in a "fried cooking"- state and household, I did not even know there was anything to be concerned about. I mean my toddler was playing in the kitchen as I fried my baby scherbens up! She even got the first sample.

This recipe was so easy to prepare and make. I am definitely marking this as a keeper and filing it under "one to make with my nieces when they visit", because they love to play along as little chefs with their Auntie Carolina.

My daughter, Savannah, preferred hers without the sugar. She said without it the fried dough tasted like Chinese crispies. I agree. All in all, the kids liked them a lot. They reminded them of sopapillas or bunuelos (another Mexican fried sweet tortilla dish).

Being a student of Whatever, I did not stick to the recipe's instruction as written. I could not find my ruler, so I just sliced my dough up as I fancied. I also eyeballed the oil's depth in the pan (close enough to 4 inches I am sure) and guesstimated that my oil was at the recommended 350F for frying. I also sprinkled my cinnamon sugar on instead of dusting it. I did dust my powdered sugar on, but chose to "over powder" it. What can I say? I have a sweet tooth.

All in all, everything turned out fine. Not as pretty as Ms. T's or Dorie's, but pretty tasty all the same. BTW, I used my iPhone for all my pictures. I just could not bring myself to trek the stairs to get my new Christmas camera from my hubby.

Here is how I did it:

Yup, the scherben tastes great on ice cream! Really, why does Dorie refer to these fried strips as cookies? Even my boys looked at me like I was crazy calling them that.

Good to be back with the TWD gang!

Thanks, Teanna,for picking such a simple and sweet recipe!

Next Up: Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars

Post #173: Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce

2010-01-10T20:36:00.000-06:00

From Homemade hot fudge

I love ice cream. I love brownies. I love hot fudge sauce. In fact, I have such a bad sweet tooth, that I took up running just to make sure that I could indulge in my two favorite food groups: sweets and carbs (this does include beer and whiskey with diet coke). Now that I am preggers, I do not run (or drink). I know some "Super Women"- pregnant ladies do (run that is), but I am not one of them. That does not keep me from staying very active though or from eating my sweets in an insane abundance. Gonna enjoy it while I can! Can I get an AMEN?

This year (actually last year), I chose to keep my Christmas treat giving simple. In order to do this, I had to fight the urge to make everything I saw in recipe books, online recipes, and food blogs. It was not easy. I love to give and I love to try new recipes! So, I made a list and chose few items to bake or make.

This recipe from my number one standby for awesomely special recipes, Southern Living, made the cut. I share this recipe now, because it really is a simple but great gift to give to anyone year-round, especially for Valentine's day which is just around the corner. It smells great while making it over the stove.

Here is how I did it:

from Southern Living Magazine, December 2009 edition, page 204.

Hot Fudge Sauce

Makes 31/4 cups Hands-On Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Melt 1 (8-oz.) package unsweetened chocolate baking squares and 1/2 cup butter in a large, heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Add 2 cups sugar, and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds or until blended. Add 1 cup milk, and cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated and sugar is dissolved. Do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp. salt. Pour desired amount of sauce into container. You can cover and chill sauce for up to 2 weeks.

Note: To reheat, microwave sauce in a microwave-safe bowl, stirring occasionally, at HIGH for 15- to 30-second intervals or until warm.

Add ins:

Espresso-Hot Fudge Sauce: Add 2 tbsp. instant espresso with sugar.

Whiskey-Hot Fudge Sauce: Stir in 3 tbsp. Southern Comfort (of course!) with vanilla and salt.

Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Hot Fudge Sauce: Substitute 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar for 1 cup granulated sugar. Stir in 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon with vanilla and salt.

My Tips:

Definitely pour sauce into glass jar gift containers after it has been freshly made. The warmer it is, the easier it is to pour.
While I used glass syrup containers purchased from the 99 cent-store, I recommend using wide-mouth jars.
Be sure you remember to refrigerate unused hot fudge sauce. When giving the sauce as a gift, be sure to include a reminder for your recipient to do the same. Food poisoning is never a good gift to give!
If you do plan on giving this gift for Valentine's Day, I would cut the brownies into heart shapes using a sturdy heart-shaped cookie cutter.
I think this would be a good gift paired with other sundae toppings, such as nuts, sprinkles, M&M's etc...

Have fun making this very easy treat. Have even more fun giving it away!

Post #172: Out with the Old. In with the New.

2010-01-06T10:31:00.001-06:00

There are so many new things I received over the holiday season, many from my wonderful hubby. Now, I know I blog about him A LOT, but I can not help myself. For five weeks at a time, we are with each other almost 24/7. Then, for five weeks at a time, we are apart. Absence does make the heart grow fonder and for us, togetherness does as well. I know, yuck, gag. But, there it is.

My husband somewhat enthusiastically encourages my cooking and baking hobby. I write somewhat, because he is constantly watching his weight and claims that my cooking does him in. For me, my cooking is a testament of my love and he can always run these love calories off. Right?

Okay, so here is just a few of my new goodies.

From a few of my favorite thangs

I got my lovely new spice rack or wheel from Costco. I showed it to my hubby and told him how much I loved it. He told me to get it. To which I said, no. I mean I already had an old one at home. He grabbed it and put it in the cart and told me that I needed to start buying myself things. I reached in to put it back, but stopped when he said to consider it one of my Christmas presents. One of my Christmas presents? Well, that changes everything. Now, buying it is no longer spitting in the face of frugality, but embracing the spirit of receiving. See how nice and shiny it is? It turns, too! See? Suhweet.

From a few of my favorite thangs

Okay, on to item #2.

From a few of my favorite thangs

My hubby also bought me this at World Market. It was pricey for such a dainty thang, but he felt I just had to have it. While we are not big salt users in mi familia, I do like to try new spices. When I saw this had Fleur de Sel, I was beaming. This is a pricey salt I would not normally buy myself, although it is highly praised in the culinary world. Now, I can bake more of Dorie's World Peace Cookies! Yum.

Now we move on to my last item for bids (haha), #3.

From a few of my favorite thangs

I must confess here and now that I love to go to thrift stores. I get goose pimply as soon as I walk in. Who am I kidding? As soon as I get into the parking lot. I get excited at the thought of finding that one good buy. The buy that can only happen because you were in the right place at the right time and someone did not know or care that what they donated was worth more than they thought. Well, this was that buy.

I walked idly by the pots and pan section at my local NAM store. I figured it would be the same as always, slim pickings. I was pleasantly surprised. I picked this baby up as soon as I saw it. Could it be? Yes, it was. A Le Creuset 9" Cast Iron Pan. Normally, this pan would be around $100 new, but some unsuspecting or unappreciative creature donated this virtually unblemished pan. The thrift store, NAM, sold it for a measly $7! My husband who knows well by now how expensive Le Crueset products are bragged about this find almost as much as me. Almost.

So there you have it, just a few of my favorite thangs. I will take pictures of the rest later and do another show and tell.

Thanks for putting up with me and my sweet nothings. I always get super cheesy when my hubby leaves to go back to work in Nigeria.

Y'all are good sports.

Speaking of sports, Go Cowboys!!!

First Post of the 2010!

2010-01-02T12:45:00.000-06:00

2010. Wow, everytime I see that number I am amazed. Every year we progress, it sounds more and more like a sci-fi movie.

2009 Holiday Baking season was very easy for me this year. I narrowed my gift tins to three items: chocolate-covered pretzels, pralines, and double layered peppermint bark (made by my daughter, Savannah who loves getting credit). I made a list of my friends and neighbors with families and picked one main baked good for each. The desserts were pies, eggnog bread, brownies with homemade fudge sauce, and praline pull apart bread. The last three recipes courtesy of Southern Living Magazine, a magazine which I have told my husband if we ever hit bottom, we will have to send the children out to beg for money to cover my subscription renewal costs. I may exaggerate, slightly. Not all of them have to go out at the same time.

From praline pullapart bread

(photo and recipe courtesy of Southern Living Magazine)

Here is how I did it:

Hands-on Time: 15 min.; Total Time: 9 hr., 25 min.
Don't skip the quick step of whipping the cream before stirring in the brown sugar—that's the secret to the smooth texture of the caramel-flavored sauce.

Yield: Makes 12 servings

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
1 (2-lb.) package frozen bread roll dough
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preparation

1. Stir together granulated sugar and 3 tsp. cinnamon. Coat each roll in butter; dredge rolls in sugar mixture. Arrange in a lightly greased 10-inch tube pan (I also used a Bundt pan and it worked well for me); sprinkle with pecans. Cover and chill 8 to 18 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 325°. Beat whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form; stir in brown sugar and remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon. Pour mixture over dough. Place pan on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes; invert onto a serving plate, and drizzle with any remaining glaze in pan.

Note: We tested with Rhodes White Dinner Rolls.

Southern Living, DECEMBER 2009

This is definitely one of my new cool-weather recipes. It is so easy and really good. It took no time for me to memorize this recipe. Already, a plus!

From the same SL Christmas edition, I made their Chocolate Citrus Cake. My husband really liked this cake. I am making a smaller version of it tonight and will feature it soon. I wish I had posted it in time for the holidays, but you all know how crazy the holidays are...

Well, I hope you all have had a great beginning to the New Year!

I feel so blessed and happy. Life is good.

Post #170: And the winners are...

2009-12-21T10:16:00.001-06:00

From OChristmasTree

This is a picture of the Christmas tree my teenage daughter bought with her own money, ornaments and all. She is not a Grinch like me. She actually loves this time of year!

(drum roll please)

1. Cheryl of CookingDunkinStyle
2. Shelby of The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honey Bunch

and a bonus winner...

3. Natasha of Five Star Foodie Culinary Adventures

Thanks for everyone who stopped by and entered!

I really appreciate your readership. I love love love recipes, cooking, and baking!

I really do wish you all a very Happy Holiday!

As I write this, I know there will be all kinds of new memories made this Holiday year, some will include family drama, others will include Christmas party faux pas. Some will make it to Youtube (I hope!). Others will make it to your blogs (Yay!).

In any case, enjoy your eggnog and the wonderful free time you have with your family. Be sure to remember what the season is all about. It means more than traditions and presents for sure.

I will be back soon with a whole slew of cakes just waiting to be posted. I am also excited about the surprise Christmas dinner I am making for my hubby!!!

Happy Holidays!

Post #169: Dorie's Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie and a Give

2009-12-15T11:27:00.001-06:00

From dorie'spumpkin pie

Once again, I share with you a dessert I made on Thanksgiving. A dessert I am sure to make next week for Christmas. A dessert whose picture I also had taken on my now long lost camera. Another dessert whose picture I once again had to borrow courtesy of the internet.

I was on a roll for a while with all my baking. Some would call it passion. Others, pregnancy. I would say it is a combination of both. I have a sweet tooth and it gets sweeter with pregnancy! Even if my disposition does not.

I can not rave enough about Dorie's Sour Cream Pumpkin Pie. I made mine with fresh pumpkin leftover from the boys' Jack 0' Lanterns. The taste of this pie is fresh and creamy (from the sour cream). It is not too heavy, but not airy either. It has a great taste of rum that lingers simply on the palate, like eggnog. It is also spiced just right. Another successful Dorie recipe. However, I must confess, I did use a premium store bought pie crust. Flog me me later.

Here is Dorie's recipe from Dorie herself.

Now for the give!

From cleaving

Hachette Book Group was kind enough to send me AUDIO book copies of Cleaving by Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia. I am currently listening to the audio book right now. The narration is from the author herself. She is at a different time and place in her life in this story. She tells it like it is, with no fluff. Once again, she merges her passion for food with her passion for life or specifically, her passion. She begins a journey not only to further explore the art of butchery, but her own life as well. As the publisher describes, "... how in breaking something down you can begin to make it whole again."

This is would be a great book to listen to while you are doing your holiday cooking or baking, something I was going to do today until our water heater decided to bust late last night!

I am giving away two copies. Here is what you have to do to enter the drawing:

Just leave me a comment with a link to a must-try holiday recipe
Email me your email address so that I can notify you if you won. My address is carolinarlittle@gmail.com

Please pass this on if you wish.

I hope you all are having a great time with the holiday parties and preparation. I have mixed reviews. Some days are good and other days, well are like my water heating busting, not so good. I am all knotted up at seeing my dishes just sitting there sitting in their filth!

In any event, I have a good audio book to listen to and a new camera to test out (a gift from my awesome hubby). I just hope I can bake some goodies soon. I am craving all kinds of pies.

Coming soon... a day in the life of my baking. This is sure to entertain!

What's Up Doc? Cake

2009-12-08T09:54:00.003-06:00

As some of you may know, over the holidays I lost my trusty little camera given to me by my hubby after I scratched it up when I got woozy standing on top of a high cliff jutting out of the Grand Canyon attempting to take Ansel Adam-esque pictures. I will just blame it on pregnancy hormones, because every one knows that I have Wonder Woman skills and that heights do not intimidate me - usually. I mean for goodness sakes, I have jumped out of a plane three times at an altitude of 13,500 feet! Why would something like a little ole cliff that is a mile high scare me? Anyway, I digress. I am just upset that I lost my camera that had the best pictures I have ever taken on it. For example, me and the kids in our Cowboys jerseys in front of my sister's fireplace during the Thanksgiving game. I also had some of my baby daughter's first trip to my hometown's waterfalls (with video). Yes, the more I think about it, the more upset I get. I am sure some native Wichitan is enjoying my trusty little camera now, after deleting all my pics and videos that I took with love and pride!

One picture also gone is the one I took of my awesome carrot cake, if I do say so myself. And I do. It was one of my contributions to the Thanksgiving smorgasbord we feasted on. Since, I do not have a picture of this fabulous cake, I had to borrow one.

From carrotcake

Photo and cake recipe from Make Fabulous Cakes website.

This cake is amazing! However, I did not use the website's icing recipe, only the cake recipe. I used my own icing recipe. Let me tell you, this icing got rave reviews! I had extra icing leftover and could not stop licking it off the spoon. My brother-in-law was afraid that my twin sister would leave him for the icing. My twin sister's neighbors flipped over it. My other sister's office friends were wild about it. It was a huge cake and we had plenty to go around, but the icing is what all the buzz was about. After all, high praise over one's food is what every foodie fantasizes about. Am I right out there?

Here is how I did it:

Carolina's Holiday White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2 ounces white chocolate
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon orange extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons egg nog

I doubled the recipe in order to fill the cake and frost the cake.

In small saucepan, melt white chocolate over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Mix in white chocolate, vanilla, and orange extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until the mixture is fluffy. Mix in egg nog.

This icing goes great with any fruity, nutty, or spice cake and bread. I have used it on red velvet cakes and on banana nut muffins (substitute orange extract with banana extract and egg nog with heavy cream) You can also thin the icing with a little bit more egg nog or cream and drizzle it over cake loaves.

Seriously, it is really a good icing. Definitely for the person with a sweet tooth!

Next up, Dorie's Pumpkin Sour Cream Pie. This picture was also on my lost camera! Dorie did it again as this pie is to die for. I will use this recipe again and again, especially for Thanksgiving Day.

Post #168: Sweety Pies

2009-12-03T09:55:00.008-06:00

From sweetypie

It is NO secret that I am not a big fan of this cold weather. I am after all a Texican. It is simply not in my blood. However, this time of year does bring out the comfort foodie in me. I love comfort food. Like most Texans, it is what I was raised on, from old-fashioned biscuits to homemade tortillas.

It is also no secret how much I love books. This year, as I do every year, I headed straight for the cookbooks at the annual elementary school book fair & I am so in love with this one book I found! Sweety Pies An Uncommon Collection of Womanish Observations with Pie by Patty Pinner. It's a charming and comforting cookbook filled with great anecdotes and simple, but wonderful, pie recipes. They are my kind of pies, pantry-friendly.

The book is dedicated to her mother with this inscription:

For Mama, who used to tell me, "Good cooking involves more than just stirring pots."

In her introduction Patty writes, "...the American dessert pie is the ultimate expression of what comfort food, old-fashioned values, and wholesome living represent." I agree. This book has inspired me to bake all kinds of pies this season. I begin with this pie from her book:

Sherry's Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

From sweetypie

Seriuosly, how can you go wrong with anything that has pecans and chocolate chips in it?

Here is how I did it:

One 9-inch single Flaky Pie Crust (rolled out, fitted into a pie plate, and edge trimmed and crimped)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted

3 large eggs

1 cup of light corn syrup

1/8 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (I added 1 teaspoon of rum extract as well!)

1 1/2 cups of chopped pecans

1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

Makes one 9-inch pie

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pie crust and set aside.

In a medium-size bowl, cream together the sugar and the melted butter until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs. Add the corn syrup, salt, and vanilla and blend until well combined.

Spread the chopped pecans and the chocolate chips evenly over the bottom of the crust, then pour the filling on top.

From sweetypie

Place in the oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes (My knife was mostly clean).

Let cool completely before serving.

From sweetypie

I ate this pie almost by myself while the kids were at school! No lie. My being pregnant does not justify it, that is just how good this pie is. I am making it again for my hubby when he returns on Saturday and Frankie's Coconut Pie for my boys (special request).

This book would be a great buy for yours or your favorite foodie's kitchen. I love the stories and the recipes behind each pie. I think you will, too!

Post #166: Gobble It Up!

2009-11-24T10:55:00.005-06:00

rom theturkey

Let's face it. No matter what dishes you slave over or buy last minute from the store to adorn your Thanksgiving table, the turkey will always be the main attraction.

Maybe it is best put this way:

From theturkey

So unless you want to be the "soda" and "dinner rolls" person and not the "Amazing Diva of Delectable Delights", then maybe Maxine's way is the way to go. However, if you would like to be the center of attention (as you all know, I shun away from the spotlight), here is the way we do our turkey around these parts.

First, be sure your turkey is defrosted and all the innards are out. Check the body and neck cavity for bags of tasty treats! These would be the heart, liver, and neck. Cook these for your giblet gravy or a snack. I love them! My husband thinks they are gross. What does he know? If these bags come out easily, then more than likely your turkey is good to go. If not, you may need to whip out a hair dryer to help you defrost that baby. Now, a turkey typically takes 3-5 days to defrost, depending on its size. Since, I do not have the refrigerator space, I defrost mine the good ole fashioned way, my grandma's way, which I will not share with you in order to protect myself from potential lawsuits that may arise should you decide to break with the health department recommendations as I do every year and for some quirky reason get food poisoning that ruins your Thanksgiving holiday and makes you hate me so much that you proceed with legal action unprecedented in food blog history. How is that for a run-on sentence?

So I will start here:

Defrost your turkey!
Preheat your oven to 425F and remove top rack. Yes, the temperature is right-for now. Trust me. This is a slow-baking method.
Place turkey in roasting pan. Then, rub the turkey with olive oil to massage the skin loose. We are generous with our thinner olive oil. I highly recommend with a more viscous oil to add less. An even and mild coating will deliver a crisp skin. Over-oiling makes for a soggy skin!
Add fresh herbs (or dried herbs if that is all you have). Combine Rosemary and Thyme together. Mix them by taking the leaves off the sprig. I also add granulated garlic to the mix. Then, apply evenly underneath the turkey's skin. Be careful not to tear skin or over stretch it. Be gentle and rub smoothly. Move your hands (underneath) all over rubbing the herbs everywhere, including the legs. If you have never done this, it may take you aback a little when you feel the skin breaking away as you rub.
Next add sprigs of fresh herbs to the big cavity of turkey for good measure. I also added one big sliced apple for extra moisture.
Loosely cover the entire pan with aluminum foil.
Then, place turkey on bottom rack and commence baking for 20 minutes at 425F. This is referred to as "sealing" the turkey.
After baking for 20 minutes, REDUCE heat to 250F. Continue to bake the turkey 20 minutes per pound (for a ten pound turkey this would be 200 minutes or 3 hours and 20 minute) or until a meat thermometer inserted into the deep middle of turkey breast reads 180F. If the turkey bleeds while you insert the thermometer, chances are the turkey is not done!
Please make sure the turkey is done. Remember crown of glory or dunce cap? Which one do you want?

From theturkey

Thanks to my lovely assistant, Savannah (my daughter), for getting her hands dirty for me. For some odd reason, she loves doing this part every year!

From theturkey

See the herbs underneath the skin of our blurred turkey?

From theturkey

Why this method you ask? Well, it can take up some oven time, but it is a 100% sure way to guarantee that your turkey will not be dry OR bland. It is a really tender and juicy turkey. Notice that I did not ask you to baste the turkey once. There is absolutely no need. You will find you have almost a pitcher of turkey juice. That is a lot of gravy! You also do not need to remove the foil to "brown" the turkey. The olive oil not only gives the turkey moisture and adds a healthier version of fat than butter, it also gives you a nice crispy skin, if you have not over-oiled it. However, if you need to tan it a little more, then whip off the foil and let it bask in the oven for 10-15 minutes.

This method is easy. Really. In fact the hardest part of T-Day Cooking is planning. If you only have one oven (like me), you really have to plan, military style. If you have two, I am jealous!!!

Wish me luck. Today I start my pies! All from scratch. Even the fillings. I must be crazy.

Visualize "the crown"!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! As always, GO COWBOYS!