sopapilla cheesecake

One of Jonathan's coworkers makes this all the time and it is just so damn delicious. I am going to bring it to the Superbowl party this weekend, because I have been craving some in a big way and that way I get to eat a little bit of it and share the rest and not eat the entire flippin' thing all by myself. Smart, no?

Anyway, go buy some crescent rolls and some cream cheese and whip up a batch for yourself.

You can thank me later.

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar


Unroll one package of crescent rolls and flatten to cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.
Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and spread over the crescent rolls.
Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and spread over the cream cheese mixture.
Pour melted butter over the top and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

star studded blueberry pie

I made this pie for the fourth of July. I got the recipe from Family Fun magazine. It turned out so delicious! I like that you could really taste the lemon--maybe I went a little overboard with the lemon, but that's because I love lemon! I will definitely make this again. I cheated and bought premade, refrigerated pie crusts. Much easier. Anyway, didn't it turn out cute?


Star Studded Blueberry Pie

• 6 cups blueberries
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 unbaked piecrust (recipe below) plus extra dough

• CRUST:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
• 4 or 5 tablespoons cold milk
• Extra flour, as needed, for rolling the dough

Instructions

1. For the crust: Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Cut the butter into slices with a dinner knife and scatter the pieces on top of the flour.

2. Pulse the flour and butter until they are combined and the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks to itself when gently squeezed.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape it into two balls, one twice as large as the other. Using extra flour as needed to prevent sticking, roll the larger ball to fit a 9- or 10-inch pie pan. Wrap the smaller piece of dough tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use. Makes a 9- or 10-inch piecrust, plus extra for a decorative top crust.

4. Creating the filling and assembling the pie: Heat the oven to 375º F. Place the blueberries in a large bowl, and sprinkle with the lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, and sugar. Toss gently until the berries are evenly coated.

5. Line a 9- or 10-inch pie pan with the rolled piecrust dough and crimp the edges. Pour the filling into the crust. Let your kids cut the extra dough into shapes with cookie cutters. Lay the shapes, touching one another, on top of the filling. Press any pieces that meet the sides of the crust into the edges.

6. Place the pie pan on a foil-lined tray (to catch any spills) and bake in the lower third of the oven for 45 minutes or until the filling is bubbly around the edges and the crust is lightly browned. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Serves 8.

tomato wild rice soup

I make this soup about a billion times every fall and winter. It is thick and hearty and just so freakin' delicious! It is starting to get a bit cooler outside and so I made a huge batch last week. The plan was to freeze some so that on nights when I have class, Jonathan could heat some up for dinner, but we both love the soup so much we ate every last drop!

This recipe is from The Complete Book of Soups and Stews by Bernard Clayton. One of the best cookbooks I ever bought.


Tomato and Wild Rice Soup

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup wild rice
salt
pepper
pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon basil (or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Melt butter with olive oil in a soup pot. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Add tomatoes, chicken broth and rice and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and the basil and a pinch of sugar. Boil gently, covered, for 1 hour until rice opens and fluffs. Stir frequently. Add water if it boils down too much (I don't because I like thick soup).

Add the cream and heat through.

I usually use 2 or 3 carrots and stalks of celery and a lot more rice. Probably three times as much rice as the recipe calls for! But I prefer this almost like a stew instead of a soup. And of course you have to eat it with some crusty, buttery bread from Target!

tomato soup cake

I found this recipe card years ago while raiding my grandmother's recipe box for tomato soup cake. So of course I snagged it. It just sounded too bizarre, although apparently my grandfather loves it. I never made it.

So this week, feeling the approach of Fall and being in a baking mood, I decided to finally, finally make the cake. So of course I cannot find the recipe card. After looking around a bit (it is here somewhere, I just know it) I found a recipe online. The recipes are probably basically identical. I think the idea was from Campbell's so Grandma probably copied it off of one of their cans or out of a magazine!

Anyway, the idea is that the cake is a frugal, simple dessert choice during the depression (or even today's recession) because it has relatively few ingredients and they are items you usually have on hand. Except, having decided to make this cake at last, I realized, for the first time in my entire life probably, that I had no tomato soup in my pantry.

So I threw the kids in the car and drove to Wal-Mart for a can of tomato soup.

Anyway, the cake. The. Cake. The cake was fantastic. Possibly a new favorite for me. If you like carrot cake or spice cake, or even if you just like cream cheese frosting, then you must throw this beauty together. It is a gorgeous orangey-brown color, just a little more orange than a carrot cake, and you would never know there is tomato soup in it! It made my whole house smell like Autumn.

Warning: this cake is very dense and heavy so I recommend making it when you have company over. Because although it is delicious, I think I have gained five pounds since making it!

Our cake looks very sloppy because I was in such a hurry to eat it! I cut off two big pieces for the kids and gave them each a bowl of frosting so they could frost their own cake before eating it. Then I used my rubber spatula to literally just dump the rest of the frosting on the cake and quickly smear it around. But it was so freakin' delicious I don't care if it looks like a hot mess!

Tomato Soup Cake

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato soup
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt or tube pan.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, combine tomato soup, water and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with the flour mixture. Stir in the raisins and nuts.

Pour batter into pan. Bake 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

fresh basil pesto recipe

Jonathan has been gone now for a week. I hate when he is away.

The kids are doing alright. We made paper chains and every night before bed we tear another link off of the chain. When all of the links are gone, Daddy will be coming home! This helps them a lot, I think. To understand how long he will be gone. Because last time he was away they asked me every morning, "Are we picking Daddy up today?"

It does not, however, help me because those chains don't appear to be getting any shorter.

sigh.

We went to swim lessons this morning. Then to my favorite thrift store to look at the books. And I spent my weekly $10.00 and this is what I have to show for it:


I finished The Year of Magical Thinking last night when I should have been studying (booooo) but I had to finish it because someone commented to me on facebook how the book was just so sad especially "considering what happened after it was written" and I was like, "Wait ... what? What happened after it was written?" and the temptation to look up Joan Didion on wikipedia was so strong. Because I do live under a rock and had no idea if the woman was alive or dead! Did she die of a broken heart, as so many widows do? Which is a point she talks about while describing grief, so how eerie would that be? Did her daughter die? What was it???????? I was insane with curiosity. So I stayed up too late and did not study a single page of my biology book and didn't get enough sleep and was very grouchy on the way to swimming.

But the book was worth it. And, yes, I did race over to the laptop and look up Joan Didion after finishing it at 2 am and, yes, it is just so sad considering what happened after the book was written.

Again, sigh.

So today after returning home with my new books, I dutifully set them aside (after snapping a photo of them) and opened up the biology book. The kids went upstairs to rest during the hottest part of the day, but then, mercifully, we got a gorgeous thunderstorm which cooled the house down considerably.

I ran outside before the rain began and cut a bunch of our basil and made some pesto. Jonathan and I planted a lot of basil because we love caprese salad, but the basil has sort of taken over its end of the garden! I have never made pesto before but I wanted to use up some of that lovely basil. So I ran out there during the thunder and lightening with my metal scissors that felt suddenly ridiculously oversized and metallic and snipped off as much basil as I could before I began to feel like I was really risking my life unnecessarily. It was only basil, after all. But it was enough for a single batch of this pesto, recipe courtesy of Simply Recipes:

Fresh Basil Pesto Recipe

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

I poured it into a jar and stuck it in the freezer, so that we can enjoy it when Jonathan comes home. But I tasted a teeny bit and it is amazing. The flavors are so much stronger than store-bought pesto. And my fingers still smell like basil, which thrills me. I can't stop smelling them. So now my keyboard probably smells like basil, too.

seven years!

Blue returns to school and ballet this week after a week of spring break. What a long week, with me sleeping and lying around blowing my nose and the kids playing and fighting indoors to avoid the falling and melting snow. I am slowly returning to the land of the living and the kids are returning to their normal routine.

Today is Jonathan and my seventh anniversary!


We are making a delicious dinner tonight to celebrate. It is a recipe from The Log Cabin, a family-owned seafood restaurant in Stafford where I used to bus tables as a teenager. Leila got the recipe while she worked there and now it is a family favorite. It is very easy but it is very decadent, so Jonny and I only make it on special occasions.

Log Cabin Velvet Shrimp
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup finely chopped green onion
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic seasoning
½ teaspoon minced garlic
1 pound peeled, deveined fresh shrimp
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons water, optional
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese
16 ounces hot cooked rotini pasta

Saute green onions and 1 tablespoon of the Seafood Magic in butter. Cook about 1½ minutes. Add garlic and shrimp. Cook about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add 1 cup of the cream and the remaining Seafood Magic. Stir and scrape any browned bits off sides and bottom of skillet. Cook about 1 minute and add remaining cream. Cook 1 minute, or just until shrimp are plump and pink. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon and set aside.

Whisk cream mixture over high heat and bring to a boil. Continue to whisk for 2 to 3 minutes, then add a little water (if desired) and cheese. Cook 1 more minute or until cheese has melted and is incorporated.

Return shrimp to skillet. Stir to coat shrimp with sauce and remove from heat. Serve immediately over pasta.

Happy Anniversary, honey!

weekend update

Jonathan (and I, a bit, but not as much) worked in the yard this weekend. It is looking a lot better, a lot cleaner out there. There is so much work to be done on Glenbogle house, inside and out, that it is overwhelming. But the upside of it is that every little thing we do makes a huge difference. Blue was a big helper out there, too, even if we did have to remind her (several times) to not dig up the grass with her shovel.  Lion also helped, but spent a lot of time sitting on his potty since we are really, really trying to get this pottytraining business sorted out.

Jonathan grilled some chicken Saturday night and I made ambrosia salad and roasted potatoes and a yummy Greek salad. It was so delicious to sit down and stuff our faces after being out in the sun all day. I think Blue had four helpings of the ambrosia salad! Then we gave the kids a bath and put them to bed and Jonathan and I watched "Rachel Getting Married."


I thought it was a very good movie, very well-acted, but very difficult to watch and therefore I will probably never watch it again.

I made some smoothies this weekend that were very good and Mom asked me to post the recipe. I got it off of one of those free recipe cards they give out in the produce section of Super Target. These are supposedly pretty healthy, but I think they taste just like Orange Julius so I could care less how healthy they are! I recommend not using light yogurt, since I used that in today's batch and the smoothies were way too sweet. I also recommend drinking them out of a tall glass with a straw, out in the sunshine while admiring all of the hard work you've been doing in the yard.

Creamy Orange Smoothie
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 (6 oz.) container vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups ice

Blend until smooth. Makes 4 servings.

perfect day

What a wonderful, wonderful St. Patrick's Day! Jonathan and I made the kids green eggs and ham (and green milk) for breakfast this morning.


Pretty gross, but they ate it.


Then he went off to work and the kids and I got busy. First Lion had to put on his new sous chef uniform that he got from Uncle Andrew and Auntie Teresa for his birthday:


Then he and Blue helped me make Irish soda bread. And we threw together some jell-o salad. It is an old recipe I found in my mom's recipe box. Aunt Lonnie's Tasty Salad. Sounds tasty, right? It is. Here's the recipe, but I plan to double it next time since there was none left over.

Great-Aunt Lonnie's Tasty Salad
1 box lime jell-o
1 cup boiling water
3 ounces cream cheese
8 ounces ginger ale
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained

Dissolve the jell-o in the boiling water. Break up the cream cheese and beat into jell-o mixture until it dissolves. Add the ginger ale and pineapple and mix well. Chill for several hours.


This was so good. Light and refreshing and the ginger ale makes it sort-of fizzle in your mouth, like Pop Rocks or something. I will definitely make this again. Thanks, Mom, for the recipe.

So the kids and I had hot Irish soda bread for lunch topped with honey butter. So. Good.

Jonathan finished work a bit early and since the weather has been in the seventies, we piled into the car to go check out the garden center at Lowe's. There isn't much there yet. Which is a shame because we are just itching to get the yard in shape. There was a super nice lady working at Lowe's who told us to wait until mid-April to plant anything. But she sold us a nice big seed starter tray with a plastic lid that acts as a little mini-greenhouse. So we each chose a type of seed: Jonathan chose poppies, Blue picked Shasta Daisies, Lion got some bright blue Morning Glories and I picked out some forget-me-nots.

Then Blue had dance class tonight. So while I was there with her, Jonathan made a delicious Shepherd's Pie for dinner and we had that and the soda bread and Great-Aunt Lonnie's Tasty Salad. And limeade. With tons of green food coloring added to make it really, really green.

After dinner we planted our seeds in the new mini-greenhouse. The kids had a lot of fun sticking the tiny seeds in the dirt. I can't wait to see their faces when our flowers start sprouting up out of the dirt. Lion really wanted to get some pumpkin seeds, but we talked him out of it. For now. We plan to turn the existing sand box in the backyard into a vegetable garden this spring, so we will be sure to get him a pumpkin plant then. I am just so tired of the sand getting tracked into the house and there are lots of cats that roam the neighborhood and I am convinced they are probably using the sandbox as a large litterbox... Gross.

I loved watching the kids dig into the dinner tonight, knowing they helped make it. So maybe helping to care for the vegetables in the garden and watching them grow will make eating the vegetables more fun. We'll see. I'm going to go now and watch tv with my lovely husband. Or read the new P.D. James book I got at the library while he watches tv beside me. Sigh. What a perfect day.

sweet and spicy pumpkin seeds

This recipe from Martha Stewart rocks. It is very tedious and disgusting to separate the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin "guts" but soooo totally worth it:

Ingredients

Makes 1 cup

• 1 medium pumpkin
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pumpkin open, removing seeds with a long-handled spoon. Separate flesh from seeds. Pumpkin should yield 1 cup seeds. Spread seeds on parchment in an even layer. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Let cool.

In a medium bowl combine 3 tablespoons sugar, salt, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne. Heat peanut oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add pumpkin seeds and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cook until sugar melts and pumpkin seeds begin to caramelize, about 45 to 60 seconds. Transfer to bowl with spices, and stir well to coat. Let cool. These may be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Cabbage Ramen Noodle Salad

1 package coleslaw mix
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 package Ramen noodles, broken into pieces

dressing:
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 Ramen noodle seasoning packet

Combine all ingredients, except for the Ramen noodles, and chill for several hours.

Before serving, add the noodles and mix.

Leila's mom made this for our good-bye cookout at George and Leila's and it was so delicious. Very light and refreshing. A nice alternative to the more traditional, heavier potato salads and noodle casseroles and perfect for hot weather. I made a batch today to have with dinner and I can hardly wait! We are going to go to a nearby neighborhood after dinner that supposedly has awesome views of Aurora to watch the big fireworks display. That way, we figure we won't get stuck in traffic when the show is over so we can get the kids to bed. And by "the kids," I mean Jonny and I, because we have been very tired lately!

Dump Cake

20 ounces crushed pineapple
16 ounces cherry pie filling
1 package yellow cake mix, dry
1 1/2 sticks butter, sliced or melted

Dump all ingredients into baking pan and bake at 350 until brown, approximately 1 hour.
Serve warm with ice cream.

psychic friends

I am baking today. We're going to a cook-out at George & Leila's later. So I am baking cupcakes and, just because it is so freakin' awesome I can't stop fantasizing about it, my friend, Jen's outrageously delicious corn pudding.

I just went out to get the mail, and I got a postcard from Jen! Coincidence?


my friend, Jen's Superfly Corn Pudding:

1 can cream-style corn
1 can whole corn, drained
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 8 1/2 oz pkg corn muffing mix (I use jiffy)
1 cup sour cream.

Mix everything together, Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. 8-10 servings. Can add cheese, jalapeno peppers, etc. Sometimes I grate in a small amount of nutmeg.

rice pudding made with the rice left over from our Chinese food

1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup raisins

Combine ingredients and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.

split pea and ham soup

I am making soup, using the ham bone from our Christmas ham. I have never made split pea and ham soup before and I'm not even too sure if I like split pea and ham soup, so I'll let you know how it turns out!

But here is the recipe for a basic, supposedly delicious split pea and ham soup, courtesy of allrecipes.com:

• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 pound dried split peas
• 1 pound ham bone
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium pot, saute onions in oil or bacon grease. Remove from heat and add split peas, ham bone or chopped ham. Add enough water to cover ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cover, and cook until there are no peas left, just a green liquid, 2 hours. While it is cooking, check to see if water has evaporated. You may need to add more water as the soup continues to cook.
3. Once the soup is a green liquid remove from heat, and let stand so it will thicken. Once thickened you may need to heat through to serve.

recipe for freakin' delicious Oreo Balls - these are no Chocolate Schwetti Balls but they're still amazing

Kathy Davenport's Oreo Truffle Balls

1 (1 pound, 2 ounce) package Oreo cookies
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2 (8 ounces) packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
8 ounces white chocolate, optional

* Use a good-quality chocolate. The taste and quality of these truffles are dependent on the quality of chocolate you start with.

Line two large baking or cookie sheets with wax paper or a silpad; set aside.

In a food processor or blender, process and crush all of the Oreo cookies into fine crumbs. Add cream cheese and process until thoroughly mixed (there should be no white traces of cream cheese). Using your hands, roll into walnut-size balls, approximately 3/4-inch diameter. If the mixture becomes too soft to work, place the remaining mixture back into the refrigerator to slightly harden. Place Oreo Balls on the lined baking sheet and refrigerate or at least 45 to 60 minutes.

TIPS:

• The Oreo Balls may be stored in the freezer for up to 1 week.

• If you put the Oreo balls in the freezer for a short time before dipping in chocolate, this helps keep the balls cold longer. I also put the cookie sheets in the freezer first so they are really cold when I place the chocolate covered Oregon Truffle Balls onto the cookie sheet.

Using one of the below methods, melt the chocolate chips:

Double Boiler:

In the top of a double boiler over hot water, not boiling water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water, melt chocolate; stirring until smooth. Be careful boiling water may cause steam droplets to get into chocolate which can result in "seizing," when the chocolate becomes stiff and grainy. NOTE: If you don't have a double boiler you can improvise one by placing a glass or stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water. Remove from heat. Let the chocolate cool slightly, but it should not set.

Microwave Melting Chocolate:

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips using either the defrost setting or 10-percent power in the microwave. Microwave for 1 minute, then check and stir. If you need more time, do it in 10 to 20 seconds intervals and check and stir after each addition of microwave time. Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted. Baking chips and baking chocolate may appear formed and un-melted after heating but will become fluid after stirring. Blend in cream, brandy, liqueur, or coffee

When ready to coat with chocolate, remove the chilled Oreo Balls from the refrigerator. Replace wax paper on baking sheets if they are not clean. NOTE: A small fork, toothpicks, or chopsticks are great to use as dipping tool. Dip each Oreo Ball into the melted chocolate, allowing the excess to drip back into the pot. Place the Oreo Truffle Balls onto the wax paper. NOTE: If the chocolate gets too hard to dip well, reheat it over the double boiler or in the microwave.

Optional: In a separate bowl either melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. When melted, using a fork, drizzle white chocolate over the harden chocolate balls to decorate.

Let Oreo Truffle Balls harden and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Makes 40 to 50 candy balls, depending on the size balls you roll.

white chocolate chip cranberry oatmeal cookies

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 ounces white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a large bowl using an electric mixer combine the sugar, brown sugar and butter; mix well to cream together.

Add in egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

Add the cinnamon, baking soda, salt and flour and mix well.

Fold in the oatmeal, dried cranberries and white chocolate chips- making sure that all ingredients are uniformly distributed.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 3 inches apart onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes, just until the edges are lightly golden.

Remove from oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer cookies to cooling rack.

These are the cookies I am baking to bring to Blue's preschool.

poor me ... poor, poor me

Both babies are sick as well. I have given them both medicine and some juice, and then Lion promptly threw up so I have no idea if any of the medicine is in his system, but giving babies cold medicine is so scary, I am not giving him any more.

The only food we have in the house is leftover party food, most of which is spicy, so I had to throw together this little pasta dish and Lion is on his fourth bowl of it and Blue's on her third, so here's the recipe in case I forget what I did:

Mommy's Bland Little Buttons and Bows

bowtie pasta, boiled in chicken stock

drain the pasta and dump it back into the hot pot

add a little bit of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil
salt and pepper
a moderate sprinkling of parmesan cheese
diced tomatoes (leftover from a Dora fiesta!)
Polly-O string cheese, sliced into skinny "buttons"
sliced olives (again, leftover from a certain birthday bash)

I could really toss almost anything bite-sized into this for some variety, but since the Lion is now on his fifth bowl (pray he doesn't throw up again!) and Blue is on her fourth, I am sticking strictly with this combination from now on!

Orgasmic Mac'n'Cheese

Most of these amounts are estimates, since I was in a big hurry (yeah, I know I was still 45 minutes late, but whatever...) and just threw everything into the casserole dish without really measuring, but with these ingredients you really cannot screw this up. I think Paula Deen would be proud.


1 box of macaroni noodles, cooked and drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can Campbell's condensed cheddar cheese soup
milk
butter
8 ounces sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
extra cheese for topping

Pour the hot macaroni into a large casserole dish and dump in a package of shredded cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Add the can of soup, 1 canful of milk, 1/2 stick of butter sliced into little pieces, and then the sour cream, stirring well after each addition. Add a bunch of salt and pepper. I think I added extra milk--just add enough for your own desired consistency.

Top with more shredded cheese. I used Fiesta Blend cheese, because that's all I had left in the fridge after using the whole bag of cheddar!

Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes--or til it's bubbling.


Enjoy!

dwafs redux

We did it. We finally had our Southern dwafs. We watched "To Kill a Mockingbird" and ate Southern food. And ate and ate and ate... Oh, wait. That was just me. I meant to say I ate and ate and ate...

The past two months, we have wanted to have this southern dwafs, but both times no one showed up. I'm wondering if we should in future suspend dwafs during the summer since we can't seem to get our shit together.

But it was worth the wait, people. First of all, Gregory Peck. Sigh. I cried through almost the entire movie. I just love movies with father/daughter relationships. They just kill me. Haha, maybe I should start a father/daughter films film society--the fdffs. Haha, I just like trying to pronounce "fdffs" really.

But, God, people, the food. The fooooood. We had fried chicken, sausage balls, mashed potatoes, biscuits, macaroni and cheese, fried cauliflower, cornbread, cucumber salad, tomato sandwiches, blackberry/lemon curd pies, and red velvet cupcakes. With sweet tea, of course.

So I had a naughty eatin' weekend. Because on Saturday night we hung out (with the toodlers, who behaved very well) at Olivia and Katherine's place with SweetElisa and Olivia's father and stepmother. Who I really enjoy.

We meant to attend the Bluemont Concert Series and see the Mambo Combo perform latin caribbean music, but there was thunder and lightening, so we went to Olivia and Katherine's and ate all the food we had all packed up--watermelon, spinach dip, caprese salad, and white sangria that Olivia's stepmother made. (Told you I really enjoy them.)

Anyway, Olivia and Adrienne are coming over tomorrow night to watch "The 300" and I told them we have got to eat healthy food. No more of this badass food. Especially since Jonny is trying to eat better, dear man.

So I am going to go google healthy recipes (ho-hum) but first I will post some recipes from my fabulous weekend:

Insalata Caprese

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 pounds assorted tomatoes
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and sliced
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Whisk the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil to blend. Set the dressing aside.

Cut regular tomatoes into 1/4-inch-thick slices and any cherry or grape tomatoes in half. Top with the dressing. Sprinkle with basil and additional salt and pepper to taste, and serve.



Strawberry Hand Pies

1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and cut in half or quarters
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
pastry dough
1 egg, lightly beaten
sugar to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, add strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch; stir to combine, set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8-inch-thick. Using a 5-inch cookie cutter, cut out 6 rounds.

Transfer rounds to baking sheet. Place about 2 tablespoons of the strawberry mixture onto one-half of each round. Lightly brush egg around the edge of the covered half of each round. Fold remaining dough over to enclose, forming a half moon. Gently press edges together to seal. Brush the tops of each pie with egg. Using a paring knife, slash the top of each pie. Sprinkle generously with sugar.

Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

JenPerry made these pies with fresh blackberries and lemon curd for filling, and they were deeeelicious, so I'm assuming they work with whatever fruit you have on hand.

Crock Pot Bread Pudding

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups bread cubes or soft torn bread
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 banana, sliced, optional

PREPARATION:

Combine all ingredients, gently stirring until bread crumbs or cubes are thoroughly moistened. Place mixture in a greased slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve hot or cold. Enjoy! Bread pudding recipe shared by Ness

So I made this last night because my friends and fellow DWAFS, Olivia and Katherine, came over to watch Grey's Anatomy and ohmyGoddddd was it yummy. You simply must put the banana in--because with the raisins, it tastes like a mix between banana bread and bread pudding and pure bliss. Divine, I tell you, diviiiiine. And if you are a mommy like me, you probably already have all of the ingredients on hand already, including the raisins and banana. I highly, highly recommend trying this out. One thing I noticed though is that my crock pot is super powerful or something, because I did not need to cook it that long or on high heat.