S is for . . .

S is for summer. . . swimming . . . and strawberries. Mmmm. . . . strawberries. I can feel my mouth just watering at the sound of fresh picked strawberries (good thing there sitting in my fridge!). Today is the last day of school for our local schools, and even though my little one is too young for school, it still feels like summer has officially begun!

Today has been a really fun day. This morning I got up and watched my nephew celebrate the end of kindergarten. He even had a part to memorize and say in front of all those proud parents, grandparents, and aunts and uncles. Then, I scurried to Costco to get some much need food items and headed over to my MOPS mentor mom's house for a swim gathering. I have been really blessed this year with an awesome group of mom's and it was so much fun getting together to swim and celebrate summer! And then tonight, I think we are going to go enjoy BBQ'd pizzas and more swimming with our good friends.

So, back to strawberries. . . I recently made this dessert for our small group Bible Study. I was in the mood to make something sweet and yummy, but the no oven dilemma kind of prevented me from doing any baking. Thankfully, I found this recipe last year and it requires absolutely NO baking! Awesome! So, I decided to make it again. Plus, I never blogged about it. . . so you get to see it today. . . in all it's glorious splendor!

Here's the scoop:

:: the ingredients are quite basic - store bought frozen pound cake (mine was Sara Lee), cream cheese, instant pudding, strawberries, and cool whip. . . . super easy!

:: You don't even have to have a nice bowl or trifle. Last year, I made it for a couple in our Sunday School class that had just had a new baby. . . i just made a smaller batch and put it in a Gladware container.

:: This makes awesome smaller portions. You can put it your favorite dessert bowls. I love using my stemware for parfaits! Plus, if you are new to my blog, I have a horrible obsession with bowls. . . just as my husband! In fact, I am looking forward to going to Crate and Barrel in 3 weeks. . . I know just what I want!

:: I also think that the pudding base, would taste good using the recipe from my éclair torte, if you are looking for something a little lighter.

:: The dessert directions say refrigerate for 4 hours prior to serving. . . totally not necessary!

Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl

from Kraft foods

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened

1-1/2 cups cold milk

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, divided

2 cups frozen pound cake cubes (1 inch)

1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (I just melted some chocolate bark I had on hand)

:: Optional - 1 chocolate covered strawberry. . . you can do this by dipping a dry strawberry into your melted chocolate before you drizzle it onto your dessert. Let it set on a piece of wax paper.

(I emphasized dry because if you try to dip a slightly wet strawberry, the chocolate will just come right off and looks really gross.)

:: Another hint, if you melt your chocolate and want to drizzle a very easy way. . . just put a sandwich bag into a small glass and with its edges folded over the top of the glass. Pour your melted chocolate into the bag and snip the corner and drizzle onto your dessert!

Directions:

Combine berries and sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use. Beat Neufchatel (I used regular cream cheese) in large bowl with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; mix well. Blend in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP; spoon half into 2-1/2-qt. bowl.

Top with cake, berries and remaining Neufchatel mixture. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MELT chocolate; drizzle over trifle. Top with remaining COOL WHIP.

The no-oven challenge continues. . . .

Not having an oven has been kind of a challenge for me. All of my go-to recipes are baked. I

am not a fan of buying store bought baked goods. . . why? They are so expensive and just not as good (when i refer to this grouping it does not include fresh baked goods from Panera or the local french bakery). I say that in frustration because my oven is still in my living room (Ugh). But, discovering the many no-bake recipes out there has been quite fun. Here's another one that I found and made last week. These were really good. So very easy, and so very tasty! The pretzels and toffee are so yummy intertwined with all the chocolate-y goodness this bark has to offer. This recipe was really easy to make and was a nice treat for my husband's lunch. I only melted enough chocolate to go in my small green cake pan (It was from the Williams Sonoma kids line a couple years ago). It also took me until mid week to get these made, so the leftovers are in the freezer.

Toffee Pretzel Bark

recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker

14 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
¾ cup broken pretzel pieces, divided
¾ cup Heath toffee pieces, divided
7 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. In a double boiler or in a microwave on low power, melt the dark chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is smooth. Remove from the heat, and stir in ½ cup of the pretzel pieces and ½ cup of the toffee pieces. Spread the mixture on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Melt the white chocolate in the same manner as you did the dark chocolate, stirring until completely smooth. Remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator and spread the white chocolate on top of the hardened dark chocolate layer. Sprinkle with the remaining pretzel pieces and toffee, using your palm to lightly press them into the white chocolate. Return the pan to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut the bark into pieces. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

No oven challenge, take 2

My husband and I loaned our son last night to my in laws so that we could get some painting done. Our living room is partially painted. Now to move the bookcases and start unpacking the rest of our boxes (they are all books!). I have a few minutes before my little guy comes back (I miss him terribly!), so I thought I would share the second treat I made while my oven was in limbo (for the record. . . a new one is sitting in my living room waiting to be installed!).

So the second new, tasty treat I made while not having an oven were Scotcharoos. I thought I had taken a picture of them, but I can't find it anywhere. I made these for Jon's lunch and then took the rest of them to the beach with us. . . where they were devoured rather quickly (thanks guys for eating them!). Basically, they are rice krispy treats made without marshmallows and frosted with a combination of melted butterscotch chips and chocolate chips. If you google scotcharoo images, you can see what they look like. They are yummy! I used the recipe from cookiemadness, which was a little different than the one I found on allrecipes.com.

Here's the recipe:

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light Karo Syrup
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy Natural)
1 cup butterscotch morsels
1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate morsels

Line a 13×9 inch metal pan with non-stick foil or line with regular foil and spray with cooking spray.

Put the cereal in a big mixing bowl and set aside.

Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat to dissolve the sugar. Mixture will go from foggy to clear.

Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter. Pour over the cereal and stir well. Press tightly into pan.

In a bowl set over barely simmering water or using a low setting on microwave, melt the butterscotch chips and chocolate chips together. Pour the melted chip mixture over the krispies and let chocolate cool and set. This should take a few hours. You can speed things up by refrigerating, but the bars will be a little harder to slice.

When set, lift foil from pan and set bars on a cutting board. Cut into squares.

Makes 20-24

Happy Baking!

A new challenge has begun. . .

The month of May came in with the joys of a broken oven. . . and the challenge to make yummy treats without baking anything. I wasn't sure if it would take a week or a month (and we are now at a month and still waiting for my new oven) to get it fixed (or replaced. . . my secret hope!). So, my first choice of no-bake cookie May was one of the most popular and probably one of the easiest cookies I have ever made.

In fact, they are even called NO BAKE COOKIES. There were so many recipes on the internet that were exactly the same or slightly different that I went with the allrecipes.com recipe that had 4.5/5 stars. . . if other people were happy with them, then I was willing to give it a try.

No Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, milk, butter, and cocoa. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool until hardened.

So, this recipe was delicious. They didn't last long. Ethan loved them. Jon loved them (although, I think he thought them very weird), and my nephew, George couldn't get enough of them (he threw a temper tantrum after I said he should probably wait until after dinner to eat one). I also enjoyed them!

So, on another note (still related to baking & cookies), Williams Sonoma has come out with something cool (don't get me wrong. . . I think 75 percent of the stuff in that store is cool), but this is cool on a whole new level. . . my husband thinks they are cool. Why you ask? Because they just came out with Star Wars cookie cutters. (click on the link to find out just how cool they really are!). They also have pancake molds. Now, since I am on a very limited budget. . . I am trying to decide on a plan to come up with 20 extra dollars. . . wouldn't that be a great Father's Day gift? or even a See how much I love you gift? Any ideas are welcome. . . .

Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Ahhh. . . I am in a complete and utter celebratory mood. You see, I was just informed that my oven was being replaced! After a month and several phone calls later (one in which, I will confess I was not my most nicest - yesterday), I am finally (someday soon) going to be able to bake! So in honor of that, I am going to share a recipe that I found (and baked) this past weekend at the beach (home of a working oven). Early last week, I had bought some bananas, but we didn't get to them quick enough because it suddenly got warm (and then cold again), which made my beautiful green bananas freckle with incredible speed. Normally, that would excite me, but this time. . . I was thinking my oven is broken. . . now is not the time (and I can't stand the smell of ripe bananas so I don't like to freeze them). But it happened at the perfect time because we were heading the the beach for 5 days. . . to a house with a fully capable oven. I was stoked beyond all imagination. . . I was starting to go through withdrawals.

I will confess that I have been having fun getting creative with the no bake cookies (recipes to come soon!), but it gets hard when you find many, MANY recipes that look so yummy to bake and when you have engagements where you are needed to make a quiche. . . and can't.

So this recipe was found over here and here.

:: The writer of the first blog found that they tasted better with a dollop of peanut butter spread over the top - I totally agree! These muffins were good, but were even better and more addicting with the extra peanut butter spread over the top!

:: I made mine after 10:00 at night and so I was quite anxious to get to bed, so when they got out of the oven, I quickly covered them up and fell asleep. When I woke up the moisture had made them a bit glossy over the top - which kind of freaked my husband out (but he still ate them. . . a lot of them).

:: These also don't have any oil or shortening agent. . . just applesauce. So, if you are looking for a more healthy alternative to muffins. . . this might be a good pick - I mean, Oatmeal, Peanut Butter, Bananas, and Applesauce are all fairly healthy, right?
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 tbsp. applesauce
¾ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
6 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together with a fork to blend. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, banana, peanut butter and buttermilk until smooth. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated and fully blended. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Have fun! Let me know what you think. . .

Happy Baking!

Banana Bread

Happy Tuesday everyone! WOW! 2 posts in a row. . . I must be on a roll.

I made this bread several weeks ago - pre oven break-down. I wasn't sure if I was going to post this recipe, but I decided I needed to, because our weekend heat ripened my bananas incredibly quick (I always forget about the disadvantages to summer heat) and since I am heading to a beautiful beach house with a working oven. . . I need my recipe readily available and that would be here, on my blog.

I found this recipe several years ago over at the food network website (it's by Emeril Lagasse) and it has since been my go to recipe. . . it is so moist and delicious!

Here's the recipe:

10 tbsp. + 1 tsp butter

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups cake flour (I just use all-purpose)

3/4 cup + 2 tbs sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts (I don't always put these in)

Preheat oven to 350.

Lightly grease your loaf pan (or pans if you are making mini loaves).

Puree the bananas, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in food processor (when I am lazy. . . i just mix them really well in my stand mixer).

Sift cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer with whisk attachment. Add the remaining 10 tbs butter and mix on medium-low speed until blended, about 30 seconds. Add the banana mixture in 3 batches, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing on medium speed between each addition. Fold in nuts.

Pour into loaf pan(s) and bake until lightly browned and bread bounces back to the touch, about 1 hour & 10 minutes (less if using mini-loaf pans). Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Dig in. . . you might have to fight for it. . . it sure doesn't last long in our house!

I made mini loaves and gave a few to some appreciated people! I wrapped them in clear, plastic wrap, tied a ribbon and stamped a butterfly (Flight of the Butterfly, SU) and a thank you (it came from a word collection that was probably hero arts or something from JoAnns). The paper and ink were eggplant envy (I think?, which is also stampin' up). I like to sometimes tear the bottoms of my paper, which gives it a nice textured effect.

Another Starbucks copycat

Several weeks ago, was one of those weeks where I felt like I baked something everyday. On this particular week, it was my Bible Study's turn to provide snacks for all the other Tuesday morning Bible Studies. I was on a search to make something crumb-like. . . it just sounded yummy. I found this recipe here and as soon as I read the reviews, I knew I was going to make it!

Doesn't it just look good? I have to admit, that I took it to Bible Study and took a picture once getting there. Some of the ladies thought it was funny that I took a picture of food, but I just had to. This was a recipe I would definitely be blogging about this one. . . it's been the best way for me to keep track of favorite recipes lately.

So, a little about this recipe:

:: it uses graham crackers. I wasn't sure about that ingredient, but the crumbles made it so very tasty when mixed with all the cinnamon and sugar! I might even use this crumble recipe in other things, too!

:: I made it in a tube pan - this baked nicely, giving it a great swirl inside (above picture). I did crack a bit in the taking out process because it falls out upside down and then has to be flipped again. I don't think anybody noticed though!

Here's the recipe:

Streusel:

1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamon (I didn't have this, so I just added nutmeg instead)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Cake:

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter and flour a tube pan, springform pan, or 8 inch square pan.

Combine ingredients for streusel and set aside.

Make cake: By sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk. Beat vigorously until mixed and quite thick. . . about 1 minute.

Spread half the batter into your prepared pan. Top with half the streusel mixture. Repeat.

Bake about 50 minutes.

Cool about 20 minutes and remove cake from pan.

Lemon Raspberry Mousse Squares

I think in the past few issues of Food Network Magazine and Rachael Ray there has been a Kraft foods ad with this recipe on it. Jon and I had noticed it several times and decided it sounded quite tasty (and it was!). So, when we had his parents over for dinner, he requested this for dessert.

It was so easy to make. . . and kind of cheap, too. I like cheap. . . I have a food budget and many of the desserts I want to make end up costing an arm and a leg, so this was good.

First thing. . . make this in the morning before you plan on serving it in the evening. It needs to sit for at least 4 to 5 hours.

Second thing. . . this is perfect for spring. . . all the fresh fruit on top makes it even better! And right now, the strawberries are PERFECT and Costco has super, delicious blackberries and blueberries right now!

48 Nila Wafers, divided

3/4 cup boiling water

1 pkg. (3 oz) Lemon Jell-o (I could only find the large boxes, so I just used half of it)

1 cup ice cubes

1 pkg. cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp lemon zest

1 (8 oz) tub cool whip, divided

1/3 cup raspberry preserves

1 1/2 cups fresh fruit

1. Wrap an 8 inch square pan in plastic wrap. (You are making this dessert upside down)

2. Stand Nila Wafers around the edge of your pan.

3. Make Jello mixture by adding boiling water to Jell-o. Stir for 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add ice. Stir until melted.

4. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice in a large bowl until blended. Slowly beat in Jell-o mixture. Whisk in 2 cups Cool Whip.

5. Pour half of the mixture into your pan and top with Nila Wafers

6. Heat raspberry preserves in microwave for 30 seconds. Spread over wafers.

7. Top with remaining Jell-O mixture and top with Nila wafers.

8. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours until firm.

9. When firm, flip out onto serving dish. Cut into squares and top with cool whip and fruit.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Baking. . . and eating!

Yet another chocolate chip cookie recipe

I have decided that there is no possible way to get bored with baking. Really, especially with cookies. I mean, come on, how many possible ways are there to bake chocolate chip cookies? The funny thing is, most recipes seem to have the same common ingredients. Some, may have more butter than others, cold butter or room temperature, brown sugar, white sugar, or both, 1 egg or 2. . . but they all come out different. Weird, huh? I do admit that my favorite recipes seem to be the brown butter or Neiman Marcus and my husband's the basic Nestle Toll House recipe. But, it seems to me they all taste delicious!

This recipe is by some sort of UNIX programmer that made really good cookies with chocolate (Ummm, just to let you know, I THINK that UNIX is some sort of computer thing. . . not sure, though). I can't seem to find anything on him, but apparently he was good at it. These cookies were really good, but had some unusual steps that I had never seen before when baking. I usually just use one bowl, but with this recipe I used 2. I also am really impatient and usually bake cookies when Ethan wakes up from his afternoon nap. I only have so much time before Mr. 19 months starts to get antsy. So, while the butter and sugar mixture was mixing for its alloted time, I pulled out my hand mixer and started to beat my egg mixture for its alloted time. That made it go much quicker. I think it was well worth it, but the chances of me me making them again are slim, since I will most likely find another recipe to try (since there seem to be about a zillion different recipes out there! - possibly a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea!)

Here's the recipe:

The Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour (11.25 oz)
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. plus a pinch of salt
8 oz unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces
1 cup very firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped
3 cups chocolate chips (18 oz)

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set side.

Beat cold butter in bowl until creamy in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add both sugars and continue beating at medium speed for 4-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat mix the eggs and vanilla together in a separate (small) bowl or measuring cup and slowly, one tablespoon at a time, add the egg mixture to the cream mixture while the mixer is in motion. This should take another 4-5 minutes.
With mixer on lowest speed or by hand, add dry ingredients. When incorporated, add chocolate chips and nuts and stir to mix.

Shape dough into golf ball size balls and arrange on a cookie sheet right next to each other. At this point, you are chilling them not baking them so you don’t have to worry about spacing. Cover dough balls overnight or for 6 hours. Remove and let warm to room temperature (30 minutes). Arrange cookie balls on ungreased cookie sheets spacing about 3 inches apart. Flatten a little to resemble a hockey puck, about ¾-inch high. Make edges go straight up and down. Make a slight depression in center with finger.

Bake at 400 degrees, 8-10 minutes (mine took a little longer). Edges should be golden brown but center 1-inch pale. Let sit at room temperature 5 minutes before taking off baking pan.

Makes about 32 cookies

Easter Breakfast

After a week of scrubbing my kitchen walls, laundry, card making (soon to be posted, I promise), and chasing after Ethan, I am taking the opportunity to catch up on some blogging. This afternoon has been a most quiet day - the first in awhile. We got up, went to church and came home to REST. Oh, rest is nice. I relaxed by going to Joann's with my friend Steph. So nice and fun. . . shopping with out any kids! I think I am ready for this next week. . . whatever it holds.

We painted our kitchen Friday night. . . yeah, my grey color ended up being a beautiful shade of purple. I wish I knew what to do with this shade, I have a half gallon left (suggestions, please?). Needless to say, we will be repainting our kitchen this week. I am hoping the rest of the painting goes much smoother.

So, here is a delicious recipe that I found just prior to Easter. It made a delicious (as EASY) breakfast for us on Saturday (Easter Eve), when we celebrated our small family Easter (just the three of us and our traditions). Plus, there were plenty of left overs for breakfast on Easter - which was awesome because we had a busy morning at church and then back to back family gatherings out of town. Easy is good!

This probably isn't a recipe if you are going low carb or low sugar, but it is definitely good. I found it at skiptomylou.org but it's an allrecipes.com recipe that got about 5 stars. Who can go wrong with that, right?

Happy Baking!

Overnight Coffee Cake

• Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sour cream

Topping

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Glaze

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and salt, add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Pour into a greased 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon; sprinkle over coffee cake. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Drizzle over warm coffee cake.

Hard Boiled Eggs?

Okay, so I know that everybody probably has some some (or had some) hard boiled eggs that are dyed ever so brightly sitting in your fridge waiting to be gobbled up (and by now, probably forgotten about until you read my post!). Ethan and I have been having fun eating our hard boiled eggs and trying to get Jon to join in the fun (he detests eggs more than anything, I think!). But, this recipe could not be passed up because it looked like fun and all the comments were fabulous. So, as soon as my brown sugar supply was restocked on Thursday, I baked up a batch. Now, I will note that this recipe was for 2 LARGE cookies. And I am seriously thinking that whoever said it made 2 large cookies, was talking about 2 cookies the size of a small country. I don't do large. . . seriously. . . . I like mine about 2-3 inches in diameter. I was able to bake 19 cookies. A great recipe for a quick cookie fix, with out making a ton of cookies. So, I got my food processor (A.K.A. the magic tool) and got to work.

Here's my crumbly dough and chocolate chips being mixed in.After you pulse all of your ingredients, you pour it in a owl and stir in the chocolate chips. You just mix it with your fingers and then form them into pretty balls of any size. Super easy! I also didn't notice any egg whites showing. . . I think my food processor got them pretty small.
The cookies are baking. . . . they plump up nicely. I don't like it when the spread and get thin. . . there's too much risk in the cookies touching.
Ta Da! The final product! I will say, they are surprisingly delicious! I hope that you all try them out and let me know what you think!

Go here to find the recipe. Cookie Madness has several other hard boiled egg recipes also, but they said this one was their favorite. Have fun!

Peanut Butter + Oatmeal + Chocolate Chips = Amazing!

Last week, I went searching for an idea for cookies for Jon's lunch. I was in dire need in inspiration and ideas and not in the mood to make something I had made before. I thought about making these until I found this recipe. I will confess, it was the first place I looked and the first recipe I saw. They looked delicious. . . until I read the ingredients. . . then, they looked divine! No joke! It seemed as if they combined all the yummy ingredients of everybody's favorite cookies. I also thought that Jon might enjoy them because he's a Reeces fan and this could very well hit his lunchtime sweet spot. After being baked, they were just as good as suspected! I highly reccomend them! Let me know what you think!

This recipe came from Brown Eyed Baker. She is very, ummm, particular when baking. She carefully measures each scoop of dough so she can have perfect cookies. She will even tell you the exact measurement to the ounce if you want it. I don't own a scale and probably never will . . . there are just too many other cool kitchen gadgets to collect. Also, a scale would take up counter space, and my kitchenaid mixer will not give up it's home (I don't have a ton of counter space and I am not a fan of cluttered counters). I am really a fan of my medium Pampered Chef Cookie Scoop and that's what I use, for my perfect sized cookies. I don't make mine HUGE because I like to not feel guilty for eating a cookie every now and then.

Happy Baking!

So here's the how-to. . .

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
½ cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.

4. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I found this recipe and just happened to have an excuse to make a dessert. . . a new mom in need of a meal. It sounded so easy and just looked light and tasty.

which they were! The cake, a combination of white cake mix and lemon pudding, didn't seem all that lemony, but was moist and delicious. The frosting is where the lemon hits your mouth. It was just the perfect amount of lemon combined with the cream cheese sweetness that a cream cheese frosting brings. Mmmm. . . we just couldn't get enough! They were a nice treat for the week. I also love cupcakes, because if you can refrain from eating more that one they are probably a perfect way to get portion control for your sweet tooth.

I didn't zest all of them. . . but to do the zest, I have the citrus Microplane that has a tool that makes little zest strings or ribbons. Quite handy. . . but a lot of work for just eating them at home. So, I only zested the 6 that went to other people.

I will probably (most definitely) make these again. . . they were just so light (as in not to sweet that you get a tummy ache after taking the first bite, not as in healthy for you) and so easy to make. hmmm.. . I think they would make a great treat for Easter gatherings. . . hmmm. . . there's an idea. . . . I'll have to get back to you on that idea.

Here's how to make it:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup water

4 egg whites

2 Tbsp. oil

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

BEAT first 5 ingredients in large bowl with mixer on low speed until moistened. (Batter will be thick.) Beat on medium speed 2 min. Spoon into 24 paper-lined muffin cups.

BAKE 21 to 24 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

BEAT cream cheese, butter and juice with mixer until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating on low speed after each addition until well blended. Spread onto cupcakes.

I found this recipe over at Kraft.

yummmmmmm!

Last year, for Jon's birthday he asked me to make him a chocolate cake. I found a recipe . . . it had rave reviews. . . turned out. . . it was lacking in taste. Then, a few weeks ago, Jon's parents came over to help with our sprinkler issue and to stay for dinner. Since this was a completely last minute thing, I need a quick and easy dessert. . . with things in my cupboard. I settled on the Hershey's recipe for their perfectly perfect chocolate cake. I figured that the Hershey people really know their chocolate and so the cake couldn't be that bad. Turned out absolutely delicious. I made my own frosting glaze to top it and I just couldn't stop eating it! I loved how dark the color turned out and how tasty the frosting was. mmmm. . . good!

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. 2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. 3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

The frosting I used was a combination of powdered sugar, cocoa, milk, and cream. It may or may not have had butter, because honestly. . . I think I may have been out of it. . . it was nearing the end of the month and my supplies were running low. So, I guess you can use your own favorite chocolate frosting or use Hershey's special one. . . the one I would have used had I had most of the ingredients.

Happy Baking!

Blueberry Streusel Scones

Last week, I bought Ethan blueberries. He likes blueberries. . . or so I thought. He had one taste and spit the one he had out, which was quite the opposite of the last time, where he couldn't stop eating them. I decided to try them and so did my husband and bland and not sweet they were. That explained so much. . . I was beginning to wonder if my little toddler was just going to protest all food minus Gerber Graduate cheese puffs (which I am pretty sure he could just live off!). So, since we obviously wouldn't be eating these not-so-sweet (and might I add, expensive) blueberries, I needed to try to find a solution so I would not feel as if I were wasting our money.

Thankfully, I was hosting a playdate at my house and needed a new scone recipe to try. So, I found this one at Joy of Baking and whipped up a batch. So, since I started with bland blueberries I really wondered how these would even come out. . . which was a common theme throughout my baking adventure that day. This ended up being an almost-disaster. I usually just prepare my scones in the food processor - it cuts butter like magic and takes just a couple of minutes to prepare. Yeah, not such a great idea when you add blueberries. Basically, it worked well up until the last, and most important ingredient was added. If you haven't guessed already, I ended up with very pureed blueberries. My scones were no longer white with blueberry chunks, but a blue/purple tint and no chunks. OOPS!

I baked them anyway, cutting them in circles and adding the yummy streusel topping (mmm. . . good!) and baked them. I mean, what was there to loose? The blueberries started off yucko and were now juiced, so if they even turned out a little tasty, then I wouldn't feel as if I had wasted money on these blueberries.

The end product, would be that of the picture above. .. nothing like the picture here (which is what they are supposed to look like). The taste. . . well. . . apparently, they are husband's new favorite scone (Which is funny, because I actually also made his favorite scone, the Buttermilk Cranberry Scone for the playdate, too!). They also received rave reviews from the ladies at the play date. So, needless to say, for a recipe that started out VERY bad, it turned out not to be a disaster at all. I will try making them again. . . someday, just not right now.

You can find the recipe here.