Everyday Mom

Chicken on the Go

2013-05-05T23:59:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year where our evening meals are being eaten almost everywhere but home. We are eating at soccer fields, baseball fields, dance studios and in the car. If we do happen to eat at home we certainly aren't eating together as a family. This crazy dining schedule requires meals that are portable and can be eaten hot or cold. And if they can fix themselves that is even better.

One of my favorite solutions to the dining dilemma is chicken breast in the crock pot. At the start of the week I throw a pound or two of boneless chicken breasts in with some broth, cook it for a few hours, shred it and have numerous meal options throughout the week.

The repertoire usually includes chicken salad, bbq chicken or thrown in with a tossed salad, but this week thanks to Jenna's Cooking Journey, my Secret Recipe Club match, we had a new chicken dish in the rotation - Chicken Cesar Sliders. These wonderfully simple and tasty sandwiches were a big hit with all and will definitely stay in the rotation.

Besides these delicious sliders Jenna's blog is filled with many wonderful recipes. She participates in a lot of different blog challenges - my favorite is the "Whats Baking Challenge" I am looking for an excuse to bake her latest recipe for cream cheese delights.

Crockpot Chicken Caesar Sliders

2 lbs. boneless chicken breast

2 cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon onion powder

Salt and pepper

1/2 to 1 cup Caesar salad dressing

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, rolls

Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker. Add broth garlic, onion powder and salt and pepper. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Using a slotted spoon remove cooked chicken, allow to cool slightly. Remove any fat from chicken and broth. Using two forks shred chicken. Place shredded chicken back in slow cooker, add Caesar dressing and Parmesan cheese, stir until coated. Cook for an additional 15-30 minutes.

Serve on toasted rolls with lettuce, tomatoes and additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

Mini Fruit Tarts

2013-04-28T08:16:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite cooking activities with kids are mini fruit tarts. They are a perfect project for kids of all ages. Kids get an opportunity to practice cutting, mixing and presentation. They are a great way to introduce new fruits and best of all they can be eaten right after making them, no waiting necessary.

When choosing the fruit I keep in mind, who I am working with and what fruit is in season. When working with the 4 year old kids in my daughter's preschool class I wanted them to work on cutting, so I chose fruit that would be easy for them to cut - strawberries, bananas, mango and kiwi were the answer. I prepped the fruit before hand and cut everything into big pieces, with a flat size that would be easy for the kids to work with.

The filling and crust are just as versatile as the fruit. This time I use leftover sugar cookie dough for the crust, but you can also use a pie dough, graham cracker crumbs or any sweet dough. For the filling I used cream cheese lemon curd, but again this could be substituted Any jam can be used in place of the lemon curd and a straight up pudding filling is always a favorite.

This is the perfect treat that gives kids the opportunity to create their own unique dessert that is a sweet treat for all!

Mini Fruit Tarts

- 1 recipe sweet dough (sugar cookie or pie dough)
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup lemon curd (or any jam) - amount can be adjusted if you want more or less flavor
- Assortment of fruit, cut into small bite sized pieces.
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Roll dough to 1/4" thick. Cut into rounds slightly larger than the cups of a mini muffin tin. Press a round of dough into each cup. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden. Let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese and lemon curd. Stir until combined. Place mixture in a pastry bag.
4. Fill each cup with lemon curd mixture, top with an assortment of fruit.

Sweet Potato Burgers

2013-04-18T12:30:00.001-04:00

Sweet potatoes have become a new family favorite. I never really gave them much thought, for me they were a food served either mashed at holidays or mashed to babies, but not an everyday kind of food.

A few years ago I discovered they were super yummy baked up as fries, but again only an occassional food.

Then a few months ago I made Sweet Potato Falafel as a Secret Recipe Club dish. We became hooked and sweet potatoes are now a regular in the rotation. The Falafel is definitely our favorite, but these burgers are a close second. They are really just a variation of my Sweet Potato Quesadilla, but it's the Chipotle Avacado Sauce that put these burgers over the top.

Sweet Potato Burgers (Ziplist)

Serves Cook Time Total Time Prep Time Publisher

6 10 minutes 1 hour 50 minutes everydaymom
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
- 1-2 cloves roasted garlic (having a head of roasted garlic in the fridge is always wonderful)
- 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions

Serves	Cook Time	Total Time	Prep Time	Publisher
6	10 minutes	1 hour	50 minutes	everydaymom

In a large bowl combine sweet potatoes, garlic and beans roughly mash together. Add remaining ingredients stirring until just combined. Refrigerate mixture for 15-20 minutes.
Preheat frying pan over medium heat, add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and heat. Evenly divide mixture into 6 loosely packed burgers. Place in hot pan and cook 6-8 minutes on each side. The mixture is wet so be sure to allow each side to cook until brown before flipping.
Serve on toasted roll with chipotle avocado sauce, lettuce and additional avocado slices.

Chipotel Avocado Sauce (ziplist)

Ingredients
- 1 large avocado
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 2 Tablespoons Adobo chipotle sauce
Instructions
1. In medium bowl mash avocado. It doesn't need to be completely smooth some lumps are fine and make for a wonderful texture. Add yogurt and chipotle sauce. Stir until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste

Almond Chicken Tenders

2013-04-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Like many families chicken tenders are a favorite in our house. You can dress them up, chop them up or eat them plain. They make an easy snack lunch or dinner and are always a hit with the kids.

Every few weeks I try to make a large batch to keep in the freezer. I am not very consistent about making them and having them available, but when I do it is always a wonderful treat to open the freezer and find them there. Especially when I haven't thought about dinner, it's 6:30 and everybody is starving and grumpy.

I usually use the same basic recipe for the coating - bread crumbs and a mix of Italian seasoning. Tasty, but nothing fancy and to be honest I get a little tired of having the same old things in the freezer all the time. When those ho hums set in I often look for some inspiration to change things up and for me inspiration for change often comes from the Secret Recipe Club. This month my inspiration came from Melissa at a Fit and Spicy Life. Her blog is filled with a wonderful assortment of recipes, fitness tips and wine - the perfect trifecta.

Melissa's recipe for Almond Chicken Fingers is a delicious change from our typical tenders and will definitely be a regular item in the freezer. They are moist, flavorful and work in a variety of dishes - they were delicious in an Asian chicken salad and just as tasty with a little honey mustard dipping sauce

I made one change to Melissa's recipe, only because of what was available in my pantry. I didn't have enough whole almonds, so I roughly chopped what I had and then used some almond meal flour to finish the coating mixture. The chopped almonds provided a wonderful texture while the almond meal gave the tenders a nice thick coating.

The other change I made was in process, I like using coating trays - mainly because my kids love to help, getting thick messy fingers is very entertaining for them - but you can also use the dip and shake method as Melissa does, it's all preference.

Almond Chicken Tenders

2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into tenders

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 eggs

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup almonds, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups almond meal flour

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil (or spray) a cooking sheet.

In a small bowl beat eggs, almond milk and mustard together, set aside. In a large bowl combine chopped almonds, almond meal, salt and pepper. Dip a chicken tender first into egg/milk mixture then into the dry mixture. Place coated tender on baking sheet, repeat with remain tender. Place tenders in a single layer with space between each piece.

Bake 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness of chicken. Using tongs flip chicken pieces half way through baking time.

And if you are in need of a little change and inspiration check out the rest of the SRC

Scrambled Eggs w/ an Egg-celent Giveaway

2013-04-05T13:43:00.003-04:00

I live in a pretty social neighborhood, it seems as if someone is always hosting a fire-pit, wine party or some type of get together. These everyday type of gatherings are always fun and we all enjoy them, but what the neighborhood really enjoys is a big all out party. These are usually family friendly celebrations, that have grown in size year to year. Our biggest is Halloween, but Easter is making a good run for it and may possibly take over

After a couple of months of hibernation everybody is ready to get out again and catch up with neighbors and what better way to do that than with a huge brunch and lots of drinks. Like all good celebrations there is a major focus on food. We have the traditional egg hunt and games for the kids but really, it is the food that brings us all together.

I usually bring a coffee cake or some type of baked good, but this year, with some help from Eggland's Best - and these wonderful goodies

I decided to bring an egg dish. While I love my buttery, sugary coffee cakes I wanted to provide something with a little more nutritional value and since not all eggs are created equal I turned to EB

Did you know that compared to ordinary eggs, Eggland’s Best eggs contain:

· 10 times more vitamin E

· Double the amount of omega-3’s

· Twice the amount of vitamin D

· 3 times more vitamin B12

· 25% less saturated fat

· 38% more lutein

I wanted to make something that would be quick and easy to make and easy to eat while standing around chatting. I checked out EB's great recipes and I was very tempted by their Breakfast burrito, but I make a messy burrito and become a mess eating them. The breakfast sandwich also sounded yummy, but the idea of cooking all those fried eggs was less than appealing. The solution scrambled egg sandwich.

Not very fancy, but super yummy.

Since I was making a large batch I sped the process up a bit by using a blender. This also makes the scrambled eggs very light and fluffy by infusing a lot of air into the mixture, and air is the key ingredient to a good scrambled egg.

After a whirl in the blender, they went in the pan for a quick scramble with some diced ham and shredded pepper jack cheese. I under-cooked the eggs slightly so that I could keep them warm in the oven without worrying about them drying out. These can be made with any size roll, but I opted for a small sandwich roll, lightly toasted, with the center hollowed out. A little sprinkle of cheese on top and they were ready to go.

Eggland's Best was kind enough to send me a wonderful Best Brunch Prize Package and they have another waiting for one of my readers. If you would like to win an Eggland prize package leave a comment telling me what EB recipe you would like to try. Winner will be picked on April 12th.

The winner will recieve:

(1) coupon for one free dozen Eggland's Best eggs
(1) ceramic mixing bowl
(1) egg-shaped wooden cutting board
(1) whisk
(1) bowl scraper
(1) ceramic mug
(1) eco bag

Check out Eggland's Best on these other social media sights.

Eggland’s Best Facebook page
Eggland’s Best Twitter page
Eggland’s Best Pinterest page -
Eggland’s Best Newsletter

Light and Fluffy Scrambled Egg Sandwich

5 eggs

5 Tbsp. Milk

1/4 cup grated pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup diced ham

Salt and pepper

2 small Hoagie rolls, with center removed, lightly toasted

Over medium heat melt 1 tablespoon butter in large non-stick saute pan. Crack eggs into the container of a blender, add milk and a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend on medium speed until mixture is uniform in color and frothy, about 20 seconds. Pour into preheated saute pan. Sprinkle cheese and ham over eggs and gently stir with a rubber spatula. Once eggs are no longer liquid remove from heat, they should still look wet.

Fill toasted rolls with egg mixture. Sprinkle with additional cheese, place in preheated oven for 3-5 minutes or until cheese melts

Thank you to EB for the great giveaway and good luck to one of my readers!

*The Eggland's Best coupon, information, and two gift packs have been provided by Eggland's Best.” Recipe and opinions are all mine.

Honey Bee Cake

2013-03-23T16:54:00.000-04:00

Well, once again I am late. Not as late as last month, but still late. I don't know what it is with me and the Cake Slice Bakers, I just can't get those cakes done in time.

This month my excuse is that I wanted to make the cake for an Easter egg hunt/Spring Celebration that friends were having. A honey cake and Spring fun sounded perfect together. I just wish we had the Spring weather to go with such a sweet cake. A couple of days into Spring and the temperatures are in the 30's and the sky is filled with clouds. It is weather that makes you want to go back to bed instead of heading outside for an Easter egg hunt.

I have loved most of the cakes that I have made from Julie Richardson's Vintage Cakes, and this one is no exception. It is a light cake that isn't overly sweet despite the large amounts of honey used in the recipe - there is honey in the cake batter and then a drizzle of sugar, honey and almonds once it is baked. It is a very moist cake, but it is still sturdy enough that you can easily cut a small sliver if you happen to crave a sweet snack before bed. I poked holes in the cake before pouring the honey over the cake and it made for a wonderful burst of flavor.

This is a great cake to experiment with as you can change the flavor slightly by varying the type of honey and nuts used. I used a clover honey and almonds, but think it would be wonderful with a lavender honey and pine nuts.

As always before to visit the other Cake Slice bloggers. While we all use the same recipe the cakes always look different as everyone puts their own twist and personal preference to the recipe.

Cookin' with Whiskey

2013-03-23T07:23:00.000-04:00

I recently had the opportunity to be a part of a special birthday. All birthday's are special, but when you are turning 93 that is pretty awesome. What is even better, is when you turn 93 you can pretty much do whatever you want for your birthday. And if a big blow out party is what you want, a big blow out is what you get.

Our neighbor is a character in the neighborhood, everyone knows him and he knows everyone. He often puts in requests for the "young guys" to have fire pits so he can join them and have an excuse for a shot or two of Crown Royal. It is known throughout the neighborhood that he has a love for the Crown, so it wasn't a surprise when his daughter asked if I could make a Crown Royal cake for his birthday.

The cake was a chocolate and vanilla layer and was super easy to do, although my icing marbled when I applied it, which was super annoying. Since the cake wasn't very exciting I decided to do something that the birthday boy might appreciate a little bit more - Irish Car Bomb cupcakes. Now I'm not a big fan of the name, but the drink is fun and the cupcake is fabulous.

I have made Stout cupcakes in the past and they good. The stout is a perfect pairing with the chocolate, but you add a little whiskey and Bailey's and these cupcakes become great. They are a wonderful addition to a 93rd birthday celebration, a St. Patrick's day party or anytime some special adult only treats are needed.

Stout Cupcakes (Courtesy of Jami Schmidt)

3/4 cup of unsweetened coca plus more for dusting at the end
2 cups sugar
2 cups AP Flour
1 tsp Baking soda
Pinch of fine salt
1 bottle of Guinness (room temperature)
1 stick melted butter (cooled slightly)
1 tbs Pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake tins with liners
Mix together dry ingredients in one bowl. In another mixing bowl combine stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream until combined and smooth. Gradually add in the dry.

Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating half way through

Whiskey Ganache
8 oz. dark chocolate (chips or finely chopped)
2/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. Whiskey

Place chocolate in small bowl. In small saucepan heat milk over medium high heat, bring to a simmer. Pour milk over chocolate, let sit for 1-2 minutes then stir until smooth. Add butter and whiskey, stir until smooth and combined. Let ganache cool and thicken.

Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting (Courtesy Martha Stewart)
3 sticks unsalted, room temp butter
4 C. powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur

In mixing bowl cream butter until smooth. Slowly add powder sugar, scraping down the sides as needed. Beat for 3-4 until frosting is light and fluffy. Add Bailey's, mix for another 3-4 minutes making a light and creamy frosting.

Cupcake assembly: Once cooled remove center of cupcake using the bottom of a large pastry tip. Fill with ganache. Once all cupcakes are filled top with Bailey's Irish Cream Frosting.

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Eggplant Parmesan

2013-03-20T17:02:00.000-04:00

I love my vegetable delivery service - Washington's Green Grocer. I have written about them before and I know I will write about them again. They are not a CSA, they provide fresh, high quality produce year round. During the growing season they provide local produce as much as possible, but by going outside the growing area we can also get bananas, oranges and other produce that you don't normally find in Northern VA, but are staples in my kids' diet.

When I get my weekly delivery I am always faced with the dilemma of using as many of the fruits and veggies as possible in one scrumptious dish or slowly rationing them out throughout the week. We recently received a box that contained eggplant and tomatoes and I knew I had to combine ingredients. It was as if they were reading my mind, I had been craving Eggplant Parmesan for a couple of weeks and then as if by magic the necessary ingredients appeared. I was so happy, but then came the hard part. I had to decide between traditional - layers with sauce- and a more simple version.

I decided to go simple. Thick slices of eggplant, breaded and baked

Topped with sauteed cherry tomatoes, spinach and garlic

Finished with a sprinkle of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Such yumminess!

Deconstructed Eggplant Parmesan

2 eggplant, medium sized, cut into 1/2" slices
2 eggs
1 cup flour
2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 cup Breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning (see below)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1 bunch fresh spinach (or 1 10 oz package frozen)
16 oz Mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven 375.

Prepare three breading pans. In first pan combine flour and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, In the second pan add eggs and 2 tablespoons water, mix to combine. In third breading pan combine Panko, regular breadcrumbs and remaining 2 tablespoons of seasoning mix. Dip each slice of eggplant first in the flour, then in the egg mixture, finish with the breadcrumb mixture. Place each coated slice on a platter. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil a baking sheet with, place pan in oven 5 minutes to heat the oil. Once all eggplant slices have been coated place on hot baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, flipping slices over half way through bake time.

While eggplant slices are baking. Heat a saute pan, with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, over medium high heat. Add chopped garlic and onion, cook for 5-7 minutes or until onions soften. Add tomatoes cook for 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst. Add wine and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and cook until soft. Remove from heat.

Evenly divide mixture over baked eggplant slices top each slice with mozzarella and Parmesan. Place in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and lightly golden.

Enjoy!!

Italian Seasoning Mix

3 Tablespoons dried basil
3 Tablespoons dried marjoram
3 Tablespoons dried rosemary
3 Tablespoons dried thyme
3 Tablespoons dried oregano

I medium bowl mix all ingredients until combined. Place in an air tight container for storage.

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Red Velvet Cake

2013-03-06T08:48:00.003-05:00

I missed a month and I am really late in getting February's cake up, but here is the latest from the Cake Slice Bakers - Red Velvet Cake with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting, from Julie Richardson's Vintage Cakes.

The cake turned out to be my baby girl's birthday cake. I would like to say that it was my plan all along to make the cake for her birthday, but really it was just procrastination. First I put off making the cake for the cake slice group and then I put off planning a cake for Edy's birthday - it's tough when your the third child. It was definitely worth the wait, though. As this is a wonderfully moist cake with just a hint of chocolate and a slight tang from the buttermilk - a perfect combination.

Since this was a birthday cake I did do a little extra embellishment. When I have made red velvet cakes in the past I like to just frost the top of each layer, letting the sides show off their chocolaty red beauty. Although it was fun to reveal the red surprise waiting inside the fully iced cake.

The only change I made to the recipe was the icing. Julie Richardson's recipe calls for a Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting, but I opted for a regular cream cheese icing. Not a big change, but using a Mascarpone cream cheese does provide a slightly sweeter finished product.

As with past recipes from Vintage Cakes, I was really happy with this one. The recipe is easy to follow and the finished result was a tasty cake loved by the newly turned 4 year old, and everyone else who had a slice.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
8 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted

In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese and butter. Mix until fully incorporated and fluffy. Slowly add confectioners sugar continue mixing until smooth and creamy.

Veggie Crepes

2013-03-04T12:34:00.004-05:00

Wow this month flew by! I don't know how it happened, but it is already time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal.

This month I got to check out Kirsten's Kitchen. Kirsten's blog is filled with a wonderful assortment of vegan recipes, you can find recipes for everything from breakfast to dinner!

I wanted to make the Vegan Sheefa she made for last month's SRC, they look absolutely delicious. I don't know if I will make the vegan or meat version - either way I am guessing they are going to be delicious. Since Kristen just made them for last month's reveal I decided to keep hunting around.

After much hunting and pinning I finally settled on the veggie filled crepes. It has been a long time since I made crepes and while we usually fill them with cheese or nutella I loved the idea of filling them with fresh crisp veggies.

Once I had decided on what to make I passed the actual work part on to Will and Mike. The girls and I were out for the day, so the boys had dinner duty and they came up with a wonderfully tasty meal.

They used regular milk instead of soy and added some leftover chicken to the filling selections. Mike also made a wonderful Asian influenced dipping sauce, it was a wonderfully simple and tasty meal.

Crepes
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbsp. olive oil, plus additional oil for the pan

Combine all ingredients, whisk together until smooth.
Rub a small amount of oil on the bottom of a crepe pan, or small saute pan. Place over medium heat, let pan heat for about 3 minutes. Add a small ladle of batter, rotate pan so entire bottom surface is covered with batter, should be almost see through. Let cook for about 2-3 minutes then flip. Repeat with remaining batter.

Chicken and Polenta

2013-03-03T08:17:00.002-05:00

I have a confession - I sometimes forget about Polenta. Then I make it and wonder why I haven't made it in such a long time. I get so wrapped up in my rice and quinoa side dishes that I forget there is a whole other world of sides out there.

Polenta is super easy to make and can be used in so many ways - hot and creamy is my favorite, but if you let it cool and get nice and thick, then cut it in big chunks and throw it on the grill, oh so good I can feel the summer heat thinking about it.

I got back on a polenta kick earlier this week with a goat cheese polenta served with orange chicken. The kids weren't fans of the goat cheese polenta - they like it when I keep it simple with just a little Parmesan - but the rest of the meal was a big hit.

Orange Chicken (Printer Ready)
4-5 boneless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. Poultry Seasoning (see below)
½ cup marmalade
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. Cointreau (or orange juice)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Trim fat from chicken breasts and lightly pound. Generously season both sides with seasoning mix. Place large saute pan over medium high heat, drizzle pan with olive oil to coat. When pan is hot add chicken, reduce temperature to medium low. Cook until brown, then flip. While chicken is browning mix marmalade, vinegar, cointreau and brown sugar together in small bowl. Once both sides of the chicken are brown pour sauce over chicken cover pan and let simmer at medium low heat until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened. Total cook time will be 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.
Serve sauce and chicken with goat cheese polenta.

Poultry Seasoning Mix
2 Tbsp dried parsley
2 Tbsp. dried sage
2 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried marjoram
1 Tbsp. celery salt
1 Tbsp. ground garlic
1 Tbsp. ground pepper

Combine all ingredients, mix well. Store in a small airtight container.

Goat Cheese Polenta (printer ready)
1 quart chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
3 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. salt
4 oz. goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large oven safe saucepan bring broth to a boil. Whisking continuously gradually add the cornmeal. Once all the cornmeal has be added cover and place in oven. Cook for 40 minutes stirring every ten minutes, this will prevent lumps. Once the mixture is creamy remove from oven, add the butter and salt and pepper to taste. Slowly begin adding the goat cheese stirring continuously while adding.

100 Day Cake

2013-02-20T14:21:00.000-05:00

If you have elementary age kids you probably know about the 100 day festivities. This wasn't anything that was celebrated when I was in school, but has become a big time party in some schools. My daughter's kindergarten teacher loves celebrating with the kids and can take any holiday and turn it into a wonderful memory where the kids not only have fun, but learn tons.

As a room parent I was tasked with making a cake for the celebration, her only request was that it be shaped like the number 100. I spoke briefly with the other room parents, and discussed some ideas. I walked away with a vision in my head and was ready to get the supplies to execute my plan, when a couple of days later I was given a bag filled with candy and told to go make the cake. I felt like I was on an episode of Chopped - the candy edition.

I am attracted to simple colors and pattern schemes. Before being given my challenge basket I had thought I would outline each cake using 100 M&M's per cake, like the number one in the picture. What I was given was - 10 licorice rounds, 20 Junior Mints, 30 red and brown peanut M&M's, 40 blue and green peanut M&M's, 50 Milk Duds, 60 Gum Drops, 70 Dark Chocolate M&M's, 80 Reese's Pieces, 90 Sour Patch Kids and 100 Jelly Beans. If you're counting that is a lot of candy. I made a couple of changes to what I was given because I wanted to have two cakes that were nut free, so I substituted the peanut M&M's with Hershey Chocolate bars and brown M&M's - I also did this so I could go back to my comfort zone of a simple color scheme and pattern.

It took some work to get all the candy on the cakes, but it was a lot of fun to make. The kids were definitely impressed by the amount of candy, but I was even more impressed by how quickly 25 kindergartners ate the cake. Within 15 minutes there were only crumbs and those were being savaged over pretty quickly. It was a fun day and nice to be able to put smiles on so many little faces.

Yellow Layer Cake
(makes 2 9 inch round cakes)
printer ready

2 whole eggs
2 yolks
½ cup whole milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 ¾ cups cake flour, sifted
1 ½ cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
16 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature cut into 16 pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cake pans line bottom of pans with parchment, lightly dust with flour.

In small bowl combine eggs, milk and vanilla. In the bowl of a standing mixer combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, beat on lowest speed for about 30 seconds. With mixer still running add butter one piece at a time. Mix until butter and flour begin to clump and form pea sized pieces. Add one cup of the egg mixture and mix at lowest speed until ingredients are fully incorporated, then increase speed to medium high. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about one minute. Scrape down bowl. With mixer running at a medium low speed add remaining egg mixture in a slow steady stream. Once all the egg mixture is added increase speed to medium high for 15-20 seconds. Mixture will look slightly curdled. Divide batter equally between pans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pan. Ice and decorate as desired.

Five Minute Bread

2013-02-19T09:30:00.000-05:00

I love making bread. Because it can be time consuming and requires advanced planning it is not something I do as often as I would like, but when I do get around to making it I find it very therapeutic and relaxing. Kneading can put me in a trance and the smoothness of a good dough is just heavenly. Then there is the smell and taste of a fresh loaf of bread - it is hard to beat.

About a year ago I got Artisan bread in Five Minutes and had grand plans of never buying store bought bread again. I had built this concept up in my head so much that I was nervous about starting. A year later and I hadn't done anything except read the book about 3 times. Finally this past weekend I got around to making my first batch of dough and I am now wondering why I waited.

If you aren't familiar with Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois bread baking philosophy, the concept is that with just five minutes of work you can produce fresh bread every day. To start a large batch of dough, which in most recipes can make up to 4 one pound loaves, is made. This isn't a starter as you would use in a sourdough, but a very wet ready to use batch of dough, that can last up to two weeks in the refrigerator. Each time you are ready to bake a loaf you "cloak the dough," break off a piece the size of a grapefruit, let it rise, then bake. A simple process that makes a wonderfully crusty and flavorful bread.

I highly recommend checking out Artisan bread in Five Minutes. The authors provide the reader a thorough explanation of the process while at the same time make it very easy to follow. There are a lot of great variations once you have mastered the basic concept and there are even some great recipes that use the bread once baked, such as Panzanella and Portuguese Fish Stew.

To get the feel for things I started off with the Master recipe which uses white flour, yeast, salt and water. Later in the book are additional recipes that experiment with other flours and flavors. I definitely have more to learn, but overall I was very happy with my first try. I have to admit that one thing I did find a little disappointing is that there is no kneading - in any of the steps - and while this is a great time saver it doesn't provide the "therapy" I am sometimes looking for when making bread.

Baked Oatmeal

2013-02-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

It's time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal, which means I was introduced to another wonderful blog filled with mouthwatering recipes.

This month I was partnered with Tessa over at the Cookin' Chemist. She has a lot of recipes on her site which made the selection difficult. The recipe index is nicely organized and made the selection process a little easier. I decided to go with something for breakfast, but even after narrowing it down to breakfast items I still had over 30 different recipes to choose from.

The final decision was based on the fact that I had one, and only one, ripe banana on my counter. When I came across her recipe for Baked Oatmeal To Go I knew I had found the recipe.

This is a super easy recipe that can be made up quickly the night before or even in the morning. Tess uses a food processor to blend the liquid ingredients, but I made it in just one bowl which speeds up the clean-up process and still results in a great final product. I didn't make this batch with the kids, but suspect it would be a great recipe to get them involved with. If you don't use the food process there is a lot of hands on activity that would be very enjoyable and easy for them to do. Plus they can add their favorite mix-ins - I did pecans in mine, Tess used blueberries in her recipe, but any nut or berry, fresh, frozen or dried, would be great - which would allow more hands-on involvement

The muffins are very filling and provide a great source of energy to start the day. There is a nice hint of sweetness, but nothing over the top. Perfect for grabbing on your way out the door for work or school. I highly recommend making a batch for yourself and while your waiting for them to come out of the oven go check out some more of Tess's recipes.

Baked Oatmeal (from the Cookin' Chemist)

1 over ripe banana
1 cup applesauce
1 egg
1 1/4 cups Almond milk (any type of milk will work)
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pecans roughly chopped (or your favorite mix-in blueberries, dried fruit)
2 Tbsp. maple sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In large mixing bowl mash banana until smooth. Add applesauce, egg, milk, honey and vanilla stir until combined. Add oats, flax seed, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder salts and pecans, mix until combined.
Using a large scoop fill muffin cups, muffins will not rise while baking so fill the cups to the top or desired size. Sprinkle tops of muffins with maple sugar. Place in oven, bake for 25-30 minutes.

Chocolate Orange Cake

2013-02-01T14:55:00.001-05:00

We have had a lot of oranges around the house recently. I seem to buy them every time I go to the grocery store plus we have been getting them in our regular vegetable delivery from Washington Green Grocer. The kids love snacking on them. They are juicy, sweet and wonderful to eat, but everybody is starting to get tired of them. Which means it is time to start baking and cooking with them.

First up was a Chocolate Orange Cake from Feast by Nigella Lawson. I was very intrigued by this recipe by this recipe for two reasons, one it is made in the food processor and two, it uses the entire orange. This cake doesn't just have a little orange zest or juice for flavor it has 2 entire oranges. Which results in a super moist and flavorful cake.

Chocolate Orange Cake
2 small oranges
6 eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder (use the really good stuff)

Grease a 9" round cake pan, line with parchment.
Put oranges in saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat and let simmer for 2 hours or until oranges are soft. Drain water and let cool. Once cool, cut oranges in half remove any large seeds. Using a food processor pulp oranges until no large pieces remain. Add eggs, baking powder, baking soda, ground almonds, sugar and cocoa powder, process until completely mixed. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Check at the 45 minute mark as you may need to cover the cake with aluminum to prevent burning.

Let cool completely before removing from pan and topping with with Chocolate orange zest.

Chocolate Orange Glaze
zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup cream
3 ounces dark chocolate
1/2 tsp. Cointreau (optional)

In small saucepan combine zest and cream. Over medium low heat bring to a simmer, let simmer for 5 minutes to infuse orange flavor. Pour over chocolate. Let it stand for 5 minutes before stirring until smooth.. Let mixture stand for 10-15 minutes before pouring over cake.

Peanut Butter Heart

2013-01-28T09:23:00.000-05:00

I have been seeing these cookies everywhere. They make my mouth water every time I see them. I finally caved and made a batch.

They are nothing new or super exciting - a basic peanut cookie with chocolate. The dark chocolate seems to make this everyday treat a little fancy and extra special. But at heart they are a classic comfort food.

I have two basic recipes for Peanut Butter cookies - an easy one and an even easier one. This is the easy one - the even easier one is only three ingredients and great when a quick fix is needed. These cookies are thick soft and chewy. They are wonderful with or without the chocolate. I usually make a half recipe and scoop out small balls of dough, but occasionally I make the full batch and make them super big which the kids just love.

Peanut Butter Hearts

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cups peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 bag Dove dark chocolate hearts

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together, set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium speed if using a stand mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fully incorporated, scrape down bowl then add peanut butter, mixing again until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated, do not over mix.

Using a #40 scoop (about 2 Tbsp) drop dough onto baking sheet, evenly spacing cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden on the edges and slightly soft in the center. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then top with unwrapped chocolate heart, transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Language Stars

2013-01-14T11:36:00.001-05:00

Between high school and college I took about 7 years of Spanish You might read that and think "wow she must be fluent in Spanish" but I am not, I am the exact opposite. I am absolutely lousy when it comes to speaking a foreign language. My struggle to learn Spanish is a family joke, my struggle with English is also a family joke.

Because of my struggles I vowed I would expose my children to foreign languages at an early age. I started out strong with Will and signed him up for a class in Mandarin when he was about 3, but that was the end of it. I know that being able to speak a foreign language is very valuable and the earlier children are exposed the easier it is for them to learn.

In the DC metro area we are lucky to have Language Stars, which offers classes in Spanish, Mandarin, French and German, for children ages 1-10. The classes are play-based, full-immersion foreign language classes that open children's minds to new worlds. Toddlers, pre-schoolers and K-5th graders benefit from an early start, during a unique window of opportunity when their young brains absorb the magic of another language and culture easily and rapidly.

Language Stars centers are located in the DC and Chicago metro areas and are hosting Open House weeks from From January 14th- 27th so you can experience Language Stars firsthand and save!

During the open house you will have the opportunity to:

Tour your local Language Stars center
Meet our international teaching team
Learn about the Window of Opportunity and why NOW is the best time for your child to learn a foreign language
Receive a special Open House gift to take home for you and your child
Enter our Open House Weeks Giveaway for a chance to win a brand new iPad mini

As an added bonus if you enroll during their Open House Weeks you will receive $100 OFF you tuition (new families only)

To reserve your spot for the open house weeks today! Fill out the online form or call 866-55-STARS.

If you are already enrolled you can receive $100 OFF your tuition for every family you refer who enrolls through January 27, 2013.

As part of their Open House Weeks event Language Stars is giving away an iPad Mini!!!! You can enter by visiting Language Stars - DC Facebook Page

Disclosure: Language Stars is responsible for the the iPad mini giveaway. I am being compensated for this promotion. All opinions are my own.

SRC - Granola

2013-01-08T14:43:00.000-05:00

This month I got to do two Secret Recipe Club assignments. Jess, at the Inquiring Chef, was left orphaned and I was lucky enough to be able to get her blog and do a second reveal. Jess's blog is beautiful. It is not only filled with wonderful recipes, but also gives a peak into her life as she and her husband reside temporarily in Bangkok.

There were many recipes that were very tempting. Working my way through the Inquiring Chefs 2012 favorites would be a tasty adventure. Due to time constraints and pantry limitations I decided on Jess's Cranberry Pecan Granola.

We have been out of granola for about a week and I had been meaning to make it this week, so this was the push I needed to get it done. I usually stick to the same basic recipe, but Jess's recipe and the use of powdered milk was very intriguing. I have never seen a granola recipe that uses powdered milk and had no idea how it would taste or what it would do.

Jess jokes about entertaining the idea of using coffee creamer when she was unable to find powdered milk. She, or actually her husband, eventually found some powdered milk and didn't have to resort to using coffee creamer. I on the other hand did use the creamer. I had a napping child, no interest in running to the store and a large container of coffee creamer that I have no idea how I am ever going to use up.

I made about a 1/4 of the recipe, I didn't want to make a full batch and discover that coffee creamer and granola is a disgusting combination. In the end I was pretty satisfied with the results. I am still not exactly sure what impact the creamer or powdered milk has. It was slightly richer than my usual granola, but overall there wasn't a great difference in taste.

I am still curious about the powdered milk and will probably pick some up the next time I go to the store to do some experimenting. Let me know if you have any suggestions or know what the powdered milk does, I would love to learn more.

Inquiring Chef Cranberry Pecan Granola

4 cups rolled oats
2 cups pecans, roughly chopped
1 cup oat bran
1 cup powdered milk
2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven 350
In large bowl mix together oats, pecans and oat bran. In small bowl combine powdered milk, salt, vegetable oil, honey, vanilla extract and almond extract. Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients, stir until well combined. Spread mixture over two baking sheets. Bake, stirring halfway through, until light golden brown and fragrant, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, mix in cranberries. Let cool completely. Store in airtight container.

SRC - Wonderful Winter Soup

2013-01-07T13:52:00.001-05:00

Like many I crave simple easy foods at the start of the year. After a month of indulgence all I want are simple nutritious foods and nothing fits this desire more than soup. Soups can be made in 30 minutes or can simmer all day. They can be a simple broth or chocked full of meats, vegetables, beans or pasta. Being in a soup frame of mind I was thrilled when I came across Lesa's White Bean Sausage Kale Soup for this month's Secret Recipe Club.

Lesa's site, Edesia's Notebook, is filled with wonderful recipes that she shares with her husband and two adorable daughters. Her holiday treats were mouth watering and the number of challenges and cooking groups she belongs to is definitely inspiring. I was definitely tempted by many of her recipes, but stuck with the soup.

I made a few changes to Lesa's soup based on what was available in my kitchen, but that is one of the wonderful things about soup is that they are so versatile. The two main changes I made were using spinach instead of kale and using a chorizo beef sausage and a chicken sausage in place of the Italian sausage Leasa used. We have become big fans of Cacique Beef chorizo it is wonderfully spicy and adds great flavor. It almost disappears when cooking, so don't look to it if you want to add flavor and texture to the dish.

In my recipe I also added half a bottle of beer to help cut the spiciness of the chorizo and to add a little more flavor. The addition of the beer is completely optional the soup is yummy either way. I often add half a bottle or so because I like the hoppy flavor it provides and sometimes I add half a bottle just because it has been one of those afternoons. It is completely up to you and the soup won't suffer either way.

Spinach White Bean Sausage Soup
5 oz. Cacique Beef Chorizo
2 links chicken sausage, cut into 1/2" slices
4 oz chicken broth
1/2 bottle beer (dark or light whichever flavor you prefer)
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen chopped spinach (or a bunch fresh spinach, chopped)
Salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat, heat large soup pot. Once pan is hot add chorizo, cook for about 5-7 minutes add sausage cook until sausage is lightly browned. Add broth and beer cook for 10 minutes or until liquids are warm. Stir in beans and spinach, add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.

Please visit Lesa over at Edesia's Notebook and be sure to check out all of the wonderful recipes in this month's SRC reveal.

Snowmen

2012-12-22T08:44:00.000-05:00

These guys just made me smile. I made them for my daughter's Kindergarten holiday party and watching each little guy come to life was just what I needed after a tough week. They were super simple to make. I used my favorite white cupcake and buttercream recipes. Leftover candy from gingerbread houses were used for the noses, the eyes are a gel icing and the hat brim is made of mini marshmallows cut in half.

I made Mike help with the decorating and while he grumbled about it I know he always enjoys decorating and it was nice having some company for the late night decorating session.

Simple White Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsps. Vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift flour and baking powder together, set aside. In medium bowl cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stir in vanilla. Add flour, mixing until just combined. Stir in the milk until smooth.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Mississippi Mud

2012-12-21T17:33:00.001-05:00

As always happens this time of year December has gotten away from me and there are many things on my to do list that will probably still be there when 2013 rolls in. One thing I was not going to leave on my list were the Mississippi Mud cupcakes for this months Cake Slice group. I have made myself a promise to stick with the Cake Slice bakers this year and I am proud to say that I have met the baking deadline two months in a row. I missed the posting deadline, but the cupcakes were made in time.

I have always been a fan of Mississippi Mud. I remember a recipe for Mississippi Mud brownies in one of my first cookbooks when I was little. I don't think I ever actually made the brownies, but I know I read the recipe many many times.

Julie Richardson's recipe for Mississippi Mud Cupcakes, in Vintage Cakes, is a wonderfully moist chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate chips and pecans and topped with a marshmallow frosting. I didn't follow her recipe for the frosting. Instead I cheated with a Fluff buttercream, a super easy super tasty frosting. The cupcakes were not overly sweet and the addition of coffee in the batter helped to enhance the chocolate and add a very subtle bitterness. I didn't do a good job at evenly distributing the chocolate chips and pecans so the one cupcake I had only had a couple of chips and one tiny piece of pecan which made it seem more like something had fallen into the batter than an actual component of it. If I were to make the recipe again I would probably just sprinkle the add-ins into each cupcake rather than mixing it into the full batter.

These cupcakes left my house very quickly. I finished them at 8:00am and delivered them to the staff room at my kids' elementary school at 8:30. I did keep one as a sample, it was great with a mid-morning cup of coffee. It was so good that I forgot to snap a picture before inhaling the entire thing.

Please go check out the other Cake Slice bakers and all the delicious looking cupcakes!

Gift Idea - Turtle Popcorn

2012-12-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

We are big fans of popcorn. It is one of our favorite snacks and is made quite a few times a week. We enjoy both microwave and stove-top. The convenience of microwave popcorn is great, but nothing beats Whirley Pop popcorn. While many make popcorn on the stove top because it is healthier, I make it this way for the flavor options. Sweet or savory the flavor options for stove-top popcorn are endless

Most of the time I go for the quick and easy popcorn "recipes" - kettle corn, cheesy corn, spicy, etc. - but I also like recipes that really bump up the flavor and provide a little more punch. When I saw this wonderfully delicious recipe while scouring Cravings of a Lunatic for my Secret Recipe Club assignment back in October I knew it was time to make some pumped up popcorn. I didn't get a chance to make it, but have been thinking about it since then.

My plan was to make ONE batch and give it to the kids' teachers as a little Thanksgiving treat. That one batch was quickly devoured and I ended up having to make another batch. I got smart with the second batch and quickly packaged it up before it could disappear as well.

This crunchy, chewy, nutty, caramely, chocolaty popcorn makes a great treat and will definitely be made again - and again, and again- as gifts and for our own snacking pleasure. And I recommend that if you decide to make it, plan on making a double batch right from the start.

Turtle Popcorn

3/4 cup popcorn kernels
1 Tbsp. popcorn oil (or vegetable oil)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup pecans, rougly chopped
1 cup butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven 200.
Over medium high heat, heat 1 tsp oil in whirley popper or large heavy bottom pan. Add kernels. Stir continuously until popping has stopped. Dump popcorn into large roasting pan, add salt and pecans, toss until nuts are evenly distributed. In large saucepan combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Over medium high heat bring this mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips, stir until melted and smooth. Pour over popcorn. Toss gently with wooden spoon until popcorn is coated. Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven. Pour popcorn onto parchment paper until cool.

Store in tightly sealed continer

Chicken and Kale Soup

2012-11-29T09:38:00.000-05:00

With the cold weather upon us, our consumption of soup has increased greatly. Lots of squash, vegetable and chicken soups and stews have been making an appearance on our dinner table and then again the next day for lunch.

The most recent soup was a wonderfully simple Chicken and Kale soup. As I have said before I struggle with greens. I primarily use them in soups because that is the easiest for me and one way I know my kids will eat them. They become completely oblivious to the tiny shrived piece of green in their soup and don't stick their noses up at like they do when it appears in a sauteed pile on their dinner plate.

While I like soups that simmer on the stove all day filling my house with a wonderful aroma I like 30 minute soups even better. Soups that can be made at 9:00 in the morning, thrown in the fridge then reheated at 7:00 pm after practices are over are even better, and this is a soup that falls into both of those last two categories.

Chicken Kale Soup

2 chicken breast, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1 Tbsp taco seasoning (see below)
2 cans dice tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
1 bunch kale, stems removed roughly chopped

Directions:
In large soup pan, over medium high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add chicken cook until light brown. Add garlic, onion and taco seasoning, cook for about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and broth, cook for 20 minutes stir in kale, cook for another 10 minutes or until kale is soft.

*Chicken breast can be replaced with sausage of chicken sausage, adjust amount of taco seasoning if using a spicy sausage.

Taco Seasoning

4 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons paprika

6 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons fine sea salt

4 teaspoons black pepper

Directions:

Mix together ingredients in an airtight container. Shake to combine.

Add 2-3 tablespoons for every 1 pound of ground beef, turkey or chicken. Use to replace store-bought taco seasoning in any recipe

Shoo Fly

2012-11-21T06:46:00.001-05:00

It has been a long time, but I have started baking with the Cake Slice bakers again. It was one of the first blog baking (say that 10 times fast) groups I joined and love being a part of this small, world wide group of bakers. I have missed them and am glad to be back.

They have started with a new book - Vintage Cakes and so far I am loving it. While I love elaborately decorated cakes and have pinned,and made, my fair share of these cakes and cupcakes. I am finding that they are becoming a bit too much for me. I want a cake that looks like a cake. I want to be able to tell what kind it is, I want the flavors to stand out just as much as the appearance. I just want a cake, and that is what Vintage Cakes is, simple old school cakes

Much to my husband's delight the first cake chosen was Shoo Fly Cake. He grew up in Pennsylvania, near Dutch country and Shoo Fly pie was a staple of his child hood. The cake didn't have the stickiness of a pie, but it still had a nice crumb and the wonderful rich molasses and spice flavor. While he probably would have preferred a pie, this cake was a wonderful trip down memory lane, just like a "Vintage Cake" should be.

Be sure to check out the other Cake Slice bakers and come back next month for another great vintage cake.

Thanksgiving Prep

2012-11-19T17:15:00.001-05:00

Less than a week away and my Thanksgiving preparations are going well. The menu is all set, grocery lists are written up - and the first of many trips to store have been made. I have started doing some cooking and the refrigerator is filling up.

The Menu - nothing new, just traditional family recipes.

Turkey
Cornbread stuffing - OK I lied we don't usually have cornbread stuffing, this is a new recipe
Sweet potato souffle
Mashed potatoes
Corn Casserole
Brussel sprouts
Green beans
Biscuits
Gravy
Cranberry sauce
Pumpkin pie
Pecan pie

Besides the Thanksgiving day menu, I also have a gift giving menu. I usually make batches, and batches of pumpkin and apple bread but this year I am trying something new and going with a combingation of sweet and savory goodies.

Herb Crackers
Cranberry Chutney
Turtle Popcorn

And the all important timeline so we can get it all done:

Friday

Make croutons for stuffing

Dough for crackers
Pie Dough

White and Whole Grain Croutons

Saturday

Pie dough - freeze until Wednesday
Turtle Popcorn

Clean - my least favorite thing to do, if I don't get it done we can always include dust tic-tac-toe as a Thanksgiving day game, I think I have just come up with a new tradition

Chocolaty Turtle Popcorn -

Sunday

Bake crackers

Package gifts

Girls Day Out - my mom and I are taking the girls to the American Girl store, hopefully they won't think this is a yearly tradition

Monday
Cranberry Sauce
Thanksgiving Feast at the preschool with the Pilgrims and Wampanoags
Take turkey out of freezer

Tuesday
Table prep - make sure I have table cloths and napkins are clean. Probably run to the store to pick up something new
Stuffing - for the elementary school Thanksgiving feast

Our Thankful rocks will be the center of the table decorations

Wednesday
Elementary school feast - an hour of songs and poems with cute little pilgrims
Bake pies
Clean and prep veggies
Bake sweet potatoes

Buttery, Flaky Pie Crust

Thursday
Turkey, on the grill
Mashed potatoes
Green Beans
Brussel Sprouts
Eat, nap, walk and eat

Friday
Start planning for Christmas

Everyday Mom

Chicken on the Go

Mini Fruit Tarts

Mini Fruit Tarts

Instructions

Sweet Potato Burgers

Sweet Potato Burgers (Ziplist)

Ingredients

Instructions

Chipotel Avocado Sauce (ziplist)

Ingredients

Instructions

Almond Chicken Tenders

Scrambled Eggs w/ an Egg-celent Giveaway

Honey Bee Cake

Cookin' with Whiskey

Eggplant Parmesan

Red Velvet Cake

Veggie Crepes

Chicken and Polenta

100 Day Cake

Five Minute Bread

Baked Oatmeal

Chocolate Orange Cake

Peanut Butter Heart

Language Stars

SRC - Granola

SRC - Wonderful Winter Soup

Snowmen

Mississippi Mud

Gift Idea - Turtle Popcorn

Chicken and Kale Soup

Shoo Fly

Thanksgiving Prep