Oh My..

Evan’s birthday is Saturday. We’re having a wienie roast, and I’m making spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Today, I had to go buy the stuff to make the cupcakes, and I saw what could possibly be my downfall.

via Pillsburybaking.com

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is cream cheese frosting in a can. I can see so many benefits to this product. Easy to use (no more spreading!), cute frosting jobs on cupcakes (no more spreading!), no need for a spoon when I want a taste (my hips are spreading just thinking about it!).

I didn’t buy it. I passed right by it and went with the regular container of cream cheese frosting, because at our expensive little grocery store, I couldn’t justify paying $4 for a can of frosting that would end up in my tummy rather than on cupcakes.

And no, Pillsbury is not paying me or giving me free cream cheese frosting in a can because of this post (although I have to admit that I would take it. Oh, I would definitely take it and then I’d eat it straight out of the can, forget the cupcakes).

There are just some things that I really can’t have at home. Ever. And today, I have three of them. Chips- I love chips, any flavor. I will eat entire bags of chips. Chips are not safe when I’m around. And sweet potato casserole. My mil introduced me to the beauty that if sweet potato casserole a couple years ago, and oh, it’s to die for. Love it. Mom introduced me to premade sweet potato casserole at Aldi’s. Not quite as good as mil’s, but still pretty darn good. And cream cheese frosting. I have two containers in my cabinet, and a large handwritten note that says ‘HANDS OFF.’

Sad that I wrote the note. Even sadder that I wrote the note FOR ME.

Evan got a birthday card from his great-great grandparents (side note: isn’t it awesome that he has great-great grandparents?). While Ev was opening the card, Dylan stood right there and said ‘There could be money or a credit card in there!’

Note to self: don’t let Dylan open cards around family. Also, teach Dylan that they’re called GIFT cards.

Hot Chocolate

One of our household favorite drinks is scotch Hot Chocolate. We’ve even abbreviated the name to “HC”. Here it is used in a sentence. “Would you like HC with your toast?”

Anyway, make this beverage your fall/winter staple and you will gain 15 pounds have everyone in the house asking for a piping hot mug of HC.

[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u53/reranna/IMG_2596-1.jpg[/IMG]

HC

1 c. milk (the fattier the milk, the tastier your drink will be)
2 tbs. cocoa powder
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
Marshmallows or whipped cream (optional, but highly recommended)

Heat milk in a small sauce pan.  Add cocoa powder and stir with a whisk until well combined.  Stir in cinnamon.  Serve hot with marshmallows, whipped cream or both.

Dinner Time

Stir fried mushrooms (brown, shiitake and oyster)
Stir fried broccolini
Fried salmon (marinaded in light soy sauce, brown sugar and oil)
Nasi Goreng (packet sauce)

Hubby was not happy again with what I prepared for dinner.  It was either he gets confused with what’s on the table or he knew that if he did not eat them all up, some would end up in the fridge till the rubbish collection comes on Friday.

Oodles of Noodles

When my 16-year-old daughter and I make a trip to the city to visit the mall one of our favorite places to stop and have a bite to eat is Noodle & Company.  We love the Asian noodle entrées the best.

When Ree over The Pioneer Woman shared her Simple Sesame Noodle recipe you want to bet I jumped on that band wagon and whipped them right up.  They were delish and everyone in the family loved them.

This evening I decided to doctor up the recipe just a tiny bit.  So here’s what I did.

• I made Ree’s Simple Sesame Noodles, only I left out the hot pepper oil and the green onions (I didn’t have any on hand).
• I then stir fried some frozen oriental veggies in peanut oil and sesame oil.
• I added some sliced almonds
• I placed the noodles on the plate.
• Top the noodles with the stir fried veggies
• Sprinkled some hot pepper flakes on top
• And tada! Yummy Asian style noodles with stir fry veggies just like Noodle and Company!
• Well, almost.

Kids get a KICK out of Cooking

Our KICK (Kids in the Community Kitchen) After-School Program is starting its first session this Monday!  This is a free program where local kids get together and learn about healthy eating and cooking.  Stephanie, our Registered Dietitian has been busy putting together lots of fun activities and delicious recipes for the kids to enjoy.

Response to the program has been amazing with the October sessions already full, but there are still spaces open for the November sessions.

If you’d like to register your child for an upcoming session or get more information, visit our KICK Program page for all the details.

Fall. Sunshine. Park. Grill.

This was not dinner:

Full Moon Bridge at Garvan Woodland Gardens

It was, however, one good reason I had a good appetite for dinner, of which we have no photographs because, well, we just don’t. And it was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was good.

It’s been a busy Saturday. Lucy Lu and I went to the Farmers’ Market this morning, where the vendors are beginning to call her by name. A shameless flirt, she is. I was going to cut back this week, but, well, I just couldn’t. Zucchini, yellow squash, onions, tomatos, potatos, corn, butternut squash, eggplant.  And sausage.

So tonight, we had grilled chicken breasts in barbecue sauce, potato salad (with tiny redskin potatos, boiled in the skins and halved or quartered), roast corn and zucchini fritters. And it was some fine stuff, I might add.

I was less-than-entranced with the barbecued chicken, I think mostly because breast fillets being such that they need a longer marinating time or a roasting in something other than barbecue sauce. The potato salad, with my usual dressing of Hellman’s, mustard, ketchup, sweet pickle relish, seasoned salt and paprika, was excellent, and I’m glad I made a lot because now I have some left over. The corn was, of course, succulent and wonderful because it’s really hard to mess up buttered and seasoned corn, wrapped in foil and cooked on the grill. And the zucchini fritters were good, albeit Child C will not eat nearly as many of them as Child A does.

Also picked up apples to make another apple upside down cake, as Child C loved the one last weekend. I guess I’ll do that tomorrow, when it’s supposed to be rainy all day and it won’t be a gorgeous early fall day like today to be outside.

In between the market and cooking, Lucy and I went to Garvan Woodland Gardens, one of the loveliest places known to modern man and one of Hot Springs’ hidden treasures. It’s a 200-acre plus botanical garden, designed and maintained by the University of Arkansas’ landscape architecture school, and it’s just beautiful. Plus it wears Lucy out and now she’s asleep on the couch with me rather than driving me nuts wanting to play.

Tomorrow, if the rain holds off, she and I are going to walk the greenbelt park along Hot Springs Creek, and then come home and cook. I’m thinking chorizo and lentil soup; I have some tomatos that are about to go, and they need to be used. And the sausage and biscuits for next week, along with Child C’s cake.

Meanwhile, I’m watching the Razorbacks and TX A&M, early in the second half, and the Hogs are up 30-10. Woooo, Pig! Soooie! You and y’mama ‘n ‘em go call the Hogs.

Just call me Betty Crocker!

So, besides gracing the blogesphere with not one but TWO posts today, I also popped open this little discounted lovely:

(That’s right, that’s an extra large bottle, at an extra low price. Love. It.)

I’ve also been meaning to update you on some of my cooking/baking achievements (and also not so much “achievements”, but definitely some “needs-improvements”.)

Ahem.

First we have the Apple Raisin Oat Walnut Bread, that I’ve told you about before, but I guess I just feel impressed with myself when I say “Bread? Yeah, I made some. It was yummy.”

Applessauce. This I decided to make after visiting my first apple orchard of the season, and finding myself with an over abundance of apples. Applesauce seemed the perfect solution. And it was, until I decided to be lazy and not skin the apples. The result is now I have some yummy applesauce mixed with some not so yummy but very chewy apple skins. Ewww. Definitely falls under the category of “Needs Improvement,” but not a total loss.

Since I STILL had apples left over (even after the applesauce) I decided to try my hand at Apple Cinnamon Raisin Muffins. Alas, this also falls into the “Needs Improvement” category. You see, the recipe called for wheat flour, and all roomie and I had was about 4 bags of white flour, 2 of which were open (we’re not the best at keeping track of stuff like that. meh.) So I decided to use the white flour instead. I mean, how much of a difference can that make? Well, the muffins turned out tough and chewy. And they stuck to the paper. Hmmmmmm……… Wheat flour it is!!

(Maybe the bag of apples I got at the orchard was cursed? I’ll have to be more careful next time.)

And last but not least…………..(drumroll please)………………….

Finally! Something I did right! Check out my Tomato, Spinach and Feta Cheese Quiche. YUMMMMMMMY, this one is a keeper! The picture kind of speaks for itself. It was that good.

And that’s all for now. Next recipe I want to try is for Minestrone Soup, made in a crockpot. Yes, crockpot season is once again upon us. I love my crockpot. I don’t care if that means I’m an old lady, and you’re picturing me puttering around my kitchen in a ruffly apron and oven mits. I love mixing stuff together in the morning, turning it on, and then coming home to the blessed smell of a homecooked meal.

Love. It.

Soup is tricky though, so I’m hoping this one turns out.

 

Care to share your favorite Fall recipes?