Cake and more cake...

Things have been a little busy around here lately... First, we had my son's 3rd birthday party this weekend. I decided to make him a race-track cake since he likes Cars so much.

 He was enthralled by it as soon as he figured out what it was going to be. He called it the race crew cake.

In fact I couldn't get him to stop looking at it long enough to write Happy Birthday on it, and wrote it around him... The lettering kind of stinks, but he didn't care.

This is my favorite picture of him and the cake (he was still in his pj's and this was right after I finished it, but the look is priceless.) The hours of work, the pounds of marshmallows,  (the stands are made out of rice cereal treats AND I made marshmallow fondant as well...) and hundreds of jelly beans were totally worth it to see his reaction!

Then last night I had a dinner with our local congregation's women. It was fun, but I volunteered to make cheesecake for the night... So this week I made:

4 of these cookie sheet cheesecakes. They turned out great. (I love it when that happens... this is the only one that actually cracked.)

So in a nutshell, I've been so busy in the kitchen that I haven't had time to write about my kitchen adventures.

100 Grand Cookies

I love reading Picky Palate's Blog. She has the most amazing cookie creations. One in particular has gotten a lot of attention - her Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. My husband loves them (he's the big Oreo fan in our house.) I would have to say that the best version of the Oreo to stuff into a cookie as far as I'm concerned has to be the Golden Oreo. That was absolutely delicious! If you love Oreos and haven't checked out her blog, you're missing out!

Today I'm not going to be rehashing her Oreo cookie recipe (it has been done a million times on other blogs), but thanking her for the wonderful idea of stuffing things into cookies... because honestly it is genius. After Halloween, I was making stuffed cookies and decided to try it with a few of our leftover candy bars. I can honestly tell you that I expected the Baby Ruth to be the best, but I was surprised - the 100 Grand won by a landslide.

100 Grand Stuffed Cookies

First, you'll need a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough - only change is with the chips - add mini chocolate chips and only half of the amount.

When I make stuffed cookies, I typically double the recipe and add a whole bag (12 oz or 2 cups) of mini chocolate chips. I find it doesn't need all the chocolate chips I normally put in it as it has extra flavoring from the stuffing.

This is a double batch, because if you're going to make them, why not make a lot!?!

Mix the chips in completely, then let the dough cool in the refrigerator for about a half an hour.

You can skip this step, but it makes handling the dough easier! While it cools, you can unwrap a million (or about 2 bags of snack size 100 Grand bars).

Once the dough is chilled and you have all the 100 Grands unwrapped, go ahead and wrap cookie dough all around the candy bar.

All you should see is cookie dough.

I use about 2 Tbsp per cookie... sometimes a bit more if I'm feeling like it. You gotta go with the feelings...

Place the stuffed cookie dough on a cookie lined with parchment paper. Honestly this is not negotiable. For these cookies you will WANT parchment paper. Only put 6 on a cookie sheet at a time.

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes (ovens may vary in exact time.) The cookies that I went more skimpy with the dough covering are usually the ones that leak... just sayin'.

When you pull them out, DO NOT automatically remove them with a spatula to a cooling rack, or all chaos will break loose.

Or you may just lose some of your filling to whatever surface is under your cooling rack... not that I would know anything about that! (Plus who wants to clean that up!?)

Instead, move the entire sheet of parchment paper (being careful not to touch the burning hot pan) to the cooling rack. You will probably have to slide the cookies closer together so they will all fit.

Let cool (either all the way or until the gooey caramel inside will not burn you or drizzle out the bottom of the cookie as you eat it.)

Guard any cookies that you don't want immediately eaten with your life... because once anyone in your house tastes these, they will disappear very quickly.

Oh yeah, and you'll most likely like a glass of milk.

(Unless you're like my mom or my sister and you don't really like milk, or unless you're allergic to it, or on a special diet... but if you're like me - you'll want the milk!)

It looks so good on the plate. Plus I love how these don't show what is inside them! Such a surprise for someone just expecting a plain cookie.

Look at all that yummy, gooey goodness!

Enjoy!

Menu: March 5-11

As I sat staring at the blank screen, not feeling any motivation to write a blog post and wondering what I actually accomplished today-I honestly felt like I hadn't accomplished much, a beautiful thought came to me. I accomplished something wonderful today. I took my almost 3 year old (currently napping) to the park and let him enjoy life. Then we had a lunch date. It won't matter in 10 years if I cleaned my floors or had the dishes put away, but it will matter that I spent time with my son and let him know that he is special to me. Sometimes I get caught up in making sure that I get everything done that I 'need' to each day that I forget to take the time to do what I really NEED to do and that is spend time with my son doing what he wants/needs to do. 

In college, I studied to be a Speech Language Pathologist (I didn't end up going to grad school - whole other story) and in one of my classes I learned something very interesting. Educated parents are less likely to let a child play how they want to and more likely to try to get them to play how the parent thinks they should. Why? Most likely because we know which toys are more educational and can teach our child things... but that is not what they need. Unstructured play is so helpful in their development and I have to remind myself to step back and let him lead because I catch myself trying to direct his play. It can be hard to let him take the lead! But it is so worth it in the end. 

Here's our menu:

Monday: Leftover Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Tuesday: Teriyaki Chicken

Wednesday: Teriyaki Chicken

Thursday: Cottage cheese, applesauce, bread (confession: I was having a really emotional day which continued on to Friday so we didn't eat the greatest meals on those days! Gotta love pregnancy hormones... or not.)

Friday: Egg Rolls and pineapple

Saturday: Chef Salad

Sunday: CousCous Stuffed Peppers

Menu: Feb 27-March 4

We've been trying to eat out less lately... basically when I had morning sickness we ate out a LOT. It happens every time I have morning sickness... I think we only ate out once last week - lunch after my ultrasound. So I think we're succeeding that goal. This week it will be lunch after my OB appointment... I am also back go getting a produce basket from our co-op (unfortunately we don't have a CSA here...) I really enjoy the produce baskets because it makes me focus on fruits and veggies more than I had before. I now come up with a dish to use all the vegetables we got then plan the rest of the meals around that. It works great!

Here's our last week's menu:

Monday: Leftover Meatloaf and Leftover Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Green Beans

Tuesday: Greek Salad with Oregano Chicken

Wednesday: Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup

Thursday: leftover Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Soup

Friday: We had Egg rolls and ice cream (I didn't feel like cooking...)

Saturday: Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Salad (We felt the dressing had too much garlic... especially after resting for an hour.)

Sunday: Lasagna at my parents - we were celebrating my dad's birthday (a day late)

Sibling

As we prepare for another child to enter our family, we've been trying to prepare our son for the arrival of a new sibling. We've talked about it and wasn't sure it was sinking in... now I think that maybe it has.

We've been telling him he's going to get a brother or a sister (as until Wednesday we did not know...) and that mommy has a baby in her tummy. Once we found out we were having a boy, we've been asking him, "are you going to have a brother?" to which his normal response is, "Or a sister." Sometimes he gets quite upset that we seem to be forgetting the or part. Today after the above conversation - I told him he was going to have a brother, his answer, "I want a sister!"

So obviously we were pretty good at telling him he's getting a sibling... hopefully now we can help him know that he's really getting a brother, not a brother or a sister and not a sister.

Thai Chicken Cabbage

A list for today: 

1. Yesterday I got an ultrasound done at 18.5 weeks.

2. I love that for pregnancy ultrasounds at this clinic I do not have to drink 32 ounces of water before going in. LOVE IT!

3. Our baby is going to be a rebel child - not very cooperative sometimes.

4. Our baby likes to stick a foot in between his/her legs.

5. After much prodding of my belly the technician was able to determine the gender of our baby.

6. I was completely wrong as to which gender I predicted.

7. So was my husband.

8. I like it when we're both wrong or right... (about anything really.)

9. Before the ultrasound I had to get my blood drawn.

10. I hate needles.

11. My husband always has to hold my hand... except when my son is trying to get into the used needles container.

12. Note to self - don't take son with me next time I go to get my blood drawn.

13. I mentioned to my husband (while my blood was getting sucked out of my veins) that I had donated blood 3 times in my life.

14. He was surprised.

15. I think my fear of needles has gotten worse since then... the last time was over 7 years ago.

16. Donating blood always made me feel gross for the rest of the day. If I didn't eat enough I felt really bad and if I ate enough my stomach would hurt.

17. I have no desire to give blood again... sorry Red Cross.

18. I get side tracked easily.

19. Being pregnant makes my brain go into hiding.

20. True story, I forget SO much now.

21. And I feel a lot more ditzy. 

22. I can make my husband laugh more though.

23. None of this has anything to do with the recipe I'm sharing today...

24. Speaking of recipes... I have no idea where I got the inspiration for this recipe. I've looked and looked. So if you've see one like this, then let me know and I'll see if it is something I've read to give proper credit.

25. I made this recipe to use up cabbage that we had a plethora of from our produce co-op. 

26. My husband is not really a big fan of cabbage.

27. But he liked this dish.

28. I'm really tempted to make it again when we get cabbage.

29. The last number I'm including in this list.

Thai Chicken Cabbage

You'll need 1 Tbsp each of soy sauce and Rice Vinegar (or Rice Wine Vinegar.)

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

1-1/4 cup chicken broth

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp fish sauce

1/4-1/2 tsp sriracha or garlic chili paste (You can add more if you like your food spicy.)

 Whisk all together in a medium size bowl

2 Tbsp oil - put in a skillet over medium to medium high heat.

1 onion, sliced

1-2 chicken breast(s) cut into slices

Once onion is tender and chicken is cooked through, add broth mixture to pan.

Bring to simmering.

Yeah, I know this isn't the most appetizing-looking food ever!

Then toss in 1/2 head cabbage, cut into strips

Stir into pan.

Let cook about 5 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

Serve over cooked rice, topped with cilantro and dry roasted peanuts.

I was feeling a bit lazy and didn't chop the peanuts, you can chop them or not. Same with the cilantro.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe 

Oh and if you thought I'd leave you hanging... we're having a boy in late July.