Brody's Pick

This post has nothing to do with clean eating as my previous post was about. I have been incorporating better choices into my day by keeping fresh fruits and veggies on hand, but this time spent in the kitchen was all about FUN! One of Brody's most favorite things to play with are balloons. Really, so simple, yet blown up balloons creates hours of play for him. So I found an idea on Pinterest that incorporated balloons in the kitchen. We took a few of the balloons and blew them up smaller than the ones we usually play with, and washed them up and set them out to dry.  Next, I took a pan and lined it with wax paper. I took some chocolate almond bark and microwaved it in a glass bowl. I did it in 30 second intervals until it was smooth.  Make sure the balloons are completely dry and start dipping! Brody, or should I call him Spiderman today, loved this part. Hold them by the tied end and dip the rounded part.  The ones that we dipped several times held up better than the ones that were only dipped once or twice.  Put them on the wax paper and refrigerate. I had some fresh strawberries in the fridge so I decided to dip some of them as well :) After the chocolate has had time to harden in the refrigerator, take the pan out.  The instrustions were to pop the balloon and peel it out of the chocolate bowl, but I found that instead of popping, if you squeezed the balloon it pulled it away from the bowl a lot easier than peeling. Last of all, we filled the chocolate bowls with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. This was fun and delicious! If you decide to try this, I suggest spraying the balloons. I think they would have been easier to remove from the bowls. I think next time we are going to do white chocolate bowls with strawberry ice cream! Yum! Hope you'll give it a try and let me know how yours turns out!!

I'm baaacckk!!

It has been quite a bit since my last entry. I did not mean to take so long of break, but training for a marathon on top of wife/mommy/work does push things to back burner. :) I have actually tried cooking a few new recipes, but did not have time to do a write up. 
As we entered in to the fall season last year, I decided we needed chili. I had never cooked chili. Surprise!! So I did the easiest thing possible........buy the McCormick's chili seasoning pack. It had the simplest recipe on it, and looked fool proof! I must be an above average fool because I fouled it up Kitchen Wrecker style! Everything looked and smelled wonderful, but the beans were hard as bricks. I kept cooking and stirring, thinking eventually they would soften and we could eat.  Yeah, so the chili scorched and the beans stayed hard. Lewis had the nerve to look at the bag of beans and point out that in SMALL PRINT ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG were instructions to soak the beans for like a whole day before use?!?! Anyway, next time I just bought beans in a can and everything turned out great!
I also tried a new chicken crock pot, and ended up throwing the whole pot away. It was just awful and I can't even remember the ingredients??? So fast forward to today. The marathon is over with four half marathons behind me as well. Will I ever do another full? Absolutley! Just not anytime soon:) I need to forget this one first! Along with running, diet has started playing a huge factor in my daily routine. I have been researching and digging through Pinterest and reading blogs to get more info on all this "clean eating."  There is a ton of info and different opinions on what is true clean eating. My thoughts is anything with less than 5 ingredients. I really want to incorporate this, and went grocery shopping with my "clean" list for the first time today. I do not think I will ever truly be clean due to the fact that I REALLY LIKE DIET DR. PEPPERS, and sodas are a no-no!  Of course, I loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies, frozen fruits, nonfat greek yogurt, organic milk and cheese, whole wheat pastas and flour, etc. You don't realize how processed everything is until you start looking for foods that aren't. We are starting in to this slow because it will be a life change, and we have terrible eating habits:( First thing this morning, instead of sweetening my coffee with Splenda, I used honey. It was ok, definately do-able. I also found a recipe for chocolate-chip muffins. Here's how it went:

2 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. honey
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 eggs
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c. chocolate chips

1. Mix butter, eggs and honey together.

2. Mix together flour, baking powder, and chocolate chips.

3. Add liquid to dry ingredients.

4. Spoon into muffin tin and bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

5. Add some organic milk and ta-da!!

They were actually pretty good. I think next time that the flour needs to be cut back. You could tell that they were different, which I expected. It's something that I think you have to get used to. I read where you could also make these with almond flour??? Newton Wal-Mart did not have that. Brody did not like them, but it actually felt good to eat something not processed. My usual muffins come from the Martha White packs(which are soooo good). There is a clean recipe for chocolate chip muffins that uses applesauce and yogurt. If anyone has that one, I would love to try it so send it my way. Also, any clean eating tips or recipes send my way. I've got one for pancakes that I plan on trying in the morning. We will see how it goes!

Rose Bakes Neopolitan Cake

This week has been a roller coaster of emotions. Brody has been overwhelmed with excitement about starting school. I have felt nervousness about him starting something new, sadness at the realization of how quickly his childhood is passing, and happiness because of his happiness. Brody is such an outgoing kid & is having a blast. Today, around a quiet, still house, I decided to bake. Earlier this week, I saw a recipe for Neopolitan cake on RoseBakes.com. It looked wonderful, but I'm such an amateur that I was a little intimidated. I had to substitute a couple things because I couldn't find the exact ingredient called for. Mainly, the strawberry pudding. Also, I didn't have enough powdered sugar so my icing ended up runny. I'm okay with that because it tastes awesome. As I sit here eating this deliciousness, with a tall glass of milk and watching reruns of the Big Bang Theory, my feelings are getting better. Cake makes everybody happy(along with Sheldon's insanity). Now, Brody will have a special treat when he gets home. Bazzinga! Thank you Rose for the great recipe!!

Calling all Harry Potter fans!!

What a wonderful week! Being off, I have cleaned, exercised, school shopped for Brody, played board games & watched movies(Harry Potter being one of them!) I always wished that I could have a glass of butter beer like the kids do. I imagine it being the best drink ever, like a buttery cream soda. For those who do not watch
Harry Potter, it doesn't contain beer. So there are recipes for butter beer, but I didn't have the correct ingredients. I refuse to put makeup on today. Plan B. Butter beer cupcakes! I had to improvise on the ingredients. It called for buttermilk, I googled a substitute. Milk & lemon juice. Who knew? Also, I had no cream soda. Lewis gave me the idea of just using one of my sodas. Probably would have turned out sweeter with the cream soda. This recipe is a lot more complex. I only did the cupcakes. It shows how to make butterscotch filling & ganache. Also, for home made icing. I had some butter cream Betty Crocker. We just stuck with cupcakes & Betty Crocker today. The next time I make these, I will try the whole thing. They are delicious. The cupcakes are more buttery than sweet & that mixed with the frosting is heavenly. I tried to get Brody to pretend to be Harry & I was Hermione as we ate, but he refused to be anything but Woody. I enjoy speaking with an English accent, so I think I will continue without him.

Terri's Birthday Dessert!

For everyone's birthday at work, we get to pick a dessert. For the 4 years and 5 months that I have worked there, I have never brought dessert. (For obvious reasons!) With my recent experience for the blog, I felt somewhat confident in volunteering for one. Ok. I had no confidence. Just thought it was time I did a dessert for the office. So Mrs. Terri picked this dessert from Pinterest. Strawberry Cream Pie. I had to buy a pie dish so I opted for Fiesta. The bright blue looks really pretty against the red strawberries! It was pretty easy once I got the whipping cream whipped. I played some appropriate music while whipping the cream("Whip It Good!")! Yeah, music always sets the mood. So the pie is stiffening in the fridge. We'll get reviews on taste tomorrow:)

S'mores Bars Baby

Okay, we are way behind on blogging! So as Brody has been quarantined for a couple of days, I let him pick a recipe. Of course, it included marshmallows. Looking through pinterest, he picked s'mores bars. Lucky for me! This didn't have anything unfamiliar to me. Pretty easy, except I wanted to eat the Hershey bar instead of putting it in the mixture. This is great with a glass of milk! We all give it an A+! I did think that I had broke the mixer. It kinda just bogged down though. Pretty sure I dumped too much stuff in at one time:) A good treat for a rough weekend!

Pump up the jam! Pump it up!

So if any of you have little ones, you have probably watched the new cartoon on Nick Jr., Mike the Knight. They love to eat jam tarts on that show. Of course, that's what Brody thought we should make next. Here is our best shot. Every recipe was in metric measurements as this is an English dish. Which also means we talked with an English accent as we made these. I encourage you to read this with an accent as well. It makes for a fun twist. Luckily, most measuring cups have the mL mark on them. I might would have been in trouble. Also, if you ever travel abroad, an electric mixer is referred to as a food processor. I feel my brain growing as we speak. They also make a tart dish. We improvised with cookie cutters and then forming them into a bowl like structure. This recipe came from allrecipes.co.uk. They are great! Very similar taste to a jellied biscuit. We like them! A little messy to make, but worth the quality time with Brody. Now, we will settle down to watch Mike the Knight with our plate of jam tarts and a spot of tea. Ta-Ta!!

Oh Snap!

One of my favorite dishes from O'Charleys is the potato soup. Potato/potatoe??? Anyway, I saw this recipe from pinterest, of course. It looked easy enough. No crazy ingredients. I didn't really pay attention to how much of each thing though. It took like 1/2 gallon of milk! It was also a good thing I googled how to put potatoes in the microwave. Apparently, the potatoes will explode if you don't stab holes in them. I left out the onions Unless an onion is fried, I hate it! Not exactly O'Charleys, but really good!

Rolo's....'nuff said!

Ok. Made a trip to the grocery store so kitchen wrecker is back on track. Rolo's are my favorite candies! Thanks to pinterest, I found a recipe for Rolo cookies. I bought three packs of candies to make cookies with, but only two made it to the kitchen. I love them soooo much! Anyway, fairly easy, except the mixer dough hooks do not play nice. These are amazing!

Easy One!

Ok, so I took an easy option this week. It's been a crazy week. Lewis has had the flu this week so not much time for extra stuff. So I made bisquick pancakes, BUT I added.....drumroll.....mayonnaise? Yeah, about 1/2 cup of mayo. The recipe already calls for 2 eggs, and I have learned that you can substitute mayo for eggs. So maybe you could just add another egg and get the same results. I don't know. Anyway, the pancakes were alot more moist and fluffy so this gets an A+ from all 3 of us. Lewis says he wants mayo in them from now on. An easy kitchen wrecker week, but successful. Although, I cannot flip a pancake worth a toot, I only had one casualty. So just a twist I found to try on a well known pancake. Hopefully, back to something new next week.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!

Okay, I am getting way off schedule. This week was a great success! Snickers Brownies! Like I said...SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! THESE ARE AMAZING! I left out the peanuts because I do not like peanuts. It was great without them, but if you like peanuts, throw 'em in. I knew where to find everything in the grocery store this time. This was my first experience with marshmallow cream. It made me very happy! Like I was stirring clouds. Okay, that made me sound crazy, but I am in love with the stuff. This is very rich, but amazing! It was great with coffee or milk!

BROWNIE LAYER:
(1) box brownie mix & ingredients called for on the box
(1/4)c. hot fudge topping, unheated

NOUGAT LAYER:
(1/4)c. butter
(1) c. sugar
(1/4)c. evaporated milk
(2)7oz. jars marshmallow creme
(1/4)c. peanut butter
(11/2)c. salted peanuts, chopped
(1)tsp. vanilla

CARAMEL LAYER:
(1)17 oz. jar of caramel topping

CANDY BAR TOPPING:
(11/4)c. chocolate chips
(1/4)c. peanut butter

Make brownies as the box instructs for a 9x13 pan, adding the hot fudge topping to the batter. Cool completely.

Melt butter. Add sugar and milk until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add in marshmallow creme, peanut butter, and vanilla. Remove from heat and add peanuts. Pour over cooled brownies. Allow to cool.

Heat caramel until its easy to stir. Pour caramel over the nougat layer. Let cool.

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together until smooth. Pour on top and put in refrigerator until chocolate is set. I kept them in the fridge until we were ready to eat!

Better late than never!

Ok, I've lost momentum. So I haven't tried a recipe since the strawberry lemonade bars were a BUST! I did whip up some muffins last week, which I managed to burn. I also melted a plastic bowl on the stove top. I wear my "kitchen wrecker" title with pride! Anyway, I wanted another lemony recipe to redeem the bitterness of the last. I went with a pink lemonade pie. It was not pretty, but had a great taste. I am absolutely amazed at whipping cream. It was liquid and then it became a wonderful, fluffy cream! Ah-mazing! The recipe called for coconut, but I loathe coconut. So I substituted for pink sprinkles. Wish it would have been prettier, but it was good!

Eeewww!

This weeks recipe came from Pinterest. It looks so pretty. It's pink and covered in powdered sugar. It's got to be good, right? SO WRONG!! Strawberry lemonade bars, sounds better than it tastes. Then again, could be just me. I can barely taste the strawberry, but it did make it the pretty pink color. Maybe this recipe could be modified with less lemon juice?? After the bars cooled, the tartness wasn't quite as strong. Still, this is a bust! It wasn't a hard recipe. It called for lemon zest, and that threw me for a loop. Thanks to some help from work, I learned that you can substitute for more lemon juice. Anyway, this was awful for us. If you've done these and they turned out better, let me know what you did. I was hoping these would be super great considering I wore a superhero cape while making them. Maybe I should put extra sugar on the top???

STRAWBERRY LEMONADE BARS
crust:
(1/4) c sugar
(1/2) c butter
(1 1/2) c all purpose flour
(1/4) tsp salt

Filling:
(1) c lemon juice
(2-3) tsp lemon zest
(1/2) c puréed strawberries
(1 1/4) c sugar
(4) large eggs
(1/4) c all-purpose flour
(1/2) tsp baking powder
(1/4) tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix crust in large bowl. Press into pan and bake for 17 minutes. While crust bakes, prepare filling. Pour filling over hot crust. Bake for 25 minutes. A light colored crust will form on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Time for my FAVORITE!

So it's been a yucky few days. Rain, rain.....more rain. I'm not a soup person, but it's that kind of weather. What's the closest thing to soup that I enjoy? Chicken & Dumplin's! I call it soupy because it has broth! Okay, it's not like Mammaw's & it ain't Cracker Barrel's! But they turned out great! I used frozen dumplings, which is kind of cheating. I was a bit intimidated to try scratch dumplings, but next time, I will be doing it. We also cooked valentine cupcakes. But it was all out of the box & can. Thanks you Pillsbury! The only credit I can take for it, was not burning them! I didn't get to buy any new kitchen utensils this week. That kind of bummed me out because shopping for new stuff makes this a bit more fun! This C & D recipe was super easy. It came from the North Shelby Baptist Church cookbook. No pinterest this week!

ALMOST HOMEADE CHICKEN 'N DUMPLINGS:
2-large chicken breasts, cooked & deboned
1-can cream of chicken soup
1-can chicken broth
1/2-stick margarine
1-pkg. flour tortillas(I used frozen dumplings)
Salt & pepper to taste

Combine soup, broth, and at least one can of water. Bring to a slow boil. Add chicken and margarine. Drop tortillas(or dumplings) into hot mixture. Salt & pepper to taste. Slow boil for 15-20 minutes.