Snowmen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Melissa & Doug Terrific Twenty List and Giveaway

It's November which means Christmas.  I am always a procrastinator when it comes to Christmas shopping. I wait to the last minute then scramble around.  When I am in scramble mode I turn to those tried and true sites where I know I can find good reliable gifts.

One of my favorites is Melissa and Doug.  Not only do my kids love their products, but so do I.  They are quality products that not only withstand lots of use, but also grow with my children.  Their wooden play food is a staple in the kids kitchen and is loved by all - especially the sushi set which my son got when he was about 2 and is still a favorite 5 years later.

Melissa and Doug just released their Terrific Twenty Holiday Gifts for 2012 and it really is a terrific list.  There is something for children of all ages and interests.  I know the Fashion Design Activity Kit, and Metal Grocery basket will be under our tree this year and I am sure a few other M&D goodies will also be there as well.

To celebrate the Terrific Twenty M&D is having a "20 Days of Terrific Twenty" giveaway on their Facebook page.  Starting November 6th they will be giving away one item from the Terrific Twenty list to at least one lucky Facebook fan.  Go visit them now and enter, it's super easy and you only need to enter once to be entered for the entire 20 days.

Not only is Melissa and Doug offering a great giveaway on their Facebook page, but they have also given me the opportunity to offer the Suspend game to one of my readers.  I am going to make it easy, all you need to do is follow my blog and leave a comment.  I will draw a winner on November 20th.

If you haven't done it all ready go visit M&D on Facebook and enter the Terrific Twenty and maybe you will be finding some wonderful Melissa and Doug products under your tree this Christmas.