Alphabet Soup

So, what's a girl to do when it's her birthday, she's stuck at home because of the weather, everyone feels a little sick with allergies and colds, and there's no birthday cake in the house? Why, make chocolate cupcakes, of course!! Someone asked why I was baking on my birthday. First, I like to bake. And second, I knew no one else in the house was going to bake for me!! I made Martha Stewarts One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes . It was the first time I've used that recipe, but I can guarantee it won't be the last!! They are easy, very chocolatey, moist and just darn good!! Sean has already requested these for his class birthday party at school this next week. I halved the recipe, and got 10 cupcakes out of it. To go with the cupcakes, I made some chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yum!! Kade could be found eating the frosting with a spoon!! I halved that recipe as well, but will post the full recipe below. In honor of my birthday, I've decided to hold a little givea...

Last weekend, I gave D and Sean each a cookbook and told them that they each got to pick out a new recipe to try. I'm tired of having to do all the choosing! The book that I gave D was a slow cooker cookbook, and this is the recipe he chose. It's not necessarily one that I would have picked, but I'm glad he did! It was so simple, quick to put together, and quick cooking (well, for a slow cooker!). Sean only ate a little bit of the chicken. Kade ate some of the chicken and a little of the soup, but it was a bit spicy for him. D and I both really liked it, and I was instructed to make sure I keep this recipe!! The next time I try it, I may substitute some browned ground beef for the chicken and add some pinto beans. We both agreed that it would be good with some tortillas added in at the end as well. Nacho Cheese Chicken Chowder adapted from this cookbook 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 2 (14.5 oz) cans Mexican style stewed tomatoes, und...

First, my apologies for no TWD post yesterday. It's hard to make Cocoa Nana Bread when someone throws out your pefectly good, ripe bananas you were saving just for that recipe because "they looked nasty." Oh well, hop on over and check out what the other TWD Bakers did with this week's recipe, chosen by Steph of Obsessed with Baking ! Now, on to the bread!! I admit that while I own a bread machine, I don't make that much in it. I just prefer to be more hands-on with my breadmaking, literally. However, I do use it quite often to make cinnamon raisin bread. I found a recipe that works well, and everyone in our house loves it, especially the kids!! The recipe is from Fleischman's Bread World recipe site. I'm linking to it, because it has measurements for 1 lb, 1 1/2 lb, and 2 lb loaves on it. The only change I make is in the type of yeast I use, so I have to adjust the amount slightly. Oh, just a helpful hint. You know the little paddle thingy that goe...

I've been using these recipes for pizza dough and sauce for several years now. They are quick and simple, and in my house that equals perfect! :) I promised the Munchkin a few days ago that we would make pizza today. I had all these great plans. I was going to let everyone make their own pizzas (well, Sprout was going to get some help!) and take lots of great pictures in the process. Little did I know the chaos that was about to hit... I was kneading the dough when D called me on the phone to tell me that he had just picked up a puppy that someone had left on the side of the road. We live outside the city limits, and people seem to think that the country is a free-for-all dumping ground for unwanted items, even living unwanted items. It's just a little puppy, and it's been cold, so he just couldn't drive by and leave it there. So, needless to say I had to deal with two hyper children, a cute puppy dog, and a hubby that wanted to run to the store for puppy food.....

Did you know that today is National Pie Day? Well, it is. And in honor of the occasion, I am going to share a recipe for a pie that I currently have no picture for. I got this recipe from my granmother's sister Francene many years ago. She called it Millionaire Pie. It's very quick and easy to put together. While it's great in the summer (it's a chilled pie) I get just as many requests for it in the winter...and I now officially have a craving for it. As soon as I can get to the grocery store, I will probably be making this! And yes, I'm a math nerd, and proud of it!! ;) That's a real Pi plate , and I want one!!! Cene's Millionaire Pie 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk 4 Tbsp lemon juice 1 (8 oz) carton Cool-Whip, thawed 1 (15.25 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained 1 cup chopped pecans 2 prepared graham cracker crusts Mix first five ingredients together. Pour into pie crusts, chill well and enjoy! Makes 2 pies. See, I said it was easy. ;)

Yes, I'm sporadic with my posts these days. Have you noticed? I guess that's what happens when you're dealing with a pregnant blogger, lol. ;) I promise, I do have some baking/cooking posts planned soon! But in the meantime, here are the last two weeks worth of pictures for my Project 365!

I keep saying that I'm going to use my slow cooker more, and I haven't really been using it that much. However, I've used it twice this week! :) The first time I just threw some refrigerated cheese tortellini in with some tomato puree and spices and let it cook for a couple of hours. That was quite the hit. Today, I tried a new recipe, which I adapted from a recipe out of Better Than Mom's Slow Cooker Recipes , which I picked up off the bargain rack a while back. It turned out well. The flavor was milder than I anticipated, which wasn't a bad thing. It was still good! I'm trying to figure out how to tweak it if I make it again. Pepper Pork Sandwiches 1 (2-1/2 to 3 lb) boneless pork shoulder roast 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (1 medium) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (optional) 1 (8 oz) jar roasted red bell peppers, undrained (rough chop the peppers if desired) 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp oregano 1 (1o oz) can enchilada sauce Trim ex...

Hello everyone! :) I must admit that I did not bake along with TWD this week. The ickies returned a bit, and paired with insomnia I am dragging. I looked over the recipe, looked at my kitchen, and just couldn't deal this week. My apologies!! However, be sure to check out what the other TWD bakers did with this week's recipe , chosen by Teanna of Spork or Foon ?

I'm still here! It's been a long week, getting back into our routines. I was ready for those routines, but still...it's been a long week! However, I was able to take a picture each day for my first week of Project 365! :) Enjoy!

While looking through my notebook, I ran across a recipe that I made oh, about 5 or so years ago. I remember making it. And I remember Sean loving it, which is a miracle considering it has a **shudder** vegetable in it. But I never made it again. I decided why not try it again. I've never made real Chicken Cordon Bleu, and I honestly think I've only eaten it once or twice, so I can't truly compare this casserole to the real thing. I made some changes to the recipe that I found, and in the recipe I've posted below I've made a few tweaks that I think will make it better. It's not a light recipe by any means, but if your New Year's Resolution was to eat healthier, you could probably make some changes to make it health ier ... It was good, but I probably won't make it often. While D and I liked it, Sean and even Kade just picked at it. Oh well. Random, but have I mentioned that school starts back today? I am SO ready. ;) Enjoy! Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole ...

Can you believe it's already 2010? I can't! I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!! I don't have a new recipe to post today. It's not really a "resolution" post either, but I do have some plans for this year. Obviously the biggie will be adding a new baby to the family in April! But I also plan on crossing off some of the items on my Learn to Do List this year, and hopefully I can add some more items to it as I think of them. And this pretty much has nothing to do with cooking, but I'm planning on participating in Project 365 , where you document your day to day life by taking one picture every day. A little more info can be found here (or tons of places if you do a search for it!). Anyway, this really intrigued me and I'd like to do it. I don't plan on posting pictures every day, only once a week at most or maybe even just once a month. I may just post the pictures here on this blog...I'm not that sure I want to start a completely...