Peanut Butter Cups

Don't you just love them? We do! A few weeks ago I was cruising around on Pinterest and found a blog. I quickly decided I loved this new blog I found. It is filled with tons and tons of DIY laundry soap, and cleaners and some very yummy looking recipes. I came along a recipe for HOMEMADE Peanut Butter Cups at One Good Thing by Jillee.

I followed all of the same instructions except, I used a long stiff-tipped paint brush to coat the sides of the muffin cups.

Please forgive my pictures in advance. I was using the camera phone.

Coated cups. The paint brush made it much easier.

Half peanut butter filled and half are done.

Fresh from cooling. 

Fantastic!!

Hello? Is this thing on?

Where to begin....Have a seat, you may be here a while.....

We've been pushed head first into our  wildly busy summer. It's been a while since I've written anything, of course I know you're all frantically desperate to know what we've been up to. I'm taking a stab at that humor thing again, working? Ha!

Last week was our final week of the school year. We had our final meeting with our ES and were declared DONE with 7th grade. Whew! We have one more lesson in Social Studies/History to finish, but I am holding off until right before school starts. In 8th grade we will be doing Early US History,  our final 7th grade lesson leads us into that. I'd rather it be fresh in their minds. We will continue with math over the summer, math skills seem to be easily forgotten and I don't want to spend the beginning of the year playing catch-up. We have received some of our 8th grade curriculum already, mostly math and the manipulatives for Pre-Algebra and all of our Advanced Physical Science experiments. I am going to scour over the internet this summer to find an acceptable History curriculum. The California Standard text books are boring not very detailed. They try to sum up a range of hundreds of years in just a couple of paragraphs. It'd be nice to find something a little more detailed. I did find an awesome book on the Constitution at my favorite thrift store last week. Score! Oh, and I got a full Strong's Concordance for just $1.00. I was stoked. Anyhoo, I ordered Emily and Julia's unit study curriculum. They will be starting Kindergarten. I will write a blog post on our curriculum once we get closer to the school year. I don't even want to think about most of it for the remainder of the summer vacation.

Last weekend, Adam went on a “roughing it” camping trip with some of his friends. The four of them went to  Indian Valley Reservoir. This is not your Mama's camp ground. They had to 4-wheel in, sleep with huge fanged spiders, and dig latrine holes. There aren't showers or bathrooms. Each day they would pack up the trucks and go on a 4-wheel excursion and camp where ever they ended up.  One of the guys nearly lost his truck in the river. He hit a deep spot and it started to float away, luckily the passenger hopped out and tied it to a tree. They were able to get it out of the water but there was some flooding that killed the stereo and power seats. I'm sure that was scary. They fished, and shot their guns, lassoed lizards and did "man" stuff. It sounded like quite a weekend. I was happy that Adam as able to get away and relax. He works very hard and it’s nice to have a break.

The wives of the men who were camping, and I all went to our girlfriend’s daughter’s 1st birthday party. It was a Hawaiian Luau, with a roasted pig and everything. She had a ton of activities for kids to do; the kids had a great time. I made a wooden initial bow holder for the sweet little girl. She always has the most darling bows in her hair. Here are the pictures:

(click pictures to enlarge)

Our 4H year ended this week. It was quite the feat to finish the girls' record books and get them turned in for judging. They took 12 different projects (classes) this year. Each project has to have a report turned in detailing what they’ve learned at each different  meeting. Most of the projects only have 4 or 5 meetings, others have 7 or more. In addition to the project report pages, they also had to make a Personal Development Report and list all of the other activities and community service acts they participated in. They have to include pictures of activities of their choice and work samples, it all goes into a 4H report folder and has to have 5 divided sections, their picture, a table of contents and a cover page. It's a big deal, they get judged on it. We only submitted ours to be judged at club level this year, next year we may submit it to compete at a county level. The record books were due Wednesday. It was so much work the girls vowed to stay on top of it throughout the year next year so it's not as overwhelming. Kiley and August have several different 4H things they are entering in the County Fair this year. Each has 3 different art projects, and August is also submitting a quilting project and a table setting. I really am enjoying the 4H program, as are the girls. Our particular club has a daytime 4H group; this is the one we belong to. It's all homeschooled kids and their parents. The girls and I have developed some wonderful new friendships. I am grateful we found this group. 4H offers such a wide variety of learning opportunities(our club doesn't do animals). This year the girls' projects were, Healthy Living, Quilting, Physical Science, Educational Games, Mini Mall, Softball, Musical Presentation, Cake Decorating, Fine Arts, Arts and Crafts, Table setting, and Drama. We meet twice a month on Monday's for an entire day. Our club has some wonderfully fantastic kids. There seems to be a different type of maturity in homeschooled kids, I've come to discover. They also participate in various community service projects and competitive areas. Kiley and August both signed up to work at the 4H cake booth at the fair this year and August has signed up to be an official 4H photographer next year. This is all in addition to their regular school subjects. And people think that homeschooled kids have no socialization and stay home all day. *humph*  Actually, our ES Charter School supervisor said my girls do more than any kids she's supervised.

We signed up both sets of twins for city league soccer this year. It will be August and Kiley's 6th season playing, and Emily and Julia's 1st. Kiley and August are fantastic soccer players. Kiley is one of the best goalies I've ever seen. I played soccer for 15 or so years, and loved it. I'm glad my girls share my love. Emily and Julia are thrilled to be playing this year. Haley will be continuing her basketball career, which coincides with the soccer season. Are you starting to see what I mean by our wildly busy summer?

I have no idea when I'll get back on here to write more so I'm just going to put as much as I can now. Aren't you fortunate?

I came across this charming little organic herb box at Trader Joe's. It has Basil, Oregano, and Parsley. Isn't it cute?

Yesterday I baked some snacks up. I have been making my own granola bars for a couple of months. They are so much better than the store bought ones and my family gobbles them up. It's hard to keep them in stock.  I made 36 yesterday, I'm sure they will all be gone by Sunday. I turned my very ripe bananas into two loaves of banana bread for our breakfast this morning. I am NOT a breakfast person. I really am bad at making/eating  breakfast. My poor, poor kids usually fix cereal or eggs. I'd much rather cook lunch and dinner than breakfast.  Oh well, can't be perfect in every area *snort*. 

And I'm about ready to wrap this up. Emily and Julia are going to spend the weekend with my Dad and Step-Mom. They are overly anxious to go. Weekends at Grandma and Grandpa's are ALWAYS great fun. 

Father’s Day is fast approaching June 19^th. I still haven’t figured out what I’m doing for my Husband/Dad/Father-in-law… I have a feeling, with as busy as we are, it’s not going to be as exciting as it could be. I think I may just take the kids to the store to pick out gifts for their Daddy.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone. God bless.

*ETA, I can't figure out why my post is in two different colors. I can't fix it either, oh well.*

Big Girls' Cake Decorating

K and At had their first cake decorating 4H project today. They had a blast, and were relieved the class has finally started, they've been looking forward to it all year long. K is especially excited to learn cake decorating. She wants to be a cake baker/decorator when she's older.

We spent yesterday afternoon buying the remaining supplies we needed. Today they brought along their pre-baked cakes and the tub of icing they made. They learned how to thin their icing, make a crumb layer, frost their cakes, and also how to prep their icing bags and make very simple stars and shells.

They were only able to frost their cakes at 4H today before time ran out. When we got home they made a new batch of frosting, mixed their colors, got the bags ready, and did their decorating. I think the cakes look wonderful.
.

A is ready

K

A and her spring cake

K and her whale cake

Happy Birthday Daddy

Last week we celebrated Adam's birthday. The kids spent the day making homemade decorations. K and H made swirly hanging streamers, A made the Happy Birthday Daddy banner and E and J colored pictures with the number 32.

Happy Birthday Daddy, banner that A made. It's kinda hard to see

  

H and K made curly streamers



Little decorations made by E and J

Adam requested that I make him fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. It's rare that I make the fried chicken, it's a bit of work and makes the kitchen very messy. I soaked the chicken in buttermilk with Tabasco/Tapatio sauce for about 3/4 hours and then fried them in shortening. YUMMM!  He also asked for Chocolate-Drizzled Cherry Bars in lieu of cake. I learned about this dessert from another blog I read and the first time I made them Adam was in love. This was my 3rd time making them and I have to say, they are so delicious. The writer of the post I read changed the recipe a bit, instead of using cherry pie filling, I got the jar of cherries from Trader Joe's and cooked those up with sugar and corn starch to make it thick. It's super yummy. Everyone loves when I make the bars. 

     

I added candles too soon. It was still very hot and they started melting. Gotta love those blond moments.



J and E were proud. They helped make it. They really love helping me bake and cook. They are very good at cracking eggs and not getting shells mixed in. They like to pour all the measured ingredients in the bowl. We are still working on learning to measure. J's favorite task is to turn on the Kitchen Aid mixer. Of course the best part for both of them is licking the beater and spoons after.

Look at all those candles. He was happy with his birthday.

I bought 5 of Adam's favorite candy bar as gifts from each of the girls. The older girls hid them all and wrote little riddles as hints on where to find them. Each time he found a candy bar it had the clue for where the next one was. He liked it. Everyone enjoyed this. My father in law is in the picture below. Adam's parents both came over for his birthday dinner. It was so nice having them over, I really love my husbands family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETIE. WE ALL LOVE YOU!!

October had a lot of birthdays for us, 5 total I think.  We still have 2 more before the month is over. I sewed gifts for those two, I'm finishing them up. As soon as they're done I'll post the pictures and instructions to make them. I found a darling little boy sewing craft project. I was very excited since most of my friends have boys, and usually the crafting tutorials are geared toward little girls. I can't wait to finish and give it to him. I always get so anxious to give my gifts.

Next month my older girls will be 12, and I am at a loss on what to do for them. We had a girly spa party last year and that was a blast. If anyone out there has any good ideas for them, please share.

Father's Day Cupcakes

Kiley found these cupcakes in our Family Fun magazine. They were so cute we had to make them for Father's day tomorrow.

Ingredients


Brownie batter

Black food coloring

White frosting

Orange sugar (I mixed red and yellow)

Caramel creams (I found these in a Brach's assortment bag at Walmart)

Red, yellow, and green candy fruit slices  (I used Dots)

Hot Tamales candies



Instructions

To make a batch of 12, place liners in a muffin pan, oil them, and fill them two thirds full of your favorite brownie batter, then bake according to the recipe directions. Let the brownies cool.

(I had to cut the tops of the cupcakes off, so they would be flat)

In a small bowl, mix one or two drops of black food coloring with 1/4 cup white frosting. Transfer the frosting to a ziplock bag and snip a small section from the corner. Pipe grate lines onto each brownie and let them set for 20 minutes (I put them in the fridge to harden). Add embers with a sprinkle of orange sugar.


Prepare the grill food as instructed below and press it in place atop each brownie.


Kebabs = A caramel cream and red, yellow, and green candy fruit slices, cut into small pieces + toothpick skewers

Pork chop = two thirds of a caramel cream, molded with fingers + black food coloring, applied with a toothpick

Hot dogs = Hot Tamales candies + black food coloring, applied with a toothpick

Using the toothpick to add the grill marks was a little difficult, so I used one of my fine tip paint brushes.

These were really easy and fun to make. August did the kebabs.

We made play dough

I made the girls homemade play dough today. I've never made it before. It was so very easy. Here is the recipe. (I had to substitute lemon juice because I didn't have any cream of tartar and it seems to be just fine.

Ingredients:

•1 cup flour

•½ cup salt

•2 tsps cream of tartar (you can substitue 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar for each 1/8 tsp of cream of tartar. Be aware if you use vinegar, the play-doh will have a vinegar smell)

•1 cup water

•1 tbsp oil

•Food coloring
First, combine flour, salt and cream of tarter in a saucepan. Mix liquids and gradually stir them into the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat and knead until smooth. Store in a zip-loc bag.

Wordless Wednesday: Blueberry Pancakes

3rd Annual Easter Hummingbird Cake

This is now my 3rd Easter baking the Hummingbird Cake. I wish I could find my first year cake pictures so I could put them all together. Each year the cake looks different.

This year I played around with the color of the icing. This really does add some kick to the cake. I can't wait to eat it tomorrow.

The recipe is posted on the blog entry just before this one.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Two of the three layers baking

Surprise! Turquoise Cream Cheese Icing

Taa Daa! My 2010 Easter Hummingbird Cake

Repost- Hummingbird Cake Recipe

Hummingbird Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped firm ripe banana

Cream Cheese Frosting:
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans

Preparation: Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together into mixing bowl several times. Add eggs and salad oil to the dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until ingredients are moistened. Stir in vanilla, pineapple and 1 cup pecans. Stir in the bananas. Spoon the batter into 3 well-greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes,or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting: Combine cream cheese and butter; cream until smooth. Add powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in vanilla.Frost the tops of all 3 layers, stack and then frost sides. Sprinkle top evenly with the 1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans.

Needs new Menu Ideas

I am looking for some new, healthy, fresh and cheap recipes for dinner. I try once a week to cook something "new" that we've never had before. I have several cook books, but I'd like to get some ideas from Moms (or SAHD's), who's husband's (wives) and children enjoy the food you make. My kids and husband are not picky. This makes cooking much easier. If I make it and it's on the table, they will eat it.

We love all sorts of veggies. I usually substitute starchy foods with extra veggies, but will cook it if the recipe calls for it.

PLEASE SEND ME YOUR YUMMY RECIPES. I will try them and let you know how the fam liked it.

I'm also planning on starting a new dinner menu cateogory on my blog where I can post our family favs so others can try them.

Hummingbird Cake

I made this wonderful cake last year for Easter. It's all from scratch including the sinfully bad for you frosting. Today H and I made Hummingbird Cake. It's going to be a Easter/Birthday cake for E and J on Sunday. It is so yummy I can't wait until we can eat it.

This cake is kind of a lot of work so I can only make it once a year. Plus, trying to catch those hummingbirds is tough! They fly so fast. Okay haha, just kidding. I really don't know why it's called hummingbird cake.

My kitchen was so messy. There was flour everywhere, even H's socks were covered. We also made two loaves of banana bread. Our favorite! Baking really is fun, but I desperately need a bigger kitchen.

H after all the sifting and sifting and sifting

The mess

This kid is a mixing fool

This baby is a triple-decker

The "you get fatter just looking at it" homemade cream cheese frosting

HERE'S THE CAKE!

Isn't it beautiful? Each pecan was individually placed for precise and exact perfection. Okay not really but it sounded good.

Okay, so if you would have told me two years ago that I would not only have a blog, but blog about baking, I would have said you bumped your head on something. I probably would have laughed so hard I cried. But, it's fun baking with the kids & it's fun just being with the kids in general. I kinda like writing about it all too, it's relaxing.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!

We be Bakers

We have been baking a lot lately. It's been so much fun. Adam is a total cookie monster so we have to bake and bake and bake all the time. E, J and I baked 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies on Saturday and they were gone by Monday night. Adam had his pouty I need cookies look today, so back into the kitchen we went. E and J are big helpers, they pour all of the ingredients into the bowl and lick the spoons. YUM!!

Today we made two dozen peanut butter cookies (Adam's favorite) and two loaves of Banana Bread aka Nana Bwead.


Eating the peanut butter



Aggghhh! (insert Cookie Monster voice) COOOK-EEE!!


They love the mixing part

Learning to squish the cookies down


The results. SO YUMMY!

I've got to get a K, A, H post in here soon. =)