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let’s celebrate all of the moms in the world!

May 7, 2012 by ilene in food, holiday fun, Party time, random goodies

Hopefully by now most of us have planned out our Mother’s Day brunch, lunch or dinner and have the gift all wrapped and ready to go. Unfortunately I am not most of us! I still have to figure out what to get for my mom who has everything. The brunch part is a little easier to plan and you can always find great ideas on Pinterest, Better Homes and Gardens and other great web sources. If the weather is nice than an outdoor party is a must. You can use a couple of yards of burlap as a table cloth and use potted plants or potted herbs as centerpieces. To keep the kids busy put out a bunch of pictures and have them make crafts with them. You can use the photo jars as centerpieces as well. And since it is Mother’s Day and you won’t be driving, how about a fruity cocktail? You can let the kids get in on the fun with shirley temples and pretty straws. Try to keep the menu simple even if it is just hamburgers and hot dogs. We often have a swim/bar-b-que on any warm holiday. Throwing corn, chicken, veggies and burgers on the bar-b-que is a great job for the men in the family! Men seem to be born to cook with fire outside. So now that I have the day/menu planned I just need to run out and get the ultimate “I love you mom!” gift. Got any great ideas?

Ideas L to R: Cookies, straws, photo jars, table setting, french toast casserole, egg toast cup, cocktails

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cake in a cup

March 26, 2012 by ilene in food, random goodies

My middle daughter has a lot of food allergies so when it comes to making desserts we usually have to make 2 kinds. The problem we’ve found is that most recipes are for multiple servings. It is hard for one person to eat a 13 x 9 dish of lemon bars, Rice Krispy treats on the other hand no problem! So we end up throwing away part of the batch. Last night I decided to make brownies for the rest of the family and a single serving cake for my daughter. I found a recipe online that I adapted to suit her needs. It was easy and mess free and you cook it in the microwave in a mug. How easy is that? I used a large Starbucks mug but it did get very hot so next time I will cook something in a microwave dish, but it does look cuter in a mug! Also the cake does stick quite a bit so messy clean up, next time I may spray the cup with Pam. To clean the mug this time I just filled it with boiling water from the kettle.

Makes 1 mug

1 Tbsp dairy free butter or regular butter

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp applesauce

vanilla extract, few drops

1/4 C Gluten Free Flour or regular flour

1/8 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Topping

1 tbsp dairy free butter or regular butter

2 tbsp Gluten Free flour or regular flour

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a mug soften 1 tbsp of butter in microwave, about 5 seconds. You don’t want it melted, just soft. Stir in 2 tbsp of sugar and mix until well incorporated. Stir in applesauce, vanilla (just a tiny bit, we’re talking drops), flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt; stirring until just combined. Use the back of your spoon to smooth it out in the bottom of the mug.

Topping – In a separate, small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of butter, 2 tbsp of flour, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Use your fingers to to pinch the butter and mix it in with the other ingredients. When it starts to look like lumpy sand (appetizing, eh?) and all ingredients are combined, pour on top of cake batter in mug.

Cook in the microwave for 50-80 seconds depending on your microwave. I ended up cooking it for about 4 minutes but each microwave is different. Yummy, almost instant dessert for one!

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crock pot cooking and america idol recap

February 29, 2012 by ilene in favorite finds, food, musings

Yesterday both of my daughters had a soccer game after school. I knew I would be busy and not have time to make dinner when I got home at 5pm so I hit the crock pot. I love my “crack” pot, it is so easy to throw a bunch of stuff in and set it for 5-6 hours and out pops a really yummy, hearty meal. So cool. I searched my cupboards for some inspiration and found a bag of dried beans. Normally you need to soak beans overnight and cook them the next day. Obviously I didn’t do that, that would take planning! Instead I hit the internet for a quick solution, what an amazing invention, can you imagine researching this in the Encyclopedia Britannica? Wash your dried beans in cold water and then boil for 10-15 minutes in enough water to cover by a couple of inches then let them sit for a couple of hours. You must do this step because as I also learned on the internet, kidney beans contain toxins. So unless you want a stomach ache and a cleanse don’t forget that step. Next up put all of the ingredients into the crock pot and set for 5-6 hours. You can be creative and pretty much add whatever you want but I’ve also included a basic recipe. When I got home I whipped up some quick corn muffins and we sat down to dinner. I served mine with cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Most everything tastes better with cheese.

Now onto the important part of our evening, American Idol. My daughters and I love to watch together. My youngest often makes signs for the people she is rooting for. She is definitely into the rocker type, dark and moody. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree. We both love Colton, plus his name alone should guarantee him rock star status. I love to read the blog Reality Rocks by Lyndsey Parker and almost always agree with her. I did think the boys did a pretty good job last night and I have to agree with Lyndsey on who I think should get voted through. Not sure the rest of American feels the same. Here are my picks: Colton, Phillip, Joshua, Creighton, Aaron and Heejun (because he is so funny!). I know I have an extra in there but there is a wild card spot, so we’ll see. I should vote for Deandre since he is a hometown boy but I am not into his swinging hair or falsetto, sorry.

Basic Bean Soup Recipe

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got girl scout cookies?

February 27, 2012 by ilene in favorite finds, food

It’s that time of year again when we all fork over our hard earned cash to pig out on girl scout cookies. This is the first year that my daughters are not selling cookies. I think I still have some frozen from last year in my freezer. I did some searching for recipes that used the cookies and found some fun ones that are pretty easy to do. The first one is s’mores. I love s’mores, the combination of chocolate and melted marshmallow, yum! This is a chocolate/peanut butter version! You can use any type of Girl Scout cookie but thin mints would be yummy and very messy. I also found a couple of website that highlight other recipes that are pretty darn easy, like the Dulce de Leche Crunchy Caramel Snack Mix. They won’t prevent you from eating a whole box in one sitting but using the blender may help you burn some calories while making your new creations. Plus I think if you stand while eating them it also burns more calories, just looking out for your health! Happy eating!

Recipe Ideas:

littlebrowniebakers.com

abcsmartcookies.com

Everything you ever wanted to learn about girl scout cookies:

www.girlscouts.org

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easy oscar party ideas

February 21, 2012 by ilene in food, Party time, random goodies

Time to gather all of your friends and family around the tv next week for an Oscar Party. Even if you haven’t watched all of the movies it is fun to see what the stars are wearing (good or bad), listen to funny speeches (mute boring ones) and make bets on who is going to win (or should win). You can start off with a fun invitation or if you are out of time just go with an evite. As your guests arrive have them fill out their Oscar predictions. You could offer a gold Oscar statue to the guest with the most correct answers or set up a pool with various category winners. I think appetizers are perfect for this kind of party and allow guests to mingle more easily. Pick appetizers that are easy to put together before hand. You could serve sliders, small Caesar salads in plastic cups, chips and dip, veggies and dip, plus 2-3 other hot and cold items. You can have a fancy cocktail for the adults, I would go with the Mint Julep in honor of The Help and Shirley Temples are always fun for the kids. Make sure to have lots of gold and black plastic and paperware on hand. An old fashioned candy bar with retro movie candies and sodas would be cute and easy to set up. I also like the popcorn cupcakes another easy idea. You can even use boxed cake mix and frosting. As a final remembrance of a fun night with friends give each of your guest a burned cd with all of the Oscar nominated songs as they leave.

Here is the official Oscar site, listing all of the nominees and the history of the Oscars. Check out the funny video with Kevin Kline and Mike Myers, love the comb over!

Some recipe ideas:

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homemade ice cream

January 30, 2012 by ilene in favorite finds, food, kids stuff, random goodies

I know that it is supposed to be winter but California has been having other ideas on that subject. We have been enjoying 70 degree sunny days. I know that the ski resorts are doing Indian dances for snow and I know my yard could use some water but it is nice to see the warm sun everyday. My philosophy on rain is; if it rained every evening while I sleep but I awoke to a sunny day I would be a happy camper. Although it would be nice to have a rainy weekend so that I could catch up on all of the shows I’ve DVR’d.

On Friday, I had a craving for homemade vanilla ice cream. It is super easy to make and with the new ice cream makers there is no ice or salt involved. Just 25 minutes of churning and then yummy dessert is ready. I use a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker. It takes a minute to mix the ingredients and then place them in the pre-frozen bowl. I usually put it on for 25 minutes then add any chocolate chips or other additions, let it run for 5 more minutes than transfer to tupperware and put into the freezer for a couple of hours. You can eat it right away but it is more like a soft serve at that point.

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream, chilled

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix ingredients and then pour into the freezer bowl. Turn on and mix for 25 minutes, transfer to an airtight container and freeze for about 2 hours.

Here is a link to the Ben and Jerry ice cream cookbook, yum! You can also find tons of great recipes online.

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