Happy Birthday Cookie Bar Bonanza

It was Bill's birthday on Friday and I wanted to make him something special. Any excuse to bake is a good enough reason for me! For outrageously good recipes, I always head over to Picky Palate's website for inspiration. I decided on Double Cookie and Cream Kiss Cookie Bars. The recipe calls for regular Oreo cookies but, to be even more festive, I used Birthday Cake Oreo cookies. Oh. My. Goodness. 

The beginning of something beautiful...

Here's the recipe:
 

Double Cookies and Cream Kiss Cookie Bars

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips
12 Oreo Cookies, broken up
25 Cookies and Cream Hershey’s Kisses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Place butter and sugars into a large bowl, stir to combine, at least 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add dry ingredients, chocolate chips and Oreo cookie pieces, stirring to combine. Press 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Top with 5 rows of Hershey’s Kisses 5 per row. Top with remaining dough and gently press. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 30 minutes, cut into squares and serve.

Makes 12-16 bars (or, at my house, 6 bars!)

 

At a Loss for Words

I haven’t had much to say lately.

Shocking, I know!

And I haven’t been cooking lately.

Double shocker!

For some reason, I’m in a bit of a funk and slightly uninspired by the ho-hum doldrums of daily life, even though everything is fine, wonderful and blessings abound. I guess the sun shines the brightest in the desert. Or something wonderfully poetic and symbolic like that…

Or, as this interesting article discusses, maybe I need more sleep.  

Or, maybe I need the laundry basket to stay empty for longer than an hour.

Hard to say! But, for now, I’ll point to some of my favorite words of inspiration and encouragement from others. After all, the name of this blog is “everything nice.” Not much moping allowed here.

To start, if you’d like a heart-clutching prayer delivered to your inbox every day, check out this website: Heavenward by Scotty Smith. I can’t tell you how many times stopping to read this prayer has brightened my day and, as the name says, given me a heavenly focus, if only for a moment.  

Next, for a reminder of our need for gratitude, head over to: A Holy Experience. The writings are real, insightful and inspiring, plus, the blog is full of practical resources. I’ve mentioned or linked this blog a few times but it’s worth another mention. It’s been a huge blessing to me.

And finally, words that sound like an angel. 

Regardless of our mood or situation, there is One who is constant. Hooray and Amen!

Growth Spurts

Spring has sprung! 

Along with the new blossoms, my kiddos are doing their annual spring growth spurts as well. Seriously, who are these kids? I could take credit for them when they were babies but now they are these zany, funny, and smart, little beings of their own. I love seeing their personalities peek out. They have grown so much and continue to amaze me every day. 

Sienna is doing very well in school. At a recent parent-teacher conference, I was told, “I wish all the kids could behave as well as Sienna does.” Nothing puffs a Mom’s pride more than a comment like that! I was also told that Sienna is coming "out of her shell" and is much more comfortable talking in front of the class and, in general, acting more independent. This is a huge stride for her! She’s horribly shy and anxious at school – probably her personality compounded by three new schools in two years!! Of course, at home is a different story…she’s bossy, sassy and stubborn beyond belief. She drives me crazy but I really do love these personality traits that are so uniquely hers. To give a perfect example, the other night while getting into bed, I said, “Sienna, I’m going to lay down with Grant first tonight because he’s extra whiney.” Sienna responds with, “Do you really think it’s a good idea to reward his bad behavior?” I was stumped. She pays attention to everything and will catch any inconsistency or loophole. She definitely keeps me on my toes! 

As for Grant, he is the same little goof ball, as usual. Unfortunately, his happy-go-lucky personality has gotten rather whiney and bratty lately. A trend that I hope will not continue too long. He likes to cross his arms, make a mad face and yell at me, “I’m frustrated!!” Then he’ll stomp out of the room. It’s so hard to discipline him because his tantrums are actually funny to me. I usually hide my face and laugh. Still, he’s a sweet little boy and brings so much comic relief to this rather serious family. 

Despite the hard days (and there seems to be many hard days), during a snuggle session or when the kids do something to make me laugh, my heart becomes so heavy with love, like a soaking wet kitchen sponge dripping with love, it has no choice but to overflow, producing tears in my eyes. Sometimes I wish I could bottle them and consume at a later date, like when they are mouthy teenagers and I’m ready to wring their necks. Anyway, I want to preserve these moments in something more reliable than my mind. I’m hoping to capture some of that with this blog.

Speaking of, as of this month, I’ve been blogging for a year! Happy One Year, Bloggie! I can’t believe I kept this thing going for a whole year. I can’t believe YOU have been reading for a year! I really appreciate that you check in on us and I so appreciate all the comments. It helps me feel close to all of our friends and family, especially since most of you are far away. So, a big hug to you and thanks!

I Heart Chocolate

It’s Valentine’s Day; the special day dedicated to expressing our love to our favorite ones! Since my Valentine is currently living in a tent in the desert, I’m going to take this time to talk about my first love: CHOCOLATE!! Oh, how I love you…let me count the ways…

We actually celebrated Valentine’s Day early with a Fonduezvous (Fondue + Rendezvous = Fonduezvous!) stay-in date night. It was really nice. Although, the kids “serenaded” us with their calls and crying, nothing could ruin the deliciousness of an entire pot of chocolate. Nothing.

And yes, of course, I’m going to share the recipe with you! I found the original recipe in my People magazine but I changed it a little bit. 

Dark Chocolate and Amaretto Fondue

Ingredients

1 cup of heavy cream

8 oz. dark chocolate (at least 60% cacao), coarsely chopped

1/3 cup amaretto liqueur

Directions

1) Warm heavy cream for 5 minutes on low heat in fondue pot. Stir often.

2) Add chocolate to cream and whisk until melted and blended.

3) Add amaretto and whisk again until blended.

4) Keep fondue pot on warm (on my pot, it was set on 275-degrees). You want it to be warm and slightly bubbly but not so warm that it’ll burn.

5) Serve with any combination of the following: pretzel sticks, angel food cake pieces, strawberries, dried apricots, marshmallows, graham crackers, etc.

I highly recommend you pair with any Chocolate Box red wine. I’ve only found it at Cost Plus World Market but it’s worth the trip! 

Finally, a special greeting from Grant…

Happy Valentine’s Day! May you have a day filled with love and chocolate!

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

A couple of my neighborhood friends and I decided that we’d get together every month or so and teach each other how to make something, either a craft or a meal. When it was my turn, they asked me to show them how to bake something. I decided on these Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes because they are easy to make and super-duper-mega delicious. They were a hit…and I think they’ll become a favorite for you, too! Here’s the recipe…

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

(originally found at Crumbs and Chaos)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup FLOUR

2 teaspoons BAKING POWDER

1/2 teaspoon SALT

1/2 teaspoon SAIGON CINNAMON*

1/2 teaspoon NUTMEG

1/2 teaspoon ALLSPICE

1/8 teaspoon GROUND CLOVES

1/3 cup VEGETABLE OIL

1/2 cup BROWN SUGAR, packed

1 EGG

1 teaspoon VANILLA

3/4 cup PUMPKIN PUREE

1/2 cup MILK

Coating:

1/4 cup BUTTER, melted

2/3 cup SUGAR

1 1/2 Tablespoons SAIGON CINNAMON*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.

In a separate bowl, combine oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk.  Mix well.

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined.  

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full (I used my cookie scoop).  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick.

Melt butter in a small bowl.  In a different small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon.  After donuts are done and have cooled enough to handle, dip them in the butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  

YUM!! 

*Saigon cinnamon is a different, more flavorful variety than ordinary ground cinnamon. Worth the splurge!

Oh, little balls of happiness! :)

To-Do Lists and Monday Meal Plan

I love lists. (Cue Modern Family: “She can make lists for days.”) And I’m always looking for ways to fine-tune my organization, schedule and list management. But, you know what? I keep coming back to the basic paper calendar sheet. To me, it really is the best organization system. I think I need the visual reminders or something. Anyway, I’ve come across the coolest little organization tools and wanted to share them with you.

For broad-scope to-do items – such as, appointments, calls, errands, visits, etc. that need to be made or done soon but not necessarily tomorrow – I recommend the “Ultimate To-Do List” which I found on RealSimple.com. To download the document, click here.

For daily and weekly organization, I highly recommend the Week at A Glance and Daily Log from A Holy Experience blog. I love, love, love these documents because they allow me to put all the mundane to-do items in one place without forgetting about my “bigger picture” focuses, like relationships I want to work on and/or a place for a memory verse. For her explanation on the purpose of each section and to download, click here.  

Here’s my Week:

I lead a very fascinating life. Ha! So, I fill this out every Sunday night and post on our cupboard. I think hubby likes it, too, because it helps him keep track of his on-the-go family.

Ok, now for some fun stuff…recipes, recipes, recipes!

(Click on titles for links to recipe)

My newest favorite breakfast:

Cinnamon Sugar Waffle “Fingers” – you AND the kids will gobble these up, I promise! And so easy!!

A tasty soup:

Zesty Chicken Tortellini – this recipe is designed for you to make and freeze for future use. We ate half and froze the other half. It’ll make for a quick and easy dinner on a busy night. Two birds with one stone!

For dessert:

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie Bars – Pumpkin, chocolate, cheesecake…”these are a few of my favorite things”…I made these this weekend on our stay-at-home-in-our-pjs Saturday. These brownie bars are very moist and cakelike, but not too sweet (despite what you’d think by the name). Great with vanilla ice cream. See the temptation below…

Have a great week!

Running The Race

Note to self: DO NOT go to Target after your Zumba workout class, when your hair is matted to your head with sweat and you probably slightly smell, even though you’re certain no one you know will be at Target at 9:45 am and you only need to run in and buy a gallon of milk and “a red Ninja guy” --- because that is EXACTLY when you will run into your perfectly-put-together-Mother acquaintance friend and her equally put-together husband. And you’ll smile while awkwardly explaining how you just came from working out and you're running into Target to buy a gallon of milk before the afternoon rush and, oh yeah, you also need to buy a toy for your kid because you just bribed him to sit still so you could take a workout class; all the while judging yourself (for them) because you know how awful you must look – and maybe smell.

Seriously, when will I ever learn?!

I've been at this job for a few years now and still some days I feel like my world is spiraling out of control. Not in a Lindsay Lohan kind of way, more like “I can’t keep up with the laundry and dishes and – oh no! are we already out of milk again?! - and rush to this and then go to that” kind of way. Especially lately, where marathon days have turned into marathon weeks and now a marathon-style month.

The constant rushing and demands and “Mommy, mommy, mommy,” is enough to make me start fantasizing about my get-away car and calculating how quickly I can make it across the border into Canada, where I can start fresh and live the rest of my days working as a librarian in a very, very, very quiet library.

But, then I’m reminded of this verse: “Do you know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24 NIV

While I’m certain Paul was discussing something much bigger than my pile of dishes in the kitchen sink, I find comfort and encouragement in this verse. I can run in this crazy race called life and will do so to win the prize. In this case, the prize being a happy and healthy family and knowing I poured my heart and soul into my kids. Even though sometimes my life (and/or myself) is messy, I must keep going and strive for my goals, yet knowing that I can lean on my Heavenly Father for strength, encouragement and help.

To me, this video is perfect physical example of that encouragement, love and grace…

We watched this video at church this past week and I was so inspired by it. It's funny and amazing how God sends encouragement our way when we need it.