Daddy's birthday

I love that every year we get to celebrate the coolest, funniest person out there. Philip takes care of this family and is an awesome dad to my two munchkins. He's a pretty sweet husband too. There are a few things that he loves a lot, besides us of course, and that would be sushi and Boston cream pie. So for his birthday, to make it as epic as possible, we gave him two cakes: a sushi cake and a Boston cream pie cake. I also threw him a surprise party that I am so glad I pulled off.

I guess lets start with the sushi cake and planning of the surprise party. The first thing you should know about me is that I have a big mouth! I love to talk and I have a really hard time keeping anything from my husband. He's my best friend, so naturally I want to tell him everything! I prepped and planned, and secretly texted people until I finally had it all figured out. His sister was going to come over early the day of the party and take him away to go let him pick out his birthday present. She took him to a comic book store, which would keep him busy for as long as I needed him gone, to give people a chance to arrive. Then she said she had to be somewhere and got him home after everything was ready. We all yelled surprise and he almost fell over! It was amazing and I am really glad, that for once, I was able to keep my big mouth shut. His face was totally worth it! But lets back up to a few days earlier which was his actual birthday where we gave him a sushi cake and some delicious cupcakes!

I found this great bakery in Plano, Sugar Ray's bakery, that had a Boston cream pie cupcake. We also got a few others to try that were amazing! My kids loved our tasting party. LOL. We have top left, a peach cobbler cupcake, a nutella cupcake (my son's pick), a vanilla bean (my daughter's pick), banana pudding, the Boston cream pie cupcake (the birthday boy's pick) and finally, my pick, a chocolate caramel pretzel cupcake! I am not big on sweets, but I like to have a little here and there. I ate on mine for 3 days! It was so good, but oh so sweet!

As for the sushi cake, here you go! Super simple to make and a show stopper! I started with sushi rice, then a layer of sushi grade tuna, shredded carrots, then shaved ribbons of cucumber and then repeated the layers. Decorated with shredded carrot and a cucumber ribbon flower. This is something that can be done easily with any vegetable, meat and as little or as many layers as you like. I did it all in a spring form pan, refrigerated it for about 30 minutes, then carefully popped it out. It was a hit for sure!! 

This was the setup for his surprise party. Fruit salad, PB&J sandwiches for the kids, pulled pork in a crockpot in the kitchen and pineapple coleslaw. And for dessert, the Boston Cream Pie cake. It was all delicious and perfect! 

For the cake, I simply baked two boxes of yellow cake mix as directed in two separate pans. After the cakes had cooled, I poked holes in one of the cakes with the handle of a wooden spoon. Then I carefully put vanilla pudding on top, making sure to go slow and take my time layering it on, so that it could get into all the holes. I refrigerated it for about 30 minutes before I put the top layer on so that it had time to firm up some. Then after I placed the second layer on, I put it back in the fridge until party time. For the top, I simply melted some bittersweet chocolate with a little bit of milk to thin it out and then spread it on top right before guests arrived. This was the perfect combination of sweet and creamy. A little bit of chocolate, creamy vanilla filling and scrumptious cake made this the best cake for a birthday boy who loves Boston cream pie!

All in all, I think our birthday guy had a great day! He got to have a quiet celebration at home with cupcakes and a sushi cake. Then have a wonderful surprise party, filled with friends, family, laughter and his favorite dessert made into a cake. He said he had no idea and it was by far his best birthday yet. I can't wait to see what I pull out next year to make him smile. I love finding and doing different things that make this guy light up. Until next time...

College week

This week is college week at my son's school and as room mom, I had to come up with a theme for his teachers door and decorate it. I love being room mom and so far, I have loved being a part of the PTA. I'm enjoying being up at my kids school and being involved. But I also have a lot of other things going on. So I needed to come up with something simple, easy and quick so that when it was time to decorate, we could get in and get out quickly. Both of my kids are playing soccer, so we get very few nights off. We weren't allowed to decorate while school was in session, so I had to go in after hours with both kids. So, getting it done quickly, means getting home and spending one of our rare free nights doing something together. Isn't that what we all want? Time together, and an easy stress free life!

For my theme, I did a Dr. Seuss college collage. I took quotes from "Oh the Places You Will Go" and drew and colored the mountain and little guy from the front of the book. I actually enjoy drawing quite a bit. In another life, I would have been an animator, but here I am, in this life, cutting, drawing, coloring, gluing projects for my kids schools. :)

Here is my little Dr. Seuss man standing on his mountain!

Next was getting all the college logos together. I didn't want to just print them. I wanted some depth to them and color. So, I printed the logos, and cut and traced and cut again, and kept going until the logos were complete. I had construction paper that I used that had all colors!! It took awhile, but it was fun! (And yes, I am from the south, so it's hard to think of any schools outside of Texas. But I tried!)

Once all the cutting was done, all I had to do was tape it to the paper for the door and write my quotes out. Getting the paper to fit the door was harder than anything else. Cutting out the window and a spot for the handle, was by far the most complicated part of this project. Here's the final: "Oh the places you will go!", "Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!!"

You could certainly cut out letters, but I wasn't sure how much space I would have, and since my handwriting isn't terrible, I decided to just write it out. 

So if you have a project for school someday

No worries, let this help you on your way

No need to fear, it was quite easy

There's no need to get a bit queasy

I couldn't help myself. There's my Dr. Seuss for you. I hope everyone has a wonderful school year whether you are room mom, volunteer, on the PTA, etc. Until next time...

First Day of school

I can't believe that it is finally school time again! We have had a wonderful summer full of lots of activities, fun times and laughs. But I am ready for some alone time again and school came just in time. I remember a few years ago when my son was starting Mothers Day Out, and now he is in Kindergarten!

As usual, X was so excited to start school, and I was sad, terrified, nervous and every other emotion you can think of. He was brave, independent and didn't look back once getting to his classroom. I wanted to hang on, cry and decide to start homeschooling! (Don't worry, I'm really not going to do that. Today.)

He survived his first day with no tears and was excited to go back. It was definitely a new thing not having him around all day. By the fifth day, I didn't know what to do with myself. I have never been away from him for that many days for school before. We are loving his teacher and all the new things that have come with a new school and a big boy grade! He now gets out of the car at drop off by himself! What?! I don't walk him in anymore. (pause for some tears). Actually, by this week which is the second week of school, I'm like "see ya buddy! Mommy's got things to do!" HA. J/K! (but no, kind of for real).

O on the other hand, started 3 year old preschool. She is only going 2 days a week and I am so happy to have her alone for 3 days of the week. We haven't had that in over a year and even then, she was too young to cherish it. She calls these days "sister days". I'm not sure why. I keep reminding her that its mommy daughter days, but she insists on calling our time sister time. She started a new school as well and has enjoyed it thus far! 

It took a good week to get into the swing of things. Both kids have different drop off times, different pick up times, different lunches and a few other changes. I finally quit feeling so scattered with who needs what, when, and how many. We are settled into a nice routine and I am enjoying my days off working out, getting things done around the house and having random lunches with my husband! I am looking forward to an exciting year of being room mom for Xander's class, joining and working with the PTA, and volunteering at both schools! Its a new year, with new opportunities and I could not be more excited about them. Until next time...

4th of July

Happy 4th everyone!! I hope you all had a great time with your families; grilling, playing and watching fireworks! We had a wonderful day! We were able to hang out at home together, and eat some delicious pulled pork my husband smoked. The kids and I made festive cupcakes and we swam with family.

We decided this year to stay up late and watch fireworks for the first time. Our kids loved it!! O was exhausted afterwards because that was the latest I think she has ever stayed up, but she was so excited that she got to see her first fireworks.

We grabbed Bahama Bucks on the way! America + Bahama Bucks = true love!

We had a great spot!

This is what happens when you try to get a good picture of these two together!

All in all we had a great day. We are so blessed to live in a country that is free. There is a lot of heartache and tragedy in America these days, but I hope that this day we all remembered that we are free, loved and blessed to be a part of this country. More peace, more love, more unity. Lets give our kids a wonderful place to grow up in thats full of tolerance, compassion and filled with generations to come that are always respectful and kind! Be thankful this year for the ones around you. Happy Independence Day, America and friends! Until next time. 

Father's Day 2016

We have a pretty amazing guy around here who helps me raise my two kids. Life with a 5 year old who wants to know everything and a 3 year old going on 16, is rough sometimes. It's extremely rewarding to see our kids grow and become their own people, and at the same time, extremely exhausting, crazy and hard at times. My 5 year old asks SO many questions these days that I sometimes want to say, "STOP! I don't have all the answers!!!" But for starters I don't want to discourage him from asking great questions, and secondly, if I said that, I would give away my awesome alleged super power where they think I know everything! We can't have that can we? So, I get through it all with the help of an amazing husband! He's a doting father and great leader. Plus he answers ALL the questions I pass on to him. In honor of Fathers Day, I dedicate this blog to him!

He plays with our kids, encourages their dreams, cuddles with them whenever they ask, coaches their sports, teaches them new things, comforts them, leads them and cherishes them. I could go on and on, and he's worth it, but I'll stop here and share some of my favorite photos and memories of mine.

See, he's pretty great!! 

For Father's Day, we made mini chocolate chip pancakes and a delicious frittata with tomatoes, ground turkey, feta and spinach. Recipe at the end of the blog!!

And by the way, if you don't have one of these, you need one. Its a batter dispenser. My sister got me one a couple Christmas' ago. Its great for making small or shaped pancakes, easy to get batter into muffin tins, etc. Its just amazing. Go get one.

This looks so yummy doesn't it!

And the kids made him these awesome pictures which we put on canvas for his office!!

He really is our hero and I am glad that he is a part of our circus!! Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there and I hope that you all had a great day!! Until next time...

Father’s Day Frittata 

5-6 cherry tomatoes, sliced into discs

1/4 cup feta

1/4 lb ground turkey

1/4 tsp sage

1/4 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper

6-8 spinach leaves

4 eggs

1/4 cup of milk

Combine eggs and milk and whisk together. Set aside. Turn broiler on high.

In a skillet, brown the turkey. Add salt and pepper to taste, the sage and onion powder. Once cooked through, remove and let drain on paper towels. 

Put a little oil in a non stick, oven proof skillet, over medium high heat. Place the tomatoes in the skillet and let them caramelize on one side (about 1-2 minutes), then flip them over. Let them sit for about a minute. Pour eggs slowly in the skillet. Sprinkle the ground turkey and feta cheese around. Nestle the spinach leaves around in the mixture. Using a spatula, go around the edges, making sure nothing is sticking. Let the eggs cook most of the way through. Place the skillet in the oven and let cook all the way through, about 5-8 minutes. Take it out when golden on top. 

Summer fun and mini corn dog muffins!

Hello, Summer!!! I have been waiting for it for a few weeks now. We finished up teacher appreciation week, end of year gifts and school. X graduated preschool! Which means I now have a kindergartner!!! Where did the time go?? And O will be moving on to 3 year old preschool. I no longer have babies, just two "big" kids.

Anyway, to celebrate summer, I have a great, easy, delicious corn dog recipe that the kids can help with now that they're home all day! It literally could not be more simple and delicious. I would say that in the last few months my kids have gotten totally addicted to corn dogs, but I don't always want to run out to go get them. So I came up with this recipe.

Mini corn dog muffins:

4 hot dogs

1 package of corn bread mix

Make the corn bread mix according to the package. You could also make your own, which is easy too. The package makes less than my homemade version and you don't need a ton, so using packaged corn bread for this is perfect.  I cut each hot dog into 6th's. I would just cut the weenie in half and then cut the halves into thirds. Place a hot dog piece into a greased mini muffin pan, then pour the corn bread mixture about half way up. Bake according to the corn bread directions. The result is so yummy!!

Could those not be more perfect!!!

My kids ate these so fast!! I now always have a package of cornbread and hot dog weenies on hand! I hope everyone has a wonderful summer full of laughter, relaxation and time. We plan on seeing lots of fun summer movies, playing in the pool, blowing bubbles and going to the lake! Let me know what fun things you are going to do this summer!!! Until next time...

Brining a turkey

Lets talk about brining a turkey!! (I know, its not Thanksgiving, its not even cold weather season anymore, even though this Texas weather has been throwing us off, but turkey is great all year around! And it was time for me to share our Thanksgiving turkey recipe, so deal with it and get hungry for turkey this Spring!) We did this for Thanksgiving this year and then smoked the turkey! It was amazing! I am usually not a big fan of turkey. I'm not sure if its the taste or what, but I usually go for the ham around the holidays. I like eating turkey with other meats like in a club sandwich, but by itself its not really my thing. However, after we did this recipe, it smelled so good that I actually liked eating it this year. We knew it was a winner after that and now we plan on doing our turkey this way from here on out. It stayed moist and was amazing as leftovers (which I'll give a great soup recipe that I did using left over turkey at the end of this blog!)

For starters, we used Damaris Phillip's brining recipe. She has a show on food network called Southern at Heart and her brining recipe was pretty simple and full of flavor!! Here it is:

1 cup fine salt
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
5 cloves smashed garlic
2 dried bay leaves
Freshly cracked black pepper
One 12-pound turkey

In a giant pot, bring to a boil the salt, molasses, sugar, worcestershire, garlic, bay leaves and pepper. Let it cool completely and then pour it over the turkey in a brining bag. Let it sit over night in the refrigerator.

Its looking good!

Then cook the turkey however you want. We smoked it following this recipe:

1 cup bourbon
5 cups apple wood chips

We soaked the wood chips in a combination of water and bourbon. Just put the wood chips in a bowl, pour in a cup of bourbon and then add water until all the chips are soaked. Let this soak overnight as well. The flavor that came from the bourbon was amazing!

Then when its time to smoke, set your smoker as high as it will go to heat up. Then right before you put your turkey in, turn the temperature to 225. Once you take the turkey our of the brine, pat it dry. Be sure to get in all the crevices. Then put some canola oil on him (I'm not sure why its a him and not a her, but lets go with it) and season with salt and pepper (or any special rub).

We have this awesome seasoning that a friend makes so we used a special rub. If you have something you love, then add that along with the salt and pepper right before smoking!

Put in smoker! You will want to smoke him for 5-6 hours depending on the size of your turkey. For a 12 pounder and good weather, it'll take 5-6 hours. If the weather is really cold, be sure to factor in more time for the cooking. You'll want the internal temp to be around 165. If you have questions about smoking and time, leave a comment and my husband, who is amazing at smoking can hopefully answer your question. Let it rest for 30 minutes before cutting into it.

This is your delicious end result. My kids and I could not get enough of this!

After Thanksgiving, we had a lot of leftovers, so I decided to make a soup. The smoky flavor from the turkey came out in the soup and just kicked it up 10 notches! It's definitely a great combination every year, a smoked turkey followed by smoked turkey soup. The recipe is all yours:

Smoked Turkey Soup

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

4 large carrots, peeled and diced

3 stalks celery, diced

6 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

3-4 cups copped leftover turkey

1 cup rice

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot, melt the butter with the olive oil. Sauté the onion and carrots (be sure to season with salt and pepper). (You could also add any other vegetable you have leftover from thanksgiving, i.e. bell peppers, squash, etc) Once the vegetables start to get soft, throw in the turkey and pour in the broth. Let it come to a boil, then add the rice (or noodles or nothing if you want to cut the carbs). Let it simmer for 20-30 minutes. Taste it and decide if you need more salt and pepper. It'll depend on your turkey and broth, etc. So always taste check it. Then add about a cup of milk and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve with bread, crackers, croutons, pour over left over stuffing, eat it by itself...oh the many options!! 

You don't have to wait for Thanksgiving to brine and smoke a turkey. You don't even have to wait for left over turkey to make this soup, just get some store bought carved turkey in the deli section! These recipes are awesome all year around and a nice change to have now, so you don't have to wait for a fall/winter holiday. I hope you guys enjoy making these recipes as much as we enjoyed eating them! Until next time...