My Big Helper

It's no surprise that I spend lots of time in the kitchen on the weekends.  I have loved cooking for as long as I can remember.  My mom always told me that I started following recipes when I was pretty young.  She did the parts that pertained to fire or the oven, but the rest was up to me.  As I got older Mom was very supportive of my cooking endeavors and more than once allowed me to experiment on the family with new recipes.  Some were hits, others were definite misses.

I try to share my passion for cooking with my girls as well.  Brynne and Brooke always help in the kitchen and it's such a joy to show them new skills as they get older.  They have grown from simply following my instructions to reading recipes on their own.  Brynne even gets to use the "good knives" and it working on knife skills.

This weekend it was me and Tori at home.  The past few weeks she has become very inquisitve and independant. "I'll do it BY MYSELF." is her new motto.  Something else I head many times this weekend was, "Let me help you."  So I did.

She got to use her little toddler knife to cut up Velveeta (that I had already cut up) for chicken and rice.  She also got to brush the egg wash onto the loaf of french bread.  She was so proud of herself!

Sunday afternoon her ZeeZee stopped by for a visit.  We were all hanging out in the family room when Tori disappeared and got very quiet.  Anyone with a small child knows this is never a good thing.  When I called out to see what she was doing she yelled that she was doing the dishes.  Sure enough, she had pulled up her stool and was scrubbing away at the loaf pans I had soaking in the sink.  This was the best picture I could snap before I had to rescue my counter from being flooded.

I love my girls so much!  I'm so proud to be their Mom.

Thin Mint Cupcakes

My thoughtful husband brought home ten, yes I said TEN, boxes of Girl Scout Cookies from work Saturday morning.  This should keep my emotional eating habits supplied for at least the next week or so.  But seriously, I had to think of something to do with some of them so they didn't end up taunting me from the cabinet.  I needed to make two dozen cupcakes for a church event and knew this would be the perfect time to experiment.  They were for the youth group and everyone knows that teenagers eat anything!  So even if they weren't great they wouldn't go to waste.

I took a shortcut here and used boxed cake mix.  I had it handy and I'm not ashamed to admit it. :-)  You can definitely used your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

Thin Mint Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix, prepared, or your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

1 box Thin Mint Cookies

Double batch mint chocolate buttercream icing, recipe to follow.

Directions:

Prepare cake batter according to box or recipe and preheat oven as specified.  Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.  Chop one sleeve of thin mint cookies into course pieces.  The other cookies can be cut in half to garnish the frosted cupcakes.

I usually use an ice cream scoop to measure out cupcake batter for uniform cupcakes.  In this case, you want the cookie pieces in the middle of the batter.  So put half the batter into the liners, sprinkle with crumbs, then finish filling in the batter.  Bake according to the recipe/box and allow to cool completely.  Frost with Mint Chocolate Buttercream and garnish with cookie halves.  I use a pastry bag and this tip that I ordered from Bake It Pretty to make the pretty swirl of frosting.

Mint Chocolate Buttercream adapted from Wilton

Ingredients:

1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup cocoa or three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted

1 teaspoon clear peppermint extract

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)

3-4 tablespoons milk

Makes: About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add cocoa and extract. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

No More Hiding.

I feel like I've spent the past few weeks in hiding.  Not physically, of course... physically I've been busy with family, home and work.  I've been planning vacations and travelled to Las Vegas for a long weekend with my husband, sister and brother-in-law.  (It was fabulous and I promise to write a post about it when I can get the pictures sorted.)  I've been doing the things that I always do.

Emotionally I've been shuttered up inside my own mind, locking myself away from my family, friends and even God.  I've holed myself up in a prison of my own making with my fears and anxieties until I feel like I could burst from the pressure.  But why?  Why do I do this?  I know that God's word tells me not to be anxious.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." ~ Philippians 4:6

And I know that the Lord wants to provide me with the strength that I lack on my own.

"..For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10

But Satan still whispers lies to me.... lies that tell me I am too small and insignificant for God to care, that I am alone and friendless, that who could possibly want to be bothered with my trivial issues.  And I let myself believe these lies.  It is far easier to hang on to my sack full of ashes and carry it around with me than to lay it at the feet of Christ.  These ashes are MINE, they are a part of me.... what happens if I let them go?  Who am I then?

Starting today, I'm saying it out loud..... SATAN, I'M FINISHED HEARING YOUR LIES.  My LORD, my God is my strength and my peace.

"Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always." Pastor Phillip Crossman

Valentines Day Cookies!

Pardon the excruciatingly, terribly horrid picture!  It was taken with my phone.  Holding the camera and supervising a 2 year old in the kitchen just wasn't possible.  Tori and I made decorated sugar cookies for her Valentine's Day party at daycare.  I've always been very apprehensive about decorating (or even baking) cut out cookies before.  Royal icing has not been kind to me in the past.

Several months ago I started reading  Bake at 350.  The blog is written by Bridget (a fellow Texas girl and  the neighbor of another of my favorite bloggers) and she gives great step by step instructions on how to make your own super cute sugar cookies.

I used her recipes for Sugar Cookies and Royal Icing just as written.  Read through several of her posts and the FAQ's and you'll quickly pick up on her helpful hints.  Here are a few that I found especially important.

Cookies:

1)  You CAN use cold butter and skip the step of chilling the dough!

2)  Thick cookies and a well floured surface to roll them on (wax paper) are the way to go.

3)  Parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

4)  Freeze each batch for 5 - 10 minutes on the cookie sheet before you bake them.  They held their shape perfectly.

Icing:

1)  Do NOT overbeat.  I did and it made the icing very hard to pipe the outlines.

2)  Using plastic craft bottles for the flood icing was brilliant and so easy!

3)  Stir thinned flood icing gently and let it set for a bit before you use it to reduce the amount of bubbles.

Decorating the cookies was much less intimidating than I had expected.  They turned out super cute.  Unfortunately, because of the humidity and the fact that I did them pretty late last night they hadn't had time to dry completely before I had to package them early this morning.  There were a few smudges.  I would suggest a 24 hour drying period after you finish decorating.

Through the Trials.....

I missed WFMW this week and I haven't really given much thought to writing a blog post.  I'm going through some trials right now that are really leading me to dig deeper into the "Faith" portion of my blog.  I'm still cooking up a storm (baking = therapy for me) and I'll post some recipes soon, but right now I want to share a note I posted on Facebook a while ago.

I love looking back on postings here or on other websites and knowing that I was led to write those specific words so that I could go back a read them at this specific time.  I posted this note months ago.... and boy do I ever need to read it now.

Does God give us more than we can handle?

Often during times of trial we hear that God will not give us more than we can handle. But is that really true? Will God give us a burden that is too heavy for us to bear?


Some people look to 1 Corinthians 10:13 as assurance that God will not place more upon us than we can deal with. I don't believe that is what the passage means at all.


"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Paul is writing in this letter to fellow Christians in Corinth. If you look at the entire text he is warning them about getting comfortable in their faith and succumbing to the temptations of sin, as the Israelites did before them. In verse 13 Paul reminds us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist.

There are storms in our life too strong and violent for us to weather alone. There will come a burden too heavy for our shoulders to bear. We will be put through trials that are more than we can handle. The fact is because of the first sin of Adam and Eve all of mankind will suffer during their lifetime.

So what do we do now? If we are too weak to endure these hardships alone what possible hope do we have to make it through this life?

The glorious news is that we have God! If we choose to accept it we have a love and hope in the Lord that will endure any trial, weather any storm. While God will give us more than we can handle, He will never leave us to handle it alone. He wants, even requires, us to turn to Him for assistance. He is an ever present strength, a deliverer and our shield in the storm (Psalm 144:2).

My dearest friends please know that whatever your burden is, no matter how great or small, how heavy or light, that the Lord will willingly carry it on His shoulders if you will hand it to Him.

It was easy to write this when I wasn't struggling, and now that I am having a hard time it is great to read them... and to know that I know that I know that they are true.

Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake

This is my version of chicken spaghetti.... only without the spaghetti.  I just do not like spaghetti noodles.  Fettuccini, sure.  Angel hair.... maybe.  But not spaghetti.  It's one of my weird quirks.  So I decided to make a version of chicken spaghetti using an other type of pasta.  I made a few other slight changes to the recipe and the family loved it.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, boiled and the meat shredded (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 box Mezze Penne pasta - or any shape you like
1/2 large block of Velveeta (I used the 2%), cubed
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken
1 can Rotel, drained - I used mild but you can use any variety
1 jar mushrooms, drained
1 sleeve Ritz crackers, crushed to fine crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450.  Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non-stick spray.  Boil pasta according to the directions on the box.  I boiled mine a minute or two short because I can't stand mushy pasta and it will continue to cook a bit on the oven.  While the pasta is cooking combine the Velveeta, soups, Rotel and mushrooms in a large microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 3 minutes at a time, stirring between, until the cheese is melted.  Stir in the shredded chicken.

When the pasta is done drain and place in the casserole dish.  Pour in the cheese and chicken mixture and stir well to combine.  Top with cracker crumbs.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust is golden.

Too bad I didn't have any frozen broccoli.  It would have been great in this dish.  Just thaw, pat dry and stit into the casserole dish before you put the crumbs on.

WFMW - Favorite Kitchen Tools

I'm at a loss today for anything worthwhile to contribute to WFMW.  Yes, I'm taking the easy way out and spotlighting some of the tools I use most often in the kitchen.

I'm a sucker for kitchen stuff.... utensils, dishes, pots, pans, gadgets, appliances.  You name it, I need it!  I didn't realize how acute this had become until my husband and I had the opportunity to stroll through the mall last Saturday without any real purpose (or any children).  I couldn't care less about any of the department stores.  The clothing and shoe stores hold no power over me.  In fact, I really don't enjoy shopping much at all.  But then we stumbled upon Williams Sonoma!

I believe we spent almost an hour perusing every corner of the store while I ooohed and aaaahed over an assortment of culinary "necessities" that I have neither the funds to buy nor the space to store.  Then we hit up Home Goods and World Market!  By the end of the afternoon I had a list a mile long of various things that I just must have for my kitchen.  But until the day comes when a money tree sprouts in my backyard and my kitchen magically doubles in size I'm going to rely on the same trusty tools that have brought me this far.  I'll share some of my favorites.

                                                     

Food Processor

It took me years to break down and buy a food processor.  I thought that anything I needed could be accomplished in my trusty (cheap) Oster blender.  Oh how wrong I was!  I use this more than any other appliance in my kitchen except my coffee pot.  Not only for the typical pureeing and grinding, but it grates a pound of cheese in SECONDS.  The fresh grated stuff is so much better (cheaper) than the preshredded bags but for convenience I have been buying them for years.  Not anymore!

Don't even get me started on pie crusts!  Who knew they were so easy?

Oh how I wish I had this when I spent months making baby food.  I can only imagine the time it would have saved.

Mesh Strainer

As a baker I'm almost ashamed to admit that I do not own a sifter.  I'm a firm believer in the sifting process and I know it makes a difference in the texture of baked goods, but I'm not a fan of the sifter itself.  They are a pain to clean and my mesh strainer works just fine.  It serves double (triple?) duty as a sifter/strainer/sieve in my kitchen. 

Flexible Cutting Mats

I use these mats instead of cutting boards.  It's easy as pie to transfer veggies or meats from the flexible mats to a bowl, pot or pan.  The labeled set of four allows you to use a different mat for each type of food and lessens the risk of contamination.

For more tips (on everything under the sun) visit Works for Me Wednesday and We Are THAT Family.