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Thursday, October 31, 2013

Booooolicious Cupcake Minis {Dark Chocolate Dipped, Marshmallow Ghost Topped, Mini, Black Velvet Cupcakes}


Better late than never, right? These cupcakes were supposed to be up last week buuuuut I didn't get them done until this morning. I was going to finish them last night but at 10 pm, just as I was about to head into the kitchen, I felt the sudden urge to dress as Minnie Mouse for Halloween and scrambled around the house looking for costume pieces. Anyway, back to the cupcakes, I love love love these and they are delicious. This is my absolute favorite frosting to make and eat. And the ganache is so decadent tasting. It may look like a cute kiddie cupcake but it tastes like a grown up treat! My boys are all kinds of excited for trick or treating and I still have a LOT to do, so let's get to it!

For the Black Velvet Cupcakes:
1 3/4 cup a/p flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup hot coffee (I used hot water and a tablespoon of instant coffee)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Fill you mini muffin pan with liners and set aside. In a large bowl, but not the bowl for your mixer, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In the bowl for your mixer add, sugars and butter and mix well. Add you eggs and vanilla, mix for 1 minute on medium speed. Stir in your dry ingredients until just moistened. Slowly drizzle in the coffee while mixing on medium-low speed. Scrape down sides and mix until just combined. Do not over mix. Fill your cupcake pan up 2/3 of the way. Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool before dipping in ganache.
*Yields 4 dozen mini cupcakes.

For Black Chocolate Ganache:
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 oz half and half
a few drops of black gel food coloring

In a double boiler, heat all ingredients on low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and combined. Once smooth and glossy remove from heat. Dip the tops of the cooled cupcakes in, coating all visible cake.
*Roll in sprinkles if desired.
* I can not stress this enough, do NOT use black liquid food coloring

For the Marshmallow Frosting:
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In the bowl for your mixer, beat egg whites and salt until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuously beating until soft peaks form. In small saucepan, heat corn syrup to boiling. Pour in thin stream over egg whites while beating on medium-high speed. Continue to beat until frosting is stiff. Beat in vanilla. Allow to cool slightly, fill a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe on frosting in tall peaks. 

*I used mini chocolate chips for the ghost's eyes.
*I would wait to top with the marshmallow within a couple hours of serving since the ghost like to lean. 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Slowcooker Korean Beef Tacos



   I've been making this recipe for awhile now. It is is similar to Bulgogi, but, not that similar. We love Bulgogi and even though I have someone's secret family recipe, (thanks Jess!) I still can't make mine taste like hers. But this recipe is close enough to get by and delicious too! I know my husband loves it as much as I do, but, of course Monkey isn't a fan of anything with red meat. We weren't sure about how well Doodlebug would like it but we decided he's a fan, considering he literally licked his plate clean. I mean, he actually picked up the plate and licked it until there was nothing left. I suppose I can forgive his poor table manners considering he is only 14 months old.

   This is the perfect thing to make when you're to busy to spend more than 20 minutes total on dinner. The prep is super easy and and the slaw is a cinch to throw together. And as a bonus, it's super hearty and filling. It has become a staple in the comfort food category for my family.

For the meat:

2 lb beef roast
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup diced pear or pear puree (I used a jar of left over pear baby food)
1/2 an onion, minced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar (sometimes I use brown sugar)
1 teaspoon Sriracha

Whisk everything, except roast, together in a bowl or measuring cup, taste to make sure the flavors are balanced. Put roast in the bottom of slow cooker and pour the marinade over. Cook, covered, on low for approximately 8 hours. When the meat is tender and falls apart easily, pull the roast out and place on a cutting board. Allow your roast to rest for just a few minutes, once it has cooled enough to touch, shred the meat with two forks. Place the meat back in the crock pot and stirring to coat in the liquid. If there is more liquid than meat continue to cook, with the lid off, for about 15 minutes or, long enough, for the sauce to cook down and thicken. Serve with slaw and flour tortillas.
* It can go longer than 8 hours if your schedule requires.

For the slaw:

1/2 head of cabbage shredded
2 tablespoons mayo
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons honey
salt to tast

Whisk the mayo, juice and honey together in a large bowl. Add in your cabbage and toss to coat. Season with salt. Serve along with the meat and tortillas.
*Make this just before serving. It gets soggy if it sets too long.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Currently.


I'm kind of failing to get stuff done around here lately, hence the lack of posts. To make matters worse, I feel like I'm coming down with the funk that my boys had/have and my husband is still sick and working a crazy schedule this week. He's off tomorrow (Saturday) and that is a rare treat in his line of work. So maybe, if I nap when the boys go to their Nana's today I can get my mojo back!


How awesome is the "angry Jack Skellington" Pumpkin the hubby carved? I free handed the drawing too! He amazes me often.

On the menu this week:
Apple Stuffed Mini Pumpkins
Bacon and Eggs Breakfast Pies
Apple and Brie Dessert Quesadillas
Chicken Pot Pie Galette
Creamed Honey

I neeeeed this slow cooker in my life! Yes, I have two, one is a huge, magnificent slow cooker with a timer, that was a gift from my Mom in law and an older, small, trustworthy hand-me-down from my Mom. But, every girl needs a pink, Hello Kitty slow cooker doesn't she? No? OK, fine, I just want it.

I'm loving my cute little note book. I have been holding onto this plain little composition notebook for months but wanted to make it cute. I always have three to four notebooks laying around. One for all menus, a small one for when ideas pop up while I'm out, one for work stuff and one for everything else. A couple of evenings ago, I was over doing what I needed to do, picking up toys, wiping noses, washing dishes, explaining why the letter c faces only one way and is wrong written backwards, I needed to do something I wanted to do. I was tired and mentally and creatively blocked. I sat down in the middle of the living room floor while the hubby was sleeping (he worked a couple of third shifts this past week) the baby was napping too and Caleb was at church and the house was quiet for the first time in days. I grabbed my notebook, some washi tape, white paint and Mod Podge. I painted the note book white to block out the pattern and covered with the tape in rows then I coated the whole thing in Mod Podge. You could probably skip that step, I was purposely trying to use up old tape that was losing its stick. I let it dry folded open for a couple of hours and now I have a new cute notebook for recipes! Not what I was planning, but, it is just too cute to use for boring works stuff and to get shredded and tossed when I'm done with it. Now I can write down recipes that I want to refer back to.

My Mom and I just planned the menu for our big Christmas Eve dinner yesterday. Yes, were are way ahead of schedule. We rotate "themes" out each year. One year was all multiple types of lasagna, another year was all chili, we've had traditional southern fried chicken with all the fixins, a fajita bar, the year of multiple soups, one year that was all sandwiches, one that was all appetizers, we've had some major successes and some failures too. No one will let me have a stir fry theme. :( But this year after my little, okay, she's not little in size, she's taller than me but, little as in, more than a decade younger than me, cousin has been begging for the a Taco themed year. We finally gave in, sort of, we are having multiple things from Mexican cuisine. Some authentic Mexican recipes, like the tamales, some not so much, since there will be ground beef and shredded cheddar on the taco bar, along with a ton of other things too. Regardless of what we make I am looking forward to it. But now I have to learn how to make flan, mostly because my other cousin, who's more like a sister, that I call Bob, which is another confusing story, wants flan and I have to make her happy, she's mean! (and she's totally going to read this and send me an ugly text! Hi, Bob! Larry loves you!!!)

Aaaannnnndddd... I just got rambly. Is that a word? Probably not, but I'm tired and have a sinus headache and my husband is at work so he's not here to correct me or laugh and my punch drunk nature. Maybe I should wrap this up and rest so I can finally finish reorganizing my kitchen this afternoon. Literally all of my pots and pans and dishes and blah blah blah are spread out in the kitchen floor, in piles of like items, so that I can find a new way to stay organized. I doubt it will last more than two weeks, but we will see!



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Pumpkin Fun! {Painted, Glittered and Carved Pumpkins)


I had planned this amazing DIY post for a sophisticated Robin's Egg Blue and Bronze Pumpkin and then this happened. womp, womp, wommmmppppppp... fail city. My washi tape peeled off my paint. But I persevered on, painted that sucker pink, with thin layers this time, then grabbed grabbed white paint, glue and glitter. Tacky is more my style anyway. I'm a little bummed at how it turned out but I foresee another try in my future.

They boys made their own pumpkins too.



Caleb painted his with acrylic craft paints and and glitter glue then glued on googly eyes and craft foam features. He named him Scooby. (Bet you can't tell who his favorite cartoon character is right now)




Liam's was an easy little project. I just painted his hand blue with craft paint and helped him print it around out smallest pumpkin. He loves it. He carries it around and then every once in a while punts its across the floor.

For the big pumpkin, that's always the hubby's job but Caleb always picks the theme, we decided on a scary Jack Skellington. He is a recurring theme in our house... Believe it or not Lee drew on the pattern free hand with no pattern. He's kind of amazing like that. :)


Friday, October 18, 2013

Currently.

 My new motto! I'm printing this off to keep around as a reminder to just chill and see the good things and focus on them. 

And my other new motto


Duuudddeeee.... I am behind! I still haven't made the brownies that have been dancing around in my head for weeks now and I still haven't tackled my Elvis Cupcake/Blondie situation that is nagging my every thought. Don't get me started on my yearning for homemade pretzels and blackberry cheese danish muffins. And, I'm still at a lose for what to do with the left over strawberry sauce in my fridge! I have been suuuper stressed recently and there are two ways that I like to relax when problems arise, retail therapy and kitchen therapy. Well, with Christmas coming up I better not hit the stores so it looks like I better grab an apron and get to work!

So to catch you up, awesome weekend with family last weekend, only to be followed up with a wide spread, horrible stomach virus Sunday night to Tuesday night or so we thought. But, guess who reared it's ugly head again Thursday morning. Yep, it's baaaaacccckkk!

So the husband's week off to relax and get some projects done around the house, before his busy season starts, has been a full of absolutely no progress or relaxing but instead a lot of sicky gross stuff and soar muscles. Boooooo!!!

On the agenda this weekend, pumpkin carving/decorating. Minion costume making, if I can find the necessary ingredients, that is. And a whole lot of disinfecting!

On the menu this week: (once we can eat solid food)
Sweet Potato Chicken Hash
Pumpkin Cheddar Polenta
Thai Coconut Cauliflower

**SURPRISE AMBUSH BY THE HUSBAND! THIS WOMAN IS SO AMAZING. I HAVE BEEN A PUNY CHILD ALL WEEK AND SHE HAS BEEN A DREAM. I CAN'T LOVE AND APPRECIATE HER ENOUGH. I HOPE YOU HAVE AS MUCH FUN READING THIS AS SHE DOES MAKING IT.**

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Past Halloween Costumes

With Halloween coming up, I thought I would share my boys' previous costumes. We bought the costumes they wore when they were new babies, simply because it is easier to plan a head that way. Caleb has had a costume made by my mom every year since then.

In 2009, at was just over a month old, Caleb was Yoda.
While I was still pregnant we joked about how all babies look a little like Yoda and thus this costume was chosen.
My husband is also a bit geek/nerd and that has played a bit of a role in all of Caleb's costume choices. 


Cute this one is, yes.

Then we changed him into a cute little pumpkin onesie and hat.


 How cute was that, right? I mean, do you see the writing on the itty bitty feet???



The next year, 2010, he was still too young to have too much input. He was just barely 1. 
After brainstorming Mom came up with the idea to surprise my husband with a Green Lantern costume. 
It is the hubby's favorite super hero.


Mom used a pair of PJs as a pattern and then painted on the emblem.
He hit a growth spurt right before Halloween so it's a tiny bit small but I loved it then and love it still!


How adorable are they?

In 2011, he was two and very opinionated about his costume choice.
He was very into robots that year. His birthday party was even a Robot Party.


This year we had even less cooperation from him standing still for pictures.


The costume was a silver tunic with silver leg covers that he wore over a black turtle neck and black fleece pants. 
.My Mom hand painted the gears.


I made a jet pack out of a couple of two liter soda bottles and a hat out of a plastic food container.
I used chrome colored duct tape and cut the shapes from the Robotz Cricut cartridge.


He loved it! He wore that jet pack around the house until it was broken beyond repair.
I've promised him a new one, so I may do a DIY post about it. 


Last year, 2012, was the year of the super hero.
His 3rd birthday party matched his costume  for that year once again.
He chose Captain America.


She used the same basic idea from the Green Lantern costume.
She made this one out of a spandex material and painted on the details.
He wanted to wear his adult sized mask and we had his shield but we totally forgot to snap a picture with it. 
We made the boots out of red duct tape and knee socks.
We cut them off at the end of the night.


 My sister is the bestest and made a quick Thor costume. 
She dresses up with some of the other instructors where she teaches. 
Last year they all did super heroes.
This year they are doing Ninja Turtles. She's crazy if the thinks I won't be posting pictures. :)



Liam was a lion.
He was Liam the Lion before he was born, kind of like Caleb has always been monkey. :)


While my Mother-in-law and Father-in-law were out shopping they ran upon it and bought it on the spot. They knew we would be on board with it. 
And we were. he loved be snuggled up in it. 


We also had a back up for him too, like we did when Caleb was a baby.



He wore his spooky onesie with his brother's pumpkin hat. 

This year Caleb is going a Jack Skellington and Liam is going as a Minion. I'm planning a post on how to make the Minion costume. I'll post pictures of Caleb's Jack costume. I truly wish I could share a tutorial but once again my Mom took care of it and I didn't even thing the have her snap progress shots. He wore it on the Disney cruise they went on a couple of weeks back. He loves it and it is my favorite yet! He was asking to be a orange dragon with purple wings that spit real fire and would fly. We were super happy he was on board with the Jack idea since her nor I know anything about pyrotechnics! 

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Life happens.

Okay, seriously, life keeps derailing my baking plans! In the middle of the night last Friday my sweet boy, who just came back from vacation, started barfing his guts up! (sorry for the grossness) Which meant little, to no sleep, for any of us. So of course, the cupcakes that I had planned to make for my brother in law's welcome home party didn't happen. I did manage to make a trifle and homemade flour, that rocked my baking world. After a surprisingly quick recovery everyone voted to bring sick kiddo to the party and he refused to leave that night. He stayed at my in law's house Saturday night and contaminated EVERYONE. So after two wonderful days spending time with family, the husband and I woke up in the middle of the night Sunday barfing our guts up! Now it's Wednesday, I haven't made cupcakes, brownies, or even gone grocery shopping. Also ordering pizza once you think you can keep food down but are too weak to cook or drive, yeah, NOT a good idea!! Don't do that, EVER, bad things happen. Now my kids have come down with the crud but, I'm just happy its not another stomach bug. I'm off to sterilize my bathroom for the trillionth time, you know, just in case. Then I plan to tackle some baking tonight or tomorrow morning before I go to work. I also have a DIY Minion costume top get started on. I have big plans for Halloween sweets too, if nothing else happens!!!

Monday, October 14, 2013

DIY Whole Wheat Cake Flour

Have you ever tried to bake a light and fluffy cake with whole wheat flour? If you have, then you know it will turn out a thick, dense, gnarly mess. When presented with the challenge, I knew I'd have to try something new. I did a bit of research, by research I mean, I Googled Whole Wheat Cake Flour, which yielded less than satisfying results.I couldn't find Whole Wheat Pastry Flour in my area and didn't want to pay a batrillion dollars to have it shipped. I did find a recipe for a how-to on making Whole Wheat Cake Flour but it was the basic Cake Flour recipe, but with Whole Wheat Flour and that was not quite what I wanted. Even though adding Cornstarch would lighten it up, you still have those big hearty flakes in the Whole Wheat Flour that make a cake not light and airy, I'm not sure what the opposite of that is... but it makes it that. So I did what I always do when I have a food, style or decorating question, I called my Mom. She reminded me of a conversation we had a long time ago. We contemplated putting the flour in a food processor to see if we could get a finer grain, Dude! light bulb genius moment. I made a basic butter cake for my Strawberry Trifle that was so good! The wheat flour gave the cake the most unique, but in a good way, flavor! I'll be experimenting with this for sure.



To make your own Whole Wheat Cake Flour:
1 cup of Whole Wheat Flour, minus 2 tablespoons
2 tablespoons of cornstarch

Combine both ingredients in a food processor and process on medium for several minutes stopping occasionally to scrap down sides. Once the flour has been ground down to a finer texture, sift through a fine mesh strainer to catch any large pieces that didn't break down in the food processor. Then use like you would any all purpose white flour or white cake flour.

I even sifted in baking powder and salt and made it self rising and the cake came out beautifully. And according to my family, AMAZEBALLS!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Currently

Can't Sop, Won't stop with the Iced Coffee!!!
On the menu for this week:
Bahn Mi Pizza
Sriracha Mac and Cheese
Chocolate Fudge Pepper Cookies
Peanut Butter Skillet Cookie
(I foresee a skillet cookie recipe coming soon)

This Smile Jar from I Am Mommy, from I Am Baker is in the works for my house right now.

This kitchen speaks to my heart.

I realized that my sister (in law) gets me this week when in a text I sent her "Rachel Ray is my spirit animal" and I got back "Yup" because other than her and maybe 2 other people I would have gotten a reply of "why are you so weird?"  I am so happy to have a sister who feels like a sister even if its because we married brothers. Aaaand that does it for my weekly gooey moment.

Speaking of spirit animals, I was wrong I love Rachel Ray but I truly believe that this girl may actually be my spirit animal!

This guy went on a Disney Cruise with the grandparents this past week. He got home last night and I can relax now. He had an AMAZING time. He loved the water slide and swimming in the ocean, he loved seeing the fish. He favorite part was meeting Jack Skellington and Sally especially since he took his Jack costume. Since it was October they had Halloween festivities and Jack and Sally were there for photos. I'll probably post a couple when I get copies from my parents.

Also, the look on my husband's face when he over heard my conversation with my aunt giving her tips on how to make dirty sweets the proper flesh color for a lingerie shower. PRICELESS!

I am in love with this DIY pillow! Hopefully mine will look half as lovely when I tackle it!

I still owe you some Nutella Cheesecake Brownies from last week. That should happen soon. Things went awry with a grandmother in the hospital (she's is going to be fine but gave us a big ole scare) and our Monkey out of town. I should hopefully have those and Elvis Cupcakes up next week and maybe a new juice.

I leave you with some new art I made for my house.



Thursday, October 10, 2013

Baba Ganoush

If I went back in time five and a half years and told my newlywed husband I was making him a vegan dip for lunch he may have asked for an annulment. When the mister and I got married he was fairly picky and unadventurous with food. He also had to have some sort of meat with every meal and seafood was questionable. Now he loves meatless meals, trying new things and simple light meals like Baba Ganoush with carrots to dip. I make this fairly often on Friday nights, the kids are at my in laws and we usually have a movie night at home. I'll get a bowl of this and cut up some carrots and toast some pitas and will snack through the movie and by the end we feel like we have been indulgent but in actuality we have been fairly healthy. This recipe makes about about four cups so we have enough for lunch for a couple of days.



Baba Ganoush
(makes approximately 4 cups, depending on the size of your eggplant)
1 eggplant, cut into chunks
juice of 1 large or 2 small lemons
3 tablespoons tahini
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil (I prefer extra virgin)
2 tablespoons sesame seed, toasted
(I toast my in a dry pan over medium heat until they are lightly golden and I can smell their aroma)

Preheat you oven to 400° F. Cover baking sheet in foil and spread eggplant out in a even layer. Roast for approximately 10-15 minutes until tops are golden brown and eggplant is wilted. Place warm eggplant, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, soy sauce and sesame oil in a food processor or blender, blend until combined. While still running stream in olive oil. Taste and season accordingly. Depending on the bitterness of your eggplant, more lemon or soy sauce may be needed. Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds when ready to eat. I prefer mine warm but cold is delicious as well.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Mango Cardamom Oatmeal

Normally breakfast around here is greek yogurt because its easy and since I don't eat much throughout the day I know I'm getting protein and calcium that I desperately need. Luckily my hubby and boys love yogurt almost as much as I do but, every once in awhile I like to have something of substance for breakfast. Oatmeal is a quick and filling meal that will stay with me until lunch and can be thrown together in the morning or even the night before, so I can fix it while still half asleep. This version has some exotic flavors that I love love love! It can also be made vegan and gluten free. Combine this with an iced coffee (yes, I drink them all year long) and I am ready to go, nice and full, albeit still half awake but ready to start my day.


Serves 4:

1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 
zest and juice of an orange
1/3 cup agave nectar, turbinado (raw) sugar or honey
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups mango (I used frozen but fresh would be best if in season)

honey and almond milk for topping or greek yogurt

In a medium saucepan whisk together milks, spices, orange juice and zest and sweetener. Bring mixture to a boil and stir in mango and oats, reduce to simmer. Simmer until thickened, about 5-8 minutes. Eat warm top with a splash of milk and/or honey (or agave or raw sugar if vegan.)

Friday, October 4, 2013

Weeknight Nachos



Have you ever gotten obsessed with a meal? Oh, come on, I know I'm not the only one! Ok, so maybe I am. I have been hooked on nachos since my little brother's graduation this past May. It's a long story but I'm going to tell you anyway. My poor brother picked a restaurant for dinner after the ceremony and the place is packed and basically tells us to go away. Off we go to his second choice. where they lie and say they're closed even though the hours posted said they would be open a couple more hours but they were packed too. So, another two restaurants later we wound up at Denny's. I was all "wah wah wahhhhhh" but then I ordered their nachos. Y'all, I'm not going to lie, those were some stinkin good nachos. Since that night I've made so many different variations of nachos it's ridiculous. These are my favorite and one of the easiest too. 

Serves 4-6

tortilla chips
salsa (I used Pioneer Woman's restaurant salsa
sour cream
I usually add, but didn't have, spinach or lettuce  
avocado

For the meat:
1 pound ground turkey
2 tablespoons taco seasoning (My recipe)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup beef broth

Over medium high heat, start to brown your meat, stirring and mashing to break it up. Once the meat is just beginning to brown, add the taco seasoning. Continue to stir and mash. Once the meat is almost browned, add in the tomato paste and the broth. Cook until all the liquid has cooked away and meat is done. 

For cheese sauce:
1 8 oz block cream cheese
1/2-1 cup milk
1 8 oz block Monterrey Jack cheese , grated 

In a nonstick skillet, over medium heat, start to melt the cream cheese. Using a spatula, break it into large chunks and once it starts to melt, add 1/2 cup milk. Start stirring with a whisk to break up lumps. Once it's smooth stir in your grated cheese and whisk smooth. Add more milk if too thick. It should be a pour-able texture.

Layer your nachos the way you like and enjoy.



Thursday, October 3, 2013

Currently.


The past week was all about Cinnamon, Foxes and Squash.

Today alone, we have watched this video 5 times! Caleb cannot get enough of it.

You've be making you're cinnamon toast wrong. Seriously. I kept seeing pins and blog posts about Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast and I just ignored them, until last week. In a week we've had cinnamon toast at breakfast or snack time almost every single day. Both boys are in love with it.



Thai Butternut Squash Soup happened last night and that is the true sign of the beginning of fall in our house. I'll be making this weekly for the next few months. I believe this might be the hubby's favorite thing from my arsenal of recipes.

The other sign of Fall in our house is me getting sick. I woke up with no voice yesterday then it slowly came back late in the day only to wake up with no voice again today. My children appreciate this fact very much, I believe. That may also explain why I feel like I'm dragging more than normal these days. Time to consume a trillion times of my daily allowance of Vitamin C and drink some green tea.


What I really want to drink is a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher from Starbucks but we are on a dining out black out in our house for the next monthish. I'll just look at the picture instead and dream or order dried hibiscus flowers off the interwebs and make my own. Hmmm... Yeah, so I'm off to find my debit card...

So yeah, that's that. Stay tuned for Mango Cardamom Oatmeal and Nutella Brownies later this week and beginning of next week. What are you doing currently?