Making cookies with Danny

Nothing better than making freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with Danny Boy!

Family Traditions

Family traditions are the best. George and I continued one tonight with Kim Mazerac and family, rolling out peanut butter balls for dipping in chocolate. Zachary, Megan, and Danny will always remember rolling them at Grandma's house.

Maple Bacon Cookies...What!?!

So, I was shopping at target this month, and I found a new fall cookie kit from Betty Crocker, Maple Bacon flavor.

As these are flavors I love, I thought, "they can't be bad in a cookie, can they?" Night before last, I decided to try them out. This is what they look like after they're baked.

And the taste? Well, they taste a lot like a pancake with syrup and bacon all smashed together into one bite. In other words, delicious - or at least I thought they were. I think George and the kids will stick with plain chocolate chip. 

4th of July/Outlander weekend

Just because the 4th was over doesn't mean that our fun ended this weekend. George and I just finished the 8th installment, Written in my Own Heart's Blood or MOBY as its fans affectionately call it,, in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (soon to be a Starz series in case you've been living under a rock), and we decided to mix it up this weekend. We started with some of our traditional summer activities like making our homemade vanilla,

and smoking some wonderful ribs paired with franks (grilled from the night before) and beans.

As George says, he smoked 'em low and slow.

While George downed his signature drink (a Boulevardiere),

I sipped a Jack Rose with one of George Washington's favorites, Apple Jack Brandy (which is mentioned quite a lot in MOBY

while baking some awesome chocolate chip cookies.

Along with the traditional activities, we threw in some Outlander-inspired things as well. We made two different batches of Cherry Bounce (another of George Washington's favorites)

I got the different recipes from a blog called Outlander Kitchen, and they should be ready in 3-6 months. I'll let you know what we think! Outlander Kitchen just recently published a Tastebook, and I got a copy. It's full of excellent recipes, and I decided during this cooking/baking spree that I would make Black Jack Randall's Lavender Fudge.

While my picture is nowhere near as good as the blog's or the Tastebook's, the fudge was delicious. The lavender gives it a unique flavor, and I even spruced it up with some of my homemade vanilla. Yummy!

Now I know you're thinking, There can't possibly be more. Oh, but there is.

Sunday after church, Danny's had a friend over to play video games and ride bikes for a while. Here they are chowing down on some corn dogs.

Megan went to a friend's house, and George and I continued our Outlander weekend by making Outlander Kitchen's Shepherd's Pie from An Echo in the Bone.

All I can say is, Oh My Goodness. I believe we'll be having another weekend soon, as George has requested this as a staple in our house now. Glad to oblige on this one.

What a fantastic July 4th/Outlander weekend!

Winter Storm Leon

Today, schools were closed due to the crazy weather predicted to hit the area. Winter Storm Leon was supposed to drop snow and ice on the area, and the local school system took precautions. This meant that I got to have a day at home with the kids. Yea! Unfortunately, the snow that was predicted did not fall, only freezing rain and sleet... all day long. And, to make things better, it didn't get far above freezing temperatures. So, the kids and I stayed inside the warm house, and we decided to help out the heater by keeping the oven going all day in a baking marathon. Highlights?

Chocolate muffins, triple chocolate cookies, and shortbread for George and the kids. I also decided to use up the remainder of the Chex Mix makings from Christmas-time by making Creamer Chex Mix.

The kids enjoyed snacking and playing games all day long, and after a Duck Dynasty marathon, they slipped off into dreams of chocolate, peanuts, and baked goodies. I love snow days!

National Ice Cream Day

Sunday was National Ice Cream Day, and to celebrate, we made a blueberry pie and some vanilla bean ice cream. The ice cream was pretty easy to put together as it only has a handful of ingredients.

Danny helped me by being the official stir-er of the custard.

And Megan helped me with the packaging after we froze the ice cream.

While waiting for the ice cream to freeze, the kids did rainy day projects from Surprise Ride, a web-based organization that puts together projects with all of the materials needed. Our subscription began this month, and the theme for July was pirates. Complete with a copy of Treasure Island, a snack, a paintable treasure chest,

a draw-it-yourself treasure map, and a floating foam pirate ship.

The kids had a blast, and I highly recommend getting a subscription. After project time, we ate dinner and broke out the ice cream. It was delicious! What an awesome end to the weekend!

More inspiration

Last night, after the house was quiet, I was trying to think of something to make for breakfast today to make use of my week-old bananas and/or blueberries before they went completely bad. I had seen Giada at Home last week, and I remembered that she made a Blueberry-Banana bread.

Perfect! I love baking at night, and I like to think the smell of baked goods gives the kids good dreams.

This morning, Megan and I made use of our leftover cajun ingredients and some others to create an Andouille, potato and egg scramble to have with the bread.

Megan was inspired to help by our "Creamer Cooking Camp" and has become an expert sausage slicer.

For the scramble, we used one Andouille link, one cup of cooked hashbrowns (we had some leftover refrigerated hashbrowns from another breakfast), 1/4 cup red onion, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, 2 beaten eggs, and 3 Tbsp. shredded cheddar. First, you place 1 Tbsp. of butter in a non-stick pan, adding onions and peppers when hot. Add the sausage and cook until sausage slices are lightly browned on both sides. Add the hashbrowns and continue to cook until the potatoes are heated through. Add the egg and cheese and stir until the eggs are fully cooked. That's it! Such and easy way to use leftovers, and an easy way to continue the inspiration to create in the kids.

Creamer Cooking Camp

I had signed the kids up for Publix kids cooking camps this week, but unfortunately the class was cancelled due to low enrollment. I had already taken off work to shuttle them around, and I decided to no let it be a total loss. I planned a cooking class for them at home, and we had a great time cooking items from Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking.

Once all of the prepping was completed (George chopped the red and green peppers, Megan chopped the green onion, and Danny chopped the celery), we started on the appetizer, Crawfish Pies. While Danny read off the instructions, everybody took turns stirring and sautéing the filling mix. First George, who showed off his tossing and flipping skills while stirring,

then Danny,

 

and then Megan.

Then, Megan and I rolled out the pie crust and brushed the egg to seal them.

After they were filled and baking, we made the Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese and Warm Andouille Dressing. All I can say is..."Yum." Here are the finished products as we sat down to eat them.

 

 

After the first two courses, we quickly made the main course, Andouille and Crawfish Maque Choux. For this course, we modified Emeril's Tasso Maque Choux recipe to incorporate the sausage and crawfish. This was by far one of the best dishes we've ever eaten.

Our dessert for the evening was Jessica Lagasse's Black and White Brownies.

This is a white chocolate "brownie" with semisweet chocolate pieces melted into the top. In all it was such a successful cooking experience, and the kids were so excited about how much they learned and enjoyed what they created. We will definitely do this again.

Buttermilk Pie

Last night, while I was trying to decide on what to make for dessert, I looked in the fridge and saw that my buttermilk was about to expire. So I decided to make a buttermilk pie.

This pie is Megan's absolute favorite, and she can usually only get it at Tallahassee Smokehouse. But I decided to give it a go, and it turned out fabulous. Here's the recipe, adapted from one I saw on Tasty Kitchen Blog (I borrowed the pic from there), in case you get inspired, too (or in case you have some left over buttermilk you need to use).

Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

1-¾ cup Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

⅓ cups Butter, Melted

3 whole Eggs, Beaten

1 cup Buttermilk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (I use homemade, reduce to 1 tsp. if using storebought)

1 pie shell, unbaked (I used Marie Callenders frozen pie crusts, thawed)

Preparation Instructions:

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and stir with a whisk until well-blended. Continuously whisking, pour in beaten eggs and whisk until well combined. then pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.

Pour into the pie shell. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350ºF until filling is set and top is golden brown. Allow to cool for about 20-25 minutes before slicing. Store covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

A very productive 4th of July "weekend"

This weekend, even though the rains continue in Tallahassee, we had a great time. On the 4th, we spent most of the day watching The Revolution on H2 (the History Channel's additional programming channel) and relaxing. This was the first 4th that George didn't have to work as the fireworks he usually works were cancelled due to the continuous monsoon we've been experiencing. So, we had a great 4th dinner at Longhorn, and then went to see Monsters University at the theater.  Loved it!

Friday was a work day for me, so no fun. Again it rained that night, so the kids and I had a family reading night. On Saturday, we got a long enough reprieve from the rain for me to mow the yard in the morning. the kids packed their stuff and headed off to visit Gran-ma and Papa Creamer for a night of fun. Danny got to hone his baking skills by making homemade snicker doodles.

Meanwhile, I had a night on my own (George was working), and I had plans at the Aprons Cooking School at Publix. The class for the evening was A Vegetarian's Journey Through India. A hands-on class full of tasks for everyone, I spent a lot of my time making naan

and enjoying the preparation of a huge Indian spread.

I had a great time, but I'm glad George is signed up for the next one. I missed him.
This morning, the kids said goodbye to their grandparents

and headed to church. In the service, Megan's mission group was recognized before they head out tomorrow.

She's so excited, and as nervous as I am to let her go for the week by herself, I'm excited for her too. When we got home, we took her to lunch, and then packed all of her stuff for the trip. I am really going to miss her. 

In all, it was a very productive "weekend," and I hope you all enjoyed the 4th holiday too!