Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

(Image courtesy of Nestle's Very Best Baking Site)

We had my mother-in-law over for dinner and dessert to celebrate her birthday last week, and I was looking for something a little different than a cake. I stumbled upon this recipe, and I knew it was a winner. This is absolutely the easiest pie I have ever made - it's even easier than making chocolate chip cookies. It took me less than two minutes from the time I started my mixer until the pie was in the oven. If you are looking for a SIMPLE, very quick, and delicious recipe, this is a great go-to. It's one of those recipes that you can remember and not have to even consult the recipe in the process. We served it warm with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Here is the link to the recipe.

I did make a couple of changes. I omitted the nuts since I didn't have any on hand, and I added a teaspoon of vanilla. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. In the future, I would use mini chocolate chips since mine all sank to the bottom. It didn't change the flavor at all, but it looked a little off when we cut into it. That didn't change the fact that we gobbled it up so quickly I was unable to get a picture, though!

Sidenote: My favorite restaurant dessert (at least my favorite every-day restaurant dessert) is the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie from Chili's. It is the only one I crave. Of course, it was deemed one of the 20 worst-for-you desserts in America. =P This pie could be almost exactly the same by adding walnuts and coconut to the filling and hot fudge and caramel sauce to the top of the ice cream. Delicious!

Texas Caviar

I wish I knew who to give the credit to for the basis of this recipe. My mom has been making a version of this ever since we moved to Texas in the mid-90's. It's a part of most of our summer gatherings. I made up my version this afternoon for our dinner group tomorrow night, and I can't stop dipping into it. Yum!

Alicia's Texas Caviar

2 bell peppers (I do one yellow and one red), finely diced

2 stalks of celery, finely diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced

1 can black-eyed peas, drained

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

juice of 1 lime

salt & pepper

approx. 1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing

Mix everything together in a large bowl, cover, and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving. Serve with tortilla chips (my favorite for this is the Tostitos with a hint of lime), Fritos, or even with shredded chicken as a salad. Make sure to taste some of the caviar on a chip and add salt, pepper, or dressing as needed.

Everyone has their own version of Texas Caviar, and here are a few other things you can add: black olives, tomatoes (even a can of Rotel), avocado, green onions, jalapenos, or chickpeas.

Enjoy!

Easter Scavenger Hunt

This little guy (who my daughter insists is a girl) showed up in our yard this Spring and has made himself...I mean 'herself' at home. Just in time for Easter.

Growing up my parents always did the neatest thing for Easter, and this year will be the first year we have a child old enough to understand and participate. Instead of just having our Easter baskets laying out for when we woke up on Easter morning, they would send us on a scavenger hunt. We'd find the first clue in a basket of candy on the kitchen table. It would lead us around the house finding little treasures at the end of each clue. It was always so fun and exciting and something we really looked forward to. The last clue led us to our Easter baskets.

We decided to do the same thing at our house, but with a little twist. We're going to have the kids' empty Easter baskets on the table with their first clue. Then they can carry their baskets around on the scavenger hunt to collect their goodies. I made a little rhyme for each clue, and they are super simple. As they get older, we can make it more challenging.

As I mentioned in my last post, we're all super sick around here, so we aren't going to be able to get out to get all of the goodies in time for Easter. But, since my kids are 3 and 1, they have no clue Easter is April 24th. So we're just going to move the festivities to the following Sunday, and they'll be none-the-wiser. Also, this way I can bank on the after-Easter sales! Win-win. =)

If you're interested in this idea too, I found a really cute printable that you can use here. Happy hunting!

Relief

We've been down for the count around here with viruses, ear infections, sinus infections, and even pneumonia. =( But it reminded me about a simple remedy I tried and fell in love with last year. My ears are completely blocked, and I've found no relief. This idea makes sense since steam loosens mucous. To steam the junk out of your ears, just bunch up a paper towel or a handful of cotton balls in the bottom of a cup. Pour steaming hot water (not boiling!) over just to dampen them, then cover your ear with the cup. The steam feels incredible on an aching, sore ear. It hasn't failed me yet. I wouldn't do this for either of my kids just yet, though. There's a really fine line between steaming the water enough to be effective and burning yourself. So proceed with caution!

Corncake Leftover Idea

The corncakes I made the other day were a hit, but it makes quite a bit. With regular fruit and veggie pancakes, I am creative with how to use them up. We use them as the bread in peanut butter and honey sandwiches, toast them in the toaster and top with butter and cinnamon/sugar, etc. But with these savory corncakes, I had to pull out all of my creative energy. The result was a hit with the family. I made chicken pesto mini pizza, but any pizza toppings would be delicious. Here's what I did: Preheat your broiler in your oven making sure you have a rack 6 inches from the top. Spray a baking sheet with Pam, and arrange your corn cakes on top. Spread about a teaspoon of store-bought or homemade basil pesto on each cake. In a separate bowl, shred some chicken, and stir in some Caesar dressing just to coat. Layer this chicken mixture on top of each pesto-topped cake. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and browning slightly. Be careful, though, as the line between "slightly browned" and "burnt-to-a-crisp" in the broiler can be a matter of seconds. Enjoy!

Cheesy Corncakes

Have you checked out Weelicious yet? The link is also in my sidebar, and I have loved all of her ideas and recipes. I've been convicted lately about the amount of junk my 3-year-old is eating, so I plan to come up with a lunchtime meal plan based on her recipes. We started the other day with big plans. I saw her recipe for Italian Parmesan Corncakes and knew they'd be a hit with my kids. I grilled some chicken breasts with Italian seasonings and got to work gathering the ingredients...until I realized I didn't have them. Bummer. I was able to scrounge up some stand-ins, and my version was, in our humble opinions, delicious! Our lunch of grilled chicken, cheesy corncakes, and a side of marinara sauce was incredible. Hope you'll try it!

Alicia's Cheesy Corncakes

(based on Weelicious' recipe)

1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

sprinkle of Italian seasoning

sprinkle of garlic powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1 cup of finely chopped spinach

1 tablespoon canola oil and more for cooking

Mix the corn muffin mix, cheese, seasonings, and baking powder in a bowl. Create a well in the center. Add egg and milk, and stir to combine. Stir in spinach, and allow to sit for 10 minutes (this step is always important for any type of pancake to make them light and fluffy) while your skillet preheats to 375 degrees. Use the canola oil to grease the skillet, and fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until they're golden brown. Serve warm with marinara sauce for dipping.

As with any pancake recipe, you can be very creative in your veggie additions. These would be great with some chopped chickpeas, peas, or even broccoli.

A Little Trick

Holy cow can 3-year-olds be fickle. One day mine LOVES yogurt, the next she says it's the "most worst thing in the whole wide world in my life." Drama. This goes for every single food in the history of the world (wherever does she get this drama?!). She actually eats a wide variety of foods, it's just a gamble as to what will please this princess from day-to-day. But I've found a trick that has yet to fail me. She will eat anything with sprinkles on it! Her problem is not that she doesn't actually like things, it's that she won't try them. But as soon as she gets a little taste, she always goes for it - almost no matter what. So if I can just get her to try something, we're golden. Another trick for the sprinkles: peruse the seasonal aisles of your grocery store after the holiday, and stock up on half-price sprinkles. I'm pretty sure they last forever without going bad, and this way you can have a fun stash at half the cost. I have a big container of Valentine's Day sprinkles with hearts and pink and red and yellow sprinkles - perfect for any day for a little girl. I also found a "Summer Fun" container last Fall that was filled with dinosaurs, sunshines, dolphins, etc. Hope this works for you!

Quinoa and Steel Cut Oats

My poor kids are sick with a virus, and neither of them are interested in eating much. These are the times I try to make every calorie count because I truly believe that empty bellies (or bellies filled with empty calories) slow healing. When my kids lose their appetites, they tend toward high carb, low nutritional things like Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, etc. This afternoon I wanted to make something that would pack a punch (since neither of them went for the from-scratch, filled-with-veggies-and-whole-wheat-pasta chicken noodle soup I made). I had some quinoa in the fridge, so I combined that with some steel cut oats for a protein and nutrient-filled snack. And it was delicious! Here it is so I don't forget my combination.

Quinoa and Steel Cut Oatmeal

1/2 cup quinoa

1/2 cup steel cut oats

1 tsp cinnamon

2 small apples, cored, peeled, and chopped

a handful of dried cranberries

1 cup milk

1 cup water

1 cup juice

1 tsp vanilla

brown sugar or a drizzle of honey to taste

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a saucepan. Add the milk and water, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir often, and add the juice as needed as the quinoa and oats absorb the water and milk. I ended up needing the entire extra cup of liquid. You basically don't want it to dry out before the quinoa and oats are finished cooking. After it is done, remove it from the heat, and stir in the vanilla. Give it a taste at this point. Since I used all-natural, no-sugar-added juice, it needed a little sweetening still. I chose brown sugar, but honey or agave nectar would be just as good.

*This recipe would also work in a slow cooker. Just mix the dry ingredients, then add 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of water. Place in a bowl that fits inside the bowl of the slow cooker, then pour water in between the bowls so it steams in a water bath. Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.

Ginormous Birthday Party Post

All of my energy lately has gone into planning a super-fun and super-sized birthday party for both of my kids. Their birthdays are a day apart (one turning 3 and one turning one), so we combined them for a huge backyard bash. We did a gender-neutral carnival theme, and everything was big and bright.

Invitations

I love planning out fun invitations to kind-of set the stage for the party. I found a post online awhile back with links to really cute circus fonts. Using Circus, Big Top, and Cast Iron, I created several inserts for the party. One held all of the specifics, one asked guests to consider donating to one of our favorite charities in lieu of gifts, one was an admission ticket, and one was a bag topper. I also included a film strip with pictures of the birthday kids and a red balloon. I packaged them in cellophane bags, stapled the bag topper on, and sent them in red envelopes.

The Attire

Using my Cricut, I made t-shirts for the kids to wear with their age on the front. This was a simple, inexpensive, and precious project. My daughter is already talking about her number 4 shirt she wants me to make for next year. =)

The Party

Activities:

My favorite part was the photo booth. I set up a colorful sheet on a section of our fence and filled a bucket with accessories for people to choose from for a super-silly photo op. We're using these pictures in our thank-you's.

We also rented a bounce house and set up a handful of very simple carnival games. When I throw a party, a big part of my plans include trying to make everything self-serve so no one has to man anything the entire time. I want everyone (myself included!) to be able to relax and enjoy the party and not have to work.

Games:

Ping Pong Ball Toss:

I filled an old metal wagon with empty babyfood jars filled with water. Guests had to toss ping pong balls into the wagon trying to land them in the jars. The water helped people to grab the ball out of the top without having to pull each jar out every time.

Lid Launcher:

I used a snack jar on a table as a target, and guests threw babyfood jar lids adorned with scrapbook paper circles frisbee-style at the jar.

Penny Pitcher:

I covered an old coffee table with butcher paper and circle cut-outs of pictures of the kids. Guests tossed pennies onto the table trying to land them on the birthday girl's picture for 3 points (since she was turning 3) or the birthday boy's picture for 1 point.

Bean Bag Toss I made a handful of colorful, polka-dotted bean bags and set them up with a bucket at which to aim.

Guess the Gumballs

I filled a Mason jar with colorful gumballs and set them on a table with a basket filled with tickets and pens for guests to make their guess. The closest to the correct amount (267) got the jar.

We also set out bubbles and our sand table and labelled them with signs for fun. The Prizes:

And, of course, no carnival is complete without prizes. I made some tickets for each of the games, and our guests could trade them in for loot (Fun Dip, circus peanuts, Ring Pops, silly straws, stickers, and tons of other little trinkets).

The Decor

For decorations I used colorful scrapbook paper to create accordion-folded circles. These were used for the centerpieces (holding pictures in bright, plastic pots) and for the Happy Birthday banner above the food table. For all of the game signs, I created them in Word using some fun circus fonts I downloaded.

Colorful tablecloths and balloons rounded out the decor.

The Food

The menu was simple: hot dogs with all the fixin's, peanuts in the shell, animal crackers, chips, and sodas. Cupcakes and popsicles were dessert. I just made boxed cake mix with store-bought frosting to save time. I topped them three ways - with sprinkles and a gumball, with sprinkles and a tuft of cotton candy, and with marshmallows I made to look like popcorn (cut an x into the top of a mini marshmallow, then brush on a mix of about 1 tablespoon of water plus 1 drop of yellow food coloring).

My goal was to make this an economical but over-the-top party that my kids would enjoy. I wanted to do as much work ahead of time as possible to my husband and I could be a part of the joy the kids experienced, and I think it was a huge success. I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Simple and Quick Dinner Idea

I've been hard at work planning and preparing for the kids' birthday party next weekend, so my dinners have been very last-minute lately. This is one of our favorites, and I definitely want to share. I crave this pasta at least once a month, but I could eat it daily. And I always have the ingredients on-hand, so it requires no planning ahead.

Easy Tomato Pasta Carbonara

1 lb spaghetti (but any long pasta will do)

1/2 red onion, chopped

4 strips of bacon, chopped

1 large can of diced tomatoes

2 eggs

parmesan cheese to taste

salt + pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. In a separate skillet, saute red onion and bacon until bacon is just under crispy. Add the tomatoes and their juices, and cook until warmed through. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, and add a handful of parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Toss in the hot, cooked pasta, and stir. Pour the bacon tomato mixture over top, and toss until well combined. Serve hot with some crispy bread.