Breaking Baking News!!

Well, Wednesday night is my first book club meeting with my new moms' group and I'm eager to make a good impression, which means it's time to put on my apron and whip up some kind of tasty treat. I've decided cupcakes are the way to go, because they're super easy for the hostess to serve and because...well...they're cute. And me, being as Type A as I am, I have to make a test batch today to make sure the recipe is edible (though I'm quite certain it is since I've made it before). They're doubling as another dessert for my Easter dinner tomorrow, where we are hosting our neighbors as guests.

I'll be making Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and Chocolate Buttercream frosting. I'll possibly even color the vanilla buttercream to make the cupcakes extra cute. So, stay tuned for super cute pictures and the recipe, when all is said and done. I had a hard time picking a cupcake flavor - I've got a coffee cupcake recipe, a devil's food cupcake recipe, a chocolate/peanut butter cupcake recipe (which is really, really involved), a red velvet cupcake recipe...so on and so forth, but I thought I'd stick to simple and cute this time around.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor?

Virtual Girls Night Out!

Hi everybody!

It's Friday, that means it's time for another Virtual Girls Night Out. Yippee!

This week's topic is Easter Candy. What Easter Candy can you not live without?

This was a toughie for me, because I'm not a huge fan of what seems to be the world's most popular Easter candy - the Cadbury egg. It's okay, just not my favorite. Ditto with Peeps. Actually, Peeps kind of creep me out. I can't explain that one.

There's actually a tie for my favorite Easter candy - the standard chocolate bunny and the Reese's peanut butter egg.

How can you not love a peanut butter egg, covered in chocolate-y goodness?? It's like a Reese's cup, only better. Darn those things are good. I know they're Husband's favorite, too. Anything involving chocolate and peanut butter are heaven for him.

So, Baby, being that he's only 13 months old and all, is not having an Easter basket this year (nor did he last year). My mother just asked me about this tonight, and she was mildly horrified at the thought of her precious grandson not having an Easter basket. She almost made me feel guilty about it! But seriously, he can't have chocolate (because the pediatrician said so), he'd probably try to eat the grass that you usually stuff an Easter basket with, I'm pretty sure jelly beans are probably a choking hazard...see where I'm going here? Just doesn't sound like the smartest thing to do. But then again, that's me, super-cautious mommy. I'm sure there are plenty of moms out there giving their two month olds a chocolate bunny. I'm just not one of them.

Needless to say, since I wasn't putting an Easter basket together for Baby this year, I've yet to buy any Easter candy, so thanks Ann for reminding me that I do indeed have to go to Publix tomorrow with everybody and their brother (because they're closed for Easter Sunday). Sounds like a blast.

Hope everyone's having a super Friday, and make sure to check out Ann's VGNO every Friday! It's a great way to find new blogs to read.

The Friday Five

Wow, how did it get to be Friday already? The week has flown by. It's Spring Break this week for the public schools, so we had to change up our schedule a good bit, because a lot of our usual haunts were swarming with school kids. Needless to say, it's been a busy week. It's always a busy week, it seems, with a toddler. And boy, has Baby become a toddler. Lots of little fits here and there over little things, but I think so far I've handled it okay. I hope I have at least. He's also starting to show an interest in climbing, especially on top of his Step 2 buggy that he loves so much. Anyway, it's been a busy week, so there were a lot of moments to choose from, but here are my top 5:

1. Going to see "Legally Blonde: The Musical" with Husband - our belated wedding anniversary treat. It was so fun and awesome, I absolutely loved it, and if we had the money, I'd go back and see it again!
2. Visiting Story Time at Barnes and Noble this week - the usual storyteller wasn't there, so a woman who knows sign language did it, and taught us all several signs.
3. Baby got a new-to-him toy this week - the Parents Bee Bop Band. Boy is he hooked. He gets this huge smile on his face when he plays with it - his face totally lights up.
4. We went to infant playgroup this week with my moms' group and had a good time with the other two moms and their munchkins.
5. We went to Barnes and Noble this weekend, and not only could you hear Baby all the way across the store, but he kept trying to escape, and Daddy was on Catch-the-Baby patrol. It was pretty funny (but of course, totally unfunny when Baby would try to escape from me).

Top 5 Reasons to Have a Dog (Instead of a Cat)

So, I have two cats and a dog. This leads to massive insanity, especially as our dog is part-Beagle and often has cases of the "crazies," running around and doing laps in the living room. One of our cats thinks he's a dog. The other cat is a total diva, who was so thrilled when she wound up left alone in our house when Baby was born, as Dog was at the kennel and the other cat was also at the kennel because he required medication. She thought we got rid of everyone else and kept her. Imagine the fit she threw when we not only came home with a baby, but also the rest of the animals!
Anyway, the last several days, I have started to realize that I have become a dog person. I used to be a cat person. Boy Cat is my very first real pet, ever. He's going on like 12 now, but he was the very first animal with hair I've ever cared for. And I loved him like nobody's business for a while, but now he much prefers Husband over me.



I've found myself drawn more and more to Dog, who is also a little crazy, but has a lot of qualities that the cats lack, so I thought I'd share my top 5 reasons to have a dog as a family pet instead of a cat.

5. Dogs go to the bathroom outside. Sure, you have to pooper scoop on occasion, but it's much less gross than cleaning the litter box.
4. Dogs actually like to show affection. Dog is happy to see me whenever I come home (though he's also really anxious when I leave). Boy Cat thinks he's a dog, so sometimes he shows affection, but Diva Cat rarely shows affection.
3. Dogs provide companionship and want you to be their master. Cats just want you to be their slave.
2. When your 10-month-old baby leans in to hug the dog, the dog doesn't run away so fast that the baby wins up hugging air and smacks his head on the coffee table.

And the number one reason to have a dog (instead of a cat)???

1. Dogs do not get hairballs. Especially the spite kind, where the cat aims the hairball into your favorite pair of shoes or your spot on the couch or on Baby's toys or where-have-you. Super-yuck.

My thoughts on powdered buttermilk

Hmm...where to begin...

Okay, Husband's favorite meal ever is "brinner." (Breakfast for dinner - he got the term from "Scrubs.") So, I try to make Brinner at least once every other week if not weekly. We love buttermilk pancakes, and I have a pretty awesome recipe for them (to be posted next week). I rarely use the entire jug of buttermilk, so I thought I would try the powdered form you see in the supermarket where the dry milk is. Exhibit A:

Well, it sounded easy enough. Add the buttermilk powder in with the dry ingredients in your recipe, and add the appropriate amount of water to the batter when the recipe calls for the buttermilk. I did just that, and I wound up with the runniest pancakes I've ever seen. They were super-thin, not airy and thick the way they usually are, and they also didn't quite taste the way they normally do. For the sake of truly testing the product, I will try again, but not in pancakes - maybe I'll make Mardi Glade/Texas Cake with it sometime soon and post the results of that. The jury's still out on this. I'll definitely be buying some buttermilk next week, though, for Brinner night...

Top 10 Favorite Books

Okay, so I've hinted for a while now that I will be starting a few new memes soon (and they're totally on the way), and I will give you a hint as to what one of them will be about - books! I do consider myself a book connoisseur, given that I've read probably thousands of books in my lifetime, thus far. Reading is probably my top hobby, though I don't get as much time for it as I used to, now that I'm chasing around a toddler all the time.

So, in honor of that passion today, I want to share with you my personal top 10 favorite books, and they all would make awesome choices for a book club. Some of these books I've read and reread a ton of times, as far back as my childhood. It was awfully tough to pick a top 10, and I'm sure that I've left some out, but here they are:

1.Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult

2.My Sister's Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult

3. How to Kill a Rock Star by Tiffanie DeBartolo - a totally accidental find. I stumbled upon it at Barnes and Noble one day, and I love stories about rock and roll, so this seemed like a natural fit. This may actually be my number one choice, I've reread it so many times. I love, love, love this book and the totally classic romance it tells.

4. White House Autumn by Ellen Emerson White - My sister bought this for me one Christmas when I was a kid. I loved it then, and when it was re-released when Hillary Clinton ran for president, I picked it up again and read the "re-released" version, which is updated for the times. (I prefer the original, 80's version.)

5. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - I read this for book club this year with my moms' group. This is an absolutely beautiful piece of literature. Easily one of the best books I've ever read.

6. The Department of Lost & Found by Allison Winn Scotch - I stumbled upon this at the local library last year, and devoured it. I had a hard time putting it down. I used to work at a cancer center, so stories about women who battle cancer hold a special place in my heart, because I can recall so many patients that I met over the years, but this is on the list not for that reason, but because of how well-written it is.

7. In Her Shoes : A Novel by Jennifer Weiner - I love, love, love Jennifer Weiner. She's great. This, however, is my favorite novel of hers. It was another book I devoured quickly, couldn't put it down. I didn't necessarily love the movie version, it was an okay adaptation, but I went home from seeing the movie and re-read the book.

8. Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes - Have you ever seen "Celebrity Rehab" on VH-1? Well, this book is about a woman's trip to rehab, and boy did she try to say no. Very well-written, very gripping tale.

9. Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married by Marian Keyes - This was one of the first Marian Keyes books I read. It's one of Husband's proudest moments, as it was a book he picked out for me. And a good choice it was, because I loved it. I wound up reading pretty much everything she's ever written, and I've really enjoyed her work, but this one (and the previous one on the list) have remained my favorites.

10. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella - I read this after Baby came. It was one of the first books I was able to finish after Baby came, actually (I would lose interest real easily during that very sleepless time). I can even remember trying to breastfeed Baby and figure out how to hold the book at the same time (it didn't work).

So these are my favorite books, what are yours? I love hearing what books other people love, it's a great way to get book recommendations.

P.S. - Want to know what I'm reading right now? I am actually doing a "book club" with my husband, and we are reading a book on NASCAR called Sunday Money: Speed! Lust! Madness! Death! A Hot Lap Around America with Nascar (P.S.). So far, it's been a pretty interesting read.

Recipe Swap: Type A Mommy's Favorite Brownies

Woo hoo! Anissa is hosting a recipe swap, and boy do I love recipes (obviously!). This week's swap is for Brownies. I'm a day late, but I'm still excited to look at the other recipes and to share mine. Mine is my mother's brownie recipe, one that she's baked as long as I can remember. My favorite part about these brownies is how easy they are to make.

Type A Mommy's Favorite Brownies
Printer-friendly recipe

1/3 cup butter
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

1. Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan, set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In small bowl, put chocolate squares and butter, and stick in the microwave. Nuke for at least 1 minute, then take out and stir. You will probably need to nuke again, for around 30 seconds to 1 minute before the chocolate and butter truly melt together. Stir until smooth, set aside.
3. Grab another bowl, and mix flour, salt, and baking powder with a fork.
4. Once slightly cooled (no longer hot), add sugar and eggs to chocolate/butter mixture and mix. Add chocolate mixture to flour mixture and blend well.
5. Pour batter into pan and smooth around to fill pan evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

So yummy, and so easy.

Dear Jardine...

Dear Jardine Cribs,

I'm not too thrilled with you this morning. We purchased your Olympia Lifetime crib in Natural for my son, now 13 months old, and had been quite pleased with it, outside of the fright we experienced a few months ago when you recalled a certain darker wood finish of this crib. As of Saturday night, though, you were on my S--- List.

After we put Baby to bed Saturday night, he seemed a little fussy, but not too bad. We went about having our dinner and tossing in a movie, just having a nice evening together. About forty-five minutes after putting Baby down for bed, he started wailing, and it wasn't the usual, "Crap, I woke up, Mommy" cry, it was more intense. After a few moments of discussing whether or not we should let him fuss it out, Husband went in to check on him. Once he got in there, he took one look at Baby, and called for me.

Baby was lying on his side and had his foot stuck between the slats of the crib. Husband was flustered, trying to figure out how to get his foot out, and after I looked at him, I told Husband to roll Baby's hips to turn his foot right side up. Once he did that, I was able to gently guide his foot back into the crib. Husband picked Baby up and rocked him for a moment until I took him and parked in the rocking chair, rocking and reading a few bedtime stories to help him calm down. Husband kept feeling Baby's foot and ankle to make sure there wasn't any serious damage, outside of the trauma of being stuck in a position he couldn't get out of. Baby still had that sad, hiccup-y cry in his chest going on while I read stories, but I knew I couldn't stay there forever, much as I wanted to just rock him for hours. I laid him back down in his crib and left the room with Husband. He cried for a moment or two, then fell back to sleep.

We recently took the Breathable Bumper out of Baby's crib - it seemed he was using it more to climb the crib than anything, and we didn't want to encourage that. Most of the slats, he can fit his feet through just fine, but at the corners of the crib, the slats are not as widely spread as they are everywhere else. That's exactly where Baby had his foot stuck. It seems to me that this is a serious design flaw. Below is a picture of this crib (not in our nursery) but it's hard to see this flaw without being on top of the crib.

I must say, when Baby #2 comes along some day in the future and I am crib shopping again, I will be looking very carefully at cribs. I will steering clear of cribs with this design flaw, and more than likely those that have the Jardine name. I'm so very disappointed to have found such a serious problem with this crib.

Sincerely,
Very Grumpy Type A Mommy

Menu Plan Monday for April 6th

It's another Menu Plan Monday already! How time flies!

Monday - Buttermilk Pancakes (made for the first time with powdered buttermilk - stay tuned!)
Tuesday - TBA - We're going to a Broadway show!! (Broadway tour, that is)
Wednesday - Pasta and garlic bread
Thursday - Beef teriyaki and white rice
Friday - Burgers and seasoned fries
Saturday - Baked chicken, gravy, biscuits, and mashed potatoes (one of my faves!)
Sunday - Whiskey glazed pork chops (new recipe)

Last week's menu went okay, with one major exception. The broiled steaks Sunday night were yucky. The recipe called for making a thyme/dijon mustard compound butter, which I did, but wow, was it way, way too much thyme. Ick. Husband didn't like the flavor of broiled steaks, either - he called it a "charred" flavor. Oh well. I tried. I did, however, make up (sort of) a new recipe for a side to go along with it. I obviously couldn't broil baked potatoes, so I had to come up with another side dish. We love the stupid recipe for onion roasted potatoes, on the back of the Lipton Onion dip mix, and I make it a lot. I decided to make it on the stovetop last night, and it went quite well. I chopped up the potatoes, I heated up the olive oil in a 10 inch skillet to medium, and threw the potatoes in. I coated them first with the hot oil, let them sit over the heat for about 10 minutes, then added in the onion soup packet and mixed well. Then I just stirred as needed and cooked them to our desired doneness. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, way different than they usually are with the roasting method (some of them wind up being soft, some rock hard, some crisp). Here's a peek:


This week will be an interesting one, I'm trying one new recipe (whiskey glazed pork chops) and doing one of my most favorite recipes ever (baked chicken) which I'll be sharing with loads of pictures. I'm also trying a new pantry staple out tonight, powdered buttermilk. My pancake recipe calls for buttermilk, and I never wind up using the whole jug, so I thought I'd try to the powdered variety. I've tried souring the milk with lemon juice, and it doesn't come close to what regular buttermilk tastes like in the recipe, so stay tuned for a review of powdered buttermilk.

So what's on your menu this week? Don't forget to share it with the Org Junkie, who hosts the busiest blog meme I've ever seen with Menu Plan Mondays!

So what do you think?

Woo hoo! My new template is up on the site, though I'm not entirely done with it yet. What do you think? Is it nifty? I think it's awfully pretty, and I have to give a shout out to Suck My Lolly for offering such a cool free template.

Thanks to everyone who's reading!

:)