52 weeks of me 2012 ~week 34

The theme/prompt was:  CLONES

and you know I was all excited and reved up for it.  Alas...I had a bad week.  Busy....sick....coldsore....cranky.....exhausted.  So.....it didn't happen.  I just plain could NOT find the energy. 

I will make it up though.  I will fit it into another theme before the year is up.  I have already done one this year...and I will do another.  They are too much fun. 

Wednesday of this week, I snapped a shot of who could only be my CLONE because I wouldn't be caught dead eating a Maple Bacon cupcake in broad daylight....right?

 

 

 

The theme/prompt for this coming week is: TEXTURE

Team-Up Thursday~ Dessert

Who doesn't LOVE dessert? Berta and I had a busy busy week, so we didn't really connect until Monday. Berta suggested the idea of DESSERT, and I couldn't have been happier. I had taken a great DESSERT shot the day before. I was all set. It's cool when that when that happens. For the 4th of July, I had made a super yummy brownie fruit pizza. I could have eaten the whole thing myself, as it wasn't overly sweet. What a fun DESSERT....and soooooo pretty to boot!

Berta's shot is soooooooo breathtaking. I want to dive right in. I love love love cheesecake. YUM! I think it's so cool that our pics have the same color palette. They go so well together. How SWEET!

Be sure to visit Megan's site, the home of Team-up Thursday!

If you are a Team-up Thursday participant, please link up. There are so many great teams!

Team-Up Thursday~ Food

Hosted by Megan and Hip Momma

This week, Berta and I decided to focus on them idea of FOOD. I mean, who doesn't love FOOD? The possibilities are endless. Sometimes I start to worry that I'm really not doing the world of food justice with my limited array of things I cook. I watch the Food Network, and wish it was taste-o-vison. Seriously....I think a person could eat something new every single day of their life, and NEVER run out of things to try. It is my intent to try new things more often. I usually only try new recipes about twice a month, but lately, I've been doing more. It has been fun. Sugar Bear isn't as excited, but I know it is good for her to be introduced to new things.

I had such good intentions, this week, to grab a great macro of food, but life happened, and I was hit really hard with an ear infection. I spent most of the week in bed feeling sorry for myself. (yeah....I'm awesome like that.) I did happen to throw some ice cream at my woes on Sunday, so what better time to grab a shot of FOOD. Sugar Bear chose a "play doh" flavored ice cream cone. I have no idea what flavor it really tastes like, but it certainly isn't play doh. tee hee. I love the soft pastel colors of it though, and the words on the cone say, "Eat it all", and she sure did. It was a special treat for us. We rarely got out just for an ice cream treat. It was a special girl time moment. But for the record....while I had high hopes, it didn't make my ear feel better. I need to stop eating to solve my problems. It really doesn't work. FOOD is not the solution. Berta's fabulous photo is totally what I imagined doing. it is full of colors, and texture. I love that about FOOD. So beautiful.

Head on over to Megan's blog to see what the other pairs are up to this week.

DO NUT try this at home!!!

Seriously....DO NUT do it! You'll regret it, when you have a deliriously happy family running around your house licking their fingers! It is ridiculous. I mean who wants THAT?


DO NUT whip out a roll of refrigerator biscuits, and let your child flatten them out.

DO NUT let the flattened dough fry in some oil.

DO NUT flip the dough as it turns golden brown on the outside.

DO NUT cut some of them in bitesize pieces BEFORE frying, and then roll the hot pieces in sugar.

Definitely DO NUT roll some of the big ones in sugar, or add yummy maple flavored icing to some others.

Just take my word for it! DO NUT try this at home. Don't say I didn't warn you.

We were Tempted!

Sugar is a HUGE fan of fresh fruit, and seriously...who can blame her? What is NOT to love? From fresh pears, to watermelon....to nectarines, this girl can put it away. The other day, she ate nearly entire cantaloupe in less than an hour. If I had not stopped her, she'd have been sorely sorry the next day...if you know what I mean? One can only consume so much fresh fruit before you PAY.THE.PRICE.

This week, we were browsing our local market for some fruit, and found a little something that we could not resisted.

Okay...so it wasn't really like THAT. In fact, this airheaded mama THOUGHT she had bought a Honeydew....when in fact...it was a TEMPTATION MELON. Never heard of it....me either! It was quite a surprise to crack that puppy open to find light orange flesh.

Sugar looked at me...I looked at her, and we dove in. Yummalishous! Juicy and sweet. It appears that a Temptation Melon is a cantaloupe/honeydew hybrid, and it is delish. Check it out.

Sugar is gobbling it up, and I couldn't resist some pics of her enjoying this new treat.

She just loves this healthy treat, and I love watching her happily hum....and munch.

She is four years old, and I have never taken pics of her enjoying melon. SHOCKED....aren't you?

But I'm so glad I finally did. We all might have missed THIS priceless treasure.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A SHAME!

Reason #286 I can't button my pants

The Sugar and I made these here Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. They are TO.DIE.FOR! and I ate at least 15 of these in the past week. Seriously.....NOT.DIET.FOOD.PEOPLE!  However, they taste so darn yummy.....I had to send you all over to make some yourself.  I mean you can't say I never did anything for you, now can you?  You're welcome.

In other news.....I have nothing to say.  Yup...pigs are flying people...H...E....double hockey sticks has frozen over.  COREY.HAS.NOTHING.TO.SAY!!!!  Except for these few hundred words in this here post, but who is counting?  (oh you are?  Gee....thanks....NOW STOP!)

I've been busy...real busy....doing all sorts of stuff.  Mostly nothing....and other things.  All boring...or interesting, but not done.  I have more projects half done in my life than I do clean dish towels.  (yeah laundry is over rated.)

Anyhoo....all this to say, I have nothing to say.  Yeah....I don't often make sense.  

Now go......make some WHOOPIE!  Pies, that is!  

P.S.  Thanks, Aspiemom!  My bum is bigger, and my Sugar is sweeter!  ♥

Wordless Wednesday~ Dinner Time

For more Wordless Wednesday go HERE and HERE!

At Least She Washed Her Hands

Sugar Bear is used to her neurotic mother reminding her to wash her hands, but recent she has really started to actually "get it". She is able to accurately identify when germs are likely to be on her hands. There are moments that she actually requests a hand washing because, "my hands are germy!" awww......what a cute little germophobe I am raising.



Before helping me make some Autumn sugar cookies the other day, she insisted on a washing her hands. It melted my heart. We thoroughly scrubbed, and set about our task. The last time she rolled out dough was last December, with her Grandma Shirley. For Sugar, it was just like yesterday. She has a memory that defies logic. Throughout our recent cookie making she gave me the blow by blow of what she did "last time!"



This girl takes cookie cutting seriously. Her concentration was steady, and it was hard to even get her attention. As always, I tried really hard to bite my tongue and let her do it "her way." It isn't easy, but I am certain it is way more important than having perfect cookies.



She carefully rolled, cut, moved to the wax paper, and started again. The main assistance I gave was constantly reminding her to try to get more than one cookie cut on the rolled out dough before starting over. She always went right for the middle. She needed LOTS of reminding.



Soon, all the cookies were ready for the oven, and it was past Sugar's bedtime. I assured her that I would bake them all up, and they would be good and ready for the icing in the morning. Reluctantly she went to bed.

The next morning she was eager and ready to decorate. Just between you and me....it was the sprinkles she was really interested in. :) After I whipped up a batch of icing, and tried to get the requested colors, Sugar Bear again washed her hands, then set about frosting her cookies.



Don't you just love this color? tee hee....Sugar Bear had requested brown, and try as I might, I COULD.NOT.MAKE.BROWN! ugh....remind me to buy some nice cake decorating food colorings someday. Sooooooooo....we have olive green. NICE.



Sugar wasn't bothered by the odd color at all. She was over the top elated to FINALLY be allowed to sprinkle. OH.THE.JOY!!!!



She takes her sprinkles VERY SERIOUSLY! Almost as seriously, as washing her hands, in fact.



She experienced many methods of dispensing the sprinkles. She did a little of this....and a little of that. The only constant.......was......the......carefully timed LICK of her palm BETWEEN each cookie. Yup....you read that right. The budding germ phobe has a bit more to learn.



But if you are a grandparent of a sweet little Sugar Bear, with a face like this....you just pretend that the cookie she lovingly made for you isn't teeming with germ upon germ.



If you closed your eyes, and blocked out all thoughts of food bourne illness, they actually tasted pretty darn delicious. Due to a happy accident, this batch of sugar cookies might have been the best I have ever made. I somehow managed to add lemon flavoring to the dough instead of almond flavoring, so I also added lemon flavoring instead of Vanilla to the icing, and let me just say......YUM!!!! You should try it.

Fun Food For Kids

My bloggy buddy Megan, of Fried Okra, is having a gathering of snacks for kids. I am always looking for something new to present to Sugar Bear, so I figured I'd share some of my finds with you all as well. Some might consider these a meal....but I figure that kids actually eat several meals a day, so they can be considered snacks as well. :)

Fantasy Cinnamon Applewiches

4 raisin bread slices
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped apple
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Toast bread. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters (optional)
Combine cream cheese and apple in small bowl; spread onto toast.
Combine sugar and cinnamon in another small bowl; sprinkle evenly over cream cheese mixture. Serve!


Frozen Yogurt Sandwiches

Graham Crackers
1 big container of Fruited yogurt of choice
1 sm. carton Cool Whip of your choice

Break enough Graham Crackers in half to line the bottom of a cookie sheet. combine the yogurt and cool whip in a bowl. Spoon some of the mixture on each square. Place another layer of graham squares on top of each one. cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours. remove and serve immediately.

I take them out and then put several into ziplock baggies and put back in the freezer. Just take one out each time you want one.


Banana Tot Pops

cut a banana crosswise in half and insert a wooden stick. Cover the banana in your choice of yogurt. Sprinkle chopped nuts, candy sprinkles or granola over the yogurt.
Place it on wax paper and freeze for 2 hours.

YUMMY!


Nan-nutters

Spread Peanut butter on a hot dog bun. Put a banana in the hot dog bun. serve! Yum! you need a big glass of milk to drink with this.


Cinnamon Trail mix

2 cups corn cereal squares
2 cups whole wheat cereal squares
1 1/2 cups fat free oyster crackers
1/2 cup broken sesame snack sticks
2 TBSP margarine or butter melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup bite sized fruit flavored candies (skittles)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9X13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Place cereals, crackers and sesame sticks in prepared pan, mix lightly.
combine melted butter, cinnamon and nutmeg in small bowl; mix well. Drizzle evenly over cereal mixture; toss to coat.
Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown, stirring gently after 6 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Stir in Candy. Serve!


Peanut Pitas

1 package small pita bread cut crosswise in half
16 tsp peanut butter
16 tsp of your favorite jam or jelly
1 large banana, peeled and thinly sliced

Spread inside of each pita with 1 tsp each of PB and Jelly. Fill pitas evenly with banana slices.

you might also try:

Honey bees- Substitute honey for the jam.
Jolly Jellies- Substitute apple slices for the banana


Now go forth and eat....you know you want to. tee hee

Blackberry Pie Bars

OH.MY.GOODNESS! My life has been forever changed! :) I discovered the busy mom's dream recipe for blackberry pie. It is fast, easy, and YUMMO! Seriously, I love berry pie. I just have found that I rarely feel like taking the time to make one. The part that holds me back is the crust making. I am not a big fan of frozen crusts either. They never seem flaky enough. I love me a flaky, buttery crust baby.
This time of year, our property is overtaken by delicious, plump blackberries. In fact, last year they created quite the drama in my life. So far this year, the enamel on Miss Sugar's teeth must be sufficiently hardened, as we are not seeing any grey spots, despite the 50 or so blackberries she consumes nearly every day.
After picking a big batch the other evening, I knew I needed wanted my first pie of the season. Unfortunately, I had trouble getting up the energy to make the crust. I lazily flipped through some cookbooks, and did some Internet searching. I ran across this fabulous recipe. I did not have any nuts, so I omitted them. It was so quick and easy to whip up, and the taste.......oh the joy! The bars are like tiny little individual pies. LOVE IT! I took most of them to work, and it was a HIT! I am not sure I'll ever make a blackberry pie again. This is my new love. Sugar Bear gave it a big purple thumbs up! YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!



Nutty Blackberry Pie Bars

Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling:
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 cups blackberries
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup flour
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

Melt butter in 9 x 13 pan at 350 degrees. Add flour and sugar and press into bottom of pan. Mix filling ingredients and pour over crust. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool and cut into squares.

When Did I Become The Crust Eater?

Something strange struck me the other evening. As I proceeded to gobble up my daughters leftover dinner, I wondered...."when did I become the designated eater of things no one else wants?" It isn't uncommon to see me munching on remaining sandwich crusts....the chewed on, sucked dry, thin layer of pizza crust....the veggies gently removed from the casserole.....ETC. In Fact, it is very common. How did this happen to me, and am I the only one? Do other mamas find themselves munching on the rejects?

Here's a lovely example. This first picture is the yummy engish muffin pizza I presented to my toddler.

This Second picture represents what was left on her plate, and in turn it was part of my dinner.



I am certain plenty of you are turning up your nose...and reading this with an ever increasing belief in my freakism, but I can't help but wonder if some of you find yourself a little bit relieved YOU aren't the only one.

What possesses me to eat these things? I suppose it is fairly straight forward and simple. I CAN'T WASTE FOOD! I just can't. I shutter to see that perfectly good food going to waste. I refuse to feed it to the dog, because it only increases her annoying begging behavior that drives me nuts. I refuse to just dump it in the garbage disposal, as I hate to unneccessarily fill up my septic tank. I hate throwing it over our fence into the back wooded area of our property, however if I don't eat it, this is where it goes. I console myself by thinking of the raccoons, birds, and opposums that do a little happy dance when they find the half eaten muffin in the bushes. I am certain that they are appreciative, but usually, I just eat it myself. It makes me stop to think, "why is it better that I eat it, instead of an animal?" How does MY eating it, not waste it?

I have recently become aware of the fact that my own child's slobber must not bother me the even tiniest bit. Who knows how many things I have eaten that were once in her mouth. (Honestly, how many of you just gagged?) Seriously, she has a lovely habit of putting something in her mouth, decides it doesn't pass the inspection,and deposits it back on her plate. Why on earth would I consume that? Well....ummmm....I don't know. Maybe I figure that her spit is really just my spit, since she is technically part of me, right? Well....it makes sense to me at the time. Don't look at me like that!

There are plenty of reasons I wish I would just stop doing this, and just feed the darn backyard wildlife, however, the most convincing one is my weight. Honestly, I eat enough off my own plate. I don't need to finish off anyone else's. Get a grip woman. Be the racoon's best friend and start chucking it over the fence. Fling it into the bushes, and imagine it feeding some sweet little baby birds. Isn't that better than getting FAT off the soggy, licked, picked, and violated rejects?

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can!

A favorite Ice Cream Treat!

Ice Cream, Ice Cream, we all scream for ICE CREAM! Well, I know I do! I can't speak for everyone, but I LOVE ice cream. I have really not met very many styles or flavors that I don't like. I love everything about ice cream. The cold sensation in my mouth. The way it melts on my tongue. The fact that it comes in so many flavors. It blows my mind how many ways you can eat it this stuff.
In a cone.
In a dish.
Right out of the container. :) I am bad about that one. tee hee
With toppings.
Plain.
yummmmmm yummmmm yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! It is all just so darn good!

I try not to eat it too often, so that it remains to be the treat that it is. I try not to buy it in the carton, but a few times a year, as I just can't stay out of it. My most favorite way to enjoy this special dessert is to purchase a fun little smackeral of it at a mini-mart while on a trip. In fact, I get a little giddy and light headed when I spy one of those amazing little freezers that contain all the ice cream goodness. So many choices. sigh......Life is good!

One of my favorite ice cream treats of all time is the simple, yet delightful rectangle of love. The classic ice cream SANDWICH. YUMMO! I am not sure when I had my first one. I wish I did. However, I do know exactly when my daughter experienced her first. It was just the other day. We shared one. It was indeed a memory etched in my mind forever. I so enjoyed sharing one of my most special treats with my girl. It was melting fast, and she scarfed it down so quickly I didn't get a chance to take pictures! I know...I know...you are shocked. I am such a disappointment.

To redeem myself, I purchased a few for Sugar Bear and her cousins. We were having a BBQ, so it seemed like a perfect dessert. I imagined great pictures outside in the sun with ice cream sandwich face. Unfortunately, by the time we got to them, it was evening, the bugs were out, and we were inside. The pictures aren't what I wanted, but they still capture the fun. YUM!

Here is Miss S:



Here is Miss K:

Showing me how the cookie sticks to your fingers.


Here is my Sugar Bearl:


oh it really makes me want one. LOL


I was so surprised at how daintily they ate them. I wanted pictures of them holding the whole thing and taking big bites. I mean....isn't it normal to devour one in like 4 bites?