eaten: ice cream cake

 Every once in a while Steve will casually mention something about an ice cream cake. It was subtle, more like in passing. "Hey, I didn't know they sold ice cream cakes at Kroger." So for Father's Day I thought I would make one.

Having worked at Baskin Robbins in high school I know that you want to avoid actual cake in the ice cream cake because theirs just aren't as good as Dairy Queen's. Am I right? I was thinking of you Michelle as I was making this.

Anyway, I chose to stick with classic flavors like vanilla and chocolate but a variety of combinations could make this amazing. A graham cracker crust with a strawberry center would be delicious topped with fresh strawberries. Or mint chocolate chip. Seriously, who wants to come over so I can make another one?

In hindsight making this huge cake for just the three of us was probably a mistake since after a few days in the freezer it started to taste like freezer. So make it when you will have a crowd around or when you are willing to eat ice cream for dinner.

Ice Cream Cake
Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Sweet Little Details 

2 1/2 cups oreo cookies

1/4 cup melted butter

1 8 oz carton cool whip

1 jar chocolate fudge

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream-or other flavor

Crush cookies to a fine consistency, I used a food processor. Mix cookie crumbs with melted butter. Press into a 13×9 pan or a spring form pan. Divide slightly softened vanilla ice cream into sections and press into cookie crust. Spread fudge over the ice cream, it is a little easier to work with if it is slightly warm. But if the fudge is too warm and your ice cream is soft, the fudge will just drop through the ice cream. Next time I will refreeze ice cream layer for a bit to keep the layers separate. Top with cool whip. Freeze at least 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Another variation that would have been good would be to add another layer of crushed oreos on top of the fudge. 

Abstract from the Met

Here is that picture of one of my favorite pieces of art. (I got un-lazy and found it for you) There is just something about this that speaks to me. I actually had seen it before on my first trip to the Met with my friend Lexi and remembered it when Steve and I went on our honeymoon. I didn't even know who painted it and my thirty minute search on the internet yielded zero results. But Steve was able to find out who it was in a matter of minutes. It is Black, White and Grey by Franz Kline. Good job, Steve!

I blogged about my new abstract pillows and the process here.

Lately,

Some of the highs from our recent happenings:

• Going to my first farmer's market. What was I thinking not going to the awesome Athen's Farmer's Market before this? I got the most delicious smelling bunch of basil, among other things and hurried home to make bruschetta with grilled bread and juicy tomatoes. The rest was whipped into homemade pesto and slathered on grilled pizza. Hello summer!
• Henry jumping to me in the pool. The pool is not the beach. The pool is not the splash pad. The pool is a lot more work for me and Henry. But he was brave and after coaxing rediscovered his love of leaping into the water and floating/swimming back to the steps. 
• Tabata training. Look it up, my new favorite cardio workout. 

•  Summer movie series: cool, dark theaters and lots of popcorn plus a ring pop.
• Roasting my first whole chicken. Another aha moment! Perfect dinner plus leftovers for a casserole and I even used the bones to make chicken stock in the crock pot. I feel kind of like a chef or just really awesome. 

• Finally got around to reading Bossypants by Tina Fey. It was hilarious and enjoyable. Makes me want to rewatch every episode of 30 Rock. Too bad I just got around to watching New Girl Season 2. I feel like there is so much good tv these days that you just have to pick and choose what you have time for. First world problems, right?

• We celebrated the first day of summer by going to Hodgson's to have ice cream. $1 scoops are quite the refreshing way to ring in the new season. 

• Henry has been really into building barricades these days. He will pull all the chairs, cushions and toy bins into a blockade around someone or something. Its fun to see his mind working, looking for weak spots, fortifying and planning. When he's done, he'll say "You're trapped Daddy!" 
• Oh and I was released from Primary. Its not really a high but it is something of note. Church sure is boring without having to run around for 2 hours. I guess its time to break out all my super high heels that I have put off wearing for practicality reasons.

eaten: peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

I never loved peanut butter growing up. I still kind of gag thinking about eating a peanut butter sandwich. Its a total texture thing for me. But mix peanut butter with some sugar and I am game. I have been casually looking for a classic, go-to peanut butter cookie for awhile. Casual as in its not my top priority when it comes to baking but it would be handy to have a good recipe on hand when the craving hits.

These are crisp but soft and so so good. Usually I find PB cookies to be too dry but these are not at all. And they freeze beautifully, just pop one out of the freezer and microwave for 20 seconds and you are in trouble. Serious trouble. And I would freeze about half as this makes a ton and its easier to feel good about yourself if you don't polish off dozens of cookies in a matter of days, right?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe and picture courtesy of Mel's Kitchen

Yield: Makes about 4-5 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 cups smooth or chunky peanut butter
• 1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 ½ tablespoons milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or a combination of peanut butter and chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl combine the butter and peanut butter and beat the mixture until it is light and fluffy (you can do this with a hand mixer or with an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Add the brown and white sugars and mix until well combined. Add the eggs and mix for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is well combined and light in color. Add the milk and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix just briefly. While there are still large spots of flour, add the chocolate chips (or peanut butter chips or both) and mix until the flour is completely mixed in and the mixture is well combined. Let the cookie dough sit for 15 minutes before scooping onto the baking sheets. It will firm up as it sits.
3. When ready to bake, scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto silpat or parchment-lined baking sheets leaving about 1 to 2 inches in between the cookies to allow for spreading as they bake. Bake for 10-11 minutes, taking care not to overbake in the slightest! Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after baking before removing them to a cooling rack. This will help them set up and be firm enough to transfer without having them overbake in the oven. The cookies may look slightly underbaked but they will firm up as they cool. Resist the urge to eat them warm as they taste much better cooled.
4. I pop baked and cooled cookies into the freezer (in a large tupperware or freezer-safe ziploc bag) and they taste great out of the freezer, especially if they are left to sit at room temperature for a few minutes.

bexcaliber: process

Sometimes I get really stuck when it comes to my business. Since it is summer, I am more than happy to just go to the gym and then head off to have fun in the water or the movies. Coming in from the hot heat really leaves me drained and my energy is limited to getting dinner on the table and watching tv.

So the other week, its been about a month now actually, I was determined to make a go at being productive. Being creative is a whole other type of productivity. Its on thing to say, "I'm going to be productive and clean the house!" A list of chores ensues and you can easily cross them off. Done. Creativity is a whole different beast.

So I sat at the computer with photoshop open and turned on some music, Vampire Weekend and Matchbox 20-don't judge! Henry was happily planted in front of netflix and I "got to work." I think I also had a small pile of caramels next to me too. Let's work through my creative process for the day.

My first design was just playing around with dots and lines, above ^^^. To open the flood gates of brilliance I often start with throw away designs. The wheels start turning.

 

From there I went with straight up dots in the colors of my new floral fabric. It was cute but a little juvenile. I played around with empty space in spring colors. But I have seen this design before...keep trying.

 

What if I smudged each dot? Smudging in a circle around each set of four dots to blend and blur the colors. Its a little more artistic and has movement. Possibilities.

Then I get desperate and start messing with filters. Filters in photoshop can amuse me for hours. Who doesn't want to make their wedding pictures into comic strips? This stained glass simplifies the colors and really intensifies the white.

 

In the end I settle on this, three gigantic dots in black, charcoal and medium grey, smudged into a smoky, abstract, modern art awesomeness.  Simple is best. It reminds me of one of my favorite pieces of art in The Met Modern Art wing. Its a big black and white abstract piece. I tried to find a picture of it, the one of me standing next to it on our honeymoon but my laziness prevents me from hooking up the external hard drive. Trust me its awesome.

 

Anyway, here they are in the flesh as modern abstract art pillow covers. I am thrilled with how they turned out and secretly hope they don't sell so I can keep them for myself. Just kidding, please go buy one for your couch. Available now in the shop.

These are edgier than my previous designs but as I photographing them I was surprised by how easily they fit in with other patterns and fabrics. Versatile? Yes!

eaten: Steak Marinade

I got this recipe from my friend Molly only to realize that I had actually pinned the same recipe on Pinterest I just hadn't tried it yet. So it really is THAT great.

Are you ready for delicious steak hot off the grill? Then try this, so good!

Best Steak Marinade EVER:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp dried basil
1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp minced garlic

Combine all ingredients and pour over meat. Both times I made this I was organized enough to have the meat sit in it all day but I am sure you could get away with as little as 30 minutes. The longer the better though.
This makes enough for about 3-4 lbs of meat so I only used half and then saved the other half in the freezer for the next time we have steak. To be safe, never reuse marinade unless you boil it. 

Splash Pad

Athens finally got a splash pad!

Its about time too because Georgia is the perfect place to have something fun to keep you cool on hot, hot, hot summer days. We have been a couple of times and Henry loves it. He mainly loves the small fountains coming out of the ground that he can run through and spray in different directions with his foot. Sometimes he'll be brave and run through larger sprinklers. 

My summer just got that much better.

Underwear Pencil Skirt

Sometimes you just have to put all your underwear on.

Hysterical.

Carnival

A tiny carnival of rides come to Athens once a year. This year Henry spotted it and kept asking out it so we made it an FHE night of fun. Actually we only did two rides. One with Daddy and one with Mommy. I tried to convince him to go on the ferris wheel but he wanted to ride the train instead. We met in the middle with this petite but fierce rollercoaster.

eaten: BBQ Chicken Quesadillas

Another effort to mix up a favorite dish of ours, quesadillas.

Now you don't really need a recipe for this, I just kind of used the basic idea and mixed it up with what I had. For example, I didn't put as much bacon and I think I used more BBQ sauce than they did. We also cooked ours on the griddle instead of baking them.

The first time I made these I forgot to buy bacon and the red onion, they weren't that great. The next time I had all the ingredients and they were good, they could have used more BBQ sauce for dipping. Next time. I also think I made the mistake of cutting all my ingredients too small so the flavors were kind of muddled. Bigger chunkier toppings like the picture would be best.

Still good though, they have made it onto our easy-weeknight-meal list.

Recipe and Photo courtesy of Like Mother Like Daughter
6 Large tortillas
6 TBS BBQ Sauce
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1.5 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (this is a great way to use up  leftover rotisserie chicken, or any other chicken you have – we used already cooked bbq chicken)
8 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup red onions, sauteed
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread BBQ sauce on half of each tortilla.
3. Top BBQ sauce with about 1/4 cup cheese.
4. Spread about 1/4 cup chicken over the cheese.
5. Sprinkle bacon pieces and sauteed red onion over each tortilla evenly.
6. Sprinkle cilantro over the top of all the ingredients.
7. Fold tortilla in half.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted completely and tortilla is a little crispy.
10. Cut each quesadilla into 3 or 4 pieces.

Enjoy. 
PS. If you would like a stronger BBQ  flavor, dip pieces into BBQ sauce as you eat.

Henry: Spotlight

 

In Primary each week they spotlight one child. Everyone stands up and as the facts are read, the kids sit down if it isn't them until theoretically the last person standing is the spotlight. This week it was Henry. Of course he had no idea it was him but he was pretty excited about it. 

I love this snapshot of the things he liked back in January when he filled it out. He still loves turkey sandwiches though and singing songs. Dolphins???

Camping: Unicoi State Park and Helen

Last weekend we were invited to a birthday camping adventure with some of our friends. It was Savannah's 2nd birthday and we had a lot of fun celebrating. The campgrounds were really nice despite the poison ivy everywhere. We camped with six other families including our hosts, The Watnes. Everything was nice and casual with a hot dog potluck Friday night, way too many desserts and dutch oven pizza Saturday. Oh and above we are eating donuts like true campers. I asked Steve what he wanted for Saturday breakfast and he said why not just keep it simple and get donuts. Fine by me.

The first night Henry refused to go to bed until almost midnight! So he hung out with us by the campfire playing Mafia and chatting. Luckily the next night he fell right to sleep.

Near the campsite was a small playground and stream. Henry loved throwing rocks in the water and playing on the toys. Steve and I raced small boats made out of bottle caps, twigs and whatever we could find that would float. Steve always managed to win. His winning boat was a pink hair tie wrapped around a sprite cap  It reminded me of fun summers racing boats with my brothers in the small creek behind our house.

Here we are in Helen, a small bavarian tourist town in north Georgia. It is pretty much one street lined with tshirt stores and candy shops. We drove through it to get to our campgrounds and came back the next day to check it out before tubing the hootch.

He is such a ham. And he looks so BIG in this picture. 

After checking out the Helen scene we headed over to get our tubes to float the Chattahoochee. While we waited to get in the water, Henry had a blast jumping on the hot pink tubes with the other kids. 

Unfortunately Henry HATED the river and cried the entire time. We had to set his tube free so it wouldn't slow us down. I had a blast despite the 40 lbs of whining child in my arms. It was kind of slow going since the river is so shallow, we got hung up a bunch until we figured out the whole "lifting your bum" part. Steve was a champ and freed us from numerous rocks. We got out midway through the course and stood in the rain while we waited to be shuttled back to our car. I would do it again without Henry.

And here is Henry, sleeping in on our air mattress after a rough night of serious down pouring rain. He ended up in bed with us at 4:00 am and luckily we were all able to get back to sleep and stayed dry. Since everything was wet, we packed up bright and early and headed home with a car full of wet camping gear and tired people.

I do love camping though. 

Thanks again for inviting us, Watnes!

eaten: cowboy cookies

As much as I love the internet and pinterest, nothing beats magazines for me. I love flipping through pages, ripping out recipes and inspiring images. In a kick of cleaning out a couple of weeks ago, I decided to go through my recipe stack and toss what didn't interest me and start cooking the things that I had saved.

These cookies from a Martha Stewart magazine were the magic recipe. I had just acquired coconut, pecans and mini chocolate chips from a friend who was moving and cleaning out her freezer. Perfect.

Since I have made them twice and both times they were a huge hit. The first time they were for a BBQ and Steve and I ate almost the whole first pan out of the oven without even thinking about it. Chunky, chewy, yum.  

Cowboy Cookies

The Martha Stewart Show, September Fall 2008

• Yield Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (1 cup) -I used a combination of mini choc. chips and regular sized ones.
• 3 ounces (3/4 cup) pecan halves -I used a combination of pecan pieces and halves.
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
2. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until combined. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
4. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or a small spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
5. Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack, and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks. Let cool. (Cookies can be stored up to 3 days.)

Henry, Lately

• Henry will line up all his pillows and ours from our bed and the couch on the floor and make a "pillow path." He then races along the path back and forth shouting out things like "on your mark, get set, go!" singing the Star Wars theme song and finally saying "I'm out of gas," when he is done. 
• I am super excited that he can get dressed by himself now. I have to tell him to go pick out each item but he can find them, put them on with minimal help-sometimes arms come out the neck hole-but overall it is a nice step towards independence. He can also go to the bathroom by himself and no longer needs help unless he goes #2 and he needs a wipe check. 
• I don't want to jinx things and say he is over his terrible phase but he has dramatically improved in the past few weeks. The other day we ventured into TJ Max and he didn't want to get in a cart. No big deal as he followed me around and stayed right near me exclaiming all sorts of interesting comments like "Look at those cute underwear." "I like rugs." and "Wait up, Mommy."
• If we tell him not to do something he'll respond "Don't say that!" or "Don't say that mean thing, Mommy." For example:
• Me: Henry, please don't lick the wall.
• Henry: Don't say that mean thing Mommy. 
• Speaking of licking things, Henry is in a weird licking phase. He will lick anything, the walls, the ground, the furniture, his toys and us.  
• Everything is a gun to him. He will hold up his sunglasses and shout "bang, bang, bang" or "boom, boom, boom." Sticks, pipe cleaners, you name it. It is a weapon. Every once in awhile he will tell me there is a bug on me and ask if I want him to shoot it off. I always say yes.
• We have successfully re instituted quiet time on a daily basis. The key was leaving the door open. He is now old enough to stay in his room without leaving and he knows and understands that if he comes out I will add 30 seconds to his time. He is now up to 32 minutes of solitary play. I am thrilled with this progress and we will continue to work up to one hour. Sometimes he will come out when the timer goes off and exclaim "I had a great time in there."
• The library has a summertime program to promote reading and every week they offer a different event. Last week it was Luau themed. Henry received a lei and learned a few hula moves. They also had a puppet show and a limbo contest which Henry refused to participate in. He saw a little girl in a grass skirt and insisted on having one too. So when we got home I stapled some streamers to a ribbon, tied it around his waist, turned music on and watched the magic happen.
• Henry is getting more adventurous with his vegetable eating too. He recently ate a whole serving of carrots, all his green beans plus requested more and zucchini too. Afterwards he shouted "I like bikini (zucchini), Mommy." 
•  For awhile during night time prayers Henry would say "Thank you for my escalator." ???
•  We are also loving forts and build one almost everyday. I am quite adept now. I can make them big enough and comfy enough for cuddling, reading with flashlights and even sneaking in naps while he watches tv. I build the fort and then he gathers all the pillows in the house and the big blankeys and all his stuffed friends. Sometimes it gets kind of crowded in there and I always leave myself an air vent or it gets too stuffy and warm.

eaten: mexican haystacks

We go through serious food phases in our house. For months we were eating Hawaiian Haystacks every week or every other week. We have cut back a bit in the name of variety but when I saw this fresh looking take on one of our favorite dishes, I quickly repinned it and threw it into the rotation.

Let me just say, Yum. Easy. Yum.

Not only is this so simple and fresh but it just feels light and summery. I made a couple of changes like not adding the cilantro to the cooked rice because I didn't have enough-we just garnished with it instead. I also added cheese and used chicken instead of the ground turkey. Steve mentioned that this would also be good filling in a burrito, maybe next time.

Recipe and Picture courtesy of whole and free

Mexican Haystacks

RICE
2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 bunch fresh cilantro

MEAT
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey, I used 2 chicken breasts, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
4 cups salsa

TOPPINGS
1-2 avocados, chopped
1-2 red peppers, chopped
1-2 ripe mangoes, chopped
1-2 roma tomatoes, chopped
fresh cilantro for garnish

Start your brown rice in a pot on the stove, or in a rice maker. Next, add ground turkey and chopped onion to a large saute pan. Add garlic powder and salt and pepper. When the turkey is browned, add 4 cups of salsa. Bring the salsa to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, chop the cilantro, pepper, avocado, and mango. When the rice is done, simply stir in almost all of the fresh cilantro, leaving just enough to garnish each dish.

I served each person with the rice and meat already on the plate, and everybody had fun adding their own toppings. Kids always like to feel that they "made" their own dinner!

I'd recommend serving this with a nice big green salad on the side.

*Also, the recipe above made enough for our family of five to have leftovers the next day. If you are cooking for a smaller family, just chop one avocado, pepper, and mango. You can also make less rice and only 1 lb. of turkey. If you do this, reduce the salsa used to only 2-3 cups.

Lately,

We've had a lot of stuff going on of late. Just enough to keep us busy but not too much to be overwhelming. All pictures are from the Nelson's goodbye party and courtesy of Chelsea.

• One of my favorite families moved last week, The Nelson's. Oh how I will miss Andrea! There were what seemed like weeks of activities leading to their departure including a last time girls trip to Target, a surprise potluck picnic, movie night with treats and nail painting and lots of cleaning together.
• Inspired by all the cleaning, I deep cleaned sections of our house. Scrubbing walls, baseboards, purging junk from kitchen drawers and emptying the freezer. I Old Englished all our wood and even moved all the furniture and got the walls and baseboards there too. Liberating it is to have a clean house.

Shaw, Caleb, Molly, Hannah, me and Steve

• Henry is officially too big for his booster seat and no longer a flight risk. For awhile he would just jump down from his seat and run away during dinner, now he can sit still long enough. And because of that we have been enjoying lots of fun meals together at the table. 
• For Memorial Day we had a small BBQ with friends in the field by our apartment. We set up our canopy, lugged the grill down and everyone brought sides to share. We played bocce and chatted in the warm evening. So simple and yet so fun. We'll have to tailgate there in the fall too.

Henry pushed this stroller around the party for almost an hour. He was running and sweating and on a serious mission.

• We have also been living it up at Sandy Creek again sometimes staying as long as 4 hours. Henry loves playing in the water and kicking his legs like he is swimming. His new favorite thing though is peeing in the lake. Usually when the kids have to pee, they just go and sit in the water and do their business but Henry insists on pulling his pants down, exposing his white bum and peeing in a huge arch over the water. Best thing ever. And he is developing quite the tan line soaking up all that sun.
• I am a huge fan of the new Vampire Weekend album.

The Ladies: Racheal, Lena, Ali, Stacey, Sara, Lindsey, Chelsea, Andrea, Me, Molly, Hannah

• Steve and I devoured Arrested Development Season 4 becoming more and more impressed by the humor as the episodes went on. We also have been watching Walking Dead Season 3 and I have zombie filled dreams. Ah tv...