Another Birthday!

Today is my daughter's birthday.  She turns a whopping three years old and had very specific requests when it came to her cake.  I am ashamed to admit that her cake came from a mix... I guess going to Maui, planning for her birthday party with her friends, and other plans resulted in mismanaged time.  But this gal got exactly what she wanted... a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, pink sprinkles and a mermaid on top.  A big shout out to Target for my frantic last minute trip to the store and you having a mini mermaid toy on clearance! Score!

She was also specific about dinner.  We had to go to 'sue-see' (sushi) at the place with colored, round plates that move (Blue C Sushi).  Happy birthday sweet C.  We can't wait to celebrate again with you at your party this weekend!

Birthday Love

This year I was fortunate enough to spend my birthday in gorgeous Maui.  Upon our return we had a fantastic dinner made by my mom.  Followed with a chocolate chocolate cake decorated by my two lovely children.  As you can see from the photos below my kids must really think I'm special.

A golf flag, horse, trumpet, clown head, santa, balloons, two people talking on phones (one apparently trampled by the horse), and many candles.  Nothing says love like a body-less clown! 

The cake was very good and my kids were so proud of the cake they helped make and decorate.  Thank you B & C! You're the best!

Banana, PB and Rice Krispie Snack

A big thank you to Pinterest for a great (and easy) snack idea.  Cut a banana in half, spread banana with creamy peanut butter and then roll in Rice Krispies.  I put a chopstick through the banana to create a handle for the kids.  These banana snacks were a huge hit!  You need to give them a try.

Go Sounders!

Today was my son's last soccer game with the Sounders.  The kids were so great and I wanted to give them a special treat to cap off the season.  Do you know how hard it was for me to make cookies look like soccer balls!?  I'm a baseball, football, basically any other sport kind of girl so the first couple cookies were comical.

Do you want cookies for an event?  I am now offering my services to friends and family at a fairly competative price - plus... my cookies are homemade and made with love!  Contact me if you're interested.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Tonight I hosted a Stella & Dot jewelry party at the house.  I decided to create a festive fall menu of heavy appetizers for the guests and my favorite item were the mini pumpkin pies! 

The mini pies can be as easy or difficult as you choose... store bought pie dough vs homemade.  Canned pumpkin pie filling or roast pumpkins and mix your own filling in your kitchen.

You'll need:
- Mini muffin tins

- Unbaked pie dough, enough for a two crust pie.
- Pumpkin pie filling, enough for two pies.
- A circle cookie cutter or even use a glass or small bowl as a cutter.  You may need to play around with the sizing depending on your muffin tin size.  You want cut dough to stick up a bit out of the tins, like below.

Cut as many circles as you can from the dough.  You should get anywhere between 22-30 discs of dough. Place dough inside ungreased muffin tins and prick bottom of each mini pie shell with a fork one time.  Bake the empty shells for about 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven.  They may puff up a bit so use your fingers or some foil to press the shells back down a bit.

Pour the prepared pumpkin mix in to the semi baked shells.  I fill mine just below the edge of the crust.  Bake anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on tin size.  You'll know the pies are done when they puff up a bit, may have a crack on the surface, and the filling isn't jiggly and is firm to the touch.  Let them cool in the pans for 15 minutes and carefully remove.

Pretty little pies!

And why not get festive with your bottles of wine?  I used a shipping label and printed "Witches Brew" on them with a skull graphic. 

Just a fraction of the beautiful jewelry that was on display tonight!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies?!

I've seen a chocolate chip cookie recipe floating around pinterest for weeks.  The photos of the fresh from the oven cookies were mouth watering.  And then I read the recipe.  How could a cookie taste good without any flour and be mostly made of beans?  Yeah, beans.  Garbanzo beans to be exact.  Or chickpeas.  They're the same thing but some people only know them by one name or the other.  Don't gag, just keep reading....

A friend posted on facebook that she tried the recipe and that the cookies were not only good, but she and her children couldn't eat them fast enough.  It was right then and there that I printed out the recipe and made a batch.  Hard to believe, but these cookies are fantastic!  Okay, so they don't have the same taste as a knock your socks of traditional cookie, but the peanut butter and chocolate give great flavor!

Blending the ingredients...

Mixing the chocolate chips in to the bean and peanut butter mixture...

The cookies taste best when they're warm.  If you are eating the cookies after they have completely cooled, I recommend zapping them in the microwave for a few seconds.

Do not judge these cookies until you try one!  Plus, there is no oil, no butter, no flour, no white sugar, so they are semi healthy.  And gluten free and grain free! And mighty tasty.

1 1/4 c. canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), well-rinsed and patted dry
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 c. honey 
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Combine first six ingredients (exclude chocolate chips) in a food processor and process until very smooth. Scrape the sides and the top to make sure all the garbanzo beans are accounted for.  Continue to process until all combined.


Put in the chocolate chips and stir. The cookie mixture will be thick and sticky.

With damp hands, form into 1 1/2" balls and place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. These cookies won't change shape much as they bake so don't worry. Bake for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

Sushi

I couldn't resist posting these photos from a birthday dinner my sister-in-law and brother-in-law hosted for my husband today.  They made an incredible amount of sushi and it was all amazing!