12 Days of Christmas: Take 2 - Button Trees!

Last winter my 12 Days of Christmas posts featured a new local Etsy shop or crafter. This year's 12 Days of Christmas features are kid focused, because duh. I spend every waking hour of my life with my own kids and/or someone else's, so there ya go. We have already been baking and decorating and crafting up a storm since the day we came home from our Thanksgiving long weekend, so I figured it is time to share some holiday cheer! All of the 12 posts will be quick and easy crafts, recipes, or books that have gone over well with my own kiddos or the 4 Little Bean's who come for care.

Day 1 is all about Button Trees! These are a great quick craft for littles of various ages. You don't need much and they also make cute gifts for teachers, babysitters and grandparents.

You need:
green and tan or orange popsicle sticks
buttons
glue
glitter (optional for some, but not us!)
string or an ornament hook

Arrange green sticks in a triangle and affix each corner with a dot or glue. Cut additional sticks to size for branches and attach with more glue. Cut tan/orange sticks in half to act as a trunk and affix with glue. Let this base dry before adding buttons! When it is dry, add button ornaments with more glue dots. I added the glitter with a spray of Alene's Spray Adhesive, but you can just use your regular glue for that! Once the glue is fully dry, it is ready to hang or gift!

Have a fun holiday craft to share? Link up in the comments!

An Apple A Day (and a few great books!)

Apple picking season is in full swing, and we (like everyone else and their mamas) went to the orchard this weekend. We brought home two pecks of apples, a half dozen cider donuts, and a bunch of gorgeous pumpkins in all shades, shapes and sizes. Fall is one of my favorite times of year, not just for the weather, foliage, and food, but for the projects. September is such an awesome time to be home crafting, reading and cooking with littles, and we do lots of it. Since we have so many apples on hand (as I'm sure some of you do), it's time for some baking, reading, and science(ing?).

Today we did the obvious apple sauce, since all the littlers were sleeping and it was just Jude and I. He's grown to be a great kitchen helper, so apple sauce only takes about half an hour. He got his own set of kitchen knives for his birthday this past year, and they are awesome. I do the peeling and coring, he did the chopping all by himself. The nice thing about apple sauce is that the size of the apples makes no difference,unlike with a pie, so messy chopping is all good! I highly recommend these knives if you have a toddler who wants to help in the kitchen!

Curious Chef Knives via Amazon

We make our favorite apple sauce every year, and it's so simple it's hardly a recipe. We fill a Dutch oven with the peeled chopped apples (I used a full peck of apples), the rind of one lemon (try to keep the peel in one piece so it's easy to remove later), 1 tsp. of cinnamon and a 1/4 tsp. of nutmeg. Squeeze the lemon juice over and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally until apples are softened and break down easily. You can mash it with the back of a spoon or puree with an immersion blender if you wish. This yields about a quart and a pint of applesauce, which goes really fast around here! 

While we make our apple sauce we always talk a little about irreversible change, observe the differences in our apples from start to finish, and review kitchen safety, too. There's a cute episode of Sid the Science kid that uses apple sauce as a science experiment, just in case you have Netflix! 

We also read a few new appley books today, and there are so many out there! I grabbed a few at the library yesterday, and was so happy that they turned out to be great ones! We started with Apple Pie ABC by Allison Murray, which is a quick board book with adorable illustrations and some great new vocab. Jude now knows "ogle," "pine." and "determined!" It follows a little dog through the alphabet while he tries to get a slice of the apple pie his owner has baked and not shared with her little pup.

Apple Pie ABC via Amazon

The next book was Rain Makes Applesauce which I chose by the cover (shame on the teacher in me). It's lovely, just lovely. The illustrations are beautiful, the story is so clever and creative, and Jude loved the silly parts. It's like it came straight from a child's imagination. I'm ordering a copy!

Rain Makes Applesauce via Amazon

The last book is not apple themed, but it's a cookbook and it has a great Apple Charlotte recipe in it! If you love Mary Poppins or quirky stories like I do, the book Mary Poppins in the Kitchen will be a favorite. It's definitely for the older set, but I read the first chapter aloud to Jude today and he loved it. We will likely do a chapter a day and try to bake as many of the recipes as we can. We're going to make the Apple Charlotte for tonight's dessert!

Mary Poppins in the Kitchen via Amazon

What are some of your favorite books to read this time of year? 

Please let me know so I can add them to our book list!

We have yet to do a new apple craft project, but we did a ton of apple stamping last year. We did mini tote bags, lunch bags and pencil cases for party favors, and they are so cute and easy! It's a "hardly any prep" craft, so I'm sure we'll do it again this year! 

One Last Hoorah and a Crazy Cannoli Cake

My next 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge begins tomorrow, and how did I spend my weekend? Making this cake of course. This mouth watering, over the top, totally swoon worthy cake. My neighbor turns 30 today (BABY! I feel like 30 was so long ago) and his lovely wife asked me to bake him a cake. Cannoli are his favorite, but of course, I have never made or eaten a cannoli cake. As with all new things, I had to go overboard. I looked at a bunch of recipes and pictures for ideas, and then put together a bunch of my own favorite family recipes to put together this cake. My grandmother's cannoli cream, my mom's vanilla cake, and my aunt's chocolate cake were added to a frosting I made up on the fly and Bakerella's ganache (it's better than Martha's!).

My issue with cannoli has always been that they are too sweet! This cannoli cream isn't overly sweet, and the frosting isn't either, even with all of that sugar. The cinnamon and lemon zest really help cut the sweetness, and the ganache adds a richness that is decadent, but not toothache inducing. While this cake does take time to put together, I promise you that it's worth it. When you need a showstopper for a special event, this is the cake. Trust.

One recipe vanilla cake baked in 8 inch round cake pans and cooled. 

Chocolate Cake (it's vegan!)

1 2/3 cups flour1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. vanilla1 cup water1/3 cup vegetable oil1 tsp. white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8 inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with parchment. Whisk all dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add wet ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour  into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan before inverting. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Cannoli Cream Filling
4 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 cup heavy cream
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Beat ricotta in a large bowl until fluffy and smooth. Sift in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and beat to combine. In a second bowl, beat cream until fairly stiff. Fold cream into ricotta mixture. Fold in lemon zest and chips.

Ganache (from Bakerella)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Heat cream and butter in a saucepan over medium high heat until melted and remove before it starts to boil. Place chocolate morsels in a small bowl and pour cream on top. Let sit for a two minutes before whisking by hand until completely smooth. Let cool until thick and pourable, more like fudge sauce than chocolate syrup (you can put it into the fridge to speed this up). Just use a whisk to stir it occasionally!

Cannoli Frosting
2 cups vegetable shortening
2 lbs. powdered sugar
1/2 -1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
zest of a lemon

In a large bowl, beat shortening until fluffy. Sift in half of the powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add 1/4 c. of milk and beat to combine. Gradually add more sugar and/or milk until you reach the desired consistency. I prefer a stiffer frosting when piping roses, but a fluffier frosting for crumb coating, so it is up to you! Fold in lemon zest at the end.

ASSEMBLY:
Slice your chocolate and vanilla cake rounds into two layers. Place one vanilla layer on your plate and pipe a thick circle of frosting around the outside edge. This will keep your cannoli cream from sneaking out!

 Fill the circle with cannoli cream and lay a chocolate cake layer on top. 

Repeat for each desired layer (the cake pictured had lots of travel to do, so it was only three layers!). Crumb coat the cake and refrigerate for at least an hour. Remove the cake and cover with a smooth layer of frosting. Whisk ganache to be sure it is smooth and pour slowly from the center of the cake to allow a small amount to drip over the sides. You won't need it all! If you choose to decorate with a cannoli, just fill with extra cannoli cream, pipe a few frosting roses or stars in the center and top with your cannoli.

Got extras? Little cannoli cream filled cupcakes are amaaazzziiing:) 

My Shakeology Top 15!

After Eden was born and Jude started pre school, I found myself in a funk. Scrambling to get out the door with a newbie and a pre schooler oftentimes ended in a hot mess. I would grab a banana on my way out, inhale it at drop off, and then run home to get the baby to bed. Queue the mad mama nap rush of trying to vacuum floors, fold clothes, pick up messes and every other thing that you can think of doing before the baby wakes up. You know the drill. Then suddently I had to pick up Jude. And I forgot to eat. So now I'm crazed, hangry mama at the Dunin Donuts drive thru. Large iced cookie dough extra extra and a bagel with cream cheese? Yes, please. Aaaand here comes the crash by lunchtime where I clean my kids' plates of leftover macaroni and cheese. Something had to giiiive.

For me the answer came in the form of my adorbs little friend Allison, a Texan whom we befriended in Michigan before we moved to the Jerz. She introduced me to Shakeology, and BOOM. This chick was hooked. No more hangry morning rush, no more Dunkin runs in desperation, no more day long bingeing and shitty food choices. 

I started with vanilla and quickly branched out. I love variety, and I love food, so I needed to have an arsenal of options. Almost a year of drinking Shakeology has led me to a handful of favorites, and I'm constantly coming up with new things. Inspiration is all over, like the Australian Nutella Bella Milkshake that exploded the internet a few weeks back. Yeah, I had to have that. And now you can, too, but with the added benefits of super foods and protein and zero guilt. You're welcome.

So here they are! My top 5 favorite Shakeology recipes for each of my three favorite flavors:) No pudding powders, no added sugars, no added fats. Like any recipe, you may want to play with measurements, since I generally eyeball it. You may like your shake thicker, or colder, so add whatever amount of liquid or ice ou need to fit your taste.

Have some favorites of your own? I'd love to see them!

THIS.

Chocolate

Black Forest

Scoop of chocolate shakeology

1 c. pitted cherries

8 oz. almond milk

ice

Almond Joy

Scoop of chocolate shakeology

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1/4 c almonds

8 oz. coconut milk

1/4 c. flaked unsweetened coconut

ice

Sea Salt Caramel

Scoop of chocolate shakeology

1/8 tsp. caramel extract

8 oz. almond milk

dash of sea salt

ice

Instead of THIS!

Samoa

Scoop of chocolate shakeology

8 oz coconut milk

1/4 c. flaked, unsweetened coconut

1/2 tsp caramel extract

ice

Vanilla

Nutella Donut Shakeology
Scoop of vanilla shakeology1 tsp Drostes Cocoa

1/2 whole wheat graham cracker6 oz. almond milk 6 oz. cold water
1/2 c. hazelnuts
1/2 tsp each cinnamon and vanilla extractIce 

The Elvis

Scoop of vanilla shakeology

8 oz. almond milk

1 frozen banana

1 Tbls peanut butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Frappucino

Scoop of vanilla shakeology

1 cup coffee ice cubes

8 oz vanilla almond milk

1/2 tsp. chai spice

Pumpkin Spice

Scoop of vanilla shakeology

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

drizzle of raw honey

8 oz. almond milk

ice

Vanilla Berry

Scoop of vanilla shakeology

1 cup frozen berries and kale (Waldman's makes a great mix!)

8 oz. vanilla almond milk

dash of cinnamon

Strawberry

Vacation Mode

Scoop of strawberry shakeology

8 oz. coconut water (fresh is awesome!)

1/2 frozen banana

1/2 c. pineapple

Citrus Burst

Scoop of strawberry shakeology

1 clementine

1/2 cup pineapple

8 oz. cold water 

ice

Strawberry Mojito

Scoop of strawberry shakeology

1/4 cup mint leaves

8 oz water

ice

Strawberry Cheesecake

Scoop of strawberry shakeology

1/2 c. cottage cheese

8 oz. vanilla almond milk

dash of cinnamon

ice

Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Scoop of strawberry shakeology

1 tsp. dark cocoa powder

8 oz. almond milk

1 cup coffee ice cubes

Clean Grillin'

Today is the first day of my 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge! I can't believe it, but over 100 people have joined the group, and so far we are off to a great start. This dish above is the lip smackin' first dinner, and it's a keeper. Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan, fresh grilled tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. Drooool. I kept the pasta (whole wheat here, but you can do quinoa, garbanzo, rice, whatever) because my kids, heck, most kids, love pasta, and I didn't want to overwhelm anyone with a super strict meal plan the first go-round! Yes, I know pasta is processed, as is cheese, cooked oats, whatever. For this challenge the focus is more about limiting the processed foods and making healthier choices, not banning them entirely, You just have to decide where to draw the line for yourself, and start there! I'd start with this dish. 

It is so good, you won't miss that greasy breaded crust at all, Not one bit.

Grilled Chicken and Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, sliced in half lengthwise

1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

4 large tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 cup finely shredded basil

6 ounces mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

WW Pasta of your choice

Fire roasted tomatoes, 1 can

Optional seasonings: dried oregano, red pepper flakes, thyme

Preparation:

Heat up your grill and set oven temperature to 450 degrees. Brush the chicken, eggplant and tomato slices with olive oil and season lightly with cayenne, salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Grill eggplant over moderately high heat, turning once, until softened and lightly charred, about 4 minutes. Grill the tomatoes, turning once, until lightly charred but still intact, about 2 minutes.

Line a large baking dish with parchment paper or grease with a little oil. In the center, arrange half of the eggplant and chicken, overlapping the slices slightly. Top with half of the grilled tomatoes, sprinkle with half the basil and mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, ending with the cheese. Bake in the center of the oven for about 10 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Boil pasta while eggplant bakes. Drain and toss with canned tomatoes, garlic, additional seasonings of your choice and reserved basil.

NOTE – Do you have a cast iron pan? If so you can skip the oven! Layer your ingredients in the cast iron pan after grilling and put it back on the grill over low heat. Lower the lid and let bake for about 8-10 minutes. You can even put the pasta and tomato in the bottom of the pan and then layer your ingredients on top!

Yeah, I know. I've been lax again. Kids. Life. Work, y'know? Nooooot gonna beat myself up about it.

We are in full summer swing, which around here means hanging at the lake, driving up to Rhody beaches and eating everything in sight. I mean it. I've been eating everything in sight. We recently did our annual beach rental and I can't even believe how off the rockers we went with food. We hosted BBQs and went out often. Clam cakes and New England clam chowder, beer, Allie's donuts, pizza strips, potato salad, ice cream from Aunt Carrie's, beer, hotdogs, Cheese Balls, and did I mention the beer? I came home feeling like a depressed slug. The entire next week I was exhausted. I couldn't keep up with my toddler and I was snappy with everyone. It sucked. I knew it was time for a quick reset. I joined a girlfriend's challenge group to get back into my regular eating and exercising plan and I felt better in just a few days. 7 days in and I have even lost a couple of inches (probably inches of beer).

In talking with a few friends I realized they were all in the same shame filled boat, too. Since I'm a planner and a bit food obsessed (duh), I thought it would be fun to do a challenge group of my own! I would make a meal plan, shopping list and recipe file! Fun! 5 days, clean foods, kid friendly. Easy right? I opened a group, invited some pals on Facebook, and within a few days 60 people had joined. 60. Fuck. I began to get performance anxiety and to freak out about pleasing 60 people. Then I thought, "Shoot. I don't give a shit. If these 60 people throw out one gross food item and find 1 new thing they like eating this week, great. Goal accomplished." So the more the merrier!

Want in? Here's what is involved:
- Pledge to eat clean for 5 days, August 3-7th
- Follow the provided meal plan for the 5 days (to the best of your ability)
- Complete the daily check-ins to enter yourself for prizes!

Click on this link to add yo'self: August Clean Eating Challenge

I'll be posting the recipes here too, so if you aren't a joiner, you can still eat like one.

Milk Maid

It's all about the boobs once again in the Bean household. 

Nursing Jude was an amazing journey, one that I am still immensely proud of, but one that wasn't always simple. We had our early struggles, but finding Boobie Group was my saving grace. Those 12 ladies are my Jersey fam, and without them I would certainly not be where I am now. Nursing Eden has been smooth sailing so far, so I only popped into a group meeting once for the Valentine's Day party, and then only because my badass doula would be there. That woman is the BOMB. Anywho, I started off on the right foot nursing partly because I never had any supply issues this time around. One of the main reasons is that I knew how much extra water I had to drink, knew what foods to avoid and increase, and also (and best!) because I had Boobie Cookies. My friend Amy makes the. best. lactation cookies, and she brought a dozen over when we brought Eden home. One a day and I was good to go. Little lady is a satisfied babe. However. a cookie a day, no matter how much it supports milk production, is still a cookie a day. Full of butter, sugar, and chocolate, those bad boys weren't going to get me into skinny jeans any quicker.

I needed to find a substitute and fast. I stumbled upon a delicious looking oatmeal muffin recipe from Vintage Kids, Modern World, and got to baking. I wanted to add in the go to ingredients for milk production (brewer's yeast, flax seed, and fenugreek) and take it another step. I added carrots and walnuts for an an extra boost, used honey for sweetness and swapped in coconut oil for a healthier fat (visit Healthful Mama for explanations about this list!). The result is a hearty, healthy muffin that is lightly sweet and super effective for increasing your supply. With no guilt. Promise.



Carrot Cake Oatmeal Boobie Muffins (to promote healthy lactation)
Ingredients:
makes 1 dozen muffins

1 c. rolled oats
1 c. whole wheat flour
4 Tbls. flax seed meal
4 Tbls. Brewers yeast
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. coconut oil, melted
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. shredded carrot (about two medium carrots)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 c. golden raisins
1/2 c. dried pineapple, chopped

Preparation:
Whisk flour and oats together in a medium bowl and pour buttermilk over. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line muffin tin. Add all ingredients except carrot, nuts, and raisins and blend until well combined. Fold in carrots, nuts, and raisins. Divide evenly among muffin tins and bake 12 -15 minutes or until just golden. Cool on a wire rack. Freeze any muffins you will not consume in a day or two!

Lucky Treats

Yikes. So you remember that cereal milk buttercream frosting I made for E's birthday cake? Well, as big as the cake was, I still had at least a full cup of sticky goodness left over after frosting it. You know how much I hate to waste things. I just couldn't throw it away, and while I'm not above putting frosting on... oh, maybe a waffle at breakfast, or even (gasp!) stirring a spoonful into a hot cup of coffee, enough was enough. It had to go. Of course, there was also an almost full box of Lucky Charms sitting waiting for someone to liberate it. See, as much as E loved them as a kid, after his birthday breakfast was over they went into the cabinet of shame next to the Oreos. I've been doing a 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge for Lent, and the kitchen pantry is one of the areas that needed unloading. Any half boxes of anything, any past expiration date cans, anything I bought thinking it would be useful (or worse, because it was on sale!) went out! I donated a bag to the food pantry at church and a bunch went straight into the trash. That big box of marshmallow ick? Into cookies. Where else? I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for the base and went from there. And even if these cookies are the size of my hand, I just had to sandwich them together with a big shmear of cereal milk buttercream. And then I gave them all away. 

Lucky Charms Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup raw sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups Bob's Red Mill White Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 cups Lucky Charms cereal

1 cup of Cereal Milk Buttercream

Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy and pale. Add egg and almond extract and beat until just combined. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the mixer at low speed. Scrape the bowl and mix until just combined. Fold in cereal. Drop dough by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets and bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool for five minutes on the sheet before transferring to wire racks. Smear cookies with a generous tablespoon (or two!) of buttercream and sandwich together.

Happy Birthday, Daddy-o!

E and I are now both officially in our mid thirties. I know. That isn't old. But just saying "mid thirties" feels older. Like maybe I should stop saying "totes" and give away all of my mini skirts.

Not like anyone who bakes and eats cake like this has any right to be wearing mini skirts anyway. This delicious monstrosity is a straight to the hips, thighs, and butt cheeks delight. It was that goooood.

Jude is pretty adorable (just look at the grin!), but he's also pretty darn sweet. When we started talking about E's birthday, he said he wanted to bake a cake.

"What kind?" I asked.

"Cereal and Milk Cake. With bananas!"

Hmm. Ok, kiddo. At least he didn't say, "with sardines."

I did a little thinking and decided we would bake a roasted banana layer cake and make some Momofuku cereal milk for the frosting. It still needed something extra to put it into special birthday terrotory though. The next morning Jude asked E what his favorite cereal was when he was a kid. Cocoa Pebbles and Lucky Charms. Ick. In our house growing up, Honey Nut Cheerios were a big treat.

Jude took his first trip down the sugary cereal aisle of the
grocery store that afternoon, and he was astounded.
He had no idea what anything was. I had to answer way too many questions about cartoon Tigers and Vampires for
one day. He was so excited about the Lucky Charms
marshmallows that he could hardly keep still in the cart.
That box we wrapped up for E's birthday breakfast, but the Cocoa Pebbles were the perfect last detail for the cake.
It was crunchy and crumbly on the outside and gooey and sweet inside. The best birthday cake ever, and it was all the boy's idea.

Roasted Banana Birthday Cake with Cereal Milk Buttercream


For the Cereal Milk (from Momofuku Milk Bar)
Ingredients:
2 3/4 c. cornflakes
33/4 c. cold milk
2 Tbls. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Preparation: 
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Spread cornflakes on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 15 minutes until toasted. Cool completely.
Pour cooled cornflakes into a large pitcher. Pour milk over and stir well. Allow to soak at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Strain through a fine seive, whisk in brown sugar and salt.

For the Buttercream:
1/4 cup cereal milk
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 c. vegetable shortening
1 lb. powdered sugar

Preparation:
In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening until fluffy. Add 1 cup of sugar and 2 Tbls. of cereal milk and beat again, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add another cup of sugar and 2 Tbls or cereal milk and beat. Continue these additions until the buttercream reaches the desired consistency, you may not use all of the milk or sugar! I like it a bit stiff, so I use almost all of it:)

For the Cake:
2 ripe bananas
2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 c. raw sugar
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. vegetable oil (or coconut oil)
Extra Cereal Milk
2-3 c.Cocoa Pebbles

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place whole bananas on a baking sheet and roast until blackened, 15-20 minutes. Peel and cool.

Reduce oven heat to 350. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans. Sift flour, salt, soda, and powder into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add bananas, oil, extract, and beat until just combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating between additions. Add 1/3 flour mixture and mix until just combined, then mix in 1/2 buttermilk. Continue mixing and add next 1/3 of flour mixture, the rest of the buttermilk, then the rest of the flour mixture. Pour evenly into pans and bake 20-30 minutes or until golden. Tester should come out with crumbs stuck to it and cake should not be dry. Let cool 5 minutes in the pans and then turn onto a rack to cool completely.

Place each cooled cake layer onto a rimmed dish. Pour half of the remaining cereal milk over each cake layer and refrigerate for an hour.

To assemble, fold 1/2 cup of Cocoa Pebbles into 1/2 c. room temperature buttercream. Place one of the chilled cake layers onto a plate. Spread buttercream mixture over this layer and top with second layer. If the cake is too soft to lift, stick it in the freezer for half an hour before continuing! Spread a thin crumb coat of room temperature buttercream over the cake and return to the fridge for half an hour. Frost with remaining buttercream and cover sides with remaining Cocoa Pebbles.

Cookies for the Kiddos

I used to think Valentine's Day was great. My mom always gave me and my siblings little Russel Stover boxes of candy which we'd squirrel away and nibble for weeks. She'd bake a heart shaped cake and let us stuff our faves. As boyfriend-less teenager I used to host "Lonely Hearts Club" parties at my house for all my single friends. I thought it was really great when I actually had a boyfriend to spend it with, but honestly, Valentine's Day is so much more fun with a toddler. Pretty much everything is so much more fun than a toddler.

Except maybe Whole Foods. I still really like Whole Foods alone. 

Jude thinks all holidays are fun, especially the food. We just had to host a party for his buddies from class. I am all for little treats for kiddos once in a while, but I'm not about to offer up a sugar coma as a party favor to all of the kids who come to our craft classes. Jude really wanted to decorate cookies with his friends, and he was googly eyed over t

he vast selection of candies and sprinkles in the grocery store (he has a thing for sprinkles, just like his mama). To assuage a bit of my guilt about the oncoming candy head rush, I made this healthier version of my favorite rolled sugar cookie recipe. It cuts the sugar, replaces white flour with whole wheat, and the cream cheese keeps it soft and buttery. The dough is really great for detailed cut cookies since it won't spread at all, but we stuck with simple hearts. I kept them small, and whipped up a bowl of cream cheese with a little homemade strawberry syrup for frosting. The bowls of sprinkles, pink candy corn, and conversation hearts were plenty of sugar without using real frosting! Of course, I used a little royal icing for the leftover cookies later, just because I can't resist that glossy look:)

• 
  
• Healthier Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
• Ingredients:
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar (organic if you can!)
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• Dash salt
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 egg
• 2-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour flour
• 
  
• Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter
  
  and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until fluffy. Beat in almond extract and egg. Add sugars, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Beat mixture until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally.  Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half, press into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 to 2 hours or until dough is easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to a 1/8-inch thickness. Using 3-inch cookie cutters, cut out dough.  Place cookies on prepped cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges just start to brown. Keep an eye on them as they cook very quickly! Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool before decorating.

Little Love Cakes

I'm getting into the Valentine's spirit a little early this year. Perhaps it's being cooped up in the house thanks to all of this snow, snuggling with my kiddos. Perhaps it's the hormones of a nursing mama with a cutie pie baby girl in her arms most of the day. Or perhaps it's the fact that a FULL MONTH of no sleep (damn you 4 month sleep regression. Damn you straight to hell!) has given me hallucinations that I have had to craft out of my system. Whatever it is, I am all good to go for the love fest. This little cupcake was my first attempt at baking a shape within a cake, and it was a bit of a miss. I need to cut the hearts smaller next time, but they are still cute! The recipe is a modified version of the French Yogurt Cake Jude and I bake together often. It's one of my faves, and the lemon addition makes it fresh and new. It also pairs perfectly with strawberry whipped cream frosting! This is the best little cake to make with your kiddos, since it is forgiving and they can do all the measuring themselves! Remember that a spoon in this recipe equals a teaspoon, and a scoop equals 6 ounces, or one little kid yogurt cup, which we conveniently have lying around often!

Little Lemon Love Cakes with Strawberry Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

Cake: 

3 scoops White whole wheat flour
2 scoops sugar
1 scoop plain, whole milk yogurt
1 scoop vegetable oil
1 spoon salt
3 spoons baking powder
1 spoon lemon extract
2 eggs

zest of one lemon

Frosting:

1 cup heavy cream

4 Tbls. strawberry syrup or jam

Preparation:

Grease a 9x9 round cake pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Allow your kiddo to do as much of the scooping and dumping as possible into a large bowl. Mix well with a hand mixer. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a small bowl and tint with beet powder or food coloring. Pour the pink batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely, then cut hearts using a small cookie cutter (or a knife and a template). Place each heart into a lined muffin tin, pour remaining batter over hearts. Bake until golden, about 12 minutes. 

Beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form, Fold in strawberry syrup. Pipe onto fully cooled cakes.

Hello Baby!

Yeah soooo... this is officially the longest blog break I've ever taken. But really? Can you blame me?

4 months old already and this little lady is just too much fun! I will get back to posting all the cooking and crafting (which we've been doing like crazy!), but I'm taking it slow. The boy is doing a bang up job as a big bro, and I'm super proud. We're soaking it all up, so in the meantime, here's a little photo catch-up to tide you over!

Awwww...