Celebration Cookies

In my family, whenever someone has accomplished something big, we always celebrate with a dessert. And you can’t have a celebration without sprinkles! I decided to try a recipe I found online, to celebrate Nathan’s completion of his masters. He has been working for over two years on his Administration degree and is finally done. Nathan presented to the head of his college today and they were so impressed, they asked to use his portfolio as an example for the future. My husband has been working two jobs, going to school, all while being an amazing husband and father. We could not be any prouder of his hard work and determination. These cookies are for you babe! Of course I plan on eating at least half of them. We love you and cannot wait to see what your future holds!

Recipe: 

Sprinkle Cookies by tornadoughalli.com

Ingredients: 1 box of yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil, 2 eggs and a jar of sprinkles 3 oz

Directions: 

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

 2) Combine all ingredients except sprinkles in a bowl. Mix with a spoon until blended. 

3) Pour sprinkles in separate bowl. Roll dough into small balls and roll through sprinkles. 

 4) Place on cookie sheet. And press down with the palm of hand. Put in for 7-8 minutes. Let sit on cookie sheet for a few minutes before you move to wire rack.      

5) Enjoy with some milk!

Even if you have no reason to celebrate, try out these cookies!                                                

Bon Appétit,

Molly

The Orange Chicken Disaster of 2013

Back in October of 2013, I decided to try a Pinterest recipe I found for orange chicken. Nathan and I had recently moved to Poplar Bluff and hadn’t found a Chinese restaurant we liked. As a newly married woman who loves to cook, I took it upon myself to make my favorite Chinese dish. What I didn’t know, was this dish would lead to the first and only time I cried over a meal. Nathan was coaching football at the time and didn’t get home till late. I had a few hours to prepare dinner and decided to try out this dish. Getting out my brand new crockpot and all the ingredients, I started following the directions one step at a time. It wasn’t until the dish was finished cooking, that I realized I had messed up two important steps. First, the crockpot was suppose to be set to low, I had it on high. (New crockpot, never used before. My excuse and I am sticking to it!) Second, the recipe called for 8 oz of frozen orange concentrate and I poured in the entire container. All 16 oz worth! Needless to say, the dish ended up being scorched and the orange flavoring was very, very strong. Still thinking this meal would be the best Chinese food we had ever eaten, I served it to Nathan. If you know my husband, within the first two minutes of eating anything someone has made, he compliments the meal. We were going on five minutes and he hadn’t said anything to me. The dinner was disgusting and I knew he agreed, but he wouldn’t say it out loud. I tried to get him to acknowledge how terrible it was, but as the kind husband he is, he lied to protect my feelings. Of course, that made it worse. I didn’t want him to force himself to eat something that was so disgusting. I picked up both our plates and threw our dinner in the trash and stormed outside. As I went on a walk to calm down, I called my mom and was crying on the phone to her. She was able to help me see the humor in this disastrous dinner and I returned to the house. When I walked in, Nathan was sitting and eating a bowl of cereal. He stopped mid bite and gave me an “oh busted” face. I went into our room and started crying again. I felt so embarrassed and ashamed. Nathan grew up getting these amazing home cooked meals from his mom, and I wanted to do the same for him as his wife. I felt like I had failed him. His dinner ended up being Froot Loops, major fail! He came in to our room, held me and let me cry about my failure at Chinese cuisine. It has now been almost four years and every time I try a new recipe, Nathan likes to tell the story of the Orange Chicken Disaster of 2013. Looking back, the situation is pretty hysterical. Here I am trying to be Betty Homemaker and serve my husband a great dish, and instead of him being honest with me, he eats the scorched mess. Luckily, we are able to look back on this memory and laugh about it. Though, Nathan has made me promise to never attempt another orange chicken recipe again. I have learned a few lessons since that disastrous meal. The first lesson, always read directions carefully. The second and most important lesson, don’t be so hard on yourself. We all make mistakes. As long as you learn from those mistakes, you continue to better yourself! 

Love, 

Molly

P.S. We are going out for Chinese food this weekend. Nathan doesn’t know it yet! 

Kitchen Creations: Baby Food Edition

As most of you know, I love to cook. I am always trying new recipes I have found on Pinterest or making them up as I go. Now that my son is eating solids, I decided it was time to start making my own baby food. Let me tell you, it is a whole lot easier than I expected and so much cheaper. While it is time consuming, I was able to make enough baby food to last a month. All with the help of my handy dandy food processor I received for Christmas. Thanks Dad and Debby! 

First I took a bag of carrots and boiled them for half an hour and put a bag of frozen green beans in a separate pot to boil for ten minutes. When they were done, I cut up the carrots into small pieces and poured about a cup of the water they were boiled in, into the processor. I hit the high then low button for about 1 minute and then the pulse button for about 45 seconds. Making sure it was a nice purée I poured the carrots into a clean ice cube tray. I then did the same with the green beans. 

I had some left over puréed green beans and carrots, so those went into little Tupperware containers. I then placed them in the freezer for four hours uncovered. When they were nice and hard, I popped them out and separated them into plastic baggies based on the vegetable. I also made sure to write the date They were made, because they are only good up to three months in the freezer. 

Aidan tried carrots for the first time that night. Let me tell you it was an experience I will never forget. (Neither will the washing machine). After the first bite came up from his gagging, I mixed some unsweetened apple sauce with the carrots and he ate the entire thing. 

I absolutely love that I am able to save money by making Aidan’s baby food. It also makes me feel accomplished having it in bulk. (Rocky music playing in background). Aidan has currently been eating mommy’s homemade baby food the past three nights and has been sleeping like a champ. (At least the first half of the night). While making the baby food was extremely easy, my favorite part was watching my son experience a different food for the first time. Bath time was also a lot of fun! He literally had carrots coming out of his ears. 

If you are interested in some baby food recipes shoot me an email at maidmarian2009@aol.com. I would love to share with you some of the tips I have learned from others and through experience. Happy Blending!!!

Love, 

Molly