Peanut-Butter-Filled Cupcakes

Each week during Sabrina's violin lesson, I thumb through the latest issue of Everyday Food magazine (when I'm not playing Sudoku on my Kindle Fire).  They have some really good recipes in it. (some I've copied down and tried: Simple Crepes, Quinoa Cakes, Pecan Chocolate Chip Pie, Gingerbread mini cakes, Blueberry-Orange cornmeal muffins, Curried Chicken Potpie)  Last week I was especially grateful that I passed my recent Glucose Tolerance test, so I could try this one out.  I made them for Family Home Evening last night and they are delicious, especially if you like chocolate and peanut butter which I do.  The peanut butter filling is also good on graham crackers and with Nutella on bread.  Yum!  I'm toying with the idea of sending these in for Hyrum's birthday snack at Kindergarten, so I can have another excuse to eat them.

Peanut-Butter-Filled Cupcakes

• Cooking spray
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat 12 (I made 18 from this recipe) standard muffin cups with cooking spray, then dust with cocoa, tapping out excess. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using a mixer, beat in eggs, buttermilk, oil, and water on medium until smooth, about 3 minutes.
   
2. Divide batter among cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes and let cool completely on rack.
   
3. In a large bowl, using mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and peanut butter on high until fluffy, 3 minutes; fold in marshmallow topping. Transfer to a zip-top bag and cut off one corner to make a 1/2-inch opening.
   
4. With a melon baller, scoop out center of each cupcake base and set aside (these pieces will plug cupcakes after filling). Hollow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding eating crumbs. Fill cavities with peanut butter mixture and replace plugs. (Refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 week.) To serve, dust with confectioners' sugar. (I didn't feel like dusting with confectioners' sugar.)
   

Oops!

Just discovered that I have been baking NOTHING for the past hour. I made meatballs this afternoon and put them in the fridge until I was ready to bake. I turned on the oven about 4:40pm and then I forgot to put the meatballs into the oven! I guess dinner will be served in an hour and Sabrina won't get any before going to her YW activity.

Bunny Pie

First, some history about Bunny Pie. When I was in junior high, my older siblings sold solid chocolate bunnies as fundraisers for choir or band. We had an excess and had to come up with a way to use them up. And that was how Bunny Pie was born. (They also sold solid chocolate Santas as fundraisers, but Santa Pie never sounded as appetizing as Bunny Pie.) When you don't have a bunny and still want bunny pie, 2 cups of chocolate chips can be substituted.

Ryan gave me a lot of chocolate for my birthday, including this bunny. He later mentioned that he was hoping I'd make bunny pie out of it. I've never made it for my children and thought it was high time to introduce them to the wonders of

BUNNY PIE

First grate some of the ear so you've got some shavings to put on the finished pie.

Put remainder of the bunny in a double boiler and melt. Stirring often. (After I took this photo, I removed the bunny and broke it into several smaller pieces to speed the melting process.)
If you don't think there is enough chocolate from the bunny, add some chocolate chips. I put in an additional 2 handfuls. This chocolate is not smooth because the bunny was "crispy" with rice. (Never made it with this kind of bunny before. It actually adds a good texture to the pie.)
Put the cool whip in a bowl, getting ready to mix. I pulled the cool whip out of the freezer maybe 5 minutes before this step. It worked, but it is easier to mix when thawed.
Pour the melted chocolate onto the cool whip. Mix quickly. The chocolate hardens when cooling.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared graham cracker crust. (Sabrina made this crust using her recipe from last summer's cooking class and it is delicious!)
Sprinkle with the reserved bunny ear shavings, cover and freeze until ready to serve.



Bunny Pie
1 solid chocolate bunny or 2 cups chocolate chips
1 tub of cool whip
1 graham cracker crust

Grate some of the chocolate bunny ears for shavings on top of the finished pie. Put the bunny in a double boiler and melt. Put cool whip in a bowl. Pour melted chocolate over the cool whip and mix, quickly. Spoon chocolate cool whip mix into prepared graham cracker crust. Sprinkle with shavings. Cover and freeze.

Snack Time

I have it in my head that if I know how to make a delicious snack from scratch, I should do that instead of buy it in a package at the store. Now that I can make these Granola Bars, I have a hard time buying any. We eat them fast, before any pictures can be taken. I even allow them to be made in the summertime and heat up the house with my oven. Yes, they are that good.

Granola Bars

1 c. melted butter	1 t. salt
1/2 c. honey	1/2 c. coconut
1 t. vanilla	1 c. crisp rice cereal
2 T. dry powdered milk	5 c. quick oats
1 c. brown sugar	1/2 c. mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, mini M&Ms or dried fruit (raisins, craisins, blueberries, etc.)

Mix all ingredients, in a large bowl, until all of the oats are coated in the honey and butter. (Batter should be sticky.)

Spray a 9x13 or 11x14 pan and put mixture into the bottom of the pan. Spread the oat mixture into the bottom of the pan until flattened.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes and cut into desired shape (rectangle). A pizza cutter works best. Store in sandwich baggies for a portable snack.

Cooking with Roderic

Sporting a chocolate-y smile...the true sign of a good cook!

On Sunday, Roderic decided he needed a snack. I asked him what he was going to make and he replied, "Ants on a sidewalk."

You have probably heard of "ants on a log" but not "ants on a sidewalk", so I'll give you his recipe.

Ants on a Sidewalk
Toast one slice of bread
Spread some Nutella on the bread
Sprinkle some craisins on top

Rambling

About 6 years ago, my dad decided to raise chickens for eggs. He ordered some exotic chicken varieties and built a chicken palace. Why do I call it a chicken palace? Because it is on wheels, so it can be moved around his back yard AND because it has carpeting. My grandpa was so impressed by it, he built a similar one for himself. When my parents were getting ready to move to Nebraska a couple of years later, they sold the palace and the chickens. Could you imagine moving cross country with live chickens? I can hardly imagine that sort of a trip with a dog! Well, Nebraska didn't work out for them, and they are living in their same house, so my dad decided once again to raise exotic chickens. He's got ones that lay green eggs, brown eggs and white eggs. Some are white and some are black and some are brown. Some have feathers on their feet and others have crowns on their heads. He had 3 roosters with this bunch, but he killed them because he doesn't want the noise that comes with roosters. Did you know that they "cock-a-doodle-doo" all day long, not just at dawn? Apparently there are rules that say people can only have dogs and cats as pets. Fe' was asking me about Dad's Chicken Palace, so I had Ryan take some pictures last weekend when we were visiting. He's got it with a 2x6 around the bottom of the whole coop, which keeps out unwanted predators. The roosting area is where the carpeting is. They lay their eggs onto carpet that is on an incline, so the eggs roll down to an opening that is accessible from the outside of the coop (which means you're less likely to be attacked while gathering eggs).




These two boys of mine would sure like a dog. Roderic with Buddy at Grandma Christensen's house (who was being watched while Uncle Jason and Aunt Shanda were at DisneyWorld). Hyrum with Toto at Grandma Gibby's house.




Rain mixed with snow fell in Boise on Friday night. Ryan was at Stake Young Men Retreat (I mean camp out) in Garden Valley, so it was just me and the kids. The snow falling was really beautiful. It reminded me of last month when Ryan had a camp out on the first weekend that it had rained in months. They cancelled all of the soccer games that weekend, so I was expecting them to do it again this weekend (even though EVERYONE knows that soccer games are only cancelled due to lightening). They weren't cancelled. Sabrina's game was at 9 am. It was foggy. And cold. If the girls kicked the ball with the right spin, the ball would stop and spin on the snow until someone stopped it. The game ended in a tie 0-0. Tessa asked if she could come with us to watch the game, so we brought her along. I think she had 5 layers of shirts/sweaters on. Roderic's game was at 11 am. The snow had melted by then and the fog was gone, but the grass was SO wet. He didn't like it. His feet were wet and cold. His game also ended in a tie 3-3. He scored a goal (for the other team).



At one point during Sabrina's game, Roderic wandered far enough away that I needed to go get him, so I asked my friend Jeanette to hold Hyrum. He didn't make a peep, but this was how his face looked:



Ryan bought a steam juicer yesterday morning, so we finished juicing the grapes we brought home from his parents' house and the ones off of our vine. Lets just say that this process is much nicer because we have an hour (while the fruit steams) to work on other things. (Unlike Tuesday afternoon when we were working for hours and hours on end and when we took a break from grapes, no more progress was made.) We got 32 quarts put up yesterday and another 12 on Tuesday. Fresh grape juice tastes delicious! Good purchase Ryan!




Roderic has become obsessed with chess, and it is affecting the whole family. Tonight while we were finishing cooking dinner, this is how the kids occupied themselves.

Family, Soccer and Vanity

Living away from family, really makes me appreciate the time - regardless of how few minutes - that we get to spend together. Like this past Friday night, when my sister and her family stopped by while they were on their way from Portland to Bountiful. My house is just about the halfway point. I made them a delicious Chicken Stir-Fry. Roderic got to show his cousins Lego Chess. Sabrina got to play Bears with Aanja. Ryan got to show off the 5 minute movie he made about Scout Camp this year. They got to refill their water bottles. It was great fun. Then after about 50 minutes, they got back in their Grand Cherokee and continued on their journey. I asked Milaka to NOT call me when they safely arrived in Bountiful because I most likely would be deep asleep.







Yesterday was "RecFest." Which means all of the games are played in the same location, professional team photographs are taken, there are bounce houses to play on, and food vendors are there. What it also means is that those who play in the afternoon are most likely going to have their game delayed because the morning games went over time. Sabrina's game was slated to begin at 1:30 pm. We arrived about 1:10 and noticed that the teams on the field we were supposed to play on were just having half-time. When we met up with other team members, we learned that there was still another game to be played before it was our turn. Fortunately, our coach and the coach of the other team decided that we'd rather play on time instead of wait an entire hour, so we went over to another field and played there. There were no goal nets, so we put flags in the ground to mark the goal. It was a smaller field than they are used to, and they only had the penalty box marked, not the goal box, but they played well, and Sabrina even scored a goal! I was really glad that we were able to come up with this solution and not have to wait another hour before playing.


Did you know that the State of Idaho requires all license plates to be changed every 7 years? We learned this two years ago when we got the annual renewal notice for our original plates - the ones we got when we first moved to Idaho, 1A K6796. We could have paid extra money to be able to keep the same number, or pay the regular amount and be issued new plates. We opted for the less expensive route. I'd forgotten about it again though until 2 weeks ago when we got our renewal stickers in the mail for the van. It included instructions for what to do if the new plates didn't arrive before the old plates expired.

Wow, has it really been 7 years since I've been proclaiming to the world that I'm a 10 COW wife? I cannot tell you the number of times that I have been stopped, at the grocery store, at the gas station, at the parking garage, at soccer games, at the Boise River rafting drop-off, in the foyer of the church buildings; and been asked what it means. Do I own cows? Did I sell 10 cows to buy my van? Did I grow up on a dairy farm? I keep meaning to put the extra copies of "Johnny Lingo" in the van and give them to the people who ask me about my license plate.

About a year after I got my vanity plates, my brother-in-law said he was driving around Utah and saw a Cadillac with 10 COW license plates. I still claim to be the original, though. This spring when we were in Oregon, Ryan parked next to this plate that looked remarkably similar:

What's Cooking?

Last night I had a successful dinner, so I'm putting it here to share with y'all.

Creamy Black Beans and Chicken Salsa
(modified from Heidi Rogers' recipe)

2-3 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
1 cup broth
1 cup salsa
1 can corn, drained
4 cups of cooked black beans (2 cans)
1 teas. corriander
1 teas. cumin
1 1/2 teas. chili powder
1 garlic clove, minced
some fresh basil, snipped

Combine all of this in your crockpot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. During the last half hour, stir in 1/2 cup sour cream.

Serve in flour tortillas with tomato, spinach, and cheese. OR Serve with corn chips.

Sewing and Cooking Class 2008

This year Sabrina and 5 of her friends learned how to sew 2 items. A bed book bag and a gathered skirt. It was so much fun to work with them! They also had 5 cooking lessons, learning how to cook eggs (fried, scrambled, boiled, poached), brown ground beef (pizza snack cups), use the oven & follow a recipe (banana muffins), chop veggies (Pita bread sandwiches), and Rice Krispy treats. I taught the week they cut out their pattern/fabric and read a recipe and used the oven.

Dad is Great; he gives us Chocolate Cake

I made the most delicious chocolate cake for Ryan's birthday. (Is it possible to go wrong when the ingredients include: Chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding, sour cream and chocolate chips?) Anyhow, last night was our ward Christmas party, and Ryan was too full of dessert when we came home to have any more, so this morning for breakfast we had CHOCOLATE CAKE! Yum, yum.

Let him eat cake...

I am so pleased with how cute Hyrum's cake turned out!
I got the idea for a train cake from Family Fun magazine online.

One yellow cake mix filled up 6 mini loaf pans. I made cream cheese frosting and used a lot of food coloring to get the vibrant colors for each of the train cars. I was going for "The Little Engine that Could" and filled the cars with good things for the children on the other side of the mountain to eat. (i.e. pumpkins, swedish fish, buttered popcorn, hershey's kisses) The coal was licorice nibs and the caboose had gummy bears on the lookout. The wheels were mini oreos. The cuplings were made out of strawberry twizzlers.

(after seeing the cake Lindsay made for Sawyer, I decided I could also make a cake for my 1 year old)

Science in the Kitchen

Sabrina came home with a science project on 10/8, due on 10/15. She needed to come up with an experiment that she could do following the scientific process. The question she came up with was, "Why do we need yeast in bread?" So, Sabrina mixed up 2 batches of bread dough - one with no yeast and one with yeast (originally we were thinking of doing another batch with double the yeast, but we ran out of time).