Guacamole

There's one thing that the baby lady has consistently eaten.  Avocados.  In one form or another I seem to be able to get her to eat these.  It started as plain mashed up fruit, then it was mixed with yogurt (nasty, I know, but she loved it).  Now it's progressed into a love for guacamole.  Hooray!  The whole family loves guacamole so I made it one night....for dinner....with no hesitation.  Baby lady ate some other stuff, but B and I didn't want a full meal, so this worked out really well.  I went a little heavy handed on the lime juice for ours, but I dialed the amount down in the recipe below.

Chicken Breasts in a Mushroom Port Sauce

 

I saw this recipe featured on Gourmantine's Blog a few weeks ago and instantly knew that I had to try it.  Chicken, sweet red wine, and of course....MUSHROOMS!  My love affair with mushrooms continues with this recipe.  Oh, it was so good.  And really, it was just all a means to funnel more mushrooms into my mouth, and the baby lady's as well.  It seems as though she has picked up my love of lemons and mushrooms, but not much else.  Oh well, at least it's something!

Salmon with Garlic Lime Butter

I've mentioned in the past how I've never really been a fish eater, until recently.  Now I kind of have to be, as it's one of the few protein sources my child will ingest willingly.  Salmon is an obvious choice in that it isn't too expensive, and B and I both love it.  Therefore, it's become an almost weekly dinner menu star.  Because of that I'm always looking for new ways to eat is so that we don't get sick of it.

Traci over at Mrs. T's Eats recently posted a salmon recipe featuring garlic lime butter and, loving all those ingredients, I figured it was a no-brainer that I should make it.

I tweaked the recipe just a little and I fell in love with the flavor.  The baby lady, however, didn't seem to enjoy the tangy taste of lime and refused to eat the fish, which made B happy because then there was more for him to eat.  Baby girl went crazy for the couscous with peas I served it over, though, which almost caused me to have a heart attack.  It's been months since that child touched a pea!  Craziness, I tell you!

serves 2

Ho-Ho Cake

 

 My birthday is in the middle of April.  Every year I ask B to make me dinner, and every year I ask for the same thing.  Grilled hot dogs and this....well...I don't know how to describe it.  It's called Cherry Yum Yum.  My mom made it for pot luck dinners and in the summer when I was growing up.  My brother and I devoured it.  It's made of sweetened condensed milk, cherry pie filling and cool whip, plus a few more things.  I would have posted it here, but I hear that it's "disgusting" to everyone except my brother and myself.

Anyway, this year B asked if I wanted him to bake me a cake or if an ice cream cake would be sufficient.  I replied that I wanted him to bake me one, a ho-ho cake, my favorite cake from my childhood.  He purchased an ice cream cake as backup, and then proceeded to make a successful ho-ho cake, too!  Also, I don't know if this cake has a real name.  I just call it a ho-ho cake, because it resembles a ho-ho when it's sliced.  It's a chocolate cake, made with a meringue folded into it, and then rolled up with cool whip and mini chocolate chips on the inside.  It's fantastic, and I hope someone out there tries it and loves it as much as I do!

Snickerdoodles

I was never a Snickerdoodle fan growing up.  It wasn't that I didn't like them, but I always chose something with chocolate in it over them. 

These days, I crave these cookies.  I love them.  They're so soft and delicious and the flavor of the cinnamon and sugar rolled onto the dough is so homey.  I made these recently for my good friend and former coworker, Shannon, who is changing jobs.  These were her "going away" present, as these are one of her favorite cookies as well.

As for little kids not being enamored with Snickerdoodles, my super picky daughter doesn't seem to mind them at all.....

Ingredients:

2 3/4 c. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 c. plus 2 T. sugar

2 large eggs

2 t. ground cinnamon

How:

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Cream butter and 1 1/2 c. sugar on medium until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low and gradually mix in flour mixture.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 T. sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 20 1 3/4 inch balls (the photo shows cookies rolled into 1 inch balls). Roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets(crucial as they spread a lot) lined with parchment paper (if you don't have parchment paper, just spray your sheets with non-stick baking spray).

Bake cookies, until slightly firmed at the edges 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies
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