Mint Brownie Cupcakes

In case you haven't caught on, I'll state it plainly for you...... I love cupcakes.  There,  I told you.  Now I don't have to try to hide it or beat around the bush any longer.  I love that they are perfectly proportioned (although, admittedly, I often want to eat another because, unlike with cake, you can't just cut off a sliver more to satisfy that lingering craving for one more bite).  I love that they come wrapped in a festive wrapper and they have a great cake to icing ratio - heavy on the icing, that is.  Plus, they are easy to make, bake and take anywhere.

These maybe-brownie-maybe-cupcakes will fulfill all your chocolatey mint desires during this holiday season, or any season for that matter.  The icing, made with marsh'ellows (as one of my sisters used to call them), is extremely light and fluffy.  Moist and dense aptly describes the filling, something you are sure to crave often.  If I wasn't making these for a par-tay, I would certainly be tempted to stand with the fridge door open and devour more than my fair share of them.  I came across the recipe as I was buscing (pronounced boo-sking - a spanglish word I created which means casually searching) through my Taste of Country Cooking cookbook which I mentioned in my last cupcake post.  I tweeked the recipe ever so slightly by substituting Andees mint pieces for mint chocolate chips and I wasn't disappointed with my minor change.  Yumm-O!

The recipe is simple; I like that.  Very few steps and not many bowls makes for quick, easy clean up.  Begin by melting the butter and chocolate together until smooth; then, add the eggs and sugar.  Lastly, slowly stir in the flour and baking powder until it is all incorporated.  Fill lined muffin tins half way and bake for 15-20 minutes.

While those are baking, you can whip up the icing.  Over low heat, cook marshmallows and milk until creamy and all lumps have dissolved.  Add mint extract and green coloring at the end.  Let that cool in the fridge while you whip the whipping cream.  Fold the two together and ice cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle with extra chocolate, of course.  Refrigerate to allow icing to set.

Mint Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup mint chocolate chips*

Over medium heat, melt butter and chocolate together until smooth. Remove from heat. Add:

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

Stir thoroughly.

To the mixture add sifted:

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Use to fill cupcake liners half way.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until toothpick entered into the center comes out clean.  (The centers will drop some, so don't fill the liners any more than half way.)

*if mint chocolate chips are unavailable, you can substitute regular chocolate chips plus 1/2 teaspoon mint extract.

Mint Icing:

3 cups marshmallows

1/2 cup milk

 1 teaspoon mint extract

Green food coloring

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Heat marshmallows and milk over medium heat until marshmallows are completely melted.  Add coloring and mint extract and stir until incorporated.  Let cool.  Whip cream until thick, fold in to marshmallow mixture.

Cover cupcakes with icing and cool in refrigerator for at least one hour.

Recipe yields 12 cupcakes.  

As I was baking, I had an adorable penguin come to visit me.  He crawls around these days saying two things, "Mama" and "Dada."  Of course, that melts our pathetically sensitive hearts and we are so in love.......

With Kyle and cupcakes!

Happy Christmas Eve, ya'll!

~Abby

Friendly Neighbor

All of the sudden we have a neighbor at our door.  Often.  It is our first time since living in this apartment to have any real contact with our neighbors.  When we pass the woman who lives next door, we always wave.  But, until now, we haven't had any neighbors come calling.  You know, the type who want to come in and stay awhile.

This neighbor is just as friendly and talkative as can be.  In fact, she hasn't met a stranger yet.  When my family was here the other day, she kindly greeted them as well, not showing any favoritism to her true neighbors.  She welcomes herself to breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Occasionally, I offer her some left overs, 'cause I guess her frequent visits mean she is hungry.  As soon as I open the door, she tries to sneak her way in.  Even after I close the door behind me, she keeps talking.  I can hear her persistent comments long after I have walked away.  We decided to name her CiCi, short for Cookies and Cream. If you have a more creative name, please feel free to share.  I used my most creative names on the kittens we found and "rescued" for about a week in Mexico.  We named them Sugar and Spice.  Sadly, they died, I assume from infection.

Sugar and Spice

Anyways, back to CiCi........

CiCi

I sure wish she could meet Jade, who now lives with her grandparents because she isn't allowed to live here with us.  I bet they could be friends.....eventually.  I miss having Jade around, playing at my feet or chasing tinfoil balls around the floor.  I especially miss waking up with her asleep on my head, purring loudly in my ear.  But, I think she is enjoying her new life in the great outdoors, and I am thankful I still get to see her often.  She graces us with her presence and often asks to come inside.  As soon as she makes it through the doors, she sniffs twice and wants back out.  She's a wild thing.

Mama's baby, Jade <3

It certainly is fun to have a friendly feline around again, trying to get into mischief outside my front door.  CiCi purrs softly as I begin to stroke her head and neck.  Soft, clean fur indicates that she is not actually a stray but instead, a friendly, wandering neighbor.  Her plump face and belly and think legs also give her the appearance of a well taken care of kitty.  Of course, it is possible someone recently dropped her off over here, hoping that one of us would take her in.  I cannot imagine who would want to do that to such a loving, kind kitty like her.  For now, I will assume that she lives close by and is feeling extra friendly and adventuresome during this holiday season.

Any of you out there love kitties as much as I do?

Me with the very best kitty who ever lived.   I wish I could squeeze him one more time.

~Abby

Sleepyhead

I can't remember the last time I slept this hard.......

Or woke up with this kind of a bed head........

Feeling this happy and rested.........

Oh, to be a baby.  No worries, no responsibilities.  All he has to do is be cute, and that comes naturally.  

Have a great Wednesday!

~Abby

BBC Follow Up

I think it is working.  We are making great progress.  One of my favorite things is seeing the positions he puts himself to sleep in, and the bed head which ensue.

~Abby

Baby Boot Camp

Well, it is day 4 of baby boot camp.  Yawn.  We are making progress, for sure, but I did listen to him scream at the top of his lungs for over an hour this AM before finally going to sleep (for 10 minutes).  Motherhood is always fun, easy, quiet and simple.

Not.

Before Kyle was born, I read and wanted to go by the Baby Wise model.  Ha!  The eat-wake-sleep cycle concept couldn't have been more impossible to try to instill.  They suggested taking socks off to keep the baby from falling asleep while nursing.  At times, he was nearly naked in my arms after removing all the covering and clothes I had on him, and he was still dead asleep.  I distinctly remember feeding him one evening at around 5-6 weeks and trying to switch to the other side... He was out.  I was holding him up like Rafiki held Simba in the Lion King and he was still out.  I tickled him..... Out.  Talked to him..... Out.  Tried unswaddling him..... Still out.  It was no use.  So, we settled into a nurse, sleep, wake cycle.  The exact thing the Baby Wise writers warn against throughout the entire book.

And that's where we've been.  As he grew older though, he wasn't quite as "out" after eating.  Dozy, sure, but would almost always wake when I stood up to lay him in his crib.  Sometimes he would go right back to sleep and sometimes he would scream, angry that I had awoken him, for hours.

I have put off re-wiring our system for many reasons.  Inevitably something lurked just far enough out in our future, I didn't want to be dealing with a screaming child at nap time while we were at someone else's house to visit, on family vacation, trying to plan something big and important..... The list went on.  So, here I am, with a nine month old, determined to get him retrained before we leave to visit family for Christmas.

Patience is not a virtue I boast of possessing.  I know now, more than ever, that I am an unreasonably impatient person.   I struggle daily to keep my impatience in check while I deal with my almost-as-stubborn-as-me baby.  Because I know what he needs better than he does, it irritates me when he is screaming instead of sleeping.  I am constantly reminded by my mother that, 1) I was just as stubborn about fighting sleep as a child and 2) I cannot control what he does; I can only continue to do what I do and let him figure it out on his own.

He is feisty.  He is stubborn and persistent.  He can cry and scream for longer than I thought humanly possible.  But, I am confident he will learn.  Like he already is......

Sleep tight, Mr. Baby.  Naps are a good thing; I wish I could take two everyday!

I love you,

Mommy

9 Month Mischief

Is he really nine months old already?  It can't have been that long since he turned five months.  Or six months.  Seven?  No.  Surely it hasn't been, has it?

I am absolutely loving watching my baby grow and change.  He is much more difficult to keep up with, certainly, but his curiosity is a treat to watch.  At times, I still find myself wishing I could hold him again when he was so tiny.  It has gone by so quickly.  Sometimes I really do wish I could pause time.  Other times I am so eager to see who he is in there and want to hurry up and hear him talk, watch him walk and see him change from a baby to a toddler.  Nevertheless, time does what it wants, and I am along for the ride.

Daily he tries to pull the books on the shelf and I try offering him his board Bible instead.  That holds his attention for a little while.  Then, back to the shelf he goes, trying to pull off bigger books with flippy pages.  It's cute and bothersome simultaneously.  Oh well, I didn't want to sit down for a second to rest anyways.  I just get back up, correct him and move him away.  He'll learn.  I'll rest..... Never.

Dressing Mr. Baby for bed is always a treat; first, I get to see his little fat belly all rolled over his diaper which goes nearly up to his shoulders in the back.  Precious!  He giggles and "talks" to us as we play with him before bed.

He very much enjoys getting his hair combed.  More often than not, though, he wants to hold the comb himself.  Then, once he is all snuggled in his pj's, I get to cuddle him close for a few minutes before he goes to sleep.  I particularly enjoy these pj's, cause they look like a little clown suit. 

As you can see, we are now sporting six dinosaur teeth.   Each one is pearly white and they all hurt equally when he bites down while nursing.   Fortunately, it typically only happens when he is extra sleepy and his jaw relaxes completely.  Can't blame him much then.  

Teeth are very handy when you want to eat Cheerios for breakfast.   Like this morning....... And yesterday morning....... And the morning before that........

I love this 9 month baby.  He is just too sweet for words.

~Abby

Google Dinner

Unlike many of you who talk about recipes you've had for more years than I've been alive, which you found in old, worn out cookbooks, I fancy finding my recipes via my tried and true friend, Google.  Google and I are pretty tight; in fact, we keep up daily.  Whenever I don't know something, I pop it into my Google bar and see what it gives me.  I am also known to go to Google when I'm in need of an easy and yummy recipe.  By simply typing in "World's Best ____" I am bound to find a great recipe.  This time, I don't believe I used the "World's Best" trick.   I actually don't remember what I typed in to get this ham recipe.  But, it could easily pass for the World's Best Easy Ham. And the mac & cheese I found by Googling "crock pot mac & cheese."  Of course, when I saw that the recipe was from the queen of butter and fat herself, my Food network pal and role model (not really) Paula Deen, I knew this one would be great!

The macaroni and cheese isn't quite as easy as I like a crock pot recipe to be.  I prefer to dump, mix and go.  But, this one requires that you boil the macaroni for a few minutes first.  In the end, it makes the meal come together much quicker.  So, I guess it is worth it!

Begin by dropping your macaroni into boiling water.  It only needs to cook for six minutos, so don't forget about it back there.  The rest of the ingredients are, in fact, dump-and-goers and that makes a lazy crazy mama like me very happy.  So, while the noodles are cooking, into a bowl go the milk, cheese, butter, sour cream, eggs, soup, salt, pepper and ground mustard.  Lastly, drain your partially cooked noodles and pitch them in the cheese mixture.  Give it a good swirl around with a long handled spoon; drop it in the pot, park the lid on top, turn it on and let it go.

Paula Deen's Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese

(Because I have edited the recipe slightly, I am not linking the original recipe here.  But, if you Google ;) Paula Deen Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese, you can find it in less than a second.)

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Cook macaroni in boiling water for six minutes.  Mix all remaining ingredients together in a bowl.  When pasta has cooked for six minutes, drain and add to the bowl.  Combine and pour into a heavily greased crock pot and cook on high for two hours.

Contrary to typical crock pot rules, you will need to lift the lid and stir this occasionally so that it all gets incorporated and doesn't stick to the side of your crock pot.

Now for the ham.  This seriously couldn't get any easier, unless you want to fork out the dough for a ready to eat pig from Honey Baked Ham, which I don't.  So, try this instead.  Obviously, I am only cooking for two, so my ham is tiny.  In fact, today I am cooking 1/2 of a small pre-cooked ham.  So, you will likely do this a little differently if you are cooking for a larger crowd.

Bake ham, loosely covered, at 325 degrees for about fifteen minutes per pound.  About twenty minutes before cooking is finished, take the ham out and cover with glaze.  Replace in oven and finish cooking.

Balsamic Ham Glaze:

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard

Mix thoroughly; pour over ham toward end of baking time.

Of course, if you are cooking a large ham, you can easily adjust these ingredients to fit the crowd you are serving.  Basically, you can't mess this up.   I've never actually measured it; I just pour some brown sugar in a bowl, add some vinegar until I get the consistency I want, then sprinkle the ground mustard on top and mix it all together.  It is yumm-o!  Even my not-so-ham-loving husband enjoys this meal.... At least, he doesn't complain about it.

Serve both super simple Google recipes with a little roasted broccoli (because I could almost exist solely on the stuff) and show your family you love them lotsa!

~Abby


PS.  I don't know why the fonts sizes are wiggin' out on me.  Sorry.  I hope you have a microscope handy.