Lemon Goodiness . . .

Heya!

Do any of you watch PLL?!

Goodness...last night's episode sure left us sitting on the edge of our seats.

What's your take on it?

I just refuse to believe that Toby is working with Mona.

It has to be a trick...he must be trying to gain advantage from the "inside."

 

Anyways...yesterday on Facebook I posted the final product of today's recipe.

Now I will share it!!

 

Two Ingredient Lemon Bars

 

 

 

Angel Food Cake Mix + Lemon Pie Filling

 

The only (small) problem I came across is that the recipe called for a 15oz can of lemon pie filling but the local grocery store (the only place I could find lemon) carried 22oz cans only.

 

 

Mix, mix, and mix some more.

You'll feel like it's never going to come together.

The cake mix will also fly everywhere because it's super super fine.

Mix a little more.

 

 

Once it all comes together, put it in a greased 9x13 at 350º for 20 minutes.

 

 

As it is cooling, sprinkle it with powdered sugar.

 

 

Let them cool completely before you slice and eat. It's worth it! ;)

 

 

This week started...

25 weeks!

 

Baby:

• is forming capillaries under his skin.

• is the size of a rutabaga (whatever that is) or cauliflower.

• weighs in at 1.5lbs and is 13.5in long!

• can distinguish up from down thanks to equilibrium.

 

Pumpkin Cupcakes & Staycation . . .

I'm a little behind this week, eh?!

You'd think I was busy or something.

Psh...not really. I'm just slacking, I guess!!

Earlier this week I finally made some food I'd like to post about!

Pumpkin Cupcakes.

So easy. So moist - even several days later!

Yeah! Two ingredients! Yellow cake mix + one can of pumpkin!

Mix.

Scoop em into cupcake liners. Note: the "batter" will be very stiff and slightly uncooperative. :)

Bake @ 350º for 20 minutes.

They don't look like typical cupcakes...

...but they're awfully moist!!

In other news...

Wes & I will be having a nice staycation in Des Moines this weekend! We're going to the Iowa Cubs game tonight and staying in a hotel (that his mom won from KGAN!!) on the west side of town. One of the meals we eat out will most definitely be at Zombie Burger! Wes' friend, Nate, told Wes about it. All Wes had to say to sell me was "Portobello Mushrooms". Done deal! Can't wait!

Also...Wednesday I started

Week 24

Baby...

• is just over one pound and about a foot long.

• is the size of an ear of corn (which sounds ah-maz-ing!).

• 's lungs are developing branches...
• 's taste buds are developing...

• 's brain is growing quickly!

• is "viable." This means if he were (God forbid) born this week he would have a 50% chance of surviving in the NICU with lots of help.

Momma...

• is starting to develop heart burn after eating.

• is having an even more difficult time keeping his name secret since we got his awesome personalized onesie in the mail yesterday!!

• is starting to get quite a cute lil bump!

(though she still just feels fat)

 

 

♥

Mini Meatloaf . . .

I admit it's been a while since I've written a worthy post.

It's been even longer since I've posted a recipe ...!

Well, the guilt finally got to me that I've been slacking on making meals the for the hubs...

...variety, especially.

So, I decided for lunch today we'd have mini meatloafs meatloaves (neither way looks right, frankly).

I even omitted onion to try to score points with him!

I'm not even sure you can call this a recipe.

I threw together some hamburger, ketchup, mustard, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper.

Mixed 'er all up and put in greased muffin tins.

I topped them with a mixture of ketchup, mustard, and a little brown sugar. Baked them 20 minutes @ 350º. Would have been cute to top them with mashed potatoes, but I was too lazy. :)

I think they came out pretty darn cute.

I've learned, though, that I could definitely be a vegetarian.

Since I've been pregnant I just don't have much of an appetite for meat.

When we go out to restaurants, yeah...I want my chicken strips.

But at home...if I cook meat I typically don't even eat half of one serving (very unlike me).

Think we could be a mostly vegetarian family?

Yikes! haha

I'll have to get creative!



Cream Cheesey Goodness . . .

Today the hubs & I are heading to Iowa City for a BBQ with some of his work friends.
(I'm also hoping to stop and get some maternity clothes and belly bands while we're in town. I've decided I hate Marshalltown - our closest shopping area - as they don't have crap for maternity clothes, belly bands OR Red Vines!!!!)

The BBQ is going to be featuring fajitas, rice, pinto beans, chips, and guacamole! True to my nature, I'm bringing on the sweets!! I've had this recipe pinned for months and drooling over it. When I was browsing through my Sweet Treats board I came across the perfect recipe!

(Pardon the poor picture quality - I had to use my phone.)

Sopapilla Cheesecake!!

The recipe couldn't be easier and let me tell you something...

...my kitchen smells amazing!!

(Maybe I should make them again when I show the house...ha!)

First, press a roll of crescent rolls in the bottom of a 9x13. I did this on a sheet of wax paper first so I could spread them just a little bit thinner to fit the bottom. You don't need to roll it out much, though.

Next, combine 2 (8oz) blocks of softened cream cheese (Take the time to soften them...you'll appreciate not having the battle with the hard cream cheese like I did...) with 1 cup sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.

Spread that mixture over the crescent rolls in the pan. Press out another roll of crescent rolls like previous and lay over the cream cheese mixture.

Next, melt 1/4 cup butter and mix cinnamon and sugar to put on top.

Drizzle the butter on top of the crescent rolls and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
(Look at those pools of butter...how can you go wrong?!)

Bake for 20-30 minutes @ 350º.

See that cream cheese peaking out in that picture to the right? I can't wait to try these!!!!
Serve them at room temperature...which hopefully works well with our hour drive to the BBQ!

Stay tuned to find out how amazing it tastes...I'll be sure to let you know!



Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars . . .

I hope everyone has had a great weekend! I enjoyed mine with the hubs and tried to stay inside as much as possible. Today it's down to the mid 80's, but I still found myself miserable and sweating as I stood outside telling Wes goodbye. I guess once it hits over 100º I just won't be comfortable until it's down to the 60's. ;)

After Wes took off, I had a hankering for something sweet. So, I decided to try this recipe from my Sweet Treats board. I ended up not following the recipe, but just the general idea. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch Bars called for 4 cups of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (I used the off brand) and 2 cups of Rice Krispies. I didn't have krispies, so I just omitted those. Also, it called for a 10.5oz bag of marshmallows to melt and then add 2 cups more at the end to remained unmelted. The marshmallows I had was a 16oz bag of miniatures. Soooo...I divided the bag in half (8oz), then divided the remaining half in fourths (2oz) to get roughly 2oz. After I added those 10oz to the pot, it didn't look like it was going to be creamy, so I added more butter. Can't go wrong with butter, right?!

I also didn't put melted white chocolate on top. Not only cuz I'm lazy and didn't have it, but it's not my favorite. I'm sure it would have been a great added touch, though.

I can't yet verify that they are as good as they look, as they are still setting, but...

look at these babies!!

Yummmmmo!!

I have to admit the smell of the cinnamon as it mixed with the heat from the marshmallows was a little different. The taste, though, as I scraped the pan...definitely good.

Now...what's for supper?!

In other news, I'm reading The Vow which I borrowed from my SIL/niece. It's a quick read (183 pages including acknowledgments) and so far so good.

Also...I finished watching How I Met Your Mother which...

I'm definitely going through this right now - in visual media mode.

I don't know what to do with myself...

What's worse is knowing there are more episodes...they're just not on Netflix yet.

So...don't hold this against me...but I'm watching Bridalplasty (good thing I'm not emotionally invested in it, because finding that site to link up showed me the winner. ha!).

It's such a ridiculous show...but I needed something mindless like that to watch as I accept that HIMYM is done for now. :(

Stay cool everyone!!



Banana Bread Remade . . .

Hey stranger! Oh, wait....that's me, isn't it? I definitely have been MIA lately and just not a very good blogger friend. I assure you, though, I have been doing fairly well at keeping up with my Google Reader. So while I'm not going well at updating you all on my life, I am most definitely keeping up with you guys!! ♥ I love all of the blogs I follow and continuing to learn about all of your lives is so rewarding to me.

A couple weeks back I had a bad cold and even after "recovering" (I still have a lingering cough, but at least it's not keeping me up at night anymore), it has still taken me a while to recover physically. It's kind of crazy how a cold that is contained merely in your head/chest can weaken your entire body. Lil devils. Also, since I've gotten my iPod Touch I only turn on my home laptop once a week or so. Yeah, I have a Blogger app on the iTouch, but the pictures don't add the way I like. They just add at the bottom...I can't position them where I want and write around them. Oh wells, I'll try to update more often via that, though if I enclose pictures, ...you've been warned of their poor placement.

Anywho! On to a recipe, shall we?!?!

I was going to name this "Unhealthified Banana Bread", but wasn't really confident on the health content of typical banana bread in the first place...so, I'll just call it remade!!

This recipe comes from a dear friend and coworker...and is simply amazing! I took a lot of pictures because...well, I was experimenting with taking pictures while the Kitchen Aid was running. It kind of fascinated me. Hey, I'm easily amused. (Side note: Speaking of easily amused, my windshield wipers have needed replaced for a couple months. My dad was so kind as to do so for me while changing my oil the other day and boy did I forget what it was like to have good windshield wiper blades! It's the little things in life, I tell ya!!)

I've been on a banana kick...I think my "kick" has run out...cuz I let a lotta naners get this ugly!

Like I said...lotsa pictures.

The recipe originally directed this to be baked in a normal loaf pan, but as Cindy and I both learned, that ends up requiring you to bake this for FAR too long and even then, the outside gets MUCH more done than the inside (not that I'm complaining...I'm all for a little batter in my bread/cake/cookies).

Cindy solves this by baking the batter in muffin/cupcake tins, which I think I will try next time. I thought I'd be creative this time and use the $1 bundt pan I scored at Goodwill with Kenz a while back. Even though the bottom/outside turned out a little crispy (looks worse than it tasted), you have to admit...it's gorgeous!!

Cindy's Banana Bread

1 Cup sugar

2 Cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 Cup melted butter

2 eggs

1 Cup mashed banana

1/4 Cup sour cream

1 Cup nuts (optional)

1/2 Cup peanut butter (no need to measure...there's no such thing as TOO MUCH!!)

package of milk chocolate chips

Oh yes, she adds pb & chocolate chips!! Believe me, it's worth the calories!!

Just mix everything up, adding choc chips at end, put in a greased ______ of your choice and baking @ 350 until done.

In my bundt pan I did 45 minutes, in muffin tins you'll probably do a little less. If you do a big loaf pan, you're talking over an hour. Another alternative would be smaller loaf pans.

Try it out and let me know what you use and how yours turn out!!

Chicken Lasagna Roll Up's. . .

Oh Pinterest...you're so amazing. You give me all of these great ideas, a place to store them, yet you can't provide me the motivation to do a single one of them them all. Luckily, when the finds are food related, I have a tendency to produce results much quicker than the craft finds I pin. [I still have dreams of becoming crafty...we'll see!]

Yesterday I came across this recipe and knew I had to try it out.

Chicken? Check!Pasta? Check!Cheese? Check!

What more does a woman need?!

Mushrooms!

Mushrooms were the only addition or change I made to the original recipe. Let's face it...mushrooms make everything better!

The line up: Oregano, Alfredo Sauce, Cheese, Mushrooms,
Cooked Shredded Chicken, 9 Cooked Lasagna Noodles,
greased 8x8 pan.

While the Lasagna Noodles are cooking...shredded your chicken!

Put 1/2 cup of Alfredo in the bottom of a greased 8x8 (enough to coat bottom).

After boiling the lasagna, dab dry and spread 1-2 tablespoons Alfredo on top.
Sprinkle oregano on top.

Keep adding layers of goodness (chicken, 'shrooms, & cheese).
Be mindful of the amount of goodness you put on though...
...you still have to roll these babies, and they can get messy!

Place rolled wraps seam side down in pan. 

  

It's a tight squeeze...but you can fit all 9 in your pan.

Top with remaining Alfredo and shredded cheese.

Bake @ 350º for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Soooooooooo good!!