Mojito-maddness - Mojitos and Mojito Cupcakes (And 1 of 10 #21)

While discussing my 29 things to do before 30 list with my sister-in-law, she jumped in on number #21 - Make 10 new alcoholic drinks. She was totally interested in helping with this one. Perhaps it's due to her being 7 years younger...lol. She's still in the "partying" stage of life, however...she might very well be one of the most mature 22 year old's I've known.

Now, I'm from Texas...and I'm a beer kinda girl. Bud Light to be exact. In my younger mind, drinking a mixed drink was for sissy's. I may be a short 5' 1 100lb girl, but I tend to think like I'm a 6 ft, 200lb guy. - Crazy Texas girl.

My sister-in-law Kristen, first suggested a Mojito. I decided to go with her first suggestion because 1. it uses fresh herbs, 2. it looks pretty. It also sounded like a great drink to go with this new dinner recipe. Which btw, it did! 

After dinner, and during a little blog searching, I came across this Mojito Cupcake recipe from Cream Puffs in Venice. As I told Kristen about my find, it was within minutes we realized we had all the ingredients on hand, and decided to make cupcakes! Unfortunately, I don't really recommend the above recipe. It was good, but we altered the cake recipe, as well as the frosting. It was very lime style, little mint flavor before alterations. We'll need to make the recipe with alterations again to perfect it. Until then, here's a photo of our final product.

SoyNut Butter Frosting -Peanut Free for Allergies

When I discovered my son had a peanut allergy last month, I was horrified! I just kept thinking about all the foods my family and I eat which contain nuts!

Since then, I've been reading ingredients like a mad woman. I'm quickly learning what foods are off limits, and what foods are to be eaten during his nap time, and very carefully! I was mostly concerned about peanut butter. It's a staple in our house! It's the item in which my son was taken to the ER after a serious reaction.

Peanut butter is no longer welcome in our house, as we've moved onto SoyNut Butter by I.M. Healthy to protect our son, Kaleb. I'm quite impressed with it to be honest. I highly recommend it for any and all families with children under 3.

For his 1st birthday, I planned a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting! It was quickly tossed out the window, until I found our SoyNut substitute. I took a simple peanut butter frosting I had and just substituted the SoyNut butter. Guests at the party were quite impressed with it's "taste just like peanut butter" comments. Some didn't even know it's wasn't peanut butter!

*This photo from the party was taken by a good friend. She did an amazing job!

Mod Monkey Birthday Party - He's ONE!

It's hard to imagine my little man is ONE. He's quite the little monkey getting into just about everything, so it didn't take much to finalize a monkey themed party. Over the summer I received a 1st Wishes catalog in the mail. As I was flipping through it, I came across a Mod Monkey birthday theme - fell in love instantly! I thought the turquoise and yellow looked stunning together. As August was approaching, I quickly discovered my time disappearing! Getting my husband ready for deployment, visiting family, and enjoying what summer we had left together. Seeing so much on my plate, I was completely amazed when my friend Amber, over at Photography by Amber offered to work on his invitation for me! You can usually find us chatting on Yahoo Messenger together, passing photos back and forth, discussing projects and such. So within a short while, over popped this STUNNING monkey themed invitation in the perfect coordinating colors!

It was now time to plan a monkey party!



As I did a little internet research, I came across some amazing monkey theme party ideas. This blog is where my ideas stemmed from - Hostess with the Mostess. She has an amazing post for a Mod Monkey baby shower!

I was totally sold on the idea of using simple frames for table decor! I found these chunky wood $1 frames at Michael's. Perfect for the occasion. I painted each one, front to back. With my computer on the fritz, Amber worked on the graphics. Between the two of us - the frames were a complete success! The frames are in his room as decoration now.

The next big plan was the banner! What's a party without a happy birthday banner?! I can't say exactly where I found the idea for the banner - you can find them all over blog-land, but what a fabulous idea! I'm all for making things myself. I used my Cricut machine to cut out the circles, as well as the letters and monkey's. -I used Mini Monograms for the letters, circles and squares. New Arrival for the monkey's. The circles are in two layers, the bottom layer is a 4inch circle, and the top is a 3.5inch. I added the googly eyes to the monkey's to give them that added touch of "cuteness". I'm quite impressed with my first attempt of the banner!

The favors were simple, but in perfect monkey theme. My daughter had fun picking everything out. I needed to plan for kids of different age groups, so it deemed pretty difficult at first. I was at the point of giving up and tossing a couple bucks in a bag - ok! not really, but you can see my frustration. Then, I was at Joann's one evening picking up a new craft project for my daughter, when we just happen to spot some monkey stuff! With a purse, and small child in one arm, I loaded up the other with all the monkey supplies! The store closed in 10 minutes, so we were in a hurry. Thankfully Cass was there to help, and spot the goodies.

We decided to go with 3 items per favor. Each favor had a $1 wooden monkey cutout from Joann's, along with a .25 pack of crayons (thanks to Walmart during their back-to-school supplies). - I wanted to go with markers, but Cass wanted crayons for more color options. Plus, with the smaller children, crayons might be a bit easier in the clean up department. For the 3rd item, we went with a $1 monkey yo-yo from Joann's for the boys, and a wood beads monkey necklace kit, also from Joann's for the girls! I already had the paper lunch sacks on hand. The monkey decoration matched the banner, and was cut from the New Arrival Cricut cartridge.

Here you can see these amazing little wooden craft projects made great decor as well! Another $1 Joann craft project. I used markers to color them. I love to color! Here I have a girl, with a cute bow in her hair, as well as a boy monkey hanging from a tree - perfect for my son!

Balloons because EVERY party needs balloons, and what monkey themed party doesn't have barrels of monkeys! - Scored a deal on those...Walmart decided to clearance them to $3 one afternoon.

Mid August, I found out my son had a peanut allergy! Quickly, I realized that put a HUGE damper on my party planning in the food department! Are you aware how many foods have nuts, are contaminated by nuts or processed in a facility with nuts? Well, I didn't....until recently! I decided it was best to make his cake myself. This way, I would be certain what he was eating. A 1st birthday party isn't the time to be experimenting leaving possible reactions.


I made a simple 6 inch white cake for him, for the rest of us - cupcakes! I so badly wanted a chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter frosting - I've been drooling over this idea for months! So, you can see where the peanut allergy stepped all over my grand plan! No worries though, I learned about a product called SunButter from my son's allergist appointment, however...I didn't have time to order online. I called many local locations listed on their website, but no such luck. No one seemed to really know much about the product. I mentioned my frustration on Facebook, then before I knew it a friend took off in search of the product for me. Again, no such luck. My Mom, who lives in Texas just happen to be shopping at Target when she spotted a jaw of I.M. Healthy soy nut butter. She so kindly dropped one in the mail to me, which arrived just days before the party!



So here we have a half chocolate, half colored white cake, with I.M. Healthy SoyNut butter frosting - recipe found here. Now, I know what your thinking....SoyNut butter - no thank you! But, I'm beyond impressed with this stuff. My guests even commented about how it tastes just like peanut butter! Really impressive stuff! I've got to hand it to I.M. Healthy! I can't imagine ever going back to a peanut butter. The reason for the half and half cupcake is I wanted a bit more color than brown and tan. I had so much fun back in April making these pancakes for my daughter. I couldn't resist another attempt at coloring food. Perhaps they are not the most lovely looking cupcakes - I never claimed to be a baker, but for an amateur - not too shabby!

#1 shaped brownies! These were a hit. Fun to eat, and fun to make. What's a 1st birthday without some food shaped as a #1.






The birthday boy amazed at the balloons. I'm totally IN LOVE with his shirt! Again, another idea found in blog-land which I can't exactly pin-point where the idea came from. I battled with finding the right size shirt, preferably one of color. White seems boring to me, personally. I found these great little pocket tee-shirts at Target for $5. Then, I stumbled on this fabric one day when I was heading to the baby section of Walmart. It just-so-happen to be sticking out as if someone was thinking about it....but instead of pushing it back, they just left it sticking half way out - Thank you lazy Walmart shopper! I purchased some Curious George fabric and was on my way. I'm no seamstress what-so-ever! I know how to sew, but more so just the basics. Which really, is all you need for a project such as this. I believe it look me 3 attempts, because I wanted my sewing line to be as straight as possible - that's the perfectionist in me. I printed the matching #1 from his invitation, cut it out, and traced it to the back side of the fabric.

Cake! The most exciting part of the birthday party. I wasn't too suprised when I realized he DID NOT like his cake. He's one of those kids that doesn't care to have sticky fingers. Sadly, he cried after touching all the icing... His, "Help! Mom...I'm sticky" pose.

Heart-broken, I decided we would have a cake take 2 the next day. SUCCESS.




*Most of the photos from the party were taken by a good friend who did an amazing job! Thanks so much.

Mom, can you pour the milk?

This morning Cassandra decided to have a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Now, I'm sure your thinking that looks like a large bowl with A LOT of cereal inside. Why does this mother allow her child to have so much? Well, the answer to that is, "I don't!". However, I was asked to come pour the milk on a pre-made bowl of cereal because the jug was too full. As I got to the counter I saw such a heaping bowl, confused as to why 1. my child would use that bowl. (we have small ones we always use), 2. the amount in the bowl.

So, I ask. "Why is there so much cereal in your bowl?"

"Because I want to eat the Toy Story cereal in the pantry."

-Note: The other day Papa said she couldn't open a new box of cereal until she finished what she had left. This is basically what she has left.-

"Whaaaat? *laughing* So your going to eat ALL of this?"

"Yes! *sneaky grin*

"No, your not! I'm going to take a photo for your Papa, then I'm going to put most back into the container."

"Ok, Mom"


Living with a clever child is quite humorous - she always keeps me laughing and on my toes!

Uncle Charlie's Pico De Gallo

A recipe you will LOvE! Trust me. Once you try it, I must hear all about how fabulous it is!

Years ago my husband Charlie and I were visiting his family in Spokane, Washington. His uncle Charlie was raving about this amazing pico de gallo recipe he had. He had me at pico, it's a LOvE of mine!

I was completely baffled and confused when I was handed a chip with this slaw looking mess on top - if my nose didn't crinkle visibly, I sure was cringing on the inside! I have "personal issues in my head" about food. If it doesn't look or smell amazing, my brain jumps immediatly with "Ewww, No!" "Gross!". Over the years I'm beginning to overcome this - thanks to a push shove from the Mr. Well, it was one bite which sold me. I was completely in love with the mix of flavors and textures!

So here I am to share this recipe with you. But, before you crinkle your nose and Ewww me - you've got to give it a shot! As we were told by the "real Charlie", it's amazing on hamburgers and hot dogs. No joking - Hello, FABULOUS!

-Uncle Charlie's Pico De Gallo recipe.

Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops

Grandma Jenkins always makes the best pork chops, but I'm working on getting mine flavored fabulously! This was a dish from last week, and I was quite pleased to get an amazing comment from the Mr. "I would pay money in a restaurant for this!" Yay....how cool! Even my 5 year old LOVED it.

-Pork Chops in Cream of Mushroom.

Pico de Gallo

This is the pico de Gallo I use to top my Healthified Crispy-Coated Chicken dish, as well as munch on with chips! Simple pico de gallo never lasts long in this house...

-Pico de Gallo recipe.

Italian Pasta Salad

It's simple and easy, and works with ANY summer dish! I could just sit and snack on pasta salad all day if you let me...

-Italian Pasta Salad recipe.

Healthified Crispy-Coated Chicken

Tonight's dinner was fabulous - again! When I first saw this dish, I fell in love and had to make it right away. The photo presentation alone had me sold. This is the second time I've made it, and it was awesome. I think the first time I made it with oven fries, and some other vegetable. Tonight, I made a side of Italian pasta salad -yum! (See Pico de Gallo post for topping recipe)

Now doesn't this just look amazing?


-Healthified Crispy-Coated Chicken recipe.

Breathe...Breathe...Just Breathe...

All you can do is breathe...no thinking, just breathe...it's the only way I made it through the first part of my day!

I was up late chatting with the Mr. (who's in Pearl Harbor), and I still managed to get up on time this morning. Fixed a bottle for Kaleb, helped Cass get some breakfast, then off to shower! Just as I was about to dry my hair, I realized the plug wasn't working - a sinking uh-oh feeling over came me. This has happened before, so I pretty much knew what to do. The outdoor garage freezer, and the 3 bathrooms are on the same breaker. If too many things are plugged in, the breaker trips. Easy fix, you just reset it. So, back to my morning....

By this time I have my hair pined up, make up on, dressed in my shirt and jeans - no socks. I open the garage door to go reset the breaker, and I find the freezer door wide open. Instantly you hear, "CASSANDRA ISABEL, Garage now!". I'm completely raging with anger, and checking to see just how thawed the food is. In complete disgust, I close the freezer door - nothing survived! By now she's standing at the door, a few feet from me, saying over and over, "I'm sorry Mommy." Just as I'm about to take a step towards the door, I look down and there sits a small gray mouse - within inches of my feet! All you hear by now is screeching, screaming and me leaping to the top of the freezer! (No joking here, I was literally on top of the freezer.) I'm in full on panic mode, so overwhelmed I'm crying... Sitting on top of the freezer, trying to breathe and screaming to my daughter to get into the house, there's a mouse! There stands my daughter laughing...laughing hysterically at her Mother saying, "it's just a mouse, it isn't going to hurt you". Really? It's a mouse! I almost stepped on a mouse!! Throughout this entire ordeal the mouse hasn't moved (I think he was sick). It doesn't matter though, there's a mouse between me and the door and the only thing to do is leap, and close the door. All I needed was a safe place to sit and calm down...

There was no more venturing into the garage to reset the tripped breaker. No time, no patience, no strength...I was too overwhelmed. I headed back upstairs to find a new place to dry my hair, the hallway!

By now, thanks to the mouse...I'm running late, but still in good time. I decided to take the truck today since it has GPS, and I always find myself lost. After the day/week I've had, I wasn't interested in getting lost. I haven't driven, or even moved the Tahoe since Charlie left, so who knew I was going to hop inside and find the battery dead! I've jumped my car before, but I was pretty nervous about the truck since I'm not familiar with it, and it's so tall too! I heard the neighbor boys outside, so I darted next door asking our neighbor Bill if he would come help me out. Thankfully, I live next door to the kindest neighbors!! He helped me get it started, and while he was over...I couldn't help but ask him how he felt about mice. My angle worked out perfectly, and in no time he grabbed a rag and picked up the mouse (which still hadn't moved). I can't even express how amazing this made me feel...the relief to come home to a garage without a dead/sick mouse!
What on earth is with guys who have no fear of rodents?? He just picked it up in a rag, Ewwww! Then he asked if I wanted to see it?! Double Ewwww. I'm going to already have nightmares from nearly stepping on one, you think I want to look at it?? Oh no thank you! But thanks for removing him, he's all yours!

Note to self: Wear shoes boots when entering the garage!


Finally, we are in the truck and on our way! The sun is shining, a bit on the warm side... Cass looking out the window, "look Mom, the cows". Driving, kids are quite...all is well. A frapp sounds good about now, but no time...I'm officially running late! Then......crap! It pops in my head, I didn't pack a bottle. I'm thinking...how do you forget to pack the bottle? Seriously, all things packed, but the bottle! Ugh......time to turn around.

I arrived 1 hour and 35 minutes late, starving and thirsty! Just as I pulled into the driveway, the garage opens and out comes Grandma. Puzzled as to what on earth happened, and why I was so late. It was a quick, hi..hello..how are you? Where do you want to eat?? We were all starving - except Kaleb. He was doing pretty good.
She introduced me to this amazing little restaurant in Tacoma, called Tijuana Taco. If you love Mexican food, I highly recommend this place! I don't eat out much, and it's a good thing this place is an hour away. If not, I would visit all too often.  

Considering my crazy morning, I'm not surprised I forgot the camera! I also don't know why my damn Blackberry takes such crappy photos too! I've seen cheaper phones take much better photos...bummer! But, here's us today. Excuse the poor quality camera phone photos...

First Mother's Day with my little man!

Sixth Mother's Day with my beautiful daughter!

serious little man who needs a haircut.

I'm so proud of Kaleb! He mastered crawling up that step in the background of the photo above.



Ok! Now before I end this incredibly long blog, what would a visit to Tacoma be without donuts from Krispy Kreme?! Due to extreme bumper to bumper traffic, we had no other choice than to stop for a 1/2 dozen! Yummm. Now this is how you end and interesting, yet wonderful Mother's Day with my sweet kiddos and Grandma Jenkins! I hope you all had a fabulous day.

Donuts from Krispy Kreme! 

-chocolate iced w/ sprinkles, chocolate fudge cake, s'mores, glazed raspberry filled, glazed chocolate cake x2-

Cassandra's Chocolate Chip Muffins

My sweet girl loves helping in the kitchen, however...she's at that age where she thinks she can do everything by herself. So, these Betty Crocker Pouches are pretty awesome. I use them as a special treat since she's able to pretty much make them herself. She knows where to find the bowl, spatula, measuring cup - as well as measure out the liquid. Perhaps not the best muffin, but perfect for a 5 year old. It's just mix, plus water! How simple.

I bought these adorable Wilton Silicone Silly Feet from Joann's awhile back using my 50% off coupon. - what a steal! I just love how you can fill these up and stick them straight in the oven - so cool.

Her favorite muffin mixes are Tripple Berry and Chocolate Chip!

Cass - I think she enjoyed her muffin, what do you think? All snuggled up in her my blanket...it was pretty chilly today.

Taco Pasta Toss

Now doesn't that look good?? I'm all about tacos and all things taco related! I found this recipe over at KitchenMonki, and it's also a Rachel Ray recipe - cool! Since I'm all about turkey these days, I substituted ground beef for ground turkey. I don't know why the Mr. and I didn't start doing this years ago...it still taste fabulous! It's actually a pretty easy recipe to make, I love the simplicity of some meals. Also, as you notice two beers, I'm sure your thinking...one for him, one for her? Well, nope! Those were for me tonight...poor guy, he's working the night shift this week, so he missed out on this fabulous taco pasta. But, I'm sure he'll enjoy it for lunch tomorrow!

-Taco Pasta Toss recipe.

Annie's Rice Casserole

When someone talks about comfort food, this is one of the few dishes that come to mind - for me personally. I've been making this dish for about 10 years and it never gets old.

Once upon a time, I couldn't cook to save my life! But this, this I could make. It was the extent of my cooking for years... I had one masterpiece, and it was a casserole. I can remember the many years my poor husband would come home from work - we would sit on the couch, and I'd ask, "what do you want for dinner?" I would take out a meat of some sort, and he would make dinner. Yes...no joke, for years this went on. But, as long as he was cooking, we were eating something other than burnt food, or something out of a box! I'm so thankful I learned how to cook...because ever since, my wonderful husband knows what it's like to walk in the door and smell food cooking - good food at that! (I love you Mr. Jenkins) - He reads a blog every so often, so I'd like to sneak that in, since I'm talking about him and all...

This casserole came about when I was living with an ex in Texas...back in 1999 or so. His sister would throw casseroles together - maybe it's because we were poor and this was a simple, cheap meal? All I know is over the years it's a dish I've introduced to many people - referred to as "Annie's Casserole".

Over the years I've changed up the sausage. At first, I used the regular smoked sausage, then, when this recipe was written, we discovered the lite version, but now... we use the turkey version! Yumm...it's still has excellent flavor and it's much healthier! (Why do I sound like I'm selling something? Calling all Kathy Targets! - Sorry, inside joke for some of those reading.)


-Annie's Rice Casserole recipe.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

This dish seems too simple to be true, but really...it's freakin' fabulous! Thanks to my friend Janet for joining me on KitchenMonki, I got this recipe from her. When I first saw this recipe I thought the name alone sounded really good, but once I read the ingredients it threw me for a loop. I was thinking....it's going to be so bland, it's too simple! This was a last minute dinner idea since tonight's dinner was going to be Cashew Chicken - but...something drew me to this, plus I had the ingredients on hand. I didn't have a can of Diced Tomatoes with Basil and Onion, so I substituted that with a regular can of diced tomatoes, and added dried onions and basil.
    
This is one recipe I will keep on hand for those night I need dinner together quickly! So thanks Janet, we really enjoyed this dish!

-Bruschetta Chicken Bake recipe here.

"Healthified" Pumpkin Bread

If there's one bread I love more than anything....it's pumpkin bread! Growing up, my Grandma Joan always made the best pumpkin bread around the holidays. It's something you would look forward too! It didn't ever last long though...between Grandma, Grandpa, Dad and I - it seemed to disappear quickly.
Now, I'm not one to eat the normal portion size either! So when I realized just how much fat and calories I was putting in as I devoured half a loaf....it kind of made me sick! So when I stumbled on this amazing healthified recipe, I fell in love... The only thing that bothered me was, is it really going to taste good?? Well, I assure you - it's freakin' awesome! A must try if your a pumpkin bread fan, heck - a must try for everyone!! So go check out the recipe at KitchenMonki, and be sure to let me know how it goes.

Nutritional Information - 1 Slice: Calories 190 (Calories from Fat 45); Total Fat 5g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 240mg; Total Carbohydrate 32g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 18g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 60%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 4%; Iron 6% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Amanda's Cheesy Eggplant Lasagna

My first experience with eggplant! I've always seen them in the stores, but never imagined buying one and cooking it myself! Usually whenever Cass is with me grocery shopping - if she sees the eggplants she'll always ask to buy one. I figured it was high time to give and and find a recipe using eggplant. I had fun with these, they are so beautiful I couldn't resist a photo before I peeled this babies!  

While I was searching the Jennie-O turkey recipe site, I found this Lasagna recipe. Which you can find over at KitchenMonki. It started off as a pretty gloomy day, then somewhere in the middle of the afternoon the sun peeked out and hung around all evening! Notice the sun glaring in my photo... 

Now I'm fairly impressed with this eggplant lasagna. I was a bit concerned when I noticed they took place of the pasta, but heck...those are just added carbs you don't need anyway! I'm now in search of a new eggplant recipe for next time I buy them! If you have any, your welcome to send them my way.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

This is one of my favorite dinners!  I just love stuffed peppers.....I'm drooling just thinking about how good they were.  In the past, I've always made this recipe with ground beef, and used tomato sauce instead of diced tomatoes.  After looking around at different stuffed pepper recipes, I found making just a couple changes made my recipe much better.  I've made them so many times, I know not to make them unless I have the Worcestershire Sauce. For me, it's what makes the recipe!

So here are my stuffed peppers, and you can find the recipe at Kitchen Monki.  Another recent love of mine!!  If I could just get more hours in a day, I could sit down in log in all of my recipes.  One day...one day I'll find the time.  For now, just one at a time.  What I love so much about this site is there's a meal planner as well as an awesome queue where you can place meals your planning to make and make shopping lists! 

Morning Color!

Here's my attempt to brighten my morning with kids cereal - Fruit Loops!

It was such a beautiful sunshine weekend, filled with the MS walk, an attempt for a family photo (fail!), popsicles, washed cars, and dinner on the grill.  Then comes Monday, a duty day - as well as our traditional gloomy Washington kind of weather...

I'm not usually a cereal for breakfast kind of person.  I much prefer it as an afternoon snack, or desert after dinner - odd, I know!  I very rarely even eat anything other than Cheerios too!  I enjoy the simple stuff - most are just too sweet!  I grew up in a house with a Mom who always used the LARGE bowls for cereal, ya know...what you might use for mixing a batch of cookies?  No, I'm kidding...not that big, but close.  Along with a brother who could do the same.  Perhaps watching them eat it was enough for me!  I think as a kid, if you allowed my brother to live off of Cinnamon Toast Crunch - he would have!  I should call him, I miss my brother...I wonder if he lets his son eats this stuff yet.