Month: October 2015

Friendship

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment
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http://www.thefreedomexperiment.com/

I hear her laugh and I immediately smile. I can hear the smile in her voice and even if I am not in sight of her, I know her smile is from ear to ear. I love that for every serious photo she takes there are 20 that have some goofy expression or her tongue sticking out. She is one of the most sincere people I have ever met and her hard work and dedication are to be admired. SHE IS THE BEST HUGGER EVER and her freckles … adorable!

When I found out Michele was engaged I couldn’t have been happier for her. She was absolutely glowing. I knew before she started planning that her wedding would be gorgeously planned and stunningly beautiful – she is a graphic designer after all – and I knew she would put that flourish into every part of her wedding planning.

During this time my relationship with Michele grew so much, we became more than just work friends. I went with her to see the wedding gown she had picked out and I watched her transform as she walked out with that gown on. I got to meet her wedding planner and shop for wedding decorations and ideas. My good friend and co-worker, Mariza, and I were asked to put our baking skills to the test; we were asked to bake for the wedding. Michele’s wedding colors were orange and navy blue, so we made blueberry cobbler and peach cobbler. Mariza and I spent several hours one evening testing recipes and coming up with a plan to feed 150+ people cobbler. The night before the wedding we went to Michele’s house and took over her kitchen! There are a handful of times I have made something and really poured my heart and soul into it, and this one of those times.

Mariza and I drove down the coast of Maine with my girls first thing the morning of the wedding so that the cobbler could be delivered to the venue before the celebrations began. We put our heads together and managed to fit many, many dishes of cobbler into the back of Mariza’s Jeep. Since we were early to the wedding and after sneaking peeks of the tent where the reception was being held- it was breathtakingly beautiful and elegant – we decided to wander the roads for a bit. We ended up in Blue Hill and we were pulled into the charming shop of Black Dinah Chocolatiers Tasting Room.

My girls were captivated by the amazing smells as we walked through the shop. There items for sale, along with goodies for sale. Mariza and I each decided on a molasses cookie half dipped in dark chocolate. I never would have thought of this combination on my own. It was amazing. That warm spicy flavor of the cookie, with it’s soft and chewy texture, mixed with the smooth and rich flavor of the dark chocolate. AMAZING! I was hooked.

My relationship with Michele continues to grow, like any great friendship does. Her outlook on life, her zest for enjoying what life has to offer, and her beautiful, encouraging soul has made me a better person. I love laughing with her, swapping random funny photos found on the internet, and watching her grow as a mommy to a beautiful baby boy, with the most adorable curly red hair. Thank you Michele for alway encouraging me and being there to listen. My courage to start this blog and let it take me where it may, is in part from you and your love! XOXO

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Betty Crocker Molasses Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
1 c. packed brown sugar
3/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 c. AP flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Heat oven to 325°F. In large bowl, beat brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except granulated sugar. Shape dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2-inch balls. Dip tops into granulated sugar. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls, sugared sides up, about 2 inches apart. Bake 13 to 16 minutes or just until set and cookies appear dry. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. After the cookies have cooled slightly I take a bag of dark chocolate chips and slowly melt them down. You can do this in 30 second bursts in the microwave or using a double-boiler on the stove. Just make sure to keep stirring so that you don’t burn your chocolate. Gently dip cookies half way  and place on parchment paper for setting. Try not to eat them all at once!

Halloween Is Around The Corner

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment
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Strawberry Shortcake

It is October and for our family that means several birthdays and Halloween. My girls love to dress up and role play. They play house, school, weddings – you name it they create it. I adore this about my girls. I am thrilled that my almost 12 year old plays young for her age. This is partially due to the fact that we sensor / shelter her from a lot of today’s media and partially due to being a big sister and best friend to her almost 8-year-old sister. Some days I am torn over this … am I sheltering her too much? These lingering questions all fade away when I see how advertising in today’s society is focusing on over-sexualizing EVERYTHING!

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Snow White and Cinderella

I am not a perfect parent, nor do I pretend to be. I do however pride myself in letting my girls be little kids. I am perfectly fine that they still think Miley Cyrus is in her “Hannah Montana” phase, that they play dolls and enjoy mothering them, and they enjoy a good princess and/or fairy movie.

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Tinker Bell and the White Witch of Narnia

Halloween has recently become a hard holiday for my oldest. She is in that in between stage with her body … not quite a child, but definitely not a teenager. She has never intentionally wanted to be anything at Halloween that is sexual, but as anyone who has ever “Googled” a Halloween costume can tell you – there is a sexy version of almost everything. Case in point – the Sexy Pizza Rat costume. Seriously! It exists. Now that she no longer fits in child size Halloween costumes, one would think that the teen costumes wouldn’t be risque, but that unfortunately isn’t the case. Most everything is low cut or too short. So we end up improvising.

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Cowgirl and Indian Princess

I love Halloween because it keeps my creativity flowing. I love creating either the costume itself or items to go with it. My oldest has really raised the bar at times with what she wants to be and if she wants me to make it. When she was too young to trick-or-treat I would do co-ordinating costumes for us and then go to my moms house and her other grandmothers house for photos. We have gone as Strawberry Shortcake and Blueberry Muffin and Alice in Wonderland and the Queen of Hearts. As she got old enough to go trick-or-treating she has been going with her best friend. We get together as families and walk around the same neighborhood each year. We have a blast! Kailee has been princesses and animals, witches and more. My favorite one that I made was the White Witch of Narnia.

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Young Maleficent

So, as each Halloween rolls around, I hope that my kids still want to be kids and dress their age (and not just for Halloween). This year she is debating on being a peacock or Queen Susan from Narnia.

12065782_414331258773908_4098726853279398467_nEasy Monkey Bread
2 cans Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls
1 bag chopped pecans (optional)
10 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 c. light brown sugar
2/3 c. white sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon

12079125_414344275439273_7941216974119773686_nPreheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bunt pan or 2 loaf pans. Sprinkle pan with a handful of nuts if using. Put brown sugar and butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combined as butter melts. Once the butter starts to melt turn heat to low to keep the sugar from burning. Once the mixture is completely combined pour a few spoonfuls over the nuts. Set remaining sauce to the side. Unwrap cinnamon rolls (you won’t need the icing for this recipe). Cut each roll into four  pieces and set aside. Pour white sugar and cinnamon into a large Ziploc bag and shake to mix. Roll gently each piece of cinnamon roll and put into bag. Gently shake pieces to coat in C&S mixture. Place piece in pan to coat the bottom. Once you have a layer, add another layer of nuts and gently pour remaining C&S mixture over the pieces. Now mix your brown sugar and butter mixture and gently pour over the entire dish. Be careful as you need to give it time to drip into the empty spaces. Place dish on top of a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes. The dough will expand while baking so some pieces may jump ship from your dish if you are using loaf pans. The sugar will be extremely hot so make sure you wait a little before turning the dish out onto a serving plate or dish. 12096071_414344328772601_5296295506606273997_n

Grateful

~ Laura ~ 1 Comment

Chocolate on Chocolate cupcake

My birthday is just around the corner. I honestly don’t keep track of how old I am anymore, but I do know how old the girl’s dad is – so I subtract one from his age and voila, that’s my age. Birthdays seemed to stop being such a big deal for me after high school and then reappeared with importance once the girls were old enough to realize what birthdays are.

During high school birthdays were huge. We had a store near our high school that sold fun decorating items for all types of celebrations. We use to go and buy wired ribbon with stars dangling off and other accessories to make crowns for whomever’s birthday it was. Someone usually brought in some type of sweet too and lunchtime was turned into a mini party for you and your group.

Just like my mom did for me growing up, I now do for my daughters. They get to pick their sweet treat for school to celebrate their birthdays with their classroom. We are very thankful and lucky that our daycare is in a private home, and she always makes sure to make something special for after school snack as well.

Our children are definitely spoiled when it comes to birthday celebrations, but you know what? They so deserve it. Every other year the girls get to have a big birthday party with friends. The off years for those types of parties are full on family fun. The girls pick their dinner and birthday cake concoction. We have family come over for it and hang out. Ever since Kailee was four we have taken her to a show at the local theater for her birthday. We make it a little family event. The girls dress up, we go out to dinner and a show. These are some of my favorite memories, and theirs too.

My kids are amazing and I don’t just say that as a biased mom. I never realized how strict we seemed to be with our kids until they got to be school aged, but in a good way. They have respect for adults, their peers and each other. They are very kind-hearted and caring individuals with tons of love to share. We are constantly told how well-behaved our children are when they go to friends houses or from their teachers.

I am a firm believer that structure and discipline help children thrive to be the best they can be. My kids are examples of this. They love each other very much and are each others best friend. They are very caring little people who want to do good and see the good in this world. They make us proud each and everyday. They are amazingly beautiful inside and out. For this, and so much more, I am extremely grateful.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (MY FAVORITE)
6 tbsp. softened unsalted butter
2 2/3 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. milk
1 tsp. good vanilla

DIRECTIONS: Cream together the butter and sugar, add in cocoa powder, milk and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Keep at room temp. for easy spreading when frosting.

Betty Crocker’s Bonnie Butter Cake (MY FAVORITE)
1 3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. unsalted butter softened
1 1/2 tsp. good vanilla
2 eggs
2 3/4 c. AP flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. milk

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan, 13 x 9 x 2 inches, or 2 round pans, 9 x 1 1/2 inches; lightly flour. Beat sugar, butter/margarine, vanilla and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 5 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in flour, baking powder and salt alternatively with milk on low speed. Pour into pan(s). Bake for 45 to 50 minutes if using the rectangular pan, 30 to 35 minutes if using the round pans, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangular pan on wire rack. Cool round pans 10 minutes; remove to wire rack. Cool completely.  Frost with the above mentioned chocolate buttercream or your favorite frosting and ENJOY!