Party Hats and Number Ones

I made these first birthday cookies for a dear friend's little girl. Due to an egg allergy, I used a new "royal icing" recipe, and I absolutely loved it! It's technically a glaze, but it will be my go-to icing from now on, unless I need to make something intricate or precise. I got the recipe from this website. You can make it thicker or thinner just by adding more sugar or more water. So easy!!

A New Family Favorite: Tortellini Soup

I found this recipe on Pinterest. It looked DELISH! I don't know about you, but I don't usually have 6 cups of leftover meaty spaghetti sauce. Nor am I an avid Crock Pot user.

If you are like me, here is the recipe I tweaked. My husband and I both adored this soup. It was great on a cold winter night. And, the next night, I took it to my neighbors' house and we ate the rest. My daughter even ate some! Gasp! My macaroni-hot-dog-and-peanut-butter-sandwich-only kid ate it! It's a big deal...

Anyways, here it is.

Creamy Tortellini Soup
1 jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb. italian sausage
red pepper flakes (to taste)
4 c. chicken broth
1 package of frozen spinach (or fresh)
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
8 oz. cream cheese, cut in smaller chunks
about 16 oz. tortellini (frozen or fresh)

Brown your sausage in a large dutch oven. Add red pepper flakes.


Once brown, add the spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, spinach, and mushrooms. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add your tortellini right to the pot. Simmer for 15 more minutes.

Add your cream cheese. After it melts, it's ready!

Serve with a little parmesan on top and a simple salad on the side!

A Very Special Baptism

My niece, Rebecca, was baptized this Sunday. My husband and I were honored to be among the sponsors for her!
My sister-in-law married into a huge family, and with that comes huge gatherings. They had a very fun baptism reception at their house afterwards, and I offered to make cookies. I think the final count was 58 cookies- a new record for me.
My mother-in-law pinned some ideas on Pinterest of the beautiful crosses and dresses.

Here is how they turned out:

  

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

The sweetest 6 year old I know had her birthday party a few weeks ago. And since her momma (my BFF) is the best party thrower, it was a peanut butter and jelly themed party! 

I offered my cookie services, and she sent me the link to a cookie that is so precious! I think they turned out cute, but I did have a few challenges this project. Biggest one- my flood icing never fully hardened! It could have been one or more of a few possibilities, but I think it was the fact that I put almond extract in the royal icing. I won't make that mistake again. 

Okay, so I'm not going to post a tutorial for this one, because a. Sweet Sugarbelle already did that here and b. My cookies weren't quite as cute as hers.

This post is about how I made these cookies with very little time.
Start backwards from the "due date" and then you will know when to start. I have an infant who needs me to hold him- a lot. Which I love!!! But it's hard to get anything done. So, I've had to plan a little better this time. He sleeps very well in my baby carrier, so I can get things done in small increments of time. 

Here is the schedule I used for this project (2 dozen cookies):

Saturday- make 2 batches of cookie dough, put in freezer

Tuesday- make 1 small batch of royal icing, put in fridge, put dough in fridge to thaw
Wednesday- make icing colors and put in piping bags and bottles, put in fridge
Thursday morning- roll, cut, and bake 2 dozen cookies, put leftover dough in freezer
Thursday mid morning- pipe the crust along the outside of the cookie
Thursday afternoon- phase one of icing (use 20 second icing to do the bread color)
Thursday night- phase two (use flood icing to make peanut butter or jelly)
Friday night- phase three (pipe the smiley face and pink cheeks)
Saturday- Party day!!

Here is how mine turned out:

I'm currently working on the baptism cookies. I hope my royal icing turns put better this time! 

My Man's Birthday

Happy 32nd birthday to the love of my life!

In the past, I've always made Justin a boxed yellow cake with a jar of chocolate frosting. He was perfectly happy with that. But, this year I set out to make a homemade version of his fave. I browsed the internet for the perfect recipe and came upon this one from Bakerella. And then to find a yummy chocolate buttercream- here from Lauren's Latest.
How to make it beautiful and personalized is up to you. I used more chocolate!

First of all, if you use this cake recipe, go ahead and try the spray bottle trick she suggests. My aversion to soggy cake of any kind made me leery of doing it, and my cake was, IMO, dry. I think I also overcooked it a tad. It went from wiggly and raw to overdone in such a small amount of time. I can only blame myself for that.

The buttercream turned out so delicious. I could have eaten it by the spoonful for sure. My almost-4-year-old taste tester liked it very much. It also ended up crusting very well, so next time I'll bust out my Viva paper towels and make it look nice and smooth. 

So, after assembling my cake in two layers, I iced it generously. I then used the mini Reese's peanut butter cups that are already unwrapped, cut them in half, and arranged them on the cake. The original plan was to stick them all around the sides of the cake, but I felt they were too heavy to do that. This particular design used just a few more than one bag of them, so you could easily do two rings on top and just use one bag. (This is an 8" cake.)

You could, of course, put them in a bag and pound them with a mallet and place them on the sides for a more "rustic" look. I ended up alternating them up and down on the bottom. The 32 on top was an afterthought, but I thought it looked better than getting out my piping bag and scribbling "Happy Birthday" across my cake. That is definitely not my forte. 

So easy! After posting a quick pic on Facebook, I was surprised (or not so surprised) that a picture of a chocolate cake gets more likes and comments than two really cute babies. Lol!

Here is the finished product:

Please excuse my lack of photography skills. I'm taking a photography class this Saturday as a a birthday present from my mom and dad. Yay!

I have three upcoming cookie projects in the next two months. I'm super excited- one birthday party, one baptism, and a wedding shower... Coming soon!

Baby Nesting: Part 2 - Preparing Quick Meals

Cooking after baby comes can be somewhat daunting. Here are some recipes that I made for our freezer with little money, prep, and time:

Chicken enchiladas - This made 17 enchiladas total in three pans. We ate one pan for dinner when I made them, and froze the other two pans for later.

Spicy Romano Pasta - This makes enough for an army! We ate it one night and froze enough for at least two more meals.

I tweaked this recipe by using the whole 16 oz. package of pasta and only using shredded Parmesan instead of Romano to reduce my ingredient list. I also used only Italian sausage as the meat. Just cook it first, set aside, and add it back in later.

Baked Meatballs - These can be used for meatballs with mushroom soup (one of our favorites) or for spaghetti and meatballs, or meatball subs, etc. I made one recipe's worth and froze 2/3 of them for later. (I was able to make 31 meatballs with my medium scooper)

For meatballs with mushroom soup, simply add the frozen meatballs to a sauce pan, add a can of cream of mushroom  soup (and the water it calls for), let simmer until meatballs are hot all the way through, and  serve over rice or egg noodles.

Chocolate chip cookies - for warm chocolate chip cookies anytime, make a large batch using your favorite recipe, spoon them out on a cookie sheet (I use a medium scooper) as close together as possible. Then, put the cookie sheet in the freezer until the cookies are hardened. Transfer to a gallon bag and put them back in the freezer. Walla! Fresh cookies at any hour! And, you can put them straight into a preheated oven out of the freezer. 

Leftovers - those last few weeks, put your leftovers in freezer containers for quick lunches for one, instead of letting them rot in the fridge. 

Total meals: 9

Total meals in freezer: 6+

Baby Nesting: Part 1 - The Registry

Part 1: Registry Tips from a Been-There-Done-That Mommy

First and foremost, every mom has different opinions on this topic. Here are mine:

A Few of My Must haves:

Besides all the regular stuff, here are a few things that I found essential:

1) Pacifier clips, if you plan on using a pacifier. These will keep you from having to search the car and clean them off every time they drop. Also, once baby gets a little bigger, it's easier for them to find it themselves.

2) Video Monitor - I know some moms say that they would rather not be able to see, because it makes them crazier, but having an eye on baby without having to get out of bed is essential if you want to sleep. We started out with a Summer Infant monitor, but it began crackling the first year. We now have invested in the Motorola monitor with two cameras. If you choose this one, make sure you get the bigger screen (3.5 inch) and the camera(s) that pan around the room.

3) Plenty of crib sheets and changing pad covers - I found myself changing these two things constantly. I would suggest having three of each.

4) Full Size Pack n Play - This was essential for travel. And if you get the big one, they can fit in it for about two years. My mom used it instead of a crib at her house.

5) Breathable Baby Bumper - essential for the worry-wart mom (like me). This bumper is mesh that allows baby to breathe when they sleep up next to it. At first, they won't be able to move much, so it may seem like a waste. But, as Leah grew she would roll up next to the side of the crib, and I didn't have to worry about waking her or having her not be able to breathe. They are definitely not as cute as traditional bumpers, but they reduce SIDS and scary situations. It's worth it!

A Few Items I thought were Totally Unnecessary

1) Wipe warmer - whatever the baby gets used to is what they are going to be used to. If you are out and about and you have cold wipes, GASP! the baby will get upset. Just stick with straight out of the package wipes and they'll be fine!

2) Sterilizer - You can usually put your baby bottles and breast pump accessories in the dishwasher. For faster cleaning, Medela sells sterilizing bags that can be used over and over in the microwave.

3) Ultimate Crib Sheet - I was told that this was, in fact, the ultimate baby item. It keeps you from having to change the sheet all the time. However, it had so many snaps that it was just as much a pain to change as a sheet, and did not coordinate with our bedding set. If you use a traditional bumper, this may be a better deal, but I didn't like it at all.

4) My Breast Friend Nursing Pillow - unless you're planning on nursing on a parade float like Momma Duggar, this is unnecessary. It is not soft, not comfortable, and can easily be replaced by a Boppy, which has more uses. Truthfully, it just got easier to grab a couch pillow or two for nursing than even the Boppy. A Boppy is good for propping baby though.

5) Diaper Genie-type contraption - We started out with this, but by the 4th or 5th month, we just started tossing the peepee diapers in the trash and walking the poopy diapers out to the garage trash. The convenience was not worth it when we finally had to clean that thing out. Ick...

6)Travel system - I know new mommies just have to have the matching set of all the gear, and I have to admit the travel systems are a little bit smaller than they were 3 years ago... But, I still stand by my advice to anyone who will listen, to save the money (and your back) and buy the following instead: carrier car seat, coordinating base for each car, and a snap n go stroller frame (amazingly light and super easy to maneuver through clothing racks). Later, when baby is too big for the carrier car seat, you can buy a nice umbrella stroller for $50-$70.

Allison's Top Ten Registry Tips

1) As tempting as it is, don't open up and wash EVERYthing before you know you need it. I had 2 Ultimate Crib sheets, 3 swaddle blankets (Leah couldn't stand swaddling), and blankets galore washed and ready for Leah. We didn't end up using them! Store credit is way better than stuff sitting in your closet.

2) Bottles - we hated the Dr. Brown's bottles because they had so many parts. Other mothers swear by them and say they are the only ones that work. So, the fact is, you don't know what kind of bottle Little One will take. Register for whatever your heart desires, but only open one package at a time.That way, you can see if they work and return what doesn't. Keep trying one package at a time until, hooray, something works. We really liked the Medela brand and the Playtex Ventaire, but Leah didn't have any reflux or gas issues.

3) Take a friend with you when you register. This friend should have had a baby, of course, but also a baby in the recent past. (Moms are wonderful for child-rearing advice, but aren't necessarily up-to-date on the latest baby gear).

4) If you plan on having more than one child, consider registering for gender neutral whenever possible. This goes for anything that isn't so exciting and can be used for more than one child (grooming kit, closet organizers, bottles- just buy new nipples the second go-round, etc.)

5) Definitely go gender neutral on any big ticket items if you plan on having more children- car seat, pack n play, high chair, swing, jumparoo, etc.)

6) Before you go to the store, decide what kind of registry person you are: the I-need/want-everything-I- could-ever-need/want person, the I-only-need-the-necessities person, or the in-between person. This will help you decide what to scan. Do you have enough people buying for you that you should register for things you won't need right away (spoons, bowls, booster seat, potty, convertible car seat, umbrella stroller)? If the answer is yes, go for it! If not, only register for what you need right away.

7) Consider asking around to borrow large items that aren't essential or that are only used a short time. These might include a jumparoo, a Bumbo chair, a swing, etc. You may find that your baby doesn't like the swing or Jumparoo after getting a brand-new $150 one. Also, you will be doing the person a favor by getting it out of their garage/attic for awhile!

8) Breast pumps are expensive. If you think you will use one, register for it. If you aren't sure yet, wait. You can always send hubby/mom out for one when you know you need it (or order one on Amazon!). If you do get one, don't open it up until you need to.

9) Do not register for blankets or clothes. People will buy you those whether you ask for them or not, and chances are you are buying those things too. :) For toys and books- if you see something that you really want baby to have, register for it. Otherwise, people will buy you these things too.

10) Take all registry advice with a grain of salt. It's your turn! Do what you want!