Leftover cookies?? Say what?!

As I was perusing other blogs, looking for new recipes, I stumbled upon something fabulous over at Pioneer Woman's blog. She had a guest blogger who had an awesome idea of what to do with any leftover Christmas cookies.

Stop laughing. No seriously, stop, you're creepin' me out.

I actually have a crap-ton of leftover cookies this year. Everyone brought me cookies! I have snickerdoodles, chocolate chip, chocolate chip oatmeal and I could go on, and on, and on.

Anyshway, the gist of her recipe was to take the old cookies and use them as a topping for a fruity dessert.

She used strawberries and chocolate chip cookies.

I had no strawberries. That's a lie, I do have strawberries, but they're frozen.

What I did have was fresh blueberries (Pickles LOVES blueberries).
I thought long and hard about which cookies to use.

Another lie.

It took me about 2.2 nano seconds for my brain to scream "SNICKERDOODLES!!"

My sister makes a mean snickerdoodle. She left a lot when she visited. Perfect use for them!

On with it...

Rinse the berries in cool water.

I only had about a cup of blueberries so I found a rather small baking pan. The more berries, obviously the bigger the pan/dish you'll need.

I sprinkled 1 Tablespoon of sugar on the berries, and tossed to coat.

Sugared berries so so purdy. Let's see them again.

Crumble your cookies over the top. Some coarsely, some more finely.
Drizzle 1 Tablespoon melted butter over your lovely dessert.
Pop it in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 10mins.
Ovens vary, so watch it. You want the cookies to turn a nice golden color.
As I pulled it out of the oven, I turned around and saw this:

I think she wanted some, what do you think?


Three little bowls for three little munchkins.
I dolloped some fresh whipped cream on top because let's face it, whipped cream should go on everything.
I set the bowls on the counter to cool while the kids ate supper. Their little eyes never left the bowls. I've never seen my children (with the exception of Pickles) eat so fast.
"I'm ready for my dessert!!!"
There was enough left over for The Dude and I to enjoy it too.
I have more snickerdoodles left. I may have to go out and get some more blueberries.
You know, for Pickles. Mwuahahahahaha!


My fabulous friend Ali gave me this little journal for Christmas. I love it. I love all the buttons and the ribbon. I've decided to fill it with all of our favorite recipes. That way, everything is together (The Dude hates how all of my recipes are scribbled on sheets of paper and shoved in a drawer) and ready to go should I need to bring them with me. Just getting ready for next hurricane season, ha ha.
I also hope that one day my children will fight over this little book. I can picture it now, at the reading of the will. There will be biting, hair pulling and baseball bats...all for my recipe book. Ok, maybe not.

ONE more thing before I go.

I lightened my hair a bit. You likey?? The Dude likey very much. Why is my hand up like that? I don't know.

Happy New Year!!

Stupid should hurt.

As I glide into the office (13 minutes late, but for me that's actually early) I spy a note on my desk. I can recognize that chicken scratch anywhere. It's from The Boss.

In case you need a translation, it says:

Check on call phone on clock.

Fro (an employee's nickname) said it says lo battery.

I must say, that is one of his better notes. There are minimal spelling and gramatical errors. Usually it takes a good ten minutes to decipher what he's written.

Anyway, the phone he's referring to is a cell phone. Now friends, what do you usually do when your cell phone's battery is low?

Simple fix eh? How is it that two grown men, both owners of (at least) one cell phone each, could not figure that out on their own? I mean really.

Can you understand my frustrations with my work life? Geezy-kreezy. Things like this happen on a daily basis. At first I thought I was being Punk'd or something of the sort. Sadly no. Ashton Kutcher will not be popping up in my office anytime soon. It's just plain ole' stupidty.

Here's your sign.

Pneumonia, you suck

Dearest Pneumonia,
Why oh why did you have to pick this time of year to strike me down? Why, when I should be in full baking and cooking mode, was I laying on the couch in the playroom trying to muster up the strength to go potty (dude, I'm such a Mom, I just said potty). Pneumonia, that was probably the worst timing EVER.

Signed,
Me

As some of you may have noticed I have been absent from blogging. Now you know why. Not only did I have the pneumonia, but twin A and Pickles had bronchitis. Fun, fun, fun! Their pediatrician actually diagnosed me when I brought them in.

On top of all of that, my camera is brokey. Totally missed all the Christmas morning amazement photo ops. Oh well. Maybe I can catch a good after Christmas sale.

The only bright spot to my Christmas pneumonmia was that I got to spend a lot of extra time with my munchkins. It was kinda like a Christmas bonus for me. For a working Mom, having almost a full week with my kids was AMAZING. I cherished every second of it. Even with the pneumonia, I made the most of it. There were trips to the ice cream parlor, lots of outside play, lots of snuggles and cuddles and plain old Mommy time.

So anyway, I hope to be back in bloggy mode tomorrow, if not later today. I gotta catch up on some work that I missed.

Hearts, and belated Merry Christmas!!

Fat ~N~ Happy

That title is a fairly accurate description of me after consuming my favorite meal of carne asada. Ooooh carne asada, how I love thee.

A few things: In southern California, when you say you're gonna BBQ, I expect you better grill up some carne. Carne asada means roasted beef, but the phrase has come to mean a social gathering, such as a BBQ.

In SoCal (I have that on the back of my Tahoe, ha ha), you can walk into any corner carniceria and order pre-marinated, ready to slap on the grill carne asada. Down here in the deep south, not so much.

It's actually easy to make the marinade. The secret is the rub for the meat. Chef Merito's Carne Asada seasoning.

Buy it here.

You want to buy THIN cut beef (think a skirt steak or flanksteak). Thankfully there has been an influx of hispanics to my particular town and I can now find beef cut for milanzea, so it works perfectly. Now that we have our meat, sprinkle it, liberally with the carne seasoning.

Let's marinade!

In a ziplock bag, add the juice of two small limes, one lemon, two oranges, two cloves of garlic (minced), and one bunch of green onions, trimmed. Now for the secret ingredient....

Come close.

Closer...

Closer.....

Too close!!

Ok. Drumroll please.

1/4 Cup of Sprite

A little old Mexican lady told me that secret once. I've made it with the Sprite and without the Sprite. Trust me, use the Sprite!

Alright, alright. Put all the meat in the bag, zip it shut and shake to coat. Put in the fridge and let it set for 8 hrs or overnight.

Fire up the grill! Medium-ish flame. These cook quickly, so stay close. Cook on both sides until well done. It works out to be a few minutes on each side.
This next part is also important. Serve it with tortillas, guac. and cheese. Not just any cheese my friends. Oh no no. Go to the specialty cheese section (unless you're in Cali, then it's with the regular cheeses) and find you some Cacique Queso Fresco. This mild, salty, creamy-dreamy, cheese crumbles so fabulously. The Dude and I have been known to finish off a round of this stuff just cuz we couldn't help ourselves.

Also important, if you're a sour cream fan, find Cacique's Crema Mexicana Agria. Holy moly is this stuff amazing. It's 10 times better than regular sour cream. Oh, it's just so rich and yummy. One thing of note, it's a lot thinner than sour cream you're probably used to.

Enoy!

Pinky! Are you pondering what I'm pondering?!

I don't pre-flush. I feel it's a waste of water. I'm all about conserving. That's not entirely true, but I do what I can. Anyway, so I don't use the bathroom in the workshop here at work. It's nasty. Boys use it!! I use the bathroom in the co-owner's house (which is next door to the office). Her cleaning lady was on her way out the door. I waved and wished her Merry Christmas.

I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but I do some of my best thinking in the bathroom. I think it's the solitude and the serenity of this particular bathroom that does it for me.

As I'm sniffing all of her lovely scented items within reach of the commode, the overwhelming burning scent of bleach fills my nose.

I kinda freak out for a second. Crap! I'm peeing on bleach! Bleach and ammonia mixed together make no-no!

What to do? What to do???

I quickly pull up my trousers and run out like a crazy person.

Oh no! I forgot to flush! Back into the danger zone I head. I quickly flush and run out.

Whew, safe!

I get back to my desk and ask the only person I knew would know if this could have been a problem. My Shasty informs me that she actually knows of a similar case and the chick passed out! Gawd, glad I saved myself from that embarrassment.

So that was my little drama for the day. I totally almost DIED. Ok, perhaps that is an exaggeration.

I've been sitting here thinking hard about how that whole scenario could have played out WAY different.

I may blog again later. I'm making my absolutely favorite dinner. I would like to share it. Check back often, kids.

I'll have mine shaken, not stirred

I was tagged by Rachael over at Scientific Nature of the Whammy. I must list ten random things about me. Stick with me kids, I'm a little casse'd (for all of you non-cajun folks, that means I'm drunk).
1. I can touch my tongue to my nose. Odd series of events led me to that discovery.
2. That same tongue is pierced. Yes, I'm an almost thirty-year-old mother of three, but I refuse to let go of that last little bit of my youth.
3. I am deathly afraid of clowns. You laugh, but I'm dead-ass serious. I once fell over a trashcan as I backed away from a clown at a parade...true story.
4. I am 100% unable to order a pizza over the phone. It's a totally weird phobia, but I can't do it. I can only do it online, or The Dude has to do it...drives him crazy.
5. I would have a dozen kids, if The Dude would let me.
6. Today, I used the phrase, "Cornflakes rock my world," and meant it.
7. 2 martinis is my limit (wish I had known that one martini and one shot ago)
8. I would give my left arm (perhaps even my right) to live close to my Shasty.
9. My life is a real life musical. I sing ALL the time. Like, it annoys me sometimes.
10. Being an adult, scares me to death.

I'm gonna tag Maricris over at Zen Ventures, hope I didn't kill any readers off with my post, eh?? ha ha hah
My Shasty over at Sassy Secrets of a True Blue Desperate Housewife. You will understand that I love her, and therefore YOU must love her.
I shall leave it at two, cuz, let's be honest, I've gotta go to bed. My eyes are crossing.

Hearts!!

Romantical Night

Last night, The Dude and I had a little date. I know right? The kids stayed at the sitter and we headed downtown for a movie. They showed "It's A Wonderful Life," against an old building downtown. It was so friggen awesome! There are all kinds of couples bundled together watching. It was so sweet. Added bonus, they sold popcorn and drinks for a buck! So lets see, free movie and cheap concessions?! That's an awesome date night if you ask me. I'm a thrifty gal. Cheap and/or free is right up my alley. Alas, the tempting glow of one of our favorite restaurants was simply too much to ignore. The Dude placed an order to go and we munched down on some fabulous fare for the last part of the movie.
Remember this place. You'll be seeing it in an upcoming movie or two. Renee Zellweger and Forrest Whitaker were just in there not too long ago filming. Wait, how did I all of a sudden become a celeb blog?!
Sorry for the crappy picture quality. I took them with my cell phone.
I'm just noticing this, but the guy in the lower right corner, yeah, thats the mayor. Yes, we live in a SMALL town. "Uncle Charley" we call him. Nope, not related in any way. He's related to The Dude's best friend and so apparently he feels "ok "calling him uncle too. Odd little segue huh?
Sorry I haven't been around this week. I seem to have contracted The Black Lung. Must be all those years (not) spent in the coal mines.

Christmas shopping on your lunch break = bad idea

I need you people. I need this blogging. I must calm my nerves some. I just encountered THE STUPIDEST people to occupy our fine planet. They were all on a mission to slow down my lunch break shopping experience. How annoying. Oh, did I not mention that The Dude was one such person. I swooped him up because he had told me he wanted to shop with me (Christmas shopping see, he was intereseted in the toys). The "I'm hungry" whining starts almost instantly. Seriously man, he's worse than the kids sometimes! I got through one stop before I couldn't stand it anymore and dropped him off at home. But I press on. I make two more stops, including the dreaded Walmart. Both places are chock-a-block full of crazy people.

Me: "Ugh, tried to shop on my lunch. all the crazies were out."

Shasty: "Damn, don't they have jobs?"

Me: "Yes, they have the job of aggrivating me."

There should totally be someone checking IQs at the self check out line at Walmart. I mean really, the line is meant to speed up your trip right? Why is it that some people feel the need to check out an entire basket at that line? That's not what it's for!!! Lady, do you really think arguing with the line supervisor about purchasing alcohol through self check out will prove fruitful? The huge ass sign plainly states it's against the law to do so. Geez.

Ok, I'm more calm now. Crap, just realized I didn't eat lunch and I'm super hungry.

This won't help the hunger bit AT ALL, but here is a little treat I've made eleventy-billion of since last week.

These, my pets, are wonderful. They're pecan tassies. Nothing new or original, but yummy just the same.

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C flour, sifted (lets just say it now, when baking, please, please, ALWAYS sift your flour. It's never a bad idea)

1 egg, beaten

1 T melted butter

3/4 C brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

2/3 C chopped pecans

powdered sugar, for dusting

For pastry: cream butter and cream cheese, stir in flour. Cover, refrigerate one hour. Roll into 1-inch balls (should make 24 balls). Press dough against sides and bottom of 1 3/4 inch mini muffin tins.

Filling: Mix everything except the powdered sugar together and spoon into tassies. I use about 1 tsp.

Bake @ 325 for 25 mins., or until pastry turns a slight golden brown. Cool completely. Spring with powdered sugar.

My Mom always makes these at Christmas time. Yums!

Little in the middle...

...but she got much back!

Woo-hoo! My Hawaiian counterpart The Rambler. Has bestowed upon me this bloggy award.

You flatter me much, my dearest. Me-thinks she's trying to butter me up so I show her how to ride the mechanical bull.

If you haven't done so already, ch-ch-ch,ch-ch-,ch-check her out. Her blog is chock-full of little "treasures."

Dude, I'm totally gonna be humming "Baby Got Back," in my sleep now. Awesome. The Dude is gonna be so confused. I take that back. He'll just see it as normal...don't ask.

I should like to bestow this award to others as well.

{fancy horns blow}

"In no particular order...

Sarah, at Thrifty Decor Chick let's be honest here folks, she can make a treasure out of anything!

Jesse, at We All Go Poopie , two reasons here: her blog title sends me into a fit of laughter every time I see it, and because her cooking makes me drool.

My Shasty, at Sassy Secrets of a True Blue Desperate Housewife , damn, why yo blog title gotta be so long?? My girl could use an award right about now. Your child requiring surgery is ridiculously stressful.

{more fancy horns and a flag. Do you have a flag??}

In all seriousness folks...

As promised yesterday, here is my little blog about Meaghan's project for the holiday season. Meaghan is a cancer survivor. You can read all about her story here. If you haven't done so already, click on the button on my blog that looks like this

Ok, ok, my point. Meaghan has an awesome project going right now. Everyone has some sort of talent. Some of you make fantastical crafts, you knit, you are an artist, you create, and yes, some of you are even gifted shoppers. Lets take those talents and put them to good use. Go here to read about it. The jist: use your talent to make something and send it as a gift to someone battling cancer or someone who is a survivor. Let's bring a bright spot to someone's day. You never know what the kindness of strangers can do for someone. Meaghan will match you up with somoene, or you can pick from any of the stories she has posted. Let's do this people.

When you're done reading all of those links and whatnot, head on over to Meaghan and her boyfriend's coffee site. Mmmmm, I'm drooling just thinking about all of the yummy coffee and tea flavors.
~Hearts.

I can feel the love.

Seriously, all that comment love was so awesome! I feel all warm and fuzzy. Thank you ladies. I promise to make it to your blogs. I was mid-stride, checking blogs with a fury when I got the call that The Dude had injured himself and needed to go to the E.R. TOTALLY messed up my bloggy mojo. He's ok. Lots of pain, but he has drugs, he he he. *Note to self* buy The Dude steel toe boots for Christmas.

I subscribe to Family Fun magazine. I love it. It's got fun ideas for crafting, games and food, all geared at kids. In the latest issues they had these snowflake shirts that looked super cute and easy to make.

Get a plain, long sleeved t-shirt (Walmart, baby $3.50) and gather up this stuff

Tacky glue, and some fabric paint. I mixed a silvery glitter with a blue to come up with an "ice blue," and a sponge (sponge brush or clean dish sponge).

Place a piece of cardboard inside of the shirt (we don't want it to stick together). You can draw out a snowflake on a sheet of paper if you like, or just freehand one. Look some up on the internet for inspiration.

With the tacky glue, draw out your snowflake on the shirt. Try and center it up. Allow to dry for 10 minutes. Fix any bo-bos (bubbles, broken lines, you get the idea) and allow to dry completely. The glue will be clear when dry.

Sponge your fabric paint directly onto the snowflake pattern and fill in with color around it.

Allow to dry completely. I left it overnight. Soak the shirt in warm water till the glue softens (10mins) then peel it off!

Stay tuned. I'm gonna do a post about an awesome project Meaghan over at I Kicked Cancer's @ss is doing.

Feliz Navi-SITS

That really doesn't work, does it?? Whatever. Spanglish dude, spanglish. SITS is having a fantabulous day today. Merry SITSmas!!!! Not only will you get tons of comment love, you can win awesome prizes!!! Weeeee! I'm going to ignore the fact that I can access the SITS site right this second (too many SITStas at once!) and blog on.

SITS has allowed me to feel some bloggy love and has introduced me to so many cool blogs that I otherwise wouldn't have ever found. I love that site!

I can log on in the morning and check in with my best friend at Sassy Secrets of a True Blue Desperate Housewife, then it's on to see what's a Ramblin. The Nanny Goats must be tended to and it's no secret, We All Go Poopie. How many of you don't want to go check out ALL of those blogs. You know you do. That is just a small sampling of the cool chicks you'll find at SITS.

One more thing. While I don't think she's hooked up with SITS yet, show this girl some bloggy love and get her hooked! She's an AWESOME photographer and awesome chick! Much love to Mandy over at MandyLens (blog)! Her website. Shameless plug, my kids are on her website, he he he.