Cincinnati Zoo

Although we live in a somewhat small town, it is centrally located in the perfect area! Within two hours, in multiple directions, there are several zoos. Since Adam is in the midst of a four day weekend, we decided to take a road trip an hour and half north for a family fun day. This was our first time at the Cincinnati Zoo and I can assure you that it won't be our last. It was so clean, the "traffic" flowed well, and the botanical gardens were gorgeous. We really enjoyed our time seeing all the animals, (and bugs too).

We've made it our mission to check out all the zoos around us. We are in a lucky position to be able to live and visit so many wonderful and exciting places. Our children will never have a "home" that's in one solid place for their entire lives, so I want to build memories. They will know what it is like to travel, discover, and appreciate the sacrifice that it takes to live the Army life.

We ended with a little Dippin Dots! Next zoo on our list is the Louisville Zoo!

Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches

I wouldn't dare call these oatmeal creme pies because they taste nothing like those little pre-packaged goodies you get at the grocery store. I love those cookies. I grew eating them at my grandma's and they bring me so many wonderful memories. These days, though, I don't buy stuff like that. Sure I get my kids goldfish and pop-tarts but for the most part we avoid spending our money on snack foods. Adam loves oatmeal cookies and I was really craving a gooey filled cookie so these were by far the best alternative. I baked half plain and half with raisins so we all get our favorites!

The filling is a marshmallow like "frosting". It's sticky and fluffy and fat free! I use this stuff frequently because it's so easy to make! You add the package of dry mix to bowl and whip it for a few minutes with boiling water. I even blogged about it when we made fruit pizza. I've heard that it has been difficult to find, but most groceries store will allow you to request special products. I promise this is a must!

Ingredients:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup dry oatmeal (quick cooking)
7 tbsp of butter, room temp.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

For the filling I used 3/4 cup dry frosting mix and 1/4 cup boiling water, whip it well.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add in egg and vanilla, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Once the liquids are well incorporated add in the flour. Fold in the oatmeal 1/4 cup at a time while a thick mixture forms. Bake the cookies at 350 for 12-14 minutes.

Once they are cooled, flip them over and smash down to flatten the cookie slightly. Place 1 tbsp of the whipped filling on the bottom of one cookie and top with another cookie. Enjoy!

Pina Colada Pound Cake

Don't we all wish we could spend an evening in the tropics? A frozen drink, warm breeze and the sand in our toes. Fortunately for me, I'm less than two months from a trip to Puerto Rico (without the kids!), but I wanted to get a jump start. We're having a little BBQ tonight with Adam's co-worker and since she's a lover of all things coconut, I thought we would give this a try. I love pound cakes! They are versatile and flavorful. This one incorporates coconut, pineapple and rum extract to give us the taste of the tropics I was seeking. A bonus for me was the fact that it's based around dry cake mix so you don't have to dirty up the whole kitchen! And less dishes too! This recipe makes two loaf pans, so you can always pass the second on to a friend.

Ingredients:

(Adapted from Betty Crocker)

1 box yellow cake mix

2 large eggs

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

2 tsp rum extract 

1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened 

8 oz can crushed pineapple

1 cup powdered sugar 

Start by draining the pineapple juice into a bowl, set aside. In a large bowl or stand mixer, mix together the cake mix, eggs, coconut milk, and rum extract until smooth. Fold in the shredded coconut and drained pineapple. Pour the batter into 2 prepared loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely before removing them from the pans. While the cakes are cooling, mix together the reserved pineapple juice and powdered sugar until a thick glaze forms. After you remove the cooled cakes, drizzle on the glaze. Enjoy! 

Haley decided to give me something to do while the cakes baked.

Stuffed French Bread

Anything stuffed is a friend of mine! Seriously though... I love good, crunchy bread and stuffing it with delicious filling is right up my alley. What I love even more is a simple, quick, tasty and kid friendly dinner. Now, let's be clear here, while these taste absolutely wonderful they are far from kid friendly if you aren't looking for a mess to clean up. I personally don't mind sticking my kiddos in the bath after dinner so this was a hit. It doesn't look to appetizing (just being honest) but I promise they are packed full of flavor. I'm sure this will be a winner for your whole family! I know it was for mine!

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Life in the Lofthouse)

1 large loaf of french bread
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I used 98% fat free)
splash of milk
seasoning salt
pepper
1 1/4 cup shredded cheese

Slice your french bread in half lengthwise and scoop out the middle of the loaf on each side. In a skillet, brown the ground beef draining off the excess fat. Add in the garlic and onions. Once the onion is translucent, stir in the can of soup. You'll want to add the milk 1 tbsp at a time to thin out the mixture slightly. Season to taste with seasoning salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, add 1/2 cup of cheese to the bottom loaf of bread. Then add 1/2 cup of the cheese to your warm mixture. Once the cheese has melted pile the ground beef into the scooped out portion of your bread (on top of the cheese). Top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Place the top half of bread on and put on a baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Low Fat Banana Bread

I usually make banana nut muffins when our bananas become to ripe since they have become my husband's favorite. They were the very first thing we ever made in our stand mixer, and from that day on we have made an endless amount of muffins. Today, I had three bananas just sitting on our counter, overly ripe, and ready to be baked. I knew there wouldn't be any complaints if I made banana bread, but I didn't have any walnuts. I figured why not make a banana bread that I can enjoy as well. Since this recipe is Weight Watchers friendly I couldn't wait to try it out. By adding oatmeal this banana bread has a nice light texture, as well as added fiber. Lucky for me, 1/10 of this bread is only 4 points plus! And who doesn't love the smell of baked banana bread?

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Weight Watchers)

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp melted light butter
1 large egg
1 large egg white
3 bananas, mashed

In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well. Beat together the butter, egg and egg white. Add to the mixing bowl along with the mashed bananas. Pour the batter into a prepared loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Hello to this breakfast treat! And a treat it is! My mom drove all the way from Atlanta just to keep our kids for a night. It was Adam's birthday weekend and we were headed to watch the Packers play (yay!). I wanted to make her a yummy breakfast before we left her with our (sometimes) whiny three year old and very much teething one year old. She's a hard working lady and deserves a meal that's warm, inviting, sweet, gooey, and delicious. This one, for sure, hit the nail on the head. A crowd pleaser and cheap, cinnamon roll casserole is here to stay!

Ingredients:
(Adapted from Mrs. Happy Homemaker)

12 unbaked cinnamon rolls (I used one can of 8 and one can of 5)
Reserved icing
1 egg
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1/4 cup maple syrup

Prepare an 8x8 glass dish with cooking spray. Cut cinnamon rolls into fours and layer into the baking dish. Mix together the egg, cream, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the cut rolls and sprinkle the nuts. Top with the maple syrup and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. Warm the icing slightly and drizzle on the warm cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Adam and I love those Taquitos you get from the frozen aisle in the grocery store. Yes, I know how bad they are for us, but they are just so tasty. I really had no clue how easy they were to make either. I mean, honestly, it's basically just a tightly rolled up taco. The key to good taquitos is giving the filling a lot of flavor. These baked up super fast and you could make the filling the night before to cut down on time if you work or have kids in activities. We served ours with nothing more than a little sour cream and homemade guacamole.

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
Mexican spices of choice
4 oz low fat cream cheese
1 cup Mexican shredded cheese
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
3 green onions, sliced
corn tortillas (how much filling you use will determine how many you need)
butter for brushing
garlic salt

Prepare your chicken breast with Mexican seasonings. When it's cooked through shred with two forks and place in a bowl. Add in the cream cheese, salsa, garlic, green onions and combine well. Fold in the shredded cheese.  Fill each tortilla with a heaping tbsp of your chicken mixture and place on a baking sheet. Once all your tortillas are filled, brush them with butter and add a sprinkling of garlic salt. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until the edges are crispy. Enjoy!

These are the seasonings I used. I found the mixture needed a bit more flavor so I added in a few more dashes once everything was mixed. 

Italian Sandwiches

Everybody knows I love a good sandwich. In fact, if I had it my way we would probably indulge in Jimmy Johns weekly. I just love the way mayo settles into the bread, the saltiness from the meat and the pungent taste of a sharp cheese. Italian subs are by far my favorite and Owen loves a good salami so this recipe just made sense for my family! I loved being able to customize my own sandwich and add tons of meat without all those "extra" fees.

You'll need a good loaf of Italian bread. Black forest ham, hard salami, pepperoni, and provolone cheese. Of course, you can add toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, onion, black olives and mayo!  We broiled ours to make the crust crispy and melt the cheese slightly, but it would be equally delicious cold! A nice hearty sub, the whole family can enjoy!

M&M's Cookie Pie

Thankfully, Owen is feeling much better and we have totally recovered from our Sunday! The kids played so well together and ate all their meals today! So, I decided to make them a special little dessert. Owen absolutely loves M&M's (who doesn't), and since we've had an almost empty bag sitting around for a while, I thought it was time to use them up. I love recipes where you can basically throw everything in the mixer. It was an added bonus pouring the mixture into one pan and still getting a cookie! I love baking. Especially baking cookies! But let's be honest, they take a little time and, well, I just don't have much of that these days. This baked up perfectly in less than a half hour. I loved the crunchy edges and the soft gooey middle! This cookie pie is definitely one that will remain in our recipe box!

Ingredients:
(adapted from Julie's Eats & Treats)

3/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
tsp vanilla
1 cup flour (I used white wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup M&M's
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add in the egg and vanilla.  Stir in the baking soda and flour, and mix until everything is incorporated. Fold in the chocolates.  Place the mixture in a prepared pie pan and press down lightly.  Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.  Enjoy!

Enjoying a book with Daddy while the cookie baked

Sunday Not-So-Fun Day

We had a fantastic Saturday! My dad drove in from Ohio, and we spent the day eating and shopping, which so happens to be my two favorite things. Adam took Owen to a work BBQ and he had the time of his life.  But as life would have it, things went down hill as the night went on. My poor Owen was up half the night screaming and we knew he was miserable.  Regardless, we enjoyed a nice home cooked breakfast with my dad before he left.

Well, as it would seem Owen has a terrible cold.  He is completely congested and so stuffy when he talks. Thankfully, he's still in good spirits and taking in lots of fluids, so I have high hopes that improvement is in his future.  The funny thing about two kids is their ability to tag team you.  Haley, on the hand, won't eat ANYTHING.  I suspect teething to be the culprit for this little one year old.  We found these awesome popsicles at Target that are made of 100% apple juice and I think that may be what keeps her going!

As any mom with a sick three year old and teething one year old would do...

I decided to spot clean my carpets.  It's no surprise to anyone that I am clean person.  I vacuum multiple times a week and deep clean regularly but why did I pick today to tackle this mess (and by mess I mean maybe a spot or two).  Times like this make me thankful for my husband.  He took care of our sick boy AND didn't make fun of my need to clean.

Overall, I'll count the weekend as a success! Adam was here (blog-bomb)

August First

WE'RE BACK!

No seriously, I've been on a serious break. It wasn't because I didn't want to blog but we've been getting things back to normal after our vacation to Wisconsin, houseguests, and an unplanned trip to Atlanta. August will hold lots of posts and yummy new recipes! Adam's birthday is coming up (the big 32!) and we are taking a weekend away (!!!) to see our favorite Green Bay Packers play. I am also hoping to get back on track with Weight Watchers. Adam and I have a trip planned to Puerto Rico in October and I can certainly afford to lose a few pounds before then.

We spent the first day of this month being outside! The weather has been gorgeous and the kids just simply get burnt out being inside all the time. We better soak up as much sun as we can before the winter comes. I've crossed my fingers that it's much milder this year than last!

And I can't forget our biggest baby, Charlie! He is growing like a weed! I better start planning his first birthday party since November will be here before we know it.