Cream Cheese Bites

I changed Mad Mad Me's Recipe a little...

Cream Cheese Bites

16 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
2 tsp. orange or lemon zest
For coating:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tbsp. cinnamon sugar (I keep a mix in a jar for toast, so I just used a tbsp. of this)

Mix together all ingredients except the graham crackers and cinnamon sugar for coating; chill for about 15 minutes.  While cream cheese mixture is chilling, mix cinnamon sugar into graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Make bite sized portions of the cream cheese mixture, roll them in the graham cracker, cinnamon sugar mixture and shape them into whatever shapes you want. I made flat rounds so they would stack, but you could leave them in balls. Chill them for another 10-15 minutes before serving since the rolling and molding soften up the cream cheese a bit. Enjoy!

 

 

Crescent Rolls in the diaper bag????

It is unlikely that anyone else will find this as funny as I did. Especially at 11 p.m. I was getting ready for bed and trying to clean off the table from the aftermath of a hectic day of shopping and other errands. I started to pick my bag up (it is basically a diaper bag and purse all in one) and I noticed the one side was unzipped so I started to zip it closed and spotted this tube of crescent rolls peaking out at me.

 Yeah, it confused me too... for a minute or two!

 

I'm sure you are wondering "why would she have Crescent Rolls in her diaper bag?"

Well, let me tell ya ...So was I... Then I remembered!

About halfway home from the grocery store *Z* pulled it out of one of the bags that were in the back seat next to his car seat. Then he proceeded to hit the back of the front passenger seat with it... where my mother was sitting. All I could envision was the seal breaking, from him hitting it on the seat, and the can exploding on the back of my mother's head... I know it would have scared the bejeebers out of her. But the worst thing is, I'm sure I would have laughed... and reprimanding a child, while laughing, has never been very effective!!!

It would not have been a good thing!

I had taken it away from *Z* and put it on my lap for the rest of the drive home.
At one point Mom and I were laughing over a story I had heard once where one of these things exploded and hit the driver in the back of the head. She thought she had been shot. She had reached up to feel the back of her head and could feel wetness and was sure that she was dying. She only realized what had happened after the EMS arrived... yes she even called the medics, she was that certain that she was shot...LOL
 Once home, I gathering the loose things from the truck and just tossed the tube into the closest bag that I knew would be going in the house right away..... It went to the house. But that was the last I thought about it.

Zucchini Bread

How to turn this (well not all of this, just 2 cups)

into this!

Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cups sugar

3 eggs, beaten

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar.

3. Add the eggs, vanilla, zucchini, nuts, and oil. (I did not put nuts in mine this time.)

4. Mix well using a wooden spoon.



5. Pour into 2 generously buttered and floured loaf pans.

6. Bake for 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

* If you would rather have muffins, this recipe will make 24 muffins, or 12 muffins and a loaf of bread.

Fried Dandelion Flowers

We have tons of dandelions in the lawn right now and *Z* loves picking them for me. Yesterday I asked him if he knew they are edible, of course he gave me a very quizzical look, as he told me 'no'. But I reassured him it is true and told him we'd try them sometime. Well today on the way home from Mom's house we found a nice patch of really clean dandelions so we picked some to bring home. Once home we made Fried Dandelion Flowers. It was really easy and to *Z*'s surprise, very tasty.

Wordless Wednesday

Late Saturday Night....

Saturday evening was a rare night out for *T* and I. My mom came to stay with the boys while we were gone. *T* brought me home around 8:45 pm then went back out to spend some time with his fellow firefighter friends. We try to have the boys in bed by 9pm every night but that night they were excited, as they always are when we leave them with someome else for  a few hours. Mom stayed for about an hour after I got home and then I sat down to watch a show on tv. In the meantime the boys were playing quietly in their bedroom and about the time I was going to get up to start getting them ready for bed *Z* came running into the living room and was digging in his one toy tote and went back into his bedroom with a handful of toys, then came running back and was digging for more. On his first trip through I asked him what his brother was doing and he said "just playing" and went running out of the room. I knew I had to go see for myself because they had been quiet for too long.

This is what I found when I got to their room. Now lets not forget that *K* is only 11mths old and doesn't even walk yet and it was 10:20pm when I took this photo. He was playing so contently that he didn't even know I had walked into the room until the camera flash went off.





He is sitting in the middle of *Z*'s bed playing with his Little People Tow and Pull Tractor.  That is when I figured out what *Z* was digging for in the tote in the living room. The tractor was in the bedroom but all the animals and people were in the tote in the other room. 

*Z* came back with his second load of animals and climbed up there and started playing with his brother. It was the cutest thing ever. I said "don't you think that you should be going to bed soon"? and *Z*'s reply to me was "we ARE in MY bed Momma"! I just shook my head and went back to the living room.... there is a point when  mom knows she may as well surrender!

I love that *K* is getting old enough that the two of them can sit and play now. I just wish for now they'd do it at a lower elevation. I hope *K* doesn't fall off the bed and get hurt in the mean time. I guess he is so determined to be a big kid he doesn't care that he momma says he is "too little" to be doing these things.

I also couldn't believe how wide awake they were for it being so late. I did finally get *K* to go to bed around 11pm and then *Z* and the dog fell asleep on the couch with, the cat standing guard around 11:30pm.







Friday Evening...

So... Friday evening found us here at home, the boys and I had eaten a late lunch, *T* wondering if I was making anything to eat and I was without a plan. I asked if there was anything he wanted and he said he'd eat "whatever you fix".
The guy ought to know better, is all I have to say!
A quick scan of the cupboard and fridge and these are the first things I found:

I really put my culinary skills to the test and came up with this:

That is all folks!