Raspberry Mocha Cookies

There are few things I enjoy more than raspberries and chocolate.  There, I said it.  Maybe when my husband brings me raspberries and chocolate.  When my favorite coffee shop brings out their raspberry mocha every February, I feel like its my birthday.  I need to stop talking about it now because I may start drooling on my keyboard, and that would be bad.  I don't think my husband will let me get a new one!

These were modified from a recipe from Taste of Home's Complete Guide to Baking

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1/2 cup fresh raspberries, pureed
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup cappuccino chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Measure flour, baking soda, and salt in large bowl and set aside.  Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time and beat well after each addition. Mix together raspberry puree and chocolate.  Add to sugar, egg and butter mixture.  Slowly add flour to mix. Mix in until combined.  Add cappuccino chips.

Drop by spoonfuls 2 inches apart on baking sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

I'm linking to Sweet Tooth Friday and Sweets for a Saturday.

{virtual} coffee

Good morning.  Welcome, come on in and we'll sit and chat.  I'm going to have a caramel late this morning, using my frother of course!  That thing is still in my top 5 kitchen toys I've ever bought, and it was less that $20!   Oh, and have a piece of birthday cake, we have plenty and this one is delicious, its a marble cake with raspberry filling.

Please settle in and stay for a while, I'd love to sit and talk. 

 As I told you last week, one of my BFFs is in Europe, and while she's coming home later this week, I still miss her terribly!  I do love getting her emails, but its just not the same.  

We're finally enjoying spring!  I took off my jacket this afternoon and I wasn't freezing.  They say that by Thursday, we will have nice, warm temps.  I laughed this morning when the guys on the radio were joking about not knowing what the sun was, only in California.  Two weeks without sun and we all freak out.

I had a birthday party on Sunday for my 7 year old (I can not believe that he's 7) yesterday.  I had 12 children between 4 and 7 in my house for 2 hours!  It was a Ninja Party.  Imagine this: 10 boys, all 6 and 7 and all been cooped up for almost 2 weeks due to rain, and having a Ninja party.  It was a little boy's dream!  All considered, it went very well.  The boys had a ton of fun, and enjoyed being outside for a while too.  My little man has a ton of new loot to play with!

Speaking of my little man, he has been so sweet lately.  He knew that I was missing his auntie Trina and struggling with some other things lately.  He came up to me last night and gave me a huge hug and asked me how he could help.  I melted!  A few times.  Even though he's a big boy, I can't resist his hugs, those big blue eyes, and his sweet words!  He has such a good heart, and I am so proud to be his mommy!

Now, I'll sit back and listen to what's going on in your neck of the woods.  Has spring gotten there yet?  What helps you pick yourself up when you're feeling down?  Thank you for visiting, will you please take so cake home with you?!

For another cup, head to Lucky13 or Grey Umbrella.  Have a great week, let's make a date for next week! 

Ninja Party!

Mark my words, in a month, there will be ninja birthday stuff EVERYWHERE!  Last year, we had a robot party, and in March, there was no robot theme stuff anywhere, but a month later, it was everywhere!  I felt the same way this year.

Today, we had my son's 7th birthday party.  The theme was Ninjas.  The weather wasn't quite sunny, but they were able to get outside and play a little.

I didn't make the cake this year, but we picked it up from here, which is where my husband and I got our wedding cake.  They do a beautiful job every time!

We broke "boards" (I bought styrofoam sheets that my husband cut into rectangles) and we played Sensei Says (instead of Simon Says).

I made this banner

And I put their goodies in red and yellow chinese take-out containers from the party store.

Here's the birthday boy with the ninja from his birthday cake!

I can't believe he's another year older and that we have another birthday behind us!

BBQ Joes and Menu Plan Monday

I have another recipe from my new favorite cookbook.  This one is a keeper, but all of the ones we've tried from this book are new favorites in our house!  I think the cookbook is just a keeper.  Easy, low clean-up, fresh and fast.  

BBQ Joes

1 tbsp canola oil or butter

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, diced (or more if you're in my kitchen, I used 4)

1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 jar BBQ sauce (I always try to find one that doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup)

Hamburger buns (I made these, our family’s favorite)

Heat oil in the pan.  When oil is heated, add onion and garlic.  Cook until softened.

Add ground meat to the pan and heat until cooked through.  Add BBQ sauce and continue to cook until sauce is heated all the way through.  

Serve on hamburger buns.   We had caesar salad with homemade dressing and homemade croutons a side dish.

Breakfast:

waffle french toast

homemade donuts

cereal

Lunch:

leftovers

turkey sandwiches

wraps

Snacks:

fruit

veggies

crackers

mini bagels

multi-grain chips

Dinners:

Sunday-  I think after a house filled with 5, 6, and 7 year olds, we're going out! (Today is my son's birthday party)

Monday- Fettucine Alfredo with broccoli and chicken (for the boys)

Tuesday- Vegetable Enchiladas

Wednesday-  Turkey and spinach sandwiches and zucchini bites (We had these at the Nordstrom cafe over the weekend and I want to duplicate them)

Thursday- leftovers

Friday- Bagel Dogs with sweet potato fries

I hope you have a wonderful week!  What's on your menu?

I'll be linking to:

Menu Plan Monday, Mouthwathering Monday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday,  Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits, What's on the Menu Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, What's for Dinner? and This Week's Cooking.

Cranberry Cinnamon Oat Scones

It has been raining constantly here!  I was supposed to have a doctor's appointment after work today, but I cancelled it and come home.  Traffic and this rain made me just want to be home.  I took  a nap after I watched Law and Order SVU from last night.  After my nap, I decided I needed to bake!  Isn't that what you do when its raining outside?

Cranberry Cinnamon Oat Scones

(adapted from Taste of Home's Complete Guide to Baking)

2 cups all-purpose flour (I use a mix of unbleached white and white whole wheat)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 1/4 cup oats

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup cinnamon chips

1/2 cup dried cranberries

for topping:

cinnamon and sugar to taste for topping

butter spray 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a large bowl, combine flower, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Cut in shortening and combine until crumbly.  I used my kitchen aid, it worked great.

Add oats and milk and mix until it forms a ball.  Add in cinnamon chips and cranberries.

Take dough out of mixer and place on a lightly floured surface.  Roll out dough and cut to 3/4 inch thickness.  Cut with 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  Place 1 inch apart on baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.

When they come out of the oven, spray with butter spray and dip into sugar and cinnamon mix.

I'm linking to Sweet Tooth Friday and Sweets for a Saturday. 

Homework, Oh no, Oh, yes!

Homework is a bad word in our house.  He drops his pencil, he whines, he argues, I argue, it turns nasty.  I hate it. 

 As a teacher, I always thought, "Oh what a great way for parents and students to work together.  What a great way to review what we're doing in class."

As a parent, I think, "this is ridiculous, this is not how I want to spend afternoons with my son, he needs to play, we need to have fun together, he needs to have fun with friends"

The issue with the homework is, it should take him about 30 minutes at the most to do.  Instead, it takes about 2 hours because we argue the whole time.  Its some of the worst mommy moments, and I hate it.

So, starting next week, we are going back to stickers.  He is going to set a goal.  If he gets homework done in the 30 minutes I set the timer for, he gets a sticker.  If he gets up in the morning and gets dressed without arguing, sticker, and if he goes and gets ready for bed the first time I ask, another sticker.  We'll set a goal and he'll need to reach that goal for a special adventure with mom.  

I don't always like to use extrinsic motivators, but I do think they have their place when behaviors need changing.  I don't want to spend my time with my little man getting frustrated and upset.  I want to get the yucky stuff out of the way so we can do other things, like if this rain ever goes away, we can go for walks before bed!

I'll keep you posted.  We're going to set it up this weekend when he's back home at our house.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Time for a Cup of Tea

Hi! Thanks for coming over for a coffee break.  I think I'll have a cup of cinnamon cookie tea with frothed milk.  What would you like?  Before you can even sit down, I have to share that my baby boy turns 7 today.  I might even have to whip out pictures so you can see him 7 years ago, and now.  Its so hard to believe how fast he's growing up!  Tonight, he has specifically asked for mommy's macaroni and cheese for dinner.  Then we are heading over to Cheesecake Factory for birthday dessert!

I'd also have to tell you that I'm emotionally spent right now.  Nothing major is going on, just a lot of little things and I'm exhausted.  I feel like I have a lot of things that need to be done NOW, and I feel like I'm drowning in it all.  Part of it could be the rain, part of it could be the fact that I'm going on week #2 that one of my BFFs has been in Europe for a week and there's still a week to go.  This is my friend who I text when I'm feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or just need to vent. I know I can make it another week, its just tough not having her around!  As for the things I need to get done, I'm taking it one day at time and one task at a time.  It will all get done, or if it doesn't, the world will not end!

I'm hoping to get some baking in this week so I can decompress and spend a little time relaxing.  I got some cinnamon chips and some cappuccino chips from King Arthur Flour a week and a half ago and I want to get creative and make some yummy treats for my family.

As we continue to to sip our tea, I'll ask how your week is going.  Is there anything weighing on you right now?  Do you have a friend who keeps you on track on those harder days?  Are you planning to do any baking this week?

For another cup, head to Lucky13 or Grey Umbrella.  Have a great week, let's make a date for next week!