Chocolate Chip Cookies

My nieces were over the other day, 

so we made cookies!

Here's Kaitlyn patiently waiting while we get things set up.

 I wanted to use my friend's chocolate chip cookie recipe

because one time when I was at her house,

I ate like 15 in one sitting - no lie.

So I dug out the recipe. 

It calls for 1 c. of Crisco, but I only had about a half cup.

So I threw in some butter to make up for it.

Sometimes you've just got to improvise!
 The girls helped me measure out the ingredients,

 pack the brown sugar,

and dump it into the mixing bowl.

 They also beat a few eggs and measured out the vanilla,

 before dumping it in and giving it all a good mix.

Next we added the salt, soda, flour,

 and cream of tartar.

After mixing well and tossing in the final ingredient,
chocolate chips, we were all set.

Then all we had left to do was bake -

cool,

and eat!

I'm sure you have plenty of chocolate chip cookie recipes already,

but if you want to try something new - 

give this one a try. 

They are addicting!

Chocolate Chip Cookies - courtesy of W
1 c. Crisco (I use the Crisco sticks)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
Combine above ingredients until well blended.
Add to the above mix:
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar 
Mix well and add chocolate chips to your heart's desire.Bake at 350 until golden brown (approx. 7-9 minutes).
 

Preparations

Because as these photos show -

I'm rather large these days.
And with only about 2 weeks to go,

we figured it was about time to 

bust out some of Walt's old baby gear.

Like his car seat -

I can't believe he was ever this small.

And his bassinet -

 

What a peanut.

I also washed up a bunch of his

newborn clothes, onesies, and burp rags.

 

Here's one of Walt's 24-month onesie shirts that he wears now,

with a newborn onesie on top. 

These days he feeds himself with a big person fork, says "all done"

when he's finished and has quit bottles entirely.

 

Oh they grow up so fast!

March Madness Has Struck

How to Make a Diaper Cake

A friend was having a baby shower this weekend and

I was asked about making a diaper cake.

I'd never made one before, but I figured -

How hard can it be?

I'd seen one my aunt had made at my own shower for Walter

and I looked at a few online before running out to gather 

these ingredients and give it a shot on my own.

 First step is to get a cheap plastic platter to use as your base.

 

Then scoot all the cute toys and ribbons 

you plan to decorate it with aside,

because you're going to be spending some quality time with 

diapers, rubber bands, and whatever you select as your inner core.

I went with a bottle of wine for the new mom,

but I saw large bottles of baby soap or lotion 

used as the core in some of the online versions.

 Next, decide which way you want to roll your diapers 

and then roll them all in the same direction 

and secure them with a rubber band.

 One diaper rolled -

 

only 91 more to go!

(Note: I did buy a box of 92 diapers, 

but didn't quite use them all for this large cake)

After I had a pile of rolled diapers laying around,

I thought it was time to begin assembling the bottom layer.

I placed the wine bottle in the center of the platter 

and secured a ring of rolled diapers around the bottle 

with another rubber band.

 Then, since it looked like the rubber band would hold it,

I just slid another layer of diapers in around the first layer.

I only had one extra large rubber band 

for the outside of the bottom layer

and when I finally got it all done and assembled,

it looked like this -

I repeated the same basic steps on the second layer,

except I removed some of the diapers in the front 

and started inserting a few of the gift items.

I put 2 sippy cups and some hair bands in the front,

and then tucked in a fork, knife and spoon set,

before topping off the cake with the

third and final layer of diapers.

Now that the basic shape of the cake was set,

it was time to use some ribbon to hide all those rubber bands.

I simply cut strips of wide ribbon to go around each cake layer,

and secured them at the back of the cake with a straight pin.

Here's how it looked once all of the ribbons were in place.

 The top of the cake had this hole in the middle,

where it hid the top of the wine bottle.

 I wasn't quite sure how to fill that spot,

 but then figured I could insert this adorable 

taggie blanket made by my mother.

I shoved the blanket down into the hole

and it was genius!

Such a cute cake topper. 

 Then I placed various bath toys and 

ribbons I had purchased onto the cake to decorate it

and this was the end result.

 Here is a view of the cake from behind.

 And this is the final finished product -

 

For my first-ever attempt at a diaper cake, 

I think it turned out adorable!

They really don't take all that long to assemble either.

It's easy to do while you're watching t.v.

So for your next baby shower,

don't be scared to give a diaper cake a shot.

As you can see from my first try -

no experience is necessary.

I'm sure you'll do great!

Lasagna - always a favorite!

Here are the ingredients we use -

Throw the meat and onions in a pan to brown.

Chop up a few cloves of garlic,

and some mushrooms,

 and toss them in as well.

 Then beat your 1 egg
and stir in the ricotta and Parmesan cheese and set it aside.

 Pour in your tomatoes and tomato paste,

and scold your small child
who dared to grab at your camera during this process.

Then get your noodles boiling.

 Once all that stuff is done,
it's time to assemble.

Start with your meat sauce on the bottom,

Top with half of the noodles,

followed by some of your filling and shredded cheese.

Repeat these steps,

and then toss that baby in the oven.

Forgive the messy slice and the paper plate.

This lasagna recipe is so delicious,
that we didn't take time to bust out the fine china,
or wait for it to set up nice so that
I could get a good picture before digging in.
Try it - you'll see why.

Lasagna

12 oz bulk Italian sausage

1/2 of an onion, chopped

2-3 cloves of minced garlic

1 package fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 - 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 Tbls dried Italian seasoning, crushed

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 lasagna noodles

1 beaten egg

1 - 15 oz container ricotta cheese 

    or 2 c. cream-style cottage cheese, drained

    (we use the ricotta cheese)  

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

For Sauce: In a large saucepan cook sausage, onion, garlic, and mushroom until meat is brown. Drain. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and pepper into meat mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender, but still firm. Drain noodles, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

For Filling: combine egg, ricotta, and the 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese and set aside.

Spread about 1/2 c.  of the sauce over the bottom of a 2 quart rectangular baking dish. Layer half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish, trimming or overlapping as necessary to fit. Spread with half of the filling. Top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. If desired, sprinkle additional cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.