Thursday, July 25, 2013

Cake Mix Cookie Bars


I came across this recipe on Pinterest and knew I had to try it!  I found the recipe here:

They are delicious and super easy!  Start with a few ingredients.

Mix em up

Bake

Enjoy!


Cake Mix Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 Box yellow cake mix
1 Small box instant vanilla pudding
1/4 Cup water
3/4 Cup vegetable oil
2 Eggs
1 Cup chocolate chips. (I used a mix of mini M&M's and mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine cake mix, pudding, water, vegetable oil, eggs in large bowl.  Mix well then fold in chocolate chips.
Pour the batter (it's going to be thick) into a greased 10x13 baking dish. 
Bake your bars for 20-30 minutes 
I took mine out at 24 minutes and next time I would keep them in a bit longer.  They weren't raw, but they were really really soft.  I like bars and cookies soft and chewy, but this was a bit too soft for me.  Another minute or two and they would have been perfect.  I will definitely make them again though - such a delicious bar and very easy to make.

The very first photo on this post isn't mine - I got that from the recipe link.  After I baked them I slapped on a lid and we headed for the lake.  Once there, I didn't even think about taking a photo - all I could think about was eating them!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Bowling

Have you heard of the Kids Bowl Free program? Kids can bowl 2 games free every day during the summer. Just check out the website www.kidsbowlfree.com to find a participating bowling alley near you and sign up to receive your email coupons every month. You still pay for shoe rental, but at our alley it's only $1 per person. We've only gone a few times this summer but it's been so much fun.

Last week Rylan and I both bowled our best games ever!  




Check that out - 175!!!!  It's got to be my new minty green nail polish and awesome coordinating purple ball! ;)



The second game didn't go quite as well for Rylan and I, but Mackenzie got 20 more pins down!


And for the record, yes the bumpers were up, but there were only two times that my ball even hit the bumpers so I still would have done well.

Here are a couple short videos of the kids' bowling methods.


Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Carrot Cupcakes



I have been watching episodes of Cupcake Wars on Amazon and since they always leave me craving cupcakes (it's a good thing we have no cupcake bakeries here) I finally decided to do something about it.  But I went searching for a recipe that sounded really good and wasn't too difficult.  I know I won't get amazing cupcakes from a cake mix, so I started here first: the Hello, Cupcake recipe/decorating book I have.

I picked this up a few years ago and have used it a few times for decorating inspiration, but I've never tried the recipes in the back.  Big mistake!  After flipping through a few pages, I knew I had my winner when I saw this recipe for Carrot Cupcakes!  I love carrot cake so this sounded perfect.  It did not disappoint either - it was probably one of the best carrot cakes I've ever had.  I could have eaten the batter alone by the spoonful - so good!  And there's 2 cups of carrots and raisins in them - damn near health food if you ask me!

Mix a few ingredients,

pour in a pan,

whip up some frosting,

 Delicious!



Carrot Cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour (all I had was bread flour and that worked fine)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1/2  cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I skipped these)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
3. In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs, sugar, brown sugar, oil, and milk until light and thick.
4. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, beating just until blended.  Stir in the vanilla, carrots, raisins, and walnuts until well blended.
5. Fill the liners two-thirds full.  Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-22 minutes.  Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on wire rack, and allow to cool completely.

The key is not to let them over-bake.  Watch them like a hawk at the end and take them out as soon as that toothpick comes out clean.  The other must-do is dump them out of the muffin pan as soon as you take them out of the oven.  My second batch was overdone because I let them sit in the muffin pan for a few more minutes and they continued to cook and they were definitely dryer than the first batch.  


Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 stick (8 T) unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl.  Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2. Gradually add the powdered sugar and milk and beat until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.


The next time I make these cupcakes however, I will only frost them right before serving.  Obviously you should refrigerate cream cheese frosting, but I didn't like how the cupcakes tasted cold, so I would refrigerate the frosting and keep the cakes and room temp before serving.  Or I guess just set them out an hour before so they can warm up a bit.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

The Little Mommy

Mackenzie obviously loves her babies.  She has been carrying a new one around lately - Baby Emma.  If it's just her and I in the car, Mackenzie sits in Rylan's carseat so she can buckle Emma into her seat.  She is sure to cover her up with a blanket too.

Emma got her own carseat for Mackenzie's birthday, but sometimes she still likes to be buckled into M's seat.  Mackenzie also takes a packed diaper bag whenever we go out now as well.  



Here's what was packed in the diaper bag one day - pail and shovels, doggy cell phone, pacifier, sippy cup, extra diapers, wipes, sunscreen, 2 bottles, and some books.


At night, Emma sleeps in various spots, but is always tucked in.  Sometimes she's in her own crib, sometimes on the floor and sometimes in Mackenzie's bed with her.  She always has a blanket and other friends to keep her company.  

Friday, July 19, 2013

Little Bird

Yesterday I was in the kitchen when a bird flew right into the window. It scared the crap out of me but then I went to check it out because it hit pretty hard and I figured he was probably sitting in the grass recovering from a minor concussion. Sure enough there was a little baby bird sitting in the grass. It's mother was also there, pushing him from behind trying to get him moving again. I called the kids and we went outside to get a closer look.

He was very calm (either still stunned from the impact or scared to death of us) and just sat on our hands while we carefully pet his tiny little head. He was so cute and the kids thought it was just awesome to hold a bird. We passed him around a bit and then he flew off of Rylan's hand. He didn't go far before landing in the grass again, but then we let him be.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Pucker Up!

Have you ever looked at a walleye up close?  

Now you have!

Nick caught this one a couple weeks ago - he was delicious!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Lake Fun

I really had intended to post much more often this summer, but there aren't enough hours.  Obviously the kids are home all the time, so we're often off to their activities, bowling, at the library, or playing at a park. (It's our mission this summer to visit every park and decide which is the best.)  When we are home, we're playing outside or I'm tending to the few plants I've been able to keep alive!  Hopefully there will be a post on that to come.  The dishes, laundry, and sweeping of sand just doesn't ever quit so when I do have a little free time, I usually don't feel like blogging.  So yes, I know I've been very bad at updating, but we are having a blast this summer and I wish I had the time to tell you about it all!  Here are some recent pictures from our weekends at the lake.

I've mentioned how much Nick and I love to wake surf - well Mackenzie asked to try it this year!  Nick wasn't going to tell her no, so he held onto the board and she went from her tummy to hands and knees.  As you can tell, she loved it!

She's definitely our dare-devil!  Both kids also tried water skiing, but both fell and held on to the rope longer than they should have and ended up swallowing a bunch of water.  It scared them both so while they both did great, they haven't wanted to try it again.

Mackenzie happily waters the dock with her little watering can.

She never liked this little floatie/boat thing when she was little, but wanted to paddle around in it last weekend.  We discovered that she was too heavy when she ripped a huge hole in it and it sank like a rock.

The raft Nick made survived the winter and gets lots of use every weekend.

Mackenzie likes the slide this year, but prefers just to jump off the raft into the water.


Ace and Jack will fetch a tennis ball it the water all day long.  Seriously, I don't think they would ever quit - it would take a heart attack to stop them!  Here the ball the close enough to the dock that they didn't just jump right in, they had to stare at it a while.

Ace is ready!

And Ace goes for the dive!

We've been battling some back talk from our little Mr. lately.  He discovered that you will still get a time out on the beach for talking back to Mom and Dad!

Kenzie and Daddy


She's been wearing this head band thing - called the Ear Band-It - overtop an ear plug to keep water out of her ear.  3 years ago she had tubes put in her ears and we haven't had any ear problems since then.  Except around Easter this past year when her left ear started draining.  We had it checked and she had an ear infection on the side that still has a tube.  (the other one fell out over a year ago)  After a couple rounds of antibiotics over a couple months, we're still having issues.  Turns out her tube is a little crooked, like it's working it's way out, so it's not draining properly.  It's imperative that we keep water out of her ear so it can drain and heal properly.  We couldn't keep her from swimming all summer, so a silicone ear plug and the Ear Band-It have been the perfect solution.  She likes wearing them too, so that's a huge relief for us!

We gave Rylan a fauw-hawk just for the weekend.  He needed a hair-cut so Nick just trimmed the sides and left the middle long.  I liked how it looked, but Nick didn't so off it went.

Mackenzie definitely has Brown lake blood in her.  After lunch, instead of asking for dessert she requests "chips and cheese" on the lounge chair.  Love her!

Sweet Baby Ace - almost 9 years old

Wake surfing!

Show off ;)

We have some good video from our GoPro camera so hopefully I'll actually get that on here one day.  (I still plan to post Big Sky skiing videos)

Like Father, like daughter!

Our little fish

Grandma was taking these pictures and when she told Mackenzie to pose - she got this!