Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's been a long time since I posted. Way too long. Between the girls and school, I've been finding it hard to come up with real "me time." The semester ends next week so hopefully I'll be able to get back to a more stable routine that includes more time focusing on the things I enjoy doing, such as baking and blogging. Or at least a few weeks of overindulging before the grind of a new semester gets going.

Apparently, I have a bit of an obsession with red velvet cookies and I have made four different types of red velvet cookies in the past year, including this one (red velvet crinkle cookies, red velvet cookies, and red velvet cookies with cream cheese frosting). This recipe is actually very similar to one of the other ones I made, but, if I remember correctly enough to compare, these cookies were more chewy than the other ones. These cookies were so good that I have spent the last 24-hours in between paper writing thinking about making these cookies again. Seriously, give these easy cookies a try.

Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies 
Source: How Sweet It Is 
Yields about two dozen cookies

1 box Red Velvet cake mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until a dough forms. Fold in chocolate chips.

Roll into balls and bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

Birthday Celebration & Sprinkle {Funfetti} Chocolate Chip Cookies

The girls' birthday party was postponed because Cati broke her collarbone in the beginning of February. Recovery time for that was six weeks but I wanted to wait a little bit longer just to make sure she was 100% healed. Once she was healed I jumped on the first date everyone had available and the girls had their 1st and 3rd birthday party on March 24, 2013. As usual, I was all about the dessert table and creating a pretty looking and delicious tasting spread. The theme was stars and every dessert had gold stars and colorful sprinkles (Cati's request). I went with this Sprinkle Cake recipe and made two small cakes for each of the girls. I also made Oreo truffles, chocolate chip topped brownies, and these Sprinkle Chocolate Chip Cookies that were right up my chocolate chip cookie loving alley. Plus, how can you not like sprinkles?

The best part of the party, however, was the Safari Edventure. The girls loved it, even Elina! I'd say that between the animals and all the sweets, this has been the best and most enjoyed party yet. Call me crazy, but I have already started thinking about next year's party, which will be our last in Miami until we know where Alex gets a permanent job. Either way, I can't believe I have two toddlers now. I'm one lucky lady, that's for sure.

Sprinkle {Funfetti} Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Beantown Baker
Yields approximately 30 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

4 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup sprinkles
sea salting, for sprinkling (optional)

Melt the butter in a saucepan until brown and set it aside to cool.

Cream the butter, cream cheese and both sugars together with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Turn the mixer on low and mix in the flour, salt and baking soda until just combined.

Add the chocolate chips and sprinkles and mix until just incorporated.

Cover the dough and refrigerate until chilled, several hours or overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a few trays with baking paper.

Using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and place on bakingsheet. Flatten slightly. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake for 9-12 minutes, until the edges are golden.

Swedish Meatballs

At some point Alex made us Swedish meatballs. These meatballs were so good and the sauce so delicious that I asked him to forward me the recipe. He didn't save the recipe so he sent me the recipe he thought he used. I knew the recipe was wrong because there was no sauce but I still made the recipe he sent me because it seemed easy enough and I had all the ingredients. That was one of the best decisions I made that day because this recipe was a huge hit with everyone. Cati had her serving for dinner and then ate half of Alex's dinner when he got home from work. This recipe is in the rotation now and I probably make it every other week. The first time I made it I served it with some cranberry sauce but the meatballs don't need any kind of sauce; they're that good on their own.

Swedish Meatballs
Source: Slightly adapted from LindaT on Allrecipes.com

1/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
3 tablespoons butter

Mix bread crumbs, water, and half-and-half in a large bowl; let stand for about 2 minutes.

Stir ground beef, ground pork, salt, pepper, and sugar into bread crumb mixture until thoroughly mixed. Shape mixture into about 30 small meatballs.

Melt butter in a skillet; add meatballs. Cook for about 5 minutes then turn over and continue cooking until fully cooked in the middle and no longer pink. Add next batch of meatballs if all of them didn't fit in the first batch.

Remove fron skillet, serve, and enjoy.

Basic Sauteéd Chicken

Chicken is something we eat a lot. Most of the time the chicken is breaded and then either fried or baked because that's easy for me to put together and something the girls will always eat. The downside is that eating breaded chicken gets boring for us adults. The solution to this boredom has been this chicken recipe. It's even easier to make than my go-to breaded chicken recipes and is very tasty with and without the sauce.

Basic Sauteéd  Chicken
Source: Catherine Newman on Family.com

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts sliced thin
1 pinch kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup dry white wine, or just use 1 cup chicken broth or another tasty liquid of your choosing if the wine is going to be too wine-y for your kids

Begin by trimming the chicken breasts if they need trimming. Pat them dry with paper towels (to helps them brown) and sprinkle them with some kosher salt.

Heat a very large pan over medium-high heat and add the butter, which should melt and foam, and the olive oil, which should stop the butter from burning. When the foam subsides, add the chicken breasts in one layer and cook for about 3-5 minutes while the bottom gets crusty and brown.

Use tongs or a spatula to flip them over as they brown, and then cook another 4 or so minutes until the bottom is very brown and the chicken is cooked through.

Pile the chicken on a heat-proof plate and pop it into a 200ºF heated oven while you "deglaze" the pan.

Pour the wine in and scrape with a spatula to dissolve all the browned bits while the wine bubbles and boils furiously in the hot pan. When the wine has cooked down about halfway, add the broth, turn the heat to high, and cook until the sauce seems syrupy. Taste it for salt, then drizzle it over the chicken and serve.

Blue Velvet Cupcakes

For her third birthday Cati requested blue cupcakes with M&Ms. I thought of making plain vanilla cupcakes with blue food coloring but I remembered coming across this Blue Velvet cupcake recipe. The cupcakes came out just as requested and even had a hint of chocolaty flavor to them. My only regret was not having more blue food coloring to give the cupcakes more of a rich blue color.

Blue Velvet Mini-Cupcakes
Source: amyBITES
Yields about 4 dozen mini-cupcakes (halving the recipe creates about 12 standard cupcakes)

2½ cups sifted cake flour
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1½ cups sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 ounces blue food coloring or color of choice
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350. F. Prepare four mini-cupcake pans with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Beat in eggs one at a time. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk. Beat in food coloring and vinegar, then add vanilla.

Using a Tablespoon or small cookie scoop, distribute batter among all mini-cupcake cups. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 pound confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter. Beat in confectioners’ sugar until fluffy. Beat in vanilla.

Fun & Fit: February

February was a great month for fitness events. I started the month with 5K Foam Fest, which was an obstacle run but with lots and lots of foam. After doing Superhero Scramble in January alone and meeting people along the course, I wasn't nervous about doing this run on my own. Foam Fest was the almost the opposite of Superhero Scramble because it was so much more laid back, all the obstacles were manageable, and there were no consequences for not completing an obstacle. And the foam. There was so much of it. My only complaint is that I wanted more obstacles!

The day after Foam Fest I did a 5K, 5K for the Kids. The best part about this run was going with Cati. She is always asking when the next race is and gets pretty upset when I go for runs without her, so I knew that I was overdue for taking her to a run with me. This was probably the best run to do with her too because there was music, a bounce house, free face painting, and toddler attention-grabbing snacks. It's been exactly a month since that run and she still asks me if I remember the race with the face painting. Doing 3:1 intervals while pushing Cati in the stroller, my time was 32:38.

The last run of the month was, by far, the best: Disney's Princess Half Marathon. We drove up to Orlando the Friday before the run, went to expo on that Saturday, and then I ran my heart out Sunday morning. Some people had complained about the expo being really packed on Friday so I am happy we went on Saturday because it was less crowded and overwhelming.  Prior to the race I had read of the importance of corral placement in these runs because most of the people in the first few corrals are running for time and, therefore, won't stop for pictures. Whereas people in the later corrals do stop for pictures, creating longer lines. My goal for expo was to get my corral changed from G (corrals went up to H) to anything better than G. I was so happy that my ING half marathon time of 2:30 was enough to get me bumped up to corral B.

I'm a princess!

Meeting Jeff Galloway

The day of the run was really exciting. Disney goes out of their way to create a truly unique and enjoyable event. The course was great; running through the parks and Cinderella's castle will forever be a favorite memory of mine. Entertainment on the course was fantastic with all the characters and music. Those 13.1 miles didn't feel like 13.1 miles when all was said and done. I had told myself that I would stop for pictures with Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, and Aurora/Sleeping Beauty but I only made one stop because I didn't see any of the other princesses on the course. Even with a five-minute stop for a picture with Belle and two bathroom breaks I managed to beat my ING time and finished this half marathon in 2:25.

The funny story with my time is that Alex was tracking me and Disney estimated me finishing at a certain time, but I finished sooner than expected. By the time Alex, the girls, and my aunt were settled in in the cheering stands, ready to cheer for me based on the estimated time, he got a text  message saying that I had already finished. So they may or may not have seen me actually cross the finish line.

The one thing I kept saying after the run was that a Disney run is the way to go, in terms of overall experience, for a first half marathon. The runs are pricey but the experience is great and the energy pumps you up for a great run.

This month I have a 5K and another half marathon lined up. Have I told you how much I love running?

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie

I love smoothies. Since I started running and working out, smoothies have become a part of my day. My favorite smoothie is this Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie. If you've tried Jamba Juice's Peanut Butter Moo'd, this smoothie tastes like a healthy version of that smoothie. 

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie

1 cup milk
1 banana
1/4 cup vanilla protein
1/4 peanut butter
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup wheat germ
4 ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend, serve, and enjoy!

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

If I could describe things right now in one word it would be overwhelming. A third of the way through the semester and I am still worried about managing it all. Cati broke her collarbone close to four weeks ago and that was scary. Luckily, she is almost 100% healed and I am looking forward to planning the girls a very delayed birthday party. Despite all the feelings of being overwhelmed, I have been in search of moments of happiness that help drive me through the long days. One of those moments came when I made these cookies. Cati helped mix the batter, spoon out dough, and rolled each cookie in powdered sugar. Tantrums were suspended for an hour and I was able to remember how awesome of a kid Cati has become. The tantrums of a three-year old are so much worse than the tantrums of a two-year old and it was wonderful having a moment of clarity and simply being with my daughter. Then, it was great sitting on the floor with her and eating these soft cookies together.

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
Source: Two Peas and their Pod
Yields: 24 cookies

 1 box red velvet cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for rolling the cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and flour. Whisk until clumps disappear. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together cake mix, flour, eggs, oil and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

Take about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough and form into a ball. Roll the ball in powdered sugar until fully coated.

Place cookie dough balls on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are set and cookies begin to crack.

Let cookies sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

Elina: Twelve Months

Dear Elina,

Happy first birthday little bug. Officially, I can say you are a toddler now, but in many ways you are still a baby. Or at least you still feel and look like a baby to me because I see the two-year difference between your sister and you everyday. There is so much she can do, think, and say that you cannot yet. For as much as I complain about time having passed too quickly with you (it has), I should also say that I have been able to appreciate your baby-ness.

The greatest lesson you have taught me over this past year is that I can actually enjoy being a mother to both a newborn and a young infant. It took becoming a mother a second time and being your mother for me to realize that new motherhood does not have to be scary or traumatic. For that, I thank you. Being your mother has been filled with redemption and has been an opportunity for me to make peace with the dark shadows of my experience of the early days with Cati. In a way, you gave me closure and, again, I thank you. You have freed me.

I spent some time today looking through pictures and I was shocked by the clarity in which I remember the context of every photograph. The pictures of your first year of life are nowhere near as numerous as those of your sister's, but the ones I do have are more purposeful. Perhaps the reality is that I was more present during this time with you and needed less pictures and I needed more pictures of your sister because I felt like I was roaming around in the fog until she was about nine months old. Who knows? Just remember that it is not about the number of pictures, but the content and meaning of those pictures.

What struck me the most about looking through the pictures was how much you have changed. Your sister has basically had the same face since she was four months old, but not you. I look at the pictures and know it is you because of the features, but if I did not know better, I would think you a different baby. Your face has elongated and thinned out and you have become more petite and pixie-like. You have always been a beautiful baby, but you have gotten prettier with age.

This past month you have gone from taking steps to walking. You have become more expressive and have shown us how much you do understand even without words. You have turned into the most affectionate and cuddly baby and I live for those hugs and big wet kisses. You have truly come to enjoy your sister’s company: every morning you wake up and immediately go to the corner or your crib to look out for her, you love to lay down on her, and oftentimes you are her little shadow. The feeling is mutual too and my favorite memory from this month was one night when we were driving home and, not able to reach you with her hand, Cati reached out to you with her foot. The giggles that escaped both your mouths were the most beautiful sounds. Seeing the love you two have for one another feels like the greatest accomplishment I can make as a parent.

This past year we went on a journey together. We have both grown and changed. You have made me a better person just by letting me be your mother. I have seen you go from being a helpless newborn to a happy toddler with spunk. I knew if I could make it through this year with you, we would be set for life. There will be more difficulties, challenges, and changes ahead, but it was this first year together that scared me the most. We both did it. I need to take this lesson from both of you to heart: you both trust me with your lives, so I should start trusting in myself too.

Thank you Elina-bug for this past year. For choosing me to be your mother and your imperfect guide through this imperfect world.

Love always,

Mami 

Three.

It's an hour past Cati's birthday, February 14. My oldest "baby" has turned three and I find myself struggling with time. I want it to freeze, speed up, jump forward, jump backward. More than anything, I just want to feel like it's not slipping past me. I can still remember the day of Cati's birth and can still feel the raw pain of those first few months with her. I remember the joy I felt when she rolled for the first time, spoke for the first time, walked for the first time. I have all these fragments, these memories, that I can vividly recall and yet years have passed by and I am still left numb with the sensation that I missed something. Or worse, I did not enjoy something enough. The older my children get, the more bittersweet the milestone will be. Birthdays are those twilight days where one foot is stuck in the past and the other foot is ready to approach the future. On Cati's third birthday I looked at pictures from the past year. My, how she's changed and grown! I also, however, began to wonder about the future; what changes await us? How much will she change in the year to come? And again, time, you tricky thing. You've created a day where I struggle with staying present, with simply enjoying and celebrating not just a birthday but a birthgiving day.

Happy third birthday sweet Catarina. The past three years with you have been a beautiful journey, from newbornness to unprompted I love yous. Please forgive your mom for making a wonderful thing like your birthday this profound, philosophical event. Here's to continuing this journey together and to lots of cake along the way.