The circle of life is ironic sometimes. My Circle of Life Blog, is a place where I share my life experiences as a woman, a wife and a Mommy to a preschooler (girl) and a new baby boy.
Multi-Testing Mommy puts products for babies, children, parents and mommies to the test.
I am changing up my blogs and for now, I will not be using this blog.
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A mini-circle lunch!
Mini carrots in slices, mini cucumber circles, mini sugar snap pea bits and mini circle sandwiches (bread, cheese and kielbasa).
I used an apple corer to cut the mini circles out!
I wanted to post about a really cool Carnival that you should definitely check out!
Michelle hosts it every Monday!
IF I get my act together, I'll have a post over at my Circle of Life blog.
The bunny and I made these cupcakes last week on a rainy day together.
At first, she commented that she really wasn't going to like them because they had zucchini in them and she doesn't like zucchini. When I asked her to trust me, she agreed to try one and she LOVED them! They really are delish!
I found the recipe in one of my Martha Stewart Food Magazines...
Sweet Zucchini Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional--I didn't use them)
1 zucchini, coarsely grated (1 1/2 cups)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cups of a standard (12-cup) muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in nuts (I didn't use nuts).
In another bowl, combine zucchini, oil, eggs, and vanilla; add to flour mixture, and mix just until combined (do not overmix).
Divide batter evenly among cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
Cool in tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes; turn cupcakes out, right side up, and cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Makes enough for 12 cupcakes
4 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter (I didn't have unsalted, so I used salted and it worked out just fine)
4 ounces room-temperature bar cream cheese
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
1. In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract; beat until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 day.
This Sweet and Sour Chicken is amazing and it is rather easy to make. It is healthier than Chinese Take-Out yet is equivalent in taste, just about!
Chicken Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Directions
Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a baking dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.
Sauce Ingredients
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Directions
Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. If you like extra sauce, make another batch of sauce and bring it to a boil on the stove top. Stir constantly and let cook over medium heat until thickened and reduced - about 6-8 minutes.
After I put the kids to bed (on the nights where both of them actually go to bed at the same time), I often remain upstairs for a bit to tidy up, fold and put away laundry and to make sure that Little Man is actually down for the "night" (the whole 2 hours or so that he goes down for).
While I'm upstairs, I often turn on the tv to the Food Network, a channel that I frequent quite often (in small spurts, as there really is no plot so if I miss a few minutes, it's not the end of the world)--as a side note, I don't watch adult tv during the day EVER in front of the kids (I know that many people think that is what SAHMs do and some do, I'm sure--no criticism from me, I just want to put it on record that I don't. If I'm nursing and Little Man is asleep, I will watch tv or if he won't settle at night, I will bring him downstairs and hold him in my arms while we watch tv....anyhow, I digress.
The show that is often on while I am upstairs is Chef at Home--my husband and I call him the friendly giant. He really is such a soft spoken man, but at the same time he is HUGE with a manly demeanor...oh, I can't explain it.
So, on Thursday night, he made Apple Pie Oatmeal with Almond Foam.
The bunny loves oatmeal, so I decided to try it and oh my, it sure is a decadent treat in the morning!
Here's how I did it:
1 cup oatmeal (large flake)
a bit more than 2 cups of milk
1 tsp brown sugar
a good shake of cinnamon
1 cubed apple (I will do skin off from now on)
Combine and bring to a simmer in a pot on the stove (the old fashioned way, unlike the way we usually make it--in the microwave). Beware, milk burns quite easily and does make a nasty scum on the bottom of your pot! Some good old baking soda will help you clean up after making this.
Simmer for a few minutes until nice and thick. Let stand for a few minutes.
In the mean time, heat up some milk (I used the microwave for this one) with a splash of vanilla extract. Use a frother (or if you have a cappuccino machine, froth the milk) and scoop out the frothed milk on top of the oatmeal. What a treat! I could have almost convince my four year old that the frothed milk was whipped cream!
Honestly, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to have the microwaved version again.
MTM's Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter (room temp)
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
In electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla - beat until combined. Add flour, baking powder until smooth. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap - store in fridge for approximately 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll out and cut dough on floured surface - Put cookies back into fridge for 10-15 minutes to prevent spreading. Bake cookies for 10 minutes or so (depends on size of cookie).
Royal Icing
With electric mixer, beat 4 cups sifted icing sugar and 3 tbsp meringue powder until combined. Add 1/2-3/4 cup warm water and beat on med-high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5-7 min). Add 1/2 tsp vanilla or almond extract if desired. Add more icing sugar as needed. Proper consistency is when you lift the beater and the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for a few seconds before disappearing.
Instead of using food colouring, you could try one of these natural ingredients. I will say up front that I have never tried them, but I am truly curious.
Light Purple - Small Quantity of Purple Grape Juice
Violet Blue - Small Quantity of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
Blue - Canned Blueberries, Red Cabbage Leaves (boiled), Purple Grape Juice
Green - Spinach Leaves (boiled)Grass
Yellow - Orange or Lemon Peels (boiled), Carrot Tops (boiled), Ground Cumin (boiled), Ground Turmeric (boiled)
Brown - Strong Coffee Instant Coffee
Orange - Yellow Onion Skins (boiled)
Pink - Beets, Cranberries or Cranberry Juice, Raspberries, Red Grape Juice
Red - Lots of Red Onions Skins (boiled)
