Chocolate Chip Pie Stuffed with Smores!!

This was brought on due to one of my many Pinterest "adventures". I saw this for a GIANT SMORES STUFFED COOKIE and I of course had to try it! While reading the comments I saw someone mention doing this as bars so I figured why not try a pie!?

CHOCOLATE CHIP PIE STUFFED WITH SMORES
1 package of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
1 cup of Mini Chocolate Chips
1 cup of Marshmallows
Graham Crakers

*In this recipe I used the Mallow Bits but refer to the end of this post to see how well it works with regular marshmallows! YUM!!

Asparagus Wrapped in Bacon

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe! At least it feels like it.

I've been addicted to broccoli and cheese for a while now. I picked up some asparagus the last time I was at the store to get try some other things. Well .. once I got home I was clueless as how I could spruce it up. So I turned to Pinterest, obviously, and saw something similar to this. I also saw something last Thanksgiving at a friend's dinner party but she had used green beans. So with the help of Pinterest and her dish, this is what happens.


ASPARAGUS WRAPPED IN BACON
24 Stems of Asparagus
8 Pieces of Bacon
Olive Oil
Salt
Garlic Pepper

Down at the Boardwalk!

Back on the 20th of May, I decided to take the kids to the boardwalk. We didn't stay long because of the heat, BUT what we did squeeze in was a blast!


The view from the parking garage!


We've been coming here for over 10 years .. I just love the look of all the rides!


One of these days we'll remember to bring change to actually LOOK out those things!




The WATER!!

End of the Year!

This past Friday I was able to go and join in on the fun of the end of school year activities. I have never really been able to do these things in the past due to work or things of the such. The kids are finishing up 2nd grade and this year they had a day packed of all kinds of fun.

First was a book signing! All of the children in the 2nd grade became published writers. They were able to write a story on how they have shown a random act of kindness to someone (or on about half the stories how someone has shown a random of act of kindness to them). The kids were able to sit with their classmates as the parents went around and had the kids sign next to their story. We were encouraged to get all the kids from our child's class and then if we wanted, linger on to the other children. Well as expected, I had 3 classes to go to so I seriously got about 60% of the 2nd grade class' signatures. :)


May I have your autograph?

Then right after they had an awards ceremony. Now in the kids' previous school they had an awards ceremony every 9 weeks. It included awards in all sorts of different categories. A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from 2 out of 3 teachers stating the kids won an award and they would have a ceremony. I went and all they were awarding was for fairness.



I found it odd, but just shrugged it off. Apparently they saved the big award ceremony for the end of the school year. They had all the kids sit on the stage and as they called on which kid won, they would stand and once the category ended we'd all clap and they'd sit. It was interesting, and I was glad all three got an award! It would have been heartbreaking had someone missed out. One of the awards was for perfect attendance!! I was shocked because I was for certain everyone had missed a day. I guess my girl beat out the boys and was healthy all year round!



The day just kept going. After all of that it was time for a picnic!! Hot dogs, chips & cookies. What a way to end the school year, and kick start the holiday weekend.



The kids were stoked about it all, had I brought Baby J, that would have been icing on the cake for them. But I couldn't pass up the fact that he was sound asleep and that would have left me hands free for the couple of hours I was there.

So the end of the school year is here and I now have three third graders! ... WOW!

Wordless Wednesday : Celebrating My First Birthday

I figured with my birthday next week, we'd take a look back at my 1st! ;)

I Swore I'd Never ...

So the question was put out there by Mama Kat's Writing Workshop .. "Name something you swore you'd never do when you had kids, but now find yourself doing." Here's a few things.

1. I always swore that two was the max.


Well we all know how THAT one turned out.

2. I would never dress my kids the same.


But they just looked so cute!

3. I would not let my boys play with dolls.


I guess there wasn't enough toys to play with that Christmas morning.

4. I would never cut my daughter's hair short.


She got lucky that was the shortest it ever got. I on the other hand .. was not.

5. I would not let my kids be dragged around and have their picture taken in the wildflowers.


I guess this is a battle I'll never win.

Also! Find me and other mothers of multiples linking up every Monday over at Multiples Monday.

A Picking We Will Go!

I remember, when I was a kid, a family friend taking us to go and pick strawberries. I don't remember it very well, but definitely have the faint memory of us bending over a bush and picking. A week or so ago while on Facebook, I saw a friend's pictures of her family at a local fruits and vegetable farm. After I saw this, I was determined to go.

Yesterday, I woke up early in excitement to go. And of course it being the weekend, so were the kids. I was so excited I was dreaming about it! But I dreamed it was raining and we didn't get to go! Yikes, glad that didn't happen. I forgot I had invited my sister, so after waiting at out local McDonald's for about 2 hours, we were READY to go!!

The fields were located right behind this little store. After going in, and being greeted by DELICIOUS samples of their homemade smoked sausage we headed towards the back. After purchasing a bucket and going over the rules, we were free to go.



The strawberries were beautiful. I'm used to seeing them in the store, where they're about to go bad and have bad spots. These we're just perfect.



There were just rows and rows full of the bushes. It seemed never ending.



And like I said before they had a little store in front. I'm guessing this was like a farmer's market type store, hint the name "fruit & vegetable farm" haha. I wish I was able to browse some more, everything looked so delicious. Huge onions, homemade fried pies, chocolate covered almonds & raisins .. Even a smokehouse just right next door.


Excuse the nail polish! I got smart and tested a polish on my thumb .. have yet to make the effort to clean it off. haha

This was a great way to spend the Sunday. Had I known my mother had the day off, it would've been a full family event.

Happy Earth Day!

I'm not real big into nature and all that jazz. I only say this because when you're from Houston it goes from "winter" straight to summer and so we don't get the chance to experience spring. Going outside to enjoy ANYTHING is impossible without having a heat stroke or getting bit by mosquitoes.

Well today, I decided to do a little something special for Earth Day. My kids have been counting down the days and constantly reminding me the day will be approaching. So I figured, why not? If I could have found my keys in a timely manner, the day would have been awesome. I was ready to leave about 9:30/10:00 and the weather outside was GREAT! About 65 degrees and a breeze, buuut we didn't head out 'til noon.

So everyday I pass by this place with a sign that says "Nature Center". I never think anything of it, but knew it'd be a great place to take the kids today. Basically all it is is a pathway, that probably equals out to a mile, where you can walk and enjoy the trees, some flowers and such. I personally would have liked it more had the trail been more manicured and maybe even a garden or something, but the kids loved it.



After walking for a bit, we came up to this sign that said "Bird Blind". Blind? What?

"Viewing blinds provide the chance to observe different species of birds without disturbing them."

So we go off the path into a more beaten up walkway and then come up to a board with holes. I have never seen such a thing. It was just a way to hide yourself and see everything. Had there been birds, I think that would have been a sight!



After a few more bird blinds, we decided to take the "Loop Path". Bad.Idea. This was a path OUTSIDE the wooded area. Another beaten up walk way that seemed to last forever. Friday, we got a full day of rain, so along this path there were still some puddles and such. You can add the mosquitoes now. Outside of the shade and with the tall grass and puddles it was just so muggy. See this is why I don't like nature. But we did see a bee on a flower and the kids gushed how that the bee was gathering its nectar. And then they saw random berry like things and the middle of the three had to let everyone know that it was "poisonous".



All in all, besides my Debbie Downer "It's too hot, why am I walking?" the kids had a great time .. ENJOYING NATURE!

Even this little one. :)

Rain!!

Over the summer, here in Houston, we were breaking records of consecutive days in the triple digits. Along with the insane temperatures we also were in the middle of a drought. A given right?

Well finally MONTHS later, we're starting to see strange things falling from the sky on a regular basis. Oh wait! That's RAIN!! It rained a good portion of Christmas weekend and we've seen off and on showers, but this is finally icing on the cake.


You like my new pond? :)

Writer's Workshop

THE PROMPT
Draw a picture that represents one of your most recent tweets & share it with us.

So PINTERESTING + Recipe

The most easiest, creative way to cook cinnamon rolls?!


SNAGGED FROM PINTEREST

In the WAFFLE IRON! I saw this on pinterest and gave the computer screen the "are you joking me?" look. I tried this out two days ago. I am not even kidding you, that was the fastest I've ever seen ANY cinnamon roll cooked. LOVE it. My kids loved the fact they got a waffle that was a cinnamon roll. And I'm serious! SO EASY! Heat up your waffle iron, place the cinnamon rolls, close the lid and viola!

Also, while on pinterest. I found a recipe for a BUTTERFINGER PIE I love me some butterfingers, but did not have any on hand. So I had to come up with something. Then I had this bright idea ... I have tons of candy canes .. let's use that!

So here, my friends, is a Candy Cane pie!! So good!

CANDY CANE PIE
12oz of Whipped Cream
8oz of Cream Cheese
8 Candy Canes, crushed
Premade pie crust



How easy is this you say?

All you do is mix the ingredients, add it to the crust, smooth it out and let it chill.


YOU'RE DONE!!!

Now a confession! When I ate the first piece, and I was biting into candy canes, every other bite, I thought "oh great!" :/ BUT after I left it in the fridge over night, the candy cane bits had pretty much dissolved and I had me a peppermint-y yummy pie without all the chunks.

So tell me what will your Christmas breakfast and dessert consist of!? ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

widdlytinks.com

We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Stay safe and eat LOTS of Turkey!! ;)
To everyone and yours! Have a happy holiday!

- Jen & Family

Wordless Wednesday - Beautiful Day for the Park

Happy Halloween!

From SOUTHERN-AMOR we wish all of y'all a safe weekend during all the festivities! And have a Happy & SAFE Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday - Halloween Woes

I know this is "WORDLESS" but I have to set the scene ..
His Superman costume had a miniature fan to blow up his muscles. He wouldn't go around with it on, until I made him so I could get a picture. And then he would say "I'm fat!"

Ancho Chile Shrimp Soup

While stumbling upon ... well STUMBLE UPON haha, I found this recipe for a shrimp soup.

Hubby has been a tad obsessed with soups lately and Sunday has been branded "Seafood Day" (not really, but it sure does seem like it!) so I figured, when I found myself awake early this morning, I would go out and get the things for this. My only fall back, considering I know little-to-nothing about cooking, was not knowing the difference between ancho chile powder and chili powder. I stood in the seasoning aisle of my local grocery store, just staring down the spices for a good ten minutes. So I grabbed the chili powder in hopes it wouldn't really make a difference and while I was at it, grabbed the ancho chile pepper.

This soup is so delish! I'll be posting the normal recipe, but I tweaked a bit to make a tad more.

ANCHO CHILE SHRIMP SOUP
womansday.com


1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
2 peeled carrots, sliced 1/4” thick wheels
1 green bell pepper, diced 1/2”
1 yellow zucchini, sliced 1/2” thick rounds
1 green zucchini sliced 1/2” thick rounds
3 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp ancho chile powder
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes in juice
8 C chicken broth
1/2 C corn kernals
1 lb Shrimp, peeled



Now first thing's first, considering I wasn't working with ready made chicken broth, while chopping up the veggies, I put a pot on and for every 2 cups of water I used one cube of chicken bouillon. I brought the water to a boil and let it simmer, til the cubes dissolved. I set it aside and got to working from the beginning.

First, I take my pot and drizzle in the olive oil. I take the first batch of ingredients (the veggies) and brown 'em up a bit.



After 2-3 minutes, I go ahead and pour in my seasonings (I ended up adding some of that ancho chile pepper in there, along with the salt), tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat.



Let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Once the veggies are slightly tender, bring it back to a boil and throw in the shrimp and corn. This next step won't take that long. After about 3 minutes, or once the shrimp have gone pink. Once your shrimp is cooked thoroughly you may serve!



Hubby loved it with diced onions & jalapenos and squeezed lime.

I tell you, I just loved eating the veggies and the actual soup itself. All day I was making myself little bowls of it. Yummy!

As of Yesterday ...