Busy Busy

Some of my favorite characters

Perfectly portioned with an ice cream scoop
Boom: Chocolate Chip and Awesome Oatmeal
Ready for the Bake Sale
Rollin' Out
The "Thin" part of "Thin Mints"
Thin Mints
Putting the Peanut Butter in the PB Surprise Cookies
Bye Bye Peanut Butter
Fourth Cookie: Done

Lots of work but lots of fun.  Recipes are forthcoming!

Paula Deen, the Queen of Butter and Cream Cheese

With all the recent hubbub around Paula, I would like to be able to say how I feel about the situation.  Paula has never told anyone to eat her food every single day of the week.  Every one knows that moderation is key.  She creates recipes that are available as a resource but never told anyone that it is a great idea to make her recipes on a daily basis.  Any intelligent person would know that her recipes should be used for special occasions.

Yes, Paula Deen does have diabetes.  She also admitted on Dr. Oz that she has given in to the bad habit of smoking cigarettes over the years.  Does this make her a terrible woman…no.  It makes her a perfect example of a human being.  No one is perfect.  While she may be overweight and has quite a few vices, she is a strong woman who has overcome many obstacles in her life.  Maybe we should applaud her for those instead of spending time criticizing her.  She never hid the fact that she had diabetes…it’s just not something that comes up in conversation.  Our medical history is our personal information.  If she wants to eat what she eats and take medication that is her decision. I’m not saying it makes sense that she represent a drug company for diabetic medication since she might not be the greatest patient, but after all it was a business decision.  Would you really turn down money for doing something as easy as being a spokeswoman?

In the long run, Paula might have taken a small hit but she will only come out stronger.  Here’s one of my favorite recipes to honor her fantastic contribution to the culinary world.

Paula’s Butter Cake

Cake -1 box yellow cake mix, 1 egg, 1 stick butter (melted)

Filling – 8oz cream cheese, 2 eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 stick butter (melted), 16 oz. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 13 x 9 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Cake…Mix all cake ingredients together. Scrape batter into pan and smooth out.

3. Filling…Beat room temperature cream cheese until smooth with electric mixer.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add melted butter and beat.  Add powdered sugar slowly (1/2 cup at a time).  Beat well so it becomes fluffy.  Spread filling on top of cake mixture.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes.  The center should be gooey.

V-Day Treat

Every once in a while I need a treat.  A Rice Krispie treat that is.  They’re so unique and light and sweet.  A perfect vacation from normal cookies.  For Valentine’s day I decided to make them in muffin tins so they were perfectly sized, and festive with Valentine’s day muffin cups.  I also threw in some pink sprinkles right before I portioned them out (not too early so the sprinkles didn’t bleed).

It’s the typical recipe:

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 1 bag of marshmallows
  • 6 cups of Rice Krispies
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

  1. Heat up a pot on the stove, and melt the butter.
  2. Add in the marshmallows and the vanilla and stir until all of the marshmallows are melted. (sometimes I’ll add a few spoonfuls of peanut butter)
  3. Turn heat to low and add the Rice Krispies a couple cups at a time.  And add sprinkles if desired.
  4. Stir until well mixed and portion into muffin cups or a brownie pan.  Allow to cool completely before removing from cups or pan.

In my world it’s finals week, so here’s what my valentines look like this year:

Happy Valentine’s Day!