I was hit!

I have known Cupcake Cowgrrl for a few years now, we have met on occasion but mostly we have connected through blogging. Through our love of being crafty, baking and photography.  I have to say that Cupcake Cowgrrl surpasses me on all levels, but if we had met when I had no kids and lots of free time, I would like to think that we would have been fast friends.  Hanging out at a pub, enjoying a beer and talking about our next crafty project.

I have watched Cupcake Cowgrrl bake for a few years now, admired all the cupcakes she has displayed on her blog and even tried a few icing recipes. But, I had never tasted one of her cupcakes, just admired from afar and hoped that one day I would get the chance to taste one.

Then on Monday Cupcake Cowgrrl was tweeting about having the fixings for some lavender infused blackberry cupcakes.   Or something to that effect.  I told her she was free to drop some off for me, totally joking of course.  Well she decided that I should be hit with her Random Act of Cupcakes and delivered a sweet box of deliciousness right to my door.

The Random Act of Cupcakes started at the beginning of the summer, I think and she has been spreading her love of cupcakes and baking around for others to enjoy. I was so thankful to be a recipient.  Believe me when I say, they are so much tastier than they look.  These are just photos, but honestly they are like little bites of Heaven and I am so thankful that I was hit

Thank you Cupcake Cowgrrl!

Not sure about all of you, but when we go on vacation we not only enjoy our favorite beach and the wonderful ocean, but we also enjoy all our favorite treats.  And by treats I mean we had two weeks of all our favorite foods and then some.  We ate pizza, ice cream, frozen yogurt, beer, french fries, chocolate, chips … and the list could go on and on and on…

I also realized this year that when you walk with small children that aren’t in a stroller you don’t burn off as many calories as you do when you can walk as fast as you want.  Apparently our years of walking the boards fast and burning off all our treats are gone for now.

When we returned home, I was not happy with myself at all.  I hate to admit it, but I was feeling a little chubby and after working so hard all Spring to decrease the chub I was pretty mad. The good news is that I had been chosen to participate in the Mom Central Under-Way blog tour.  Mom Central seems to know what I need when I need it and a week after coming home from the beach a box arrived at the door.

In it were samples of the underWAY supplement drink.  I was quite excited to try these out as they are infused with HeroFiber and heart-healthy vitamins, works naturally to suppress your appetite and quench your thirst. And boy did I need help suppressing my appetite.  In two short weeks I became very accustom to extra snacks, well extra, ha,  I snacked pretty much all day long. underWay is great!  I received four bottles of grape and four of acai-pomegranate and you wouldn’t know by taste that they were healthy supplement drinks. At just 20 calories per bottle I didn’t mind having a bottle in between my glasses of water.  And since they are great for rehydration I made sure to have one after my run.

Here are a few extra benefits of underWay drinks:

• there are no preservatives, sodium or caffeine
• one serving delivers almost a third of your daily recommended intake of fibre
• only has 10 calories and 2 grams of carbs per 8oz serving (each bottle is two servings)

In addition to the eight bottles of underWay, I also received a case of samples of Smart for Life products.  There were cookies, cupcakes, crunch, cereal, soup, bagels and shakes.  And WOW!  I was only asked to try the product and let you know what I thought.   But, I went one step further.  In my case I had enough product for five days of the Smart for Life Cookie Diet so I decided to give it a try and see what the results would be. In five days I lost 7lbs.

Now, I know that a couple (ok three) of those pounds were from the beach but the other four were ones that I wanted gone before I left for the beach. But, that was enough for me to tell that it is certainly worth a try.  In addition to losing 7lbs, I felt fantastic.  I chose to not be too strict on myself for my dinners, so I ate the Smart for Life products (with lots of water) all day long as directed then I ate dinner with the family.  I tried not to eat many carbs but didn’t make it super strict. Fabulous.  The cookies and cupcakes were great, they are moist and tasty and I was totally surprised.  So surprised that I went to Costco on Saturday and bought a case of cookies and a case of drinks so I could keep it up for the next week and see what happened.  Either way they are a great meal replacement or low-calorie dessert at only 90 calories for a cookie or muffin.

And as an added bonus, I get to give TEN of my readers a case, courtesy of Mom Central,  just like the one I received (which apparently I forgot to take a picture of) so you too could try out underWAY and Smart for Life.  All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me why you would like to try underWAY or Smart for Life products and you will be entered to win. Contest open to Canadian residents only (sorry to my friends from the South).Readers may enter the contest on multiple blogs but are only eligible to win once as part of the underWAY blog tour contest. Contest closes August 4th.

Disclosure - I am participating in the underWAY program by Mom Central on behalf of Better Health Beverage, LLC. I received a gift card as a thank you for my participation.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

Apple Dip

1 pkg Cream Cheese

1/4c Brown Sugar

1/2c Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Crushed Scor Pieces

Mix together first four ingredients with a hand blender. Stir in Skor pieces.

I made this last night for Book Club and it was such a hit that I thought I would share it with you all.  Enjoy!

With all the running around we had last week, playing hooky and enjoying fun with cousins things around here seem pretty quiet today.  Except of course for the cough J has and the ringing in my ears that I may have to see the Doctor about tomorrow.

I just couldn’t go another day without sharing my chocolate adventure with you.  On Saturday night, I was pleased to be one of the Yummy Mummy’s that was able to attend a Chocolate Demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu  on Laurier. I was finally able to meet Loukia and Rebecca in real life and they are both just as sweet as I imagined them to be, it seems like we have known each other forever yet only just met. I was too sick to attend many of the other events that were going on, but there was no way I was going to miss this.  And we did make it to Snowflake Kingdom on Sunday, only running into two other Yummy Mummy’s.

But, Saturday afternoon, it was all about the chocolate.

I would like to introduce you to Chef Christian Faure MOF.  He is an exquisite demonstrator.  He was fun and willing to share his secrets on making chocolates.  I have to admit that I used to make chocolates, but I would make the ganache and then dip them.  This was all about the mold and WOW! If I can send the children out to their Grandma’s for an afternoon  I will make some of these up.  Although I guess if I am prepared properly I could do it during a naptime, but I think that the kids would be wanting all the chocolate. I have always wanted to attend classes at Le Cordon Bleu and after just this one demonstration, I am sure I will be asking for classes as gifts for the next few birthdays and Christmases.

Chef Christian started with this…

Some of the finest chocolate, good just like this if you want, but wait until you add a little of this…

This is a caramel filling.  There was also Pistachio Cream and Ice Wine Ganache. And may I say, they were divine.  Chef Christian also showed us how to make a flower and some bowls with some very simple techniques.  And if I had only known it was this simple, I would have done it a long time ago.

Now excuse me while I go help Hubby fix the treadmill, I am going to be needing it very soon.

Last night I received the most delicious treat from a girlfriend of mine for Christmas.  My girlfriend lives in the Cayman Islands right now and I only wish we could make it there for a visit, but for now we share emails and phone calls and we get to visit when she comes home to see her Mom.  And while we are complaining of -20C temperatures, she is feeling the heat, sometimes too much to bear, but I still love her.

Now to tell you of this fabulous treat.   The courier handed me the most  beautiful little box.

And inside this little green box are the most delicious handmade chocolates, I have ever tasted.

A little map of their chocolates.

Now, look at this!

And if you think they look beautiful, just imagine how they melt in your mouth.  It was killing me to take these photos, and not gobble them all down in one shot.  However, they are not gobbling kinds of chocolates, they are cup of tea (or coffee) chocolates, where one is all you need to last you a little while.  They are chocolates to savour and enjoy.  They are Koko Chocolates.  A local (to Ottawa) company.  I loved them so much that I called immediately this morning to see where I could get some for my Mom’s stocking.  Unfortunately she is finished her Christmas chocolate batch, but there is a special little coffee shop that I love that carries little 3 packs, so I will be over there to pick up a couple tonight. Mmmm….

And yes, this truly was a little bite of Heaven.

p.s. I have tasted two more since I photographed these chocolates this morning and am still floating on a cloud.

For supper last night, I was feeling a little uninspired.  We have been eating the same stuff for quite a while and it was chilly and Fall like.  Add to that the soup recipes that I was reading over, I really didn’t know what to make (Hubby, A and J all don’t eat soup).

I had a bunch of random ingredients and realized that I could pull together a pretty quick pot pie.

Here is what I had:

• two chicken breasts
• cheddar cheese
• cream of potato soup
• a box of stuffing
• a bag of frozen veggies

Here is what I did:

1. cubed and cooked the chicken
2. microwaved the frozen veggies for 5 min. to take out the chill.
3. grated the cheese.
4. mixed the chicke, veggies, cheese and can of soup together in a caserole dish.
5. sprinkled the stuffing (prepared as per package directions) over top.
6. Baked at 350F for 30 min.

And boy did it taste good.  I even had enough for leftovers at lunch today.

The time of year has arrived.

Gone are the skinny salads and cool dinners replaced by warm comforting soups and mega carbs.

I am trying to be ok with that as soup keeps me going in the cold winter months.

And thankfully Apple loves soup as much as I do.

I do have a few recipes that are waistline friendly, but if any of you have a favourite soup that is delicious and low in the calorie count please pass it along.  I promise to make it at least once to try out (unless it is Pumpkin Soup, I have tried that once and something about eating pie for lunch just didn’t work for me).

Thank you, my waistline will thank you more.

The last month has just flown by and I have so many stories to share.  But, the biggest thing occupying my mind right now is the fact that J is going back to school.  And not just wimpy half day Kindergarten where they get to play and play and play some more.  This is the real deal.

Tonight marked a milestone for me, I made J’s first lunch for school. I am sure there is way too much in his lunch box, but I would be just devastated if he were at all hungry during the day.   Our school is part of the balanced school day program.  Instead of two recesses with snack and one lunch break they have two longer nutrition breaks.  One around 10am and the other around 1pm.  So J has basically two lunches.  I tried to cover all the food groups in addition I baked his favourite oatmeal cookies, a little love from Mama.

Tomorrow morning will mark milestones for both J and I.  He will be gone all day long, learning from somebody else. A big deal for both of us and poor little Apple, what is she going to do without her brother all day long?  I am guessing that tomorrow will be a long, long day.

On the last night of our beach vacation we strolled through one of our favourite bookshops, Browseabout Books, Hubby went one way with Apple and I went the other with J. I was browsing the wonderful paper products and home decor section (all beachy) and Hubby went straight for the books. Not a few minutes into our visit, Hubby was at my side. “Honey, there is an Author over on the book side, signing books, they look like those number ones you love, come and see she is packing up to go.”

When Hubby makes a statement like that, I am off and running. I got to the table and thought I was looking at Ann Douglas and almost hugged the poor woman, only to take a double take and realize that I had never met her before. Nor, had I heard of her books before, but just looking at the covers I knew I was in for a treat.

Standing beside me was Mary Kay Andrews. Mary Kay was there for her new release, The Fixer Upper. Having never read her books before, I asked if I should be starting with a certain book or not. Mary Kay was so sweet, instead of saying of course not and put her new book in my hand, she asked me a few questions and let me handle a couple of the books and recommended, Little Bitty Lies.

ETA:  Just a note about how sweet Mary Kay was, J was left at my side to pick out a toy to buy with money his Great Aunt gave him and he was doing the “this one Mommy??” dance.  Mary Kay just went with the flow and started chatting with J, noticing his blue eyes and blonde hair and did he have fun at the beach.  All the good stuff, yes she is just that sweet.

Perfect. From the minute I started reading, I just didn’t want to put it down. For a whole week while I read each night before bedtime, Hubby was begging me to put down my book and turn off the light. Usually I read for a half an hour to an hour, but going on two hours and approaching 11pm, Hubby was seriously having his sleep disturbed. But, it was so worth it. Without giving anything away, I want to say that Little Bitty Lies was the perfect summer read. I was able to really get into the characters and I even found myself trying to figure out the plot twists before they happened. I just loved it and am looking forward to starting another book this week.

I also want to share with you a little recipe that kept my mouth watering all week long, until I finally caved and made it. My girlfriends and I polished off half of it at a picnic on Friday and Hubby and I polished off the other half for supper. Oh so delicious.

Let me know if you decide to make it, it is just that good.

Beyond the Grave Chicken Salad - found on Mary Kay Andrews site.

5 lbs. chicken breasts
2 quarts water
parsley sprigs
1 large onion, quartered
1 tsp. seasoned salt
2 chicken bouillion cubes

In large pot, bring water and seasoning to boil, add chicken, lower heat and simmer 40 min. Remove from heat, cool. Shred chicken and refrigerate.Dressing:

1/2 cup bottled Italian salad dressing
1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. celery seed
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
dash paprika

Blend well together.For salad:

Toss shredded chicken with one cup of dressing and let stand at least one hour to marinate.
Combine remaining dressing with:
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp. honey
Add to chicken and mix well. May add canned water chestnuts, blanched almonds or chopped pecans.

If you were turning 92, wouldn’t you love it if your Grand Daughter asked her friend to bake you a yummy cake because she herself lived in the Cayman Islands and couldn’t be there with you?

That is exactly what I did today.  Dropped off this wonderful Moist Almond Cake with Dessert Wine Syrup (Donna Hay - Food and Wine Magazine - Issue 9) to a very greatful 92 year old woman.  Apple and I surprised her and her husband this morning with Birthday wishes and a cake that is so yummy I cannot even tell you.  Well I can, but I won’t bake one for myself right now because it is so not good for my waistline.

I know it meant so much to them that their Grand Daughter planned ahead and thought of them, even though she lives so far away.  My girlfriend is very good at this, she has asked me to drop off a few things now for her Mom and Grand Parents and I really think that it makes a huge difference.  Even though she couldn’t be here herself she made sure that her love for them was known by going that extra little bit and having me drop off something homemade with love and care just for them.  And you know what, they all love having visitors, so if I swing by with my kids or even by myself then it just makes their day a little extra special.  If they can’t have their Grand Daughter there, at least they had a visit with someone who knows and loves her and is the same age.

I should also add that my Girlfriend and I have known each other since 7th grade, so it isn’t like I am a stranger showing up with baked goods.

Happy 92nd Oma!