The Cookie Monster

I have a problem.

It's called I have no self control when cookies are around.

Even if it's a variety I don't particularly like I'll eat most of the package all by myself.

Girl Scout cookies?

Heaven help me. I have not bought any for years because I have no self controll. I can eat an entire pack of Thin Mints in t-minus 60 seconds.

No Joke

I can't stop. I eat until I'm sick or the package is gone, which ever comes first.

In an effort to tide this bad habit I decided a few weeks ago that I would no longer buy cookies.

That's it, I was done, no more, sianara.

The only problem with that plan was it left my sweet tooth unquenched.

And that is bad.

So instead of eating cookies I made chocolate cup cakes one day last week, then I made a chocolate cake for book group, not to mention the countless handfuls of chocolate chips I stole from the freezer every day.

And guess what I did today? I made the best cookies I have ever eaten.

Maybe I enjoyed them so much simply because I had not had a cookie in so long, but what ever the reason these babies were killer, I just knew you all would want to try them too.

And the best part is they were made with whole grain flour, rolled oats and no artificial flavors or preservatives. I know you want the recipe.

Well OK, since you asked so nicely.

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup dried cranberries

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Cream first 4 ingredients with electric mixer until well incorporated. Sift dry ingredients together and mix with wet ingredients with mixer until fully incorporated.

Add oats, cranberries, white chocolate and coconut. Mix well.

Drop large spoonfuls on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Do not over cook.

Try not to eat all 12 of them at once.

Freeze remaining dough so you will not eat all of it in one day.

If possible find someone to share them with, like little children, they are way too good not to share!

Happy eating!

It's Not Easy Being Green

St Patrick's Day is upon us. That means temporary green decorations.

I don't want to spend a lot of time on these little holidays, but then again I don't want them to pass unnoticed either. So here is what we are doing at our home.

After Valentine's Day I found a bag of all green M&M's on clearance. I also found a bag of red and silver kisses on clearance. I picked out all the red ones and used the silver for my candy dish.

Guess what we did with the rest?

We made these cute decadent clover treats.

Can I just say chocolate covered pretzels are awesome!

Here's what we did.First we covered a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Then we covered the cookie sheet with a single layer of pretzels and put a Hershey's kiss on each and every pretzel. Then we put them in the oven at 200 degrees until they were all warm and melty and oh so delish.

Then we took them out of the oven and put 3 green M&M's on each kiss. We put them in the fridge until the chocolate set back up. Then we added a line of green frosting to make the stem. The frosting was greener in real life, it looks really light in the picture.
They turned out so cute and ended up being a quick and fun treat for family night.


See how fun they are. Even the backs of them are so cute.

The only problem?

They did not last very long.

But alas, what is a girl without her one true love?

Um, er, that is, her *cough* chocolate.

Happy Mardi Gras

photo by Newlyweds!

I almost forgot today is Mardi Gras!

How could I forget?

Doesn't this king cake look absolutely to die for? I have never tired it, but I think tonight just might be the night.

I love the Mardi Gras beads, heaven knows we have plenty of those hanging around our house.

Photo by realbakingwithrose

And french onion soup is my favorite.

Do you think I'd have mutiny in my kitchen if I tried making this tasty dish for a bunch of kids who hate onions?

You know what? I am going to try it in the name of Mardi Gras. If they don't like it, they can celebrate skinny Tuesday instead!

Now go check out those recipes and start cooking!

Taste the Rainbow

These little candy hearts are my favorite candy.

Except maybe chocolate.

I am sad they are gone until next year.

Except I'm really glad because I have no self control when these are around.

I think I ate 3 entire bags myself.

*eewww*

I still have a tummy ache.

Someday soon I will give up sugar for good, no looking back, like my friend Lara has done.

Someday soon, but not today.

I think of myself as a strong woman in many aspects, but I just don't know if I'm strong enough for that.

Almost, but not quite

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Photo by 11th Heaven Homemaking Haven

So I found this blog through Talk About Tuesday a while ago and I just can't get enough.

This lady has 9 children.

That alone is sheer inspiration.

Plus she comes up with some really yummy and healthy food to feed those 11 mouths.

I have made many of her recipes and love them because she speaks to my whole grain, health nut side.

So remember a while ago when I said I was craving comfort foods this time of year.

Well, this one tops all.

I have a hard time making this and not wanting to eat the entire pan all myself in one sitting.

On a day that is grey and dark and cold, this brings life and sunshine to my world. My kids love it too.

For us though, it is way too sweet for breakfast.

We eat it for that snack between lunch and dinner, you know the one when your blood sugar drops and you feel like you could eat the whole kitchen and it's still 2 hours until dinner time?

We grab some of this tasty and satisfying peanut butter granola with a glass of milk and it does the trick.

It makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.

Of course, I have to change things a little I can not just leave well enough alone. So here is the recipe, which I have tweaked to suit myself and my family.

Try it today, you'll be glad you did.

Peanut Butter Granola

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup natural peanut butter

5 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 raisins or craisins

1/2 cup toasted oat cereal rings (Cheerio's)

2/3 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup milled flax seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine brown sugar, honey, peanut butter, applesauce and vanilla. Mix well. Add the remaining ingredients. Mix to coat all dry ingredients in the yummy peanut butter gooeyness. Taste the dough and try not to eat it all raw. Press in a GREASED cookie sheet (once I forgot to grease the pan and we literally had to chip little bits off at a time, it realllly sticks, in a bad way, and it's no wonder with all that gooey peanut butter happiness in there). Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. You can cut into bars but we just break it into bits and eat it like granola.

P.S. My cookie sheet is huge so I double the recipe and it turns out better, plus we have a harder time eating it all in one sitting and there might be some left for the next day!

Your Love is Better Than Chocolate

My computer has been sick the last week or so, hence the lack of blogging.

I could get on Mr Bird's computer and look, but all my pictures were stuck in mine.

Last night Mr Bird fixed my PC and now it works like a dream.

It's kind of handy to have a computer genius around sometimes.

Last week Mr Bird wanted to have a family jam for his Birthday. So we loaded up our kids and our cake and went to his sister Lisa's house where we ate cake and played music until way past bed time.
It was hard to eat that beautiful cake. I knew how much butter and sugar were in the thing, so it made it really hard to enjoy.
It is one of the richest most fattening and sinful cakes ever made.
I think each bite has 1,000 calories.

But boy, was it ever tasty.
Have I mentioned I love chocolate almost as much as I love my children?
But I still love Mr Bird more than chocolate, hands down.


Lisa has the most gorgeous music room with the most beautiful instruments.
A baby grand, a stand up bass, a harp, a Cello plus violins and guitars and a mandolin.
This makes their home ideal for family jams. Plus she and all her kids are the most talented musicians I know.
Lisa played the piano while Mr Bird played the bass.


Jeni, Jason (her cure hubby) and Jo all played the violin.
Jo also plays the harp and the piano.
Jeni plays piano and her hubby, Jason, sings. He has a gorgeous voice.


When we have jams I feel like we are attending a personal concert.
The kids sort of wonder in and out. They pick up an instrument here and there, then trade it for a different one, as they please.

Baby Cakes had to try each and every percussion instrument he could find.

He and Doodle had a great time trading and playing together.

They played a song called Lover's Waltz.

It is a beautiful song and always makes me think of Mr Birds mom and dad. One summer Sunday a few Summers ago we were having a family jam in Lisa's front yard.

All the people who could play an instrument were playing. I don't remember the song but suddenly dad took mom by the hand and lifted her up. This was just at the time when she was starting to get sick. He took her in his arms and danced with her, right there in the lawn. No one else was dancing. He just held her close and danced, he did not seem to care that we were all watching them. It is one of the most tender memories I have of the two of them. That is how their marriage was. Sure they had their rough spots, just like we all do, but there was no question how much love they had. And they were not afraid to show it to all of us. Coming from a single parent family, I don't think they knew how much that moment impacted me.

So when I hear Lover's Waltz I always have that image of the two of them dancing. In my mind I can see her dancing still. I dream about the time when Mr Bird and I are old and grey and sick and still dancing, no matter who is watching.

Perfection!

I'm caught.

I may have gotten into the kid's Halloween candy, just a little.

OK, a lot!

But look what I found. A perfect pack of m&m's.

Just the right amount of each color in one of those mini packs to make the perfect pyramid.

m&m's are my favorite. Not peanut, or almond, or crispy or even peanut butter. I'm crazy about plain m&m's.

Whenever I open a pack of these sweet candy coated chocolates I immediately start organizing them by color and I have to make the biggest color coordinated pyramid possible.

It's an obsession, I can't help it. It is very rare that I find a pack as perfect as this. In fact I don't ever recalling it happening before. There are usually too many greens or not enough blues so the odd balls get eaten first and I end up with a slightly smaller pyramid.

Then I look at my pyramid for a while and waste time turning all the m's the right way. Then I usually eat a row at a time, one of each color so the pyramid gets smaller and smaller with a new color on top after each stage of eating. And I have to put two m&m's in my mouth at once. Don't ask me why, there is no reason to my madness.

Call it OCD, call it crazy, call it what you may, I can't help myself. I do it every time without exception and without even thinking about it.

So how do you eat your m&m's?

Do you have some odd way like I do or do they hit your mouth before you get a chance to even see their color? Do you prefer plain or pregnant m&m's?

Please, tell me I'm not the only crazy one!

How to Eat a Caramel Apple

Look what I made.

I have been craving them for weeks. I finally broke down and made some.

Aren't they pretty?

Don't they just scream FALL!

I have not made caramel apples for so long.

The problem is I hate eating them and getting caramel all over my face.

My teeth scrape the caramel and like 1/2 inch of the apple.

Then I am left with most of an apple I don't want to finish, and tons of sticky gooey caramel in my teeth.

Not fun

Well, no more my friends!

I found a trick that will help you eat this treat with out getting you and half the house sticky.

It's called a knife.

Most of you probably know this trick and have been using it for years.

For me, this falls under the category of things my mother never taught me.

I had to learn a lot of things on my own and sadly some things have taken me over thirty years to figure out.
Don't worry, I'm not bitter.

My mom ignored all her children, not just me.

Some of us have been in counseling for years to deal with this.

Me, I just cook and play with knives.

You pretty much just cut a square around the core of the apple.

This way you can pull the slices apart and eat the whole apple with the caramel still attached.

The kids have an easier time eating them this way too.

Some people may like to just shove the whole thing in your face and become one with the caramel.

It may be part of the experience for you to chew and gnaw on that thing until it is nothing but a nubbin on a stick. To you I say,

EAT AWAY!

All I can say is, YUM!

I have really missed caramel apples. They are so pretty and fun to eat.

I am so glad they are back in my life!

Donut seeds

Hello my beauties, welcome to Talk about Tuesday!

For my Birthday this year I could not decide what kind of cake I wanted. Doodle and I agree that traditional cake and frosting is a colossal waste of calories. It just is not very tasty. The only reason we have them is because of tradition, so this year I think we gave birth to a new Weaver family tradition.
I was thinking I did not want to bake my own Birthday cake.

I know, I'm spoiled.

But I did want to do something fun and special.

Then it hit me...

DONUT SEEDS!!!

They look an awful lot like Cheerios, but on Birthdays they become magic!

You have to get an early start or the magic will not have time to work.

First you find sticks in the yard for each member of the family. Then you let each member of the family decorate their flag and tape it to their stick.

Now get going, you're wasting precious time. All the seeds must be planted by 9 am or they will not have time to sprout by the end of your magical day.

Don't forget to sprinkle the dirt with the magical colored sprinkles you have in the baking cupboard!

Then you wait

And you find some dirt to play with as you wait.
And then you wait some more.

You guessed it, just keep on waiting.

Then you go in and eat dinner and come back out only to see they still have not sprouted.
Only one thing to do...Wait some more.

Then you go in to watch a movie. You'll have to be sad and wonder if it will really work.

Then you're sitting on the couch mindlessly watching the boob tube when Daddy bursts through the door and drags everyone outside to see the strange things growing in the dirt!


It is just like MAGIC!


Then you open your mouth as wide as you can and shove as much of the gooey sweetness in as you possibly can.
Then all the children will declare the need to plant donut seeds for every Birthday forever and for forever more!


That birthday treat went faster than any old frosted cake with candles ever could.

OREO Anyone?

Don't adjust your screen, there is nothing wrong with this picture. I know, I know you're saying there is something very wrong with that OREO, that

it is not like any OREO you have ever seen.

Well, let me tell you with this crispy little cookie everything is right! Have you ever noticed that with traditional OREOs some people like only the white cream in the middle and some people only like the little chocolate cookies? I personally only like the little chocolate cookies. The white cream seems like sweet shortening and I can hardly gag it down. Doodle on the other hand loves the cream and hands over the cookies to me. We make the perfect OREO eating duo.
Let me tell you, the makers of OREO have solved this widespread dilemma for good. All they had to do was turn the cookie inside out! They put the vanilla on the outside and the chocolate on the inside! Perfect. Now the cream does not taste like flavorless sweet goop. It is way better than frosting. You want to know why? Because it actually tastes like fudge. That's right,

rich decadent fudge.

And the little cookies on the outside and perfectly crisp and delightful. Put them together and it is the perfect OREO. Needless to say I will not be going back to the old OREO anytime soon.


Disclaimer: I am in no way advertising for the OREO corporation (although I could be). All thoughts expressed in this thread are the sloe opinion of the writer. I can not be held responsible for your going out and buying a package of these decadent goodies and eating the entire package within 10 minutes, nor the consequential stomach ache that will ensue because of such behavior. Enjoy at your own risk.

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