Fall

and by fall I mean I fell....not the lovely season we are experiencing. Imagine, if you will, my sweet little Munchkin begging to get on the bull statue in front of Sante Fe Cattle Co. As her happy go lucky mommy I was glad to oblige. I helped her up onto the bull and turned. Normally this would be uneventful. However, last night I was wearing MUDD clogs and the bull was surrounded by oval river rocks. As I turned my ankle slightly twisted and I lost my balance, I almost caught myself but then realized there was nothing to catch myself on and landed square on my backside. As I sat down I told my hubby I most likely needed to call the chiropractor. If I didn't break my tailbone I certainly bruised it and jerked my back out of whack. I will be going to the doctor tomorrow. So fun...

On the fall weather front, I have sat outside for lunch for the last three days. I love fall...but not to fall. :)

{TWD} Carmel Crunched Torte

AKA the pie that will break your teeth. :) I can say pretty confidently that most of my Dorie recipes work out really well. This one tasted good but it was not a pretty process. The caramel was so hard that it could have broken teeth if it was given to someone without warning. I obviously cooked it way to long. Plus I was a cheater and used a premade graham cracker crust instead of making Dories sweet tart dough.
I brought it to work this morning and everyone liked it. I suppose if my day wasn't already a train wreck that would make me feel better. This was tasty and if I make it again I will make sure not to cook the caramel as long. Thank you to Carla at Chocolate Moosey for this weeks recipe. Check out her blog for the recipe or pick up Dorie Greenspan's book Baking from My Home to Yours.

Sorry for the yuck photo...someone obviously stuck a little finger on my pie before I could shoot it. :(

Easy Peasy

Little Mans favorite new thing to say is Easy Peasy. :) He says it about getting dressed, about his sight words and when he jumps high. It is pretty funny to hear him say it.

Fall TV

Is it wrong to anticipate the fall tv schedule? Bobby and I love fall tv and all of the premieres (not premiers). Of course, we only have 10 channels and no DVR so we either have to watch live or watch online later. The networks are making it even more difficult this year since a bunch of our favorite shows are up against each other. Tonight Grey's Anatomy, The Office, CSI and Fringe are all on at 8PM. Seriously? Grissom is no longer on CSI so we will probably let that one slide. We didn't see the season premiere of Fringe and we will probably catch up on that on hulu this weekend. Greys in a 2 hour season premiere tonight against the second week of The Office. So, if Bobby is in agreement Grey's might win tonight. We'll see. What shows do you anticipate?

Who are these kids?

and what did they do with my babies?

Horseback Riding

Yes, I know it is Tuesday. Nope no treats to post today. :( I started to make my Flaky Apple Turnovers last night and discovered I only had a 1/2 cup of sour cream. So, off to the grocery I go today and will hopefully make these this week.

In other news....I like to try and make my family do something adventurous every once in awhile. For my birthday a couple of weeks ago I wanted to go horseback riding.

My sweet family happily obliged. Little man rode double with me on Stella at first. That didn't last too long though because I had a saddle horn that was not terrible comfortable for him. He was much more comfy riding with daddy on Dolly (this horse was HUGE). No saddle horn makes a much happier boy.

Munchkin got her own horse to ride. Since it was white she said she would have called it Princess but her name was actually Twister. At first Munchkin was super nervous. She has ridden ponies before but they have always been hooked to a pole and rode around in circles. The leader only had to tell her once not to scream when going down a hill. After that she calmed down considerably and really enjoyed herself. I think the leaders name was Jennifer. She was quite impressed with Munchkin and how well she did for her first time riding. We all know the horses know the trails but Munchkin is tiny so she really needed to kick to get Twister to move. She also had to pull really hard to get Twister to turn.

Little Man started to get really uncomfortable riding with Bobby and started to get antsy. About 10 minutes from the end of the trail she asked him if he would like to ride Charlotte and she would hold the reins. He was so excited!! She put him up there and he was so proud of himself! She did say if we came again he should ride his own worse. Of course she doesn't understand why we didn't let him have his own horse this time. In a couple of years he may be able to ride by himself.

Little man got to go up in the front of everyone and be the leader.

At the end trying to get all four of us looking at the camera at once was quite a feat. Amazingly this is the first picture the girl took of us. Munchkin now wants to have a horseback riding birthday party....maybe in a few years when she can help pay for it. :)

This was a really fun adventurous day for all four of us. We ended it with a trip to ChickFila and a classic car show. Hmmm what adventure can we have next year?

{TWD} Chocolate Souffle

Thank you to Susan of She's Becoming Doughmesstic. Check out her blog for the recipe and her beautiful photo!
I have to admit, this is a recipe that kind of made me nervous. I had never made a souffle before and had always heard how easily they fell.
Looking at the recipe there were so few ingredients that I thought it couldn't be that difficult. And I was right! Instead of making one big souffle I made 7 individuals so they would be easier to share. One of the things I was afraid of was how the eggs would mix in. There were a couple of options. 1) the eggs could deflate 2) the eggs could not get mixed in enough and leave white puffs in my little souffles. By some miracle they mixed in just the right amount leaving not trace of white puffs.

I do not have a window in my oven because it is a beater oven that was who knows how old when we moved into our house 8 years ago. It was very tempting to peek and see if the little souffles were rising above the cups. I held out though and didn't peek and was rewarded with a nice high rise!

When I started baking with this group I thought I took pretty good photos. However, after looking week after week at others blogs I knew I needed to step it up. Sometimes I feel like my pics are pretty good, others I know are severely lacking. Baking at night when there is not natural light does not bode well for pretty pictures.

This week I did lots of prep for my quick photo op that included spreading caramel sauce on a plate. It is all smeared because I dropped the first souffle and it slid. Then I forgot the powdered sugar on the top. Oh well, at least you can see how much the second one rose. :)

I had 4 kiddos running around the house while these were baking. I thought for sure that the souffles would sink in the oven as the 4 kids sounded like elephants running through the kitchen. I really don't think these two would have cared at all though. They thought this was delicious and that I should make it again. It's a keeper! :)

Blogiversary Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the $10 Starbys gift card is:

Kacey!!! :) Congrats Kacey, that will be on it's way to your hot little hands! Thanks everyone for leaving comments. I really have had fun with Tuesdays with Dorie. This week the recipe is Chocolate Souffle for be looking for the post. We'll see if I can make it without messing it up!

I am officially mid thirties

But what a transition it was. I woke up to my daughter leading me around by the hand with my eyes closed so I could be surprised by my presents. None of us "need" anything and since I really got my present last month (my new car) I said they didn't need to get me anything...well anything big! :)
I came down to find a birthday princess crown, a flashy pin, some birthday stickers, a Kelly Clarkson CD and a Creme Brulee chocolate bar. Sweet!! :) Little Man picked out the chocolate bar but had a hard time deciding so I made sure he knew how much I LOVED it! Creme Brulee anything is the best and he picked it himself.

I stuck the CD in the car as soon as we took off for the morning and made sure Munchkin knew how excited I was about the stickers. She made sure to point out that I could use them when I scrapbook my own birthday. :) When we walked outside I found this:

My sweet hubby went and got a giant bow for the car! :) I have to say, this has been an amazing present. I am loving my new car! It does need to get a bath but every time I think about it it is raining. We jumped in the car and headed for Shipleys for donuts. I really like donuts but they do not like me. They get to be an occasional treat and yesterday was that occasion.

Every morning at work I send out an email to everyone with random trivia, announcements, and birthdays. Not too long ago one of the guys did not tell anyone it was his birthday so a picture was pulled from Facebook and....altered...Ok, OK he had devil horns and a pitchfork. I was a little afraid when my birthday rolled around that something similar would be sent out but so far my fear has been unfounded.

While getting moving yesterday ProFlowers.com walked through the door. I was so excited and then found out they were for someone else. That made it even sweeter when our drummer walked through the door with flowers from my sweet hubby! He did good didn't he? :) They were beautiful!
Not only that but my sweet boss made cupcakes. Since she knows I am trying to do Wii Fit every day in September she made them healthier with whole wheat flour and low fat milk. She used dark chocolate with a little Nutella for the frosting. They were delicious!! :)
I got lots of comments on Facebook from friends around the country and a bunch of emails at work.
After work Bobby met me with the kids and took me out to dinner at Amerigo. I love that place! We don't go often because it is spendy, but it is delicious.
I had a lovely day for my mid thirty birthday. :) It is not over yet though. Today we are going horseback riding! Should be fun, Munchkin is super excited as she gets her own horse. I'll have to post late with pictures from that!

TWD Bloggiversary and a giveaway

Last Tuesday was my one year mark for baking with my fun Tuesdays with Dorie Baking club. I have not always been able to make all of the recipes but these are the ones that I have:

August 26, 2008 – Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte, page 288-289
September 2, 2008 Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters, page 73
September 9, 2008, Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops, page 85
September 16, 2008 – Chocolate Chunkers, page 70
September 23, 3008 – Dimply Plum Cake, page 41
September 30, 2008 – Creme Brulee, page 393
October 7, 2008 – Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake, page 264 and 265
October 14, 2008 – Lenox Almond Biscotti, pages 141-143
October 21, 2008 – Pumpkin Muffins, page 13.
October 28, 2008 – Chocolate-Chocolate Cupakes, pages 215-217.
November 4, 2008 – Rugelach from pages 150 and 151.
November 11- Kugelhopf on pages 61-63.
November 18, 2008 – Arborio Rice Pudding, White, Black (Or Both) on pages 412 and 413.
November 25, 2008 – Thanksgiving Twofer Pie on page 321.
December 2, 2008 - Linzer Sables on pages 134-135.
December 16, 2008 - Buttery Jam Cookies on page 80. I made these but don't seem to have a post on them.
December 30, 2008 – Tall and Creamy Cheesecake on pages 235-237
January 6: French Pear Tart on pages 368 and 369
January 13: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins on page 6.
January 20: Berry Surprise Cake on pages 273-275.
January 27: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread on page 212.
February 3: World Peace Cookies, page 138-139.
February 17: Devils Food White Out Cake, page 247-249.
February 24: Caramel Crunch Bars, page 112-113.
March 3: Chocolate Armagnac Cake, pages 279-281.
March 17: French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze on pages 224-225.
March 24: Blueberry Crumb Cake on pages 192-193.
March 31: Coconut Butter Thins on page 145.
April 7: Banana Creme Pie, pages 342 and 343.
April 14: 15 Minute Magic: Chocolate Amaretti Torte, pages 276 and 277.
April 21: Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding, pages 410 and 411. I am pretty sure I made this but can't find the post..I am sure I took it to work.
May 5: Tiramisu Cake on pages 266-268.
May 19: Fresh Mango Bread on page 45.
May 26: Chipster-Topped Brownies on pages 94 and 95
June 16: Honey Peach Ice Cream
July 28: Vanilla Ice Cream
August 4: Banana Bundt Cake
August 11: Brownie Buttons
September 1: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

So, I haven't been entirely consistant but I have had fun. I am excited about another year of baking with Tuesdays with Dorie! :)
Since it is my one year anniversary with TWD I would like to give away something baking related but since I am doing this on the fly it is going to be a $10 Starbucks gift card. Just leave a comment by midnight September 4th (my birthday by the way) and you will be automatically entered. I will use the number generator to choose a winner!

{TWD} Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Short and sweet. Thank you to Melissa from Life in a Peanut Shell for this delicious recipe. You can find the recipe on her blog or in Dorie Greenspan's book Baking From My Home to Yours.
I took these to my scrapbook retreat this weekend and a few people ate them but didn't quite make a dent.

I brought the rest with me to work yesterday and they were devoured. When they were close to being gone a student came in and tried a bite....and then licked the knife. Doh! I said "Did you just lick the knife???" He looked kind of surprised and said "I am such a caveman..I did lick the knife...I guess I better finish these off!". Seriously? Anyway, they were well liked. Does anyone know where to buy espresso powder? I bought Publix brand espresso coffee but I don't think that is the right stuff. I had to strain this so it wasn't a mess of coffee grounds. Also, my batter was kind of thick so I didn't get any good swirls through my cheesecake like some of the other bakers did. Definitely a keep in the recipe repertoire! :)

Bad Words and Blue Smoke

Last night was filled with excitement for our little fambily. Bobby met me at the new Buffalo Wild Wings with the kids for dinner. It was extremely loud but the food was good and I even won stuffed animals out of the grabber game for each of the kids. Munchkin really wanted an orange dog but it was stuck under another dog that looked like Bolt, only grey. Lucky for her I got both of them! :)
We kind of puttered around at home for a little while when Bobby started working on his airplane. He has been building remote control airplanes for almost 5 years now and has quite the collection. (He would like some super nice ones so if you know anyone with connections please let me know!) Everything was going fine until blue smoke started pouring from his direction and a not so pleasant word passed his lips. He was unplugging something and completely burned his fingers, dropped it and kicked it across the floor toward his guitar gear and ran to get some paper towels to pick it up and take it outside. I grabbed a silicone hot pad and shoved it at him to use instead of the paper towels since I figured those would go up in smoke as well. I grabbed another piece that was scorching the floor and tossed it outside to him to douse with the hose.

I went back inside to the house completely filled with magic blue smoke and Munchkin crawling on the floor with Little Man saying "We have to crawl under the smoke cuz smoke rises!!!". We took them outside to play while the house aired out.
All of this happened in about 90 seconds and my poor husband was so shaken up...not to mention he scorched his sock when he kicked the airplane part. He is so careful about everything he is doing with his planes so I think it really scared him.
At least we know our kids know to stay low to the ground when there is smoke.

While we were outside playing Munchkin made an obstacle course. She had everything from The Big Balls to power boosts to Car Crap....wait WHAT? Car Crap? She was so nonchalant when explaining..."This right here is Car Crap and if you step on it you have to wait for 20 seconds." I actually laughed out loud and then said she shouldn't use that word. "Why"? Um...it's kind of a grown up word that you don't need to use. I do have to say this is not the first time she has used this word. When she was about 3 Bobby took her over to a friends house to play Halo (man we sound like good parents right now huh?) and she came home saying "shrap!" My friend Beth and I also joked that it would be at least one of our kids first words. We agreed that the trap should be called Car Crash instead.
Like I said, it was an eventful evening. :)