Vote For Me!

This morning we discovered a flyer on the door from a man running for Sheriff of our parish.

Luke & Erin asked what it was for, and I explained that the man wanted me to vote for him.

The day goes on.....

This evening, Patrick discovers it, still sticking out of the door and asks what it was.

Luke: "It's from a man who wants Mom to go boat riding with him."

I nearly fell on the floor!

Slide N Slip

Did I get that backwards?

No, I did not.

See?

That's entertainment.

Little Miss First Grade

A very reluctant Erin awoke early for her first day of school Friday. She has been quite nervous about starting school this year. After all, no other teacher could possibly compare to the wonderful Mrs Rippel.

Her being nervous made me nervous, although I knew she would be fine. She was also concerned about what she will be learning this year. Nevermind she completed her K-1st bridge workbook this summer in no time...That she was doing 1st grade workbooks at home after school last year.

So tomorrow is her second day, and she is feeling better about it already.

Nevertheless, here are pictures from Friday morning.

 She was up extra early, dressed & fixing her own breakfast. Am I even need around here anymore? ;)

Now there is a real smile. It took a while to get one.



Her summary of the day? It's a lot like kindergarten. Whew!

~The Gap Girls~

Turtle Cheesecake

I have to admit, it took about 3 times to get this right. And I hope I can remember how to do it right next time! The original recipe is below.

But, I found that the chocolate layer dries it out way too much, so I left it all plain cheesecake last time.

I also lowered the baking time to about 65 minutes, even though I wasn't sure if it was cooked. It still sets during cooling. A bit like brownies do.

Lastly, cool it slowly so the center doesn't fall. I drape a clean dish towel over mine, and set it on the stove burner with the exhaust so it stays a bit warm.

Ok - REALLY lastly...make this for a party, because you don't want it sitting around your own house. You have been warned.

Ingredients

CRUST

1 3/4 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted                               

FILLING

3 pkgs. (8 oz. each)cream cheese, softened

1 can (14 oz.)NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3 largeeggs

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (9 oz.)NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

2 tablespoons NESTLÉ NESQUIK Chocolate Flavor Syrup

2 tablespoons caramel syrup or ice cream topping

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mini Morsels

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 300° F. Grease 9-inch springform pan.

FOR CRUST:
COMBINE crumbs and butter in medium bowl. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of prepared pan.

FOR FILLING:
BEAT cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in large mixer bowl until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, lime juice and vanilla extract; beat until combined.

MICROWAVE 1 1/2 cups morsels in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted. Stir 2 cups of cheesecake batter into melted morsels; mix well. Alternately spoon batters into crust, beginning and ending with yellow batter.

BAKE for 70 to 75 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; run knife around edge of cheesecake. Cool completely. Drizzle Nesquik and caramel syrup over cheesecake. Sprinkle with nuts and mini morsels. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of pan.

Classic Tiramisu

Being highly uncultered, I had never tried Tiramisu. So for a recent girls day at the pool, I wanted to give it a try. Sorry - I have no pictures, but trust me, it's worth making.

Original Recipe can be found here: All Recipes

Mine? Below

Ingredients

• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese substitute (8 oz cream cheese 2 tsp of sour cream and 2 tsp of heavy cream combined)                                                       
• 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers split in half
• 1/3 cup coffee
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Directions

1. Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler (I used a saucepan), over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.
2. Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.
3. Split the lady fingers in half, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Brush with coffee. Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers, coffee and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.               

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have a few recipes to share - this one I just discovered & tried today. I have wanted to share some in the past, but have just been to lazy unmotivated busy to do so :)

These came out delicious if I must say so myself. And I will. They are delicious.

This is the original recipe from Gold Medal Whole Wheat Recipes

But what is a recipe without a little tweaking? My version is below.

Muffin Ingredients

1 2/3	cups Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
2/3	cup sugar
1	teaspoon baking powder
1/2	teaspoon baking soda
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4	teaspoon salt
1	cup mashed very ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
3	eggs
1/4	cup canola oil
1/4	cup fat-free (skim) milk
1	teaspoon vanilla
2/3	cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Topping

1/4 cup	sugar
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 =  Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottoms only of 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray, or line with paper baking liners

 2 = In large bowl, mix flour, 2/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and salt.

3 = In medium bowl, beat bananas, egg whites, oil, milk and vanilla with fork until smooth. Stir into flour mixture just until flour is moistened. Gently stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

4 =  In small bowl, mix topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over batter in cups

5 = Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove muffins from pan to cooling rack