Category Archives: Baking

Will they be boys, girls or both! We have cake cones for each!

The Twin Gender Reveal-Girls, Boys or BOTH? And why we wait to tell.

Baby, Baking, Twins, , , , , , , ,

The REVEAL

So as we did when I was pregnant with Isaac, we waited until 20 weeks to tell my family.  We found out on my birthday, Friday, March 6th what we were expecting and pulled together the plan to reveal (okay, I was the mastermind here…Doug just wanted to blurt it out.  I wanted a little more theatrics).

But first I’ll answer a question.  You see, people always want to know why we wait.  And I always want to know why people don’t!  It’s definitely an exciting time when you’re expecting but it’s also an annoying time and a scary time.  When you find out your pregnant you can’t help but always think “I hope everything is okay in there.”   Did that nose spray I used when I was 4 weeks along hurt them?  Did the plague cause irreparable damage to their developing hearts?  Heck are they both still in there!?!  Then I’ve had so many friends that have had miscarriages very early in their pregnancies and have to tell everyone that this baby wasn’t meant for this world.  It’s not that it’s embarrassing, but more for me anyway, something I wouldn’t want to be questioned about.  But I get it, a lot of people have to share that joy immediately and my decision to wait is by far in the minority…call me weird.

But then as soon as you tell people you are pregnant, comes the onslaught of wisdom.  They immediately start telling you what you “should” and “shouldn’t” be doing.  They polish their Google MD degrees and start spouting off their wisdom.  You shouldn’t shovel snow…you shouldn’t drink tea…you should get rid of your pets…you should sit in front of the TV for the next 40 weeks and on and on and on.  Meanwhile I just want to scream “You should mind your own business!”  I know they mean well, but really, unless you catch me drinking hard liquor and smoking cigars when pregnant why not keep your opinions to yourself.  (I don’t smoke or drink even when not pregnant so don’t worry).

But I digress from the fun of the reveal.  So on March 6, we were at the doctor for 2.5 hours and had full anatomy scans done.  It’s pretty neat in that they are able to see each baby’s heart, kidneys, bladder, lobes of the brain and major bones.  They are also able to tell most of the time with some degree of certainty if they are girls or boys.  Though I have heard of a number of cases where the new expecting parents were told one gender only to find at a later ultrasound that they were in fact expecting the opposite!  I’ve also heard of twins turning into triplets, but after 2.5 hours with an ultrasound peaking in on my stomach, I’m fairly confident there are just 2.

So off I went to my parent’s house for my St. Patrick’s Day themed (at least in food) birthday party (and reveal party they didn’t know I had planned).  For this party, I volunteered to make cupcakes to use up some ingredients I had that I didn’t know how long they would keep (how convenient right?).  Doug and I spent time making ice cream cone cake pops for baby one and then little decorative cake balls for baby two.  The inside of each would represent the gender of the baby.  So a blue inside for boy and a pink inside for girl.  And on the outside we put an M&M on the top so people could choose which gender they thought the baby was.  Pink/purple for girl and blue/yellow for boy.

So right before it was time for “Happy Birthday” I had a sign stating that we were expecting.  The family all cheered, everyone was surprised they were incredulous that I could keep it secret for so long and they were excited to take part in the guessing game.  Everyone chose their cone and bit in.  BABY ONE IS A BOY!  They cheered, congratulated my dad on having a lot of trucks for baby one to play with along with my son and my sister also has a boy.

Gender Reveal Cake pop Cones boy 2
Boy cone
Gender Reveal Cake pop Cones girl 1
Girl cone

 

Gender Reveal Cake balls
Baby one is a BOY!

Then it was time for Happy Birthday.  Everyone sang their best (and worst) and cheered and were still rejoicing in the news of the new baby.  Then I hit them with round TWO.  Sign two was held up “God Laughed, 3+2=5” and that’s when things really started to get fun.  Shocked cries of OH MY GOSH, my aunt made a historical moment by remaining speechless, one uncle asked how this happened (I’ll let Doug answer that sometime) and then my grandmother after she finally understood the sign busts out with her own little secret.  “Oh yes, my Grandma Martin had 3 or 4 sets of twins…I think 3, but maybe 4.”  SAY WHAT??????? First, who the hell is this Grandma Martin I’ve never heard of?  Second, twins are in my DNA and no one told me????  Apparently, Grandma Martin was quite prolific and had 13 live children.  From memory, my grandmother doesn’t believe any of the twins made it, but Grandma Martin would have also had these children sometime in the 1800’s and lived in Czechoslovakia.  You see, when we talked to the doctor and I told him there were no twins I was aware of in our family.  So he attributed the twins to my age, liking to eat a lot of sweet potatoes (cultures that eat a lot of yams have a high incidence of twins), weight and random chance.  So while I was getting over my own little surprise of not being the anomaly of the family everyone was rioting about the gender of the second baby.

Out pops cake pan two with all of the little cake balls.  Everyone again picked their chosen gender and bit.  ANOTHER BOY!  Good thing I like the outdoors, reptiles and amphibians and playing sports, because it looks like we’ll have a lot of that in the future!  There will also come a time where I should never have to mow the lawn, shovel snow, carry groceries or worry about them coming home pregnant.  I will instead need to make sure they are raised to be polite and helpful gentlemen that treat others with respect and have amazing aim in the bathroom.  It’s a good thing I don’t mind cooking because that’s going to be a lot of BOY to feed.  I may also consider having a bathroom built with a urinal and me have a princess bathroom installed for my use only!  Doug is thrilled with the prospect of all boys.  He was hoping for one of each, but his second hope was for all boys.  He was worried about having to keep eyes on two girls!

Gender Reveal Cake balls 1
Boy and girl cake balls

 

Gender Reveal Cake balls boy
Baby 2 is a BOY! Two BOYS!

So let the BOY adventures begin!

19 weeks boy ultrasound
TWO BOYS!

 

 

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Homemade Apple Chips Perfect for Little Hands

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I’m not sure who wins the easy contest, apple chips or the applesauce?!

The apple chips are the perfect snack food for you or your baby.  I love to leave them out on the counter and snack on them throughout the day or give them to the baby while I get his lunch ready.  He loves to crunch on them and the literally melt in your mouth.

First, like the applesauce you need to wash the apples well.  I put them in a sink filled with water and 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar.  I let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then drain and rinse well.

Next, I take the WHOLE APPLE and put it in the food processor on the slice setting.  One by one, I slice the apples.  In total, I can only fit 5 or 6 sliced apples in my food dehydrator, so make sure you keep that in mind and don’t go wild slicing only to find they won’t fit.

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Next you have two options.  Method 1, I put the sliced apples into a bag that I had 3 tablespoons real maple syrup and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.  I seal the bag with the apples, maple syrup mixture and air and shake it to get all of the slices coated.  The second method, I just lay the apples out on the dehydrator and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Try them both and see which you prefer.  I like the sweetness of method 1, but method 2 obviously is more wholesome for your family.

Apples after shaking in the maple syrup cinnamon mix!
Apples after shaking in the maple syrup cinnamon mix!

After you’ve prepped the apples if using method 1, you’ll need to lay them out on the layers of your dehydrator.  Try not to overlap too much or they will “bake” together into one large lump.  Also, when I first started doing apple chips I would spend a lot of time picking out seeds and whatnot, but now, I just bake with them on and find they fall out a lot easier when they are baked.

 

I let them sit in the dehydrator overnight (about 8 hours) and they are nice and crisp in the morning.  I honestly could make these every week I’m so in love with them!

Apples arranged before dehydrating
Apples arranged before dehydrating
And after a night in the dehydrator...notice some appear to be missing...the husband LOVES these too!
And after a night in the dehydrator…notice some appear to be missing…the husband LOVES these too!
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Apple chips are perfect for little hands!

 

Apples made using method 2 with sprinkled cinnamon on top.
Apples made using method 2 with sprinkled cinnamon on top.
I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.

Easy DIY Applesauce in Slow Cooker or on the Stove

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Applesauce is perfect for all of those leftover apples.  Applesauce is versatile.  Use it in baking as a substitute for oil, butter or eggs, use as a sauce for pork, as an easy snack for babies or just eat it as is in it’s simplistic deliciousness.

I like the idea of getting extra fiber when I eat and use applesauce so I do mine a little different then you’d normally see.

First I wash all of the apples really well.  I put them in a sink filled with water and 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar.  I let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then drain and rinse well.

Next, I slice the apples with my apple slicer/corer WITH THE PEEL ON!  I used to spend endless amounts of time peeling apples always feeling like, “Here goes that heart healthy fiber!”  So I now slice with the peels ON.  I just start accumulating all of the slices in a large pot that I’ll use on the stove.  I’ve also used my slow cooker to cook this all day.  The choice is your’s what you use.  The benefit of the slow cooker versus the stove is that you can use a slow cooker liner  and it eliminates a lot of the cleanup.  Either way add the apples to the pot or crockpot, add a cup or two of water and get cooking!

I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.
I used a large pot full of apples, with 1 cup water and a heavy dose of cinnamon. I put the lid on and cooked on low.

If you are using the crockpot, I cooked on low for 4 to 6 hours.  For the stove, I cooked on medium heat until the apples were soft enough to be cut with a spoon.  If you love cinnamon like we do, feel free to add some.  I don’t have an exact measurement, just add tablespoon or so.  An alternative is you can add the cinnamon after you’ve put the apples in a food processor or Magic Bullet.  NOTE: I do NOT add sugar to my apples. I’ve found that they are sweet enough as is.  But if you want to add sugar you can start with 1/2 cup brown sugar.  But be daring, try it without sugar and I doubt you’ll be disappointed!

See how much the apples cooked down over the course of 40 minutes?
See how much the apples cooked down over the course of 40 minutes?

Once you can cut the apples with a spoon, pour them into a food processor and pulse until you can’t detect peels and the mixture looks smooth.

I've placed the apples into the food processor and pulsed until smooth. I've also used the Magic Bullet when I do smaller batches or applesauce.
I’ve placed the apples into the food processor and will pulse until smooth.  Notice that right now, it’s still a little lumpy looking.  If you leave the skin on you’ll have to pulse until smooth otherwise you’ll have chunks of peel throughout. I’ve also used the Magic Bullet when I do smaller batches or applesauce.

After that you can decide how you want to store it.  I put mine into quart freezer bags and laid flat in my freezer.  You can also can it, or if your family loves applesauce it’ll hold in the refrigerator for a week or two.

 

Apple pecan pie

Highly Coveted Apple Pecan Upside-down Pie

Baking, , , ,

I’m not sure you can get more delicious than this…well you can my husband says, but we’ll have to save the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie for another day :).

This is a super easy pie, not too sweet, but perfect for company.  I’ve yet to find a person that doesn’t like a classic apple pie with nuts on top.  I most recently made two with one being for “friend’s night” and the other was given to my neighbors as a “howdy, we’re new in the neighborhood” gesture.  Both parties gave it RAVE reviews.

Anyway, the recipe originally came from a My Recipes website, but I’ve modified it some as I’ve made it based on feedback (mostly from my husband).

Ingredients:
1-1.5 cups pecans (I’ve chopped and I’ve left whole…either works well)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3-1/2 cup butter melted (use 1/2 if you use the 1.5 cups nuts)

2 Pie crusts (top and bottom) (you can use store bought if you are crunched for time or make your own)

6-8 apples peeled and sliced thick (I used a variety of kinds.  You choose!  Basically you want enough to heap)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-2 Tablespoons cinnamon (we love cinnamon so this is a lot. You decide if you want more or less)
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Putting it together: (Pre-heat oven to 350 F)

1. Take the first three ingredients and mix them well (pecans, butter and brown sugar).  Pack them into the bottom of a pie pan.
2. Lay the pie crust out on top of the nut mix with it centered on the pie pan.
3. In a separate large bowl mix the remaining ingredients (apples, sugar, flour,  cinnamon, nutmeg), until the apples are coated.  Then HEAP the apples onto the pie crust that should be centered on the nuts and pie plate.
4. Finally put the second pie crust over the apples and “join” together with the other pie crust by crimping the two pie crusts together.  I do this in an up direction since I’ll be dumping the pie out on a plate later.
5. Cut slits in the top of the pie to release steam and place on a cookie sheet with sides.  THIS PIE WILL BOIL OUT A BIT.  So unless you want an oven filled with apple juice on the bottom, do this!
6. Bake at 350 F for about an hour to an hour fifteen minutes.  It should be golden brown on top.  If you have an oven that browns too much, put some tinfoil on top.
7.  Once done, pull out and let cool for 10 minutes and then put a large plate over the pie and carefully flip it out onto the plate.  It’s helpful to have a second person here to scrap out some of the sticking nuts or crust.

And VOILA!, delicious pie, hot and ready for serving.

We usually serve with a small scoop of ice cream and most recently served with a Salted Caramel Ice Cream and it was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Apple pecan pie

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Apples all Winter Long-How to freeze apples to enjoy them all winter

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I was recently at a friend’s house and she introduced me to freezing apples.  Really this should have been a no brainer, but for whatever reason it never entered this girl’s brain!  Apple pie is one of my main go-to pies for company or special occasions and it’s always shocking to see the winter and early summer prices.  So when she asked me to help her prep her apples for freezing I was in!

First, I always wash my apples in the sink with a white vinegar/water solution.  I fill the sink half full of water and add about 1/2 cup vinegar.  Even though I’m going to peel my apples, I want as much of the pesticides and waxy residue off as I can.  I soak the batch of apples about 10 minutes and then drain the sink and rinse.

Second, we start peeling.  Some people hate peeling, but I’ve always kind of enjoyed it.  See it’s a game…how many apples can I peel from top to bottom making one continuous spiral of peel?  Come on, if you’ve ever peeled apples you know you’ve secretly done this.  And you know the disappointment you feel when that continuous chain is broken.

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Next, using an apple slicer, I divide each apple into perfect wedges and then place the slices in a bath of water and lemon juice.  No science necessary here, just a bowl of water with 5 or 6 squeezes of lemon juice in it.  Let it sit for a bit and then strain the slices out and place them in pre-labeled freezer bags.  If you’re into vacuum sealing you could do that as well, but for me, I saved my Foodsaver bags for meats.

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The assembly line of apple prep: 1. Peeling/cutting area with the ever important computer streaming Dave Ramsey!), 2. Lemon/water bath, 3. Straining and apple storage bowl and 4. The Ziploc bag labeling and storage area.
The assembly line of apple prep: 1. Peeling/cutting area with the ever important computer streaming Dave Ramsey!, 2. Lemon/water bath, 3. Straining and apple storage bowl and 4. The Ziploc bag labeling and storage area.

Now you’re set to seal them up, flatten them out and freeze them for a snowy day!  I’ll be using mine later this year to make things like applesauce, pies and who knows what else I’ll dream up!  Enjoy having fall’s harvest all winter.  Even better is all the prep work is done.  Just set in the refrigerator to defrost and VOILA, ready to use.  I might just go and buy another 30 pounds 😉