This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Brooke who won this Tower of Treats gift for her mom! Thanks to all who entered. 

Friends… I hate to break the news to you, but May is right around the corner. Do you know what that means? Mother’s Day will be here before you know it! I am always thinking about my mom and how much I love her, but it never fails that Mother’s Day sneaks up on me and I fail to get her something to really show her how much I love and appreciate her….

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The post To Your Mom, With Love {Harry & David Mother’s Day Giveaway} – CLOSED appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Fast forward 6 hours later and I was at the ballpark watching my 6 year old play ball. My 3 year old climbs up onto the bleachers, loses her balance and lands in a huge puddle of spilled nacho cheese sauce. With nacho cheese sauce from head to toe, she was absolutely filthy. I dig in my purse, knowing that since I am now “Mrs. Has It Together”, I would have something to remedy this situation. I pull out my wipes container, open it up and it is empty. Empty! “Mrs Has It Together” would never leave the house with an empty wipes container. Kicked down on the togetherness pole several notches, I had to sheepishly look around and ask some other moms if I could have some wipes to clean up my cheese covered child. So much for that little pipe dream I had about being the mom who has it all together.

One little secret weapon I have in my life that makes me feel like I can inch up on the togetherness ladder a bit each day is black beans. They are healthy, delicious and so versatile. If there is one thing I keep in my pantry in abundance, it is cans of black beans. Why do they make me feel like I have it together? Because… you can heat up a can of black beans, sprinkle some cheese on it and call it a side dish. Mix black beans, corn, taco meat and cheese and put over tortilla chips – you’ve got nachos. Mash ’em up some, mix with cream cheese, some chili seasoning and cheese and you’ve got a dip. Black beans are so easy and versatile. The one problem with black beans is, they don’t ever seem to last around here long enough to make it into an actual recipe. They are my go to food when I need to feed people in a pinch. Black beans are what allow me one step closer to that esteemed title of “Mrs. Has it Together” and for that, I bow to the bean, forever grateful. We all know, I need all the help I can get.

Turkey Black Bean Burgers (from Simple & Delicious Magazine)

• 3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pound ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 hamburger buns, split
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 romaine leaves

In a small bowl coarsely mash beans. Add the egg white, zucchini, red pepper, chili powder, onion powder, pepper and salt. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties.
In a large skillet, cook burgers in oil over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 165° and juices run clear. Serve on buns with onion and lettuce. Yield: 4 servings.

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Armed with just about every tip and tool and gadget you need to decorate a cake (because, you know… if you are going to pick up a hobby, you must own everything there is to own in association with it, right?) I went to my first class. The class was taught by a lady named Millie. Millie seemed 800 years old and had been decorating wedding cakes and party cakes professionally for 50 years. She was about as sweet as they come.

Cake decorating did not come easy for me. I even struggled with just getting the base frosting on the cake without getting crumbs in the frosting. Millie taught me well though, and I kept plugging through the class, bringing home cakes I wasn’t totally embarrassed to show everyone. Then, the final two classes came about and we set out to learn how to make roses and flowers. Patiently, Millie helped me, guiding me with each stroke of my tip… and with each completed flower, I looked down and would see a head of cabbage. Not a rose, not a flower… a giant head of cabbage. For the life of me, I could NOT master creating frosting flowers. I tried, Millie tried with me, and it just wasn’t happening. The things I were creating could barely even pass as a head of cabbage if I wanted to make some kind of produce related theme cake (and there is such a thing, if you were wondering)!

My cake decorating skills have not improved, at all. I can bake the cake, I can most certainly eat the cake, but I can not decorate the cake past slapping some frosting on and adding sprinkles. My kids don’t seem to mind. Thank goodness I’ve raised them to have low expectations of their mom 😉

Jacob’s 8th birthday was this past week and he asked for wedding cake cupcakes (aka the kind of cake we eat at weddings…white with white frosting). I gladly obliged, pulling out Millie’s recipe which is the best I’ve had. It does use a boxed cake mix but trust me on this one… you will be hard pressed to find a white cake with a better flavor or crumb.

Oh – and the picture above of the wrecked cupcake? You can find the back story on that on my Flickr page!

Millie’s White Wedding Cake

• 2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons real vanilla
• 2 teaspoons almond extract
• 2 cups sour cream
• 8 large egg whites

Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, until fully incorporated.

Pour into greased and floured cake pans or cupcake liners, filling each slightly over half full.

Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.

Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done.

Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.

(For cupcakes, I bake at 325 for approximately 18 minutes… test with a toothpick to make sure though!)

I used this recipe on Recipezaar for the frosting – yum!

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The funny thing about being pregnant, for me, is that it doesn’t really feel real. That is, until you sit in that dark room, anticipating the sonogram, and the second that wand hits your tummy you see the outline of the little human moving around. Moving, kicking, double flipping. It is always such a neat moment and one that I know I am very blessed to experience.

Today we found out that our baby, who will be joining our family in May, is a little girl. I know that we were all a little shocked because I would have bet money that I was having a boy this time around, but we are thrilled none the less.

The good news is that our little Leah Katherine (I *think* that is going to be her name, anyway) is an active little thing. I was so relieved to see all of her activty because on the way to the doctors appointment I was telling Nick how nervous I was because I hadn’t really felt her move lately.  Either there was something wrong with the baby or we had a lazy kid on our hands. Turns out I was wrong!

The bad news is that the doctor told us she has a possible obstruction on her heart. My doctor didn’t seem overly concerned. She said it could be something or it could be just a shadow or something. My placenta is also low lying and they couldn’t see her kidneys, but that is probably because she was moving around so much.

Anyway, I have a level 3 sonogram scheduled for the 31st and will keep you all posted. I’ve always wanted to have one of those, so I guess this is my chance!

And to tie in a recipe, one of the reasons I thought I was having a boy is because I have been craving a lot of the same things I did with our oldest. Breakfast food, tortillas and cheese and carbs. Banana Bread has been a favorite of mine this pregnancy as well. I have had the chance to try out a bunch of different recipes, even though I still have one recipe that is my absolute favorite.

The recipe I’m sharing today is from a Taste of Home Cookbook. It is a lighter version of the other banana bread recipes I try. It isn’t my all time favorite, but for a lighter version it is pretty darn good! I hope you enjoy it.

Banana Nut Bread from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in bananas and sour cream. Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Stir into banana mixture just until moistened. Fold in nuts.
Transfer to a greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf (12 slices).

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I guess I would say I parent mostly based on my instincts. I rely a lot on advice from other moms, blogs and my own family. I know a lot of people who do read the parenting books and they waste no time at all in passing on the information to me 🙂 One of the biggest reasons I have avoided parenting books is because I always had the feeling that I would question my own parenting instincts after reading one. I did not want to feel extra guilty about the job I was doing as a parent simply because someone else did not agree with how I did something.

Recently, Naomi of Rock-n-Tot, Tracing Handprints and Being Savvy Cleveland stopped by my blog and commented on my post about Jacob, Parenting With a Heavy Heart. That day, I took a look at her blog and was intrigued by a parenting book she had reviewed on her site titled “Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box.”  You may remember back to the beginning of the school year when I realized the day of that I forgot my daughters 1st day of preschool. How about when we had the lovely situation where Kelly completely undid her car seat while driving down the interstate and my day ended in being puked on. Another gem.. the day I locked both girls in the car at the grocery store parking lot? Those were all days where I lost the Mother of the Year award (and the reason I started investing in a therapy fund for them for their adult years). Those parenting moments where you feel so guilty and so inept to be a parent and just know in your heart of hearts that you are the only mom in the world who would have this experience with their kids.

Parenting these days seems to be done in extreme measures. If your child hasn’t already had 3 years of soccer under their belt by the time they are 7, good luck finding a team that will take them. Mom’s are shuttling kids each and every day after school to this extra curricular activity or that. Birthday parties… oh don’t get me started on the birthday parties. Gone are the days of a simple cake and ice cream party, here are the days of traveling petting zoos, tot makeovers and live bands. It has all gotten to be a bit rediculous to see the pressure moms have on them to keep up with each other and to be “perfect”.

Enter Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box by Ann Dunnewold, Ph.D. This book needs to be in the hands of every mother on planet earth. Give it away at baby showers. Have a neighborhood book club featuring this book. Do something, please, so that mom’s all over the world can realize that there is no need to be a perfect parent. From the back cover, “Follow your gut, not your guilt. Connect with instead of compete with other mothers. Curb your need to overprotect, overperfect, or overproduce.”

Parenting books aren’t my thing, but if they were all as real as this one, I think I’d be singing a different tune. Namoi graciously sent me an extra copy to give to one of my readers. If you don’t win a copy, be certain to pick up a copy at your local library or head to your neighborhood bookstore and pick one up. It is an attitude shifting book that every mom needs to read! To win, please leave a comment on this post telling me what the best piece of parenting/marriage/life advice was you have ever received. All comments must have a valid email address. Deadline to enter is Tuesday, December 9th midnight CST.

And, since this is a cooking blog, I am adding a “recipe” if you can call it that for one of my kids favorite and simple treats. If I don’t have enough left over pie crust when making a pie to make them these cookies, I’m in big trouble with them!

Pie Crust Cookies

Use this pie crust recipe or your favorite pie crust recipe… it works either way!

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 teaspoon lemon juice or cider vinegar

5 to 6 tablespoons ice water

3 tablespoons sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Place flour, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl or a food processor bowl. Mix thoroughly. Cut in shortening and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add lemon juice or vinegar and enough ice water to make a dough that just clings together. Cover dough with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll dough our on a lightly floured board or pastry cloth to 1/8-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake in the center of the oven for 9-11 minutes, until golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Updated 12/10/2008 – And the winner is…. Stephanie from Fun Foods on a Budget. Congratulations, Stephanie!

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