Rhett's Birthday Dinner and a big ol Chocolate Covered OREO Cake

The Monday following our weekend in Seattle, we invited some friends over to celebrate Rhett's birthday one last time.  I about made myself sick planning the dinner party.  Not a joke.  I straight up had an ear burning, heart thumping anxiety episode right before the first guests arrived.  Riiii ' diculous.  I thought the 3 hours I spent planning the menu, emailing myself the links to the recipes, and this one will kill you - writing out a three page time table of what-to-do-when to time the food (whoooo does that??), grouping and laying out the ingredients for each dish on the counter the night before.. all that I thought might make it sooth sailing.  But nope.  No dinner party smooth sailing happening in my house.  But my saving grace was the BOMB cake we made.  Holy Mother, it was GOOD.  And I have to say "we" cause Rhett threw the two 8 inch devil's cake cake pans in the oven for me so they'd be cool before I got home, and they were perfect.  Thank god dessert comes last, and thank god this one was a Winner.  I didn't take one photo the whole night, I was such a hot mess.  Here are the photos I stole from Instagram from our friends.  

link to: Chocolate-Covered OREO Cookie Cake by Kraft Recipes

... it would be a crying shame if I didn't give honorable mention to the appetizer of the evening, the stuffed jalapenos pepper.  SUPER EASY, and SUPER GOOD.  Link to recipe is below.

Simple Stuffed Jalapenos by Food.com

Pancake Mix Donuts

We're "paleo'ing" these days in our house. Which correspondingly means we aren't buying snacky crap. Nope. No snacky crap around here. Which means when the inevitable sweet craving hits, after our all natur'al raw-food-only involved dinner, we are turning to all sorts of creativeness to utilize what remaining elements of non-raw foods that are left in the kitchen to make something yummmmy. On this particular evening Tristen took charge. I'm not quite sure what googling search led to what, but Bird's web search landed on Mini Donut Balls with Pancake Mix. Um, YUMM. And thank the heavens above, we have a Costco size bag of pancake mix to get us through all this paleo'ing. Here's what the boy threw together. And they were GOOD. And easy.  AND, because my boy is so darn sweet, he substituted the milk with almond milk. "They're safe for you to eat mom." Thanks son, thanks. 

click here to go to above site

Bomb No Bake Cookies

I've had many excellent No Bake Cookies in my life, but I'm not even gonna pretend or beat around the bush: I made the BEST No Bake Cookies I've ever had, in my life. I thought it was only fair I share.  Original recipe was found here:  Food Network: No Bake Cookies

2 cups Sugar: I used 1 cup white granulated sugar, 1 cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoons Cocoa

1 stick butter

1/2 cup milk: I used Almond Unsweetened Vanilla Milk

Throw all if the above in a sauce pan over medium heat, stir, and bring to a boil. 

Let boil for 1 minute then add:

1 cup Peanut Butter: I used 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 cup chocolate infused peanut butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 cups Oats

Stir. Evaluate how thick the mixture is. If needed, add more oats. I did. 

On wax paper, drop mixture into your desired cookie size. Let set for about an hour. 

Bomb, diggity Bomb. 

a coursed dinner, at home

the pictures certainly didn't turn out as well as this meal deserved, but I could not let it come and go without providing some proof that it happened.  Rhett and I made a coursed dinner!!!  Well, coursed for us.  A salad, and entree, and a dessert.  That counts, right!?  AND, on top of all of it, we timed the damn thing so everything flowed.  The sauce for the stuffed pork tenderloin didn't get made, nor the veggies that were supposed to go with it, and the non-pictured potatoes didn't turn out so great.. but the rest of it?  Was sooo good!  And Yes.  I am proud.

Stuffed Pork from my Cooking Light mag (thanks Tiff!! Such a great gift subscription!)
Greek Quinoa and Avocado Salad I had pinned.  Click here for recipe.  It was soooo good.
Salted Caramel Cheesecake from the Cooking Light mag.  People.  I made that dark caramel from scratch.

first time for everything: sushi edition

I'd like to say that we made Sushi the other night, but the truth is Aubrey and Rhett made Sushi, and I took pictures.  We'd never made rolls before ourselves, and it was goooooood.  Our fav: cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, and crab.  Yummmmmmmm.  

Menu v2: Crockpot Mania

seriously.  My first week cooking with the crockpot was a raging success.  The meal planning paid off and having a dinner to put on the table every night was a breeze ~ for the first time, EVER.  Totally changed my life.  Even though the prep is still a necessary part of the evil, I'd much rather prep in the morning as opposed to at night, and the crockpot allows just that.  And as a working mom?  I can't even begin to explain how absolutely fantastic it is to come home and 75% of dinner is ready to go.  I'm loving it, and going for it again this week.  Crockpot Mania is in full swing.

And now... for last week's review.

Menu 1 Review:

click above to go to Menu 1

 and find links to all recipes reviewed below}

KEEPERS:

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup was BOMB.  So flavorful. YOU NEED TO MAKE IT.

Crockpot BBQ Shrimp was AMAZING and super fun to eat with a group of people.  If you like shrimp and dipping bread in amazing butter sauce, this recipe will leave you planning the next time you will make it.

Both will hit the menu again, in the near future.

WON'T MAKE AGAIN:

Crockpot Tri-Tip.  Total waste of a $22 piece of meat.  We ate it, and the dried tomatoes and feta were tasty and all {duh}, but it was nothing special and we decided a Tri Tip is meant to be BBQ'd, not Crockpot'd.  We won't be making it again.

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken.  It wasn't terribly bad, but nothing great.  I've heard there is a great BBQ Pineapple chicken recipe out there, I will look for it.  I like the flavor of pineapple but this recipe was lacking.

DIDN'T MAKE:

Crockpot Chicken Adobo. The schedule got away from me and we missed Adobo night.  Rhett took the chicken that was purchased for the Adobo and baked it, so no Adobo.  I'll add it to the menu again sometime soon.

On Tap for next week: {click to go to link}

Lemon Garlic Chicken + Potatoes

Enchilada Chicken Chili   [I'm really excited about this one]

Chicken with Spring Vegetables  + Quiona 

Cream Cheese Chicken  + pasta

Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole  [first shot at a breakfast dish]

Click here for a collection of Healthy Crockpot Recipes I came across on Pinterest

Mashed Cauliflower {potato substitute}

Holy moly.  They turned out perfect, and made my whole entire day.  The void I needed filled?  Filled.  I needed a little crunch, something that felt hardy, like a mashed potato would, and I'm telling you, this recipe does the trick.  Next time I think I will heed the advice in the original recipe {link is below} and will add some rosemary to give it a bit more flavor.  I did add a teaspoon or two of fat free sour cream on top to eat... 

{this post is originally from a "fitness tracking" blog I started last year but fell away from.  Because I plan to make this tomorrow, to go along with the Crockpot Tri Tip, I wanted to post it here for reference, and I thought some of you on the fit train might enjoy it.  No doubt about it, it is GOOD}

Here's how I did it:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 tablespoon fat free cream cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon vegetable broth 
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt {needed it after a taste test}

Cut the cauliflower off the head in small pieces and put in the pot, bring to a boil.  Once it is boiling, put 6 minutes on the timer.  It really did take about 6 minutes till I put a fork in a piece of the cauliflower and it broke softly apart.  Drain in a colander.  Pat dry with a paper towel.  Add all ingredients in a bowl and beat with a mixer until it is mixed well and all chunks have been put through the mixer.  It WILL be a little chunky.  But not much!  Don't shoot for creamy though.. it doesn't happen and doesn't need to.  Serve.  If you're like me, put a dab of fat free sour cream on top and enjoy! 

• original recipe inspiration

French Toast Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Roll French Toast is a weekend favorite around our abode.  I made it on New Year's as a special treat.  Why I love it most?  It's so super simple and super yummy.

Needed:  Pre-made Cinnamon Rolls, Eggs, Vanilla, Cinnamon, & a Sweet Tooth.

that sugar sure sizzles!
careful not to burn it..
keep heat low and a watchful eye 

EXTREMELY GOOD.