Banana Barbie!

Yesterday my baby turned 2. *sobs*

Let's not dwell on the fact that I will never have a baby nuzzled up in my neck again, or the fact that my 2-going-on-5 year old is already super divalicious, or the fact that the doctor yesterday at her check up suggested I get her into her own bed and take away her paci.

No, let's not dwell on those depressing things. Instead let's talk about how fun it is to play Barbies, shall we?

Girlfriend is OBSESSED with Barbies! Which is different for me because I never played with Barbies. I played with baby dolls and other things of the sort, but not Barbies. And at 2?? Aren't Barbie accessories too small for 2 year olds? But she insists and when I take her to the toy aisle, that's where she goes. So I have to face it, my life is Barbie right now.

So naturally I asked the baby Diva what kind of cake she wanted...thinking I was just talking to hear myself talk since no way at 2 she would have an idea of what kind of cake she wanted (I must have forgotten which 2 year old I was talking about). Her reply? "BARBIE!!"

So I used the banana cake recipe which is super simple and I knew she liked. I doubled the recipe. Made the regular 2 layer cake on bottom with 8 inch pans. Then baked 2 6 inch layers. The 6 inch layers, I iced the middle, shaved it to look like a skirt and then crumb coated it. The stacked it on top of the 8 inch layers and iced the whole thing. At the end....stuck a Barbie in the middle! It wasn't the best, but Eden was OH SO EXCITED! And wow was it ever easy.....

So....ta-da! Barbie cake. :) Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Anyone who knows me (which I am sure is everyone here reading....since I am only a famous food blogger in the land of nobody. And I am not calling you nobody....just pointing out that I am no Pioneer Woman and to my knowledge, no one really cares what I am cooking), knows I LOVE Chocolate Chip Cookies.

They are like, my favorite food in the entire world. Like if I was on a desert island and could only choose one food to bring, Chocolate Chip Cookies would be it. If I was on death row I would choose them for my last meal. Additionally, I absolutely CANNOT go to the mall without getting a Chocolate Chip Cookie. I mean, why else do you go to the mall? Also I hide them from my children in the house so they won't eat them. After all, the cookies are not for them, they are for me.

I have most certainly inherited this trait from my mother, and my brother shares the gene also. We have successfully passed the cookie love to our spouses, who now love them also. Mike used to say he hates sweets, and Laura used to claim she hated cookies. Now? Notsomuch. They are all as obsessed as we are.

Annnnnnd now I am starting to sound a little deranged. I don't want to make babies with cookies, but I love them an almost equivalent amount and they are most definitely my vice. If I did not eat cookies, I would very well look like this:



which is one of the very few pictures I have of myself when I was very ill and weighed 25 pounds less than I weigh now. You can't really tell but I looked so bad. My arm? Skinny. GROSS.

Anywho, cookies keep me sane, healthy and happy. And that's all that matters in this life right?

So here's a very yummy cookie recipe from my cousin's friend Annie. Thanks Annie for the cookies....YUM! And Happy Birthday!

Annie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

12 T. butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 bag semi sweet chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter and the sugars until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add them to egg mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Roll into balls (this is important) and place on cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown. (Set the timer for 10 minutes and check them little by little after that if they need more time. Take them out juuuuuust when they are getting a teeny bit brown on top.



Enjoy!

Watermelon Margaritas

It's summertime. Wine gets hot quickly and beer makes you feel like a bloated cow. Super sweet fruity drinks give me a tummy ache and I don't want a 'stiff' drink either. Usually a go-to drink for me is vodka/soda/lime or a vodka tonic (who doesn't like this in the summer!??). But recently, my aunt Ebby told me she made some Watermelon margaritas and that sounded just fabulous. I had some leftover watermelon so I mixed up a batch and WOW were they ever good. Plus, they were pretty "skinny" since I didn't have to use any sour mix, nor sugar. Score! I also like this because the frozen watermelon is the only chilling agent; there is not any ice to dilute it and water it down. YUM!

Watermelon Margaritas

1 watermelon cubed, (about 5 cups)
1 C. tequila
1/2 C. triple sec
5-6 limes, juiced
1 squeeze Agave nectar (you could use 1/4-1/3 C. sugar if you don't have this or can't find any. Agave is just a lot better for you!)

Cube watermelon and freeze overnight. Add frozen watermelon and all other ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Can be made ahead of time and kept in a Ziploc until ready to use. If it is too thick when it is time to serve, add a little bit of Perrier and you should be good to go.

DELISH!!


(not my pic, these went way too fast to get a good picture :))