Just call me Suzy Homemaker!

Out of nowhere I have gone crazy wanting to get my hands dirty in a little homemade goodness.  I guess it started on Memorial Day weekend when I pulled out both my food processor and my heavy duty stand mixer.  Whipping up a meal and dessert felt so good after months and months of being tired and pregnant.  I am not complaining at all, as I loved almost every minute, but it was so good to run around the house cooking and cleaning. 

Here's what I made for dessert for our Memorial Day cookout:

Triple Chocolate Cake with Glaze



Lemon Squares

 So this week has truly been crazy and I can't believe the energy that is still kicking around.  Thursday was our last day of Preschool with a small musical performance and family picnic.  It was exciting and sad to spend our last hours there--after three years, this preschool has one of the most consistent forces in our lives.  We have met some of our best friends and grown so much. I am going to cry if I keep talking about it.  Thursday also brought forth a new baby!!  One of my dearest friends gave birth to her first child and that is a post in itself.


Friday was a day full of errands and the start of the baking frenzy.  I made one of my families favorite muffins, Chocolate Chocolate-Chip .  I already need to make more!! They are a little bit healthy and a whole lot yummy. 

 





Saturday has already been a blur and it isn't even dinnertime. :-)  I got the coffee pot cranking first thing as well as the usual load of laundry.  For some reason I have been holding onto this box of Rice Chex and today I decided it was taking up too much space in the pantry.  On the back were two different recipe cards, one for our favorite Muddy Buddies and another that resembles one of my favorite evening snacks of popcorn with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder...this just kicks it up a bit.  I think part of me wanted to try out some recipes so I could have a few easy things to drop off when Miss C gets home with her new baby boy.  And I think the other part of me was just hungry. 

I almost forgot I also made a batch of salsa, ate it all and had to make another batch by Saturday afternoon.  This time I changed it slightly and added Rotel with Cilantro and Lime.  Typically I don't do cilantro but was heavily pursuaded by the hubby to give it a try.  I must say it was perfect!

I also have another muffin recipe that I got off of Allrecipes.com but made some major adjustments to suit my family.  It was a Morning Glory muffin that I totally changed up to make use of carrot/apple pulp when my hubby was all about using his juicer. It was a lot easier to use the pulp than to go to all the trouble to grate up carrots and apples...but I did it anyway. The kitchen smelled so good with the Cinnamon and Nutmeg filling the room. 

On top of all the baking, some fabric that I had ordered arrived this morning!! I love the blog at http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com/ and finally ordered something from their website.  I am redoing the kids bath and found this great panel and fat-quarters set: http://www.pinkchalkfabrics.com/index.phpmain_page=product_info&cPath=232_303&products_id=6102 ... patchwork shower curtain coming up!! The fabric is all ironed and ready for me to figure out how the heck to get started. :-)  I will show picks later in the week as my plan is to have the redo done by Friday!!

Happy Home-Making Everyone!!!

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Recipes:

http://www.fiberone.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?rid=38778&cid=408

http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=45860&CategoryId=342

http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=45296&CategoryId=447 I omitted the nuts

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Morning-Glory-Muffins/Detail.aspx I made major changes but this is where I started--happy to provide my changes if anyone is interested!!

Salsa (Similiar to Chili's Restaurant):

4 tsp Diced Jalapenos (can use canned or fresh)

1/4 cup Diced Yellow Onions

1 Can Rotel (used the Cilantro and Lime today but fine with Original)

1 Can Whole Tomatoes (14-15oz)

3/4 tsp Garlic Salt

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp sugar

Process Jalapenos and Onions in a food processor for a few seconds. Add both cans of tomatoes, salt, cumin and sugar. Process until desired consistency. Chill for a few hours to help the flavors blend. :-)