Operation Baking GALS: My Goodies
July 10, 2009 at 1:00 am | In Apple, Bars, Cinnamon, Cookies, Dessert, Fun, Operation Baking Gals, chocolate, peanut butter | 3 CommentsThis past weekend I spent Saturday and Sunday baking for my Operation Baking GALS group. Did I mention that I ended up with over TWENTY people in my group?? I was ecstatic! I could not have asked for a better response to my incessant begging asking people politely to join my group! I am already looking forward to doing it again sometime soon.
I debated back and forth on what all to bake and well, I couldn’t make a decision so I ended up sending two boxes. I made 4 different things. Actually 5…but not sure one of them will make it. I ended up making snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookie bars, apple spice cookie bars, and magic in the middle cookies. In addition to that, I made half a batch of sugar cookies because my brother requested those…not sure they will make it there due to the icing but if not, well, he can toss them. 
Like I said, I ended up with way too much for one box so I ended up sending two. But hey, he’s my brother, I can spoil him a bit right??
I ended up using 4 of the large Ziplock containers and 4 small Gladware containers. I was able to stack 2 Ziplocks on top of one another and 2 Gladwares on top of one another in each box with room to spare to add in some other small goodies. I used the method of putting apple peels between the paper towel layers between each row of cookies. We shall see if it works!
All packed up and ready to go! Isn’t the Baking GALS logo cute on the box?!
I’d like to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated (and is still participating….still 2 days until the shipping deadline!) in my group this month. It meant the world to me and I can’t wait for Luke and his fellow troops to receive all of the goodies!
Once everyone has shipped, I will do a roundup on here telling what everyone sent and hopefully showing some pictures of some of the things that were sent (hint hint to those who baked for me… 
Magic in the Middle Cookies
July 9, 2009 at 1:04 am | In Cookies, Dessert, Operation Baking Gals, chocolate, peanut butter | 4 CommentsI saved this recipe awhile ago from My Kitchen Cafe and I’ve been meaning to make it but didn’t really have a reason (as if you need a reason to make cookies??). I decided to bake them for the Operation Baking GALS this month as one of the cookies to send to my brother. Chocolate and peanut butter in the middle and rolled in sugar? How could this one go wrong??
Chocolate Dough
1 1/2 cups (6 3/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ) brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
Peanut butter filling
3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
3/4 cup (3 ounces) confectioners’ sugar
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
2. To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.
5. To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners sugar until smooth.
6. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.
7. To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.
8. Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center; roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
10. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
11. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.
12. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they’re set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.
Mrs. Pig Rating: OMG. These cookies are HEAVEN if you like chocolate and peanut butter combination. I had one when they were still warm and I could have eaten about 10 of them. Good thing I was sending them to my brother and his fellow troops so they were not in the house!!!
Happy 4th of July!!!
July 4, 2009 at 8:14 pm | In Cookies | 2 CommentsHappy 4th of July everyone! Hope everyone has a great and safe holiday (and a big happy birthday to my great friend Clara!) I baked my famous sugar cookies (Actually my best friend Erin’s famous sugar cookies….) for a party that we went to last night. Aren’t they festive?!
Black & White Marbled Cheesecake
July 3, 2009 at 4:58 pm | In Cakes, Dessert, cheesecake, chocolate | 1 CommentTommy and I love LOVE cheesecake. I used to hate it – a cake with cream cheese in it?! Ew. No thank you. But as I got a little older I began to broaden my horizons and boy am I glad that I did. I LOVE IT!
I received a round springform pan for Christmas and I asked for it specifically with cheesecakes in mind. I just now got around to actually searching out recipes and making one. It’s not that it’s hard exactly but the whole process is somewhat time consuming from start to finish at least in my opinion. But boy…it is SO worth it to make one from scratch. Oh man.
Recipe from my lovely friend Clara’s blog:
INGREDIENTS
For the crust
1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake
2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the crust—
Butter a 9-inch springform pan—choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter leftover)—and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pan on a baking sheet.
Combine the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Add graham cracker crumb mixture into buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
To make the cheesecake—
Put a kettle of water on to boil.
Working in a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.
Add 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to 1/3 of the batter in a separate bowl. Pour all of the vanilla batter into the springform pan, dollop the top of the batter with the chocolate batter and use a table knife to swirl the chocolate batter with the vanilla batter.
Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven’s heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster and remove the foil. (Be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil.) Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.
Pig Rating: The Pig really had nothing but rave reviews about this one. He likes his cheesecake plain better as opposed to having chocolate in it so I made this one kind of half and half. Normally he tells me to take all the baked goods to work so they aren’t in the house but he made me keep some fo this at home
Mrs. Pig Rating: As I said, absolutely worth every single minute spent baking this cheesecake. From scratch is amazing. I will be making this one again and again and trying different toppings, etc.
Mrs. Pig Co-Workers Rating: This was a HUGE hit. I think this might be their favorite thing that I’ve made yet. Even people who normally don’t eat the sweets I bring in were all over this one. I aim to please!
A Big WOW and THANK YOU!!!
June 30, 2009 at 6:09 pm | In Cookies, Operation Baking Gals, Randomness | 2 CommentsIf you’ve read my previous post, then you know that I have joined a wonderful group called Operation Baking GALS. I just heard about this group recently, decided to get more info, and then decided, “Hey, I’ll just dive into this head first and be a team leader this month!” I was a little nervous about taking on the role of team leader my very first time even doing anything with the program. After all, do I really know that many people who would be willing to bake a box of goodies and ship them to my chosen soldier (obviously Luke!) and his fellow soldiers?? But I decided to go for it.
The response for this – was AMAZING!!!! I posted it on both of my blogs, my Twitter, and my Facebook and I have had an overwhelming response. Normally they like to cap the groups off at 20 so of course my goal was 20. I thought it might be farfetched but you know what? I am up to EIGHTEEN signed up so far!! WOW WOW WOW! So I just wanted to post a giant THANK YOU to everyone who has agreed to help me on my first whirl as team leader for the GALS. It means so much to me because I’ve become really excited about this project and my brother has already told his fellow soldiers that they would be getting a big load of goodies soon so they are awaiting the arrival of all the yummy goodness!
I am excited because tomorrow officially begins the shipping dates for the baked goods. The shipping dates are July 1 – July 11 for this round. I plan on baking this weekend and shipping on July 6 (which is also my two year wedding anniversary I might add!). I really really want to send my famous sugar cookies (er, Erin’s famous sugar cookies…) because my brother loves them and requested them but I’m way too scared of the icing melting I think. I may try a few and have him let me know how it goes. Other than that I’m making apple spice cookie bars, snickerdoodles, magic in the middle cookies, and chocolate chip cookies.
If you are on my team and you have any questions, please let me know and I will be more than happy to help. If you were unable to help with my team this round, don’t worry. I have a feeling this won’t be my last run as I’ve had so much fun with this project
THANK YOU SO MUCH AGAIN EVERYONE WHO IS HELPING
Baking for the Troops: Operation Baking Gals
June 24, 2009 at 6:51 pm | In Operation Baking Gals, Randomness | 2 CommentsRecently my fabulous friend Clara at iheartcuppycakes told me about a blogging group called Operation Baking Gals and she thought I might be interested in it. So I looked it up and yes!! Sounds like something I would LOVE to do! As most of you know, my little brother…er, I should say YOUNGER (19) not little, is serving in Iraq with the Indiana National Guard. He has been there since February and we are keeping fingers crossed the he gets to come home in either December or January. My other blog has more information on him —-> http://militarysister.wordpress.com/
(My brother is third from the left…this is his “ride” – a Blackhawk!)
My family and I love sending care packages to him. They LOVE receiving things from home. When I saw this wonderful baking group, I knew it was perfect for me! I get to bake AND do something good at the same time? Sign me up!
I have now signed up to be a team leader for Operation Baking Gals for the July shipment. Now all I need is a team of bakers! I have a few people who have already committed but I definitely need more – I need to get about 20 people if at all possible. It’s very easy-all you have to do is make some baked goods that can be shipped overseas (basically just nothing that will melt), and ship them out between July 1st and July 11th. The baked goods will all go to my chosen soldier – my brother – and he will then disperse them throughout his group. How awesome is that?? I’m beyond excited to be a part of this group and I hope I can continue to be a part of it.
An excerpt from Operation Baking Gals site:
Baking GALS (GALS stands for Give A Little Support) is a group of volunteer bakers who bake and ship homemade goodies to our heroic troops that are currently deployed. Each soldier is “Hosted” by a blogger, and potential bakers are “recruited” from the bloggers own site as well as the GALS site. Each Host recruits between 20-25 bakers, meaning LOTS of goodies get delivered to our soldier…so many, in fact that he or she has plenty to share with their fellow troops!
Why do we do it this way? Why not just ship to “Any Soldier”? Well, we don’t know “any soldier” – and “any soldier” doesn’t know us. And recieving baked goods from a stranger, while probably safe, is frowned upon and in many cases, those Any Soldier gifts could be thrown out. Baking GALS will introduce you to a soldier. You will know his name, a little bit about him, maybe even his favorite cookie…and he will know in advance that he will be on the recieiving end of a cookie bombardment – so everyone is prepared. It is a safer way to treat our troops, and it helps them to know when to expect a barage of goodies.
So who wants to help out with my team??? I realize it’s kind of short notice but you have almost two weeks to get it done. Support your troops and get to do something you like to do at the same time!
If you are interested in being on my team, please email me at mrsabybaby@gmail.com and I will send out all of the necessary information once the team is all together.
Checkity Check out my other blog update!
June 18, 2009 at 4:49 pm | In Randomness | Leave a CommentAs most of you know, I also write a blog about my experiences of having my little brother deployed in Iraq. I’ve been doing a horrible job of updating this blog but I’m trying to get back in it just like I have this one. I updated it this morning if anyone is interested in seeing how he is doing. Please check it out!
Baked Chicken Taquitos
June 17, 2009 at 8:21 pm | In Cheese, Chicken, Mexican food, appetizer, football food | 3 CommentsWe pretty much love any variation of any type of Mexican food in our house. I really think I could eat it every single night and I know Tommy could as well. Tommy loves the chicken taquitos at our favorite local Mexican restaurant so I thought I would try these out. I found this recipe on My Kitchen Cafe, one of my absolute favorite blogs. It looked easy and tasty! I served these with light sour cream, fresh salsa, and multi grain chips. YUM!
Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe
Makes 14-16 taquitos as is – I halved this for just Tommy and I and it turned out great
Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 green onion, sliced finely (white and green parts to equal about 2 tablespoons)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese (use pepperjack if you like a little heat)
small yellow or white corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray
Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix softened cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
You can prepare this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 3-4 between two damp paper towels and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until tortillas are soft and pliable and don’t crack while rolling. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a soft tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Then roll it up as tight as you can.
Place filled taquitos seam side down on the baking sheet, making sure they don’t touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and lightly sprinkle some kosher (coarse) salt on top.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. (Mine only took about 10 minutes so you might want to watch this timing depending on your oven). Serve immediately. Taquitos can be dipped in in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or any other combination you can dream up.
Pig Rating: The Pig really really liked these and said these would be a great addition to our dinner rotation. He said a lot of the things that we make that are Mexican taste very similar but that these had a different kick to them that was great.
Mrs. Pig Rating: I loved these little rolls of chicken Mexican goodness! I am definitely making these again. I dipped mine in salsa and they were so good. I highly recommend these for a weeknight dinner. Easy to prepare and even kids would like them.
Cherry Mojitos
June 17, 2009 at 1:16 am | In Drinks | 2 CommentsAnother fabulous Katie recipe! I never get tired of looking at her blog – always something new that I see that I need to put on my list! I am totally into making fabulous summer drinks to sip on while sitting out on the patio. Summer evenings are my absolute favorite! This recipe sounded yummy and I couldn’t wait to make it! I had never pitted cherries before and I, uh, didn’t have a cherry pitter (is that what you call it?!) so I just kind of had to improvise but it turned out okay A new toy to invest in maybe?!
Recipe from Good Things Catered:
Ingredients:
1/4 c. sugar
1 1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 9 limes)
1 lb dark cherries, such as Bing or Burlat, pitted
2 1/4 c. best-quality black cherry or plain vodka (I used Smirnoff black cherry vodka)
1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling water
(I halved this as it was only my husband and I and even then that was way too much! Definitely a party recipe!)
Directions:
-Bring sugar and 1/4 c. water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
-Remove from heat and let cool completely.
-Syrup can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 1 month.
-Halve 2/3 of the cherries and add all cherries to large drink container.
-Stir in vodka, lime, and syrup.
-Refrigerate at least 1 hour (up to overnight).
-Fill 12 glasses with ice.
-Spoon 1/2 cup cherry-vodka mixture into each glass.
-Top with sparkling water; serve immediately.
Pig Rating: I figured the Pig wouldn’t like this one so much. He is more of a beer guy if he drinks something. He said it tasted too much like cough syrup?! Um. NO. Perhaps he has bad memories of any cherry flavor from childhood?!
Mrs. Pig Rating: These were YUMMY. Too yummy in fact. I could drink these and not realize that the alcohol is in them. It will get ya’! I will definitely make these again. I highly recommend for a relaxing summer evening with friends!
Southwest Turkey Burgers
June 11, 2009 at 12:42 am | In Beef, Grilling, Turkey | 1 CommentThis year, I am all about grilling out. I grilled out some last year but for some reason this year, I can’t get enough of it. Maybe it’s because I love sitting outside in the backyard smelling citronella and listening to the sounds of summer. Whatever the case, I’ve been grilling a lot lately. I love grilled burgers SO much. Tommy doesn’t love them as much as me so I don’t make them often but I wanted a burger and I wanted to try something different. I came across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs and decided to give it a try.
Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe
2 lbs ground turkey (you could use ground beef if you want but we never use it for anything. Also, I halved the recipe and used 1lb for just Tommy and I and it made 4 burgers)
1/2 cup minced red onion (I omitted)
1/4 cup minced green onion, white and green parts
2 egg whites, whisked
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
dash cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
Preheat a grill to medium-high.
In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey with the minced red onion, green onion, egg whites, seasonings and worcestershire sauce. Mix gently but thoroughly. Divide the mixture into six equal portions and shape them into burgers.
Place the burgers on the grill and cook until the turkey is just done (about 4 minutes per side) and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 165 degrees.
Serve the burgers on buns and top with garnishes.
Pig Rating: The Pig didn’t love these as he isn’t a huge fan of southwest flavors but he liked it okay.
Mrs. Pig Rating: I AM a fan of southwest flavors and I thought these were wonderful! They had great flavor to them and I love grilled burgers. This one is easy and so flavorful. I will be making these again…the Pig can just have plain ones and I’ll make these for myself!
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
