Apple Crisp

Hmmm... autumn arrives delivering its gorgeous selections of apples. Once trip to the orchard, so many varieties. My favorite is Honey Crisp. It's the perfect apple for me to cook, bake, munch on...

Here's a simple favorite that's a winner every time...

Apple Crisp
Apples:

• 4-5 apples, skinned, cored, sliced
• 1 lemon
• dash of nutmeg
• 2-3 TBSp sugar

Crisp:

• 1/2 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c packed, brown sugar
• 1/4 c ap flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 c butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix the first 4 items together (apples) & pour into a 2qt baking dish; set aside.

 

For the crisp, using a pastry blender (see picture) or a fork/knife, blend together the 5 crisp ingredients; Sprinkle them over the apple slices in the baking dish. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm or room temperature alone or over vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!
<3 Lishie

Pumpkin Brownies

Fall is in the air, nipping at my tights-less, ankles & pumpkin is everywhere. Well, we have our pumpkin spice coffee in house!!! I’ve been sick so I remembered an easy recipe I had spied somewhere… It called for two ingredients! So I added some spice. And frosting. And more spice on top ;)
It was just what I needed.
Enjoy!

<3 

Lishie

Pumpkin Brownies

• 1 Box Brownie Mix (I used Ghirardelli)
• 1, 15 oz can Pumpkin
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8”x8”, 9”x9” or 13”x9” pan.
Combine all of the ingredients above. The batter will be thick! Pour into prepped pan. Bake for:

8”x8”: 45-50 minutes
9”x9”: 40-45 minutes
13”x9”: 30-35 minutes

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 c powdered sugar
• 6 oz cream cheese, room temp
• ½ stick butter, room temp

Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top of the finished brownies.

The batter will be thick:

Gooey Orange Bars

I think it is safe to say these were a hit for a summery bbq. They were sweet & tasty & the citrus flavor always reminds me of the sun. This Floridian girl loves oranges & what's better than orange in the form of a cookie bar?

<3 Lishie

GOOEY ORANGE BARS  adapted from Mom's Test Kitchen

Crust Ingredients:

• 1/2 c butter, room temp
• 1 c all-purpose flour
• 1 c sugar 

Filling Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 & 1/2 c sugar
• 2 navel oranges
• 2 TBSp concentrated, frozen country (w/pulp) orange juice 
• 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• powdered sugar for dusting {optional}

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 pan with cooking spray.
Mix together the butter, sugar & flour for the crust in a medium bowl until well combined ~ I used my hands to mix. Spread the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is set & just beginning to golden.

 

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling: in a small bowl, zest 1 of your oranges. In another small bowl, juice both oranges & concentratedm frozen orange juice. Using a mixer at medium speed, mix together the eggs, sugar, orange zest from 1 orange, orange juice from 2 oranges, and flour. 

Pour the orange mix over the baked crust and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes or until light golden brown. 

Let it cool completely. Cut into 16 bars & sift the powdered sugar over the top if desired.

 

Honey S'mores Treats!

Oh it is hot. But I am not complaining; I just do not want to turn on my oven. Even with the a/c on it is just too hot. So what to do when my most requested item is, well, requested? Improvise with a no-bake alternative!!! Today is another birthday celebration at work & someone suggested I bring in my original Lishie's S'mores Bars.

So I thought hard & came up with these Honey S'mores Treats. All of the flavors, no baking. Sweet. & Delish. I think they may become a new favorite!

<3 Lishie

Honey S'mores Treats 

• 3 TBSp butter
•  1, 10 oz package marshmallows
• 1/4 c chocolate (I used Hershey's Kisses)
• 6 c Quaker Honey Graham Oh's Cereal

Melt the marshmallows & butter together either in the microwave or on the stove top... Fold in the chocolate & keep "folding" until it melts in. Add the cereal, gently mix. Scoop the ingredients onto a surface to cool & cut.

Homemade Slushees

Who needs the ice cream man?! Not us. This recipe is so easy & versatile!!! You can switch up the extract flavors, along with the color & make numerous types of slushees for very low cost. This makes a slew of cupfuls! The little ice treats were certainly a hit at our home & the blue color of these make them perfect little BBQ additions for Independence Day celebrations!!!

Happy birthday USA!
<3 Lishie
Gabriel's mommy


Homemade Raspberry Slushees
adapted from Love from the Oven

• 4 c of very cold water
• 1 c of sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Raspberry Extract
• 4-6 drops of Blue Food Coloring (or any color of your choice) optional

In a large bowl, combine water & sugar & stir until sugar is completely dissolved. Add in  Raspberry Extract & stir well. Follow with 4-6 drops of the food coloring to achieve your desired color. Whisk well. Pour into your ice cream maker (this recipe was tested in a 1 & 1/2 quart ice cream maker) & & run according to ice cream maker directions. Run for approximately 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Serve immediately.

Oh & don't forget to enter my SWEET HERSHEY GIVEAWAY!!!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Another day, another birthday... I saw a big 'ol jar of peanut butter on my coworker's desk the other day & it inspired me... to make these for her celebration! I used Jif of course!!! It is one thing I won't budge on. These were super easy to make & delish! :)
<3 Lishie


Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars
slightly adapted from Julie's Eats & Treats 

• 1 c butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 c creamy (or chunky) peanut butter
• 3 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 c jelly (I went with traditional grape :) )*you can use jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13"x9" baking pan.
Cream together butter & sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, vanilla & peanut butter. Mix until combined.
Add flour & baking powder. Mix until well combined.
Spread 2/3 of the batter mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Spread jam over the batter. Leave about 1/2" around the sides without jam. Drop the remaining dough over the jam, in about teaspoon size drops.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes until the edges start to brown. Remove from from oven.

Sour Cream Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberries are in season!!! YUM. And boy are they gorgeous. I played around with a recipe/thought in my head & came up with this delish-iousness... It is light & perfect to take to a BBQ.

<3 Lishie

Cake:

• 1/2 c (4 ounces) butter
• 1 c (7 ounces) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 c All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c sour cream 

Cream together the butter, sugar, & eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, stirring after each addition.

Grease & flour 2, 9" circle cake pans. Spread half the batter in each pan

Bake the coffee in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool it for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan. 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Glaze/Frosting

• 1 package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 c butter, room temperature
• 2 c powdered sugar (1 c less, thinner Glaze/1 c more, thicker Frosting! Your choice!)
• 2 c strawberries, fresh, hulled & diced

Combine all ingredients together until smooth. Refrigerate. Frost the cakes when they are cooled. 

School Bus Cake

Happy birthday Teacher!

On the teacher's birthday, what to do?

Create a School Bus Cake!!!

See, there she is, next to the bus driver^^^

See, there she is, next to the bus driver^^^

Divided Oreos for the faces...

See, there my son is^^^, in the middle^^^

And a TEACHER birthday card.

Thanks for looking!

<3 Lishie

Gabriel's Mom

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffeecake

This is a delightful snack cake for when you want just that perfect, tender piece of cakeage to go with your afternoon drink. Look at that cinnamon-y streusel. I brought it into work for yet another celebration.

<3 Lishie

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffeecake 

fromKing Arthur Flour

Cake:

1/2 c (4 ounces) butter

1 c (7 ounces) sugar

2 large eggs

2 c All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c sour cream

Topping:

1/2 c sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

Cream together the butter, sugar, & eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, stirring after each addition.

Grease & flour a regular-sized (9 1/2-inch) tube pan or bundt-style pan, or a 9 x 9-inch pan. Spread half the batter in the pan, & sprinkle with half the topping mixture. Repeat with remaining batter & topping.

Bake the coffeecake in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool it for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan. (If you've baked it in a 9 x 9-inch pan, just serve it right from the pan.) Place the cake right-side-up (topping up) on a plate to serve.

Yield: about 12 generous servings.

Perfect Pound Cake

There's nothing better for a warm spring or summer night then a slice of fresh pound cake w/ a dollop of fresh, whipped cream & strawberries.

<3 Lishie

Pound Cake 

Southern Living

• 1 lb butter, softened (room temp)
• 3 c sugar
• 6 large eggs (room temp)
• 4 c all-purpose flour
• 3/4 c milk
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. (The butter will become a lighter yellow color; this is an important step, as the job of the mixer is to incorporate air into the butter so the cake will rise. It will take 1 to 7 minutes, depending on the power of your mixer.) Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light & fluffy. (Again, the times will vary, & butter will turn to a fluffy white.) Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow yolk disappears.

Add flour to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning & ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. (The batter should be smooth & bits of flour should be well incorporated; to rid batter of lumps, stir gently with a rubber spatula.) Stir in extracts.

Pour into a greased & floured bread pan.

Bake at 300° for 1 hour & 40 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan, & cool completely on a wire rack.

Apple Cupcakes for Teacher

Apple Cupcakes for Teacher

Teacher Appreciation Week 5/6- 5/10.
Thank you...
For teaching my baby boy...
For taking the time to care...
For everything you do...
For the little things...
For the big things...
the kindness,
the stern-ness,
the gentleness...
the urging on...
the tenderness...
the love.
Thank you for it all.

<3 Lishie
Gabriel's Mommy

Apple Cupcakes for Teacher
1 Vanilla Cupcake Recipe.
1 Cocoa Frosting Recipe (see below).
Red Sprinkles.
Pretzel Sticks.
 Spearmint jelly leaves.
Gummy Worms.

Cocoa Frosting Recipe

• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 3 c powdered sugar 
• 1 c cocoa
• 1/3 c milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients together until smooth.

ABCs/123s Cupcakes
1 Vanilla Cupcake Recipe.
1 Cocoa Frosting Recipe.
ABCs/123s Sprinkles.

~~~~~

Teacher Appreciation Days 1 & 2 are HERE.
For Day 1:


For Day 2:


For Day 3:



For Day 4:



And now, for Day 5, to cap off the week:
Apple & ABC/123 Cupcakes for Teacher

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

We had a very grey, wet day in New York so what better than to brighten it? A work birthday. I love work birthdays... I love to bake for work birthdays. Win, win :) Only thing is, how to transport a 2 layer cake via bus & a 1 mile walk?! Well, in pieces, of course. I clandestinely prepared this in the break area with a view. And I think it turned out pretty... 
Bunting is my new favorite obsession.
 
Make a Wish...

<3 Lishie

Carrot Cake

adapted from Paula Deen/Grandma Hiers' Carrot Cake

• Baking Spray, for pans
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 c sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c canola oil
• 3 c grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 (9") round pans.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger & salt. Add eggs &  oil. Blend until combined.Fold in the carrots.

Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven & cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans & allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:

• 2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick salted butter, room temperature
• 1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients until fluffy.

Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Kelley (THANK you!!!)

Boulder Bars ~ Trix® Crispies

Another fun, colorful, full-of-sugary-goodness recipe from Gabriel's Dinosaur Party.

Boulder Bars!!! Beautiful snacks that harken back to the dinosaur age... Never heard of them? They were created by the bright Lava from the Lava Cake Pops! Anyway, these too were loved by all so much so that mommasaurus here did not get one! Ha.

<3 Lishie

Gabriel's mommy

Boulder Bars ~ Trix® Crispies

adapted from Kelloggs

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• - OR -
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 6 cups TRIX® cereal

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows & stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add TRIX® cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter & marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

IF I could take good pictures, this is what they'd look like up close & personal... From Cravings of a Lunatic:

"Fossilized" Cinnamon Sugar Cookies

 

So my son Gabriel just turned 4 & we had a big dinosaur party. The kids all became LittleOsauruses & had a great time. One of the treats I made were these cookies. They were a hit! Here's how I made them...

Besides the itemized baking list below, you'll need a plastic dinosaur with rather large feet. Give him a dishwash-detergent bath in the sink first...

Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
adapted from Taste of Home

• 1 c butter, softened
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c confectioners' sugar
• 1 c vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4-1/3 c a-p flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon + a little more to "sprinkle"

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars & oil. Add eggs & vanilla; mix well. Add flour, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar & cinnamon. Cover & refrigerated for 3 hours or until easy to handle.

Roll into 1" balls. Place on greased baking sheets; (normally, at this point, you would flatten with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. However, to make the "fossils", I...) Here's where that plastic dinosaur's roll comes in... STAMP the the 1" ball down with the dino's foot. Bake at 375° for about 5 minutes, take the sheet of cookies out & STAMP them again with the dino's foot. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon. Bake at 375° for 5-7 more minutes or browned a little. 

<3 Lishie 
Gabriel's mom

Dinosaur Excavation Jell-O

 

Got pluots? Anyone, anyone? My subtlety may be lost but I found it punny. Pluots are fruit- a cross-pollination of plums and apricots nicknamed dinosaur eggs. So since Jell-O is fruity... hopefully you see how my mind came up with this! Ha!

Anyway, these cups were a huge hit at my son's dinosaur party. Most children love Jell-o & these fit the theme nicely, color-wise & "activity-wise". I used orange & lime Jell-o to match my green & orange color scheme. Made the Jell-o in small, clear cups. Placed the cups in the refrigerator... waited about 30 minutes, then added a gummy dinosaur to each cup.

The children quickly excavated those dinosaurs from that Jell-O & finished off the cups!

This technique can be used for so many themes! For an Ocean theme- blue raspberry Jell-O with Swedish Fish... For a Pirate theme- blue raspberry Jell-O with an orange slice on top for a sail... For a sleepover party- any color Jell-o to match your theme with a gummy "teddy" bear... For a Monster Party-any color Jell-o to match your theme with a gummy worm... For a Picnic- any color Jell-o to match your theme with gummy cherries...I could go on & on...

<3 Lishie

Gabriel's mom :)

Celebrate, Roar, Gabrielosaurs is 4! Gabriel's 4th Birthday Party!!!!

 

I make a huge deal of my son's birthdays. Why? He is important to me & with each year passing, each day, I love him more & more & want him to have friends & a wonderful life. I want him to celebrate life. See, my son has autism & he is non-verbal. But, autism does not have him. He's the sweetest, happiest child I've ever seen & he is social. He seems to run on the peripheral of everything, watching in & feeling part of it all at the same time. He enjoys other's happiness. And how much more to make him happy than to throw a fun-filled party?!

This year, I dubbed, the Year of the Dinosaur. 

And rightly so. Everything has been dinos with us- Valentine's, Easter eggs, etc. And Gabriel seems to love them! We are even redoing his baby boy dino room into a big boy dino room! 

So for his party, I made the little ones dinosaurs themselves. I ordered masks then hand made foam dino feet to match the masks. They even had name tags:  "_____OSAURUS" They had to ROAR to get them ;) And they kept on roaring all through the party... to the dig/scavenger hunt at "the excavation site" (a tub of orange sand filled with tiny plastic dinos) The kids had a checkoff list paper of the 4 kinds of dinosaurs they could "hunt" & collect in their plastic baggy... to take to create air dry clay "fossils" by stamping either the "hunted" dinos they found or some of the other objects on the table (including plastic centipedes, bats, etc.) Then onto coloring personalized GABRIELOSAURUS dino pages & crafting w/ dino stickers on constuction paper. A huge T-Rex was awaiting them (DinoSAWus!!!) for pictures... And besides pizza, they had all sorts of dino-themed foods to snack on... Carnivores (pepperoni pizza), Omnivores, Herbivores & Snackivores!!! The favor- a big plastic dinosaur to adopt & take home! A Roaring good time!!!

Cakeage
Click HERE for recipe!

Welcome Wreath

Dessert table- Carnivores, Omnivores, Herbivores & Snackivores!!!

SIGNAGE by The Doodle Jar/Jar of Designs

Prehistoric Punch!
(Click HERE for recipe)

Lava Cakelets
Click HERE for recipe!

Excavate the dino from the Jell-O (Pluots are dinosaur fruit)
Click HERE for recipe.

Fossilized Cookies

Click HERE for recipe.

Snack Quarry (Click HERE for recipe)complete with shovel to dig out, Boulder Blocks (Click HERE for recipe) & Triceratops "Party Horns"

Celebrate, Roar, GABRIELOSAURUS is 4!!!! Cute pinata we didn't bash ;)

Dinosaur Gear

Masks & Handmade feet!

Modelsaurs!

Excavation Site

Checkoff list paper of the 4 kinds of dinosaurs they could "hunt"

Excavating fun!

Crafting table

Personalized GABRIELOSAURUS coloring pages & crafting w/ dino stickers on constuction paper

Some finished clay Fossils

Uh oh!!!! Big T-Rex Dino SAW us!!!!

Dinos get presents too!

The favor- a big plastic dinosaur to adopt & take home!

Us with the birthday-saur

More beautiful SIGNAGE by The Doodle Jar/Jar of Designs

Follow the prints to... the party!

SIGNAGE by The Doodle Jar/Jar of Designs

 And this is how he celebrated on the actual day at school:

Dinosaur Pull-apart Cupcake Cake

Favors:

If you enjoyed this post, please consider giving my Dinosaur birthday a "Cupcake" on Catch My Party!

I <3 my Gabrielosaurus!

<3 Lishie