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A Retreat From The Crazy

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on February 5, 2012

These past several days have been rough… My headaches are back in full force, Timmy has bronchitis, and Ben has a stomach bug and was awake and vomiting violently for several hours last night. Miraculously I was blessed with a bit of quiet time this afternoon and, while I have laundry to fold and dishes to wash, I felt the sudden urge to bake. Baking is therapeutic for me, in a way, I suppose.

Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies are some of my all-time favorite, both to bake and nosh, so naturally a batch of these tasty treats was just what I needed. I am now sitting with a few cookies, along with a cup of hot Tension Tamer tea, relishing the little break in the midst of the crazy.

How do YOU retreat from the crazy?

OATMEAL CRANBERRY WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in sweetened dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies

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Don’t Forget the Avocados

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on February 3, 2012

Are you ready for the big game on Sunday? If you are anything like me, you are probably heading out bright and early on Saturday morning to gather some last minute party foods. I have an idea before you head out, though… Approximately 71.5 million pounds of avocados are expected to be consumed during the Super Bowl this weekend, so don’t forget the avocados!

From Chipotle Guacamole to 10-Minute Tortilla Soup (see recipe below) you will find some great tailgate party eats in the free e-Cookbook that the Chilean Avocado Importers Association (CAIA) is giving away. Like the CAIA Facebook page to download the e-Cookbook with recipes using avocados AND enter to win a $1,000 gift card!

How do YOU like your avocados?

10-Minute Tortilla Soup

It takes only minutes from the time you pick up the can opener and cut the avocado until this dish is ready to serve!

1 can (14 ½ ounces) chopped tomatoes with Mexican

seasonings

1 can (14 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth

1 can (4 ounces) diced jalapeños (optional)

2 Hass Avocados from Chile

8 to 12 tortilla chips

¼ cup reduced fat Cheddar cheese or Mexican flavored cheese

Cilantro for garnish

Non-fat sour cream for garnish (optional)

.
In medium saucepan or microwaveable bowl, combine tomatoes, chicken broth and jalapeños, if used. Over medium high heat, heat to simmering or microwave on high 3 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse avocados. Cut in half and spoon out pit. Cut into slices or chunks. Spoon broth/tomato mixture into bowls and add avocado slices or chunks. Top with tortilla chips and sprinkling of cheese. Garnish with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.

Compensated post.

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Incredibly Easy to Make Rolo Turtles

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on December 12, 2011

I haven’t made much time for baking lately. Creating pies, fun cakes, cookies and other sweet deliciousness has taken a backseat to, well… just about everything else.

Well, some baking time was long overdue and I was ready to get my hands in some dough. I invited a few friends to join me in making two of my favorite cookies – Oatmeal Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Chocolate White Chip Cookies. I also wanted to put together some new little treats, so I rallied the troops – Ben and Noah – to help. In three easy steps we made these festive Rolo Turtles, inspired by Aunt Annie and helped along by Pinterest.

Step One – Lay out pretzels in a single layer on a baking sheet. We used square Snaps.

Step Two – Place an unwrapped Rolo in each pretzel middle and bake in a 250* oven for 3-5 minutes or until shiny.

Step Three – Place a pecan half on top of each soft Rolo topped pretzel and press down gently. Ben didn’t like the idea of a pecan being on his gooey chocolatey pretzel, so he placed a Peanut M&M on some.

These little nuggets of yummy goodness were incredibly easy to make, the boys loved improvising with their favorite candy topping, and they’ll make a fabulous gift for teachers and neighbors.

In spite of tired babies, using more vanilla than needed in the chocolate cookie dough and burning more cookies than we ate, we managed to package up some scrumptious goodies for some very lucky recipients. I’d say our baking day was quite a delicious success!

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A Sara Lee MOMent :: Celebrating Josh’s Birthday {Giveaway}

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on May 5, 2011

Disclosure – As a Sara Lee MOMent Maker, this post is part of a series on making family moments. Sara Lee has provided me with compensation and coupons in return for this post. Participation in this program is voluntary; all opinions are my own.

We just recently celebrated another birthday here in the Young family. Josh turned seven. SEVEN! I can’t believe how fast time flies by!

Josh is a big fan of chocolate, so I set out to find a new-to-us dessert that was big on the scrumptious sweet stuff just for him. I didn’t have to search long before I found the perfect recipe for a dessert using Sara Lee® pound cake.

I tweaked it just right and tempt you with the yummy result:

You know you’d like to try it!

CHOCOLATE LAYERED POUND CAKE DESSERT

3 cups cold milk
2 small instant chocolate pudding mix pkgs
8 ounce thawed whipped topping
1 cup chocolate syrup
1 10.75 oz Sara Lee® Pound Cake, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 cup mini white chocolate chips

Pour milk into a large bowl. Add pudding. Beat with a wire whisk for 2 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Gently stir in whipped topping.

Arrange half of the cake cubes in a large serving bowl. Top with half of the pudding mix, drizzle with half of the chocolate syrup and add half cup of chocolate chips; layer a second time with remaining ingredients.

Chill for 3-4 hours before serving.

(My recipe was adapted from a recipe I found on cooks.com)

I hope you and your family enjoy this chocolatey dessert as much as we do! Let me know if you try it.

Win it!

Sara Lee would like to offer one of you FIVE full value coupons for a Sara Lee dessert of your choice, so you can create some special MOMents of your own! Leave me a comment, before 9pm (PT) on May 14th, letting me know what you would choose and why. Winner will be chosen at random and notified by email.

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Trim the Table, Trim the Budget

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Eggland’s Best Holiday Baking Party

November 21, 2010

Tweet On Friday some of my best friends and I spent the entire afternoon doing one of our favorite things – baking! Eggland’s Best sponsored this fabulous baking party and we even had door prizes! We made Quiche, Cranberry White Chocolate Chunk Cookies and homemade ice cream, all with Eggland’s Best eggs. (See recipes below.) [...]

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Peach Crisp {A Delicious Summer Treat}

July 2, 2010

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Breakfast with Sandra Lee and Pillsbury

April 6, 2010

Tweet This morning, over breakfast, I had the chance to chat with Sandra Lee about Pillsbury Rolls and Sunday morning family rituals. What?! You don’t know who Sandra Lee is? That’s okay, neither did I before last week, but I’m sure glad I had a chance to “meet” her. Let me tell you a bit [...]

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January 12, 2010

Tweet It was 5:30 this evening and Ray called me from work. There was a huge promotion going on at The Old Spaghetti Factory and we could save 41% on all of their classic pasta dishes in celebration of their 41st anniversary – Happy birthday to The Spaghetti Factory! Well, it sounded like a great [...]

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Oreo Truffles – Pure Indulgence

December 21, 2009

Tweet One can simply not resist these yummy and delicious Oreo Truffles that my kids and I make. They are such a big hit at Christmas that we also make them for a scrumptious Valentine’s Day treat, as well! The kids have a blast rolling the mixture into balls, coating them in the chocolate, then, [...]

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Punkin’ Cake

October 26, 2009

Tweet Most of my friends know me as having a major sweet-tooth. This reputation does not come from my love of cakes, cookies, or sweet breads, but more from my love of candy! Sure, I love a good cake, but definitely have my favorites. Carrot Cake and Pumpkin Cake are two for which I would [...]

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Julia’s Meatloaf

August 20, 2009

Tweet By popular demand! Here’s what you need for Julia’s Yummy Meatloaf: 2 lbs round beef 2 small french bread rolls,c rumbled (or two slices of bread, crumbled) 3 beaten eggs 2 T worchestershire sauce salt and pepper to taste Mix all ingredients together. Be sure you get in there with your hands and get [...]

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Take-A-Break Bars

November 8, 2008

Tweet Not only are these bars a healthy snack, but they are easy to make and a big hit with the kiddos, too! here’s what you need: • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon• 1/4 teaspoon salt, optional• 1 1/2 cups chopped mixed dried fruit• 2/3 cup oatmeal• 1/3 [...]

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German Pancakes, Dutch Babies, or Pannkaka

November 6, 2008

Tweet We made German Pancakes for the first time the other day. I really wish I had come across this recipe before now… Katja has informed me that these are called pannkaka in Sweden, and pannukakku in Finland. La Mama Naturale says they are best with lemon and powdered sugar. And, Melanie calls them Dutch [...]

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Chewy Chocolate Cookies

November 5, 2008

Tweet I got this recipe from a Nestle cookbook, years ago, and it has always been a favorite. Try them for a sweet, scrumptious snack…. They’re sure to become your favorite, too! here’s what you need: 1 1/4 c. softened butter, or margarine2 c. sugar2 eggs2 tsp. vanilla2 c. flour3/4 c. Hershey cocoa1 tsp. baking [...]

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Take-Along Breakfast Special

November 3, 2008

Tweet Breakfast doesn’t have to be . . . well, breakfast! I made these Take-Alongs for a quick and easy lunch today, on english muffins. These make for a great on-the-go meal! here’s what you need: 4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped 1/4 cup (1 oz.) shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese 2 1/2 tablespoons bacon-and-tomato-flavored French dressing 4 [...]

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Graham Cracker Pudding

October 29, 2008

Tweet This pudding was super easy to make with my kiddos. The protein from the eggs in this recipe makes the graham crackers puff up while the custard pudding is baking, making it fun to watch, too! here’s what you need: • 8 x 11.5 inch baking dish• Cooking spray• 24 sheets of graham crackers• [...]

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Pound Cake

October 25, 2008

Tweet I had some of this scrumptious cake in Bentonville and begged for the recipe. Thank you, Christie! Today my twins helped me make this cake for my birthday… It’s super easy and affordable! Let me tell you, this cake is quite the treat! here’s what you need: 2 cups sifted flour2 sticks butter, softened2 [...]

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Old-Fashioned Egg Salad

October 23, 2008

Tweet This afternoon I was making Egg Salad for lunch, and thought I would share the recipe that I found. There are many variations of this easy and affordable dish, but I’m a simple gal and just like to enjoy it in a sandwich! Ingredients * 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise* 2 teaspoons lemon juice* 1 [...]

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Hard-cooked or Hard-boiled?

October 20, 2008

Tweet I just discovered that the hard-boiled eggs that I have been making aren’t actually hard-boiled! Did you know that hard-boiled eggs are actually hard-COOKED? HARD-COOKED EGGS This method is often incorrectly called boiled eggs. Although the cooking water must come to a quick boil for this cooking method, cooking the eggs gently in hot [...]

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