Let the holiday baking begin!!

Here is our Thanksgiving baking...

I am proud to say that I added the ingredients, or rather measured the ingredients, handed them over to Alex & Taylor and they mixed the batter. I poured them into cups and baked them. Alex then frosted the cupcakes and inserted the candy corn. The girls wanted to bake sugar cookies for Christmas for a few weeks now. I put it off until the day after Thanksgiving. So, this morning we made the dough (which is now in the fridge). While the dough was cooling, we made a batch of banana bread and a batch of cranberry orange bread. I baked the bread in mini loaf pans and intend to give the bread to our neighbors with their Christmas cards this weekend. We do need to start cutting out the cookies soon....


Sugar cookies are not my favorite. I really don't like sugar cookies. I figure that we are making these and decorating them merely out of tradition. Not that we did it as kids, but more the experience for the girls. I tell you what, I hope I am making bakers out of them! They sure do a lot of cooking with me!!!

Enchalada Casserole

So, tonight for dinner I made Enchalada Casserole.

As I expected, my kids refused to eat it (as they do with anything spicy).

Enchalada Casserole

1 pound ground beef, cooked.

1 small can tomoto sauce

1 packet enchalada mix

1 can enchalada sauce

1 can of corn (or 1 cup frozen)

Flour tortillas

shredded cheese

Mix ground beef, tomato sauce, enchalada packet, corn and 1/2 the can of enchalada sauce.

Line pan with tortillas, add mix, cover with tortillas. Add remaining enchalada sauce to the top and cover with shredded cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

*MY variation* I prefer to make it in a small pan and layer the tortillas and mix like lasagna. Put tortilla, mix, cheese, tortilla, mix, cheese, tortilla, sauce, cheese.

Of course, I guess this is for an over 4 year old crowd since my girls refused to eat it (okay, Taylor did pick the corn out of it).

CHEAT DAY!

Well, today I got up to workout and Taylor started fussing. Take my shoes off, run up the stairs, rock her, put her back down. Work our 20 minutes, she is screaming again. So, I cut my workout short to go take care of her. I don't care how much I want to or like to workout - that cannot compare with the joy of cuddling and comforting your baby as they drift back to sleep.

I made chocolate chocolate chip muffins to take to the Moms Club brunch this morning. Yeah, I put too much baking soda in and I tried to scoop it out... yeah, my muffins are chocolate blobs. They still taste good, but this proves that I am not perfect (sorry!).

Taylor did sleep on the couch while I makde my chocolate blobs and showered. Alex is thrilled that I am wearing the shirt that I painted with them on Mother's Day. They put thier hands and feet prints on it and then I let Alex paint on it a little.

Today I am allowing myself to eat all the goodies that the ladies are making and bringing, but I need to leave the house to stop at Starbucks on the way! :o) My sis got me a $25 GC for there for my b-day! Gotta LOVE her!