Thanksgiving Baking

As I mentioned before, I did a little baking for Thanksgiving at the Bakers'! It was hard for me to decide what to bake, but ended up going with two of our favorites: pumpkin cheesecake & Nutella gooey cookies! As always, they did not disappoint!

Here are the recipes for your holiday baking...

Nutella Gooey Cookies (from one of my FAVORITE blogs, www.plainchicken.com)



1 box chocolate cake mix
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella (add more if you like)
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the egg. Then beat in the Nutella and vanilla extract. Mix in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls (I used a medium cookie scoop) and then roll them in powdered sugar. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment. Bake 12-14 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and gooey.


Pumpkin Cheesecake (from another favorite, www.kraftfoods.com)



1 8 oz. pkg Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)


BEAT cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in 2-1/2 cups of the whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate remaining whipped topping for later use.

SPOON cream cheese mixture into crust.

REFRIGERATE 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

27 Week Update

Another week down in the countdown to Baby Baker! Last week was a little crazy with Thanksgiving - as I mentioned before, JD & I spent this Thanksgiving in Mobile with the Bakers, a first for both of us (growing up, JD usually spent Thanksgiving in Birmingham with his grandparents). It was lovely - we relaxed, watched the Macy's parade, looked through all of the "black Friday" ads, & then got to cookin'! JD & his dad fried a turkey (another first for me), while his mom & I tended to the side dishes. Our spread included cornbread dressing, butter beans, sweet potato casserole, macaroni & cheese, rolls, pumpkin cheesecake, & pecan pie! I polled the table during our meal to see what everybody's favorite was - it was a tie between the turkey & sweet potato casserole (both were super yummy!).
Friday afternoon JD hosted a few of his friends at the house to watch the LSU / Arkansas game & have an unofficial beer tasting of all of the different homebrews that JD has made since last Christmas! Saturday we headed over to the Modling house to watch the Iron Bowl game. A sad loss for Auburn, but a good game to watch! JD & the Man played Saturday night at O'Daly's! There was a great crowd at the show, either out celebrating the Alabama win, or drinking their sorrows away for the Auburn loss... either way, it was great to catch up with some of JD's hometown friends & hear the guys play! It also occurred to me today that this past weekend was the very last time that JD & I would travel to Mobile as a family of 2 (CRAZY!!)!

**For the folks in the B'ham area who may have missed the show (or who can't get enough of JD & the Man), you're in LUCK!! They are playing again this Wednesday night at Big Blue Bagel in Crestline!! Hope to see you there!**

So on to Baby Baker... I don't know if it's the pregnancy or the time change, but I have been so exhausted lately!! I get upset with myself when I'm not as productive in the evenings as I'd like to be (still haven't decorated for Christmas yet...), but then I remind myself that I am on the verge of my third trimester & it is silly to think that I should be able to do all of the things that I used to be able to do pre-pregnancy. Any other moms out there remember feeling this way during the late 20 weeks? After reading this week's update, it made me feel better about being so tired - Baby Baker has been a busy bee, & is getting bigger & bigger all the time!

Here's what's happening this week...

Your Pregnancy: Week 27!! (www.parentsconnect.com)
The light at the end of the tunnel is growing brighter for both you and your baby. With only 13 weeks left (give or take a couple of days), it's time to enjoy the ride because it's getting shorter. (This is the point on the roller coaster where you throw your arms in the air and wail like there's no tomorrow. Weeeee!)




Your Baby
Baby's lungs and immune system are maturing this week as baby prepares for his grand entrance. If he were born today he would have an 85 percent chance of surviving as his lungs are capable of breathing air (with medical assistance, of course). Other exciting developments:

Baby's done a lot of growing over the past few months. His length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—baby's brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. His brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby. If baby is a he, his testes will have completely descended at this point.

Your baby now weighs in at approximately 14½ inches and just over 2 pounds, or about the size of that roast you made last time your in-laws were in town. (OK, the baby is the size of that roast you meant to cook before you decided that ordering Chinese was a much better idea.)




I go back to the doctor on Wednesday of this week for another check up. I don't think there is anything worth noting happening at this appointment, just checking to see that Baby Baker is still growing. I was told that after this appointment, I would start to go see him every 2 weeks (instead of 4) until we get closer to my due date (CRAZY!).
This week we are busy getting the house all decorated for Christmas & to welcome our families to town for a baby shower this weekend!! JD's sweet sister was nice enough to volunteer to host a shower for Baby Baker for all of our aunts, cousins, & grandmothers! Can't wait to see everybody on Saturday!!

Other Projects Around the House

Well, our biggest project was all of the work in the bathroom, but we were able to get a few other things done around the house:

*JD & his dad insulated & put "walls" up in our laundry room / storage room (this was really special for me as I am the one who spends the most time in this room & can REALLY APPRECIATE insullation & organization)
*They also built up new shelving for extra storage!
*Pam & I went through everything in our outdoor storage unit & threw a bunch of stuff away & organized what was to remain
*Pam & sweet Aunt Denise really helped us out with our outdoor areas (patio, yard, & porch) - lots of pictures below...

>>>WE ARE SO HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING & CAN'T THANK OUR FAMILIES ENOUGH!!!<<<
















We kicked off our Spring / Summer entertaining by hosting Supper Club last weekend! We had 11 people over for one of our favorites, Mexican! We had a taco bar with all the fixins', beans, rice, grilled chicken, ground beef, queso - JD even made a cerveza home brew for the occassion! It was delish! A lovely evening with great friends :)

I also want to share a recipe I tried for beer-margaritas - really easy & super yummy! For those who don't like margaritas, the beer cuts the sour / tangy taste of the margaritas...

(my recipe was for 16 cups, the size of my drink dispenser)
4 cups 7up
4 cups Corona Extra
4 cups silver tequila
3 (12oz) cans of frozen limeade concentrate (thawed)

Mix together ingredients & serve over ice with lime for garnish!

{holiday treats}

last night I tried a new recipe for a fun holiday treat to share with the sweet girls at work, chocolate sugar cookies! They turned out pretty good, although I wish they were a little sweeter. The recipe is pretty basic, so it allows you to personalize it as you wish! I think I am going to try icing mine to add some holiday *happy* & to add some sweetness:

CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES


2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
1 cup butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

MIX flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add 1 cup sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. Refrigerate 15 min. or until dough is easy to handle.

HEAT oven to 375°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in remaining sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on baking sheets.

BAKE 8 to 10 min. or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Excited!

Just a short note today to say how EXCITED I am about the holidays!! Last night I got several presents wrapped & put under the tree, so in my mind it's officially the holidays! There's such a difference when you actually get presents under the tree!

I am also excited because the Goodroes are coming to town this weekend to visit!! Mom & Dad haven't ever seen our house decorated at Christmas {this will be our third Christmas on Daly Street}, so we decided it was high-time they made the trip over! I think we are going to check out the new outlet mall in Leeds {Shops at Grand River} & try to wrap up our holiday shopping. It blows my mind that we will actually start our gift exchanges with extended family NEXT WEEKEND!! Where have the holidays gone?!? I'm also hoping that we will be able to ride around & see some Christmas lights while Mom & Dad are in town. This was something that we always did when I was growing up in Snellville, & I think it's only appropriate that we do it now in Birmingham!

Wanted to also say what fun I had this past week with some good girlfriends - Wednesday night a few of us went to the Innovation Depot in downtown to make our own stockings!! When I say 'make your own stocking', I mean it. They provided the burlap & all the various fabrics, buttons, pins, yarn, thread, etc... but we actually assembled everything & sewed the stockings together.

I have to admit, I was a little overwhelmed when the sweet girl was explaining what we were going to be doing, but I quickly got over my nerves & just went for it. 2.5 hours later we all had stockings! Everybody's looked amazing - very unique & I thought reflected each personality very well. I named my stocking the "Raggedy Ann" stocking - I went with a patchwork-style design. It actually turned out better than I thought it would - take a look for yourself: {please excuse the clutter on the bookshelves...}




It ended up being the perfect holiday-inspired evening with good friends! I know that everybody stays so busy all year, and the holidays are no different, so it was really good to spend an evening just relaxing with friends.

I also wanted to share a recipe that I tried last weekend for the Baker's house warming party {which, by the way, was a TOTAL success!!} It's a recipe that I found on another blog, Plain Chicken, which my friend Natalie introduced me to... it's a recipe for Sausage Cheese Muffins, & I like to think of them as a really nice alternative to sausage balls {the muffins aren't nearly as greasy}:

Sausage & Cheese Muffins




1 lb. hot ground pork sausage
1 tsp onion powder
3 cups all-purpose baking mix
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed fiesta nacho cheese soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk (I used skim milk)

Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet over medium to med-high heat, stirring until it crumbles and no longer pink. Drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 375. Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Stir together the soup and water; add to sausage mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon until lightly greased mini muffin tins, filling to tops of cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.

This recipe made about 36 mini muffins, so get ready to feed a crowd when you make them! Last weekend I made over 70 of them for the house-warming & they were all gone (needless to say, a crowd-pleaser!).


I think that's all for now - I'm going to continue my Christmas playlist on Pandora {hey, it's only the holidays once a year, right??}

Until next time...

peace & love.

the bakers.