Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is my all-time-favorite-go-to-coffee cake. I always assumed it was just because I grew up with it, but when more than one play group momma asked for the recipe, I figured I'd post it. Happy baking! 

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 sticks of butter

2 cups sugar

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Cream eggs, butter & sugar together in standing mixer for 20 minutes, or at least 10. 

3. While that is mixing, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, & pecans in a small bowl. Set it aside.

4. After the eggs, butter and sugar have been mixing 10-20 minutes, fold in sour cream, vanilla, flour (both) & baking powder. 

5. Grease and flour a bundt or tube pan. 

6. Spoon just enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan. 

7. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar/ cinnamon/ pecan mixture over the batter in the pan. 

8. Spoon in half of the remaining batter, then the rest of the brown sugar mixture, then the rest of the batter. 

9. The original recipe says to cook 45-60 minutes, but I usually start checking at 30. It's MUCH better undercooked than overcooked, and it's easy to accidentally dry it out. (I do the fork test, and stick a fork in and pull it out when the fork just barely doesn't have anything stuck on it.) 

10. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then loosen cake from the pan using a knife or long thin spatula. 

11. Invert pan to get cake out and let it continue cooling on rack or plate. 

Enjoy :) 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This is one of those dips that is so easy, and everyone loves. But I'd never made it. I whipped some up for a little lady's night and it seemed to go over well!

source

I'm sure you can find a million recipes online and they'll basically all be the same, but this is the one I used. I made a couple changes, so I just wrote it out below. 

Ingredients

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan (OR 1/4 cup parmesan + 1/4 cup romano) 

1 clove minced garlic 

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp garlic salt 

salt and pepper to taste (I almost NEVER add salt to anything) 

1- 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella 

Directions

1. Preheat oven 350. Lightly grease a small baking dish. Any size will work. 

2. Mix all together. I used a hand mixer to make it easier with the cream cheese. 

3. Transfer to baking dish, sprinkle a little more cheese (because, really, you can never have enough). 

4. Bake 25 minutes, or until bubbly and light browned. 

5. Eat the entire thing. No don't do this. Unless you have help from other pregnant ladies... 

OH! I served with Stacy's Pita Crisps, not to be confused with Pita CHIPS. I have only seen these Crisps in the store relatively recently, but they are my FAVORITE for dips like this. They're in a smaller bag than the Stacy's Pita Chips, but they are oh so delicious. And all the different flavorful varieties are equally tasty. You should probably go get them, now. I'll even throw in a picture so you can find them more easily :) 

Links

A few things I've stumbled on lately that I think are worth your time :)

Entitlement parenting 
Helpful habit for a strong marriage 
Everyone knows what he invented but you've never heard of him
I stumbled on this sweet adoption story & opportunity via this blog that I like.
I am vicariously nesting through these people's nursery remodel. You should try vicariously nesting - it's cheaper, and easier, and leaves you more time for other things.

those cheesy bible verse sing along songs

When I was little, my parents used to play these Steve Green kids Bible verse sing along songs... on cassette tape. It's cheesy, people. I mean on the cover of the CD it says "Bible memory melodies."  

But the thing is, all the verses that I know inside and out from memory were memorized as a young kid, primarily through music or AWANA. So, though I generally don't love anything that would fit in the the category of "children's music"(i.e. kids singing in unison, sometimes slightly out of tune, with a cheesy sounding adult joining in, and always some cheerful talking... we can talk another time about how in the world I taught elementary school music), I'm willing to sacrifice. Of course, there is tons of great, scripture based music out there you can play instead too. 

Anyway, all that to say, I've been playing those same songs my parents played when I was a kid. 

Generally I turn it on in the late afternoon when things are getting slightly hectic and I'm trying to make dinner and need my tired, teething 1 year old to entertain herself. 

But, watch out! 

Because if, at the time when your kids are melting, and dinner is burning, and your hair is falling out (you know what I mean, mommas!)... if at THAT time, you start playing Bible verse music, or any worship music for that matter, you might find yourself increasingly cheerful as your husband walks through the door. And you may find yourself less irritable towards your kiddos. And you will probably be singing Bible verses to yourself all the live long day. And you may even find you have a little extra energy for the evening. So, consider yourself warned. 

I just use this playlist on youtube and turn my screen saver on, but you could always buy the music on iTunes or dig the cassette tape out from my parents' attic. 

p.s. This video is my other coping mechanism for THAT time. It is cheesier and the songs are even more annoying, but my kid loves it. 

Do you have any kid memory verse strategies and/or coping strategies for THAT time of day? :)  

love is...

I woke up this morning (to the tune of my daughter talking to herself in her room... at 6:00 am... what!?) & with coffee in hand, opened to Psalm 103 - 104. Once again, I was struck by God's bigness. (Is that a word?) I am praying for some big things right now and it was so refreshing to meditate on how big God is. 

Some glimpses of Psalm 104

Bless the Lord, O My soul! 

O Lord my God, you are very great! 

He makes the clouds his chariot...

He set the earth on its foundations

the waters stood above the mountains

at the sound of your thunder they took to flight 

You make the springs gush forth in the valleys

Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell 

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock

He made the moon to mark the seasons

You make darkness and it is night

Oh Lord, how manifod are your works!

In wisdom you have made them all

and on and on. 

And as I let this play over and over in my head, a small voice inside caught me by surprise. 

"I am bigger than your emotions." 

Hmm. My emotions was not on my prayer list. I opened the Word this morning with a lot of things on my mind this morning, lots of things I needed to remind myself that God was bigger than. 

But my emotions was not one of them. 

So, I started trying to mentally list the things I thought I needed God to be bigger than this morning... situations with different people, unknown circumstances, parenting, yada yada.

And I could not stop hearing "I am bigger than your emotions. And your hormones." 

Haha it was almost audible. And a little funny. I hesitantly put my original list on hold for a minute and started to think about my emotions. 1 Corinthians 13 came to mind. That seemed odd and unrelated, but what the heck. I turned over to 1 Corinthians 13, half reciting that passage I've heard at so many weddings to myself as I flipped the pages... "love is patient, love is kind..." 

And then I read it. 

Did you know this phrase is in there????

"Love is not irritable or resentful." 

WHAT!? I had never heard that translation. I read it again. 

"Love is not irritable or resentful, except when your preggo hormones are raging." 

Bummer. That's not what it said. 

"Love is patient and kind... it is not irritable or resentful." 

As if Paul (the author) was saying, in case you didn't catch the more 'positive' statement (what love IS), I will clarify in the 'negative' (what love is NOT.) 

Well, thank you Paul. If I'm 100% honest, I needed to hear it in the negative. Because I can try to be patient and kind all the live long day, and some days, it just doesn't happen. And the excuses roll in... these days, they are usually they are related to pregnancy, emotions and hormones. (If you haven't picked up on that yet.) 

Now, hear me. Those things are real. I am not dismissing them. 

But love is still patient and kind. 

And it still is not irritable or resentful. 

So, here's the little mental exercise I did: I am not irritable or resentful when_________________ 

[my kid(s) drive me nuts, my spouse forgets something, a big mess is made, no one is napping, i am snowed in, i don't get my way, or whatever your own irritations are.] 

Whatever your thing is - I do not dismiss it and neither does God. Life is full of irritations, big and small. Of ups and downs. Of tragedy and hardship. Regardless of how big or small others might perceive your 'thing' to be, God knows and he cares. 

He says: "Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you." (Psalm 55:22) "Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God...casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7)

And then, in the midst of those very real things that might tempt you to be irritable or resentful, repeat 10 times while you breathe deeply, love is not irritable or resentful. I am not irritable or resentful. 

Because people in our world need love. Our children, our spouses, our parents, our friends, our neighbors, and our strangers. They need to see it radiating. And not just on Valentine's Day. Tomorrow too. 

So let yourself love. 

Love is patient and kind... not irritable and resentful. 

Sugar Cookie Bars

source

I made those sugar cookie bars yesterday.
With pink frosting.
And rainbow sprinkles.

They were delicious & approximately 1824 times easier than sugar cookies or cutouts.

Bars > Cookies.

You should make some :)
The recipe is HERE.

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese & Rosemary French Onion Soup

Holy guacamole, Batman! You have to try these recipes.
They meet all the requirements for a weeknight meal- fast, easy, low maintenance.
Bonus - they taste amazing.
(Amazing tasting meals are not a weeknight requirement around here. That's reserved for things like birthdays and valentine's days.)

On the menu: Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese & Rosemary French Onion Soup

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photo (not recipe) source

Bacon Guacamole Grilled Cheese
This was something I saw on pinterest. 1 point for pinterest - this was SO good. It's pretty obvious to make, so you don't really need a recipe, but there's a link to the page I got it from anyway. I'll make the ingredients needed pink below for quick reference in case you need to run to the store immediately to get them.
Here's what I did:
1. Pre-cook bacon. I did this early in day and got it nice and crispy. It's easier to work with if it's cooked earlier I think.
2. Make guacamole however you like it. Since it was going on a sandwich, I just did avocado + fresh diced tomato + seasoned salt.
3. I shredded some swiss and cheddar and mixed it together in a little bowl.
4. Use really good bread. We like bakery-quality sourdough. I think sourdough is the #1 to eat grilled cheese. Try it, even if you don't really love plain sour dough bread.
5. Butter bread; on unbuttered side, spread guacamole-a-plenty + add shredded cheese mix + add a slice or two of bacon
6. Cook on stove. Keep on low heat for a while to get everything melty & then crank it up to get the bread toasty. (Can you tell I'm no stranger to grilled cheese?)

Bonus Tip: I also put Cobb Salad on our menu this week because it uses avocado, bacon, and tomato too! Double dipping on ingredients makes for a happy grocery budget.


Rosemary French Onion Soup
adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens February 2014

Ingredients
2 C. halved and thinly sliced yellow onions (2 medium size) (I use my Ninja chopper- see below- because I hate chopping onions. So mine were partly diced and partly sliced. It was delicious.) 
1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp snipped fresh rosemary (Using fresh was delicious! But I didn't really measure and it was very rosemary-ey, so I suggest measuring, and maybe even cutting down to 1 Tb, which I think would be about 1 1/2 sprigs all cut up.) 
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt (I'll do 1/2 tsp or less next time... I'm so thirsty... still. Too salty.) 
1/4 cup butter, softened
4 C. low-sodium beef broth (I used 3 1/2 because I needed 1/2 C from the container for tomorrow's recipe. It was plenty. Unless you're feeding a ton of people & need all 4 C.) 
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (You can sub 1 Tb red wine vinegar + 1/2 tsp sugar if you don't have balsamic... like me) :) 

Directions
1. Place onions, flour, 1 Tbsp of rosemary, pepper, and salt in a resealable plastic bag; shake to coat.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 2 Tb butter over medium-low heat. Stir in onion mixture. Cover and cook 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover; increase heat to medium-high. Cook a minute or two longer until onions are golden brown. Stir in broth and balsamic vinegar. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.
4. Simmer, covered for... however long you want. At least 10 minutes. I let it simmer while I made the grilled cheese & it was perfect.
5. I loaded each individual serving bowl with shredded swiss on top of the soup. Would have been yummy with croutons too.

Above mentioned Ninja chopper. This was one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received. It is amazing. It works so fast and is small to store and I use it ALL the time. $20 at Target... if you cook with onions ever, get one. It will save you so much time! (I'm sure you can use it for other things too, but I'm most grateful for it when it comes to onions.)

the unknown- making a gender reveal decision

I wrote this in my journal on January 16, the night before our 20 week ultrasound appointment.

As Ben and I laid in bed, talking the other night before we fell asleep, our conversation turned towards the near future. Where we’ll live, what things will look like, can we make a two-bedroom work, the latest plans for the new company, etc… As the conversation slowed and we got closer to sleep, I rolled over and said, “let’s find out the gender on Friday…we have enough unknowns in life right now.” 

We both laughed. And agreed. And that was that.

That was what pushed me into the “finding out camp.”

Up until that moment, while I was at times very eager to know the gender of our baby, I really wanted to wait until s/he was born to find out. It seemed like a fun surprise. I like surprises. Plus, it seemed like it'd make the delivery room more... exciting. (as if it needs more excitement?) One tiny bit of fun through all that pain.

In the end, the desire for something known outweighed all that.

And so, our decision was made.

It’s a silly thing to decide about really. I mean, eventually you find out anyway. And, I’m sure I’ve spent too much time thinking about whether or not we should find out the gender of this baby at our ultrasound.

But, less silly, is the human desire for the known.

We long to know. To be certain. To have something to hold on to. As I thought about this in the car the other day, I was almost moved to tears. Perhaps this piece of our human nature – this piece that desires something or Someone we can be sure of – was placed in our hearts by our Maker, who knew that if we searched long and hard enough, we would find That which we were looking for all along without even knowing it. And when we find it, or rather Him, our hearts are finally at peace.

Finally, we get it. We get what we were created for.

Circumstances may remain the same – uncertain and shaky – in fact, that we will experience uncertainty in this life is quite certain. 

And yet, in the midst of all the unknown, we can hold on to He who is faithful and steadfast. An anchor in the stormy seas. A firm foundation beneath my feet. He who loves with an everlasting love.  And we can know. And be known.

And our longings are fulfilled.

And so that is where I am. Maybe you are there too. Take heart – He knows. And we can know too.

While I’ve resolved to plant my feet upon the Rock in the midst of the all the unknowns, we are still going to find out the gender of this baby. Because sometimes, it’s nice to have one other little thing to know.

Unless of course, s/he is quite modest and hides. J