Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Cake

I love to bake (surprise, surprise)!! I'm always looking for either a reason to bake or the next big thing to experiment with. Last Friday night was the annual youth cake auction to raise funds to send the young men and young women to their respective summer camps. I had my reason and I found what I deemed my next big thing! I was SO excited I couldn't hardly wait. I also found out that you can make the layers of this AMAZING "cake" ahead of time and freeze them until ready to assemble. I can only attest to this for up to a week, so tread carefully on your own after that. :)

Let me introduce you to the Ultimate Layered Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Cake.

YUM!!

Photo Cred: Life, Love & Sugar

My version!

Okay, so I thought my version was very similar to the original, but for a first attempt and my own perceived lack of cake decorating skill I thought it turned out pretty good! I already know I'll do better next time (and I'm working on make this on a smaller scale...stay tuned). Regardless, I'm so proud of this cake and loved the adventure trying something new. If/When I open my bakery/restaurant, this is SOOOOOO going on the menu. :)

Button Ornament

I decided that I wanted my Christmas tree to be MY Christmas tree. No run of the mill, bought it in a box, ornaments on my tree. I decided I wanted to only add ornaments that had special meaning, or that I personally made for my tree. This year I made my very own button ball ornament. I made a couple a few years ago, but I wanted one for my tree.

I spent 2-3 hours on this and had a bit of time to think. What I ended up thinking about was what the finished product was going to look like but realizing that to make the finished product I was going to have to add one button and one pin at a time. There were no shortcuts here.

I thought about my life. I know ultimately how I want my finished life to be (though I know God has an even grander finish than I can comprehend) but there aren't any shortcuts to get there. I'm going to have to go through every pain, happiness, sorrow, joy, etc., one at a time. As I do this, though, I will start to see myself take shape.

The beauty when making this ornament is that if you don't like the way something is placed you pull it out and try again. Thanks to the gift of the Savior's Atonement, I can repent of things that aren't right and try again.

As we think of celebrating Christmas, I think of it as Christ "mas", or the Spanish equivalent of more. I want more Christ in my life. I want to be more like Him. I want to live and do as He would. I want to create my own finished work of art...me.

Banana Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

I was first introduced to baked oatmeal when we lived in Amish country Pennsylvania. Mmm, good stuff. I haven't thought much about it until today...8 years later. I had a bunch of bananas that looked okay when I left for work but were way past ready when I got home. I didn't want banana bread, cookies, or smoothies. Out of NOWHERE I thought of baked oatmeal and wondered..."Can I put bananas in that?" The answer is yes! I followed (mostly) this recipe for Baked Blueberry Oatmeal from Nutmeg Nanny (sweet name!!).

Courtesy of Nutmeg Nanny

Here's the scoop:

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

Yield: 8x8 pan
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 cups milk
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter - melted (or not)
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract) (definitely extract)
1/3 cup maple syrup (I used what I had left...maybe a tablespoon or so)
2 ripe bananas - cut into 1/2 slices (ummm...alternate method below)
1 1/2 cup blueberries

Source: Slightly adapted from Epicurious

Directions:

Preheat oven 375 degrees.
Butter 8x8 dish and cover bottom with banana slices. Then sprinkle 3/4 cup blueberries over top bananas and set aside. (I basically disregarded this whole section. I mixed my bananas in with my wet ingredients (see below), and saved the blueberries for the top. I know, rebel).
In medium bowl mix together oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combines.
In another bowl beat together milk, egg, butter, vanilla paste and maple syrup.(Add the bananas now and make them part of the "batter")
Add oats to dish and gently pour milk mixture over oats (or pour oats in bowl, stir, then dump). Gently rap pan on the counter to make sure the milk has gone all the way through the oats. (Yeah, didn't do that either)
Sprinkle the top with blueberries and cook in oven for 35 to 45 minutes until the top is golden brown and the oatmeal is set. If desired, drizzle the top with more maple syrup. (Definitely, YES!!)

*******
I feel like I hardly followed her directions at all, but I still turned out some AMAZING baked oatmeal!! I have a feeling baked oatmeal is one of those forgiving dishes that would allow me to test all sorts of delicious, if not a bit iffy, flavors! Only time will tell!

Pumpkin Chili Recipe

Let's get one thing straight. I would LOVE to be one of those bloggers who tries new recipes, takes awesome pictures, has great witty insights about life and is crafty out the wa-zoo. I channel my inner blogger/crafter occasionally, but lets face it...with my schedule right now, I'm lucky to be keeping myself alive AND eating three healthy, balanced meals per day (we don't talk about the occasional, outrageous chocolate consumption that may or may not occur).

I DO find time to cook at least one really good meal per week. It is generally a recipe that makes several servings. I'll usually eat 2-3 servings throughout the week so I don't have to cook in my few precious minutes between work and school.

Instead of lamenting what I'm not able to do, I'm going to try what I CAN do. I'm going to start posting my favorite meal recipes here. No, they are not my pictures. Yes, I will link to another person's page. No, I have no shame in doing this. You know the saying "you do what you can do". Right now at this time in my life, this might be as good as it gets. :)

Let's kick things off right with a really good hot and hearty chili recipe. I made pumpkin pies the other night and had a LOT of canned pumpkin left over. I wanted to do something different with it and so I went to my favorite place, Pinterest, and located what I'm deeming my new favorite chili recipe. It happens to be vegetarian, but if you're not into that kind of thing, add some meat. :) I didn't feel the need to complicate the situation and found it to be completely tasty and satisfying sans meat. I have already had two servings in a 24 hour period; it's just that good. Julia knew what she was doing with this one. :)

Pumpkin Chili - Julia's Album

Pumpkin chili with black beans and garbanzo beans

Total time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (from the can or homemade)
• 1 cup canned tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable stock or water
• 1 can black beans (15 oz, 425 g)
• 1/2 can garbanzo beans (7.5 oz, 212 g) or white beans
• 1 tablespoon cumin powder (start with half the amount, and add more, to taste)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder (start with 1 tablespoon, reduce or add more, depending on your tastes and also on how spicy your chili powder is)
• salt and pepper
  
  makes 4 lunch-size servings. You can (and should!) double this recipe, if you plan to serve this for dinner (larger portions) for 4-6 people!
  1) In a large pot or skillet, cook chopped onion and minced garlic (I didn't have fresh garlic and used garlic powder instead) in olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat until soft.
  2) Add pumpkin, canned tomatoes (chop them up into smaller chunks) (I used diced tomatoes with chili spice...one less thing for me to think about), vegetable stock (or water) (or chicken stock, just to keep things interesting), black beans and garbanzo beans. Add half the cumin and half the chili powder (or don't if your seasonings were included in your tomatoes), stir everything well, and season with salt and pepper. Taste your chili, season some more with salt and pepper if needed (I also recommend a smidgen of chipotle pepper powder). Add the remaining cumin (or more) and remaining chili powder (or more), if desired. Bring to boil, make sure to stir all ingredients well together to combine flavors and spices. Reduce to simmer and cook for 20 minutes on simmer.
  3) Serve in soup bowls, garnished with chopped green onion.
  
  This made 5 servings for me. One for the night I made it and 4 mason jars that are ready to be packed for lunch or reheated at home before the studying begins.