Quinn's M&M Party

Quinn requested an m&m birthday party this year. It actually made a lot of sense, since m&m's have been a big part of our lives lately (potty training and all). We invited our neighbors over to help us celebrate and Quinn loved it.

The day got started with the traditional birthday pancakes. Is there anything better than pancakes for breakfast? Not for this little guy! We got to sing happy birthday together, with Dad on FaceTime since he was away on a trip. 

Lillie went off to school and Quinn had to wait all day for Lillie and Dad to come home and his party to start. As usual, trains helped to pass the time. Chocolate ice cream for lunch also helped to keep his spirits high. How could a mom say no to a request like that on his birthday?! Not me.

Two things Quinn wanted his cake to have: m&m's and strawberries. This was interesting because he hasn't been loving strawberries lately, but his wish was my command. I used this strawberry cake recipe and a maple cream frosting (recommended by my neighbor who also loves to bake).  I incorporated the m&m's by making a big Q on top, which worked out well. The icing was awesome and I will definitely use it again. Not too sweet and really easy to put on the cake. In the end, Quinn mostly just ate the candy off the cake, but he loved it so I was happy.

It was a hit with his friends too. 

He got some amazing gifts and loved them all, but his big sister hit the jackpot with this Buzz Lightyear toy. Buzz talks and has a laser and his space helmet goes up and down. Quinn had an instant best friend in him. And because his birthday fell on a Friday, which also happens to be movie night, the birthday boy got to have his pick of movie. It was no big surprise that he chose Toy Story. He sat with Buzz on his lap for the entire movie, moving him around to mimic what the buzz in the movie was doing. I think his third birthday was a big success...and I can't wait to see what the next year brings us!

I ♥ Ina

My love for all things Ina Garten continues...

Conor had a craving for some meatloaf, and since we mostly don't eat red meat any more, I found this recipe for turkey meatloaf. (I say "mostly" because while Conor never eats red meat, I occasionally find a pulled pork sandwich or steak on a menu that I just can't resist.) This is not your grandmother's meatloaf, but it is ultimately very easy to make and the reviews? Two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Both the boys were members of the clean plate club while Lillie remains as picky as ever. Sigh. I also made these smashed potatoes, and um, I will be making them again. Soon. Yum. Yum. Yum.

A few weeks ago some new neighbors moved in next door so I tried out these outrageous brownies to give as a welcome gift. While they were good, the process of making them was a bit involved and it makes a lot! The recipes also calls for walnuts, so I set aside some batter to make a sans nuts portion for Lillie. I recommend making these when you're craving chocolate...and lots of it!

Update: I realized that I forgot to post the recipe for the meatloaf! The original recipe called for five pounds of turkey (?!!?) and I'm not sure we could have gotten through all that. So I used a three pound "roll" because it was the biggest roll I could find and because it's 85/15, which I think it cooks up much better. I modified a few of the other ingredients accordingly. We had enough for seconds, enough to give to our favorite babysitter, and enough for two days of leftovers. Oh, and the leftovers just might be better than the first night!

Recipe: Adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (1 large onion)
• 2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 3 pounds ground turkey breast
• 1 cup plain dry bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs and it seemed to work well)
• 3 extra-large eggs, beaten

For the topping:

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

• In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the topping evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

My Birthday Cake

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a fabulous day! Conor told me I could pick any cake I wanted and he would make it for me. I had to think long and hard about this one...any cake I wanted?! The possibilities, oh the possibilities. I finally decided on this Strawberry Country Cake and it was so good. Conor really outdid himself this time. I had to go back for a second piece, and am already drooling thinking about eating the leftovers tonight for dinner.

After cake and ice cream last night, Conor and I went to the Cubs game, he surprised me with the tickets earlier in the day. It was great to get out of the house just the two of us and enjoy the (chilly) baseball weather. And yes, I did help myself to a beer and hot dog even though we'd just stuffed ourselves with yummy cake, and I'd do it again!

Birthday Cake

Since we were traveling back from our vacation on the day of Conor's birthday, we waited a few days to do a full celebration with cake and presents. After getting very little direction on what kind of cake Conor wanted, I decided to make this very cool looking zebra cake. It turned out to be very tasty and easy to make...just a little time-consuming. We were all big fans of this one, and I think we'll see it again for birthdays to come. Of course it's not a birthday cake without ice cream, and I tried out a recipe for a VERY easy chocolate ice cream. It was only okay, I still have some kinks that need worked out, so I'll write more about that later. I'm working on a good summary of how our vacation went, we had so much fun. I'll be working over the next few days to get everything updated on the blog...stay tuned!

Recipe: From Baking Bites
cake

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk (low fat is fine)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp almond extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together eggs and sugar until mixture is light and creamy and the sugar has mostly been dissolved. Stir in milk, vegetable oil, vanilla and almond extracts.
   In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Measure out just over two cups of vanilla batter and place it back in the medium bowl. Sift cocoa powder over the bowl and whisk until fully incorporated. 
3. Put 3 tbsp of vanilla batter into the center of the pan and let it spread slightly on its own. Put 3 tbsp of chocolate batter in the center of the vanilla. It will push out the other batter and, as it sits for a moment, will also spread itself. Alternating spoonfuls of the two batters, repeat the technique until all the batter has been used up. 
4. Bake for 38-42 minutes, until the cake is light gold and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out the cake and remove the parchment paper. Reinvert on to a wire rack and let cool before slicing.

Serves 10.

buttermilk chocolate frosting

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2-3 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided
• 6 tbsp buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small, microwave safe bowl, melt together butter and unsweetened chocolate. Heat in 30-45 second intervals, stirring frequently, until mixture is smooth. Cool for 10-15 minutes, or until mixture is at room temperature.
2. Transfer butter mixture to a larger bowl. Beat in cocoa powder, 2 cups confectioners sugar, buttermilk and vanilla, beating until frosting is smooth and slightly fluffy. Add additional confectioners’ sugar to thicken, if needed (depending on the weather, you may need more one day and less another). Frosting should be at room temperature before using.

Valentine's Recap

Every Sunday is Pancake Sunday in our house, so when Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday this year, you know Conor (the pancake maker) had to make pink heart cakes. Aren't they cute? You should all be very jealous because they were delicious! We had a great day full of hearts, flowers, and yummy treats. Lillie and Quinn gave me a perfect bouquet of cala lillies and Conor gave me some beautiful roses.

Lillie, Quinn and I worked hard to make Conor a very special Valentine's cookie. These are heart-shaped, homemade Samoa's. I found the recipe here, and oh my, you can find more homemade versions of Girl Scout Cookies here. I strongly encourage everyone to make these cookies when you need a little sweet in your life.

Recipe: From Laura Rebecca's Kitchen

cookies

• 1 cup butter, soft
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• up to 2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk as needed to make the dough come together without being sticky (it’s possible you might not need to add milk at all). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.
3. Working in two or three batches, roll out the dough between pieces of wax or parchement paper to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and cut out shapes using a 1 to 1 1/2 -inch cookie cutter.
4. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. If you'd like to make your rounds look just like samoas, use the end of a wide straw to cut a smaller center hole.
5. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set.
6. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

coconut caramel topping

• 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 12-oz good-quality chewy caramels (like Werther's)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate (chocolate chips are ok)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with salt, milk, and vanilla. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.
3. Using a small spoon or small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel for a few seconds in the microwave if it gets too firm to work with.
4. While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.
5. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container.

Yields 3 1/2 to 4 dozen cookies.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This has become a favorite in our house, and it's the perfect soup to enjoy on such a cold day. I think we hit a low of 5 degrees in Chicago, not that I would know since we didn't venture out today. I try to stick with recipes that are not difficult or complicated with lots of strange ingredients, and this one is no exception. It's another easy one with great results. I've made it a lot and have tweaked the original recipe...it seems to work well for us!

Recipe: Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen
Ingredients:

• 2 split chicken breasts (or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 qt. chicken stock or broth
• 1 qt. water
• ½ teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 3 large carrots, sliced
• 3 celery stalks, sliced
• 3 teaspoons salt

For the cream sauce:

• ¾ cup butter
• 1 cup flour (sometimes I use 1/2 white with 1/2 whole wheat flour for a nuttier taste)
• 4 cups milk

Directions:

1. Boil above ingredients for 1 hours. When chicken is tender, remove from broth and remove from bones. Cut into 1 inch pieces and set aside(I like to tear mine so it's in big chunks). 
2. If the liquid has reduced too much you can add some more water at this point. Add 2 cups of uncooked noodles and continue to boil for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in large sauce pan. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened (get it pretty thick). Add salt and pepper. 
4. Add cream sauce to broth/noodle mixture. If the soup is too thin after adding the cream mixture, continue cooking until desired thickness.

Note: Once your cream sauce has thickened, do not allow to boil as it may separate. Also, if cream sauce has a strong white sauce flavor, add ½ to 1 tsp. lemon juice.

Homemade Oreos

photo from Sugar Cooking

Ok people. I'm going to be trying something new here on the Sullivan Four. I have a great collection of cookbooks, great websites bookmarked on my computer, and some wonderful family recipes at my disposal. My problem is that I often make something that is family(Conor)-approved and if too much time passes, I forget about it and never get to making it again. So, to help myself keep track of it all, I'll be writing about recipes that I try and want to make again (and maybe the recipes that don't make the cut too, just so I remember that too.) This way I have just one place to look if I need inspiration to make something tried and true. Hopefully it gives you some inspiration too!

I hosted a play date at our house today and wanted to have a little something on hand for some snacking, especially since the other moms in attendance are pregnant. So (against Conor's advice) I decided to try a new recipe. I saw this recipe on Sugar Cooking,  and the result: thumbs up from all! These cookies are SO easy to make and they really are tasty. It is absolutely essential that you enjoy these with a glass of milk!

Recipe: Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
For the chocolate wafers:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

For the filling:

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375°F.
2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately two inches apart. With moistened hands, slightly flatten the dough. Bake for 9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on a rack to cool.
4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream. Dunk generously in a large glass of milk.

We had a great Thanksgiving here in Chicago! We decided to host, for the first time, both our families this year...just look at this handsome group. (Yes, that's Conor on the right running back into the frame after setting the timer on our camera.) With 16 people to feed, we had so much good food, I'm going to post the menu so that I'll know where to look in case we do it again.

For starters, Conor worked hard to perfect the brined, grilled, turkey, and it was awesome! If you've never brined a turkey, it can be a lot of prep work, but it's sooo worth it. He cooked a 12 pound bird on the grill and a 23 pounder in the oven. (Oh, and thankfully our ovens were in working order...that's a whole other story.) The turkeys were the real winners of the menu, as they should be. Our moms took care of the pies: two varieties of pumpkin and a tawny apple, all family recipes. Moira made the Berry Mallow Yam Bake, a staple at Sullivan Thanksgivings, and did a wonderful job at keeping the marshmallows from catching fire (I can't say the same for the bread I toasted for the stuffing!) The rest of the menu consisted of:

• This holiday punch. It was light and refreshing...I'll definitely use it again.
• The fondue pot had to make it's yearly appearance from out of storage, so I made this queso dip. It was a huge success based on the constant circle of people around it.
  
• Ina's buttermilk mashed potatoes. They were yummy, but I'll make more next time. Lesson learned, mashed potatoes are the first to go!
• These carrots are so easy, and I loved the subtle ginger flavor. Yes, I love the Barefoot Contessa.
• Of course there was GBC. What Thanksgiving is complete without a Green Bean Casserole! I made my Aunt's modified version of this recipe.
• And I attempted to make my cousin, Scott's, favorite cornbread & sausage stuffing. I don't think I quite pulled it off, but I did keep things exciting by forgetting to pull out the toast from the broiler!

We ended the day with our annual Christmas craft, which did involve a little sewing, but I think everyone did a great job on their Gingerbread houses. I'm very proud of you all!

So there it is, our first Thanksgiving! Can't wait for next year!