I'm An ADD Cleaner

Today is Good Friday.  For me, it's the start of Easter Preparations 2011.  Cleaning is what I'm doing first.  Starting with the kitchen.

I plan to clean off the window seat - it's the perfect lighting for photography of food!  But it's also what our cat Sophie has adopted as her 'room'.  So good luck there.

Here's where the ADD comes in.  I emptied the dishwasher, then loaded it.  Wiped everything down and cleaned all Sophie's paw prints from the glass top kitchen table....which appear about 3 seconds after I wipe the glass clean.  Thanks Sophie.  She likes to play in her water...then go tinkle in the litter box, then traipse her gross paws all over my table!

Then I moved to the bar.  I purchased some purple flowers for the Easter table setting that I put on the bar for now.  I went out back with them to water them and let them get some sun.  Came back in.  Now where was I?

Oh yes, the bar.  Wait, I need the broom. Cat litter on the floor in the kitchen....damn cat.

Where's the broom?  Oh, outside.  Oh well.  Let's go out back...and I'll bring my Blackberry and my coffee and have a smoke. Then I'll get the broom and go sweep the kitchen.

So, I sit.  Drink my coffee.  Have a smoke.  And then notice - the mess.  Our cottonwood tree has 'snowed' ALL over the yard..for a couple of weeks now.  The patio and patio table is COVERED in cottony snow.  Before I can bring the broom inside, I need to sweep out here.  And clean the table.

Which brings us to now.  I'm sitting at the laptop, helping my daughter with her math homework, blogging about my ADD cleaning habits.

It will get done today.  I swear. Maybe not in an order that makes any sense to anyone else.  But it will get done.

Kitchen
Window Seat
Den
Back Patio
Vacuuming
Steam Cleaning
Boiling Eggs


It will get done.

*Hours later - most of it got done.  But letting my daughter have a sleep-over while trying to cook and clean proved itself a tiring effort.  I fed faces while doing everything else.  Sunday night, I felt like I had been cleaning and cooking for three days...wait that WAS what I was doing.  I need a vacation now.

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

I can't tell you how delicious and sugar coma inducing this is.  And it's NO BAKE.  Holy Crap.  Chocolate and Peanut Butter?!? I want to be buried in it. 

Follow along - and remember...this is MommieDawn.

I have ingredients but exact measurements ....Not so much.

You Need:

Peanut Butter (1 jar)

Butter (1 stick)

Powdered Sugar (1 box)

Vanilla (1 Tblsp)

Brown Sugar (2 cups)

Chocolate (Bars or Chips)

Now - take everything (except the chocolate) and throw it in a microwave safe bowl.

I doubled this recipe - sorta. 

So don't worry when mine looks huge! 

(That's what she said.)

Microwave for about 20 seconds at a time until butter

and peanut butter is somewhat melted.
*pay no attention to the fattie in the reflection.  it's the photographer. geez.*

Bam. It's melted. 

Stir that shit up! 

*Don't mind all the cans there. Easter Preparation Is Underfoot!*

There ya have it.  And I have to say, even at this point I wanted

to bury my head in the bowl.  

Thanks to the hands of my mini-me, there you have the

dough all flattened out. 

Put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.  

Zap it until it's melted. Be sure to stop and stir.

And DON'T BURN IT!
*pay no attention to the messy reflection. it was the maid's day off*

Spread it out.  And Chill this in the fridge for

a few hours.  

We couldn't wait. 

The Easter Menu

Easter is just days away and I think I have it all planned.  I will be making a ham.  Yes, you read it correct. A ham.  A pig.  An animal.

This is the first Easter with my Gaga in heaven - she always made ham.  I can't help but be sentimental.  I loved that woman to pieces. So, a ham it is.

I also found a wonderful dish for an early brunch to use the dyed Easter eggs that won't have us consuming a ton of Deviled Eggs.  But, if you know me, I can't resist making Deviled Eggs on a 'religious' holiday. >:)

I will also be making the pears with cream cheese and jelly beans my Gaga always made.  I know, from that description it is kind of hard to envision what the hell that is. But I promise you - it's fuckinfantastical!

Homemade potatoes au gratin will be made and green beans with dinner rolls.  Bam.  Easter on a plate.

I won't be attending church or anything - duh.  I don't 'do' organized religion - sorry if that's a news flash to anyone.  I will be spending it with my family. I will be setting an Easter table, cooking scrumptious food and enjoying the day with my family.

For dessert we're making a creamy strawberry pie and possibly some Peeps cupcakes.

Backyard Black Bean Burgers

Backyard Black Bean Burgers
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Chilling time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
• ½ cup chunky salsa
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• Hamburger buns

Place beans in food processor; process until fairly smooth. Add flour, cornmeal, salsa, cumin and garlic salt. Process until well combined. Spoon mixture into 6 balls on a large plate and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours before cooking.
Heat barbecue grill or ridged grill pan over medium heat. Coat grill or pan lightly with oil. Form each ball into a 4-inch patty about ½-inch thick. Place the patties on the grill or in pan and cook until browned and heated through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.
Serve on hamburger buns with your favorite toppings.

Cupcakes and Spring

We have to make cupcakes at least once a month in our house.  If not cupcakes...then a cake or apple crisp or SOMETHING sweet!

This weekend the weather was nice and when I was cleaning, we were making cupcakes and hanging outback.  My daughters roses bloomed again and the 'cotton snow' from our tree covered just about everything and we took tons of photos.

I was cleaning out the pantry and saw that we had one container of cream cheese icing and one box of white cake mix...combined that with the last of the food coloring and voilà! We divided the batter into 3 and dyed each one the remainder of the dye - green, yellow and blue.  Then poured them in layers and baked!

The rest of the weekend (besides cleaning) we sat outback, watched the dog lounge and dodged 'cotton snow'!

Eatin' Easter Eggs

Easter is soon upon us, and if you're like us you'll have plenty of hard boiled eggs left over.  There's only so many deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches you can eat.  Thanks to the Pioneer Woman, we're saved from the same-old same-old!

She posted a recipe for 'Make Ahead Muffin Melts' and they look AWESOME!  Oh....and easy.

We'll be boiling and dyeing Easter eggs this weekend and I will be making these muffin melts for a brunch-ish snack and will post the full recipe and my pics then!