Author Archives: Lisa

Homemade Mini Eclairs

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Hey, hey friends! Thanks for all the congratulations on baby number two.  Baby is doing great.  Today I am sharing a recipe my mom and I made a few days ago while she was here helping me with the kids: mini eclairs!

My mom used to make eclairs and cream puffs all the time when I was younger.  I mentioned that John and I went to our local coffee shop on Sunday after mass and he was bummed they didn’t have any eclairs left.  She suggested we make them as a surprise.

Since we were making these during nap time, we used instant pudding mix to speed things along, but she usually makes her pudding from scratch.

The recipe we followed can be found here.  We did make one modification -we made mini eclairs instead of the larger ones the recipe calls for.  I like everything mini – I think desserts taste and look better the smaller they are.  Plus, bite size is fun size.  The baking time changes though if you make them smaller.  I baked the pastry for ten minutes at 450 degrees and then six minutes at 325 degrees. My batch made 27 mini eclairs.

Here’s all the ingredients.

eclair ingredientsFirst, I made the pastry part of the eclair.  It was really simple.

mixing eclair batterMeanwhile, my mom prepared the pudding.

eclair creamI used a ziploc bag with a large corner cut out as my pastry bag and squeezed out the dough onto a cookie sheet.

piping bagWhile the pastry was baking, my mom whipped the cream and folded it into the pudding mix.

eclair cream 2After the pastry cooled it was time to gently slice the eclairs and filled with the pudding mixture.  I used a frosting spatula to fill the eclairs.  I would say I used about two tablespoonfuls for each eclair – no skimping here.  I should mention that there was a lot of filling left, so next time I would halve the pudding mixture (and I bet there would still be some leftover).

mini eclairs bakedmini eclairs in halfadding the creamWhile I was filling, my mom made the chocolate icing. Once she removed it from the stovetop, I used a sugar spoon to ice the eclairs. This chocolate icing is so good!  I definitely licked the bowl after I was done icing.

mini eclairsThe eclairs taste pretty good right away, but a few hours in the fridge makes all the flavors sing. These little gems are so delicious!  They were John approved inhaled and were a delicious dessert for after dinner.

These may be my new go-to dessert to share with family and friends.  Do you have a favorite dessert recipe you like to make with your mom or family?

Our Nursery Drawers

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Hey there! I hope you enjoyed our last post about preparing for baby numero dos. With the finish line in sight, we’re pretty much ready to go. I need to write a post about all the baby gear expectant parents need for a newborn and I’m hoping to share a little more in depth about my make-ahead meals later, like the recipes and such, but I can’t make any promises. I’m hoping this baby shows up sooner than later!

Another necessary baby prep all nesting moms do is organize the nursery. Last weekend John completed some touch up paint and gave the nursery a deep clean (thanks!!). After that was complete, my mom and I cleaned the dresser drawers and washed all of the baby clothes. When we first set up the nursery for our daughter, I took the time to line every drawer with contact paper. I’m so glad I did that because this time around cleaning the drawers was a breeze. We used non-toxic baby surface wipes for the drawers and allowed them to air dry while we did all the baby laundry.

I organized each drawer to have a “theme” and tried my best to group like age times together (like clothes for 3 or 6 mo. old). Some items, like bedding for example, will be in the drawers temporarily until the baby comes home and we are ready to use the cradle and crib sheets. There’s no use to put them on now because they’ll just get dusty again. Also, I know once the baby arrives I will be tweaking the drawers since I will end up getting more clothes.

Here are some photos of the drawers in the nursery. We still owe you updated Nursery pics, but to be honest, it’s not much different than the last time. Oh and btw, these photos were taken at night with my iPhone, so the quality isn’t too great.

The top drawer of my changing table houses newborn diapers, wipes, and a cosmetic bag that has a baby brush, baby nail clippers, butt paste (there is such a thing), and lanolin. These are the essentials I like to keep near so I can grab an item with one hand if necessary.

20130326-221609.jpgI also have a drawer of washing essentials – all of my hooded towels and washcloths get placed together along with my changing pad covers.

20130326-222217.jpgThe bottom drawer is filled with crib bedding. I have my mattress protector, waterproof pads, and multiple crib sheets tucked away nicely.

nursery drawerThe top drawer of my tall dresser has baby socks, newborn hats, and my burp clothes and cotton bibs. I also have my activity mat in the back until I am ready to use it for baby tummy time.

20130326-222431.jpgBelow that drawer are my long and short sleeve onsies, sized 0-3 month. I also have my 3-6 month onesies ready to go. Next to those are my gender neutral pajamas lined up as well as my printed onesie and pants. I have these items separated by fabric bins I bought a couple years ago at Ikea.

20130326-222748.jpgNext I have my cradle bedding, pack ‘n play bedding, boppy covers, and swaddlers.

20130326-222855.jpgLast but not least are my baby blankets.

20130326-223029.jpg

There you have it – a peek into our nursery drawers. Babies sure need a lot of linens n things!

Do you have any drawer organizing tips you want to share? Anyone else buried in baby clothes?

Luck of the Irish

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We hope you had a good weekend! We were busy with “second baby preparations,” which we will be sharing in the next few weeks, btw. We did get a chance to have a low key, but tasty St. Patty’s day dinner!

First off, I made homemade honey butter at John’s request. I’ve never had it, but it sounded good to me. I used Alton Brown’s recipe for the ingredients, but just eyeballed the measurements. I used my Cuisinart hand mixer with the whisk attachment to cream the butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Then I placed the mixture in a small ramekin and let it chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. The honey butter was a great compliment to the store bought Irish soda bread.

honey butterFor dinner, I made Martha Stewart’s Irish Beef and Stout Stew. I halved the recipe and still had left overs for this week! This was a great tasting recipe and was very simple to make. John loves any kind of stew and this one was definitely a notch above my standard go-to stew recipe I make in the crock pot. This recipe is a keeper for sure.

irish stewFor dessert we had chocolate cake with green frosting. Pretty straightforward so no pictures here. My personal preference would have been for a few shamrock shakes from MickyD’s, but no one felt like running out of the house to fetch them, so I will have to wait until tomorrow! I don’t know about you guys, but I love shamrock shakes. I have been drinking them since February and will continue to order them until all the McDonald’s near me run out.

So that was our low key St. Patty’s day celebration – what are your traditions?

Christmas Cookies

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Every year I make Christmas cookies with my mom. We’ve been making them together since I was a little kid with my grandmom. Since we’ve been married, I’ve also been putting together a cookie tray for John to take to his office Christmas party. We always make certain traditional Italian cookies and every year try out one or two new cookie recipes. Here’s what we baked up this year…

italian christmas cookies 1

1. Peanut Butter Blossoms. These are peanut butter cookies that are rolled into a ball, then rolled in suger, baked and while hot out of the oven, they are pressed down with a Hershey kiss. This isn’t a family recipe or anything. You can see the actual recipe on Hershey’s website.

2. Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are a thin, buttery, crispy, chocolate chip cookies that are my “go-to” chocolate chip cookies. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes I’ve seen make thicker, chewier cookies. That’s fine if you like that, but I really like this crispy version. The recipe is Martha Stewart’s daughter’s and can be found here. This recipe makes 30 4-inch cookies, which are HUGE. I typically halve the recipe and make smaller sized cookies, say 2 or 3 inches in diameter.

3. Crescent Cookies. This is a traditional Italian cookie that my grandmother taught my mom to make way back in the day. She has been making them ever since. They are made with Pecans and are rolled in powdered sugar. Enuff said. Nom nom. I’m not sharing this recipe. Sorry!! Ancient family secret. ;) I’m sure you can find something delicious online.

4. Spritzer Cookies. These are a cookie that was made by my grandmother. They are a lovely, light, buttery cookie that are decorated with sprinkles. You’ll need a cookie press and various dies to make these. We always use the wreath and the Christmas tree and this year we tried the snowflake shape.

linzer christmas cookies5. Raspberry Filled Linzer Sandwich Cookies. This is a new cookie we made this year and it’s delicious! The only drawback is the recipe doesn’t make a lot of cookies. We used the Wilton recipe that came with the Linzer cookie set. If you don’t bake regularly, these cookies may be more challenging. They also take a lot of time. It’s hard because you have to roll the dough out really thin, which makes transferring the dough to your cookie pan hard without cracking them. They’re definitely worth the effort though! Here’s a tip: Refrigerate them overnight for an even better taste.

6. Raspberry and Apricot Filled Thumbprint Cookies. These are my favorite Christmas cookies of all time. Period. It’s not Christmas without me inhaling 2 dozen of these little gems. Once again, this is a family recipe, so I’m not sharing. There are plenty of thumbprint cookie recipes floating out there. They can be filled with just about any type of jam or dried fruit, but my personal favorite is seeded raspberry preserves dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Ridic.

7. Sugar Cookies. These are basic sugar cookies that are rolled out and cut with Christmas themed cookie cutters. They are what we’ll be leaving out for Santa and Rudolph on Christmas Eve. Any basic sugar cookie recipe will probably do fine.

So, this may be my favorite Christmas tradition and I’m still making some yet. If I do, I’ll share those as well.

What are your Christmas culinary traditions? Do you bake something every year or do you cook?

Christmas Gifts for the Ladies

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Hey hey! This time around I get to share with you my two cents on Christmas shopping for the ladies.

My parents and I have been midnight Black Friday shoppers since, well, Black Friday shopping started at 5am. Since we do the majority of our shopping then, I request lists from family in advance, so I can plan accordingly. This year I will be making a trip to a certain red retailer that opens at 9pm Thursday evening, which I am very excited for!

So here are my recommendations for Christmas gifts for the ladies – young and old!

1. Vera Bradley Turn Lock Wallet

From what I have seen on the web, this wallet packs a lot of punch for it’s size. It’s designed to hold a lot of cards, has a bill fold, a zipper pouch, and room for spare change. If you aren’t familiar with Vera Bradley, she offers a variety of patterns and colors to excite anyone. One problem? Choosing the color and pattern that’s right for you. My pick – Priscilla Pink (not shown).

2. Extreme Calendar/Planner

There’s a few of these floating around these days. Maybe you’ve seen them. Erin Condren or May Books have some of my favorites. They are large keep-it-together date books used to remember events, plan meals, remember birthdays and much more. Check them out at the links above.

3. Ulta/Sephora Gift Card

Yes I am a woman, and I am suggesting you purchase a gift card for a woman (is this almost as bad a suggesting a vacuum?). I know some may think gift cards aren’t personal, however I really do like them. Ulta or Sephora has so much to offer: makeup, hair products, flat irons, and even salon services. Let her choose what she wants to buy at a store like this, I am sure she won’t be disappointed. That is unless she is expecting a diamond engagement ring!!

4. Getting engaged!

Since I did bring up the pink elephant in the room, I think Christmas is a great time to get engaged. Although I am a little biased – John and I were engaged two days before Christmas! It was really sweet because we exchanged Christmas gifts before getting engaged so it was like having two Christmases! Great job, John!

5. Personalized stationary

Ok back to realistic gifts. I love the idea of giving personalized stationary. There are plenty of website that offer this. If you really want to splurge, why not add matching address labels as well?

6. Pajama Set

I’m talking about comfy pajamas here! You know, lounge wear. It’s perfect for snowed in days to keep you warm and fashionable all at the same time.

7. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

This is a great smelling perfume and I have never met anyone who didn’t like the scent. It is a little pricey so look around for free deals with this purchase at department stores (maybe a free cosmetic bag with purchase). If not, I have seen knock off versions, and they smell pretty close to the real deal.

8. Singer Sewing Machine

If you have a special lady who likes to sew, or who is thinking about learning to sew, why not encourage her creativity with a sewing machine? I don’t have one yet myself, but I’m thinking about getting one eventually.

9. Cookbooks

Yes! My suggestions would be any cook books from Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, or Rachael Ray. All three of these ladies offer great recipes.

10. Puffer Vest

Just about every store has an outerwear vest to offer. Why not pick up a fashionable vest for your loved one? It’s sure to be a staple in her wardrobe for years.

11. Matching hat, gloves, and scarf set

Some stores will sell this gift as an all-in-one piece, or you can be adventurous and pick out your own ensemble. My suggestion – keep it neutral that way she can wear the set with any coat she already has.

So maybe John will pick me up a couple of the items on my own list! Wouldn’t that be nice. It’s probably why he had me write this post in the first place!

Are you planning on shopping on Black Friday? How about Cyber Monday? Do they still have that?

***Full disclosure: John and I are members of Amazon.com associates. If you purchase any of the items above, we get a small kickback. If you’re interested in joining Amazon Associates, go to Affiliate-Program.Amazon.com ***