Today is an awesome day.
I have never experienced an inauguration the way it is meant to be experienced. I was only 10 years old when Bill Clinton was sworn into office, and although I have very clear memories of watching it (I was home from school and spending the day at my grandma’s), I was too young to understand the magnitude of it.
And in January 2001, when George W. Bush was inaugurated, I was still disgusted over the controversial results of the election. As wrong as it may be, I just didn’t care.
Today, I was moved to tears (for the first, but not the last time), not by Obama walking out of the tunnel, but instead by a shot of the crowd cheering wildly and waving all of their flags.
I love America.
And today, I watched as the man that I believe in–Barack Hussein Obama–was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. I have been rooting for him, supporting him, and getting to know him for two years. And on Election Night, our country spoke out in his favor. And finally, now, it is official. If I hadn’t just watched it with my own eyes, I may not even believe it. In a lot of ways, it seems surreal.
Now begins the true test. To see what President Obama can do for this country. He is definitely receiving the country in worse shape than it has been in a long time, and so I believe my expectations of him are realistic. I do not expect him to be able to work miracles, but I still allow myself to hope that he can. Only time will tell.
For today, I want him to enjoy the celebration in his honor. Just like every other president before him, he deserves it. Tomorrow morning, it’s time for work. Hopefully a long eight years of work.
Congratulations, Mr. President.
I couldn’t end this post without giving a little love to the Obama girls. Look how cute they are in their little outfits:
I have a special soft spot for Sasha, since she always seems to melt me in some way or another. Here she is, giving her dad a thumbs up. Adorable.
I think we are in for a great treat, having this family in the White House. I think his wife and children make President Obama a better man, and I think they will make him a better president. The decisions he makes will directly affect the future of those little girls. He has made it pretty clear that much of his focus is on improving this country for the sake of his daughters, and the rest of us certainly benefit from that.
I can’t wait to see what can be done.
(All photos in this post from Getty Images)
If you love Oreos and chocolate, this recipe is for you.
Last week, I saw a photo of an Oreo cupcake on Cupcakes Take the Cake. “Chocolate cake filled with Oreos, topped with Oreo buttercream, and for good measure, one more tiny Oreo on top.” Ummm, HELLO. These things spoke to me. They wanted me to make them at that very instant. The problem? Well, a lack of recipe. The photo was from a bakery’s website, and well, bakeries don’t usually go handing out their secrets.
So, I hit Google searching for just the right cake recipe, and of course, an Oreo buttercream recipe. I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I was nudged in the right direction. I figured, what the hell? I’ll just get in the kitchen and experiment.
And that’s what I did. My experiment? A COMPLETE SUCCESS. Mission accomplished.
See for yourselves:
It’s really quite a shame that we don’t have more leftovers, because I could so go for another one. But my waistline is thankful, I assure you. We took these over to a family dinner at my mom’s house on Saturday night, and came home with just two cupcakes (the recipe made 24!). Not only did everyone indulge in one after dinner, but cupcake doggie bags were made for all.
OK, so let’s talk about what I did. First, I searched for the most amazing chocolate cake recipe I could find. I have to admit that I had never made chocolate cake from scratch before, so I had to start new.
I had seen and heard good things about Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake, and after doing some poking around, reading reviews and such, I decided to go with it. My only modification to it was the addition of crushed Oreos in the batter. And well, it was the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had. Hands down.
Then, I took Wilton’s buttercream frosting recipe (the one that I’ve made tons of times now, thanks to my cake decorating classes and my subsequent cake projects), and turned that into “Oreo Buttercream.” And it was, well, amazing. Very sweet, but when on top of the “perfectly chocolate” chocolate cake? It was perfect.
Before I began working on the cupcakes and frosting, I opened up my package of Oreos and started to cut them in half with a sharp knife. Some of them break, so I found it was best to do this in the beginning to ensure I’d get 24 good-looking Oreo halves to use for the tops of the cupcakes. The ones that broke, I set aside and used for the cake and the frosting. Between the cake, the buttercream, and the tops, I used the entire bag of Oreos (minus a cookie or two that my husband and I sampled).
Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake
(Source: Hersheys.com)
Ingredients:
– 2 cups sugar
– 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
– 3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
– 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 2 eggs
– 1 cup milk
– 1/2 cup vegetable oil
– 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
– 1 cup boiling water
– 8-10 Oreo cookies, crushed or put through food processor (optional) – My addition
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans (For cupcakes or other pan sizes, see variations listed below.)
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.
THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.
BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.
CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes. (I filled my muffin cups about 3/4 full to get bigger cupcakes, so I only got 24 out of the recipe.)
Oreo Buttercream
Ingredients:
– 1 cup shortening or butter (I use shortening so it doesn’t have to be refrigerated)
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 2 tbsp. water
– 1 lb. confectioner’s sugar (if you don’t have a scale, it’s approximately 4 cups)
– 1 tbsp. meringue powder
– 12-14 Oreos, finely crushed in food processor
Directions:
1. In bowl of stand mixer, cream shortening, vanilla, and water.
2. Add confectioner’s sugar, meringue powder, and crushed Oreos. Mix until well combined.
3. At this point, your frosting will be very thick. To top cupcakes, it’s better to have medium to thin consistency icing, so you’ll have to add more water. I probably added another 2-3 tbsp. to get the desired consistency, but you’ll want to add the water little by little to make sure you don’t add too much. When it’s the right consistency, it should be pretty easy to stir by hand (think about whether you’d be able to easily squeeze it out of a piping bag). If you accidentally make it too thin (runny), add more confectioner’s sugar.
Once cupcakes were completely cool, I used a piping bag to add a decorative swirl on top of each one. Then I pushed one half of an Oreo cookie into the frosting for garnish.
The result was the perfect Oreo cupcake. Enjoy!
Before I even delve into the content of this post, I have to start by giving a huge shout-out and a thank you to Amber over at Amber’s Delectable Delights.
It started off pretty normally; I had a couple of questions about the garlic knots in advance, and Amber was great about e-mailing me back with helpful answers. However, as I started making the knots, I ran into a couple of hiccups–the biggest of which was that my dough would not rise!! I think I had some dead/dying yeast, and it threw me for a loop.
Thankfully, I had Amber through e-mail. She pretty much held my hand through the entire process. She even went as far as to offer me her phone number in case I needed even more help! :) With Amber’s assistance, and through the powers of Google, I was able to save my dough. In the end, the garlic knot gods looked down upon me and had mercy, and the rolls were delicious.
Now, onto the rolls… These little pieces of garlicky goodness are a must-try. Don’t be discouraged by my issues. First of all, with fresh, NON-DEAD yeast, the issues I had shouldn’t happen. Secondly, um, well, they were WORTH IT. They are soft, just the right amount of chewy, and are the perfect companion to any meal.
I forgot to add the Italian seasoning to my butter/garlic glaze, so unfortunately mine don’t look quite as pretty as Amber’s. But looks only count for so much… the taste? As far as I could tell, the taste was right on.
Give yourself enough time for these. One of my first questions for Amber was about whether these could be made and “knotted” in advance for a dinner party at my mom’s. As it turns out, you can’t let dough rise for too long, so you kind of have to make them fresh, unless you want to refrigerate your dough to slow down the yeast’s process. So timing is kind of key with these guys.
Soft Garlic Knots(Source: I Heart Food for Thought adapted from King Arthur Flour, as seen on Amber’s Delectable Delights!)
Ingredients:
Dough
– 3 cups bread flour
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 2 teaspoons instant yeast
– 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
– 1/4 cup milk
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
Glaze
– 2-4 cloves peeled, garlic
– 2 tablespoons melted butter
– 1/4 teaspoon Pizza Seasoning or Italian seasoning, optional
3. To make glaze – Unpeel garlic cloves. Chop the garlic in a food processor (or you can use a garlic press), with the melted butter.
Directions
1. For the dough – In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the dry ingredients together then add the olive oil, milk and water. Using the paddle attachment or dough hook, mix and knead to form smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, until it’s doubled in bulk.
2. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, and roll each into a rope about 10 inches long; tie each rope into a knot (see pics below). Place the knots on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes to about an hour, until very puffy looking.
3. To make glaze – Unpeel garlic cloves. Chop the garlic in a food processor (or you can use a garlic press), with the melted butter.
4. To bake – Bake the knots in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be set, but only very lightly browned. Remove the knots from the oven, and brush or drizzle them with the seasoned butter. (You can reheat the butter briefly in the microwave, if it’s solidified).
It’s quite possible that this is the easiest meal ever. Seriously.
Absolutely perfect for a weeknight, this beef stroganoff is creamy, tasty, and most importantly–stress free. With only five ingredients, you can’t go wrong.
I’ve been eating this for as long as I can remember. This is a recipe my mom used to make for us as kids. Last night, we served it with Green Giant Health Blend steamed vegetables and a piece of toast. Homecooked, filling, and fabulous.
Beef Stroganoff
(Source: Unknown–It was passed down from my mom!)
Ingredients:
– 1 lb. lean ground beef
– 1 (12-16 oz.) package egg noodles (we use Light ‘N’ Fluffy brand)
– 1 packet Lipton Beefy Onion Soup
– 1/4 – 1/2 cup water
– 1 (16 oz.) container of sour cream (we use light sour cream)
Directions:
1. Start water to boil for noodles. In medium skillet, brown beef over medium-high heat.
2. Once beef is brown, add soup packet with enough water to moisten it. Mix well until soup mix is combined with beef.
3. When water is boiling, add egg noodles and cook according to package instructions. Once done, drain. Return noodles to pot and put back on stove over low heat.
4. Add beef/soup mixture to noodles. Add sour cream until creamy (we usually end up using the whole container). Stir until well combined and heated through. Serve immediately.
Oh, Mother Nature. Have mercy on us. Please.
It’s our third full day of living in the arctic tundra. It is so cold, I don’t even know how to describe how it feels to be outside in it. Let’s take a look at the current numbers, shall we?
Um, yeah. “Feels like” -14 degrees. I’ll tell you one thing: I believe it. When I walked from the parking lot into my office this morning, I pretty much wanted to cry. It was just that cold. Adding to the misery is the fact that we’re experiencing 20-30 mph winds, with wind chills reaching down around -20 degrees.
If you’ve never experienced cold like this, I can tell you right now–YOU DON’T WANT TO. It is cruel, it is bitter, it is frigid. You can’t take deep breaths. The smallest gusts of wind take your breath away. Larger gusts of wind? Suffocating. It’s just miserable. Completely and utterly wretched.
I can’t wait to get home again tonight. Bundle up in some pajamas and slippers, and bake! Then curl up with the space heater, a blanket, and a cuddly little dog. And hibernate until this cold snap is over. I’m not asking for much; just hitting 20-30 degrees would be a huge relief.
There is just one thing left to say: Brrrrrrrrrrrr!
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
