Cream Cheese Pound Cake

A favorite dessert among my in-laws is pound cake. I'm not sure where this recipe originated from though I know my sister has tweaked it to create a delicious, old fashioned pound cake.

 

Ingredients

 

3 sticks of butter

3 cups of sugar

3 cups of all purpose flour

8 oz of cream cheese

6 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

 

 

Directions

 

Cream softened butter, cream cheese, and sugar. After whipping the three ingredients, they should have a consistency of a light frosting.

 

Mix in one cup of flour.

Add three eggs.

Mix in second cup of flour.

Add remaining three eggs.

Mix in third cup of flour.

Add baking powder and vanilla last.

 

Once the pound cake is thoroughly mixed and airy, place it in a greased bundt pan.

 

Bake for 90 minutes in a 325 degree oven.

Don't worry if it has cracked or risen just over the pan. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before inverting it. Cross your fingers that you greased your pan well enough, and flip it onto a serving plate.

 

Continue to let it cool. Eat warm or cool, with ice cream, fruit, or plain.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

One of the most frequently requested desserts is to make carrot cake. For Thanksgiving I made cream cheese stuffed carrot cake cupcakes. They were pleasing to the eye and to the mouth. The recipe is based off of Paula Deen's carrot cake recipe, though I've altered the amount of several ingredients.

Ingredients

Carrot Cake

2 cups of all purpose flour

1.5 cups of white sugar

2 teaspoons of baking soda

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of salt

4 eggs

3/4 cup of vegetable oil

3/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce

3 cups of grated carrots

1 cup of chopped walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick of butter

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Yields 30-36 cupcakes.

Directions

Peel and grate carrots. If you have a food processor with a shredder attachment, you can use baby carrots and do this step in less than a minute. Otherwise, get ready for some orange hands.

Because peeling and grating carrots can be time consuming, I often do this step ahead of time and store the grated carrots in the fridge. I simply put a damp washcloth on top and store them in a Tupperware container so they don't dry out.

Mix all the dry ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients thoroughly, then add the grated carrots and walnuts.

Pour batter into cupcake pan. Either use baking spray or cupcake liners.

Bake for 22 minutes at 350 degrees. While cupcakes cool, make frosting.

If cream cheese and butter are not room temperature, soften in the microwave for 30-45 seconds.

Mix cream cheese and butter in stand mixer, then add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Then add vanilla.

To fill and decorate the cupcakes, I use the two tips below. Neither tip can be used with a coupler, so you can use a piping bag or simply a Ziploc bag.

Tip #230 is specifically used for stuffing cupcakes. Fill your bag halfway with frosting. Push the tip almost to the bottom of the cupcake, and gently squeeze the bag while lifting the tip up.

After filling each cupcake, cover them with icing however you want.

I like the look of the 1M tip because it makes a pretty rose with a mere swirl of the wrist.

The end result is a beautiful, decadent cupcake.

I always store in the refrigerator since cream cheese icing softens very quickly.

Date Night

Jesse and I enjoyed an evening out alone, courtesy of his parents. This was actually my second consecutive evening out after a girls' night out last night. I had brief mother's guilt considering I wouldn't be tucking my children into bed for the second night, but it did not deter from a pleasant evening out. 

We finally took advantage of an Olive Garden gift card we were given several months ago. There was a moderate wait, so we browsed through nearby stores while waiting for our buzzer to go off. 

I always order the cheapest meal, which is unlimited soup and salad. I still end up eating more than I would if I selected one of the $15+ entrees. I also indulged in a berry wine spritzer along with my soup and salad.  Jesse devoured braised beef with tortellini. 

It was only 7:30 when our meal concluded, so we headed to a nearby tavern for more drinks and dessert. 

Apple fritter with ice cream

Jesse and I don't go out as often as we'd like (every 1-2 months), so we don't take date nights for granted. It's not often we get to have conversations without interruptions. We have changed significantly as individuals over the past decade. Despite a lack of common interests, our marriage thrives and we continue to love one another completely. We have created an amazing family that will always bind us. I wouldn't want to raise my kids with anyone else.

PT at the Park

I mentioned recently that Maddie's physical therapy has decreased to every other week. Because she has "mastered maneuvering around her home environment", the PT suggested we meet at parks, museums, play places, etc. Yesterday was warm enough to meet at the park.

We scheduled to meet at 1:30. The park is between preschool and home, so we arrived early after picking Jackson up from preschool. I figured I would let the kids have a picnic and play before the therapist got there. I've been to the park by myself with the kids countless times, but I had a hell of a time keeping everyone safe. The trio normally stay together, but not this time! James and Maddie took off for the big kids playground, which has four foot drop offs with ladders and poles. 

I wrangled the trio over to the toddler playground. Approximately seven seconds after I took this picture, Amelia discovered she could walk on the sidewalk and parking lot. 

Amid the borderline chaos, Jackson announced he had to poop. Unfortunately this park keeps all bathrooms locked unless there is a scheduled sporting event. I normally make Jackson pee behind a tree off in the distance, but I wasn't sure what to do. I ended up having him poop in the tupperware container inside the van. Needless to say, we didn't take any leftover snacks home from our picnic.

My nerves were shot by the time the PT arrived. Her presence and extra hands helped calm things down a bit. Jackson played by himself most of the time, while the PT and I followed the triplets lead. 

One of the things we worked on with Maddie was to hold her hands to walk up shallow stairs, rather than let her crawl up them. We also worked on lifting her feet so she could climb on top of higher stairs or equipment. The other thing the PT encouraged was for Maddie to walk on uneven surfaces. Maddie was very cautious going down the hills and kept wanting to crawl. Most of the strategies would be great if I were one-on-one with Maddie, but not as practical while watching everyone.

Before leaving, I asked the PT to take a picture of the kids and I while I was wearing my "Team Karen" shirt.  (I have a friend and former colleague who is undergoing chemo for Stage IV cancer. Many of us bought shirts to show support and help raise money for her medical expenses. She asked us to send pictures to her.) The PT suggested we take a picture on the slide with all four kids lined up. This was the best we could do!

I think it will be a while before I venture to this particular park solo with the kids. Maybe the cold weather isn't so bad after all...

DPK: Big Kids Water Edition

I don't know what it is about a kid in a hat and gloves, but I had to take a picture of Jackson's cuteness before walking him into school this morning. Sometimes I just have to tackle him with kisses and tickle him because he is so silly and sweet.

I took the trio to baby story time at the library this morning. Even though this specific story time is intended for kids under 18 months, my babes were the oldest and the only walkers. They clearly belong in the toddler story time. We had a moderate amount of fun. One of my librarian friends actually held Maddie in her lap and did all the motions and sign language with her while I corralled James and Amelia. The highlight was the bubbles. I don't know what kind of bubbles these librarians use, but they don't pop when they land on the ground or a person. 

The trio took an abbreviated nap before we picked Jackson up from preschool. We headed for our weekly trip to Discovery Place Kids. The blog-worthy news is that the trio had full reign of the big kids water area for the first time today. (The first "water edition" post was 10 months ago. It's hard to believe how much has changed since then.)

I've been hesitant because the floor surrounding it is an inch deep in water depending on how aggressive people play with the water. James is notorious for dumping water on himself and his siblings, and all three are fairly new walkers. I've been avoiding three drenched toddlers. James ended up with a completely soaked shirt, which happens at the small water table anyway. The girls stayed relatively dry. I was expecting them to fall and sit in a huge puddle on the floor or dump bowls of water on each other. 

I always like to see all four kids play together.

Jackson played in the boat. He insisted that everyone wear life jackets.

It was another day full of fun indoor adventure.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I guess it's not especially cold compared to other parts of the country, but any temperature below freezing is pretty darn cold. I didn't realize how much I relied on outdoor play to help break up the day. I already miss our park play dates on a whim. 

Jackson literally goes through a minimum of 5 wardrobe changes a day. Thanks to an overstock of dress up clothes, he alternates between Thor, Spiderman, Captain America, a ninja, winter soldier, skeleton, Ninja Turtle, footed pajamas, and actual clothes. 

He also has a variety of accessories with each of his outfits.

Rainy and/or cold Monday afternoons are generally spent at the rec center. I tried to put hats on the James and Amelia, but they kept ripping them off. When I wear Maddie I just pull the ergo cover over her.

Yesterday was the first time I went to the rec center with all four walkers. James walked rather than crawled almost the entire time.

This morning I wanted to take the triplets somewhere fun after dropping Jackson off at preschool. I expected it to be a long day since Jesse had to work concession stands and wouldn't be home until they were already in bed. 

I thought the mega mall was operating on early holiday hours, but when I got there at 9:15, I was disappointed to discover they don't open until 10. 

I knew the library had storytime at 10 so I drove there assuming it opened before then. No such luck. 

Refusing to wait a half hour, I drove to Ikea. Any guesses what time they open?  If you guessed 9 am, you had the same wishful thinking I did. Apparently 10 am is the magical opening hour on Tuesdays.

After driving around for nearly an hour, we ended up back at the mall where the trio happily played. 

Of course I have never put any money in those rides, even for Jackson. My kids don't know the difference. I let the trio walk around the mall for a few minutes. They did a pretty good job, but definitely required the stroller.

Now I just need to find some winter hats that velcro, toss a jacket on them, and embrace the cold weather outdoors.

"Are You Going to Have Any More?"

Over the weekend I was able to spend some one-on-one time with two babies.

Sweet Baby E is almost 8 months old, which is one of my favorite stages. We hung out in the church nursery while his Daddy made a bonfire for the youth group on Friday evening. He's just figuring out crawling and sitting up, so he's interactive and playful without being dangerously fast. 

Saturday we had the pleasure of caring for our nephew, Baby D. He is two months old and becoming more and more curious about his surroundings. I love being able to rock a baby to sleep and have nothing to do other than watch his chest rise and fall.

While I enjoyed my time with these two sweet boys, it confirmed that I don't want any more children. Over the past few months it has gotten easier and easier to get rid of baby clothes and gear. I am by no means wishing this time away, but I don't want to go through it again. It's not even that I don't want to endure the middle of the night feedings, diaper changes, or witching hours. It's that I simply don't want to be responsible for raising another child. I love children. I like teaching them and caring for them. I love being pregnant. But I feel 100% confident that our family is complete. 

I turned 27 two weeks before the triplets were born. This means that I will (hopefully) be turning 45 right after they graduate high school. I will have four young adults (hopefully in their own homes or apartments) in my late 40's. I find this very appealing to know that Jesse and I could be young, healthy grandparents, teachers, etc.

So for those that continue to ask if we plan to have more children, the answer is a resounding NO!