cookie bake.

The weather, here in Vancouver, has been anything but delightful recently. It's been pretty dang dearly, with lots of rain and only a few breaks of sunny goodness. On Saturday, Lakai and I were not about to let the weather get us down! So, we decided to bake some delicious Lemon Crackle Cookies.

I found the recipe on Pinterest (it's a serious addiction and I thought maybe I should make some of the things I pin). Lakai was more than excited! He is my little cookie dough eater. He was such a big helper pouring each ingredient into the mix bowl, and using his strong muscles to draw circles in the dough. Before I could start placing balls of dough on the cookie sheet, Lakai has handfuls of lemon yumminess dripping from both sides of his mouth. He is such a cutie!

The recipe is so, so easy:

Lemon Crackle Cookies

• 1 (18.25 oz) package lemon cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons of lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest until blended.
3. Drop teaspoonfuls (mine were probably a tad bigger) of dough int o a bowl of confectioner's sugar. Roll them around until they're lightly covered (It may help to put the dough in the fridge for a little while first). Once sugared, put them on an un-greased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 6 - 9 minutes in the preheated oven. 

lean, mean and green.

So I've jumped on the bandwagon and started making green smoothies for breakfast. This definitely consisted of some trial and error. First, I tried a broccoli and fruit mix...ew. Then I tried a spinach and fruit mix... double ew. I was about to give up until I heard of Greens+ (aka Greens Plus). It is a super food supplement rich in chlorophyll. You can purchase it on line or at any Wholefoods. The mix is still pretty dang "earthy" tasting, but it makes the best green smoothies and I've noticed a change in my skin and hair. Super fab! I recently bought the Wild Berry Burst flavor, which has added antioxidants, and I really love the mix. Each can contains a 30 day supplement, but I only use half a scoop instead of a full, a full scoop is just a little too potent for my taste buds!

Every morning I make the same smoothie in a Magic Bullet. The Magic Bullet offers just the right portion:

0.5 Cup of non-fat (or sugar free) vanilla yogurt.
1 Cup of raspberries or blackberries (try and stay away from strawberries because of their sugar content).
1 Tbs of agave nectar.
1.5 Cups of carrot juice (or however much it take to fill up the remaining space in the blender).
0.5 Scoops of Greens+.

I should note now that I have made up these measurements. I actually measure by eye, not by utensil.

I encourage you to try it! You can buy single packs so you don't have to commit to an entire can!

frogs and hot cocoa.

So, a couple of nights ago I get to my parent's to pick Lakai up. He had stayed the night with Nana and Papa and when I arrived I knew something was up. Lakai and Papa were far to giggly for such an early morning. Only moments after plopping down on the sofa, Lakai comes over and whispers something in my ear. I couldn't understand him so I look at my mom, who casually says, "There's a frog in Papa's pants." Lakai then starts giggling more and says, "There's a frog in Papa's pants and it's reaaally stinky." Apparently, Papa tooted and Lakai asked what that sounds was, to which my father replied there was a frog in his pants. Now every time someone toots they have, "a frog in their pants." I think it's gross, but kinda cute.

Today began a little low, but ended incredibly high. Lakai and I were supposed to have our sofa delivered today. We've been waiting for two months, but due to dangerous road conditions (we had a skiff of snow), the truck had an incident and our sofa won't be here until this weekend. Lakai and I had a little mini celebration planned out. We were going to pop popcorn and watch a new movie. He had been looking forward to this night for quite some time.

Well, I wasn't about to let our non-existant sofa ruin our night. We made a delicious Mexican dinner and then watched Tangled (my favorite children's movie, I just can't see it too many times), and consumed lots of goodies. While I sang along with the movie, Lakai sipped on homemade hot cocoa and Cadbury eggs (yes, these are Easter eggs, and yes you can find them at Walmart right now). I was bummed to hear the sofa wouldn't make it today, but truly I loved every minute Lakai and I spent together this evening! It was wonderful!

The hot cocoa was delicious and so easy. I made it in my Crock Pot. It took about two hours for the chocolate to melt, and I had it on the highest setting. I think I would prefer to cook it eight hours on a lower setting. This was my first time making homemade hot cocoa, so I will tweak it a bit. I really want to add peppermint next time around.

The recipe is:
1.5 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz.)
2 Cups Milk Chocolate Chips
6 Cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Combine all ingredients in a Crock Pot and let heat. The recipe doesn't give a time frame, but heat until chocolate is melted. Super easy, super rich, super delicious.