Easter Weekend

I hope you all had a wonderful, bright, sunny, and relaxing Easter weekend with family and loved ones! Easter makes me SO happy, all the bright colors, the sunshine, the spring-y dishes I get to cook, the time with extended family, building memories with my kids...and...

We had a great Easter this year...we ventured down to Cheyenne to meet the rest of my family who had been spending the last 10 days on the beaches of Mexico! We won't get into how insanely jealous I was..we will just say that having 3 littles is hard enough work in the continental states ;-)

Before we left, we made and decorated some Easter/Spring cookies...this is one of my favorite traditions! We try to make themed cookies and decorate for every holiday..and since my family was all too busy drinking strawberry daiquiris out of town we had to dial down the volume and just make a few this year...when each kid decorates 1 or 2, that leaves mom and few more than she had originally planned..nothin' like stayin' up till 11 decorating cookies by yourself....and trying not to eat them all.

I used this recipe for the cookies and just made a simple butter cream (1 stick of softened butter mixed with approx. 3 cups of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla extract) for the frosting. We added all sorts of fun sprinkles, decorative icing and other toppings!  

Sorry in advance for the super duper high-quality iPhone pics.

When everybody finally arrived at about 7pm on Saturday night, we had everything set up to dye Easter eggs. It was so much fun this year, both Ellie and Griffinn were very interested!

Meyer wasn't so sure...

We just used store bought dye tablets, nothing too fancy here! We ended up with a little over 2 dozen after all the dropping, cracking, and eating..which was the perfect amount for the Easter Bunny to hide and for all the little ones to find! 

Sunday morning we woke up and attended 9am Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Cheyenne...such a beautiful church and a very nice Easter Mass with the Bishop.

After church we came home, finished up brunch (menu to follow), checked out our Easter Baskets, and finally grabbed up all the eggs our little eyes could find and our little hands could hold! The weather was amazing, and it was the perfect day!

 Happy Easter from the Kugler's!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

We had some family in town over this past weekend and we all got together Saturday night for our standard dinner gathering. I am in charge of dessert pretty often, and my sister in law requested Flourless Chocolate Cake for this occasion. She sent me this recipe since it is one she has made before. I will say that it is fairly easy, and has only a few ingredients...the most "difficult" parts were trying not to deflate the eggs and chopping all that chocolate..which I may or may not have sampled.

The cake itself is moist, rich and decadent! I served it with some chocolate ganache glazed over the top like frosting (which you can find here), some vanilla bean mascarpone whipped cream and of course, fresh raspberries...YUM! It got rave reviews all around, it is such a classic, delicious dessert and I am thinking it will become my staple dessert when I want to impress people will a little faux fanciness.

This recipe is great if you're trying to stay away from gluten, we can pretend it's low carb too, right?..or if you just want to try something a little different! It is the absolute perfect combination between regular chocolate cake and gooey brownies & I can't wait for an excuse to make it again!

Black Eyes & Potty Training

Two big parts of Elliette's world right about now...

She got her first "shiner" the other night..of course the night before we have a check up appointment at the doctor. She is a little daredevil! It's a combination of having no fear and trying to keep up with her big brother. She was climbing up on our ottoman in our basement; slipped and smacked her eye right on the corner of a wooden tray we keep on top of the ottoman. Needless to say she burst into tears and her poor eye was instantly swollen, almost swollen shut. 

Normally she is pretty resilient but this little boo-boo had her down and out for awhile. The next day was almost worse and as it became less swollen it got more and more black and blue. People are constantly asking what happened (some people are genuinely concerned and some randoms are probably checking my "story", whatever). As of today it looks like she is wearing beautiful smokey eye make up in shades of purple, blue, and green.

On to potty training...

For being a mere 21 months old this girl is rocking the potty situation! 

Let me add my disclaimer here: I know there is a lot of controversy over what age is appropriate to potty train...Ellie was showing major signs of readiness and I am not "forcing" her or "tricking" her into toilet training; if she wasn't ready, we wouldn't bother.

A couple months ago she started taking her diapers off. Sometimes she would wake up from her nap bare butt in the air, but she mostly liked to take the poopy diapers off. Once she started leaving poop smears down her leg and all over the floor I decided it was time to teach her to use the potty. For about a week she didn't was totally not interested and I was at the point where I was ready to let her be and just duct tape her diapers on her...then like magic the next few days it started clicking for her! I think its because we got her this Minnie Mouse potty chair (she is OBSESSED with "Mi-Mi"). 

I have found that consistency is the biggest key when potty training. When we trained Griffinn, he was just a few months over 2 years old and I used this article

Ellie didn't respond as well to going nakie from the waist down she was just pooping and peeing on the floor...but like a typical girl she took pride in her pretty new panties and didn't want to get them dirty! We used positive reinforcement techniques including doing a serious potty dance and some small treats when she actually used the potty (not just sat on it for .5 seconds)..She was thrilled about the mini marshmallow she received as her "treat"..

Basically for the first week or so I asked her like every 10 minutes if she has to go, and whether or not she said yes, I would still take her to sit on the potty at least once an hour. For that first week she didn't really ever tell me when she had to go, we were just in and around the bathroom a lot, on the potty a lot, and got lucky a lot. She would have about 2 accidents a day (sometimes more). The second week she started telling me when she had to potty and we have even been on multiple outings without accidents.. YAY! (we always make sure to go right before we leave and once we get where ever we're going).

Going #2 is a little more tricky, we are still working on that! At home, she is about 90%...otherwise she is pretty terrified to poop on any other toilet anywhere else. Our best luck so far has been to give her a book so she will relax... Stay tuned for how that all works itself out. 

What potty training this time around has taught me:

1. You can never ask "do you have to potty?" enough.

2. There are not bathrooms close enough to anything for a 1 year old's training bladder.

3. Sometimes you have to "potty" just because you want a marshmallow.

4. Pooping in a toilet is scary when you're one year old.

5. "Driving" the giant double stroller into the bathroom at Target 10x isn't any fun at all.

6. "Potty!" will almost always get shouted out right when you're all loaded up in the car about to pull out of the driveway.

 What are you best potty training stories?

Meyer 6 Month Update

This cutie was 6 months old last week. A whole half a year has passed since he was born..half a year?! It feels like I was just holding him fresh and new in the hospital...and then I blinked...and here we are halfway to a 1 year old. Time is going by all too quickly, as it seems to with all of our kiddos! We are enjoying watching Meyer grow and learn everyday. He has become such a happy happy boy (compared to the fussy baby he once was) he is so sweet and his big-mouthed smile can light up the room!

Meyer is 16 pounds 5 ounces and 26 3/4 inches tall. He has moved up in percentiles (23rd for weight and 50th for height) so maybe he won't be such a shrimp after all! Meyer doesn't have any teeth or any real signs that I can see (besides lots of drool, but what baby doesn't?) He wears size 3 diapers, size 3-6 & 6 month clothing and has recently started to eat some solids, which makes life a little easier; mostly rice cereal..usually mixed with a little fruit and/or veggies!  He is very ticklish and a little wiggleworm too!

Meyer can: sit unassisted, smile, laugh, play with toys, eat big boy food and has started to try and clap his hands.

Meyer loves: to snuggle his momma, when his daddy holds him, breast milk (in the most literal sense of the word), chewing on soft blankies, watching his big brother and sister play, grabbing for things that are off limits, putting everything in his mouth, playing with his feet, and being held.

Meyer dislikes: being left alone, sleeping in his own room/bed, bottles (still), and pacifiers (still).

I wanted to share about this teething/nursing necklace I recently purchased from The Vintage Honey Shop... it's quickly becoming one of our 6 month favorites!

- It's stylish so I don't feel like I am wearing a toy around my neck.

- Since it's tied around my neck we don't have to worry about Meyer dropping it on the dirty floor like we do with a lot of other teething toys.

- It's the perfect distraction for while he is nursing since these days he is a lot more interested in what is going on around him rather than relaxing for a good nursing session.

- Each necklace is handmade, organic and safe!

-An extra perk that nobody probably cares about but me...it's packaged beautifully and I felt so special getting it in the mail! 

I would highly recommend one of these for you mommas that have a grabby, teething, curious baby on your lap!

Meyer really has surprised me with his 180 degree transformation from a very unhappy, fussy, whiny little baby to a happy, easygoing, smiley little 6 month old...and I am so very thankful for this!
He is getting better about sleeping too! Thank GOD

I just love this little boy with all my heart!

We are looking forward to celebrating his 1st Easter next weekend!

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

I have previously expressed my love for all things red velvet, especially around Christmas time. Well turns out that love doesn't fade until after Valentine' Day (okay, let's be real it doesn't fade ever). Deep red cookies made into a sandwich with pretty pink frosting will make anybody's Valentine's Day special, right? 

You will need:

1 box red velvet cake mix

2 eggs

3/4 cup Crisco shortening (melted)

*Stir above together to form a dough*

Scoop into 1" rounds onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Let cookies cool completely before frosting.

I took the easy route with these and just bought a can of cream cheese frosting and turned it pink with a few drops of red food coloring. If you are feeling ambitious, please feel free to make your own frosting but I betcha nobody will know the difference!

This makes about 15-16 sandwiches, if you're a math whiz that's about 32 cookies. If you need more, double the recipe; its easy.

Yeah... you noticed that this was made from a cake mix, did you? Wanna know a secret? You can use ANY cake mix with this recipe to make any kind of cookie that you want! German chocolate? Check. Carrot? Check. Seriously, try out different flavors and different combos- it's fun and super simple!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO

Lemon Bars

Maybe if I keep posting recipes that remind me of spring, our good pal Punxutawney Phil will not see his shadow this Sunday, and spring will show it's pretty little face early this year?!

HA!

"yeah right, wishful thinking" says the gal from Wyo.

Well, I'm gunna continue to make these bright, cheerful, yummy spring recipes anyways.

Next on the list are these lemon bars, again made with my favorite, Meyer lemons. I now only have two left in the bag....trying to find/think up one more recipe to finish them off! 

The lemon filling is smooth and creamy with just the perfect amount of lemon flavor and tartness, and the crust for these bars is like a sugar cookie, which makes them even better.

Crust 
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, partially soft and diced into 3/4-inch cubes* 
1/4 to1/2 cup ice cold water
 
Filling 
2 cups granulated sugar
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh navel orange juice
4 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
3 1/2 Tbsp heavy cream
 
Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, set aside. In a food processor (you can also just use a bowl and a whisk then a fork or your fingertips to cut in butter), pulse together flour, powdered sugar, brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Add diced butter and pulse until mixture begins to come together in crumbles Slowly pulse and drizzle in ice cold water until mixture becomes a dough. Press mixture into an even layer on bottom and 1/2-inch up the sides of the prepared baking dish (be sure to press together any cracks). Bake in preheated oven until lightly golden, about 20 minutes (zest lemons then juice lemons and oranges while crust is baking and begin to prepare filling because you want to pour filling over a hot crust).
Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, flour and 1/8 tsp salt. Several minutes before crust is done baking, mix in lemon juice, orange juice and lemon zest, then add eggs, egg yolks and heavy cream and whisk vigorously to blend well. Pour mixture over hot crust, then reduce oven temperature to 325 and return to oven and bake until filling is just set, about 20 - 25 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature 1 hour, then cover and chill in refrigerator about 1 1/2 - 2 hours or overnight (if resting overnight I'd recommend letting them rest at room temperature a bit before serving). Cut into squares and dust tops with powdered sugar just before serving. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. 





 Since this recipe makes a whole 9x13 pan and there is no reason besides the fact that I'd eat them to have that many lemon bars in the house; I halved the recipe to make an 8x8.



Recipe source: Cooking Classy

Meyer Lemon Cake with Strawberry Frosting

I absolutely LOVE when Meyer Lemons are in season & you can find big bags of them at the grocery store! Meyer lemons are tart like lemons, but sweet like oranges. Their zest is thicker and sweeter and their juice is perfectly tart. I love lemon flavored desserts so when I saw these the other day at the store I knew I had to pick up a bag and start lemon-infused baking! Plus, what says "spring" more than lemon? Okay I know it's only January but a girl can dream, right?

The cake part of this recipe is super easy, its the frosting made with fresh strawberry puree that can get a little tricky, but it's worth it. I adapted this recipe by swapping out a few ingredients from the red velvet cake I made last weekend. 

Cake

1/2 cup margarine

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice 

2 T Meyer lemon zest

*Make a paste with the above, then add:

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2-1/2 cups cake flour

1-2 drops yellow food coloring

*Mix until well combined

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two, 9" round cake  pans.

Bake cakes 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out nearly clean. Cool on wire racks.

 

Strawberry Puree

2 large strawberries

1/2 tsp water

*slice strawberries and puree w/ water in a blender, this should make approx. 1/4 cup*

 

Frosting

1/4 cup strawberry puree

3/4 cup milk

5 Tbsp flour

*whisk above ingredients together in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring continuously until thick, let cool to room temperature*

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1-2 drops red food coloring

*cream together butter, sugar and food coloring, add cooled milk and flour mixture and beat on high until smooth and creamy*

 

Strawberry Topping (optional)

1/4 cup strawberry jam

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp milk

*whisk together until smooth & drizzle over the top of frosted cake*

 

 I cut each 9" round in half horizontally to make a thinner, 4 layer cake. Also, in the middle of the 2nd and 3rd layers on top of the frosting, I added super thin slices of strawberries. These are just my little touches, you can choose to do the same..or not :-)

Due to the fact that I definitely do not need a full sized layer cake in my house for me to eat, I sent this to work with Scott. I did try a slice...in case it sucked I didn't wanna send it as I have a reputation to uphold ;-) however I ate it so quickly I forgot to take a picture, which I am sad/mad about because the yellow cake with the pretty pink frosting and the bits of real strawberries peeking out of the middle was SO pretty! 

 

Enjoy this yummy, moist cake with the perfect amount of tartness from the lemons and sweetness from the strawberries; it's sure to give you spring fever!