Sour Cream Coffee Cake

What is something quick to eat for breakfast when you have to be up early in the morning?  Coffee cake of course!  Coffee cake is best because I categorized it as "on the go" food.  You can drink your coffee, drive, and eat all at the same time.  Okay ... maybe ... just a little crumbs.

I needed to be up early for a Tzu Chi event.  I decided to make some coffee cake for the volunteers that were going early to set up in the morning.  I would say 8am on a Saturday morning qualifies are early.  Knowing I would be sleepy and hungry in the morning I made this coffee cake the night before. 

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Adapted from Kirbie's Cravings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 oz sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 8 x 8 inch pan.
2.  Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs to the mixture one at a time.
3.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.
5.  Add the sour cream and vanilla.  Mix until combined.
6.  Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with half of the topping.  Add the remainder of the batter on top and sprinkle with the remaining topping.
7.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

This coffee cake is yummy.  The pecans add a great touch of crunch.  For coffee cake it's also not too sweet.  Just right with coffee.  

I caught the d-o-g on her bed.  This is pretty amazing considering that she went pee on it when I first brought it home a year ago.  I got this great idea a year ago to buy the pup a new bigger bed since she was growing.  When I brought the bed home she looked at it and pretty much walked away.  Then later that week she walked on it, scratched around, and left.  Then finally I went to the bed and noticed she went pee on it.  Thank goodness the cover comes off to clean and it is water proof.  After cleaning the bed I have never seen her on it.  I have even tried laying and sitting on the bed myself.  The pup looks at me like I am stupid and walks away.  So catching her on this bed is amazing.  I will have to admit it did not last long after the picture.  But I hope it means she is warming up to it.

Keep baking and stock up on pumpkin pie puree for the holidays!

XOXO

Loaded Beer Bread

What do you do when you have beer left over from tailgating?  You make beer bread!  If you have never had beer bread then you are missing out.   It is quick, easy, and yummy when made correctly.  I have been wanting to try this beer bread on steroids for a while but haven't had the chance.  Since I decided to make pasta I figured there is no better time.

Loaded Beer Bread
Adapted from JavaCupcake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil
2 cups cheddar cheese
12 oz beer
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
1.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan.
2.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and herbs.
3.  Add the cheese and mix until incorporated.
4.  Pour 12 oz of beer into the flour mixture and with a wooden spoon mix it until all the ingredients are wet and incorporated.  Do not over mix!
5.  Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan.
6.  Bake for about 50 minutes, rotating pan after 30 minutes.
7.  About 2 minutes before it is done pour the melted butter over the top of the bread and put back in the oven for the last 2 minutes.
8.  Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes before removing the bread to cool completely. 

This bread came out pretty dee-lish.  A little on the salty side but with pasta it was good.  I will be sticking this recipe in my recipe book.

It's been super cold here in the morning.  I swear it went from 100 degrees to 60 degrees over night.  Not cool!  All this cold weather makes it super hard to get out of bed in the morning.  I mean, who wants to leave a toasty bed for a freezing cold bathroom?  Oh and to make the decision harder is a snuggling pup.  I mean who wants to leave a heat warmer like a pup for a cold bathroom?  No me. 

Keep on cooking my friends and stay warm.  Winter is coming.

XOXO

Andes Mint Cookies

  
I found some Andes mint chips a while ago and have been meaning to use them for the longest time.  I am pretty sure there is not better mint than a Andes mint.  Well maybe a York peppermint.  But that is a whole other story.  So I decided to make some mint cookies for a family gathering over the weekend.  Something different.  Plus, my mom loves Andes mint. 

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 oz bag of Andes Mint chips

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.  Cream butter and sugars until well beaten.
3.  Beat in eggs one at a time.
4.  Add vanilla extract until well combined
5.  Mix wheat flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl
6.  Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  Alternate dry ingredients and Andes Mint chips.
7.  Scoop about a tablespoon of batter on to cookie sheet.  Space cookies about 2 inches apart.  Cookies will not rise much so press down on the batter to make cookies flat.
8.  Bake for about 9 minutes.

The cookies were a big hit.  My great grandmother loved them and that little Asian lady is super picky.  Great grandma started out sharing half a cookie with my uncle.  Then she asked my mother to get her a whole cookie.  She may be just shy of 100 years old but she sure knows what she wants.

The husband surprised me on a date night over the weekend.  We had a nice dinner and went to the pumpkin patch.  Pumpkin carving is kind of our thing.  My husband carved his first pumpkin when we started dating over 10 years ago.  Now we carve pumpkins every year.  Last year was a exception and I was super bummed about it.

This year I decided to go all out and carve a Adam Bomb jack-o-lantern.  It was a lot harder than I had expected.  I wanted to make sure I carved a pumpkin and not just shaved/etch Adam onto a pumpkin.

My Adam-o-lantern came out a lot better than I expected.  So of course I had to send it BobbyHundreds.  And guess what?!?  My pumpkin ended up being posted on The Hundreds blog!  My pumpkin is the last one BobbyHundreds post.  Best for last!

Khloe was a lady bug for Halloween.  As you can see she was probably the most excited canine lady bug. 

Here is a side view of Khloe's costume.  The pup seemed to really enjoy Halloween and passing out candy.  El Hubby and I would know if kids were coming to the door thanks to the pup dashing to the front.  Khloe's doggy training really came in handy last night.  We would tell her to sit and stay so we could open the door.  But of course as the night got later she ended up being closer and closer to the door.  All the kids loved Khloe's costume.  One little girl said "your dog is sooo cute" and then just stood there staring at Khloe.  It was super cute.  Finally El Hubby had to say "bye bye" and wave at the little girl to go away.  By the end of the night Khloe did get some kids who petted her.  It was a pretty fun night with El Hubby and the pup passing out candy.  I heart my little family.

XOXO