Afternoon Baking

My sister is traveling to Philadelphia this weekend for a Memorial Day party with her in-laws and volunteered to bring a dessert to add to the party spread. However, somewhere between her volunteering and Wednesday night, I guess she decided that she really wasn’t in the mood for baking because I received this text message from her:

Lucky for her, she knows that I am always up for baking and gladly agreed to help her out.

The only problem came this morning when I realized I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to make and I wasn’t sure what ingredients I had in the kitchen to even use. After some surveying of the situation, she will now be stocked with three separate desserts when she gets to PA tonight!

First up was some no-bake Reese’s Dessert Bars that I had the mix for in the pantry, just waiting to be put together.

They were a piece of cake to make since everything needed except butter and water was in the box and ready to go.

Next up I grabbed the lone box of cake mix in the pantry and made some pretty awesome cookies which are the main attraction in this afternoon’s post.

And last but not least, some of Chocolate Covered Katie’s peanut butter sandwich bread. I made this bread in Korea and Brian and I both instantly fell in love with it – Especially served warm with vanilla ice cream or frozen with vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two half pieces. A-ma-zing!

The only differences that I made this go-round is that I added chocolate chips to the bread and a sprinkle of halved peanuts on top for a decorative touch.

Someone isn’t going to her party empty-handed!

Strawberry Oatmeal White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup raw original oats

Directions:

Combine cake mix with oil and eggs and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips and oats. Bake at 350°F for 12-14 minutes – until slightly browned on top. Cool and serve!

I may have gotten a little carried away in the kitchen this afternoon but hopefully everyone at the party enjoys the outcome of it! 🙂

Question:

Are you going to a Memorial Day party this weekend? What are you taking to share with the crowd?

Guacamole Coma

After part II of my workout this afternoon (Body Revolution, Phase 3, Workout 9), I made sure to get in my 20 minutes of stretching for the “Stretch for Seven” Challenge. Today, I incorporated more yoga positions and flow sequences into my routine than yesterday. I forgot just how much I love the stretch I feel in so many different yoga poses.

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Triangle pose was pulling me in all the right directions today!

The 20 minutes flew by since I was also watching the end of the Orioles game against the Whitesox on MLB.com’s Gameday during them. An Adam Jones HR to tie the game and then a Matt Wieters grandslam to seal the deal. That’s Orioles Magic, baby!

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Snack

As soon as I was done with my stretching, I was hungry but not quite lunch hungry yet so I pulled the leftover guacamole out of the fridge and snacked on some with pretzels (gotta put a dent in the six-pound bag somehow!) and two tortilla chips.

I used the tortilla chips to really gauge how the guac was after sitting for the night and my taste buds were pleased. The extra hours in the fridge allowed all of the flavors to really mix together. Yum!

After my snack, I ended up not leaving the kitchen for quite a while longer because I caught the baking bug again.

By the time my cookies were pulled from the oven, I was ready to then start on lunch.

Oh…who cares about lunch? You just want to know more about the cookies you see above? Patience is a virtue, my friends. Plus, I haven’t gotten to adequately taste them and you know I have to do that before sharing where I found the recipe and the adaptations I made! 🙂

Lunch

When I put together lunch, my first step was to pull the perfectly set guacamole back out from the fridge. I covered half a toasted whole wheat bagel (from the bakery at Emart) with some guac and then set half of a chicken breast topped with pepperjack cheese on top.

A little lettuce rounded out the bagelwich.

On the side, I enjoyed a peach yogurt with peanut butter cinnamon spice granola on top.

And now that I am in a guacamole coma, I’m hoping to motivate myself to break out the text book and get to studying for the rest of the afternoon.

The weather is absolutely amazing outside and I would LOVE to know of a close place to sit outside and study, read, relax…whatever…while enjoying the sunshine! Do any Korean readers have a suggestion of a place close to Hanbat Stadium where I can do just that? I know there is a park by Say Department Store but I was hoping for someplace a little closer to walk to!

Question:

What is your favorite way to stretch?

Baking Bug

I caught the bug to bake something last night once I started feeling a little more like myself and found myself rummaging through the kitchen to see what we had that I could work with.

Eggs. Banana. Flour. Yogurt. Hmmm…

Then I remember the honey that Brian and I stashed in our pockets at the breakfast buffet at one of the hotels.

Perfect.

Coconut Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup wheat flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup coconut yogurt
• 1 banana, mashed

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375° F (or about 175° C for me in Korea!)

2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and add combine with wet ingredients.  Mix thoroughly and transfer to small, greased baking dish.

3. Bake for 30 minutes or until edges and top are slightly browned.

This makes a slightly more dense and chewy banana bread.

But for the slim ingredients I had on hand, I was delighted with the outcome.

And the best part is it’s not all that bad for you either! 🙂

You could technically eat half of the loaf and not even feel guilty about it. Now that is my kind of baked good! 🙂

Happy Holidayssss

Christmas has completely taken over this weekend and I love every second of it!

The day started with Brian and I wrapping the lasts of the presents for our family and each other.

I love when the tree looks complete once presents are stacked underneath of it!

Next we moved on to Christmas ornament making!

Telli’s paw print for his first Christmas.

And my thumb print + Brian’s thumb print = ❤

After we were done with that, it was time to head to my parents house for football watching and cookie baking. Mom had already started baking, so I jumped right in to help while Brian jumped right into his place in the mancave with my dad for football. Men. 😉

We were two busy bakers in the kitchen and by the time we were finished we had quite the assortment of cookies to share.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Peanut Butter

Oatmeal Raisin

Peppermint Sugar

Cookie Press Christmas Trees

Almond Nests

And more Toffee Oat ones because they were oh so good when I made them for the Great Blogger Cookie Swap!

After a little down time and dinner, it was time to get even more in the Christmas spirit for our annual Campitelli holiday card!

Every year my family takes a family photo to include on our holiday card. The past few years, we have had themed cards and this year was no different.

Christmas in Disney

“From our castle to yours!”

Football Fever

“Feelin’ Kinda Sunday!”

The Clauses and Their Elves

“The elves stopped by to help Mr. & Mrs C trim the tree!”

As for this year’s card?

I can’t ruin the surprise just yet!!! 🙂

But those are some pretty good hints!!

Question:

Did your day include any holiday festivities?!