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?

Sister Road Trip

I definitely don’t get enough days that are solely set aside for my sister, Katie, and me so today really was a lot of fun.

My brother-in-law is a Villanova alum and he and Katie have access to tickets to Villanova basketball games during the season. Seeing that my sister is a die-hard basketball junkie, this is totally right her alley…along with mine. So when her husband couldn’t make today’s game and she offered me the extra ticket, obviously I was up for the mini road trip and 40 minutes of college hoops.

We headed up I-95 and made it to Villanova with the perfect amount of time for a lunch pit top before tip-off, so we made our way to Kelly’s, a local bar and restaurant not far from campus.

I ordered a Kelly’s salad, mixed greens, craisins, walnuts and blue cheese to start.

And an appetizer portion of steamed pork potstickers.

There was not one thing left on either of my plates except a couple of clusters of blue cheese. Definitely a tasty lunch.

When we were finished, we headed to the pavilion on campus for the game.

Unfortunately the wildcats couldn’t pull out the win over Cincinnati but it was still a fun game to watch and had some excitement in the final minutes.

As soon as the final buzzer rang, we were loaded up back in the car and on our way back down I-95 to Baltimore. The hour and a half drive both ways really seemed to fly by since Katie and I were chatting away about one thing or another including our summer plans when I am home from Korea in June and part of July since we will actually have free time together now (she is a teacher).

It was such a fun sister day and now I’m even more excited for some sun filled summer days together during my mini trip back to the States!

Dinner

We made it back to Baltimore around 6:00 p.m. and I was beyond ready for dinner! I really didn’t feel like cooking anything and wanted something fast so Sonny Lee’s it was.

A Sonny Salad (shocked?)…

And one of the specials on the menu, General Tso’s Scallops with brown rice.

Everything was so good, as expected from Sonny’s and I put a hurting on the whole buffet of food.

I have some rice and a couple scallops left for tomorrow but that’s about it!

Now I plan to curl up on the couch with more of the bottle of wine I opened last night and leave time for some relaxation.

Couldn’t ask for a better Saturday.

Question:

If you have siblings, how close are you to them and do you see them often?

Blazing to the Semis

The high school basketball team that my sister coaches had a convincing win in the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday and have the semifinals tonight. They have to travel to another private school that is almost an hour from theirs this afternoon for the showdown. Being the road team in a playoff game isn’t always easy but it proved possible for them last year in the semifinals as well.

(click image for source)

Here’s to the reigning champs knowing what it takes and doing just that to get to their third straight championship appearance this weekend.

(click image for source)

I won’t lie, I’ll be a tad bit jealous if they repeat in the ‘ship this year, only because before their win last year, my junior year team was the only past team to have won a basketball championship at our high school. My sister was the assistant coach at that time and now if she leads the team to two consecutive league titles as the head coach, she will have something to hold over my head. But hey, at least I can always say I was ON a team that won, she’s only ever coached them.

Oh, and Katie, don’t forget that my career high points is one more than yours. The joys of sibling rivalry.

Let’s go Blazers! 🙂

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was pretty basic. An English muffin toasted with a fried egg and cheese.

And a glass of Trop50 orange juice – with pulp.

This juice is even better than the pomegranate blueberry. Great vitamin C boost to my day! 🙂

Question:

Were you ever part of a championship sports team?

If you have siblings, do you ever compete with them?

Blazer Ball!

Watching my sister, Katie, coach basketball at my old highschool always makes me miss my playing and coaching days.

I try to get to as many games as possible to support Katie and the Blazers and honestly love watching her coach and them play.

She’s an amazing coach and has more patience with her team than I ever could have.  Every game that I watch I’m more and more in awe of her coaching ability. I mean, of course there are a few things that she could work on with them, like say boxing out on defensive foul shots, but she did coach them to the championship game two consecutive years (with a win last year) so I’ll cut her some slack! 😉

(Maybe you should shoot more often, Hannah!!!)

They pulled out the win tonight in the first game of their Holiday tournament with games two and three following in the next two days! Go Blazers!

Dinner

When we got home from the game, the whole family gathered at my parents house to try to put a dent in the leftovers from Christmas dinner.

We did a fairly good job but there was still plenty left when we were done.

We may be seeing corn, lima beans, ham, turkey, pork and stuffing for a long time yet!

As for now, I’m off to enjoy some couch time with my boys before calling it a night.

Telli looks lonesome on the couch waiting for me!

Check out that under bite. I mean, seriously?! We have T-Sizzle (Terrell Suggs) in the hooouuuuse!! 🙂

Question:

Did you ever play competitive team sports?  Do you still?  If not, do you miss it?