Emma's Birthday Party

We had Emma's birthday party this weekend, even though her birthday was two weeks ago. It's the birthday celebration that never ends!

We had her party at a local gym. This was the first party where she invited friends from school and she was so excited!  The location was great and they made everything so easy. Here are some highlights from her party.

This was her favorite thing. She ran as fast as she could and then ended with a roll.

Cupcakes fit for a princess made by Auntie Kimi.

It was such a great day celebrating with friends and family! Emma and Sophia had the time of their lives and passed out once we got home (so did Andy and I!).

My sweet girl continues to amaze me each and every day. It's hard to believe she's four!

A Trip to Dollywood

We spent Saturday at Dollywood and it was a great way to spend a gorgeous spring day! My father-in-law's company was having a friends and family day and the girls were so excited to spend the day with their Mimi, Papa, and Aunt Nicole.

Emma had so much fun trying out the games and rides. Sophia was pretty much glued to my side and did not want to try anything that made her venture too far away. We managed to get her on a few things though, and she loved it all.

Trips with the girls are getting easier and much more enjoyable now that they're getting older.  It is so much fun to see the excitement in their little faces as they take on this big ol' world!

Emma Turns Four!

So, I have a four-year old. Let that sink in for a minute.

This past Tuesday we celebrated Emma's birthday. I left work early on Monday to take cookies to her class. She was so proud of the birthday crown her teacher gave her. It was so fun to see her play with her friends at school.

There were lots of surprises in store for her birthday morning. Andy and I decorated the house and her door with balloons and we barricaded her door with crepe paper so she had to bust out of her room. She requested chocolate chip pancakes for her birthday breakfast and made them extra special for her.

After breakfast, the girls and I headed to the zoo for a day of fun. The weather was beautiful and we all had a great time!

When we got home home from the zoo, the girls took a long nap before dinner. We were planning on going to Wasabi, a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant. All week long, Emma had been talking about seeing the flames, onion volcanoes, and catching rice balls in her mouth. Our chef didn't disappoint. The girls were enthralled the entire time.



    

Once we got home, it was time for cake and presents. Andy was so excited to give her the special present he picked out for her. He has been dying to get her a tennis racket and he's looking forward to having a little tennis buddy.

Emma,

I hope you had a great birthday! Each year, you continue to amaze me with how much you've grown. You are such a special little girl and you brighten the lives of everyone you know. Mommy, Daddy, and Sophia love you so much! We are all so proud of you!

Mmm, Mmm Monday-Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders

I have to give a shout out to my awesome friend, Stephanie. One, for being one of the coolest people on the planet and for sharing this recipe, which has become a staple in our menu rotation.  We eat a lot of chicken, and I'm always looking for new ways to cook it, because chicken breast is pretty boring, you know?

She promised that adults and kids would gobble it up and she was right (she usually is ;))! This is super easy to make and SO good. Just typing this recipe makes me want to whip up a batch because they're that good.

 Here's what you'll need: 2 pounds of chicken breasts cut into strips, 1 cup pecan pieces, 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of Emeril's Essence Seasoning.

 In a food processor, combine the pecans, bread crumbs, and 1 tablespoon of seasoning. Pulse for a minute until well combined.

Beat two eggs with the olive oil and remaining Essence. Set up your assembly line to dredge the chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then the breading mixture. Place the strips on a lightly greased cookie sheet. I like to coat the strips in a Ziploc bag and line the pan with foil to make cleanup a little easier.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the chicken is cooked through. We love ours with Emeril's honey mustard sauce.

In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons creole mustard (we use Dijon), 2 tablespoons honey, pinch of salt and a pinch of cayenne (or to taste). Even our girls like the honey mustard sauce!

Reviews from the Peanut Gallery:

Me: 5 out of 5 stars. I am not a fan of plain chicken breast, but I live in a world of folks that only like chicken breast. This is a great way to please all of us. The chicken is so tender, juicy and flavorful, especially with the sauce. I'd love to try it in a spinach salad, but there's never any leftovers for me to try it out!

Andy: 5 out of 5 stars. He loves the pecan crust because it keeps the chicken tenders very moist. However, he threatened to lower his score because he had NO idea the honey mustard sauce included mayonnaise. He never would have eaten it because he loathes mayonnaise. I'm sneaky like that. ;)

Emma: "It's delicious and good too!"

Sophia: "Yum, yum!"

Emeril's Oven Baked Pecan-Crusted Chicken Tenders
Recipe via the fabulous Mrs. Jones ;)

2 pounds chicken breast, sliced lengthwise into strips
1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 cup bread crumb
2 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of Emeril's Essence Seasoning

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine the pecans, bread crumbs, and 1 tablespoon of seasoning. Pulse for a minute until well combined. Beat two eggs with the olive oil and remaining Essence. Set up your assembly line to dredge the chicken pieces in the egg mixture, then the breading mixture. Place the strips on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the chicken is cooked through.

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons creole mustard
2 tablespoons honey
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne (or to taste)

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and serve with chicken tenders.

A Beautiful Weekend

Spring has finally sprung in East Tennessee! We could not have asked for better weather this weekend! Everyone seems happier now that they can get outside and enjoy the fresh air, including our girls.

On Saturday, we headed downtown to Market Square, where lots of great activities take place. This weekend, the Dogwood Arts Festival was holding their "Chalk Walk" and one of the amazing art teachers at my school had a square to design. Some of the kids came out to help with the square and Ms. Q was sweet enough to let my own budding artist participate.

We had a great time walking around, seeing the great artwork and the crowds of visitors. Of course, we had to stop for some delicious ice cream from Cruze Farm. I had the Salty Carmel and it was SO good.

On Sunday, we headed to church and I was really nervous because Sophia didn't do very well in the nursery the last time. I had talked to her about it all morning, telling her that she was going to go to "Church School" and that Mommy and Daddy would be back, and won't she have fun? She seemed pretty excited until we walked into the nursery and then BAM! She started screaming, crying, and refused to leave my side. The wonderful, sweet lady that runs the daycare picked her up and showed her some fun things to play with, but it broke my heart! I never know how to handle that...I know she needs to learn to be away from me and socialize with the other kids, but how do I leave a crying kid? Andy went to check on her during the service and found that they had rocked her to comfort her and she ended up falling asleep. After the service, she was so happy to see me and started to cry again. I really hope she starts to enjoy the nursery. What in the world will she do when she starts preschool???

The rest of the afternoon was less traumatizing. We went to lunch, ran errands, and then came back and napped for almost three hours. All of us. I fell asleep upstairs and when I came downstairs, I expected everyone to be awake. Instead I found this:

Emma was still sleeping too, so we had a lazy dinner and then headed to the grocery store. We sure do live it up around here! :)

I'm glad we had a nice, relaxing weekend, because this week is going to be pretty busy. A certain little girl is turning FOUR on Tuesday!!!

Mmm, Mmm Monday-The Best Carrot Cake EVER

I'm not exaggerating. This really is the best carrot cake ever, says the lady who doesn't even like carrot cake. Most of the recipes I share on the blog are the easy, somewhat healthy recipes of a working mom. This is not one of them.

I first tasted this cake at work, when a coworker brought it in. I wasn't too psyched about it, because, like I said, I don't really like carrot cake. But it was in celebration of someone's birthday and it felt rude not to partake in the celebration. I am so happy I did not miss out on this cake! I decided to make it on my own and found that it was a little labor intensive, but the final product was a moist, delicious crowd-pleasing cake that was worth every ounce of effort.

I made this cake for Easter and it was just as delicious as the first time. There's a leftover piece in my refrigerator right now, just waiting to be eaten once the kids go to bed. ;)

These are the ingredients you will need for the cake. The glaze and frosting are another set of ingredients. Yeah, it's a lot, but it's worth it. You'll need vegetable oil, buttermilk, sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla, eggs, crushed pineapple cinnamon, pecans (or walnuts), coconut, and carrots.

Line 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax pans over the wax paper.  Stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla at medium speed until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot, pineapple, coconut, and pecans.  Pour evenly into the three pans and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.


While the cake is baking, make the buttermilk glaze.

Combine 1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup butter, and 1 tbsp. light corn syrup in a large Dutch oven. I don't have a Dutch oven, so I did mine in a bowl over a pot of boiling water. Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring often for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, then add 1 tsp. of vanilla.

 Once the cakes are out of the oven, pour the glaze evenly over the layers. Leave them in the pan for 15 minutes. The glaze will soak into the cake layers, making them moist and super yummy. I like to poke holes in my layers with a fork before I pour the glaze on top. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I like to think so. :)

After 15 minutes, remove the cakes from the pans. This is messy, but the best method I have found is to run a knife along the edges, then place a sheet of wax paper on top of the cake, then place another wire rack on top. Flip the entire thing over, so that the cake slides out of the pan and onto the wax paper covered rack. Peel off the wax paper that was on the bottom of the pan. Then, repeat the flipping with the other wire rack so the cake is now resting on its bottom, ready to cool completely. You will still get sticky cake all over the wax paper, but that's easily lickable, er, disposable. ;)

Once the layers are completely cooled, frost the cake, and in between each layer, with cream cheese frosting. To make the frosting, beat 3/4 cup softened butter and 11 ounces softened cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add 3 cups powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla and beat until smooth. You can sift the sugar if you're fancy, but I'm not fancy and it came out fine.

 You can top the cake with coconut or chopped nuts, or just keep it clean. Either way, you will love this cake and so will anyone else lucky enough to get a piece.

The Best Carrot Cake Ever
Recipe from Southern Living 

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrot
1 (8 ounce) can crush pineapple, drained
1 (3 1/2 can) flaked coconut*
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 
 *I had a bag of coconut and used a little less than 1/2 cup

Line 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax pans over the wax paper.  Stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.  Set aside. Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla at medium speed until smooth. Add flour mixtures, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot, pineapple, coconut, and pecans.  Pour evenly into the three pans and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Drizzle buttermilk glaze evenly over layers.  Cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Spread cream cheese frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Buttermilk Glaze: 
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, butter, and corn syrup in a large Dutch oven. Bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring often for 4 minutes. Remove from heat, then add vanilla.

Cream Cheese Frosting: 
3/4 cup butter, softened
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. This makes plenty of frosting, so don't be afraid to frost the layers with plenty of frosting!