Dessert Recipe

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

½ c butter or margarine, softened
1 ½ c sugar
3 eggs
½ c vegetable oil
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ c all-purpose flour
¼ c baking cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 c shredded zucchini
1 c chopped walnuts, optional
½ c semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in oil and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Fold in zucchini and walnuts if desired.

Spread into greased 13x9x2 baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

This is something else I made last week and while I was typing up the recipe for someone who asked for it, I thought I would post it here as well. It is yummy and healthy, of course, because it has a vegetable in it! Right?!

Favorite Clothes Item for Kids

I don't do much ordering of clothes, but I do love Lands End sweatshirts for kids. They cost more than I would normally spend on kids' clothes (I am really cheap!), but they are durable. I bought Robbie some two years ago and they still are in great shape- good enough for the rest of the crew down the line. They have several colors and sizes 2T and up, and they often have free shipping sales on-line. You can even keep an eye on their "overstocks" department for close out colors/sizes.

Another yummy recipe

. . . this time for COWBOY COOKIES. I got this one out of Family Fun magazine, and they seem to be a hit - especially in the Cowboy Training Room.

Ingredients:
2 c oats
2 c flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 c unsalted butter
1 c packed light brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs, at room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 c chopped walnuts

Directions:
1) Stir dry ingredients
2) Blend butter and sugars until smooth (approx 2 min). Add eggs and best until fluffy (approx 1 1/2 min). Blend in vanilla.
3) Using wooden spoon, stir dry mixture into butter mixture one half at a time. Mix in chips and nuts. Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours.
4) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large (light colored) baking sheet with foil; then grease foil.
5) Using 1/4 cup per cookie, shape dough into balls and place on sheet about 2 inches apart.
6) Using fingers, flatten each ball to 1/3 inch thick. Bake for 13-14 minutes turning sheet halfway through. Cookies are done when lightly browned and still look moist.
7) Cool on sheet 2-3 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen big cookies

Back to School

Well, Robbie started first grade this week and the Alexa started pre-kindergarten. That left me with just two kids at home. I thought I might be bored, so I have started babysitting for another little guy just to make sure I am busy enough. His first day was Tuesday (his mom went back to school too; she's a teacher); he is four months old and very sweet. Rachel loves on him all the time and tries to attend to every need he has, might have, or didn't even know he had. Cole is definitely intrigued by him and wants to play with him, but isn't really sure how. (More on that will be shared in my upcoming series "The Difference between Boys and Girls".) Everyone at home and school had a good week, but we are all ready for a sleep-in day tomorrow! :) Whew . . . who knew two days of school could be so exhausting!?!?

Van is Back!

Hooray! We picked up the van today -an outting that in itself was an adventure. We were borrowing my mom's car, so I had the four kids and drove across town to the mechanic's lot. We parked in a non-parking place but as close to the van as we could. I first got the van started and the a/c on (as the black van gets a bit toasty when it has been closed up and it is 102 degrees outside), and then carried Cole still buckled in his seat to the van and secured his seat to the van seat. Alexa followed. Then I carried Rachel to the van still buckled in her seat to the van and secured her. Robbie followed. I then went back to the car to get all of our miscellaneous traveling items (mail I picked up on our way out, a pacifier, my purse, a stray shoe, a cup, a toy) and got them to the van. Then I pulled my mom's car up a bit, pulled the van out of the parking spot, pulled the car into the parking spot, and then returned to the van to actually leave the mechanic's lot. Although the a/c did seem to be working just fine, it took me a while to cool off from making the switch . . . like I've said before, it is HOT here in Oklahoma. I'm not quite sure how the football players practice in full pads in heat like this. Whew!

Van Air Conditioner

So . . . our van is in the shop for the third time for air conditioning repair. It took 3 days to fix it the first time (just after the previously discussed six hour trip), and it broke again after about 20 minutes of using it. During the second stay in the shop -another two days- the mechanic went through 3 air compressors before sending it home with us because we needed it. When Rob picked it up that day he said it was cool, but not cold and he (the mechanic) really wanted to spend some more time with it. I've been driving it for the last ten days or so, and the a/c is sometimes cool, sometimes warm, and sometimes shoots bad smelling gases out of the vents. I am hopeful the smelley gases are not poisoning us.

The rough part of the whole car in the shop thing is working out alternate transportation. It is hard to fit us all in another automobile. Rob is able to be without an automobile some days at work, but we can't drop him off/pick him up because all six of us can't fit in his car. So . . . on days he is willing to give up his transportation, he has to rely on a co-worker to drive him. Thankfully, he has found willing people to be helpful with this. When we keep Rob's car to use, Robbie has to sit in the front seat which everyone knows is not the safest modes of transport.

I am hopeful that this time in the shop proves to be a success. I start "work" next Tuesday which involves watching a sweet little baby while his mommy starts another school year, so that will be just one more person to try to fit in another car. It is also HOT here in Oklahoma, and the poor kiddos just sweat up a storm anytime we try to go somewhere.

Signing off and thinking happy thoughts for a fixed air conditioning system ready sooner rather than later!