Vacation From Blogging.

Hi Blog Readers. I've decided that I'm going to be taking a break from blogging until I get back from my vacation. Life is pretty busy right now and I need a break. Between graduations, softball games, birthdays, flying to California, getting ready to leave for a week, I don't have that much time to be in the kitchen right now. I think I could use a short break too.

So, I hope you guys understand and I'll see you June 3rd with some tasty recipes and pictures from Cali!

My blog is also acting up, will be getting it fixed pretty soon.

Kick Off Your Monday W/A Giveaway!

Good Monday! I apologize readers for being such a slacker this past week in my blogging. Preparing for my party and cooking up goodies wasn't possible.
Since I will be leaving again next week (I'm heading to California for a week to attend my good friend's graduation) this week will be filled with lots of posts. I'm going to try to post every day this week, so....it won't all be food though. I have lots and lots of party pictures I must share with you guys. But, it is up to you.

I thought I'd kick my one-a-day post week with a giveaway. Dawn at Ferguson Pottery has a pretty amazing store. I'm not your biggest pottery fan, but her work is beautiful! I am loving her bowls. I'd love to have this bowl too, but she graciously let me have this to give to one of you guys.

To enter, tell me do you want me to do a post every day? Or is that too much? It'll be a challenge but I am up for it!

Deadline is tomorrow at 3 o'clock PM CST.

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Have fun guys and see you tomorrow! Have a great start to your week!

Sneak Preview.......

......of one of the MANY graduation party pictures snapped yesterday. Since boys usually stand about 10 ft. away from each other when in pictures, I told these guys to act like they "liked" each other. Thus the hugging all around. L to R: David, Steven (hey brother!), Austin (giving me, um, what do you call that look?), and Tim.

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I'll see you tomorrow with lots more pictures! It was a total blast! Have a good Sunday!

Ice Cream Sugar Cookies, W/A Twist.

Good Tuesday everyone! I have so been enjoying this beautiful and cool spring weather.

I finally got to see Hannah Montana. I absolutely loved it! The music was very well done, and yes I was singing in the theater. Seriously, it is hard not too. I won't say anymore in case some of you guys haven't seen it, but I can't wait to go see it again! I loved the addition of Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift. Guh, I love Taylor Swift's music.

I love sugar cookies. Soft and gooey sugar cookies with a glass of milk, yum. I will have to be pulled away to stop eating. We love this sugar cookie recipe we got from a friend. They are so simple to make but they are the best tasting sugar cookie I've had homemade. I thought why not add ice cream to these and make them ice cream sandwich cookies with sprinkles? Mmmm, they are delicious. Any kind of ice cream though I bet would be tasty in these, I am thinking of chocolate.....

Sugar Ice-Cream Cookies

Ingridents:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cup sugar

3 well beaten egg yolks

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cream of tarter

4 cups of vanilla ice cream (or half of a 1.75 qt. of ice cream)

Colored sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar. Add yolks, mix well. Add flour, soda, and tarter. Add vanilla. Roll into balls. Dip in sugar. Bake for 9 minutes. Cool. Take 2 cookies, on one side spread ice cream. Top with other cookie. Roll in sprinkles. Eat right away or cover with Saran Wrap and freeze.

**To keep these soft and chewy, make sure you put them in foil or cover them - they harden quickly. Also, do "not" overbake these for this recipe, hard sugar cookies in an ice cream sandwich doesn't taste good! Underbake them a little.**

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I have been going thru pictures from when I was born until now. I need pictures for my collage for my party this weekend. My parents had 6 babies at one point or another....I didn't win cutest baby out of us kids. I was chubby, red, and had a double chin. My little sister Anna took the title for cutest baby. I was very weird then, and I still am. I am also a known clutz. I get injured often.

Some people in life have everything in perfect order and in tact, I have never been one of them. Don't think I ever will.

This week and weekend is hectic crazy so I won't be seeing you guys until Monday. I've got lots of things to still do before my party this weekend....not to mention our church's first Softball game is this Friday evening. I'll be back with lots of pictures and another tasty recipe! See you next week!

We Jump.

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Congrats to the Winner of the Hello, Cupcake book picked by random.org:

Laura who said: for me it's food! Love the food.

Congrats Laura! Please email me at priscilla91@iowatelecom.net so I can get your book out to you!

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(I am getting a 10x13 of this one for our wall...)

Good Sunday afternoon! Goodness, what a busy weekend. House work, workout, softball practice, taking our Mom out to dinner, shopping, more shopping for graduation party clothes, church....whew! And this week isn't going to be any less busy. I know I will survive.

I am so glad to know you all (most of you...can't please everyone) enjoy my blog just the way it is! Getting comments like that are encouraging....so thank you! I am going to see what I can come up with for some more breakfast, appetizer, and side dish recipes.

So, I thought a jumping shot would be pretty amazing of all 6 of us....little brother in brown polo shirt thought otherwise. See how in the 3rd picture from the top, he is about 4 inches off the ground but completely upright? Not to mention a interesting look. Don't worry, we still love you Joe.

This isn't even close to all the pictures we took, the rest will be popping around here and there in the upcoming months. I am trying to decide which ones to hang up on the walls, choices choices!

See you guys with that cookie post next that will have you scurring to make them yourselves! Happy Mothers Day to all you Mom's and especially to mine!

Hello, Cupcake Book Giveaway!

This is a giveaway to thank you guys. To thank you for always leaving such nice comments. I love blogging but you guys truly make it funner. Even those of you who are readers but don't comment. Thank you readers. For reading my blog. Trying my recipes. For sending me emails and letting me know how much your family loved my recipes. Thank you!

So, I am giving away a copy of "Hello, Cupcake" to 1 of my readers. I've looked thru the book and there are some pretty neat ways to dress cupcakes up. The Panda Bears really caught my eye. I'd have a hard time eating those cuties. And the spaghetti cupcakes....whoa! Amazing!

To enter, tell me what you'd like to see more of on Priscilla Bakes. Less family pictures? More food recipes? More giveaways? Tell me in a comment and you'll be entered for this contest.

Deadline is Sunday at 3 PM CST.

Have a fantastic weekend guys. I'll be back with a cookie post next!

Also check this youtube video out, I have been listening to this non-stop since I found it!

Buttered Egg Noodles W/Parmesan Chicken.

Good Wednesday everyone!

My family and I love love eating at Noodles & Company. If you guys haven't ever tried their food you are seriously missing out. My sister and I love to order "Buttered Noodles". They are noodles fried in butter, mixed with seasonings, and topped with Parmesan Chicken and Mozzarella Cheese. That and a Coke for dinner....that is real living.

I wanted to try to see if I could come up with something similar to Noodles' version. Let me say I got pretty close! For the breading I mixed up different seasonings, Parmesan Cheese, and salt and pepper. Dipped it then in egg and fried until done. The breaded chicken alone was very good. The family loved this, it was great to see my brother and sister saying..."mmm this is pretty good".

Buttered Noodles: My Version

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, thawed

3 cups egg noodles, cooked

2 sticks of butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

3/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. Italian Seasoning

1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cut chicken breasts into strips. Beat eggs in a bowl and set aside. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Place 3 tbsp. of butter in pan over stove on low-medium heat. Melt all over pan. Dip chicken in eggs (let excess egg mixture drip off) and then roll in bread crumb mixture. Place in pan and cook for 2 minutes or until done, turning as needed. In another pan, melt 5tbsp. of butter on medium-high heat. Pour the egg noodles into the pan and cook until crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with Italian Seasoning and salt and pepper. Mix. Put noodles in bowl and top with chicken and Mozzarella Cheese. Yield: 2 servings.

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We did it. We took pictures. It is a big accomplishment because if we don't go get them done, you will never see a decent picture of us 6 together. There will be pictures of us 6. But they don't go past our family seeing them.

The weather was perfect, couldn't have asked for a better day...especially nice since it had been raining the previous days. All I could say was "thank you God....for no rain and a beautiful day to boot".

So, here we are. These 5 (not including our parents) are the ones that devour all of the food you see on my blog. Those 3 boys are the ones who I have to thank. The 2 girls are the ones I have to thank for keeping me somewhat girly. And my youngest brother. Joe. He is perfectly fine. He wasn't being tortured. He doesn't like to smile for the camera. Thus the uncovincing grins.

These are only some of the many pictures we took, would my readers like to see more? Hope you all are enjoying summer weather....looking forward to seeing Star Trek this Friday. Hopefully it will be a good one!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix Added Into Brownies.

Good Tuesday! I am glad to say we are all finally getting over colds we've had for 2 weeks. But now my sister has Larengidus....these past few months have been tough with us all getting colds often and the 24 hour flu thrown in the bunch. I hope this is the last of it for a while! Not until I am sick do I realize how great it is to be healthy.

I currently have an addiction of making brownie mixes and adding different twists to them. I know this isn't helping those of us who are trying to loose some of that weight for summer! This will be the last one for a little while!

I saw the Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (Betty Crocker) on the shelf and thought why not add the cookie mix with cream cheese and sugar and then swirl it in the brownie batter....and top it off with frosting? Mmm, it is good. This chocolate frosting is one of my all time favorites...I love to eat the leftovers! I also love to eat Brownie batter....almost better than cookie dough batter.

Swirled Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

Ingredients:

Batter:

1 brownie mix

1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 (17.5 oz) Chocolate Chip Cookie mix

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix according to box directions. Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Beat cream cheese for 1 minute. Add eggs and sugar. Beat well. Dump cookie mix in and mix until blended. Drop spoonfuls of the cookie batter on brownie batter. Swirl lightly with knife. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until ready. Cool. Frost with below frosting recipe.

FROSTING:

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 stick salted butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup buttermilk

3 3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

Combine cocoa, butter, and buttermilk in a pan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour over brownies and spread. Let sit until hardened. Cut into squares and serve.

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This brother is one of the three I have to thank. For doing something very significant in my life. Thank you Steven. Thank you for making me a girl who others would say...."is your sister coming to the airsoft games? She looks like a strong one". Or..."I saw your sister signed up for the softball team and wait, she is a sports fan...so is she a tomboy?"

Growing up with 3 brothers I will admit it is a bit of a hard task to remain completely girly. I did also grow up with 2 sisters but for some reason outdoor activites and the boys games have always looked so much more exciting to me than playing dolls inside or having a tea party. And to 3 boys...Andrew, Steven, and Joe, guys....from the bottom of my heart I have to thank you. For making me who I am today.

Hope you all enjoy a Tuesday afternoon! Not sure if you guys are familiar with a restaurant called Noodles...we love that place. I will see you next with a dish I created from that place that I get every time I go there! I'll also see you with some new family pictures we had taken, getting the boys to take pictures is a big accomplishement!

Sugar Cookie Mix Banana Bread.

Happy Friday everyone! It is a beautiful summer day and I am looking forward to heading out with my family for dinner and to the theater. So this is going to be a quick post.

We had some very ripe bananas on the counter that needed to be used up so I took my banana recipe and tweaked it. Instead of adding a chocolate cake mix I added a sugar cookie mix and some milk. Yum, the sugar cookie mix adds a wonderful flavor. This makes lots of batter so I would suggest not pouring it all into the 13x9 inch pan. Maybe make some cupcakes with the rest. I made the mistake of using all the batter in the pan and it takes forever to bake and turns overcooked slighty.

Sugar Cookie Mix Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. vanilla
3 medium bananas, ripe and smashed
5 tbsp. sour cream
1 (17.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 in pan (and a muffin pan). Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla, bananas, sour cream, and cookie mix. Mix very well. Pour into greased baking pan and muffin tin. Bake for 45 minutes or until ready.

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Graduation party date has been set. Invitations have been mailed. Decorations, food, and all the fun stuff is coming now. Choices.

This is the picture we used for the invitations....maybe it is just me but I do not really care for this picture of myself. But since the world doesn't revolve around me (what?!) I didn't say anything. And knowing myself, I always critque pictures of people way too much...so ignore me.

Enjoy a beautiful weekend! Busy weekend ahead, picture time for us 6 kids and my Senior Pics tomorrow! See you with some more yummy food soon!