A Winning Weekend at Duncan Hines

- Mama 8 Comments

Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing my trip to the Duncan Hines facility was. It was truly incredible, beyond my wildest dreams. I want to go back to the beginning, where my journey began. And yes, I’m probably going to break it down into itty bitty details, but that’s because this trip was so exciting, so amazing to me, that I’m still trying to process everything that I experienced.

I’ve shared with you a few times how I worked painstakingly on my Duncan Hines recipes. In fact, it was so ridiculous that I picked up every flavor of the Frosting Creations. There are 12, but I submitted 8 recipes to the contest, each using a different flavor. Seven of the recipes were made in two days (I actually made the winning recipe later, my Cherry Masher Sandwich Cookies). I baked all weekend, and luckily, it was a weekend that two of the exchange students were staying with us, so they were able to be our guinea pigs. It got to the point where I was literally calling people over and having my mom invite people over, just so they could get some of the sweets out of the house. My mother was frustrated because I’d destroy the kitchen, we’d clean it up, and I’d destroy it again. And of course, having 8 recipes worth of sweets in the house was just purely ridiculous.

I never expected to win this. I really, truly, didn’t. For me, this was a great way to challenge my creativity and expand my baking skill. My brother was a huge part of the process, helping me brainstorm ideas for the recipe contest. Of course, many of the ideas were my brainchild, and it was great to see one of those win, because I felt such an ownership in it. I truly felt like this was the pinnacle of my creativity, the true extreme that I was prepared to go to.

When I got the email saying I won, I was in shock. It was complete disbelief. After all, baking is just a hobby for me, something I enjoy doing, so to actually realize that I won for this contest was incredible. In the weeks leading up to the trip (there weren’t many- it was about 2 weeks!), I started to receive flight plans, itineraries, and even had one of the other winners get in touch with me. It truly was a short amount of time between when we were contacted, and when the trip was, that it was almost like a total blur. But finally, the day arrived when it was time to go to New Jersey.

The most heartbreaking thing in the world to me was saying goodbye to my baby boy at the airport. Of course, he was kind of blissfully unaware of the fact that mommy was getting on a plane and wouldn’t be back for a day, because we’ve been apart literally no more than half an hour at a time since he was born. The unfortunate thing is that I knew I wouldn’t be able to see him for over 36 hours, and that was devastating. I tried to hold the tears in, and I was able to do pretty well until that last goodbye. I just hugged him and hugged him, then passed him off to his uncle. Jeffrey took him to the window to look outside, and not see the fact that mommy was leaving through security, instead of with him. Before heading to the window, he waved to me, and smiled, and walked away. I, of course, burst into tears, grabbed my mom and hugged her. I went through security, and was putting my shoes on, and they called my name looking for me. I practically ran over, boarded the plane, and waited for liftoff.

I landed in Chicago around 10:30. By this point, it was the time that I would have been awake at home, and I was starving! I stopped quickly and picked up one of the most yummy lemon squares in the world. Or I guess it was more of a lemon triangle, but really.

I waited a little bit, called home, and bam, it was time for flight number two.

I boarded the flight, and this time, I got the window seat. It was nice- I love window seats when I fly. It truly gives you that weightless experience. After buckling in, the man who had the ticket next to me came and said “I was supposed to get the window seat. But, I guess it just doesn’t really matter, whatever.” He was super irritated, but I just replied “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought seat D was the window seat.” Y’know, I was seat D, and I had checked the diagram and all that, and the window seat? It was totally mine. He double-checked with the attendant, and it turned out that yes, the window seat was mine (whatever, I was totally willing to swap with him, but that’s cool). Anyway, when all of the passengers had boarded, there were several empty rows, so he was able to move to another row and sit at the window. Where he promptly, y’know, closed the window, and didn’t look out of it at all. Seriously? You try to kick me out of my window seat so you can close it? Someone doesn’t know how a window seat works, am I right?

Seriously, though, I’m just kidding. Mostly. That situation really happened, and I still think that guy is insane for closing the window, but it’s neither here nor there- it was just funny to me! I am a totally paranoid flyer, though. I’ve barely flown since 9/11, and you know that whenever you head towards New York, that does flash through your mind, “What if I’m on a flight and someone hijacks it?” and you also have that thought of “There’s been all of these stories on the news about people going crazy on the plane, what if it happens to me?” And yeah, you ignore the fact that thousands of planes fly every day with absolutely nothing going wrong, but it’s that handful of stories that psychs you out. I was all panicky, but I was holding it in as best as I could. And then, someone sneezed.

And I jumped. Not literally, but like, that whole, body jumping out of it’s skin thing? Yeah, that’s how I felt. Until he sneezed again, and I realized that the first time was probably a sneeze (I thought he had yelled instead of freezing). It took me the rest of the flight to calm down after that, but I did end up getting to New Jersey safely, without having any sort of trouble.

When I arrived in Newark, I saw a wheelchair. And yes, that wheelchair had my name on it. Of course! They had gotten the wheelchair thing mixed up, which is why there wasn’t one for me at Chicago. I hopped in, which was good, because the trip from the gate to the baggage claim in Newark was much farther than walking from one gate to another in Chicago. I got to the baggage claim, and I found my driver from Flyte Tyme.

We waited because there were three other ladies he was there to pick up. In addition to myself, there were two other contest winners, and the amazing Christy from Love from the Oven. I am a huge fan of her blog, and I was so excited to get to chat her up a little bit and pick her brain on the blogging front.

We drove over to the hotel, about half an hour away, in Parsippany. We were staying at the Courtyard Marriott, and when we checked in, we were given a gift bag, courtesy of Duncan Hines.

Upon getting up to my room, I peeked inside. The wonderful people at Duncan Hines had provided some snacks and bottled water, and since the only thing I had eaten all day was a lemon square, I looked at the trail mix inside as though it was manna from heaven. I grabbed a couple of handfuls, called my mom to let her know I had arrived, and promptly crashed on the bed until time to leave for dinner.

At dinner time, we headed over to Delicious Heights in Bedminster. Let me just tell you, if you ever get the chance to go there, please do. When we arrived, we were ushered back to a private bar area with a dining room off to the side. There, we were able to mingle with the marketing, product development, and baking teams at Duncan Hines and get to know the other winners and bloggers. I was so excited to chat with everyone! O f course, I don’t drink, so I think everyone looked at me a little funny when they’d ask “Oh, what are you drinking?” and I’d respond with “Pineapple juice!” They totally prettied it up with a cherry, though, so I’d say it counts as a cocktail, right?

I spent a lot of my time talking to the marketing team. Being a marketing major, it’s always exciting to me to get to pick their brains a little bit and find out more about marketing in the field. I do have to admit, I found out some of their marketing guys were New York Red Bulls fans, and that Sporting Til I Die girl that I am died a little bit inside (I’m totally kidding. I have mad respect for NYRB, and I even have a couple of players on my fantasy team). It was really nice to interact with the Duncan Hines team, and realize that even though they all are so incredible, and I feel so in awe of them, they’re real people, too, and that was a really neat peek behind the curtain for me.

During our cocktail and chatting hour, we were served some incredibly impressive appetizers, too, and the food lover that I am, I wanted to try a little of everything. They had these great mushroom cream cheese filled puff pastry sort of things that were just flaky and savory and incredibly delicious, so I know I’ll be craving those again from here to eternity. They also had some skewers with beef and a teriyaki sauce, some bacon-wrapped scallops with a mango sauce, and some gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches featuring brie, mozzarella, and ham. And, of course, I tried them all, because why not? They’re delicious! I seriously was starting to get full before I was ever seated at the table.

At the table we were served a first course of bruschetta, spinach dip with chips, and a cold cut sort of tray that had an incredibly fancy name I don’t know and probably can’t pronounce (I just looked it up- it’s called Charcuterie?) By this point, I’m positively stuffed, but then they bring us out our choice of tomato soup or salad. I went with the salad, because I knew with all of the sweets I was eating, I needed something to balance it out.

See, in Kansas, I’m a big fan of the bagged salads. They’re easy… you go to the store, you buy one, you open the bag and set it on the table. But this, well, it was no bagged salad. We’re talking about amazing field greens and delicious flavors and textures. It was an amazing salad. Our next course was a choice of crab cake, NY strip, or Filet Mignon. I chose the filet, and it was truly just perfection.

They served it with beautiful mashed potatoes piped with a star tip, and some asparagus that was delicious. As a little girl, I used to go out to my grandparents’ garden and eat the asparagus raw out of the garden, not even washing it, so it’s always a little weird to me to eat cooked asparagus, because, come on, why would you cook it and ruin it? However, the asparagus from this experience was just perfectly tender, but still had crunch, but had that great buttery flavor… so of course, when I intended to only eat a portion, I ended up leveling that plate, as well.

By this point, I am truly ready to pop. I have eaten so many different treats and delightful foods at Delicious Heights that I can’t even begin to consider the fact that even more is coming. And then, dessert arrives. It is… incredible. Chef Joe DiPaola from Duncan Hines was the mastermind of this recipe, and I am so excited about the fact that he is sending the recipe to me! I know this dessert is going to be my go-to dessert for dinner parties. It is so incredibly impressive! The bottom layer is actually a thin layer of Duncan Hines Chewy Brownie, which, hello, I’m already a total fan of. You can’t get much better than a Duncan Hines brownie. Instead of cooking it in your average 9×9 or 8×10 pan, it was baked on a sheet, in a nice, thin layer. On top of this layer of brownie was this amazing peanut butter layer that was filled with crunchy bits of what is essentially just a crunchy crepe (it’s called feuillantine). The peanut butter paired with the chocolate so nicely (who doesn’t love that combination?) and the crunch just completely made the dessert. On top of that layer, there was a layer of chocolate mousse, about two inches high. I am in heaven. It was served plated with raspberry and chocolate sauce, pulled sugar on top, and some candied apricots soaked in rum and cinnamon. The dessert was just incredible, and impressive!

I truly am now at the point in the evening where I cannot eat another bite. And that’s when they serve coffee. And cookies. And guess who has two thumbs and had coffee and cookies? Yup, this girl. I swear, I was seeing stars, but everything was so good that it was impossible to resist.

We made our way back to the hotel, where I was able to call home, shower, and completely crash. I think I was dead asleep within five minutes of my head hitting the pillow, but since I didn’t fall asleep until 1:30, and because 6:30 eastern time is actually 5:30 my normal time, my alarm going off was a shock. I jumped up, though, despite the late night, because, HELLO! Today was my day to actually get to the really exciting part. I mean, yeah, dinner was great and all. Dinner was fantastic, but this, this was the day each of our winners had been waiting for. Within half an hour, I was totally ready… I did end up taking a silly self-portrait, because I feel like it’s been forever that I looked more like a professional than a mom. That’s makeup on my face… yes, actual makeup!

When we arrived at the Duncan Hines facility, we were greeted with a red carpet. It was true VIP business right there, or rather… VIB. Very Important Baker.

We walked in, and let me tell you, this is a stunning facility. Everything is truly bright colors, bright everything. It’s just like walking into a painter’s palette. It is incredible. The first room that we visited was the Ideation Room. This is where a lot of the magic happens, a lot of the brainstorming.

The trim and some wall sections are painted in brilliant, bold, Duncan Hines red. All of the furniture is moveable, which is awesome, because I bet people tend to move around a lot in that room. Oh, and one little thing… all of the white sections of wall are whiteboard painted. As in, you can actually write on those puppies. And wipe it off, and write again.

We were actually given the opportunity to write on those walls. One of the walls, we were asked to write some great ideas for new flavors of Frosting Creations. I suggested Root Beer, Watermelon, and Pina Colada, because honestly, those are the ones that I think would be amazing, and because those are flavors that I’ve heard people ask about again and again. Seriously, anytime I would create a dessert and explain the product to anyone, they’d say “Oh, is there a root beer flavor?” or “Oh, do they have watermelon?” So I made sure all three of the most requested flavors were on that board/wall.

In the back of the ideation room, they have a kitchen. This small kitchen is larger than my actual kitchen, and it allows the vendors from companies to come in and bring in their product for them to try out. For example, if Duncan Hines needs a good chocolate flavor, they can bring in a chocolate vendor and try different kinds until they find the one, or multiples, that they want to try, and continue playing around with in their work.

Because of the whiteboard walls, this is where brainstorming ideas come to life. They said that there are so many meetings where they hand people markers and they just go to town on coming up with ideas and sketches and working some stuff out, and that is just amazing to me. There is no better flow of ideas, I think, than to be given a marker or something, and just going.

While we were in the ideation room, we got a little bit of insight into how Frosting Creations came to be, the steps it went through, and how it finally ended up the way it did. Originally, Duncan Hines had considered putting the product into sticks, very similar to a Crystal Light pouch, but because instead of selling them in boxes, they’d be selling them a single pouch at a time, they were worried that it would get lost too easily. That’s why they chose to redesign the packaging to the square type that they currently use! They also considered using the flavor packets on their own, as in, you could mix them into any kind of icing. However, after a lot of product testing, they realized that it was hard to mix the product with many kinds of icing because it was simply too thick, or there wasn’t enough headroom in the frosting container for easy mixing. In order to make an easy-to-use product, the best solution was to design a frosting starter that the flavor packets were designed to work with! They had originally also thought to just have the items designed so they would fit on the shelves, but after consumer feedback in their test panels, they discovered that it was really hard to figure out how to use it, or that both products were intended to fit together, and little packets can be hard to keep organized on a shelf. That’s why Duncan Hines designed the bright, exciting shelving unit that they use to sell the Frosting Creations today! I loved getting to hear the story behind the creation process, and all of the variations that Duncan Hines went through before it ended up being the right version, that we see today! It just goes to show how much work goes into each and every product that winds up on our store shelves. As consumers, we tend to only see the finished product, but not the hundreds and thousands of steps and trials that go into the creation of products we love and use regularly. From the initial idea, to the development of the product and making sure the product is just right, in consistency, taste, and ingredients, making sure it’s going to be affordable to implement and for consumers to purchase, and trying to ensure it will be successful, as well as the marketing and packaging design, the promotion and public relations, and more, there are so many things that go into creating each and every product you use in your kitchen, or really, any product you use in general. It was a really unique peek behind the curtain to hear a little bit of the story behind this one particular product that truly sets Duncan Hines apart from all other companies. Truly, no other company has a product like the Frosting Creations.

From the ideation room, we were taken to many other parts of the building. Because so much of what Duncan Hines does, and so much of what Pinnacle Foods does, is very trade secret, we were asked not to bring cameras on this portion of the tour. What I can tell you is, the space is beautiful, the space is bright, and the space is just truly incredible. Everything is very open and happy and fun. They have a fireplace in their lunch area! Seriously! They quipped that it’s not unusual for some employees to bring in some marshmallows and sticks.

We got to also explore the product development system and see how Duncan Hines figures out which flavors will make it, and which won’t, through consumer testing and research. Because we, as winners, are actual consumers, we were able to give our opinion about various flavors and concepts that Duncan Hines was hoping to bring to light in the near future. It was exciting to know that some of the things that we tried might become actual products someday! I know that I’m going to be incredibly thrilled if any of these products become available on the market, because I feel like I played a role in their development by giving my opinions and thoughts about them.

After that, we were able to view what’s called the “cutting room.” This is the room where ideas come to life (or get cut). They’re able to try different things, and see which one works better, or which one isn’t so hot.  They’re able to compare multiple items side by side, and figure out which is the best, and which aren’t worth investing more time in. In the test kitchen, there is what is called the Chef’s Standard. Essentially, they come up with an idea, and they tell the chefs to go to work, and just have fun. The chefs are able to create something, no matter the cost or the ingredients, or whether or not they can make it come to the consumer in a do-able fashion. That item that they finally produce is the chef’s standard. This standard is what they compare everything else to. They create items that will work for the consumer, and if they don’t compare well enough to the chef’s standard, then it’s back to the drawing, or rather, baking board. They keep trying until the product is finally perfect, finally meeting the chef’s standard, and that’s when a product is starting to come to light.

In the cutting room, each of us had a station piled up with goodies that Duncan Hines will be shipping to us. These items are from Wilton, and they are absolutely life-changing for me. The items that I’ve always looked at and drooled over in the baking aisle? Those are the items that I am getting for myself. I’m not kidding, I was in tears when I saw the amazing items that Duncan Hines was gifting us. When you’re a single mom, you have to have priorities, and unfortunately, sometimes buying your son diapers comes before buying yourself a cake decorating turntable. Thanks to Duncan Hines, I now have all of the supplies I need to really ramp up my baking and truly take it to the level it deserves. I am so blessed and amazed at the items Duncan Hines is sending to me. I feel like the items they are giving me are instrumental to my blog, and to my love for baking, and I was near tears when I saw them.

We even got a copy of one of the books that Chef Joe highly recommends, The Pastry Chef’s Companion.

Chef Joe started demonstrating some great ways to use the new tools we’re getting. He demonstrated how to cut cakes easily using a turntable (hint: you keep the knife in one place, but turn the turntable, so you’re only cutting about halfway through the cake and letting the knife do the work).

How to do various icing techniques (and how they look using a star tip versus using a plain tip, and how both of them can be elegant approaches), and about how to smooth frosting, and make great-looking cake edges every time. Do you want to know the secret to perfect sides on a cake? Apply a layer of frosting, and then coat the sides in chopped nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, whatever… it hides all of the flaws and imperfections, but makes an incredible statement.

One of the best parts of the demonstrations was that Chef Joe, like myself, is a leftie, which means he did a lot of his demonstrations using his left hand. It helped me figure out how to do the techniques a little better, without having to try to mirror him.

One thing I didn’t realize about decorating is that instead of doing the “two hand squeeze” on the pastry bag that I typically do, you should actually apply pressure with one hand (your dominant hand), while guiding the bag with one finger from your opposite hand. Then, you won’t strain your hands too much, and you’ll avoid getting carpal tunnel and other ailments. Lightbulb moment!

After a great amount of time checking out the techniques, we went back to the ideation room to grab our lunch, and, more importantly, see what the chefs did with our recipes. You see, in the process where they were deciding which twelve people would be invited to the event, they went through and selected the recipes that followed the rules, and seemed like they were creative, and appealing to customers (creativity, appeal, and taste were all part of the judging process). Then, they took all of those recipes, and they baked them. After baking them, they tasted, and narrowed it down. Then, they baked all of those again, and narrowed it down again. And they baked and narrowed down, baked and narrowed down, until they got the finished recipes. They took the recipes, then, and tweaked them with Duncan Hines flair.

Because my winning recipe was never posted here on the blog (aside from being linked through the website), I do plan to make that recipe again and share it with you here, implementing the changes that Duncan Hines made between the original that I dreamed up, and the one that they decided on as the finished product. I will tell you that their minor change was absolutely for the better, and it made my cookie taste a lot better than it did, and look a lot prettier, as well. Their change to my cookie was simply to drizzle it in chocolate icing instead of dipping the entire cookie. Duh! Why didn’t I think of that?

It was amazing getting to see all of the winning recipes in person… I remember during the contest seeing several of them and thinking “That looks good,” or “that looks interesting,” and I was so excited at the thought of tasting them! Each of the pictures below is linked to the original recipe on the Duncan Hines website.

Orange Creamsicle Soda Fountain Cake from Sandra Downey

These orange creamsicle soda fountain cakes from Sandra were amazing! Duncan Hines decided to remove them from the soda glasses they had originally been in, and instead put them into a push pop form, but I must admit, I am a huge fan of the soda glass that Sandra originally put them in. To me, they’d be a hit at a 50’s-themed party, don’t you think?

Lemon Rhu-berry Upside Down Cakes from Lisa Antonelli

These cakes were yummy! Duncan Hines did remove the Rhubarb from them, and instead added blueberries. You see, they had trouble finding good rhubarb in season, but Lisa had been lucky enough to get it from her dad’s garden!

Holy Spumoni Cake by Kimberly Lombardi

In Kimberly’s recipe, which she had originally made using a bundt pan, she had mentioned a variation on her recipe that would allow it to be made with a waffle iron instead of a pan and oven! This variation is what the people at Duncan Hines decided to do. I think it turned out beautifully, and it tasted delicious!

Chocolate Marshmallow Mousse from Toni of Make, Bake, Celebrate

Toni’s chocolate marshmallow mousse is a very simple recipe, with really incredible results. Duncan Hines decided to amp her mousse recipe up by making it into more of a single-serve trifle, adding layers of cake and whipped topping within the dessert. It’s perfect for entertaining!

Cotton Candy Fudge from Becky McKay

Becky’s fudge was really yummy, and a really exciting flavor! She said that she loves to create foods where people think “Oh, I don’t think I’ll like that,” and then have them try them, so they can walk away pleasantly surprised. She mentioned that many of her foods are kind of made for the shock value. Duncan Hines left her easy three-ingredient recipe pretty close to the same, but they sprinkled the top with dried cotton candy, and cut it into triangles for a very pretty presentation.

Grasshopper Pie Cakepops by Renee Thompson

Renee was actually the first winner that I heard from, and the only one I “met” online before the winners weekend. She is an absolute sweetheart, and these grasshopper pie cake pops are a true delight. Of course, I’m a sucker for anything mint, so I may be slightly biased. Duncan Hines decided to make the coating much greener, but kept much of the original recipe the same.

Bubble Gum Cake Blow Pops by Yvonne Velez

Yvonne’s Bubble Gum Cake Blow Pops were actually created for her granddaughter’s birthday, and were made with the intention that they would look like actual Blow Pops (think the suckers with the gum inside!). They are truly adorable, and have a really rich bubblegum flavor, using  three packets of frosting creations bubblegum flavor! Duncan Hines changed her recipe slightly by replacing the colored sugar on the outside with a pretty drizzle.

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Cake Pops by Brittney Syrie

Brittney made the third winning variety of cake pops, and hers incorporated both the cinnamon roll and the caramel flavors! She won her recipe in the cinnamon roll category. Duncan Hines took the approach on this one that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and left her cake pops exactly the way they were.

Bazinga! Raspberry White Chocolate Cake by Jeannie Majka-Sherwood

Jeannie (a total sweetheart and fellow Big Bang Theory fan) created some amazing Bazinga! Raspberry White Chocolate Cupcakes. Duncan Hines shook it up by eliminating the cupcake part all together, and turning it into a pretty cake with two layers of frosting sandwiched between the three cake layers, and topped with more frosting and fresh raspberries, which really ramped up the “wow!” factor on an already incredible recipe from Jeannie.

Apple-Spiced Cinnamon Roll Sundaes by Nikki Norman

I’m pretty sure that cake for breakfast is always a good idea, and after tasting Nikki’s Apple-Spiced Cinnamon Roll Sundaes, I know for sure it is. These are an amazing cake sundae portioned into a waffle bowl and piled high with yummy Duncan Hines Caramel Frosting Creations. Um, hello, good morning! They ended up caramelizing the pecans on it… yum!

Mocha Crunch Pie by Sara Masters

Sara was totally speaking my language when she invented this delicious chocolate-y coffee inspired delight. I would gladly eat it again and again. Duncan Hines shook this recipe up a little bit by making the actual pie portion a smooth, creamy treat and decorating it with some delicious chocolate whipped topping. To die for!

For lunch, we actually got to eat in the Boardroom. Yes, THE boardroom. The one where Pinnacle Foods holds their meetings, and I got to sit at that table! And, let me tell you, it was a massive table. After lunch, we then were able to taste the recipes and see what our fellow winners made. Let me tell you, there was a lot of talent, and a lot of great recipes that were executed so well.

After lunch and dessert, it was back to our learning, where Chef Joe showed us a lot about plating. When the dessert was served at the restaurant, Chef Joe wasn’t entirely happy with how it was plated, because he had provided some pretty specific instructions. Chef Joe was able to show us exactly how it should be plated, and then he demonstrated exactly how to make that incredible dessert.

He had already made the bottom brownie layer using the Duncan Hines Chewy Brownies. On top of that was the crunchy peanut butter layer.

On top was the mousse layer, which he whipped up very quickly and easily, using heavy cream, egg whites, chocolate, and more. Can you tell Chef Joe talks with his hands a lot, like I do?

While he made the mousse, he talked about the importance of tempering, not just hot into cold, but also light into heavy. You have to temper these parts of the recipe, or it won’t work!

When he poured the mousse layer on, he noticed it had some bubbles, so Chef Joe used one of his favorite kitchen tools… a butane torch. He recommended we all go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and pick one up, because it is a great tool for any culinary artist. He also suggests looking at Home Depot for items that could be useful in the kitchen (his icing smoother? It’s a tool traditionally used for spackle and grout work!)

In addition to talking with his hands a lot, and being left handed, we also have another thing in common… we both stick our tongue out when we’re focusing. I think it’s a creative thing. It is, right? We’re not just weird? (P.S. Weird=Innovative).

Because he’s giving us the recipe, I am definitely planning on sharing the exciting flavors with you, so be on the lookout for a great version of Chef Joe’s dessert from my Duncan Hines’ dinner. Of course, I’m making a few of my own signature tweaks on it, but I’m hoping that I can somewhat live up to the original.

Torches are used for a lot more than just popping mousse bubbles. Chef Joe also used it to add some dimension to this marzipan-topped cake, and added some chocolate roses, for an elegant and low-effort cake decoration.

Chef Joe was also kind enough to show us how to write and do scrollwork using chocolate, which is a technique I’m definitely going to be practicing.

We also got an opportunity to learn the techniques of creating chocolate roses out of some chocolate that was the consistency of play-dough. We wore gloves because sometimes when you don’t, you can leave fingerprints on those roses- not pretty!

Once we had all completed a chocolate rose, we were able to add them to a wedding cake, essentially making it ours! It was amazing to get to collaborate in this way with the bakers and bloggers who were there, and Chef Joe himself, to make a pretty decorated creation. My rose sat right on the top, next to Chef Joe’s!

One of my fellow winners, Sandra (love her!) was a star at making the roses. Here, she is showing a little bit of how to pinch the edges of the rose petals to give them a realistic looking shape.

Not long after that, it was time to say our final goodbyes. We got to leave a message on the whiteboard walls of the ideation room, thanking the Duncan Hines staff for the amazing weekend.

I just wish that my message were even close to enough of a thank you, because there is no way that I can ever thank them enough for the experience that they provided me with this weekend. I’m not kidding when I say that this weekend was a dream come true. It’s no exaggeration. I truly feel like this is the best thing that has ever happened to me, second only to becoming a mom, of course. It was amazing, and I feel like my words cannot even describe it.

It was sad to say goodbye to everyone at the end, but I know that I’m going to be keeping in touch with many of the bakers and bloggers for years to come, and hopefully even the wonderful people from Duncan Hines and Pinnacle Foods. As someone who has been a lifelong fan of their products and their company, this was like going through the looking glass, seeing everything from this other world, almost. The bus ride to the airport and the plane rides home, all I could do was think about this experience, and the many tools that I will use from it, both the physical tools, and the amazing things that they taught us this weekend.

I am excited to recreate each and every one of the winners’ recipes. It was also amazing getting to meet them, and to meet the incredibly sweet Christi from Love from the Oven, Shelly from Cookies and Cups, and Doug from Hoosier Homemade and Pocket Change Gourmet. Of course, the designated bloggers were not the only bloggers who were there this weekend, so I am going to link you below to the blogs of the many great women (and of course, Doug), that I met this weekend!

As I journeyed home, I thought about how this weekend is one that is going to stay with me forever, and in some ways, it’s going to stay with my readers, as well, because I am excited to have gotten so much inspiration that I want to share with you from this experience, using delicious Duncan Hines products, especially the Frosting Creations, of course, and many other great things that we learned (like techniques and tricks from Chef Joe!)

I truly hope that you’ll stay tuned on my Duncan Hines journey with me, because trust me, it’s far from over.

Here are the links to the blogs and content from the amazing people I got to meet this weekend.

Pinnacle Foods Parent company to Duncan Hines, Bird’s Eye Vegetables, Vlassic, Aunt Jemima, Comstock Wilderness, and more!

Website

Duncan Hines

Website          Facebook          Twitter          Pinterest

Love From the Oven

www.lovefromtheoven.com

Cookies and Cups

www.cookiesandcups.com

Hoosier Homemade

www.hoosierhomemade.com

Make, Bake, Celebrate

www.makebakecelebrate.blogspot.com

Leavin’ on a Jet Plane

- Mama 5 Comments

Guess what? The day has finally come. I will be arriving in New York, or rather… New Jersey… tomorrow. Seriously. This time tomorrow, I will have already reached Chicago, and will be en route to New Jersey. Wow.

It seems like just yesterday that I got my email and phone call from Duncan Hines letting me know that they would be flying me out to their test kitchen, and now the day has come. I’m (almost) packed. I’ve (almost) stocked the freezer with breastmilk for Zach. I’m (almost) ready. I’m… almost. There is so much to do and prepare, because this is literally the first time I’ve been away from Zach for more than 30 minutes since he was born last July. And now, I’m leaving for roughly 36 hours.

I have to do something to take my mind off of leaving for that long. So, what I’ve done is decided to post a list of my favorite songs about New York. I’ll be close enough to NY that I think it’ll count!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_m-BjrxmgI]

Hey There Delilah is one of my brother’s favorite songs at the moment. To the point that it gets played on repeat, no joke. In fact, he’s kind of the one who inspired this blog post because he said “You know what you should blog about? You should do something about Hey There Delilah. Since it’s in New York and you’re going to New York.” Cool kid, no joke. He helped me come up with ideas for many of my recipes for the Duncan Hines contest, and I love him infinitely.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPlcE3GcoFc]

America is easily one of my favorite songs, especially since it’s from one of my favorite musicals ever– West Side Story. It just makes me smile to listen (and sing along) to that song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xQOb51qZ-c]

U2’s City of Blinding Lights is pretty clearly about New York, but for some reason, it still makes me think about Paris every time, probably because of the Devil Wears Prada, but that’s just me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjsXo9l6I8]

I have no idea why, but every time I hear this song, I tear up a little bit. Every time I’ve been to New York, it really does seem like a city where dreams are made. It’s fast-moving, it’s exciting, and there’s just so much happening that it must have some sort of incredible spirit about it. I can’t get past how much I enjoy this song, even though it’s not my typical style of music.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqlJl1LfDP4]

I’m finishing with one final song about New York, the one that most people think of when they hear the topic of Songs about New York. To me, this is a song that pretty much everyone knows.

The last time I was in New York City was 2008. You know what else happened in New York City in 2008? They had a tornado. Or rather, they had a tornado warning. It lasted about 4 minutes, and the whole city was in panic. Truly, in panic– the news anchors were visibly shaking and their voices quavered, people were running and yelling through the halls of the hotel, trying to get to shelter, and… me being from Kansas, I ran over to my window and planted myself next to the window on the 15th floor. Was that smart? Probably not. Had there been a tornado, that would have been kind of dumb. But, it was what it was, and there wasn’t a tornado, so it all worked out.

Hopefully, this trip will be incredibly eventful, but avoid any major panic like the last trip!

Do any of you have songs that remind you of travel or about New York? I’d love to add them to my playlist if you think of some!

On the Road Again

- Mama 3 Comments

It seems like lately, we have done nothing but travel, travel, travel. As I mentioned in last night’s blog post, I’m currently visiting my grandmother for her birthday. In a few short hours, I will be leaving here to visit my grandfather for a few days. From there, I’ll return home with only two days to spare before I head off to New Jersey for my Duncan Hines’ trip.

Following my Duncan Hines’ trip, I’ll have less than two weeks before I head to my grandfather’s house again, and from his house, I will head down to my annual vacation destination, a full 11 hours from his house (which is four hours away from my house).

The trip I’m currently on comes only a couple of weeks after my last trip down to visit each of my grandparents.

It seems that time has truly been moving very quickly, that I’ve been on the road much of the past couple of months, and it seems I will continue to be on the road for the month to come. It is so wonderful getting to see family and friends, and getting to travel to unique destinations and try out new places that I can enjoy.

What is difficult is those times when you come home, unpack your bags, throw the dirty items into the laundry, and as those are washing, re-pack your bags with clean clothing because in a few short days, you’ll be leaving again. We have been keeping our bags packed almost non-stop, and it seems some days that we are living our of our luggage at times. Some times we will get home and pack for two or three of our trips at once, because there’s just not enough time between them to re-pack, so we pack in different bags and grab the next one upon arriving home.

So, sometimes, when I’m away for a day or two, it’s not because I don’t love you, because I’m neglecting my blog. My internet access is spotty at times, but I assure you I have many great blog posts coming your way.

Is summer a busy traveling season for you? What sort of travel plans do you have coming up?

Happy Birthday, Grandma! (With German Chocolate Filled Cupcake recipe)

- Mama 4 Comments

Today is my grandmother’s birthday! I’m so blessed to be visiting her today to celebrate with her! Growing up, my grandmother was a huge fixture in my life. I have many memories of spending time with her when I was younger.

Grandma holding me the day I was born. 

At one point when I was younger, I would spend the night at my grandparents’ house every Friday. Sometimes, my mother would drop me off at grandma’s workplace at the time. I would sit in her office and file paperwork, or at least, pretend I was. After grandma would get off of work, we’d go home and spend time together. I had two nightgowns at my grandmother’s house… one was brown flannel, and one was satin and pink. Each Saturday morning, we would clean up the house, just the basic tasks like washing windows and dusting. I would wear my brown flannel gown and pretend to be Cinderella, and then when the cleaning was finished, I’d change into the pink gown because, to me, it looked more like a ball gown or pretty gown, and it meant my Cinderella transformation was complete.

Visiting Grandma one day.

Grandma and I would also often play restaurant. She would get a notepad of paper and pen, and write down my “order” for breakfast. As I grew up, when my grandmother moved to an apartment, much closer to our favorite bookstore, it was not unusual for me to spend a weekend with her, and wake up in the morning, head to the bookstore when it opened at 10, sit around reading and drinking coffee drinks, and stay there until 10 at night when they would close up and ask us to leave. At the bookstore, I would often get a huge stack of books and read a chapter of each, pruning it down from about 20 to 5 or 6. It was nothing for us to spend a full day there, and as I ran around the store reading chapters of various books to decide which ones I wanted, she would instead sit there with one book, typically a Sue Grafton novel, and read the entire thing.

In addition to helping foster my love of reading by taking me to bookstores for long hours (Borders was our favorite, and we were both so sad to see it go), my grandmother also inspired a great love for theatre by taking me to many, many theatre productions. I can’t even count the number of productions of West Side Story I’ve seen anymore.

On the way to a theatre production.

One of my favorite anecdotes about my grandmother is the time we went on a cruise when I was younger. My parents shared one cabin, and my grandmother and I shared the other. Our cabin had a window, and one day when we were docking in the Bahamas, we woke early to watch out our window. Because the cruise had free room service, we ordered breakfast, and sat and ate breakfast as we watched our boat come into port. After enjoying our breakfast by the window, we started to get tired, and decided to go back to bed for a few hours. We woke up, we ordered breakfast like we did every morning, and halfway through, we realized that we were eating breakfast for the second time. On many occasions, we have thought back on that day fondly, talking about the day we ate breakfast twice.

A couple of years ago, we had the good fortune to travel on a bus tour to New York City. It was my second visit to the city, but her first. It was incredible traveling with her, my aunt Carol, and Uncle Freeman. We were able to explore the city and really have a lot of fun seeing everything New York City had to offer. Our hotel was within walking distance of both Central Park and Times Square. It was about five blocks from Times Square, and five in the opposite direction to Central Park. It was just incredible to get to see the city, and the travel there was a lot of fun. I took so many photographs on that trip!

On the bus to New York City.

My grandmother was the fifth child born into her family of all girls. She had four older sisters, Faye, Carol, Glenda, and Carlene, with her being the fifth. Each time, her parents came up with a name for a male child, and each time, it was a female and they had to adjust it. Faye was Norma Faye, her male counterpart name being Norman. Carol Dean, naturally, was supposed to be a Dean had she been a boy. Glenda Maye was a Glen. Carlene’s male counterpart name was Carl, and Myria Francis, well, was to be Francis. They grew up in a small town in Missouri, called Seymour.

Clockwise from top left: Carol, Glenda, Carlene, my Grandmother Myria, Faye

Recently, I began interviewing my grandparents about their lives and their childhoods, curating stories to document for the future. I got to hear some incredible stories about my grandmother’s childhood, and I want to share them with you, in her own words.

My grandmother, seated on her mother’s lap, with her parents and sisters.

Faye once made me get a spanking, but it wasn’t my fault. Mother had gone in to take a nap, and told Faye to watch us, since she was the oldest. So, with the mean old sisters I had, I asked if I could go down to Grandma Davis’ house, since she lived just over a block away. Faye said I could go, so I did. When mother woke up, she asked where I had gone, and Faye said “I don’t know. She was here, and then she just left. She didn’t say anything to me. She just left.” So, other came looking for me, and found me at Grandma Davis’ and spanked me all the way home.

I must take this point to share that, many times, Grandma mentions having “mean old sisters.” Grandma and her sisters are incredibly close. Faye passed away as a result of complications from ALS, and Carlene passed away of cancer. Both of those losses still weigh very heavily on our family’s hearts, and especially my grandmother’s. But her sisters, oh, her sisters. She loves them more than anything, and so when she says things like that, it’s always very tongue-in-cheek.

Grandma also told me a story once about her walk to school, which provides some insight into those “Uphill Both Ways” tales.

I always walked to school. All of us girls did, and we had to cross the railroad track. There was even an incline up to the railroad track. When we were growing up and would have to cross that, it seemed like it was so high. When it was icy, it would be impossible to get up the incline! Then, 20 to 30 years later, we went back there, to walk up the incline, and it was barely an incline at all.

My grandmother, the entire time I’ve known her, has had some very precocious qualities to her. The story below, I think, really features that in her.

I skipped school one time, I was in grade school. Well, it was before we moved to Springfield, so I guess it was grade school. I was so smart, that when I skipped school, where do you think I went? To my granma and granddad Sims, which was across town. I don’t know how they did it, because they didn’t have a phone, but soon, Daddy showed up at their house. The principal had a paddle that was about two feet long, and had little holes drilled into it, so when I came back to school the next day, I was called into the principal’s office. What was really bad about that is the principal and his wife were close friends with my parents and would come over to my parents’ house. When I got called into the office, he handed me a pen, because whenever you were paddled at school, you had to write your name on the paddle. I knew, just knew, I was going to get paddled. I wrote my name on it, and he said “This is just a warning. Don’t do it again.” So, luckily I didn’t get a spanking. But, yeah, I just had to go to my grandparents’ house when I was skipping school, didn’t I.

My grandmother, a precocious little girl.

I’ll leave you with just one more anecdote about her today. I also got the opportunity to hear a little bit about each of my grandmother’s parents, so she could tell me some special things she remembered about them.

My dad was a very smart, learned, educated man. Not formally educated, but self-educated, especially on the Bible. He was a very kind man, loved music. He sang bass in several different quartets and performed and sang solos in church. He was a very good singer. He loved his family very much and always made sure he provided for them. He worked for a milk company, worked several years for Carnation, then Cloverleaf for a little while, and retired working at Highland. He taught five daughters how to drive. He raised his five daughters to fear God and have a personal relationship with Him. My mother was very quiet, a very quiet person. She had a fantastic sense of humor. She loved life, loved her family, and just enjoyed life, truly enjoyed it. She was a great cook. I probably resemble my mother the most, except I’m not nearly the cook that she was. But I’m probably most like my mother.

My grandmother’s “mother and daddy.”

My grandmother is a huge part of my life, and someone I love quite a bit. She truly is a wonderful person and a great influence on my life. It’s harder now that she has moved three hours away, because I grew up spending a lot of time with her when I was younger, but she and I still enjoy spending time together and I love the great memories I’ve had with her.

Here are a few other fun photographs I was able to find of my grandmother.

(I’m always making fun of her curtains in the image above).

Happy birthday to you, Grandma! I cannot thank you enough for the support and love that you’ve given me through the years. I appreciate your comments on my blog and all of the support you’ve given me with my blogging and my goals for the future. I love you, Grandma!

For my grandmother’s birthday, I decided to make some very special cupcakes. My grandmother loves German Chocolate Cake. Fun fact, it’s actually not from Germany, but instead is named after Sam German, the man who created the chocolate that was once used in the recipe. I decided to do a pseudo-German chocolate filled cake. My cake recipe is modified off of one from Hershey’s website. It’s based off of their recipe to their “Perfectly Chocolate” cake.

The recipe kind of sounded a little odd to me, but it is truly a very soft, moist, and incredibly chocolate cake. Bear with me, as odd as the recipe sounds, it produces one of the best sets of cupcakes I’ve ever made.

2 Cups Sugar
1 ¾ Cups All-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 Cup milk
2 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 C boiling water

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees F. Fill your cupcake tin with liners, or grease it. I prefer using liners because it’s easier for batter to crawl up the paper than it is for it to cling to a metal pan, so cupcakes baked with a liner rise higher.

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, pudding, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add your eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla, then beat for a couple of minutes. Stir in the vinegar quickly to activate the baking soda. Now pour in your boiling water. It will make for a very thin batter. At first, it kind of made me nervous how thin it was, but it ended up making some great cupcakes, so don’t get too worried about it! Plus, the batter smells incredible after you pour that water in!

Fill your cups between 2/3 and ¾ of the way full with the batter. Bake them for 25 minutes, and cool completely.

For the filling, I decided to use a modified version of the Coconut Pecan Frosting from Back To Her Roots. Her frosting recipe tasted delicious, but it was sort of soupy, which is why I provided for the modification below. However, if her recipe comes out perfectly for you, you may not end up having to use my modified technique and may be able to use the frosting perfectly like she did. Her recipe was positively incredible, though, even soupy, which is why I decided to use it instead of switching to a different recipe.

3 Egg Yolks
1 Cup packed brown sugar
12 tablespoons butter (1 ½ sticks), cut into pats
1 (12 oz) can Evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of Salt
1 ½ cups pecans, chopped
2 cups toasted flake coconut (I used sweetened, but her recipe calls for unsweetened. I would say it’s up to your personal preference).

Combine your yolks, evaporated milk, butter, and brown sugar in your medium saucepan, keeping the heat low. Cook and stir constantly until the butter is melted, and all ingredients combine completely. Remove from heat.

Stir in your vanilla and salt, and then add coconut and pecans. Stir until it’s well-combined. Transfer this to a bowl and refrigerate until it’s cool throughout. Make sure you allow for a lot of time for this to stay in the refrigerator. I refrigerated mine for 10 hours. If you can get it to go overnight, that would be best.

If, after refrigerating it for a very long time, it’s still soupy, grab a strainer and strain off all of the excess liquid. I’m going to tell you right now, you should save it, because the liquid is incredible for coffee, ice cream, everything. It is a truly delicious liquid.

To fill the cupcakes, you need to grab a sharp knife, cut into the cupcake at an angle (about 45 degree angle) and cut a cone shape out of the middle of the cupcake. If you cut it too deep, you might puncture the bottom of the cupcake, and that would be bad news, so make sure you’re careful to cut into the cupcake deep enough to give you a lot of filling, but not so deep that there’s no cupcake to go with it.

Once you’ve got the cone out of the cupcake, fill ‘er up with that delicious coconut pecan filling.

Grab the part of the cupcake you cut out, and cut the cone shape off so you’re left with a flat piece. Put that on top of the filling, and viola, you’re back to an easy-to-frost surface.

Back to her roots also has an incredible ganache recipe on her website that you could choose to frost your cupcakes with. I tried to make it, twice, and it was pure liquid, even after letting it stay in the fridge for about 7 hours (her recipe suggests two). If you can get the ganache to work (and I’m sure it does… I’m just ganache-challenged). Worst-case scenario, if her ganache doesn’t work, then you can put about 5 spoonfuls into a cup, and add your coffee… instant mocha!

Because the ganache didn’t work, I have a confession… I used some store-bought icing to use on the top. I grabbed my star tip, my decorating bag (it’s fancy. I take a quart-sized Ziploc, cut a corner off, nest my star tip in it, and spoon the frosting in), and my favorite Duncan Hines chocolate icing. I’m pretty brand-loyal when it comes to store-bought frostings, and Duncan Hines is where it’s at. I whipped up the icing so it would be nice and fluffy, and I piped it onto my cupcakes. Then, I took it that extra step and sprinkled each cupcake with a little touch of coconut (the coconut also helped so I could tell the filled and un-filled cupcakes apart… my little brother isn’t a fan of coconut and pecans, so I left several cupcakes unfilled for him).

And that, my friends, is my perfect kind-of German chocolate filled cupcakes. I hope some of you will be able to use this recipe in order to make a birthday special for someone as special to me as my grandmother!

Hey there, Delilah, what’s it like in New York City?

- Mama 6 Comments

I just got my itinerary for my trip to visit the Duncan Hines test kitchen near New York! I couldn’t wait to share it with my readers, so I decided first thing this morning that I would tell you all about what I’m going to experience on my trip.

I will be getting up incredibly early, because I have to leave my house no later than 6:30 in the morning. (Yeah, usually Zach and I wake up around 9). I will be heading to the airport and departing around 8:30. I’ll make the trip to Chicago first, around 10 in the morning (oh, dear! The last time I flew into that airport, I was stuck there for 13 hours between mechanical failures and planes just getting lost… how exactly do you lose a plane?) and taking off from Chicago just before noon. At around 3, I will arrive at Newark, and I will have a driver (yes, I love that they used that wording… a driver. I feel so… fancy!) waiting for me at my baggage claim, not that I will have any baggage… I’m trying to stick with carry-on only so I don’t have to worry about getting my baggage where it’s going.

So, about my driver. He’s going to be from Flyte Tyme Limo. Seriously, take a second to look at their fleet. I’m pretty sure those are some sexy cars. Now, I’ve ridden in some really cool cars and everything before. Don’t get me wrong, I swear I’m not a total shut-in. I am just incredibly excited about the VIP (or, rather, VIB– Very Important Baker) status that Duncan Hines is treating me and my fellow winners with.

That evening, after we all arrive, we will be transported over to Delicious Heights in Bedminster, NJ. This restaurant looks awesome, and it looks like it’s going to be a fun evening out with my fellow winners (I still don’t know who they are, but I am so thrilled to meet them!)

The next day, the exciting stuff starts happening, y’know, in case the first half wasn’t exciting enough for you…

Here’s a peek at the things I will get to participate in when I’m in New Jersey (yeah, I’m not actually going to make it quite to New York City… I’ll just be very close!)

  • Tour of the Duncan Hines state-of-the-art test kitchen
  • Learn about new products coming soon from Duncan Hines
  • Sample my way through their flavor selection process with the production team
  • Decorate at a Technique and Decorating class with the Duncan Hines chefs

During that time, we will have a lot going on (it will be a very busy day) so we will end up eating lunch there… and the dessert? They’re making our prize-winning recipes! I am so excited to see how the chefs envision my award-winning recipe, and how it translates to their skill and effort.

And then, it will be time to return home… I’ll be flying out just before 6:30, getting back to Chicago before 8:30, leaving there just after 10 at night, and arriving at my home airport after 11:30. I’ll get back to my own home just before 1 in the morning, cuddling up with my sweet baby boy, and going to bed.

I did want to give you a few disclaimers now… first, I want to share with you that I will be so busy on the actual weekend, that I don’t know if I will be able to tell you all about it while I’m there. My hope is to come home, rest, and then hopefully blog about it the next day. Oh, and legally, I can’t give you a sneak peek at the products coming soon from Duncan Hines, until Duncan Hines announces the products themselves… but I am sure there will be plenty of great information and my feelings about the trip that I can share with you all! Stay tuned to find out more about my trip, and to find out how it all went right after my trip! I am so excited I could almost pass out from all of the excitement!

Review: Fun in the Sun with Citrus Lane

- Mama 1 Comment

First off, I want to apologize for not posting a review of the Citrus Lane box before this. We loved the box, but I had been dealing with a lot of the family health issues I’ve been posting about and just did not get to post the review of that particular box. If you are hoping to find out a little more about what was in last month’s box, make sure you check out Citrus Lane’s blog! They reveal the contents of each of the boxes after ship week, so you’ll be able to check out their great products from month to month.

Now, onto the important part… this month’s box! The theme this month was Fun in the Sun, and trust me, the contents of this month’s box were amazing. I know we’re going to get years of use out of some of the items we received! Disclaimer: Because Citrus Lane is tailored to meet your child’s gender and age, you may receive different items than the items I list in my review. Items you receive may have a different color or pattern, or you may get items that are more age-appropriate to your child. My 10 month old boy will likely not get the same contents as your 2 month old girl or your 24 month old boy, etc. 

Zach was really digging this month’s unwrapping process, and he was very excited to tear back the bright yellow tissue paper. In some ways, I long for the days when he didn’t destroy the paper on sight, because I could save it and re-use it for gift giving (I know, I’m a cheapskate- if I can re-use tissue paper from things like this to avoid buying it, I will!) But, the joy he gets in systematically tearing it, throwing it, playing peek-a-boo with it, and more is absolutely worth it to me!

iPlay Baby Wear Sun Protection Hat, $15.00

The first item we pulled out of the box was a fantastic Sun Protection Hat from iPlay. Just days before receiving the box, my mother and I had discussed that Zach would be needing a hat now that it’s summer… we even looked at hats in the store, but we just could not find the “right hat.” I wanted one that Zach wouldn’t pull off (in store, he even figured out how to undo the velcro straps on the hats). I wanted one with some sun protection, not just shade. I wanted one that looked adorable (but, what doesn’t look adorable on my little munchkin?).

Available from www.iPlaybabywear.com, $15.00

Enter the iPlay sun protection hat. Not only was our hat reversible, but it also provides SPF 50+ protection! It is the perfect hat for us, especially because Zach got his very fair skin from me. He needs the added protection! Oh, and the fact that it ties instead of velcros? Well, that has been keeping it on for now.

Citrus Lane subscribers also got a code for 20% off at www.iPlaybabywear.com, which is awesome! We are hoping to use it to pick up some swimwear.

Green Toys Stacking Cups, $10.99

I’m just going to throw this out there… this is my absolute favorite item in this month’s box. It is so cool. Did I mention it’s fun and made from recycled milk jugs and also that it’s completely educational? Yup, you heard me right. It’s a totally educational toy.

From www.greentoys.com, $10.99

First off, at this age, Zach has a blast with me stacking up the cups, and letting him knock them down. We already have a blast with that. He’s quickly learning that he can also stack them on top of each other to build tall towers, and that they can nest together. Plus, of course, he loves to gum them (we’re still working on those teeth!) However, come summer, they’re going to make incredible toys for the water, since you can fill them up and dump them out. These toys are perfect for sand and water play.

But, that’s not the best part. The cups each have numbers on the bottom… one, two, three… but if you fill up the one cup, and the two cup, and you pour both of them into the three cup, it’ll fill perfectly. It demonstrates visually that one plus two equals three. Imagine the possibilities. Fill up the one cup once… pour it into the two cup… Your child will easily see that the one cup filled up the two cup halfway, showing that one is half of two. It’s easy to see how you could work this into a great math lesson, whether you’re just informally chatting about measurements, or whether you’re a homeschooling parent like me and will be starting formal math lessons with your little one. This is a great tool designed to work with that.

Plum Organics Greek Yogurt Blends: Cherry, Sweet corn, and Greek Yogurt flavor, $1.49

We actually haven’t tried this yet, but I am so looking forward to Zach testing it out. I personally really like Greek Yogurt, and Zach is a fan of yogurt in general, so I’m sure it’s going to be a hit. Zach doesn’t eat many purees at the moment, unless they’re spread on something, but I think this will make a great tortilla roll-up spread, don’t you? And we really like Plum Organics products around here, particularly their super puffs! This Greek Yogurt blend contains no salt or added sweeteners, and it’s great because yogurt really boosts digestion health, which is a great way to keep kids healthy, and keep everything working the way it should. Plus, the pouch is resealable, so if you don’t eat it all at once, you can screw the lid back on and save it for later!

From www.plumorganics.com, $1.49

Kushies Beach Bag, $7.99

Try as I might, I could not find this product on the Kushies website, so I don’t have a picture to show you. My guess is that the bag was probably a Citrus Lane exclusive or a promotional piece because, unlike many other Kushies items, it features a Kushies logo right on the side of it. The bag is the perfect size for keeping a towel, Zach and I’s sunglasses, an extra swim diaper and regular diaper, and a small bottle of sunscreen. It’s not too big, but it’s not too small, either. It’s a great size for stashing some items, which will be perfect when our family makes our yearly trip to Alabama, because if Zach stays true to what I’ve been seeing, he’s going to be a total water baby. The bag is very breathable, and has little holes covering it, so if sand or water gets in it, I can give it a quick rinse and it’ll be good to go.

Episencial Sunny Sunscreen, Travel Size (2 of ’em!), $9.00 (full size is $9, the travel sizes add up to a similar amount)

I am so glad that Episencial decided to make some travel sizes just for Citrus Lane! And I’m more excited that Citrus Lane decided to send TWO! That’s great because I can toss one in our diaper bag and leave one in the car, so we’re never without it. If you’re like me and have a habit of losing those things, having two is a great deal, because I always like to have a backup.

If you’ll remember, I’m a huge fan of Episencial. I love that they’re a green company and I can trust them to be safe for my son. When it comes to Sunscreen, I’m very choosy, and I follow the EWG Skin Deep Sunscreen Guide. It tells you the best and worst sunscreens… 0-2 means that a sunscreen is low-hazard, 3-6 means that it could have moderate hazard, and 7-10 means it’s a high-risk item. Episcencial scored a 2, which is awesome! It has good UVB protection, good UVA protection, and a very good balance between UVA and UVB protection. The excellent sunscreen stability made it a good choice for our family, and the fact that it has low health concerns is another great factor.

Available at www.episencial.com, $9.00

I totally trust Episencial, and I’m so happy it had a higher score on the Skin Deep guide! The sunscreen moisturizes because it has sesame, safflower, and avocado oils in it. Because the sunscreen also has beeswax and shea butter, it’s able to provide a natural water resistance, which will help keep it on longer, even in the water (but don’t forget to re-apply regularly!)

If you’re not familiar with Episencial, but want to try out the awesome products they have, they have an awesome sample offer on their website. The samples are free, but it’s a $2.99 shipping fee… for that price, you’ll get two of their best-selling samples, a mini soothing cream for tossing in your diaper bag, and a $5.00 coupon to use on your next purchase (to offset the shipping costs). You can order one of those sample sets here.

Joyus Gift Card, $15.00

This is a great gift for mom, but the only gift I was even slightly disappointed with in this box because, on my first glance at the Joyus site months before, I thought that there would be nothing under the $15.00 mark (and this month, there just wasn’t extra money in the budget to spend on something). I figured if I couldn’t find a way to use it, I could always pass it off to my mom and see if she wanted to order something. However, on second glance, I realized that there were many items that I could get for free with the gift card! I’m trying to decide between getting some Eyeko products (the eyeliner is $15, which would be free with the gift card, excluding any shipping charges, of course, or the mascara is only $19, and I can afford $4.00 right now), or some 100% Pure body cream. Though, my some of the Grilling gadgets currently on the site might make a great father’s day gift, and the health portion items may help me get that post-baby body into a better shape! I can’t decide!

What I love about Joyus is that I can watch a video demonstrating the product. If it’s apparel, sometimes it’ll give me a better idea of the fit, or show me new ways to wear the item. For jewelry, I can see the length of it a little better and figure out where it might fall on me. I love the way that the information is very visual, and I think that the gift card is great because I can pick my own treat this month!

Citrus Lane Box (free)

Well, okay, this isn’t really an item, but it has provided so much entertainment for Zach. We saved the empty Citrus Lane box. He’s been pushing it over to his play kitchen so he can sit on it while he plays. It has also become a workbench, and he kneels in front of it and hammers the box with his toy hammer for long stretches of time. He pushes the box around the room, he rolls it, he really, thoroughly enjoys it. Even though it’s not intended to be a special part of the box, he gets more enjoyment out of that than many of the other items (especially items like sunscreen, which are essential, but not necessarily as fun for him).

Overall, the box was great. Don’t forget that Citrus Lane is $25.00 each month, but you can subscribe to multiple months and get a discount. You can also save 10% off of your subscription by using the code SPRINGFUN. You can let Citrus Lane know that I referred you to them by clicking here: http://www.citruslane.com/invitedby/Jennifer.Schoenberger

Have you tried Citrus Lane yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the boxes, and where you heard about them!

Summer Sippin’: Cherry Limeade Bars

- Mama 5 Comments

You caught me. I’ve been working on a fun series for you guys featuring some delicious baked treats based on some of the best summer drinks I could find. And this, trust me, this recipe is a true winner.

I knew I wanted to make some sort of baked good recipe based off of one of my all-time favorite summer drinks, a Cherry Limeade. And there are so many recipe options, from cupcakes, to pies, and more. However, the second I saw the cherry limeade bar recipe from Brooke over at Cheeky Kitchen.

I made a few minor tweaks to her bar recipe, but overall, these bars are addicting. I’m not kidding, you really need to be warned if you try these out. They’ll fly out of the pan.

You’re going to want to start out by preheating your oven to 350. Grab a cup of flour, a half cup of butter, a quarter cup of powdered sugar, and a dash of salt. Make sure your butter is softened first. I also added a small spoonful of softened cream cheese to this step (I’d say around a teaspoon or so). Go ahead and press that into a greased 8×8 pan.

I won’t tell anyone if you decide to double the crust recipe, then eat half of it before it’s baked. The crust just has that… perfect flavor. It’s buttery, it’s rich, it’s lightly sweet. Mmmm.

Next, you’re going to take a 10 oz jar of maraschino cherries and put about half of them into a blender or food processor (don’t even think about draining them! You want some of that juice!). I used this super cute food processor I got from WalMart for only $2 in a black Friday sale! In addition to the cherries, add a splash of grenadine syrup if you have it on hand. It’s not necessary, but I loved the extra cherry boost it added. Also, you need to put in half a tablespoon of corn starch. Now, puree it until it’s mostly pureed, but still has some chunks… you’ll want some bits of cherry left in there!

Spread that on top of your unbaked crust.

Now, pop that puppy into the oven for 15 minutes. While it’s in the oven, you can start the top layer.

In a bowl, mix 3 eggs, 1 1/4 cups of sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour, and 1/4 cup of lime juice. Mix it up really well, so the sugar dissolves completely.

Now, if you want your bars to have that lime “look” to them, go ahead and whip out your food coloring. While gel will give you a more vibrant color, I didn’t have any green gel coloring on hand, so I worked with my liquid, and just put about 10-15 drops of green and 3 or 4 drops of yellow. (The yellow was unnecessary. I just thought it added a prettier tint to it).

Check out that pretty green tint! Now that your lime layer actually looks like a lime and tastes like a lime, you can pour it on your first two layers (at least, once your timer beeps, anyway). Once you’ve poured that on your first layer, put it BACK in the oven for another 30 minutes (check on it… Brooke at Cheeky Kitchen recommended 20-25, but it took my oven almost a full 35 to get the bars to set). They’re done once they’re totally set and not wiggly in the middle.

Now here’s the hardest part. Let those cool completely. I know, I know. I snuck my first piece while it was still warm. And my second. My third piece was almost cool, though.

And that’s the beautiful finished product.

 

Trust me, these bars are one of the easiest things I’ve baked in a long time. You’re going to want to make these again and again. They’re that yummy. If you try these bars, I would love to see a photo or some comments on what you thought!

 

I’m so excited!

- Mama 4 Comments

Do you guys remember a couple of months ago, I was practically begging you to look at my Duncan Hines Frosting Creations recipes? I ended up creating eight of them in total, though I believe only three of them ended up here.

The challenge was to create a recipe using the new Frosting Creations product and post it on their website. They mentioned that the judging would be based on overall creativity of the recipes, as well as the broad appeal of the recipe (after all, a recipe can be insanely creative, but have zero appeal, or have a ton of appeal, but not really be creative, necessarily). For the Duncan Hines challenge, you had to have a recipe that had both of the skills needed.

Out of all of the recipes submitted, Duncan Hines took note of my recipes, my innovative spirit, and my rockin’ blog, and selected me… little ol’ me… and 11 other great bakers to come tour the Duncan Hines test kitchen and spend some time with their fantastic Duncan Hines chefs.

I’m not even kidding. 12 of us. In the entire nation.

I couldn’t be more excited if I tried… When I found out, I felt incredible, fantastic, truly… amazed. I had entered the contest as a way to improve my baking skill and challenge my creativity. And the challenge did that! I’m a more confident baker as a result, a lot more fearless when it comes to creating and adapting recipes. Had I gotten nothing else out of the challenge, I would have been happy. But I am so lucky, and so blessed, and so incredibly excited. As soon as I found out, though, I also kind of felt incompetent. After all, there are 11 other bakers. Chances are, there will be several of them who are more experienced, more talented, more creative, and just generally more awesome than I am. I started to get worried. I started to lose my confidence. And then, I decided that this is the perfect opportunity to make some changes and to make myself feel more confident.

I went shopping. I bought two great tops that I look amazing in and feel incredible in. I bought new sleepwear because, duh, comfort at the end of a long day is essential. I bought new undergarments because I am one of those girls who firmly believes that, even if no one sees what you’re wearing underneath, the right underwear can make you feel confident and powerful. I pulled the whitestrips out of my stash in my cabinet. I chopped my hair off to a cute, professional style instead of the longer, stringier, tousled hair that I previously had, and I had my mom dye it. I trimmed, dyed, changed, worked, pinched, and pulled myself into a reflection of the newer, more confident baker I felt like I was inside. I wanted to reflect that girl on the outside, too.

Finally, yesterday, I got the really exciting part… my flight information! June 1, I’ll be flying out just before 9am, and I’ll finally arrive in New Jersey around 3pm. I will get to spend that evening and the following day fulfilling my dreams of spending time with the wonderful people at Duncan Hines, and, the following day, I’ll board a plane just after 6:30, arriving at my home airport after 11:30, only to drive an hour home and see my family again, and tell them all about the trip.

I should be receiving a clearer itenerary in the next day or two, and I’ll be able to find out exactly what kinds of great adventures I’ll be having and the things I’ll be learning. I’m so excited for my trip. I owe it all to my mom, who let me trash her kitchen over 8 times to bake and re-bake, and create, and figure out my recipes. I have to thank my brother, who helped me come up with ideas for the recipes I submitted– he is such a creative guy! And, I owe a lot to the HyVee near me, the only store who carried all of the other flavors I needed for my recipes. Now, the Frosting Creations are all over our area, but at the time, that was the only one carrying the frosting… after I had used up the frosting that Duncan Hines had sent me as part of their Very Important Baker program, I had to purchase more frosting, and ended up making about 5 trips back to that HyVee for more frosting.

I am so blessed, and so excited, and I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it.

In the meantime, check out my recipes on the Duncan Hines website. Each of the images below link to the recipe I created. All you have to do is click on the photo, and it’ll take you straight to the recipe. If you like what you see, I’d love it if you could click “like” on the recipe!

Cinnamon Apple Dessert Pizza featuring Cinnamon Roll Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.
Cherry Masher Sandwich Cookies featuring Cherry Vanilla Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.
Good Morning Mocha Chocolate Drop Scones using Mocha Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.
Bubblegum Party Cookie Bars using Bubblegum Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.
Give Me S’more Bars using Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines and Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits.
Fresh Strawberry Pie with Strawberry Shortcake Whipped Topping using Strawberry Shortcake Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.
Caramel Apple Sticky Buns using Caramel Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.
Coconut Amaretto Layered Brownies using Chocolate Almond Frosting Creations from Duncan Hines.

 

- Mama 4 Comments

Last night, I made three failed batches of buttercream icing. Three. I tried fixing them, I tried working with them, and I threw them down the drain.

I’m insecure about my cooking abilities. I like to think that I am an amazing cook, I have many people tell me I’m great at it, and then there’s always that one night with the three batches of buttercream.

I was crying into the sink, saying “I just need to give up baking. This is just stupid.” I felt like the biggest phony in blogging history. After all, I’m always making recipes to share with you all, to show you these great, simple treats, and I’m not even capable of making buttercream. Seriously? Who can’t make buttercream? Pretty much every blogger who mentions baking can create a good buttercream.

And then I remembered, I’m not Martha Freaking Stewart. I’m not going to always have the perfect recipe on the first, third, fifteenth try. But it takes trying. And trying. And trying again. I can’t tell you guys how many times that I bake something to blog about, and then it doesn’t end up on here because it just didn’t turn out. I copy down the recipe exactly as I made it, write down information about what was wrong with it (too runny, didn’t set up, dry as a rock) and environmental factors (milk’s expiration date was yesterday but it smelled okay, it was a billion degrees in this house or maybe just 80 but still a billion, I used a fork instead of an electric mixer) and I file the recipe away. I bake other things. Sometimes I forget that recipe entirely. Sometimes I come back to it, tweak it, try it again with new milk or higher air conditioning or fresher strawberries or less sugar, and I see if, just maybe, this time it will work. If it doesn’t, I add my changes or tweaks to the recipe, write down what went wrong this time, and give it a few more days.

Does it seem like a waste of ingredients? Maybe. Although, failed or not, many of my attempts get eaten because I have an army of awesome taste testers (thank you mom, Jeffrey, dad, Mireia, Katie, Drew, Sabine, Carolin, Marius, Lucas, Sebastian and everyone else who I’ve subjected to my concoctions over the years). I also have a super supportive mom who lets me destroy the kitchen and fill every single clean mixing bowl with batter, icing, sauce, and more, and a family who is willing to show Zach “just three more Sesame street songs and then I’ll be done, promise!”

And so it goes. I get rid of the lumpy, weird buttercream (I tried every fix I could find online and it still wasn’t working). I set aside the recipe, I make something else.

I just want to encourage you today. I know from personal experience that, when you look at a food blog and hear the Hallelujah chorus, and then you go and make it and it looks like a completely failed attempt, well, I hear you.

Some of my recipes are good. I mean, really good (you guys have tried them and then told me so!) But I just want to let you know, if you try to make one of my recipes, and it didn’t work… yeah, well, many of them didn’t work for me the first, second, fifth times. A lot of the recipes I post required tweak after tweak before I figured it out. Don’t get discouraged! When you’re crying over a sink of failed buttercream, think about the recipes you’ve tried that turned out the way you wanted them to. Think about the good recipes you’ve made, the ones that have been worth your time and energy. Rinse out the sink, breathe, figure out what might have gone wrong, and make something else.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re incredible. You’ll pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and figure out something that works. Breathe. Love yourself today, and give yourself a big hug. You deserve it.

Because this? Well, this happens to everyone at least a few times.

Image from Memebase

Poultry Pepper Pesto Pasta… or, a quick meal with a side of alliteration.

- Mama 6 Comments

I seriously made this meal almost a month ago, but we’ve been run-run-running so much that I hadn’t gotten a chance to post it. However, I know you guys are going to like it, so I decided to post it, even though it’s been several weeks.

The other day, I was in my local Price Chopper. They’ve just introduced a new in-store area called “Meal Central.” The idea is that you get 4-5 items you can use for a reasonably healthy meal at a pretty good price. Some weeks you’ll get spaghetti, pasta sauce, ground beef, and garlic bread. Other weeks, you’ll get salad, chicken, dressing, and a coating for the chicken. Sometimes you have to pay close attention- they put other great items that go with the meal near Meal Central (even though not all of those items are at the discounted rate… for example, if angel food cake is part of the meal deal, they may place strawberries nearby as something you could purchase separately that would enhance the meal). We frequently stop by the Meal Central area in our Price Chopper. It’s been a great source for meal ideas, and it’s been nice for those days where we’re at the grocery store and still saying “Umm… we planned a week of meals, but forgot to include tonight’s dinner!”

This was one day like that… I had made it all the way to the grocery store, list in hand, ready to grab the groceries for the week. But, when I got there, I remembered I had no dinner planned for that specific evening. And sure, I could have just shifted meals over a bit, but it is just easier sometimes to pick something out at the store. The meal deal that week included Smart Chicken chicken breasts (YUM!), some itty bitty yellow potatoes, rolls, and an angel food cake. I thought it would make for a good meal, so I loaded the items into my cart, clocking in at around $9. That’s not bad, I thought, but how on earth will I make 2 chicken breasts feed four and a half (baby!) people? Since we had the Angel Food cake included in the deal, and I knew I had picked up some Cool Whip on sale during a 10 for $10 the week before (only $1 for Cool Whip? YES, please!), I thought that I could grab some fresh strawberries (which just happened to be on sale, 1 pound for $1.99) to add to our cake. In the produce section, I passed bell peppers, and since red and green were both on sale, I decided to add them, and some mushrooms, to our cart. I decided then that if I chopped up the peppers (60 cents each), then I could make the chicken stretch farther, without adding more chicken to our budget. I knew we had pasta at home to serve it with, so that was perfect. I was still walking through the produce section, near the salad, and stumbled upon something amazing, though.

See, I’m a Kraft junkie. Anyone who knows me knows that I am absolutely stuck on Kraft. I would buy almost anything they’d make, because they make high-quality products with good flavor, at reasonable prices. I swear I’m not advertising for them (even though I totally would! Please, Kraft! Hire me! Haha). I just really like their products. So, when I saw a Kraft item I’d never heard of before, I was excited. When I realized it would fit perfectly into that meal plan, I knew I had to have it right away.

It’s called Kraft Sizzling Salads, and you get a salad dressing and coordinating sauce for your meats (the sauce I chose was aimed towards chicken, though I bet it would taste awesome mixed with ground beef for burgers, or on fish). I opted for the Tuscan Chicken variety, which included the Pesto cooking sauce for chicken and a Sweet Roasted Garlic Balsamic sauce for salad. Knowing we had some bagged salad at home (also purchased previously on a 10 for $10), I ended up grabbing the sauce combo for $1.99 (after sale and coupon).

For under $20 (including the items I had at home), I was ready to go. I checked out, headed home, and set to work.

The first thing I did was slice up the little yellow potatoes that they gave us, added a few tablespoons of butter on top, and covered them in foil, sticking them in the oven and setting the timer for 45 minutes. Then, I cut the chicken breasts into small chunks, and I cooked them over medium heat until they were fully cooked. I set those aside.

Following that, I put about 1 tablespoon of oil in my pan, and tossed in my peppers and mushrooms. I also began boiling my water for my pasta.

When my peppers were just barely tender, I added my chicken back in, and tossed my chicken and veggie mixture with 4 tablespoons of the pesto cooking sauce from the Kraft Sizzling Salads kit. I let that cook for about 5 minutes while my pasta finally started to reach an al dente state. While they were cooking, I removed the foil from my potatoes that were in the oven, and continued to allow those to cook for another 10 minutes.

I went ahead and put my pesto chicken and peppers into a bowl so they’d be out of the way. At this time, I also drained my pasta and removed my potatoes from the oven now that they were tender.

Finally (well, not really… finally… I mean, the dinner was a pretty easy meal to prepare) we sat down to eat.

The salad was topped with the sweet roasted garlic balsamic that also came in our Sizzling Salads kit, and I topped the potatoes with a touch of sour cream. The meal was full of color, and full of flavor. It was a hit with our entire family, from the little dude all the way up to my dad.

Our meals often consist of eating and then sitting around the table and chatting or playing cards or board games for awhile. Our table is kind of our family center… we do school work there, we enjoy meals together there, we play games there… we just are together the most when it’s time to be at the table. So it was no surprise that, an hour later, when we were ready to bring out dessert, we were still spending time together at the table, even though dinner had long passed.

Each of us enjoyed our angel food cake in different ways… mom is a pure strawberries kind of girl. She liked to enjoy her cake just topped with the bright red fruit and nothing else. Dad passed up the strawberries in favor of the Cool Whip and Chocolate Syrup. I decided to meet them both in the middle and put all three toppings on my cake.

And Jeffrey started with Cool Whip, but then decided that the perfect addition to angel food cake and Cool Whip was a little (or a lot!) of Jet-Puffed’s Mallow Bits, and of course, a drizzling of sweet chocolate. I thought he had the right idea, so I added a handful of them to mine, as well.

I love Price Chopper’s new Meal Central. It truly is the best place in the store for getting great meal ideas, especially ones you can make right away. But truly, this meal would have never been possible without the great Kraft products that dot the various sections of our store… after all, this meal wouldn’t’ve been quite the same without Sizzling Salads, Cool Whip, or Jet-Puffed, now would it?

Okay, I promise, I’ll stop with the Kraft promos in this post now… but only because the post is basically over. But I will tell you a cool story about Kraft that I bet none of you know.

My great uncle Freeman actually used to work for Kraft. He worked on Macaroni and Cheese. The funny thing? He actually isn’t a huge fan of cheese at all! You know what else my uncle Freeman used to do? He and his twin brother Leeman (no, I’m not kidding) worked on Air Force One. Freeman even got to roll out the red carpet for the Queen! Yes, THAT Queen! So, Kraft has a pretty long history in our family, and holds a special place in my heart. I even have a really cool Kraft truck bank that Freeman gave me! So, see, I’m not just a blind Kraft devotee… their foods and their company hold a pretty big place in my heart.

What’s for dinner around your place tonight?