Cooking? Cleaning? Neither or both?

In December, a friend from church asked me if I would bake a birthday cake for her daughter's 4th birthday.  As we were discussing the details, she said that she just didn't ever bake at all. 

I offered to teach her some of the basics, saying that it really wasn't that difficult.

She responded, "Yes, but you have to want to do it.  I don't have any desire to bake.  I'd much rather clean."

I replied, "Oh, I'd rather bake than clean any day - I love baking and really don't like cleaning much at all."

She said, "I think people either like one or the other. Not usually both."

So that set me thinking. 

I've created a poll on my sidebar at the very top......

I'd love to hear how you all feel about cooking/baking and cleaning. 

Do you prefer one over the other?

Both?

Neither?

Update:  In the poll, I should have added "baking" in with the cooking - I know that baking and cooking are different (I greatly prefer baking) - but what I really meant to be asking was whether you prefer preparing food in any way to cleaning or vice versa.  Does that make sense?  Hope so!

And just so you know........

here's what the cake looked like - I only had a couple of minutes to snap a photo and it's not the best, but at least I got one. 

 

I also made some of these cupcakes.....for the preschool class. I'm told they were a big hit.

Gingerbread Pancakes

We had a lovely holiday season, not without its challenges, but lovely just the same. 

Grant's parents were here for three weeks, and my younger sister Anna got to visit for eleven days, overlapping with the grandparents for most of that. 

I think we all managed to get some level of sickness during that time, mainly head and chest colds but also with Ellia (2) getting pink eye and a bacterial eye infection that required antibiotics.

I struggled with knee problems, ending up at an orthopedist, getting X-rays and even an MRI (if you've never experienced one of those, I can tell you that you feel like a torpedo being loaded and even with ear plugs, those machines are incredibly loud.)

Fortunately, I do not have a meniscus tear as expected, but apparently have a condition called Patellar Tracking Disorder.  My treatment is just strengthening and increasing flexibility, supervised by a physical therapist. 

After all of the festivities were over and our guests had all gone, the decorations put away and life beginning to resume normalcy, I picked up my Taste of Home Dec./Jan 2012 issue to browse through again and my attention was drawn to this recipe. 

It sounded so good! 

And who says gingerbread is only for Christmas, anyways?

We have pancakes or waffles almost every Saturday morning, and they're always the same kind.  Basic whole wheat.  Delicious, but ordinary. 

The original recipe called for serving them with "Banana Cream" - which is homemade whipping cream with chopped bananas folded in.  Frankly, that didn't sound too appealing to me.....oh, whipped cream is great, but I think bananas would just spoil it.  Well, we didn't need those extra calories anyways, so I just served the pancakes with a light drizzle of syrup.  They're actually very tasty plain, since they have plenty of sugar in them. 

My family absolutely went nuts over these.  Nuts, I tell you.  Except for Ellia, who wasn't crazy about the Gingerbread Men I made in December either.  Guess she's not a gingerbread sort of gal.

Corban (8) says these are the best pancakes ever and I should never make regular pancakes again.

Grant says they're just fabulous. 

I agree - if a pancake is so tasty you don't mind grabbing a leftover one out of the fridge and eating it cold and plain, that's a pretty darn good pancake. 

I did alter the recipe.....changing the amounts of butter and molasses and ginger. 

Recipe: (adapted from Taste of Home)

Yield: approximately 42 pancakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar (I used light brown sugar)

6 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

5-1/2 cups flour (I used 3 cups whole wheat, 2-1/2 cups all purpose)

4-1/2 tsp. baking power

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

2-1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground allspice

4 cups milk

In a very large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in molasses.  Combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, salt, and allspice; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. 

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle (I didn't grease it, although it was recommended). Turn when bubbles form on top.  Cook until the second side is golden brown. 

This post is linked to Trick or Treat Tuesday.

Christmas Mice

I can't even take how cute these are!

Marissa (6) saw me looking at them on a blog around Christmastime 2010 and asked if we could make them, but somehow I forgot about them and it never happened.
This year, when I saw the mice again, I knew I just had to make them with her.  I bought the ingredients and a few days before Christmas, I mentioned that we were going to make little mice.
"Oh, just like the ones we saw last year and I loved so much?" Marissa excitedly inquired.
Yes, she had remembered.

We had a lot of fun making them.....but I have to say, it's really hard to eat something so stinkin' cute!  However, we managed.

Recipe: (from Smockity Frocks)
Yield: about 28 mice

1 jar marchino cherries
1 cup milk chocolate chips
chocolate kisses
sliced almonds
Black decorating gel

Drain cherries and dry on paper towels.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and stir until smooth.
Dip cherries in the chocolate and set on a wax-paper lined baking sheet.
Immediately place an unwrapped chocolate kiss on the front and press together.  Add sliced almonds for the ears.  Pipe on eyes and noses with the decorating gel.
Let stand until firm, or refrigerate for faster results!

Grandma and Annika got in on the fun.

Dipping cherries

I

I thought it was fun to have the little mice all around the goodies platter, like they were nibbling away on the candy.  We also had Divinity, Hint of Berry Bon Bons, Homemade Snickers (new), and Andes Creamy Fudge (new).

Countdown to 2012: Best Dessert Recipes of 2011

Just like last year, I couldn't possibly choose only one dessert to highlight, but at least I managed to keep it to ten instead of fourteen.  Of course, that's probably because I just didn't get to bake as much this year.  

Cake of Roses

This cake just makes me happy.  It's feminine, beautiful, elegant, yet so simple to decorate.  And it tasted fabulous. Three layers of moist chocolate cake, with raspberry filling and chocolate mousse filling, frosted with raspberry butter cream.  It was amazing.  

Super Soft Sugar Cookies

The best. sugar. cookies. ever. 

Candy Bar Cookie Bars

Rich and decadent, chocolatey and peanutty, I found these bars impossible to resist.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

We could not believe how awesome these were.  They inspired the Cake of Roses mentioned above.

Strawberry Ice Cream

When my chocolate-loving husband said he actually preferred this ice cream, I knew we had a winner.

Gooey Cookies and Cream Chocolate Cake Bars

Very easy to throw together and sure to gather compliments wherever you take them, these are a huge crowd pleaser with tons of chocolate and oreos.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping

I love caramel.  I love apples.  I love cheesecake.  And don't even get me started on streusel. 

All together?  Awesomeness. 

Very Chocolate Ice Cream

So so smooth and creamy.  The perfect chocolate ice cream.

Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies

Yeah, we like the never-old raspberries and chocolate combination.  These bar treats are just wonderful.

Fruit Pizza

Fruit pizzas are so simple, but so delicious.  My kids have been begging me to make this for months, despite my explanation that we can't get good fresh strawberries at this time of year.  It is seriously one of the top-requested recipes around here.

Be sure to check out Finding Joy in my Kitchen for more collections of Dessert Favorites!

Countdown to 2012: Best Crockpot Recipe of 2011

We absolutely love this Spicy Pulled Pork.
It is without question our favorite crockpot meal of the past year. 
I've made it several times for guests and gotten rave reviews from everyone, and Grant says it's one of his absolute favorite meals that I've ever made. 
Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Be sure to check out other crockpot favorites over at Finding Joy in My Kitchen today!

Countdown to 2012: Best Main Dishes of 2011

Truth be told, I greatly prefer baking over cooking. 

I know, I know, that comes as a huge surprise to anyone who frequents my blog. 

Ha. 

But there is something very satisfying about cooking up a delicious dinner and having the other five people at your table eat with gusto and clean their plates, possibly asking for seconds.

And there wasn't even chocolate involved.

Yeah, cooking is pretty fun too.  

Here are some of the favorite main dishes of our house this past year.  

(Another top dish is coming tomorrow with the Crockpot Favorites, so don't forget to come back for that one!)

Sausage and Chicken Jambalaya

                           

Bourbon Chicken

Super Bean Burritos

As always, be sure to check out Finding Joy in My Kitchen for lots of Main Dish Favorites from other bloggers!

Countdown to 2012: Best Soups and Stews

Like I've mentioned before, this year has not been one in which I had oodles of time for trying new recipes, as several months we were just in survival mode and sticking to old favorites.  

These two soups definitely made it to our favorites list, and the second one is even vegetarian, part of our attempt to eat less meat.  When you have four young children, it's hard to find meals that everyone will eat without complaining - and both of these dishes pass that criteria for my family.  So that makes them winners in my book!

Lentil Chili

Black Bean Soup

Be sure to check out Finding Joy in My Kitchen for more Soups and Stews Favorites!