Oatmeal and Jam Bars

We had a wonderful three day weekend, but today it's back to reality!  John is back to work and we are expecting a HUGE snowstorm today...which I was slightly in denial about...until it starting snowing at the exact time they (the weather people) said it would...and we seem to be getting more than an inch per hour! UGH!  How many days until spring?

What do you like to do when it snows?  I BAKE!  Does that surprise you?  I didn't think so!

These Oatmeal and Jam Bars are Cake Mix Recipe #24!  I think that they are the perfect treat for a snow day breakfast!  They would also make a great and filling snack to enjoy with a cup of coffee when you are finished shoveling snow!

Yup, that's only 4 ingredients! 

Here's What You Need to Make the Oatmeal and Jam Bars:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 2 1/2 cups oats (I used old fashioned oats because I wanted a chewier texture - but you could also use quick cooking)
• 2 sticks of butter, melted
• 1 cup of jam - I used a seedless Raspberry

Now Let's Make the Oatmeal and Jam Bars:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix and the oatmeal
3. Add the melted butter and stir until a dough forms
4. Divide your dough into thirds and press two thirds of the dough into the bottom of your greased pan
5. Use a spatula to spread the jam oven the top of the dough - spread it almost to the edges of the pan
   
6. Crumble the remaining one third of the dough onto the top of the jam layer
   
7. Bake in preheated oven for 25 - 20 minutes until the topping is a light golden brown color
8. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares and storing in an airtight container

Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies

Last Friday, I shared with you how excited I am about the upcoming PINK Holiday!  Yes people, I am referring to Valentine's Day!!!  It's one of my favorite holidays.  I know some people don't like it or view it as a "fake" holiday...but I am not one of them!  Any holiday that brings love and the color pink into focus is a great reason to celebrate!

This week I had actually planned on sharing a different Valentine's Day dessert with you (one that I made John last year) but then I was at Wegmans and inspiration hit me in the holiday aisle!  I came across this

 VALENTINE'S DAY FUNFETTI CAKE MIX!!!

And then I saw a package of these

VALENTINE'S DAY HUGS KISSES

And I was INSPIRED!  I knew I needed to make cookies with these two ingredients! 

So I came home and whipped up a batch of Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies!  They are just like the ones I made at Christmas...but even better for two reasons:

1. They are a cake mix recipe (cake mix recipe #23 to be exact)!

2. They are PINK! (and red and white too)

Here's What You Need to Make the Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 box Valentine's Day Funfetti Cake Mix 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 24 unwrapped Raspberry Hugs Kisses - they are so so so pretty 
  
• assorted sugar sprinkles in holiday colors - I used hot pink, a light pink and white mixture, and red

Now Let's Make the Valentine's Day Kiss Cookies:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, eggs, and vanilla extract
3. Add the cake mix and the baking powder and beat together until a soft dough forms
   
4. Use a cookie scoop to form dough into 24 balls (about 1 inch each)
5. Roll each dough ball into the sugar sprinkles
   
6. Place onto prepared baking sheets and bake in oven for 10 minutes
7. Remove from oven and immediately press a kiss into the center of each cookie
8. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely
9. Once cookies are cool and the kiss has reset, store in an airtight container

These cookies taste amazing and look so pretty at the same time!  It doesn't hurt that I was able to whip up the dough in about 3 minutes...in fact rolling the dough in the sprinkles is the most time consuming part - and if you have older kiddos they can definitely help you with that!

Can't find the Valentine's Day Cake Mix?  You can use white cake mix and add extra sprinkles to the batter! 

Happy Pink Baking! 

#hiloskyeveryday2014 week 3

I'm into my third week of #hiloskyeveryday2014 and I'm loving it!  These pictures capture our week! We didn't do anything super special...but I cherish these everyday moments! 

Day 10 - my little cook!  She loves mixing up treats just like her mama! 

Day 11 - Daddy blow drying Lacie's hair!  It's too cold for her to go to bed with a wet head! PS - This is really Mommy's job...John just wanted to do it for the picture! 

Day 12 - Bedtime snuggles!

Day 13 - Blakely's morning selfie! 

Day 14 - Lacie Jane reading "If You Give a Pig a Party" to a few of her stuffed animal friends!

Day 15 - Ready to tackle two weeks worth of food shopping at Wegmans! 

Day 16 - Sweet B is always super happy first thing in the morning!  She's definitely a morning person! 

Come back next Thursday for more #hiloskyeveryday2014!  And don't forget to read tomorrow's blog post for a new Valentine's Day Dessert! 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

My recipe for Double Chocolate Muffins have been getting a lot of love lately!  If you haven't already, you should check out that recipe and make a batch soon!  I promise it will be the healthiest Double Chocolate Muffin you can make!

The popularity of those muffins gave me the itch to try my hand at making a traditional Chocolate Chip Muffin!  Regular chocolate chip muffins happen to be my favorite, and every Sunday John's parents come over with muffins for us from a bakery in his hometown!  I almost always request the plain Chocolate Chip Muffin!  It is simple and delicious...plus it means you get to eat chocolate for breakfast!  

The muffins that I came up may not be quite as good as those jumbo, fluffy muffins made with white flour...but they are pretty darn good!  The ingredient list is short and they are super easy to make!  I used whole wheat flour to make them a bit healthier, but you can use white flour if you like!  I save my white flour indulgence for Sundays!

The best thing about these muffins...they are loaded with chocolate chips!  In every.single.bite!  

Here's What You Need to Make the Chocolate Chip Muffins:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 bag mini chocolate chips (about 2 cups)

Now Let's Make the Chocolate Chip Muffins:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin (or use cupcake paper liners like I did)
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Beat in eggs one at a time, making sure each one is fully incorporated
4. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract
5. In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt - whisk together to combine the dry ingredients
6. On the lowest speed, add dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until just combined - the batter should be very thick
7. Add chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed 
   
8. Divide batter into prepared muffin cups - I filled each cup almost all of the way
9. Bake in oven for 20 minutes until the tops of the muffins are firm 
10. Cool in muffin pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
11. Store muffins in an airtight container

Lacie loving her muffin while Sweet B is licking up crumbs in the background!  Both of my girls love a good muffin! 

Mommy Mondays - Cooking with Kids

I love to cook...in fact I could spend all day in my kitchen!  I know that my love of cooking is something I want to pass onto my girls!  They already have a play kitchen, and Lacie will spend all day mixing up recipes and "feeding" them to her sister, her dolls, and anyone else who comes over!

If I turn on the Food Network, she will stop what she's doing and watch carefully!  Then, she mimics what she sees!  So I try to bring her into the kitchen to help me cook from time to time.  Right now it is not all that often...she is only 2!  I don't trust her to handle things like raw meat or eggs.  She also can't touch a knife!  So I bring her in when I am making something simple - and today I made just about the easiest thing ever!

2 Ingredient Cake!!!!  Yes, only two ingredients!  Aside from being easy and fast, this cake is actually fat-free!  So you can enjoy a sweet treat while keeping those New Years Resolutions!  This is not my recipe...I learned about it back when I was doing Weight Watchers after Lacie was born!  It was so simple that I made it all the time, and it really took care of those sugar cravings!  Now I am sharing it with you!

Here's What You Need to Make the 2 Ingredient Cake:

• one box angel food cake mix
• one can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice

Even Blakely wanted to watch! 

Now Let's Make the 2 Ingredient Cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray (I used PAM)
2. Put the cake mix and the entire can of crushed pineapple - including the juice - into a large mixing bowl
3. Stir gently until incorporated - it should be light and fluffy
4. Pour into greased pan
   
5. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and springy and the edges pull away from the pan
6. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely
7. Slice cake into 12 squares and store in an airtight container or wrap each piece individually to pack in school/work lunches 

This is what it looks like when you cut it open!  Crusty and golden brown on the outside...white and fluffy on the inside!  So so so good! 

Strawberry White Chocolate Bars

Christmas is over, and I'm okay with that because next up is Valentine's Day!  I love Valentine's Day for lots of reasons - it's a holiday that celebrates love and the relationships we have with the important people in our life...it's also a holiday where everything is PINK!  And what could be better than that?!?

Here's What You Need to Make the Strawberry White Chocolate Bars:

• 1 box strawberry cake mix (I used Pillsbury brand)
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 bag white chocolate chips
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• water or milk, 2-4 tsp

Now Let's Make the Strawberry White Chocolate Bars:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or nonstick spray
2. In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, melted butter, and 2 eggs until a soft dough is formed
3. Fold in the white chocolate chips
   
4. Press batter down into greased pan - spreading it out evenly
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes
6. Remove pan from oven and use the back of a spatula to press down on the surface of the bars making them even and flat
7. Return to oven for additional 5 minutes
8. Remove from oven and press down again if needed (tops of bars should be flat)
9. Cool completely in pan
10. Cut cookies into squares
11. Making icing by combining powdered sugar with milk or water one teaspoon at a time until a thick but spreadable consistency is reached
12. Place icing in a ziploc bag and use kitchen scissors to snip off a corner, creating a small hole
13. Squeezing the bag gently, pipe icing onto each cookie bar
14. Allow icing to harden before storing cookies in an airtight container

Come back every Friday from now until Valentine's Day for a new and holiday inspired dessert! 

#hiloskyeveryday2014 Week 2

#hiloskyeveryday2014 Week 2

So far so good!  2014 is off to a cold start, but that just means lots of time snuggling with my girls in the comfort of our cozy home!  I am having so much fun with the challenge of being intentional about taking at least one picture everyday!  To see the first week of my hiloskyeveryday2014 challenge (well the first two days at least) you can click here.  

If you don't want to wait until Thursdays...you can keep up with me everyday by following me @lindsayhilosky on Instagram! 

Day 3 - Dancing Sisters! 

 Day 4 - Sweet B at bath time! 

Day 5 - We all have sore throats so I treated myself to a nice coffee mug full of ice cream! 

Day 6 - We ventured out into the cold for a trip to Target! 

Day 7 - Lacie Jane will all of her BlaBla dolls!  I swear by these things as the secret to why my children sleep so well and the fact that they like bedtime! 

 Day 8 - We got our monthly shipment of k-cups...aka the happiest day of the month!  I may or may not have a slight coffee addiction! 

Day 9 - I finished this beautiful puzzle that I started working on one week ago! I love the Wizard of Oz and this may just be my favorite puzzle so far!