My plans involve sleeping…………lots of sleeping. The first full week of getting into the back-to school routine has been hectic, but we made it through relatively unscathed.

I say relatively, because there were tears, temper tantrums, and several unmentionable words uttered.

And that was just from me.

But that’s all behind us now – and the ensuing weeks will get easier – I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

It will get easier – it will get easier – it will get easier……..

With Labor Day weekend upon us though, inquiring minds want to know – what are your plans? Anyone doing anything exciting? (Besides packing up all your white clothes that you aren’t supposed to wear after Labor Day – does that fashion rule even exist anymore?) On Monday, we are going to pack an old fashioned picnic lunch and go hiking through Mount Charleston. We’ve never done it before and I am really looking forward to it. We can even take the dogs – but I’m not sure they’ll enjoy it.

Do these two look like they want to go hiking?

Yeah – that’s what I thought.

At any rate, I’ve been planning the menu for our picnic, because that’s always the most important part, isn’t it? I’m thinking fried chicken, potato salad, mixed fruit salad and this coleslaw:

I made it a few weeks ago – and really, really loved it. The lime juice, jalapeno peppers and cilantro blended to make such a flavorful dressing. It was zingy from the jalapenos but not painfully hot. The kids really liked it too, because the next day, Sabrina took a few slices of leftover grilled chicken, laid it on top of a whole wheat wrap, topped it with a few spoonfuls of slaw, wrapped it up and called it lunch.

And then she ended up making two more – one for her brother and one for her cousin.

Because it’s difficult to eat when there are two sets of eyes watching you intently.

Have a great weekend!

Creamy Cilantro Lime Coleslaw - adapted from Epicurious

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbs. fresh lime juice
1 canned jalapeno pepper, minced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 bags ready cut cabbage
4 green onions, minced

Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream, 3 tablespoons lime juice, pepper, and garlic in large bowl. Stir in cilantro. Add cabbage and green onions; toss to incorporate evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill 1 hour.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

Maybe it’s silly – but it never fails to put a smile on my face.

And that can only mean one thing.

My birthday is in…….

** counting on fingers **

Nineteen days! Woohoo!

I’m going to take a cue from my father, and make this party last all month long! (Good call, Dad.) I kicked off a little pre-birthday celebration last night by getting a new computer. I have been a long-time Sony Vaio user – but finally finally made the jump to a Mac Book. And what’s really funny is that Alexander sat with me last night and helped set it up. Now I don’t mean setting up like plugging it in, I mean he showed me how to navigate through the icons on the bottom, how to access ITunes, etc.

Considering he doesn’t use a Mac at home or at school, I’m wondering where he gleaned all this information.

The world may never know……

But getting back to the important stuff – my birthday – Alexander has already asked me to make a Death By Chocolate Cake again  – remember that vision of deliciousness? That was 2 years (gulp!) ago.

Ahem. My how time flies……

However, I’d like to start with something a bit simpler – for instance, how about a slice of  a  fabulous chocolate chip pie?

This is what happens when you don’t feel like forming cookies – and therefore press the entire batch of dough into a 9″ round cake pan. Oh yeah – it’s every bit as delicious as it looks.

This slice of heaven is provided to you courtesy of Tish Boyle – I used her recipe for “Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies”. I’m sure they are outstanding as actual cookies, but I have to say we really enjoyed this as a pie!

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – adapted from Tish Boyle

2 ½ c. all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
½ c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
10 oz bittersweet chocolate – chopped (I used chips)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the butter and sugars – then add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well between additions – then add the vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture just until blended, then stir in the chocolate.

Using a ¼ cup measuring scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until the cookies are just set in the center.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing them on a wire rack to cool completely.

It’s serious and I have considered professional help.

Naaaaaahhhhh.

I could (and sometimes do) eat a spoonful of it every day. Straight out of the jar. I mean, why bother adding bread or any other distraction to the equation when all I want is the peanut butter?

Now – many of you are also well aware that my much beloved pb is a dangerous ingredient in my kitchen. Not because I’ll consume the entire jar (who said that?), but because of Sabrina’s life threatening allergy to it.

Which begs the question, “Why the **ll do I keep it in the house?” Well…….allow me to provide the short list:

1. I love it.

Enough said.

Every now and then (and always when Sabrina is out of the house) I make a batch of these bars. So simple, so delicious – and everyone who tries them  loves them (including my dad!).

In fact, just looking at the picture makes me want one – good thing I hid the batch from my nephew………

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars – adapted from Ina Garten

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.
Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don’t worry if all the jam isn’t covered; it will spread in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.

The kids started school today.

Sabrina – 8th grade. Alexander – 6th grade.

Time is moving waaaaay too fast.

But first, a complaint. Whose bright idea was it for school to start on a Friday? I mean, really? Who actually sat down, thought about it, and said to themselves, “Gee, let’s start school on Friday to mess up the entire week.”

And then – to thoroughly drive us all mad -  only make it a half day?

It boggles my brain. Confuses my cortex.

I digress.

Please excuse the background in the next photo.

The dogs tried to sneak into the garage in the hopes of securing a spot in the car with Sabrina. So you have a gorgeous view of my laundry detergent (on the left), outgrown clothes (in the DSW bag to the right), and David’s flip flops in the back.

T-Rex cried for the first 15 minutes after she left – and then, in typical dog fashion, forgot all about it. Out of sight, out of mind.

However, when Sabrina got home, T-Rex was so excited she almost peed on the floor.

I’m so glad she didn’t.

**  doing a happy dance **

Remember this photo?

It was picked up by The Insider’s Guide to the Oregon Coast.

You can read about it here.

Go check it out. Really.

Now!

(Yay for me!)

School starts tomorrow.

I am not ready.

At all.

Who can think of homework, projects, and early morning battles (no names mentioned ** Alexander **) after spending the past week looking at this?

But they are ready, even if I’m not.

It’s been a great summer.

Especially for Sabrina.

She is so prepared for her final year of middle school.

**  gulp  **

But at least I have photos like this one – to remind me that she is still young enough to appreciate the simple things in life.

Perry the Platypus, anyone?

Let’s make this the best year ever, kid – your life is passing by too quickly.

And I’m sure my parents said the same thing.

And for the most part, I don’t.

But in this case, I swore I was going to post every day, and I swore I was going to be diligent in keeping up my blog with food and family photos.

And I haven’t. Because 7 days passed and I didn’t post a thing.

See? This is why I shouldn’t swear. The summer has been more hectic than usual and I’ve been busier than I can ever remember being. Doing what, I don’t know. Well, I take that back – I do know: work, cook, clean, vacation, work, cook, clean, lather rinse repeat. Throw two squirrelly kids into the mix along with one 22 year old nephew (who has taught my kids a thing or two about life – all good) and when I woke up this morning, I realized the kids start school on Friday and my nephew is moving out this weekend.

Do you KNOW what this means?

Empty nest syndrome.

Which translates to: I might have to get another dog.

Or, (and I think my mother would approve of this plan) – I may have to fill my days getting massages, manicures, shopping and POSTING to the blog.

Yes, that should work out just fine.

But I still might get the dog.

Levain Bakery Copycat CC Cookies - adapted from Rach’s Blog Bite

If you like your chocolate chip cookies thick and chewy, these will not disappoint you. The only advice I can offer is to watch the baking time closely – if you bake them too long, they will become too crunchy.

Not that I would have any firsthand knowledge of that.

2 sticks unsalted butter, cool but slightly softened
2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs, straight from the fridge
2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp. table salt
1 tsp. baking powder
¼  tsp. baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, mix together butter and sugar on low speed until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on low speed until incorporated.
Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Scoop cookie dough {using #20 scoop- approximately 4 tbsp. of dough} onto parchment lined baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the tops are just lightly browned. Cool completely on wire racks.

It was quickly brought to a screeching halt by the sounds of Sabrina and Alexander causing mayhem on the beach – I turned and discovered that Sabrina had Alexander in a headlock, and they were rubbing sand into each others’ hair.

Do you know how hard it was to get the sand out of their hair?

But imagine my surprise when I turned back to the horizon, and found this scene slightly to my left:

Amazing. Just looking at it now brings back those feelings of peace and tranquility.

And I’ve been cursed with a serious case of writer’s block. I have an accounting issue at work that I can’t seem to figure out in my head (or the computer, for that matter), so perhaps 2 0r 3 of these perfectly chewy, absolutely delicious cookies will help solve the problem.

If not, I’m headed straight for the rum cake.

Writer’s Block Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - adapted from Land O’ Lakes

1 1/2  cups firmly packed brown sugar
1  cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
2   eggs
2   tsp. water
2   tsp. vanilla
2   cups all-purpose flour
1   tsp. baking powder
1   tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
2   cups uncooked quick-cooking oats
1  cup golden raisins

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine brown sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add water and vanilla; beat until just blended. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining ingredients except oats and raisins. Beat until well mixed. Stir in oats and raisins.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Cool completely.