Baking cookies in 116F degrees, in a car in Phoenix

Normally when it is hot outside, the last thing anyone wants to do is...anything outside. Forecasting temperatures can be tricky. Trying to figure out just how hot it will get. A degree or two can mean a record is at stake, a Heat Warning could be issued, and the general public don't like to see temperature values go up, up, up. Especially when you approach that 120F degree mark. That's just insane!

So, deciding to bake cookies in a car to see if it could be done, why not? Not something that you hear about people doing everyday. So this was done for a few reasons. One, why not? Try it out, see if it will work. Two, a reminder as to just how hot it can get in a vehicle in the summer. So many PSA's out there about vehicle heat and safety with children and animals, this could have been seen as one of those as well. If it's hot enough to bake food  then it is obviously too hot to leave animals or children in a car. Three, just how hot does it get in Phoenix? Well, it was mostly for fun. 

This was done back on June 29, 2013. Phoenix Sky Harbor (official observation location) reached 116F degrees. The next day, we reached a record high of 119F degrees.

The LA Times did a great article on this event, and you can read it here. 

Our Facebook post went viral, and nearly 100,000 people saw this. That was exciting and hard to believe! 

P.S. Have you 'Liked' The National Weather Service Phoenix Arizona page yet? Check it out!

A couple different news agencies caught on and wrote up some stories. Read about them here: 

Skye-AOL Weather

LA Times

The Today Show (by the way, it wasn't 2 guys!)

Cookies baking away

Cookies after they were baked. And yes, I did eat them!

Look closely and you can see my reflection!

Did ya miss me?

Gosh, it's been nearly 2 months since I've posted on here. You'd think life was busy or something. Well, it has been. And this blog has been the lowest on the priority list. Sorry blog. In other news, we've all been doing well. Some quick updates for now, and with pictures of course, and then we'll start paying more attention to you, blog. 

Have a great weekend!

Jackson

{Our outing to a splash pad while running errands}

At 21 months old, he amazes us every single day. He's so smart. New words almost every day. He understands so much and can communicate fairly well. We've also hit the tantrums and whiney stages too. Ah, toddler hood. Not every day is like that though. Lots of playing outside in the water, digging in the sand, trying to chase and catch Lucy the Cat and feeding himself with a spoon and fork. Newest words that are funny sounding: "kuck" is stuck, most things are "owie" because we said it once, he says "hi" at very random times, when he says "peeease" = please he usually whispers it or is on repeat until we acknowledge that we heard him. He's such a budding little guy. He loves pouring water from cup to cup and helping Daddy do anything outside, from planting to watering to fixing stuff. Hard to believe he'll be 2 years old in a few months.

Josh

Working so much and Mr. Fix-it around the house. He's our favorite person in the world! We had a beautiful garden this spring in self-watering containers built by Josh. We had some huge zucchini squash produce as well as some cucumber and even some small bell peppers. Not many tomatoes or strawberries, but again the heat came in and I don't think the veggies or fruits are too fond of 102°F and hotter. Looking forward to the fall when we can grow some more. A new grill for Father's Day has inspired some outdoors grilling action going on. Enjoyed our first cedar plank grilled salmon along with grilled corn on the cob a few nights ago. Yum!

Char

Watching the weather. Running races. Cooking up new and exciting (ok, maybe not super exciting) meals. And juggling both of these busy boys. Speaking of racing, since January, I've done a race each month, or close enough. February didn't have any, but March had one in the beginning and one in the end, so I count it as Februarch. I think I'm hooked on running major races. I used to run in middle and high school and am getting back into it. Love it! Weather is getting more exciting to watch here in Arizona as our Monsoon has started, though no Monsoon moisture yet. Patiently waiting for the clouds to arrive. I need to get better about posting more cooking recipes and photos. Some things we've been enjoying a lot of are fresh fruits, avocados, strawberries, bananas and apples daily, steamed rice with steamed veggies, grilled chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes. Trying to mix it up and not use so much pasta (gosh, I love me some pasta) and incorporate more veggies (as if I need to incorporate more!). Meal time prep is pretty tough when you have two very demanding boys in your life and a schedule that doesn't have much time for myself, but I try to make use of prep time to prepare things I need. And anything that helps is great!

Lucy the Cat

Gotta have a section for her, right? She's doing well. No changes. She eats, sleeps and repeats. Yes, I may be that crazy cat lady. I'm OK with that.

And, if you couldn't tell, I document a lot on Instagram. Follow me there for more craziness. 

Crescent Roll Pan Pizza {recipe}

What to do when you want pizza but just can't find time to wait around for a yeast crust to rise? Use refrigerated Crescent rolls!

A last minute decision to make pizza meant I had to use what I had on hand. This worked perfectly! In the can of 8 rolls, I used 6 here as the crust forming as solid a crust as possible with very few 'holes'. The other 2 rolls of dough? I put strawberry jelly in and rolled and baked. Desert!

What's it take?

1 can crescent rolls, only 6 needed here 
1 round cake pan
pizza/spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella cheese
chopped bell peppers
chopped zucchini
sliced, grilled chicken
cooked Italian sausage

I used some left over grilled chicken and left over Italian sausage. Great way to use left overs! I had some chopped peppers and zucchini and threw those on. Preheat the oven to 350. Spray pan with non-stick spray. Cover bottom as best as you can with crescent rolls. Layer pizza sauce, cheese, sausage, chicken, veggies, more cheese. Bake for 15-17 min (or what the crescent roll package says). Perfect crust!

What an easy dinner!

Legos, Trains and Trucks

Life changes fast. The day you were born, your daddy and I's life changed so much. So much we didn't even realize. You've gone from eating every few hours to a few times a day. Napping the day away (not as often as we'd thought you would) to only napping once or twice a day (some days, none at all!). You used to just lay there and wiggle your arms, trying to find your face or something to hold on to. Now you walk from room to room throughout the house and are gone in 2 seconds, usually chasing the cat around. Making only a coo or squeak before, to now speaking nearly 10-15 words and even some sign language too. 

How did you get so smart so quick? Keep learning everyday, Jackson. But your daddy and I have one request. Don't grow up.

We love you! 18 months have flown by. 

Egg McBacon with Cheese {recipe}

On a cooking roll? Trying to fit in where I can and make ahead to plan and organize. Win for everyone!

Another Pinterest creation and a pretty genius one I might add. I am a big breakfast person so anything dealing with breakfast I will usually jump up and down screaming all over. Another thing I'm pretty excited about is planning ahead. Being a busy full time working mom, and shift working at that, anything to help me plan ahead and make easier and cut down on time, I'll give a solid high-five to.

Original idea via Pinterest 

What did I use?

8 eggs (plus a splash of egg white I wanted to get rid of)
About 1/2 cup total: chopped red bell pepper and chopped zucchini
Salt and pepper to taste
About 1 tablespoon Wheat Germ (I use this everywhere I can!)
8 pieces of bacon
6 English muffins
5 slices of cheese

(clearly I did not measure to make them all the same. Some have cheese, all had bacon and an extra piece for me to munch on while making!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick spray. I mixed the eggs with the veggies, wheat germ and salt and pepper in a bowl. Place bacon on a cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes in the oven BEFORE the eggs go in. Scoop egg mix into the muffin pan slots. Once the bacon has been in 10 minutes, flip bacon and put muffin pan in the oven for another 10 minutes. By time, the bacon was done and I found the eggs needed another 1-2 minutes.

I toasted the English muffins in the toaster. Placed a slice of cheese then bacon and then the egg. You could easily add some spinach, remove the cheese, etc. I used wax paper to wrap up the sandwiches. 6 total sandwiches between the Hubby and I, should last about 3 days. I plan to make these again and make some more. Storing in the fridge with just 6 should be fine for the next few days. Take out, pop in microwave for 2-3 minutes. Wah-lah! If I can make a big enough batch, I'll store these in the freezer.

Another Pinterest Win!



*Disclaimer: Egg McBacon is a name I just made up about 25 minutes ago. Not taking credentials from any big chain restaurant. And original idea for this recipe was not my own, I just made it and made my own twist on it. Thanks!

Frozen Yogurt Fruit Smoothie {Recipe}

Now I'd like a Pina Colada and to place my feet in the sand on a beach.

As requested by popular demand, a post just on fruit smoothies. Let us take a moment and allow the mouth to water. OK, back to reality.

I've always loved making smoothies. And I still haven't perfected it. Let's just say I've had some bad, weird, strange and 'yucky' combinations. I think simple is the way to go. One trick I have learned and I swear by now is: Frozen Yogurt.

This trick allows the chunks of ice to no longer be in your straw for you to suck up into your mouth. No thanks. By using frozen yogurt, this eliminates the need for ice in a smoothie. And, it adds a creaminess and healthy benefit to the smoothie.

Whatever fruit you like, you get to use. I personally like the tart flavor and color blueberries and raspberries give. I've tried pineapple in to, and mango. Those two bring in a sense of tropical. Ah, the beach.......

Anyway, the frozen yogurt trick.

Frozen vanilla yogurt out of the ice cube tray and into the food processor

I have found that filling ice cube trays (silicone is MUCH easier to get out of) with your choice of vanilla yogurt works perfectly as a homemade, inexpensive frozen yogurt. I've done regular and Greek. Next, I'm going to try different flavors other than just vanilla.

Depending how big a smoothie you decide to scarf down want to make, depends on how many 'cubes' of frozen yogurt you want. I've found, about 4-6 cubes for 1 serving works. It also depends on what else you're putting in, fruit and juice wise. 

General Fruit & Yogurt Smoothie:

1. 4-6 cubes frozen vanilla yogurt *Tip: take out of freezer ~10 min before using so the blender/food processor can 'blend' easier and not struggle
2. about 1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) strawberries
3. about 1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries
4. about 1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) blueberries
5. about 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon wheat germ (added folic acid & health benefits, no taste)
6. 1/4 - 1/2 cup juice (I've used apple or pineapple)

Can also add in 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped (or frozen) spinach. Very little taste difference and slight green color, added iron benefits.

Can add in ground flax seed (1 tablespoon).

Get creative! This is what I've done and what I've found works. I use a food processor, since my blender is on the downhill side of life not working that great. 

#MarchGoal

Halfway through March already. Spring is nearly here. Of course "spring" in Arizona means 90°F days are coming fast. It was 95 on Thursday.

Halfway through March also means we are halfway done with the #MarchGoal challenge. Did you participate? How is it going for you?

For me, my initial goal was to run/log 30 miles for the month. I got off to a good start with a half marathon on March 2. Bringing my total up to just over 15 miles. I'd say I have some work to do! Another goal I have, but never really "technically" declared it a goal, was to eat healthy every single day. So far, I've done great. Aside from 3 days when we had company, I even did well on those days. I have been doing a combo of push ups, crunches, lunges or squats each day and as always a plank everyday. 

Checking out some 'goodies' at the finish line of the Phoenix Marathon

A good handful of people have joined this challenge. Some through twitter, some through facebook and some just have mentioned it to me. 

There are no hard rules to this challenge. Pretty cool, huh? So why not join in. There is still half a month to go. Plenty of time to start making a difference NOW.