Adventures in Iowa Part 2: Hudson's Baptism

In addition to Hudson's 1st Birthday Party (see previous post), Hudson had another big milestone... He was baptized into the Kingdom of God (that is so incredible just to think about- we are a part of God's Kingdom!)  Craig and I are honored to be Hudson's sponsors which means that we take on some responsibility to teaching Hudson how to love the Lord and how to truly live and serve Him.  Our brother-in-law Chris's father is a pastor in the Lutheran Church and he performed the baptism service which made it was so special.  

 After the baptism service at the church, Katie invited everyone over to her home for dinner, dessert and a fire in the fire pit...

Amelia helping her uncle Craig

 

 

 

I miss Iowa a lot but on this particular evening I was reminded of one of the few bummers about Iowa... the mosquitoes!!  It's so dry in Colorado that there are almost no mosquitoes and so I haven't been bitten in a long time.  I think that they tasted new blood and unfortunately they were loving it! 

Adventures in Iowa Part 1: Happy 1st Birthday Hudson!

Our favorite nephew (he's our only, so I can say that!) turned 1 in July so of course Craig, Trooper and I made the journey back to Iowa to join the celebration!!   Katie had a baseball theme party fully equipped with ball park fare- think nachos, soft pretzels with cheese, hot dogs, brats, malt cups and peanuts served in helmets.  We all got baseball tattoos and played Hudson Trivia- which I thought for sure I would win, but unfortunately I didn't : (  It was very creative and a  lot of fun!  We celebrated a week early while more family was in town so stay tuned for Hudson's actual birthday day post : )  

Here's how we celebrated... 

Hudson was excited about all his presents... or rather, all the boxes!! 

oohh... a box!!...

climbing on top...

...to the perfect spot : )

finally some little boy toys to play with

A fun new truck!

Time for cake...

Hudson's very own cake!

He loved it...

Hudson's birthday party was a great time with family and friends and a perfect celebration for a precious little boy.  We love you so much Hudson!

Sweet and Sticky Orange Chicken

I found this recipe while I was searching for a recipe for my monthly Cooking Club meeting.  (If you missed it, check out this post about starting a Cooking Club.)  Our monthly theme was "Sweet and Savory: the best of both worlds".  The recipe is the only one of it's kind in my recipe database and offers a nice break from our usual menu.  Enjoy:

Sweet & Sticky Orange Chicken

What You Need

1 large navel orange

1/4 cup  KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing

2 Tbsp. lite soy sauce

2 Tbsp.  sugar

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

1 Tbsp. minced gingerroot

1 clove  garlic, minced

1 large red pepper, cut into bite-size pieces

Make It

GRATE 1 tsp. zest from orange. Use small sharp knife to cut remaining peel and white pith from orange; cut orange into bite-size pieces. Mix zest, dressing, soy sauce, sugar and crushed pepper. COOK chicken in nonstick skillet on high heat 5 to 6 min. or until done, stirring frequently. Add ginger and garlic; cook and stir on medium-high heat 2 min. Add red peppers; cook 2 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Transfer to bowl; cover to keep warm. ADD dressing mixture to skillet; cook and stir 1 to 2 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Add chicken mixture; cook and stir 2 min. or until heated through. Stir in oranges; spoon onto platter.

Hiking Waldo Canyon

Craig and I do not get out and away from the busy-ness of life and leave for the day for a hike often enough.  We usually find ourselves day in and day out with the same routine, forgetting to get out and enjoy the day in beautiful Colorado.  But we scheduled a day hike several weeks ago and it was awesome to get the hiking shoes on, the trekking poles out, the camelbak filled, and Trooper loaded up with the car.  Here are some pictures we captured on our hike through Waldo Canyon.

Trooper and I at the trail head

This hike is through a canyon so you start at the bottom and climb to the top to get into the canyon.  The trail descends into the canyon and then back up and out to complete the 6.2 mile loop.

At the top looking into the canyon

Craig and Trooper on the hike into the canyon

Another view from the top

We went left... I think we should have gone right : )

At the bottom of the canyon

That's Pikes Peak in the horizon

Our on ascent out of the canyon

Up and out of the canyon- that's Colorado Springs way out there

One last water break.

 We loved spending the day together wandering around God's beautiful creation and we vowed to do it more often, so we can capture more moments like this...

Yummy-licious!

I found this blog For the Love of Cooking and I have been loving it!  It is one recipe everyday... it's as simple as that!  One day it will be a main dish, the next a salad, and another a dessert!  I love the variety.  The other aspect that I enjoy about this blog is all the pictures.  I usually decide on what recipe I will make based on the pictures.  I will flip through my recipe books and the ones with pictures always catch my eye.  I know that I have probably skipped over many delicious recipes but what can I say, I'm a visual person.  So the fact that this blog includes pictures with every recipe has me saying, "ohhh, that looks yummy!"  all the time.

And that is exactly what happened a couple weekends ago when I was back in Iowa.  My mom was having family over to her house and she was cooking and baking away and I thought that I would help by making something as well.  I went to my favorite blog and it's like the blog knew exactly what I was looking for because this is what I found:

 

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

This caught my eye and had me saying, "ohhh, that looks yummy!"  So I made them and they did not disappoint!  I will definitely be making these again : )  Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars:

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

Original recipe by My Baking Addiction

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups of graham crackers crumbs
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar, packed
• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 cup of chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:

• 10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup of white sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing a little overhang, then spray the paper and dish with cooking spray.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter until mixed thoroughly. Firmly press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place into the oven and bake for 6 minutes. Remove pan and set aside to cool. DO NOT TURN YOUR OVEN OFF.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. Beat the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, salt, and vanilla together using a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the flour to the butter mixture until just combined then add the chocolate chips and mix. Set aside.

For the cheesecake filling, place the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla together into a bowl then beat, using a mixer, until creamy and smooth. Carefully spread the cheesecake batter onto the prepared crust.

Using your hand to form clumps, distribute the cookie dough evenly in clumps on the top of the cheesecake batter until you use all of the dough.

Place into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until the top (cookie dough) feels dry and firm and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Lift bars out by the overhang; slice and store in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature. Enjoy.