Back when I was a kid....

....my mom used to make a great cake for our family birthday celebrations which became a tradition for many years. It's called an Ice Box Log Cake and it's a super simple cake made with Nabisco's Famous  Chocolate Wafers  (super thin chocolate cookies) and homemade whipped cream (with a touch of vanilla and sugar.)  

Heavenly... 

...and so easy.  You make spread generous amounts of the cream on each cookie and set them aside in little stacks.  Then you assemble the stacks on their sides into a log and cover with cream.  Once your put it in the refrigerator to chill, the cream moistens and expands the cookies into soft yummy cake. (Told you it was easy.)  The neat thing is that when you cut the cake on a diagonal it looks like this...

It's like eating the lightest, fluffiest, tastiest cookies and cream cake. (It has an Oreo taste.)

I knew I'd be making a big birthday cake and cupcakes for Gianna's party, but I wanted a little something special for her actual birthday.  I started doing some research and discovered that there are MANY people who grew up enjoying this wonderful cake in the 60's and 70's.  The one complaint is that the wafers are super hard to find. You can order them on the internet, but I understand there are a lot of broken cookies and you have to order an entire case - which is much more than I need or want to spend. 

The more I started thinking about how much time and/or money I might waste in search of these chocolate wafers, the more inspired I became to see if anyone had a copycat recipe for them.  Oh how I love Google!  I found the recipe here and I had all the ingredients at home - so it made things so much easier. The recipe for the Icebox cake is here. (You can add a little sugar to the whipping cream to sweeten it a bit.)

I didn't tell my parents I was making this cake, so I think they were really surprised that I was able to resurrect such a memorable part of our family history.  It was my brother's favorite cake growing up (mine too) but he's been working in Florida, so he didn't get to see/eat it.  Don't worry Uncle Vinnie, I'll make you one when you come back.

Now we have a new Lewis Family Tradition!

Two thumbs up from the three year old!

Fickle Food Critic

Overall, my two year old is a good eater.  But more and more often we're hitting a few roadblocks at the dinner table.

 It seems sweet little Gianna has become a bit of a food critic.  One day she loves a food, and the next day she refuses it. Mom is trying to juggle trying to get food and nutrients in her daughter without catering too much to her demands, thus becoming a short order cook.  It's a fine line....that I'm sure many, if not most, parents have to deal with at some point.

Recently I discovered this little treasure while grocery shopping:
Nature's Own Sandwhich Rounds

...and have been using them for everything: sandwhiches, burgers, Morning Star veggie patties, and even tiny little pizzas for my hungry toddler.  They are thin and soft and are high in fiber.

A littlle marinara and shredded cheese and pop it into the toaster oven.

Just the perfect size.

And she LOVES them.

I even cut them into slices with my pizza cutter.

I had steamed one of those frozen vegetable medley's the other day containing a combination she wasn't loving.  After trying for several meals with no luck, I pureed them and added them to tomato sauce which I used on her pizza.  She had no clue. Touchdown. 

I'm just loving all the Morning Star products. 

 It's the tastiest version of vegetarian food I've come across.

Which reminded me of these two cookbooks I have:

And this one Jerry Seinfeld's wife wrote:

They both give great ideas to sneak healthy foods into foods kids already enjoy. 

I think I may have to add these to my bedside reading stack. (I can't remember which one of these books I saw at the Kohl's checkout counter for only $5.)

And just in case you're at your witt's end, I just read this article about feeding a finicky toddler.

Quickie Quiche

I don't usually post recipes, but this is SUCH an great go-to meal that is super easy and yummy. You don't even have to make a crust!

 Little ones tend to like it, it's healthy and it's good for several meals.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups milk  (I use canned fat free evaporated milk)
4 eggs
3/4 cup biscuit baking mix (I use low fat Bisquick)
1/4 cup butter, softened (you can use margerine)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli, thawed and drained (I've used other lefteover veggies too)
1 cup cubed cooked ham (I buy the ham already cubed - but have also used leftover chicken and turkey)
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (I've used other cheeses I had on hand)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease a 10 inch quiche dish (I use a regular casserole dish).

In a large bowl, beat together milk, eggs, baking mix, butter and parmesan cheese. Batter will be lumpy. Stir in broccoli, ham and Cheddar cheese.  (You really don't need to add seasoning..the ham and parmasean salts the dish really well.) Pour into prepared dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 50 minutes, until eggs are set and top is golden brown.  Might have to adjust the time, depending on size dish you use. My casserole dish takes less time.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Last time I made pumpkin pancakes, they were just pumpkin shaped. This time they are pumpkin flavored too. Thought I'd share:

PUMPKIN PANCAKES
2 c. Bisquick mix (I use the Heart Smart version)
2 tbsp. brown sugar (light)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice (You can substitute Pumpkin Pie spice.)
1 1/2 c. canned milk (I use fat-free evaporated milk.)
1/2 c. pumpkin
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Bake on hot griddle until browned.

You can even tint the batter with food coloring, and use a squeeze bottle or ziploc bag to make the perfect pumpkin shaped pankcake. (I'm hoping that with a little practice, mine will look less like peaches and more like pumpkins!) They really are yummy. Even the munchkin ate more than one.

* I made waffles with the leftover batter and they tasted fine but were kind of limp. Not sure if it was my mistake or if batter is just better for pancakes.