"Not Me" Monday, Menu Planning, and Cake!

Happy Monday! My cold is gone and I am ready for a terrific week!


"Not Me" Monday

McKMama at My Charming Kids does a thing called "Not Me" Monday, where we talk about things that we would never, ever have done. After this weekend, I decided I would have to participate, so here goes...

I did NOT drive two adorable little girls to Walgreen's and drive away with two little girls playing with Flarp (which, for those of you uninitiated, is fart noises in a can - you push your hand in this squishy stuff and the displaced air bubbles caused by that movement make fart noises, loud fart noises)--I would never have done that, even if they had spent their own money and I'd had nothing to do with it. Nope, not me. And, if even if I'd had a daughter whose Flarp didn't work, I would not have insisted Superman drive her back so she could exchange it for a working can. I definitely did NOT do that. I also didn't let Valiant shove money at Buttercup so he, too, could have Flarp (since she was going back anyway). I would never have condoned that! Nor would I have called Superman on his cell phone to pass along the message that one of the neighborhood dads called to say his boy needed an orange can of Flarp (as opposed to the pink and green that were also available) since everyone was buying out the Flarp supply at Walgreens. Finally, I did NOT tell Valiant to just call Charming (who was heading over for Game Night) to ask Charming to stop at Walgreens for yet another can of Flarp because somehow, even after all that, only four of the five kids involved had the requisite can of Flarp. Nor did Charming tell me that the man at Walgreens remembered his little sister in there buying Flarp and giggling up a storm with her friend. I was not involved with anything like that. So, to sum it all up, I did NOT have a house full of Flarp and, therefore, fart noises for Game Night. Not me!

I did NOT spill an entire 48 oz iced tea all over myself and my bed first thing Sunday morning. I would never have done something as stupid as that. Can imagine how terrible that would be? Why if I'd done that, I would have to wash the sheets (which had been changed Friday), the comforter, my nightgown, and an extra blanket. Not to mention just how cold iced tea would have felt running from my waist to my back and puddling under my backside! So, I definitely DID NOT spill an entire iced tea all over myself and my bed.

When Buttercup asking what was for lunch, I did NOT point her to the bag of Doritos on the kitchen counter. I would never do that, because that would not be a nutritious lunch for my child. Not me, I absolutely did NOT give my daughter Doritos for lunch at 3:30 p.m.! I also would never have let the same child play PacMan and Frogger on my Facebook account. (Nor did I tell Superman how to play PacMan, Donkey Kong, etc., on Facebook. As if he's not on the computer enough as it is!)

So, there you have it, my "Not Me" Monday post...I know none of you can imagine me doing any of those things, so I'm glad I got that cleared up.

Menu Planning

Here is this week's dinner menu. As I mentioned before, the menu does not have assigned days, but these are the things we will be having for dinner this week.

Ham Hocks and Beans (my dad's recipe...yum!)
Chicken Fajitas
Baked Potatoes with yummy toppings
Spaghetti with meat sauce
Cheeseburger Pie (from the Bisquick box--Buttercup's request)
Pizza
Leftovers Buffet - take whatever is left from all that food and call it dinner one more time!

If anyone wants any of the recipes for these things, just let me know and I'll post about them...I might post about them anyway, but this way you'll be certain to get any recipe you want.

and, finally, let them eat cake...

I needed to find something else to make that would give me a reason to use my new mixer, so I tried this Butterscotch Finger Cakes from Joe at Culinary in the Country. I honestly have no idea why they call it Finger Cakes, because it was just a 9 x 13 cake...no finger necessary. This cake was really good, receiving an "Oh, this really good" from Superman and a lot of "wows" from the kids. (Really, with results like that, how can your argue?)

Butterscotch Finger Cakes (Adapted from King Arthur Flour)

For the cake batter 2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (we only have salted, so that is what I used)
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't include this - don't like almond)

For the frosting
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and divided (again, I used salted)
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, divided 1 tablespoon milk, if necessary

To prepare the cake batter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined after each. Mix in vanilla and almond extract. Mix in the dry ingredients, alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Scoop the batter into a 9" x 13" baking pan coated with nonstick spray - spread the top smooth with an offset spatula (I have no idea what that is!).

Place into the oven and bake until a toothpick placed in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 10 minutes.

Loosen cake from the sides of the pan and set a piece of parchment paper on top of the pan. Place a cooling rack on top of the parchment and pan - turn the cake out, remove the pan and let cake cool completely (do not flip cake top-side up).

To prepare the frosting In a microwave-safe bowl, add butterscotch chips and 4 tablespoons butter - heat on medium-low power until the butter melts. Stir until chip are completely melted and combined. In a large mixing bowl, add remaining 4 tablespoon butter and 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar - mix until smooth. Pour melted butter mixture and remaining confectioners' sugar - beat on medium-low until smooth. If the frosting looks too thick to spread, mix in the milk. Spread frosting evenly over the cake.

If you have a cake comb, use it to create the waves in the frosting on top. (Um, what is a cake comb?)

Makes 25 to 30 servings.

This was an easy "from scratch" cake...I thought it would be too sweet with the frosting including the butterscotch chips, but it was just right. (Also, if you wanted to frost the sides, you would need more frosting than the recipe makes.) It was both a kid and grown-up pleaser...this is another recipe I'll be making again, even if I don't know why they call it Butterscotch Finger Cakes.