Mother’s Day All Day: 50 Recipe Roundup

Mother’s Day is right around the corner. I have no idea where I’ll be this year. My younger son finishes finals hundreds of miles away the day before. I think he’ll need help getting all of his crap stuff home so it’s possible I’ll be on the road.

For those of you not spending Mother’s Day in a car, I hope you have something great planned. And since I’m not putting together my own celebration this year, I may as well help you plan yours.

So here it is, a celebration all in one place. I’ve put together a collection of 50 Mother’s Day recipes from Breakfast to Dinner and everything in between.

I broke this post out by meal groups: breakfast, lunch, cocktails (a very important food group in my opinion), dinner, sides and desserts. Each group has it’s own collage of pictures so you can see how the recipes turn out.

Whether you have time to prepare a more complicated dish or are in a hurry, there’s something for everyone. For each meal group there are options that can be at least partially prepared ahead, recipes that are mostly made that day but are quick and easy, and options that require but are well worth a little effort. Whatever you choose, you’re bound to impress.

Breakfast

Prepare ahead:
1 - Mocha Breakfast Muffins are delicious muffins you can make the day before. To serve warm, just pop into the microwave for about 20 seconds.
2 - Maple Glazed Mandarin Poppy Muffins can also be made the day before. They’re bursting with fruit and finished with a hint of maple.

Quick and easy:
3 - Crab Benedict Breakfast Roll-Ups are a light but substantial breakfast treat. They need to be made when eaten, but look like they take more effort than they do.
4 - Bagel Crisp Brunch Sandwiches are reminiscent of Sunday afternoon brunch. They’re quick to assemble and a delicious crunchy treat.

Worth the effort:
5 - Baked Individual Pancake Puffs are a beautiful breakfast treat. They require more effort, but you’ll really amaze when you serve these puffs.
6 - Pistachio Cream Cheese French Toast is made with thick french bread slices, stuffed, pistachio crusted and pan fried.

Lunch

Prepare ahead:
1 - Warm Chicken Pockets can be prepped ahead of time, then put together at lunch time. Serve with Broccoli Slaw, which can be made the day before.
2 – Taco Stuffed Potato Skins have many components that can be made ahead as well. Serve with fresh homemade Pico de Gallo, which is best made a day in advance so the flavors have a chance to marry.

Quick and easy:
3 - Sour Apple Challah Grilled Cheese can be assembled and served hot in a matter of minutes. Serve it with made ahead Greek Pasta Salad and lunch is served.
4 - Curried Chicken Salad Wraps are an easy lunch roll up packed with flavor. You can make a loaf of Veggie Bread ahead, but it’s best served warm.

Worth the effort:
5 - Stovetop BBQ Pork and Apple Pizza takes a little more effort but is both pretty and full of flavor. Serve it with Spicy Pasta Salad, another make ahead side dish, this one has a bit of a kick.
6 - Grilled Taco Chicken needs to be marinated and then grilled. It takes more time than effort but is juicy and flavorful. Smoky Cornbread is a perfect side dish.

Cocktails

Prepare ahead:
1 - Berry Sangria is mixed together and refrigerated overnight. To serve, just add the ginger ale to this refreshing cocktail.
2 - Raspberry Orange Margaritas are a cocktail I like to make by the pitcher. Put it together in the morning, refrigerate and they’re ready to serve.

Quick and easy:
3 - Tornado Cocktails are easy to make. Mix the ingredients and serve.
4 - Brunch Cocktail is just the thing for any special occasion.
5 - Iced Coffee Cocktail is the perfect afternoon blender drink, and can be served three different ways.

Worth the effort:
6 - Strawberries and Cream Cocktail is made with fresh berries and topped with a dollop of ice cream. This drink could be a dessert.
7 - My Mai Tai is a long time favorite. Many people make a version of this drink, but mine is the best!

Dinner

Prepare ahead:
1 - Grilled Marinated London Broil is my beef selection. Marinate up to two days ahead of time then grill, slice and serve.
2 - Crockpot Fruited Pork Roast can be put into the crockpot late in the morning, then left to cook until it’s time to slice and add the veggies.

Quick and easy:
3 - Peachy Chicken, although better if marinated longer, can actually be made in 30 minutes. It’s light, fruity and flavorful.
4 - Easy Grilled Halibut is another light meal that can be made quickly. Marinate the fish, grill and serve.

Worth the effort:
5 - Smoky Orange Cornish Hens take some time and effort, but they aren’t any more difficult than roasting a chicken and they make a very impressive meal.
6 - Baby Backs need time for the rub to flavor the meat and they need to slow roast for hours. The end result is a flavorful meal everyone will love.

Sides Dishes:

 

Veggies

Prepare ahead:
1 - Festive Pea Casserole can be completely assembled in the morning and popped into the oven to accompany any dinner you choose.
2 - Karen's Poppy Seed Dressing can be made ahead and works well on salad ingredients of your choice.

Quick and easy:
3 - Squash Casserole is simple to assemble and has all of the bright flavors of fresh vegetables.
4 - Pralined Snap Peas and Carrots is a beautiful side dish that’s made in minutes in the microwave.

Worth the effort:
5 - Brussels Sprouts with Pignolis and Proscuitto takes some prep time and cooking time, but is the perfect dish for a special occasion.
6 - Eggless Caesar Salad is just as good as you’d find in any restaurant. Any dinner will be enhanced by this salad.

 

Starches

Prepare ahead:
7 - Cheddar Mac Squares are a favorite side dish. Mine can be made ahead, sliced into squares and reheated for serving.
8 - Easy Cheesy Potatoes is a casserole that can be assembled in the afternoon and popped in the oven for dinner.

Quick and easy:
9 – Popovers are made simply by whisking a few ingredients, cooking in a hot oven and resisting the urge to open the oven while they cook. These light buttery treats will be a hit with everyone.
10 - Garlic Knots are quick to make when start with refrigerated bread sticks. They’re a flavorful addition to any dinner.

Worth the effort:
11 - Sweet Potato Cups with Maple Butter take time to prep and time to make. The flavor and presentation make the effort worthwhile.
12 – Tzimmes is a slightly sweet casserole of potatoes, fruit and vegetables. There’s some prep time required but this flavorful dish is really not difficult.

Desserts

Prepare ahead:
1 - S'More and Strawberry Skewers are a favorite because kids love helping dip the strawberries and the marshmallows. When you’re ready to serve, just skewer and you’re done.
2 - Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake Squares need to be refrigerated before serving so they’re perfect for making ahead. These little squares are such a refreshing end to a meal.

Quick and easy:
3 - Caramel Apple Angel Cake looks impressive but is really quite simple if you start with a bakery angel cake, making this an easy dessert alternative.
4 - White Brownie Parfait is really two desserts in one. The White Brownies are a delicious treat, but kick it up a notch by adding fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Worth the effort:
5 - Dark Chocolate Raspberry Fudge is a recipe I first developed for Valentine’s Day but what says “love you, mom” more than dark chocolate and raspberry fudge hearts?
6 - Spring Fever Cookies will take some time to put together, but they’re a work of art when done. And they taste as good as they look.
7 - Berry Bar Sundaes are a delicious treat. Use fresh berries to make the bars, top with ice cream, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Delish.

As always, if you make some of my recipes, be sure to share a picture and your thought with my Facebook Community. I love to hear from you.

❤Hope your Mother’s Day is delicious ❤

 

This piece was published on The Huffington Post as Ffifty RecipesL Mothers Day All Day on 5-4-15.
Also cross-posted on BlogHer as Fifty Recipes: Mother's Day All Day on 5-1-15.

Lessons Learned: How NOT to get Published on BLUNTmoms

I have a post up on the website BLUNTMoms. Apparently this is not an easy thing to do. How did I get there? Well, in spite of myself, of course. I did it ass-backwards, the hard way. I did the exact opposite of everything I should have done. But that’s not really a surprise to you, is it?

Is there an easier way to get published other than through name calling and taunts and challenges? Hell yeah. If you want to get onto a well known site, pretty much just do the opposite of what I did. Follow their damn rules. How hard is that? Well, for everyone other than me anyway.

So for those of you looking to get onto a site like BLUNTmoms, here’s exactly what I did, the lessons I learned and . . . well . . . what you should not do. Because even though I did end up on the site, I’m still not sure exactly how that happened. I had a much better chance of being a quick dinner to a school of hungry sharks.

I have to admit I’m out of the loop when it comes to blogging status. I don’t enter myself or my work into “best blogger” contests, hate writing guest posts and rarely submit pieces to big name web sites or book anthologies. I’m sort of in my own world and in many ways I like it. Sure, I want my blog to be successful, but on my terms which are way different from those of many bloggers I’ve come in contact with. I don’t write to become the next Bloggess. I don’t develop recipes to become the next Pioneer Woman. I keep on writing because I want the escape and the challenge and the fun and the connections.

Some of my posts go viral. Some are just plain vanilla. Works for me.

Not-So-Plain Vanilla Cake

All of this to say that I’m not as cognizant of big name websites that accept submissions as most bloggers are. Yes, I’ve done my share of that and been published on some, but in general I tend to stay out of the loop. So I’m embarrassed to admit that, when I was jumping around from website to website via links in writers’ bios, I had no idea what BLUNTmoms was when I landed on their site.

LESSON LEARNED #1: Don’t be oblivious to what’s going on in the blogging world. May as well just wear a sign saying “don’t know the scoop, out of the loop.”

As I was looking around the site, trying to get a feel for it, I found a page called “Editorial Standards for Submissions” and checked it out. Yikes, these people are serious. They have strict rules about submission and they set some clear limits complete with dire consequences for noncompliance, including that aforementioned death in a tank of hungry sharks.

Well you know I tend to get my back up when people tell me what to do. Even, apparently, when it’s on their own site and I’m just a visitor. I had no intention of contacting them but when I found, just above the lengthy admonitions about spelling, grammar and punctuation, a rogue apostrophe . . . it was on.

To: editor@bluntmoms.com

Hello Magnolia, Anne, Lynn or Kristen:

I’ve been around the blogging world for a few years but just made my way to your website. I was reading through your “Editorial Standards for Submissions” page and there amongst the expectations, demands, limits and even threats on my life what did I find? Right there in the “revisions” section? An error. Yes, you.

Here it is, in this sentence, the misuse of the apostrophe:

“Requests for revisions – very few of us nail the BLUNTmoms tone and style on the first go, our regular writer’s included.”

Better be more careful. I hear you’ve got a tank of hungry sharks over there.

Karen @Baking In A Tornado

LESSON LEARNED #2: Don’t admit to the editors that you’ve never heard of their site, you idiot.

To: Baking In A Tornado

I’m sure I have NO idea what you are talking about.

(if a misused apostrophe falls and nobody can prove it was ever there, did it actually happen?)

Thanks for letting us know Smarty Pants.

Magnolia

So did I leave well enough alone? Please, do you even know me?

To: editor@bluntmoms.com

Funny, Magnolia, but in this day and age the answer is that it can always be proven. There’s such a thing as a screen shot. I should know, my kids taught me all about it. I can even do it now without them standing behind me giving me instructions and rolling their eyes. Yes, I’m that good.

And “Smarty Pants”? Really? That the best you got? I’ve been called far worse. By my kids. On a regular basis. And one of them has to do it long distance since he’s in college 700 miles away.

Thanks for the laugh, shark bait.

Karen

To: Baking In A Tornado

I always start off with barbs that would be gentle enough not to offend the average grade three student. You want to play? Then put your money where your mouth is and submit a post. Let’s see who is shark bait.

Magnolia

LESSON LEARNED #3: Don’t taunt the editor. She might just call your bluff. Idiot.

To: editor@bluntmoms.com

I don’t have anything not previously posted to submit. I do have a post I’m very proud of that not only did well on my blog but on Huffington Post and BlogHer as well. Don’t worry, I’m not sending it in, despite the worrisome rogue apostrophe I was able to clearly decipher your rules about UNIQUE content and all the ways I’d get punished for not following them.

And I wouldn’t send in a post even if I had one. After all, I’m so good at making first impressions I’ve already got one of the editors calling me names. Doesn’t really bode well with that whole “judged by a jury of your peers” thing. Oh, wait, I could writ a “How to Make Friends and Influence People”. Naaa, that kinda thing’s been done. Damn, clearly I would have nailed it.

So good news, I’m not going to be eaten by sharks (although I’m sure to be skewered by my boys, thank you skype)

Bad news: Looks like I may have progressed from Smarty Pants to Scaredy Cat. Looks like my bucket list for today is complete.

Sunday Bucket List:

✔ Progress from Smarty Pants to Scaredy Cat.

✔ Don’t get eaten by sharks, even those ingeniously disguised as editors.

Ha. I’m a success. If only I could convince my boys of that. Now that would take some real writing talent.

Karen

LESSON LEARNED #4: Don’t walk away.

LESSON LEARNED #4B: Don’t run away either. Very undignified.

To: Baking In A Tornado

You engaged the shark, and you made an impression. So essentially you paraded around in your speedo but you had a cucumber in it. Upon further inspection it was a disguised bottle cap in there.

I don’t give a crap about your Huff Po stuff or anything else . . . I want your soul.

I think you should write me something that I love and get on BLUNTmoms. Live brave, Chicken Girl.

Magnolia

LESSON LEARNED #5: Lame excuses impress no one.

To: editor@bluntmoms.com

 HOLY CRAP, you didn’t tell me you had cameras in my house.

To Do List:

1. Dispose of Speedo. In a remote location far from home. Discard all cucumbers and bottle caps too, just in case.

2. Have house checked for cameras. See if they can be reverse wired so you can watch those editors feed my fellow bloggers to the sharks.

3. Think about writing something for Magnolia. Be careful. Chances are she’s incognito and her real identity is a Dionaea Muscipuls (google it).

4. Google where to get a replacement soul. Magnolia seems to have her heart set on yours.

I’ll think about writing something. Besides writing posts and developing recipes for my own blog, I run 5 monthly blogger-participation writing challenges and am a contributor to a few different web sites. That keeps me pretty busy.

I need to go into stealth mode and check out your site and see what kinds of articles would be a good fit and then see if I’ve got something in me. I’m not a disciplined writer, I write when stressed and then my pieces sort of pour out of me. I don’t really harness it well.

But I’ve been known to have a banana or two in my speedo from time to time.

Love,

Chicken Girl (see, I’m incognito too)

LESSON LEARNED #6: Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. If you can’t write what’s needed when it’s needed, keep that banana in your speedo.

To: Baking In A Tornado

We could just turn this whole conversation into a post because we are so fucking hilarious.

Yes, read BLUNTmoms and check out some of our sharper writers and then get your fill of posts about poop. We have very few boundaries.

I have your number chicken girl, so I will harangue you until I get some BLUNTmoms gold from you.

Magnolia

LESSON LEARNED #7: Reread rule #5. I repeat: lame excuses impress no one.

To: editor@bluntmoms.com

Color me forewarned.

OR you could turn this whole conversation into a post after all and we could call it good. But then I suppose you’d accuse me of sneaking my banana in the back door . . .

Karen

Did I take my second chance to leave well enough alone? You know the answer to that. The only thing I hate more than being told what to do is being taunted with a challenge.

She got into my head. She was haunting me, dammit. Two days later when I wrote a piece for my blog, even though I wasn’t sure it was a fit for her site, I literally felt compelled to send it.

LESSON LEARNED #8: If you’ve been given a chance, don’t blow it on a piece you’re unsure is a good fit. And if you do, don’t admit it. 

To: editor@bluntmoms.com

Hello again Magnolia, it’s me Smarty Pants. No, that’s not right, I’d progressed to Chicken Little. Wrong again, that’s the whole “sky is falling” thing. Chicken Girl. That’s it. It’s me, Chicken Girl.

You, Woman Who Will Not Be Denied, really got into my head. I don’t really know if I love you or hate you for pushing and mocking and challenging me to write something but I guess that remains to be seen.

I’ve attached a post that I wrote today. You said you wanted my soul. I don’t know about my soul, but this one has my heart. And, as it turns out, my blood. It may not be a good fit, but I have less control over what comes out of my head than I’d like to admit. Anyway, I have no fear that you’ll be the first to tell me. Probably graphically and with a new nickname for me to live down. I’d like to say “be gentle” but we both know that’s not gonna happen.

Putting on kevlar. That works for sharks as well as bullets, right?

 Chicken Girl

Did it get published? Actually. . . yes! Would I do it again? Nope (liar, liar, pants on fire). Well, not that way anyway because, honestly, that could have gone all kinds of bad in so many ways. But I said that I continue to write for the escape and the challenge and the fun and the connections and I sure got all of those. And 8 valuable lessons too.

So there you have it. What not to do when you want to get published.

You’re welcome.

 

 

 

PS: Thank you, Magnolia, for a fun Sunday afternoon of taunts, barbs and laughs. And for giving me permission to use your emails in this post. I owe you one. ❤

PPS: Go read my post Ancestry: Do you Really Want to Know who you are? on BLUNTmoms. And you’d best leave me a comment over there or I may have to feed you to the sharks. And they’re way hungrier now that I escaped.

Not-So-Plain Vanilla Cake

                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 ½ stick butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cups milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 (3 oz ) box of vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
 
¾ stick butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 – 5 TBSP half and half
 
Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 X 13 baking pan.
*Beat the 1 ½ sticks of butter with the sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla and last the flour, pudding mix, salt and baking powder.
*Spread evenly into prepared pan and bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until the center springs back to the touch.
*Cool completely.
*Beat the remaining ¾ stick of butter and cream cheese until smooth. On the lowest setting at first, beat in 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar. Once well incorporated, beat in the vanilla and 2 TBSP half and half.
*Again on the lowest setting until incorporated, beat in the other 1 ½ cups powdered sugar. Once smooth, adjust the consistency by beating in up to another 3 TBSP of half and half a little at a time.
*Spread frosting onto completely cooled cake.

Funny Friday: The Squashed Squash Edition

Today’s post is April’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.

Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by The Bergham's Life Chronicles.

1. Little pumpkins to the big guy: we’re going to have to ban you from participation in al sports pending the results of your steroid test.

2. Little pumpkins singing to the big one:  ♪ ♫ ♬ And in the name of the Lollipop Guild . . . we’d like to welcome you to Munchkin Land  ♪ ♫ ♬

3. Large pumpkin to his shrink: I’ve been so depressed since they ripped me from the vine. It’s sad, I just feel so . . . deflated.

4. One little pumpkin to the others: OK, who squashed the squash?

5. Big pumpkin on his cell phone to 911: Send an ambulance. And the police. And CSI too. Tell them to bring stun guns and a big net. Big Foot is real. AND HE STEPPED ON MY FACE.

And now for something yummy:

Caesar Salad with Eggless Dressing

Caesar Salad with Steak

Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:

Someone Else's Genius

Confessions of a part-time working mom

The Momisodes

Sanity Waiting to Happen

Spatulas on Parade

Juicebx Confession

Stacy Sews and Schools

People Don't Eat Enough Fudge

The Bergham's Life Chronicles

Follow me home
Measurements of Merriment 

Caesar Salad with Eggless Dressing

                                                                     ©www.BakingInATornado.com
 
Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients:
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1  stone ground mustard
3/4 tsp anchovy paste
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 TBSP olive oil
OPT: Sprinkle of salt

1 head romaine lettuce, cleaned and dried
1 1/2 cups croutons
4 oz block of parmesan cheese
ground black pepper

OPT: To make this a meal, top with cooked meat, chicken or fish
 
Directions:
*In a small bowl, mix the balsamic, garlic, mustard, anchovy paste, lemon juice, black pepper, sugar and red pepper flakes. Slowly but vigorously whisk in the olive oil. Taste to see if it needs a sprinkle of salt.
*Using a vegetable peeler, peel about 1 cup of parmesan cheese shavings.
*Tear the romaine into pieces and place into a large bowl. Toss with the dressing,  adding a little at a time, just until salad is dressed but not soaked. Store any unused dressing in the fridge.
*Add the croutons and parmesan shavings and toss again. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste.