Super-Bowl Sunday & Chili Cook-Off

We've decided to throw caution to the wind and pull together a little bash celebrating the Super-Bowl. It's not that I am especially excited about any of the teams that are playing- the way I see it is most people are going to be hanging out watching the game anyways so mine as well get together and stuff our face with food and drink.
We can laugh at the commercials and cheer on our team of choice. We've decided to make it a chili cook-off contest. Guests have been asked to bring their best batch of chili and we will provide the 'fix ins', appetizers, drinks and desert. My kids like to make a squares chart and contend for candy bars as prizes.
Which leads me to my dilemma-what will I bake for super bowl Sunday? I could bake a cake in the shape of a football or a field. No, that is just not my style.
I think I'll keep with tradition and make dreamy island cookies, jumbo chocolate chip cookies and a batch of my cake balls. They're always a hit and so easy to pop in your mouth while sitting around watching the game.
As for the Chili cook-off I'll have to come up with some sort of prize for the most original and best flavor.

Lucky Me & Where Have the Days Gone?

I can't believe it is January 15th already. The past two weeks have been a mix of running the kids around town, cleaning up after the holidays and getting a fun writing project under way. I am in the process of putting together a select collection of my favorite recipes into a booklet just to have on hand because so many people ask me for different recipes.

My love for baking has brought me so many cool blessings. I often get to visit my kids classroom with some aspect of my baking.

About a month ago I stopped by to read "Eight Animals Bake a Cake" to my daughter Sophia's preschool class. At the end of this charming tale the animals drop the cake on the floor and end up eating a pineapple upside down cake. I baked an upside down cake of my own to share with the kids for snack.

Today I am heading to Bella's Spanish Class. She wants me to make empanadas for her classmates. The teacher is letting me come with a batch ready to pop in the oven and then the kids will do a small demonstration themselves.

As for being lucky, how many mom's get to stop by their kids junior high class to see what goes on while they are away each day?

It must be something about the food that draws people in. Because my son, an eighth grader at the same school, someone who often shies away from any type of public contact with his parents because it's just not cool said he'd stop by the school kitchen to say hi.