Search Results for: baked goods can change the world

9 Things

1.  Tuesday is looking up people.  Our foster daughter’s case worker surprised Josh Kelley before 7am…again…but 1/2 of us were still asleep…all the ladies of the house…and I’m happy to report the ones who were awake were all wearing pants.  This is progress compared to LAST TIME.  I will gladly take progress 🙂

2.  In other fun Tuesday news, Josh and I have our first date night since the 1st of January tonight.  At the top of our “what to do for date night options” is drive thru Taco Bell and nap in the car.  If you see us parked in a parking lot, it’s likely we are not making out, but snoozing…let us be!

3.  Kelley kids have been on a bit of a downslide with the end of year chaos going full steam ahead.  No one wins the best sibling award lately.  They can fight hard that is for sure.  And then I find them congregated doing their thing again and I’m reminded they actually do really love each other.

4.  This picture can only mean one thing, and one thing only…Bunny’s Cake is in the house.  And there was lots of it.  Baked goods can change the world and eating a cold piece straight from the refrigerator can make your faith stronger in Jesus. #truestory

5.  I am super excited about a new project I’m going to be giving a whirl starting soon.  Josh Kelley and I are talking through details…it might be just a summer gig or it might  just stay forever.  Who knows!!!  All the details coming soon.

Spoiler Alert: It involves you & free art 🙂

6.  Harper reads to us every night before bed.  And it makes my heart want to burst and my eyes to leak a watery substance.  I’m a total hot mess lately.

7.  Harper and Amon got their summer cuts.  Harper just up and decided she wanted to cut all her hair off and, well, it’s her hair, so we let her do it.  This is the shortest Amon’s hair has ever been and immediately he grew and because extra spunky.  Hudson and Solomon are next on the list.  Summer means tons of sun and swimming and even less bathing than normal…and you all know what that means…so off with the hairs!!

8.  All the details for June’s Bible journaling class are coming tomorrow.  So excited for this class and cannot wait to see what God has in store!

9.  And if you are looking for a killer treadmill run this one is great.  I have a whole board of HIIT treadmill runs on Pinterest so I can change my runs up constantly…keeps things fun.  I did this one yesterday and was drenched and then continued to sweat even after my shower.  I hate/love when this happens.  Anyways, I wanted to pass it on.  So good.

See you tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday!

8 Things

1.  Yesterday as I walked into Target I realized two things: 1) This was the third time in 3 days I had been to Target and 2) I was wearing the exact same outfit for all 3 trips. I then gave #2 a little more thought…the clothes I put on Monday morning I also slept in Monday night, wore all day Tuesday, slept in Tuesday night and wore Wednesday morning to Target…yet again.  Send reinforcements please…and cookies.

2.  I am happy to report I finally showered and put on some different clothes yesterday afternoon.  You can all sleep easier tonight.

3.  There is always time for kindness…especially in the form of THESE whoopie pies and I am an emotional eater so I enjoyed 1 or 2 as well.  Baked goods can change the world…and your waste line 🙂

4.  I ran yesterday.  It was like glory.  Any runners out there ever do HIIT  (high intensity interval training) workouts on the treadmill?  I decided starting in January I was going to start doing them to mix my running up.  I found one HERE which I loved and it lets you get in some fast running…so good.  Then yesterday I tried THIS ONE.  Oh wow.  Hardly any fast running, but I was drenched in sweat.  I like to think I’m in decent shape, but it kicked my butt.  If you have any good ones you like I would love to hear about them.  I have a few more I really want to try.

5.  Dressing a little girl is too fun.  Geez its been a long time since we’ve had a tiny lady in the house.

6.  Today I am getting a flippin’ root canal.  Can you tell I’m super excited?  I have never been a stressed dental person, but I am absolutely that person now.  You would think I am dying.  When I go in I just want to ask them to put me to sleep…give me the good stuff…I don’t want to remember a thing.

7.  He always meets me right where I am.

8.  And wow with the baby foods.  Amon is gaga over these puff things.  I only let him have a few and remind him they’re for the little miss.  Josh Kelley said, “I’m with him.  The blueberry ones smell like heaven.”  And what about those crazy little packets of food…you just twist the top off, hand it over and the kiddo does all the work.  Josh and I were so baffled.  Hahaha, it doesn’t take much.

Hope everyone’s week is going fantastic.  It’s almost Friday!

Happy Thursday!

Banana Bread Jars

I had no intentions of doing a post on my banana bread jars, but when you post a picture on instagram and people ask, well, you give them the answer…in blog post form.  It’s what I do.

Every week I make baked goods to share.  I like baking.  I like homemade sweets and treats.  And I think other people do to   This is something I can do to show love to people in our community.  Some I know, some strangers…either way I am a firm believer that baked goods can change the world.

Cue the banana bread jars.  My cousin Rebecca taught me a long time ago that when your bananas go bad and you can’t use them immediately just put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them.  I’ve been using her trick ever since.  Yesterday I decided to finally use up the 6 black bananas in our freezer.

Fall is officially here and the weather is magnificent and banana bread and all sorts of chilis are on my mind…weird combination I know, but goh!!!!!  I just love banana bread and any type of chili.  So yesterday I got to baking.  I made our family a regular loaf for breakfast and then decided to bake some mini loafs in small mason jars.  This is so crazy easy and it’s one of my most favorite ways to share cakes and breads.  I always have these small jars on hand and it’s a really simple process.

I always…I repeat always…use my Aunt Betty’s banana bread recipe.  Our family has our own cookbook and if there is a recipe for whatever and it’s in our family’s cookbook, that typically is the recipe I use.  Not only is it nostalgia, but it’s also a part of my legacy.  I love using my MawMaw’s and my Mom’s and my Aunt’s recipes…I love our family’s recipes.  Plus everything the Halls make is delicious.

To make 12 small jars I double this recipe.  And my Mom taught me when I made banana bread for the first time not to measure out 1 cup of banana puree, but instead just always let 1 cup banana = 2 bananas.  So I never measure out smashed up bananas, but I digress.

Once everything is all mixed up, I grease each jar with a little spray oil and then spoon in two large spoonfuls filling the jars about 1/2-1/3  full.  I sit the jars on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 40 minutes.  My oven does burn a little hot so you may need a little longer, but not much.

 

I let them cool a bit and then screw the tops on.  It’s fine if they’re still a little warm.  I like to cut squares of fabric and put that between the seal and the rim.  This just makes them a little more colorful and fun especially to give to people.

And there you have it.  Not rocket science at all…super easy…really fun…and a great little something to make someone’s day a little better…a banana bread encouragement.

I really wasn’t planning on blogging this…hope I didn’t leave anything important out…if you have any questions just leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them.

Happy Monday!

PS:  Since I mentioned chili, I had to share this Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili.  It’s ahhhh-mazing.  Made it last night for dinner.  I did go a little rogue though.  I actually already had chicken cooked up, so I skipped the all day crockpot thing and just combined the crockpot ingredients in a pan.  I also winged it on a few ingredients and it was still super good.  I used almond milk instead of milk, just crushed up one chicken bullion cube, didn’t have any white pepper so skipped it, no cayenne pepper so I used chipotle chili pepper and I used plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.  And everyone devoured it…minus Amon, but he’s a crazy toddler.

Now go make banana bread and chili.

Hi!

Yesterday I had this whole post about Amon and his speech journey and I even had this cute video of a conversation I had with Amon and then Flickr and Youtube decided to be all wonkers and tick me off and then I threw up my hands and said ‘screw it all’ and then I moved on and gave up…even hit the big DELETE button.  Sometimes you just have to move on.

Long post short…he’s got 2 speech therapists now, 2 sessions a week, he now realizes we don’t understand everything, everyone gets frustrated, he’s working really hard and we’re proud.  The end.  If you want to see the video GO HERE!  Warning:  Josh Kelley is in fact sound asleep through our whole conversation.  And you can just skip the last 40 some odd seconds because it’s just me trying to get him to say “bye bye” and him just trying to poke me in the camera eye.

The end of the year is killing me.  Anyone else?  I have totally and completely over committed myself in far too many areas…and that’s just how I’m rolling.  I may have almost had a mini meltdown/anxiety attack on our stairs at almost midnight last night 🙂  I will survive!!!!  I need summer break stat.

I baked yesterday.  You know my motto…baked goods can change the world.  And holy cow…I made these Banana Pudding Cupcakes…like full on legit homemade and way above my skill level and the hardest recipe I have ever attempted.  At one point I was simmering and then pouring and whisking at the same time…my baking stress level through the roof.  And I loathe bananas so I didn’t even get to taste test, but Josh Kelley said they were delicious.

Laura Kelley Fun Fact #731:  I hate all things banana except banana bread…no nuts.  I will eat an entire loaf or pan in one sitting.

Laura Kelley Fun Fact #311:  I stay far away from dessert recipes which require me to boil or simmer any part of the recipe.  I have had bad luck far too many times burning the crap out of desserts like these.

I also picked Mom out a Mother’s Day card.  Anyone else buy their dead mother cards?!?!?!  I’ve done it each Mother’s Day so far.  It gets a little intense and I almost always dread actually writing the card because it’s just hard.  But I’m always so glad I did.  Then I leave it on her grave and at some point the grave keeper people will toss it…and that’s okay…because it’s more like a therapy gig instead.

I tried really hard this year to be super intentional about Mother’s Day.  I don’t want to spend the day in sadness or pity.  The world doesn’t need any more of that on my behalf and I just have to make the choice not to go down those roads.  I don’t want to waste a chance to make someone else’s day a little better.  So I’ve been planning and thinking a lot.

I also started thinking about the treat I wanted to make for us to enjoy at the cemetery…because all normal people eat dessert at the cemetery.  I’m thinking rice krispy treats…with sprinkles and maybe strawberries.  She loved rice krispy treats and strawberries were her favorite fruit.  I sat many a times at her kitchen table and devoured an entire carton of strawberries with her…or enjoyed a bowl of rice kristy treats because she never made them in squares but instead, dished them out into bowls with spoons.  I miss her.

Let’s see…what else…oh yes, today is the last and final day for our Noonday Fundraising Giveaway.  Remember, we’re mailing over $700 of Noonday goodies to one lucky donor.  On my to-do list today is to start writing out everyone’s names…and it’s a lot.  You guys are crazy nice.  Can’t wait to tell you how much we’ve raised for the kiddos at Ngungwane in Swaziland and who the winner is!!!!  You can read all the DETAILS HERE and find out how to join the fun.  I’ll post the winner tomorrow!

And that might be all I have for today.  I think my brain is fried.  I’m actually sitting on a pile of clean towels on our couch which should probably be folded and put away, but alas, I’m still sitting on them.  Please tell me you can relate?!?!?!  Oh, and I’ll end with a big positive…we actually executed baths on one of our bath days…which was yesterday…and by “we” I mean Josh Kelley.  I kind of like him.  And his commitment to kids with good hygiene.

Happy Thursday!

6 Tips

#1:  If you spill what some would classify as a lot, of pure vanilla on your laptop computer keys as you are hovering over the computer trying to get a new recipe just right, well, soak it up as best you can with a paper tower and then enjoy how your keys kind of “crunch” when you type for the next few days.

#2:  Make these cookies today!  I may have turned over a slightly more healthy eating leaf, but I still firmly believe baked goods can change the world.  The other night I went in search of a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe and you guys…wowzers…I found it.  Healthy, totally delicious and I would gladly make a ton of these up to share with the world.  And easy.  Nothing super hard.

And here’s my tip inside a tip:  I let them sit out over night to firm up a bit.  But gooey or firmer, they are totally legit delicious.

#3:  Enjoy a movie night with your kids.  It could quite possibly be ridiculously cute when your smallest toddler child joins your big kids and later you will be really glad you took a picture.

#4: Speaking of that small toddler child who is definitely your busiest, most mischievous child to date…so yeah, when you need to get some work done and your husband is out of town and you’re parenting solo…God bless you single parents our there…truly…give this said toddler some crayons and a packing box and then you can whip out 24 key fobs and 24 name tags for your up-and-coming craft classes in no time flat.  #yourewelcome

#5:  Fill your cookie jar with THESE stat.  Like now.

And #6:  Come to a rockin’ Noonday party at our house next Thursday, March 27 from 6-8.  And if you can’t come then order some goodies online.  A little more information coming soon about what we’re going to try and accomplish with this party.  I would love to see you and hang out and talk and eat and drink and shop and be merry with you!!!!!  I think it is going to be entirely too much fun.  A total jam!  You should come.  Mark your calendars and invite a friend.  The more the merrier.  Send me a message HERE if you want my address.

Hope your weekend was fantastic.  Here’s to a great week.  Happy Monday!

December 18

Today for our kindness advent we preloaded all those trinket and gumball machines outside our local grocery store.  This was rather quick and fun.  And I did let the boys each use one quarter.  They both chose skittles.  Huddy was all like, “These Skittles sure are hard.”  I was all like, “Yeah, that’s called stale.”

I love doing all these different things with them.  I love talking it over and discussing…like how we would feel if we were the ones who found all the quarters in the machines.  It’s fun to hear what they are thinking.

Tomorrow we are taking some school supplies Ms. Flowers needs to her classroom.  Anything that involves Susan is sure to be fun.

And two quick things.

1)  Today is elf day at Harper’s school.  How flippin’ fun right?!?!  Josh was working out of town most of last week and Harper was pretty sad one night when she was going to bed.  She was missing him bad.  To make her smile as I left her room I sang part of Buddy’s Christmas gram from the movie Elf.  “I love you, I love you, I love you.”  My voice getting higher and higher.  No smile from Harper, but through her tears and without missing a beat she replied with, “Oooh!  What’s a Christmas gram?  I want one.”

And yes, we are the people who still have pumpkins on our porch.  We’re dual celebrating.

And 2)  Today and tomorrow are bake days.  We have lots of baked goodness to share because…cough, cough…baked goods can change the world.  Today was gooey butter cake, nutter butter balls, oreo balls (which are nutter butter balls just subbed oreos) and chocolate chip brownie Oreo cups (smushed break & bake chocolate chip cookie dough in a muffin tin, then an oreo on top of that and then a spoon full of brownie mix…bake 15 minutes @ 350…yeah, that.)  Tomorrow we’re rockin’ snickerdoodles, chewy M&M cookies and Andes mint cookies.  Can I get a Amen?  God bless baked goods.

Happy Wednesday!

Be.A.Blessing

At the beginning of the year I thought about what I wanted my 2013 goals to be.  One of them was to be more intentional in blessing others.  In fact, on my little green index card I simply wrote ‘intentional blessings’.  I also wanted to listen more to God.  I so struggle with knowing if it’s Him half the time or even just obedience in general.  When He put something on my heart I wanted to follow through…especially when it came to something He was spurring my heart to do for someone else.

This hangs above Harper’s bed.

We say this to them all the time.  These two things are the important ones.  The ones when everything else fades away these will be the everlasting ones.  We can talk to them about it all day long, but if they don’t see us doing it…us acting it out…us really loving Jesus and others…then I feel like our words are lost.

This year I have tried to do my best to follow through.  When Jesus says…’send a gift card’…’write a note’…’encourage that person’…’bake cookies or gooey butter cake or cupcakes’…and yes, I’m pretty sure Jesus loves gooey butter cake…when He puts even a twinge feeling in my heart that I am suppose to act, I’ve tried to do so.  I’ve lacked…I haven’t always been obedient…I haven’t always obeyed with a cheerful or pure heart…but I’ve tried…I am trying…and Jesus has showed me grace.  I know I’m in major need of His grace and forgiveness. Every.Single.Day.

When Monday rolled around and school started memories came flooding back to the time when I was a kindergarten teacher.  I remember the stress, the overwhelmingness, the desire to be my absolute best for those kids, the figuring out of the kids…and parents.  I remember how crazy the first week was.  And I felt God nudge my heart to encourage and love on our staff with baked goods.  You may laugh…and that’s cool…it makes me laugh too, but I’ve been working on acting when Jesus says ‘act’.  So I got my bake on in order to encourage our teachers and staff because they so deserve some encouragement on their first week back.  Baked goods can change the world.

This morning I dropped off iced sugar cookies (cookie recipe and Royal Icing sort of recipe), Nutter Butter Balls, Gooey Butter Cake and chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  A) I love having an empty refrigerator and B) It was crazy nice to see lots of smiles as Harper and I wagged in all those baked goods.  My kids watched and helped me bake this week.  They asked where these things were going.  They taste tested and approved.  And we were given the chance to talk and show them a way to love and bless others.

It wasn’t expensive or extravagant or hard and that’s one of the most beautiful things about blessing and loving others.  It doesn’t have to be big or grand…it can be so simple and small.  So today I want to encourage you to bless someone.  Maybe you’re good at writing cards or you could babysit a single mom’s kids or a couple who needs dinner together or maybe you can bake with the best of them and you know someone who could use a cookie.  Maybe you could just shoot someone an email or text and remind them of how precious and valued they are.  The list could go on and on.

I bet God has just the right person in mind and you could be used by Him to make a difference in their day.

1 John 4:11-12 (The Message)

“My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!”

Happy Friday.

A Bake Day

I know everyone deals with grief in their own way…goodness knows that is one things I’ve learned…coping can be done in so many ways.  I still think about Mom all the time.  The other night I was sewing and found myself just so focused on her and how it’s just a part of my life now…just thinking about her.  I still miss her every single day and find myself carrying this feeling that it’s up to me to keep her spirit alive.  Like it’s my job to remind people of her…I just sooooo don’t want her to be forgotten.  I know it’s not my job, but I still have this heavy feeling that it is and I take that seriously.

Her 66th birthday is coming up and I had been racking my brain about how I would celebrate her this year.  Last year I mailed out 65 encouraging cards to lots of different people.  This year I landed on giving baked goods to 66 different people and then realized that I didn’t think I even knew 66 people.  Ha.  So I sent some texts to her boss Brian and asked if I could set up a crap ton of baked goods in her works lobby for all the different people and clients who came through their branch to enjoy in honor of her…to celebrate her.  She loved to cook and bake and I just want to do something that she would have loved…something that would have made her feel special and proud.

Today was my bake day.  It was crazy…hence the 11pm blogging.  And I didn’t even finish.  Tomorrow I’ll knock out the last two yummy treats and I’ll be done…DONE!  Strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and mini red velvet cheesecakes are on my To-Do list for tomorrow.

So today I started with this crazy amount of ingredients and got my bake on.

Snickerdoodles

Cookie Brownie Oreo Cups (I did not make the cookie dough homemade…subbed break and bake cookies instead)

Gooey Butter Cake

Rice Krispy Treats

Whoopie Pies

Andes Mint Cookies

Nutter Butter Balls (I used white chocolate instead)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Sugar Cookie Bars

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites

And Funfetti Cookies

The bigger kids enjoyed helping some, but spent most of their time playing outside…doing who knows what.  Amon spent most of his time by the Kitchen Aid mixer.  Huddy was really into helping though and had two big teary melt downs about missing his Grammy.  We had some good cries together today.  Kids and grief are so tricky.  We’re still figuring our way through it 18 months later.  Crying and sweet treats help.

I know it may seem crazy or off or weird, but this is how I’m dealing right now.  I want to love big in honor of Mom…I want to spread kindness to a bunch of strangers with baked goods to celebrate her life…a phenomenal life lived…one that was full of love and kindness and generosity and showing people Jesus in the best way.  I think she would truly love it and I really like to think she would be proud.  I think she would totally agree…baked goods can change the world.

Now I’m off to sleep and probably dream about butter and sugar and cream cheese and eggs…and cake mixes.

Happy Wednesday Night!