The Navy Wife Nibble

Today, after only three weeks back together, I became husband-less...again. The Monkey and I dropped off the hubby at the airport before 6 am this morning to catch his first of three flights today. Thankfully, this time he will only be gone for about a month for training out at sea. I must admit, although I'm comforted by the fact this separation is much shorter than our previous one of almost six months, it's still difficult. Most difficult for our son...

I've got to say, for an 8-year-old new Navy brat, he has handled his dad leaving so well. He knows that it's just "part of dad's job" and though he gets teary-eyed, he always puts on a brave face when giving hugs good-bye. It's after his dad has disappeared into the terminal that the little Monkey loses it. Seeing crocodile tears roll down his cheeks always breaks my heart. Although I know we'll all get better at handling these deployments and separations as a family, I know it will never get easy.

After such an early wake up, I knew that neither the Monkey or I would be going back to sleep when we returned home. The two of us sat together in bed, aimlessly watching cartoons, waiting for texts from my hubby confirming he was checked in and when he was about to take off. Shortly after getting his texts, I could see the sadness creeping over the Monkey's face. I needed something to get his mind off of his dad leaving until we received more texts to cheer him up. Then it came to me...the Monkey always likes helping make things and be the taste tester for Mommy's creations. So, I decided to make whoopie pies. Not just any whoopie pies, easy, kid-helper whoopie pies. I love making things from scratch, don't get me wrong...yet, when you've got a rambunctious 8-year-old boy who wants to help, but doesn't want to miss his Saturday cartoons that doesn't always work. These whoopie pies are made with a cake mix and a no-cook 7-minute frosting. Not a typical whoopie pie, but definitely one that could put a smile on my sad Navy brat's face....and that's enough for this Navy wife :)

Quick, Kid-Helper Whoopie Pies

Ingredients


Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease several cupcake pans. Mix the cake mix, oil, water and eggs.

2. Spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter into the bottom of the greased cupcake pans. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

3. Once the whoopie pie cakes are baked, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool fully. While they're cooling, begin preparing the "No-Cook 7-Minute Frosting."

4.  After the frosting is prepared and the cakes have cooled, pipe or spread filling onto flat side of one cake and sandwich with another cake. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
 
*No Cook 7-Minute Frosting

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup boiling water

Instructions
1. Mix sugar, cream of tartar, vanilla and egg whites.

2. Add boiling water.

3. Whip on high until mixture forms stiff peaks like meringue (approx. 5-7 minutes).

With the summer weather in full swing, our little Navy family has been trying to stay cool. And I can't think of a better way to stave off the heat than with homemade ice cream.

Honestly, there isn't anything better than homemade ice cream. Not only can you cater the ingredients to your liking, it's virtually instant gratification (depending on how firm/frozen you like it). Being the happy homemaker that I am; making homemade meals and treats means that I can find myself  holed up in the kitchen while my hubby and the monkey occupy themselves. And as much as I love cooking for my boys, I do also want to spend time with them. So...sometimes that means finding slightly quicker fixes that allow me to spend more time with the boys, but not skimp on flavor or quality.

Ice cream is one of those things that, while I love making it, I don't always like how time consuming it can be. I've recently discovered that I can make deliciously creamy ice cream without the involvement of cooking a custard base, which is great since I'm making ice cream to beat the heat, not make more of it. Also, with it being strawberry season, why not showcase a farmer's market jewel in a tasty summer treat? So here it is...my homemade no-cook strawberry ice cream. Hope you enjoy it as much as my family has been...
Homemade No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts ice cream

Ingredients  
1 lb strawberries, hulled and halved
1 cup sugar 
3/4 teaspoon fresh lemon (or lime) juice 
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt 
2 cups heavy cream

Special Equipment necessary: ice cream maker

** Since the ice cream is homemade and contains no preservatives it will remain good for only about a week...if it lasts that long ;)