Oh my, I can not believe it’s been over a month since my last blog update!! I know I’ve said this before, but I really, really am going to try and get back in the habit of blogging more frequently. It just seems like there isn’t enough time in the day for everything. So, how do y’all find time to blog daily? Any tips or ideas for me? Okay, back to the scheduled blog…..
That’s exactly what I thought when my friend Katy said we needed to make this recipe. But I was so glad I agreed. This is one of the best, easiest lasagna’s I’ve ever made. Her mom found the recipe in Krogers? I think. When she was here, I was too lazy to write the recipe down, so I just scanned it into the computer. (If you click on the picture, it’ll get bigger. If you still can’t read it, let me know and I’ll type it up.)
We made the recipe basically as wrote. The only substitution was cottage cheese for ricotta cheese.
A layer of spaghetti sauce, then a layer of the ravioli’s.
A layer of the cheese/spinach mixture, then another layer of ravioli’s.
More cheese/spinach, then a layer of spaghetti sauce, isn’t it so pretty!!
Finish it of with a nice, yummy layer of cheese.
Now, despite the fact that the assembly pictures are so pretty, my “finished” picture, was less then desirable, so just look back at the scanned recipe and pretend like that’s how mine came out.
The weather got really cold yesterday (It was 50 and it has been 80-90 degrees!). To help celebrate the new found cold-ness. I decided to make chili. Chili is one of my favorite cold weather foods. It’s right up there with beef stew. My momma makes the best recipe also, so I called her to get her recipe. It turns out she uses a recipe from All Recipes that’s called Flatlander Chili. Based on her reccomendations, I made a few alterations.
Flatlander Chili
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds lean ground beef turkey
1 (46 fluid ounce) can tomato juice
1 2 (29 ounce) cans tomato sauce (plus 1/2 of one of the cans of water)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon white sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cups canned red beans, drained and rinsed I used 1 can of kidney beans, and 1 can of black beans thouroughly rinsed
DIRECTIONS
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
Add all ingredients to a large kettle. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
I added some shredded cheese, fat free sour cream, and some saltine crackers to mine. Don’t stick your nose up at the sour cream until you’ve tried it. It’s really really good.
If you’re like me, you hate wasting food. Every time I level off a cake, I wonder what to do with the “hump” that comes off the top of the cake. Sometimes John and I will eat part of it with leftover icing, but more often then not, it gets put in the trash can. Not anymore though!!
I decided to make cake balls! Just crumble up the cake really fine into a large bowl, stir in frosting until you get the desired consistincy. Roll into balls and freeze them. Then dip them in melted candy melts. Super easy! I sent these with John to a Coaches meeting so I decorated these in the football teams colors. Go Pioneers!
John told me all of the coaches loooved them, so I will definetely keep them in mind the next time I have cake scraps. John prefers eating these frozen, so that’s where we store them.
I know! I updated this twice in two days! It’s a new record for me. As promised here is my tutorial for the white chocolate transfer. Cake Central was also soo helpful in learning all things cake. If you aren’t a member, you need to be.
What you will need:
A picture (If there are words on the picture, make sure you print a mirror image so the words will be right when you flip the design)
Parchment Paper to go over the design
Cutting board to work on
Tape
Disposable Icing bags
Candy Melts (found with cake decorating supplies)
Candy food coloring
Instructions:
1. Tape your design to your cutting board, then cover with parchment paper and tape it down also. (I thought about taping it directly to my table, but I am so glad I didn’t. It was very helpful to be able to rotate the cutting board while coloring the design.)
2. One thing to keep in mind is that you have to work backwards. Whatever you want to show up on the outside of the transfer, do first. I started with black to outline the eagle, globe, and anchor. So, melt your first color of chocolate, color it and place in your icing bag. I was using disposable icing bags, so I just snipped of the very tip of the bag and didn’t use a icing tip, however you can use a #1 if you would prefer.
3. Then just continue with the remaining colors. I found it easier to work on the design in the middle first, then work my way to the edges. I was afraid I would drag my hand though all my hard work. Here is how my design progressed:
4. Once you get to your last color, fill it in like normal. When you are finished you will notice that the design is fairly thin. To make it easier to pick up, flood the back of the design with any color you have leftover. You just want to build up the back so it’s more stable.
5. Let set so it hardens. I put mine in the fridge for about 15 minutes. When you are ready to apply it to your cake. Pick it up carefully, flip the design over, and place it on the cake.
Bonus Tip of the Day: Do you have problems filling icing bags by yourself? Place your bag in a tall glass and fill with ease!
I hope these instructions are clear, if you have any questions just ask!
I have been in a cake making mood lately. Since my dad looooves cake, I decided he would be the perfect recipient for this cake. I asked mom for a theme, but she was no help. Sooo, I thought and thought. Remembering Labor Day was this weekend, I decided I would make a tribute to his years in the Marine Corps! To some of you, this may not make sense, but my entire life (all 24 years of it) I thought that Memorial Day celebrated military members who had already died, and that Labor Day celebrated military members who are still alive. Thus, in my mind, in made since to make a Marine cake for my dad since he’s still alive. But after mentioning this idea to several friends and getting some funny looks, I decided maybe I should look up the meaning of Labor Day… much to my surprise, my idea of Labor Day was completely wrong! To be honest, I still kinda think the “real” meaning of Labor Day is kind of lame, so I’m going to continue celebrating Labor Day the way I always have.
So, thanks to all military members!! Here’s a cake for all the Marines, especially my dad!
The Marine Corps “emblem” is a white chocolate transfer. Most people choose a simple design the first time, but being the dare devil I am, I decide to jump in with both feet and no life preserver. After working on the emblem for so long, I was tired of cake, so please excuse the awful, bumpy icing.
Ooops, I gotta go. I’m babysitting one of the coaches kids during practice today and they just showed up. I’ll post a tutorial on how to do the transfer tomorrow. Promise!
Last week John and I were at his Dad’s house and I was talking to Hannah about her upcoming birthday party. She told me all about the pool party they were planning and the crafts they were going to make. Then I asked about the cake. Patti (John’s stepmom) mentioned that she thought about making and icecream cake (The one with ice cream bars and magic shells…. ohh I should make that soon.) But she didn’t seem too excited about it. All of a sudden a light bulb went off and she said “Nina, you make cakes!” I laughed and said I’d be happy to help.
So, yesterday Hannah came over and we made her cake. She helped with everything, mixing the batter, molding the figures, piping the grass… the entire idea was her idea too.. I just helped with technique ideas. Patti dropped Hannah off at my house around 11:30 at 5:30 we took her home with this!! The party will be held in their back yard and will include swimming in their Blue Blob pool. There will be 7 girls total at the party (Hannah and Amanda and 5 friends).
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If you look close you can see the “earthquake”. The car ride wasn’t so kind to the cake. Next time I make a cake, I will definetly bring some extra icing for patchwork. But they have a big “10″ candle that will go in front of the hole and you won’t even be able to see it.
Here are some up close pictures.
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We made each little girl that will be at the pool party. Hannah is the one floating on the raft (it looks like a raft they own) and she is sparkly since “she’s the birthday girl”. Amanda (our other sister) is the one in pink with blonde hair.
Hannah wanted to make sure it was realistic. So each girl has her own towel (in the color matching her swimsuit) waiting for when she gets out. The little dog under the umbrella is Katie, their puppy. And the little lifesavors are little rings to throw in the water and find.
I had sooo much fun making this cake with Hannah. I think she completely enjoyed herself also. Amanda is looking forward to coming over to make her birthday cake in January. Joe also said that he wants a cake for his birthday in September…. his whole family at the beach…. we’ll see if that cake happens…..
Last night one of my dear friends came over. Last week when we were hanging out we decided that we both needed to cook more, so now whenever we hang out, we are planning on cooking. Last night we decided to make Alton Brown’s Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip.
This dip was really easy to make and was also so delicious! I think it was a little too “artichoke-y” but John thought it was perfect. We bought some pita bread and baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes so it would be crunchy. Recipe to follow.
Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Dip Madness
1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach
11/2 cups thawed, chopped frozen artichoke hearts (I used a 12 oz jar)
6 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup grated Parmesan (I used between 1/2-3/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I omitted)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Boil spinach and artichokes in 1 cup of water until tender and drain. Discard liquid. Heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 minute or until hot and soft. Stir in rest of ingredients and serve hot.
Hello out there? Is anyone still reading this? I am so so sorry for the lack of updates this past few weeks. I recently got a small job promotion which has completely limited my use of internet for blogging purposes. But have no fear! Thursday afternoon I have wonderful people coming to install internet at my house!! (IT only took a year of your constant nagging reccomending CB)Yay!! So, hopefully I’ll get back into the blogging groove and I can start updating more often.
So today is John and mine’s 1 year anniversary!! I have the top tier of our wedding cake defrosting in our fridge, so let’s hope it tastes good!! I wrapped it up really good, so it at least has a chance at tasting alright. In case you want to see a glimpse of my wedding, here’s a litte highlight film that my videographer made for me.
Alex Dunn did an amazing job with my wedding. If you need a videographer and are in Arizona, try him, he’s great!!
Hopefully I haven’t lost all of my reader’s by now… I know it’s been 12 days since my last post, which is like 15 years in blogging time, but never fear, I am back. So, what has kept be busy for so long? We’ll the day after my last post John and I headed to Lake Dardanelle to suprise my grandparents (That’s what the Cupcake Flavor Search was in regards to). Every year they head up to the Lake with several extended family members for a week long camping trip. It was a lot of fun! We got the chance to hang out with several cousins (?) that we’ve never really been around and they are all such fun people. John and I are hoping to be able to go back next year and stay longer than just the weekend.
(Please don’t look at my gross hair. I forgot to pack shampoo, so I had to use Joy dish soap on my hair, lol!)
So, what kind of cupcakes did I make? Well, I forgot to stop at the store on my way home to pick up some ingredients needed for the amazing recipes mentioned, so I kind of made my own version of strawberry cupcakes. These aren’t as pretty as the master CB’s, but I think they are pretty still.
Last week was my birthday and John was so sweet. He woke up early and made me breakfast: sausage, biscuits, and eggs (my favorite). Then when I got home from work, I found this on the table:
I had printed off a pretzel recipe that I found on a blog and have been wanting to try them. He found it and decided to try making them. Apparently, “they are very easy and taste amazing out of the oven.” I just warmed mine up in the microwave for a couple minutes and they were delish.
Then my allergy problems hit. I have never ever had problems with allergies until this year. They are just awful! So, being the dr phobe that I am, I waited and waited and waited to go to the dr until Monday. Turns out I had a fever, major sinus/allergy problems, and 2 borderline ear infections, yuck. But thankfully I’m feeling better now, thanks for asking.
So, that’s been my life for the past 12 days, hopefully it won’t be 12 more before I have another update.
I am at a lost on what to cook, so I’m drawing on all my faithful viewers (all 5 of you ) to help me out. I’m going to a party this weekend. I’m wanting to bring a dessert, cupcakes I think. But I can’t think of what flavors I should make. (This is where you all come in..) Post me a comment with your favorite cupcake flavor (cake and icing). The winning combo will get a special surprise in the mail from me. I have to make these tonight, so comment today!
Edited to Add: This is an outside party. So, it will probably be pretty warm.
But have no fear! Thursday afternoon I have wonderful people coming to install internet at my house!! (IT only took a year of your constant 
