My friend Steshie's little girl Karsen is having a 'pink John Deere' birthday party this weekend, so she ordered cookies from me (in support of my walk for breast cancer) for the party! I think they turned out pretty well...Hope y'all enjoy!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Karsen's Birthday Cookies!
My friend Steshie's little girl Karsen is having a 'pink John Deere' birthday party this weekend, so she ordered cookies from me (in support of my walk for breast cancer) for the party! I think they turned out pretty well...Hope y'all enjoy!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Best Carrot Cake. Ever.
So it's a friend's birthday today and on a whim I decided to whip up one of my most requested cakes. Not to mention, it's not on the blog yet - why have I been holding out on y'all?!?!
And to be 100% honest - I just found this recipe a few years back. I haven't made ANY modifications. It simply doesn't need any. It's that good. Just make it. You can thank me later...
Pumpkin Carrot Cake
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup (about 3 medium) carrots, grated
1 cup coconut, flaked
1 1/4 cups nuts, chopped, divided
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Directions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease two 9-inch-round cake pans.
COMBINE flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Combine milk and lemon juice in liquid measuring cup (mixture will appear curdled).
BEAT eggs, pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, pineapple, carrots and milk mixture in large mixer bowl; mix well. Gradually add flour mixture; beat until combined. Stir in coconut and 1 cup nuts. Pour into prepared cake pans.
BAKE for 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
FROST between layers, on sides and top of cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Garnish with remaining nuts. Store in refrigerator.
FOR CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:COMBINE 11 ounces softened cream cheese, 1/3 cup softened butter and 3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 teaspoons orange juice and 1 teaspoon grated orange peel; beat until combined.
Peppermint Oreo Stuffed Brownie Truffles
Hi. It's been awhile. Thought I'd make it up to you by giving you a recipe with the longest title ever! These aren't for the faint of heart - they're not difficult, just time consuming...
So I was blog perusing the other day and came upon Cookie and Cups stuffed brownie truffles. She'd used Rolos, cookie dough, mini Reese's and mini candy bars - I decided to incorporate 2 recipes I've been wanting to try - Oreo Balls and these Stuffed Brownie Truffles.
I started by baking a box mix of brownies according to the directions on the box. I baked them on an 11x17 pan so they were thin and baked up quickly. It's imperative that you don't overbake the brownies! Once baked, let them cool completely.
While those were in the oven I whipped up a recipe of Oreo Balls (crumble a package of oreos in the food processor (set aside 1/4c), then add 8oz of cream cheese and process into a course mixture again) using Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joe's (their version of oreos, only available at Christmas time). Another option would be to use regular oreos and simply add a few drops of peppermint extract in along with the cream cheese. Once processed, I rolled these into 1/2" balls and put them in the freezer to harden.
(I actually covered the brownies and didn't come back to these until the next day. You can space them out according to your schedule.)
The next day I crumbled the baked brownies by hand and then took an oreo ball and wrapped the brownie crumbles around it - it took some finagling, but it works - just be patient and it comes together! At the end each ball was ~1" in diameter. I put them in the freezer to harden.
(I left them overnight and did the next step the next morning.)
For the final step I melted some candy melts (I used the white mint flavor to give them an extra punch of mint) in a double boiler on the stove with a couple tablespoons of crisco (add crisco to make the mixture more fluid and 'drippy' - want it to coat the spoon, not clump to it), dipped the brownie truffles in the melted chocolate and set them on wax paper. I sprinkled the tops with the reserved crumbled oreos from the first day.
And that's it! Like I said, takes some time, but it can be done in stages, and while you're watching tv, etc.
Enjoy!
So I was blog perusing the other day and came upon Cookie and Cups stuffed brownie truffles. She'd used Rolos, cookie dough, mini Reese's and mini candy bars - I decided to incorporate 2 recipes I've been wanting to try - Oreo Balls and these Stuffed Brownie Truffles.
I started by baking a box mix of brownies according to the directions on the box. I baked them on an 11x17 pan so they were thin and baked up quickly. It's imperative that you don't overbake the brownies! Once baked, let them cool completely.
While those were in the oven I whipped up a recipe of Oreo Balls (crumble a package of oreos in the food processor (set aside 1/4c), then add 8oz of cream cheese and process into a course mixture again) using Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joe's (their version of oreos, only available at Christmas time). Another option would be to use regular oreos and simply add a few drops of peppermint extract in along with the cream cheese. Once processed, I rolled these into 1/2" balls and put them in the freezer to harden.
(I actually covered the brownies and didn't come back to these until the next day. You can space them out according to your schedule.)
The next day I crumbled the baked brownies by hand and then took an oreo ball and wrapped the brownie crumbles around it - it took some finagling, but it works - just be patient and it comes together! At the end each ball was ~1" in diameter. I put them in the freezer to harden.
(I left them overnight and did the next step the next morning.)
For the final step I melted some candy melts (I used the white mint flavor to give them an extra punch of mint) in a double boiler on the stove with a couple tablespoons of crisco (add crisco to make the mixture more fluid and 'drippy' - want it to coat the spoon, not clump to it), dipped the brownie truffles in the melted chocolate and set them on wax paper. I sprinkled the tops with the reserved crumbled oreos from the first day.
And that's it! Like I said, takes some time, but it can be done in stages, and while you're watching tv, etc.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Cookies for Cancer Research!
Ok - so I'm still a little short in my fundraising attempts for my breast cancer walk in April. I've raised $1520 of $1800, so there's only $270 left to go! One of the things I've gotten into over the past couple of years has been decorated sugar cookies. These are greatly popular at kid's birthday parties and wedding/baby showers. So I thought I'd combine the two in hopes to reach my goal...
For a donation of $50, you will get 3 dozen cookies decorated according to your 'party theme'. Not only is this a GREAT deal (honestly these types of cookies are usually $2+/ea at a bakery), but your 'purchase' will be tax deductible.
Please contact me regarding the date and theme of your party and then you can make a donation HERE.
If you need more than 3 dozen cookies, just let me know and we'll work out a donation amount based on the amount of cookies you'd like.
Just to give you an idea of some of the cookies I've done in the past, here are some pictures:
Cookies for Meg's baby shower for Charlie:
For a donation of $50, you will get 3 dozen cookies decorated according to your 'party theme'. Not only is this a GREAT deal (honestly these types of cookies are usually $2+/ea at a bakery), but your 'purchase' will be tax deductible.
Please contact me regarding the date and theme of your party and then you can make a donation HERE.
If you need more than 3 dozen cookies, just let me know and we'll work out a donation amount based on the amount of cookies you'd like.
Just to give you an idea of some of the cookies I've done in the past, here are some pictures:
Cookies for Meg's baby shower for Charlie:
Cookies for Cora's barnyard birthday:
Cookies as cake decorations for Courtney's baby shower for Zoe:
Cookie Favors for Meredith's baby shower for Morgan:
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
12 Treats of Christmas
Ok, so each year the Christmas season comes around and people start stressing over gifts and wrapping, etc, etc, etc. A couple of years ago I found Advent Conspiracy and decided to do things a little differently. Instead of buying gifts for each person in the family, I decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. So I spend $35 each month, about the equivalent of a Christmas gift, and someone in the world has medical care, education and gets to know about Jesus. That's better than any physical gift I could give my family in my opinion.
But, because I still like to have stuff under my tree, I've started doing Twelve Treats of Christmas! This year I tried quite a few new things and really enjoyed my time in the kitchen. I got to wrap them all individually and then put them in bags I'd stamped and tied up with an ornament I made. I loved it, and think most of the recipients did as well.
Here are the links to the treats I made:
Gingerbread Biscotti (My first attempt at biscotti - and it was easy and tasty - will definitely be trying more...)
Peppermint Marshmallows (I know, I know, WHY in the world make homemade marshmallows? Because they're AWESOME! SO much better than the plain ol store brand!)
Almond Roca (My mom's favorite! I burned it a little this year :o(, I went by temperature, next year I think I'm going to just focus on how it looks!)
Chocolate Nutella Fudge with Sea Salt (How do you make fudge even better? By adding Nutella and a touch of sea salt!)
Vanilla Caramels with Fleur de Sel (Homemade caramels! So much easier than I thought it'd be, and SO much better than store-bought!)
Pecan Pralines (I'll tweak this a little bit next time - I went with the 'bars' rather than spooning them and letting them spread into the 'circle's - this led to a lot of breaking when I cut them up - I'll try the spoon technique next time.)
Poppy Chow (A simple spin on the typical 'puppy chow')
Peanutbutter Brownies (Holy Moses these are as good as the first time. Definite winner!)
Pecan Pie Bites (My dad liked these a lot the first time I made them, so I thought I'd make them for him again.)
Vanilla Bean Shortbread (Another recipe I made for my dad - he's not real big on the really rich sweets.)
I also made, but don't have the recipes for:
- Snickerdoodles
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 5-star Brownies
I know that's technically 13, but I split the dough for the cookies - made 1/2 of it into Snickerdoodles and the other 1/2 into chocolate chip cookies, so I'm claiming it as only one! ;)
Enjoy!
But, because I still like to have stuff under my tree, I've started doing Twelve Treats of Christmas! This year I tried quite a few new things and really enjoyed my time in the kitchen. I got to wrap them all individually and then put them in bags I'd stamped and tied up with an ornament I made. I loved it, and think most of the recipients did as well.
Here are the links to the treats I made:
Gingerbread Biscotti (My first attempt at biscotti - and it was easy and tasty - will definitely be trying more...)
Peppermint Marshmallows (I know, I know, WHY in the world make homemade marshmallows? Because they're AWESOME! SO much better than the plain ol store brand!)
Almond Roca (My mom's favorite! I burned it a little this year :o(, I went by temperature, next year I think I'm going to just focus on how it looks!)
Chocolate Nutella Fudge with Sea Salt (How do you make fudge even better? By adding Nutella and a touch of sea salt!)
Vanilla Caramels with Fleur de Sel (Homemade caramels! So much easier than I thought it'd be, and SO much better than store-bought!)
Pecan Pralines (I'll tweak this a little bit next time - I went with the 'bars' rather than spooning them and letting them spread into the 'circle's - this led to a lot of breaking when I cut them up - I'll try the spoon technique next time.)
Poppy Chow (A simple spin on the typical 'puppy chow')
Peanutbutter Brownies (Holy Moses these are as good as the first time. Definite winner!)
Pecan Pie Bites (My dad liked these a lot the first time I made them, so I thought I'd make them for him again.)
Vanilla Bean Shortbread (Another recipe I made for my dad - he's not real big on the really rich sweets.)
I also made, but don't have the recipes for:
- Snickerdoodles
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 5-star Brownies
I know that's technically 13, but I split the dough for the cookies - made 1/2 of it into Snickerdoodles and the other 1/2 into chocolate chip cookies, so I'm claiming it as only one! ;)
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Oak Ridge Boys, Beth Moore, Blogs and Life!
Sorry I was a little absent over the weekend - just didn't get around to blogging. After I finish this post, my goal is to find all of the links for the Christmas treats I made and finally finish that post as well...
Music Dabble:
Speaking of this weekend, there was an unexpected turn of events on Saturday and I ended up in Galveston seeing none other than The Oak Ridge Boys.
Music Dabble:
Speaking of this weekend, there was an unexpected turn of events on Saturday and I ended up in Galveston seeing none other than The Oak Ridge Boys.
Wowza. Definitely a good time, but so much to take in! Ha ha! First of all, my friend and I were the youngest people there my a LONG SHOT (other than some kids that were friends with the ORB with the beard). The ORB's draw out a full house, and I'm not sure why I expected anything different, but it was definitely an older crowd. Unfortunately the 'ooom boppa mow mow' guy was really rude after the show and acted as if the fans were an inconvenience. Which sucks. But the bearded guy (William Lee Gibson) was SO NICE! Took the time to sign everything that people wanted signed, took all the pictures that people wanted taken (some of them twice, ahem), and was genuine. His buddy should take a lesson...
Overall, it was awesome to see a band from my childhood live. There were quite a few songs I forgot about, but they were fun to hear. I'm sure I saw them at the rodeo when I was little, but it was fun to see a show that I'll actually remember!
Spiritual Dabble:
Can I just say I love studying and digging into the bible under the direction of Beth Moore? She absolutely amazes me and I'm so glad that God has given her the gift that He did and that she answered the call to use it in such a powerful way! Currently, she's teaching the book of James, which I LOVE. We've been to two sessions and we are through James 1:1. Ha ha! Obviously we don't go verse by verse as the entire session is only 8 weeks, but it's somewhat laughable. I'm going tonight with my girlfriends and it's one of the highlights of my week!
Blog Dabble:
There are so many blogs I follow on an (ir)regular basis. Thank God for Google Reader! I'd never be able to be so 'productive' without it! I sort my blogs into different categories (Friends/Health/Inspirational/Food/Business News/Other), which helps me when I'm looking for certain types of info. My Google Reader is never completely read, but at least there's always something to read, right? I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites...
- For those of you that are doing, or interested in, the new Weight Watchers program, a great blog to follow for recipes and ideas is Danica's Daily. She also has her own forum (Friends of Weight Watchers?) where you can connect with others. I'm not doing the program, so I haven't joined in on that, but I find that she has some great general info and recipes, so I read it pretty regularly!
- For inspiration, I highly suggest Melanie, aka Big Mama. She's a mom, an Aggie, a Christian and FUNNY! Her antics with her daughter crack me up. So if you're looking for a light-hearted laugh, she's a good place to visit...
- Also for laughs, I recently found A Bad Case of Dates. These make me laugh and cringe at the same time!
- There are SO many good food blogs, so I'll just throw a few up here and come back with more later... Here are my recommendations for today: Evil Shenanigans, Annie's Eats and Sing for Your Supper.
Life Dabble:
Ok - I've gotta run (therefore the Christmas Treats post will wait til tomorrow). But life has been pretty good other than a generally crappy Monday that I will gladly not repeat any time soon. I've been working out and (mostly) eating right. I should probably be more stringent, but I'm just trying to do what works. In January a couple of things I implemented that are really working for me are a morning 'reflection time' where I go through my day, my goals and read some other things to get me in the right frame of mind to start my day. I've really enjoyed that time to get myself together. Also I bought 4 huge water bottles in order to spur along my water intake. It's going ok. Still need to improve. My goal for February is to institute morning workouts so I'll be ready when rodeo season hits. I also should start tracking again. I'm so bad at that...
Ok - signing off! Be blessed!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Infamous Banana Bread and Sean McConnell
Ok - it's day 2! It's late...but I'm back! There's some commitment!
Music Dabble:
I'm starting with this because lately it's rocked my world. Seriously. I went with a few friends and saw Sean McConnell at a bar in The Woodlands called Dosey Doe's, which is a bar/gourmet restaurant/coffee house all in one. (Sidenote: the coffee is A-MA-ZING! I want some right now!) The history of the building is really neat and it has some GREAT acoustics. Anyways... it ended up being a full band acoustic show, and I'd never seen them that way. I've loved his acoustic shows and loved the full band shows, but was really excited to see the stripped down full band show.
And it did not disappoint one little bit! It ranks as one of the top 5 shows I've EVER seen. I'm not kidding - I could talk your ear off about some of the shows I've been lucky enough to be a part of, and this was one of the 'magical' ones. I was AMPED when I left, when I woke up the next day and for the days that followed. Mainly because of a new song Sean sang called 'Praise the Lord'.
Sean's not a Christian-artist, but he's definitely a Christian and that shines through in the music he writes. Which means a lot to me because my Christian faith is my foundation and really important to me. He prefaced the song by telling us that it was about finding out what religion and a relationship with God really meant. I knew exactly what he was talking about as it was a process I went through in my late 20's. So this song struck a STRONG chord with me. I can't share the actual song with you as it's not on a CD yet, but HERE IS THE LINK TO A VIDEO - please, please, please check it out. It's just a small slice of his mastery when it comes to lyrics. If it's something that interests you, I urge you to check out more of his work - I'm floored by his talents...
Recipe Dabble:
Speaking of the Sean McConnell crew, they are often the recipients of what I create in the kitchen, for a few reasons.
1. They travel in a van. 5 guys, 1 van, 1 trailer. And they are making the run from TN to TX more and more often. So I try to 'sweeten' the trip when possible!
2. It gets it out of my kitchen.
3. They appreciate it - and let me know that they are always up for goodies!
As a side note, the other most common recipients of my kitchen creations are Wade Bowen's guys - they love and appreciate it too!
And last week - I got to see BOTH of my bands! That called for some work in the kitchen! So I made their favorite, my banana bread. I've posted the healthy version of my banana bread in the past, but some have requested the 'regular' recipe, which is what I have been making for these guys. I made it in muffin form last week because it was easier to split that way, and it only took 20 minutes to bake, rather than an hour and a half with 2 loaves! So here's the recipe - sorry for the shoddy cell phone picture!
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans. Top with streusel (recipe below).
3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
(Makes ~32 muffins, bake for 20 minutes; or 2 regular loaf pans, bake for ~90 min, start checking at 75 min)
Streusel Topping recipe:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter (maybe a little more...)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix together until crumbly.
Fitness Dabble:
Another 3 mile loop today! I need to get to the GYM. My strength training is seriously lacking. I think I'll hit it up tomorrow and Sunday this weekend... But overall, I've done something almost every day, and that's an improvement over last week. I'll take gradual improvements! My food has been pretty much spot-on, so that's good.
That's enough dabbling for today, more to talk about, but I'll save it for later!
Music Dabble:
I'm starting with this because lately it's rocked my world. Seriously. I went with a few friends and saw Sean McConnell at a bar in The Woodlands called Dosey Doe's, which is a bar/gourmet restaurant/coffee house all in one. (Sidenote: the coffee is A-MA-ZING! I want some right now!) The history of the building is really neat and it has some GREAT acoustics. Anyways... it ended up being a full band acoustic show, and I'd never seen them that way. I've loved his acoustic shows and loved the full band shows, but was really excited to see the stripped down full band show.
And it did not disappoint one little bit! It ranks as one of the top 5 shows I've EVER seen. I'm not kidding - I could talk your ear off about some of the shows I've been lucky enough to be a part of, and this was one of the 'magical' ones. I was AMPED when I left, when I woke up the next day and for the days that followed. Mainly because of a new song Sean sang called 'Praise the Lord'.
Sean's not a Christian-artist, but he's definitely a Christian and that shines through in the music he writes. Which means a lot to me because my Christian faith is my foundation and really important to me. He prefaced the song by telling us that it was about finding out what religion and a relationship with God really meant. I knew exactly what he was talking about as it was a process I went through in my late 20's. So this song struck a STRONG chord with me. I can't share the actual song with you as it's not on a CD yet, but HERE IS THE LINK TO A VIDEO - please, please, please check it out. It's just a small slice of his mastery when it comes to lyrics. If it's something that interests you, I urge you to check out more of his work - I'm floored by his talents...
Recipe Dabble:
Speaking of the Sean McConnell crew, they are often the recipients of what I create in the kitchen, for a few reasons.
1. They travel in a van. 5 guys, 1 van, 1 trailer. And they are making the run from TN to TX more and more often. So I try to 'sweeten' the trip when possible!
2. It gets it out of my kitchen.
3. They appreciate it - and let me know that they are always up for goodies!
As a side note, the other most common recipients of my kitchen creations are Wade Bowen's guys - they love and appreciate it too!
And last week - I got to see BOTH of my bands! That called for some work in the kitchen! So I made their favorite, my banana bread. I've posted the healthy version of my banana bread in the past, but some have requested the 'regular' recipe, which is what I have been making for these guys. I made it in muffin form last week because it was easier to split that way, and it only took 20 minutes to bake, rather than an hour and a half with 2 loaves! So here's the recipe - sorry for the shoddy cell phone picture!
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
3 cups white sugar
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Dust pans lightly with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and 3 cups sugar. Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in salt, baking soda and flour. Stir in nuts. Divide into prepared pans. Top with streusel (recipe below).
3. Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
(Makes ~32 muffins, bake for 20 minutes; or 2 regular loaf pans, bake for ~90 min, start checking at 75 min)
Streusel Topping recipe:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons butter (maybe a little more...)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix together until crumbly.
Fitness Dabble:
Another 3 mile loop today! I need to get to the GYM. My strength training is seriously lacking. I think I'll hit it up tomorrow and Sunday this weekend... But overall, I've done something almost every day, and that's an improvement over last week. I'll take gradual improvements! My food has been pretty much spot-on, so that's good.
That's enough dabbling for today, more to talk about, but I'll save it for later!
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