Veggie Bars

A few months ago I went with Kristen to church, and the teacher of the class we went to brought these veggie bars. They are so darn good! I went home, googled, and made the first chance I got! 

Check these bad boys out! I mean... I had to make the picture extra large so you could see all the goodness on here, the best part is you can pretty much use whatever veggies you want to!

Here are the directions. It's a nice counter to a buffet full of sweets, and you can feel healthy eating all the veggies (even if you have to ignore the crescent rolls and the cream cheese).

2 (10 1/8 ounce) packages crescent shaped dinner rolls
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 (1 ounce) package original ranch dressing
black olives, chopped
sharp cheddar cheese
choose you favorite vegetables, such as carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, red onions, radishes, bell pepper, zucchini, etc

Directions:
1 Preheat the over 350°F Lay out the rolls on a jellyroll pan to make a crust. Bake in a preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes; cool.
2 Combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and ranch dressing.
3 Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crescent crust.
4 Chop the veggies into small pieces; press the black olives and your choice of veggies into the cream cheese mixture.
5 Top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
6 Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, cut into bars and serve.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/vegetable-bars-56670#ixzz1aWt1y6nh

Let them eat Cake...

One day, we were eating dinner, and there was a knock on the door. I forced the kids to stay seated and I answered it. It was my neighbor and his then 6 year old son. With a little prompting from his dad, Zach said in one breath "Miss Emily, would you make my birthday cakes? I want one with Thomas and one with Lego Prince of Persia Sands of Time like this picture." Then he showed me a Prince of Persia Lego set instruction manual. This was long before his actual birthday (maybe a month in advance). The Thomas cake was for his family party and the Prince of Persia for his friend party.

Here's how the Thomas one came out-- it made me want to have a boy child who loved Thomas so I could make them this cake:

Tell me that's not adorable!

Also, it was my friend's daughter's birthday, so I made her cupcakes too... (I just like baking, ok?) And they turned out SUPER CUTE! I just used extra frosting from the Thomas cake, so there are some funky colors (like where the blue and red frostings were next to each other...) but how cute are these owls? 

I especially like the ones with the pretzel rod twig! It's sweet, chocolaty, salty, gummy, delicious and super easy! 

Green Chile Chicken Soup

With the cold weather on its way, I decided it was time for some yummy soup. I had researched a lot of recipes online, but none of them were exactly what I was wanting to eat. Plus they are portioned for, like, a restaurant. There are only two of us so here are the portions I used. I tend to not measure things with measuring cups or spoons so here is my best estimate at how to make this yummy soup.

1 cooked chicken breast, chopped or shredded
1 can chicken broth
1 can (the tiny 3.5 oz can) diced green chiles
1 can (I think it was a 10 oz can) green chile enchilada sauce
1/2 can of water
1/2 of a lime's juice
1 can white beans (I used great northern beans)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin

dash of pepper and salt
*Sour cream, shredded cheese, and chips to garnish

Add all of it into a pot and heat thoroughly.

It is delish! As a side note, you can add cilantro to the soup, but the hubs and I do not like it so we chose to omit it. Similar recipes use rice, once again due to preference we used beans. From the peanut gallery (i.e. my husband) he recommended more chicken (he likes his soup chunky, like chili) and less lime (he doesn't like lime...) but I thought it turned out just great!

Harry Potter Pillows!

When I saw these pillow covers on pinterest I knew that I needed to make them for my sister Rachel!! There were no directions, so I made it up as I went. (Actually I did a lot of figuring and sketching, then I winged it!)

Over all I love how they turned out!  I'm not totally happy with how plain Hermione is. It seems she needs some thing more-- blush on cheeks maybe? I sent them to Rachel after a few months of them sitting on my bookshelf, and she posted the following picture :)

Pizza of Amazingness

Yesterday I asked B what he wanted for dinner. He said Pizza, but it was a sports night, so we just didn't have time. I promised him pizza today.
K asked that it be all homemade (their mom usually does bobali crust and squeeze sauce.)
About 3:00 I started looking for pizza dough recipes. I immediately went to Our Best Bites because I <3 those girls.

For the kid's pizza I made the sauce found here, and Kelly literally scraped the pot out and licked the spoon afterwards. It was AMAZING.

And for the Crust I did this one. It was so, so , so good. So good. (Can I say that one more time?) So good.

The kids had traditional Pepperoni/cheese (red onions, green peppers). I had a 'specialty' pizza and pulled out some shredded rotisserie chicken, put the peppers, onions, some mushrooms AND some of this:

Throw on some cheese and follow the directions found here on Our Best Bites Pizza 101.

Compliments came from all around-- even J who ate his half cold out of the fridge. 

Family Pizza nights will never ever be the same!

Muffin tins: one of the world's best inventions.

Last night was the Air Force Birthday Ball. My boss being active duty AF, she and her husband went. Somehow, I got voluntold to have a pizza/ice cream party at our house with all the neighborhood kids. There were 4-5 little boys, and one little girl running wild around the house last night.
Wednesday, when I did the shopping, I picked up 3 cartons of ice cream; chocolate, vanilla and cookie dough. Yesterday, as I prepared for the party, I remembered seeing this on Pinterest:

source

I thought it was brilliant and worth a try. So I scooped 4 of each flavor into a lined muffin tin. I popped it in the freezer and several hours later when it was time for ice cream I just pulled out the muffin tin and told the kids they could have two scoops of different flavors. 

I popped the balls of ice cream into the plastic bowls (you don't think I'm crazy enough to want to do all those dishes, do you?) And the kids decorated to their heart's contents (whipped cream, sprinkles, chocolate syrup... the goods). 

My bosses even came home and were impressed with my ingenuity. (Thank you pinterest!)  

The upshot is: next time you have a party with lots of *super patient* children, give this a try. Brilliant I tell you. Brilliant.  

Fruit Pizza

Fruit pizza is one of our family's favorite desserts and I like to use it as my go-to dessert when we have company. There isn't any specific measurements I use, but after eye-balling it this past weekend this is what I came up with:

1 1/2 rolls sugar cookie dough (yes, you can make the dough, this is just WAY faster)
2 lbs strawberries
2 bananas
3 kiwis
1/2 package cream cheese (4 oz)
1/2 tub whipped cream
1 yoplait yogurt (I prefer peach or lemon)

First, set out your cream cheese and cookie dough for about 30 min so that they are soft enough to work with.
Roll out your cookie dough onto a cookie sheet until it covers the entire thing. Bake as directed BUT keep an eye on it. You may have to adjust to cooking time but it takes about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool.
In a medium sized bowl combine your cream cheese, whipped cream, and yogurt. Once the cookie has cooled, spread it evenly across the entire cookie.
I like to wait until the end to cut my fruit so that it all stays nice looking. Cut your strawberries horizontally (so they make circles) and layer those first. Then cut and layer on your bananas, followed by your cut up kiwis. I personally like to add berries on top, but most of my family doesn't like that. It does add nice coloring to add raspberries and blueberries.
Slice and enjoy!

My Ward's Cooking Group

My ward is... different. Or rather I am different. Remember the song from Sesame Street, one of these things is not like the others? I am that one thing. While 55% of my ward is children under the age of 6, 40% of the ward is their parents. Young, married, in the military, 2-4 children. The other 5% are the older generation of our ward, you know, the ones in their 40's whose kids are in youth programs. The upshot is that besides the gospel, we really have very little in common.

Then, this wonderful woman in my ward came up with the idea of having a cooking group once a month for us to get together, eat and exchange recipes! Everyone has food in common. In a stroke of brilliance, they put the recipes on a blog. Each month has a different theme:

• September = Salads
• October = Soups
• November = Thanksgiving Sides
• December = Cookie Exchange
• January = Breakfast
• February = Freezer Meals
• March = Italian
• April = Food Storage Meals
• May = Mexican/South American
• June = Chocolate

So, I'll make delicious food and post the recipes that I do, but I'll also let you know what was especially delicious! You should check it out:

http://fortmeadereliefsocietycooks.blogspot.com/ 

The layout makes me really happy too-- I almost thought about stealing it for this blog... 

Turkey, Egg and Cheese Muffins

I made something like this a couple of times for the kids for breakfast, but with school starting tomorrow, and K's bus coming at 6:40am, I knew we needed something pre made that we can just pop in the microwave to cut the normal cereal routine. I decided to cut the amount of biscuits in half and double the eggs so the kids get more protein. I also didn't have any thawed bacon so I used just lunch meat-- turkey today. We used 10 biscuits in 20 muffin cups and 9 eggs.

I got the recipe for this one here.

10 Pillsbury Biscuits
10 pieces of bacon, cooked crispy (or lunch meat, ham/sausage, etc)
4 eggs
3 Tablespoons milk
Pinches of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 10 muffin cups with cooking spray. (don't forget this step!)

2. Cut each of the biscuits into 8 pieces each, spreading them among 10 muffin cups. Lightly sprinkle the biscuit pieces with salt and pepper.

2. Crumble one slice of bacon over each biscuit-filled muffin cup.

3. Place eggs, milk, salt and pepper into a mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined. Pour evenly over each cup. With a fork make sure eggs get to the bottom and around each piece of biscuit. Top each with sprinkles of cheddar cheese and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from center of biscuits and cheese is golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin cup. Eat after a few minutes of cooling, or cool completely, store in airtight container and reheat in a toaster oven.

10 servings

Back to school, back to school... 

When Neighbors Give You Lemons.

Here at Ft. Meade we have the most amazing neighbors. They moved in just after we did and they are wonderful! This week, they went on vacation to upstate New York, up to the finger lakes, and I miss them dearly. However, before leaving the wife came over with two or three bags of groceries that won't last till they get back in a week. This included 6 lemons that have been staring at me for DAYS, I knew I'd have to do something with them, or they'd go bad. So today, I was feeling up to the challenge. So far I've made lemon curd which I didn't scorch this time. (Because really... how could you go wrong with that? And B asked for it.), I also made.

I also made Lemon Buttermilk Popsicles from Whipped the blog (they're also called easy-dreamy-lemon popsicles) They're in the freezer as we speak/as I type.

Finally, I made Lemon Sweet Rolls adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe's Orange Rolls. Or rather, I've made the dough, it is supposed to raise for 2-2 1/2 hours. I'm thinking we'll probably get it 1 1/2 and then I'll need to keep my momentum going!

Lemon Sweet Rolls

from melskitchencafe.com (Adapted)

*Makes 12-14 rolls/twists

Dough:

¾ cup buttermilk, warm (I pour the buttermilk in a glass liquid measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power)

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 large eggs

4 ¼ cups (21 ¼ ounces) flour

¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar

2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

Orange Filling:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Grated orange rind/zest from two large lemons (reserving 1/2 teaspoon grated rind for the glaze below)

Orange Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 1  large lemon

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind/zest reserved from the filling above

For the dough, whisk the warmed buttermilk and butter together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (or you can use a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or electric handheld mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and eggs and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (knead for 15-18 minutes by hand). If after 5 minutes of kneading, the dough is still overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but has a slight tacky feel when pressed between your fingertips. (See this tutorial for a visual.)

Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover the top tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, around 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

For the filling, combine all the filling ingredients (reserving 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest for the glaze) in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter (I use my trusty roul’pat for this step) and press it into about a 16 by 12-inch rectangle (if you have doubled the recipe, split the dough in half and roll out one half at a time). Gently brush the filling mixture over the rectangle, using an offset spatula or rubber spatula.

Lift the longest edge closest to you and begin rolling the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and roll the log so it is seam side down. Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 12 evenly sized rolls,more or less. You can slice them thinner or thicker as you like. For a traditional cinnamon-roll-look, arrange the rolls cut side down on a lined or lightly greased baking pan. If you want to try the twist method, one at a time grab each sliced roll and holding on to either end simultaneously pull and twist the roll into a figure eight and place it on the prepared pan. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden on top and cooked through. While the rolls are baking, mix together the glaze ingredients. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls.

As most of my creations are still in process, You'll just have to wait for the pictures :) 

Tip du jour

Recently I have been eating dairy free to help my baby's tummy. In doing so, I have deeply missed chocolate. Then I remembered something...there is no dairy in canned frosting! I remembered that I had some left over chocolate frosting in the fridge (don't judge) so I had a teaspoon full just to take the edge off. And then I remembered this wonderful tip to frostings:

In order to get that smoothness that you would get from a wonderful frosting (whether from the can or bakery), add 1-2 tablespoons of corn syrup when you are making your frosting. It will help the powdered sugar break down without dissolving, which makes it smoother and eliminates that "powdered sugar" taste.

Quick Chocolate fix...

I've heard about this, but tried it till today. I wanted something sweet, but didn't want to take the time to make it. Also, my boss has a large party on Monday that she is doing the prep-work for, so I don't want to clog up the kitchen.
I googled (as I always do), and made the first recipe that came up: Magic Chocolate Mug Cake on Food.com

Mix the following together in a small bowl
4Tbsp Flour
4Tbsp Sugar
2Tbsp Cocoa
1/8tsp baking powder
1/8tsp salt

Then add:
1 egg
3 Tbsp Milk
3Tbsp Oil
one small dash Vanilla

Mix it all up and pour it into a greased tall big mug
Stick it in your microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes (except that my microwave is super strong, so it took less than that, so watch it.)

I had some leftover PB frosting and that added some deliciousness to my cake.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut butter frosting.

I googled "best chocolate cupcakes" and found the following site: (Because we don't really keep cake mixes in the house) http://cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com/2009/07/best-chocolate-cupcakes-ever-chocolate.html

Then I pulled up the Sister's Cafe Peanut butter frosting recipe:
http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2010/09/chocolate-cupcakes-with-peanut-butter-frosting-2

And with their powers combined:

(actually this is a little funny since I wasn't allowed to watch Captain Planet as a kid...)

It was D-E-licious! I wish it made more than 12 cupcakes... it's a lot of work to just make one pans worth. Also, the kids ate them, but maybe don't appreciate the rich dark chocolate...

My cute room part 2

In my sitting room upstairs, I knew I wanted a wall of pictures. Most of them are of people/places I love. The vinyl I got at the dollar tree (sweet, right?) it says "Go Confidently in the Direction of your dreams. -Thoreau" And I love it. It makes me happy looking at it above my futon every day.

Veggie Bars

Last weekend I went to my sister's ward with her. Because I didn't want to go to Relief Society alone, I went with her to Young Women's where she teaches the 14-15 year old girls every other week. Last week was the other teacher's turn to teach, and she made these, which are DELICIOUS! I think I ate 5 of them that day. When I was invited to bunco night with ladies from my ward I knew just what I wanted to bring.

Veggie Bars

2 pkg. crescent rolls
1/4 c. sour cream
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
6 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 env. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
3/4 c. each of following, chopped:
Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, green onion, seeded tomatoes, green peppers (or whatever other veggies you have in your fridge)


Roll crescent rolls out flat. Bake 10 minutes until lightly brown. Cool. Cream together the sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise and the Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Cut the rolls into 2 x 3 inch squares. Spread creamed mixture over rolls. Sprinkle chopped and shredded vegetables over rolls and press in. Cover with shredded Cheddar cheese.

Nom Nom Nom...

Crocheted baby blanket round two

Tiffany and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. I think it was 3rd or 4th grade when we were really good friends. When I lived in CO we got to hang out a few times and it was so great to catch up after several years! She is also expecting her first baby, a girl! And I, in my domestic stage, decided to crochet her a blanket. I searched for free patterns for a while when I found these two that I used and someday, when I have my own babies I will make them this blanket.
For the blanket part:
http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=4368&cps=21191
For the edging:
http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/TiramisuBlanket.pdf
I love love love how it turned out, and my Tiffany friend also loved it, (and her husband thought I bought it; success!)
Look at that texture!

 It's not square... but it's pretty. And I know it's white... for a baby... but it's so pretty!

Who's having a baby next? I'll make you a blanket :)

[Bow]tie baby onsies

I found the directions for my following project on these blogs:

http://www.merrimentdesign.com/images/tie_onesie_bodysuit_kathy_beymer.pdf

http://www.merrimentdesign.com/sewn-tie-applique-baby-onesie-bodysuit.php

But first... look what I got me: Isn't it beautiful? I am a big fan. 

 My BFHS (Best Friend from High School) is having her third little boy any day now. I'd seen onsies with (bow)ties sewn onto them a few different times and at Joann's the other day I saw the following pack of fat quarters (at 50% off!) so I picked it up, along with a 4 pack of onsies.

 And made the following ties:

 They're all different, none of them are perfect, but I think they are so darn cute!

 I just put them back in the mesh bag they came in and shipped it off the other day. Now I'm just waiting for baby pictures/notice that she got them!

I was talking to one of my friends the other day and she paid me the best compliment: she said "I can't wait until you hit the point where you are a mom and you make the rest of us look like amateurs!" Maybe that's true, maybe not, but I'm going to practice making baby stuff till that happens for me. Then my kids will be the cutest in town!

My cute room part 1.

I do a lot of blog surfing. I like to see what there is out there, and pre pinterest I bookmarked them for further perusal and/or creating.
When I saw these:

I decided that I loved them and wanted to make some for me.
A trip to the dollar store for q-tips and styrofoam balls later, and some color inspiration from my shower curtain:

Brought the following results:

Cute, huh? And they're WAY easy, food coloring + water + q-tips = cute easy cheap 'flowers'

Featured!

I was looking at a fb post for one of the blogs I follow: Pressed down, shaken together, and I saw that the picture they posted looked very familiar. 

A few days ago I linked up to one of their link parties for cupcakes, and today they featured the Dr Pepper Chocolate cupcakes I shared on the blog a while ago! (I of course stole the recipe from Sister's Cafe, and gave proper credit.) But none the less I was on the top of the list!!

I feel special!

Check it out: http://shakentogether.blogspot.com/2011/07/month-long-cupcake-party-double.html

Also, I promise to blog this next week. I've done some pretty neato projects and they deserve to be seen!

I HAVE ARRIVED!

Today my boss was showing something in my room to the neighbor (which made me embarassed of the cluttered mess of my couch, which I cleaned up tonight.) I was in the midst of sewing throw pillows for the couch -- which turned out beautifully, I'll post them w/ links to the tutorials later-- and Leah (the neighbor, who I really like) said, and I quote:

"You are quite the 

Domestic Goddess 

now aren't you?"

That's right! Those very words.

Folks, I have now accomplished all of my significant life goals.

I can die happy. 

(Scratch that, in opposition to my previous Facebook post about never having children or puppies, I concede that I'll probably have to have one or the other, since I don't like cats, and living alone never appealed to me, so either I'll get married and have kids, or not get married and get a puppy, but probably one who will happily ride in a purse. I guess I can't die yet. Also, I think it would make my mom sad.)

Rolo Cookies

Today I needed some sheets put on my bed, and also a Dr. Pepper, but didn't want to go down to the basement for the 500th time in 15 minutes. So I asked B to go for me (I know, lazy). He told me yes, if I would make him some of "those yummy fudgy cookies you gave me and K at lunch the other day". He was talking about these.

Seriously, they are amazing, and not just for sentimental reasons, mostly because they are delicious. But they do make me think of this place:

and of these people:

And those are some very, very happy thoughts.

The cooks made us these cookies super often. Once a week maybe... Definitely not often enough! You should make these cookies, and then tell me how awesome they are. I, on the other hand, am going to be making these cookies with my kids this time (the last batch I made with my cute friend Meagan, and they were delicious, and I ate like half a batch by myself! And I have a hard time even feeling bad about it.)

Description:
YUMMY!!!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 t. Baking Soda
1 Cup Butter
2 t. Vanilla
2 T. Sugar
3/4 Cups Cocoa
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
48 Rolos (You can also use the caramel filled kisses... I imagine that you could come up with some pretty delicious combinations I'm thinking the mint filled kisses....)

Directions:
Combine flour, cocoa, and soda. Set aside.   Beat sugar (both kinds) and butter until blended.   Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry mixture. Shape into small balls. Press Rolos in each center of ball and cover with dough.   Roll in (the 2 T.) sugar.   Bake on un-greased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Number Of Servings:Makes 4 dozen (The number of rolos in a bag-- ish, convenient, huh?

Chinese extravaganza! (now with pictures)

So here, I have a lack of friends. (Don't cry for me...COME VISIT!) But I have an 8 year old and a 10 year old kind of at my mercy. For example, on Wednesday we have the maids come, and so we like to get out of the house. This means I get to choose a museum to go to :)

It also means that tonight, when I decided I was craving chinese food, that I could force the children to make it with me!

So I made Fried Rice, ala Sister Okabe. And we made shuijiaos (swey jows)-- pot stickers! (though apparently the name shuijiao is just for the boiled kind and I fried some of them... I think the kids enjoyed it,

My dad served his mission in Taiwan, and one of the things we do on a semi-regular basis in our house is make shuijiaos. I came across this recipe recently, and it piqued my desire to make some. I talked to my mom this morning and she told me that Dad always said 1/3 lean beef, 1/3 pork and 1/3 cabbage. This recipe used 1/3 sausage rather than just pork, and it was delicious!

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb sausage (just jimmy dean regular sausage)
1/2 head of cabbage shredded
2 cups carrots shredded
2-3 green onions
a largish scoop of minced garlic
a medium scoop of minced ginger

You mix all this together then wrap it up in wanton/pot sticker wrappers (check out the farm girl's recipe/pictures)

At home we always boiled them, for 10 ish minutes (you want to make sure they're done so you don't get raw pork...). Farm Girl give instructions on how to fry them.

Boiled

ALSO, I LOVE her dipping sauce, it way good... Just one part rice wine vinegar, one part soy sauce, and then I added more garlic/ginger, and you could add hot sauce for a kick if you want to.

B voted that he liked the boiled ones better, and I think I do too; they tasted like home. K and dad liked the fried ones.

Now I just need some dessert!

coming soon: a healthy eating killer.

For serious. 

My friend Meagan is visiting here in MD, and invited me over, and we made the most delicious, amazing, wonderful cookies.

Here's the hint:

Yes! It is as awesome as it looks! Rainbow Cake with lemon curd filling and whipped cream frosting.

So The family I work for had their Aunt Mary come into town and it was her 70th birthday! (Also, K's been going CRAZY at home with her broken leg.) So we decided to go all out on the cake!

I'd seen the rainbow cake a long time ago, and thought it might be time to pull it out! I followed Oven Love's link to Wisk Kid: Say it with Cake and used it for our cake recipe!

White Cake (but not really)


2 sticks (226 g) butter, room temp
2 1/3 c (466 g) sugar
5 egg whites, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 c (375 g) flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 1/2 c (355 g) milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple GEL food coloring. Liquid will not be vibrant enough!

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Oil and line well! how ever many 9” cake pans you have (We had 2 and just reused them).

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites (I cracked them all into one bowl) and add them a little at a time. Add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Then, alternating between wet and dry, add the milk and flour mixture in two parts.

Divide the batter amongst 6 bowls and then whisk a fair amount of the appropriate food color into each bowl. Keep in mind that the color of the unbaked batter will be the color of the baked batter. Pour into the pans and bake for 15 minutes each.

When you remove them from the oven, let them rest on the cooling rack, in the pan, for ten minutes. Then flip, cover, and let cool.



I left the parchment on the bottom of the cakes for stability until we stacked them as the layers were quite thin.

While the Cakes were baking/cooling. We tackled the lemon curd.

LEMON CURD FILLING
We doubled the recipe found here.

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

This is not my picture, it's from the recipe, but it's good to know what it should look like!

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 min. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil. (AND DON'T LET IT SCORCH!)

This is not my picture, it's from the recipe, but it's good to know what it should look like!

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

We used most of it for the cake, but some of it was left for snacking :

Finally the WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING!

It's just basic whipped cream: 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 Tbsp sugar. 

But the recipe I used said to mix the ingredients in the bowl you'll use and let them all chill together for 30 minutes or so in the fridge. 

(Were I to do this again, I would make 3 cups worth of whipping cream.)

So we started stacking the cakes, purple on the bottom, red on the top. On each level we piped a circle of whipped cream to keep the lemon curd in, then spooned lemon curd into the center. 

Then we covered the whole thing in the whipped cream frosting. 

When you cut it, it looks like this:

And when you eat it, it looks like this (for about 30 seconds before you DEVOUR the rest of it) 

Seriously friends. This might be the best cake I've ever had. Moist, delicious, light and airy... Oh my YUM!

Keeping my hands busy

I recently told someone that I am unable to keep my hands still while watching TV (perfect example is right now; I'm watching TV and blogging/uploading pictures). The exception to that is when I have someone's hand to hold,  (which might be one of my favorite pastimes). Alas, I'm sitting on my futon alone (yes, I have a futon-- the mattress comes in tomorrow and the comfort level will increase 500%! Don't worry, I stole giant couch pillows for the time being). Anyway....

Another problem I have is that I always like to be going. My life in Provo moved at what felt like 100 miles an hour (except when I worked, then it slowed down a bit) but I got to Colorado and needed something to do that didn't involve going to the mall, or out to eat, or frankly spending money. I don't need more stuff!

So while wandering through Hobby Lobby one day, I saw a crochet pattern and eureka! Decided to purchase yarn to make a baby blanket for my dear friend Rachel's expected baby. After all, if I won't be able to see baby Julia any time soon, I might as well make something for her! So I did, and here's how it turned out!
(I hope she's gotten it in the mail already!)

I LOVE it! So... if you're having a baby, and I like you, you might just get something from me, because It's become an addiction. I have another one in process, here's a sneak peak :)

but in white, and with a WAY better border :-)