Blueberry Bread

I've decided to start posting my recipes. This is mostly for my own benefit, so that I always have access to them even when I am traveling. Plus, I have found that pieces of paper get lost. I recently searched everywhere for an old recipe for syrup that I can't find. It makes me so sad.

So, here is BLUEBERRY BREAD:

(This recipe came from an old ward cookbook, printed in January 1994. It was contributed by Judy Cash. I've doubled it here, so if you only want 1 loaf, or only have 1 cup blueberries, just halve the recipe)

1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. milk
4 Tbls. melted butter
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 c. fresh blueberries

Cream sugar and eggs. Stir in milk and melted butter. Sift dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture. Fold in blueberries and turn into (2) well greased bread pans. Bake 50 minutes at 350.


(In case you are wondering if I contributed any recipes, here is mine from page 4:
HONEYMOON SALAD
Lettuce Alone

...I know, I was such a funny 18 year old!)

A Cell Cake

 So I guess here in Texas, 6th grade science students are assigned to make a 3-D model of a cell. An edible 3-D model of a cell. It can be either a plant or animal cell. My son chose to make a cake, including fondant.

 I had to keep telling him to make the fondant pieces smaller so they would actually fit in our little, tiny ball cake. But, I think in the end he did a great job.

I'm happy to report, that I also actually remember some of the names of the parts of a cell from when I took science... just a few years ago.
I drove him to school, which I don't normally do, so that his cake would arrive unharmed. That may have been a mistake, since he ended up getting there early, and after turning in his cake, decided to go outside and play soccer with some other kids until school started...
He got tripped playing soccer, and broke both his arm bones (which I believe are the Ulna and the Radius- see I remember lots of things from science!) and now is in a cast and can't play soccer at all.... So this smug little smile you see below?- that was the last time he smiled all day... even after the morphine kicked in at the ER...  As much work as the cake was, I wish it had fallen and gotten broken instead...

 

UPDATE: 5/3/13 3:52 PM

MY SON INFORMED ME THAT HIS CAKE WAS VOTED MOST ATTRACTIVE! THAT MEANS THAT HE GETS EXTRA CREDIT! AND TO THINK WE WERE GOING TO TRY AND WIN MOST DISGUSTING AT ONE POINT! THERE WERE 3 AWARDS: MOST ATTRACTIVE, MOST ACCURATE, AND MOST DISGUSTING!

Rainbow Jello

Just before St. Patrick's Day, I found this on Pinterest ... I thought it looked easy and fun, and something I could make, especially since my little girls Love to make Jello...

Above is how the ones on Pinterest looked. Below is how mine turned out...

 I know, there's a big difference...

It was trickier than I thought, and sometimes my Cool-whip layer in between didn't set up, even on the last layer when I thought I had figured it all out...

 I did so something to mine to make them fun, though... I took gold chocolate coins, sealed them in small plastic baggies, and put them in the bottom layer. That way, the kids could find a pot of gold when they got to the end of their rainbow...

it was pretty fun...

And the kids had fun helping me.

I think I about have the kinks worked out, and maybe next time they will turn out exactly like I want them.... This would also be fun to do in a party color scheme.

Linked to:
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2013/03/frugal-friday_28.html

Your Home Based Mom

Kick Buttowski Birthday Cake

A few weeks ago, a friend that used to live by me (has since moved to another part of town) called to see if I could make this cake for her son's birthday.

Of course, I said yes!

I didn't know then that I would end up having emergency surgery last week, at 6 months pregnant.

I wasn't sure I was going to be up for it, and almost called and cancelled, but it was such a simple cake, and I could do it sitting down, so I went ahead with it.

I didn't know who "Kick Buttowski" was, so I had to do a little research. 

He is a little daredevil cartoon character from the Disney Channel.

 Well, I think Jaxon like it, so that's all that matters!

"Spa-aaah" birthday party cake

The plan for this cake was going to be that I also made flip flops and nail polish bottles out of fondant and rice crispy treats.

But let me remind you in case I don't say it often enough! I'm freaking I'm pregnant, though, so just having a homemade cake is accomplishment enough

I tried to match the "Spa-aaah" writing from the invitation,

And since I was just doing buttercream anyway, I thought I would practice my rope border and some stars. Hmmm, probably not the best picture to show you for that...

The cake was from a white cake mix (which I added lemon zest to, because I have decided that it makes it so yummy!) which I divided into 2 pans, and tinted one neon blue, and the other green. her party also had teeny tiny bits of dark pink, so I added a layer of fresh strawberries to the middle.

My daughter did say, to make me feel better, that it was ok that I didn't get to the fondant, because she's the only one who likes fondant, her friends don't. Which just goes to show that I'm not raising a total brat she does have a sweet bone in her body.

I'd love to say, "Fondant and Rice Crispy treats next year, fer shure!", but the reality is I'll have 5 kids by then so forget it! I may not be up for it then either.

You might just get some day old doughnuts with a match stuck in one...

Or 12 birthday spankings and a kiss on the cheek.

Ya, that sounds more like it.

MORE CANDY CORN TREATS!

So I guess I'm on a candy corn streak. (You can see the candy corn cupcakes here)

I needed another treat for something, and I had a lot of rice crispies and marshmallows on hand. I was supposed to make part of my oldest daughters cake with fondant and rice crispy treats... I didn't feel well, and that part of the cake didn't happen.

So, I made a double batch of regular rice crispy treats, and after the marshmallows and butter were melted, and just before I poured it over the cereal, I added orange food coloring.

 

My 5 year old helped with this.

After they cooled, I cut them into triangle shaped pieces, and moved them to parchment paper.

then I melted some yellow chocolate I had on hand and dipped the big end into it. It used a lot more than I thought it would, and I ran out. So, I did the rest in milk chocolate. Those looked cute too, and tasted good. We called those ones Indian corn.

Then I dipped the other end in white chocolate. I say dipped, but it was more like I spread it on there with a spoon.

 

Then I put them in bags with a few candy corn pieces, tied a cute bow and a card with it...

 

I think they turned out really cute... except that I don't like these bags from Dollar Tree cause they have printing all over them. It really detracts from the cuteness factor. Plus, I don't want anyone thinking the treat was made in China. Cause it wasn't. It was made right here in my kitchen in Texas!

linked to:

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/

I heart Candy Corn

Last week was my daughters birthday, and she asked what kind of cupcakes I was going to make for her class at school... like 2 days before her birthday. Well, I didn't want to make a trip to the store, so it was going to be whatever I had on hand.

One one of my favorite blogs had this tutorial for Candy Corn Cake tutorial

I didn't end up doing the cake, but looked around at all her other Candy Corn ideas, and came up with these:

I used a yellow instead of white cake mix,(cause that's what I had) but added the lemon zest, which really made it yummy. I colored the batter yellow and orange, and used some fall cup cake liners I had. Then used some orange sugar, and yellow sprinkles along with what was left of my candy corn bag! 

 

They turned out yummy and cute. But, really, you should check out Leigh Anne's blog for some great candy corn ideas.... she might be the only person I've met who might love candy corn more than I do... maybe.

 

 

P.S. Thanks for voting on the dresser color. It is still being worked on, but I'm told it's almost done. I gave him the new hardware I bought on Friday. Hope to reveal it soon!

March Comes In Like a Lion...

I saw these little lamb cupcakes on Pinterest, and decided that the would be a good kids project. I have a niece with a St. Patrick's Day birthday, and so my kids and nieces and I made these. The kids loved putting the marshmallows all over them. The ones on Pinterest used chocolate to make the face and ears. I had leftover black fondant, that was even easier, and the kids loved doing it.


We also made some green cookies. I told the kids we were doing March desserts, "because, March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a what?"

"A sheep?"

"No, a lamb. In like a lion, out like a lamb."

"What does that mean?"

"Umm..."

Well, I may not be able to answer all their questions, but we had a fun party anyway.
confession: my camera is getting worse everyday. I was trying to get a picture of the 8 I made in black fondant for a topper...

I don't know what they're teaching in schools these days, but I have a sneaking suspicion that these kids also don't know what April Showers bring...

Snitch Cake and little Snitches

ok, so while I'm waiting for the ten comments from the previous post, I thought I'd sneak this one in about the cakes.

This was the picture I used as a guide:

This is the cake we had for the party:

I'm really kinda proud of myself for getting that gold color so spot-on. It was acheived using a combination of cocoa powder, yellow, and orange food coloring, and what really made it taste good was some Vanilla, nut, and Butter extract (the same stuff we used to make the butter beer)

The cake was a little small for the crowd we had, but we were feeding them so much other stuff, and loading them up with candy, so I didn't feel too bad giving them small pieces of cake.

Inside the cake, I had put a plastic Easter Egg, with a "resurrection stone" (a ring pop with the plastic ring part taken off) and a key to unlock my daughter's bedroom where "Honey Dukes" was located.


Being the huge Harry Potter fan that she is, my daughter also wanted the treat she took to school to also be Harry Potter themed. There is a boy in her class with the same birthday as her, so she wanted to do something besides cupcakes.

I had seen a recipe for Oreo Truffles on this blog, and thought this would be the perfect chance to make them. After we made them, we wrapped them in gold candy wraps (bought at Hobby Lobby- Wilton brand) and put the white feathers in for the wings.


we even boxed up a few to take to some of my friends who helped with the party.


I'm linked here at Inspiration for Celebration

Princess Cinderella Cake

Here is the inspiration for the cake: Look at the carriage in the bottom right hand corner:
That's what we decided to make the cake look like
The white pumpkin carriage, with curly golden wheels. My daughter also wanted a little Cinderella doll cake. We used a polly pocket doll (who had already lost her legs anyway)


As usual, I was down to the last minute on the cake. I tend to do that a lot. I get so busy with all the other preparations for the party, I don't give myself enough time to really do the cake well. So, I didn't make the fondant in advance like I should have so that the wheels could have hardened more. And late at night, knowing that the party was the next morning, I was trying to put on the finishing touches. Try to ignore how I could NOT get those icing loops to look right AT ALL. (Note to self: No making cakes after bed time)

I made the skirt for the doll out of the Pampered Chef 1 cup glass things. They are bigger than cupcakes, so are perfect sized. You could probably use a tea cup if you didn't have those. I had made 2 so I would have an extra. I used the extra one, after dousing with chocolate frosting, to put a castle on. This was left from a cake my oldest daughter had a few years ago (yes, I save those crazy things.)

I wanted to make it look like the castle was in the distance:
So we put the castle on another cake stand with chocolate cupcakes, and put it behind it. (the slipper is also from a polly pocket)

So, if you look with a cake decorators eye, you will see that I made a lot of mistakes...
Now close your eyes, imagine that you are a 4 year old little girl... then open them and look at the cake again:
See, it's perfect!
We served the pumpkin coach to all the guests, and the doll cake got to be her very own.

Fun With Fondant

So, my friend Sara taught 2 more cake classes before she moved. One was on how to make fondant and cover a cake with it.
This is the cake I did that night:
It's really not very impressive, but I was getting so tired, I stopped caring. That's when I knew I should just go home and go to bed (I don't do well at these night classes)
The next week we learned to make figures with fondant. I made this little bumble bee guy:
He actually turned out so cute, I feel bad that the pictures don't show it.
My husband says it's time for a new camera. I agree, except that I want a really nice one, and then I want to take a photography class to learn how to use it well, and how to edit the pictures I take on photoshop, and well, I just don't have time for that...

So just take my word for it. This little buzzer is cute!