taadaaaaa!

Look at this!

It was a big hit and everyone said they loved the cake, even my dad!


I have to admit, it was pretty damn good if I do say so myself... both sides!


So, as promised, here are the recipes that I got off allrecipes.com






The Peanut Butter Cake:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix
• 2/3 cup water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour THREE 9 inch round cake pans.
2. Combine 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Cream until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each one. Add cake mix alternately with the water. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 25 minutes or until cake tests done. Allow cakes to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. 

The Chocolate Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 3 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 5 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Cool several minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, sour cream and vanilla. Add chocolate mixture and beat until smooth. Frost cooled cake.

The Chocolate Cake:

I actually used "old faithful" for the recipe. See Vickys Chocolate Balls for Sandy's Chocolate Cake. But half the measurements. 

German Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup flaked coconut

Directions

1. In a medium sized sauce pan mix the evaporated milk, white sugar, 3 egg yolks and the butter. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick. Remove from heat and beat until partially cooled. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flaked coconut and the chopped pecans. Use to fill and frost the chocolate half of the cake.

Vicky's Chocolate Nutty Balls!

It was the birthday of one of my favorite peeps, Vicky! She asked me to make her something chocolate and nutty. Of course, I had to try something new, or else my blog would get neglected. 


When I was making the red velvet cake pops, I ran out of sticks so I just dipped the left over cake balls in the chocolate and they were just as cute! And I think its always easier for everyone to delve into a cake ball rather than a cake slice and forgoing the plate, fork and napkin altogether. 


When making the red velvet cake pops, I used a box cake mix and you have to add frosting to the the crumbled cake mixture to be able to form it into balls. I remembered the very first cake I ever made from scratch was soooooo moist that I wouldnt need to add the frosting. So I  found that recipe again on allrecipes.com and just went from there.


Here is that recipe:

Sandy's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water
• 
  

In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

After the cake cooled, I crumbled it up and then just formed them into balls. For the almond ones, I added an almond in the middle and for the peanut butter ones, I just mixed some peanut butter in with the cake ball.

Then I just dipped them into chocolate. I use the kind that comes in a little microwavable container, I like to make it as easy as possible!

For the almond ones, I just sprinkled crushed almonds as soon as it came out of the chocolate bath. For the peanut butter, I just made sort of a peanut butter glaze by mixing some confectioners sugar, water and peanut butter until smooth, then piping that over the cute little balls!

And thats it! Another creation thats easy as "pie" but looks gourmet... just how I like it!

Happy Birthday Vicky!

without further ado...

I give you... the best chicken salad recipe in the world!

I featured these on my previous post for a friend's baby shower, but I didn't include the recipe. Today, I made it for an office pot luck and promised to share the following by the end of the day. The problem is, I just kinda throw it all together so I don't have exact measurements. Just taste as you go.
So, here it is:




The Best Chicken Salad EVER


Chicken (I usually get the canned or bagged white chicken breast, just cause its easier than cooking a chicken and then having to trim off all the weird, rubbery thingys that gross me out!)
Smoked Almonds, chopped
Scallions, chopped
Mayo (nonfat, if you wanna keep it light. And it's just as good!)
Nonfat Plain Yogurt
Dijon Mustard (not alot, just to add some tang)
Rosemary
Salt & Pepper (watch out on the salt, cause the almonds are already pretty salty)


Then just throw it all together! When I am making it for a gathering, I like to stuff it into mini pitas because, well, it's cute. Anything mini is super cute! And as my Petie says, "Presentation is everything."


The other great thing about this recipe is that it is pretty healthy! The only fat comes from the almonds, and I hear that almond fat is good fat. So they say.

Look who I met!

That's right, The Pioneer Woman herself! She came into town for a book signing and I had to meet the woman that invented Fancy Macaroni!


I had never been to a book signing, cause if you know me at all, you know that I don't read. Not that I can't, I would just rather look at pretty pictures (which is another reason why I LOVE her cookbook!).


So, my boss was awesome enough to let me leave a little early to try and get a good spot. Thank goodness she did! I didn't realize how many people share my admiration for this quirky, funny and talented lady! There were at least 300 people there. And I just got lucky enough to be right next to a whiny, annoying 5 year old little girl in line. You can imagine that 4 hours of standing in line would be difficult enough. But, no. The whole time all I could hear was "MOOOOOM! Why isnt the line moooooving?" and "MOOOOOM! When is it ooooour turn?" and "MOOOOOM! I wanna leeeeeeave!" All while socking her mom in the stomach, legs or where ever else that demon child could reach. It took all the restraint I had not to backhand her. But, I did shoot the snotty brat a couple of dirty looks while her mom wasn't looking. Needless to say, my excitement to meet PW dwindled slowly and was replaced with utter frustration and impatience. I was scared she would be able to read my mood and think I was a bitch. But luckily, as I got closer to her and could hear her funny, bubbly conversations with her fans, my excitement returned!


Of course, I was a nervous, babbling idiot when it was my turn. I told her about my blog (which everyone else probably does as well) and she asked me to send her a link so she could check it out! How awesome is that? I almost wanna spend the whole weekend chained in the kitchen, making as many of her recipes as possible. But, I said almost. Unfortunately, I have a few parties to attend this weekend that gets in the way of that idea. Oh well. I guess I will HAVE to spend my 2 days off drinking bud light with friends instead. I think PW will understand.


She was definitely as nice and funny as she projects herself to be. Just laid-back, easy-going and friendly. She is such an inspiration!

my cutest creation ever...

My very good friend, Abigail, just had her 30th birthday. In honor of this, I decided to make a yummy bouquet of red velvet cake pops! She asked me to make her a red velvet cake, to which I replied "I will make red velvet something."
















Look how cute:

I know, you are wondering "But how did it pass the Pete Test?" Well, I am happy to report that he keeps returning to the fridge to grab a leftover cake ball and says "I can't believe how much I like these!" So yes, Pete approved!

I do have one warning though. If you get close to them, it may result in this:

If you want to attempt these cutie-pops, there are step-by-step instructions at www.bakerella.com

The in-laws strike again!

I get a call from Momma Coffin last week saying I have a package there from Aunt Jackie and Uncle Richard. What have they done now? Well, I will tell ya... they sent me, Momma Coffin and my sister-in-law, Lynn a set of beautiful cookware! I have never owned a matching set of cookware! The best part? Not only is it oven-safe and microwave-safe, IT IS DISHWASHER-SAFE! Cause my momma knows I HATE hand washing dishes! If running it under the faucet doesn't get it off, then the dishwasher better!



So, my goal was to make a meal using every piece of bakeware at once so my table would have a beautiful, matching spread! I took it a step too far and decided to make all new recipes. Before I get into that, let me show you the outcome:

Doesn't that just look like a photo right out of Southern Living magazine? I know, right? Too freakin cute! What is on the menu? Meatloaf, Hashbrown Casserole, Warm Corn Salad and Ceasar Salad.


So, I started looking on allrecipes.com for new dishes to whip up. I found a recipe for meatloaf that used herb-stuffing instead of bread crumbs, ranch dressing mix and french fried onions. Sounds delish, right? Well, it was eh. So, I am not sharing the recipe. But if you want a good meatloaf recipe, look up Paula Deen's Cheeseburger Meatloaf.... yummmmmmm.
But here is a photo of the so-so main dish. It actually looks more gross than it was. Is there such a thing as an appetizing picture of meatloaf? How can a loaf of meat look enticing? Nonetheless, its a blog, so I must share:

I always make some form of mac and cheese so I was looking for an equally-as-yummy alternative. A few years ago a friend of mine, Kim, made Hashbrown Casserole and I still dream about it. So, I found a recipe for it on allrecipes.com and threw it all together. Look at all this cheesy-goodness, believe me, JUST look:

Well, mine and Pete's tastebuds agreed that it looked and smelled better than it actually tasted. We described it as cheesy, mushy nothingness. Take from that what you will. But again, I am not sharing a recipe that I didn't LOVE. If you are looking here for an idea of what to cook for dinner, see "My Favorite Dinner" post. That mac and cheese is unbeatable (at least, for now).




If you know me well, you know that I hate most vegetables. So, this is always a challenging dish for me to come up with. I only like corn. But I thought my new bakeware was too special for just any old plain corn. When I have left over corn on the cob from a bbq, I usually cut it from the cob and put in a pan with chives, parmesan cheese, garlic and lots of butter. The result? Something that tastes nothing like a vegetable... the only way I eat them! Well, this time, I happen to have some bacon in the fridge so I threw that in there too:

It was "aight." Pete and I agree that the bacon over-powered everything else. I highly recommend the recipe though, sans the bacon!




So, at this point, I was 0 for 3. Pete did compliment me on the awesome, bagged caesar salad! Hey, I will take what I can get! 


When I started this blog, I emphasized that I like to PRETEND to be a cook/baker. This is proof. But with bakeware THIS gorgeous, at least it LOOKS good!
All thanks to Aunt Jackie and Uncle Richard! And by the way guys... there were PLENTY of leftovers, so there is a meatloaf in the mail on its way to you, just my little way of saying thanks. Aren't you guys excited?

Sommer and Meg team up!

As promised, I hunkered down in the kitchen on Saturday with Meg. We produced a bunch of cookies to send my awesome Aunt and Uncle, who were responsible for bringing Meg into my life! When I asked Uncle Richard and Aunt Jackie their favorite cookies, they both responded "Chocolate Chip." My first thought was "how boring." But then I realized I have never made a good 'ol plain chocolate chip cookie. So, why not? If there is someone in this world that doesn't like chocolate chip cookies then I sure haven't met them! So, to add to the menu, I also decided to make some peanut butter cookies (with a twist) and some lemon cookies to stay with the spirit of Easter. All growing up, my mom always made lemon meringue pie on Easter. I have always been too afraid to attempt a meringue, so I found a recipe for cookies instead. Plus, I couldn't even begin to compete with my momma's cooking skills! She always tried to get me in the kitchen with her, but I always thought "Why should I slave over stuff in the kitchen? That's what mom's are for!" Well, now my momma is too far away to be in my kitchen often, so i decided to send her a box of cookies too so she can see how far my cooking skills have progressed!


Here is the outcome:
(and by the way, I will NEVER AGAIN attempt to make 3 different types of cookies in one day. 8 hours in the kitchen on a Saturday is way too exhausting!)

First, the chocolate chip recipe. I got this one from Bakerella. I figured she knew her cookies, and I figured right!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk and set aside.
• With a mixer, beat butter and both sugars until well blended.
• Beat in eggs and vanilla.
• Add flour mixture in two additions until combined.
• Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips.
• Use a mini ice cream scoop to drop cookie dough on a parchment covered cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes.
• Tip: About half way through baking, sprinkle reserved chips on top of cookies. This is just to make them prettier so, some of the chips are seen on top.

YUM! Look at that in all its glory. I heard the angels sing when I bit into this. mmmmmmmm....




Next, the Lemon Cookies with Lemon Icing

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• ICING:
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Combine honey, yogurt, lemon peel and lemon extract. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with honey mixture.
2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Brush over the warm cookies; sprinkle with lemon peel.

I had some trial and error with these. I bought some new dark cookie sheets and the first batch I had too close to the bottom. They burnt right up! I never claimed to be a baker, it's all about experimenting. So, I have to expect a few batches in the garbage.
But that icing? OH-MY-GAWD! Without the icing, my brutally honest husband said they tasted like animal crackers (thinking that was a compliment) so I dredged the cookies in that tangy icing. Heavenly. Just heavenly.

Next, the peanut butter cookies. I just used a plain old peanut butter cookie recipe:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

• Preheat oven to 325. Mix peanut butter, sugar and egg until well blended.
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Remove and roll mixture into 18 balls.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
• Flatten each ball by using a fork to make a criss-cross pattern.
• Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet and then cool completely on a wire rack.

THEN... I melted 8 squares of semi-sweet bakers chocolate squares. Dipped one end in the chocolate and the other in a candy bar. Here is the result:

You have MY version of SNICKER-doodles.

and then Peanut-BUTTERFINGER cookies. (even tried to shape them like a finger, which makes for great milk-dipping capabilities for the other end)

And this is why Pete hates when I attempt to cook anything. He shows up in the kitchen about every 30 minutes to say "Why can't you clean as you go? Are you TRYING to make a mess?"

So, Uncle Richard, Aunt Jackie and Momma... your packages are on their way! Hope they make it there okay!