I recently made a birthday cake for my friends son (he is also Adrianne's close friend). His birthday party was a Cars 2 theme. The cake was a chocolate cake from scratch with a strawberry filling covered in butter cream and marshmallow fondant. I asked what my friend wanted on the outside of the cake and she suggested putting mater on top and we are so glad she did since mater was the star of the show!

These pictures are almost the end result. I still needed to brush away some of the powder sugar on top (it helps the fondant not stick to the counter when rolling it out)

The world on the back of the cake.

The cars 2 logo on the front

Breakfast Monte Cristos

Favfamilyrecipes.com is one of my favorite websites for cooking ideas. Awhile ago I came across this recipe on her website and I knew Peter would love it (I am not an egg fan). They are easy to make and Peter loved it.

*Makes 2 sandwiches

2 eggs
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla
4 slices of bread (thick, whole-wheat bread works great)
cream cheese
2-3 slices deli black forest ham
2 eggs, fried (middles poked and spread out so the eggs lay flat)
2 slices Swiss cheese
powdered sugar
Raspberry Jam (or any jam you like)

Mix eggs, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla together with a fork and pour in a shallow dish. Spread a good amount of cream cheese on each slice of ham (if you have a large slice of ham you may want to fold it over). Add the cream cheese-covered ham, a fried egg, and a slice of Swiss cheese to one slice of bread and top with another slice of bread making a sandwich. Dip each sandwich in the egg mixture and turn over so the the entire outside of the sandwich is coated in the egg mixture. Cook on a griddle or in a frying pan (as if you were making French toast). Carefully flip the sandwich when the first side becomes nice and brown (again, like French toast). When both sides of the sandwich are brown and slightly crispy, remove from heat and sprinkle each sandwich with powdered sugar. Cut into halves or fourths and serve with raspberry jam.

Lemon Burst Cookie recipe

Awhile ago my husband told me that he was craving lemon cookies. I had no idea what he was talking about since all I have ever had are lemon bars. So, I looked up a recipe and decided to try it out and I must say that they are amazing. I would say they are now probably one of my favorite cookies and they are very easy to make!

Lemon Burst Cookies
Yield:
1 (18.25-ounce) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Zest of 2 lemons
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract until well blended.
3. Place confectioner’s sugar in a bowl.
4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in confectioner’s sugar until lightly coated and place on baking sheet.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

I got this recipe from HERE

Diet Pepsi Cake

I made this cake for my husbands co-worker's Birthday. She LOVES drinking diet coke. I always see one on her desk when I visit the office, so we knew this would be a great theme for her cake. This is my first cake that I have ever carved. It is one white cake, cut in half and then stacked on top of eachother and filled with strawberry filling.

Chili Relleno

For Valentines day this year I made my husband Chili Relleno and fried rice. He LOVES anything spicy and always loves eating this at restuarants. So, I thought I would give it a try and they were easier than expected and tasted great! Next time I would like to find a recipe with sauce that covers the chili and I am going to use a white cheese instead of cheddar.


Ingredients
12 Anaheim chile peppers, charred and peeled
1 pound Cheddar cheese, cut into strips
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour for coating

Directions
1.Remove seeds and membranes from peppers. Stuff each pepper with a strip of cheese.
2.In a small bowl combine milk, the 1 cup flour, egg, baking powder, baking soda, salt and canola oil; mix well to make a batter.
3.Pour enough oil in heavy frying pan to reach 1 inch in depth and heat over medium-high heat. Roll each pepper in the remaining flour and dip in the batter. Fry until lightly browned on both sides.

Card Ideas: Birthday and Thank You

I love making my own cards for people. I do not own any of the new machines that people use, I always just use glue, paper and scissors. So, they are not perfect but I love making them. The one on the left is a birthday card and the one on the right is a Thank you card.

Traveling cake

I made this cake for my husband's co-worker's birthday. She loves to travel, so my husband helped me think of a theme, and this is what we decided on. It is a butter cake with cream cheese almond filling and covered in fondant. This was my second time making a 3d person.