HelloKitty

For my good friend Lisa’s daughters birthday, I decided I was going to take on the project of making Hellokitty cake pops, HelloKitty cake and cupcakes for her party.  I made a simple strawberry cupcakes and put the little Candy decals from the store (what a cheap and easy way to make your cupcakes look a little more special. 

The cake pops were a blast! You just follow your simple cake pop recipe! For the ears you just attach white chocolate chips before coating them white chocolate. The nose I just used a pearled yellow sprinkle and for the bows I used jumbo heart sprinkles then piped a dot for the center! The rest you can just hand pipe! I’m learning that cake/ cookie decorating isn’t has hard as it seems, its all about breaking things down into small steps.

I carved the Hellokitty cake by hand, and then piped the icing on with a star tip! It actually turned out better than I thought! Now I’m super excited about cake decorating! I’m going to now invest in the “ultimate cake decorating kit” Everyone at Hailey’s party loved the treats! 

Happy Birthday Daddy

It was my dads birthday and I decided I was going to make his favorite cake for his birthday;  AKA GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE! There are two things my dad loves in life and that’s peanut butter and chocolate ice cream! So I wanted to make him homemade “nutterbutter cookies.”

I made the German chocolate cake from the blog Pass The Sushi (http://passthesushi.com/german-chocolate-cake). It was quite labor intensive but it well worth it. Mmm it was so moist too!  I love the idea of using dark chocolate over the traditional “bakers chocolate.” It was a great combo! My dad loved it, and that’s the most important thing!

            I got the Homemade NutterButter cookies recipe from the blog Cookies and Cups (http://cookiesandcups.com/homemade-nutter-butters-2/). To make the peanut shape you just squish, fork and pinch the peanut butter cookie logs. They were delish and the husband loved them too! Now I just have to come up with an idea of how to use the left over peanut butter cream.

My birthday treats were a success! Happy birthday Daddy!

My first attempt at cookie decorating

My Friend Shannon came over and she taught me the “how to” for cookie decorating. Man, icing cookies is quite labor intensive but its something I truly enjoy and don’t mind spending the time. I have always been into crafts and projects. The more I dive into my so called  "adventures" the more I confirm my passion! I’m glad I finally started something for myself!  I just have to patience and know that practice makes perfect! I cant wait to sign up for actual classes!

            For dinner, I made homemade zucchini pizza with chicken sausage from scratch. Zach said to me after dinner, “you know I honestly was scared to eat the pizza because of all the vegetables on it, but it was amazing! It’s the best pizza you have made.” Roasted veggies are soo yummy!              

Lesson learned

My past few days off have been a blast! I truly look forward to my “cooking adventures.” I find it very entertaining looking through all the different blogs/recipes sites, picking out what I’m doing to make next. Plus I’m learning great tips on the way! I find baking so therapeutic, I turn the music on full blast, get my cute little apron on, and dancing/singing while arms deep into my new cooking/baking challenge! Its a dance party and I don’t care if nobody is attending hahaha Lets just hope the elementary school kids aren’t watching me (I live right behind Hillcreek elementary).

Tonight I decided to make “Skinny Spinach Lasagnas Rolls” from SkinnyTaste. They were good and surprisingly I didn’t miss all the cheese that normal lasagnas have. Great way to get a vegetable in! I made the mistake of cooking the lasagna rolls and coconut macaroons at the same time. So my dumb self added almond flavoring to the lasagna filling (instead of the coconut mixture). I was too lazy to go all the way back to the store and buy all the ingredients again, so I just tried to scoop out the flavoring and hope for the best! Well we differently could taste a little almond flavoring at the end, but it wasn’t too strong! HAHAH Lesson learned; do not multi-task! Do one thing at a time. Doing the rolls was much simpler than creating each layer. Plus I like the fact they were pre-portioned.  I don’t think ill add this recipe to collection but it’s a go to for a quick and easy meal.  You can make it a day ahead and just pop it in the oven when you are ready to cook it or even just freeze it.

         Now for dessert! I made coconut almond macaroons with chocolate ganache and almonds from bluebonnets and brownies! Man I loved them, but impartial because I love anything coconut! I never made macaroons before, just always got them from the store. They just seemed so difficult to make, but they are so EASY!!!  I had left over chocolate ganache so I came up with the brilliant idea of covering banana pieces and putting almonds on top and freezing them for later! Great treat for when it’s hot out and you just want a little something! Hey its healthy right (haha), it’s a fruit!  Got the macaroons all packed up for my husbands work tomorrow. Got back great reviews on the banana bars! Too bad I’m not going to work for a few days! Don’t worry next treats ill bring into my work!

Excited for Monday I’m going to learn how to ice/decorate sugar cookies! Hopefully it won’t turn out to be a disaster! 

Macaroons before getting their chocolate bath! 

Chocolate covered bananas, had to use the left over ganache!

Diving into my first adventure

Due to the gloomy day, I decided that my first adventure would be chili and corn bread! Who doesn't love a big bowl of chili or soup on a cold day? Although I didn't want to make the traditional chili, so recipe searching I went. I decided on white chicken chili over rice with maple red-hot cornbread from bluebonnets & brownies. So off to the store I went, and of course I found many new baking utensils for my future adventures! My favorite buys are my new bundt cake pan and all my colored sparkly sprinkles. 

As my husband walked into the house from work, the first thing out of his mouth was, “What are you making baby? It smells so good?” The chicken chili aromas filled the house! We couldn’t wait to dive into our delicious meal. 

For dessert, I decided to make banana bars. My husband absolutely loves banana nut bread. So I thought this would be a fun twist on the classic. I wanted my first dessert to pay tribute to him! Next time I’m going to do something with coconut for me! I’m crazy about coconut! I found the recipe also on bluebonnets & brownies, which amber found from the secret recipe club and added a few nice touches. 

Wow dinner and dessert was amazing! I had a great date night at home! The chili had a nice kick, and the cornbread was super moist. The banana bars were divine, Zach said, “it was the best frosting he has ever tasted” (Zach doesn’t even really like frosting). On the banana bars, I made a maple cream cheese frosting but I couldn’t find any maple sugar (as the recipe calls for), so I made my own (used 1 tablespoon brown sugar with ½ tablespoon of pure maple syrup and added a dash of cinnamon). Lets just say the guys at my husbands work are going to have a yummy surprise waiting for them in the morning! The banana bars are dean add to the recipe book!

Zach diving in!

My New Goals ...

One night during my usual case of insomnia, I came up with a project for myself. I'm going to call it, "Project Happiness; Pursing Your Passions." Yes, I wanted to be selfish and work on my own happiness and myself. For some reason, I still continue to feel sad and have this "void" I want to fill. I can’t pin point it or put it into words but I sometimes have this empty feeling inside.  I have everything in my life I have ever wanted, but why am I still not happy? I accomplished many of my major dreams and goals, like graduating college and getting a degree, becoming a nurse, and finding/marrying a man that would love me UNCONDITIONALLY (ladies we all know how hard it is to find a nice guy that will support you no matter what). My whole life I have always been on the go, working/pushing towards my number one goal of becoming a nurse. Lets just say it, nursing school was hell!  Well I accomplished it, NOW WHAT?  As a nurse I have a lot of free time during weekdays but my husband and friends are all at work, working their normal Mon.-Fri. 8-5 jobs. While, I’m left alone. Yes I could be out exploring the city, but I don't want to alone.  I’m not use to having free time or not having things to do. So I created a project for myself. I LOVE to cook and bake.  Over the past few years I have stopped baking because I don't want the treats in my house. It's easier to just plain avoid them ;) . I realized I don't have to keep them in the house; I could just give them to others. I do know that I love to see others happy, and what makes others happier than a yummy homemade treat!

           As a wife, one my favorite things is seeing my husbands face when he enjoys my meals. I work so hard to plan and make sure he has a warm home cooked dinner each night.  I truly enjoy our dinnertime together. 

          So I created this blog to post my cooking adventures, track my progress, and develop a cooking/baking network. One of my new dreams is to be able to make my kid’s birthday cakes. A cake from the heart means more than one from the store. How precious would it be to know that your mom baked you a cake EVERY year for your birthday.  These are the memories I want to create. My husband bought me an empty recipe book/binder, so my goal is to fill it up with all of my favorite/most prized recipes.  My dream would to be able to pass my recipes to my kids and keep them in the family. I love to cook and hopefully my kids will share the same passion!  Even though I'm not planning on having kids soon, I want to develop my craft. I hope this project keeps me busy, creates happy memories, and fulfills my loneliness. Here's to getting your aprons messy!