Call Me Crazy

Red Fish Cake

2011-06-19T14:22:00.001-05:00

My brother got married back in March, but they had a small ceremony. On Friday, they had a reception for all the friends and family that couldn't be at the wedding. My brother requested a cake with a red fish jumping out of water.

The bottom tier is red velvet and the top tier is chocolate. The fish is made of rice krispie treats covered in marshmallow fondant.

Fire Truck Sugar Cookies

2011-06-14T09:46:00.001-05:00

These were for a little boy's second birthday party. The party had the cutest theme: transportation. The little boy is in love with all things that move and have wheels...whether it's buses, fire trucks, tractors, or his daddy's pick up truck! My inspiration for these cookies came from SweetDreams83's Etsy shop.

600 servings of cakes and 270 cupcakes later.....

2011-06-11T20:14:00.001-05:00

Whoa...what a job! In order to finish the cakes in time I started waking up at 5 am the week of the delivery date. The temperature's been getting up to 100 degrees everyday. The only way to beat the heat is to get up before the heat starts:)

Here are the final products. Come back later for a step-by-step on the logo and the dragon!

6 Sheet Cakes & 270 Cupcakes Later...

2011-05-26T09:23:00.000-05:00

Take 1

Next Thursday I have my largest order ever. (Bet you can't guess how big!?!?!?)

Six full sheet cakes and 270 cupcakes to be exact. Ya know, just in case you missed it.

I thought I'd let you come along for the journey. More for my sake than for yours. Someone to go through the ups and downs, share in my successes and ~~failures~~ set backs.

Last Tuesday I started baking the sheet cakes.

(There's no way I could bake all the cakes and frost them and decorate them and transport them in a short amount of time. So, I decided to bake everything ahead of time and freeze it.)

I started out excited to start the journey, especially to use my new baking stuff!

Then came the first blip.

My first cake turned out great, but because I had only purchased ONE large cooling rack, when I tried to flip the cake using two smaller cooling racks, the cake fell apart. Major thumbs down.

I managed to save the cake, but it didn't exactly spur me on to greatness.

My second cake turned out great. However, my third and fourth cake were anything but great.

I couldn't figure out what was wrong; the cakes weren't rising and they were really sponge-y. Then I tasted them. Bleh, no sugar. After retracing my steps, I figured out that I forgot to double the sugar in each of my last cakes.

Second blip.

You would think that these blips might have occurred due to a lack of caffeine...

NOPE!

Then I went back to look at my first and second cake, only to realize that the cakes were too short, less than an inch high.

Third blip.

Before I poured batter into the cake pans, I took out two cups of batter to start making cupcakes. By taking out this ~~small~~ huge amount of batter, my cakes were too short.

At this point, I have no cakes whatsoever to use. I called my husband and asked him what I should do. We decided that I should call it a day and he would show up with reinforcements to start again tomorrow.

And by reinforcements I mean two more large cooling racks and two more hands to help.

The next day we baked four half sheet cakes, or two full sheet cakes.

Lesson learned:
Always check to make sure you have doubled your sugar!

Texas A&M Cake

2011-05-21T16:07:00.000-05:00

This is my first cake ever made for a non-friend customer.

Does that even make sense?

As in, this is the first customer that is not one of my friends. Kinda cool...at least, for me it is :)

The half sheet cake on the bottom is Italian creme cake and the top is red velvet. Both are iced with vanilla buttercream.

Teacher Graduation Cake

2011-05-10T16:55:00.001-05:00

This is my teacher cake/blackboard cake/graduation cake! I made it for a fellow classmate of mine. My intentions were to to duplicate the cake for my own graduation party but I ran out of steam and time.

Eh. Better luck next time.

Better yet...better time management next time ;)

I also tried a new recipe this time, Vanilla Almond Cake (from CUPYCAKESMURF at allrecipes.com), by request of the client. This cake is very moist, but a touch to sweet for my blood. Enjoy!

First Communion Cookies

2011-05-06T10:00:00.002-05:00

I am by no means a sugar cookie guru. However, I hope to be there someday! Here is my latest:

My Little Pony Cake

2011-05-01T14:55:00.001-05:00

I am officially done with student teaching!

"And what does that mean for me," you ask?

I get to make cakes again! If you recall, my husband kindly put a stop to my cake baking at the beginning of the semester. One week into the semester my head was spinning after making a small cake for a friend. I went along with it because it was in my best interest and it gave me more time to devote to my kiddos. (By kiddos I mean my students. After teaching, they become your kids. If you are a teacher, you understand.)

This weekend I made a My Little Pony Cake. Altogether I think it turned out pretty well and I learned a couple of new techniques including Color Flow. The party was held outside with wind gusts up to 30 mph! I had to leave before anything broke off the cake. Here's to hoping nothing happened after I left!

Here's a close up of her name. I created it using color flow.

I also made 75 sugar cookies in the shape of a one. It was Kynsley's first birthday:)

Star Wars Cookies

2011-03-17T20:18:00.002-05:00

Every time I read through the baking blogs I follow (i am baker and sweetopia just to name a few), I am swept away by their amazing sugar cookies. They have mad skills.

Their cookies make me want to make cookies. Good cookies, too. Now, I know that sugar cookie skills don't happen over night. So I thought I had better get started if I wanted my cookies to be fabulous any time soon.

In pops a need for sugar cookies.

My dear friend's son recently had surgery and I thought I would make his day with some sweets.

Well, technically I left a facebook comment asking my friends for a reason to bake cookies. But who's keeping track of these minor details?

I didn't know much about my friend's son, other than his name and his age. I did some research, combing through my friend's facebook photos. Low and behold, I come across a picture of her son wearing a Star Wars shirt. So I went with it.

Let's hope he's still into Star Wars.

(Crossing Fingers)

I still have a long way to go. I haven't mastered outlining the cookie with royal icing yet. It seems simple enough, yet every time I tried tracing the cookie, my hand didn't make a nice circle.

One lesson I learned this time is to take my time next time. By the time I got to writing Noah, my hand was shot. I could barely write a straight line.

Gold/Yellow Star Wars Logo

Black Star Wars Logo

I'm still working out the spill and fill method too.

But that's what I got. I think Noah will be satisfied, and that's the only one who matters.

I'll post the royal icing recipe soon. It's definitely a keeper.

Kyle and Bree's Wedding Cakes

2011-03-05T16:01:00.004-06:00

(You can click on any of the pictures to view an enlarged version.)

Friday I had the honor of making wedding cakes for my brother and sister-in-law to-be. I didn't have the usual amount of time to put into decorating the cakes, so I opted for a buttercream icing look, instead of the usual fondant look.

The bride's cake was italian creme cake (see recipe here) with buttercream icing and a strawberry filling. Bree is definitely a bling kind of girl, so I added some blue crystals to match her blue hydrangeas, as well as some clear crystals. I don't think they showed up very well but it was worth a try.

The groom's cake was of course chocolate. I was especially excited about making this cake as it was a surprise to Kyle and Bree! The frosting is a chocolate buttercream. I also used a chocolate moose filling and a chocolate glaze with yummy chambord=) Mmmmm. The longhorn was made using a mold. I tried a couple different ways to make the longhorn, one with white chocolate, the other with gumpaste. I used the gumpaste longhorn because it held it's shape better.

I am still partial to the white cake, but the chocolate cake was pretty darn good too! I tried a new technique on these cakes, and although they didn't turn out perfectly, I am still satisfied with what I was able to accomplish while student teaching this semester.

We are officially

sisters now! Congrats

Kyle and Bree!

Italian Creme Cake

2011-02-24T21:15:00.000-06:00

Here is my most reliable, go-to cake recipe. Whenever I have a request for a white cake, this is what I whip up. This cake will turn out so incredibly moist, every time. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

1 c buttermilk
1 t baking soda
5 eggs, separated
2 c sugar
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c butter, room temp
2 c sifted flour
1 t vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. In a mixer, beat egg whites until stiff and then set aside. While the egg whites beat, stir the buttermilk and baking soda together and set aside.
3. Cream sugar, butter, shortening, and yolks together in a mixer.
4. Add buttermilk mixture to the sugar mixture. Mix well. Then alternate adding flour and vanilla to the batter. (Start and end with flour) Mix well.
5. Using a whisk, fold in the egg whites.

6. Pour the batter into greased pans and bake for 25-30 mintues.

7. Eat it up!

Bree's Birthday Cake-The Rose Cake

2011-02-20T20:48:00.003-06:00

I have been dreaming of great cakes lately. You see, I'm student teaching this semester. Which really means that I pretty much have a full time job. I been clocking about 10 hours a day.

As a result of all this...my wonderful hubby has created a rule that I'm not allowed to bake any more cakes this semester. He's really been doing me a favor. Cakes usually consume me. It's all to keep me sane really.

But my sister-in-law's birthday was this weekend, and well, I had to make her a cake. My hubby and I made a deal. So I used a frozen cake I had made about a month ago. I decided not to go the fondant route because that would take a lot of extra time. Instead, I got to try a new technique I saw on i am baker. And here are the results:

This cake was a lot of fun and fairly stress-free!

Cheetah and Zebra Cake

2011-02-03T18:36:00.002-06:00

This cake was a lot of fun to make. After trying my hand at painting for the first time on the African safari cake, I decided to paint the animal print on this cake (as opposed to using fondant). I also tried a strawberry filling for the first time. Both the painting and the filling were a learning experience. Next time I do something similar I will be a pro=)

This first picture was taken before I finished. I wanted to get at least one good photo while the sun was out.

Pink and Green Baby Shower Cake

2011-02-03T18:29:00.001-06:00

I think I am crazy...or maybe you could even call me just plain stupid.

A couple weeks ago we moved into a new apartment. On the same day that we moved, I also had a cake to make. I can't say that it was the best cake I have ever made, but I can say that it was pretty darn good considering. Just so you know, I wasn't crazy enough to plan on moving and baking on the same day. We had planned on moving sometime around the middle of February. It just worked out that way. I didn't want to cancel the order, so I made it anyway.

Here are the results, judge for yourself!

Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest. I finished the cake after the sun went down=(

Wanted to throw in one to show the moving boxes=)

Neutral Baby Shower Cake

2011-01-15T19:53:00.000-06:00

This is a gender neutral baby shower cake. It is a white cake with buttercream, covered with marshmallow fondant.

African Safari Cake

2011-01-15T19:04:00.004-06:00

I made this cake for my niece. She wanted an African safari landscape along with her and her sister riding in a jeep! After many failed attempts to make animals from scratch, I used store-bought ones. Since I wasn't successful with the animals, I wasn't about to try the jeep. Besides, by that time, I was out of time.

Overall, I am very happy with the results. This was definitely a learning process and next time I will know what to do!

Finished African Safari Cake.

Took some pics to show the process. This is the first shot. I wanted to add some texture to the fondant, so I dipped my hand in chocolate melts(of which I was told were the same thing as modeling chocolate....it is so not the same thing)and smeared chocolate all over. It didn't have the affect I wanted so I painted over it with a brown/yellow mix.

Ever since I googled pictures of safari cakes at the start of my quest, I have wanted to paint a sunset scene. At this point I was a little nervous. For some reason my cake looked more like a tribute to Jamaica than the savannah.

Painting the foreground.

Up close shot.

This was the night before the cake was due. I wanted the affect of real looking savannah grass so I bought some grass and such from the floral department of Wal-Mart.

The close to finished product. The tree in the background is made of modeling chocolate. I waited until I was at the delivery site before piping on leaves.

The birthday girl=)

A tribute to my first, made-from-scratch, animals.

Camping Themed Cupcakes

2010-11-18T13:15:00.001-06:00

The top tier is a tent scene on a 6" white cake. The third tier is made of chocolate cupcakes. There are fishing poles on it with fishing string hanging down to the second tier. The second tier is made of vanilla cupcakes that look like water. The bottom tier is made of chocolate cupcakes with a trial system on them.

These are red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese cupcakes.

Boston Red Sox Groom's Cake

2010-11-18T13:09:00.001-06:00

My Dinosaur Cake!

2010-10-23T19:55:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine asked me to make a dinosaur cake for her son's birthday. Here is the result!

Remember Me?

2010-07-12T21:39:00.007-05:00

It has been over 6 months since I have updated my blog on a regular bases. I think that qualifies as a historical period in the blog world, like the Paleozoic Era. (Think dinosaurs.)

Is anyone out there anymore?

Buehler?

I have stayed away from blogging all things caloric because of my never-ending struggle to balance food and health. How do I keep healthy while continuing to expand my cooking and baking expereinces?

I want to find the best buttercream frosting, master the art of icing a cookie, give goodies away to friends and family in little packages with ribbons and bows, take family dinners from meh to mesmerizing, and hone my knife skills. The list goes on....

Anyone else out there struggle with this? How do you balance it all? What's a girl to do?

Sour Grapes

2010-03-28T20:58:00.002-05:00

Lately I've had a thing for grapes. Grapes are great...they're sweet little balls of juice. They even come in multiple colors=)

Anyway.

Today, at my local grocery store I came across some grapes for $1.99 and put them in my cart. As my husband and I check out we notice that our bill is slightly more than normal. He starts naming our extra expenses for the week and says, "Well your grapes were six dollars."

Say what?!?!?!

SIX DOLLARS?

Ok, so they are $5.39. My hubby rounded up, way up.

(And notice they were $1.99 per pound, not per bunch. Grrr.)

But still...are they made of gold?

Here are the infamous grapes.

I'm not sure if I should eat them or freeze them in nitrogen for future generations.

I have not forgotten!

2010-03-03T21:42:00.002-06:00

I'm sure you have all been biting your fingernails, sitting on the edge of your seat...waiting for me to update my Ten in '10 Challenge. I know, I know. I'm sorry for causing the extra stress in your life. So here's the update:

February was not existent. Zilch. Nip. Nada. I didn't even try because of all the extras going on in my life. As March started creeping up on me I told myself that I needed to get back into the swing of things.

However, as God sometimes does, He threw me a curve ball...revealing something I need to deal with on a physical, mental, and spiritual level. I'm not at a point where I am ready to share that curve ball with you, my lovely world-wide viewing group of nine, but when I am, I will gladly share it=)

Until then, I'm trying to cut back on baking goodies, yummies, do-dads, and ding-dongs. Please do not give up on me. I shall return with recipes and inventions.

Blessings Galore,

Kristin

Trash those darn trash bags already!

2010-02-21T20:11:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday I traversed to my new casa to do some cleaning. You see, my brother's house is your typical man's house. I don't think he has actually cleaned since he moved in last April.

Thus, cleaning was required.

I spent the majority of my energy in the kitchen. Dishes had pilled in the sink and the refrigerator was over flowing with containers of left overs. As I cleaned out the fridge, I compiled about 4 large trash bags of nastiness. As I nearer the end of the bottomless pit of my brother's fridge I grabbed a tupperware full of hardened, congealed queso. This wasn't your ordinary old queso; I couldn't simply pour it into the trash. I had to bulldoze it out with a fork, chunk by chunk. Just when I thought I was done bulldozing, the mass of cheese caused the trash bag to topple over and disperse the contents of the trash...remember, I'm dealing with old leftovers...onto my clean kitchen floor AND on my fairly new tennis shoes AND my blue jeans. Boo on queso.

I proceeded to yell call my husband in the kitchen and made him politely asked him to listen to my rants.

After cleaning my mess and throwing my tennis shoes in the washing machine, I pressed on to further endeavors in the kitchen, including unpacking and reorganizing. As I was reorganizing the spice cabinet I felt an odd wet sensation on my right sock. And whatada know...I was standing in a puddle. This puddle had seeped out of one of those dang trash bags and soaked my sock.

This was not any puddle...it was a puddle of spit....a puddle of spit from my brother...a puddle of spit from my brother's dipping tobacco.

Can you say disgusting?

Then I threw my socks in the wash too

Still Hectic

2010-02-14T15:01:00.001-06:00

This morning we went to see my brother off. In order to do so, we got up at the crack of dawn. We were able to hang out with him for a couple hours and then before we knew it, it was time to say good bye. I was doing fine until I saw him get teary eyed. As I was hugging him he wouldn't let go immediately...he just kept holding me. When he got to his girlfriend, who is as good as a sister to me, I broke again. They kept whispering, "I love you."

It's like I was crying for my brother's sake, not mine. Crying because he will miss out on a year of his life here. Crying because I know, he knows, he might not come back. Crying because he's gonna be alone, away from his loved ones.

He lined up in formation and then they did roll call. After roll call they lined up for the bus. His girlfriend, Bree, got to say goodbye again and we watched him get on the bus. He grabbed a window seat...this part was kinda funny because he was smushed into an average bus sized seat with another grown man and both of their gear. Poor guy, he couldn't really move his hands. He was facing the window to see us and it kept fogging up from his breath. It took all his ability to try and wipe the fog away with his hand.

After about 20 minutes of sitting on the bus, they finally rode off.

What a draining morning.

Aaron and I went to church afterward. It was really good because it got my mind off things. I know that God is in control of everything. In fact, he's using my brother's deployment to drill that lesson remind me of that lesson on a daily basis. "Kristin, you cannot control everything. Leave it to me. That's my job, and I can do a better job that you can anyways."

In a couple hours Aaron and I are going to take some boxes over to my brother's house to start the moving process. You see, we are going to live in my brother's house while he is gone. It's a plus because we will save money and have tons of space. The con is that I'll be thinking about how he should be living there.

Another thing God is opening my eyes to are the sacrifices of the soldiers' families. I have a new level of appreciation and respect for the families and spouses who send their loved ones off to war. It's been hard enough sending my brother off, I don't know how I would do it if I sent Aaron off. I'll use this experience as a reminder to pray for those who are without their spouses.

Next week, after the move, I'll be back to normal and I'll start writing joyous posts again=) But for now, thanks for letting me share this stuff, it's been helping me cope. The following is from 1 Corinthians 12. It a combination of verses representing why I am thankful to have fellow believers who share my burdens and joys.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Thanks for suffering with me. It makes it easier to share the load=)

Need Some Prayer

2010-02-09T20:57:00.004-06:00

Hey all,

This week has already been a doosey.

To begin, my brother ships off to war very soon. This is his second tour and this one seems harder (on him, my family, and myself) than the first one. Ever since he came back from his first tour he has been a different person, in a totally good way. We are so much closer. He is more caring, gentle, family oriented. He makes me feel so loved.

All day Sunday we hung out with him and my parents. At church they prayed over him, then we ate my Dad's bbq ribs for lunch and watched the Super Bowl that evening.

I want to shout it out to the world that my brother is so amazing and how proud I am of him. What he does is hush, hush...so hush, hush I remain.

But because you are reading this I will tell you how amazing he is:

He sacrifices his time by leaving those he loves and what he is familiar with to protect us halfway around the world

He is ready to sacrifice his life for you and me daily, all so we may live in freedom

He sacrifices his emotional health, seeing things we've never seen even in our worst nightmares

He sacrifices his physical health, putting his body through physical hell and living in high stress, high adrenaline situations

I am so proud of him, respect him, and appreciate all he does.

Please pray for him.

Other stuff is going on too, including teaching my first ever lesson tomorrow, having crazy professors that expect the world from me and the slight fact that we are moving in 11 days.

10 in '10: Week 3

2010-02-01T17:53:00.012-06:00

What is 10 in '10? Check it out here.

So I feel like I'm starting to "get" this...which is a good thing! I think I can keep this up too. I don't feel like I'm missing out or being restricted to eating only vegetable sticks and soy beans for the rest of my life.

The biggest part of this week was the butt-kicking which ensued after starting Jillian Michael's Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism. I have never had a workout in which I actually grunted...yes, I made guttural noises....more than once....because my body sucked at an exercise so much. I did the dvd on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday I rested=)

You can check it out here and buy your own copy of kill-me-now workouts. Be sure you have a friend or family member near by in case there is a need for resuscitation.

Here are this weeks stats:

Workout: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Weight Loss: .6

Abs: 60 crunches per day, 5 out of 7 days

Another cool stat: I used exercise as an incentive to get homework done. Can you believe it!?!?!? I wasn't allowed to workout until I finished my reading lesson! CRAZY!

This Week's Recipe:

Broccoli Salad

Now, before you click the back button, fear not.......this actually tastes good. I know, I know. I didn't want to try it either. But then I did and I fell in love.

The best thing about this recipe is that you can make it a couple days in advance. Personally, I think it tastes better the older it gets. It's as if the broccoli soaks up the flavors of the other ingredients.

The next best thing is that it has bacon it in. Yup, I totally said bacon. Bacon.

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1/4 c Low Fat Mayo

1/4 c Low Fat Sour Cream

2 t Cider Vinegar

1 t Sugar

4 c Broccoli Crowns, Chopped

3 Slices Cooked Bacon, Chopped

1/4 c Dried Cranberries

1. Whisk garlic, mayo, sour cream, vinegar, and sugar in a large bowl. Add broccoli, bacon, and cranberries. Stir to coat the dressing. Add pepper to taste.

Try this as your next vegetable side dish or take it to your neighborhood picnic. It will be gone in all of 2 minutes. Promise=)

Sugar Cookies: Take 3

2010-01-28T15:41:00.005-06:00

Now this is where it's AT!

I stumbled across these at my mother-in-law's over the Christmas holiday. They are the best sugar cookies ever.

Ever.

They are soft and chewy and buttery and have that melt-in-your-mouth greatness that ever cookie should have!

I am thrilled to finally have a good sugar cookie recipe. And, the best part, is that I've learned how to frost cookies! You can too! It's really easy once you know what the trick is! I promise!

Quick tutorial on frosting:

1. Make said cookie recipe below.

2. Let cookies cool completely.

3. Make frosting recipe. Shhh.....don't tell....you can even use frosting from a can. Yes, I give you permission. I first learned how to frost cookies with frosting from the store. And let's face it. It's pretty darn good anyway. Not great, but darn good.

4. Put frosting into a piping bag with a small tip.

5. Outline the cookie with frosting.

6. Now pour a little corn syrup into the frosting. The goal here is to make the frosting thinner.

7. Once it is at a pouring consistency, pour, or flood, the frosting in the middle of the cookie, inside the outline.

8. Use a spatula to spread it around in a circular pattern.

9. Let the frosting set for a couple hours before stacking.

10. Eat them!

I took these to a baby shower for a friend of mine. I didn't try any of the cookies until I was leaving. They were sooo good that I ate three more on the way home!

Now, I'm not saying this is the best way possible or will give you the best results ever. However, I will tell you that this works for me right now at my ability level. As I get better and learn new techniques, I will pass them on to you! Until then...get bakin'!

Sugar Cookies

3 c Flour

*1 t Baking Soda (*Do not use soda if you want well defined shapes.)

1/2 c Shortening

1 t Salt

1/2 c Butter, room temperature

Combine these ingredients in a bowl; mix well and set aside.

2 eggs

1/2 t Vanilla Extract

1/2 t Almond Extract

*1 1/2 c Sugar (*a little less than)

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until dough if formed.

Divide the dough evenly into about 5 or 6 pieces. Roll the dough into balls, and then into disk-like shapes. {By flattening the balls in to disk-like shapes, it will be easier to roll the dough later.} Wrap the disks in saran wrap. Refrigerate until dough is hard, about 3 hours, or overnight.

Once the dough is ready, take out one disk at a time and place it on a well floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, flatten the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. {You can always make them thinner, but they won't be as sturdy.}

Choose your cookie cutter and begin cutting out shapes. {Tip #1: Before cutting any cookies out, figure out the best possible arrangement to get the most out of your dough. Just lightly press down on the cookie cutter to see an outline. Do this to find the best arrangement. Tip #2: Getting the cookie from the counter to the tray can be tricky. As I cut my cookies, I use the cutter itself to pick up the cookies. After the cutter has gone completely through the dough I pull up while slightly squeezing the cookie cutter. 9 times out of 10, I am able to use the cookie cutter to move the cookie.}

Place the cookie sheet with cookies in to the freezer for about 10 minutes. This step helps the cookies retain their shape.

Bake the cookies at 375 for 7-8 minutes. Cool cookies on a cooling rack.

10 in '10: Part 2

2010-01-25T18:28:00.015-06:00

Check out Part 1 here.

Saturday we went to the mall and bought new shoes for the little ones. I too bought new tennies, and a purse too! After the mall, we didn't have anything to do. And what does Kristin do when she has nothing to do??? I think you already know the answer to that question.

Kristin bakes!

Side Note: As you know, I worked out last week 4 times. Which in Kristin's rule book for 10 in '10, this equals the opportunity to bake. Earlier this week I did just that with the same results as the mac 'n cheese found in part 1. I made lemon pound cake from my great grandmother. Then I proceeded to throw it out. Remember, looks can be deceiving.

So Jen and I proceeded to make Italian Cream Cake! It was magnificent! I'm showing you a picture. But.....I....Cannot.....within my conscience, put that recipe up with my 10 in '10 post. That would just be wrong. For dinner we had Turkey Tetrazinni. Mmmm.

Baking cake for workout reward (check)

Eating healthy dinner (uncheck)

My trip ended on Sunday. And Monday was back to normal. Did I do ok in El Paso? I'm satisfied because on the whole, I ate well. Besides, how am I going to keep up with a lifestyle change that doesn't allow for LIFE to occur?

Here are my stats:

Workout: Tues, Wed, Sat, Mon, plus a mini workout on Thurs

Crunches: 50 a days, 6 out of 7 days

Weight Loss: 1.8 lbs

I am totally siked! (Is that how you spell it?) I lost weight while on vacation and while eating cake!

2nd Week Reward:

And here's my recipe for the week! Enjoy!

Simple Superb Salmon

1/3 c Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1/3 c Brown Sugar

1/3 c Water

1/4 c Vegetable Oil

1 Whole Salmon Filet, cut into 4 portions OR 4 Center Cut portions

1. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and oil. Set aside. Then place the salmon in a ziplock bag. Pour the marinade over the salmon and place in the refrigerator for at least one hour, 3 hours is best.

2. At one hour, preheat the oven to 350.

3. Take the salmon out of the bag and place it on a cookie sheet or pyrex dish. {DO NOT throw away the remaining marinade.} Cook the salmon in the oven for 25 minutes or until the fish becomes flakey when you pierce it with a fork.

4. While the fish in cooking, heat the marinade in a small saucepan on low.

5. After the salmon is done, pour the leftover marinade over the fish. It tastes yummy over rice too!

6. Once you've made the recipe, please, please, please go to http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/simple-superb-salmon/

and rate the recipe for me=) Simply click on the oven mitts under the title. Number of oven mitts=number of stars you would rate this recipe!

10 in 10 Challenge Week Two: Part 1

2010-01-25T10:54:00.027-06:00

This week has been interesting for me. I started out really well; I was working out and eating responsibly. (AND-I've got a great, simple, and tasty salmon recipe to share with you at the end of part 2.)

Then came the big hurdle.

I flew to El Paso for four days to visit the lovely Jen. Jen's hubby just left for the other side of the world to defend our freedom. They have two girls, Gabriella who is 5, and Adelynn who is 1. Just in case you were wondering, there is nothing to do in El Paso. Nada. Zilch. Zero. Don't plan on taking any vacations there, unless you want to be bored out of your mind. The only reason to go is to visit friends=)

I arrived on Thursday afternoon. That night we took Gabriella to track practice. On the way Jen drove me up to a scenic lookout in the mountains to view the sunset. It was glorious!We

didn't have time to stay for the entire sunset. This picture does not even begin to share how great it was 30 minutes later. While Gabriella was practicing, Jenny and I walked around the track for about 30 minutes.

Good start to vacation

Friday we took the girls to child care and explored the city. I am really glad we did this because it gave Jen a chance to find stores to shop at that she actually likes! We even found a nice grocery store=) (I know this sounds silly, but it is true.) For lunch we had sushi. You have to know, that this was a big step for me. I haven't had sushi for over 4 years! Last time I ate it I was borderline sick...the food was fine but since then I have lost my appetite for raw fish...it's kinda weirded me out, the raw fish that is...and this loss has made me sad because I used to like sushi.

Fairly decent lunch out with friend

That night we experimented with a new recipe for Mac 'n Cheese from Ellie Krieger. Ellie has a show on Food Network and likes to make healthy, fresh, non-processed foods. (This is my helper, Gabriella.) I should have known from the beginning that this dish was meant for failure. I began pulling the ingredients together, much like any other recipe. Then, while the concoction on the stove was heating, I added fresh grounded salt and pepper. Or should I say, I added some salt, and then proceeded to add half a bottle of peppercorns. Yes, I said half a bottle of peppercorns. Your eyes did not deceive you.

After 20 minutes of picking out peppercorns with a spoon-come to think of it now, there are many more efficient modes of extracting peppercorns I could have chosen from-I mustered up strength from the depths of my cooking soul and journeyed onward.

This was the result.

Granted it looks good. But it tastes like crap-o-lah. Blah. There's a reason you put butter, cheese, and fat into mac n' cheese.

We ordered pizza instead. I ate three pieces.

Experimenting with new healthy recipe

Success of said recipe

Come back tomorrow and read the rest...along with a great recipe for salmon!

Mmmm...doesn't it look good?!?!?!?!

Week One: Check

2010-01-18T18:28:00.009-06:00

10 in '10 Challenge Week One: I did it!

(Wondering what 10 in'10 is? Check it out here.)

For the most part, the first week went well. The first two days I forgot to do my crunches...oops. My only other speed bump was my friend Johanna coming over to bake cookies. You see, she had tried baking cookies at her house the day before, but it turned out that her oven had kicked the bucket. Thus, she came to my house. I was a little nervous...but I prevailed! I did not eat any.......not even a little bit of dough......ok, I had a finger-dipping sample of the dough. But if you know me....who luves cookies dough and more often than not likes the cookie dough more than the finished product...eating only a finger-dipping's worth is a major achievement. I allowed myself one cookie too.

Here are some great websites and tools I found:

1. sparkpeople.com : This site is great to track your eating and fitness efforts. You can track your weight progress, your daily calorie intake, the amount of calories you burned during a workout daily, weekly, monthly....you get the picture. I even tracked my walking route on a map and it calculated the distance in miles. I punched in how long it took me to walk it and BAM...I burned a crazy 353 calories. Very cool.

2. Nutrition Data : This site will show you nutritional information on anything. Not only that, it shows you how filling something is as well as the glycemic index. Give this site a try.

Here are my stats:

Work Out: Th, F, Sun, M

Crunches: 40 per day 5 out of 7 days

Weight Loss: 3.4 pounds

And here is my recipe for the week:

Apricot Pork Tenderloin

1/2 c Apricot Preserves

2 T Dijon Mustard

1 t Dried Rosemary, Chopped

2 Pork Tenderloins, 1lb each

1. Combine apricot preserves, dijon mustard, and rosemary in a bowl and stir.

2. Salt and pepper the tenderloins and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Then brush the apricot mixture on each side of the pork, saving a little over 1/4 of the mixture.

2. Roast at 425 for 40-45 minutes. Halfway through, turn the tenderloins and brush on the remaining mixture.

3. Afterwards, let the meat stand for 5 minutes and cut it on the diagonal.

Mmmm, it's super good and good for you! (It makes 8 servings, each serving approximately 190 calories and 4 grams of fat.)

The Best Granola

2010-01-16T21:19:00.010-06:00

I am a big fan of granola. The only problem is that it is super expensive. Why is it so expensive? You end up paying like $5 for 2 cups of granola. Is there gold in it? Maybe hundred dollar bills chopped up into super fine particles and then coated in sugar? No? You think I'm joking but it's a possibility. Anyways, because I was tired of eating perfectly good $100 bills, I decided to make my own.

Over the new year I made some with my friend Amy, but the original recipe wasn't that great. We had to doctor it up a bit...and by the end of it, the granola wasn't as healthy as I would have liked. So I made up my own, based on a couple recipes at Tasty Kitchen.

And it is fabulous. And good for you too...I even figured out the nutritional info.

You must try it today, you'll become addicted too.

4 c oatmeal

1/8 c chopped pecans

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1/2 c coconut, unsweetened

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c water

2 t vanilla

1 t cinnamon

dash of salt

Preheat the oven to 250. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, water, vanilla, and cinnamon; microwave for about 30 seconds and stir. Then pour the liquid over the dry mixture and stir well.

Divide the granola between the two pans; spread the granola out as much as possible.

Bake at 250 for 40 minutes. Stir halfway through.

Let it cool and store in an air tight container. It goes great mixed with yogurt and fruit, as cereal, or by itself. It makes 12, 1/2 cup servings.

*See Courtney's comment for nutritional content. My mind doesn't do math and Courtney's info is probably more accurate than mine was.

Enjoy!

Better Late Than Never

2010-01-13T22:30:00.012-06:00

While I was at the deer lease this year I took some pictures to capture the essence of God's creation. I was somewhat miffed when I developed my film because they turned out horribly!

On every picture was this black dot of sorts. I have no idea what it was, where it came from, etc. All I know if that it messed up my pictures. Needless to say, I was really disappointed. So much so that I didn't want to mess with the darn thing or use it to take any more pictures.

The crappy thing about having a camera that uses film is that you don't get to see the pictures as you're taking them. AND, you have to pay to get them developed.

Gesh. Am I made of money?

Then I came across a roll of film that I forgot to develop. Actually, I've had it for a while now but was so disappointed from the last set of photos that I didn't want to waste the time or the money to develop them. I finally stumbled across a coupon and decided to bite the bullet.

Boy I am glad I did! As it turns out, I am not a total idiot when it comes to taking pictures and the black dot went away!

You can click on the pictures to view them better if you so desire=)

It's hard to tell but right........here...........................is a windmill in the distance.

I think this looks like we were living back in the day. Don't you? It's like my mom is saying, "Howdy y'all!"

Ten in 2010

2010-01-11T10:13:00.007-06:00

Starting today I am taking the 10 in 2010 Challenge. What is the 10 in 2010 challenge? I'm glad you asked=)

In a nut shell, 10 in '10 is about being and/or getting healthy, which means something different to every individual. For me, it's about making good decisions regarding what I put in my mouth and what output I exert.

Each Tuesday I will post my progress along with a healthy recipe for the week. Here are my goals, rules, rewards, and potential pitfalls.

Goals

1. Work out minimum four times a week for at least 30 minutes.

M/W: Walk with the lovely Johanna and weights

Th/Sat: Yoga or other Cardio

2. Eat healthy meals, snacks, and gain better portion control

3. Share a healthy recipe every Tuesday

4. Plan entire week of meals

5. Work up to 150 crunches daily, starting at 40

6. Train for: (Walking only...I can't run because of my bad feet, Doc's orders.)

5K-Race for the Cure in May

10K-?

Marathon-Rock N Roll in November

7. Eat less processed foods

***Notice that I have not set a weight goal. I did this on purpose because I do not want my success to revolve around my wieght loss.

Rules

1. Work out even when I would rather not

2. Eat a fruit or veggie with every meal

3. No mindless eating

4. Allowed to bake one fun item if I work out 4 days the previous week.

5. Eat smaller portions

6. When I am snack-y I will chew gum instead

7. Get to eat one non-healthy meal weekly within moderation, observing the smaller portion rule

Rewards (Every 2 weeks)

2nd-New CD, possible David Crowder Band

4th-Rollerblades

I have been wanting rollerblades for a while...used to rollerblade in college. However, I must prove to myself that I will actually use them for something besides as a dust collector. Thus, I get them after week 4.

6th-Sign up for a magazine of my choice

I'm really excited about this one! So many magazines to choose from...

8th-Pedicure at Aveda

10th-Sign up for cake decorating class

I have been wanting to do this for like...forever...but have felt like I shouldn't spend the money. Now I will have earned it if I stick to this for 10 weeks. Definitely a reward I will work for!

Weaknesses to Be Aware of

1. French Fries

2. Unhealthy Desserts

I hope this challenge will start healthy habits that I will keep with me. And, by posting the challenge on my blog, I have accountability...which comes from you lovely readers. I will need as much encouragement as you can give me in the upcoming days/weeks/months!

Please join me in this challenge. You don't have to start today... pick a time within the month of January and start then. (I say within the month of January because if you are like me, you'll keep putting it off. Trust me, no time is convenient to start eating and living healthier.)

Check out this link for a better grasp on 10 in '10.

See ya next week, healthier and more fit than today!

Man Food

2010-01-09T20:17:00.006-06:00

Last week I traveled to Dallas for a few days and left my hubby, Aaron, to fend for himself.

The night before I left, Aaron went to the store to stock up on groceries.

This is what he bought:

Need I say more?

Christmas Break

2010-01-03T14:11:00.006-06:00

This Christmas season has been such a blessing for us. So far we have been able to relax, spend time with family, and hang out with each other. Thank you Jesus for your many blessings!

For Christmas Eve Aaron and I sang in my Dad's church choir and then hung out celebrating at my parents house. Each Christmas Eve we have a big buffet of our favorite foods. And no. You will not find all food groups represented there. As is happens, our family has refined and edited the buffet down to the following items: (I give you permission to drool)

*tamales

*bbq ribs, my Dad's of course

*chips and queso

*guacamole

*shrimp cocktail (not my favorite)

*texas trash (I'll explain what this is in another post. I will tell you what it is NOT: chex mix.)

*and whatever dessert I choose to make-Usually this happens to be turtle cheesecake and easy brownie triffle. This year I made Tres Leche Cake instead.

It was pretty good.

On Christmas Day we celebrated with Aaron's fam. We drew names this year to exchange gifts. I had my brother-in-law Ray. I gave him a Best Buy gift certificate because, well, he's a guy and that's what he asked for=) When I wrapped it though, I placed it inside my copy of New Moon. For those of you who are unfamiliar, New Moon is part of the Vampire/Warewolf/Romance/ Slighty-Teeny Bopper saga. It was hilarious to watch him open his gift and see New Moon glaring back at him.

The following day we headed out to the deer lease to go huntin' with my fam. Since I shot a 13 or 14 point buck last year, I decided that I had conquered that feat and stayed in the house cooking breakfast and baking goodies and taking photos with Old Timer. I made biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls, and easy brownie trifle. I think I had more fun. Everyone else was freezing their butts off in the below freezing temps. I did however go hunting for hogs at night, with no avail.

Eh.

Whatever.

Bree, my bro's girlfriend, and I just wanted to stick a pig with Aaron's bayonet anyways.

After someone shot it of course.

But Aaron would have none of that.

"It's not for sticking pigs with."

Bree and I disagree.

After hunting, I trekked up to Dallas to spend time with the best gal in the world. Amy. I took care of her while she recovered from surgery. Good times.

This week I have nothing planned! Whoo-hoo! Then I'll be closing my break with a camping trip with our small group. I'm excited.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Gotta Try This

2009-12-30T19:29:00.011-06:00

I promise you, you will love this! Just thinking about it makes me want to make it again.

(And I'm watching Julie and Julia. I want to make all the things on the movie too...like poached eggs. I've never made poached eggs. But Amy has, and I'm hanging out with Amy. I think Amy and I will be poaching eggs tomorrow.)

This dessert is sooo simple. Like really simple. I promise. Simple.

People we eat it and be instantaneously transported to heaven. And they will think you spent alot of time preparing it. Or maybe not. At least they will love it=)

So here it is.

(Sorry the pics are a little off. I baked this at a hunting lodge which had beautiful lighting in the day but horrible lighting at night. Guess when I took the pictures?)

I need to name it but everything I think of sounds lame.

You'll need the following ingredients to carry this out:

1. brownies from a box

Now you can totally make brownies from scratch, but that's the beauty of it...You don't have to! No one will know! I, K. Kunoff, do hereby give you, ______________, permission to make brownies from the box.

2. large box of chocolate instant pudding

3. large container of cool whip

4. at least 2 cups of fruit

I usually use thawed frozen fruit, specifically berries. If you use strawberries, cut 'em up some.

5. some sugar, about 2 T

If you are using frozen fruit, take it out of the freezer to thaw, about 2 cups. Set aside. Bake the brownies according to the box. Let them cool. Next, make the pudding according to the box as well. {See, I told you this would be simple!} Let it set. Then take a cup or so of the cool whip and mix it in with the pudding. You don't have to be precise.

Next, sprinkle a couple tablespoons of sugar on the berries and mix it up.

Here comes the fun part.

Get out a pretty, clear/see-through serving bowl. Or go simple and use a glass mixing bowl...it will look good either way. Set your brownies, pudding, cool whip, and fruit in front of you.

Cut the brownies up and place enough in the bowl to cover the bottom.

(This is a picture of the second layer of brownies.)

Then cover the brownies with a layer of cool whip. Next, cover the cool whip with the pudding.

Then layer it with some fruit. Repeat.

Now, dig in! Share it or eat it yourself!

And help me come up with a name for it! Be creative.

And make this right now. Literally, you are missing out every minute you do not make this.

I'm gonna make something from the movie right now....at the moment they are eating a chocolate torte......Mmmmmmm.

My new toys!

2009-12-29T18:03:00.004-06:00

I just had to share some of the gifts I received this Christmas. I think you might see a theme here...lol.

Just a few new cookbooks. (That I'm dying to try.)

A new recipe holder. It stands up too!

And a set of 56, yes, that's right, count 'em...56 decorating tips; a pastry blender; a lemon zester; and Julie and Julia!

And my new baby........

Yes, it's just a food processor. But it's my brand, new, can't-wait-to-try-it food processor!

I have lots of new recipes and adventures I can't wait to tell you about! New posts soon!

Marshmallows

2009-12-19T23:18:00.025-06:00

The other day I came across a recipe for homemade marshmallows. (OurBestBites.com) Since I was in the midst of finals I took a much needed break to have some fun! This is definitely something you could do with kids...certain steps of it at least. They would have a blast.

These are super easy! Only catch: you'll need a candy thermometer.

Yummy Marshmallows

3 packets unflavored gelatin

1 C ice water, divided

1 1/2 C sugar

1 C light corn syrup

1/4 t kosher salt

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

1/4 C corn starch

1/4 C powdered sugar

First, add the gelatin packets to a stand mixer.

(Yes, you can use a hand mixer. However, this is about a 12-15 minute beating process. Be sure to have a super haus hand mixer and reinforcements for when you get tired of mixing.)

Then add 1/2 c ice water. Stir until mixed, then set aside.

In a medium saucepan 1/2 c ice water, corn syrup, salt, and sugar. Stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Clip candy thermometer to pan.

Leave mixture on low heat until it reaches 245 degrees, stirring occasionally. This will take about 15-20 minutes. You do not want to quickly raise the tempurature to 245. The process needs to be gradual. When it reaches 245, remove from heat.

Turn the mixer to low speed and

Slowly,

Slowly pour the sugar mixture into the gelatin.

If you get lazy and rush this process you will only have yourself to blame for the steaming burn developing on your hand.

Then turn the mixer up to med-high for 12-15 minutes. If you've got a stand mixer...read a book, watch tv, talk on the phone. If you've got a hand mixer, yell for back up. In the last couple minutes add the vanilla.

Prepare a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. Then combine the powdered sugar and corn starch. Coat bottom and sides of pan with mixture. Save excess.

When marshmallow fluff is ready, pour it into the 9x13 pan. It's gonna be sticky so beware!

My best advice is to spray a spatula over and over with nonstick spray as you spread the marshmallow fluff throughout the pan. My next advice is to eat some of the marshmallow fluff. Mmmmm...it's soo good by itself. Better yet, try it with peanut butter and graham crackers.

Let it sit for an hour, then sprinkle the top of the fluff with a dash or two of cornstarch mixture. Continue to let the marshmallows firm overnight or 5-6 hours.

When they are ready, turn the pan over and pop the marshmallow out.

Then cut your marshmallows however you choose. For this round I stuck to squares.

However, you can totally go all out with cookie cutters! How cute would that be?!?! With the scraps, cut them into mini marshmallows=)

If you want to take your marshmallows to the next level I suggest a couple options:

1. Dip them in chocolate

2. Sprinkle toffee bits, peppermints, etc. on top of chocolate

3. Mix up the marshmallow flavors: add peppermint extract instead of vanilla, add cocoa powder for chocolate marshmallows (4 T), or try food coloring

Enjoy!

Sugar Cookies: Take 3

2009-12-19T23:18:00.024-06:00

Now this is where it's AT!

I stumbled across these at my mother-in-law's over the Christmas holiday. They were the best sugar cookies I've ever had.

Ever.

I am thrilled to finally have a good sugar cookie recipe. And, the best part, is that I've learned how to frost cookies! You can too! It's really easy once you know what the trick is! I promise!

Quick tutorial on frosting:

1. Make said cookie recipe below.

2. Let cookies cool completely.

4. Put frosting into a piping bag with a small tip.

5. Outline the cookie with frosting.

6. Now pour a little corn syrup into the frosting. The goal here is to make the frosting thinner.

7. Once it is at a pouring consistency, pour, or flood, the frosting in the middle of the cookie, inside the outline.

8. Use a spatula to spread it around in a circular pattern.

9. Let the frosting set for a couple hours before stacking.

10. Eat them!

I took these to a baby shower for a friend of mine. I didn't try any of the cookies until I was leaving. They were sooo good that I ate three more on the way home!

Sugar Cookies

3 c Flour

*1 t Baking Soda (*Do not use soda if you want well defined shapes.)

1/2 c Shortening

1 t Salt

1/2 c Butter, room temperature

Combine these ingredients in a bowl; mix well and set aside.

2 eggs

1/2 t Vanilla Extract

1/2 t Almond Extract

*1 1/2 c Sugar (*a little less than)

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Then slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until dough if formed.

Place the cookie sheet with cookies in to the freezer for about 10 minutes. This step helps the cookies retain their shape.

Bake the cookies at 375 for 7-8 minutes. Cool cookies on a cooling rack.

Lions and Tigers and Pies; Oh My!

2009-12-19T16:19:00.009-06:00

A couple posts back I told you how much I dislike pies. It's true. Pies aren't my thing. They don't light me up. They don't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Until now.

(Inserting foot in mouth)

I now introduce you to the wonderful, the almighty, wish-they-had-little-cheeks-to-pinch they're so cute....

Drum roll please................plrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

(is that how you make the noise to drum?!?!?!?!?)

Mini Pie-In-A-Jar

Ta-dah!

Check these babies out! They are too cute! How could you not want to make these suckers. I got my inspiration from OurBestBites.com.

These are great as gifts and/or to eat yourself! And who's kidding who? You totally will eat them all yourself. I do.

To start, buy yourself some mini mason jars. You can use 4 oz or 8 oz jars. I used 4 oz jars because that was all I could find. Be sure to wash them before you use them.

Dry 'em and set aside.

Let's make some crust. Now, you can totally use store bought...I usually do.

This time I wanted to try a homemade crust.

Try it. You'll be surprised how flaky it is.

AND

It's yummy.

It's quick and easy.

1 1/4 c Flour

1/2 t Salt

1/3 c plus 1 T of butter flavored shortening

1/4 c Ice Water

Combine the flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Cut up the shortening into small cubes and add to flour mixture. Cut shortening in. (To cut shortening into the flour use a pastry blender. If you do not have a pastry blender, use two beaters. Push the butter "into" the flour mixture with the beaters.) Do this until the butter is about pea size.

Now, this is were you need to use restraint. About 1 T at a time, pour ice cold water into the dough. As little as possible, turn the dough with your fingers. Continue adding water 1 T at a time until the mixture is just barely wet. (You don't have to use all the water by the way.) The goal here is to handle the dough as little as possible; you're only trying to wet all the flour. Your dough should come together fairly easily but it should not be sticky(too sticky means too much water).

(If you won't be using your dough right away, roll it into a ball and wrap with saran wrap. Place in fridge until ready to use.)

Take a handful of dough and roll in out to 1/8 inch thickness. Then, take your mason jar lid and use it as a cookie cutter. These will be your pie tops.

Place aside. Now take little pieces of dough and press it against the bottom and side of your mason jars.

Place aside. Now it's time to decide what kind of pies you'd like to make. I chose apple, cherry, and mixed things up a bit with apple-cherry. You can make any kind you like! Simply make the pie filling like you normally would and then scoop it in the pies. Place a dab of butter on the top of each. Mmmmm.

Then get creative! Retrieve your pie tops and place them on your pies any way you choose.

Here comes the best part.

Now you freeze 'em! This is what makes them great as gifts or as a make ahead dessert. Bake them at 350 for 40-45 minutes frozen, 30-35 minutes thawed.

Give 'em away or eat them=)

Mailing Christmas Gifts

2009-12-15T15:36:00.003-06:00

Last week I prepared Adrianna's Christmas gifts. For those of you who don't know, Adrianna lives in freezing cold Minnesota. Thus, we have to send her gifts through snail mail.

One thing I don't like about mailing gifts is that I don't get to pretti-fy each gift with ribbons and bows. I mean I could, but they would only get mushed and un-pretti-fied during shipping.

However, I have come up with other ways to make do. Here are my suggestions for your Christmas mailings!

1. Wrap the inside of the main shipping box.

2. Add lots of ribbons and bows on top on the gifts.

3. Always add glitter, glitter confetti, or glittery garland.

4. Better yet, add all three!

5. Glitter is good.

Here's my latest attempt to pretti-fy:

One goof: after I taped and sealed the box I saw that I left out my glittery tinsel=(

Boo.

See how pretty it is? It even has little candy canes on it. Sad day.

Happy wrapping!

Sugar Cookies

2009-12-13T21:53:00.008-06:00

Tip-o-the-day: When making sugar cookies, put the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before you bake them. That way, they retain their shape!

So my goal this Christmas season was to make some be-u-ti-ful sugar cookies to give to my friends as gifts.

The idea was a total FLOP. And I'll tell you why.

1.) I don't know if I just can't find a great sugar cookie recipe

I simply do not enjoy sugar cookies; therefore, all the recipes I've tried-and when I say all, I mean two-are not that great.

2.) I have a long way to go in the art of decorating.

I made my first batch of cookies from a recipe in Good Housekeeping. They turned out kinda flour-tasting and were a bit too hard. The second batch was from Our Best Bites--->a new blog I have recently discovered. You should totally check it out. But not right now...because, well, you need to finish reading my blog...then you should check 'em out. Here's the link http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/12/sugar-cookies.html. These cookies tasted much better by themselves; however, when I added the frosting, the cookies were a bit too soft.

This is starting to sound like Goldilocks. I need a cookie that is not too hard, not too soft, but juuuuuuuust right.

Anyways, I got way tired of making sugar cookies and wanted them out of my house. I rallied my small group and they answered the call. I made royal icing and let them decorate the cookies.

Here are some of the results:

Here is my first attempt at royal frosting. See that bowl in the bottom left hand corner. Yeah. That one. The ugly one. That was supposed to be purple. There more I tried to fix it, the more grey it became. Boo on my purple icing intentions.

The extras=)

Courtney and Johanna

Chris' cookies

Austin

And my cookies-I had absolutely no patience left. I think you can tell.

And here are my dream cookies. Feel free to "Ooo" and "Ah." I totally did.

Check both these out in more detail at

http://www.mysweetandsaucy.com/category/christmas-ideas/

Yet another cool web site I recently found!

I want these cookies and this cookbook!

If anyone has amazing sugar cookie recipes or amazing decorating skills, come teach me!

For now,

The baker who can't bake sugar cookies

Photos

2009-12-03T18:09:00.008-06:00

Something you may not know about Kristin: she likes photography, 'specially as an art form.

About 6 months ago I borrowed a pretty nice, albeit older, camera from my father-in-law. I played around with it for a while, taking cool pictures of bees (I'll have to explain my bee-charming ability on another day). Then all of a sudden, one roll of film into my musings to be exact, the camera stopped producing pictures. I would go to my local Walgreen's, have them developed and much to my surprise, roll of film after roll of film was turning out blank.

"What the heck old camera?"

And that pretty much sums up my photo taking for the last 5 months 3 weeks and 2 days.

Then, someone inspired me to try it out again. It turns out that it just needed a new battery. Geez. I wish I woulda known that.

But moving on. All bitterness toward my old camera gone, but still skeptical that my photos would appear, I set out on a new frontier last week.

My new mission was to create/fashion/contrive the most amazing sugar cookie with frosting possible. Therefore, as I began trying recipes, I documented the progress with both my digital camera and old-timer. (I say old-timer; I think the camera is from the 70s or 80s and was bought in Asia some were. Yeah, I know, the stats on this camera are really beefing up your expectations.)

The first recipe of sugar cookies turned out blah. The second one, although I've only tasted the dough, has much potential. At this point in the process I had used about 22 pictures out of old timer and I didn't want to waste time taking pictures of the final product if the film was no good.

So I went outside and took the remaining pictures, dropped it off at Walgreen's, and held my breath.

And these are some of the results: (Oh yeah, some of these photos are from a total flop attempt at sticky buns...total bummer.)

One thing I learned, do not use the flash directly on the object.

My puppy=)

Baking

Fall

And my favorites

Old Timer, you've done good.

I love me some cheesecake....Mmmmm

2009-12-01T09:32:00.014-06:00

Cheesecake....it would not be the holidays without it.

Every year I make a turtle caramel cheesecake for my bro for Christmas Eve. I must say, it's a big hit. And don't worry, modesty is one of my greatest qualities=) But this year I wanted something more. If you don't know by now, I don't "do" normal desserts. They kinda bore me. Not that they aren't great and all, but I've moved past 'em. I need something fun and new to try.

My November issue of Southern Living was chock full 'o recipes. Five-star, new and exciting, calling-out-to-Kristin recipes. This is were I got my recipe: Brandy Alexander Cheesecake.

Doesn't the name just draw you in? It exudes elegance. AND, it's full of the good stuff: Brandy and Kahlua.

It's calling your name.....

Make me....

Bake me....

Divulge in the awe-inspiring smoothness of me....

Please give this a try. I guar-ron-tee you will melt at first bite.

(Click on image to view larger format.)

Pumpkin Pie Spectacular!

2009-11-27T22:57:00.009-06:00

So, I'm not really a pie person.

And I'll tell you why.

Pies don't require much finesse. Just bake a crust and dump some ingredients in the middle...and va-la...you have yourself a pie. What's the big deal about that?

I want something that inspires me...(think BIG here)...that makes me want to dig deeper to create some fantastic, mouth-watering, want-to-eat-so-much-more-of-you dessert.

So this brings you up to speed to my dilemma for Thanksgiving. I was supposed to bring a dessert for our family get together, but nothing was popping out to me. And a pie, well, it's just a pie, and you already know how that goes.

However, I found this recipe that brought "just a pie" to a whole new level.

Intro: Pumpkin Pie Spectacular

Now this is a pie I can get behind. It has 6 different facets to it. It requires skill, albeit not much, but some.

I made the pie and it turned out great. BUT it could have been that much better. Why?, you ask. Because I forgot to add the last layer of oh-so-delicious goodness to my pie=( The whip cream. And it wasn't your everyday whip cream. It had ginger and cinnamon in it.

Sigh

No one will know the true potential, the true greatness, of Pumpkin Pie Spectacular. (Well, my Mom and I know the true greatness because we added the whip cream to the top when we got home. But there were 23 other people who did not get to taste the full effect.)

So you've gotta try this because it truly is one spectacular pie.

(Click on each image to view larger)

Mmmmm......Bread

2009-11-22T20:47:00.006-06:00

I told you I would be baking more since Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Yesterday, my friend Johanna gave me a lesson in bread baking...since the only bread I've baked before was pumpernickel bread-->and it was a bust. Not just your average everyday bust, but ground breaking, major bust. Tasted like a rock and weighed as much as a brick.

Onward and upward!

Boy did we have fun. It is so much fun to make bread from scratch! The best part is getting your hands dirty and in the dough and punching the bread down as it rises! Did I say that it was fun yet? Because it was so much fun!

We baked dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. The recipes were straight out of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. So I'm not going to post the recipes as most people own that standard cookbook.

Here are some fun pictures.

The lovely Johanna=)

Kneading some dough.

Spreading butter with my fingers...it was like I was a kid playing with something I knew I would get in trouble for later. So much fun.

Rolling the cinnamon rolls.

Before.

After.

Time to eat!

These are so yummy that once I started writing this blog I just had to eat another. Yum.

Shortbread Lemon Tarts

2009-11-14T16:20:00.011-06:00

Wow! It has been a long time since I have had a chance to bake! School has kept me busy...too busy. But, alas, I will not let Thanksgiving and Christmas pass me by without trying something new!

Thus...Shortbread Lemon Tarts.

Taste: These suckers are mighty good=) The shortbread could be eaten by itself...yummy and buttery. And the lemon filling...I could eat that by itself too. In fact, I totally did!

Degree of Difficulty: Anyone could do this.

Time: Be sure to make the filling a day in advance. Also, if you only have one mini muffin tin, allow for more baking/cooling time since the tin must go in the freezer to firm the dough.

Just some pictures of the process=)

Click on each image below to view a larger version of the recipe.

Easy-Peasy

2009-10-04T16:16:00.007-05:00

Lemon Rosemary Palmiers [palhm-YAH]

These french cookies are an easy treat that will leave your family and friends thinking you spent hours on them. They are great with coffee or tea. Mmmmm.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Length of Time: 2 hours; 20 minutes prep, 1 hour to cool the rolled pastry before cutting individual cookies, 40 minutes baking

Taste: The batch I made was heavy on rosemary and light on the lemon. I will make them again using a little less rosemary and a little more lemon. I already adjusted the recipe for my personal taste. Feel free to add and subtract as you see fit! My favorite version of these is cinnamon sugar. See variations below.

(Click on the recipe to see it larger.)

Other Variations include:

Original Palmiers-Simply omit the lemon and rosemary

Cinnamon Sugar Palmiers- Mmmm, my favorite! Just add cinnamon to the sugar.

Savory Palmiers- Try spreading the puff pastry with garlic, parmesan, and pesto.

The possibilities are endless!

Longhorn Cafe

2009-09-27T13:45:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite past times is eating great food=) I am always keeping my eyes open for new recipes or restaurants to try. As of lately I have come to the conclusion that I love me a good burger and fries. I'm talk about a juicy, beefy, melt-in-your-mouth kinda burger. And of course, I can never pass on good french fries. The key, my friends, to good french fries is actually not in the french fry at all, but in the quality of ketchup. A good french fry is no fry at all if the ketchup is less than par.

With that said, Aaron and I found a good burger joint today: Longhorn Cafe on Blanco near 1604. The atmosphere is fun and laid back. You enter and immediately order your food, then sit and watch your favorite sports team. I ordered a cheeseburger, Aaron ordered a bacon cheeseburger, and we shared a large order of half and half french fries and onion rings. The burger was good but mine had too much mayo on it...that was all I tasted at first. However, the onion rings were to die for! They are the real thing, hand battered and all. Next time we will skip the fries and order all onion rings. (The fries are good but the onion rings are simply that much better!) They offer a variety of items, including a massive chicken fried steak.

Burger: 4 (out of 5)

Fries: 4

Onion Rings: 5

Ketchup: 4

Atmosphere: 4

We will definitely be heading back to Longhorn Cafe. Tell me about your favorite burger joints as I would love to expand my burger joint horizons!

Weight Watchers Chocolate Eclairs

2009-09-12T17:48:00.004-05:00

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate. The difficulty comes from handling a pastry bag.

Taste: Not too shabby. The eclairs are a Weight Watchers recipe though, so of course there is room to improve with a more fattening version.

Time to Prepare: 2 hours total for a beginner. I have never used a pastry bag before; I think you may be able to assemble the eclairs faster if you have experience with pastry bags.

Weight Watcher's Points: 4 per eclair

*Click on photo to enlarge

The Joy of Fall!

2009-09-07T20:55:00.005-05:00

Reality...September in Texas does not qualify as Fall, but rather Summer.

However I will not let that get the best of me because I absolutely, without a doubt

love,

love,

love Fall!

3 Reasons

1. The changing colors. (Of which do not apply to south Texas. Shhhh. Don't spoil it for me!) It is so gorgeous! Reds, Golds, Yellows, Oranges of every shade and hue. Fall's display of color is like a symphony; it is breath-taking.

Every year about this time Aaron keeps his eye out for the first shipment of baby pumpkins to arrive in store fronts. These tiny reflections of Fall wrapped up in pumpkin form are his little way of saying "Happy Fall!" I got my first babies today=)

2. Football. Oh how I love football. College football to be precise. Texas Longhorn football to be exact.

This year I am adding to my repertoire Fantasy Football.?.? Not sure if I'll be any good, but a group of gals from church thought we'd give it a whirl. I'll keep you up to date with how horribly sad we are doing=)

3. Change of Weather!

Let there be colder weather! In all actuality it has been getting cooler and for that I am grateful. I will take lower 90's over 100's any day.

4. Ok, so I lied. There are 4 great things about Fall. My list would not be complete without Fall cooking and baking! There are so many amazing delights to be cooking in the fall. Essence of cinnamon, pumpkin, and nutmeg come to mind. Oh the glorious tastes of Autumn.

With that, I leave you to savor the greatness of Fall. Relish in all that it brings!

Wheel of Fortune

2009-09-03T18:48:00.004-05:00

Yes.

I am a nerd.

I watch Wheel of Fortune Monday through Friday. Sometimes I even catch it when it comes on Saturday evening.

So here's my beef with the show. Or rather, with the contestants.

When the show gets to the bonus round, Wheel of Fortune automatically gives the contestant the letters R S T L N and E as a freebee. Then, the contestant gets to pick 3 consonants and 1 vowel. It almost never fails that the contestants choose the next most used letters, which include C M P D and A.

However, the producers of Wheel of Fortune know that these letters are the next most common letters so they choose puzzles which do not include these letters.

Now, you would think that the people who get on the show actually watch the show on a daily basis, right?

So then tell me this...

Why do they keep picking letters that are rarely in the bonus round puzzles?

Cake and Kin

2009-08-26T20:00:00.014-05:00

This past weekend I got to hang out with my immediate families. That's right, both immediate families.

Aaron's family.

My family.

Aaron's family got together to celebrate Mindy's birthday. (Mindy and I below shopping and playing with fun hats!)

My family got together to celebrate my mom's and brother's birthdays.

In honor of all the birthdays, what did I do? I baked of course! I made Black Forest Cake. I think it turned out pretty well.

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate to freakin' hard

Length: You need a good two days. The first day bake the cake and cool in refrigerator, soak cherries as well. The second day make the rest of the cake and assemble.

Taste: Cake is oh-so moist! Not too rich or overpowering.

(Click on the picture to see the recipe full screen.)

Say Cheese!

2009-08-15T19:10:00.006-05:00

Tonight Aaron and I had quite the spread.

I was having a hard time coming up with something creative for dinner when I came across the cheese counter at HEB. Amidst the cooler of pricey cheese wedges was a small dish full of reject pieces of said pricey cheeses. For the low price of a dollar or less I could sample several gourmet cheeses. I was in. Forgive me for my lack of palate as I relay the experience of my taste buds.

From Left to Right (Top Row):

1. Epicure Bally Oak Smoked: Strong/Sour Flavor, Creamy

2. Beemster Classic Gouda aged 18 Months: Creamy and Crumbly

3. Beemster Grakaas: Super Creamy, Swiss Cheese Like Flavor

4. Ilchester Applewood Smoked Cheddar: Smokey, Creamy, Reminds Me of Bacon

5. Hoffman's Smokey Sharp: Mild Smoke Flavor, Creamy

(Bottom Row)

6. DaVinci: (Couldn't Find a Name on the Label) Honestly after having so many other cheeses I couldn't tell you what this one tasted like...I just know I did not like it.

(Forgot to Photograph)

7. Beemster With Neetles: Creamy, Olive and Garlic tones, Somewhat Sour

Overall, I only liked the smoked cheddar varieties, respectively numbers 4 and 5. Maybe I'm not meant for gourmet cheeses from around the world. Eh. So tell me about your favorite cheese! I would like to spread my horizons.

Cream Scones

2009-08-10T14:06:00.004-05:00

What a treat! These remind me of the yummy delights I used to get a quaint British tea shop.

Degree of Difficulty: Easy

Time: 30 min

Taste: Slightly sweet, biscuit like. Goes well with clotted cream or Devonshire cream and your favorite jam. (I used raspberry.)

Cream Scones JoyofBaking.com 375 for 15-18 minutes

Scones:

2 c all purpose flour

1/4 c white sugar

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/3 c cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 t vanilla

1/2 whipping cream or milk

Fake Devonshire Cream:

Sugar

Vanilla

Whipping Cream

Beat together with blender.

Scones: In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into flour mixture with a pastry blender. (You can also use the two blades of a blender to mash the butter into the mixture.)

In a separate bowl, combine the egg, vanilla and whipping cream. Add this to the flour mixture. Do not over mix! Mix just enough to blend the two mixtures together.

Gently knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Spread the dough out so that the height is about 1 and a half inches high. Then cut the dough into circle with a cookie cutter. Place the scones on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the scones with cream.

Bake until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Serve with Devonshire cream and jam.

Makes 10 scones; freezes well.

Giving Blood

2009-08-06T17:52:00.002-05:00

Today Aaron and I gave blood. Actually we gave platelets, the part of your blood that forms a clot when you have cut yourself. It's about a 2.5-3 hour process. They even let you watch a movie =) When you get done they give you all sorts of things to eat and drink and tell you to sit in this little room of sorts for about 5 minutes, to make sure you are ok.

The point of all of this is to say: When you get done your body reacts in different ways. Some people feel light headed, sick, dizzy. Well Aaron and I both felt a little on the tipsy side. It was as if we were both on our way to getting drunk. Just imagine two people sitting in the refreshment room trying to have a conversation but neither of us can hear each other talking and we are smiling like complete idiots. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall watching it all unfold.

Moral of the story: Drink lots of fluids before giving blood and such. Also, give blood and or platelets as often as you can. Platelets can be given ever 3-7 days.

2009-08-01T18:38:00.001-05:00

My Lamingtons

Welcome to my blog!

2009-07-30T15:40:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! We shall see how this works...having a blog and all.

My desires in creating a blog are to share my life with you on a regular basis and to share my love for cooking and baking.

With that said, I share my first recipe (a rather long one):

Lamingtons-

Degree of Difficulty: Moderate to Somewhat Hard

Time: Frustratingly Longer than I would have liked

Taste: Pretty good! They remind me of Samoas, the Girl Scout Cookie

Cake Recipe:

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4cup granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

Chocolate Frosting:
4 cups (1 lb.) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
1/3cup cocoa powder
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
Coating:
2 cups unsweetened desiccated coconut, finely ground
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter, or spray with a nonstick cooking spray, the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) square cake pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In bowl of electric mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cakepan and invert, lifting off the pan. Re-invert. Once the cake has completely cooled cut it into 16 two-inch (5 cm) squares. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or even overnight. The reason for doing this is that it is much easier (less crumbs) to coat a cold cake with frosting.
Chocolate Frosting: Place the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, butter and milk in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir the mixture until it becomes smooth and of pouring consistency.
To assemble Lamingtons: Make a production line; put the 16 squares of cakes on a wire rack that is placed over abaking sheet (to catch the drips). Have ready the coconut on a large plate and the chocolate frosting. Spoon or ladle the chocolate frosting over each square of cake, making sure you cover all sides. (It is best to do a few squares at a time.) With a small offset spatula or knife transfer the chocolate covered cake to the plate of coconut and roll the cake in the coconut, covering all sides. Gently transfer the lamington to a clean wire rack to set. Repeat with the rest of the cake squares. Once the Lamingtons have set, store in an airtight container for several days.

I give all the credit to The Joy of Baking, a totally amazing baking website. However, I could never get my frosting thin enough. I had to settle for rather lumpy Lamingtons. I wish mine looked like the picture above! Oh well, onward and upward.

Read more:http://joyofbaking.com/Lamingtons.html