one extra little thing.....

OH!!!  I almost forgot to let you know.... if you cake decorating people haven't seen this yet, hold onto your toilet paper, because your about to pee yourself.........
My most covetted machine that I will never be able to get or afford has come out with a new product!!  The Cricut is now out for cakes!!!!  ..... take it in..... that's right.... it cuts fondant and gum paste...... I KNOW!!!!!  I'M.IN.LOOOOOOVE.!!!!!!!!

Here are some pics from the "Cricut Cake" website:

Ok.... that's enough stealing of their pictures.... GO TO THEIR WEBSITE!!!!  Also, check out this corny little video of the DIY girls demonstrating the machine.  Now, I'm going to go change my pants again.... excuse me......

Ganache Greatness

As I stated on my last post, I made my first "fancy" cake with ganache, and tried the Chocolate Cake from Whisk Kid's blog (my new favorite blog by the way).  It was soooo good.  I couldn't use her icing due to the whole "raw egg" factor and certain health issues some of my co-workers are having right now.  So, I used the "Quick Vanilla Buttercream" recipe that I found on the Food Network site and it turned out really well.  I also used Whisk Kid's Peanut Butter Ganache recipe, but added 1/2 cup more peanut butter because I wanted the PB taste to sing a little more.  Her picture of the cake was just gorgeous, but I'm still starting out and needing a little (as in a whole heck of a lot) more practice to get to her level.  Her ganache called for dark chocolate, so I used Hershey's Dark Chocolate Chips.  I had some left over and didn't have time to make the chocolate curls so I threw those on top.... don't judge me!
The cake was insanely delicious and I will make it for all other chocolate cakes in the future.   I really enjoyed the ganache, too.  It got the wheels in my head turning about how to make it mocha flavored next time. 
Here's the pictures.... and yes.... the cake is a little lopsided and not iced perfectly but it was crazy late and "Biggie Smalls" was having a rough night so I didn't have time to purty' it up like I wanted to.  

 My co-workers are still fighting for this very last piece of cake.  I wont lie, it makes me feel good!  Heeh heeh!  I know the last 2 pics are a little gross, and not "blog beautiful" but I thought it was hilarious how these 7 women tore this cake up!  The last picture shows the ganache in the middle above the icing layer.  The recipe made A TON of ganache and I wished I had used more, but I was afraid of it squishing out and being gross. 
Check out Whisk Kid's blog for the recipes and also see her insanely gorgeous rainbow cake that is the next task on my list. 

cake trials

I made my first "fancy" cake last night.  It turned out pretty good.  It was supposed to look like this (from Whisk Kid's blog):

.... but suffice to say it did not.  But it still tasted delicious.  Little man is good, we are good, things are good.  I'm a little bit out of my mind with work and having to move my office since our satellite office is closing.  I thought I was originally going to have to work out of the Pittsboro office (an hour and a half commute) but I begged my boss and the agency has graciously allowed me to work out of the downtown Durham (insert gun shots, pepper spray, and scream sounds here) office, which will "only" be an hour commute.  I'll take it over not having a job at this point.  We're supposed to move tomorrow.  I have no boxes packed.... NONE.  It's my own person protest.  Needless to say it's not getting me far. 
I'll post pics and reviews of this cake when I get a little more settled.  Love you all.  Thanks for checking in!

OUTRAGEOUSLY Deeeelicioius Sugar Cookies

These are the cookies I used for the Valentine's Day cookies I made.  They were insanely delicious and buttery.  And again.... note to self.... THESE ARE NOT GOOD COOKIE CUTTER COOKIES!  They spread out too much for cutters.  Holy Hannah these are soooo good!  You can find them at All Recipes: 

Chewy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups margarine
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup white sugar for decoration

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients until just blended. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls and roll the balls in remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned at the edges. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Half Hour Chicken Gumbo

This is a little late, but I really got into the Mardi Gras spirit this year and made some REALLLLY yummy gumbo this year.  I found a "Half Hour Chicken Gumbo" recipe on Martha Stewart's website.  It used a roaster chicken from the grocery store, and it was quite simple and easy.  After it cooked it looked really gross and "grey" so I added a large can of crushed tomatoes to it.  I don't remember any gumbo I've ever eaten being the color it was before the extra tomatoes, and I was sooo glad I added them.  It was delicious!!  Here are my pictures from my meal:

  Here's the recipe and the picture from her website!

Half-Hour Chicken Gumbo

Serves 4

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 red bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen cut okra
• 8 ounces smoked (precooked) andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced 1 inch thick
• 1 rotisserie chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), skin and bones removed, meat shredded (about 4 cups)
• Store-bought or homemade cornbread, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium. Add flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until pale golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in bell peppers, onion, garlic, and oregano; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. Add 4 cups water; stir in okra and sausage. Bring to a boil. Stir in shredded chicken, and warm through, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; if desired, serve with cornbread.

Last ditch effort!

I'm such a bad mommy!  I haven't done anything for spring yet!  I haven't decorated one single thing, bought anything for Carter's Easter basket, or even gotten him his Easter outfit!  I'm horrrrrrible!  This weekend will be my "Spring Cleaning Weekend" (hahah!!  ...right!~) and hopefully getting SOMETHING decorated for Easter.  Wish me luck!  I'll post pics soon!

And a special something for my friend Jaime......

I loooooove you!!  I loooove that little Chase, and I love that little Mason already!  I'll be thinking of you Monday as you go in for your c-section!!

"Before I was a Mom"
Author Unknown

Before I was a Mom
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday
I ate meals while they were still hot
I wore clothes that had no stains

Before I was a Mom
I never looked into teary eyes and cried
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down

Before I was a Mom
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much
I never knew that I could love someone so much
I never knew I would love being a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know how special it could feel to nurse a hungry baby
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Bathtub paints

Carter is loving bath time and I'm all about it too.  I'm trying to get him comfortable enough to lay on his belly and he's doing quite well!  We're signing up for swim classes in our town for April and I'm crazy excited for it.  They are pretty cheap and good timing with my work schedule. ..... back to my point.... I've been trying to extend Carter's time in the water as much as possible so he will love swimming this summer at our place at the lake or the beach.  I made some really cool bath paints for him from a recipe that I found at "Children's Learning Activities" blog.  It was free b/c we had all the supplies on hand.  It's pretty easy to clean up as long as you don't let it sit and dry.  It hasn't stained anything yet, but we move our white bathroom rug, and white shower curtain out of the way just in case :)  Sorry for the poor picture quality.  Phillip's BB phone doesn't have the best camera. 
(I do have to mention that I have to make sure little man is rinsed REALLLLLY well after using this or his eczema acts up.... just a "note to self"...)

Here is the recipe, courtesy of the above mentioned blog:

Recipe:

1 T cornstarch

2 T liquid soap (shampoo, body wash, etc)

food coloring

Mix cornstarch and soap together. I usually double or triple the recipe. Then add a few drops of food coloring to get the desired color. Last time I did it I did 2 T cornstarch and 3 of soap and it turned out fine.