Berry Shortcake Cake

1. Cake
2. 2 cups all purpose flour
3. 1/4 cup + 2 tbs. cornstarch
4. 2 cups granulated sugar
5. 1 tsp. salt
6. 1 cup boiling water
7. 8 egg whites
8. 1 tbs. baking powder
9. 1 tsp. cream of tartar
10. 2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Whip cream
2. 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3. 3 tbs. powdered sugar
4. 1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups berries I used strawberries and raspberries.

melted chocolate to drizzle if desired.

1. For the cake; preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a large bowl sift together flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
3. Once sifted slowly stir in the boiling water.
4. Allow batter to cool.
5. In the bowl of your stand mixer whip together egg whites, baking powder, cream of tartar, and vanilla until stiff peaks are formed.

1. Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the cooled batter until combined.

1. Pour batter into three 8 inch cake pans.
2. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
3. Allow to cool.

1. For the whipped topping; allow stainless steel bowl and wire whip to chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
2. Once chilled, on high combine heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of your stand mixer. And whip until stiff peaks form.
3. Place in refrigerator until needed.

1. To assemble; top first cooled cake 1/3 of the whipped topping.
2. Then top with 1 cup of the diced berries.
3. Repeat until 3rd cake is topped off with the remaining whipped topping and berries. And chocolate drizzle if desired.

* I got this recipe from sweetasacookie it tasted great. I added the raspberries and the chocolate. This was a messy cake and hard to cut but was really good :)

Minion Party

My baby just turned 4 and we had a huge minion party for here. Here are some of the items that I made for it. We had both the happy and evil minions at the party.

Vanilla Butter cream Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups butter, at room temperature (3 sticks)*
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 - 4 Tbsp heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (use clear if desired)

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle or whisk attachment whip butter on medium high speed (if using whisk attachment whip on high speed) until nearly white and very fluffy, about 7 - 8 minutes, frequently scrapping down the sides of the bowl. Add in powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract and mix on low speed until blended, then increase speed to medium and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 - 6 minutes, frequently scraping down the sides of the bowl. Immediately spread over cooled cake or cupcakes.
• Note: if you want an alternate flavor of frosting, coconut or almond extract would be a great substitute for the vanilla extract, just add it to taste.
• *I use half salted butter and half unsalted butter (3/4 cup of each)

* This recipe makes a ton for frosting so you can easily half it and still have plenty for some cookies or a cake. But it was really smooth and tasted great.  You can store in refrigerator (up to 4 days) or freeze it for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator – never microwave to thaw).

Here are some tips for great butter cream frosting.

1. Really whip the butter. I am talking until it’s basically white. Really pay attention to the shade of the butter when whipping, making sure it becomes very very pale.
2. Use heavy cream. Cream makes everything better, and creamier of course.
3. Lots of butter.
4. Ratio is important, don’t add any more powdered sugar than listed or the proportions won’t be right and your texture wont be what I call perfect.
5. Don’t overdue it with the vanilla, add no more than 1 1/2 tsp. If anything reduce the amount. The beauty of the flavors of the buttercream comes from the butter. Basically it makes it taste like ice cream, it doesn’t need to be enhanced, just lightly highlighted.
6. Whip it some more. Once you add the cream you still want more air and fluffiness in there. This isn’t a one minute frosting recipe but I’m telling it’s well worth the time and patience invested.

* I got this recipe and all the tips from cookingclassy

Baby Shower Cake

Here is a cake that I made for a baby shower. I thought that I would share the idea. I used fondant to cover the cake and hand made all the fondant daisy's to cover the cake. Then used giant shimmer gumballs for the outsides and topped the top flowers with junior mints. For the cupcakes we used a vanilla bean frosting with more of the fondant flowers to top them with.

Homemade Bean with Bacon Soup

3/4 pound bacon

1 small onion

4 large carrots

4 15 ounce cans Great Northern Beans

4 C water

2 bay leaves

1/4 t pepper

1 T beef bullion

3 T tomato paste

1 t liquid smoke

2 t Worcestershire sauce

2 T apple cider vinegar

1 t salt

1/8 t basil, dried

1/4 t thyme, dried

2 T sugar

pinch red pepper flakes

1. Chop up your bacon into chunks. 
2. Toss them into a large soup pot and cook the bacon over medium high heat, just until the edges start to crisp. You don’t want it too crunchy, the middle of the bacon pieces should still be a bit pink. 
3. Chop your onions and carrots up into little small pieces. 
4. Add the vegetables to the bacon and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies are crisp tender. 

5. Drain the juices of JUST ONE CAN Great Northern beans into the sink.  You want  the juices from the other 3 cans to go into the soup pot. Add the drained can, and the other three cans to the soup pot.

6. Add all other ingredients and bring the soup to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for about 30 minutes. 

* I got this from jamiecooksitup I loved it and thought that it was so much better then the can bean with bacon soup. 

Creamy Chicken Casserole

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cups cooked cubed chicken
1/2 pk frozen 16oz peas and carrots
1 cup milk
1 can 10oz cream of celery soup
1 can 10 oz cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 T butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper



1 Preheat oven to 350. Cook noodles according to package. Meanwhile in a large bowl combine all remaining ingredients. Drain noodles and add to chicken/soup mixture.
2. Transfer to a greased pan. Cover and bake 30 min then uncover and bake 10-15 min longer until heated through.

* I thought that this was super easy to make and tasted great. Its just like a pot pie without the crust. Would make again.

Taco bell Meat Copycat

1lb ground beef
1/4 cup flour
1 T chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp onion powder
dash garlic powder
1/2 cup water

1.In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef with the flour, chili powder, salt, minced onion, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder. Use your hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients into the ground beef.

2.Add the seasoned beef mixture to the water in a skillet over medium heat. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula, and break up the meat as it cooks. Heat for 5-6 minutes, or until browned. The finished product should be very smooth, somewhat pasty, with no large chunks of beef remaining.

* I thought that this was good it had a different texture to it with the flour in it but I thought that the flavor was pretty good. As far as how it compares to taco bell I dont eat there enough to be able to compare it so im not really sure but it was still a good change from the same old taco meat. 

Cheesy Mexican Rice

2 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped red, orange or green bell pepper
2 C rice (I used long grain jasmine rice)
1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce
3 1/2 C chicken broth
1/2 t cumin
salt and pepper
1 T butter
1 C shredded mexican blend cheese

1. Heat a large, deep skillet up over medium high heat. Toss 2 tablespoons of butter into the not pan and let it melt.
2. Add 3 cloves of garlic (minced), 1/4 cup chopped onion and 1/4 cup chopped red pepper. Allow the vegetables to cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions are translucent.
3. Add 2 cups of rice. Give it a nice stir to combine and then and allow the rice to cook a bit. You want some of it to turn a beautiful golden brown color. We are just looking for some of the grains of rice to turn golden brown.

4. Add 1 can of tomato sauce and 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth.
5. Toss in 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and stir everything together.
6. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover the pan. Allow the mixture to simmer and cook for about 12-15 minutes, or until the rice has soaked up the liquid and is no longer crunchy.
7. Sprinkle the rice with a bit of salt and pepper and toss another tablespoon of butter in. Stir it all together to combine.
8. Turn off the heat and sprinkle 1 cup of mexican blend cheese over the top of the rice. 
Cover the pan and let it sit for about 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

* I loved this rice and thought that it was a perfect side dish to any mexican meal. And was really easy to make. I got this recipe from one of my new favorite food blogs jamiecooksitup