Cake Tool Organization

For any of yall who like to create fun cakes like me, you know there are lots of tools and supplies involved. Shoving them in a drawer somewhere means they end up lost, especially during those times you really need them. SO, i created a box to keep all my things neatly organized in one place! And you know i had to place a cute monogram on the front to add a touch of "pretty".

As you can see in these last two pictures, these little snapware containers have been one of the greatest little things ive found yet! They come in sets of two with a lid but you can keep adding on. Ive added another two for more room and just put the extra lid in a safe place in case i ever need it. You can find these at any store that sells storage bins etc.

Nurse Cake

This is the cake i made for my moms birthday. I have no formal cake training and just kind of started making them on a whim. For those of you who look at this and say there is no way i can do that, YES YOU CAN! Molding fondant is like playing with edible play doh and i know we have all done that a few times in our lives! And no i did not carve this cake, i have a t-shirt shaped pan from wilton which is retired but you can always find it on ebay for 15-20 bucks. Its a good investment and can make anything from baseball jerseys to baby onesies.

I baked two layers of the tshirt shaped cake, covered it with a crumb coat of icing and stuck in the freezer to let it set. While it was in the freezer, i rolled out the fondant ( i buy the ready made wilton kind so theres no measuring/ messing up involved) to a rectangle using my cake pan to measure out to the correct size. When the cake was ready, I rolled the fondant up loosely onto my rolling pin and draped it over my cake and worked it in until smooth. I used the leftover pink to make everything else you see on the cake. I died a small portion black to make the pen and stethescope and i used pearl dust to make the silver items. This was an EASY cake great for those just starting with fondant like me.

Farm Cake

After weeks of planning and shopping for materials, here it is The Farm Cake! This cake was the most challenging one i have made to date. I was having a lot of problems with fondant cracking because i was not taking my time like i should have. So i ended up doing some things twice. The barn is made of rice krispies stacked flat (two rows of them) and then carved a little at the top to form the shape. I literally rolled out the red fondant and laid the the rice krispy barn over to cut out the shapes for it. For the roof, i measured the length the strips needed to be then cut out a few and stuck them in the fridge to let them get hard. For the fence, (this is the part that really took the most time) i rolled out my brown fondant and using a piece of paper as my guide, cut straight long strips down and then came back in and cut across for the length i needed. To make the rows behind the tractor, i used a star tip and brown butter-cream mixed with a little bit of cake crumbs and kind of twirled my tip as the icing came out to make it look like the tractor was plowing. Everything else on the cake is free formed to the best of my abilities including the pig, the rocks, and the chicken.

Lasagna Roll Ups

Lately I've become bored with my old recipes, so I decided to start switching things up. Here is a much easier and faster way to make lasagna in individually packaged bundles.

Recipe

Makes 10 Servings

10 Uncooked Lasagna Noodles

Meat Sauce

1/2 lb Ground Beef

1 Can Your Favorite Spaghetti Sauce

1/4 Tsp. Minced Garlic

Salt to Taste

Cheese Mixture

15oz Ricotta Cheese (small container)

1 Large Egg

1 3/4 Cups Mozzarella Cheese

3/4 Cup of Grated Parmesan Romano Blend

Salt To Taste

Topping

1/4 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

Sprinkle of Grated Romano Parmesan Blend

Left over Sauce

Directions 

1. Cook Lasagna Noodles To Al Dente According To Box Directions (about 8 min). Pre-heat oven to 350.

2. While noodles are cooking brown ground beef in a pan, drain off grease, and add in sauce, salt and garlic. Set Aside.

3. Mix together all ingredients in cheese mixture. Set Aside.

 4. Lay out one lasagna noodle as shown above and place three spoonfulls of cheese mixture along the length of the noodle. Take your spoon (and using a mashing not spreading motion), mash the cheese mixture so that it covers the entire noodle.

 

5. Use about one spoonfull of your sauce mixture and spread it out along your noodle. Roll up the noodle and place seam down in a pan.

6. Spread Remaining Sauce over the roll ups and sprinkle with cheese. Place in a 350 degree oven covered with tinfoil for 25 minutes.

Summer Treat Number One: 

Homemade Strawberry Daiquiris

50 Calories

Recipe

1/4 Cup Master of Mixes Strawberry Daiquiri Mix

1/8 Cup Heavy Cream

10-12 Ice Cubes

1/4 Cup White Rum

Throw into the blender until combined. Makes one serving.

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with a Pecan Brown Sugar Glaze... can you say yummmmmm??

Recipe

Cinnamon Rolls

1 sheet of puff pastry dough

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp butter

1/8 cup white sugar

1tbsp cinnamon

Glaze

6 tbsp butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup pecan pieces

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Grease 24 cup mini muffin pan. Pre-heat oven to 350.

2. Mix together butter, salt, and sugar for the glaze. Place a tiny dollop in each muffin cup (dont worry if it doesn't look like a lot, it will spread out when you bake). Put a few pieces of pecans on top of each dollop.

3. Unfold thawed pastry dough and smear with the two tablespoons of butter.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon over the butter. Cut sheet into three parts.

5. Roll up each sheet individually, cut each sheet into 8 pieces. Place cinnamons rolls on top of glaze, bake, and enjoy!!

Monogrammed Brita Bottle

For those of you who are as crazy about monogramming as I am, here something new I decided to try. I dont have a fancy vinyl cutting machine so i usually just go to etsy to order mine for about 2 bucks a piece. For those of you who dont know what etsy is, check it out, it is awesome!! 

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Frittatas!

36 Calories per piece

These yummy and quick mini frittatas are a great breakfast for people in a hurry. Make the night before and pop in the microwave in the morning and you have a delicious low calorie breakfast! 

Recipe

6 eggs

1 cup skim milk

1 tblsp butter, melted

6 pieces turkey bacon (cut into 4 pieces each)

1 tsp salt or to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Chopped green onions (optional)

Cooking Spray

Mini muffin pan (makes 24 mini muffins)

Oven pre-heated to 350

Directions

1. Whisk together eggs, melted butter, milk, and salt.

2. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray

3. Cut each piece of turkey bacon in to fourths and place one piece in every hole.

4. Pour egg mixture into pan. I filled each hole almost all the way up leaving a little room to add cheese and to let it slightly rise. It's also easier to put egg mixture in a small measuring cup to pour it in.

5. Sprinkle cheese on top of egg mixture to your liking

6. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes until slightly brown on top!