Nothing is ever simple with me...yes, that is a big mess!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Let it rise!
My first attempt at making bread! Fingers crossed it rises and tastes alright....
Nothing is ever simple with me...yes, that is a big mess!
Nothing is ever simple with me...yes, that is a big mess!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Care Package!
When I was little and we would go to visit my grand parents my Mama (pronounced maw-maw) would bake a lot of things with us. From counting out the marshmallows for the Rice Krispy treats to baking a lemon meringue pie, she always let us bake with her.
I learned a lot about cooking in that kitchen. Some valuable baking lessons and definitely some lessons about my family. Most of my favorite memories and two equally important lessons were developed when we would make snickerdoodles.
Lesson 1: Unlike brown sugar, you do not pack flour. This results in very dense and not so sweet snickerdoodles. (I was so proud of myself for packing it so tightly!)
Lesson 2: If everyone wanted to eat cookies, don't tell my father we were making snickerdoodles. That man's fingers are stickier than the dough and he had some pretty sly tricks to distract you while he stole some dough.
If, like my husband, you have never made snickerdoodles, you need to. In fact they are so wonderful and easy you should stop and make them right now. Everyone will love the smell that is coming from your oven and everyone will buzz around with joy after eating them. If you have kids in your kitchen then this is a recipe for you! It is so fun to roll the dough into balls and then spin them in cinnamon and sugar!
I have never made snickerdoodles outside of my grandmother's kitchen. While I lover her cooking and her recipes, this generation is less enthused to use crisco in every item we make. In fact, I pretty much avoid if at all possible. I just have issues with it. 'nuf said. SOOO, I found a recipe on food.com that was all butter instead of crisco...I'm in!
Since I baked these at half time of the Kentucky/Baylor game, pictures are only at the end...I told you they were fast!
Here we go:
My grandma used to send me these in a care package when I was in college or deployed, so I decided to return the favor. Love you Mama...these should be on your doorstep tomorrow!
I learned a lot about cooking in that kitchen. Some valuable baking lessons and definitely some lessons about my family. Most of my favorite memories and two equally important lessons were developed when we would make snickerdoodles.
Lesson 1: Unlike brown sugar, you do not pack flour. This results in very dense and not so sweet snickerdoodles. (I was so proud of myself for packing it so tightly!)
Lesson 2: If everyone wanted to eat cookies, don't tell my father we were making snickerdoodles. That man's fingers are stickier than the dough and he had some pretty sly tricks to distract you while he stole some dough.
If, like my husband, you have never made snickerdoodles, you need to. In fact they are so wonderful and easy you should stop and make them right now. Everyone will love the smell that is coming from your oven and everyone will buzz around with joy after eating them. If you have kids in your kitchen then this is a recipe for you! It is so fun to roll the dough into balls and then spin them in cinnamon and sugar!
I have never made snickerdoodles outside of my grandmother's kitchen. While I lover her cooking and her recipes, this generation is less enthused to use crisco in every item we make. In fact, I pretty much avoid if at all possible. I just have issues with it. 'nuf said. SOOO, I found a recipe on food.com that was all butter instead of crisco...I'm in!
Since I baked these at half time of the Kentucky/Baylor game, pictures are only at the end...I told you they were fast!
Here we go:
My grandma used to send me these in a care package when I was in college or deployed, so I decided to return the favor. Love you Mama...these should be on your doorstep tomorrow!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Eat, Drink, and be glad...
There are so many stresses in this world and my family is definitely far from immune to them. When things get tough though, that's when we dig in...what other choice do you have? I have been doing several things to find perspective. Perspective...it can really change your attitude! On my fridge, I have two important perspective reminders: "Count your blessings, not your worries," and this picture:
This is Roberto and his 3 year old son Roberto Jr. I met them in Mexico when I was a senior in high school, and think about them often. They were a beautiful family who found joy in life amid dirt, a hole in the ground for a bathroom and cardboard. My youth group helped build them a house made of wood, shingles and sheet rock. I hope they know how much they changed my life.
As I look around my solid home, I think back to my childhood and have been looking at old pictures: when did I develop the belief that I should have all the nice things right now that my parents have only recently acquired? I'm learning that being a single income family means what you have is good enough and needs are funded, not wants. I only recently realized that my childhood dining room set consisted of metal folding chairs...as a kid, who cared what kind of furniture you had? All we knew was that we were loved. I want that for Eli.
So, I have been reading the book of Ecclesiastes and man, it is far from all sunshine and butterflies! BUT, I found this conclusion today and thought I would share: "So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun." Ecc. 8:15
Now, to put this in context, the writer begins this book by saying, "Meaningless! Meaningless!...what does a man gain from all his labor..." Ecc 1:2 and 3. Quite hopeless in the beginning but how true is it that if we find joy in the every day tasks and our home life that work doesn't seem so bad? So, that is what I intend to do.
Let's eat!
In addition to reading Ecclesiastes, I have been between 3 new cookbooks I received around my birthday. (Once again, I am so blessed to have a Moma who feeds my obsessions!) Since Jessica Seinfield is teaching me all about the importance of nutrition in EVERYTHING we eat in her books, "Deceptively Delicious" and "Double Delicious," and Jennifer Reese is teaching me how to be economical in her book, "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter," we had some yummy whole wheat and flax seed bagels with homemade Greek-style yogurt.
The bagels are not the easiest thing you'll ever make, but if your child wakes up at 6am on a Saturday morning, why not? The yogurt on the other hand, SO EASY, and Reese gives a cost comparison of $1.75 a quart for homemade yogurt vs. $8.00 for a quart of the Fage yogurt I have been buying for Eli.
Here we go!
Yogurt:
All you need is 1/2 gallon of milk and a quarter cup of yogurt so you can get the live cultures for your new amazing yogurt. (I used organic, whole milk this round but am going to try out skim milk next since we make a lot of smoothies.)
Poor the milk into a large pot and heat over moderate heat until it is ready to boil but don't let it boil. I stirred it the entire time (as suggested in Reese's recipe) and cleanup was easy. Remove it from the heat and let it cool to about 110-115 degrees (luke warm). This temperature is important to activate the cultures in the yogurt. Add the 1/4 cup yogurt and stir. Cover it with a damp towel and put it in your oven, turned off, over night. To make it Greek-style, in the morning take it out of your oven and spoon the runny yogurt into a colander lined with cheesecloth or a clean old pillow case and place the colander over a larger bowl to catch the whey that will drain out. I let mine drain on the counter for about 4 hours and then it was perfectly thick. (don't use paper towel as a cloth in your colander...I tried since I didn't have cheese cloth and it just didn't hold up after that many hours.) Spoon this into an air tight container and refrigerate. The yellow watery liquid that has collected from your strained yogurt is actually whey. Don't eat this like Little Miss Muffet, instead, put it in a container and store it in your refrigerator for up to 10 days. It is a great ingredient in the bagels you will soon be making (or bread!).
You now have about a quart of yogurt!
Now for the yummy, yummy bagels:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup milled flax seed, 4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, 3 TBSP granulated sugar and 1 TBSP kosher salt. Add in 1 1/2 cups of WARM whey (from your yogurt) or water. It really must be warm to activate the yeast.
Beat this hard with the paddle and then transition to the dough hook when it starts to come together. I had to add about another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour because me dough was pretty wet. You want it to be dry to the touch and not stick to you. Once it is at the desired "stickiness" kneed it for 5 more minutes.
Move your ball of dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp dish towel. I put mine in the oven for an hour until it had doubled in size.
Prepare your baking sheets: You need one greased with some vegetable oil (I spread with my hands since the paper towel seems to take most of it for itself...) and generously spread corn meal on a second sheet.
Punch down your dough and put a large pot of water on the stove over medium high heat.
Separate the dough into 10 sections and roll them into nice little round balls. Some of mine were pretty....most were a little oddly shaped. Let's call them rustic :) As you make these pretty, rustic balls, make the hole in the center with your thumb and gently pull the dough away from the hole to form your bagel shape. Let these rest on the greased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes.
Now, preheat your oven to 400. Your water should be to a nice rolling boil. Add in 2 TBSP of dark brown sugar. Drop 3 bagels in the water. After about a minute, flip them over. I used two of the wooden handles from my rubber spatulas.
After another minute, remove them from the water. I used a slotted, flat "flipper" spatula. Place them back on the greased sheet to dry slightly and continue with the other bagels until all have taken a dip.
As the others cooked I topped some of my bagels with cinnamon and sugar and parmesan cheese. I left 4 just plain.
Once they have dried a bit, move them to your cornmeal baking sheet. Place them in the oven for about 25 minutes until nice and golden. Let cool slightly then dig in!
We were out of cream cheese so I topped mine with some of the greek yogurt...sounds odd, but it was wonderful!
Eat, drink and be glad. Saturday is looking good :)
As I look around my solid home, I think back to my childhood and have been looking at old pictures: when did I develop the belief that I should have all the nice things right now that my parents have only recently acquired? I'm learning that being a single income family means what you have is good enough and needs are funded, not wants. I only recently realized that my childhood dining room set consisted of metal folding chairs...as a kid, who cared what kind of furniture you had? All we knew was that we were loved. I want that for Eli.
So, I have been reading the book of Ecclesiastes and man, it is far from all sunshine and butterflies! BUT, I found this conclusion today and thought I would share: "So, I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun." Ecc. 8:15
Now, to put this in context, the writer begins this book by saying, "Meaningless! Meaningless!...what does a man gain from all his labor..." Ecc 1:2 and 3. Quite hopeless in the beginning but how true is it that if we find joy in the every day tasks and our home life that work doesn't seem so bad? So, that is what I intend to do.
Let's eat!
In addition to reading Ecclesiastes, I have been between 3 new cookbooks I received around my birthday. (Once again, I am so blessed to have a Moma who feeds my obsessions!) Since Jessica Seinfield is teaching me all about the importance of nutrition in EVERYTHING we eat in her books, "Deceptively Delicious" and "Double Delicious," and Jennifer Reese is teaching me how to be economical in her book, "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter," we had some yummy whole wheat and flax seed bagels with homemade Greek-style yogurt.
The bagels are not the easiest thing you'll ever make, but if your child wakes up at 6am on a Saturday morning, why not? The yogurt on the other hand, SO EASY, and Reese gives a cost comparison of $1.75 a quart for homemade yogurt vs. $8.00 for a quart of the Fage yogurt I have been buying for Eli.
Here we go!
Yogurt:
All you need is 1/2 gallon of milk and a quarter cup of yogurt so you can get the live cultures for your new amazing yogurt. (I used organic, whole milk this round but am going to try out skim milk next since we make a lot of smoothies.)
Poor the milk into a large pot and heat over moderate heat until it is ready to boil but don't let it boil. I stirred it the entire time (as suggested in Reese's recipe) and cleanup was easy. Remove it from the heat and let it cool to about 110-115 degrees (luke warm). This temperature is important to activate the cultures in the yogurt. Add the 1/4 cup yogurt and stir. Cover it with a damp towel and put it in your oven, turned off, over night. To make it Greek-style, in the morning take it out of your oven and spoon the runny yogurt into a colander lined with cheesecloth or a clean old pillow case and place the colander over a larger bowl to catch the whey that will drain out. I let mine drain on the counter for about 4 hours and then it was perfectly thick. (don't use paper towel as a cloth in your colander...I tried since I didn't have cheese cloth and it just didn't hold up after that many hours.) Spoon this into an air tight container and refrigerate. The yellow watery liquid that has collected from your strained yogurt is actually whey. Don't eat this like Little Miss Muffet, instead, put it in a container and store it in your refrigerator for up to 10 days. It is a great ingredient in the bagels you will soon be making (or bread!).
You now have about a quart of yogurt!
Now for the yummy, yummy bagels:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup milled flax seed, 4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast, 3 TBSP granulated sugar and 1 TBSP kosher salt. Add in 1 1/2 cups of WARM whey (from your yogurt) or water. It really must be warm to activate the yeast.
Beat this hard with the paddle and then transition to the dough hook when it starts to come together. I had to add about another 1/4 to 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour because me dough was pretty wet. You want it to be dry to the touch and not stick to you. Once it is at the desired "stickiness" kneed it for 5 more minutes.
Move your ball of dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp dish towel. I put mine in the oven for an hour until it had doubled in size.
Prepare your baking sheets: You need one greased with some vegetable oil (I spread with my hands since the paper towel seems to take most of it for itself...) and generously spread corn meal on a second sheet.
Punch down your dough and put a large pot of water on the stove over medium high heat.
(Watch out people, I have a mean right hook!)
Separate the dough into 10 sections and roll them into nice little round balls. Some of mine were pretty....most were a little oddly shaped. Let's call them rustic :) As you make these pretty, rustic balls, make the hole in the center with your thumb and gently pull the dough away from the hole to form your bagel shape. Let these rest on the greased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes.
(Ok, so maybe only one looks nice and round...I like things to have character!)
After another minute, remove them from the water. I used a slotted, flat "flipper" spatula. Place them back on the greased sheet to dry slightly and continue with the other bagels until all have taken a dip.
As the others cooked I topped some of my bagels with cinnamon and sugar and parmesan cheese. I left 4 just plain.
Once they have dried a bit, move them to your cornmeal baking sheet. Place them in the oven for about 25 minutes until nice and golden. Let cool slightly then dig in!
We were out of cream cheese so I topped mine with some of the greek yogurt...sounds odd, but it was wonderful!
Eat, drink and be glad. Saturday is looking good :)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Mission Birthday Cake 3
Definitely some lessons learned, but overall, I like the colors! Eli won't have daffodils on his cake, in fact it will hopefully be a lot smaller and simplistic. I am just looking for a good, colorful, and as natural as possible mess. This should do it!
I got the cake recipe out of Jessica Seinfield's book, Deceptively Delicious, and modified the cream cheese icing so the consistency was closer to buttercream. I know Jessica, less sugar for the kiddos; but I really want a pretty cake, too!
Who knew heart healthy and beta carotene filled pumpkin could go so unnoticed in this yummy cake!
Happy Spring!
I got the cake recipe out of Jessica Seinfield's book, Deceptively Delicious, and modified the cream cheese icing so the consistency was closer to buttercream. I know Jessica, less sugar for the kiddos; but I really want a pretty cake, too!
Who knew heart healthy and beta carotene filled pumpkin could go so unnoticed in this yummy cake!
Happy Spring!
Mission Birthday Cake 2
Chillin' in the fridge post icing. Hoping the cream cheese frosting holds up! My bet is if we stick with this icing, Eli will look like a Smurf! 
Mission Birthday Cake
Initial attempt:
Deceptively Delicious. Can you guess the hidden vegetable?
This is the frozen cake to try and keep the crumbles minimal. I even had to hurdle a gigantic spider to get this puppy in the freezer (and no I didn't kill it, I ran around it like a big girl!) (and yes it was HUGE and even turned to stare me down!)
The things we do for love. (of cake and babies)
Deceptively Delicious. Can you guess the hidden vegetable?
This is the frozen cake to try and keep the crumbles minimal. I even had to hurdle a gigantic spider to get this puppy in the freezer (and no I didn't kill it, I ran around it like a big girl!) (and yes it was HUGE and even turned to stare me down!)
The things we do for love. (of cake and babies)
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Thirty-Five Years
I am behind on many things but this one just couldn't wait any longer! I think of things I want to share all day long, and then before I know it it is the end of the day and those thoughts are all still trapped in this head of mine. Hang on, this is a good one.
35 years and 3 days ago, two teenagers, one of which was still in high school, made a commitment to love and cherish one another "until death do us part." Or as more famously in my family, they exchanged rings and my nervous18-years-by-3-days old father said, "with this wing, I thee red!" In Lightner tradition, I'm sure he did turn red! :)
But there they stood, two kids who started dating in junior high, in front of their family and friends in a rented dress and tux and scared, excited, and not having a clue what life would hold for them.
Powdered blue and all.
It was what I assume a fairly simple wedding but it has been a spectacular marriage. Of course partly because I am a product of it ;) But they have stood together through thick and thin, for richer or poorer, and in sickness and in health. My sisters and I couldn't have more loving and wonderful parents and I know that all of us hope that we can come close to being as great of parents as them.
I have often written or said that my father is my hero. And he is. This man was 18 when he got married, 20 when he became a father and 27 when he moved his wife and 3 daughters to Texas to start a career with a new company. He worked long hours and traveled often but made sure he was home for birthdays and every Friday night for those Texas football games where he proudly sat at the 50 yard line and tried to catch one of the footballs his basketball-playing-turned-cheerleader daughter tried to throw to him. (I was about 80% on accuracy! Again, he taught me how to throw a mean spiral on a little football!) He supported us both financially and emotionally through dance recitals, pageants, little league and cheerleading competitions. Since he had three daughters, he also worked on weekends or whenever he could putting air conditioners into homes. You try spending 8 hours in a shell of a home on a summer day in Texas. He is still invincible in my mind however, I still insist he always wears a helmet on his motorcycle! I love you Daddy.
One thing I haven't said often enough is that my mother is also my hero. She too was an 18 year old who has dedicated her life to my father and us girls. Now that I am a mother, I can truly appreciate how much she did for us and am still trying to figure out how exactly she did it. It is from her and her parents that I have developed such a love of food and cooking. I have watched her love on her family for 30 years now and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't do something that she taught me. She supports us even when she doesn't want to and loves us unconditionally. Our home was always a loving place and our friends from growing up still call to update her on life and I'm sure if my parents still lived in Texas there would be a steady flow of visitors even though us girls are all moved out. She is amazing and one of my best friends.
I would love to share with you so many of the fabulous dinners that my mom makes but since I know she is one of the few who follows my blog, and is doing an amazing job at dieting, I don't want to start a craving SO this is a lean and green meal just for the two of them.
Shamrock Salad (Yes, I know, I should have put this out before St. Paddy's day. It has just been too beautiful to keep me inside long enough to post!)
Simple, yummy, and healthy!
Bake or grill a chicken breast per 2 people that you are feeding. If you buy organic or Amish chicken, you can probably do 1 per person since they aren't as big and more natural. I just lightly seasoned my with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper before baking for about 30 minutes. While that cooks, break off the woody end of some asparagus and but them on a baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper over them and then toss with your hands to coat. Put these in the oven the last 15 minutes or so of your chicken baking.
Now, make your dressing. In a mason jar, pour in about 1/2 cup of SEASONED Rice vinegar. Add to that about 2 TBSP olive oil, a TBSP of dijon mustard, about a clove or minced garlic (you can omit this if you want) a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and some salt a pepper to taste. Shake it all up good.
In a bowl put in your greens of choice. We had Romain, Boston Bib, and Spinach. Slice your asparagus and chicken into bite sized pieces and throw them in there. Now the best part, slice up (I cube) an avocado and add that to your salad. Toss with some dressing and dig in!
Mmmm, my stomach just growled.
35 years and 3 days ago, two teenagers, one of which was still in high school, made a commitment to love and cherish one another "until death do us part." Or as more famously in my family, they exchanged rings and my nervous18-years-by-3-days old father said, "with this wing, I thee red!" In Lightner tradition, I'm sure he did turn red! :)
But there they stood, two kids who started dating in junior high, in front of their family and friends in a rented dress and tux and scared, excited, and not having a clue what life would hold for them.
Powdered blue and all.
It was what I assume a fairly simple wedding but it has been a spectacular marriage. Of course partly because I am a product of it ;) But they have stood together through thick and thin, for richer or poorer, and in sickness and in health. My sisters and I couldn't have more loving and wonderful parents and I know that all of us hope that we can come close to being as great of parents as them.
I have often written or said that my father is my hero. And he is. This man was 18 when he got married, 20 when he became a father and 27 when he moved his wife and 3 daughters to Texas to start a career with a new company. He worked long hours and traveled often but made sure he was home for birthdays and every Friday night for those Texas football games where he proudly sat at the 50 yard line and tried to catch one of the footballs his basketball-playing-turned-cheerleader daughter tried to throw to him. (I was about 80% on accuracy! Again, he taught me how to throw a mean spiral on a little football!) He supported us both financially and emotionally through dance recitals, pageants, little league and cheerleading competitions. Since he had three daughters, he also worked on weekends or whenever he could putting air conditioners into homes. You try spending 8 hours in a shell of a home on a summer day in Texas. He is still invincible in my mind however, I still insist he always wears a helmet on his motorcycle! I love you Daddy.
One thing I haven't said often enough is that my mother is also my hero. She too was an 18 year old who has dedicated her life to my father and us girls. Now that I am a mother, I can truly appreciate how much she did for us and am still trying to figure out how exactly she did it. It is from her and her parents that I have developed such a love of food and cooking. I have watched her love on her family for 30 years now and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't do something that she taught me. She supports us even when she doesn't want to and loves us unconditionally. Our home was always a loving place and our friends from growing up still call to update her on life and I'm sure if my parents still lived in Texas there would be a steady flow of visitors even though us girls are all moved out. She is amazing and one of my best friends.
Shamrock Salad (Yes, I know, I should have put this out before St. Paddy's day. It has just been too beautiful to keep me inside long enough to post!)
Bake or grill a chicken breast per 2 people that you are feeding. If you buy organic or Amish chicken, you can probably do 1 per person since they aren't as big and more natural. I just lightly seasoned my with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper before baking for about 30 minutes. While that cooks, break off the woody end of some asparagus and but them on a baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper over them and then toss with your hands to coat. Put these in the oven the last 15 minutes or so of your chicken baking.
Now, make your dressing. In a mason jar, pour in about 1/2 cup of SEASONED Rice vinegar. Add to that about 2 TBSP olive oil, a TBSP of dijon mustard, about a clove or minced garlic (you can omit this if you want) a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and some salt a pepper to taste. Shake it all up good.
In a bowl put in your greens of choice. We had Romain, Boston Bib, and Spinach. Slice your asparagus and chicken into bite sized pieces and throw them in there. Now the best part, slice up (I cube) an avocado and add that to your salad. Toss with some dressing and dig in!
Mmmm, my stomach just growled.
Monday, March 12, 2012
13 going on 30
Have you seen this movie? Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, that girl that is in so many movies as the sidekick...the Thriller dance scene. I love it. As I looked in the mirror on my 30th birthday there were a few things that stood out to me.
1. Really gray hairs?? You choose to stick out everywhere today. Did you grow overnight??
2. Aside from the crazy gray hairs, I still see that adventurous teenager in the mirror.
3. Chocolate cake is going to taste so good tonight.
We have been really busy here in the VanHoose house. After my AWESOME trip to Vegas with my parents and sisters (more on that to come) our house was hit by a bomb and each of us fell prey to a flu-like illness. I blame someone on my airplane. I don't know who they are but thanks to you we all went through a zombie like period. I guess I should have played Thriller afterall.
My birthday dinner was not fancy and out on the town as Isaac had hoped. Since he was still running a fever we decided to save society from our illness and stay in for dinner. Since we decided to stay in, and we had all been sick, I decided comfort food was on the menu. It really doesn't look like much but I'm telling you, it melts your sorrows away and makes you think that you got a little magic dust sprinkled on your head and are a kid again.
Salsbury steak, mushroom gravy, Potato Casserole (Lightner family tradition!) and Green Beans. Simple and yummy.
I recently learned roses in my cake decorating class and was able to try that out on my cake. Since I normally make white or strawberry for class, we went all chocolate here. The cake was from a box but then I added some extra flour, sugar, vanilla, almond flavoring, instant coffee and chocolate chips to make it that much more decadent. Not to mention the chocolate butter cream frosting. A long time favorite is the "perfectly chocolate chocolate frosting" that is on the side of the Hershey's box. If you are ever looking for a great cake and icing, this is an easy go to recipe. I modified the icing recipe slightly as I used 2 sticks of softened butter and instead of melting it and adding the cocoa to it, I just creamed it and doubled the cocoa. I then alternated back and forth between powdered sugar and milk until I got the desired richness. I think all in all it was about 2/3 a cup of milk and 4 cups of powdered sugar.
The roses are just some leftover buttercream that I had in my freezer...seems that is becoming a staple in my freezer!
My 2 sisters have contributed a lot to my 30th birthday. My older sister asked me while we sipped on white wine spritzers in Vegas, "so, do you have any resolutions for your next 30 years? Any deep thoughts?" A great question and one which you would think would spawn an awesome conversation. I, unfortunately, had not thought that far ahead so I think my response was something like, "uh, um, nope. Not sure."
Well, I have had a 4 hour plane ride and 2 hour car ride to think and I came up with a few.
1. Floss more if not every day. Seriously, you only have one set of teeth and considering how I like to eat, life will be come boring and full of oatmeal if I loose all my teeth!
2. Get outside more. I have always loved flowers and gardening. Time to get those books out and further my education...outside with a lot of sunscreen on.
3. Give more than I get. This should be easy but is so hard. I look around and see just how blessed I am; wonderful family, a healthy baby, parents who are a big part of my life, in laws who actually like me, a husband who tries so hard to make me smile, a wonderful home, an education, I can keep going! But if I look beyond my house there is a world out there hurting and I want to do a lot more about it than just write about doing something about it.
4. Laugh out loud every day. I think this will be my favorite :)
5. Save for travel. I don't want money to be the reason why I miss any family milestones.
6. Keep learning. My Hero Mrs. Cain always said, "if you aren't learning anything, you must be dead. There isn't a day that goes by that you shouldn't learn something." Not only do I want to learn, but I want to remember what I have learned too.
7. Bake, cook and clean. The first 2 are easy. The last one, not so much.
And then there is my younger sister. She so perfectly reminded me that though I am not in a new decade of my life, there are some perks to being a grown up. You can eat cake and ice cream for dinner any time you want and no one is going to tell you not to.
And that is exactly what I ate last night. :) Take that gray hairs.
1. Really gray hairs?? You choose to stick out everywhere today. Did you grow overnight??
2. Aside from the crazy gray hairs, I still see that adventurous teenager in the mirror.
3. Chocolate cake is going to taste so good tonight.
We have been really busy here in the VanHoose house. After my AWESOME trip to Vegas with my parents and sisters (more on that to come) our house was hit by a bomb and each of us fell prey to a flu-like illness. I blame someone on my airplane. I don't know who they are but thanks to you we all went through a zombie like period. I guess I should have played Thriller afterall.
My birthday dinner was not fancy and out on the town as Isaac had hoped. Since he was still running a fever we decided to save society from our illness and stay in for dinner. Since we decided to stay in, and we had all been sick, I decided comfort food was on the menu. It really doesn't look like much but I'm telling you, it melts your sorrows away and makes you think that you got a little magic dust sprinkled on your head and are a kid again.
I recently learned roses in my cake decorating class and was able to try that out on my cake. Since I normally make white or strawberry for class, we went all chocolate here. The cake was from a box but then I added some extra flour, sugar, vanilla, almond flavoring, instant coffee and chocolate chips to make it that much more decadent. Not to mention the chocolate butter cream frosting. A long time favorite is the "perfectly chocolate chocolate frosting" that is on the side of the Hershey's box. If you are ever looking for a great cake and icing, this is an easy go to recipe. I modified the icing recipe slightly as I used 2 sticks of softened butter and instead of melting it and adding the cocoa to it, I just creamed it and doubled the cocoa. I then alternated back and forth between powdered sugar and milk until I got the desired richness. I think all in all it was about 2/3 a cup of milk and 4 cups of powdered sugar.
The roses are just some leftover buttercream that I had in my freezer...seems that is becoming a staple in my freezer!
My 2 sisters have contributed a lot to my 30th birthday. My older sister asked me while we sipped on white wine spritzers in Vegas, "so, do you have any resolutions for your next 30 years? Any deep thoughts?" A great question and one which you would think would spawn an awesome conversation. I, unfortunately, had not thought that far ahead so I think my response was something like, "uh, um, nope. Not sure."
Well, I have had a 4 hour plane ride and 2 hour car ride to think and I came up with a few.
1. Floss more if not every day. Seriously, you only have one set of teeth and considering how I like to eat, life will be come boring and full of oatmeal if I loose all my teeth!
2. Get outside more. I have always loved flowers and gardening. Time to get those books out and further my education...outside with a lot of sunscreen on.
3. Give more than I get. This should be easy but is so hard. I look around and see just how blessed I am; wonderful family, a healthy baby, parents who are a big part of my life, in laws who actually like me, a husband who tries so hard to make me smile, a wonderful home, an education, I can keep going! But if I look beyond my house there is a world out there hurting and I want to do a lot more about it than just write about doing something about it.
4. Laugh out loud every day. I think this will be my favorite :)
5. Save for travel. I don't want money to be the reason why I miss any family milestones.
6. Keep learning. My Hero Mrs. Cain always said, "if you aren't learning anything, you must be dead. There isn't a day that goes by that you shouldn't learn something." Not only do I want to learn, but I want to remember what I have learned too.
7. Bake, cook and clean. The first 2 are easy. The last one, not so much.
And then there is my younger sister. She so perfectly reminded me that though I am not in a new decade of my life, there are some perks to being a grown up. You can eat cake and ice cream for dinner any time you want and no one is going to tell you not to.
And that is exactly what I ate last night. :) Take that gray hairs.
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