Mother's Day Cupcakes

I made these little cuties for mother's day. It was the first time I have ever written with chocolate. Some of the words fell apart because they were to thin. I learned that a wider circle tip is better.

I also made the flowers.

I wish that I could get better pictures.

Hopefully someday we can get a quality camera.

Birthday goodness

For My mom's birthday I made dark chocolate and white chocolate vanilla bean mousse filled Charlottes. I even made the lady fingers from scratch. They were so delicious.

Some tasty treats for Easter

The cupcakes were perfect for the kiddos. I got the recipe from the famous "Magnolia Bakery" in NYC. It was vanilla cake with old fashion buttercream frosting.

I even made the cute little apple blossom flower candies for the decoration. I learned how to make those last week at my Cake decorating class.

This cake was probably the best tasting I have ever had.

If you like lemon you will be a huge fan. I think this recipe would also make amazing cupcakes.

Chicken Pad Thai

I made this tasty meal a couple night ago.

It was yummy.

The Rainbow Cake

Henry and I made a rainbow cake a couple weeks ago. It took forever but it was fun. Henry had a blast mixing all the colors into the cake batter.

I am taking a cake decorating class, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. This was my first attempt before I actually learned how to pipe.

I'll have to remember to take pictures of the cakes I make on a weekly basis.

The cake had 6 layers!! The pictures does no justice to the color. It was vibrant!

Some good grub

Pasta and Chicken with Lemon and Thyme Sauce

I made this last night for dinner and it was yummo.

I came up wit the recipe myself.

1 large shallot finely diced

2 large cloves of garlic smashed and chopped

1 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme

1/2 cup of sherry

1 cup fat free low sodium chicken broth or stock

1/4 cup of cream or half and half

1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

zest of a lemon

1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice

Olive oil

butter

flour for dusting (seasoned with spices)

chicken (boneless)

pasta (any type)

For Chicken:

How ever much chicken you want to make is up to you...

*Take chicken and pound flat so it's about and inch or so thick and even.

* In a saute pan add about a tablespoon of olive oil and butter and heat on high. (I like the two mixed, the butter gives it nice flavor)

*while your pan is heating, dust chicken with a seasoned flour (whatever spices you want)

I used salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder and thyme.

*When oil and butter is heated add chicken and lightly brown on both sides. (the chicken should cook pretty fast because it is thin)

*When chicken is done, I put it in my oven on warmer so it stays warm.

For Sauce:

*In a saute pan on medium heat add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and tablespoon of butter.

*Saute shallot, garlic, thyme for a few minutes until shallots are translucent.

*Then add sherry and chicken broth, let simmer for a few minutes.

*Then add cream and cheese and let simmer and thicken for a few minutes.

*Lastly add lemon juice and zest.

Boil pasta and drain.

Add most of the sauce to the cooked pasta reserving a little for the chicken.

Drizzle left over sauce on top of chicken.

Hope you try and enjoy it.

Sorry about the directions. Not very good a explaining what I did!

If yo have any questions please feel free to leave comment.

Pins and Needles

I was trying to think of something to get my 90+ year old Great Aunt for her birthday........ what do you get for a 90 year old?
She loves to crochet and sew, so I made these holders for her pins and needles. You can't tell by the picture, but the needle holder has to pages of fabric to store the needles in. It's kind of like a book. I also made her a holder for her crochet hooks.
I really like the needle holder... I'm thinking of making a bunch of them and selling them at a craft fair. What do you think?

Grapefruit Goodness

The other day I saw that grapefruits were on sale and I was really craving a refreshing fruit juice. So, I bought some grapefruits, rosemary, and some sparkling water to make this luscious concoction.

First, I squeezed about 6 grapefruits, strained into a canister, then I took a whole pack of rosemary and pounded the steams with the back of my carving knife to release the aromas. Then added the rosemary to the grapefruit. I then put the juice in refrigerator to let steep for a couple hours. In the meantime, I made a quick simple syrup using a 1/4 a cup of pure cane sugar and a 1/4 cup of water, bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves, let cool then add to grapefruit juice.

Finally I filled a glass with ice and poured half the glass with the sparkling water then the rest with the tasty juice. It definitely quenched my craving.

Molten Lava Cake

Last night I made my brother a molten lava cake for his birthday. It was so darn good.

I got the recipe from Paula Deen from the Food Network. The only changes I made was I added Starbucks chocolate liquor instead of the orange liquor and I used a 4 oz ramekin. I cooked the little cakes for about 7 minutes instead of the recommended 12 minutes. If you are a chocolate lover, I highly suggest you make this recipe. You can find her recipe here.

The picture came out terrible.

WOOOO HOOOOO!

I am so excited! My skirt tutorial was featured today on this sweet blog.

It feels good that someone out there used my tutorial that took me hours to put together! I had no idea any would actually use it.

I got about 150 hits today. I guess I'm going to have to start getting busy and creative! Scary.

Thanks again, Ayumills, from Pink Penguin!

Mini French Breakfast Muffins

I know the picture Isn't that great, but these muffins are to die for. Not too sweet but perfect to fulfill your sweet tooth. I got this recipe from THIS blog. I'm going to make more for Jason's Christmas party at work and Christmas Eve.

In the recipe it calls to sprinkle cinnamon sugar when done baking, I did that but also made a sugar glaze that really made them perfect. I think the next time I am going to add lots of lemon to the glaze so it has a lemony flavor. Yeah, good idea.

I advise everyone to try this recipe!!!!!

Been Busy

I know it's been almost a month since I've last posted something. I had the flu, been busy taking care of sick kids, constantly cleaning, shopping for Christmas gifts for the boys, and doing lots of sewing. I've been trying to make gifts for Christmas because money is tight these days. Here is a sneak peak of some gifts i made some sweet girls.

The Girly Twirly Skirt Tutorial

I finally got the guts to post my first tutorial.
The skirt that I made is for size 3T. If you need any measurements for other sizes you can email me, along with any questions and I will try to help you out as much as I can. I apologize ahead of time for the long tutorial. I am visual type of girl and hope you are too! Good luck.



1. Choose your fabric. I chose two heavy cotton fabrics that compliment each other.



2. For the main part of the skirt cut 2 on fold.  21 1/4" wide x 9" high.



3. For the drop waistband cut 1 on fold.  12 1/2" wide x 5 1/2" high.



4. For the hem band cut 2 on fold.  21 1/4" wide x 6" high.



5. With right sides together, sew both sides of your drop waist band together at the edges. Then finish raw edges. I used pinking shears. You can use zigzag stitch or a serger.



6. With right sides together sew both strips of the main skirt together at the edges. Finish raw edge.



7. With right sides together sew both strips of the hem band together at the edges. Finish raw edge.



8. Fold the strip in half all the way around and press it down with an iron to make a firm crease. You should have a large circle when done. (see next photo)



9. It should look like this.



10. This is what all pieces should look like at this point. You should have 3 all together.



11. With right sides together take the hem band and line up the side seams with the side seams of the main skirt and pin all around.



12. Sew the hem band and main skirt together and finish raw edges.



13. Turn the skirt over and press the seam with an iron.



14. Gather the top of main skirt with a gathering or basting stitch. I set my basting stitch on 1. When you start your basting stitch I do a couple of back stitches to secure the thread so it doesn't pull out when you gather it and do not back stitch when your done. Make sure you have enough thread to pull on to gather the fabric. ( I think this is the hardest part)



15. Your gathered skirt should look like this.



16. With the right sides together pin the gathered part of the main skirt to the drop waist band. Make sure the seam of the waist bad in centered in the back with the 2 side seams are even on each side of the main skirt.



17. Sew the pieces together with the gathered side up. Finish raw edges.



18. This is what it should look like at this point.




19. Fold the top of the waist band over about an inch.



20. Pin all the way around the band leaving an opening for the elastic.



21. Sew all the way around the band making sure you leave the opening for the elastic.



22. I sew again around so I have two rows of stitching. I do that so it stays secure.



23. You may want to measure the waist of the child and cut the elastic an inch smaller than their waist. For the size 3t that I am making, the average waist measures about 19-20 inches.
24. Insert a large safety pin into one end of the elastic.



25. Thread the elastic with the safety pin through the opening of the waist band.



26. When it is threaded through, pull both sides of the elastic out of each end of the waistband and overlap each other and lay flat then sew the two together.



27. Push the elastic into the waistband casing, even it out and sew the opening closed.



28. I like to sew a vertical stitch on the center back seam to secure the elastic in place so it doesn't move around and twist.




ALL DONE !!!!
Congratulations. Sorry about the long long tutorial.