Haha...Watermelon Cake Mistake!

So I have decided that I am not a cake decorator! I am very good at making dessert, but the decorating part is HARD! So I will just stick to things I can do well! Here are some pictures of my sad attempt. I started out just fine....Icing the base was easy....well kinda. My only thought the whole time was, how am I going to put this up and ice the bottom?

Then I started to do the colors...that went ok too.

But then it went down hill from there. I noticed a little crack in my cake that I had already iced. And I also remembered that I needed to rotate it so that it would be sitting on the green rind. This did not work...and my fingers were full of icing. But hey, I love icing!

Finally, I just gave up on it. I have still half a cake that i just ended up icing with the pink and green. But it does look better when you get some raisins on there in place of seeds!

So, I guess it turned out kinda ok. I did not get it standing straight up and it really doesn't look like the picture. It was fun and frustrating to do. If you feel like giving it a try....it is just a cake mix and then icing. Actually, you are also supposed to use a pack of pudding...maybe that is where I went wrong... :)

Love to Scrapbook

One thing that I am truly passionate about is scrap booking. I love taking a picture and making it look beautiful on a page. I try not to use a lot of extra embellishments as those can be very costly. But I do love layering my paper to make certain things stand out. This afternoon my mom and I spent some time scrap booking. This was our mess throughout the day:

The best part of scrap booking for me is being able to remember fun times with friends and family. This page is one of my new favorites:

Last but not least...sometimes to make a point, you have to use a few embellishments! I love this one with all the picnic stuff! Perfect for my Memorial Day Party Pictures!

An afternoon of scrap booking is so relaxing....anyone looking for a full time "scrap booker" for their pictures? I was thinking today that it would make the perfect business for me! I just need to find some customers! :)

Yum....Strawberry Pie!

Jeremy loves pie....especially fruit pies. And what do you know...I LOVE making pies! This is probably my favorite pie recipe. It is so easy to make and it tastes SO good! Plus if you need to, you can always substitute sugar substitute for sugar (and I ALWAYS use sugar free gelatin-no one ever seems to know!). But I can not take the credit for this one...this is my mother-in-law, Ruth's, recipe. Now you can see why my hubby likes it so much!

Strawberry Pie

Pie Crust

(This is THE BEST pie crust recipe I have ever found! It always works and it tastes good when you are eating it as you roll it out!)

1 1/3 c. flour
1 1/2 T sugar
1 stick butter (cut into small pieces to make it easier)
dash of salt
3 T cold water

Save the water for last. Mix the first four together...I like to use a fork to mash it all up. Then add the water. Mush it all together, form a ball and put in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. Roll out using flour. Maxes one crust. Cook for about 10 minutes at 450 or until golden.

Let cool and add 4 cups strawberries.

Pie Filling

1 1/2 c. water
3/4 c. sugar (can use sugar substitute)
2 T. corn starch

Cook in a saucepan until boiling. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat and add 3 oz jello packet.

Blend and let cool. Add to the strawberry pie and chill. DONE!

Best thing with this recipe is you can change the fruit and the jello packet for whatever fruit is on sale that week! Use with strawberries, raspberries, peaches, and more! Just match your jello flavor and your fruit!

Enjoy! I hope you find that it is SUPER easy and REALLY yummy!

Are you feeling HOT, HOT, HOT?

Last night I made some chicken enchiladas...changing just one ingredient...something that usually works well for me...this time, it did work well, but it left my mouth burning for hours! But still DELICIOUS!

As you can see in the recipe below it calls for diced green chiles, well I used diced jalepenos...haha, saved one for my friend Dan...we will see what he thinks since he loves jalepenos! It was a good change, they were still great, but I definitely think next time I will use the chiles just because I can't handle a HOT, HOT, mouth all night!

Chicken Enchiladas

1/4 c. unsalted butter
1 onion sliced and chopped
1 pound chicken chopped
1 can (4oz) diced green chiles drained (make it HOT-use jalepenos)
3 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c. vegetable oil
tortillas
1 c. shredded cheese

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch pan.
2. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet. Add onion, cook for 5 mins. Add chicken, cook another 5 mins. Turn off heat, stir in chiles (or jalepenos) cream cheese, and salt.
3. Heat oil in skillet add a tortilla and cook till tortilla becomes limp. Repeat. (I skipped this step...they still turned out great!)
4. Spoon 1/3 c. filling down the center. Roll and set in dish seam-side down. Sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 23 mins. Cool before serving.

This and my last recipe came from Family Circle Magazine....but as always I make my own fun changes! Especially when there is an ingredient I don't have on hand!

Enjoy...and remember if you like things HOT....give those jalepenos a try!

USA

Never have I been a big fan of watching soccer....but this World Cup is FUN! Go USA! What an amazing goal! If you missed it...you better find out where to watch it online....because it was unbelievable! WOOHOO!

Dang Quesadillas

Ever since watching Napolean Dynamite, Jeremy and I call Quesadillas "dang Quesadillas" making sure we use the l like any English Speaking person would! Oh and you can never forget to say the word "dang". That being said, I made some last night....super good that I want to share!

Bean and Cheese Quesadillas
1Tb olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 small green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, slightly mashed
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 tsp. chili powder
8 oz cheese (reduced fat...if you want)
tortillas
sour cream and salsa to top

1. heat oil in a large nonskillet over medium high heat. Add onion and green pepper-cook for 4 minutes. Stir in beans, salsa, and chili powder. Cook for 3 minutes.
2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place one tortilla in the skillet, cook for 1 minute. Spread 1/3 of the bean mixture and 1/3 cheese on top. Place another tortilla on top. Cook for 1 minute, turn over and cook until browned.
3. Place quesadilla on baking sheet to keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Continue with the remaining quesadillas.
4. To serve, cut each quesadilla into quarters.

Really easy and good! Plus....they are low in calories!!!!
Enjoy!!!!

Day of Crafts....Scrapbooking

So, a week ago, I made this scrapbook for a friend. Scrapbooking is probably my favorite past time....so if you want a book made...become my friend and move away!!! haha just kidding! :)

Seriously though, you can make very simple, inexpensive scrapbooks...all it takes is paper, pictures, and a pen! I can do without stickers unless I have them laying around. But tearing and layering are my favorite ways to make a simple page become more extravagant. Enjoy the pics!

Recipe Book

Ever wonder what to do with magazines that you are ready to get rid of but maybe there is something in there you might want to see again....make a book!

One thing I love is to look at magazines for new recipes....not that I have the time to try them all, but still, one day I might! So, I go through my magazines and cut out recipes that are of interest to me. Then I put them in a recipe book, which is just a binder. And I like having things stay neat, so I use the page protectors, then I can pull out a recipe that I want to try and pop it back in where it goes. I also like to know where the main dishes are, the sides, and of course the desserts in my book. I just use post it tabs, but if you want to get even more organized get the real tabs to make it look better! You can also tab or sticker your favorite recipes so you always know where they are!

Something I want to do in the future is pull out all my favorite recipes and put them in a smaller binder so I know exactly where they are! :) Especially when my friends say that something tastes really good!

I also will pull out decorating ideas and tips that I find. Who needs all the advertisement and other stuff in the magazine anyway?!? I haven't created one yet, but you could do the same binder/book thing with the decorating ideas....oh and the butt buster workouts! haha! Never do I do them, but I do sometimes save them!

Have fun!

Surprise....Birthday Happiness

So...yesterday, Father's day was also my birthday! I turned a quarter of a century old...or 25 for those of you who don't know! :)

I received two great phone calls. One from Mareike in Germany...hopefully we didn't talk too long since her father was paying for the phone call. And one from Megan...we never miss calling each other on our birthdays and even though she was in an airport flying back to Indy from Cabo...she still remembered to call. Friendship is a blessing from God! :)


Growing up I never once had a surprise party...but this year...my mom surprised me with an awesome BBQ bash! Thanks Mom!

Cheryl gave me an awesome card! It pops up and looks like a cake...the coolest card I think I have ever received!

We also played Mad Gab....given to me by Amanda...so fun! Who knew I would be SOOO Bad at that game.....and everyone else is SOOO good! But Bailee got the final one right.... "Leaf, Ink, Loss, Fake, Us"....Can you figure it out??

To top it all off...Jeremy surprised me with flowers...beautiful daisies...my favorite!

Stuck in a Rut

So, I have been trying to write some childrens stories....but have been stuck in a rut for about 2 months now. I have two stories ready to be sent out...once I get on the ball looking for different publishers that might be interested. However, if anyone has any ideas on stories they think I can/should write....PLEASE let me know! Even if I just get something to think about....it will be better than Nothing! Looking forward to all the writing I can and will do with blogging, hopefully it will inspire me in more ways than one!

Let the Blogging Begin!

So as a new blogger... I truly want to pick this up! I love looking at my friends pages and seeing their pictures and everything....Looking forward to learning and staying up to date with this. Let the blogging begin!