As Promised . . . Recipes!

Double Chocolate Fudge Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups semisweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients and whisk until thoroughly combined. Add cake mix and pudding packet, whisking until mixed completely, about 2 minutes. Add chocolate chips and then pour into prepared bundt pan.

Bake cake in the center of the oven for approximately 55 minutes. Baking times will vary so test the cake towards the end of the baking time to see if a toothpick comes out clean. Cake is done once you can accomplish this.

Cool cake in the pan for about 15 minutes before inverting onto a serving plate. If using a chocolate glaze, glaze while warm. You can also just sprinkle some powdered sugar on the top after cooling completely.

Applesauce Spice Cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups white sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 cups applesauce 2 eggs Sift flour, white sugar, soda, salt, baking powder, and spices into a large mixing bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup butter or margarine, buttermilk, and applesauce. Beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed. Beat in eggs. Fold in 3/4 cup chopped nuts. Pour batter into a prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan for about ten minutes, then invert onto a serving platter and ice as desired.

I used a simple powdered sugar glaze with a bit of cinnamon in it and it worked wonderfully.

Cake Day - I Love Cake Day!

So the day has been filled with cleaning, prepping, and baking. And I'm not anywhere near done for the day and I love it. Just sayin'.

It's almost time to go grab the kiddies from school, but I wanted to hop on and at least post the pics from today's baking adventures. I've decorated cakes for many years now, and these are by no means decorated in the fashion I usually do but then again, they are just everyday cakes - nothing special . . . . until you taste them. Oh my dears, you have got to try what I have dubbed the "Double Chocolate Fudge" cake. 

I found this recipe online some time ago and it is the most requested cake flavor to date. Once you taste it, you will completely understand why. Believe me, I will be posting the recipe soon!

And then there's this little beauty of a surprise:

 

 This cake came about because my Mother In Law gave me a can of applesauce that she had in her cupboard and thought that the kids would probably eat. Well, being the supermom that I am I decided that plying them with sugary desserts would be a better option than giving them something nutritious like plain ol' applesauce, so to work I set. This is an Applesauce Spice Cake and it will make  you think you've died and gone to the best sale at Khol's with a million dollars in your pocket and a 50% off coupon! O.k., maybe not that stupendous, but it is wonderful. And yes, I will be posting this recipe as well. I must go get the children now and ply them with sugar.

A Little Late is Better Than Never!

So, I realize that my little blog here is not ever going to be one of the top 40 or even the top 40,000. I'm probably the only one interested in my life and that's o.k! But, I am going to start posting every day or close to it - let us not get too overly eager here. I'll be starting to post recipes and not-so-great looking little pictures of my endeavors like I had originally planned so many months ago when I started this whole bizarre thing.

So, I'm (hopefully) back on track - just in time for tons of recipes and pictures about Thanksgiving! This is going to be fun - and I am soooooo looking forward to it! I have much to share on thoughts, recipes, life, and other things, and I can't wait to get going. Again. :)

Time Keeps On Slippin'

As we prepare our oldest daughter for her high school graduation, I am heart breakingly, horribly reminded that they are only little once. We made out her party invitations on 4 x 8 photo cards, complete with zebra print and pink splashes, and placed on there a graduation photo, a baby photo, and the photo I took of her as she started her first day of school - ever. I looked at them when I picked them up and wondered where the time went. How did she go from this:
To this:

I still don't understand it and now I'm terrified that when I wake up in the morning all bleary-eyed and exhausted that my other children will all have graduated and moved out without notifying me first.
If there is one thing I have learned so far from this little escapade into the world of an 18 year old graduating daughter and all that goes with it, it is that time must be held precious and used wisely. Never take for granted those days when it seems like the skies will never open up and let the sunshine through again because all too quickly, they, too, will fade and leave you with memories of crying babies, sloppy wet kisses, and the smell of crayons and glue.

I'm a terrible blogger . . .

It's true. So very, very, very true.
I happened to open up the dashboard today and it stated my last post was in October. Oy.
Well, it's been busy. I've been busy. I was busy, ok?!
And this is going to be a short one, too - updates:
1. Quitting job that I go to for an hour a day.
2. Started Freelance writing and love it.
3. Developing the storyline and illustration structure for a children's book.
4. Losing weight. Hopefully. Really, really hopefully.
That's it for today. More soon. Hopefully.

A Moment of Discovery . . . . .

So perhaps I am not a true blogger. I haven't paid attention to my little project; as with most things in my life, I started something and didn't take the time to finish it. ADD is like that. I can start out doing the dishes and end up at the car wash wondering why my dishes didn't get done.
I've been doing a bit of research as of late though. I've been reading blog after blog after blog - so many that I cannot keep them straight at times. I have noticed one thing, though. It seems like the people that write the blogs have everything together all the time - like somehow they live in a world where June Cleaver and Donna Reed rule the land with organization, perfection, and impeccable time management skills. They post pictures of perfectly appointed kitchens with perfectly posed pot roasts. They have $1,500 cameras and pristine linens.
That's not me. I eat Ho-Ho's and those gas station cherry pies and wash them down with a French Vanilla Cappuccino on my way to work after dropping the kids off at school 5 minutes before the first bell rings. I have a Samsung digital camera that takes pretty darn good pictures for a little camera. I have stains on my shirts from coffee, ketchup, and baby puke. Incidentally, those same stains are on the floor of my well-used minivan. I continually run late, I burn the rolls now and again, and I tend to get crabby when I don't get enough sleep - like ever day of my life.
But I have realized one thing - all of that right up there in that paragraph? That's o.k. I'm not perfect, and I don't need to be. I'll take my pictures with my little camera, I'll eat my cherry pies and drink my KwikTrip Cappuccino and I will smile.
Now, on to other things. . .
I recently discovered a recipe for rolls. Not breaking news, I totally get it. However, you need to understand something - yeast and I do NOT get along. I remember watching my grandmother make bread when I was a child. I can still see her kneading the dough, watching her pull off the cover, punch it down, shape it, and let it rise again only to pop it in the oven and pull it out an hour later golden brown and beautiful. I can still smell the butter melting on the hot surface and see it dripping down the sides, my mouth watering for that first decadent piece of deliciousness. (Sigh. Smile. Tear up. Still love you Grams.)
Oh yeah, back to the recipe. So as I have stated, yeast and I have a love/hate relationship. I love it, it hates me. I've tried numerous recipes that have brought me nothing but misery and a trip to my bed shedding tears of failure. . . . until now.
I owe my new-found fascination for everything yeast to prostiedvizhenija on youtube. For in this video, I finally have the satisfaction of being able to create not only a dinner roll, but hamburger and hot dog buns, cinnamon rolls, and just plain ol' bits of yumminess my family has generously thanked me for. The recipe is simple, easy to follow, and it turns out. I even screwed it up the first time and it STILL turned out. I have to say, the way caramel rolls turn out with this recipe is stupendous. Let's take a look shall we?

A Snapshot

There are some times in life when, very unexpectedly, you catch yourself thinking of them. Every thought of joy and fear run raging through your mind in tandem in the smallest portion of a moment. They are so precious. They are exasperating. They are exhausting. They are beautiful. They are awe-inspiring. They are the stuff of which dreams are made.

In that moment when the thought first hits you, your heart jerks. You can actually feel the strings tighten because in one single, complex, breath-taking, fearful moment, you realize that your whole life is wrapped up in a tiny little package.

It doesn't matter how many times you have gone through it . . .

. . . the feeling is the same. You gasp, you shed a bit of a tear, and you smile because God has given you such gifts that there is no "thank you" big enough on the face of the earth or in the Heavens Above that could ever express your gratitude.

My cup runeth over . . . . .