It just wouldn't be Christmas without....

Cookies (lots and lots of cookies)-

Fudge (Hubby's favorite)-

And Gingerbread (my favorite)-

With the kiddos on break I thought we better make some fun cookies, these Melt-Away Peppermint Wreaths are great, especially if you have little ones who want to help you bake. The recipe is from AR and definitely needs to be doubled. A very yummy cookie, it tastes just like you would assume from the name. And as you can see my girls had a great time helping me roll balls, and snowmen and flowers and stick people. What can I say they ARE girls, it was a little hard to keep them on task but it was fun.






The Layered Mint Chocolate Fudge recipe is also from AR, I didn't change it but am wishing I had. It needs a little change, I didn't have time to check the review for it or I suppose I would have known that. It was a bit dry, and didn't quite fill the pan size it called for, but still pretty tasty, it's chocolate right? ;)

The Gingerbread, ahhhh the gingerbread, it makes things smell like Christmas :) Once again the recipe is from AR Favorite Old Fashioned Gingerbread, I got all 3 of these from my recipe box where they have been saving for some time. Sadly this was not the perfect gingerbread recipe, I have had better. It was pretty good topped with some whip cream but the search for the perfect gingerbread recipe will go on.

So, of all these goodies the cookies were my favorite, which was completely unexpected.

Rach's Baking Challenge- CHOCOLATE

This had to be the best baking challenge so far, how can you go wrong when the ingredient is chocolate??? I swear the hardest thing about this challenge was deciding what to post!
I finally decided on an old favorite with a new topping, Cherry Chocolate Cake from Allrecipes.com topped with Chocolate Almond Whipped Cream. Which is MUCH better than frosting folks :)

I have entered in Rach's Baking Challenge twice now and it is so much fun! If any of you are bakers, beginning or advanced you need to check it out. It's very easy to enter so go check it out!


Cherry Chocolate Cake

Ingred;
1/2c. butter
1-1/2c. sugar
2 eggs
1t. almond extract
1/2c. cocoa powder
1-3/4c. flour
1-1/4t baking soda
1t. salt
1 (21oz) can cherry pie filling

Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour a 9x13 pan.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in eggs and extract, beat well. Add in the cocoa powder.
Stir in the cake flour and baking soda. Gently stir in the pie filling. Pour batter into the cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Chocolate Almond Whip Cream

Ingred;
1c. cream
1T. cocoa powder
1T. brown sugar
1/2t. Almond extract

Whip all together until fluffy.

More Mochi, More 'Shrooms and 5 Words from Willoughby

I made a Pumpkin Mochi Cake, I got the recipe from Allrecipes, there are quite a few Mochi recipes on there. Just type Mochi in the search box and check them all out! The picture isn't all that great but it was definitely a hit here at my house.

Pumpkin Mochi

Ingred;
2-1/2c. mochiko
2t. baking powder
2c. sugar
4 eggs
1- 30 oz can pumpkin
1- 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1c. melted butter
2t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
Sift together the mochiko, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Mix together the eggs, pumpkin, milk, butter and vanilla. Stir this mixture into the dry mixture. Pour into the pan.
Bake for 1 hour, cool before serving.

I enjoy pumpkin desserts, and I really liked this but I think the Lemon Mochi is my favorite still :) :) :)


I made some 'shrooms tonight, they got a little overdone but were still tasty. I used the Parmesan puff filling I had leftover from yesterday in them, it worked really well. I wouldn't have overbaked them, they smelled so yummy I knew they were done, but I was distracted by a giant spider in my kiddos game cupboard. Yuck.

I received 5 words from Willoughby to play along in a Game.
If anyone else wants to play let me know and I can give you five words.

#1-Cold, I like the cold, not freezing cold exactly just chilly cold. My Mom has always called me a heater, because from the time I was really small I was always very, very warm blooded. As a Teen my family always made me keep my bedroom door closed because I liked to keep my windows open year round, even in winter. I grew up in Montana remember so it got pretty chilly in there at times.

#2-Light, I am a big fan of natural lighting. I like to leave the lights in my house off until it's almost too dark to see because I don't like the fake light. Hubby thinks I'm strange, so I tell him it only looks so dark because he is getting old, lol.

#3-Painting, I wish I could paint. Landscapes, Seascapes ( anything with escape in it sounds good to me :) I even took painting classes once a week for almost a year. And I still can't paint, I gave up the day I realized Miss B's paintings looked better than mine.

#4-Change, as most of you know I am not a big fan of change. I would like it if things stayed the same, and never changed :)

#5-Inspire, My children are my biggest inspiration. Everyday they inspire me to be better, I am constantly amazed by how giving and sweet they are to each other and those around them. They Inspire me everyday.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

I found a reference to this cake in a comment left on a cooking site, someone covered this Lovely with lemon cream cheese frosting, WHY? Why would they do that??? I am not a fan of frosting anyway but to cover up this beautiful cake with it had to be a crime.
Anyway that is how my google search for Raspberry Buttermilk Cake recipes began.
I settled on this one from Gourmet, the directions were easy to follow, but the biggest reason- it had printable directions :)


Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

Ingred;
1c. flour
1/2t. baking soda
1/2t. baking powder
1/4t. salt
1/2 c. butter, softened
2/3c. sugar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1/2t. vanilla
1 egg
1/2c. buttermilk
1c. fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 400. I sprayed an 8" spring form pan with Pam.
Whisk together flour, powder, soda and salt.
In mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar.
Beat in vanilla, than the egg.
Mix in half of the flour mixture, then mix in the buttermilk.
Scrape sides mix well, add in the remaining flour mixture.
Spread into cake pan and scatter the raspberries on top,
I then sprinkled the top with some turbinado sugar.
Bake fro 25-30 min. Let cool 10 min. before removing the side of the pan.
Cool completely.

Stress wouldn't be so hard to take if it were Chocolate covered

Chocolate Mousse covered that is.
This Chocolate Mousse tastes almost exactly like the mousse filling you get in the sheets cakes at Costco. It has a great consistency for a mousse cake filling but is a little thick and rich for just spooning up a cupful, unless it's an absolute emergency :)




Mocha or not Mousse

Ingred;
6 oz chocolate, I used semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4c. sugar
1/4c. cream
2t. instant expresso powder- optional
1c. heavy cream

Place mixing bowl in the freezer to chill, put chocolate, sugar and 1/4c. cream into a glass bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 sec. intervals stirring after each one until chocolate is melted. It took me 1-1/2 min to melt mine. Set it in the fridge to chill while you whip that cream into shape.
Whip the cream in your chilled bowl until stiff peaks form, fold in your chilled chocolate mixture, spoon into a gallon size zip baggie and refrigerate for at least 2 hours...

Chocolate Buttermilk Snack Cake

Ingred;
3-1/2c. flour
1-1/2c. cocoa powder
2c. sugar
2t. baking soda
1/2t.salt
1c. butter, melted
2c. buttermilk
3t.vanilla

Stir together the dry ingred, then add in the wet ones. Bake at 350 for 35-45 min in a greased 9x13 pan.

Ok, now this was pretty good, I mean really it's chocolate you can't ever go wrong with chocolate right? But I was expecting something a little denser, and this is pretty much like a regular cake. The recipe is eggless, which makes it a good cake recipe for peope who can't have eggs. Or in case you're like me and really want to bake something but just looked into the fridge and realized you were out of eggs :)

Rhubarb Rhubarb Rhubarb!

I am finally getting around to posting my Gramma's Rhubarb cake recipe, I have been in a bit of a bloggy bog lately. Anyhow here it it-

Grandma's Rhubarb Cake

Ingred;
2c. diced rhubarb
1/2c. sugar
1/2c. shortening
1-1/2c. sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2c. flour
1t. soda
1t. cinnamon
dash of salt
1c. buttermilk
1t. vanilla

Oven 350
Mix together the rhubarb and half c. sugar and set aside. Cream together the shortening and remaining sugar, add in the eggs and mix well. Sift together the remaining dry ingred, and stir together the last 2 ingred. Alternately add in the wet and dry ingred. to your batter. When well mixed, stir in the rhubarb. Pour into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for about 40 min. Serve with whip cream or ice cream .
Unless you are having it for breakfast ;)

(Hubby just informed me that whip cream and ice cream, are imperative for rhubarb cake AT ALL TIMES! Sadly he is not a Fan of Rhubarb)

Now while I was surfing the web, checking for more rhubarb recipes to use with my bumper crop I found this site here Rhubarb Recipes.
It has ALL kinds of Rhubarb recipes, very fun.

Better Than S**

This cake is referred to by many names, but it's most popular one is R rated so I won't share it on here :) My Sister-In-Law calls it Bishops Delight because my Father-In-Law doesn't like the other name. She first made it for us years ago, & it became one of our favorite stand-by dessert for parties & potlucks.

Better Than S** CakeIngred;
1 box Devils Food Cake Mix (Duncan Hines is my favorite)
1-1/3c. Water
1/2c. Oil
3 lg Eggs

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 jar Hot Fudge Ice Cream Topping (we prefer Mrs. Richardsons)
1 reg container Cool Whip- thawed

Mix and bake the cake according to the directions on the box, let cake cool until it's slightly warm. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes in the top of the cake, pour the s.c. milk over the top and spread to cover. Heat the hot fudge in the microwave for 30 sec. stir, spread evenly over the top of the cake. Let cool completely, then spread the cool whip on top, store cake in the fridge until serving.

Mochi Cake

I am really enjoying this new find, Mochiko flour makes such yummy cakes. Very moist, dense & chewy, very different from your normal cakes.

Now I thought mochiko would be hard to find, so the first time I went looking for it I went to a specialty store. It was there, of course. But since then I have found it in almost every grocery store I shop at!


Lemon Mochi Cake

Ingred;
1- 16oz box of Mochiko Flour
2c. Sugar
1-1/2T. Baking Powder
1 small pkg of Instant Lemon Pudding Mix
1 can (2c.) Coconut Milk
1c. reg. Milk
1/2c. melted Butter
5 Eggs, beaten
2t. Lemon extract/ or Juice

Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan.
Stir together flour, sugar, b. powder, & pudding mix. Whisk in both of the milks until smooth. Stir in the butter, then the eggs, then the extract. Pour in to prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool, then slice using a plastic knife.

You can vary the recipe by replacing the pudding & extract flavoring to other kinds.


Strawberry Mochi Cake


This is my entry for Rach's June Baking Challenge. The ingredient for this months challenge is Strawberries. I can't wait to see all the other goodies that people come up with!

Candy Crazy!!!

I was totally excited when I checked out Monica's post on
Candy Cakes
Hers is beautiful you can check it out here -> ->->
She even did a step by step post on making one yourself, which is wonderful.
The reason this got me all excited, is that all Miss K asks for her Birthday or Christmas is gum, candy, & mints. How perfect of a Birthday Cake would this be for her!?!? So I did a picture search to see what other ones I could find, these were my favorites -

























































How much fun are these!! :)

In the Mood for some Bakin'

There are SO many cooking/baking/food blogs out there, it's too much fun :) I have googled several things like baking blogspot and cooking blogspot ect..... I'm sure you get the picture, and now have a pile of recipes tagged to try- It's almost worst than my All Recipes recipe box, Almost ;)
Anyway one that I have come across a couple times and always catches my eye is called
The Sisters' Cafe

Part of my fascination with this blog is the wish that I could get all my sisters to do a cooking blog with me, how fun would that be!!! I love the idea & will begin asking/begging them right away :) The other part would be, of course, the FOOD! They have tons of great recipes and pictures, Yum, Yumm, Yummy!! I actually made 2 of theirs today, I have been going through cooking/baking withdrawal. And my poor family is having a hard time remembering what a home-made treat/dinner tastes like! While I have been down my Hubby has mostly done instant or fast food- although one night he did make a pretty good Goulash- Kudos to my Honey.

Anyway I thought I would surprise the Kiddos with some Pumpkin Bars as an after-school treat. Shepherds Pie for Dinner, and for Breakfast tomorrow- Home Made Cinnamon Rolls. That should hold them for awhile.


















So here we have the Link for the Pumpkin Bars Recipe. And here is the link to the
Cinnamon Rolls Recipe. The Shepherds Pie one is in my head, I will try to post it for you, although I'm pretty sure most of you probably already have your standard go to recipe for that :) :)

Shepherds Pie
Ingred;
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 can each corn, peas, beans
1 can cream of mushroom soup-(shhhhh... this is a secret from my Family, they are not mushroom fans)
2 pkts brown gravy mix- equal to making 2 cups gravy
1-1/2c. cool water
3c. mashed potatoes
1c. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown your beef, when cooked through add vegies, & soup, whisk together the water & gravy mix & add to the rest. Cook until thick & bubbly. Pour into a 9x13 pan, spread the potatoes over top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 min.
This is my families favorite variation of Shepherds Pie, so there ya go.
Happy Wednesday All!!!

Green Day, Rootbeer Float Cake, and post from the Slacker

I feel like I have been a total slacker lately, an online slacker, I haven't been on here much. I have been feeling a little blue for some unknown reason, which is not uncommon- I have issues :)
Anyhow I wanted to post about a few fun things. I wanted to show some pic's of our Green Dinner-



And My little helper K, helped me make a delicious cake, RootBeer Float cake from Lisa's Cookbook. There are a TON of great recipes on there, if you enjoy cooking you should definitely check it out.
So here I have my little Kitchen Sla.... I mean helper :)



Here are the cast of ingredients



Here is the K stirring up the ingredients, this recipe is awesome and super easy- see the 6 year making it?????

Super Easy and you can check out the recipe here- :) :) :)

Here it R my other helper, he wanted a taste and I told him NO, he got a chewie instead, poor little guy.



Here we have our fluffy frosted cake, I think I will sample a piece, if I'm careful no one will even notice ;)



See how sneaky I was :)


Yum everyone LOVED it, Thank You Lisa!!!


Also there is a Blog I wanted to share with you all- Got Org is a great blog if you need some help organizing your life, which I DEFINITELY do. She has great helps and tips, it is a great one to check out as well and you can get there by going here- :) :) :)

Happy Thursday All! :)