This is my dog ya'll

So, I got Apollo a new toy. It squeeks! It's made out of tennis ball material! It bounces! You can play tug of war with it! Or you can put your face in it! I love him...

P.S. If you'd like to name the photo for fun, I'd be open to some ideas!

"Egg rolls"

I don't really know why these are called egg rolls...other than you can brush egg onto the crust. However, I made them this week and they were delicious! They use pepperage farms puff pastry sheets that are so lovely and flakey, I can't wait to use them for other recipes! You can find more ideas at www.puffpastry.com

Baked Chinese Egg Rolls
2 Cups thawed stir fry veggies (I just used a mix that had snap peas, soy beans, red peppers, and water cresents)
1 Cup cooked diced chicken
2 Tbs hoisen sauce
1 egg beaten
1 pkg puff pastry sheet thawed (this takes 40 min, so feel free to do that ahead of time)
sesame seeds

heat oven to 400 degrees
unfold pastery sheets on lighly floured surface and cut each sheet into 4 squares
stir veggies chicken and sauce in a medium bowl
spoon mixture onto pastry squares, roll and pinch the sides to keep them closed
place rolls on ungresed cookie sheet and brush with egg then sprinkle sesame seeds over the top
bake 20 minutes and enjoy!

I'm considering trying to add rice into the mixture next time. As far as re-heating, they do ok in the microwave

MSM

I know that some of you are already fans of weekly/monthly menus, but I am here to convert those of you who haven't started doing this. It makes life so much easier, not even kidding! If you can do all of your cooking over the weekend so that you just heat up your food during the week, it's all the easier! (but that's not necessary) So, I'll share how I go about making a menu, and you menu making gurus out there are more than welcome to share your thoughts/ideas/whatever. This does take some planning, but it'll save time and money in the long run.

Saturday

• Now, I like to bake, but not so much cook. I don't hate it, but my kitchen doesn't lend to great culinary experiences. So, when I start my weekly planning, I usually start at bettycrocker.com because it has easy/quick recipes and it has coupons. (double whammy!) Of course you can look anywhere, but like I said, this is how I do it.
• Generally, I choose one meat for the week, because let's face it, meat's not cheap. Ground beef, chicken......yeah that's usually the only things I use, but sometimes I mix things up and get ground turkey. On special occasions I'll buy beef to make into pot roast. Anyhow, you can check online generally to see what specials your chosen store has, which can aid in the choosing of your meals. I usually also have some beans or pasta or some non-meat substitute (no not tofu..ugh) on hand to pad the menu, just in case for some reason the food doesn't last all week.
• Ok, now that you've chosen your meat (for this examples sake, I'm using chicken) you can choose your recipes. *I'm assuming that you are either single or married with no children out of the womb. If you have a family...this may not work.* Usually a package of chicken breast is WAY too much for the two of us. If you fix all of the chicken the same way, you'll burn yourself out on it! So, I can generally make 2 different recipes out of one package. (Betty has a feature that you can type in the ingredients you have and it'll generate some tasty options) This week, I'll be making baked potatoes with chicken (much like the kind you'd get at Jason's Deli, the pollo mexicano potato) and we'll also have baked eggrolls stuffed with chicken and veggies. Generally, we'll have leftovers, we don't only eat dinner twice a week. We actually have leftovers from last week too, so don't worry. If you fear you'll run out, your beans or pasta will come into play.
• Now, write down the ingredients that you do not have onto your grocery list, and check for available coupons. If you're a superstar you can check your coupons first and plan accordingly. Don't forget to write down the amounts the recipe calls for. How many times have I found myself looking at canned tomatoes and forget how much I need, and don't buy enough....oy!

Sunday

• Now, you know exactly what you need, you're not buying ingredients that you've already got and you can avoid the frightening experience of walking into the grocery store unprepared! Now get in the kitchen and get cookin'!

my first order

Well, my first official cake order is completed and although there was no blood, there was definitally some sweat and tears but I am actually happy with how it came out! So, here it is a lemon cake on the top tier, lemon cupcakes for the second tier (with raspberry buttercream filling) and dark chocolate cupcakes for the bottom (also with raspberry buttercream filling)

sneak peek

You knew you woke up for a reason today! (Other than your family, work, and other more important things.) You my friend are getting a sneak peek a the baby shower cake! The picture below, is my cupcake tier. I placed a cake pan and cupcake wrappers on it, to give you an idea of scale. As you can see, the support that hold up the top tier is not yet wrapped, but you get the idea.

These are little airplanes for the cupcakes. I had seen little airplane molds online made by wilton, and they said that you could find them at Michaels and Hobby Lobby, but apparently not here, so I piped those by hand with melted chocolate and vanilla wafers.
This is the beginnings of the cake topper. It's also a little plane and the thing behind it that is resting on rolled up paper will be the sign the plane is pulling that will say "It's a Boy!" but I need it to dry first. I also need to "glue" on the propeller, the windshield, wings and the tail, but hopefully you get the idea!

MSM cupcake stand

So, I'm pretty excited about this upcoming weekend. I've been asked to make a cake or cupcakes for a baby shower! I don't actually know the expectant woman, but she's having a boy and she is the wife of a Navy pilot. Other than that, design is up to me! (Whoop) So, since it's a smallish shindig, I decided to do a 6" round cake as a top tier and then make 2 more tiers out of cupcakes. I've seen cupcake stands that allow for just this, and they look something like this...

Pretty right? Yeah, those stands can cost over 200 bucks. Yes you read right $200. (I've seen the one time usage ones for as low as 9.99 but it was target.com so there are shipping costs and I can make one for less!) So, I realize that most of you guys don't care for cakes like I do, but I'm sure that you all have made or will be making cakes/cupcakes in the future. I am sure. (yep, sure about you too Craig) Anyhow, here we go, let's make a cupcake/cake/petit four stand!

Stuff you'll need

foam board (1/4" is best, but Michaels had buy one get one free on the 1/8" so I just doubled up since it was much cheaper)

glue (I suggest rubber cement and hot glue)

wrapping paper and/or contact paper

ribbon (1/4" width and 1/2" width)

something to make a divider that stands at least 3" tall (I used round cardboard boxes with a 4" diameter that are like $1, you can use foam)

Scissors & xacto knife or box cutter

compass

Okdokie, here we go. You'll first need to decide the size of "plates" you'll need. I used an 8", 10" and 13" (yes, I know that sounds weird, but it's ok I promise) I chose 8" for the top so that the cake will have room for a boarder around the bottom and the appropriate amount of cupcakes will fit on the other tiers. I need about 18, if you need more, you'll probably want to add more tiers. Now, use your fancy little compass and draw out your circles and cut those bad boys out with the xacto or box cutter. Scissors will not work unless you're the hulk.

Now, you'll probably want to cover the foamboard with decorative paper. If you like the white, you can just cover the foamboard with contact paper to protect the paper from the oils of the desserts. You can use anything you want depending on the occasion. Just trace your circles on to the paper and cut out with scissors, then glue down on the foamboard. (this is where I like the rubber cement, because it dries flat with no bubbles, you can use a glue stick, but you may get some air bubbles later...I'd know, it happened to mine. Once that's done, cover with contact paper. (I found some at Target in the home section around the laundry aisle with the stuff you can line your cabinets with, in case you were wondering where to find it)

Now, you'll want to cover the sides with ribbon. Of course you don't have to, but it gives it a more finished look. This is where the hot glue gun comes into play. Just glue the ribbon along the edge of your circle. when you reach the end, fold the end inward and glue down to avoid unraveling.

So now, all you have left to do is cover your supports, if you so wish. You obviously don't have to, but again, it just looks a little nicer. The example I have below is from Cakejournal.com, I'll show mine when it's finished. The finished product cost me probably $10 total, including the paper, ribbon, and contact paper I still have left over, so less than that! Huzzah!

MSM

Hey it's the first make something monday of the year! Woo! Well, as you know, I am not a big fan of Hobby Lobby. It's not really fair since my deep seeded resentment is because it was the only craft store in College Station while I was studying architecture. Their poor art and drafting supply stocking abilities mixed with being closed on Sundays was not at all convienient. I do admire that they're closed on Sundays to allow families to go to church, but when that's the only place in town and you've got a project due on Monday and someone has stolen some of your stuff and you've used your last xacto blade......things can get ugly. However, they've now decided to open an online store! (the store that just a year or so ago got a real debit card machine and still doesn't use barcodes....) I'm not a huge fan of buying supplies online, since you have to wait a few days and pay shipping and such, but HL is offering free shipping for $25 orders (which is pretty low in comparison) While currently they're not selling stuff that ENDS kids would order (like chipboard, foamboard, and xacto blades...the stuff they can't seem to understand to keep in stock at all times...! Simmer down Amanda, simmer) They do have a broad variety of other things. However, if you are in need of stocking up on xacto blades (because I know you are) here are some of my favorite art supply stores online.
www.dickblick.com (yes, it's a funny name....) This has everything art. everything.
www.joann.com -this is joann fabrics website. If you're looking for specific fabrics, patterns or whatnot, they've got even more than the have in their already well stocked stores. I found Steelers fabric to give my mom last year.
www.amazon.com - yep you can find most anything here too and usually for less. yay