Baby Shower and an Engagement Party

Here are the latest two cakes that we completed, both this past week. The first was for a two fer baby shower and the second is for an engagement party. In the spirit of always wanting to try new things, we used rice krispy treats to make the toy blocks on the baby shower cake. We don't typically use those, but the were a good shortcut for this one. They were both fun cakes and we hope they were both enjoyed.

Silent Sunday XXXI- Spring Break is here!

Happy Birthday- Sweet Sixteen

We completed this cake this past weekend, for four lovely young ladies who are turning 16. This is by far the largest cake we have put together and it was a bit challenging, but we were very pleased with the outcome. We had to borrow a vehicle to deliver the cake and we did not get to see it put together until we set it up at the Ag center. The top and bottom layer were both chocolate and the middle layer is white cake.

What's Cookin' Wednesdays- Crescent rolls

Today's recipe was one of the first bread recipes that I tried. Unfortunately no pictures today, because I haven't made them lately, or since I started What's Cookin' segments. Anyway, the recipe is really easy and the taste tons better than the canned numbers.
Crescent rolls
2 Pkgs of Yeast- .oz pkgs
3/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 shortening
4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 butter
Method
Dissolve yeast in water and proof for about ten minutes. Stir in sugar and salt. Cut in the butter and shortening and slowly add in the flour. Knead until smooth then let rise for about an hour, or until doubled. Then divide and roll out your small rectangles. Roll them up and let them rise again on your pan or stone. Finally bake for about ten minutes at 400 degrees.
These are great by themselves or my favorite pigs in blankets. Sorry again no pictures, but come on we all know what crescent rolls look like;-)

What's Cookin' Wednesdays-Banana Bread

Ok, so before I made this for Special Breakfast Fridays I spent some time perusing our recipe books and looking in other places for a good recipe and found one I liked only to remember this recipe when I was about halfway done.  Silly me, I will have to try Mrs. Ellen's recipe next time I make this wonderful treat.
We don't usually buy a lot of bananas because they don't get eaten that fast in our house, I don't eat them much anymore and Tiff hardly ever eats them. So we have stopped buying them, because they just went bad sitting out on the counter, had I known that banana bread was this easy, I wouldn't have thrown those away. Oh well, waste and learn. This recipe turned out well, we all three liked it, I would have preferred some pecans in it, but I had exhausted our supply from this past fall.

Banana Bread
3 to 4 ripe bananas
1/3 Cup Salted Melted Butter
3/4 to 1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg lightly beaten
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Tsp Baking Soda
Pinch O' Salt
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Nutmeg
Pinch O' Cloves
1 1/2 Cup Flour

Method
This is fall off the wall easy to make. You first have to mush up your bananas. When they say ripe, they mean extra ripe, like brown, gross, wouldn't even want to think about eating them ripe, not black mind you. Nor would you want the banana itself all brown and gross looking, however I have worked with folks that eat them like that, ick, I just don't get understand and me, I hate wasting food, but there are limits indeed.
After you have those mashed up, not pureed like baby food, you do need it a bit on the chunky side, set your bananas aside and melt that butter. The next time I make it, I might try using unsalted butter, which I like to cook with far better and perhaps increase the amount of salt in the final mix, but for this go round I used good old Country Crock.
After the butter is melted you, set it aside and let it cool down just a bit and go ahead and mix all your dry ingredient together. Once that is done and after your butter is no longer super hot mix all the wet ingredients together, including your bananas. Now wrestle the dog's food bowl away from the baby. Oh wait, you might not have to complete that step, depending on your child and well dog status, but I typically have to, either the food bowl or fish her out of his water bowl, unless I have had the foresight to pick both up off the floor.
Finally mix everything together and if you like go ahead and fold in some pecans or walnuts or whatever you like, I have even seen it made with raisins, but the wife doesn't like raisins very much, so I leave those out of most everything that I make for her.
Then put your batter in a loaf pan, we happen to have a silicone pan, I wouldn't recommend them, not fond of mine, but since they are what I have right now, they are what I use and I am grateful for them. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, or of course until brown, I think I baked mine a little long, because the loaf had pulled away from the side of the pan, but the bread was still really moist and delicious!

Silent Sunday XXX- Hello Spring

Silent Sunday XXIX-10 Months Old, Tomorrow, Also 100th Post!