John Deere Cake

Speaking of John Deere....I made a John Deere cake at work this weekend. Thought I'd share it with you all real quick! :)

John Deere Tractors

I grew up on a farm in Indiana so I know good and well what a John Deere tractor looks like! :)  I had a blast making these cookies for a cute little boy about to turn 2 years old. This little man lives in Iowa so this was my first "long-distance" order.  I was a little hesitant to do it but I figured, why not give it a try? I'm glad I took some before pictures because unfortunately none of them made it there in one piece. :(  Apparently Iowa is too far away from Michigan to ship cookies no matter how much bubble wrap and "FRAGILE" stickers you put on the box! Oh well, lesson learned and hopefully they were still able to eat some of them! Happy birthday P!



On a side note, there are many people on Etsy that sell decorated sugar cookies and will ship to anywhere in the U.S.  If I have any readers that do this, can you offer up some advice? What did I do wrong?  What can I do differently if there is ever a next time? Thanks so much!

Life at the Bakery

Yikes! It's been over a week since my last post. I am so sorry!  I was down for a week after 2 days of minor surgery and today was my first full day back at work in over a week. Needless to say, I am wiped out.

While you all were probably still sleeping (at 5am) I was decorating 175 cupcakes!



These days, I wake up at 3:30am! 'Tis the life of a baker and I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Here's another cake I decorated at the bakery. I really need to start taking more pictures. We decorate so many cool cakes and I need to remember to take pictures!



Have a good night! I promise to have more yummy recipes posted soon!

Chicken Pot Pie Bundles

These little bundles were fun to make and the recipe came off of Pinterest. They are chicken pot pies wrapped in individual egg roll wrappers.  I wish my insides had more sauce so next time I may double the sauce but they were delicious! Full of fresh veggies and lots of flavor!




Chicken Pot Pie Bundles
Source: Meal Makeover Moms


1½ T. canola oil, divided 
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/2 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1/2 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 t. chopped fresh tarragon or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon (I left this out.)
1/2 t. kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 c. chicken broth
4 t. cornstarch
3/4 c. frozen petite peas, thawed
3/4 c. frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
12 egg roll wraps (NOT the smaller wonton wrappers)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the carrot and onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute more.
2. Stir in the chicken, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3. Place the broth and cornstarch in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add to the skillet along with the peas and corn, and bring the liquid to a simmer, stirring constantly. Continue to simmer and stir gently until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
4. To prepare the bundles, use a muffin pan with 12 medium-size cups (do not coat with nonstick cooking spray). Gently place 1 egg roll wrap into each cup, letting it extend over the sides.
5. Place a generous 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture into each wrap, and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Fold the corners up and over the top of the filling and press to seal the edges (it doesn’t have to be perfect!). Brush the remaining oil on top of each bundle.
6. Bake until golden and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly before eating.

Strawberry Butter

Strawberry season came and went quickly here in Michigan.  The hot weather and lack of rain made for a rather quick strawberry season but none-the-less the kids and I were able to go to a U-pick farm twice this year.  I have a deep freezer full of strawberry jam to show for it! Yum!!!

I also tried something new this year....strawberry butter!  It was great on toast and made a wonderful addition to our breakfast!  Super easy to make. The key is making sure your butter is room temperature; otherwise you'll have lots of clumps.


Strawberry Butter
Source: Deals to Meals

4 T. butter, softened

1/3 strawberry jam (I used homemade jam)

1/4 c. fresh strawberries

2 T. sugar

1 t. vanilla

In your blender, blend or puree butter until smooth. Chill and serve with bread or rolls.