Merry Christmas!

This has been a crazy couple of weeks at the bakery! It's the busiest time of the year and I've decorated so many Christmas sugar cookies that I'm starting to have dreams about them! The bakery is closed for the next two days and I'm excited to rest and have a good time with family and friends this holiday season.  But first I want to show you a few of the holiday cakes/cupcakes I made this past week.













Wishing you and Very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and yours!

Sausage & Tortellini Soup

Pinterest seems to be my favorite spot to find new recipes these days.  It's such a great tool to use to find  all kinds of great ideas and recipes.  Tonight I made this sausage and tortellini soup for dinner and the kids and I devoured it.  Not the healthiest of soups but it was so darn good and super easy to make. My 2 1/2 year old even asked for seconds and that rarely happens with her!

Even this guy loved it!!!



Sausage & Tortellini Soup
Source: Party In My Kitchen

3 cups cooked Italian sausage
3 cups uncooked cheese tortellini
4 cups water
1 can evaporated milk
6 chicken boullion cubes
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. parsley
1 tbsp. chives (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients except tortellini in medium size sauce pan and bring to boil.  Allow to simmer about 15 minutes.  Add tortellini and allow to boil according to pasta pkg. instructions.  Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve.

Santa Hats

Look at these adorable Santa Hats my niece made!  Aren't they cute? They are such a fun dessert to eat and would be great to make for an upcoming Christmas party or family get-together.



With brownie bites, whipped cream, fresh strawberries and some imagination you can make these too!



Only 18 days left until Christmas? Do you have your shopping done yet?

Chile Colorado Burritos

This recipe caught my eye on Pinterest the other day. That and the fact that I had a couple of cans of red enchilada sauce in my pantry that have been begging to be used.  Served with rice, this turned out to be a delicious meal. The meat was super tender after cooking in the crock pot all day. I'm not sure what I'd do without a crockpot. I use it at least once a week!



Chile Colorado Burritos
Source: Food Pusher

1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat
1 large can mild red enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz.)
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 can refried beans
5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Put beef, bouillon, and enchilada sauce into a crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender. When beef is done, taste and add more salt, if desired. Heat up refried beans in the microwave and put your oven on broil. On an oven-proof plate lay out a tortilla.  Place on tortilla about 1/2 cup of the meat, drained by using a slotted spoon, and a spoonful or two of beans. Roll into a burrito. Pour some of the remaining enchilada sauce from the crock pot over the burrito to cover it. Sprinkle with some cheddar cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly, about 2-4 minutes.

At the Bakery...more cake decorating!

Christmas is in full swing at the bakery. We've been baking and decorating holiday sugar cookies like crazy. Before I start showing Christmas goodies on here, I want to show you some of the birthday cakes I've made over the last couple of weeks.

Have a great week!!!

Thanksgiving Review...and My Birthday Cake

Did everyone have a nice Thanksgiving? We loaded up the car Wednesday night and headed to Indiana to spend the holiday with my family.  We had such a nice visit, ate way too much food, and even did some Black Friday shopping from 12am - 4am!

Just so happens that my birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year.  What a sweet surprise to find out that B made a birthday cake for me! Not just any birthday cake but a Kit Kat and Peppermint cake! And to top it off she baked it so that it was red and white checkerboard inside.  B is in the 6th grade and she's an amazing baker already! Thanks so much for my cake! It looked amazing and tasted even better!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

I would like to take a moment and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  As I think back over the past year, I have so many things to be thankful for. I am looking forward to spending this Thanksgiving with my family and enjoying some good home-cooked food and laughter. May your Thanksgiving be filled with family, friends, and happy memories.

I'll leave you with some Thanksgiving goodies that I made in the bakery this past week...

Turkey Cupcakes:






Turkey Sugar Cookies:


Fall Tree Cookies:


and a pumpkin Turkey Cake!

Pay Day Bars

It's crazy that November is half way over already and Thanksgiving is next week!!! Where does the time go?

My sister made these yummy Pay Day bars a couple weeks ago but I held off on posting the recipe because I figured everyone was on candy overload from Halloween. Hopefully everyone's candy stash is depleted because you'll want to give this one a try!



Pay Day Bars
Source: S. Miller

16 oz. jar salted, dry roasted peanuts
3 T. butter
1 bag peanut butter chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 c. miniature marshmallows

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.  Pour 1/2 of the peanuts on the bottom of the pan.  Melt butter, peanut butter chips and sweetened condensed milk.  Remove from heat and fold in the marshmallows.  Pour over the peanuts.  Put the rest of the peanuts on top and pat down lightly.  Chill and cut into bars.

Banana Jam

This great find came from Pinterest!  As many of you know, I make strawberry freezer jam every summer when the strawberries are fresh and the kids and I can go to a local u-pick farm.  I had never heard of banana jam before! The best part about banana jam is that bananas are available year-round. My kids and I gave this 6 thumbs up and we often times will eat it right on crackers during snack time!

Banana Jam
Source: Mom Foodie at blommi.com

5 c. Bananas, sliced
2 1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Orange juice
2 T. Lime juice
Generous pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Put all ingredients in large pot over medium heat. Once the jam starts to bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.

While the jam is cooking, place jars, lids and any equipment that will come in direct contact with the jam into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then shut off oven, but leave items in there until you are ready to use them.

Once jam is cooked, ladle it into the jars and place lids and screw tops on. As jam cools vacuum will be created and lids will seal (you will generally hear a pinging sound when the seal happens).

Yield: 4 standard jelly jars

Unopened jam can be stored in cupboard.  Refrigerate once opened.

The Easiest Beef Short Ribs

In the need of a new crock pot recipe? Here's another good one for you! I love adding new recipes to my "Crock Pot Collection" because it's a great resource for those days when I know I'll be in a pinch to get dinner on the table.  This recipe did not disappoint.  It's the first time I've ever bought beef short ribs but they were easy to find in my local grocery store. The meat was so tender that it just fell off the bone! It's great served with rice or mashed potatoes and your favorite veggie.  

The Easiest Beef Short Ribs
Source: Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

1 T. unsalted butter or olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. soy sauce
3 T. cider vinegar
3 T. brown sugar
3 to 4 lb. beef short ribs

1. In a small skillet, heat the butter over medium heat until melted, then cook the onion, stirring, until softened and golden, about 5 minutes. Add the ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar, stir until smooth, and heat for 5 minutes.

2. Place the short ribs on a broiler pan and broil until well browned. Arrange the ribs in the slow cooker. If you have a round cooker, stack them. Pour over the sauce, distributing the onions over all the ribs. Cover and cook on low until tender and the meat starts to separate from the bone, 7 to 8 hours.

3. Transfer the ribs to a platter. Let the sauce cool a bit, then spoon the liquid fat off the surface and discard. Pour the sauce over the ribs and serve immediately.

At the Bakery...

Here's the last Halloween bakery post this year!  I had so much fun making all things pumpkins, spiders, and even Frankenstein!  It's hard to believe November will be here in 2 short days. Here's a few of my creations from this week.

Frankenstein...


Pumpkin cake...


Pumpkin cupcakes...


and even a Spider cake!


 HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all!!!

At the Bakery...

Lots of fun Halloween goodies have been brewing in the bakery this week! With Halloween only 7 days away, everyone is in the holiday spirit. Here are a few of the things I've made this week...

Fun Halloween cupcakes...with creepy crawly spiders!


Halloween cookies of all kinds...


400 Halloween-themed cupcakes for the University of Michigan...


Fall inspired cake...with leaves


And last but not least...let's not forget that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month!

Halloween Witch Cake

Halloween is only TEN days away!  I've been making lots of festive baked goods at the bakery, including this cake. Our whole family will be dressing up this year. I won't give away any secrets but our costumes will coordinate with one another. I can't wait! Halloween is such a fun time of year. Here's hoping for a nice, dry, and semi-warm Halloween night to take the kids trick-or-treating!

Rectangular Kit Kat Cake

Here's a different twist on the Kit Kat and M&M cake. This type of cake has taken over blog-land but you'll mostly see it in round cakes.  It also makes quite an impressive rectangular cake.

I made this quarter sheet cake for my really good friend at work. Ever since I started working at the bakery {last winter} it was always her and I in the kitchen together. We are the only 2 daytime bakers/cake decorators. We hit it off immediately and work extremely well together. My strengths are her weaknesses and vice versa. We often have the same idea/thought in our heads and jive well together.  We shared plenty of great laughs every day and working with her made me look forward to going to work the next day.

Saturday was T's last day at the bakery. I am going to miss her so much but I'm excited about the new adventure she is about to begin. I wish her all the best and had to send her off with my very favorite cake - Kit Kat and M&M's.



This cake took 15 packages of Kit Kats and about half of a super size bag of M&M's (the large bags you find at Costco or Sam's Club).  Underneath all the candy is a chocolate cake iced with fudge icing. I presented the cake to T and then we cut it and shared it with all the customers at the bakery.  I've made lots of Kit Kat and M&M cakes but this is the first time I've ever EATEN one. WOW!!! It was so good but SO SWEET! A little slice of this cake goes a long way. Be prepared to wash it down with a big glass of milk! :)

White Chili

Last week we enjoyed a fun family vacation in Florida. Four nights at Disney and a couple nights at St. Pete to enjoy the beach. The weather was a bit rainy but we were still able to get plenty of sun and welcomed the 80/90 degree temps.  We returned home this week to 40 degree weather and brrrr did it feel cold! Perfect time to make some chili.  This is my favorite white chili recipe that some friends made for us several years ago. I hope you'll like it as much as I do.



White Chili
Source: S. Morris

4 - 6 Chicken Breasts, cooked and cubed
1 medium onion, diced
2 T. garlic, minced
2 - 3 T. olive oil
2 cans White Navy Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Cannelli Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can Hominy, rinsed and drained
2 cans Chicken Broth
2 - 5 Jalapeños (depending on how hot you want it), remove seeds and dice
2 T. Flour mixed in a little bit of water

Cube and cook chicken then set aside. Brown garlic, onion, and jalapeños in olive oil.  Add beans, hominy, and chicken broth. Add chicken. Heat over medium-high heat then add flour/water to the soup to thicken. Serve with cilantro, sour cream, and/or shredded cheese.

Sausage, Potatoes, & Green Beans

EASIEST. MEAL. EVER!

This is my go-to meal on busy weekdays.  Simply throw some canned green beans (mine were from my parents' garden), diced up potatoes (no need for peeling), and some sliced smoked sausage or polska keilbasa into your crock pot, add a couple cups of water and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  No need for extra seasoning because the sausage gives the green beans and potatoes tons of flavor. Even my kids love this one!

 

Life At The Bakery...

My food blog has taken the back burner these last couple of months and I do apologize for that. As we all know, sometimes life gets a bit crazy. Things have been super busy around here so I promise to post as often as I can.

Here's a peak at a few of my favorite cakes I made this week at work.

Ruffle Cake...



300 Cupcakes for U of M...



2 Tier Kit Kat and M&M Cake...



 Have a wonderful week!

Frozen Peanut Butter Turtle Pie

I always try to make a yummy dessert when having out of town visiters.  This time I needed something to make ahead of time so I tried this recipe from Kraft. Can't go wrong with a frozen peanut butter pie! It was pretty amazing and I even made my own caramel sauce for it instead of buying the pre-made caramel ice cream topping from the grocery store. I've been nibbling on the leftovers all week and sadly, it's all gone.  I need some more guests so I'll have another excuse to make some dessert! :)



Frozen Peanut Butter Turtle Pie
Source: Kraftfoods.com

1 tub (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese Spread
1/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. thawed Cool Whip
1/4 c. caramel ice cream topping
1 Oreo Pie Crust
1/4 c. coarsely chopped Planters Pecans, toasted
2 squares, Baker's Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Beat cream cheese spread, peanut butter, and sugar in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add Cool Whip; mix well.

Spread caramel topping onto bottom of crust; cover with cream cheese mixture. Freeze 4 hours.

Top with nuts just before serving. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over pie.

Our Heaviest CSA Veggie Box Yet!

Look at today's CSA box of veggies that we got today! My mouth is watering just looking at it!

We got purple basil, purple royalty beans (that turn green when you cook them) a black beauty eggplant, 6 ears of bicolor sweet corn, watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, squash, and some of the biggest sweet potatoes I've ever seen! I can't wait to dig in and get creative!