Cooking From Scratch

I have been on this "real food" kick lately.  I'm hoping it's more than just a kick because I'm actually enjoying this!

Basically,  the short version is you don't eat anything with more than 4 ingredients (try for no chemicals,  preservatives...) and don't eat processed food. Limit your preservatives to as little as possible.  This includes any salt.

You'll be cooking a lot but you'll feel great!
The main thing I was struggling with was food for my daughter.  It seems like anything she'll eat has super processed and full of preservatives. So I figured I would start with snacks.

Goldfish!!

I premade my "dough" so I dont have pictures of that... but I'm sure I'll be making these again soon! ;) This time, I decided to go with whole wheat, but I've done them before with the regular recipe.

So here is the recipe for the dough:

1 1/2 cups cheddar (I like mild cheddar)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon Lipton onion soup powder

Mix all ingredients in a food processor until a dough is formed. 

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F.

You can freeze the dough for up to two weeks.

Roll out your dough to approximately 1/8".

Once you have. Your dough, you can start cutting out you shapes. I've used different things to cut out my tasty treats. I mainly use piping tips. Today I decided to be adventurous and make fish shapes. 

I started with my piping tip and used some tools to bend in into a fish shape.

Cut out your fish, or whatever shape you are using,  and place them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.

Cook for 10-13 minutes. Once you take them out, place them on a plate to cool down.

Enjoy! 

Father's Day Contruction Cake!

Ok so my original idea was to make a cake for my hubby, who works for a home builder, and a cake for my dad who just got a new job. Well it turns out that a. my sister-in-law is making a father's day cake for when my dad visits them the day before he comes here, b. I really don't need to be eating cake left overs for 3 weeks, and c. I really don't need that much cake!

I may still end up making a small cake for my dad, but I'll figure that out tomorrow, after we dig into the construction cake.

Anyways, so I promised to show how to make just about anything out of cake (and fondant). This is a pretty simple cake. It only takes about 3 hrs to complete start to finish. The fun thing about this cake is the decorating!

Let's get started.

(Ingredient list at the bottom)

Mix your cake mix, as directed, and add an extra egg. (I also add a touch of vanilla to make the taste really pop)

 

She's my little helper ;) (This is a great way to let the kids make something special for dad!)

 

 

Coat cake pan, use rectangle, with PAM spray. I like the butter flavored kind, but any kind is fine. Once the pan is fully coated, pour in your batter and bake as directed.

 

 

For all her hard work, my little helper got to lick the wisk. :)

 

 

While the cake is baking, you can start making your fondant. I use a marshmello fondant recipe given to me by a friend. It's easy to make and tastes better than real fondant. The tricky part is kneading it enough to get the right consistency.

 

Get your supplies out.

Heat the marshmellos and 2 tblspn water in the microwave, in a microwave safe dish, 30 seconds at a time, mixing between each cycle, until melted.

*****This part gets hot and sticky----- Use caution and remove all jewelry*****

Grease your countertop with crisco... lots and lots of crisco.

Next, pour your marshmellos onto the greased countertop. You will want to grease your hands well. (be sure to coat your entire hand because this part gets really sticky)

Add powdered sugar a spoonful at a time, kneading the mixture as you would bread. You want your fondant to be maliable enough without breaking. You want to be able to work with it without it sticking to everything, but still moldable. (hint... this is the tricky part)

I don't have a picture of the fondant as I mixed it, and you'll see why. It's SUPER sticky!

Once your fondant is made, set it aside.

Your cake should be ready by now. Take it out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack.

 

 

Once the cake is cool enough to touch, take a knife, or cake leveler, and level your cake. (cut off the top part the poofs above everything else)

 

 

After the cake is nice and leveled, let the cake cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled, Place on piece on your serving platter/plate/surface.

 

 

Coat the bottom layer with icing, then place the top piece ontop. Coat the entire cake with a thin layer of icing. Place the cake in the fridge. This will harden the icing so that you  can easily put the fondant on top.

 

 

While the icing is hardening, get your fondant back out and make your shapes. I chose to go with a tool belt, a hammer, plyers, a pencil, a box cutter and a tape measurer for this cake. One batch is enough for the accessories and you will need  a seperate batch for the actual covering of the cake. The fondant for the cake covering you can go ahead an color the marshmellos before adding the sugar.

 

 

Now get your paint brush out, a clean one that is food safe, and your food coloring.  Go ahead an go nuts. Be creative and paint!

 

 

Once you are done painting, place the shapes in the fridge to solidify a little.

If you haven't made your fondant to cover the cake, now is the time to do it! Once it's made, take out your cake. Roll out your fondant until it's about 1/8" thick. roll it and the place it on your cake. The easiet way to transfer is to roll the fondant so it doesn't stretch, then when you put in on the cake you just unroll it!

Once youre cake is covered, cut off the excess fondant around the edges with a sharp knife. Now place your shapes on top and decorate more if needed.
Presto!!

 

 

Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

2 packages of 16 oz. marshmellos

2 packages of 16 oz. confectioners sugar

2 tblspn Water

2 cake mixes

1 can of icing

food coloring of your choice

Crisco

 

Mix and bake cakes according to instructions, adding and extra egg per batch and a touch of vanilla.

Let cool and level.

Coat on layer with icing, place other layer ontop. cover with icing. Refrigerate.

 

Melt marshmellos and water in microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing between interavls, until melted. Grease countertop with crisco. Also grease your hands very well. Pour marshmellos on greased countertop. knead in powdered sugar spoonfuls at a time until desired consistency is reached. You want your fondant maliable but wont break or tear when stretched.

 

Decorate cake as desired.

 



Tune in tomorrow to see if I decide to make another cake for Sunday!

 

Love Your Dads

I LOVE my dad. He has always been so inspiring to me. Whether it be his attitude towards work, family or friends, my dad has a great one! He is the kind of guy who, no matter what is going on in his life, is willing to ask you how you are doing.

I've probably often given my dad awful presents in the past, but now that I'm an adult, have a husband for whom I need to show my child that I'm grateful for, I need to step it up.

I previously showed you my "Tie Koozie". Well, that is one of the things I'm getting/making for my dad. I know I've probably gotten him too many things that he doesn't use, doesn't want, or are "gag gifts" in the past. So This year, I decided to THINK!

He just got a new job, so when my dad comes to visit this weekend, I will make a cake that looks like the logo for the company he will be working for, starting the day after Father's Day. (Stay Tuned for my tutorial on making a cake anything!)

Other than that, he will be receiving the tie koozies and family pictures. I will also be taking portraits of my mom and dad, since they don't have many done. (The last ones I did almost 2 years ago!)

Now for the hubs, I am SO... stumped! I've gotten him so many things in the past that I feel like I would be repeating with everything I would do.

But! I made him a cute card, hopefully it will arrive here on time for this weekend! What do you think?

 

Other than that, I might make him coupons, but I've made those before.... Or I though of getting him a paintball outing for him and some friends, but I thin khe would prefer to just go play basketball....

I'll think of something....

 

Not Your Average Tie

In trying to figure out what to get my dad for Father's Day, I came across a cool idea. I saw the idea to make a tie into a koozie.

All the ideas I saw, had the tie song to sewn for a specific cup. So I thought of having one to fit all cups.

So here's what I came up with:
A tie
A slap bracelet
Hot glue and scissors

Thats it!

I cute the tie the length of two slap bracelets, the put one slap bracelet inside the tie and folded the tie over. I glued the tie into place,  the put lines on hot glue along the side that would face the cup (to make it slip proof)

**important to remember to have the bendable part of the slap bracelet facing the "inside" of your koozie**

Give Me A Pack Of Diapers....

I'm telling you I know too many people who are pregnant!! One good thing is that I have practiced making all kinds of things with diapers. :) Along with some other cool things!

This is a diaper pickup with a bouquet made with socks, hats and washcloths wrapped in a receiving blanket.

Not sure how well you can see it in this picture, in the bottom right is a diaper carriage.

I'm actually kind of glad that I'm getting all of this practice, because now I can make things and show up to baby showers with something different!

Breaking Mom

So, I don't know about anyone else, but 2 1/2 is just not an easy age. Yesterday I found myself saying that I just don't even want to go anywhere that I will have to keep my toddler contained or "on her best behavior." It was one of those days, weeks, that I felt like she just needed to be let loose, because trying to have her not touch everything in the grovery store and stay with me was going to be impossible. (I actually did go to the grocery store because we were out of food, and yes she touched everything. Thankfully this time there were no spilled items. This time)

Seriously though, sometimes I feel like toddlers are our parents revenge on us. I mean sure we will have our issues when they hit puberty, but oy!

I have no answers, other than just staying at the playground or splashpad. Even the zoo is a hot mess!

So yes, she has broken me. It's taken 2 1/2 years and a lot of things going on in all our lives, but she's done it. I go shopping by myself when my husband puts her to bed, I bribe her with food if she has to sit still for more than 5 minutes. I'm all for bribing. And you know what, it works!

Thanks to bribing, she ate chicken cordon bleu yesterday!!!! And greenbeans!!! I bribe her with healthy stuff that she thinks is junk food, and Voila! I have a tolerable toddler!

On a different note, I did find that those boxes the post office provides for mailing, also come in super handy for keeping a toddler busy. I got a bunch for my photography, for shipping, a few weeks back. I made one and cut another one, and she has been coloring all over them with her crayons! She loves it and I don't have to worry about marker anywhere and I know that it stays put, because it's hard to carry for her! :)

Trying To Make It

So, lately, I've been feeling that I should change things. Everything from food choices, to lifestyle choices, even in some respects, to friend choices. It's not that I'm particularly unhappy, I just want to actually be happy!

Cooking from scratch has been one way that I've found that I'm able to choose what goes in my body. I've found some awesome recipes, made a few of my own, and relied on some "oldies but goodies" that have been passed down to me. Being that I studied culinary disciplines in college, I know the rules of homemade food, which is why, I think, that processed food seems to convenient. Food that you make at home won't last as long as the food you would buy premade, but it tastes better, and, here's the kicker, it's better for you!

I've also picked up working out, as opposed to just sitting around having a sedentary lifestyle. I know what your thinking, "How n you have a sedentary lifestyle with a toddler?" Well, the truth is that I have mainly been sitting around. If I took my daughter somewhere, I would usually just find a spot to sit, because I haven't had the energy to be physical.

So I'm changing my outlook! I realized that, while my predicaments do have an effect on me emotionally and physically, I need to MAKE myself get up. I need to MAKE myself move. I need to MAKE myself see the positive and not just give up constantly.

It was making me a bad, wife, mom and friend. I was sad all the time. The worst part was that I didn't want to have a pity party, so I would "fake" being happy. But that just made it worst. I looked happy, but I was pushing people away, I had no patience for anything, and I was quick to just throw my hands up, loose my temper, and scream.

Now, my goal is to actually BE happy, BE patient, BE amiable!

I've had to apologize to so many people over the last 8 months or so. This has been the longest "trial" period I've been through. Praying every day. Being sad and reminded every day. It's played a toll on so many relationships, that I've almost lost a few.

So now is time for change!

I'm making better decisions with food, less processed food. I'm making better decisions with my lifestyle, so that I am actually working out. I'm making myself BE a better person, inside and out. And finally, I'm guarding my heart.

I use to let everyone affect me. If someone would give me a weird look, or not respond to a call or a text, I would worry about it for days, or even weeks. I had to come to the realization, with the help on my husband, that people will come and go, relationships will come and go, but I have to be ok with myself. If I'm not happy with myself, than who will be?

People who bring us down are not the people we should be listening to. Yes, sometimes, that means that you will have to "just let it roll off your back," when a family member or even close friend does/says something. If someone makes you question if you're "good enough," look in the mirror and tell yourself this: "I'm good enough for God. He won't make me feel fat. He won't make me feel ugly. He won't make me feel unwanted!" Repeat that to yourself! I'm repeating it as I'm typing.

It's hard sometimes, well a lot of times, to remember that God does want to bless us and show us grace. He does show us grace, he shows us everyday, by letting us wake up, giving us air to breath!

Trust me, I know that when you are praying for something day after day, week after week, and month after month, it's hard to be thankful for the grace we are given to simply live. I know all to well how easy it is to feel abandoned by God because you feel like you can pray as hard as you can but you aren't seeing the results. All I can say is keep praying. Keep praying and try to continually make yourself better inside and out. Seek HIS help when you feel despair.

I'll close this post with this: Our pastor spoke this week about being at peace with God. If we are at peace with God then we can attempt to be at peace with ourselves and each other. So Pray. Pray that God give you peace. Pray that somehow, through the trials, God will give you peace. Then, you will be able to have peace within yourself, and peace with others.

I'm not perfect, obviously ^^! But I can try to be closer to the One who is.

My prayer for today:
God, please here my prayers. You know my wants and my needs. You know my struggles. Please help me to seek your peace as I continue in this life you have given me. Please help me to never take for granted the things I have and the people you have put in my life. Thank you for your continuous grace.   Amen.