The Dazzling Rainbow Surprise Cake

Just your typical birthday cake, right? Pretty plain and boring, right? Wrong! It held a terrific surprise inside! See for yourself...




It was quite the process but it was worth every minute! I wanted to make a fun cake for Miss Ava and wanted her to have a fun birthday cake. She had her own personal cupcake for the occasion which was also layered and dazzling. She of course wouldn't touch it but she did, however, eat 90% of it using just her mouth. We're a little OCD around here and we're okay with it.





Anywho, I saw this cake and had to make it myself. It was involved yes and a little time consuming but I figured out my groove quickly and made it start to finish in about 2 hours. Nap time is about right! I'm going to tell you how to make your own, in whatever color scheme you choose here.

Supplies:

2 cake mixes of your choice. I used Duncan Hines classic yellow
1 if not 2 8 in cake pans
cooking spray or wilton cake release
plastic wrap
food coloring
icing

Make the cake according to pkg instructions. I made one at a time but would have made both had I known I'd need both. Spray or coat pan. I started with red and scooped out 1 1/2 c batter into a bowl. Add the coloring and mix well. Pour into pan. These needed to bake in my oven about 17 minutes. This might vary depending on your oven. I allowed the cake to cool in the pan 10 minutes and then let cool on wire rack. While it was cooling I baked another layer (& color) and once I pulled this next layer out, I wrapped the cooling layer in plastic wrap and put in freezer. This makes frosting a breeze and I'll be doing this FROM NOW ON.



So in the end I had this...



NOTE: I made this cake the day before the party.

The morning of the big party day I pulled the layers out of the freezer. They were rock hard so I was a little worried. I unwrapped each layer and put the first layer on my cake stand. I iced each layer and had this...



I decided that because I wanted to make the inside of the cake the surprise that I wanted to do little to the outside of the cake as far as decorating goes. I kept the sprinkles and decor to a minimum. My dear little girl loved her layered cake and I hope yours does too! These would be great for game day! I think I may have to try my hand at a crimson and blue cake? Whatdya think?

Meal planning Monday

Each week I try to plan meals with DH so that I'm not standing at the fridge or oven wondering what in the world I'm going to make for dinner. I get great pleasure from meal planning. I enjoy reading and scouring my neverending abundance of cook books for something that will tickle my tastebuds and make the kids and dad happy. So here's what this week looks like:

Monday: Sandwich night (lots of leftovers from birthday party!)

Tuesday: Lemonade Chicken, scalloped potatoes and smoothies

Wednesday: whatever goes wed. This night we try to eat up leftovers or have an FFY night

Thursday: Pork Chops & Rice in CP, jello salad (my Aunt Mary recipe which is hilarious to me bc I don't have an Aunt Mary). Ok I'm delirious.

Friday: Butternut Squash soup with apples, Grilled Chicken Salad, rice pudding

Sat/Sun: I dont usually cook on Saturday's as a general rule unless I'm craving some kitch time.

Sun: one of my absolute fave's- Pot Roast in the CP

I'll post recipes later!

(yeah not a great week-it's Thursday and I'm posting for my Meal Plan Monday. While typing over 20 spelling errors. Make that 21.)

Ringing In

Well it's been great 2010~ Sad to see you go but excited to see what 2011 has in store. I feel like this year is going to bring about many changes, some good, some difficult, some that will challenge me to my inner core. I'm ready though. I feel like I'm ready to grab life by the (*ahem*) balls and face him head on. I've decided to set some goals for this year, quite a good handful actually....I feel like typing them is the same as writing them so I help you'll hold me to them. I'd like to first and foremost, find employment. The education system in bleak in the hope that I could find and hold onto a full-time teaching position. While I'm never going to give up home because that is my all-time dream to teach, I can't put all my eggs in the basket on that one. I'd like to find something where I feel like I am contributing and where I am valued as part of the whole. I'd like to start a shop on etsy and begin to share my love of crafts and creating with others. I've begun a healthy and quite progressive plan of running a 5k and am going to work towards a marathon for next year-it's got to be small steps but steps with purpose. Let me tell you, I've got a row to hoe there but again, I'm ready. I'm turning 30 in 4 days and I'm not quite sure how to feel. At first I wanted to skip the day altogether but I think that I need to start my thirties with a bang so here's to that! I hope that I can continue to build a strong relationship and bond with both of my kiddos. With one being super strong-willed and one being a cuddle-lover I want to balance my attention to both in that I can demonstrate the gift of love in a way that will teach them that is above all else, our greatest gift to one another. This is a lot and it's lofty but I believe it's doable. I wish the best for you as well. I hope this year brings you joy, laughter, and it brings you your wishes and grants you lessons that only life can so graciously teach. I hope that 2011 is full of moments, memories, ups and downs that will brings you closer to who your are and closer to those you love. All my best to you. 2011, here I come....

DIY-ing

So lately I've been in major clean out, clean up and spiffy up mode. I LOVE to DIY when I can and something that I do usually about once a week is thrift. I frequent local thrift stores and peruse and when the day is good, I'll find a good little treasure. My latest a sewing table complete with a powder blue sewing machine, parts, instruction booklet and box all included for $20. I'll take that! Another recent project was this little beaut that I got at Salvation for $8 and then got an additional 25% off! Ha! So I came across this fun little website called Skip to My Lou where each Monday there are a TON of crafty little DIY's that you can see and do each with it's own little tutorial and how-to. I live for these, these little to-do's that I can whip up and create on my own. Makes me feel accomplished. So I ran across this on my morning Monday peruse and it was a light bulb moment (pun intended) and also a total GOTTAHAVEITICANDOTHAT moment. So I did it. My DH offered his meek electrical experise and we went from "good grief that's hideous" to "wow that's terrific!" in our humble little kitchen. See for yourself! What kinds of DIY's do you like to do? (pics above show finished product, what you need, and the 'before' of our project).

Sigh.....parenthood

I was a finicky little kid. I had to have things a certain way, order and would cry when something icky was stuck to my hand. I still have issues with all three-me and honey do NOT get along. I'm learning that a certain little someone very dear to me is the very same way. The other day, for instance, I thought I'd help quell the 5 o'clock fits by making pumpkin pie playdough Oh this was not the case. She oooohhed and ahhhhhhed as I showed her what she could do with it but as soon as that index finger hit the surface of playdough squish...THAT WAS THE END OF IT. "All done" came out of her mouth and any attempt to convince her to try it was met with the sad lip and a quivering "all done, peas". Hence, she is her mother's daughter. We're battling the terrible two's and some days I'm at my wit's end. She has terrific qualities of independence, strong will and determination but right now, while we set boundaries and rules that will be upheld regardless of how many peas' we hear, it's a tough road. No one said parenting is easy. It's not. It's a constant war within yourself of, "am I doing this right?" "Did I make the right decision?" "Will giving her another bag of fruit 'nacks' really hurt anything?" And then the deeper questions of whether what you do now, will really make a difference in the future? Will I be able to establish a bond with her in spite of her independence? Will she come to me as a teenager and feel like she can ask me those tough questions? It's constant. I take it one day at a time as much as I can. I feel like those teenage years are still quite a while away, it still floors me that my daughter is nearly two already. Where did the time go hits me smack on the forehead daily. I can't just stick those questions and wonders on the back burner permanently because like everyday, it's gonna smack me in the face like a sack of bricks that one of those tomorrow's will eventually be today.

Not Your Mama's Chili

It's been too long since I've been here and I'm terribly overdue for a post. Sorry about that. But in light of the Fall season, I've been cooking up a comfort food storm in my kitchen. All those typical warm, cozy cookin' foods that you crave right aboouuutttt NOW! Chili, homemade chicken and noodle and my first batch of homemade spaghetti sauce-which thankfully, was a success. I battled my first batch of chili about two years ago and found that like most things, I wondered about going traditional or not. I went the untraditional route and I've been making the same chili recipe since. I have some 'secret' ingredients that some might balk at, turn up their nose to, or stare at me wide eyed, while others wonder in amazement that it actual tastes decent. In my tastebuds' view, it's fabulous! Smokey in flavor, bold in taste and very rich to the palette. Very NOT typical chili. It's now a staple come fall and winter time and I like to relish in its nonconformist-ness. I adapted this recipe from a recipe found on allrecipes but I've made it all my own by adding a few things that I feel has made it great.

Chelle's Chili

3- 28 oz cans peeled and diced tomatoes
2- 29 oz cans tomato sauce
2 c diced onion
1 T italian seasoning
1 lb sausage, browned
2 lbs lean ground beef, browned
1 lb, bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled
1- bottle bold n spicy bbq sauce
2 pkts McCormick's chili seasoning
3 T semi sweet chocolate chips
2-4 cans kidney/chili beans
1 T Sheila's Spice

In large stock pot, combine all ingredients. Simmer 2-3 hours on low. Long and slow is the secret and like most comfort foods, the leftovers and next day-ers and even more yummy! Spoons up!