Every month I go to a recipe Cook Book Club at my local papercrafting store-Urban Paper! We get to taste a recipe and then scrap it. Tonight was Warm Chocolate Cakes with Marshmallow Meringue. Delish!!!!
We used some new Authentique papers, glassine bag to hold recipe pages, cloth washi tape for the cake and page tabs and some new Tim Holtz wrinkle ribbon(okay Jill-I already forgot the official name of it!)
Edited to add a picture of the REST of the recipe LOL-there you go Sandy!
And here is my desk-waiting for me to get home from Cook Book Club-new Great Impressions stamps on one side(with real unfun paperwork hidden underneath), an Art Impressions image colored up and waiting to be made into a card and a whole pile of new goodies from Inspiration Emporium off to the right! I have good stuff just waiting for me!
That's my desk for tonight! I am working cherry harvest now, so my WOYWW posts are a little hit and miss, but I will try to be here when I can! I am hopping over to Julia's house -Stamping Ground right now to see What's On Her Workdesk Wednesday! See you there....
I am so ready to go snuggle down into bed and get some rest! I have been going in so many different directions these last few weeks! I will be glad with tax season is over!( April 15th is the final day to file taxes here in the US) Actually I have to be done with all my paperwork before then so the next couple weeks are the crunch time! Whew...makes me tired just thinking about it!
But today my work area looked like this...
and this
March is my time to hostess the Bunco club of 12 ladies. (Bunco is a dice game of pure random luck-no skill required LOL)
I made up a delish dinner of Chicken Taco Bowl(recipe I found on Pinterest!), goodies and a prize for the winners. Being the lazy shopper, I made my St Patricks annual paper dice (cut file from the Silhouette store) and showed them off with this little super darling file -My Lucky Charm Bear from Designs by Cloud 9. Inside is their winning $ and gold coin candy!
I also made some cute little pretzel shamrock treats-these were so yummy-if you look real close you can see them on the goodie table. Each winner and the biggest loser get a dice box and a packet of homemade cards as well. We have great fun-especially when we get to laughing about something silly!
Hop over to Julia's and say Hello and maybe even join in!!!
No papercrafting for me today...making holiday goodies to take to work tomorrow (our Wednesday on the west coast of the USA)
Tomorrow is 4th of July here in the States. But because we have to work tomorrow in the cherry harvest (yes, cherries ripen everyday LOL) I thought I would make up a few goodie trays to take to work. some dipped pretzels with sprinkles and some red, white and blue rice krispie treats!
So there you are...my work desk is my my kitchen today!
Hope you all have the best of days and if you are in the USA- Happy Independence Day!
Take a jaunt over to Julia's house and see what everyone is up to over at the Stamping Ground!
Not much going on here this week-a little lacking in the crafting department this week-but I do have a great goodie to show all the What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday crowd!
One of the best jello salad's ever!
I thought I would share the best jello salad recipe-definitely a BIG favorite around my house!
I am calling this a 4th of July Jello, but I have to tell you the first time I ate this was at Thanksgiving.(and then Christmas, and then New Years, and then Valentines Day...and then Easter...do you get the picture now?) The first time I ate this, I did not know what was in it and probably would not have bothered to even venture a taste it had I known. I am not being a big fan of sour cream or cranberry sauce, so I am sure I would have passed on it back then.. So glad I didn't!
So here you are-just in time for the summer shindigs!
Raspberry/Cranberry Jello Salad
1st Layer
1 6oz pkg of raspberry jello (you could use strawberry or cherry as well)
1 1./2 cup boiling water
1 can cranberry sauce, warmed up
1 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple, drained
Dissolve gelatin in hot water, Add both whole cranberry sauce and drained crushed pineapple. Allow to chill in a 9 x 13 dish until set. (I usually do this step the night before and cover in the refrigerator)
2nd Layer
1 pint of sour cream, spead evenly over the 1st layer. Allow to chill one hour.
3rd Layer
1 6oz pkg of raspberry jello
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 or 2 packages of frozen raspberries (as you can tell by the picture I used a mixture of frozen raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) Any frozen berries would work fine
Dissolve jello in boiling water, Add frozen berries. Let cool before pouring over 1st and 2nd layers. Chill well. Note: it cools almost immediately when you add the frozen berries, so I don't bother waiting...I am impatient and always too busy to wait.
This is a great make ahead dessert and a great size to take to a potluck!
Welcome to my new follower Monika @ **Stempelguadi** ! Tickled pink to have you visit my little blog!
Take a few minutes and hop on over to Julia's place and see what the rest of the crowd is up to this week!
Take a gander of to Julia's house and check out what's going on...it is getting close to the 3 year anniversary!
A quick peek at one of the corners of my crafty room...this is where I keep my sewing machine, copic refills, cricut cartridges, and ink pads. (my Dad made the holder for me) . Also a pic of my first daughter and I on her wedding day I think maybe 6 years ago. My hair certainly had less grey then! LOL
Not much change on my desk this week, or at least that I can show you. Notice the nice smellin' rose on the left side of my desk...specially hand picked for me by one of my son's friends! So nice!
I am going to show you this yummy recipe I scrapped at my local scrapbook store, Urban Paper. Jill said I could show you this recipe...oh so yummy! We meet once a month and scrap and taste test a recipe. We scrapped this recipe in April using a pretty Hero Arts stamp for the flower...so far one of my very faves out of 6 years or so! (although I can say that almost all are my fave!)
Such pretty colors, really reminds me of Hawaii!
Here is the recipe:
6 cups flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 (1/4 ounce) pacages of yeast
1/2 cup melted butter
Beat eggs. Add pineapple juice, water, sugar, ginger, vanilla & butter. Put 3 cups flour into a large bowl. Add egg mixture and stir. Sprinkle in yeast, 1 package at a time, mixing well. Gradually add remaining flour. Leave batter in bowl, cover with cloth and let rise 1 hour. Remove from bowl and knead in 1/2 cup flour. Knead 10 times. Divide into 3 parts, place in well greased cake pans (ours were made into rolls...yummy that way) cover, let rise 1 hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
I had to work off some calories after I ate "several" pieces of this cake....I think this is the cleanest my desk has been in years! In the background you can see my sewing center, and that other organizer is holding my copic ink refills. The shelf on the wall in the background holds my cricut cartridges. It might be a long time before you see my desk so clean again. I am sure of it!
Take a peek at this yummy...
Hot Fudge Whopper Cake
OH. MY. GOSH.
Enough said!
I guess this week'sWhat's On Your Workdesk Wednesday is really going to be What's Not On Your Workdesk Wednesday...because I ate it....no leftovers.
I am going to share this recipe here on my blog, but I will tell you that I found it online on a blog named Confessions of a Cookbook Queen.
Kristan is a real character, she makes me laugh...you should read her latest post HERE about periscopes!
About my cake.
My favorite part....the lightest chocolate frosting ever..
I used a boxed cake mix and made the frosting using her recipe. ( Here you go Jill! You might have to add this to your Cookbook Club Cake section!)
This cake takes time to make, only because everything has to be cold and set up before the next step, so it is best to start the day before you need it!
Hot Fudge Whopper Cake
The cake
Make your chocolate cake and cool. (I used two 8 inch cake pans)
If you use a cake mix, Kristan says to make sure to beat your mixture a full 3 minutes like it says on the package. I have personally always used a cake mix...they are so moist...and easy.
Don't over bake. Start checking before the time is up to see if the cake springs back in the center.
Let your cake cool, wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least several hours or even overnight. ( I chilled mine overnight)
Level your cake by trimming off the dome of the cake , frost between the layers and then frost the whole cake with a crumb coat. (Use the frosting recipe below..).
Chill again.
.
Malted Chocolate Frosting
2 cubes of salted butter (1 cup), softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup Ovaltine malt powder (I bought Ovaltine Chocolate Malt powder...even yummier!)
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat butter, vanilla and water until smooth (year right...water does not mix with butter, but I tried my best). Add powdered sugar, cocoa and Ovaltine and beat until blended. Increase speed to medium high and beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. I think I added a little bit more powdered sugar just to make it a little creamier.
That is it....my favorite part of this cake!!!
You will use this frosting for your crumb coat and then frost with it again and chill so that when you add the ganache, it will not flood everywhere. Make sure your frosted cake is nice and chilled before adding your ganache..
( I did save a little of the frosting and ran a small line of frosting around the bottom edge of the cake so I could stick the whoppers in place...they do like to roll all over!)
Ganache
4 oz of semi sweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup HEAVY whipping cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla
Heat cream in a saucepan over medium low heat until simmering, Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and stir until chocolate is melt. Stir in the corn syrup and allow to cool and thicken.
The Cookbook Queen says:
Before pouring a ganache on your cake, make sure your frosting is chilled and set. This will keep it from making a big melty mess of your cake. spoon or pour ganache on the center of the cake and spread right to the edges. It will drip down by itself.
Add you whoppers for decoration!
Kristan stated that even ugly cakes deserve to be ate, because you can always start over! This is no ugly cake!
A funny footnote:
Okay...now I made this cake for my Sweetie for his birthday cake. I also made dinner and had a nice pot of mashed potatoes included in my dinner. My Dad thought the ganache was dark gravy and added it over his mound of potatoes. For some reason he did not think the combo tasted too good. :)
My kids love potato salad...they can eat up 10 lbs of salad in a day...I never get any left overs, no matter how much I make.
This post is for them...Make your own!....... Just kidding. This post came about when I realized that I don't think my kids know how to even peel a potato..I mean PEEL a potato with a knife like my childhood days. My Mom bought potatoes in 50lb sacks because she had 5 growing kids to feed and a tight budget. Seems like she made a pan or two of 'taters every night for dinner, and there were never any leftovers....EVER. I must have peeled a quad-jillion potatoes in my childhood! LOL
I started on a mission to find an easy way for my kids to make their own 'tater salad...(what a mom, huh?).
I found this great video on 'skinning' taters a fast and easy way and boy has it simplified my tater salad days!
Do you remember MaryAnn of Gilligans Island fame? (Dawn Wells) It seems that she must be a spokesperson for the Idaho Spud Growers and she made this video on how to peel taters without really peeling...and it works like a charm. I can boil and "peel" 10 lbs of potatoes for a salad in no time now.
Be sure to start with a BIG bowl for easy stirring! Good luck!
Tip #1:
Note: : Boil your potatoes until they are cooked...she says 15 minutes, but mine usually take longer depending on the size. Gently poke them with a fork or knife to test.
Yummmy taters. Cool before slicing for the salad. I try to cook mine the day before and cover and refrigerate overnight.
Tip #2: How to boil an egg so they peel easily...just like the 'taters!
Add eggs to a pan of water...water should cover the eggs.
Bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes.
Take off and let set about 3 minutes.
(I am lazy and usually boil 10 minutes and then get on with it)
Add eggs to ice water and then peel. The peel will literally slide off!
I found this tip after peeling a dozen eggs and by the time I got done peeling the darn things...there wasn't much left, so I went and googled the PROPER way to boil an egg so it would peel easily. There are lots of versions of this, but seems the cold ice water at the end is the trick!
Tip #3: Use an egg slicer for quick and easy slicing. Cut it one way and then rotate the egg and cut the other way..Viola!
Cut your dill pickles and stir everything together! I tried a food processor for cutting up my pickles, but I like chunks, so stuck with the old fashioned knife slicing here.
Add mayonnaise (I use Best Foods Light) , mustard, salt and pepper. Stir this all together and then stir into the potato, eggs and pickle mixture. I don't like soupy salad, so I always start with less mayo and then add as needed.
Okay, now you will probably all ask for measurements, but I am not too much on that with this recipe.
A rough estimate would be 5 lbs,russet potatoes, 1 dozen eggs or so, 4 large dill pickles, and about 1 to 2 cups of mayo and a big squirt of mustard would make you a great salad...with NO leftovers at my house.
Stamping is my crafting love! I started seriously papercrafting in 2001-and have never looked back. I love fun folds, bright colors, cute little mini albums and my Silhouette! Give me some pretty paper, my copics and my Silhouette and I am a happy camper!
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