Steven's Favorite Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Candy brought me two pieces of this mac and cheese, said it's her husbands favorite but it isn't hers so she wanted me to try it and see what I thought. Well I'll tell you what I thought - it is great!! I can't believe she doesn't love this rich, cheesy, creamy fabulousness of pasta! I try to not each much pasta but I could not stop eating this - fortunately she told me he cuts it up into squares and freezes it so when he just wants a piece it's already portioned out and is still great after thawing and re-heating, so I attacked the first piece and then immediately popped the second piece into the freezer so I wouldn't inhale that one too (for now anyway!). I love the idea to freeze this in individual squares, that will be perfect to go with my frozen meatloaf "cupcakes" - if you need a quick dinner, just pull out a meatloaf cupcake and a piece of mac and cheese...I can't think of a better frozen dinner. Mmmmm... Thanks for sharing the recipe Candy and Steve :)

12 oz. macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup half and half
2/3 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can cream of cheddar soup
4 cups sharp cheddar (divided)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
bacon bits

Cook macaroni according to package directions, don't overcook - you want the noodles slightly firm.
Melt butter in large saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook 2 minutes. Then slowly add milk and cream. Remove from heat, add parmesan and 3 cups cheddar cheese. Add soup and mix well.
Place cooked macaroni in ungreased 13x9 baking dish and pour sauce over macaroni, stir to combine. Top with 1 cup cheddar cheese and bacon bits (sprinkle on however many you want!)
Bake at 425' for 18-20 minutes until bubbly.

after it cools cut it into pieces and put in the freezer - great leftover idea!

This is really really good - you're gonna love me (and Steve!) for sharing this one with you!

German Chocolate Cake

Today is LeDonna and my little sis's birthday (sis lives out of state tho so she doesn't get cake!) - last year I made L. German Chocolate Cupcakes (click here for that post) and when looking back at that post I don't think I explained it very well so decided to try to fix that today. I usually make her this 9" layer cake and all the ingredients are the same as for the cupcakes, but it's so much more impressive in layer cake form! I've made this many many times and like to think I've perfected it - Dave can't sample it because of the nuts so I can't get his vote, but everyone seems to love it. Warning - it's very very rich, serve in small slices!

for the cake:

• 1 german chocolate cake mix
• 1 package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup miniature chocolate chips

*mix all together and bake according the mix instructions. Let cool completely then either split the 2 layers in half to make 4 layers or leave as 2 layers.

for the filling:

• 1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 large egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 package (7 oz.) sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

*place the evaporated milk, sugar, butter, egg yolks, and vanilla in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened and golden brown in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the coconut and pecans. Cool the frosting to room temperature (about 20 minutes) before spreading between the layers. Note I do not put the filling on the top of the cake, just between the layers.

ganache for the top of the cake:

• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz. (1 1/3 cups) semisweet chocolate chips

*bring the cream to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile place the chocolate in a large mixing bowl, then pour the hot cream over the chocolate, stir until the chocolate has melted. Let it rest on the counter for about an hour uncovered and it will thicken up a bit. Then you have options - you can serve warm as a glaze or ice cream topping; chill it in the fridge for a filling or scoop out with a melon baller into truffles and roll them in unsweetened cocoa powder;  or whip on high speed with an electric mixer for a whipped ganache frosting. This is SO GOOD - any way you use it!

After it has cooled on the counter and thickened a bit I pour it over the top of the cake letting it drip down the sides. Put the cake in the fridge and let the glaze set up. Then whip the rest of the ganache until it is the consistency of frosting and spread that on top of the glaze, garnish or decorate with whole pecans. Seriously - this is so impressive and beautiful, rich and moist, and really good. Wicked good. I dare you to not eat whipped ganache with a spoon ;)

picture from 9/21/15 post - same cake made up into cupcakes,
put 2 T. batter in the cake liners and add some filling, then
top with more batter - so the filling bakes into the
middle of the cupcake. then top with glaze and nuts. 

Celebrate!

Woohoo! 364 posts and one year later, we need to celebrate the first anniversary of the blog today! What better way then with cake and a present? A present for one lucky person anyway :) I'm holding a drawing on Facebook today - if you "like" the blog and "share" today's post to your timeline you will be entered to win a $25 Michaels card! You have until 9am EST tomorrow 9/17 to enter and then I'll do a random drawing to pick the winner  - and no Brooke, you can't enter even tho I know you really really want the gift card :) Everyone else can enter and have a chance to win, good luck and thanks in advance for entering!

My very first blog post was 9/16/15 - "Sprinkles"... chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles of course (and they were yummy!).  Click here to see that post.

First Year Blog Anniversary!

So tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the blog... I can't believe I've done this for a year already! I'm pleasantly surprised that coming up with enough posts for the year wasn't hard at all, and it's flown by -  my phone and iPad are still full of inspiration photos, ideas, and recipes - everywhere I look it seems there is something I want to make, bake, try, and do - so I'm going to keep creating and posting, and hopefully you'll keep reading and be inspired to make stuff. I LOVE when you guys comment or privately tell me that you are following the blog (I can't tell who reads it unless you tell me or leave a comment on the blog or Facebook) - it's fun to know you are out there! Blogging makes me happy because it's a great way for me to share all of the things that keep me busy every day, and if you get an idea or are inspired by something then I'm happy to be sharing.

I can't even tell you how true every one of these are - this is my life!

Heads up - if you are on Facebook I am going to hold a drawing tomorrow to celebrate the blogs first year birthday. Check in there to see what the "rules" for entering are and hopefully you'll participate and win! Good Luck! :)

Thanks to everyone for reading my blog, for all of your comments, for all of your private messages, and for your support - it means SO much to me! In return I'll do my best to keep making, creating, baking, snapping, planting, fashioning, arranging, exercising, decorating, mixing, and entertaining you the best I can :)

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Dave had his ukulele group meeting over the weekend (the cupcakes I made one year ago for the groups yearly anniversary were my very first blog post! click here to read that one and see how pretty those cupcakes turned out) and to celebrate another year of the group going strong he asked me to make cupcakes again - actually he asked me to make the coconut cream cupcakes that I made for his birthday again (click here for that post, really they are fantastic!) but I told him that I'd rather experiment with something new. I asked if coconut pineapple would be ok with him - like a pina colada - and he agreed.

Cupcakes:

• yellow cake mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice
• 8 oz crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Mix and bake according to directions on the box.

Frosting:

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 2-3 Tablespoons whipping cream (or as much as needed to get the consistency you want)
• pinch of salt

Beat the butter in a mixing bowl until smooth, slowly add the powdered sugar and other ingredients - using just a little cream at a time until it's right, beat until smooth and fluffy.

I put the frosting in a decorating bag fitted with a round # tip. Pipe the frosting out in a spiral, starting in the middle and going around. For some I rolled the edges in shredded coconut, some I decorated with sprinkles, and some I left plain. Top however many of them you want with a well drained maraschino cherry. So pretty.

Note: Dave said these were a huge hit, once again he didn't bring any home and I always feel like that's a good sign except I didn't get to try one to see how it turned out! He thought they were moist and liked them, except "not as much as the coconut cream" ;). Oh no, I've spoiled him from liking any other cupcake better then those haha!!

Wine Cork Keychain

This is just about the fastest easiest craft ever - it literally took me less than 5 minutes! ALL you do is put a keyring on a screw-in eye hook, then screw it into the cork. Done. What a cute fun inexpensive easy creative gift, it would be even better with a special cork commemorating a date or celebration. You could also add a little tag to the keyring to label the event or what the key is for.  Love this idea!

I made another one that took a minute or so longer by adding a little chain between the eye screw and the ring - also really cute and easy. 

found this idea online at Cleverly Inspired.

Junkin' with Candy (aka: Updating Old Stuff)

Candy and I went to a couple little antique/junk stores the other day and I found this plain wood holder with 3 clear jars. Normally I wouldn't have looked twice at this but for some reason I zoomed right it on it and knew just what I wanted to do to it - and it only cost $4 so if it didn't work I wasn't out much.

I lightly sanded the tops of the jars and the wood holder and wiped them clean. Using a 1" foam paintbrush I painted the jar tops with 2 coats of black chalkboard paint, and the wood holder with acrylic craft paint. First for some reason I painted it light lilac, that wasn't right so I covered it in cape cod blue...and that wasn't right either; finally I mixed together bright blue with a bit of yellow and orange and came up with this pretty dark teal color - ahhhhh, just right. My thought is to put this in the bathroom for cotton balls, qtips, etc. and write on the lids with chalk - but who knows, it's so cute I have lots of places I might use it!

Where Were You...

by Alan Jackson, found on Pinterest.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Cocktail

These are pretty, sweet, and easy to make. What's not to like?

Put some ice in a glass and add a splash of grenadine. Top with 1.5 ounces cake flavored vodka and 3 ounces pineapple juice. Stir and top with a maraschino cherry.

This has to be one of the shortest posts ever - but really what else can I add? These are YUMMY and a little dangerous. Word to the wise - remember this is vodka, not punch...they go down easy. Too easy perhaps. ;) Cheers!

Chopped Champion Aprons

Here's a quick follow up to the "Chopped" competition Brooke and I had a couple weeks ago - I thought it only fitting that she be awarded her own winning apron :). I got plain white aprons at the craft store, downloaded a Chopped logo and added "champion" to hers, then printed it on fabric transfer paper (you can find this at the craft store too) and ironed it on. Easy.

Brooke and her mom modeling the aprons

click here to read the original Chopped post.

click here to see more on how to use fabric transfers from my Halloween costume post.

My goal is to have another competition soon and win this champion apron away from her! HA!!