Last cake for awhile

I enjoyed this one! Coming up with a way to do a creeper (Minecraft) without fondant was a challenge.

I need to work on my straight lines a bit, but I'm pleased!!

Smashing Chicken

I had a moment of perfect clarity the other night: I'm a dork. AKA, "this is so freaking obvious, how did I not figure it out WAY before now??"

So, you know how chicken is all germy in a general sort of way, and we've all (hopefully) gotten the message about don't rinse chicken before cooking it because it splashes micro drops of that bacteria EVERYFREAKINGWHERE. Right? Right. But what about when you need to smash it so it is an even thickness? If you pay close attention, even if you've patted it dry with a paper towel, there's still droplets going everywhere when you bust out ye olde meat tenderizer, aka, Momma's big ole stress reducing hammer.

Allow me to just drop this here...

Yep. Just smash it while the bag is sealed. 

Took me years to figure that one out. Durr de durr dur durrr.... 

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN GET TRIAL SIZES OF DR. BRONNER'S AT TARGET??! okay... so maybe  I got a lil excited... okay... maybe a LOT. But now I can try it without worrying that I'm going to be out a bunch if it is, yet again, a case of "nobody is allergic to this", yet I'm the odd duck out.

More cake!!

Got to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of two people who were parents to me when I was a rebellious teenager & wouldn't listen to my own! Love them!

Yes, same shape as last cake, but it's still different!

Had fun with it since their actual anniversary is St Patty's Day!! Took advantage of cookie cutters & sprinkles to give it a fun look!

And I've discovered that spray on coloring REALLY makes life easy for decorating!!

So in love, after so long!

Cookie time!

Melodie's birthday is approaching fast! And of course, she wants a Princess Sofia birthday party.

So, to keep that weekend from being insane, I've gone ahead & made sugar cookies, iced them, & all frozen to keep 'em tasty for the big party!

I've made sugar cookies before, but decided to hunt around Pinterest for something new.

I found THIS sugar cookie recipe! YUM!! Her instructions were fairly simple & I enjoyed some of the tips she provided! The only change I made was instead of 1 1/2 tsp vanilla, I did 1 tsp vanilla & 1/2 tsp almond. Just to be different. The hubby & kids taste tested the broken ones, that's all the approval I needed!

Of course, they fit the theme...

Well, as pretty as they were, I wanted to do more! I have a friend at work that who always has the BEST icing on her sugar cookies! It's her mom's recipe, & I begged & pleaded...turns out it wasn't some special cookie icing, but buttercream! But wow, yummy!

"Mom's" Recipe
Melt 3/4 stick butter
Add 1lb powdered sugar & 1 tsp vanilla
Add about 4 Tbsp of milk
Beat slowly & add more milk until you reach desired consistency

See? It was easy! Granted, I just went with an entire stick of butter & a little extra vanilla, & alternated adding sugar & milk til it looked like enough & tasted & felt the way I wanted it to.
(Yeah, I STINK at recipes...I have to change SOMEthing!!)

So, I slathered it on, added sprinkles, candy pearls, & used that spray on food coloring, then layered on a cookie sheet to freeze so they'd be stack-able. Melodie was begging for one. I appeased her with a Popsicle! Don't wanna run out on party day!

So, they're all frozen & ready for party day! Next project...getting fondant squares ready for a MineCraft cake I need the weekend after her party!