Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving

Once again we had such a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We missed Holly and Grandma :)  Here are a few pictures of our great day...
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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Alexandria and Lashel's Birthday Party

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Peyton's 1st Birthday

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Victoria Grace turns 2!

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Cranberry Bliss Bars

Alexandria has had a serious craving for Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bars here of late...driving to several different Starbuck's to get one since everyone within a 100 mile radius is usually sold out :) Soooooo, being the great mom that I am (hehehehe) I decided to find a recipe for these little treats that usually cost $2.45 and can be devoured in three bites. I went to the TOP SECRET RECIPE website and found a recipe for these tasty bars. Here is the recipe and my sincere attempt to make my child happy :)lol



CRANBERRY BLISS BARS
Cake -
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries, diced
• 4 ounces white chocolate, cut into chunks (I like Ghirardelli)you could substitute white chips
Frosting -
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sprinkle -
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries, diced
Drizzle -
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 teaspoons vegetable shortening
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make cake by beating butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, ginger, and salt and beat well. Gradually mix in flour until smooth. Mix 3/4 cup diced dried cranberries and white chocolate into the batter by hand. Pour batter into a well-greased 9x13-inch baking pan and spread evenly across the pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake is light brown on top. Allow cake to cool.
3. Make frosting by combining softened cream cheese, 3 cups powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. When the cake has cooled (at least an hour), spread frosting over the top of cake.
4. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of diced cranberries over the frosting on the cake.
5. Whisk together 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and shortening. Drizzle icing over cranberries in a sweeping motion or use a pastry bag with a fine tip. Or you could even put the icing in a zip topped bag trim a corner off the bottom and use it as you would the pastry bag.
6. Cover the cake and let it chill for at least two hours, then slice the cake lengthwise (the long way) through the middle. Slice the cake across the width three times making a total of eight rectangular slices. Slice each of those rectangles diagonally creating 16 triangular slices.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Best Mac and Cheese - for you Claudia :)

I found this recipe on cooks.com several years ago and have never used another mac and cheese recipe since. I brought out the recipe for my cooking class to try and they loved it. It is easy and fast to make. Good Stuff!!!!!

Macaroni and Cheese Recipe -
3 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 1/2 c. milk
2 1/2 cups Cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 lb. Velveeta cheese
1 cup Mozzarella cheese
1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni
1/2 tsp. paprika

In large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, mustard and pepper until smooth; take off heat. Half a cup at a time, stir in milk until smooth. Stir constantly for 10 minutes on low to medium heat until thick; take off heat. Stir in 2 cups Cheddar cheese, Velveeta cheese and Mozzarella cheese until melted. Put cooked macaroni in a 9 x 13 greased casserole dish, pour cheese mixture over and mix well. Sprinkle paprika and leftover Cheddar cheese on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Happy 18th Birthday to our sweet Alexandria

Our little girl turned 18 today! Wow...where did the time go? She has made us so proud and is truly a blessing to us. We love you baby!

We had a small get together for her birthday and Lashel Meyer's tonight. We had such a blast!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Happy Birthday DAVE -

Sending out a special happy birthday to one of our favorite people in the whole world... DAVE STORY!!!  We love you and hope you have a fabulous birthday.  Can't wait to see ya!!!!!