Sweets for the Sweets ... Rex the Dinosaur Cake

A signed up for a Dino Cake for Birthday Dreams (A charity that brings birthday's to homeless kids).  The cake was for a VERY sweet little 5 year old.  When I went to the shelter to deliver the cake, I walk up and I hear it's the cake lady.  This is one of my favorite shelters and usually do one cake a week for one of their residents. The little boy was so stinking cute and so happy with his cake.

He had requested a confetti cake and the theme was dinosaurs.  I started with making the cake.  I found a Fluffy Confetti Cake on the Food Network.

Ingredients

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the pans
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons rainbow sprinkles

Directions

1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round cake pans; dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Beat the butter, sugar and oil in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla until combined.
4. Alternate folding the flour mixture and the milk into the batter with a spatula, adding the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting and ending with the flour, until just smooth. Add the sprinkles, and fold 3 or 4 times until just blended to prevent the colors from bleeding too much. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
5. Bake the cakes on the same oven rack until golden on top and the centers spring back to the touch, 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate the pans about halfway through if they seem to be browning unevenly. Let cool in the pans about 10 minutes, then turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely.

After the cakes were cooled I started to carve out my dino!  It was super easy, 2 round cakes made this dinosaur.  I found a T-Rex Dino cake with template on Betty Crocker.  I fixed it up with a few of my own tricks.

All Boxed up and ready to be delivered

Ingredients:

1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ devil's food cake mix (Homemade Cake)

Cake Board

2 containers Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (or Homemade Frosting)

Betty Crocker™ gel food color (AmeriColor Green Color)

19 milk chocolate candy drops or pieces, unwrapped (Green Candy Clay)

Assorted round chocolate candies (candy-coated chocolate candies, miniature candy-coated chocolate baking bits, coating wafers, chocolate chips)

Betty Crocker™ white decorating icing (from 4.25-oz tube) (White Candy Clay)

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Spray bottoms and sides of two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Make and bake cake mix as directed on box, using 1 cup water, the oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans to cooking racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Refrigerate or freeze 30 to 60 minutes for easier handling.
• For body, cut 1-inch slice from edge of one cake. From cut edge, cut out small inverted U-shape piece. Place body on tray. From remaining cake, cut head and tail. Arrange head and tail pieces next to body.
• Spoon frosting into large bowl. Stir in enough food color until desired green color. Spread thin layer of frosting over cake pieces to seal in crumbs. Refrigerate or freeze cake 30 to 60 minutes to set frosting.
• Frost cake pieces with remaining frosting. Use milk chocolate candies for spikes along back of dinosaur. Decorate body with assorted candies. Use 2 candy-coated chocolate candies for eyes and white decorator icing to make centers of eyes and teeth. Store loosely covered.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used a homemade cake instead of the cake mix. I used some green Candy Clay (Very simple to make it's Candy Melts & Corn Syrup click link for recipe) I had on hand with a bunny cooker cutter, I used the ears to make the spikes for the dino.  I inserted a tooth pick into the spike and then into the cake. I used brown candy melts for the dots along with brown Reese's Pieces for the smaller circles and the toes.  I used white Candy Clay for the teeth.

Thanks for stopping by!

If you're looking for a GREAT charity please check out Birthday Dreams,

You can send them donations through Amazon if you would like!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Citrus Slice Cookies ... Summer Time Cookies

My next try for a slice cookie was for these ones I found on Betty Crocker.  The watermelon cookies I featured yesterday were easy and a piece of cake compared to these. LOL I mean really I thought it would be easy enough but they were a pain and I was happy to be done with them ... hehe.  But they were cute and the people at our family reunion really enjoyed them.

I used Americolor Electric Yellow Food Coloring and Electric Orange Food Coloring.  I found yellow sugar at Hobby Lobby but couldn't find orange so I mixed a little food coloring to coarse sugar.

1

cup unsalted butter, softened

1

cup sugar

1

teaspoon vanilla

2

eggs

3

cups Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

Dash salt

Grated peel from 1 orange (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)

1

teaspoon orange extract

Yellow and red liquid food color

Grated peel from 2 lemons (2 to 3 teaspoons)

1

teaspoon lemon extract

Orange and yellow sanding sugar

• On work surface, shape dough into a ball. Divide into 3 equal portions. Return one-third of dough to bowl; beat in orange peel, orange extract and drops of yellow and red food color until orange color is consistent. Remove dough from bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Clean bowl; add another one-third portion of dough. Beat in lemon peel, lemon extract and drops of yellow food color until yellow color is consistent. Remove dough from bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Leave remaining one-third of dough plain; cover with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate all dough portions 1 hour.
• Shape each portion of tinted dough into a roll about 5 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter; set aside. On lightly floured work surface, roll plain dough into a rectangle. Place roll of orange dough on plain dough. Roll plain dough in a single layer around orange dough. Cut away excess dough; reserve for yellow dough.
• Place orange sanding sugar on plate; roll dough log in sugar until completely coated. Wrap sugar-coated dough log in plastic wrap; refrigerate. Repeat process with lemon dough, remaining plain dough and yellow sanding sugar. Refrigerate dough logs at least 4 hours.
• Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
• Cut chilled logs into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick rounds. With back edge of knife, score “segment” lines into each round, making only indentations (do not go all the way through). Cut rounds in half; place on cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set. Remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.

The cookies made:

Thanks for stopping by

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE.

Now we go to BEER ... Brown Ale Caramel Corn

Yesterday I posted the Root Beer, so now we go to the actual beer!  As most of you know I don't drink beer but my dad does and since he isn't getting around much these days I thought I better use up the beer he left here.  Why not make caramel corn for the Christmas party I went to.  Now of course I can't taste anything but it sure did smell good lol.  I asked my friends to try and they said it was very tasty.  I found this recipe on Betty Crocker.

Brown Ale Caramel Corn

8

cups popped popcorn

1

cup mini-pretzel twists

1/2

cup salted cocktail peanuts

1/2

cup brown ale beer

1/4

cup packed brown sugar

1/4

cup brown rice syrup or corn syrup

3

tablespoons butter

1/4

teaspoon salt

• 1Heat oven to 300°F. Line two 15x10x1-inch pans with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.
• 2In large bowl, place popcorn, pretzels and peanuts; set aside.
• 3In 2-quart saucepan, heat ale over medium heat, stirring frequently, until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 6 minutes. Pour into glass liquid measuring cup to confirm measure. Add back to saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, syrup and butter. Cook over medium heat until bubbly around edges, stirring occasionally.
• 4Reduce heat to medium-low; cook about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and syrupy. Remove from heat; carefully stir in salt. Pour over popcorn mixture in bowl; toss until evenly coated. Spread popcorn mixture in pans.
• 5Bake 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, to caramelize mixture. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container.
• Alexis Notes: I used the popcorn in the microwave trick that I posted here.  I doubled the pretzels and nuts to give it a little more crunch.  I picked all these up in the bulk section of my Winco.

Perfect for the beer lover and I know what I'll be making my dad this Christmas!

Nation Cookie Day .... Santa Surprise Cookies

Did you know today 12/4 was national cookie day?  YUP I didn't know that either until Facebook said something.  OH yes you got to love Facebook!  Well I just happened to make cookies so check me out!  A very sweet mom at the boys school who offered up a spare car for us to drive (which then turned out not to pass emissions and needs some work and her husband is working to get it up and running for us) offered to pick up kids when Rick takes my car.  She picked them up once last week and then today, so I wanted to make her some cookies.  I'm still feeling crappy so I wanted something quick, so I went to a cookie I had at a cookie exchange at my old job called Santa Cookies.

I did this very simple you can make your own sugar cookie base, I didn't feel up to making a batch from scratch so I went to my Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix.

Ingredients:

Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix (you can make sugar cookie base)

(Cookie Mix calls for Egg & Butter)

Mini Candy Bars (cut in half)

Make your Sugar cookie mix.  Then cut the mini candy bar in half (I tired using a full mini candy bar and it was just too big.  This is a great way to use up that Halloween Candy you have in the house.  Take a ball of sugar cookie, add half the mini candy bar and roll the cookie dough around the candy bar to make a round ball with a surprise in the center!  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes (the bag says 7-9 minutes but I found it had to cook a little longer with the candy in the middle).  Serve warm and you get a yummy gooey surprise.  Enjoy!!

Hope you all have a fab day, I am now going to curl up with some nightquil and hope it last until I have to get up for work. 

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies (Another PTF Treat)

We had our monthly PTF meeting and time to make a new treat to share with the other parents.  I looked in the cupboard what I had already to eliminate a trip to the grocery store.  I found two packages of Betty Crocker Gingerbread Cookie Mix and a can of Pumpkin.  Ok what can I do with that.  So to Google I went and stumbled upon a great recipe for Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies on Seizing My Day's Blog.  Now she made rolled cut out cookies, I was not being that fancy.  I tweaked the recipe a bit and came up with some great drop cookies.  That is drop them in some cinnamon sugar and roll them around and they turn into round fluffy cookies!

First off sorry about the pictures I left my camera at my dad's house and had to use my iPhone which doesn't take high quality pictures but hey they are clear and we'll make it work.

Ingredients:

Betty’s Gingerbread cookie mix

1/2 Cup Canned Pumpkin

1 egg white

1/2 stick butter

Cinnamon & Sugar - To Roll the cookies in about 1/4 cup

1/2 Cup Flour

Blend the softened butter, pumpkin and egg white in your mixer (I threw mine in my kitchen aid).  Once this is combined add in the cookie mix, it will be sticky at this point.  Now add in the flour add in a little at a time to get a stiff cookie dough.  Once all mixed together take a scoop (I used my ice cream scoop) and then dropped into the cinnamon sugar and rolled around until the whole ball was coated.  I then placed them on a cookie sheet with wax paper.  Bake at 375 for 12 minutes (give or take depending on your stove).

I again didn't get to taste them but Cole told me they were yummy and I was excited to say every cookie was taken home with the people that were there!  Whoo hoo nothing for me to be tempted with.

Manic Monday Meals ~ Thanksgiving Ideas :)

I love Thanksgiving flavors and try to incorporate them into more meals during the season! My crockpot of course is my friend so I have to throw in one of my meals that way and a few others that can be used in Thanksgiving Day!

Here we go! I have some can goods (don't shutter hey sometimes I do get use them). And sorry my non pork loving friend Amy ... it was on sale :).

Slow Cooker Pork Chops & Sweet Potatoes

Found on Sparks Recipe

Ingredients

6 Pork chops, trimmed of fat
3 or 4 sweet potatoes, cubed or 1 can sweet potatoes
1 can whole cranberry sauce
salt and pepper to taste




Directions

Season pork chops to taste. Layer pork chops and cranberries in slow cooker. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6-8 hours. If you use fresh sweet potatoes, add on top of slow cooker at start of cooking time. If you use canned sweet potatoes, add at last hour of cooking. Makes approx. 6 servings

ALEXIS NOTES: I used canned sweet potatoes & cranberry. Yes the cranberry can was labeled upside down you had to open the bottom to get htem out ... lol. I used whole cranberries added a little something nice to the plate :). Don't forget your crockpot liner!

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Second Recipe is one I made for the Church Thanksgiving Dinner we had last night. It was a huge hit, I even had people that wrote their email address down to email to them :).

Mom's Turkey Stuffing Recipe

by Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 loaf of day old French bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 10-12 cups)
• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 cups each, chopped onion and celery
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1 green apple, peeled, cored, chopped
• 3/4 cup of currants or raisins
• Several (5 to 10) chopped green olives (martini olives, the ones with the pimento)
• Stock from the turkey giblets (1 cup to 2 cups) (can substitute chicken stock)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or ground sage (to taste)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

METHOD

1 If you haven't already made the stock, take the turkey giblets - heart and gizzard - and neck if you want, and put them in a small saucepan, cover with water and add a little salt. Bring to a simmer; simmer for about an hour, uncovered. Strain the stock into a container for use with the stuffing. Alternatively, you can use chicken stock or just plain water with this recipe.

2 Toast the walnuts by heating them in a frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring until they are slightly browned (not burned) OR put them in the microwave on high until you can smell the aroma of them toasting, about a minute or two. Let them cool while you are toasting the bread, then roughly chop them.

3 Heat a large sauté pan on medium heat. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in the pan, add the bread cubes, and stir to coat the bread pieces with the melted butter. Then let them toast; only turn them when they have become a little browned on a side. Note, if you aren't working with somewhat dried-out day-old bread, lay the cubes of bread in a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to dry them out first, before toasting them in butter on the stove top. The bread should be a little dry to begin with, or you'll end up with mushy stuffing.

4 In a large Dutch oven, sauté chopped onions and celery on medium high heat with the remaining 3 Tbsp butter until cooked through, about 5-10 minutes. Add the bread. Add cooked chopped walnuts. Add chopped green apple, currants, raisins, olives, parsley. Add one cup of the stock from cooking the turkey giblets or chicken stock (enough to keep the stuffing moist while you are cooking it). Add sage, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper.

5 Cover. Turn heat to low. Cook for an hour or until the apples are cooked through. Check every ten minutes or so and add water or stock as needed while cooking to keep the stuffing moist and keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serves 8-10.

ALEXIS NOTES: I doubled the recipe for the event at church. I used golden raisins & chicken stock. I toasted my walnuts in the microwave, in a hurry girl :). I ended up toasting the bread and then putting in a big pan, did the same with veggies in the stock pot. I ended up putting it in the oven so it would be crunchier :). Sorry no finished pic, I had to run out the door to church when the timer went off. Yes I was late, I swear one day everything will line up for me.

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And my last recipe was my desert for the church event. When I came by to get one I ended up getting the last one, and oh boy I'm so glad I got a chance to get one it was fab!!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

by Betty Crocker

Cookies

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1	tablespoon Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1	egg

Filling

2/3	cup marshmallow creme (from 7-oz jar)
1/3	cup butter or margarine, softened
2/3	cup powdered sugar

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1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, stir together cookie mix and flour. Add remaining cookie ingredients; stir until stiff dough forms.
2. Onto ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by 36 rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart. Lightly press tops with floured fingertips to flatten slightly.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer until light and fluffy. For each whoopie pie, spread about 2 teaspoons of the filling on bottom of 1 cooled cookie. Top with second cookie, bottom side down; gently press together. Store tightly covered in refrigerator. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar just before serving.

ALEXIS NOTES: I actually stuck to a recipe, I know get that! LOL ok but NEXT time I'll switch the cinnamon out for pumpkin spice. I'm so glad I bought a cookie scoop it made it so easy. NOW I bought a cheap $3 at Walmart BUT I may go look online for the pampered chef one. This was truly yummy and easy, Cole my helper did a great job!