Whatcha got Cookin'.....

This past week and weekend was very eventful! Josh spent the week in California on a business trip and I worked hard on organizing the closet of disaster! It was a success. We have this office area in our room and it ended up being a place where would throw all our important papers. Even though they were important that never stopped us from just throwing them in there. Eventually the papers were piled high and we weren’t able to find anything when we needed it. But now after buying some office organizing folders and putting some hours into it - everything is organized, filed with labels and put in its own place. I love it.
I was also able to start guitar lessons, which I am really excited about. I have no former musical experience and I wasn’t born with natural musical talent so it’s quite interesting and entertaining when I try to play the only two cords that I know. :)
Well there was no wasting of time, as soon as Josh got in on Friday night we went straight to Lowe’s to pick out paint and we started painting first thing Saturday morning. By the way we love it.


After we got done painting I was free to get in the kitchen. I’ve had my eye on this gorgeous cake that I was determined to replicate. I was pretty fearless going into it but the further along I got the more obstacles that began to pop up. We ended up having to go to the store 4 times because it took me three tries to make the frosting from scratch and by the time I went to try it again I was out of the first ingredient. It was hilarious/frustrating, but Josh was so patient and so willing to help me out! I have to tell you I learned so much in the process of making this. After realizing that I had no idea how to make the garnishes that the cake called for I started to do some research on the internet. By doing this I was able to learn how to make chocolate piping garnishing. I also learned that confectioner’s sugar is just powdered sugar. I wish I would have known that before I wasted 4 cups of regular sugar and a whole batch of frosting, thinking that it served the same purpose. Needless to say that making this cake taught me a lot of little things about cooking. It was a great learning experience. So five hours later I accomplished my mission and made the Chocolate-strawberry Celebration Cake and this is a picture of it!

I also made some very quick and easy rice krispy treats. Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
40 marshmellows
1 stick of butter (1/2 a cup)
1 box of rice krispy treats cereal
Directions:
Melt the butter in a non-stick pot. Add the 40 marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat once melted. Then you just eye ball this part where you pour in the rice krispies. I pour a little less than half the box. Press into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Make sure to wet your hands in sink so it won’t stick to you. Let cool, cut and enjoy!


-A