Aquarium Birthday Cake

I mentioned yesterday that my oldest son's birthday was Friday. He got a small aquarium for his birthday. To continue the theme, I made this cake for him. He really likes Swedish fish, so that was an added bonus. Thanks for stopping by!

'10 Birthday Cupcakes

Yesterday was my oldest son's 6th birthday. He wanted me to bring cupcakes in for his class. We talked about what kind of cupcakes he wanted, and how he wanted them decorated. He got a red gumball machine for Christmas. He really likes it, and we decided to put gumball machines on his cupcakes.

I used a plastic milk jug cap to make a circular imprint in the white buttercream icing. Then I traced the imprint with the light blue icing for the globe of the gumball machine. The rest is just free-handed. The kids really liked them and thought the gumball machines were cute. Thanks for stopping by!

Quick and Easy Fudge

Jim's dad's birthday was over the weekend. He likes fudge, so last week I whipped up a batch of this easy fudge for him. Believe it or not, this recipe is from my high school freshman home economics class. My grandfather loved this recipe, and I used to make it for him all the time. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Fudge

1 c. butter
1 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. cocoa
2 T. vanilla
1 lb. conf. sugar

Melt butter and peanut butter in a large pot over medium heat. Remove from heat and add cocoa and vanilla. Add sugar one cup at a time and stir until smooth. Press into a square baking dish and let set until cooled. You can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process so you can eat it sooner!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cream Cheese Squares

I made these Cream Cheese Squares for a stamping workshop at my house last night. The ladies seemed to like them. They are super easy to make, and I needed something quick and easy this week!

I did substitute low-fat crescent rolls and Neufchatel cheese to make them a little less sinful, and they were still very good. I also changed the topping. I didn't sprinkle them with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. I made a simple confectioner's sugar icing and drizzled it over them instead.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Sour Cream Banana Bread

Last weekend, I made this bread for our pastors. October was Pastor Appreciation Month, but October was so busy around here that I missed it. I made this for our pastors in early November. I don't think they minded that I was a week late!

I received this recipe from my father's cousin, Crystal, back when Jim and I got married. At least I think that's when she gave it to me. As part of my bridal shower planning, my mom made up post cards for people to send me. They were to write their favorite recipe on it and send it to me. I'm pretty sure that's when she gave me this recipe.

Sour Cream Banana Bread

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. mashed banana
1/2 c. nuts (optional)
1/2 c. sour cream

Cream butter and sugar very well until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix just until blended. Add the dry ingredients, mixing till well combined, but don't overmix. Add the banana, nuts and sour cream. Mix lightly just until blended throughout. Bake in a greased loaf pan at 350 for about one hour. Test the bread with a toothpick in the center for doneness.

Instead of baking this as a bread in loaf pans, I made it into muffins. I gave normal size muffins to our youth and children's pastors, because they have little kids at home. I made big, Texas-sized muffins for our senior and associate pastors. Sorry, but I forgot to take any pictures of them before I gave them away! Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Fling Food

Happy Halloween!

Every year on Halloween night, our church, Wilkinson Church of Christ, hosts a huge community party called Fall Fling. We fill the church with carnival games for kids of all ages, inflatables, face painting, etc. We serve a small dinner for the kids coming through too.

I've never been a part of planning the food before, but our children's pastor asked me if I would be willing to co-chair it this year with another lady who has planned it before. I thought it sounded like a challenge, so I accepted. My job, thus far, has been to plan the groceries and gather the donations needed to make food for the 400 people we have planned for.

We started the planning a few weeks ago. I started searching for festive food to serve on the Family Fun website, keeping in mind that whatever we chose would have to be made in massive quantities. We ended up choosing the following two main dishes:

Pizza Mummies

Worms on a Bun
(I just finished cutting 25 lbs.,
200 hot dogs, into 9 worms each!)

Along with those two main dishes, we will be serving orange and black nacho chips with cheese and the following festive cookies for dessert:

Fudge Stripe Witch's Hats
(See yesterday's post for a picture of mine.
I made 311 of these!)

Nutter Butter Ghosts
(See yesterday's post for a picture of mine.
I made 318 of these.)

We always hand out Popcorn Witch's Hands to the kids too.

I've seen the cookie and popcorn hands all over the web, so I have no idea who to attribute the original ideas to.

I made the cookies yesterday, and cut the hot dogs this morning to prepare them for the Worms on a Bun. I hope this all comes together well tonight! Thanks for stopping by!

Fall Fling Sneak Peeks

These...


...and these were my project for the day.


Come back tomorrow to read more. Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares

I first tried this recipe a few years ago. I made it one weekend when my parents came for a visit. My dad and I really liked them. They were here two weekends ago, and I made these Pumpkin Pecan Pie Squares for them again.

I originally got the recipe from the cooking page of the Farm World newspaper, which ironically is published right here in Knightstown, Indiana. The clipping I have says that the recipe comes from the VeryBestBaking.com site.

Prior to writing this post, I hadn't ever tried going to the site. However, it's sponsored by Nestle and looks like a great new source of recipes! Thanks for stopping by!

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

It's been so busy around here lately that I haven't had time to share a few new recipes I've found. A few weeks ago, Meijer had gallons of apple cider on sale for $2.50. That's a super deal! I had my hubby buy four gallons!

I freeze my apple cider by the pint. I then have it to use all year long for the Cider-Roasted Pork Loin recipe that I like to make.

We've been enjoying some of it too. I don't make that pork recipe so often that I need to freeze all four gallons! I was looking for a good hot apple cider recipe, and after browsing the web for a bit, I found this one for Hot Caramel Apple Cider. It's become a new favorite hot drink of mine. I think you'll enjoy it too! Thanks for stopping by!

Pumpkin Smoothie

I love fall. I love the flavors and smells of fall baking and cooking. A few weeks ago, I was having a pumpkin craving, and I found this Pumpkin Smoothie recipe on the Family Fun webpage. I gave it a try. It was... ...interesting. It wasn't bad, but I don't think it's something I'll make again either. You should try it if you like pumpkin a lot. Thanks for stopping by!

Taste of Home Magazine

Here's an offer for Taste of Home magazine. Tanga offers a Taste Of Home Magazine one-year subscription (six issues) for $4 when you enter code ccdf at checkout. I'm not sure how long this offer will last, but I wanted to pass it on to you. You may purchase up to four years for this price per year. Thanks for stopping by!

Homemade Pizza Dough

The boys and I have made this Homemade Pizza Dough recipe twice now in the past few weeks. They have had a blast making their own pizzas. One day, they even got their Daddy to show them his expertise. He worked at Little Caesar's for a few years when we were in high school.

The second time we made it, I substituted some whole wheat flour for the regular flour. I wanted to make it just a bit healthier. It turned out great both times, and it is super easy! Thanks for stopping by!