HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHER!!

today is brother's 32nd birthday!!

every year, my mom made him a strawberry cake... he loves the box mix from pillsbury.

so i decided to mix it up a little this year.

i wanted him to have the cake he loves that mom always made for him, i just figured since it came from a box i could spice it up some.

all i did was slice up strawberries, sprinkle a little sugar on them, let them sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes and tadahhh!!

it's not the prettiest cake ever but it tastes great!!

bran muffins

the teachers i am student teaching with are all doing weight watchers, so when i brought in 3 dozen cupcakes for the kids it seemed a little unfair.

one mentioned a bran muffin recipe that she loved...

so i decided to try my own.

i have not personally tried one, but when i took 2 dozen to the school i left with only 2.

this recipe is for a dozen but i have doubled it and it works out just as perfect.

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of wheat bran (i used the shredded wheat bran cereal)

1 cup of buttermilk

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of baking soda

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup of vegetable oil

1 egg

2/3 cup of brown sugar

1 cup of raisins- optional. i do not use them but you might like to

Mix the bran and buttermilk together in a large bowl and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.

Sift the flour, soda, powder and salt together. And add it to the bran and buttermilk.

Beat the egg, oil, sugar and vanilla together in a medium bowl and add it to the bran and buttermilk mixture as well.

Mix them altogether til they form the batter. If you would like to add the raisins, do so now and fold them in.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Enjoy!!

*Muffins do not rise as much as cupcakes do, so I fill them almost to the top of my muffin liners. But make sure they are smoothed on the top before baking.

i know this is a baking blog, but...

i can plug a book too :)

i got it for christmas but haven't had much time to do anything, much less read.

friday night, i got about half way through, but could not put it down.

i stayed up all night to finish it and i'm so glad i did.

it is utterly amazing and true!!

if nothing else, just think about it...

chewy oatmeal raisin cookies

so my dad and brother love oatmeal raisin cookies... i do not, yucky!!
but for them, i decided to try to make some
these cookies are super easy to make and i was told "these are better than subways!!"
hahaha


ingredients:

*1 1/3 c. brown sugar
* 3/4 c. shortening

*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. vanilla
*1/4 tsp. nutmeg
*1 tsp. cinnamon
*3/4 tsp. baking soda

*2 eggs

*1 c. raisins
*2 c. oatmeal
*1 1/3 c. flour

1. Mix together brown sugar and shortening til creamy.
2. Add salt, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix well.
3. Mix in the eggs.
4. Add raisins, oatmeal and flour. Then mix well.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350.
6. ENJOY!! :)

lemon squares

i have made these like 1 million times and just now tried them myself... not too shabby!!

ingredients:
- 2 cups of flour
- 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
- 2 sticks of butter

- 2 cups of sugar
- 1 tb flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 beaten eggs
- 1 heaping tb of graded lemon grind (i use a bit more. its up to you)
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice

1. sift the flour and powdered sugar together.
2. mix flour, powdered sugar, and butter together til blended
3. pour into a 9x 13 x2 pan and bake at 300 for about 20 minutes or until it is lightly brown
4. Mix the remaining ingredients together while the crust is baking
5. pour mixture on top of browned crust.
6. bake for 25-30 minutes on 350. this dish will turn brown on top. make sure not to let it burn but the browned top is ok.
7. allow to cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
8. sift powdered sugar on top.
9. enjoy.

6 layer cookie bars

these are so awesome!!
and really easy to make!!
i did not have time to take pictures (although it was really pretty) because it was taken to the church moments later!

ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1 1/2 of graham cracker crumbs
1 (12 oz) bag of milk chocolate morsels
1 (10 oz) bag of peanut butter morsels
1 (7 oz) bag of shredded/flaked coconut
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
2 cups of chopped pecans

1. Crush up graham crackers. Melt butter. Pour the butter into a 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle your graham crackers onto the butter in your baking pan, as evenly as possible.

2. Sprinkle your bag of chocolate morsels on top of the graham crackers. Then sprinkle your bag of peanut butter morsels. And then sprinkle your bag of flaked coconut.

3. Pour your sweetened condensed milk over the top of your coconut. And then sprinkle the pecans on top.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for roughly 20-30 minutes or til the coconut is lightly browning. Slice after allowing time to cool

5. Enjoy!!

i'm behind on everything...

i swear i have not forgotten about my blog!!
i have my ever famous blueberry muffin recipe ready to be posted, just haven't had a spare minute lately.
tonight, i am venturing into making cream cheese banana nut bread with orange glaze and cinnamon rolls!!
as soon as i get a spare minute i will update the blog!!
hope everybody is doing good!
i can't wait to start trading secrets with you brooke!! :)

cupcakes...

this is by far my favorite "recipe" book ever!!
there are so many neat ideas inside.
its all about decorating cupcakes but
there are also recipes for making different cupcakes and icings.
the book teaches you various techniques to improve your cupcakes and techniques to ice them too.
its actually a pretty reasonably priced book...
you can get it for under $20.

the downfall: there are not enough reasons to make everything inside.
but if i ever get a reason, we are all in trouble!!

pineapple upside cake...

i went into a full baking frenzy this weekend...
but it sure was fun!!
my papaw loves pineapple upside down cake. my mom used to make it for him all the time, and since mom can't do it anymore i figured i would try it out.

good: there is a hint of cinnamon in the batter which gives the cake a little something... AWESOME!

here you go:
1 stick of butter or 1/2 cup
2/3 packed brown sugar
1 can of pineapple slices
1 jar of maraschino cherries

1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 stick of butter or 1/2 cup
2/3 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup of milk

1. in a medium saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter on low/medium. when the butter is almost melted, put in brown sugar. keep on low and stir frequently.

2. while your butter and brown sugar are melting, sift together your flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl.

3. once your butter and brown sugar are melted together, pour into a 9 inch cake pan. take pineapple slices out of can and cherries out of jar and place them on a paper towel to dry out a little, not too much though. lay the pineapple slices in the cake pan on top of the butter/brown sugar. put as many as you like but keep it to 1 layer. then place cherries in the center of the pineapple slices.

4. mix butter and sugar in a large bowl until it is well mixed and light. add your eggs, one at a time and make sure that each are blended well before adding the next. mix in your vanilla extract and begin adding your flour mix alternately with your milk.

5. pour batter into cake pan on top of the pineapple slices and cherries. make sure to spread the batter evenly. the butter and brown sugar will seep through the batter around the edges but just spread the batter as evenly as you can. i use a butter knife or spatula.

6. bake for 40- 45 minutes at 350 degrees, or until a tester comes out clean. let the cake cool for roughly 15-20 minutes on a cooling rack. with a butter knife, run the edges of the cake pan to separate from the cake. place a plate on top of the cake pan and flip the cake onto the plate.

7. enjoy!!

peach cobbler...

i was trying to figure out what to bake for my first blog. i landed on coconut cake or peach cobbler... naturally everyone wanted cobbler. i was a little afraid that i would totally bomb at making it, but i tried it anyway. thus far, my grandparents, dad and boyfriend have totally enjoyed the cobbler.

good: its super super easy and seems to be quite tasty... i've had no complaints yet
bad: the recipe does not make a very large amount. you could probably only feed 4 or 5, which would be good for a small dinner.

experimentation: my dad bought peach pie filling and also a regular can of peaches. the first cobbler i made, i only used the pie filling. but on the second cobbler, i used 1 can of peach pie filling and added the regular can of peaches too. my dad said he could NOT tell a difference in taste, but the extra peaches helped the cobbler to go a little farther and have more peaches, since pie filling doesn't have that many.

here you go:

1 can of peach pie filling
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of bisquick baking mix
1 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of sugar
1/4 cup of milk

* 1 can of peaches, if you'd like the extra peaches... it seems to be enjoyed
* you can also sprinkle a little sugar on the bisquick before baking.

-in an ungreased 8x8 baking pan, put your peach pie filling and vanilla extract (*and stir in extra peaches, if you want). place in the oven for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees. (i usually just leave it in there while i make the bisquick and then remove it)

-mix your bisquick, milk, sugar and butter in a small bowl; this is easiest to mix with a fork.

- take your baking pan with the peaches out of the oven. the biquick can be spread over the top of the entire baking pan or you can make little blobs throughout the pan. just make sure to not make any blobs too thick; they may not get done all the way through. (*this is where i lightly sprinkle the bisquick with sugar.)

-bake for 15-20 minutes or until the bisquick is a golden brown.

- enjoy!! :)