#BundtBakers: Fruit and Nuts

July 16, 2015July 16, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 34 Comments

4ae7b-bundtbakerspost This month #BundtBakers are baking cakes with fruits and nuts! #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. This month creative host is Shilpi of Simply Veggies.

I almost didn’t make it this month. Even with a lovely planner I wrote the reveal date on the wrong Thursday! I thought I had an extra week to make my cake. That’s why you’re seeing an almost repeat recipe this week. I posted a beautiful Cherry Coffee Cake on Monday. I would have scheduled that post for later had I realized I’d be making another coffee cake for #BundtBakers. Originally I planned on a Blueberry Almond Cake I found in the latest edition of Food Network Magazine. Upon further investigation of the recipe I realized it wasn’t easily transferred to a bundt pan. I also didn’t have all of the ingredients needed. But I did have everything I needed for another coffee cake.

While I used my usual coffee cake recipe, I changed up the topping and made a walnut streusel. I don’t know if it’s the streusel or the magic of a bundt pan but this cake turned out differently. And it’s fantastic! It reminds me of the store bought coffee cakes my grandmother would buy to have at the lake.

I wasn’t sure how to put the streusel on the bundt because putting it on top of the batter like I normally do would mean it’s on the bottom. I took a risk and put it into the pan first. But I still had extra streusel left over so I put it on top/bottom too. Turned out beautifully, now every bite has some streusel!

Instead of using a large bundt pan I used my Bundt Duet Pan, now Stuart and I each get our own cake! If you don’t have smaller bundt pans feel free to use an 8×8″ cake pan and bake 65 minutes. If you try this in a regular bundt pan let me know if there’s enough batter to fill out the pan! I’d also suggest cooking 60-65 minutes.

Blueberry Cherry Coffee Cake with Walnut Streusel

Ingredients for streusel:

1/4 C toasted walnuts (I used this method)
1/2 C flour
1/4 C dark brown sugar
1/2 stick cold butter, cubed

Ingredients for cake:

2 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)
1 C Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic)
1/2 C pitted and chopped fresh cherries
1/2 C fresh blueberries

Steps:

Make the streusel: Place toasted walnuts, flour, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until a fine crumb is reached. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease two 2.5 C bundts.
Make the cake: In a large bowl whisk together 2 C flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a the bowl of a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla paste.
Incorporate a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once combined add 1/2 C of yogurt. Add another third of the dry ingredients. Once combined add the last 1/2 C of yogurt. Add in the final third of the dry ingredients.
Assemble the cake: Divide half of the streusel between the two bundts. Divide half of the cake batter in the prepared pans. Evenly distribute the blueberries and cherries, top with remaining batter, and the rest of the streusel.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife comes out cleanly.
Allow cake to cool in the pan before turning out.

*The streusel recipe is adapted from http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/2947/walnut-streusel-topping/?locale=en_US*

You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about #BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Almond Rhubarb Bundt Cake from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm

Aloha Bundt Cake from Olivia at Liv for Cake

Apple Pecan Bundt Cake from Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes

Apricot-Almond Bundt Cake from Cali at Cali’s Cuisine

Banana Peanut Butter Bundt Cake from Jana at Jenny and Sweets

Banana Monkey Bundt Cake from Los Chatos Chefs at Los Chatos Chefs

Banana Pecan Bundt with Bananas Foster Frosting from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Banana Split Bundt Cake from Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food

Cherry and Almond Bundt Cake from Lara at Tartacadabra

Cherry and Nuts Bundt Cake from Diego at La Mejor Manera de Hacer

Cherry and Sliced Almond Mini Bundt Cakes from Teri at The Freshman Cook

Cherry Pistachio and Honey Bundt Cake from Ethel at eating in instead

Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake from Vonnie at My Catholic Kitchen

Eggless Mango Almond Bundt Cake from Shilpi at Simply Veggies

Generra Bundt Cake from Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Lemon Lime Pistachio Bundt Cake from Rocío at kidsandchic

Orange and Pecan Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache from Deepti at Baking Yummies

Orange Blossom Honey Nut and Blueberry Cake from Anshie at Spice Roots

Peach and Pecan Bundt from Catherine at Living The Gourmet

Peach Coffee Cake from Julie at Eat, Drink, Be Mighty

Pineapple-Pecan Bundt Cake from Kathya at Basic N Delicious

Pineapple Sundae Bundt Cake from Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

Pomegranate and Pistachio Kugelhopf from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas

Roasted Banana and Black Walnut Bundt Cake from Terri at Our Good Life

Summer Fig Bundt from Margaret at Tea and Scones

Vegan Orange Ripple Rhubarb Cake with Pistachio Sauce from June at How to Philosophize with Cake

Tuesday Tattles #8

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

It’s been five months since I’ve done a “favorite products” version of Tuesday Tattles. My little man is now ONE!

Five months is a long time in the world of an infant. He has gone from army crawling to hands-and-knees crawling. From pulling up on furniture to full standing. From toddling with support to complete walking. He can squat to pick things up and carries items between rooms.

Saying “dada” has taken a backseat to finally saying “mama” and his first word is “duck” and he says it with enthusiasm when he sees a rubber ducky, a duck on a screen, or the stuffed animal that used to be mine as a child. He will even wave good-bye to the cashiers at the grocery store and says “ba ba” along with it.

With his 6 teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom) he enjoys eating anything off of my plate. His favorite foods though are mushrooms, breakfast foods, black beans, and sweet potatoes. He will hum if something is good enough, too!

Fisher Price Apps

I hate to say it but the phone is one of my sons favorite things – ever. (He has actually chewed my Lifeproof case to the point where I’m not sure it’s “lifeproof” anymore. He’s not allowed to put it in his mouth any longer.) It’s okay though, he will flip through books on his own for ten minutes at a time. My husband found a couple Fisher Price Apps one morning and they’ve been great learning tools – as well as a wonderful distraction when needed. I’m pretty sure it’s through these learning apps that my son learned the word “duck”. On the Animals app he will touch through each animal until the duck appears – he even knows it comes after the pig.

I Love You Through And Through

This book by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak is definitely a favorite. The pages fall somewhere between paper and board book making them the perfect texture and thickness for little fingers to turn on their own. The illustrations are also adorable.

Activity Walker

When we went to visit friends in D.C. they had this walker for their son when he was learning how to walk. I’d been debating on buying one for my little man and his attachment to this toy had me on Amazon the minute we got home. I feel I was a little late in the game in buying it because he doesn’t get very much use from it now that he can walk independently. He will occasionally still play with the activity toys on the front though.

Play Triangle

Another toy I waited to purchase until I saw him playing with another kid’s is this play triangle. This toy has been well loved and still is. It’s the one I throw in the car if we’re going to someone’s house and I even stuffed it on our suitcase to have on our ten day vacation to the grandparents’. My little man decided this toy would make a good walking assistant and it is now scratched up from him bending over it and pushing it along the concrete on the back patio.

Alphabet Mat

We’ve had the Alphabet Mat for a long time, and it was definitely more for me than him at the time. I went with the one made by B Toys because the color scheme was unique and had all my favorite colors. The abundance of orange and navy made this Auburn girl quite happy, too. Once my son discovered that the letters (and tiles) are removable they quickly became his favorite chew toy.

Blocks

This basic block set is a classic toy that has stood the test of time. My mom had a set in her toy closet from when she used to frequently babysit a friend’s kids over 8 years ago. These colorful shapes have been well loved (aka chewed on). While my son hasn’t yet had the patience or interest in learning how to put the shapes through their corresponding holes on the top he loves clapping them together and throwing them. And it may be coincidental, but he has accurately identified a couple of the shapes/colors when I’ve asked. The blue circle is definitely his favorite. My favorite thing to do with them is to start stacking the blocks. Without fail a little hand comes through to swipe my tower – followed by a giggle. This game was actually the first time my son actually played with me and when he was done demolishing my towers we played “tag” down the hallway.

Empty Water Bottles

I don’t care how many toys you have, the best play thing you can hand my son is a water bottle – full or empty doesn’t matter. Same goes for solo cups.

Balls

I can’t begin to tell you how happy it makes my husband that our son loves to play with balls. He will throw a ball if you ask him to and can occasionally catch one tossed to him. Granted, it takes a lot of focus and multiple attempts – but it’s exciting every time! Any ball will do – tennis ball, Oball, plastic balls, volleyball, or beach ball; doesn’t matter the size, he’ll try and pick it up.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

A Breakfast Potluck

July 13, 2015July 9, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Last week the gang got together for what has to be my favorite themed potluck yet – breakfast!

I was torn between making my cinnamon rolls (sans cranberries) and a new twist on my coffee cake. I decided on the latter simply because it’s a much easier dish to make, especially having just returned home from vacation.

I decided to try putting fresh cherries in the center of the coffee cake. Brilliant idea, if you ask me. I’ve really been on a cherry kick lately, and it’s a fruit my little man enjoys snacking on, too. (I was very close to adding blueberries to the filling as well – next time!) For the topping I decided to go with dark brown sugar and cocoa powder instead of my typical cinnamon. The subtle smokiness of the dark brown sugar and the hint of chocolate complimented the cherries beautifully. A perfect summer breakfast treat.

Be sure to scroll past my recipe to see what other creations joined the buffet line!

Cherry Coffee Cake

Ingredients for topping:

3/8 C flour
1/3 C dark brown sugar
1 tsp cocoa powder
pinch of salt
2 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1/4 C rolled oats

Ingredients for cake:

2 C + 1 tbsp flour, divided use
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)
1 C Greek yogurt (I used Stonyfield Organic)
1 1/4 C pitted and chopped fresh cherries

Steps:

Make the topping: whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Using your fingers, break the butter into small pieces and combine with the topping. After combined add the oats. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8″ square cake pan with foil and grease.
Make the cake: In a large bowl whisk together 2 C flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a the bowl of a stand mixer beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla paste.
Incorporate a third of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Once combined add 1/2 C of yogurt. Add another third of the dry ingredients. Once combined add the last 1/2 C of yogurt. Add in the final third of the dry ingredients.
Toss cherries in remaining flour.
Assemble the cake: Place half of the cake batter in the prepared cake pan. Evenly distribute the cherries and top with remaining batter. Top the cake with the topping from step 1.
Bake for 65 minutes, or until a knife comes out cleanly.
Allow cake to cool for at least 5 minutes and remove the cake from the pan by the foil. I found this flavor of coffee cake to be best served warm.

Here’s a sampling of the other dishes brought to the breakfast potluck:

Berry French Toast Casserole
Cheese Garlic Grits: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/garlic-cheese-gritlets/
Egg, Sausage, and Potato Bake
Homemade Granola with berries and Greek yogurt
Orange Pancakes
Sausage Gravy: Brown sausage, whisk in flour until thick. Reduce heat and whisk in milk until desired consistency is achieved. Serve atop biscuits.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

July 10, 2015July 9, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

When we went to the Farmer’s Market in Virginia we picked up a carton of cinnamon peanut butter. If you’re a frequent reader then you know of my cinnamon obsession. How was I to pass up cinnamon peanut butter?! This peanut butter created by Sprelly is thick in texture so I thought the best way to use it would be to heat it up to make it more spreadable. I thought about making an ice cream with it (and still might!) but when my friend was hosting a “Going to the Movies” game night I knew immediately that I’d make popcorn! Funnily enough, she was also providing four different popcorn flavors to munch on – one of which was a peanut butter and honey. I’m pretty sure we followed the same recipe! Her peanut butter coating did coat the popcorn better, and I’m going to guess that’s because she used a creamy peanut butter. This popcorn can be stored in an air tight container and will stay fresh 2-3 days.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

Ingredients:

canola oil, enough to coat bottom of pot
1/2 C unpopped popcorn kernels
1/4 C honey
1/4 C cinnamon peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)
salt, to taste

Steps:

Put canola oil in pot over medium high heat along with 2-3 kernels of popcorn. Cover and stand by. Once you hear the kernels pop, add the 1/2 C of popcorn. Cover and cook over medium heat until popping slows. Gently shake the pot during the popping process so as not to burn the popcorn at the bottom. Remove from heat and remain covered until popping has ceased, unless you want to be pelted with popcorn. (If you have another method of popping popcorn, feel free to use it.) Place popcorn in a large bowl. Note: It is highly suggested you remove any unpopped kernels as they’ll be hard to pick out once mixed with the peanut butter coating.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine honey and sugar. Allow to simmer two minutes. Immediately add the peanut butter and vanilla. Whisk until smooth, if the mixture hardens simply reheat. You can also add some more honey if needed.
Pour peanut butter mixture over popcorn and toss to coat.
Spread popcorn onto baking sheets to allow it to set. Store in an air tight container for up to three days.

*This recipe is adapted from Rachel at http://www.rachelcooks.com/2013/07/08/peanut-butter-popcorn/*

Blog-iversary 2

July 9, 2015July 9, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 7 Comments

Today is my blog’s anniversary! This second year has flown by. In this past year I have gained an additional 77 followers and 357 Facebook friends.

I am still going strong with Secret Recipe Club and #BundtBakers (having missed only one month in each so far) and I continue to participate in Foodie Extravaganza and The Crazy Ingredient Challenge when my allergy restrictions allow it.

As if I didn’t have enough commitment on my plate I have added Blogger CLUE Society and The Sunday Supper Movement to my blogging community adventures. The latter has been a huge boost to not only my site’s traffic but also my social media accounts. If you’re a blogger looking for ways to venture out, I encourage you to join a group like these – the camaraderie you’ll find is more reward than you could imagine.

I feel like my blogging has grown over the past two years and my food photography has improved considerably (staying home with my son has definitely contributed to that as I now have natural light!), my photography editing skills have become second nature, and I think my story telling ability is on the rise. My efforts have even been rewarded when I was nominated for the Liebster Award!

For my blog-iversary I decided to try something that’s been on my culinary bucket list. Making marshmallow. I saw these adorable mini s’mores cheesecakes and knew that’s what I’d do to celebrate another blogging milestone. Unfortunately I don’t have a mini cheesecake pan – but how awesome is that?! – and didn’t think using cupcake liners would create the same impressive dessert. I decided to make a full size cheesecake. I increased the crust amount but didn’t think about the actual cheesecake, as a result my cake is very thin. However, the silky richness of the chocolate cheesecake doesn’t leave you feeling cheated. (If you want a thicker cake I’d suggest adding another 1/2 recipe to the filling.) To top this decadent cheesecake, homemade marshmallow frosting. If you have a blow torch I highly encourage you to take the s’mores factor to the next level. I simply garnished mine with extra graham cracker crumbs.

This cheesecake is sexy. Now there’s a word I’ve never used for food before! But seriously. Next time you want to impress your date make this cheesecake. It’s smooth, it’s rich, and it melts in your mouth.

S’mores Cheesecake

Ingredients for crust:

9 full sheets graham crackers
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp sugar

Ingredients for cheesecake:

12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 C sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)

Ingredients for topping:

2 egg whites
1/2 C sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9″ springform pan.
Place graham cracker sheets, butter, and sugar in a food process. Pulse until the mixture looks and feels like wet sand. Press into the pan evenly. Bake 5 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the cocoa powder and salt until combined. Add the egg and vanilla paste, mixing until incorporated. The mixture will look like chocolate pudding. Spread cheesecake filling on the crust.
Bake 25-27 minutes, or until set. Turn off the oven and crack the door. Allow cheesecake to cool completely before chilling in the refrigerator.
Whisk egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar over a double boiler until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm. Remove from heat. Beat using a hand mixer, starting on low and increasing speed to high, until mixture becomes white, thick, and sticky. Add the vanilla extract and beat until stiff peaks form. Gently spread over the chilled cheesecake.

*This recipe is adapted from Rachel at http://www.bakedbyrachel.com/mini-toasted-smore-cheesecakes/*

Blogger CLUE: Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers

July 8, 2015July 10, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 22 Comments

The sun is shining, the warm air is blowing, and Blogger CLUE is hitting the grill!

This month I was assigned the blog Anna Dishes. Anna’s blog is so bright and cheery it just invites you in to take a look around. She has a wide variety of recipes, beautiful floral arrangements, and even some travel posts!

I was on a mission to find something to throw on the grill and I settled on her Sriracha and Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers. I made a couple of changes to her recipe, though. Instead of Lawry’s seasoning and garlic salt I used Caribeque Island Thyme. I also omitted the Sriracha from the burger itself and instead made a Sriracha mayo as the burger’s condiment. The reasoning behind doing so was to control the amount of heat in the patty for my 1 year old. I am disappointed to say my little man did not have any interest in the burger and hope that he’ll try the leftovers with me for lunch tomorrow! My husband and I greatly enjoyed the unique flavor profile of this burger. The sweetness of the potato pairs with the subtle spiciness of the Island Thyme and helps keep the burgers perfectly moist.

Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (I used 85/15)
3/4 C mashed sweet potato (I peeled, boiled, and mashed)
3/4 C panko
2 tsp Caribeque Island Thyme
1 egg
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 C mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp Sriracha (or to taste)
cheese (optional)
6 hamburger buns
favorite burger toppings: lettuce, tomato, onion, etc

Steps:

In a large bowl combine turkey, potato, panko, seasoning, egg, and olive oil until fully incorporated. Form in 6 equal sized patties.
Grill 5-6 minutes on each side, or until an internal temperature of 165 degrees F is reached. Add cheese during last minute of cooking time if using.
Make sriracha mayo: whisk mayo, sriracha, and a pinch of salt.
Assemble burgers: place burger toppings on bottom bun, top with patty, and spread sriracha mayo on the top bun.

*This recipe is modified from Anna at http://www.annadishes.com/sriracha-and-sweet-potato-turkey-burgers/#sthash.YLkvIG5n.MgYhoZtj.dpbs*

Here’s a list of the other players of Blogger CLUE this month:

Artichoke and Green Chile Stuffed Mushrooms by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
Arugula Salad with Figs, Prosciutto, Walnuts, and Parmesan by Kathy from Bakeaway with Me
Bourbon Baked Beans by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
Classic Southern Potato Salad by Alice from A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
Cornish Game Hens with Citrus, Herb and Whiskey Glaze by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen
Crinkle Sugar Cookies by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
Crockpot Chili Dog Sauce by Kelli from Kelli’s Kitchen
Grilled Asian-Style Chicken by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
Grilled Chicken Shish Tawookby Sue from A Palatable Pastime
Grilled Salmon with Mojo de Ajo by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
Grilled Southwestern Chicken Salad by Aly from Cooking in Stilettos
Grilled Zucchini with Sea Salt and Lemon Zest by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
Lemintini by Anna from annaDishes
Marinated Grilled Flank Steak by Debra from Eliot’s Eats
Oklahoma Spicy Baked Beans by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
Spatchcock BBQ Chicken by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Steak Kabobs by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Sweet Potato Turkey Burgers by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
White Bean Tomato and Basil Salad by Rebekah from Making Miracles
Zesty Grilled Ham Steaks by Heather from girlichef

Disclaimer: I received Caribeque Island Thyme in participating in #HotSummerEats. All opinions are my own.

Tuesday Tattles: 1st Birthday

July 7, 2015July 6, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 9 Comments

It’s been quite some time since my last Tuesday Tattles post, and today’s is a very special edition.

My little man is now ONE!

Today I will share with you the planning (and execution) of his birthday party. I will post another Tuesday Tattles next week documenting our favorite products to date.

Before I get into the decorative and food details, I need to give a HUGE thank you to my parents for allowing us to have his party at their summer home in Wisconsin. (I spent my childhood Fourth of Julys there when it was my grandparents’ home and I knew that living in Ohio we’d be close enough to spend the holiday weekend there once again. It just so happened that the little man shares his birthday weekend with America.) And another huge thank you to my in-laws for agreeing to travel from Alabama for the little man’s first birthday.

Being surrounded by family, the invite list grew and grew and this birthday party became bigger than I envisioned for a first birthday. Thankfully the weather was perfect and our outdoor gathering was a wonderful reunion. I think my favorite part about the party was that my cousins’ kids, ranging from ages 3 – 17, absolutely loved my son – and better yet, my son loved them! I was amazed that my son could understand the concept of play and his newly found skill at walking came in handy while he chased around the older kids.

When my son was born the day before the Fourth I knew immediately that his first birthday would be Captain America themed! I had been pinning ideas for a whole year and could not be more thrilled with how successful his party turned out.

I couldn’t find any pre-made party decor that was only Captain America since the latest movie that was released was the Avengers. So we resorted to using red, white, and blue. I added pops of yellow to break up the monotony and keep it “comic-book-y”.

I alternated red and white plates alongside alternating white and blue napkins. Blue dessert plates were used alongside red napkins.
I cut stars out of white sticker paper with the help of a friend’s Silhouette Curio Cutting Tool, and placed them on blue cups.
Two 16″ Patriotic Orbz Balloons were paired with yellow balloons and placed on either side of the food table.
White stars were cut out from paper and I hand wrote the food labels in red or blue to be placed next to each dish.
Star balloons flanked with blue balloons decorated the front step, and one star balloon added sparkle to the adult beverage table. (The latter would have been joined by a red balloon had there been any helium left!)
The party favor bags were simple paper bags in red and blue which I then decorated. The red ones received stars and vertical stripes, to mimic Captain America’s uniform. The blue ones received stars surrounded by a white circle, to mimic the shield. Sticker paper came to the rescue with this project, too! I sealed the bags with a “Thank You” sticker.
- Inside the bags were two glow sticks (red, white, or blue), a squirt gun, small frisbee, bubbles, and some candy. The extras were offered beside the bags for any older “kids” who might want to play.
The high chair, where the little man would have his slice of cake, was decorated with a giant blue number 1 and two red balloons. On the front of the high chair tray I created a banner consisting of his name book-ended by two Captain America shields.
My biggest project was creating the big “Happy Birthday” banner. It ended up being displayed behind the goodie bags inside.

I found inspiration for both banners on Pinterest.

For the highchair banner I used the shape tool in Microsoft Word for the pentagon template at 2.9″x 5″. The font used is Simplified Arabic Fixed. I placed my son’s name in WordArt at font size 96 then sized the WordArt graphic to be 3.08″ x 8.03″ and then selected Rotate Flip Horizontal so that the text would be backwards. Everything was printed on cardstock and cut out using a craft knife. I used small glue dots to adhere the letters to the pentagon. I then cut the red and white cardstock to fit and glued those in place on top of the pentagon.
For the “Happy Birthday” banner I used this template and printed on red and blue cardstock. The letters used the same font as the previous banner and followed the same method. Only three letters at a time at font size 96 were placed in a WordArt graphic. The graphics were formatted to 3.67″ x 8.75″. A grey cardstock was used for “first” and placed on the red flags while a lighter blue was placed on the blue flags.
To create the Captain America shields I borrowed an incredible circle cutting tool from a friend, a circle punch, and a star punch. It took a lot of trial and error on scrap paper to figure out which sizes worked best. (The highchair shields were much larger than the birthday banner ones.)

And now for the important part of the party: The Food!

The main course was broasted chicken from a local favorite chicken place along with their cole slaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cinnamon rolls.
Because they’re my husband’s favorite, I doubled my recipe for Cherry Chipotle Baked Beans – and there wasn’t any left! Doubling the recipe requires double the time so I made them Wednesday and reheated them before setting the slow cooker on low on the food table.
The dish I’m surprised to say got the most reviews was my Buffalo Macaroni Salad! I tripled the amount of pasta, eyeballed the veggies, and doubled the dressing (however, I only halved the original amount of chili powder as the pasta salad only gets spicier the longer it sits). There was still dressing leftover and would be perfect for chopping up the leftover broasted chicken and creating a chicken salad.
My mother-in-law made a 7-layer dip (which was devoured in under an hour) which I decorated using tomatoes and chopped black olives. To create the star in the center I placed a star shaped piece of paper in the center of the dip and traced around it with the olives. The key to getting that star to be recognizable is really concentrating the olives.
To make a shield fruit tray I chose strawberries, blueberries, and mini marshmallows. I found a star shaped bowl at my favorite thrift store which was filled with a cream cheese and marshmallow dip (1 block of cream cheese + 1 jar of marshmallow creme). My mom didn’t have a platter large enough so we got a cheap 16″ pizza tray! 3 pints of strawberries, half a bag of mini marshmallows, an entire recipe of dip, and at least of pint of blueberries were demolished by happy party goers.
And of course the cake – a marble cake with strawberry filling and cream cheese icing, decorated to look like Captain America’s shield. My little man was very hesitant when it came to the cake but once my mom fed him a bite his interest was piqued. (My husband put that bit of frosting on his nose.) Fun fact: red frosting dyes hands and faces! It did wash out of his Captain America onesie just fine, though.

Old Glory – completed!

July 4, 2015June 29, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 5 Comments

Last year I shared the plans for the Fourth of July quilt that was already underway.

Over two years later, my goal of completing this quilt by the Fourth did indeed happen.

In February of this year (2015) Old Glory was finally completed and ready to be taken to the quilters! On June 16th I got a call that Old Glory was ready for pick up (three days before I was expecting it) and on the 20th I had finally gotten the binding sewn on.

Getting the binding on the quilt ended up being a challenge as I was one strip short of having enough fabric to go all the way around the quilt. I had to do some finagling but I got it to work. Instead of sewing the binding strips on a bias to reduce bulk I simply sewed straight lines at a 1/4″ seam allowance. The last strip of “just too skiny” fabric was cut in half, sewn together lengthwise, and trimmed to 2 1/4″ before being attached to the long strip of binding. I am relieved to say that even knowing where the “awkward” location on the binding is, I struggle to find it. Phew!

All that’s left to do is create the tag for Old Glory and sew it on. But for this year, it’s as good as ready for our first family of three firework watching. (Here’s to hoping my now one-year-old enjoys the bright flashes of light and loud bangs…)

I wish you all a safe and happy Fourth of July.

And God Bless America.

Box-in-a-Box Variation

July 2, 2015June 25, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

It’s July again and now that I’ve completed Old Glory, my patriotic sampler quilt, I am going to blog a few more quilt block tutorials this month.

This quilt block is a box-in-a-box variation, colored out so that it looks like a mini spool or hourglass.

My mother-in-law and I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out if it were possible to paper piece this block. At least the way I’ve colored it, the answer was no. Instead we broke it down into squares, rectangles, and half square triangles (HSTs).

(I apologize for the photo below, evidently I didn’t take a photo of the finished block. This photo will be updated with a better photo as soon as I can!)

Here is the how-to for a Box-in-a-Box Variation quilt block:

Note: These measurements are for an 8″ block. Sew using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.

Cut fabric:

1 square 3 1/8″ red
2 rectangles 3 1/8″ x 1 7/8″ red
2 rectangles 3 1/8″ x 1 7/8″ white
2 squares 3″ red
2 squares 3″ white
2 rectangles 5 7/8″ x 1 7/8″ red
2 rectangles 5 7/8″ x 1 7/8″ white

Use the 4 squares of 3″ red and white to create 4 HSTs trimmed down to 1 7/8″. Click here for my tutorial on how to make Half Square Triangles.

Lay out the HSTs and other pieces of fabric into the box-in-a-box variation quilt block:

The center spool (or hourglass) is a 9-patch. Sew that 9-patch together:

The remaining patches form another 9-patch. Sew the 9-patch together. You now have a box-in-a-box variation.

#FoodieExtravaganza: Creative Ice Cream Flavor

July 1, 2015August 1, 2015 ~ lk529 ~ 23 Comments

This month’s #FoodieExtravaganza theme is creative ice cream flavors. The Foodie Extravaganza is a monthly party hosted by bloggers who love food! Each month we incorporate one main ingredient or theme into recipes to share with you. Thanks to Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for challenging us with this theme.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I’m happy to say this ice cream flavor was a huge hit. That container of homemade ice cream didn’t last very long in the freezer. We even let the little man try it. He wasn’t even flustered by the frozen treat and immediately asked for more. He practically begged at my husband’s knees and when he saw that the bowl was empty a tantrum ensued. Photographic evidence to the right; he can thank me for that later.

Now on to my creative ice cream flavor.

When I made hummus I could only find a large jar of tahini paste and immediate searched the web for other uses for the ingredient and I have used it in dressings and stir fry sauces. I started thinking of ways to use it in sweet dishes. I figured it could probably substitute peanut butter in almost anything. When the #FoodieExtravaganza theme for July was announced I had my answer! Tahini Ice Cream!

I followed a recipe for peanut butter ice cream and simply substituted the tahini paste. (Fun fact: I accomplished my mission and emptied my jar. A feat my husband never thought would happen.) But I wanted to take this ice cream a step further and do not only a play on peanut butter ice cream but a play on PB&J. So I added lemon curd! That decision was probably the best one I could have made. The tahini ice cream had a perfectly smooth texture and a very deep and earthy flavor. It’s not as sweet as peanut butter. It definitely needed that cut of tang from the lemon to brighten and lighten the spoonful of frozen dessert.

I wasn’t sure if I should add the lemon curd into the ice cream while it was churning and further research led me to the idea of layering. I spooned a layer of lemon curd on the bottom of the dish and spread the ice cream over top. Depending on the depth of your dish you may want to add another layer of lemon curd to the batch, finishing the layering with ice cream.

Tahini and Lemon Curd Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 C tahini paste
3/4 C sugar
1 1/3 C heavy cream
1 C milk
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (I used Nielsen-Massey)
lemon curd, as much as desired

Steps:

Using a hand mixer, combine tahini paste and sugar until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, milk, and vanilla bean paste.
Place ice cream base in ice cream maker and follow the directions for your ice cream maker.
Spread lemon curd on the bottom of a freezer friendly dish. Top with ice cream and freeze until ready to serve. (If desired, create multiple layers of lemon curd and ice cream, ending with ice cream.)

*This recipe is adapted from http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/peanut-butter-ice-cream-for-the-ice-cream-maker/*