Smash Cake

We have a very special photo shoot happening tomorrow . . .

POPPY SHAPED LEMON COOKIES

Picked up the latest Martha Stewart in an airport along the way because it had super cute poppies on the cover. Inside I found this fun decorating idea. I made some sugar cookies over the weekend (minus a cookie cutter! will be buying one for next time!) and already made cookie icing to decorate. I think it dried a little too quick, so next time I better just make them like Martha did!

FOCACCIA BREAD

Tried this recipe for focaccia bread last night. SO YUMMY!

YUM: BEIGNET

World Market is right up there on my list of favorite places to shop. Discovered a beignet mix there on a more recent trip that is super easy to whip up and then devour! Traditionally they are covered with powdered sugar, but I did some up with cinnamon/sugar too : )

BREAD MAKING ROUND 2 . . . SUCCESS!

My first attempt at making bread was mildly successful. I think I had too much flour and didn't get the dough to rise very well. I'm blaming it on a recipe that had poor directions and was just random from the internet. Even though it turned out really dense, it had a sweet taste that was pretty good.

Round 2 came from my red and white plaid Better Homes and Gardens book (also online here). With pictures!! Things went much smoother -- yeast fermented, dough rose, bread cooked. . it's still not as light as I thought it would be, again maybe too much flour, even though I used less than it said. . . but it makes great toast!

Hoping to try for round 3 in the close future. . ..

PERFECT RECIPE BOX

I have many cookbooks. How often do I use them? Rarely.

Every now and then when I'm looking to make something for the first time, but so often it's a cookie recipe I got from my mom or something I tore from a magazine or something scrawled on the back of an envelope. All these lonely and random recipes needed a home. I was not having much luck finding a recipe box and figured it wouldn't be that difficult to make my own.

I decided that I did not want it to have a top and that it would be something to keep out. I found a 5x5?? box at Micheal's . . painted the inside. . .mod podged some paper to the outside . . .created some dividers for different types of recipes . .. and ta da! . . .perfect recipe box : )

And it looks great next to my pear colored Kitchen-Aid . . .

DUTCH APPLE MINI TARTS

Ingredients
(crust)
1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crusts

(for the filling)
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, sliced and chopped (3 cups)

(topping)
3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine

**NOTE: this is the recipe as I found it from Pampered Chef, however I've only used 1/3 to 1/2 of the filling mix, so when I make it now I only cut up 1 or 2 apples, or grab another package of pie crust and make double the amount.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. On lightly floured surface, unroll one pie crust. Cut 12 circles from dough. Press into a mini-muffin pan. Repeat with remaining pie crust.

2. For apple filling, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Whisk in sugar until fluffy. Mix in egg until well blended. Stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Peel and slice apples. Chop into small pieces. Stir into cream cheese mixture.

3. Fill prepared muffin cups with apple mixture, filling over top of pastry. For topping, combine 3 tablespoons flour and 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Cut in butter until forms coarse crumbs. Spoon over apple filling.

4. Bake in preheated oven 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 24.

**NOTE: Pampered Chef makes lots of products that makes preparing this very easy. I love my mini-tart shaper for putting the cut dough circles into the pan, so easy. If you are interested in any other Pampered Chef products, I know a great consultant - Jena - and you can shop with her online!

JERK CHICKEN NACHOS

The first time I had this was at a Pampered Chef party. They are super easy to make and one of my favorites! I could easily eat (and have eaten) them more than once a week!

Nachos
-> 6 cups tortilla chips
-> 3 cups diced cooked chicken
-> 2 cups shredded cheese, mix of cheddar and monterey jack
-> 2 tablespoons Jamaican Jerk Rub

Topping
-> 1 small red bell pepper
-> 1 small lime
-> 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
-> 1 teaspoon Jamaican Jerk Rub

Directions
-> Put a layer of chips on a flat baking sheet
-> Combined cooked chicken, cheese and Jamaican Jerk rub in a bowl, mix well
-> Spread the mix over the chips and put into oven at 475 for 5-7 mins
-> While nachos are in the oven, dice the red bell pepper and mince the cilanto
-> Combine pepper, cilantro, Jamaican Jerk Rub and squeezed lime juice
-> Sprinkle topping onto nachos and enjoy!

Tips
-> I like to use the Tostitos Scoop Chips for their size and shape, it makes a nice little bowl of easy to eat yumminess!
-> I've used all kinds of different blended cheeses, Albertsons makes a Mexican Nacho blend that I like the best - I also use less cheese than what's called for
-> I really like the spicy flavor of Pampered Chef's Jamaican Jerk Rub, but for the cost and size of the bottle it comes in there's better options - McCormick makes a Caribbean Jerk Seasoning that works great and is half the price
-> Place some aluminum foil on top of your sheet before making nachos to make clean up easy!

MARTHA'S VERSATILE VANILLA CAKE

I saw this on the Today Show awhile ago when Martha was on. Found the recipe on her website (photo of her cake as well, I forgot to take one of mine). Decided that it would be perfect to make for a summer bbq celebrating birthdays of a few family members. Went with making the lemon version. Very easy to make, but had some trouble with the frosting. Cake was so yummy and moist, but the whipped frosting evaporated (best way to explain it) . . . after it sat for awhile it looked like I'd frosted the cake in foam! Still good to eat though.