Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (16-oz) package powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon zest

Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; add lemon juice, beating just until blended.  Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed; stir in lemon zest. 

I had a woman at Home Depot a while back tell me that she fell in love with little boys after her little boy was born.  I feel the exact same way.  I never dreamed nor wanted a boy but I am sooooo happy to have two of them.  I fell in love with little boys in 2004 the year that my sweet boy was born.  He and his little brother are my life.  Tonight I had the pleasure (as I do every Saturday night) to hear the show I-Carly in the background and my little guy laughing at the most stupid little jokes ever.  Life is so good when you have little ones at your house.  I would never watch I-Carly but I am so blessed to hear it.  I also got the pleasure to see both boys light up when Spiderman the movie came on tv.  Logan my two year old ran to his room to get his Spiderman mask.  I love my boys...  Gotta go watching Julie and Julia...

Baby Shower

Cucumber Sandwiches

Mexican Tortilla Rollups

lemon shrimp canapes

I catered a shower Friday and made some yummy food.  Here are some pics.  I make the best lemon icing!  I will post recipe tomorrow.  Seriously is the best!

Julia Child

I can't believe I am just now reading My Life in France.  I am starting to get a little obsessed with Julia Child.  I think I have seen the movie 20 times and still ready to watch it again.  I would love to go to Culinary School....!!!

Apron

My mom made this cute apron.  I don't like taking pictures of myself but my husband wouldn't try it on for me.  My mom is making a lot of different aprons and I will post pics of them soon.  They are all very cute. 

Update on the Hamburger Helper stuff:  It was good and a lot better than Hamburger Helper.  I added onion to my meat to make it have a little more flavor.

Hamburger Helper

I am not a fan of Hamburger Helper but my family is a big fan.  This sounds something like...We will see tonight when I fix it.

Ingredients

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta

1 pound ground beef

6 bacon strips, diced

1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Barbecue sauce and prepared mustard, optional

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and set aside.

In the same skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove with a slotted spoon to paper towels. Discard drippings. Drain pasta; add to the skillet. Stir in the soup, beef and bacon; heat through. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with barbecue sauce and mustard if desired. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Easter

I am so pumped about Easter.  Easter means the warm weather is soon coming!  It means my boys all dressed up looking for Easter Eggs.  It of course means Jesus dying on the cross for us.  I saw this cute little bunny on the Taste of Home website...very good website!

Ingredients


2 loaves (1 pound each) frozen bread dough, thawed

2 raisins

2 sliced almonds

1 egg, lightly beaten

Lettuce leaves

Dip of your choice

Directions

Cut a fourth off of one loaf of dough; shape into a pear to form head. For body, flatten remaining portion into a 7-in. x 6-in. oval; place on a greased baking sheet. Place head above body. Make narrow cuts, about 3/4 in. deep, on each side of head for whiskers.

Cut second loaf into four equal portions. For ears, shape two portions into 16-in. ropes; fold ropes in half. Arrange ears with open ends touching head. Cut a third portion of dough in half; shape each into a 3-1/2-in. oval for back paws. Cut two 1-in. slits on top edge for toes. Position on each side of body.

Divide the fourth portion of dough into three pieces. Shape two pieces into 2-1/2-in. balls for front paws; shape the remaining piece into two 1-in. balls for cheeks and one 1/2-in. ball for nose. Place paws on each side of body; cut two 1-in. slits for toes. Place cheeks and nose on face. Add raisins for eyes and almonds for teeth.

Brush dough with egg. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Place bread on a lettuce-lined 16-in. x 13-in. serving tray. Cut a 5-in. x 4-in. oval in center of body. Hollow out bread, leaving a 1/2-in. shell (discard removed bread or save for another use). Line with lettuce and fill with dip. Yield: 1 loaf.

Cute Cake

This comes from Taste of Home

It looks so easy to do and so cute

Cooking on a SNOWY Spring

Seriously???  Snowing on the first day of Spring!  I don't like that...NOT ONE BIT.  I have had enough of the cold weather soooo ready for the warm weather.  I decided I would make some warm brocolli cheddar soup like Panera Bread and for the hubby I mad hot wings.  I will post the recipe for the soup but the hot wings had just some Hooters sauce on them. 

Brocolli Cheese Soup
Ingredients:


1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half-and-half

2 cupschicken stock or bouillon

1/2 pound fresh broccoli

1 cup carrots, julienned

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

8 ounces grated sharp cheddar





Turn this recipe into a puzzle! [click]







Directions:



Saute onion in butter. Set aside. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and slowly add the half-and-half (this is called making a roux). Add the chicken stock whisking all the time. Simmer for 20 minutes.



Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender for 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper. The soup should be thickened by now. Pour in batches into blender and puree. Return to pot over low heat and add the grated cheese; stir until well blended. Stir in the nutmeg and serve.

My home

My pictures are fuzzy but that is the best I could do with this horrible camera.  So let me start with the kitchen..I wish so badly I took before and after pics.  I spray painted the light fixture from an ugly brass color to green color.  My husband made the black shelves and put them up.  I only wanted white vases and such on there.  I made the pelmet box with foam core and just stapled fabric on to it.

Next my living room:  I took pics of the shelves we did and I painted the frames of the bird pictures with a red paint.

My room:  It is on the way to being beautiful.  Ryan and I made the head board.  I love it!  We just bought some lumber and Ryan cut out the design with his saw.  We then got foam and some fabric.  Just stapled that to the board and hung it up like a picture.  Now I am re-doing my dressers.  More pics to come when it is all done.  I am very excited about this. 

I am going to try REALLY hard to keep this blog up.  Cooking is my passion so I am going to try to do way more of that.

Yummy Taco Salad

ingredients:






1 lb. hamburger: cook, drain, cool (you can use ground turkey too)

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 16-oz. can red kidney beans, drained

1 head lettuce (iceberg works best in my opinion. romain would be yummy too)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (i normally put in just 1)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2-3 cups crushed tortilla chips

1 8-oz. bottle catalina dressing (i use lowfat)

1 avacado chopped

1 tomato chopped

black olives




directions:





brown hamburger. drain and set aside to cool. once meat is cooled, add all ingredients except taco packet and catalina into a large bowl. mix together. in a smaller bowl, add taco packet to catalina dressing and whisk together. then add to the rest of the ingredients. give it a good toss and serve.





enjoy!

It's Been A Long Time

I have done so much stuff to my house.  I have made two pelmet boxes and a headboard for my room.  My camera is not working so I don't have pics yet.  I took some with my phone but as soon as I learn how to get it onto the computer I will post it.  My mom and I also made some wonderful appetizers with pics.  I am going to try to keep this blog going so stay tuned.....