Red Velvet Wrap-Up

February was a good month. We had some snow days, I baked some new recipes, made some new friends, and found out I'll be teaching Zumba in March.

Mom got us started off this month with Red Velvet Whoopie Pies! They sound so delicious! Here's what she had to say about them,"If you are a cookie lover, these are a must try. Would be a wonderful Valentine cookie, but good at anytime. They are easy to make, but take a few steps to complete. But, OH, YEAH! they are delicious!" I believe she got the recipe HERE. It makes me want to try them right away!

Next up, my sister remembered "RED" but not velvet, so she embarked on a strawberry cake for Valentine's Day. I did not hear the results, so maybe she'll comment on here and I can add it in :o)

For Valentine's Day, I made Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake, as mentioned (in detail) in the previous post. It was great and I recommend it to anyone!

I had a little left over cake from leveling the tops, so I mixed it up with some of the extra cream cheese frosting. I rolled them into balls and they are now waiting in my freezer for me to dip into almond bark. I hope to get to that soon! But it's nice to know they are waiting for me in my freezer.

My next contributor is one of my friends from work. She made the classic red velvet cake - from scratch! She got her recipe from Bakerella. She shared a piece with me and lovebug and it was VERY good! I would also recommend this recipe to others. Here's a picture of her cake (I'm sorry, I can't figure out how to make it turn around. But you should get the general idea):

Great Job Stephanie! I'm glad you joined in this month!!

And finally, a recipe I didn't even know existed. Another of my friends at work made Red Velvet Cookies. When I first heard her describing the recipe, I wasn't sure how it would all work together. Chocolate chips in red velvet? I thought it sounded strange even though I know there is cocoa in the cake. But she brought them to work and let us put on our own cream cheese frosting. Wow! I loved them. If I wasn't trying to lose weight, I would have definitely eaten more. But I did take the biggest one I could find!! Wouldn't you?


They were good even on their own, and that's saying a lot for a frosting lover like me. You can try them too from the Duncan Hines Website. Way to go Tara!

Next up, the theme for March is.... MINT! I was trying to think of something that would go with St. Patrick's Day. I considered trying to make something that's an authentic Irish recipe, then I thought about green. Then I realized with mint, some of it is green and you could do both if you really want. But start searching and be creative. I know some people don't like the chocolate/mint combo, but I think you can find something out there that might not even combine those two. I have a few ideas already and I'm excited!!

To life... full of great new recipes!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

It was made... it was delicious... now it's gone.

I know last time I shared the results of my snow recipe at the end of the month with all the others, but I wanted to go ahead and do a write up about this cake because it was pretty darn great! Plus I took several pictures of the process, which makes it more fun. I brought it to work on Valentine's Day (aren't I sweet?!?) and received lots of good responses-- "Amazing!" - "Very Good!" - "Bravo!" To me, that means it was a success. I enjoyed this creation as it was different to combine cake and cheesecake into one dessert. I preferred it the day after it had been made and had a chance to meld together. The cake was a bit dry on the first day in my opinion, but after it sat in the fridge over night, sandwiching the cheesecake and being surrounded by cream cheese frosting it transformed into something so much more!

To start, you make the cheesecake-- 20 oz. of cream cheese!


Here I am zesting a lemon and getting some fresh juice for the cheesecake. This smelled great!


This is only the second cheesecake I've made. But this time I was prepared with my new spring form pan!! I got it for half price at Michael's. *A note: I really wish no-stick meant NO-STICK! I was supposed to use parchment paper for the bottom of the pan, since I didn't have any and didn't want to use wax paper since it melts in the oven, I didn't use anything. Now, I may not have given it enough time to cool and freeze, but it definitely stuck to the pan and I kind of had to reform the cheesecake layer on the cake. I believe I will be buying the parchment paper in the future. Here's the cheesecake as it heads into the oven to bake...


Next up, while the cheesecake was baking, I started sifting all my dry ingredients for the red velvet cake.


Last year I made a green velvet cake, but this was my first red one. I think they are so fun to watch as you put together. It's like a science experiement! Cool huh?!?


Ouch! Sometimes there is danger in the kitchen...


Ha ha! Just kidding. It's red food coloring... but I couldn't resist, doesn't it look pretty real?

Moving on... Add the red food coloring to the wet ingredients, a lot of it! I actually didn't have as much as it called for (about half), but it was still nice and red enough for me.

Mix, mix, mix!

What a beautiful color! And about to head into the oven to bake!


The baked cheesecake. Not sure what, but I think I must have done something wrong. It was kind of poofy when I removed it from the oven, by the time it had cooled and frozen it was about half it's height. Why? Maybe I'll need to do a little research. I've heard cheesecakes are finnicky, but I will definitely keep trying, they are so delicious!


After the cakes have cooled, you start assembling, layer one


Add cheesecake, and second layer of cake


Then-- frost it! The frosting was a little "soupier" than I expected, but it stayed on surprisingly well and was a great complement to the cake. I put on a crumb coat and then another layer over that.


Another success in my book. I may try to figure out what to do differently about the cheesecake, but other than that, I'd be willing to make it all over again. Now I have to figure out what to do with the extra cake I have from when I leveled the cakes and the leftover cream cheese frosting... I might see cake balls in my near future.

To life... full of red velvet cheesecake cake!

A New Step-by-Step Pie

I've had a pie crust chilling out in my freezer, waiting to be used. So I thought over the weekend would be a good time. Rarely do I try to come up with my own concoction, but I went for it this time.

First I baked the pie crust and let it cool. Then put down a layer of bananas.


Next up I melted some caramels with a bit of milk in the microwave and poured it on.


Then I made a big box of banana cream pudding--layer three. Smooth and creamy!


After that I put on another layer of banana slices, not quite as symmetrical as I'd like...


I put it in the fridge to set up and chill. As I served up the slices I added some whipped cream.


I was quite pleased with the results! I believe Lovebug enjoyed it as well.

To life... currently filled with snow days!

February's Theme is...

RED VELVET!!

Are you as excited as I am? I already have my recipe picked out. It's Red Velvet Cheesecake! It just might blow my mind! I think I'm going to try to make it on or for Valentine's Day. Doesn't it look like a wonderful choice? What will you pick? Let me know and join in on the fun!

In other news, for the month of January I completed 38.1 miles. A bit behind schedule, but I am still proud of my progress. You can see it down the left hand side of the blog. Also, last night during my run I set some new personal bests-- I completed mile #2 in 7' 53". I was shocked at myself! My goal is to get back down to a 7'30" mile which was my fastest in high school, and now that seems more and more possible. I think if I can keep losing some weight, it will make it much easier. Also, overall I completed 3 miles in 27' 15" which is also my fastest 3 miles yet. I was a bit stressed out due to the weather conditions and the possibility that Lovebug's flight would be cancelled (which it was) so it felt good to run hard and not have to think about it. Exercise is my stress-relief and I am going to try to keep it that way.

Today we're having a snow day. Dora is curled up on my lap so that is helping me keep warm. I think I'm going to make some lunch and watch a movie on Netflix -- hopefully it will download. Then on to do some Zumba this afternoon! Making the most of this snow day, with or without Lovebug.

To life... full of circumstances beyond my control.

It was "Snow" Good!

It's time for the review of our "Snow" recipes for January! I had four participants this month-- very exciting! Let's start with mine -- Shrimp Stir Fry with Snow Peas and Coconut Curry Sauce. It was so much better than I expected!

The cast of ingredients-- well a few of them...



There were several ingredients in this recipe that I had never used before. Red Curry paste, coconut milk, and fish sauce. It was a bit scary to combine such strange (to me) ingredients, but I did it nonetheless and I'm glad I did! Lovebug declared it a once-a-week meal. He also said we should use it as our go-to dish when we want to impress guests. Can you tell he really, really enjoyed it?!? Now on to a bit of the process.

Don't smell this... or read the ingredients. Just use it!



Cooking up the shrimpies



and brown rice



A vibrant wreath of green snow peas and red bell pepper cooking around the garlic and ginger!



Dump in the sauce and let it all cook together for a few minutes



Then serve this delicious dish over rice!



If these pictures look good, ask for the recipe. I think you will be impressed as well!

Up next, my sister made "Snow on the Mountain." A cake filled with fruit and covered with whipped cream! Although the process was strange, her family enjoyed it. Check out her post at My Strongest Life.

Our third recipe is from Mom! For this month's challenge, she made Lemon Snowdrop Cookies from THIS recipe. Her review: Deliciouso! The cookie part just melts in your mouth and the filling is so creamy, smooth and fresh tasting w/fresh lemon and lemon zest. And wrapped in a blanket of powdered sugar makes them delectable! I'm glad you enjoyed them Mom! Maybe I'll have to try them. I've never made a lemon cookie before.

Last, but not least, my friend Tara made: Christmas Snow Trash. It sounds, well, not that appealing. I mean, really? Trash? But if you want an easy snack to serve to a big group-- this one is SUPER simple and tastes great! We were both pleasantly surprised with the results.

Mixing it up



The end result: Yum!


Thanks for taking time to make a recipe this month ladies! I really appreciate your participation!! Come back on Tuesday to find the new challenge theme for February!

To life... full of snow!

A January Day

Hey Friends! I wanted to do a little post for today as I'm trying to post at least once a week, if possible. Seems like it could be a random thought/stream-of-consciousness type of day-- you ready?!? I made my snow recipe for January-- it was wonderful! This suprised me thoroughly due to the variety of ingredients that I have never used before and do not appeal to me. Case in point: Fish Sauce! I looked at the ingredients- that was a bad idea! I smelled it-- a worse idea! Then I just measured it out, closed my eyes, and poured it in. But more about that when I do my official "Snow" recipe posting in a few days.

I like to listen to music when I'm at work, it helps keep me motivated to work. I like to sing along and often wonder if anyone else can hear me. I sing a little louder when no one's in my office... then I wonder if my co-workers can hear me down the hall. Can you? Regardless, it helps me immensely. Currently playing: Kelly Clarkson, "Breakaway"... soulful, sing-a-long-worthy indeed! I also like to listen to music in the car. Recently I have been doing quite a bit of car dancing. Lovebug doesn't seem to mind when I yell in his ear, "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes, saying hey-oh, Baby Let's Go!" and proceed to do as the song instructs. It makes for an entertaining ride, no?!? I greatly enjoy the fact that I rarely have to drive because it provides many opportunities for previously stated car dancing. And it makes me happy :o)

I'm going to be making the cakes for a baby shower this weekend. A 9" monkey cake with about 50 cupcakes. I'm excited and also nervous. Survey Question: I'm making strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting. They have asked that I decorate it like a monkey. Typically I think of monkeys as brown, would a strawberry cake with chocolate frosting be ok?!? Please let me know your opinion. I need it!

Let me see if I can find a picture of something...



I hope we get at least one snow day this year. So far while I've been working here, we've gotten at least one each winter. Last year there were two in February, so I'm going to continue to hope!

I'm currently hungry-- trying to lose weight is not an entirely fun process. Hopefully I'll see some results soon, those motivate me to keep going. It's only January 26 and I need that motivation. I have actually been going up some recently, my clothes fit the same, so that tells me that I might be gaining muscles. Regardless, I still want it to go in the other direction. It's a daily choice and I'm trying to remember that. I can sometimes get overwhelmed thinking about how long it's going to take to lose a certain number of pounds, how many calories I can have each day, how many calories I have to burn to lose even one pound, and so on. But if I think, "Today I will eat this apple instead of that brownie" that seems much more achievable. I can make those choices. I will make those choices. I want to be healthy and each day I can choose to be-- it is up to me!

To life... full of snow, music, healthy choices, and listening to Sara Bareilles (right now!)

Cookie Dough Dip

You should make this!




Truly! I made a half batch last weekend and Lovebug and I finished it on Sunday. It was both magnificent and shocking :o)

The version above is chocolate chip. For the snack I brought to work today I also made a snickerdoodle version. I didn't get a picture taken, but I think I may have dumped in a wee bit too much cinnamon. All well, surely people will still eat it right?

There are several blogs that share this recipe. I used Brown Eyed Baker's recipe. But you can also go here for three more variations!

I plan to make my "snow" recipe this weekend, but I will wait to hear back from everyone before I do my posting on January 31st!

To life... full of cookie dough dip!