An awesome BBQ spread!!

Had the Family over for a BBQ! My Aunt and Cousin where out from Massachusetts, which was awesome! I have not seen them in 3 yrs, so was sooo happy to have them here! I spent the days prior baking away, recipes will be following above soon! but a slight preview of the spread! I baked Orange Zucchini bread, Pineapple Zucchini Bread, and Chocolate Zucchini Bars ( Yes.. we were working through the Gardens Zucchini!! I have 9 bags shredded in the freezer still!), I also made a Zucchini cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese icing which was amazing, cream cheese should always be made like this! A Peach Streusel pie, A big Pasta Salad, Grilled baby back Ribs, Grilled Chicken that was basted with a mix of my homemade jam and some Sweet Baby Rays sauce, Crispy Zucchini Sticks ( I know I know.. can we say Zucchini over kill!! but it was all eaten!!) and Corn on the cob.. and snacks!! was soooo Good!

It was a bit busy getting it all done, and that week I had spent a day in ER because I had a deep tissue infection haha.. so was a lot of work!! But seeing the spread and knowing I was going to be resting that night and all the next day was so worth it! I like being able to let the family sit back and relax.. and I enjoy cooking for others, so was a great chance to pamper them all! And did I mention I love working the Grill!! oh how I want a big.. HUGE gas grill of my own one day!! and a smoker.. oh yes I must have a smoker!!! My man must be willing to share the outdoor cooking abilities cause I soooo love it!!

and how could I not!! I mean even I have to say.. that is a damn good Pan of Meat!! any Carnivore would tear up that Pan! and Ohhh how I love me some baby back ribs.. the trick everyone, Put them on a foil lined pan, and in a heated oven set to 375, seasoned and covered with foil. Bake about 3 hrs depending on how many slabs you have, you want them tender, and you will be able to tell when they are, not falling off the bone quite, as you will loose that luscious meat on the grill. Pull them out, slather with your favorite sauce and Grill til caramelized, and Perfect baby backs, they were requested often when I was back in Indiana!

And now the deserts, all will be posted, but had to just post the spread haha.. It was so good, and yes we all had little bits of all of it!! we couldn't resist testing them all out, and seriously that Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing is BOMB!!! and the Peach Pie, heated up with Vanilla Ice Cream.. OMG!! haha SOOO good!!! Over all it was a day of swimming and great catching up! Loved the entire time, and I look forward to the next time I get to cook, grill or whatever for the next family get together or friend hang out!! Eventually it will be at my own place when I finally pull off getting back into one :) Will be my Ultimate Success in getting out and making it back home, and if things go as planned I will also my love sharing it with me :D

Chicken Lime Taco's

We have been all over trying new things, well technically had been but I have had some crazy health things come up and well the Blog was left with much to update haha.. So I am going to try to get it done in the next few days! 1 of the books we have been using is the Taste of home Comfort Food Diet cookbook. My friend Atlantis gave it to me when I was visiting Indiana this past summer. It is a great book! anyone that loves comfort food I definitely suggest it, Mom likes it because it is not fancy, it's down to earth ingredients. We eat a lot of Chicken, and this recipe is super easy!! And very tasty! I served the tacos in heated up corn tortilla's instead of the flour, but both work great!

1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 c frozen corn
1 c chunky salsa
12 fat free flour tortillas (6-in) warmed
toppings of choice.

Place the chicken in a 3 qt slower cooker. Combine lime juice and chili powder, pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Remove the chicken; cool slightly. Shred and return to the slow cooker. Stir in corn and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 30min or until heated through. Serve in tortillas with toppings of choice.

You may feel the urge to drain the liquid when you take out the chicken, I did, and I regretted it, you need the juices with the salsa and corn so it is not dry, but we added a little to make up for what I took out. It was great. Very tasty!!

I also went through the book and worked out all the Weight Watcher points for every meal, and this one is 3 pts per taco! not bad at all!! But the points are based on the tortilla's requested in the recipe, not my corn ones, and I so wished I had some Cilantro.. that would have made my little taco's perfect!

Fresh Salmon Burgers with Lemon tartar sauce!

I love Fish!! I do, almost any fish anyway I love it. I was married for several years and he hated fish, so I never got to make it and rarely got to eat it. Now I am free and home with my family, and they love fish too. Mom found this recipe for fresh salmon burgers and I was all over it! After making it, I will let you know that it takes a bit of time, skinning the fish and chopping it all, it definitely takes time. We are also not lemon people when it comes to our fish, so we decided next time we would leave out half the lemon, so that it was at least an accent and not so strong. To us the lemon over powered, but I would suggest if you like lemon with your fish, definitely give it a try!! The burgers were great and we definitely enjoyed them! We served them with the Crispy Zucchini Sticks from below. Another fave now :)

1 ½ pounds skinless salmon filet, finely chopped (I didn’t have skinless at my disposal, so we bought with skin and I got to skin it lol)

¼ c chopped fresh parsley, divided

2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill

7 scallions, thinly sliced, divided

2 ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest, divided

12 saltines, finely crumbled

 1 lg egg, beaten

½ tsp. salt

1 TB olive oil

¾ c light mayo

6 whole wheat sandwich buns

4 tsp lemon juice

Thoroughly mix salmon, 2Tbs. parsley, dill, 6 of the scallions, 2 tsp of the lemon zest, crackers, egg and salt in medium bowl. Divide into 6 equal portions and form into firm patties. Cover and refrigerate until ready to grill.

About 15 min before serving, preheat gas grill- all burners on high for about 10 min. Use a wire brush to clean grill rack, then use tongs to wipe a vegetable oil-soaked rag over it. Close lid and return to temperature.

Brush burgers with olive oil. Place burgers on hot grill rack; cook, covered, until first side develops impressive grill marks, about 3 minutes; Turn and grill, covered, on other side, 2-3 minutes, grill buns until spotty brown, just a minute.  

Meanwhile, mix mayonnaise, remaining parsley, scallion, lemon zest and the juice.

To serve, spread a portion of sauce over each bun half. Set burger on bottom, cap with bun top and serve immediately.

Asian night!

I was itching to test out my abilities with Asian Cuisine. I love Chinese food.. ok, any Asian food really. The family isn’t always game, but I could have it at least once a week, minimum! So in this post, I will put both the Pot Stickers that I made as well as the Pork Noodles! Which means a nice.. LONG post!!!

I have always wanted to test my abilities with Pot Stickers, I have actually only had them for the first time about 2 yrs ago at my fave restaurant in Elkhart, IN Jade Garden.. BOMB FOOD!!! So I found a recipe and went with it. I definitely need to work on my cooking abilities with them, my one problem was the pan I used was not completely non-stick, was a bit old, so they started sticking, and I think I left them in the steam too long, flavor wise they were fantastic. I will make them again, just to master cooking them! The noodles were fantastic too! You can really add any kind of vegetable to them, adjust to your taste buds, I would even say you could do the same with heat.

Pot Stickers:

1 c chopped Napa cabbage

1 c chopped spinach

¼ c minced green onions

1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger

½ tsp dark sesame oil

Dash of white pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 lb ground turkey breast

¼ lb peeled and deveined shrimp, chopped

24 round wonton wrappers

1 Tbsp canola oil, divided

2c fat-free, less sodium chicken broth, divided

Combine first 10 ingredients in a bowl. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time, (keeping the remaining wrappers covered with a damp towel to keep from drying out) spoon about 1 heaping tsp filling into the center of each wrapper. Moisten edges of wrapper with water and fold in half, pinching the edges together to seal.  Hold the sealed edge of the pot sticker between the thumb and first two fingers of each hand, forming 3 to 4 pleats along the seal. Place dumpling, seam side up, on a platter. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers to form 24 pot stickers.

Heat 1 ½ tsp canola oil in a large nonstick skillet.

Arrange 12 pot stickers, seam sides up, in pan, and cook for 30 seconds or until browned Add 1 cup of chicken broth to pan, cover and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and cook about 1 minute or until liquid evaporates. Remove the pot stickers from pan, cover and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining 1 ½ tsp canola oil, 12 pot stickers and 1 cup of brother.

Pork Noodles:

½ pound spaghetti noodles (calls for rice, I was lazy: P)

1 ½ lbs pork tenderloin

1/3 c low sodium soy sauce

2 Tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp grated peeled fresh ginger

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

1 (8oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, diced

4 cups coleslaw mix

1 (8oz) can sliced water chestnut, rinsed and drained

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 scallions, sliced

Cook the noodles according to the package directions.

Meanwhile, cut the pork in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1/4inch slices. Mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, and pepper flakes in a small bowl.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add half of the pork and cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink, 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining pork.

Spray the skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and bell pepper, cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 3 minutes. Add the coleslaw mix, celery, and water chestnuts; cook, stirring frequently, until the coleslaw is wilted, 1 minute. Stir in the soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil.

Add the reserved pork and garlic to the skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until frscallions; cook, tossing with tongs, until the noodles are hot, 1 min.

The whole meal was oh so tasty!!!

Blueberry crumb cake

I so need to post every day I cook or bake, instead of 3 in a day!! But.. so be it! Last week, I had to bake something, even if only once a week, I need to!! And this was it! Of course, that same Martha Stewart Food mag was the recipe! and there is at least one more recipe in it that I must make!!! Since I had the blueberries in the freezer this got made. It was sooo good, light and fluffy, tender crumb topping. Kudos Ms. Martha!!!


Blueberry Crumb Cake:

 4 Tsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c all purpose flour, and 1 tsp for blueberries
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
3/4 c sugar
1 lg egg
2/3c buttermilk
1 1/2 c blueberries

Streusel topping:
In a medium bowl, mix 1 c all purpose flour, 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp salt. Using your fingers, work in 1/2 c ( 1 stick) cold unsalted butter (cut into tablespoons) until large, moist crumbs form. Chill until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Make streusel topping, chill.

 In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 c flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg, beat until combined.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour, beat until just combined (batter will be very stiff)
In a small bowl, toss blueberries with remaining tsp flour. Fold berries into batter, pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with streusel topping. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Let cool completely and enjoy!

Was so tasty, and I can't see why other fruits couldn't be used, definitely other berries, and possibly apples or even pears!!

Carribbean Shrimp Packets

Another item from the Hungry Girl cookbook for Saturday nights meal, We were on a seafood kick! We served this over rice. And I will tell you there was a kick to it in the way of heat!! both were very good, and will be made again the soup in the previous post was my favorite of the two!

Caribbean Shrimp Packets:

1 tsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled, tails removed, deveined ( hmm I didn't realize this when mom put it together haha we used the cooked shrimp!)
one 20 oz can pineapple chunks in juice, drained
1 lg red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 c chopped onion
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 tsp salt or more to taste
2 dashes black pepper, or more to taste
1 Tbsp light whipped butter, melted
2 Tbsp brown sugar (not packed)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In a small bowl, dissolve cornstarch in lime juice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients except for butter and brown sugar. Add lime mixture, stir well, and set aside.
Add melted butter to the large bowl, and toss to coat. set aside.
Lay a large piece of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet and spray with nonstick spray. Place shrimp-veggie mixture in the center and spread it out a bit. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over everything. Place another large piece of foil on top. Fold together and seal all four edges of the two foil pieces, forming a well sealed packet.
Place baking sheet in the oven and bake for about 15min, until shrimp are opaque and cooked through. Allow packet to cool for a few minutes and the but to release steam before opening it entirely.
If yo ulike season to tate with additional salt and pepper.

Was very tasty, the whole night the food was great!! we served it over saffron rice ( yea it was just a simple packet haha) but we definitely will make this again, I can see adding some frozen veggies to it even! or other fish!

Seafood Chowder!

 We made this for dinner, well part of dinner on Saturday night. From one of mom's healthy books Hungry Girl. We like Seafood, and are all about some chowder. Well it's very simple, and to me a bit too thin to be called chowder so after this note, its soup in my head. It was sooo tasty, I had some left overs the next day and added some extra veggies. I can't see why you couldn't add more fish/seafood, or veggies to make it thicker. I would definitely increase the mashed potato flakes to at least 1 c. I didn't do much here, as I wanted to keep the points the same for mom, but if I make it with out points mattering, I would make it thicker and add more fish stuffs!! the flavor was awesome imo :)

2 14.5 oz can's fat free chicken broth
1 14.75 oz can cream style corn
2 6oz can lump crab meat, thoroughly drained
1 6 oz frozen fillet mild white fish ( such as tilapia or cod)
2 c (about 7 oz) frozen cooked ready to eat shrimp)
1 c frozen sweet corn kernels
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1/2 c plain light soy milk ( we actually just used fat free milk, which made it thin as well but still good)
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 c instant mashed potato flakes
1/4 c fat free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients except potato flakes and sour cream in the crock pot, and mix well. (yup, that fish fillet goes in whole!!)
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hrs or on low for 7-8 hrs.
Stir to break up the fish fillet. Add potato flakes and sour cream, and stir very well. If you like, season to taste with salt and pepper, enjoy!!

Seriously, I so dug the flavor of this soup!!!

Hazelnut Amaretti

My Best Friends Baby shower was Sat.. of course I just got to doing this cause I have been damn busy! last week was the others Grad Party, this week was the Baby shower, as well as my first week in class!! Anywho.. I made some cookies for the large gift basket they gave away, well my jam and zucchini bread went in it as well :) but.. I had acquired about 6 bags of hazel nuts! So I had been wanting to make these, and it was the perfect chance to do so! They are more like  hazelnut meringue to me than amaretti, but the almond extract is the amaretti I guess haha. Very easy to make, very light, airy and crispy.

Hazelnut Amaretti cookies:

1 1/4 c hazelnuts
3/4 plus 3 Tbsp confectioners sugar
1 tsp all purpose flour
2 egg whites
1/3 c granulated sugar
34 c granulated sugar
3/4 tsp almond extract
pearl sugar for topping


Preheat an oven to 300. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper.
In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, finely grind the hazelnuts (do not grind to a paste). Add 1/4 c  of the confectioners sugar and grind to a powder. Mix in the remaining 1/2 c plus 3 Tbsp confectioners sugar and the flour. Set aside.


In a bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the granulated sugar and beat until stiff, shiny peaks form. Fold in the almond extract and the nut mixture.

Spoon the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 in plain tip. Pipe the batter onto prepared baking sheet in mounds 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Using a wet finger, smooth the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with pearl sugar, if desired. (I couldn't find any.. but am still looking!!)
Bake until just beginning to brown, about 45min. Turn off the oven, leave the oven door closed and let the cookies dry for 30 min.

Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Store in a n airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month.


I liked them! again, very airy and meringue like! I think pecan would taste good as well!
I also made her a little 6 inch baby shower cake that I filled with my jam :) Vanilla layers with strawberry lemon marmalade filling.. and pretty little girl decorations!! I couldn't make a big one, but she got her own little one!!

I also dabbled in a bit of sewing. I attempted to make her some burp rags with a couple of matching Changing pads!! She is not typical girlie, so I wanted something that was her! I looked for pink skulls haha but they all had glitter and well to me babies and glitter do not mix!!! But I think I did ok, the camo may be my favorites!!
and because of that she got the Changing pad and matching burp cloth in Camo!! hahaha..the other matching set is the cute frogs and turtles in brown and greens.. its was just cute enough for a girl, but if some fluke baby girl is a boy well at least there is something she can use!!
I had fun and frustrations making them, but in the end I know she will love them, and some day I will figure out how to sew right!! At least I have my baking haha!!

Country Nectarine Pie

And this is why I love Cooking Magazines!! Cause eventually I will use recipes from them! This one comes from Cooking Club magazine, and its the newest issue. Stater's had nectarines on sale, and Mom was like hey I saw a pie recipe and brought them home hehe. So I went through it, and sure enough there it was. The awesome thing about this recipe, very little sugar!! its pastry and fruit! The perfect combo and just a great pie. Now.. for me the pastry was a little bland.. so I may try tweaking, a little lemon zest? or something to add a bit of punch to it, but over all it was great!

Country Nectarine Pie:

Dough:
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4-1/3 c ice water

Filling:
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
4 Tbsp sugar, divided
2 Tbsp ground almonds
1 1/2 lbs ripe but firm nectarines sliced (1/2 inch)


Pulse all dough ingredients except water in food processor until butter is size of peas. Add 1/4 cup ice water, pulse 3-4 times or until just  combined, adding additional water 1 tsp at a time as needed.
Shape into 6-inch flat round. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12-inch round 1/8 inch thick. ( I chilled the dough for about 10 min before rolling out, it was very hot in my kitchen!) Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet, refrigerate or freeze 20 minutes or until chilled. Heat oven to 400. Slide dough onto large rimmed baking sheet ( edges will hang over.) Combine 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp of the sugar and ground almonds in a small bowl; Sprinkle over dough, leaving 2 inch border around edge.

Arrange nectarine slices, rounded-side out, in overlapping concentric circles over almond mixture, starting from outside and working toward center. Fold edge of dough over fruit, pressing dough to fill any cracks if necessary. Sprinkle fruit and edge of dough with remaining 2 Tbsp sugar.
Bake 50-60 minutes or until crust is golden brown on top and underside and fruit is tender. Cover crust during last 5-10 minutes if browning too quickly. Cool 30-45 minutes or until warm, not hot.

I baked mine a bit longer, and ended up brushing cream around the edge's as I felt it was not browning enough. I may have added about 20 min even on to it, so just watch and gauge your own time :)
We really liked it and the sweetness of the fruit just shined through, the only thing missing was a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting through it! I would also like to use coarser sugar for the top, to get that sparkle when It comes out. I had a friend worried about how runny it would be, She said every time she tried nectarine pies the juices were crazy. So I was worried when it came out, I thought it looked like it was going to be that way and would need some tweaking, but after it set and we finally cut into it, NO JUICES!! it was perfectly firm! I really enjoyed my first ever Nectarine pie!! it actually reminded me more of a tart than a pie :) which was even better hehe.. I may even add some nutmeg and cinnamon on top next time. I think it would taste great with the sweetness of the fruit!

Either way it was a damn good pie and we will make it again :)

Crispy Parmesan Zucchini Sticks

We can definitely grow zucchini that is no joke. Last week I took 2 more of our zucchini and grated it up. I ended up with 9 bags of 2 c amounts in the freezer. that is 9 batches of bread haha.. we pulled off 2 more today, and still have another monster on the counter. So I just got a new magazine in the mail, and in it were a few uses for Zucchini! It was my Cooking Club magazine.. (see a fetish I keep telling people!!) My brother has been wanting fried zucchini, so when I saw this recipe I thought sure why not!! And began slicing. Thought they would taste good with our burgers!!
Crispy Parmesan Zucchini Sticks:

1/2 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs beaten
1/2 c panko
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
12 oz zucchini (1 med-large or 2 med-small) halved crossed-wise, each half cut into 1/2 inch sticks

Heat oven to 450. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Combine flour, 1/4 tsp of the salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in shallow dish.
Place eggs in shallow bowl. Combine panko, cheese, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and cayenne pepper in shallow dish. Dip zucchini in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Dip in egg, letting excess drip off. Roll in panko mixture, turning to coat all sides.
Arrange in a single layer on baking sheet, spray with olive oil cooking spray. Bake 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and tender. Serve immediately.

 I felt they were browning a little too quickly, so I turned the oven down to 410.. and we cooked them for about 35-45  min. Holy smokes they were tasty! Next time we will peel them. The coating to stick as well to the skin, but they were very good!! much healthier than the deep fried kind!! a little ranch and we are sooo good to go!!
I would definitely recommend them!

A proper Mixed Berry Crumble!

So.. a couple weeks ago, we made a mixed berry crumble from weight watchers. We were not happy that it called for a stick of butter. It was far too much butter and definitely left the crumb topping something to desire. So, since I did have some berries left from that wonderful Graduation Cake, I decided a new crumble was necessary! A few tweaks I did, and a fantastic crumble was created!!
And man does it ever smell good!! I will post the recipe as I made it, so this is my crumble cause it is very different this time!!

Mixed Berry Crumble

4 cups mixed fresh berries ( we had strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Use the mix you like!)
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c quick cooking oats
1-2 Tbsp sliced almonds
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
5 Tbsp + 1 tsp Splenda Brown sugar blend
1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 8/9inch square baking dish with pan spray and set aside. In a medium bowl mix berries, set aside.
In another medium bowl, mix together the Flour, Splenda brown sugar and cinnamon. Take 3 Tbsp of the flour mixture and sprinkle over the fruit. To the rest of the flour mixture add oats and almonds. Mix together. Add slowly the melted butter/margarine, stirring with a fork until the mixture becomes crumbly. will have clumps of mixture, but it will all be crumbs and moist. Like a true Crumb topping. Place in heated oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden and berries are bubbling. It's perfect!!! definitely doing to be our normal crumble recipe!!

The party!

Short and sweet!! Sweet because there was Cake!! For the cakes for the Grad party. She wanted simple, Half sheet of vanilla cake topped with berries!! I did a basket weave design around the sides of the cake, with a nice swirly board. And covered the top with an abundance of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries. Buttercream icing of course!! I did go lazy and totally bought a bucket of Wilton Smooth White Buttercream for the occasion hehe.. And it was a great icing!!! We all were very pleased. I pulled off a wonderful light cake! and it went so well with the berries. Perfect for a warm summer day!! When we un-boxed the cake, the berries smelled fantastic!! Those berries at room temperature for a few hours brought out their sweetness.  The colors popped with freshness. Everyone couldn't wait to eat it!! I will not deny that it had been quite a while since I had baked and decorated any kind of cake, so with all that I had done this week, and pulling that cake out for her made me very proud. There were even a few phones pulled out for pic's of the simple Berry cake of awesomeness!!

I also made her a 6in cake. Her birthday was in June, and we were both very busy. Didn't get to see her until the graduation party in fact! So I took the chance to make her a little cake to take home. I took the 6inch layers and torted them, and filled each with my home made strawberry jam. It gave the cake a wonderful height!! Anytime you have the chance to Torte and fill a cake, so do it. The presentation is wonderful!! Now I like to bake my cakes, torte them, then freeze them. A freezer is every bakers best friend!! Icing a frozen cake yields a perfect outcome! Wrapped properly, a cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. When thawed, it is perfectly fresh and wonderful!! I did my crumb layer and then iced it with just a few flower on top. Wanting it simple, I stuck with all white. Well, I kept looking at it and felt it was far too wedding cake like. So, I added some swirls and dots and poof! Party cake of simplicity!!

She was very happy to have one to take home. The half sheet was a huge hit, and in fact was barely enough. We planned for 50 people, and I think there maybe have been only 30. We had about 4 pieces left, so it was a very good thing that I had one for her to take home! Over all, I think her party was a hit!! I am very proud of her, and so blessed to have her as my awesome friend!! Her family as well!!