Grosgrain: Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron Guest Giveaway

Seriously - Who wouldn't want this? So Cute!

For a chance to win. Click here to go to Shabby Apple dresses and accessories.

New Recipes I have tried

I recently made this Apple Cider Cake from Brandy at I'm Not Your Average Soccer Mom. So easy and so so delicious.

Also, I made this cake from Paula Deen's Best Desserts Magazine out this month for a little tea party the girls and I had (it was a huge hit) :

Double Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Makes 1 (10inch) fluted cake

1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix

1 (5.9 ounce) box instant chocolate-flavored pudding mix

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream

1 (12 - ounce) bag mini chocolate morsels

Garnish: confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 to 15 cup fluted pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, and sugar. Add water, oil and eggs. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in sour cream and chocolate morsels. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Garnish with confectioners' sugar.

So yummy!

Visiting Tucson?

This is a must stop for breakfast! Really I am serious.  Really good food.  Homemade bread, crepes of all kinds.  My personal favorite: Homemade Apricot Jam.  Oh it is so yummy! Like my Grandma's ( I wish I had that recipe ).

The Hubs and my girls took me here for Mother's Day.  Yay! I hadn't been in a year or so. It is a bit of a drive for us but we made a weekend trip out of it because my man knows how much I love this place. 

Yummy Chocolate Cake (Dairy and Egg Free)

My youngest has food allergies and when it comes time for birthdays I feel so bad for her. Well I did until we found this recipe which I have had for awhile but got it just right enough to share.  All the girls have approved as well as the hubs.

3 Cups flour ( I use 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour)

1 1/2 Cups brown sugar

1 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons salt

2 Cups water

1/4 cup oil

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients then add the wet and mix until smooth.  Bake @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes in a Large Muffin  or 18 for a small muffin pan if making cupcakes and if you are making a cake be sure to check it around 20 minutes.  The key is to not over bake them otherwise they are too dry and these should be very moist. 

I received this recipe from a friend and tweaked it just a little and now my little one can enjoy cake too.  

For dairy free frosting: I use a couple of Tablespoons of Smart Balance Light ( the light doesn't have whey but the other one does ) and powdered sugar.  I don't measure but it was probably like a 1/2 of cup or so of sugar.

I Think I Am In Love

I was just smitten but now I am in love:
I hate cooking rice on the stove top - it never comes out right.  Not done or too done, even with a heat deflector.  So I bought this and rice is perfect - every time.  I was smitten when I did white rice but I fell in love when I cooked brown rice.  So easy, and easy to clean with no spill over or mess on the counter.  Fantastic find. Want to check it out, go here.

Tuesday Treats

Maybe one day I will have the time to do this blog the way I want but for now I will just post when I can and call it a work in progress!  I haven't really been cooking or baking as much as I want to. :(  Just been putting some meals together last minute. That is what happens when you have three young daughters and home school, I guess.  I think that I might actually be the work in progress these days.

Life is crazy! For instance I put on a pot of beans walked over to my computer and forgot about them and voila - burnt beans. Lovely!  

For now just a little treat. If you are ever in the neighborhood of Santa Ysabel, California (just a hop skip and a jump away from Ramona) make sure you stop into one of my favorite bakeries.

or just click on the picture and head on over there now from your current seat and order some yummy bread or their most wonderful Fruit Bars.  I am going to as soon as I am done posting this. TTFN