Lemon Blossoms

 I've never considered myself much of a girly girl.  My hair and makeup rarely takes longer than twenty minutes, I say 'dude' way more than I should, and I consider having to wear skirts and high heels some kind of medieval torture.

But, that doesn't mean that I don't like to be pampered, and if I have the funds, you best believe that I'd be getting myself massaged, facialed, and manicured on a regular basis.  So, when I found out that the youth in our church wanted to throw a spa party, I was on. board.

To my absolute delight, I was assigned to bring spa treats.  Where do I even begin?  I wanted something sweet, and dainty, and bite sized.  The perfect treat for primping.  Lemon blossoms?  No brainer.

 How can you not love a bite sized morsel of sunshine?  These take no time at all to make, are cute as heck, and taste so sweet and bright that you might actually see cartoon birds tweeting at your window.  Make them and enjoy dude!

Lemon Blossoms
By Paula Deen

Ingredients

1 (18.25 oz. box) yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz.) instant lemon flavored pudding mix

4 large eggs

3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons water

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray miniature muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, and 3/4 cup oil. Beat for 2 minutes. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into each muffin tin, and bake for 12 minutes. Turn the cakes onto a cloth towel.

In a medium bowl, sift confectioners' sugar. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, and water, stirring until smooth. Dip the cakes into the glaze while they are still warm, covering as much of the cake as possible. Place the cakes on a wire rack with wax paper underneath to catch the drips. Let the glaze set thoroughly before storing in an airtight container.

 

Cooking with my Blog Friends

How are you east coasters doing so far?!  Right now my kids and I are hunkered down in the living room with flashlights strapped to our foreheads, waiting for the eye of the storm.  I've got a pile of blankets, a bunch of candles and two loaves of bread.  That's what they tell you to stock up on for huge tropical storms, right?  So far it's just pretty nasty and drizzly, and I'm hoping that it doesn't get worse than that.  Unfortunately, I think it's probably wishful thinking.

Speaking of storms, I've been a tornado in the kitchen lately.  My schedule has me at home a lot more, and to keep myself occupied, I've been tackling so many of the recipes all of you have been putting out.  Each and every one has been a complete hit in our home, and they are all perfect for fall, especially if you need something to distract you from oncoming hurricanes!

All of the pictures below belong to the blogger who posted them.  They are not mine.

Taste and Tell: Homemade Tator Tots (Perfect for your leftover mashed potatoes.)

Two Peas and Their Pod Apple Cinnamon Granola

Mel's Kitchen Cafe Pumpkin Blondies

Mel's Kitchen Cafe Baked Spaghetti Pie

Mel's Kitchen Cafe:  Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (As you may have noticed, I've currently got a bit of a  crush on Mel's blog.  She can do no wrong!)

Epicurian Mom:  Eggplant Parmesan

Gonna Want Seconds: Fresh Apple Cake with Caramel Glaze

Eats Well with Others: Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

Recipe Shoebox:  Pork Chops with Apple Butter

Recipe Shoebox:  Homemade Granola Bites

Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice: Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese 

Stay safe east coasters!  We'll get through this together!

Watermelon Cake Balls

I know a lot of you food bloggers are already doing this, but you've got to check out pinterest.com. It's a really fun website full of ideas, and ways to file and bookmark your ideas for others to see. I've found a ton of great ideas, including these little babies.







I so wish I could have gotten a better picture of these, but when you're away from home and out of your element it doesn't always work out. The kids and I made these cake balls and they were as delicious as they were cute. I needed to hurry and post these because it's not too late, there's still two weeks left of summer, right? :)



Watermelon Cake Balls



Ingredients



1 strawberry cake mix, prepared according to directions

1 tub strawberry frosting, or vanilla frosting, colored red

1-1 1/2 chocolate chips

1 bag white almond bark

1 bad green chocolate melts (I like Wilton the best) or white chocolate colored green (be sure to add coloring BEFORE you melt it, otherwise the chocolate will seize)



Directions



Crumble cake mix into a large bowl. Add entire tub of frosting and chocolate chips, mix until completely combined. Roll into balls the size of a bouncy ball. Freeze for at least a half hour. Lay out a long sheet of wax paper on the counter. Melt your white chocolate (I usually melt the chocolate a third of the bag at a time). Using a spoon, completely dip the cake ball in chocolate, tapping off excess. Dry on wax paper. Repeat the same steps with green chocolate. Allow to dry and eat, after everyone admires the cuteness of course. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Happy Day of Love my friends! Throughout my life, Valentine's day and I have gone through a wave of good times and bad.

It's great when you're six and collecting sugar filled Valentine's from your friends.

Bad when you're sixteen, single and watching all of your friends take home flowers from their boyfriends.

Amazing when you're nineteen and have found the love of your life that you plan to spend forever and ever with.

Horrible when you're twenty one and realize that plans have changed.

And it's elating when you're twenty-eerhf and you wake up to the man and children that really have become your forever and ever. I still don't know how I got so lucky to have such a sweet family, I just love them!

But being the broke students that we are, Valentine's day is one holiday that we don't celebrate much. Usually a nice dinner suffices. And after visiting some amazing food blogs for ideas, here is what I plan to make.

Kim, one of my favorite blog friends from Stirring the Pot, completely knocked my socks off with this Triple Pork Split Pea Soup. Thick flavorful bright soup filled with three different kinds of pork. And as you'll remember, I do love pig!



I just barely met Megan from Food and Whine, but I already love her blog. She has these fun Jello Hearts that I know my kids will go nuts for.


And for dessert I turned to Deborah from Taste and Tell, who devoted some time experimenting with red velvet. It was so hard to choose what to choose from her lineup, but I finally decided on these Red Velvet and Strawberry Trifles because my daughter loves strawberries. How pretty do they look!


And that is how I will be spending my evening with the people that I love. I hope you all have a wonderful day with your loved ones too!