Diego and Dora Birthday Cake...

Benjamin and Ada celebrated their 4th and 2nd birthday with a Diego and Dora Birthday party. I made his cake for both their friends' party and the relative party. This cake was by far the easiest to make.

Forgotten Birthday Cakes...

When making the kids' birthday cake this year I realized that I never posted last year's cakes. Benjamin had a dinosaur birthday cake while Ada celebrated her first birthday with a pink teddy bear cake.

Crockpot Roasted Herbed Chicken

1 whole chicken (2-3 pounds)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
2 Tblsp. fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp. dried rosemary)
Garlic (to your liking)
1/4 cup white wine
1 small pat margarine, melted
small, red potatoes, cubed
fresh green beans
salt and pepper to taste

Clean the chicken and pat dry. Add chicken to crockpot. Drizzle the chicken with margarine and then rub with garlic, and sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired. Add more garlic, wine, and red potatoes. Add the green beans on top of the potatoes and sprinkle rosemary on top of chicken and green beans. Garnish the top of the chicken with lemon wedges. Cook on low for 8 hours.

I usually make this with the whole chicken, but today I'm going with what I have on hand, which happens to be chicken breasts. I also leave out the potatoes and green beans occasionally.

German Apple Cake with Caramel Frosting

2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups peeled, diced apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9 x 13 cake pan.

Beat oil and eggs with mixer until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat well.

Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Slowly add this mixture to the egg mixture and mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the apples by hand using a wooden spoon. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a wire rack. Frost when cool.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tblsp. milk
3 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in saucepan, stir in the brown sugar and the salt. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the milk, stirring the whole time.

Return to heat and bring just to a boil again. Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm (about 20 minutes). Stir in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth, and cool enough to spread. Add a few drops of milk if frosting gets too stiff.

This cake is unbelievable!! We couldn't get enough, which isn't exactly good for the waistline, but it is a must try!

Mudballs

Ever had No-Bake cookies? These are a healthier version I found on Heavenly Homemakers blog. They are really pretty good considering I'd never used wheat germ or sesame seeds:) I've heard that you can sub out the sesame seeds for sunflower or flax seed for the wheat germ. Maggie loved them and calls them her "meatballs". They keep great in the freezer too!

Ingredients

1/4 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/4 cup chocolate chips

1/4 cup sesame seeds

Combine PB and honey is medium saucepan over medium heat until the two are smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and stir together well. Once chocolate chips have melted and mixture is cool enough to handle, hand roll into small balls. Wax paper is handy but not necessary. I got about 2 dozen balls out of these equivalents and it wasn't nearly enough! I'd double for sure next time.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup oil (I use 1/2 cup oil an 1/2 cup applesauce to cut down on the fat)
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar (I use 2 cups white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar)
2 cups shredded zucchini
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tblsp. ground cinnamon (I add a dash of nutmeg too)
1 pint (2 cups) blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 4 mini loaf pans, 2 large loaf pans, or a 9 x 13 pan (I usually use the 9 x 13 pan).
In a large bowl beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Put in pan.

Topping: Put on before baking
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 stick soft butter

Bake 50 minutes or until knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pan.

I tried this with the mini loaf pans and it exploded all over my oven. Next time I will not fill them as full and I will place a cookie sheet underneath to catch and drippings. This is yummy!

Orange-Chicken Rice Bowl

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips/pieces
1/4 cup Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
1/4 cup orange juice
3 cups frozen stir-fry vegetables
3 cups hot, cooked rice

Directions: Heat a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; stir-fry 5 to 7 minutes or until done. Stir in dressing and juice. Bring to a boil. Add vegetables; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through, stirring occassionally. Serve over rice.

We loved this! Next time, I will probably add a little more orange juice and dressing to make more liquid to cover the rice. If you like stir-fry--you will love this!