tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67818905840437467372024-03-13T07:51:27.404-07:00Something Quite....DomesticHelping you create tradition and discover your own kind of domestic.Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-7382936706912327462015-02-16T12:47:00.000-08:002015-02-16T12:47:23.261-08:00Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Something Quite Domestic</td></tr>
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One of my Facebook friends posted a new recipe and raved about it. I'm always on the hunt for a tasty crockpot dinner that used fresh ingredients and not just a bunch of canned everything. I also love using my slow cooker because it saves time and makes effortless dinners, which I need 99.9% of the time.<br />
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The one thing I don't love about slow cookers is that the food looks so boring after cooking. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind if awesome tasting food looks a little ugly, but sometimes it just needs to be dressed up a little. I don't love a bunch of brown matter slopped on top of carbohydrates. I like slicing the chicken the first and then serving it on top of the sauce. Make sure to garnish with green onions or other green herbs to give it some color (cilantro would taste awesome, too.). If I would've thought about it I would have layered it this way: rice, then sauce, then purple cabbage, then chicken, then green onions and sesame seeds.<br />
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This is the <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/slow-cooker-teriyaki-chicken-teriyaki/">original recipe</a> and I adapted it slightly. I found that after cooking, some of the flavors were meshed together a little too much, so I brightened them up a bit by adding some lemongrass and more fresh ginger right before serving. I also love using Ultra Set (modified corn starch like Clear Jel, but the liquid doesn't have to be hot to thicken) because it doesn't go watery when it cools or when you reheat leftovers. And who doesn't love leftovers? Ok, well if you are one of those "I'm-too-cool-for-leftovers" people, then I'm not sure we can be friends. Kidding. Ok, maybe I'm not. No, but really, I love leftovers and you could make a lot of fun things with the leftover chicken. You could make chicken sandwiches with slaw, Asian chicken salad, teriyaki won tons, lettuce wraps, etc., so you want to thicken it with something that won't break down during heating and cooling and I find regular corn starch just doesn't work as well. Seriously, can you tell that I love Ultra Set? I bought it at my local kitchen supply place (Kitchen Kneads) and I know you can buy Clear Jel online, but you'll just have to make sure your liquid is hot when thickening. I also love using Ultra Set for homemade canned pie fillings, but that will be for another post.<br />
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<u><b>So here's what you'll need:</b></u><br />
-4 large chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.)<br />
-3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced<br />
-1/2 c. white onion, chopped<br />
-1/2 c. honey<br />
-1/4 c. brown sugar<br />
-2/3 c. soy sauce<br />
-1/2 c. rice wine vinegar<br />
-1/4 tsp. black pepper<br />
-2 TBS freshly grated ginger (do not use powdered)<br />
-1/4-1/3 c. Ultra Set or Clear Jel<br />
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<u><b>To add right before thickening and serving:</b></u><br />
-1/2 TBS freshly grated ginger<br />
-2 TBS brown sugar<br />
-2 TBS soy sauce<br />
2 TBS rice wine vinegar<br />
-optional: 1-2 tsp. lemongrass<br />
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<b><u>Garnish:</u></b><br />
-Green onions<br />
-Sesame seeds (black and white mixed would look awesome)<br />
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1. Place chicken breasts in the bottom of crock pot. Whisk garlic, onion, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, pepper and ginger together. Pour over chicken. Cover crockpot.<br />
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2. Cook on high for 4 hours, or until chicken pulls apart easily. If you have the time and are home, cook on high for 2 hours and then turn down to warm for 4-5 hours. The "low and slow" method makes the chicken extra juicy and help prevent dry chicken.<br />
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3. Remove chicken from crockpot using a slotted spoon. Stir in the extra ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce and vinegar. Add lemongrass, if desired, for an extra layer of flavor. Stir in Ultra Set.<br />
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4. Serve with sticky rice and a side of steamed veggies. Slice or shred chicken. Top rice with teriyaki sauce. Place sliced chicken on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions. Or you can shred chicken, combine with sauce and then top over rice. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Something Quite Domestic</td></tr>
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I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's one that has been added to our regular rotation. Here's the<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/crockpot-teriyaki-chicken?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> printable recipe. </a><br />
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<a data-pin-config="none" data-pin-do="buttonBookmark" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/"><img src="https://assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" /></a><br />
<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>Happy Cooking!<br />
<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-80857268180082747192015-02-07T12:55:00.003-08:002015-02-07T12:55:49.716-08:00Easy Rainbow Birthday Party Theme<div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PDCtE9U8z1Y/VM6UoyZ1OyI/AAAAAAAAAnM/YoOaEazqHwY/s1600/bday%2Bgirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PDCtE9U8z1Y/VM6UoyZ1OyI/AAAAAAAAAnM/YoOaEazqHwY/s1600/bday%2Bgirl.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>So I'm about a year late blogging Kyn's 4th birthday party, but better late than never, right? Kyn wanted to have a birthday party for her 4th birthday and I didn't want to plan one. I was pregnant, uncomfortable, tired, stressed with my job, and a bunch of other stuff going on. She wanted to have a few friends over and I just didn't have the energy to plan a huge party. </div>
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I took the advice of my Mom. She reminded me that all parties don't have to be like the ones found on Pinterest and kids enjoy simple things. I swear I make things way more complicated than they need to be. </div>
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Kyn was obsessed with rainbows at the time and asked for a rainbow birthday party. Unlike her 3rd <a href="http://www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/03/brave-birthday-party.html">Brave birthday party</a>, this would be much simpler. Honestly, I have to remind myself that most of the amazing birthday parties that I love reading about have a huge staff of people to pull them off: cooks, bakers, decorators, professional photographers, etc. And not that I don't love planning birthday parties, but sometimes I just need simple. I am not super mom and I'm okay admitting that. </div>
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The party was SO fun! It was fun and easy to plan, I bought most of the decorations from the dollar store, and the kids had a ball. I appreciate that children enjoy simple things. This party was a blast and the kids had so much fun. I literally planned and executed everything in a day and it was all last minute. She got fun gift and we all enjoyed our friends and family that came to wish her a happy birthday. My baby is getting so big. Where does the time even go? </div>
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Here's what we did:</div>
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<u>The decor</u>: I went to the dollar store and went to the party section and bought plastic rectangle table coverings in all of the rainbow colors. I bought a package of balloons and made a little bouquet of them for the top of the backdrop. I taped all of the table coverings to the wall and then let them swoop down and secured them to the floor. I placed the balloon bouquet at the top and placed a "Happy Birthday" banner underneath the balloons. I bought a birthday balloon table covering for the main table and accented with balloons of all colors. </div>
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<u>The cake:</u> Kyn really wanted a rainbow cake just like her 3rd birthday. As a surprise I made a pinata cake filled full of skittles. I got the idea from this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbhwQk8Q-J0">YouTube video</a>. The concept is really simple: you make 3 round cakes. The middle layer you cut out a hole, fill full of skittles, M&Ms, etc., place the top layer and frost. I decorated the top with Skittles and made a rainbow. I used marshmallows for the clouds. It was so fun to cut into it and Kyn's face when all the candy fell out. :) I made a marbled rainbow cake and the kids loved it. I used the concept from <a href="http://cabmgmnt.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Make-a-Rainbow-Birthday-Cake">Hub Pages</a>. I loved how colorful in turned out! The marbled cake takes time to do, so if you are in a pinch, you could do 3 different colors and it would still tie into the theme. </div>
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I also make rainbow cupcakes using this <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/rainbow-bright-cupcakes-401424">idea</a>. They turned out super cute and were perfect for one of the planned activities. </div>
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<u>The activities</u>: We let the kids make <a href="http://www.thingstoshareandremember.com/rainbows-summer-fun-week-1/">Fruit Loop necklaces</a>. We had several bowls of cereal on the table and pieces of yarn cut ahead of time for each guest. Smaller kids sometimes have a difficult time stringing the Fruit Loops so we made sure to put a piece of tape at each end.</div>
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The second activity that we did was let the kids decorate the rainbow cupcakes. We had all sorts of rainbow colored candies: Skittles, M&Ms, sprinkles, rainbow Twizzlers, marshmallows, Pixie Sticks, Gummy Starbursts, and SweetTarts. If you have a bulk store in your area (I LOVE Winco) you can probably find all sorts of fun colored candies for decorating with. We made each of the kids a little bag with candy so that it was easier for them to decorate and helped control the candy chaos. I used the leftover frosting from the cake and we let the kids go to town. I think more candy ended up in their bellies than on the cupcakes, but hey, that's what parties are for! </div>
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<u>The favors</u>: I bought the rainbow Twizzler licorice, marshmallows, and snack-sized zip baggies. I put some licorice in the bag in the shape of a rainbow and put marshmallows for the clouds. I stapled a cloud with each guest's name on it in rainbow colors. This was a really fast and simple "thank you" for each guest that came. I loved personalizing them, too. </div>
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Kyn had so much fun with her friends and family. She got an Anna doll, a Hello Kitty spa set, some movies and a bunch of fun toys. </div>
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<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-51827393511575722512015-01-30T20:24:00.000-08:002015-01-30T20:51:24.362-08:00Chocolate Flan Cake (AKA Magic Cake)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Dirk and I love trying flan at different Mexican restaurants in our area. It's fun to see the unique ways people make it and how different they all are. Two of my brothers introduced me to this cake. I never tried making it because it seemed too complicated and I didn't want to spend all day baking one thing. </div>
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Oh, fear not! You do need to plan a little bit in advance because this cake tastes the best when it's chilled overnight, but it's easy to make. This cake preps in less than 30 minutes, bakes in about an hour and in a pinch you could chill it for a few hours before you serve it. </div>
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Why do they call it "Magic Cake"? Because of science and chemistry the two layers switch places during baking. This cake is really fun to make with kids because when you put it in the bundt pan the chocolate batter goes in first and then the flan batter goes on top. During the baking process the flan sinks to the bottom and the cake rises to the top, all in 2 beautiful, distinct layers. Then when you plate it, the flan will be on the top and the chocolate cake on the bottom. It made for a fun experiment and lesson while we baked the cake and a great opportunity to discuss basic principles of chemistry. :)</div>
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The sky is the limit with this cake. You can experiment with different extracts, different flavors of cake, etc. </div>
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So another thing, this recipe uses cateja which is caramelized milk. You can make your own or you can go to the Hispanic section of your supermarket and buy it already made if you are pressed for time. </div>
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Okay.<u> Here's what you need:</u></div>
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-Large bundt pan (at least 12 cup size)</div>
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-Large roasting pan</div>
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-1 can of cateja (can make your own as listed below or buy in the Hispanic section of most supermarkets)</div>
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<u><b>Cateja</b></u></div>
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-1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk</div>
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Place unopened can into a large pan and fill pan with water ensuring to cover can completely. Cover pan and bring water to a boil. Turn heat down to med-low and boil can for 3-4 hours. Add more water as necessary to cover can of milk. Remove can from hot water with tongs and allow can to cool. Open can and voila! You have cateja! You can do several cans at the same time so that you can keep some on hand.</div>
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<u><b>Cake:</b></u></div>
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-1/2 c. unsalted butter, plus 2 TBS at room temp</div>
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-1 c. sugar</div>
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-1 egg, at room temp</div>
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-1 tsp. dark rum</div>
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-1 tsp. vanilla extract</div>
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-4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted</div>
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-1/3 c. cocoa powder (if you can find dark chocolate that works best)</div>
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-1 3/4 c. flour (best if you can use 1 c. cake flour and the rest all-purpose. I have used all all-purpose and it still works out great.)</div>
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-3/4 tsp. salt </div>
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-3/4 tsp. baking soda</div>
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-3/4 c. baking powder</div>
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-1 1/4 c. buttermilk</div>
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<b><u>Flan:</u></b></div>
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- 1 (12 oz.) can of evaporated milk</div>
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- 1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk (splurge for a good brand)</div>
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-3 large eggs, at room temp</div>
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-4 oz. of cream cheese, at room temp.</div>
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-1 TBS vanilla extract</div>
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<u><b>Garnish:</b></u></div>
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-1/4 c. pecans, chopped</div>
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-1/4 c. cateja</div>
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-1 TBS whole milk</div>
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1. Fill roasting pan with 1 inch of water and place in oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bundt pan with 1 tsp. of butter. Warm 1/2 cup of cateja in the microwave and pour on bottom of the bundt pan. Try not to get on the sides of the pan.</div>
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2. Prepare the cake. Place sugar and butter in a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to beat together until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix to combine. Next add the rum, vanilla extract and melted bittersweet chocolate and mix until incorporated. In a separate bowl sift or use a wire whisk to combine the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to bowl and half of the butter milk into the egg mixture. Repeat again. Add the last 1/3 of flour mixture and beat until incorporated. The batter will be thick. Carefully spoon the mixture into the bundt pan on top of the cateja. Be careful to avoid spilling the batter on the sides. </div>
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3. Prepare the flan. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds until well combined. Carefully and slowly pour the flan mixture on top of cake batter in the bundt pan. Cover bundt pan with foil. Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully place bundt pan into the water bath. Make sure that the water comes up at least an inch on the bundt pan. Add more hot water to roasting pan if necessary. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Something Quite Domestic</td></tr>
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4. Place roasting pan back into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the cake top bounces back or a toothpick comes out clean. Remove roasting pan from oven and remove bundt pan from water bath. Transfer cake to a wire rack and allow the cake to rest in the pan to room temperature, about 2 hours and then refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.</div>
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5. After the cake is chilled, place 1/3 bottom of the bundt pan in a bowl of hot tap water for about a minute. Invert cake on to a cake platter. Microwave the cateja and milk for about 10-15 seconds. Stir until combine and add more milk if necessary to get the a good consistency so that you can drizzle it on the top of the cake. (You want it thick, but just thin enough to drizzle.) Drizzle the cake with cateja and sprinkle with toasted pecans. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_4cvt-DEZQ/VMxWV-vuXxI/AAAAAAAAAmw/LAfQHUXWpGA/s1600/cake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v_4cvt-DEZQ/VMxWV-vuXxI/AAAAAAAAAmw/LAfQHUXWpGA/s1600/cake2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Something Quite Domestic</td></tr>
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Enjoy a little slice of heaven! The cake is slightly dense and fudgy and the flan is creamy and delicate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jib3JMFu_L8/VMxWWM2DuvI/AAAAAAAAAmY/kwW6fsV2-7E/s1600/slice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jib3JMFu_L8/VMxWWM2DuvI/AAAAAAAAAmY/kwW6fsV2-7E/s1600/slice.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!<br />
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Here's the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/home/chocolate-flan-cake?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.</div>
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Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-59815687923146179042015-01-30T19:01:00.004-08:002015-01-30T19:01:46.219-08:00ResolutionsHey friends!<div>
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I made a resolution to keep up on my blogging this year. This past year has been crazy and I need to make more time to blog my recipes. I admire all of the mothers that have their life put together, but I am a ball of crazy amongst controlled chaos. So much life is happening in our families, personal life and in our careers right now and my hobby got lost in the shuffle. El is getting so big and I can't even believe it! She has a difficult time sleeping well at night, so we are trying to adjust. Some days I feel like I still have a newborn and I don't know if I'm coming or going. I'm learning to live on a little sleep and trying to get back to the routine of life, but I'm not that great at it. Ha! Good thing for new resolutions!<br /><br />Thanks to all of you still following along and asking when I'm going to post more recipes. Blogging has been an enjoyable hobby and I'm going to make more time for it.<br /><br />I just finished perfecting a recipe, so stay tuned. I should have it posted tonight. </div>
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Love, </div>
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J</div>
Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-85004671083508858732014-06-26T16:57:00.002-07:002014-06-26T16:57:54.146-07:00Introducing.....<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5F2iRbh9idg/U6yxK_3hAPI/AAAAAAAAAlw/5FSR3ha3l-8/s1600/birth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5F2iRbh9idg/U6yxK_3hAPI/AAAAAAAAAlw/5FSR3ha3l-8/s1600/birth.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>Holy cow you guys! I have been MIA and I'm sorry about that, but there's a good reason. Our family has expanded! Just know this post has absolutely nothing to do with a recipe. :)<br />
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Most of you know that we didn't find out the sex of our baby while I was pregnant, so it was a fun surprise and gave us a lot of anticipation. My labor went amazingly! It was a quick, intense, and empowering 3 hours of awesomeness! I've wanted to have a natural birth with my previous children, but the stars never aligned. My first was a c-section and my 2nd was a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). When we got pregnant this time we were both healthy and I had a previous successful VBAC so I knew this was my chance to have the birth I've dreamed about. We had an awesome water birth our local <a href="http://www.arrivalsbirthservices.com/">birth center</a> with the best midwives, Chris Miller and Martina Craner. It was the coolest experience! We had an incredible doula, Andie Henthorn, from <a href="http://birthritedoulaservices.wordpress.com/about/">BirthRite Services</a> that that was my right-hand lady. The midwives, Andie and my husband were the best birth support team that I could've hoped for! So needless to say, I've been spending the last several months preparing for our birth and have neglected my blog.<br />
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We welcomed another daughter, Elli Jo, to our family. She was a whoppin' 9lbs. and was 21.5 inches. Her birth was the most beautiful experience and I thank God for letting me experience it. I think her birth has sparked a new passion for me, so we'll see where it leads. I wanted to give a shout-out to our amazing photographer, Tara Jugler, with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/snapblossomphotography">Snap Blossom Photography</a> for capturing our birth story and doing a fantastic job on our newborn photos. We will treasure them!<br />
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Thanks for following along even though I've been a slacker. I'm excited to share some fun, new recipes with you!<br />
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Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-12505178156608389112014-03-04T12:25:00.001-08:002014-03-04T12:30:01.020-08:00Healthy Almond Joys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ow78qUkMsHI/UxY1bff48RI/AAAAAAAAAlM/UKrjMaU-acs/s1600/almond+joys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ow78qUkMsHI/UxY1bff48RI/AAAAAAAAAlM/UKrjMaU-acs/s1600/almond+joys.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I can't believe it's been months since I've blogged. I guess I'm not very good at balancing my life! :) Many of you haven't heard, but the SQD family is growing! Our baby is due in June, so needless to say life has been busy.<br />
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Before I got pregnant I was following a whole-food plant-based diet. I also gave up all processed sugar for 2 months! Can you believe it? I can't. Ha! These little Almond Joys got me through my bad sugar cravings and they are so packed full of nutrients. It's ridiculous that these are actually good for you. I make these for potlucks and family gathering and they are always a hit. I have made them individually and also as a 9x13 pan of bars. Either way, they taste great. Almond Joy is my favorite candy bar and these little treats have it beat! This recipe was adapted from my Health Coach, Cynthia Sumner. Side note: if any of you are looking for an awesome online Health Coach, check out Cythia's site <a href="http://www.greenhealingleaf.com/">Green Healing Leaf</a>. Her program changed my life.<br />
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For those of you that are into "clean" eating or even Paleo, most of these ingredients may be familiar to you. Most can be purchased at a health-food store, bulk-food store or even Costco. I buy my pure maple syrup, coconut oil and chia seeds at Costco. I buy the macaroon coconut and Cacao powder at my local health-food store. I also make my own almond flour in my Vitamix or you can purchase that at a health-food store also.<br />
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Every time I share this recipe, people always ask me, "What is cacao powder? Is it the same as cocoa powder?" Cacao powder is basically chocolate in the raw and the "fruit" of the Cacao tree. It is very strong and kind of bitter on it's own.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Raw cacao is an excellent source of essential fatty acids, </span>antioxidants<span style="font-family: inherit;">, fiber, iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, calcium and sulfur.</span> Cocoa powder is what we commonly see in grocery stores and use in our baking. Cocoa powder is basically the cacao bean that has been heated, roasted and processed. Because of this nearly all of the nutrients and antioxidants have been stripped away. Cacao powder is expensive (typically $16-$17 for 1 lb.) but a little goes a long way, so it lasts.<br />
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I hope you enjoy these as much as we do. This is one of our family's favorite raw treats. My kids love helping make them, too. If you'd like to see more raw treats or raw recipes, please leave me a comment. :)<br />
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<u>Here's what you need</u>:<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white;">3 c. finely shredded, unsweetened coconut (I use unsweetened macaroon coconut)</span><br />
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1 1/2 c. almond flour (just blend or process whole, raw almonds into a
flour in a high-powered blender)<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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3/4 c. pure maple
syrup <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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1/4 c. raw honey</div>
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1/3 c. softened
coconut oil<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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1 tsp. vanilla extract</div>
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1/2 tsp.sea salt<o:p></o:p></div>
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3 T. chia seeds</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><u>Chocolate Sauce:</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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3/4 c. coconut
oil, melted</div>
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4 T. cacao
powder<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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1 tsp. vanilla extract</div>
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1/4 c. pure maple syrup, room temp<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. Combine coconut, almond flour, maple syrup, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and chia seeds in a large bowl. Stir well until combine. Roll into balls. Place in freezer to set up. </div>
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2. Make the chocolate sauce by combining coconut oil, cacao powder, vanilla and maple syrup together. </div>
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Stir until smooth, drizzle over almond joy balls, top with an almond and
a little shredded coconut and freeze until set. </div>
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3. Store these in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to serve. Makes about 45 almond joys.<br />
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<a data-pin-config="none" data-pin-do="buttonBookmark" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" /></a>
<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Printable recipe <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/almond-joys?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">here</a>.</div>
Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-72852709830067729442013-11-09T09:08:00.000-08:002014-03-04T12:30:58.401-08:00Savory Pull-aparts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9UIeJDYVtNc/Unf0e7h86JI/AAAAAAAAAk0/uMf0JVmOMqY/s1600/savory1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9UIeJDYVtNc/Unf0e7h86JI/AAAAAAAAAk0/uMf0JVmOMqY/s320/savory1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
This last week was a little chilly which makes me crave soup. I wanted to make some homemade bread for dinner, but wanted something quick and easy. I love Monkey Bread, so I thought making some savory pull-aparts would be fantastic. If you missed my post on <a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/11/monkey-bread.html">Monkey Bread</a>, check it out. Those are also super yummy. This was an experiment gone right and my family loved it. If you haven't tried my Mom's recipe for multi-purpose bread dough, it's a must. It's great for pizza crust, <a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/11/monkey-bread.html">Monkey Bread</a>, cinnamon rolls, bread sticks, dinner rolls, etc. It comes together quickly and you don't have to knead it a long time. I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's perfect with soup and will be a total hit with your family.<br />
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Here's what you need:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<u>Multi-purpose bread</u></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 1/2 C warm water (about 120 degrees. You don't want it hot or it can kill the yeast.)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 TBS of dry, active yeast</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-2 TBS sugar (can also use honey)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 1/2 tsp. salt</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 TBS oil (I use olive)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-3 to 5 C all-purpose flour (can also use 1/2 white flour with 1/2 whole wheat flour.) **You want the dough to still be slightly tacky, so use caution not to use too much flour. I typically only have to use 3 cups. It really depends on the brand and moisture content of your flour.</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
<u>Dip</u> </div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1/4 C melted butter</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
- 2/3 C Kraft Parm cheese (you can also use freshly grated Romano or Asiago cheese)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 1/2 TBS. <a href="http://johnnysfinefoods.com/products/garlic-spreads/garlic-spread-seasoning-18oz/">Johnny's Garlic Spread Seasoning</a> (I buy at Costco)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
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<div style="background-color: white;">
<div>
1. In large bowl combine warm water and 2 TBS sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top of water and allow to stand for 5 minutes until it gets foamy. Once it's foamy stir in oil and salt. Add flour and stir. You can also mix flour in with your hands, but being careful not to overmix. This dough doesn't require a lot of kneading. </div>
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2. Cover bowl with a warm, damp towel and allow to rise 10 minutes. You can allow it to rise longer which will result in even fluffier bread, bread but it's not required. </div>
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3. Grease bundt pan and punch down dough. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have 2 bowls to the side, one with melted butter and the other with the cheese and garlic seasoning mixed. Take chunks of dough and dip in butter and then roll in cheese mixture. Place around in bundt pan until the dough is gone.</div>
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4. Cover with a warm, damp cloth and allow bread to rise again until the dough doubles which takes about 15-20 minutes. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. </div>
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5. Remove pan from oven and allow bread to rest in pan for 5-10 minutes. Flip out onto a serving platter. Serve warm and enjoy. You could also serve as an appetizer with a variety of dipping sauces (cheese, pizza, alfredo, etc.) </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AGyjK_xdlLY/Unf0nN-l4uI/AAAAAAAAAk8/9MERDr6j7kY/s1600/savory2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AGyjK_xdlLY/Unf0nN-l4uI/AAAAAAAAAk8/9MERDr6j7kY/s400/savory2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Enjoy and Happy Baking!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's the<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/savory-pull-aparts?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> printable recipe</a>.</div>
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<div style="background-color: white;">
<br /></div>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-31607127573115075732013-11-04T10:48:00.002-08:002014-03-04T12:31:19.726-08:00Monkey BreadI feel bad it's been so long since I've blogged. So much has been going on and I'll blog about that later.So many fun changes going on! My family has a tradition to have a Halloween party the Saturday before Halloween. When I was little I remember my Mom making homemade cinnamon rolls with homemade chili. I love making cinnamon rolls, but sometimes they can be time consuming. That's why I love Monkey Bread. It's tastes like a cinnamon roll, but can come together in under an hour and is a fun treat for Saturday mornings. I love that these remind me of my childhood. Plus, it's so fun to pull them apart when you eat them. Our kids love that!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
This bread recipe is SO fast and easy and is one of our family favorites. I use it for bread sticks, cinnamon rolls, Monkey Bread, pizza crust, rolls, etc. It's a great multi-purpose bread dough. Give it a try and let me know what you think.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's what you need:</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>Bread</u></div>
<div>
-1 1/2 C warm water (about 120 degrees. You don't want it hot or it can kill the yeast.)</div>
<div>
-1 TBS of dry, active yeast</div>
<div>
-2 TBS sugar (can also use honey)</div>
<div>
-1 1/2 tsp. salt</div>
<div>
-1 TBS oil (I use olive)</div>
<div>
-3 to 5 C all-purpose flour (can also use 1/2 white flour with 1/2 whole wheat flour.) **You want the dough to still be slightly tacky, so use caution not to use too much flour. I typically only have to use 3 cups. It really depends on the brand and moisture content of your flour.</div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<u>Dip</u></div>
<div>
-1/2 C melted butter</div>
<div>
-1 tsp. real vanilla extract</div>
<div>
-1 C brown sugar</div>
<div>
-1 tsp. ground cinnamon</div>
<div>
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<u>Glaze</u></div>
<div>
-2/3 C powdered sugar</div>
<div>
-1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract</div>
<div>
-2-3 TBS milk</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
1. In large bowl combine warm water and 2 TBS sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle yeast on top of water and allow to stand for 5 minutes until it gets foamy. Once it's foamy stir in oil and salt. Add flour and stir. You can also mix flour in with your hands, but being careful not to overmix. This dough doesn't require a lot of kneading. **If Raisins are desired, add them to the dough now before the first rising.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
2. Cover bowl with a warm, damp towel and allow to rise 10 minutes. You can allow it to rise longer which will result in even fluffier bread, bread but it's not required. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
3. Grease bundt pan and punch down dough. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have 2 bowls to the side, one with melted butter and vanilla and the other with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixed. Take chunks of dough and dip in butter and then roll in sugar mixture. Place around in bundt pan until the dough is gone.</div>
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<div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySX6dQzBOJA/UnfqWU-5yJI/AAAAAAAAAkc/xND0Y3LB-ww/s1600/Bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjRshy15pdU/UnfqU1MemXI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/0Z0wbkO49uM/s1600/Dip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZjRshy15pdU/UnfqU1MemXI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/0Z0wbkO49uM/s320/Dip.jpg" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ySX6dQzBOJA/UnfqWU-5yJI/AAAAAAAAAkc/xND0Y3LB-ww/s320/Bread.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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4. Cover with a warm, damp cloth and allow bread to rise again until the dough doubles which takes about 15-20 minutes. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. </div>
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5. Remove pan from oven and allow bread to rest in pan for 5-10 minutes. While bread is resting, make the glaze. In a small bowl, take powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 TBS of milk and stir. Continue adding 1 TBS of milk until the consistency is thick, but slightly runny. Flip bread out onto a serving platter and top with glaze. Serve and enjoy warm.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHGvuWPJoxc/UnfqVRmg8TI/AAAAAAAAAkg/vjy0vorbKE0/s1600/final+bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fHGvuWPJoxc/UnfqVRmg8TI/AAAAAAAAAkg/vjy0vorbKE0/s400/final+bread.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
Here's the printable<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/monkey-bread?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> recipe</a>.</div>
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</div>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-90330948353997935962013-08-19T16:58:00.001-07:002014-03-04T12:31:54.996-08:00Street CornOk, I've never had "Street Corn" and I don't even know if there is such a thing, but if there were, this is what I'd imagine it to be. I love going to fairs and seeing everyone walking around with a big 'ole corn on the cob and I've always wanted to try it. But I think this version takes my food imagination to a whole new level.<br />
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**Update: My brother has informed me that street vendors in Mexico serve street corn that is rolled in cojita cheese and fresh lime juice. So there you go. There's your street corn lesson for the day. You're welcome. :)<br />
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I usually boil the corn when I make corn on the cob, but this time I baked it and it's SO much better. This version of corn only takes a few minutes longer to make, but it's so worth it. While the corn is baking, prep the sauce and grate the cheese. You can also prep the sauce ahead of time also. This is my new favorite way to eat corn on the cob. And for some reason knowing that Greek yogurt is in the sauce makes me feel less guilty for eating seconds. I guess it is *slightly* better than eating corn on the cob with just butter and salt. (Hey, it gives it some protein to all of you nay-sayers!) :)<br />
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<u>Here's what you need</u>:<br />
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-(6) ears of corn, husk intact<br />
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<u>Sauce:</u><br />
-4 TBS Greek Yogurt<br />
-2 TBS mayo (can use fat-free)<br />
-1 tsp. chili powder<br />
-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)<br />
-1/2 tsp. salt<br />
-zest of one lime<br />
-juice of one lime<br />
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<u>Garnish:</u><br />
-lime wedges<br />
-finely grated Asiago cheese<br />
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1. Place corn on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (You can also grill the corn for a few minutes on each side after it's baked so that you get grill marks and it will also slightly roast the corn. It just adds to the flavor, but it's not necessary.)<br />
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2. Prep sauce: combine all ingredients into a small mixing bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.<br />
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3. Once corn is baked, remove from oven and allow to cool 2-3 minutes. Pull husk down from corn but don't remove as this makes a natural handle to hold on to. Take a butter knife and coat the outside of the corn with the sauce. Sprinkle or roll corn in grated cheese. Serve with a fresh lime wedge, squeeze fresh juice on right before eating and enjoy while hot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SGel9N7zbLc/UhGlw9G4PmI/AAAAAAAAAkA/GUSFHGyAFdQ/s1600/corn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SGel9N7zbLc/UhGlw9G4PmI/AAAAAAAAAkA/GUSFHGyAFdQ/s400/corn.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!<br />
<br />
Here's the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/street-corn?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe.</a><br />
<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-68094713262805376662013-08-02T13:43:00.003-07:002014-03-04T12:32:30.317-08:00Mini Caprese Kabobs with a Balsamic ReductionOh my goodness! This Summer has been busy, but we've had some great time traveling and spending time as a family. I'm sorry that I haven't posted in forever. I've got a quick, easy, delicious and fresh recipe for you.<br />
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I love Summer because of all the fresh product readily available. My parents have grown a huge garden every year since the time I was little. I loved going out and picking fresh veggies, especially tomatoes. I'm not sure what else is better than a perfectly red, delicious vine-ripened tomato from your own garden. We started our own garden this year and we planted several varieties of tomatoes. We also planted basil, so I've been in heaven.<br />
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I love Caprese Salad and this is a little twist that makes a perfect appetizer or light lunch. You only need 4 ingredients: tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinegar. You need to use fresh mozzarella---not the hard, brick kind that you would grate for pizza. Fresh mozzarella is usually sold in a ball and the texture is really soft. The fresh stuff is a more expensive so I usually buy it at Costco in their specialty cheese section. I also love the Kirkland brand Balsamic vinegar too. I like using a balsamic reduction rather than just straight balsamic vinegar because it sticks to the tomatoes better, it doesn't absorb into the cheese, it tastes a little sweeter and that acidic "bite" is mellowed. And it makes for a gorgeous presentation. You can make the balsamic reduction while you assemble the skewers, so it really doesn't take extra time. You can make the kabobs a day or 2 ahead of time, but the tomatoes taste better if not refrigerated so I like to make mine the day I want to serve them. <br />
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Here's what you need: This made about 30 mini skewers.<br />
-1.5 lbs. of cherry tomatoes (or grape tomatoes)<br />
-1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into cubes<br />
-12 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped<br />
-1 small pkg toothpicks (I like to use the ones with the wispy stuff on the tip)<br />
-1/2 C balsamic vinegar<br />
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1. Put balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 10 minutes, OR until the mixture starts to thicken to a honey-like consistency. If you accidentally simmer it too long (molasses-like consistency), you can add a little extra balsamic vinegar and then simmer it again to the desired consistency. Remove pan from heat and set to the side.<br />
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2. Use 2 cherry tomatoes and 2 cubes of cheese for each toothpick kabob. I alternated every other one on the toothpick. Continue doing this until you have made the desired amounts of kabobs. Place them on a plate or serving platter.<br />
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3. Right before serving, drizzle the balsamic reduction over the kabobs and sprinkle a little coarse sea salt over them. <span style="background-color: white;">You will not use all of the reduction, so you can save leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week.</span> Sprinkle with chopped basil and serve.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJNmtAltp4o/UfwZEYmuuAI/AAAAAAAAAjw/vaFmQYtbpQY/s1600/caprese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cJNmtAltp4o/UfwZEYmuuAI/AAAAAAAAAjw/vaFmQYtbpQY/s400/caprese.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Enjoy and Happy Cooking!<br />
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Here's the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/mini-caprese-kabobs-with-a-balsamic-reduction?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-48041975748601601912013-06-21T13:04:00.002-07:002013-06-22T22:42:34.962-07:00Beanilla Giveway Winners!Thanks so much to everyone that entered the Beanilla Giveaway. I am so excited to give out these wonderful products for you to try. If you had fun entering this giveaway, please head over to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Beanilla?ref=ts&fref=ts">Beanilla Facebook page</a> and thank them for sponsoring the giveaway on SQD!<br />
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Here are the winners!<br />
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<u>Madagascar Vanilla Beans</u>: Lael that left a comment saying,<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">I did it all - liked your FB page, left a comment, shared it, liked Beanilla's page, and am following your blog. Glad to have found you." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px; text-align: justify;">I didn't hear from the first winner for the extract so here's the second winner:</span></span><br />
<u> Mexican Vanilla Extract: </u> "Ranell and Brandon". If this is you, please contact me within 24hrs.<br />
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Congratulation to the winners! If you are Lael or Ranell and Brandon, please send me a message within 24 hours through the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SomethingQuiteDomestic">SQD Facebook page</a> and include your name and address so that I can send it out to you! Please head over to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Beanilla?ref=ts&fref=ts">Beanilla Facebook page</a> and let them know you won from the SQD giveaway and thank them for sponsoring the giveaway!<br />
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If you didn't win stay tuned because I have another giveaway coming up! :) Please tell your friends and family about SQD. The more followers we have means that we can do more giveaways! Yeah!<br />
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Have a great weekend and Happy Baking! :)<br />
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-Juli<br />
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<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-40040845706645627362013-06-17T18:12:00.002-07:002013-06-17T18:12:42.258-07:00Beanilla Giveaway!You've heard me rave about my love of vanilla beans and how much I love the company Beanilla. The nice folks over at Beanilla were kind enough to sponsor a giveaway on our blog! Now you can try making your own<a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/06/patriotic-trifle.html"> Patriotic Trifle</a> in time for the 4th of July with some delicious Grade A Madagascar vanilla beans or try making your own <a href="http://www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/02/homemade-vanilla-extract.html">homemade vanilla extract</a>.<br />
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Here's what's up for grabs:<br />
-(1) Glass vial full of (3) plump, gorgeous Madagscar vanilla beans<br />
-(1) 4oz. bottle of Beanilla Mexican vanilla bean extract<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Enter the giveaway by doing these (3) steps:</span></b><br />
1. Head over to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SomethingQuiteDomestic">Something Quite Domestic Facebook page</a> and "like" our page.<br />
2. Find the Beanilla Giveaway picture at the top of our Facebook page. "Share" the photo <u>and</u> comment on the photo to tell us what you want to win.<br />
3. Leave us a comment below to tell us what steps you did (including extra entries).<br />
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<u><b>For (2) extra entries:</b></u><br />
1. Become a follower of our blog by going <a href="http://www.google.com/friendconnect/signin/home?st=e%3DAOG8GaAFo0zD%252F5WmuKqvjqbxeAbBQ4BamMRJXpI3Xl8VRX%252FhB%252BsIKK%252BIetifjvESmHxvMZq47%252FqDTuIv3vXEYr3YwrqAUNH4a6xECxA%252BLLPJESQWv2TzUYRdlv7pyLAAA9eLa9oNA3PT1Wwl7MMW5phbfuzLtIE%252BelaGmwJCCHkrFQcWH1MhnUwED%252BuCJ%252B3smcr2MOsLnLjrXjcyGonipfrxo4uEDSKLz%252FlsZxiUKvdkhycR14jYvoBUCjxEYtzLuFzUTSgl1Ce%252Bas7lh5hd8NWSH4SBVHvmMipLzS5ZuxqyAuStAMsllZA%253D%26c%3Dpeoplesense&psinvite=&subscribeOnSignin=1">here</a>.<br />
2. Head over to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Beanilla?fref=ts">Beanilla Facebook page</a> and "like" their page. This is a great way to find out about new recipes and specials from Beanilla.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B-i5IAn9xOU/Ub-y9Mu-G1I/AAAAAAAAAjI/aUZPZOPuPmU/s1600/IMG_20130617_182604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B-i5IAn9xOU/Ub-y9Mu-G1I/AAAAAAAAAjI/aUZPZOPuPmU/s400/IMG_20130617_182604.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Beanilla Giveaway!<br />{www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com}</b></td></tr>
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Easy Peasy! Winners will be randomly picked via Random.org and will be announced on Friday, June 21st. Winners will have 24 hours to claim their prize. Good luck!<br />
<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com71tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-84906502550280036222013-06-14T09:50:00.000-07:002014-03-04T12:32:54.677-08:00Strawberry Banana Trifle with Vanilla Bean Pudding<div style="background-color: white;">
I'm not usually a trifle kind-of-gal, but this recipe has converted me. Thanks to my sweet cousin, Emily, for sharing this recipe. Trifles are fun to make because they look pretty and you can use your favorite fresh fruit. My favorite is strawberry banana. If you missed my post on how I created a Patriotic Trifle for the 4th of July, you can <a href="http://www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/06/patriotic-trifle.html"> read about it here</a>. There are so many ways you can make a trifle, so use your creativity.<br />
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Oh my gosh. You have not experience a trifle until you've had this one. The vanilla bean pudding is so delicious that you will come back for seconds and thirds. The first time I made it my husband about died when he tasted it. I don't think my husband has ever asked to lick a bowl or the beaters in our 5 1/2 years of marriage, except when I made this pudding.<br />
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The pudding is made with sweetened condensed milk so it has a slight caramel, banana-ish flavor when mixed with the boxed pudding. It totally goes amazing with strawberries and bananas. If you read my post about the Patriotic Trifle, I mentioned my husband is allergic to bananas. I have made this with just strawberries before and it is really yummy also. Just when you think the pudding can't be any more delicious and incredible, just add some vanilla bean paste to it. It's outta this world! And I love seeing those lovely little black flecks in the pudding. It seems so fancy to me. :)<br />
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I've told you about the place where I buy my vanilla beans. I mainly use Madagascar vanilla beans since they are the most versatile bean in baking, but the Tahitian beans are also incredible. If you want to try out the Madagascar beans, they are on sale right now! This is the best price I've seen and you get free shipping! Check out the sale over at <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/madagascar-vanilla-beans">Beanilla</a>. AND some lucky person is going to win some lovely, gourmet Madagascar beans in my upcoming giveaway sponsored by <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/">Beanilla</a>. Stay tuned!<br />
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Back to the trifle...You can use your favorite cake although I'm partial to a vanilla sponge cake, yellow or angel food cake. You can either cube a 9x13 cake or use (2) 8" or (2) 9" round cakes whole (depending on the shape and size of your trifle bowl) for a quick assembly of the trifle.<br />
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I don't recommend assembling the trifle any sooner than a few hours before you want to serve it as the bananas tend to go a little brown and watery even when coated with citrus juice). However; you can prep the cakes (freeze them) and the pudding a few days in advance. The pudding needs at least 3-4 hours to set up properly, so make sure you take that into account when making this. Make sure to keep your trifle refrigerated until right before you serve it.<br />
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<u>Here's what you need</u>:</div>
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-(2) baked 9-in round cakes (bigger or smaller depending on the diameter of your bowl)</div>
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-1 lb of fresh strawberries, sliced</div>
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-4 C ripe bananas, sliced</div>
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-2 TBS lemon juice</div>
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<u>Pudding</u>:</div>
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-(1) 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-(1) 3.4 oz box of instant vanilla pudding (I like Jello brand best)</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 1/2 C ice cold water</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract</div>
<div style="background-color: white;">
-1 Madagascar vanilla bean (sliced and vanilla caviar removed)</div>
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-4 C heavy cream, 1 C reserved after whipping</div>
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1. In a small mixing bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, cold water and vanilla and mix on medium speed for about 1 minute until well-combined. Add the pudding mix and continue beating for 2 more minutes. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and then use the back of a butter knife to scrape out of the vanilla beans. Add vanilla bean paste and beat until combine. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight. It's important to allow plenty of time for the pudding to set up so that the consistency stays when you fold in the cream.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUeDUFiLsuU/Ubjz1qluuHI/AAAAAAAAAiw/Pb9DIK0e_Uk/s1600/Madagascar+bean+paste.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZUeDUFiLsuU/Ubjz1qluuHI/AAAAAAAAAiw/Pb9DIK0e_Uk/s400/Madagascar+bean+paste.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanilla Bean Caviar. Delicious!</td></tr>
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2. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold cream (except one cup) into chilled pudding mixture until color is mainly uniform with no white streaks in the pudding. Be careful avoid over-mixing. </div>
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3. Prepare fruit and slice. Toss sliced bananas with lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Place first cake layer in the trifle bowl. Place bananas and strawberries right up against the glass all the way around (just for aesthetic purposes). Spoon pudding mixture on top of cake. Add a layer of strawberries and bananas on top of pudding. Repeat with the next layer of cake, put fruit up against the glass, spoon in a layer of pudding, another layer of bananas and berries, etc. Once trifle bowl is full, cover the top with the reserved whipped cream.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B57r-neifj8/Ubj0IwZfMoI/AAAAAAAAAi0/zHSH3sahLJM/s1600/strawberry+banana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B57r-neifj8/Ubj0IwZfMoI/AAAAAAAAAi0/zHSH3sahLJM/s400/strawberry+banana.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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4. Make a decorative pattern on top of whipped cream. I like to use a pattern just with strawberries so that the bananas don't go brown when prepping ahead of time. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-18Z69MiaHVE/UbjzguXLp6I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/H0ffHErJ02w/s1600/strawberry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-18Z69MiaHVE/UbjzguXLp6I/AAAAAAAAAiQ/H0ffHErJ02w/s400/strawberry.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!<br />
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Here's the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/strawberry-banana-trifle-with-vanilla-bean-pudding?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-14979512413384191202013-06-12T13:21:00.001-07:002014-03-04T12:33:14.042-08:00Patriotic Trifle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R-qiGXe3H9c/UbZkw4SK5kI/AAAAAAAAAgI/8pLntRsInDM/s1600/IMG_20130524_182205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R-qiGXe3H9c/UbZkw4SK5kI/AAAAAAAAAgI/8pLntRsInDM/s320/IMG_20130524_182205.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I went to a family party and my uncle had made an incredibly delicious trifle. I finally tracked down the source of the recipe and yy cousin, Emily, was sweet to share this recipe with me. I thought it would be so fun to make a holiday version of this trifle for the upcoming summer holidays.<br />
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Trifles are so fun to make because you can make them anyway you like with whatever fruit is your favorite or in season. The pudding in this recipe goes well with any type of fruit. You can also use your favorite cake. My favorite is a vanilla sponge cake, but if you are short on time I actually love yellow cake with this.<br />
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Most of you know my addiction to vanilla beans and extract in baking. I usually use Madagascar beans in baking because they are so versatile, but this time I tried Tahitian vanilla beans. Tahitian vanilla beans have a slightly fruity undertone that I thought would pair perfectly with the fruit and pudding. This was the first time trying Tahitian vanilla beans and I have to say that it was quite a treat. The beans are gorgeous, moist, plump and chuck full of delicious vanilla caviar. I couldn't believe how huge these beans were and they did not disappoint in flavor.<br />
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I buy all of my beans at <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/">Beanilla</a>. They are my favorite company to work with because they have impeccable customer service, fast shipping, the beans arrive perfectly every time and the taste of the beans is exceptional. They also have the best selection of gourmet vanilla beans for the best price. They also have a great selection of vanilla extract making supplies as well as baking extracts. Beanilla is the one-stop shopping place for vanilla beans and extract supplies. I can't tell you how much I love them.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DOmRgS2U2ww/UbZjfNiG0cI/AAAAAAAAAfo/4KjkuGk1-1I/s1600/beanilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DOmRgS2U2ww/UbZjfNiG0cI/AAAAAAAAAfo/4KjkuGk1-1I/s400/beanilla.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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My whole world stopped when I discovered their vanilla beans and I use them in my baking all the time. They just add that extra special layer of flavor that separates your baking from others' baking. Look how gorgeous these are. The Tahitian is on the left and the Madagascar on the right. Tahitian beans are more expensive, but you get a lot more paste out of one pod, so that balances out the price. If you are just starting with using vanilla beans in baking, I recommend starting with Madagascar beans since they are the most versatile in baking.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qjyGS66q5I0/UbZjTx58buI/AAAAAAAAAfg/hwDn8hP34cc/s1600/Beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qjyGS66q5I0/UbZjTx58buI/AAAAAAAAAfg/hwDn8hP34cc/s320/Beans.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tahitian bean (left), Madagascar bean (right)</td></tr>
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This trifle will knock your socks off and you will have to resist grabbing the bowl to lap up any leftovers. The pudding in this recipe is ridiculously easy to make, it tastes incredible and people may be knocking down your door to get the recipe. Whomever thought of using sweetened condensed milk as a pudding base was a baking genius. It has a slightly caramel, banana-ish flavor and then when you add some vanilla beans---holy cow! So yum! It pairs beautifully with any fresh fruit, but I love it best with strawberries, bananas and blueberries. My husband is allergic to bananas (I almost killed him on our first date) so some of my pictures do not include bananas. If you aren't against (or allergic) to bananas, definitely add them to this trifle for sure. If you are making the trifle with bananas, make sure to assemble your trifle the day you want to serve it or your bananas will go kind of brown and watery. The pudding also takes a few hours to set up, so be mindful of that when you are planning. I usually prep the pudding and prepare the fruit and bake the cakes while the pudding is setting up.<br />
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Also, if you are short on time you can make (2) 8-in or 9-in round cakes (depending on the diameter of your trifle bowl) and use them whole instead of cubing the cake. I also like the look of the whole cake layer and it is quicker to assemble, too.<br />
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<u>Here's what you need</u>: (Slightly adapted from my cousin's recipe)<br />
-(2) baked 9-in round cakes (bigger or smaller depending on the diameter of your bowl)<br />
-1 lb of fresh strawberries, sliced<br />
-1 lb of blueberries<br />
-4 C ripe bananas, sliced<br />
-2 TBS lemon juice<br />
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<u>Pudding</u>:<br />
-(1) 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk<br />
-(1) 3.4 oz box of instant vanilla pudding (I like Jello brand best)<br />
-1 1/2 C ice cold water<br />
-1/2 tsp. pure <a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/02/homemade-vanilla-extract.html">vanilla extract</a><br />
-1 Tahitian vanilla bean (sliced and vanilla caviar removed)<br />
-4 C heavy cream, 1 C reserved after whipping<br />
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1. In a small mixing bowl combine sweetened condensed milk, cold water and vanilla and mix on medium speed for about 1 minute until well-combined. Add the pudding mix and continue beating for 2 more minutes. Slit the vanilla bean lengthwise and then use the back of a butter knife to scrape out of the vanilla beans. Add vanilla bean paste and beat until combine. Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight. It's important to allow plenty of time for the pudding to set up so that the consistency stays when you fold in the cream.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P98jBH9UQM0/UbZjzUo985I/AAAAAAAAAfw/urTxbKFnSs4/s1600/vanilla+beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P98jBH9UQM0/UbZjzUo985I/AAAAAAAAAfw/urTxbKFnSs4/s400/vanilla+beans.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that gorgeous vanilla bean paste!</td></tr>
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2. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold cream (except one cup) into chilled pudding mixture until color is mainly uniform. Be careful avoid over-mixing.<br />
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3. Prepare fruit and slice. Toss sliced bananas with lemon juice to prevent them from browning. Place first cake layer in the trifle bowl. Place bananas and berries right up against the glass all the way around (just for aesthetic purposes). Spoon pudding mixture on top of cake. Add a layer of berries and bananas on top of pudding. Repeat with the next layer of cake, put fruit up against the glass, spoon in a layer of pudding, another layer of bananas and berries, etc. Once trifle bowl is full, cover the top with the reserved whipped cream.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zTOB1U061Qk/UbZkCo-dZXI/AAAAAAAAAf4/ZF1RnJA-N6A/s1600/side.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zTOB1U061Qk/UbZkCo-dZXI/AAAAAAAAAf4/ZF1RnJA-N6A/s400/side.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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4. Make a decorative pattern on top of whipped cream with the fruit. I like to use strawberries around the bowl with a blueberry star in the middle.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yoOiJVx2U5M/UbZkIoM4icI/AAAAAAAAAgA/SyrnH6olzC0/s1600/top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yoOiJVx2U5M/UbZkIoM4icI/AAAAAAAAAgA/SyrnH6olzC0/s400/top.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here are some other decorative ideas:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vizKLhVWOAM/UcS3og3ZZ6I/AAAAAAAAAjc/3pLJW8D-tBg/s1600/flag1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vizKLhVWOAM/UcS3og3ZZ6I/AAAAAAAAAjc/3pLJW8D-tBg/s400/flag1.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trifle using whole cake layers. </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bLKN5bv4sRo/UcS3ojICDBI/AAAAAAAAAjg/zIilJZm4z4k/s1600/Flag2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bLKN5bv4sRo/UcS3ojICDBI/AAAAAAAAAjg/zIilJZm4z4k/s400/Flag2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love how this design turned out. So cute and festive! </td></tr>
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Enjoy and Happy Baking. This trifle will make a perfect addition to your 4th of July BBQ!<br />
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<a data-pin-config="none" data-pin-do="buttonBookmark" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/"><img src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" /></a>
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<br />
Here is the<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/patriotic-trifle?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> printable recipe</a>.<br />
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Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-31688387366490398042013-06-10T19:09:00.000-07:002013-06-12T13:41:56.414-07:00Giant S'more Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-miKey548oTc/UbaDTN9TzNI/AAAAAAAAAgY/rjLwxROOPsg/s1600/whole+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-miKey548oTc/UbaDTN9TzNI/AAAAAAAAAgY/rjLwxROOPsg/s320/whole+cake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I love planning and putting together birthday parties for my kids. We have a tradition to invite our whole immediate families to our children's first birthday. Since my daughter was born in the summer, I thought it would be perfect to throw an outdoor/camping themed party. I haven't had a chance to blog about the whole party, so stay tuned.<br />
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I wanted to have a s'more bar, so I thought it would be perfect to make a giant s'more for her birthday cake. I found the original idea on the <a href="http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2011/06/giant-smore-cake.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FlUkHL+%28Not+JUST+A+Housewife%29">Not Just a Housewife</a> blog. I took those concepts and created my version of the S'more cake. I loved her idea for making the homemade graham cracker. The dough was so good and it was perfect being made in advance. It's a really great recipe and worked nicely for the cake.</div>
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I made (2) 9-in round <a href="http://www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/04/chocolate-cakecupcakes.html">chocolate cakes</a> since we were going to be serving a lot of people. Although the giant graham crackers are so cute and even taste delicious, I didn't think people would want a big hunk of cracker with their cake, so I opted for a graham cracker cream filling. I have to tell you, the filling was to die for. I'm not usually a big graham cracker fan, but it totally worked with this cake. I wanted the cake to look like a real S'more, so I opted for marshmallow frosting (AKA "7 Minute Frosting") that could be toasted with a kitchen torch (thanks to my awesome friend, Missy, for that great idea). I also wanted the chocolate to look melted, so I thought chocolate ganache would be a perfect addition for that. </div>
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So I didn't do a practice run with this cake before my daughter's birthday, so this was all trial and error. The flavors were so yummy, but there were a few aesthetic hiccups that I had to figure out the day of the party. So fortunately for you, you can learn from my mistakes. The biggest problem is that I made the graham crackers way to big and they were too thin, so they were kinda droopy when the top was placed. I did them a little bit smaller than a standard baking sheet. The next time I make this cake I will make them each about 10"x10". That way they are slightly bigger than the cake, but you won't have to deal with any droopage. :) Also, always always ALWAYS work with frozen cakes when you frost them. That prevents all of those little cake crumbs from getting in your frosting. It's especially important when using the marshmallow frosting. Seriously, frozen cakes are so much easier to work with.</div>
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So here's what you need. I'm going to separate it into each component:</div>
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<u>Cake</u>:</div>
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(2) 9-in round <a href="http://www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/04/chocolate-cakecupcakes.html">chocolate cakes</a>, baked and frozen</div>
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<u>Homemade Graham Crackers</u>: (slightly adapted from <a href="http://www.notjustahousewife.net/2011/06/giant-smore-cake.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FlUkHL+%28Not+JUST+A+Housewife%29">Not Just a Housewife</a>)</div>
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-1 C butter (2 sticks)</div>
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-1 C brown sugar </div>
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-1/2 C dark corn syrup</div>
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-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract<br />
-1 1/2 tsp baking soda</div>
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-4 C all-purpose flour</div>
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-4 TBS cold water</div>
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1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla together in a medium mixing bowl. Add baking soda and flour and mix until incorporated. Add 2 TBS of water and continue stirring. Add a TBS of water at a time until you have a dough-like consistency. My flour was more dry, so I used all 4 TBS of water. </div>
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2. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out. Do not skip this step or the dough will be super messy to work with. </div>
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3. Take a piece of parchment paper (mine is the size that fits a standard baking sheet) and sprinkle a little flour on op. Take half of chilled dough and begin to roll it out. You want it about 1/4" thick. Roll it out bigger than you need so that you can cut clean, crisp edges. Cut your rolled dough with a pizza cutter into a 10"x10" square. Repeat for the other cracker. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8_aZUziYmVc/UbaDch3Xg2I/AAAAAAAAAgg/IgvZAnGGuB8/s1600/rolled+out+dough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8_aZUziYmVc/UbaDch3Xg2I/AAAAAAAAAgg/IgvZAnGGuB8/s320/rolled+out+dough.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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4. Take a wooden dowel and make an impression in the middle of the dough. Then take the end of the dowel and make the circular impression to resemble a real graham cracker. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gnKn6y1ajjg/UbaDvU3P6oI/AAAAAAAAAgo/jr_eIiK9TCs/s1600/raw+dough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gnKn6y1ajjg/UbaDvU3P6oI/AAAAAAAAAgo/jr_eIiK9TCs/s320/raw+dough.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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5. Transfer the piece of parchment paper with the rolled out dough on top and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes until cracker is golden brown. If you bake less time then you'll have a softer texture, so make sure to bake enough time to ensure a cracker-like consistency and so that it doesn't fall apart when you assemble your big S'more. Remove from oven and allow the cracker to rest 5-10 minutes before transferring the parchment paper (with the cracker on top) to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before assembling your cake. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eU1h0Avemww/UbaEJctTpeI/AAAAAAAAAhA/AnV2zp9XCG4/s1600/baked+cracker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eU1h0Avemww/UbaEJctTpeI/AAAAAAAAAhA/AnV2zp9XCG4/s320/baked+cracker.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u>Graham Cracker Filling</u>:</div>
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-(1) 8oz. cream cheese, room temp</div>
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-3/4 C canned marshmallow cream</div>
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-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract</div>
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-1/2 C prepared marshmallow frosting (the same you are using for the cake)</div>
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-2/3 C graham cracker crumbs, finely processed in a blender or food processor</div>
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1. In a small mixing bowl combine cream cheese, marshmallow cream and vanilla on medium speed until well-combined. Then add marshmallow frosting and graham cracker crumbs until combine. Refrigerate until you are ready to fill your cake. </div>
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<b>To fill cake</b>: Place one cake layer down on frosting pedestal. Add graham cracker filling in the center of cake. Use a knife or an off-set spreading spatula and spread out the filling in an even layer to the edges of the cake. Place the next layer on top and then proceed to frosting the whole cake with marshmallow frosting. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5syWhm4pZyQ/UbaGK_reFTI/AAAAAAAAAh8/kqumOs0_9OE/s1600/graham+cracker+filling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5syWhm4pZyQ/UbaGK_reFTI/AAAAAAAAAh8/kqumOs0_9OE/s400/graham+cracker+filling.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<u>Marshmallow Frosting</u>:</div>
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-1 1/2 C white sugar</div>
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-1/2 C water</div>
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-2 egg whites</div>
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-1/2 tsp. salt</div>
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-1 tsp. cream of tartar </div>
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-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract</div>
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1. In top of a double boiler combine all ingredients. Stir until ingredients are just combine. If you are using pure vanilla extract, your mixture will look brown. Don't worry; after you beat your frosting it will become white and glossy. While water is heating, beat all ingredients with an electric mixer at high speed for about a minute.</div>
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2. Place top of double boiler over rapidly boiling water and beat at high speed until mixture forms soft peaks (peak tops fold over). This took me about 3-4 minutes.</div>
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3. Remove pan from heat and transfer mixture into a separate mixing bowl. Continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form and mixture becomes glossy and thick enough to spread. This took about 2-3 minutes.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KirJDQc9BjI/UbaEqbOnDjI/AAAAAAAAAhI/o2Pa4p2uJqk/s1600/stiff+peaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KirJDQc9BjI/UbaEqbOnDjI/AAAAAAAAAhI/o2Pa4p2uJqk/s400/stiff+peaks.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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4. Frost your filled cake. I like using a rotating cake pedestal for this step. If you aren't an expert at frosting a cake, don't worry because this frosting is forgiving and I think that adds to toasted look of being a marshmallow. In fact, I actually purposefully made the cake have some imperfections in the frosting so that I could get some toasted dimensions on the outside of the cake. </div>
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5. Once you have frosted your cake, take a kitchen torch or a heavy-duty torch on the lowest setting possible to toast the outside. Be careful not to burn the cake. I practiced a few times with a spoonful of frosting before trying to toast the cake. You don't have to toast the top of the cake since it's going to be covered in ganache, but I did anyways so that I would have an even look once the ganache was on. I didn't want to have to battle melting ganache. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cFJ6692eOlE/UbaE5y6qmDI/AAAAAAAAAhY/iMFQEItv5e4/s1600/toasted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cFJ6692eOlE/UbaE5y6qmDI/AAAAAAAAAhY/iMFQEItv5e4/s400/toasted.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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6. Once your cake is toasted, top with cooled ganache and drizzle in on the sides so that it resembles melted chocolate. Make sure the ganache is barely warm or you will melt the frosting. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S_fp_QkSBr0/UbaFCHRqJlI/AAAAAAAAAhg/SQGJ1UWR0zA/s1600/with+ganache.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S_fp_QkSBr0/UbaFCHRqJlI/AAAAAAAAAhg/SQGJ1UWR0zA/s400/with+ganache.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u>Chocolate Ganache</u>:</div>
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-4 oz. semi-sweet baking chips</div>
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-4 oz. heaving whipping cream</div>
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1. Combine baking chips and whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir mixture. If chocolate is not melted entirely, continue microwaving on high for another minute, stirring in 15-30 second intervals. </div>
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2. Allow the ganache to cool so that it's barely warm to the touch. If the ganache cools too much it will become thick like frosting. If the ganache cools too much before you need it, just microwave it 10-15 seconds and stir before you drizzle. Make sure cake and ganache are chilled before assembling the cake.</div>
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<u>Assembly of Cake</u>:</div>
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1. I like using Wilton Cake boards. You probaly want to get a 10" circle or an 11x13 rectangle. I used the latter since my crackers were a lot bigger. You just need something that you can lift when the cake is assembled to transport it to where it will be displayed. </div>
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2. Place one large cracker on the cake board. Carefully lift the cake and place on top of graham cracker. Carefully place the 2nd graham cracker on top. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-91FOpI4gUlw/UbaFMWE3k7I/AAAAAAAAAho/oDpm3qYK4BA/s1600/whole+cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-91FOpI4gUlw/UbaFMWE3k7I/AAAAAAAAAho/oDpm3qYK4BA/s400/whole+cake.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Cut, serve and enjoy! I wouldn't taken a picture of a slice of the cake, but it got eaten too fast! :) Here is the cake with the S'more bar.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nxe4Bi41ycU/UbaFVd6lzhI/AAAAAAAAAhw/qmtx7u8mgK8/s1600/cake+with+smore+bar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Nxe4Bi41ycU/UbaFVd6lzhI/AAAAAAAAAhw/qmtx7u8mgK8/s400/cake+with+smore+bar.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Happy Baking!</div>
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Here's the<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/giant-s-more-cake?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> printable recipe</a>.</div>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-82543144285632714802013-05-17T10:38:00.002-07:002013-06-12T13:41:37.677-07:00Banana Drop CookiesSo I've been on a health kick lately. I'm trying really hard to train for some 5ks this summer in addition to losing baby weight. We have been doing juicing, blending and increasing our physical activity as a family. The hardest part when I'm trying to eat right is avoiding sweets. I completely and thoroughly enjoy a well-made dessert. I've been on a quest for healthful cookies. It seems like they either aren't truly healthful or they taste healthful (and not in a good way). It's hard finding both. Because we enjoy juicing frequently we always have fruit pulp leftover. We felt guilty throwing this nutritional bi-product away, so I tried thinking of ways to use it. We use it as organic compost for our garden, but I wanted to benefit from the fiber. I decided to try adding some of the pulp to these cookies as a source of fiber and it turned out great. You couldn't even tell that it was in there. If you don't juice, don't worry about adding the pulp to the cookies. It's completely optional.<br />
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So as far as the cookies I couldn't believe how yummy they turned out and they are packed with so many good-for-you ingredients. I also love that they are dairy and fat-free (if not using chocolate chips) and packed full of fiber. They are the perfect balance of sweet and chewy and I loved the texture of the chia and flax seeds with the oats. And they are SO moist! If you haven't tried adding chia and flax seeds into your diet, you are missing out on some great benefits. You can buy either at health food stores, but I have found mine at my local Winco and Kitchen Kneads stores for a fraction of the price. Maybe I'll do a post on the nutritional benefits of these lovely seeds for those of you that don't know much about them.<br />
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I really loved the addition of the dark chocolate chips to this recipe. These can be optional if you want these to be more healthful, but I thought a few added a great flavor and made me feel like I was eating regular cookies. If you freeze your ripe bananas and you use them for these cookies, you may need a little more agave for sweetness. I've made these cookies with fresh and frozen bananas and I've noticed that I don't need any extra sweetener when I use fresh bananas.<br />
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I hope you enjoy these. I love that I can still have a little something sweet without completely breaking my weight-loss goals. I love storing the leftovers in the fridge--they taste SO good cold!<br />
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<u>Here's what you need:</u> Makes 25-30 cookies<br />
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3 ripe bananas, mashed with some chunks<br />
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce<br />
1/4 C almond milk<br />
1 T chia seeds<br />
1 T flax seeds<br />
2 tsp <a href="http://www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/02/homemade-vanilla-extract.html">vanilla extract</a><br />
2 tsp. ground cinnamon<br />
1/2 tsp salt<br />
1 T agave (or stevia)<br />
2/3 C dried fruit, cranberries and raisins mixed together<br />
1/3 C dark chocolate chips or carob chips<br />
2 C oatmeal<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1/2 c fruit pulp, opt<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine mashed bananas, applesauce, almond milk, cinnamon salt, agave and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Add baking soda and stir until incorporated<br />
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2. Add chia and flax seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips, oatmeal and fruit pulp if desired. Stir until well incorporated.<br />
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3. Spoon on to parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 15-16 min until top begins to brown.<br />
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4. Remove from oven and allow to rest on baking sheet 2-3 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and enjoy a cookie while they are still warm. :)<br />
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Enjoy and Happy Baking! (And Healthful Eating!)<br />
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Here is the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/banana-drop-cookies?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-1833916802796649912013-05-15T20:25:00.000-07:002013-06-12T13:41:14.093-07:00Warm Fuzzy JarSo here's another non-recipe post, but parenting has been on my radar especially as of late. I love my 3-yr-old, but some days it's all I can do to be patient. I am far from being a "perfect" mother, but I try my hardest to be a really great mother. I am really close with my Mom and she is so great with kids. My 3-yr-old is also very close with her and there are things that my Mom can get her to do that I can't. I was talking with my Mom about some of our parenting issues and any of you that have/had a 3-yr-old know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a hard age. They think they are bigger than they are, they want to be independent and they are constantly pushing boundaries. I try SO hard to be patient, but some days are insanely difficult. I wake up in the morning with the best of intentions, but there are days that it doesn't last long. I'm not gonna lie, some times I just want to run and hide in my closet with some cupcakes. It's amazing how demanding little children can be at time.<br />
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I believe in positive reinforcement, but some times it seems like my 3-yr-old only responds to loud voices and negative reinforcement. I was talking to my Mom about it and asking her advice for a positive way to help my daughter engage in cleaning up, assisting with age-appropriate chores, not stealing toys from Little Sis--all without screaming, throwing tantrums and sassing. Impossible? It felt pretty dang close. What? Have a 3-yr-old corporate AND do it cheerfully? Shaaaaa, whatev. It felt like an oxymoron.<br />
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Then the advice from an experienced Mom, whom of which I thought knew absolutely nothing about parenting when I was a teenager, saved the day. Side note: Isn't it so funny how your parents become so wise when you finally have kids of your own? 'Tis the circle of life.<br />
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I came one afternoon to pick up my girls after work and my Mom had made this cute jar with my daughter. My Mom is very frugal and she created a little miracle for less than $3. Please meet the Warm Fuzzy jar:<br /><br /><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kZ4EwiBgpRc/UZRQuYbr1SI/AAAAAAAAAe4/ch52draRHR0/s1600/IMG_20130515_201948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kZ4EwiBgpRc/UZRQuYbr1SI/AAAAAAAAAe4/ch52draRHR0/s400/IMG_20130515_201948.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This jar has been so awesome. You can use it for your kids, nephews/nieces, younger siblings or any children that you care for. You could try using it with your teenager(s) or your significant other, but, well, good luck with that. :) How it works is anytime you catch the child doing something without being asked, being a nice friend, sharing with a sibling, or doing other responsibilities with a good attitude then they earn "warm fuzzies". They get to choose the color and put them in the jar. Then when they fill the jar they can earn prizes, special privleges, TV time, field trips or whatever reward works for them. This concept is all about focusing on positive behaviors and attitudes and positive reinforcement. I also love that it's a great way to discuss emotions with children. It is working beautifully for us so far. Our daughter loves finding things to do to help us and she gets so excited to see her jar fill with the fuzzies. We had a discussion about things that help us feel happy or that give us "warm fuzzies." It was neat to hear my daughter's ideas. It's amazing how aware children are.<br />
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Here's what you need: (all found at the dollar store)<br />
-an old jar (could be a spaghetti sauce jar, mason jar, baby food jar, etc.)<br />
-construction paper<br />
-googlie eyes<br />
-glue<br />
-craft pom poms<br />
-assortment of stickers<br />
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1. Assembly is super simple. All you need to do is cut out a circle to fit over the lid. Glue it on to the lid and then glue on some googlie eyes. Let the child decorate it with stickers. You could even let them name their jar. Put it in a special place that the child can see and then start letting them earn the warm fuzzies.<br />
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I love seeing my daughter find positive ways to help in our family and her behavior has improved so much. I love that my Mom teaches me simple ways to help engage children. I think I try to make things too complicated. This has been the best reward system yet.<br />
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If any of you have some great ideas that you use as positive reinforcement with your children or children that you care for, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear more ideas! "It takes a village to raise a child."<br />
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<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-17590853720012686892013-05-03T18:10:00.000-07:002014-03-04T12:29:16.632-08:00Brownie Turtle CakeI have to be honest. I am not usually a brownie lover. I love chocolate, but there is just something about brownies that doesn't float my boat. I actually have willpower when it comes to brownies. Well, this has all changed. This brownie turtle cake is divine and it's given me a new love for brownies. It's quick, easy and the ingredients are simple. This is one of my favorites to make for when company comes over or to take to a potluck. You can make this in advance and it comes together quickly. I think the combination of the brownie paired with pudding and the cheesecakey flavor is so divine. And I love that this is served cold.<br />
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The fun thing about this cake is that you can customize it and make variations that fit your tastes and preferences. This cake also tastes great with fresh berries on top. You can also switch up the chocolate pudding for banana pudding and top with fresh bananas. The possibilities are endless. Have fun discovering what flavor combinations you love best. This would also be fun to do for a birthday in lieu of traditional birthday cake. </div>
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<u>Here's what you need</u>: This generously serves 7-9 people</div>
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-(1) Duncan Hines Turtle brownie mix</div>
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-2 eggs</div>
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-1/3 C oil (can use veggie, canola or coconut)</div>
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-3 TBS water</div>
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-(1) 8oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp (I used light)</div>
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-1/4 C agave (or you can use honey or powdered sugar)</div>
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-(1) small container Cool Whip, thawed</div>
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-2 tsp. vanilla</div>
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-(1) 3 oz chocolate pudding mix</div>
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-1 1/4 C milk </div>
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<u>Garnish</u>:</div>
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-Caramel sauce (included in brownie mix)</div>
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-chopped pecans</div>
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-mini chocolate chips</div>
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1.Take brownie mix, eggs, water and oil and mix together in a medium mixing bowl. Place in a greased 11x7 baking pan. You can use a 9x13, but the brownie layer will be thinner. Bake according to box instructions. **High altitude bakers need to add 1/4 C flour to mix. Allow to cool completely.</div>
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2. While brownies are baking, put cream cheese, agave (or whatever sweetener you are using) and vanilla into a medium mixing bowl and beat until smooth. I like using an electric mixer, but you can do it by hand. Fold in the container of Cool Whip. Set aside.</div>
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3. In a separate bowl, mix the pudding mix and milk together and beat with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Put in refrigerator until ready to assemble. </div>
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4. Once brownies are cooled, take half of your cream cheese mixture and spread on top of brownies. Next, put all of the pudding on top of cream cheese layer and spread. Then place the rest of the cream cheese mixture on top of pudding and spread. </div>
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5. Allow cake to set up in fridge for at least 1 hr. before serving. You can make this a day or two in advance, just make sure to cover top with plastic wrap and keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Right before serving, drizzle the top with the caramel sauce that was from the brownie mix. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips. Cut into pieces and serve cold.</div>
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Here's the<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/brownie-turtle-cake?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> printable recipe</a>.</div>
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!</div>
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Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-80389007918787166122013-04-24T20:11:00.004-07:002013-04-24T20:15:01.936-07:00I'm still here! Hey friends!<br />
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I promise I'm still here. I got a new job and it's taking me a little time to adjust to the changes and I haven't baked for awhile (sad, I know!). I'm working on some new posts and getting ready to do some giveaways! I can't wait! My youngest Little is going to be 1 soon, so I've started gathering ideas for her birthday. I can't wait to share with you!<br />
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What have you guys been up to? Have you baked or cooked anything fun? I'd love to hear about it!<br />
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<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-51092641475521845342013-04-06T11:15:00.000-07:002013-04-06T11:36:59.919-07:00Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting with Strawberry CompoteFrosting is one of my weaknesses. I love a good frosting! You can transform a good or even a mediocre cake into something delicious with the right frosting. I have to thank my Aunt Karen and my cousin, Cheri, for the recipe. They made chocolate cupcakes with a version of this frosting and I fell in love. The recipe was originally made with raspberry extract, but I modified it a little and used strawberry extract. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any extract you want and it will taste great.<br />
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I made<a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/04/chocolate-cakecupcakes.html"> chocolate cupcakes</a> for my birthday and I thought a strawberry frosting would be awesome because I was craving chocolate dipped strawberries when deciding what to make. I love using extracts in baking and I wanted an even more potent strawberry flavor so I opted to add a compote to the frosting. What is a compote you ask? It's basically a fancy French word for fruit that has been boiled down and reduced in water and sugar with or without spices. When you made a compote, it basically concentrates the flavor of whatever fruit you are using. You cook it down until it's a jam-like consistency, so it's perfect for adding flavor to frostings or cakes because most of the moisture is evaporated and you are left with an intense fruit flavor. I also loved how fresh it made this frosting taste. I prefer using a compote rather than a fruit puree because the flavor isn't as strong with a puree and you also have to worry about excess moisture. If you don't want to take the time to make a compote, you could use a couple tablespoons of fruit puree, just know that it won't be as strong of a fruit flavor. Or you could even use a tablespoon or two of a seedless jam preserve. You can use almost any fresh or frozen berries for a compote. I opted for frozen because this is not the peak season for strawberries and frozen would be a better choice for getting more full-flavored berries. This frosting is also very sweet, so I'd make sure to use it with a cake flavor that will balance that out.<br />
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Now about extracts. Finding a good extract that doesn't taste artificial is hard to find. I love baking with extracts, but sometimes it takes some work to find good ones. I used <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/strawberry-extract">strawberry extract</a> from <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/">Beanilla</a>. The quality for price can't be beat and the flavor is amazing! It tastes like fresh strawberries and it enhanced the strawberry compote perfectly.<br />
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<u>Here's what you need to make the compote:</u><br />
-1 pint of fresh or frozen strawberries *If using fresh strawberries, you will need to add some water to bottom of pan to prevent burning<br />
-Juice from one medium lemon<br />
-2-3 TBS <a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2012/11/vanilla-beans-how-to-make-vanilla-sugar.html">vanilla sugar</a> (or you can use agave, honey, or regular table sugar)<br />
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Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This may take more or less time. Just make sure you pay attention to the liquid. You want the mixture to look thick like jam. Remove from heat and cool slightly before adding to cake batter. You want it to be cooled entirely before adding to frosting so that it doesn't melt the fat in your frosting. When I made this compote the strawberries were broken down enough that I didn't need to put it into a blender or food processor. If you want a smoother consistency, blend it until smooth before adding to your frosting.<br />
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<b>*Note: You will not use all the compote for your frosting. You can also put the rest into whatever cake batter you are using if you want a more intense strawberry flavor.</b><br />
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<u>Here's what you need for the frosting:</u> This will bake enough to frost 24 cupcakes or frost and fill (1) 9-in. round cake.<br />
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-1/2 C butter, room temp<br />
-8 oz. cream cheese, room temp<br />
-4 oz. white chocolate chips, melted<br />
-1 tsp. vanilla<br />
-2-4 tsp. <a href="http://www.beanilla.com/strawberry-extract">strawberry extract</a> (may need more depending on the quality of your berries used for the compote)<br />
-1/2 C strawberry compote, room temp<br />
-4-5 C powdered sugar<br />
-2-3 drops of food coloring, optional<br />
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1. Using a standing or hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Turn off mixer and add melted chocolate. To melt chocolate, melt over a double-boiler, use a chocolate melter or microwave in 30 second intervals on 30% power. Immediately whip to incorporate. It's important to add the chocolate all at once because if you try incorporating it slowly, it will solidify and make lumps in the frosting.<br />
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2. After chocolate is incorporated, add butter and whip for another minute. Add vanilla, strawberry extract, compote and food coloring if desired. Stir until incorporated. Add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated and then whip an additional minute so that frosting is light and fluffy.<br />
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Use to fill or frost cakes or cupcakes. This frosting will store for about a week in the fridge in an airtight container. If you use frosting after refrigeration, allow to come to room temp and whip until frosting is fluffy.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zCvLVs18uM/UV3PWpGI1GI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/fKur1tMmlHI/s1600/frosting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zCvLVs18uM/UV3PWpGI1GI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/fKur1tMmlHI/s320/frosting.jpg" /></a></div>
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Here is the<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/strawberry-cream-cheese-frosting?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1"> printable recipe</a>.<br />
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-76125007454667149122013-04-04T10:28:00.000-07:002013-04-06T11:37:58.453-07:00Chocolate Cake/CupcakesI LOVE a good chocolate cake. This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. It's so easy to make, it turns out perfect every time and I always have the ingredients in my pantry. It's just as easy to make as using a cake mix and tastes SO much better. <br />
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One of my favorite memories from growing up was making this cake on Sunday evenings with my family. Sundays were church and family day and after Sunday dinner it was kind of tradition to make some type of treat (or Mollicks as we like to call them in my family). My brother, Andy, always seems to be the unofficial person that made this cake. It was kinda his thing. We would take a piece of warm cake right out of the oven and pour cold milk over it and devour it. We also affectionately referred to this cake as "snacking cake" because it is so delicious by itself that you don't need any frosting. Not that a good frosting would hurt this cake, but it really is so yummy plain. I made these cupcakes for my birthday with a fresh <a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/04/strawberry-cream-cheese-frosting-with.html">strawberry frosting</a> that was so yummy. Honestly, this is my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.<br />
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This recipe is versatile because it makes a great cake, double-layer cake or cupcakes. The cupcakes are slightly dense and very moist. They also hold up really well when doing filled cupcakes.<br />
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<u>Here's what you need</u>:<br />
-1/2 C butter (one stick), room temperature<br />
-1 1/2 C sugar<br />
-2 eggs<br />
-2 tsp. vanilla<br />
-1/4 C cocoa powder (double this if you want a more intense chocolate flavor)<br />
-2 C all-purpose flour<br />
-1 1/2 tsp. baking soda<br />
-1 tsp. salt<br />
-1 1/4 C water<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Cream together until fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine evenly.<br />
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2. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk together to incorporate them. If you want to sift them together you can, but I just give it a quick stir with a whisk to make sure all dry ingredients are incorporated.<br />
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3. Pour half of the water into first wet mixture Mix just until combine. Pour in half of dry mixture and mix just until combine. Pour the remaining half of water into bowl and mix until combine. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients.<br />
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4. Grease and flour baking pan or use cupcake liners. If using (2) round pans, I always line the bottom of pan with a circle of parchment paper to ensure that cakes can be easily removed from the pan.<br />
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<u>Cupcakes</u>: Fill liners 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.<br />
<u>Cake 9x13:</u> Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes<br />
<u>(2) 9-in round cakes</u>: Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes<br />
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<b>**Cakes are done with you touch the center of the cake and it springs back without leaving an indent of your finger. Or when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. I always bake the minimum time and then recheck it every minute or two until done. </b><br />
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5. <u>For round cakes and cupcakes</u>: Remove pan(s) from oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Remove cake or cupcakes and transfer to a cooling rack. You can frost once cake is completely cooled.<br />
<u>For 9x13 cake</u>: Remove from oven and eat cake while warm or allow to cool completely in pan before frosting.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwGq2Q-pDag/UV221e31T_I/AAAAAAAAAeA/IJyx8zOjkaI/s1600/cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EwGq2Q-pDag/UV221e31T_I/AAAAAAAAAeA/IJyx8zOjkaI/s400/cupcake.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting<br />
{www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com}</td></tr>
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Here is the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/chocolate-cake-cupcakes?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.<br />
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!<br />
<br />Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-79995010540000221882013-03-26T18:15:00.003-07:002013-03-26T18:16:49.645-07:00The Birthday Fairy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K5mmdfjWcI4/UVI-0fYa4pI/AAAAAAAAAdU/KW0M7pNfsNo/s1600/quarters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K5mmdfjWcI4/UVI-0fYa4pI/AAAAAAAAAdU/KW0M7pNfsNo/s200/quarters.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Ok, so this has nothing to do with a recipe, but this is a fun tradition that I grew up with. When I was a child birthdays were HUGE in my family. Not expensive huge, but tradition huge. We got to pick our very own birthday breakfast. I usually picked donuts or Marshmallow Mateys since those were considered something for special occasions.<br />
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We also got to pick our birthday dinner. Like we are talking the whole menu. I loved to pick chicken roll-ups and fruit pizza. My parents made the day feel so special and birthdays were something we were so excited about. I remember getting just as excited for birthdays as I did for Christmas. I loved being together with family.<br />
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My favorite birthday tradition was the Birthday Fairy. The night before our birthday we would leave out our favorite pair of shoes. We would go to bed and the Birthday Fairy would magically come and leave quarters for every year plus one to grow on. Even though it wasn't a secret of how many quarters would end up in our shoe, I loved to sit and count them. I would put them in my Piggy Bank and save them for something special.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pCXuojCKWmU/UVI_aZVbUMI/AAAAAAAAAdk/-3wVs3-VgVc/s1600/people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pCXuojCKWmU/UVI_aZVbUMI/AAAAAAAAAdk/-3wVs3-VgVc/s320/people.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kynli, Braxton (my awesome BIL) and I all have birthdays in March.<br />It is so fun!</td></tr>
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March is a big month for birthdays in our family. My daughter turned three and this is the first year she has really understood the concept of the birthday fairy. She was so proud to pick out her shoes and was tickled with delight to see the quarters in the morning. She asked me if the Birthday could leave dimes next year instead. :) I love the sweet innocence of children and how the simplest things are so fun. I love carrying on this tradition in my own family.<br />
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The thing I'm realizing now that I'm older is that traditions don't have to be extravagant. It's just about doing the little things that make big memories for your family. I came from a family of simple means, we never went on big vacations and holidays were monetarily simple. I have so many wonderful memories from my childhood and all of them revolve around family, celebrating and tradition.<br />
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I hope I can give and create memories like these for my family. And there is just something so special about carrying these traditions with my kids. And you are never too old for a visit from the Birthday Fairy. :)<br />
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<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-70325377511406672442013-03-20T14:16:00.000-07:002013-03-20T14:23:16.903-07:00Brave Birthday Food, Part 1Doing themed birthdays can take some work and require planning and preparation. I did a <a href="http://somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com/2013/03/brave-birthday-party.html">Brave birthday</a> for my daughter and I found a lot of cute ideas of how to incorporate the theme into the food we served. Just like I've said before, you don't have to take tons of time to be creative and festive. I got most of my ideas from Pinterest and then I tried to think of different ways to serve cute food without having to spend a lot of time doing it. I decided to make my daughter a themed cake from scratch and knowing that would take the majority of my time, I tried to find ways to cut corners elsewhere without compromising the theme. <br />
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At the party we served Arrow cupcakes, Bullseye cakes, Bear claws and Target practice pizza. This post will focus on those and then I'll make a separate post about the birthday cake. I also used some cute Brave themed printable food tags from <a href="http://printabelle.com/free-brave-thank-you-menuplace-cards">Printabelle</a>. There is a whole<a href="http://printabelle.com/free-party-printable-sets/free-brave-party-printables"> Brave themed printable party pack</a> on that website that you can print for free. There were SO many cute party ideas.<br />
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<b>The Witches Green Potion:</b> I had planned to make this cucumber lime drink and then completely spaced it during last-minute party preparations. This is one of my all-time favorite drinks to serve at a party. It's easy to make and it is SO refreshing. I get a lot of compliments when I make it. I got this recipe from one of my favorite sites for all things festive: <a href="http://so-festive.com/?s=cucumber+lime">So Festive!</a>. All you need to do is add a few drops of green food coloring (I know it's not the most healthful, but birthdays are but once a year!) and it would make a yummy green potion that fits perfectly in the theme! If you are against food coloring, you could drop some scoops of green sherbet after the ice melts to make more of a slushy drink.<br />
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<b>Target Practice pizza:</b> My daughter loves Pizza and this was a cute way to incorporate it into the party. If you couldn't tell from the picture, these were pizzas from Papa Murphy's. I called a few days before the party to preorder the pizzas and also asked if they could arrange the pepperoni in the shape of a target. I could have easily done this myself, but I figured they had to put the pepperoni on anyways and it would save me a lot of time the day of the party. My local Papa Murphy's store was happy to help and I think the pizza turned out cute. This saved SO much time.<br />
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<b>The Bullseye cakes</b>: These were the easiest things to make! I used the Little Debbie cream-filled snack cakes that I had leftover from when I made the birthday cake. I used some leftover buttercream frosting to draw on the target with a writing tip and piping bag, dyed a little frosting red and used a Red Hot in the center. I got those little cocktail toothpicks that have the wispy stuff at the end and voila! You now have a cute Bullseye cake. I prepped these about an hour or so before the party. You could prep these the day before, but just keep them in an airtight container.<br />
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<b>The Arrow cupcakes:</b> I made vanilla bean cookie dough cupcakes (I will post the recipe once it's perfected) with buttercream frosting. This is my absolute favorite recipe for <a href="http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/perfect-cupcake-frosting-and-filling/">whipped buttercream</a>. It's from Our Best Bites and I love making it and substituting the white sugar with brown sugar. To save extra time you could easily make cupcakes from a cake mix and it would still taste good because the frosting is to die for. I made the arrow toppers from this site, <a href="http://www.cuetheconfetti.com/2012/06/arrow-cupcake-toppers.html">Cue the Confetti</a>, and they were SO easy to make and it really tied in the theme. K loves cupcakes!<br /><br />I actually made these about 5 days before the party and froze them. I took them out the day of and frosted them. I kept them refrigerated because my frosting required refrigeration,but these could be left out if using a different frosting. This is one of my secrets for cupcakes and cakes--they freeze well so when you make a batch just make extra and toss them in the freezer. They'll keep for a month or two in an airtight container.<br />
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<b>Bear Claw cookies:</b> I saw this idea on <a href="http://spoonful.com/recipes/chocolate-bear-paws">Spoonful</a> via Pinterest and I had to make them. These took a little bit of time, but they fit perfectly with the theme that I couldn't leave them out. I was in a pinch for time so I didn't follow the recipe on the original website, but rather used a quick recipe for Cake Mix Cookies (that I also use when I'm making homemade Oreos). I got about 25 claws out of this batch. I also made these the day before the party and stored them in an airtight container. You could also make these and freeze them and then thaw out the day of your party.<br />
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I'm going to show you how I made these. They look a little more complicated, but they are easy to do.<br /><br />Here's what you need:<br />
-Any dry cake mix (I used Devil's Food)<br />
-1/2 C shortening<br />
-2 eggs<br />
-2-3 TBS water<br />
*1/2 C of slivered almonds<br />
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Just mix all the ingredients (except for almonds) together in a large mixing bowl. Normally you would spoon drops on to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, but I had to get them into the claw shape first.<br />
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<b>Here's how to make the claw:</b><br />
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1. Take a TBS measuring spoon (or cookie scoop if you have it) and a 1/2 TBS measuring spoon to make 2 balls. I did this directly on a parchment-lined baking sheet so that I wouldn't have to transfer them before baking.<br />
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2. Push down on both of the cookie dough balls and lightly shape them into the form of a foot.<br />
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3. Take 5 slivered almonds and place them into the cookie dough to look like the claws.<br />
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4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven when done and allow the cookie to rest 5 minutes or so before trying to remove them to a cooling rack. If you try to do this step while they are still warm, they will break.<br />
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Here's the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/cake-mix-cookies-made-into-bear-claws?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.<br />
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Enjoy and Happy Baking! Hope these ideas were helpful to you. I loved how fun it was to plan a Brave Birthday party.Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-49104627732125923942013-03-18T22:41:00.001-07:002013-03-26T16:09:32.098-07:00"Brave" Birthday Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My daughter recently had a birthday and months ago she decided she wanted a <i style="text-align: left;">Brave</i><span style="text-align: left;"> party. This was her first official party where she got to invite friends and, honestly, I was a tad nervous. I shouldn't have been, but I wondered how I could incorporate food and fun games into the theme she had chosen AND how to keep a handful of preschoolers entertained. </span>
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A few weeks before her birthday, K decided that she wanted a Minnie Mouse birthday and then she decided on an Ariel birthday and then it was back to <i>Brave</i>. I could have taken the 2 former themes and had a handful of easy and festive ideas, but I'm glad she chose <i>Brave</i> because it was a fun and challenging to plan and it became a creative outlet for me. This also gave me the perfect excuse to attempt my first decorative cake. I was so excited to do something that would create memories for our daughter.<br />
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She LOVES anything princessy and I wanted to make sure to incorporated a bunch of her favorite things into the party: makeup, nail polish, sparkles, rainbows, pizza and cupcakes. Thanks to Pinterest and talking through some ideas with friends, we created this event for our daughter. <br />
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This is an overview of the party and I'll post specific recipes in another post. I also wanted to give a special thanks to Tarren Jessop who came as Princess Merida. This was her first birthday party and she was AWESOME! She was so great with the kids and her Scottish accent totally rocked. The girls couldn't believe that Princess Merida had come all the way to attend the party. They were all pretty stoked! If any of my Northern Utah readers/followers need and awesome Princess to come to your daughter's party, let me know and I'll give you her contact info. She was so great!<br />
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I also wanted to give thanks Alisha and Steve from <a href="http://www.embrephoto.com/"><b>Embre Photography</b></a> for capturing the night for us. It seems like when you put an event together you don't have enough hands to accomplish everything, especially taking pictures, so I'm so grateful for them. I loved how the pictures turned out. This will definitely be a fun memory and I'm glad they captured it for us. Embre Photography also has a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/embrephoto">Facebook page</a>, so check them out.<br />
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Here's the party in a Reader's Digest version:<br />
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<b><u>The decor:</u></b> Was really simple and I tried to tie the forest into the decorations since the movie takes place in the Scottish Highlands. We cut up some logs and covered them in parchment paper and served the food on them. I also gathered sticks from our backyard and arranged them in a glass vase and used it as a center piece. I also took blue tissue paper and made "wisps" for the table. The main decor was less than $1. I saw the idea <a href="http://sweetenyourdayevents.blogspot.com/2012/10/brave-themed-birthday-party.html?m=1">here</a>. I also bought the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Pixar-Brave-Deluxe-Figurine/dp/B0080RGF2C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1363671264&sr=8-3&keywords=brave+cake+toppers">Disney Deluxe Figurine Pack</a> so that I could use Merida on the birthday cake and I used the rest of the figurines on the food table.<br />
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<b><u>The food:</u></b> We served Target Practice pizza, Bullseye cakes, <a href="http://www.cuetheconfetti.com/2012/06/arrow-cupcake-toppers.html">Arrow cupcakes</a>, and <a href="http://spoonful.com/recipes/chocolate-bear-paws">Bear claws</a>. I totally loved how easy it was to make the cupcake toppers. That site is so cute and filled with lots of ideas. I also made a <i>Brave</i>-themed cake. I used these <a href="http://printabelle.com/free-brave-thank-you-menuplace-cards">cute food tags</a> from the site, <a href="http://printabelle.com/free-party-printable-sets/free-brave-party-printables">Printabelle</a>, that was part of the free (and super cute) printable Brave party pack. Check out that site because there are lots of themed (and free) printables for birthdays, holidays and other celebrations. I also wanted to serve Scottish Sweet buns seen <a href="http://pintrestchallenge.blogspot.com/2013/02/scottish-sweet-bun.html">here</a> and <a href="http://spoonful.com/recipes/stack-of-scottish-sweet-buns">here</a>, but I just didn't have time. They would have made the party extra festive, especially since the triplets in the movie LOVED sweet buns.<br />
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<u><b>The activity</b>:</u> We had a girl come dressed as Princess Merida to the party. She read the girls a book, played games outside with them, did a Princess Makeover on each girl and played at the party with each of the girls. I couldn't believe how much the girls loved it! And anything that involves sparkles and makeup is sure to please little girls. Other ideas that could have been fun that I toyed with was: <a href="http://printabelle.com/pin-the-tail-on-angus-custom-extra">pin-the-tail-on Angus</a>, a pinata in the shape of a horse or arrow, and outdoor games. There are so many avenues you could take with this theme.<br />
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<u><b>The party favor</b>:</u> I went to Zurchers and got the Brave party bags. I filled them with a candy necklace, a Ring Pop, a party noise maker and Brave Stickers (also from Zurchers).<br />
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<u><b>The "Thank You"</b>:</u> Each Princess that attended the party will receive a card with a picture of them with Merida. What little girl doesn't want to remember meeting a REAL princess? :)<br />
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Now here is the extended party version with lots of fun pictures. I can't believe how well this all came together. I hoped it would be a magical time for the girls.<br />
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We had all the girls come in Princess dresses.</div>
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Princess Merida came to meet all of the princesses. They were so happy and excited!<br />
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She read them a story. K's cousin even made sure she was paying attention.</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">We did Princess makeup and hair sparkles.</span></div>
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We painted fingernails.</div>
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And toenails.</div>
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Princess Merida even let K paint her nails. K loved that!</div>
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All of the Princesses got their pictures taken with Merida after their Princess makeovers.</div>
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The Princesses couldn't resist playing in the leaves with Merida.</div>
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We had yummy food and decided to do dinner since we were having the party in the evening. We also wanted to have desserts along with the cake.<br />
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Target Practice pizza.</div>
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Bear Claws.</div>
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Bulls-eye cakes.</div>
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Arrow cupcakes.</div>
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And her birthday cake. This was my first decorative cake. I did a vanilla bean sponge cake with Swiss Buttercream frosting and dark chocolate ganache. It was tasty!<br />
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The kids were SO excited when we cut the cake. K loves rainbows, so this was another little surprise for her and I wanted to incorporate it into the party. <u>Note to self:</u> If you do a rainbow cake for a kid's party, either make 2 of them or make rainbow cupcakes. The arrow cupcakes were SO not cool after we cut into the cake. :)<br />
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The Birthday girl couldn't wait to open presents. She got spoiled rotten! She got a bunch of new dolls and "animally friends" (aka stuffed animals), a new outfit and a ton of princess toys and makeup. She was so happy that Merida helped her open gifts. She loved celebrating with her friends and family.<br />
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She couldn't stop hugging her new stuffed friends.</div>
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We sang "Happy Birthday" and she couldn't even wait until the song ended to blow out candles.<br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">We gave out little party bags for each of the Princesses that had little favors in them: noise maker, candy ring and necklace and Brave stickers. </span><br />
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Princess Belle having some fun outside.<br /></div>
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K's little Sis holding down the fort inside.</div>
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Cinderella even had a chance to take a ride on Angus. :)</div>
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We had so much fun seeing the joy and fun that the kids experienced it made all of the hard work worth it. I can't wait to plan her next birthday. I have to give a HUGE thanks to my amazing husband who was my right-hand man for the whole shindig. He is the most awesome person in the world and I'm glad we get to party together. He is so supportive in all of my baking and party adventures. And the most willing taste-tester. Gosh, I love him! My parents were also so great to come a few hours before the party to help organize and set up everything. They are always there to help and my Mama always says, "Many hands make light work." My good friend, Missy, was also great to come over and help me with the cake. I needed some serious moral support to pull that off. She always has fantastic, creative ideas. Party planning is SO much easier with awesome people to help me. I definitely could not have pulled this off solo. :)<br />
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I'm so glad I came from a family that enjoys celebrating, making memories and creating traditions. Life is so good. I hope this inspires you to find the joy in celebration and finding little ways to become more <a href="http://www.so-festive.com/">festive</a> in creating memories with your loved ones. </div>
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<script src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script>Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6781890584043746737.post-49497552851778374102013-03-04T08:00:00.000-08:002013-03-05T12:22:51.560-08:00Oatmeal Scotchies <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z1lhEFX1etk/UTJOEZPfhwI/AAAAAAAAAVA/pWUvvL782xw/s1600/done+cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z1lhEFX1etk/UTJOEZPfhwI/AAAAAAAAAVA/pWUvvL782xw/s320/done+cookies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oatmeal Scotchies<br />
{www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com}</td></tr>
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I love having friends and family who share my passion for food. I love emails and late night chats about the latest recipes we've tried and giving each other pointers. My cousin, Merissa, is quite domestic and I have fun keeping up with all of the food she cooks and bakes. She gave me this recipe to try out and it was practically perfect. She told me that this recipe happened to be a "accidental magic." You know those moments where you are in the midst of making something and you don't have enough of whatever the recipe calls for? Then you just start throwing in a little of this and that in of whatever you have on-hand? Happens to me all of the time. That's one of the fun things about baking and cooking is that a recipe is just more of an outline and not a set of rigid rules; you get to create and make the recipe your very own. That's why I love baking and cooking so much. The butterscotch chips became the "accidental magic" in this recipe.<br />
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These aren't your "cakey" oatmeal cookies, but rather are chewy and so buttery. Most oatmeal cookies have just chocolate chips, but these have a mixture of semi-sweet and butterscotch. The butterscotch chips are amazing! It takes oatmeal cookies to new heights. I also love the incorporation of pecans with the chocolate. These have so much chocolaty chunk goodness that it's practically sinful. I also added a little bit of cinnamon. It's just enough to add that finishing touch.<br />
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Here's what you need:<br />
-1 C butter, softened<br />
-1 C brown sugar<br />
-1/2 C white sugar<br />
-2 eggs<br />
-2 tsp. pure vanilla extract<br />
-1 1/4 C all-purpose flour <b>*High-altitude bakers:</b> add 1/3 C extra flour<br />
-1/2 tsp. salt<br />
-3/4 tsp. baking soda<br />
-3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon<br />
-3 C quick oats<br />
-1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
-3/4 C butterscotch chips<br />
-1 C pecans, coarsely chopped<br />
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. *Sea-level bakers preheat to 325 degrees<br />
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2. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugars together with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla and beat mix until well-incorporated. Add flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix until incorporated. Add the oats, baking chips and pecans and stir by hand until all incorporated.<br />
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3. Drop mixture by the spoonfuls on a parchment-lined baking sheet or lightly greased baking sheet. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzVzsEText0/UTJOG9qrltI/AAAAAAAAAVM/clRDoVSQKqQ/s1600/cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzVzsEText0/UTJOG9qrltI/AAAAAAAAAVM/clRDoVSQKqQ/s320/cookies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolaty Chunk Goodness<br />
{www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com}</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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4. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Edges will be slightly brown and top will still look under baked. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K449k4ks8tA/UTJOHlcMrqI/AAAAAAAAAVU/H9OP_mU1Avg/s1600/cute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K449k4ks8tA/UTJOHlcMrqI/AAAAAAAAAVU/H9OP_mU1Avg/s400/cute.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute gifting idea.<br />
{www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com}</td></tr>
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These will keep in a cookie jar or an air-tight container for a week or so. I also like making a double batch and either freezing the baked cookies or the frozen scoops of dough for a quick treat when company comes over.<b><br /></b><br />
<b>To make from frozen cookies</b>: scoop dough out on to a baking sheet as if you were going to bake them, but put them in the freezer instead. Once scoops of dough are frozen, transfer them to a gallon Ziploc bag. I like to write the name of the cookie and the baking temperature and time amount right on the front. Then all you have to do is pop them onto a tray and bake. <span style="background-color: white;">I like to put the frozen cookie dough on to the baking sheet and let them sit in the oven while it preheats. Bake about 2 minutes extra from the recommended baking time.</span><br />
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You can also bake the entire batch of cookies and once the cookies are completely cooled, you can put them in an airtight, freezer-safe container with waxed paper separating the layers. Or I have placed 2 cookies in a sandwich bag and put several of those bags into a Ziploc bag for freezing. Any way works well, it's just personal preference.<br />
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Enjoy and Happy Baking!<br />
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Here's the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/somethingquitedomestic/oatmeal-scotchies?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1">printable recipe</a>.<br />
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Something Quite Domestichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07178103369195996238noreply@blogger.com2