Rainbow Cake -- "Inspire Us!" Blog Hop!

Welcome to Lovebug Scrapbooking's "INSPIRE US!" blog hop!! Our blog hops take place on the last Saturday of every month. Thanks so much for joining in the fun!

If you just happened by this blog and didn't realize a blog hop was taking place, please go back to Lovebug Scrapbooking and start the Hop. You won't want to miss all the inspiration from our members....... or the prizes :-)

Our theme for February is "Leaps and Bounds".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nothings says SPRING more than a rainbow :-) and let's face it -- if we want to see a rainbow, we have to put up with a bit of rain. It's worth it, though!

The recipe I want to share is one I found on a blog I visit. Jessica actually made one for a cake sale, so I wasn't able to get a picture of it when cut, but the people who bought it were so impressed. This cake looks fabulous and is such a surprise!

She did another using her Easy Bake Oven cake pans. I think those at 4-inches across. Here's how it looked when cut:

It's very easy to make. We used 2 white cake boxed mixes. These were made according to directions on the box.

Separate the batter into 6 bowls and add food paste to make the colors of the rainbow -- purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.

Bake in 8-inch round cake pans for about 20 minutes, at 350 degrees. Let cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely before frosting.

When frosting the cake, spread some icing between each layer. You may need to trim the cakes slightly if some rose a bit higher than others. Set in refrigerator for about an hour to set the icing. This makes it so much easier to frost around the outside of the cake. Finally, spread icing all around the cake.

Here's a frosting recipe. You'll need to double it for this cake -- especially if you're like me and want more icing :-)

Butter Icing

1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
approx 3 cups icing sugar
2-3 tsp milk

Cream together the butter and vanilla. Add icing a bit at a time. Add milk and beat until smooth.

There you have it!

I'd LOVE some followers :-) So, if you're interested in cooking/baking, please sign up. I'll put the names of my followers in for a prize drawing -- a "Taste of Home: Simple and Delicious" magazine. It's a GREAT magazine, the recipes are easy to follow and there's a photo of every recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Lovebug Blog Hop will run from today, February 27th until March 2nd. There will be a prize drawing on March 3rd.

Follow along in our blog hop! Your next stop is Tanya at "The Adventures of Us".

"Make It" Monday! February 22nd

This week's theme is CHOCOLATE :-)

Fry's Fudgey Layer Cake

1 cup Fry's cocoa (any brand will do, I usually buy Fry's)
1 3/4 cup sugar (divided)
2/3 cup water
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Combine cocoa and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a large saucepan. Gradually stir in water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Cool. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Cream butter in large mixing bowl until light. Gradually beat in remaining 1 1/4 cups of sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk, combining lightly after each addition.

Divide batter between two greased and floured 9-inch round pans. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then let cool completely before frosting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post your recipe on your blog and play along with us :-) Add your link using MckLinky, and I'll drop by for a visit.

a few changes for the bagel recipe....

Here's the recipe I posted a few days ago. We let the dough rise and then formed it into rings. Today when we made them, we changed things a bit, and it made a LOT of difference. The bagels are nicer shaped and also bigger.

Here are our changes:

Once the dough is kneaded well, cut it into 6 equal pieces. Roll them into a bun shape and place on oiled/greased baking pan to rise for about 2 hours. Cover them with towel (I used a folded tablecloth). When you have the water boiled and ready, then you can form the rings. Just push your two thumbs into the center of each roll and stretch to form a ring.

Continue with the directions as posted.

We're so pleased with our bagel success :-)

EASY Chicken Quesadilla

I in no way claim to know all there is to know about Mexican dishes (had to use spell-check to see how to spell quesadilla, though spell-check wanted the word changed to queasily), but these are what we call Easy Chicken Quesadilla :-)

Easy Chicken Quesadillas

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cups cooked rice
2 jars salsa (not sure of the grams, but we use 2 of the small Tostitos brand)
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese
20 flour tortillas

Cut chicken into pieces and fry in small amount of olive oil. Add salsa and heat. Cook rice and add to mixture.

Layer one tortilla with some cheese, then the chicken mixture and a bit more cheese. Top with another tortilla. Fry in hot frying pan until browned on both sides (probably a minute on each side)

Cut in wedges and serve with sour cream and/or salsa.

Our Valentine's Day

Let me tell you, there was NO shortage of chocolate treats in my house today! And, the good stuff, too -- Lindt Lindor Truffles. YUM! I've gotten everyone hooked on them. LOL!

Here are the kids (my nephew included) sitting down for breakfast.


I made heart-shaped pancakes:


Dessert after supper were these Sandwih Cookies -- very easy to make and they tasted great! They didn't last too long!

I got 2 packages of Lindors, plus a beautiful card from Devin. Jessica made a card and Benjamin wrote me a little note. I did cards for each of the kids (plus my nephew) and wrote a note in each one. I just LOVE Valentine's Day, BUT I think eery day we should be should be Valentine's, don't you!

"Make It" Monday! Feb 15th

This week's theme is MEAT DISHES.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

meatballs:

1 lb ground beef
1/2 rolled oats
salt/pepper
onion powder

Mix all ingredients and then roll into 1" balls. Place on wire rack, on a cookie sheet and place in 350 deg. oven. Cook for 20 minutes or until browned.

Remove from oven and place meatballs in casserole dish or small roaster.

sauce:

1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup vinegar
juice from can of pineapple chunks (reserve the chunks)

Mix all ingredients in saucepan and heat until boiled and thickened.

Pour over meatballs. Add in pineapple chunks, some chopped onion and chopped peppers.

Cover and bake at 325 deg for 1 hour. Serve with rice and side of veggies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post your recipe on your blog and play along with us :-) Add your link using MckLinky, and I'll drop by for a visit.

Valentine Cupcakes

Yummy! Timothy and I made these cupcakes for our Homeschool Valentine's party yesterday. Jessica made the little hearts to stick in each one. The kids enjoyed finding their own cupcake.

I just used a boxed mix for the cupcakes.

For the icing, I made some butter icing. Here's the recipe:

Butter Icing

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

approx 3 cups icing sugar

2-3 tsp milk

Cream together the butter and vanilla. Add icing a bit at a time. Add milk and beat until smooth.

Here's a recipe for Chocolate Icing.

Any plans for Valentine's Day?

Baking anything special?

I think I am making some of these Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies, found at Bakerella. Don't they look delicious! Not sure if I'll make RED ones, though, as my two younger kids go wild with red coloring!

Share your plans!

"Make It" Monday - Feb 8th

This week's theme is CAKES.

GRAM'S BOILED RAISIN CAKE

Boil the following ingredients for 5 minutes:

2 cups water
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups raisins
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp allspice

Let cool. Mix in separate bowl:

2 1/2-3 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda

Add cooled mixture to dry ingredients. Stir by hand. Pour into a greased/floured tube pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 300 deg.

I usually cut my cake in half and freeze part of it. It freezes well.

Enjoy :-)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post your recipe on your blog and play along with us :-) Add your link using MckLinky, and I'll drop by for a visit.

Never thought it would be so easy

to make BAGELS, but Jessica and I tried them today and they are a HIT! Two thumbs up from everyone :-)

My friend, Glenda, sent me this recipe. We are definitely going to be making them LOTS (and probably will not buy bagels again!). We'll be experimenting with some flavour variations. If you have any ideas, please share!

Bagels

Glenda's recipe was for use in a bread maker.

1 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp honey
2 cups white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp yeast.

Toss it all in the machine and put in on the bagel dough setting. When it's done, make it into "snakes" then circles. Drop into boiling water for 30 seconds, flip and leave for another 30 seconds. Lift on to paper towel and then onto a lightly greased baking pan. Cook at 375 deg. for 20-25 min.

~~~~~~~~~~

Since I don't have a bread maker, I asked another friend (Thanks, Kathy!) how it should be done. Same ingredients, just the procedure is a bit different.

Dissolve the honey in warm water (water that's not hot when you test it on your wrist, but it is warm). Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let set for about 10 minutes. Stir, and start adding the flour and salt, mixing as you go. When you can't stir it any more, turn it out on a floured counter, and start kneading, adding flour as needed. Keep kneading until it feels really smooth in your hands, and not sticky, probably about 10 minutes.

**Set into an oiled bowl, cover with a dishtowel, and set in a warm place to rise until it has doubled (stick a finger into it, and if the indent stays, it's ready. When it's done, make it into "snakes" then circles. **

NOTE: Here's what we now do and we find it makes a nicer shaped and bigger bagel. Once the dough is kneaded well, cut it into 6 equal pieces. Roll them into a bun shape and place on oiled/greased baking pan to rise for about 2 hours. Cover them with towel (I used a folded tablecloth). When you have the water boiled and ready, then you can form the rings. Just push your two thumbs into the center of each roll and stretch to form a ring.

Drop into boiling water for 30 seconds, flip and leave for another 30 seconds. Lift on to paper towel and then onto a prepared baking pan. Cook at 375 degrees for 20-25 min.

We made only 6 bagels, but I'm thinking we could have make 8-9, and rolled longer snakes. Our bagels kind of puffed up in height but were a bit small in diameter. Nobody toasted their bagels -- we just ate them warm from the oven. DELICIOUS!

"Make It" Monday - February 1st

Click HERE to read about "Make It Monday", and get the code.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The theme this week is SNACKS.

My friend Deana introduced this yummy dip to me :-)

Apple Dip

1 large package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar

Cream together and spread on serving plate.

Drizzle caramel sauce over the top. Crush 3 SKOR bars and sprinkle on top.

Slice Granny Smith apples, and dip!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Post your recipe on your blog and play along with us :-) Add your link using MckLinky, and I'll drop by for a visit.

Last of January's cakes.....

making a total of eleven cakes :-) Busy month!



The xBox isn't that "warped". I think it's the angle of the photo :-)

Still getting lots of orders for Lightning McQueen.