Recent Recipes

Thanks to some friends and Pinterest, I have made some recent recipes that are now part of my "tried and true" collection.


Root Beer Float Cake -  it is delicious and reminds me of a Texas Sheet Cake (with a tinge of root beer flavor) **

1 pkg German chocolate cake mix
1 1/4 c. root beer (not diet)
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs

Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Beat mixture at low speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened.  Pour batter into greased 9x13 pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Frosting
1/2 c. butter
7 Tbsp. root beer (not diet)
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 pkg (16 oz.) powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Warm butter in microwave, and combine with root beer and cocoa.  Mix thoroughly.  Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Spread on warm cake and enjoy!

** This is a recipe from Betty Martino, a wonderful cook at the Stricklers' church in Tennessee.



Roasted Green Beans - very yummy; preserved the fresh taste of the green beans
I found several recipes but used this one from the Food Network.

Breakfast Cups - Will helped with the crescent roll and scrambled egg portion of this recipe.  I adjusted the recipe to use all 8 crescent rolls.

Iced Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies - YUMMY!!!  There are no pictures of this recipe - they didn't last long!  :-)

"Are You Kidding Me" Cake - I love this cake for its simplicity and yummy flavor at the same time.  I added a powdered sugar/milk icing.  It got rave reviews when Mark took it in for a potluck at school.

I have made two varieties of this cake.  Strawberry cake mix with strawberry pie filling (above) and spice cake mix with apple pie filling.

A Fun Fourth

Our Independence Day was really a lot of fun.  Mark had the day off, and we enjoyed some great family time.


I made Breakfast Burritos with eggs and cheese (Will liked it with just cheese) in the morning.  Will (with a little help from me) made a Patriotic Jell-O (Berry Blue with chopped strawberries); he did an awesome job as Mama's helper in the kitchen!


We enjoyed some pool time (even going to the "big pool") in the late morning.

After Will's (and Daddy's) nap, we went to Meme and Pawpaw's house for a cookout with Uncle Ron and Aunt Gloria.  Yep, that's a Christmas plate that Will had.  I told him we would have to tell Jesus AND America "Happy Birthday."  :-)  He got brave and sat with Uncle Ron later in the afternoon.  He even scratched Aunt Gloria's back, which was a big hit!

  

Earlier in the day, I made Fundamiddles cupcakes (yellow cake with chocolate filling).  I didn't have frosting, but I decided I wanted to make a chocolate ganache.  This was my first time making it, but it was a big hit!  I followed this recipe for the chocolate ganache, and since it called for half and half (which I didn't have), I used this recipe for a substitute.

Decide for yourself if Will enjoyed the cupcakes.  :-)

Will got to see his first fireworks show this summer.  We went to Chesterfield Meadows Shopping Center with Uncle Matt to watch the fireworks being set off at the Chesterfield Fairgrounds.  Our view was a little obstructed for the show, but it was great with Will.  We didn't have to get there too early, and we were able to leave right away.  The noise was also very subdued.  Will was about to doze off in the car by the time we got home, so it was good that we could get him in bed as soon as possible and weren't held up in traffic somewhere.

During the "firewars" (Will's terminology), we heard lots of "Wow"s and "Ooh"s.  He liked the fireworks very much; in fact, he told both Mark and I that he wanted to see "firewars" again soon.  Another hit for the evening was a little girl on a blanket next to us - she shared her Sun Chips with Will.  I wonder if he saw more of her than of the fireworks.  :-)  As you can see, when he was watching the fireworks, he "lap-hopped."

VBS - Day Five

Friday was Day Five - such a fun ending to a great VBS week.  Pastor Beth and her girls, Grace and Sophia, joined us on Thursday night and, as you can see, took an active and energetic role in VBS. 

  

Friday's Lesson Information

Bible Point:
No matter where you are…trust God!

Bible Verse:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

Bible Story:
Jesus makes a beachside breakfast for his friends. (John 21:1-14)

Our singing at the end of the evening was especially fun.  Will had brought his tambourine from home, and Ms. Katie called him up to play at the beginning.  His talents with rhythm were a hit with everyone for the evening!!  After he was the feature performer for one song, the rest of the kids came up to sing the VBS songs with the motions.  Will accompanied the group (look for him down front on the left), and he continued to do a great job!  Mama was so proud of my little musician!!!

After Bible School ended for the evening, Will wanted a picture with his tambourine buddy, Ms. Katie.  He also enjoyed playing with Gracie and Sophia.  We may be in trouble - check out the hand-holding pic!

Here's the songs we sang most at VBS.  Warning: they are addictive!

VBS - Day Four

Thursday was Day Four of VBS.  As with all week, we had a yummy dinner, fun games, dynamic science-based arts and crafts, invigorating music, and inspirational Bible lessons.

The pictures below are fuzzy, but I HAD to capture this moment.  During singing at the end of the evening's Bible School, Ms. Katie (my preschool teacher) started playing her tambourine.  For those of you who have spent much time with Will, you know his penchant for music.  In fact, he is so interested in music that recently Meme and Pawpaw got him his own small tambourine.  He has been playing it when we sing and dance since then.  He was absolutely enthralled (see picture on right) when he saw Ms. Katie playing (see picture on left).  After the singing, we told Ms. Katie that Will had his own tambourine at home, and she encouraged him to bring it Friday night.  He was so excited that he could hardly stop talking about bringing his tambourine to church.

Thursday's Lesson Information

Bible Point:

No matter what happens…trust God!

Bible Verse:

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." (Romans 8:38)

Bible Story:

Jesus dies and comes back to life.

(Matthew 27:32-28:20)

Once again, Will wanted to take a picture outside at the cross before leaving: