Summer tiiiiime...and the livin's easy :)

Phew!  This summer is flying by!  I cannot believe that school starts in two weeks.  The girls are super excited this year because they both will have new teachers, and new classmates.  They were the youngest kiddos in the class so while the rest of the class is going to Kindergarten, they have one more year of Pre-K.  They miss the kindergarten age cut off by 3 weeks...  I let them choose their own backpacks this year, Cassie picked a Justin Beiber backpack and Scarlett picked Disney Princess.

Sheesh, speaking of flying by, my babes will be 5 soon... 5!?  They are growing so fast.. And way too smart for their own good :) 



So far its been a relatively quiet summer.  Lots of stayin out of the heat and swimming.  Thank God we have a pool this year! We also had family come hang out for a few weeks!  The girls had so much fun playing with Uncle Adrian.

Adrian came out from Tennessee and was probably glad to get home, the girls ran him ragged.  The night before he left I made a Texas Sheet Cake and he has now requested one for his birthday... However, according to FedEx it would cost about $130 to send one, can you believe that? So I figured I'd put my recipe on here and someone there could make it for him. :)


Ash's Famous Texas Sheet Cake ;)


What you'll need:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
frosting (recipe provided below) 

❦ Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your pan ahead of time, I always forgot and end up  pouring it in if I don't do it at this time, lol (there's a lot going on you might forget ;) ) I use a 13X9 pan but you can do a bit bigger, or I've done cupcakes before and those were a hit as well!! 
❦ Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 
❦ In a saucepan, melt butter and add cocoa powder, and one cup of water.  Bring to a boil STIRRING CONSTANTLY... Once at a boil, add to dry mix and mix with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. (I like to go between 2-3 to get more air into the batter)  Add buttermilk, and mix.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Be sure to add the buttermilk and mix first or else the eggs will scramble because of the hot mixture that was added. The buttermilk brings the temp down a bit :).  Batter will be pretty thin.  Pour into the pan you've already greased!! (aren't you happy you greased it ahead of time....yeah I know... great idea ;)  ) 
❦ Bake for about 25 minutes, depending on your oven, and which way you decided to make the cake.  For cupcakes obviously it won't take as long. I always stick a butter knife in the middle and when it comes out clean, you're good as gold! The last ten minutes, start making the frosting.  When your cake is done, pour the frosting over your cake and ENJOY! Seriously, there are few desserts that beat a Texas Sheet Cake... unless you dislike chocolate... Which in that case.... I have no words. ;) 


Chocolate-Buttermilk Frosting
❦ In a medium saucepan mix 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons) melt it a bit, and add 3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder and 3 tablespoons of buttermilk.  Bring to a boil.. stirring constantly! Once bubbling, remove from heat and add 2 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until smooth and velvety. (mmm I'm drooling already)  I like to add chopped pecans to the icing and than pour on top of the cake.  I also stab a few holes in the cake for the icing to slowly seep inside of the cake.  Those options are purely up to you, although, they make it so much better ;) 


Hope you guys like it!! If you do make it, let me know how it turns out!! <3 

LOW FAT SUPER YUMMY MEATLOAF

So I haven't made meatloaf in a long time because I thought that no matter what it would be too fatty and I wouldnt want to screw up my diet. I dont wanna fiddle around with using ground turkey (its just not the same! i need some beef! lol). So today I played around on the recipe maker and found a way to make a SUPER yummy meatloaf that is really low fat/carbs/etc! You get a hearty/rib sticking portion, eat it with a power food and hey its an awesome meal! Here's what I did!

LOW FAT SUPER YUMMY MEATLOAF

Ingredients:
non stick spray
1lb 93% lean ground beef
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 or 2 clove's of garlic *whichever you prefer* (i always use a lot) 
4 oz hungry man spicy sauce *or you can use just tomato sauce*
1c of finely chopped onion
3 egg whites (no yolk)
1 cup of Rice Crispies cereal
and 1 tsp of ketchup for at the end.


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non stick spray. Mix ingredients together except ketchup. Bake for about 40-45 mins. Spread the ketchup on the last 5 minutes. Slice into 4 even sections. 1 piece = 1 serving. 


I got to the part where you were supposed to use tomato sauce and saw i had only tomato soup or that sauce for sloppy joes so i threw that in there as a substitute and OMG it came out way better.  The spiciness of the sauce gave it a little more flavor and kick!  Hope you guys like it!! My kids and husband ate it and thought it was awesome! Then i told them I used rice crispies instead of real rice and breadcrumbs and they were like WHAT?! lol You couldn't even tell the difference! lmao.  If you guys make it comment on here and tell me how you liked it!

Pumpkiny cheesecake Heaven!

I LOVE Food Network, and the cooking channel but honestly, some, or most of the recipes are kinda out of this world, not something that an everyday gal has time, nor the patience to make, especially with kids running around or poking their noses into what your doing every second... (will I ever be able to pee by myself again?). So here is one that is AMAZING yet simple.  I know that Thanksgiving has long passed but I could eat pumpkin year round and think most people still enjoy it at Christmastime... and cheesecake... c'mon!! Who doesn't like cheesecake?  Mix the two and you have well, Heaven!  So this one does take a while to make, and its not the cheapest thing either, but it is definitely worth every penny and those sweat and tears.  If you check, you might have some of the stuff in your pantry already.  You will need a sringform pan for this.  To tell you the truth, I had NO clue what that was, so I looked it up and now its like how did I ever bake without this?!  You can make cakes in it too so its handy to have around.  If you're going to take this somewhere, start the day before!  Here goes!

Ingredients:

about 40 ginger snaps *finely crushed*
1/4 cup of butter (get the real thing, no margarine)
1/4 cup pecans or walnuts *finely chopped*
4 packages of cream cheese softened
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1tbsp. of pumpkin pie spice
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
whipped topping of course!

Directions:
Heat the oven to about 325*F.  To make the crust you need to make sure the ginger snaps are very finely crushed!  Big lumps wont stick. I like to put them in a plastic bag and have the girls beat it to death, that usually does the job.  Once crushed, mix with the butter and the finely chopped pecans or walnuts.  Spray the springform pan with some butter spray or pam, and press into the bottom and up the side a bit... If it wont stick, no worries, just go as high as it will go without crumbling back down.  I like to sprinkle a little bit of sugar on top after I get it pressed in, I feel that it makes it just a bit crunchier!  In a bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar with a mixer and mix really well.  Add the pumkin, spice, and vanilla.  Once all mixed, add the eggs one at a time making sure to mix well after each addition.  Pour on top of the crust. Bake for about an hour and a half.  The sides will be nice and set while the middle will still be jiggly but not wet looking.  Cool for about an hour and than remove the lining of the pan.  Refrigerate for another four hours. (I KNOW!! Thats forever but its definitely worth it, nobody wants a runny cheesecake, blech)  When you're ready to eat pop a little whipped cream on top and enjoy!  Make sure there is plenty of milk to go round because, wow, this baby is rich!  You know the saying! "Chocolate, men, and pumpkin cheesecake, are all better rich..." OKAY maybe i made that up, but its pretty true right? lol

This dessert by far was the best one I've made yet, even our neighbor who is iffy on pumpkin had a piece and raved about it so much, the other next door neighbor came over and asked for a piece!  Unfortunately for him, by then it was long gone.. it doesnt last long let me tell ya!  Its a pretty nice sized pie too I would say we got about 13 slices from it.

Good luck everybody!  Its super simple to make, just waiting for it is the hardest! Tomorrow I will probably be making Stuffed Peppers, (mmmmm  the best) and girl you know it will be the easiest way possible, you should never have to get stressed out in the kitchen, just make it how you want, and it usually will turn out great!  And if not, oh well, just pretend like you rocked it! :) Talk to you tomorrow! <3

p.s. if you do make this heavenly pie, make sure to comment below and let me know!  I wanna see what ya'll think!

Ok so tonight I was dreaming of the yummy "Crab Alfredo" from Red Lobster, but alas, having a budget means not eating out a lot, and definitely not Red Lobster... So I decided to try to make my own!  I LOVED the outcome and almost would rather just do this everytime than even go to RL! 1: its cheaper, 2: no crowds 3: i can customize it!  The downsides, none of those cheesy garlicy bisquits, and the clean up afterwards... Hey I'll have to master those bisquits next!  Here is the recipe I used to make the alfredo sauce, (note: I like a thicker sauce, so customize it to your liking with a litle less cheese if you like it runnier).

Mrs. Stanescu's "famous" (ok not yet but maybe one day!) Alfredo

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons of butter
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
16 oz heavy whipping cream
salt to taste
pinch of nutmeg
parmesean and romano cheese
2 egg YOLKS *no egg whites*

Directions:

In a med-large saucepan melt the butter on medium heat. Saute the garlic in there and once mixed together, slowly add the cream stirring constantly.  Once warmed up, add the salt nutmeg and the cheese.  Add the cheese slowly so you can control the consistency, making sure the cheese is melted in the sauce before you add more.  Keep stirring!  Once you like the amount of cheese add the egg yolks and mix well.  Cook about 3 to 4 more minutes and than enjoy on top of your favorite pasta!  Add the crab, shrimp, chicken, whatever you like!  Or just eat alone, its wonderful anyway you make it.  This recipe is enough for about 4 people, so expect to have left overs or just cut it in half for less.  Make sure you have the pasta cooking because it does go pretty fast once you add the cheese.

I made a chocolate cake for dessert with some homemade buttercream frosting but while it was good, it wasnt perfect, so once I'm happy with that recipe I will post it!  Hope you enjoy the alfredo sauce!  Much love!