Snail away....

For dinner we had these new Pillsbury crescent rounds. Super yummy and Miss A said they looked exactly like a snail! So we saved one for her lunch. We have a hot dog and crescent round snail next to a green bean and bow tie pasta tree. We have some grapes for filler and the extra pieces of the hot dog along the bottom!!! Miss A did mention that the tree looked kind of sad but she would fix it at lunch...that kid kills me!! haha

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well....after a week off of school for Miss A we are back! Thanksgiving is over we had many many things to be thankful for. Christmas has been in full swing for almost a month now in all the stores, and finally this weekend we got into the Christmas spirit and decorated most of our house. For Miss A's bento we also tried to get into the Christmas spirit. We used some of our left over fried rice and did a turkey Christmas tree with peas and carrot decorations! We added a cheese star on top and she wanted some popcorn in there as well. She told me the tree was unrecognizable at lunch but she turned it into something fabulous as she always does!! haha.

Yeah...not the most creative Christmas tree...definitely not the best lighting. Not to make any excuses but we woke up late and Mighty Max is eating solids now so it put a major cramp in our morning routine! ha ha! But he sure is cute! 

This is the fireplace. Just need to get our stockings embroidered.... :)

We had to go for tall and skinny tree instead of wide and squatty...I must say I kind of like it!!

This sadly is all the other crap that has not quite found a home....still have the kitchen, kids game room, and most importantly my Department 56 Snow Villages!! Miss A is super excited!

Make it a great week....see you tomorrow!! 

REDO!!! Chocolate Pumpkins and Sweet Potato Cookies

Well just a quick recap. I added a few more accents to the chocolate mini pumpkins. I also did the second batch of sweet potato cookies. These came out MUCH better and definitely the right shape!!! Have a great turkey day everyone!!!

Chocolate & Pumpkin Mini Bundt Pumpkin Shaped Cakes

Yeah...that is a long title. Hopefully it makes sense. Soooo not exactly the way I wanted them to turn out. I should have put orange food coloring in the glaze so it would be pumpkin orange instead of white. BUT, my daddy-o is a diabetic, cancer survivor, and has a whole list of other health related concerns. So keeping things as simple as possible is always best. The less preservatives or additives the better! The stem and leaves I made out of fondant. They kind of look like apples, because I did not have teardrop leaf cutter. Well..you live and you learn. I must say the cake still tastes scrumptious!! It was just a chocolate cake mix and a can of pumpkin to replace the oil!

Sweet Potato Pie Cookies

Mmmmmm sweet potato pie makes me so happy I could cry!!! 

Sweet potato pie COOKIES make mes crazy happy kooky!! 

My hubby Hungry Hank was watching the food network and came across this little gem of a recipe!

Here are the pictures of our cookies...I could have done a nicer job on the glaze application but it was 2:30am in the morning and this was one of 4 projects. 1) slow cooker tequila cilantro lime chicken 2) chocolate pumpkin mini pumpkins 3) fondant stems and leaves for mini pumpkins 4) preparing to freeze the 14 pureed sweet potato servings. 

We may need to make these again tonight because they are flying off the plate pretty darn quick!!!!

Sweet Potato Pie Cookies with Orange Glaze

Recipe courtesy The Neelys

Prep Time:

25 min

Inactive Prep Time:

1 hr 0 min

Cook Time:

18 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

24 to 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sweet potato puree
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Orange Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and adjust racks to the middle position. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.

Using a hand held mixer cream together the butter, granulated sugar and the brown sugar until light and fluffy and the volume has increased. Add the egg and the vanilla and mix until incorporated. Stir in the sweet potato puree and blend until smooth. Beat in the dry ingredients in increments and combine well. Stir in the pecans.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. Bake until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges and they spring back from the touch, about 18 minutes. Let cool completely on the cookie sheets before glazing.

For the glaze:

Combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and vanilla in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle over the cookies and let harden for 1 hour before serving.

Cook's Note: If you need to thin the glaze, add more orange juice. If you need to thicken it, add more confectioners' sugar.

 Copyright 2011 Television Food Network G.P.
All Rights Reserved

Where there is birthday there is cake!!!

Miss A of course is a product of her environment so my little baking hobby obviously affects her. If someone has a birthday she feels the impulse to bake something special for them! One of her amazing teachers was having a bday and she really wanted to make her cupcakes. So we made flower cupcakes with butterflies on top! Miss A took a butterfly cutter and cut out all the butterflies out of fondant. I took a piece of cardstock and fanned it like the letter M. After the butterflies were cut out Miss A placed them in the valley area of the cardstock to allow the butterflies to dry with their wings at an angle. Then after they were dried Miss A brushed pearl edible dust and make them sparkly! I wanted to make the icing on the cupcakes different so I learned a new technique on you tube!!! haha. Using a petal tip I learned on how to make the icing look like a flower. Not perfect but practice makes perfect!

Thankful Bento #6

Well only two more bento's for Miss A before she is out next week for Thanksgiving. When we picked up her little brother Mighty Max at the babysitter's house Miss A saw a single yellow rose in her front yard. She thought it was so beautiful! So when she woke up this morning she said she was thankful for the beautiful flowers God creates like the yellow rose. So for today we have a ham rose with a green bean stem and carrot petals. Then we have a mandarin flower with lima bean stem and carrot petal. Then we added some grapes to fill in the empty spaces. She is such a sweetie!!!

Thankful Bento #5....back on track!!

Okay...I think we may be back on track. Thankful bento #5 Miss A said she was thankful for rainbows. Wait for it....because God made rain and rain makes the rainbows. AHA!!! That is my little thankful little munchkin! haha. Of course I am not going to lie....what she wanted to eat today made it difficult to fashion a rainbow. So you may want to squint a little when you look at this bento to truly see the idea of a rainbow out of ham and cheese!! haha. The clouds are white rice and we have some blue sky blueberries and peas for...well...because she needs a veggie!

Thankful Bento #4

Miss A was very fortunate to have her auntie and her cousin in town last week so she stayed home Thursday and Friday with them so that is why we had not bento's those two days. BUT it is Monday and we are back on track...so if you remember the first two days started out pretty fabulous...she was thankful for her "whole" family (all 30 on both sides), and God! What a thankful, thoughtful and sentimental child Miss A is....of course the 5 year old kicked in by bento #3 and we were thankful for shoes...oy vey. Well....today we are still a little limited by age and it is evident by Thankful Bento #4.....UNICORNS! Yes my friends...we are thankful for the magical horned horse like mythical creature....UNICORNS!! By her account they make people happy and are so pretty. Yeah...I did not even try to challenge this or explain unicorns are not real....it's Monday people I barely survived getting out in the world today! So we have a fabulous Unicorn ham sandwich with a cheese and olive eye, cheese mouth, flowing cheese mane, and a laughing cow foiled wrap cheese as the magical horn!!! We added some baked cheddar chips and blueberries. There you have it boys and girls...Miss A is thankful for unicorns. Gotta love her!

Princess cupcakes!!!

This weekend was a special birthday for a very dear friend of Miss A's. They have known each other since birth! Her only request was pink vanilla cupcakes with hearts on top and one special cupcake with a crown for her.

So here we have the pink cupcakes with a hot pink fondant heart on top. I also added some edible sparkle!

As requested a princess crown made out of fondant and some silver balls!

Of course I had to put in a little Crazy Chris flair and give the birthday girl's cupcake a fabulous stand!! A mini one layer cake!!! haha!

Thankfulness bento #3

Sooo keep in mind that Miss A is 5! Her perspective and what she deems important in her life is sometimes a little...well...childish. Which makes perfect sense because she is indeed a child. Day 1...her "whole" family. Day 2- God. I mean that is just fabulous what can I say!!! Day 3-Pretty shoes. Yep. That is it. Pretty shoes that show her feet and those that do not. She wanted a quesadilla for her lunch. BUT she did not want a high heel she wanted a shoe like she wears with just a little tiny heel and perhaps a bow on the top. So we have a minnie mouse type of shoe with a small heel made out of tortilla and white and yellow cheeses. We added some chicken, green beans, tomatoes, and blueberries. There you have Day 3 of what she is thankful for. PRETTY SHOES!! haha! Gotta love those kids and their brutal honesty!! I am not going to lie I am very thankful for pretty shoes myself!!!!

He's got the whole world...

Well day 2 in Miss A's thankful bento series is God. I had some issues fashioning an image of God out of cheese...just did not feel right. Ha! Soooo we went with one of his many songs. One of Miss A's favorites...He's got the whole world in his hands. So we have a pizza earth, with Havarti cheese continents, and bread to represent "His" hands! haha. We added in some corn and some fig newtons to make it a more rounded meal. hee hee....get it? rounded! haha. She told me over dinner what she is thankful for so I can use that tomorrow....yep....exactly what I was afraid of. Keep in mind she is 5!!! Her world is full of many wonderful things that may well not make sense to an adult!! haha. Going to be a long couple of weeks...oy vey!

Thankful for...

A fabulous friend suggested that we do a "Thankful" series from Miss A instead of my vendetta against commercial marketing and the skip over of Thanksgiving onto Christmas in all the stores. Hee hee. I guess 4 turkeys were enough. There were actually 5 but Friday's turkey was..well a little scary! 

So Miss A started Monday morning by telling me she is thankful for her WHOLE FAMILY!!! Well...we had left over rice so I could have denoted each grain of rice as a family member. Or I could have added in some tortillas, tapas, and golabki along with the rice to represent the different heritages; Mexican, Spanish, Polish and Filipino.  Hee hee. BUT...I did not have tortillas, tapas or golabki. Soooo we counted our immediate family members on both side and represented with a number....30. There are 30 people in our immediate family!!! That is one large family! The boiled egg is supposed to be Miss A! hee hee. Let's see what she says tomorrow....

Sugar Sheets and Baby Cakes!

This weekend had two new ventures. The first was my new obsession for cake balls. For $19.99 plus a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath and Beyond I did indeed purchase a Babycakes cake ball pop maker!!! I was skeptical and thought they were silly but then I read a few reviews that made me change my mind. 1) They give you recipes so you don't have to mix icing in your cake mixture to make the ball. I personally think they are too sweet when you add icing in the middle and then cover in candy, bark, icing...or whatever you choose 2) you don't get your kitchen all hot from having your oven on 3) they cook in 4 minutes!!! So I tried it out. I am not one to read instructions and let's just say the first one did not turn out very well because apparently the latch mechanism was not working. SO I took it back to BB&B. The second machine did great! Then after I finished all my balls...I realized...ummm they were crooked!! I have crooked balls!! I can't have crooked balls! So tomorrow after work I will have go back to BB&B and return the second one. All in all I must say I am in love!! Just a few glitches but for $20 I really can't set my expectations too high! haha. 

Then I had a quick little topsy turvy cake for a fabulous 18 year old. I wanted to try the new Wilton sugar sheets. I usually make all accents and decorations on the cake out of fondant. I read that the sugar sheets tasted better and are ready to just cut. Well...yeah....let's just say they SUCK! They are like paper wafers. I was raised catholic and they feel like those wafers you had when you went up for communion. NOT PRETTY! Not to mention they are these thin hard pieces of plastic that do not cut very well!! They especially do not lay flat nicely against the cake. SO lesson learned. The stars, 18, and pearl accents on the bottom are all fondant. The rest are those sugar sheets that I will never ever use again. Back to what I know!!! So here you have my cake not my best work but still sort of cute...

E Tu Turke?

Then Fall Christmas!! Yes...I did...I have taken Shakespeare and Julius Caesar with his last words..."E tu Brute? Then Fall Caesar!" and compared it to my turkey bento! Haha! And yes indeed another Turkey bento!! It is November people...it is Thanksgiving! Let us enjoy the fall weather and not just Halloween but also be thankful for Thanksgiving! Tomorrow will be last day I PROMISE! We will then start a steady stream of "What Alexa is Thankful For..." There will be no editing in that series so please don't think Miss A is...well...crazy. Who knows what she may be thankful for that day. It may be the lollipop I let her have or her boots! haha. We will see! She just may surprise me. Back to our fabulous turkey...we have turkey for the body of the...well...turkey! Mac and Cheese feathers, fig newton head and fruit roll up eyes, beak, and waddle. We added some green beans and blueberries and there you have yet another fabulous turkey!!! GOBBLE GOBBLE everybody!!!

Gobble gobble...

Yes...it is still November and still a few weeks away until Thanksgiving....NOT Christmas!!! So once again today we have a turkey! A turkey ham sandwich (yeah....I know....we were out of sliced turkey) with a cheese head, eyes, and fruit roll up waddle. His majestic feathers are Cheetos puffs!!! Hahaha! We added a few raspberries and there you go!!!

Christmas bento?

NOT! Exactly...NO Christmas bento!! You know why??? Because here in America we have another holiday that comes before all the December celebrations....it is called Thanksgiving!!!! It is the one day out of the year that you are allowed to eat until the button on your pants pop off!! haha! I would like to do a month long of JUST turkeys every day as my protest to all the malls, grocery stores, and pharmacies that already have the Christmas items up and music playing!!! I don't think Alexa will let me. So today we have a very sad little quesadilla turkey. His feathers are Mexican rice. So I guess this is a Mexican turkey!! Hahahaha. This is where if I was a real Mexican I would say turkey in Spanish...but I am kind of a coconut. Brown on the outside and white on the inside. So pathetic. Anyway...we also added some red raspberries and a little dollop of sour cream.