Birthday Cakes

We just finished the round of birthdays for the boys. (Done until December!)   Anyway, here are the cakes they each chose this year.

Bolt

Transformers

Basket balls, soccer balls, baseballs, and volley balls.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These are very tasty!  I like the combination of white flour and whole wheat flour.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin spice
1/2 tsp. salt
4 lg. eggs, slightly beaten
2 c. sugar
1 (15 0z) can pure pumpkin
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or line muffin tin with muffin cups.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Combine eggs and sugar in a large bowl.  Add pumpkin and oil, mix well.  Stir into flour mixture until moistened.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.  Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove from pans.

Makes: about 36 muffins

Pencil Cake

I made this for the boys before school started back up for the year as a "back to school" treat(I know, I'm super late posting this!!). We had a couple of friends over and made a party out of it. Everyone loved it!! It was a really simple recipe I found in my Food Network magazine. It looks like a lot of directions, but it is really very simple.

Pencil Cake

2 16-ounce frozen pound cakes, thawed

1 16-ounce tub vanilla frosting

6 drops red food coloring

23 drops yellow food coloring

2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips

2 green sour belt candies

Cut a 2-inch piece from one cake for the eraser; set aside. Trim 1/2 inch from the uncut ends of both cakes. Line up the cakes to make 1 long cake.

Using a paring knife, score 2 lines down the length of both cakes, 1 1/4 inches in from each side. With the lines as a guide, trim the cake sides at an angle, as shown.

Mix 1/2 cup vanilla frosting, the red food coloring and 3 drops yellow food coloring in a glass liquid measuring cup. Microwave the frosting about 20 seconds, stirring every 5 seconds.

Make the eraser: Put the 2-inch piece of cake on a rack set over a baking sheet. Pour the warm pink frosting evenly over the cake. Chill until set, about 20 minutes.

Microwave the chocolate chips in a resealable plastic bag (unsealed) in 5-second intervals until melted. Push the chocolate to one corner, twist the bag and secure with tape; freeze until set.

Mix the remaining 1 1/2 cups frosting and 20 drops yellow food coloring. Frost the cake with an offset spatula, following the beveled edges.

Make the tip: Cut one end of the cake into a tip, shaving it with a paring knife so the pencil looks sharpened.

Remove the chocolate cone from the bag and trim the base to make it flat. Attach the chocolate tip to the pencil with frosting; attach the eraser to the other end.

Lay the sour belts across the end of the pencil near the eraser, trimming as needed. Gently press into the frosting to secure.

Smore's Cookie Bars

I found this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe. These were a yummy treat, and my boys loved them!!

Smore's Cookie Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups marshmallow topping, like Marshmallow Fluff or Creme
2 cups milk or semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the 2 short sides. Grease the foil with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Divide the dough in half. Press half into the bottom of the prepared pan until the dough is evenly flattened. Dollop the marshmallow topping on top of the cookie base and gently spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Scatter the remaining dough over the top in clumps. Don’t worry about completely covering the top, the marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through. Bake the bars until golden brown, about 30-32 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhangs. Cut into bars and serve.

Fresh Salsa

This stuff is truly amazing!! This is my Aunts recipe, and it is a winner! It is so simple and fresh.

Fresh Salsa

28 oz can whole tomato (If using fresh, just eyeball it, and get it to the texture and flavor you want)

1 jalapeno (I usually use one jalapeno, plus a couple of other peppers like banana peppers, or Hungarian pepper)

1 clove garlic

1 t. salt

1/3-1/2 bunch cilantro

Medium onion (I use yellow)

Remove stem from jalapeno, boil for 1-2 minutes. Put in blender with garlic, salt and juice from the tomatoes. Pulse a few times

Rinse cilantro and pull off stems. Add cilantro and tomato to blender; pulse.

Chop onion and add to blender; pulse until you get the consistency you want.

*I have also added a couple of tomatillos to the salsa before. It adds an extra flavor to it that is also very yummy. I just quarter them, then broil them for a few minutes before adding them to the blender.

Homemade Pesto

This recipe comes from The Barefoot Contessa. It is super easy to make, and tastes amazing!! The best, and cheapest, place to get basil is at a farmers market, or to grow your own. This was our first year of growing our own, and I was so excited to make this pesto. It freezes really well so you can have homemade pesto all year round!!

Homemade Pesto

1/4 cup walnuts

1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts)

3 tablespoons chopped garlic (9 cloves)

5 cups fresh basil leaves, packed

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups good olive oil*

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Place the walnuts, pignolis, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process for 30 seconds. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl through the feed tube and process until the pesto is thoroughly pureed. Add the Parmesan and puree for a minute. Serve, or store the pesto in the refrigerator or freezer with a thin film of olive oil on top. I like to spoon into ice cube trays, flash freeze, then transfer to Ziploc bags. Then you can just take out as much as you need. Just be sure to oil the ice cube trays.

* I find the recipe to be a little oily, so I usually start with one cup, and then just add until it is the consistency I like.

Zucchini Bread

This has to be the best zucchini bread ever!!! This is what I grew up eating, and I absolutely love it.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

3 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 c. flour

1/4 t. baking powder

3 tsp. cinnamon

2 c. peeled and grate zucchini

1 1/2 c. nuts (optional)

1 c. raisins (optional)

Grease and flour bread pans. Combine the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Then mix in zucchini and any extras.

Bake at 325 for about 1 hour. (I have to lower my baking temperature and time because of elevation)

These freeze very well, and are still very moist. Just thaw on the counter.