Love is in the Air

This was a busy weekend for me because I helped host not one, but two bridal showers. Coincidentally, both are upcoming beach destination weddings. So, we used that theme for the bridal showers. Having them on back-to-back days saved decorating as well as food costs. While some people may initially think that's a little cheesy, I think it's just plain smart. And, for those of you in the business world, you'll recognize this as simply being lean!

We held the shower at my friend Cindy Pickett's beautiful house, and she handled the decorations. They were so classic and just perfect. Perhaps the most talked about food item was the vegetable tray. So many people kept trying to give me the credit for such a beautiful, clever presentation. The real credit, however, goes to my friend Cindi Burtnett. Using a hollowed-out red cabbage as a dish for the dip made all of the difference. Here it is up close:

My main contribution was cupcakes. This was my first opportunity at putting my new cake decorating skills to the test. (I mentioned in a previous post how my friend Kim Suiter gave me a cake decorating class for a Christmas present.) Mmmm. As I'm writing this, I realize that Kim may be the smart one since the first bridal shower was for her son and his fiance. I saw an idea on Pinterest to add white chocolate sea shells as a decoration for cupcakes. I decided that I would make these toppers myself after learning only one would cost me almost $1 after doing some online research. Unbelievable.

Saving money has always been a motivator for me. So, I purchased a candy mold for less than $3 as well as some white confectionery coating. This stuff is like almond bark, but it's supposed to be a higher quality of chocolate. You simply pour the melted coating into the mold and "pop out" the shells once they're completely cooled. Much easier than I anticipated. In fact, one should consider starting his/her own candy making business if people out there truly spend $1 on each of these. I was pretty pleased with the final product:

So, congratulations to Stephanie Kane and Wes Suiter (Kim's son) as well as Derek Hicks and Sheelah Johnson (Cindi's daughter) on their upcoming weddings. Love is in the air!

Key Lime Cake

Unfortunately, we missed seeing our Aunt Marilyn at Vicke's party, but she was sure there in spirit. She emailed me and my sister Jackie a recipe for key lime cake, saying, "This would be great for Vicke's birthday since it is a beautiful green cake." She was right. Jackie made it, and it was a hit. Steve said that it reminded him of eating lime push-up pops. I agree! While most of the recipes for the food served at the party are already in our family cookbook, this is a new one.

Marilyn writes, "I first saw and tasted this beautiful and delicious cake on Palm Sunday at our covered dish dinner at LaFayette First Baptist Church. I later found out that Mary Howard had brought it. I called her, and she willingly shared the recipe with me. She has been making this cake for many years, and she got the recipe from an old Farm Bureau cookbook."

Thanks, Marilyn, for suggesting it . . . and thanks, Jackie, for making it! Mmmmmmm

Key Lime Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box lemon cake mix (Mary uses lemon supreme)
• 1 (3 oz) box lime jello
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/3 cups oil
• 3/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 limes
• 6 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 box confectioner's sugar
• 1 stick butter (Mary uses only about 1/2 stick or a little more)

Directions:
Combine the dry jello with the cake mix. Add eggs, oil, and orange juice. Mix well. (Add a few drops of green food coloring to the batter if you want a darker shade of green.) Pour batter into 3 cake pans that have been sprayed with Baker's Joy. Bake at 350 degrees until the center of the cake is done, or approximately 25-30 minutes.

Next, mix the juice of 3 limes and 6 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar. Spoon this mixture over the warm layers when you take them out of the oven. (If you mix this up before starting the cake, you will need to keep stirring while the cakes are baking to keep it from getting hard.)

Lastly, mix together the last three ingredients to make cream cheese icing. (Optional: You may want to double the cream cheese icing recipe. You can also add a few drops of green food coloring if you wish.) Spread over the top and sides of cooled cake.

Note: Jackie added the lime juice to the cake batter and eliminated the confectioner's sugar. Then, she iced the layers with lime curd. 

Fifty is Nifty

We had a great time celebrating Vicke's 50th birthday at Scott and Tina's house. Honestly, I've never seen so much green in one place. Scott said, "This isn't "Vicke Green;" it's  freakin' green!" It started with the clothes. Most party-goers wore some shade of green. Yes, it was a bit obnoxious, but silly and fun, too. Here's the most recent photo of the Harness clan. I'm certain that everyone is just as grateful as I am for these kind of family get-togethers.

The menu began with simple petros as well as hot dogs cooked on the open fire. Then we got creative with all of the extras. You would be surprised at how many "Vicke Green" foods that are out there. The "Vicke Green" appetizers included jalapeno poppers, spinach and artichoke dip, guacamole, and asparagus rolls. Sorry for such a blurred photo:

Next, came the "Vicke Green" side dishes: fruit salad (layered honey dew, green apples, green grapes, and kiwi), pea salad,  broccoli toss, veggie tray (broccoli, celery, and cucumbers), and a lime congealed salad.

Then, came the "Vicke Green" desserts. My brother-in-law Greg made the birthday cake as shown above. But of course we had more: key lime cake, million dollar pie, tapioca pudding (always one of Vicke's favorites, but this time Mom used green maraschino cherries instead of the red ones), banana bread with a green tinted cream cheese topping, and Easter s'mores made with green peeps.

In addition to extended family members attending, Vicke really enjoyed close friends and former classmates who came bearing well wishes. It was a real "blast from the past" for West High graduates, some who I hadn't seen in 30 years. From left to right:  Lynn (Smeltzer) Raymond, Tina (Irwin) Harness, Scott Harness, Jackie (Harness) Bailey, the birthday girl Vicke (Harness) Pyles, Mike Zavels, Steven Pyles, Keely Moore, Apryl Pyles, KK (Harness) Moore, Tammy (Waggoner) Zavels, and Harry Paris

Although I can tease that "50 sucks," we all knew that this fifty was indeed quite nifty.  :)

Easter S'mores

Happy birthday, Vicke! Although today is my sister's 50th birthday, the big celebration will take place this weekend. We're all looking forward to the big bash at Scott and Tina's house on Saturday. One obvious theme for the party is "Fifty is Nifty." But, another obvious theme for anyone who knows Vicke is "Vicke Green." Most people would call this color chartreuse or maybe just simply apple green. It's her favorite color, and you will see it on most of her clothes, casserole dishes, kitchen walls . . . you name it! This weekend, you'll see it in the food. That's right. Our family has been brainstorming all month long for "Vicke Green" foods to serve at the party this weekend. It should be a hoot.

Since Scott is planning on having an outdoor fire, I knew that one of the things I wanted to contribute was Easter s'mores. I first saw this idea on Pinterest:

After searching high and low for "Vicke Green" peeps, I finally found them in Nashville. Now, each party goer will have his/her own s'more kit:

It's my way of wishing Vicke "s'more years of love, laughter, and fun." In fact, that's my wish for all of my family and friends in the spirit of this upcoming Easter weekend.

Stay tuned for more recipes and party ideas after Saturday. I don't want to spoil any more surprises!  :)

Easter S'mores

Ingredients:

• Graham crackers
• Easter peeps
• Hershey chocolates

Directions:
Roast peeps over an open fire. Place unwrapped chocolate bar on top of a graham cracker square. Top with roasted marshmallow and second graham cracker square. Or, simply microwave for 10-15 seconds. Enjoy!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

I must admit that I am really looking forward to the movie, The Hunger Games. I'm not the only one. It premiered this weekend and has already brought in revenue of $155 million. Steve and I bought Keely the trilogy for Christmas, and I read them myself in January. The story is set in the future in a nation that consists of a rich Capitol and surrounding, poorer districts which cater to the Capitol's needs. Each year, one boy and one girl from the poor districts are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the "Hunger Games." This is a televised event where the participants must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The heroine in the movie is 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers in place of her younger sister, and she kicks butt.

As I read these books, I couldn't help but think how I would soooooo be the first one out in this kind of a competition. Seriously. I'm the one who panics in pretty much any situation much less a dangerous one. But in the spirit of The Hunger Games, I am going to give you the most dangerous cake recipe in the world. That's right. And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now all of us are only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of day or night! Now that's my kind of danger.

I first got this recipe from my cousin in Texas. (Thanks, Janie!) I instantly thought I would love it, and I was right. In addition to the minimal time requirements, I love the fact that you can satisfy your sweet tooth without having to make an entire cake. Since it doesn't have icing, I think it tastes more like a chocolate muffin (which I love, too) rather than a chocolate cake. If you want to raise the danger level, you can make your own individual mixes ahead of time with the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, and chocolate chips. Then, you'll be only 4 minutes away from chocolate cake any time of day or night! Hmmmm . . . maybe I have a little bit of Katniss in me after all?

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 3 tablespoons chocolate chips (The original recipe states that these are optional. I always take those kind of statements as a joke.)
• Small splash of vanilla extract
• 1 large coffee mug that is microwaveable

Directions:
Add dry ingredients to mug. Mix well. Add the egg, milk and oil. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla extract. Cook in the microwave on high for 3 minutes. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. (Come on, you can do it. We're coping with danger here.) Allow to cool a little. Either eat straight from the mug or tip out onto a plate if desired.

Buttermilk Pie

Will you be celebrating National Pi Day? This is one of those mostly unknown holidays that us math geeks look forward to. I will be conducting a Kaizen Leader class on that day, so I had a plan. I approached our administrative assistant:

KK:  Holly, do you mind if I make a very nerdy request? Are you familiar with "Happy Pi Day?"
Holly:  No . . .   ??!!??!?
KK:  Well, pi is one of those constants in math. You know. . . 3.14 and a bunch of other numbers. Well, 3.14 is March 14. Get it? And that's when we're holding the Kaizen Leader class. Although pi is actually spelled p-i, I think it would be fun to serve a variety of pizza pies for lunch along with a variety of other pies for dessert. What do you think?

Remarkably, Holly didn't roll her eyes. In fact, she went above and beyond and actually researched this holiday, finding something that I didn't even realize. It is also Albert Einstein's birthday!

I love that! It turns out this small celebration has expanded to include our whole division. You just gotta love working with a bunch of engineers. I really do!  :)

Now Steve is a different story. He is the complete opposite of your stereotypical nerdy math geek. I still giggle each time I recall him saying, "I'm OK with numbers. Really. But when you start putting letters with numbers, I'm outta here!"  But, I know my husband. He'll gladly celebrate any holiday with me if it means that I'll be making him his favorite buttermilk pie:

 
Buttermilk Pie

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 1 frozen Pillsbury pie crust

Directions:
Mix first 7 ingredients well. Pour into frozen pie crust that has been wiped down with egg white. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Energy Bites

One of my favorite new memories happened just over a week ago. Keely and I ran in Disney's Princess Half Marathon! What a blast! After training for 18 weeks, we flew to Orlando and ran on Sunday, February 26. We woke up at 3:00 a.m. to make sure that we were at the park at 4:00, then herded into the corrals by 5:00, and we started running at 6:00. Needless to say, I was already worn out before we even started. It was such an emotional morning. Out of nowhere, I began to cry before the race even began. I think Steve thought it was fear. It wasn't. Yes, I admit I was afraid the day before. Afraid of not finishing. Afraid of failure. Keely just grinned and said, "Boy, Mom. You're just a little ball of nerves, aren't you?" Yes, that's true. The uncontrollable tears, though, came out of an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. Gosh, I was so proud. And even though I came in 13,688th place (ha!), I did indeed finish. And in this case, finishing is winning! Oh, by the way, I did beat a few people. There were close to 20,000 participants.

The very next day, we visited Islands of Adventure. Keely has been wanting to see the Harry Potter World for quite some time. Although I could barely walk, it was a great day. After flying back home on Tuesday, we loaded Keely's possessions on Wednesday and then moved her to Nashville on Thursday. Steve and I then spent the whole weekend helping her get settled into her new apartment. What an exhausting week! I sure could have used some of these energy bites.

I first came across this recipe on the internet. What first caught my attention was the claim that this was "basically a healthy version of my favorite no-bake cookies" . . . without the 2 cups of sugar and stick of butter. I couldn't wait to try them. I'm glad I did since they are now one of Steve's new favorites. They're great for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert.  I modified the original recipe by not using ground flaxseed. Instead, I substituted extra chocolate chips. No brainer, right? Also, I didn't think the energy bites looked very appetizing in the end, so I made one other modification: I rolled them in toasted coconut. Yum!

Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dry oatmeal
• 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1 cup chocolate chips (the original recipe called for 1/2 cup chocolate chips + 1/2 cup ground flaxseed)
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Stir all ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Once chilled, roll into approximately 1" balls. Roll in extra toasted coconut. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated. Makes about 2 dozen energy bites.