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Friday Favorites

This week’s Friday Favorites begins with Saturday, August 17th.

This day is very important because on August 17th, 54 years ago, my baby sister came into the world.

Favorite # ONE

GINA

Happy Birthday to my lil’ seester!

~

August 17th is also National Black Cat Appreciation Day.

No one appreciates Black Cats more than I.  No, it isn’t because I identify as a witch.  It is because my little Elvis is such a big part of my lfie and he is a mostly black cat.  And I appreciate him.

Favorite # TWO

ELVIS

He is My Precious Angel

~

LB purchased tickets to an Alhambra show on August 17th a long time ago.  I mentioned to him that it was my sister’s birthday and he said we could invite them.  When I started to mention it, Gina announced she would be spending her birthday at Disney.

With that, LB arranged for his friends to join us.They are on the other side of the table.

Favorite # THREE

That’ll Be the Day

A Tribute to Buddy Holly

at the Alhambra Dinner Theater.

It was mostly fun, and the performers were very talented.

The next day I was exhausted but, I managed to make the requested lemon flavored birthday cake.

AND

since I missed the birthday gathering, LB and I took my sister and bro-in-law out for Mexican on Tuesday night.  We had a GREAT time and left each other saying “we need to do this more often”

just like we always do 🥰

~

It has been a mostly laid-back week because the CWA union where I work went on strike.  All I’m going to say about that is that I’ve been home and unpaid this week.  I fully expect to be back at the office next week, however, if that doesn’t happen, I’ll continue to enjoy my free time.  I’ve slept late, enjoyed morning coffee with Elvis, logged 5 treadmill miles every day, and still have energy.  Tomorrow my kids are coming over for a barbecue.  For dessert we’ll be having peach cobbler.

Favorite # FOUR

Peach Cobbler

 

Peach Cobbler

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: meh
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 8 cups canned peaches [trust me don’t use frozen]
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup boiling water
  • Recommended for topping: vanilla ice cream, whipped cream

Directions

  • Spray 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and preheat oven to 375°
  • Drain and arrange sliced peaches in bottom of baking dish
  • In a medium bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar with softened butter
  • Add dry ingredients (salt, flour, baking powder) and milk to make a batter.  Batter will be thick
  • Spread the batter over the peaches
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and a pinch of salt.
  • Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over batter completely covering the surface.
  • Slowly pour boiling water over the top
  • Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until the cobbler is golden brown and bubbling

 

prettyis.me

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

A February To Remember

February 2022 is developing into a February to remember!

The weekend before Valentine’s Day was especially memorable.

On Saturday we celebrated Rory’s 4th birthday.  She is the sweetest little thing you ever did see.

I was privileged to meet her on the day she was born. 

And I’ve been privileged to make each of her 4 birthday cakes.

For her 1st birthday, Emily aka Rory’s Mama, requested a Valentine [conversation candy/heart-shaped] cake.

When she turned 2, Rory was very much into “Toy Stoy” and Emily requested the Forky cupcakes, which were a hit.  For her 3rd birthday I attempted to make a Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose cake, but I wasn’t sure how to make it look like it was being held up by a broomstick.  It wasn’t an exact replica, but Rory liked it anyway.

This year Rory is loving Paw Patrol.

Her Mama called it “the cake of Rory’s dreams”. 

And it was pretty cute!

While I’d love to take credit for the “artwork” I cannot.  I ordered the “frosting sheet” from CAKES FOR CURES and simply placed it on top of my beautifully constructed pink and white cake.

~

While the family sat together in the living room chatting, Mama took the opportunity to read us a story.  She had written the story herself and did a very good job.  It was well-written, entertaining, and mind-blowing.  I won’t be able to share it myself, but will leave that to her.  Maybe she will let me include it in my “Mary’s Musings” section of this blog

… some day.

~

Sunday was Super Bowl 56.  While I am not a follower of football, LB and I will get together with 2 other couples and watch while we parttake of the best tailgate food you can imagine.  This year there was just 4 of us, but the goodies were still plenteous

Not pictured are the ribs, wings, and pizza rolls. Mmmm Mmmm

We were hoping to see a victory for the Bengals, but it wasn’t meant to be.

~

Since it is typically a late night, LB and I usually take the day off after Super Bowl.  This year that day happened to be Valentine’s Day.

We spent our Valentine’s Day together running errands, but later that evening went out to celebrate!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

Here are this weeks Favorites:

First up… a new recipe

Favorite # ONE

Keto Cheese Crackers

which I originally found on Pinterest posted by Family on KETO dot com.  The Family calls them Keto Crackers without Eggs, which I thought was a weird name.  And it is true, there are no eggs in these crackers.  Eggs or not, these crackers are good.

Here’s the recipe:

Keto Cheese Crackers

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, parmesan, or a mix)
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp sesame seeds + some to sprinkle
  • a pinch of dried oregano
  • pinch of powdered garlic
  • a pinch of any other spices optional (chili flakes, paprika, dried basil)

Directions

  • In a microwave safe bowl, mix everything together: grated cheese with butter, almond flour, coconut flour, sesame seeds, pinch of salt, pinch of garlic, herbs and sesame seeds.
  • Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave, stir well and knead the dough with your hands. If it’s still not possible to knead, microwave for 30 seconds more and then knead the dough.
  • Roll the dough on a parchment paper and sprinkle with 1 TBS of sesame seeds if you like.
  • Cut the crackers in a shape you prefer.  I used a cookie cutter.
  • If you just want to have crackers without leftovers cut in cubes or triangles.
  • Bake at 375° F for 8 – 15 minutes until golden brown.
  • Enjoy!

~

In addition to baking, I’ve done some shopping recently

Favorite # TWO

A new OUTFIT

Striped Tiered Cami to wear with

The High Waist Straight Crop Jean in Natural White

I also received the delivery of my long awaited

Favorite # THREE

New Chairs

They look very nice in my bedroom.

They came from Wayfair and LB worked hard to put them together

Elvis got a new chair too, but his was free

He likes it a lot!

~

I found a new patriot this week

Favorite # FOUR

The Professors Record

is one of my new favorites on Rumble

~

And last but not at all least…

This week began with a celebration of my favorite SIX YEAR OLD

Favorite # FIVE

She came into the world SIX years ago this past Monday!

Lydia will be in Jacksonville this weekend so we can have an official party for her!

She is growing up so fast!

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

It’s Friday!

YAY

Someone suggested to me today, that Friday should be called YayDay.

Seems fitting to me.

Let me start my Friday Favorites with last Saturday.  We threw a BIG party for Mama’s 75th birthday.

Favorite # ONE

She seemed to have a really good time.

We had a band, a sing-a-long, a Mary video, lots of family, food, balloons… it was quite an event!

Happy Birthday Mama!

And on the subject of birthdays…

~

Favorite # TWO

Happy Birthday LB!

LB had a birthday Tuesday before last, and would have been in last week’s Friday Favorites if I had created a post to share.

Hoping to get me to spend more time on the back patio, he chose an outdoor heater as his birthday present.

We celebrated the big day by going to LaNopalera for dinnerand taking the next day off.

LB wanted to go to the beach for a cookout.

So we did.LB will always be my favorite!

~

Favorite # THREE

Carrot Cake

February 3rd was National Carrot Cake Day.

I asked LB to choose a birthday cake from my Southern Living Cake book.  Guess which one he picked.That’s right, he wanted a giant carrot cake for his birthday.

And on the subject of cakes, this week I recieved a request to make a birthday cake for our favorite soon-to-be 3 year old Rory.

~

Favorite # FOUR

A Cake like no Other

This is an example of the cake that Emily believes Rory will love, since she loves the story of Sleeping Beauty.

Reminiscent of the birthday cake the three fairies made for Aurora.  It looks like a mess, so I’m sure I won’t have any trouble replicating.

~

Although it isn’t always PRETTY, it is important to pass along information to people you care about.  Especially since it won’t be covered on News4Jax or any MSM.

Favorite # FIVE

Being Informed

Clearly you will see that this video was created prior to our 2020 Presidential election, however it contains information that everyone has a right to know.

https://rumble.com/vdkn0l-covid-911-learn-the-truth.html

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Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Put the Lime in the Coconut

Occasionally LB will tell Alexa to play

Put the Lime in the Coconut

 

Me:

via GIPHY

It is a slightly irritating song.

But since LB likes “Put the Lime in the Coconut”, and he needs a cake today, I decided I would create a new recipe using lime and coconut.

Recently LB bought coconut thinking I added it to the grocery list (which I did not) and now I have 3 bags of coconut.  He has also made sure that we don’t run out of lemons and limes.  Some of the limes are starting to shrivel and need to be used for something good.

Now I have extra coconut, limes, and [I almost forgot] I have a can of coconut milk that was recently purchased just to support GOYA…So here we go!

 

Put the Lime in the Coconut Bundt Cake

is adapted from a recipe by Amber at Dessert Now, Dinner Later!  (Lime Bundt Cake) who may have adapted it from a recipe by Stephanie at Plain Chicken (Ritz Carlton Lemon Pound Cake).
I did my best to write the recipe in my own words, but alas, there are only so many ways you can list ingredients.

 

Lime in the Coconut Bundt Cake

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Yield 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, room temperature
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 cup canned coconut milk
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp coconut extract
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • zest of 1 lime

Glaze:

  • 3 to 4 Tbsp lime juice
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray or grease/flour a large bundt pan.
  2. Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt into medium bowl.
  3. In a stand mixer, cream together butter, coconut oil, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
  4. Shake the coconut milk then open and measure one cup.  Add extracts to milk.
  5. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and coconut milk to the butter mixture. Starting and ending with dry ingredients, mixing  just until combined.
  6. Mix in coconut and lime zest until just incorporated.
  7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes, then out onto a plate and cool completely.
  8. Make the glaze by whisking the ingredients together to desired consistency, adding more lime juice to thin, or more powdered sugar to thicken. Pour over cooled cake. Slice and serve. Store cake in an air tight container up to 5 days.

Try it!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Mississippi Mud Cake

It is one of my favorites!

Mississippi Mud Cake showed up in my Pinterest feed this week, and it has been bothering me ever since.  Although I don’t need an excuse to bake, it makes me feel better to have one.

When I learned that Stephanie and Amanda would be in the neighborhood this weekend, I thought I just might have justification.  Then when Amanda announced that she and Stephanie should come over to swim, I knew I must create a special treat for them!

It’s what moms do!

~

Mississippi Mud Cake has three layers:  the cake layer, which is topped with marshmallows or marshmallow cream, and finished with a VERY sweet chocolate icing that is poured over the marshmallows.  I have tasted recipes where a boxed cake mix is used, but, to me, a made-from-scratch chocolate cake is so much better.

 

This recipe I used is an interesting process.  There’s a lot of butter

There’s a lot of cocoa.

Just after the cake comes out of the oven a whole bag of marshmallows is sprinkled on top.

Perfect!

Then back into the oven, under the broiler.

I didn’t put the marshmallows under the broiler, because I have trouble with the broiler.  I tend to set off the smoke alarm when I use it.

Instead, I pulled out the blow torch.  LB joined in the fun and set the marshmallows on fire.

He likes things well done.

After the marshmallows are nicely toasted, it is time for the icing.More butter, cocoa, and FOUR cups of powdered sugar!

Here is the recipe that I used posted on the food network courtesy of one of my favorites, the Pioneer Woman:

Mississippi Mud Cake

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

Cake:

Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking dish

2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter

1/4 heaping cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup boiling water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

One 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows (about 6 cups)

Icing:

1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) salted butter

6 tablespoons whole milk

1/4 heaping cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 cup chopped toasted pecans

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the cocoa powder, then the boiling water. Let it bubble up for a few seconds, then turn it off and set it aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar and salt. Pour the chocolate mixture over the flour mixture and stir a few times to start to cool the chocolate.
  4. In a separate small bowl, mix the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and eggs. Pour over the flour-chocolate mixture and mix until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn on the broiler.
  5. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the cake, then return the dish to the oven to broil until the marshmallows start to turn golden, about 1 minute. Set aside to cool.
  6. For the icing: Melt the butter in a saucepan, then whisk in the milk and cocoa powder. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar in 4 to 5 additions. Stir in the nuts and vanilla.
  7. Pour the icing all over the marshmallows, allowing some marshmallows to remain visible. Let the icing set, then deliver or serve.

 

 

It is ready when you get here girls!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

¡Feliz 23 de Mayo!

because saying feliz veintitres de Mayo takes too much energy.

Happy 23rd of May!

With the Covid19 crisis, it has been a couple of months since we visited with other human beings.
LB and I missed out on Easter Sunday church and festivities, the annual Kentucky Derby party and even Cinco de Mayo.
Last week when LB and I met at Olive Garden with friends to celebrate Laurie’s birthday we all decided that we would have to get together for that missed annual Cinco de Mayo party.
The party happened on Saturday

~

~

Ray brought his homemade rubber-band gun

and no, Boo did NOT get shot.
We tried to follow CDC guidelines while catching up.
LB lit the torches and we sat out by the pool and talked into the night.
And we ATE a lot!
Steak fajitas and toppings, re-fried beans, queso dip, chips with salsa, and…

Cream of Coconut Cake

  • Servings: 16
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 box white cake mix
  • ingredients needed to make cake: egg whites, oil and water)
  • 1 (15 oz) can cream of coconut
  • 1 (8 oz) container COOL WHIP thawed
  • 1 (8 oz) package sweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

  • Prepare and bake white cake mix according to package directions for a 9 x 13 pan.
  • Remove cake from oven and, using a fork, poke holes all over the top of cake.
  • Open can of Cream of Coconut (making sure to stir it first) and pour over warm cake.
  • Let cake cool completely then ‘frost’ with COOL WHIP topping.
  • Top with flaked coconut (I did not use the whole package).

 

It was delicious, if I do say so myself!

Thank you Laurie for documenting this event with photos!

And thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

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