Sunday, May 6, 2012

First DIY Recipe: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I bet you didn't think I would post a recipe this soon, did you? Well, last night I realized that the next morning was Sunday morning, so I wanted to make something fun for the family. My mom told me I could go ahead and mix up the batter last night, so I could just bake it in the morning. So the first DIY recipe is........Sour Cream Coffee Cake! It can be eaten as breakfast, which I'm doing, or dessert! Which I also might be doing. So get your aprons on, tie back your hair and let's get started!

                                                                                
What lies ahead...


The recipe called for two sticks of butter, but since I'm attempting to make it as non-fattening as possible.....


I made it one and a half.


So first, put the butter and 2 cups of sugar into your mixer or a bowl and pastry cutter. See the butter peeking out?


Cream it till it looks about like mashed potatoes. Or it just looks like this.



Now get two eggs. You DON'T have to use brown eggs! I just used them to make myself feel sophisticated.


Mix in the eggs one at a time on low speed, until it looks about like this.


Then get a cup of sour cream, dump it into the mixer and set it on low while you scrounge for your vanilla extract. Add 1 tsp.


Now dump 2 cups of all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl, and a tsp. of baking powder plus a tsp. of salt. I felt the need to show you my cute measuring spoon.


Your mixture should look like flour. If it doesn't....well, let's just say you may have forgotten a step.


Set the mixer on low and gradually pour in the flour mixture until it looks somewhat like this.

Now let's get started on the filling!


Here are the cute little 4 tablespoons of brown sugar. (I just used my flour bowl again)


And add 2 tsp. of ground cinnamon. Get a fork and break up the brown sugar, and stir in the cinnamon.


Here are the two bowls waiting for the morning.

So I put the bowls in the fridge, and as soon as I woke up this morning, I went straight to the refrigerator and got my precious little bowls that had been waiting patiently while I got six hours of sleep.

OK, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.


Get out your Bundt pan, and grease it like nobody's business. If you want the cake to come out in one piece, you better make sure that pan is good and greased.


Sprinkle flour into the pan to anti-stick it even more. Did that make sense? And put half of the batter into the pan.


Sprinkle half of the filling over the batter. Since I put my batter in the refridgerator, it got kind of doughy, so yours will most likely look more like batter.


Spread the rest of the batter over it.


And sprinkle the rest of the filling on top.


And put your cake in the oven for 55-60 minutes.


When the timer goes off, take it out and see if a knife sticks in the highest part and comes out clean. If it does, you're ready to flip!

Go around the sides and around the middle of the pan to loosen the cake. Lay a cooling rack upside down on the pan, then grab both the pan and rack, and flip it over! Pick it up and put it down a couple of times to make the cake fall out. Lift up one side and see if you can see cake. If you can, lift off the pan.


 Yay! If any part of the cake doesn't come out, just get it out of the pan and put it in the correct place on the cake. No one will know. I actually had to put a little piece that didn't come out on top, if you can't tell.

  
     With a bread knife, or any other sharp knife, cut the cake very delicately so it doesn't fall apart. Serve warm with fresh fruit if you want to.

Alrighty, hope you enjoyed it! I sure did, in both the making, the eating, and the posting. Let me know if you try it out! See you on the next DIY recipe!                                                                         

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Spice Things Up with Zatarain's!

I'm going to write about food. It is definitely one of my favorite things. My blog has been pretty boring, (at least  I think so) so I'm going to spice things up a little. With ZATARAIN'S! If you do not know what Zatarain's is, Google it. The top result should be "ZATARAIN"S - A New Orleans Tradition since 1889". But back to the point. I'm going to cook different recipes, either old classic family recipes, or just some new ones I found. And I'm going to take pictures of them to make them look ever more delicious. I am looking forward to this so much. I hope I will gain attention and have fun at the same time. Which I believe I will. See you on the first DIY recipe! I can't wait!

P.S. Don't  be afraid to try out the recipes! That's one of the main points of this idea! As soon as I start posting, if you DO try them out let me know how they work for you!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Wind

Oh wind, I can't see you
But I know you are there
Like when it so happens
You blow in my hair

So powerful to push
The clouds in the air
So gentle to rock
A small rocking chair

The windmills turn
And the Daylilies sway
Oh wind you have made this
A beautiful day!



Sunday, April 1, 2012

You Gots Some Color on Yo Face!

I don't have much to write except that we had the block party yesterday! So I'm going to show you the rest of the face painting pictures that my sister and I stayed up until 1:00 AM Friday night taking. I hope they're good.












Hope you like them! Remember to comment if you like!

Monday, March 26, 2012

As Time Goes By

Wow! I haven't written in a while! How has time gone by so quickly? That was a rhetorical question, by the way. Because no one knows the answer.....well, I might as well catch up. I performed at the Strawberry Jam 'n' Toast to the Arts Festival ( http://www.strawberryjam.org/) on the 17th! We (my theater group, The Octavians: http://www.theoctavians.com/ ) performed The Tortoise and the Hare. It was really fun! I was a rat.
 Next thing, Casey came home for her Spring Break! The 10th - 18th, but the last two days she was in Shreveport, LA looking at housing for when she goes there for Med school! I'm so proud of her!
 Next, I'm performing Puss in Boots (with the same theater group) in a week for all of the parents, and we're also performing a dance showcase that we have been rehearsing in Movement Workshops. It's going to be really fun, and we're dancing to Michael Buble!
 Next, my sister Erin has been trying out face painting ideas for a block party on me, so that kids can see what they look like. Here are the ones that she's done so far.







Let me know what you think of them! Comment if you like!
That's all I have, so see you later!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Past has Past

Well, I'm sitting here on my laptop at Coffee Culture, waiting for a raspberry mocha and reminiscing about the things that have past this winter.
My beautiful sister Erin turned 16 on Thanksgiving!
My gorgeous sister Casey (middle) got accepted to LSU Shreveport Medical School on her birthday!
This is her shadowing Dr. Rooks in the operating room. 


Christmas! 

I performed in A Christmas Carol with my brother Caleb, produced by The Octavians!


Well, I can't put a picture, but I finally got my laptop! I've been saving for about two years, and I finally had enough money to be able to get it!

Well, I've enjoyed this past Winter, and I hope you have too! God bless you!














       

Friday, December 23, 2011

Go Tell It on the Mountain, Over the Hills, and Everywhere!

'Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills, and everywhere!' 
    That''s a song I just finished listening to, done by BarlowGirl today. Do you know what you're supposed to go tell on the mountain? If you don't.....well, I guess it's about time you did. Let me finish that song line for you.
'Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born!'
     Did you pick that up? Jesus is born! Praise God with song and dancing! Joy to the world! Worship the Lord! Exalt Him! Go tell it on the mountain! (Over the hills, and everywhere) Celebrate the birth of His Son! I don't know if you feel like celebrating and having a party, but I sure do. That's why we celebrate Christmas! We're celebrating the birth of God's son, Jesus! And we give gifts to each other because Jesus was God's gift to us. But the Santa bringing presents to boys and girls and buying the most expensive gifts thing took over, so some people forget that we're actually celebrating the gift of Jesus. The thing that confuses me, though, is that Santa only brings presents to girls and boys who have been good this year, but Jesus came for everyone in the world, not only the ones who were good that year. So tomorrow and the day after that, and all the days of your life, remember what the reason of Christmas is, and let everyone know about it.
      Have a wonderful Christmas! God bless you all!


What Christmas is really about
What people tend to think Christmas is about