Black Sheep Dancing

Why be like everyone else when you can be yourself?

Category Archives: Desserts


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Some bunny’s been here

Happy Easter!

Wait.

What?

Yes, I’m a little behind the ball in life, but sometimes that is how life goes sometimes.

Easter was lots of fun. It’s a very important time, as the Easter Bunny is Santa’s helper too. He reports directly to the big man (year round) to let him know who is being naughty and who is being nice.

You have to build you bunny nest:

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And make some eggs:

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Oh, and of course you have to wear your Easter bonnet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And eat some yummy dessert:

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I think it turned out pretty cute!

I used

Sam’s Famous Carrot Cake from Allrecipes.com

and

Half a recipe of Cream Cheese Frosting II  from Allrecipes.com.

Directions to make the bunny:
1. Bake a cake round (flavor of your choice) and let it cool. Slice in half so you have two semicircles and glue them together with frosting with the cut side down.

2. Cut a v-shape about 1/4 of the way up the top so you make a small notch to separate the head from the body.

3. Ice the cake and use shredded coconut to cover so it looks like fur. I used a marshmallow for the tail and nose thing, jelly beans for the eyes and nose nose, and toothpicks for whiskers.

4. Cut ear-shapes from paper and color with pink crayons. Place these at the top of the “head”.

5. For grass, toss shredded coconut with green food coloring until color you desire. I used chocolate eggs and jelly beans tossed around for added decoration.

6. Eat.

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Breakfast Pie

Growing up, when we went to my Grandma’s house, I remember always having dessert for breakfast. Why wouldn’t you have cookies to start you off right for the day? Or pecan pie? Or brownies? My absolute favorite were the cut out cookies shaped like cardinals. As a kid I thought this ritual was normal. Now that I’ve gotten older, I have realized I just had a very wise, very cool grandmother.

Remember how Sunday I picked black raspberries with my mom? Well, I took home what we picked, and I had to use them up before they went bad. Did you know there are hardly ANY recipes for black raspberries? Everything for the red ones or blackberries, but not black raspberries. Argh.

I contemplated making:

  • Black raspberry syrup
  • Cobbler
  • Muffins
  • Popsicles
  • Cookies
  • Pancakes
  • Jam

But in the end, I went with the trusty dusty black raspberry pie. I used my usual crust and made it all cute with little hearts. (Awwww) I used a recipe for Blackberry Pie, sub black raspberries.

Ready for the oven!

A little extra, so I made a jar pie.

Isn’t it beautiful? The crust turned out perfect, and it didn’t boil over. This pie just looks amazing. I can’t wait to dig in and try it!


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Happy 4th!

This 4th of July was a much needed break. Spending time with friends and family while cooking and spending time on the Ponderosa is always a good time, but it really felt good this weekend.

When I arrived back home, mom and I did a quick trip to a tag sale. I finally found some canning jars! The whole shopping trip was 18 quart jars, two half quart jars, a full sheet new in the packaging, a vintage 50’s hat, two necklaces, and a set of six vintage ice cream bowls for $3. Score!

Sunday mom and I went out to our berry patches to pick some red raspberries and black raspberries.

Not too many red ones, but we got four pints of black ones! Well, four until I tipped mine and it landed in a big ole patch of poison ivy. I almost broke out in tears, I was so sad to see them all go to waste.

We had our get together Sunday too. I made my Confetti Potato Salad and this REALLY cool cake I found over at Glorious Treats.

 

 

 

Isn’t it so adorable? It was really easy to make too. My pans were 9″ instead of 8″, but I like the longer blue part anyways. Everyone was so impressed, and I thought it photographed really well. To decorate I got the pinwheel in the floral department at the grocery store and I made the two stars with red wrapping paper, star cookie cutter, glue and a bamboo skewer.

Now I just need to decide how to use all those yummy black raspberries. Jam? Syrup for pancakes? Infused vodka? Frozen yogurt? Only time will tell!


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Happy Birthday, Munchkin!

It’s hard to believe my munchkin is already five! How time has flown! Since this year seemed to be the first year he really knew what was going on, I finally bit the bullet and expanded the party beyond our closest family and friends to his little friends from school.

Now every party needs a theme. I asked Keeler what he wanted. He specifically said:

  1. Dragon cake
  2. watermelon
  3. tag

Well, we were able to do two of the three. I found a pattern online for the cake. Not as hard as it looks. Watermelon – yep. Ran out of time for a game of tag.

The cake, sans frosting.

 

Awaiting wings.

I used tootsie rolls for the claws, icing for the eyes and chocolate chips for the pupils and nostrils. The spine scales were crackers I made earlier this week.The cake was just a basic yellow cake I made from All Recipes and the icing was from a can. Real high tech around here.

One thing I will say, you really have to freeze the cake after assembling, and periodically freeze it while icing to make life a whole ton easier. Less crumbs get into the icing, and the finish is much smoother when you spread it when it is harder.

I had lots of grand ideas for the theme, but in the end, the entertainment was bubbles, coloring pages, blow up swords and paper crowns from Oriental Trading Company, and a garden hose. A pop up tailgate tent from CBear served as the “castle”. Everyone had a great time, and I didn’t have to break the bank to do it. Win for everyone!

We also had everyone bring a canned good instead of presents. Hopefully that helps the kids learn about giving, and less toys around the house here to trip over. We’re going to take them to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

Food wise, again, I kept simple. I made:

  • Fresh fruits and veggies sliced up

  • Cucumber Slices With Dill (since I have a ton of cucumbers and dill to use up!)

  • Confetti salad – a bean salad from my grandma’s recipe collection
  • Bread from the bread maker
  • Ham and PB&J for sandwiches
  • Amish Macaroni Salad (Everyone LOVES this!)

My family brought:

  • Chicken salad sandwiches
  • Orzo salad
  • Strawberry Salad with feta

Munchkin’s actual birthday is this week. I usually take the day off and we do whatever he wants to do, and we go to the toy store and he gets to pick out his own present. I’ll also take him to the food bank to deliver the food we collected. Should be a lovely day! Last year we went to the park and to the movies to see Toy Story 3. This year? Stay tuned!


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Happy Birthday – No Cake.

This weekend Aunt M came down for birthday celebrations. Mind you, this was her third celebration, but who’s counting? And what do you get someone who has everything she needs? You make dinner, of course!

We had…

Caprese Salad Skewers

Amish Macaroni Salad

Marinated Portabello Mushroom Burgers with Goat Cheese, Spinach, and Beets

Pineapple Salsa

Mojitos

And, for the big birthday, neither myself nor my sis are big fans of cake. Everyone else is welcome to enjoy it, but there are so many better things in the world to eat, why waste time on cake? Although, I must admit, I love to bake them. Anywho, I went with the Southern Style Strawberry Shortcake. I even made the whipped cream by hand. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! That stuff is so awesome. I may never get my whipped cream from a can again.

After our lovely dinner we had every intention of going to the Gallery Hop, but Munchkin was begging for a movie, so we went to the movie theater. Sometimes caving to wants is easier for everyone involved, and it was super hot out, so that air conditioning was looking more and more appealing. Movie sold out. Boooo. We decided to stop in a nearby store and that’s when the storm hit. Crazy wind, rain, and even hail! The power went out, so we decided to head home. Shopping is no fun in the dark!

Happy Birthday, Aunt M!


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Back from Seattle – Did you miss me?

I’m back from Seattle…about four days actually, but my suitcase is still unpacked, I need to go grocery shopping, and my body has no idea what time zone I am in. I got to go for work, but squeezed in some fun time so I could experience Seattle. I thought it was my first time there, but my parents informed me I had been there when I was 7. I have no remembrance of this event, so we’ll pretend it was the first time.

I think anytime I travel, my favorite part is always the food. It really defines an area, and let’s face it, that’s the memories that you seem to hold onto the most. When I asked people about what to do prior to my trip, the only things I got were “The beer is great!”, “You will LOVE the fresh seafood!” and “Don’t waste your time going to the top of the Space Needle.” I agree with all those.

So, here are a few photos from the trip.

This was lunch the first day at a grocery store near Pike’s Market. Locally made bread with local veggies and an apple beer manufactured in WA.

The famous fish throwing at Pike’s Market. I’m not a fan of meat, but it was fun. The market itself was awesome. Everything fresh and locally grown! Yummy!

The drinks were great too! Moscow Mule is refreshing, and the bar had these great windows for people watching!

We happened to be there for VegFest 2011. For $8 you got to sample tons of various vegetarian and vegan samples, plus lots of samples, coupons, and other goodies to take home. Some things were good, some were bad, and some were just downright awful!

Fresh donuts for breakfast. You can see them pulling them out and tossing in cinnamon!

My sister tried a bacon truffle. She claims it was totally awesome. I thought it was gross.

In Chinatown/International District we went to a Vietnamese restaurant for some Pho and an avacado smoothie!

And, finally, my sister talked me into trying an oyster. I LOVED the fresh sauce. The oyster? Not so much. It tastes like the sea smells. I also had chicken for dinner. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 12, and boy was my tummy hurting!

And finally, here are some more photos to scroll through…


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G-S-C recipe guaranteed to go to you H-I-P

It is that time of the year again. The time that ALL of those cookies I ordered from my friends and co-workers’ little munchkinettes arrive and I am left with way too many cookies. In all, I got twelve boxes. TWELVE boxes. I polished the first box off after a co-worker dropped my order off at work. Tagalongs sounded much better than the lunch I had packed.

When I got home Munchkin and I had a few more. Of course all kids love cookies. I had to oblige.

And then last night I had a dream. A dream about my cookies. I woke up and I just knew I had to put these recipes into motion TODAY. No complaints from Munchkin or CBear. Funny thing…I normally don’t like cookies and I normally don’t eat ice cream at home. But today I threw caution to the wind.

Samoa Sundae

2 Samoa cookies, crumbled

Tbs. shredded coconnut

Vanilla ice cream

Chocolate syrup (not shown)

1 Samoa cookie for garnish

Tagalong Sundae

2 Tagalongs, crushed

1 Tbs Nutella spread

1 Tbs Peanut Butter

Vanilla ice cream

Extra cookie for garnish

And the best for last!

Trefoil Sundae (Of course when I was in Girl Scouts, it was was simply known as shortbread, but then they got all fancy)

2 Trefoil cookies, crushed

Half a banana chopped

Honey to drizzle

Vanilla Ice Cream

Cookie for garnish

Trefoil Sundae? AWESOME! After all these cookies that are pimped out to be even worse, looks like I’m going to have to work overtime at the gym. And maybe throw some veggies in there somewhere.

So go support your local Girl Scout troop and make some awesome sundaes!