Kitchen Tip of the Week

I thought with the Holidays quickly approaching, now is the perfect time to share one of my very favorite kitchen tips!
I always hated making sugar cookies because of the mess it made when I rolled them out on the counter. Flour everywhere, and then my cookies would get too much of it and be a bit on the dry side.
Then came the perfect solution - good ol parchment paper and wax paper! (Sorry I don't have any pics to post for a tutorial, but I think it's easy enough to get the gist of without them.)
1.After your dough has been refrigerated and is ready to be rolled out, lay out a sheet of parchment paper the same size as your cookie sheet.
2. Lay the dough down on top of the parchment paper.
3. Lay a piece of wax paper over the top.
4. Now use your rolling pin OVER the wax paper to roll out the dough.
5. Cut out your shapes, and then simply slide the parchment sheet right on to your cookie sheet!
6. Have another sheet of parchment ready to go to roll out the remaining dough and cut out more shapes. 7. When your cookies are done baking, just slide the whole parchment right on to your cooling rack - no chance of breakage from having to move them one by one with a spatula!! And it makes clean-up a snap!

Do you have a favorite tip to share? Please do!
Also, head on over to Tidy Mom and check out the "Love the Pie Party" coming up on 11/15. I'm tracking down a recipe right now to bake and share the results!

Be sure to drop by later to check out the results and get the recipe for the Camembert Pasta!

-Cakegirl

It May Not LOOK Real Pretty, but....

it tasted pretty darn good!!

Tonight we tried Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime, a recipe from Paula Deen's "The Deen Family Cookbook". It was relatively easy and quick to put together, and had a really nice tangy flavor!
Here's the recipe:
3-4 chicken breasts
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 2 cause we LOVE garlic in this house!!)
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
3/4 tsp pepper
salt

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse chicken and pat dry; place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, mayo, garlic, lime zest and juice, and pepper. Season the chicken generously with salt. Pour the mustard-mayo mixture over the chicken, tossing well to coat. In a large baking pan, arrange the chicken to fit in a single layer. Bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

This is definitely one I'll make again!!
Tomorrow's challenge - Camembert Pasta and homemade foccacia bread!

And though it has nothing to do with food, I just had to include this pic of my incredibly adorbale daughter in her Little Red Riding Hood Halloween costume!

And one playing in the leaves.

Can you tell I'm crazy about her??

Anyhow, be sure to stop by tomorrow for Friday's kitchen tip of the week, and for the results of tomorrow's new recipe!
-Cakegirl

Okay - I Lied!

Not about anything serious, mind you. Just that I thought I was done posting for the day, but when I was perusing some of my favorite blogs, I was inspired to shout out to a few of my favorites and tell you how great they are and that I think you should visit them too (they are definitely way more interesting that mine right now, and I also love to share things I enjoy, whether it's food, recipes, or books - don't get me started on books, though. That's a whole other post!!!!!)
So here is a list of some of my favorites and why I love them:
Haniela's : Not only was she super gracious for helping me out, she has beautiful pictures, yummy recipes, and a layout that is just classy and elegant.
Confessions of a Cookbook Queen : She is flippin' hilarious!! Every time I read one of her blogs, it brings a smile to my face. Not only does she have super yummy recipes, she tells great stories!!
Bakerella: One of the first blogs I started reading! Not only does she make super fun treats, she seems like a very kind and gracious lady! (LOVE her book too !)
Bake at 350: Again, beautiful pics and great recipes, and another to make you smile. Like her blog today about salad...I was worried she was getting all healthy on us....and it was a beautiful dessert salad with Snickers bars in it - my kind of salad!!!
The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle : Her pics just wanna make you go out and start making cookies even if you've never done it before!! She is also someone who pours out her heart and soul, and I love reading her posts!!
Tidy Mom: Okay - here is what I aspire to be!! I would love to have my stuff together like Cheryl!! Amazing ideas, fun things to do!! Love it!
Glorious Treats: Talk about amazing pics!! She doesn't just have adorable food on here!! Check out the parties she has done!! It would be a total fantasy of mine to have her do a party for my daughter!! Just incredible!!
Sweetopia: The very 1st blog I ever read!!! Marian makes the most amazing creations - I was just completely dumbfounded when I stumbled upon her site! I had never seen designs like that on cookies before!! Totally amazing!

Okay - I've given you quite a homework assignment - so get to work!! I promise you will enjoy these blogs, even if you curse me later for getting you addicted!! (and promise you'll still come back and see me - after viewing these, you may never come back to lil' old me! lol) And did I mention that a lot of these wonderful ladies do giveaways on their sites........just sayin'. ;)
Happy Blogging!
Cakegirl

Test Pictures

Hey everyone!!
Gonna load up a few test pics to see if I have this thing figured out!! I have to give a quick shoutout to my new friend Hani of Haniela's. She took time out of her busy schedule to give me a run through on how this stuff works, and I'm so grateful!! Please be sure to swing by and visit her blog! She rocks!!
Okay, here are some test shots, and I promise the good stuff is coming Saturday with pics of the new recipes I'm trying this week. Be sure to pop by for Friday's kitchen tip of the week! And next week, I'm going to issue a cookbook challenge!

Here are some pics of the cake pops I made for Lanie's school party. Don't know about cake pops yet?? Then you have to visit Bakerella.com, and also check out her new book "Cake Pops" - it's one of my favorites!!! Okay, off to prep some stuff for the board meeting at Lanie's school tonight! (and maybe I should pack a few boxes too, with moving time looming ever closer!!)
Cakegirl
Take care!

My Second Day

Good morning, my 2 lovely subscribers (so far!) First, I have to mention a super sweet giveaway on another blog I follow, hanielas.blogspot.com. She is giving away a $55 gift certificate to the csn store. Check it out!! It's a great blog and what I can only hope to be eventually!!
Well, my baking has been curtailed a bit this week - my poor daughter has bronchitis! So between antibiotics, cough syrup, and breathing treatments, she's keeping me plenty busy!
But I do have several new dinner recipes I am trying this week!
Thursday I am trying chicken with Dijon sauce.
Friday will be a Camembert cheese pasta.
And Saturday will be Southwest Cream of Chicken Soup.
I am pretty excited about all of them and I'll be keeping you posted on how they turn out. (If they turn out well, I'll then post some pics and the recipes.)
Hoping to be able to squeeze in making a batch of cake balls (red velvet cake and cream cheese icing filling, covered in chocolate. They've been a hug hit every time I've made them - and my mom's co-workers keep asking her to bring some in for them to try!)
Be sure to check back in soon!
-Cakegirl

Wow! I'm a Blogger????

Okay, so this is my first Blog post. Ever. I've gotta try to figure all this stuff out so I can make this a fun and interesting place to be. My goal is to have a spot to discuss my baking and cooking adventures, share food info, and maybe cook our way through some cookbooks together! Please bear with me as I try to figure out how it all works!!
-Cakegirl