Funnel Cakes

I will never forget the first time I convinced Mark we should make funnel cakes. He was pretty skeptical kinda like when I told him about cupookies .To him funnel cakes were fair food. Food you got at fairs not food that you could make in your own house! My mom and I developed a recipe for these a  long time ago and they have been a family favorite ever since. So, I made them for him ignoring his skepticism and he was happy to say the least!
Now he makes them for me…at least he did this year on my birthday! :) They are so easy and a lot of fun too.
Recipe:
1 1/4 Cup Milk
2 Large Eggs
1 3/4 cup Flour
1 Tbls sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
Beat eggs until frothy. Then beat in milk. Add all other ingredients until the batter is smooth.
In a skillet heat 1” oil over medium heat until hot enough to fry. (Just drop a test piece and if it floats to the top the oil is ready…or if it burns turn the oil down!)

Pour batter into a spiral shape about 6” in diameter. Fry until golden brown on bottom and flip over to brown the top.
 
Remove from pan, drain on cookie rack and add toppings!
Topping ideas:
Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Cinnamon Sugar
Strawberry Jam
Honey
Syrup
Chocolate Syrup
Caramel Sauce
Strawberries/Blueberries/Raspberries….berries!
And anything else you can think of!
I put cinnamon sugar, syrup and powdered sugar on mine. My favorite thing is honey and powdered sugar, or chocolate sauce with strawberries…but we didn’t have any of those things.
Tips from Kj:
These can be eaten at breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert! :) I prefer all meals of the day be funnel cake haha For the rest of the week I was sneaking bites of these throughout the day. I’m pregnant…its allowed!
If you actually have a funnel you can pour the batter through the funnel and it will make a more uniform size of cake. We just randomly poured. It all tastes the same! Pin It

Toastadas

I think that whenever Mark and I put our minds together we think of the best ideas for dinner! Recently we have been using tortillas from Costco that aren’t cooked yet. They are SO much better than the pre-made kind. And lucky for us they are great for making tostada shells!

Here is what we did:

First we made refried beans.

2 cans pinto beans
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon oil

Heat the oil over medium heat in a skillet and add the garlic cooking and stirring for about 2 minutes. Then add your beans. Let the beans get warm and then START MASHING! Use a potato masher and mash the beans for probably about 10-15 minutes until they reach a consistency that you like. Mash the beans and twist up as you lift the masher out to kinda mix them up a bit (It might seem like a long time, but one of you can mash away while the other does everything else. It is a fun way to keep both of you in the kitchen together!)

While you are cooking the beans make some taco meat. We just cheated and used a packet from the store. But sometimes I really like experimenting with seasonings and making taco seasoning from scratch!

Once the meat and beans are ready heat some oil on medium heat in a skillet and make your tostada shells. Put the shell in and flip over once the bottom starts to turn brown cook until it is as crunchy as you like it!

You can assemble these however you want but this is how we did it:
First smear your beans on and then add your meat

Take a picture of your hot husband….

add lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, and HOT SAUCE!

And there you have it. A delicious tostada to love and enjoy. These were so good we had them like 3 nights in a row! The beans were our favorite part and we just made them again last night to have with enchiladas. They are better than any store bought can of beans you will buy.

Tips from Kj:

I don’t have too many tips for this one. Mainly I could give you a  list of about 1 million toppings that I think sound really good on these….

Add some different sauces besides hot sauce to it and that would be great. Some enchilada sauce etc.

You could make them Mexican pizza style like from taco bell and put another shell on top with more sauce and cheese….that would also be yummy!

Pin It

Hubby Homemaking: Blue Velvet Cake

My birthday was just a week ago and I got spoiled by the hubs. He made me funnel cakes for breakfast (recipe to come soon!) and he made me a delicious blue velvet birthday cake. It is the same as a red velvet cake but it is blue because that is my favorite color! How cute huh? It was delicous and so soft.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 oz. blue food coloring
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat oven to 350
Prepare pans by greasing them with butter and then coating them with flour. Put the flour in and pat and rotate the pan to distribute the flour evenly.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

Mix food coloring and cocoa powder together in a small bowl. Beat butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. (If it was me I’d have to sneak a bite of this mixture…I LOVE having a bite of butter and sugar haha) Then add the eggs one at a time.

Then beat in cocoa powder and vanilla….at first it didn’t seem like it was going to change but then it started turning an amazing color of blue!

Next alternate mixing in 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 cup butter milk, 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 cup buttermilk, and then the rest of the flour.
Then mix the vinegar and baking soda! It fizzes just like in a volcano :) Mix that into the batter and you are ready to fill your pans.



Pat the sides of the pan to make the air bubbles rise to the top.

LOVE that color!
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. In the meantime make this frosting:
16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages), softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
First blend butter and cream cheese and then add the rest of the ingredients. (Mark said, “don’t come in here or you won’t want to eat this after…because of all the unhealthy ingredients” I said, “Luckily I’m pregnant! This is the perfect cake for me!” haha)


When the cakes are beautiful and  done, run a spatula around them and flip them out of the pan.

Frost the bottom layer…use A LOT! :)

What a handsome baker…I might have to hire him when I open my bakery one day ;)

Add the top cake and cover it some more!

I forgot to take a picture of the entire cake…but here is one with candles and everything
Check out that color inside! :) So awesome. This was a sweet birthday cake! Thanks to my hubby.
Tips from KJ:
Eat one piece of cake a day after your birthday until it is gone…because you are pregnant and you can!
Eat this even if you aren’t pregnant because the cream cheese frosting is so amazing it is totally worth all of the calories.
and…..Please be sure to make and eat this cake? haha





Pin It

An Award!

I got a nice surprise the other day. I found out that my blog had been given an award from Amanda over at: An Apple A Day. She is a friend of mine and always has the cutest posts about her life in the Big Apple with her hubs. How cool huh? I thought so anyways. It is called the:

Award!

The Liebster Blog Award is given to spotlight up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers. Hopefully this can help me get a few more than that ;)

Here are the rules:

1) Link back to the award-er.

2) Tell us who your 5 favorite up-and-coming blogs are (can be the award-er).

3) Post the award on your blog, and pass it on!

So here goes….I had a hard time choosing who to award:

Karen over at: My Crazy Life as a Hunters Wife 
This is a hilarious blog that will get you laughing as you read the experiences she has as a hunters wife. She also happens to be my mom but that makes the  posts even funnier to me. She also includes delicious recipes every now and then!

Mallory at: Pocket Meets Monday 
If you think you have seen amazing photography wait until you visit this site. Mallory is amazing and takes beautiful and unique photos that will just take your breath away. She also includes sweet posts about her family life showcasing her fun personality! I can’t wait until I can use her talent to photograph my family :)

Mom Screaming Inside is a heart wrenching blog that tells the story of a mothers struggle as she discovers her teenage son is using drugs…and goes through the experiences his family as they try to help him.

Lisa at Savvy and Sleek She has so many cute ideas ranging from crafts to make, recipes, family ideas etc. Currently she is posting ideas for a Valentines advent calendar of sorts with cute gifts that she gives her hubs and daughter each day. Her blog is definitely worth checking out!

Rachel at The Frakes' I just love her blog. She is such a cute momma! Not only can you read about her fun life as a stay at home mom you can check out her craft ideas and sewing projects. Also link to her etsy shop so you can check out the cute things she sells for little kiddos.

Well there you have it :) Happy Liebster Award to you!

Pin It