March 2009 - Kitchen Scrapbook

Tiffany’s 3rd birthday cake, Noah’s Ark…

March 30, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 30, 2009
Filed Under Birthday cakes

I’m going to do this cake a little different. Instead of making it and updating when it’s done, I’ll keep editting this post and update as I go. So far, we have the animals and a baked 9×13 cake.

So, if you want to watch it develop into a whimsical little Noah’s Ark, check back now and then! At least we hope that’s what it’ll develop into anyway… ????

Next update: I cut 2 pieces from the cake (approx 5″x the width of the cake) and stacked them…

Now it’s shaped a bit and has a door… yeah, frosting covers alot of imperfections!

By the way, Tiffany dug into the top of it, if you see a hole in the top. She said, “Well, I just wanted to taste it. You can mix the hole up again so we can’t see it.” Huh?

Now we’ve got some frosting on…

I know, the door didn’t get in the middle. I did that on purpose. ???? Just kidding, I was trying for the middle. *roll eyes*

Now the top part is going on…

Know what’s between that chunk of cake and the graham cracker ‘roof’? Frosting. Lots of frosting. I just piled a whole bunch on top and squished the graham crackers down over it. Doesn’t get much easier than that!

Tiffany said now she wants water for her boat.

Lexi just got home from school (she’s in Kindergarten)…

Got some trim on…
The animals are chompin’ on the bit to get in their ark.

The grass is started…

Here’s how far I got with the grass till my hand was sore AND I ran out of green frosting. So, instead of trying to make more and match it, I decided to just make ‘dirt instead. I was actually going to make the whole thing dirt because it was, after all, a construction site. But, the cake was colorless enough with the brown ‘wood’, so I thought grass would brighten it up a bit.

The girls are pairing up the animals. Soon, I’ll turn them loose with putting them in the grass and up the ramp.

The animals are going on…

And the cake is DONE!

Here’s the birthday girl. The party is tomorrow.

Roxanna asked in the comments where I got the animals… I got them at JoAnn Fabrics. My SIL Liz found them for me.

Other birthday cakes:
—winter scarf, hat, boots, & gloves cake
—doghouse cake and Legos cake
—coloring book cake
—cake with roses and ribbon
—123ABC blocks cake, snowman cake, ice cream cone cake, & house cake

———————————————————————————————-

Now it’s the next day. The birthday party is over. Editting to add a couple more pictures…

Comments

33 Responses to “Tiffany’s 3rd birthday cake, Noah’s Ark…”

liz on March 30th, 2009 1:30 pm

looks good so far! i’ll be checking back later that’s for sure. got to love the thinking of a 3 year old.
Shannon on March 30th, 2009 1:35 pm

Lookin’ good so far.
Michelle on March 30th, 2009 2:36 pm

Looks good! I just made a baseball cake for Jadon for his 3rd b-day. It was alot of fun!
Monica on March 30th, 2009 2:40 pm

Cute!! I love interesting birthday cakes!
Victoria on March 30th, 2009 3:28 pm

That’s the cutest cake I’ve ever seen!
Roxanna on March 30th, 2009 3:49 pm

I’m impressed! That is sooo cute! I think even I could do that! Where did you get those animals?
Sandra on March 30th, 2009 4:17 pm

You did such a great job..love it!!
Rosalyn on March 30th, 2009 4:21 pm

wow! that is very cute!
Mom Martin on March 30th, 2009 4:39 pm

Very clever! You sure are creative! Tell Tiffany Grandma’s worried about her two alligators. they’ll need water…indoor pool?
Shannon on March 30th, 2009 4:48 pm

The girls are having fits over it. M wants to know if I can make them one. “Noooooooooooo”
Monica on March 30th, 2009 5:00 pm

I love it!! I’ll have to put that in my “birthday cake” file!!
liz on March 30th, 2009 6:17 pm

what is the dirt?
Kay on March 30th, 2009 6:39 pm

The dirt is cake crumbs, but that looked too dark, so I crushed graham crackers up and sprinkled some on top of the cake crumbs.
Ruthie on March 30th, 2009 7:32 pm

Neat! So can we come to the party tomorrow? =) How did you make the ridge on top?
Barb on March 30th, 2009 7:43 pm

Very cute cake…
Kay on March 30th, 2009 8:09 pm

Ruthie, yeah, come! For that ridge, I just put frosting in a plastic bag, snipped about 1/2″ of the corner off, and piped it on. I thought it would be round, but was pleased when it turned out more vertical.
Cheryl on March 30th, 2009 8:51 pm

So cute… I think that I’ll try it. But I’m far too lazy to make grass out of frosting. I think you can put coconut and a drop of green food coloring in a ziploc bag and squish it together and use that. But then the animals might not stay standing. Guess I’ll have to think about it awhile. I have til June.
Cheryl Weaver
Rene on March 30th, 2009 9:01 pm

That is so adorable!!
Amy on March 30th, 2009 9:04 pm

That is absolutely ADORABLE!!!! I’ve never tried doing a cake, but this is just too tempting and I know my daughters would LOVE it. =)
Rina on March 30th, 2009 9:50 pm

That’s amazing!! GREAT job!
Beth on March 31st, 2009 4:42 am

All I can say is you are one amazing lady! GREAT JOB! Happy Birthday, Tiffany! And have fun at your party.

I did have to smirk a little bit that she dug into the cake. If I would have tried to make that cake, Trevor would NEVER have been able to sit there mildly watching me frost. And your girls just sit there so calmly waiting to put the animals on.
Freida on March 31st, 2009 6:48 am

Wow! That is amazing, and ever so cute. Did anybody ever tell you that you really should do cakes for a living…. seriously. Good job! Happy birthday, Tiffany!
Lorrie on March 31st, 2009 8:04 am

Great job Mom! It looked like a lot of work, but that smile on that last picture must have made it worth it.
Lisa on March 31st, 2009 10:25 am

How adorable! Great job and Happy Birthday Tiffany from Rhode Island!!!
Renita on March 31st, 2009 8:36 pm

WOW! I know who I’ll be asking to ask to do my b-cakes. You are too good and so close. YOU ARE HIRED!Happy Birthday Tiffany!
Alva on April 1st, 2009 8:29 am

Wow you are amazing and so creative! Your children are so lucky to have you for a mom! I think a cake like that is a dream come true for most children!
janae on April 3rd, 2009 11:11 am

awww! kay the cake is adorable!! Brianna is sitting on my lap and drooling for a cake like it!!it is very very neat!
Katrina on April 4th, 2009 10:16 pm

What a great cake! Awesome!
I love the elephant behinds going in the door!
Tons of great photos!
Mariann on April 6th, 2009 8:49 pm

So cute!! My 4 year old son was thrilled with all your cakes.:) Of course he wants one too, but his Mom is not good with cake decorating.:(
How much icing do you make to decorate an average cake? Do you have your icing recipe on here somewhere?
Kim on April 27th, 2009 7:07 pm

NEAT cake, Kay! Jared has been begging for a Thomas cake, but when he saw Tiffany’s cake he changed his mind! He only has a few days to decide! Hey, I haven’t browsed your site for ages, but it made me miss you like crazy!! (gulp!)…you’re one of a kind! (In a very GOOD way!) You really need to come back to WI for a visit!! Just maybe we’ll see you in OH this summer?! Shaina says “Hi” to Lexi!
Melanie (Durban, South Africa) on November 26th, 2009 11:10 am

Love the cake. going to make one for my daughthers 4th birthday this weekend.
Thanks for the lovely photos.
taree on April 26th, 2011 2:13 am

thats a A plus for me !!! thank you you are very clever i like to decorate cakes tooo its real fun
taree on April 26th, 2011 3:21 am

ummm… can you list some ingrediants im goin to try make a ark wish me luck

Chicken and Turkey

Mushroom Muenster Chicken

March 26, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 26, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey

This is one of those recipe names that you pretty much know what the dish is… the 3 main ingredients in this dish are mushrooms, muenster cheese, and chicken. And a good combo that is!!! Really, how could you go wrong with those ingredients.

This recipe was in my pile of loose recipes. It’s clipped out of a Country Woman magazine, I don’t know what year or month. It was on page 51… I guess you don’t need to know that, unless you want to go thro’ your stack of Country Woman magazines and look up all the page 51s. ???? In the italic print with the recipe, it says it won 1st place in a festival contest.

Mushroom Muenster Chicken

2 eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used crushed Town House crackers and mixed in a bit of Italian seasoning and seasoned salt.)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
10 oz. Muenster cheese (I have a little scale, so I dutifully weighed the cheese and guess what! 10 oz was exactly 10 slices!)

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs. Place breadcrumbs in a large resealable plastic bag. Dip chicken in eggs, then place in bag and shake to coat.

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer chicken to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.

Top with mushrooms and cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Yield: 6 servings. Serve with a mixed green salad or steamed fresh green beans. I served it with California blend veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots) and crescent rolls. And to serve the chicken, I just put a serving spoon in it and we dished it out like you would a casserole.

This tastes great and is easy to throw together, but we thought it was a little greasy. I want to try it with grilled chicken to see if the greasiness was from frying the chicken in oil. If it’s still greasy w grilled chicken, I’ll assume it’s because of the muenster cheese and try mozzarella or provolone instead.

Comments

9 Responses to “Mushroom Muenster Chicken”

Rosalyn on March 26th, 2009 8:45 pm

This sounds like something my family would love!
Rose on March 26th, 2009 9:31 pm

This sounds like it would be really good with bacon on top! I’ll have to try it, we love to eat chicken!
Lorrie on March 27th, 2009 3:21 pm

This looks really yummy, but as usual I’ll have to make a seperate dish made with soy faux chicken for my vegetarian son. The cheese he’ll eat though. Thanks!
Angela on March 28th, 2009 8:45 am

My mouth is watering- 3 of my favorite foods here. Unfortunately, I’m about the only one in my family who enjoys mushrooms. As a side note, have you ever tried tallying nutritional information with any of your recipes (calories, fat, etc)? I’m not sure how to do it, but it’d be interesting to see how some recipes pan out.
Kay on March 28th, 2009 8:58 am

Angela, I actually do tally calories pretty often, I don’t do the other info though, like fat grams etc. I don’t really wanna put it on here because it would kinda wreck it for some people… “Oh, yum, that looks good! I oughta make it! Oh no, it has 640 calories per serving, guess I won’t.” (This dish isn’t 640 cal per serving, but those caramel pecan pancakes from awhile ago were close to 1000!) ????
kris on March 28th, 2009 1:20 pm

hey…im giving this recipie a try..from the pic it looks really good! IM going to add oinions and peppers to mine ..
Marissa on March 30th, 2009 12:56 pm

We tried this recipe with a blended colby cheese and Adobe seasoning (what we had on hand). It was DELICIOUS; definitely make again. Thanks for sharing such a simpl, yet tastey dish
Anna on March 31st, 2009 5:11 am

Congrats on this, my mouth was watering as i read it. My mind was thinking, a bit greasy, and then i saw that you wrote that the family also thought the same. Maybe after covering the chicken in bread crumbs, roasting them off in the oven to brown as oppossed to frying? would certainly cutdown on the grease.
Must try this at home, reckon the family will love it.

Greetings from portugal.

Much love,

Anna
Al Malekovic on April 2nd, 2009 9:55 am

I tried to find you email address, but could not. I hope you don’t mind me sending this. My name is Al Malekovic (al@countrybobs.com) and I represent a very, very small company called Country Bob’s, Inc. We are making a great sauce called, “Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce” and we would like to get the word out about our product.
I know that blogs are a great way to get information to the general public. I conducted a google search for food blogs and your name came and after looking at your blog, I was wondering if you would be interested in trying my sauce and perhaps reviewing it for me.

If you send me your name and address via e-mail, I would gladly send you a recipe brochure along with two bottles of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce in hopes that you would write a review.

If you would like more information, I would be glad to respond to any questions you might have. In fact, if you are interested in interviewing me after you’ve sampled the product, I would gladly make myself available!

Thank you for your consideration. http://www.countrybobs.com I will also give you two two bottle give a ways and just email me the winners and we will mail out.

Easy Meals, Snacks

Fried Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich

March 19, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 19, 2009
Filed Under Easy meals, Snacks

Have you ever tried that? Yesterday, while we were making fry pies, Renita and I were talking about quick lunches or something (I forget exactly how we got on the subject) and she said that her son likes his pb&j sandwiches fried, like a grilled cheese sandwich. I had never heard of it, so I decided I’d have to try it.

Fast-forward to a couple hours later… I got home around 1:00 p.m. and hadn’t had lunch yet, so I was staring in the fridge when suddenly I remembered the fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So, I made 2, one for me and one for Tiffany (Lexi was at school). Then, after eating that one, I made another one for me. They are good! The peanut butter gets all warm and melty and gooey and the sandwich is crispy to bite into. It just kinda bumps plain ol’ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches up a level. ????

So, here you go, no recipe, just the process in pictures…

Peanut butter & Jelly…

Grilled cheese and tomato soup…

Yup, I don’t use a frying pan for this type of thing, mostly which is grilled cheese sandwiches. And that reminds me of this post, which was written on my old blog before I started Kitchen Scrapbook. And when the posts were transferred to Kitchen Scrapbook, the comments didn’t come with them, so here are a couple other ideas that people had for doing right on a smooth top burner and skipping the frying pan: warm tortillas up, make quesadillas, and someone knew of someone who fries onions and sausage right on the burner! I haven’t tried that one! Someone also said this, “Something to try next time you have tomato soup. Hard-boil 3 or 4 eggs, then grate or shred into soup just before serving. Yummy!”

I LOVE my smooth top stove! Not just for this, but because it’s easier to clean too.

Comments

12 Responses to “Fried Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich”

Shannon on March 19th, 2009 1:33 pm

Oh we love these, well the girls and I do. Eric ate them last year when he was sick and can’t handle them anymore. I’ll have to make them again, kinda forgot about them.
Monica on March 19th, 2009 2:26 pm

I just might have to try those!! Sounds interesting. That’s cool how you grill them on your stove top–that would be the only reason I would want one like that……….I like my gas stove!!
Traci on March 19th, 2009 4:31 pm

Yep….I do this all the time….try it w/ bananas and not jelly….YUMMY!!!
Christy on March 20th, 2009 2:27 pm

If we’re going to fry them and make them less healthful, why not make it peanut butter and chocolate? I bet that would be good!
Kay on March 20th, 2009 7:21 pm

Traci, I’ve heard of p.b. & banana sandwiches… I’ve gotta try it, never did.

Christy, you are SO my kind o’ girl!!!! I oughta try that combo too. ????
Msclovy on March 21st, 2009 1:26 pm

You must like to clean a stove more than I do…I did think though that you really arent supposed to do that to a smoothtop???
Michelle on March 23rd, 2009 11:49 am

Tried the fried p&b and jelly sandwich today. Was very good. Much better than eating it cold.
Shannon H on March 26th, 2009 2:19 pm

Still frying pb&j? ???? Just had to ask!
Kay on March 26th, 2009 4:23 pm

Msclovy, I actually never asked anyone if it was ok to do that. Seems like you shouldn’t, but I’ve had my stove for 11 1/2 years and the burners still clean up good as new!

Shannon, ha, yeah, the loaf of bread is about gone now, so we’ll switch to something else soon. ????
Jessica on March 30th, 2009 1:42 pm

Egg in soup? Well after going to a certain Bible school establishment a certain year (namely the one you came engaged) I just can’t handle eggs in soup. Too much like breakfast leftovers in my lunch. ugh.
Jennifer on April 4th, 2009 9:22 am

My daughter and son just loved these. They thought I was crazy at first when I suggested it. Now they won’t eat them cold anymore. Thanks!
Tiffany on April 24th, 2009 9:46 am

That looks so good. But, i have a gas stove at home. But i’m still going to try that today.(:

Breakfasts, Snacks

Granola, with normal ingredients

March 16, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 16, 2009
Filed Under Breakfasts, Snacks

I’ve never made granola before. Or granola bars. They always call for bran or wheat germ and those are 2 ingredients that keep me flipping thro’ the cookbook and thinking, “Well, I guess I won’t make granola this time”. (*whisper* I’ve never even seen bran and wheat germ or know what they are.) So, I buy my granola at the bulk foods store (only on rare occassions because it’s pricey) and buy my granola bars at the grocery store.

Then, just lately a few of my friends started raving about this granola and when I looked at the recipe, I was glad to see that it took ‘normal’ ingredients! So, I made some. It is SO good! Like one of my friends said, it’s good at any stage of the making process… you can’t help but sampling it here and there while mixing, baking, and stirring it.

Eat it with milk in it, put it on top of yogurt, eat it plain as a snack, or sprinkle it on top of a dessert.

Granola

10 cups quick oats
3 cups graham cracker pieces (this was 1 1/2 packs of Honey Maid)
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups coconut
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans
3 sticks of butter (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup peanut butter chips (I tried some with chocolate chips… it was better ???? )

Melt the butter and mix with dry ingredients.

Divide between 2 large baking sheets. I did it on 3 baking sheets… the vertical one is chocolate chips and peanut butter chips mixed, the horizontal one in the back is peanut butter chips and the one in front is chocolate chips.

Bake at 300 for 40 min or until golden brown. Stir every 15 min the 1st 30 min, then every 5 min. Add peanut butter chips in the last few minutes of baking time.

I sampled all 3 varieties and liked the one with just chocolate chips the best. I thought the next best was the one with chocolate and peanut butter chips mixed. The one with peanut butter chips was good too, but I will from now on just use chocolate chips and maybe put some peanut butter chips in too if I have some on hand.

And this is how I like to eat it the best: with milk and a spoon…

Comments

10 Responses to “Granola, with normal ingredients”

Freida on March 16th, 2009 9:57 am

Glad you like it. I still want to try the choc. chips sometime, but it will have to be at someone else’s house. The peanut butter chips get the rave reviews here.
Berneice on March 16th, 2009 10:00 am

Grr. i still don’t have all the “normal” ingredients. I bought some tiny cinnamon chips last week that I want to try.
Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on March 16th, 2009 4:27 pm

I make granola all the time. I love mine with coconut and almonds. Yours looks great!
Fran on March 16th, 2009 6:51 pm

We like granola too, and I make it occasionally, but I’m not sure about the chocolate chips in it. Maybe it would be better than I think. I like the idea of graham crackers, I’ve never heard of that. It sounds wonderful.
Beth on March 16th, 2009 6:56 pm

Glad you’re telling the “world” about this awesome stuff! Seriously…this granola is so simple & makes a person want to quit dieting. I ate it for breakfast & again for lunch one day.
Twila on March 17th, 2009 7:37 am

That recipe is almost identical to mine. Except I use 2 packs of graham crackers, and the original recipe called for 4 sticks of butter, which I can hardly bear, so I’ve cut it back to two. I don’t usually add the nuts, and I use miniature butterscotch chips. I stir them in after I take it out of the oven. I also started adding vanilla to the butter before I stir it into the rest of the stuff. Your right, is is good. In fact, I just made some yesterday.
Heather on March 17th, 2009 1:24 pm

That granola does look delicious! My family used to make breakfast cereals to sell so I’ve been making granola almost forever! Anytime you see wheat germ in the recipe you can eliminate it and just add a bit more of one of the other dry ingredients. I always add it because I know it’s good for me and all the bulk food stores in this area have wheat germ at a very reasonable price. The granola that I make currently I’m sure is not as tasty as yours but I’m going for the ‘dieting’ aspect of things. Very little butter & sugar….

BTW, my sister in law recently told me about your site and I love it! I live in Ohio and have two little kids, almost 4 and almost 2.
Mariann on March 27th, 2009 12:03 pm

I haven’t made granola for a long time, this makes me hungry for it! The dry ingredients sound similar to my recipe, but mine says oil instead of butter. I think butter would give even more yummy flavor to it. [I tried putting wheat germ in it once & did NOT like the taste of that stuff.:(]
Sherilyn on March 27th, 2009 1:41 pm

That looks alot like the recipe I sometimes use only it had rice krispies in it. We loved it and now when I try new recipes I just use rice krispies when it calls for anything I don’t like or don’t have. I think the krispies kinda lighten it up when you’re eating a whole bowlful.
Elmina on September 1st, 2009 12:39 pm

I made some of this granola today, and it’s da bomb! I just hope we don’t get “high” on all that butter!! Thanks for sharing the recipe my sister Freida uses, and reminding me to try it.

Chicken and Turkey, Grilling, Main Dishes

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

March 9, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 9, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Grilling, Main dishes

Hi again! It’s been awhile! The ‘famine’ on here doesn’t mean we haven’t been eating! It means that the last 2 weeks have been abnormal weeks as far as cooking goes, with company and then being busy with a booth at a Home and Garden show. Not a cooking show booth, by the way. ????
We were selling these:

Anybody need a beautiful cedar gazebo in your yard?

I do love those little cooking show booths at shows though, even though the chefs always use the same lines and the same jokes. It just amazes me how they can talk AND cook at the same time! I think I’m a bit too absent-minded for that. And the cookware that cooks stuff without water… Wow! And the food doesn’t burn… Wow! I have a hard enough time WITH water! Tonight while we were making supper, I even burned a piece of toast (not in water though… see, that’s what happens when I cook without water)! Yeah, WE were making supper, not ME… because it involved grilling and that is my husband’s territory.

Here, I’ll show you what we ate tonight:

We’re always trying to think of new things to do with grilled chicken breast besides chicken breast salad, shishkabobs, or just eating it plain w bbq sauce. This sandwich is actually along the lines of the Open-faced Pork Chop Sandwich that is a specialty around here.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Bread
Chicken breast
Provolone cheese (or cheese of choice)
Barbeque sauce OR dijon mustard

Toast the bread. Season and grill the chicken, then chunk it up.

Assemble in this order: Toast, chicken, bbq sauce or dijon mustard, cheese, toast.

Microwave for about 1 minute, 2 min if you’re doing 2 sandwiches.

And… enjoy!

Mmmm, so good and so easy and so quick and not much cleanup!

Wouldn’t you just like to snitch a piece? It’s flavored SO good and is nice and juicy! Not sure what seasonings he used. Edit: He just said he used Cajun Black’n seasoning from the Bayfield Spice Company in Rhinelander, WI.

Comments

6 Responses to “Grilled Chicken Sandwiches”

Shannon on March 9th, 2009 8:34 pm

Oh I am so ready to get the grill out again. Haven’t had time so far and I’m afraid it’s gonna get cold again. These sound good!!
Sandra on March 11th, 2009 9:17 am

Hey I saw the famous daves bbq sauce..the best!!This looks so good!I grew up on sandwiches so this looks great!
Monica Y on March 13th, 2009 9:51 am

Oh those look good!! My little grill is just begging to fired up again!! I can hardly wait. Were you at the Home and Garden Show in Columbus?? I love walking around looking at all the stuff…..but we didn’t make it there this year. If I’d a known–maybe I would have went and looked you up!!
Monica Y on March 13th, 2009 10:00 am

By the way, I’d take one of those gazebos. Sadly, it’s not in our budget.
Freida on March 16th, 2009 9:55 am

Oh yum… This gets me in the mood for summer! We do grill occasionally in the winter,tho. Its too hard to stay away from it all winter long. Gonna try these!
Audrey Miller on March 17th, 2009 1:44 pm

These look really great and totally look like something that we would eat. Yeah, I am getting pretty hungry right now. Keep the posts coming because I always enjoy looking/reading through your recipes. I know it takes a lot of time for you though.