Thursday Treats: Candy Birthday Cake

Yup…I loved this cake so much I couldn't wait until next Tuesday to share!

This past Tuesday, we had our "family" dinner night…Mexican theme this time.  But what was more special to our usual Tuesday night dinner, was the fact it was someone's birthday!!!  It gave me the chance to bake up something new!  The Birthday Girl's cake was request was simple…yellow cake and chocolate icing.  Hmmm….what could I do to spruce that up?!  Well, hellooooo Pintrest, you saved me again!  I actually used a couple different recipes on Pintrest and think I came up with the best concoction!  

Ingredients for Cake

2 1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup Sunny D

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

6 packs of the King Size Kit Kats, broken in sets of two

Large bag of M&M's

Ingredients for frosting

1 stick butter

2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa

~ 2 pounds powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

whole milk

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease and flour 2 round cake pans (either 9 in or 8 in will work).

2.  Cream together butter and sugar.

3.  Add remaining ingredients (except eggs) and mix well.

4.  Add eggs and beat for about 2 minutes.  

5.  Equally divide batter and spread into prepared pans.  

6.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.  

7.  Meanwhile, melt butter for frosting in a pan over low heat.

 8.  Add cocoa powder to melted butter and stir.  

 9.  Add about a cup of powdered sugar and stir.

10.  Transfer frosting mixture to mixing bowl and blend.  Continue adding powdered sugar and milk until you reach desired consistency and amount of frosting you will need.  

(the recipe I used called for 3 cups of powdered sugar and 1/3 cup milk…I used waaaay more)

 11.  When cake is done, allow to cool in pan for about 15 minutes.  

 12.  Run knife along sides of cake and turn over on wire rack to cool completely.  

13.  Place big dollop of frosting on one cake.  Spread evenly, but no need to go completely to edges, as you see, it will run over (which is not a big deal either).

14.  Place second cake on top and spread frosting on top.

 15.  Continue frosting top and sides of cake.  

(usually I do one layer for a "crumb layer" and then another to smooth it out…do as you wish with this, it will not matter since it will be covered up)

 16.  Line Kit Kats around cake.

 17.  Fill top with M&M's and, if you wish, tie a cute bow around for decoration.

(I think it will hold fine without it if you prefer not to use a bow)

 18.  Store in refrigerator until about an hour before serving.

(probably don't need to do this, but it has been 100 degrees around here, so I was not taking any chances!)

 19.  Take out about an hour before serving.  

(and let others admire their dessert!)

 Happy Birthday, Mrs. B!!!

 20.  Untie ribbon and slice between Kit Kats.

(I found the first slice had to be a little larger…the equivalent of 4 Kit Kats, in order to get the pie server under the cake to lift.  After that, feel free to cut smaller slices of 2 Kit Kats)

(Thanks to Lil Miss C for her Instagram photos!)

ENJOY!!!

Wednesday Wellness: Strawberry Smoothie

Back from the beach and back on track.  Do you all feel as sluggish as I do after being away and eating lots of yummy (yet processed) food, and enjoying too many cocktails?  

I'm so glad to be home and enjoying my healthy meals and smoothies yet again.  

This Strawberry Smoothie, one of Toosca Reno's recipes, is one of my favorite morning snacks!

Ingredients

1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

2 Tbsp flaxseed

Directions

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Easy enough?!

ENJOY!!!

Tuesday Treats: Buckeye Brownies

This was one of the three types of brownie desserts I brought down with me to Stone Harbor, New Jersey last week.  The Buckeye Brownies are now one of my new favorites!  

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix 

(I always use the fudge kind)

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts 

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup peanut butter

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2.  Grease 9 X 13 inch pan and set aside.

3.  Stir together brownie mix, eggs, and vegetable oil (this will be thicker then an original brownie mix)

3.  Add peanuts and combine well.

4.  Divide batter in half.  

5.  Press half of batter into prepared pan (it will be a thin layer).

6.  In separate bowl, combine condensed milk and peanut butter with whisk.

7.  Pour peanut butter mixture over brownie layer.

8.  Drop remaining brownie mix over top of peanut butter mixture and press gently into peanut butter layer.  

9.  Bake for 25 minutes until set and golden brown.

10.  Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

ENJOY!!!

Safe Haven

I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a couple days with a sweet family in Stone Harbor, New Jersey this summer.  I had never been there before and now I can say it has to be one of my favorite spots.  Very family oriented, quaint little town with fun shops, good eats, and pure relaxation mode.  

We rented beach cruisers for a day or two and biked around town and I was in heaven.  I've been saying I have wanted a beach cruiser for a while now at my parents' place at the beach, but it's pretty crowded there, and I always get nervous biking with the traffic.  And of course, I would prefer my bike to have a nice wooden Nantucket basket for Baxter to ride with me ;)  So, I was delighted to ride bikes as much as possible and was super bummed to return them the last day.

We biked up to the beach, around town, to lunch, and to the beachside bars to meet friends after soaking up rays on the beach.

It was so nice to also get to visit Avalon right down the street and have a wonderful dinner at the Sea Grill.  I had the most delicious salmon topped with bruschetta!  Mmmmm!  After dinner, we headed to The Whitebrier for a drink and then to Princeton Bar & Grill to meet friends for a another cocktail and good company.

I loved biking around in the morning admiring the beautiful homes and gorgeous landscaping.  This is Steve Biscotti's home in Stone Harbor.  I don't know if I would have ever thought to have that color wood siding on my own, but I am absolutely in love with it now!

We had another wonderful dinner at the cutest little Italian place across the street.  Everything tasted as if we had actually been in Italy (not that I've been there, but what I would imagine!). 

Our mornings were spent with coffee on the deck with a beautiful view of the bay.

And the sunsets in the evening were even more breathtakingly beautiful.

I could not have asked for a better vacation with perfect weather, great company, and lots of laughs!

Hope you all are enjoying your summer as much as I am here!

Looking for Lauren?

WOW, times flies in the summer!  

Recently, my laptop has been getting worked on and, being a little tech-challenged, I could not figure out how to blog from my phone.  However, I'm not sure I would have had much time to blog as we have been super busy around here!

But my laptop is back and life (I think) will be a little bit more calm in the next couple weeks.

In June, my cousin, Katie got married.  My sister and I did not mean to dress alike, but it made for a couple fun pics!

 Just look at the beautiful bride, her handsome hubby, and gorgeous boutique!

 This centerpiece at the cocktail hour was by far my favorite arrangement I had ever seen!  The picture does not even do it justice, it was amazing!

Lindsey and I loved it so much, we wanted to get a picture by it!

 And here was one of the many beautiful arrangements on the tables. Breathtakingly beautiful!

 It's been HOT-HOT-HOT around here, topping at 106 degrees!

Bax has been enjoying many Frosty Paws on the deck this summer.

And I have been keeping cool at the pool with these cuties!  They are getting some personalities now and I can't believe it's possible, but I love them more and more each time I see them!

We have attended a couple fundraisers at Hillendale Country Club and on the water at Nick's Fish House.

 Bax and I were able to spend time with a couple great Dad's on Father's Day this year!  My dad got his new bike a little early for his birthday, and we decided to try it out on his day!

 I think Mom and Bax were jealous of his new bike...

I joined a local country club and have been able to take full advantage of some adult beverages while soaking up the sun and relaxing poolside!

 In between all the fun, I have also been working hard.  I recently been traveling a couple times to Philly for work...

 but always come home to fun times!

 We headed to Ocean City, Maryland for a "couples" weekend away...

and cooked up a little Shrimp Boil for dinner….

 Enjoyed some "Beergaritas" at Dead Freddies at the beach...

 with great friends….

 And of course, what beach trip would be complete without a visit to Seacrets?!

 …and some 4th of July cocktails at Macky's?!

 I did head home for a quick day of work, but turned right around and headed to Stone Harbor, New Jersey to celebrate the Forth of July with amazing fireworks on the beach!

 We are finally home and ready to relax and catch up with you all!

Hope you all had as wonderful of a Forth of July as we did (and hopefully not as HOT!)!