Cake Leveling

How many of you have ever baked a cake and it comes out with a rounded top?  I know I have many times!  Here is an easy and super simple way to level those cakes out!

If you are super talented you can level your cakes with a serrated knife (knife with little teeth on the blade) or if your like me and want to do it the easy way, you will need a cake leveler.  The cake leveler is easy to use and has several height positions for cutting your cakes.

Your cakes should be cool before cutting and frosting them.  I like to put my cakes on cooling racks.  These Wilton Cooling Racks are nice because they can be stacked on top of each other to save room!

 

Yes I forgot to take a picture of actually leveling them, but the leveler is soooooo easy to use!  Don't forget to save the cake you cut off the top, you can mix it with leftover frosting and make cake pops or just eat it!

 

Before putting cakes on cake plate, put some frosting down.  Think of your frosting like glue, it will help keep your cakes in place.  Remember to put the top of your cakes facing down to prevent crumbs getting into frosting and to put frosting in between each cake. 

 

Frost and Enjoy!

Cooking with Cast Iron

How many of you have ever cooked using Cast Iron?  I never have but we are going to give it a try for Madi's Birthday Party!!  We will be cooking some amazing chili (well lets hope it will be amazing) in this bad boy!  Its is a 10 gallon Cast Iron Jambalaya Pot.  We purchased it from Amazon as well as a tripod so we can cook over an open fire!

Now who can give me some good advice for 

cooking with Cast Iron!

Madi's 4th Birthday

Madi's 4th Birthday is coming up next month and I am so excited!  We are going with a farm theme and we are going to have her party outside!  Outside in November, lets pray for some SUN that day.  We are going to get a bounce house/obstacle course, have a bonfire and lots of yummy food and desserts! 

Of course, I've pinned a ton of ideas on pinterest but I am most excited about her birthday cake!  Here is my inspiration!  Yes I will be changing it up a bit... 2 layers, no #2 on top and a #4 instead of the "Happy Birthday" sign.  

I found these awesome fondant farm animals on Etsy, I can't wait to see them in person!

I will be doing a tutorial on this cake.  It will be posted in a couple weeks!

Cream Cheese Ranch Dip... AMAZING!!!

Yesterday I had my Stella and Dot Trunk Show and I made this amazing Cream Cheese Ranch Dip.  I found the recipe on Pinterest awhile back and actually made it for Liam's 2nd Birthday Party (no picture was taken, boo)  

 

 The original recipe has it being used as Cream Cheese Ranch Roll-ups (they are amazing this way as well) however yesterday I was running out of time (cleaned the house while keeping an eye on Madi and Liam) and made these last minute (the roll-ups need to chill for a couple of hours) so went with it as a dip and used Sundried Tomato & Basil Wheat Thins!

Cream Cheese Ranch Dip 
2 packages (8 Oz. Size) Cream Cheese, Softened
1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix 
½ cup Finely Chopped Red Pepper (you can use Red, Orange or Yellow)
½ cup Finely Chopped Green Onions 
1 can (2.25 Oz. Size) Chopped Black Olives 

Combine all ingredients together and put in a bowl and ENJOY! 

Busy Busy Busy Week...

This week as been super busy and exciting because... we have WARM WEATHER and SUN!!! 

 

The kids, Madi, Liam and Addy (the little girl I watch during the week) have been outside everyday this week enjoying the warm weather. We've played outside, planted some new plants, relocated some plants, moved rock, pulled weeds, I mowed for the 1st time ever, chased Diesel as he was running away from the house, etc. Its been a fun filled and tiring week!

 Levi and I finally started our business, we are now Levi Dielman, LLC. And with owning your own corporation comes with lots of paperwork! Our accountant recommended using quickbooks to help keep everything organized unlike our office space! Its currently a disaster, I need to make a trip to Home Depot to get the wood needed to make the shelves I want! Since I am the secretary of our business, I asked Nicole at Davids Mommy for some help! Below is a link for Quickbooks if anyone else needs it!

 QuickBooks Pro 2013

Happy Birthday to Me...

My Birthday was on the 16th and I finally got around to 

making my birthday cake last week.  

It turned out great and was super easy to make!  

Tutorial to follow later this week!

Little Miss Sassy Pants....

My rotten little girl...