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...

It's here...Keurig Vue House Party

 I received my House Party Keurig Vue Party Pack today 

and I'm SUPER excited!!!

Not only did I receive a Keurig Vue, I also received 84 Vue Cups, 2 mugs, hot/cold cups, napkins, cookies and mints and coupons to share with my guests for 40% and 25% off a Keurig Vue.  I received all of this for FREE for being a House Party Host

Who's ready to try out some amazing coffee!!!

Paint Refinishing Fail...

You've seen a couple post with me using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, well I wanted to show you some bar stool's I painted with just plain old flat paint from Wal-Mart. 

Bar stool's before painting them with flat paint from Wal-Mart

After 1 coat of flat yellow paint from Wal-Mart

 Bar stool in the front has had 4 coats and bar stool in the back has had 2 or 3. 

As you can see from the pictures using your plain flat paint doesn't cover very well and it left brushstrokes like no other.  I will be sanding these bar stools down (to get brush strokes out) and will be repainting them with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in English Yellow.

I'd happily spend the $37.95 on a quart of AS Chalk Paint and only paint 2 coats vs painting 5+ coats of flat paint from Wal-Mart!!

New picture of HOOCH

Hooch is around 4 months old now and has DOUBLED in size from a month ago when we got him!  He has "pointed" at several things including Diesel our Mastiff/Sheperd Mix and loves chasing our cats around the yard!  He is in fact a Pointer and has caught several mice and likes go venture up to the Gilead Store to visit people! 

$15 Coffee Table + AS Chalk Paint = GORGEOUS

I am loving Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!    

Here is my coffee table I found on a Facebook Buy-Sell-Trade group for $15!  Before painting and yes I forgot to take a before picture because I was so excited to us AS chalk paint, the coffee table was medium/dark stained and has a glass insert on the top.  I painted 2 coats of AS chalk paint in Old White, letting each coat dry.  After the 2nd coat, I let it dry overnight and distressed it the next day and then added the AS clear wax

Stay tuned for more updated living room pictures! 

Monster Cake

Now most of you have seen photos of my kids birthday parties and yes I know I go a little crazy, but I love doing it!  Everytime my kids hear the word "Birthday" they automatically ask me if I am going to make a Birthday Cake.  Since my birthday is coming up next week, I decided to post some of the birthday cakes I've made, starting with Liam's 2nd Birthday Monster Cake!

 

With making a decorative cake there are a few things you are going to need that you won't think about, the most important other than cake pans, decorating bags and tips is a Cake Leveler, to cut off the dome shape on the top of your cake.  Next your going to need a metal Spatula, these are a must for smoothing out your icing.  Then your going to need a Turntable to make decorating your cake easier!  

The icing recipe I use can be found here Extra Special Buttercream Icing.  It has a nice flavor and texture to it.  For coloring, I use AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste coloring that can be found at Hobby Lobby or Cake Specialty Stores.

I didn't take pictures of putting the Monster Cake together before icing, so I'll have to post another tutorial on that later.  

The cake itself is made of 5 layers of cake with icing between each layer.  The cakes are made with Pillsbury White Cake mix (yes I use box cake mixes on my cakes, I've found if I use a homemade recipe they are too moist and don't hold up as well). 

This is the base of the cake (4 leveled layers of cake and the top layer is the leftover cake cut off to form the rounded part)  I then put a layer of icing on cake.  As you can see I didn't get it really smooth because I knew I would be covering it up with piping.  

 

I piped a band at the bottom using a 1M (large star) tip then using a 5 (small dot) tip I started adding the Monster fur!  With the fur I pushed the tip in the iced cakes and pulled out while squeezing the icing bag until it was the length I wanted it, before you pull away stop squeezing! 

  

The Monster fur took about 3 hours to pipe!  And my hand hurt and was purple afterwards!  For the Eyes and Mouth I used Wilton Ready-To-Use White Rolled Fondant and used AmeriColor Soft Gel Paste in Black for the mouth and eye balls.  For the eyes, I used a cookie cutter and the mouth I free-handed using this fondant cutter.

Happy 2nd Birthday Liam!

Taco Soup

I was first introduced to Taco Soup by my mom, when we were visiting my parents last winter.  Now I was a little skeptical because well I love taco's and soup but combined, I wasn't sure!  But here I am a couple months later making it and loving it!  Now I changed my recipe a little, as I like my food a little spicier! 

 

 Taco Soup Recipe

1 lb Ground Chuck

1 small Onion, diced

2 cans Rotel w/ Chiles

1 can Black Beans

1 teaspoon Minced Garlic

1 packet Taco Seasoning

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

1 cup frozen Corn

Toppings

Cilantro

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream

Cream Cheese

Tortilla Chips

Corn Chips

Directions

Brown Ground Chuck with onion and minced garlic, drain fat.  Add Taco Seasoning and Ranch packets until they are dissolved (you can add some water as well to help dissolve).  Once seasonings are dissolved, add Rotel w/ Chiles, Black Beans and froze Corn.  If you want it more soupy, you can add water.  Let simmer for 30 minutes to combine flavors and Enjoy!

I really like cream cheese on mine, as well as shredded cheese, cilantro and corn chips!  The cream cheese gives it an amazing flavor!

Enjoy!

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Please use my referral link for when signing up for Endorse (click on any of the yellow Endorse to use my referral link) Thanks!

Whats for Lunch???

Ask a 3 year old what she wants for lunch and you'll get "Pancakes and Berries" as your answer! 

And that's exactly what we had, homemade pancakes with strawberries and blueberries!  

I make homemade pancakes about every 3 months, I freeze them and then take out however many I need for the meal and heat them up in the microwave, 

super easy and you know what is in them!  

Here is the recipe for my Pancakes that was given to me from my momma.  I also make 2 batches of pancakes and they last about 3 months in my house.  1 half gallon of buttermilk will make 2 batches!

Large Batch of Pancakes

4 cups sifted Flour

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Salt

4 Eggs

1 quart (4 cups) Buttermilk

Mix all ingredients together until smooth.  Set griddle at 300°-350° and spray with non-stick spray.  Laddle or pour batter onto griddle.  Flip pancakes when edges bubble.  

You may have to adjust for temperatures depending on your griddle.  Once done, let sit until room temp, put them in a ziplock freezer bag or container and freeze away!  

To reheat, cook them for a minute and a half and flip half way through!

Mini Levi

This is Levi's mini me, Liam James!
 This picture was taken at Liam's 2nd birthday party this past March, he turned 2!
Mr. Liam is an ornery adventurous little boy but is very much a momma's boy!

Mini Me

 

This is my mini me, Madison Grace!  

This picture was taken on her 1st day of preschool this January!

She loves preschool and has learned so much, she can write her name, Madi which is what we call, right now at home I'm showing her the ABC's in sign language.  

We've made it to E and now mommy is brushing up on her ABC sign language 

because I'm not sure what F is...

  

GIVEAWAY!!!

Who doesn't like a GIVEAWAY!!! 

 I joined forces with some other bloggers for this Giveaway and what can you win??? 2 winners will each win a code for $20 worth of Shutterfly 5x7 personalized photo cards good until March of 2014!!! I'm thinking Christmas Card for this year or birthday invitations!!! The giveaway goes live April 4th at 12AM EST and will end on April 15th at 11:59PM EST.

Thanks Nicole at David's Mommy

Entry-Form

CVS Trip

My CVS trip for today... spent $15.28 out of pocket and got $12 back in Extra Care Bucks.

Here is my breakdown

Milk $2.99
Milk $2.99
Always Radiant Liners $3.50
Pampers Baby Dry $9.50
Pampers Baby Dry $9.50
CVS Diapers $5
CVS Diapers $5
Schick Hydro Silk Razor $12.99

Subtotal $51.47

Coupons Used

CVS 20% off non-sale items (found here) used on Razor for $2.60 off
CVS $10/$50 purchase expired in January
(my CVS allows expired CVS coupons and ECBs, not all stores allow this)
$1/1 Always Liners from P&G 3/31
$1.50/1 Pampers Baby Dry from coupons.com
$1.50/1 Pampers Baby Dry from coupons.com
$5/1 Schick Hydro Silk from Bzz Agent Kit
$16 in ECB (handed her an extra $4 in ECB, oops)

Total $13.87 plus tax = $15.28 and $12 ECB to use next time!

If your like my husband, your thinking, why didn't I get it for FREE.  Yes, you can get stuff for FREE but not all the time.  I look at it like this, I'd rather pay $15 than $50 for everything especially when it comes to Diapers and Milk, those don't last long in our house!

If you are interested in learning about how to use coupons and where to get them, please visit David's Mommy and start saving!

2,000 + miles in One Week

This past week has been busy and hectic for us!  We, well I drove 2,000 + miles over the course of a week, 1,200 in less than 48 hours, we were in 4 almost 5 states, visited a Zoo and now sitting back at home and staying put for awhile!

Last Sunday the 24th, Levi and I dropped our kids off at friends (had to sneak out and prevent some tantrums) and hopped in the car and drove 11 hours to Weedsport, NY for training for his new job.  While he was in training, I hit the outlet mall and did some minor damage, but got the kids some new cloths for spring and summer from Carter's, OshKosh B'Gosh and Old Navy.  3 hours later than expected we were on the road again headed back to Indiana.  Outside of Cleveland, OH we stopped for a potty break and I got myself a Hazelnut Macchiato from Starbucks and OMG I'm in LOVE!  I normally am just a coffee with some milk type of girl but from now on whenever I get the chance I will be stopping and getting one of these!  The downfall of getting one of these at 10PM is I couldn't sleep whenever we got home at 2AM... but I think it was worth it!!!

Next on the traveling list, was a last minute, I have to drive 2 hours through Stop Light City Kokomo and to the south side of Indianapolis to get to the Indiana Dept. of Revenue before they close at 4:30... I made it with 15 minutes to spare, unfortunately it took an hour to process all the paperwork and the ladies had to work late, but they told me if I made it there by 4:30 I would be helped and I'm so thankful for that!  What was I doing at the INDOR???  Getting plates for Levi's new Semi so he can travel not only in Indiana, but Ohio, Michigan and Illinois for his new job.

Last but not least, the kids, 2 dogs and myself traveled down to my parents in Santa Claus, IN for Easter weekend.  While down there we visited the Mesker Park Zoo, now this isn't the greatest Zoo in the world but we all got a great workout from the hills and and the mile we had to walk to see everything but hearing my kids yell and laugh when they see a new animal was priceless!  Easter Sunday was spent attending church, hunting easter eggs and blowing bubbles and NO naps from to much chocolate and candy thanks to Mimi...

After this past week, I think I will be staying put for awhile!   

Dresser to TV stand

Thanks to Facebook and all the Buy-Sell-Trade groups, I've finally found our new TV stand for the living room!  The good news is, I don't have to refinish it as it has already been refinished and looks great!  Can't wait to get this baby home! 

The best stuff on earth...

Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover

This stuff has been AMAZING with potty training our puppy and even removing older set in stains from our other fur-babies and our kids (they like to poop and pee on the floors too!  If you haven't experienced this with your kids, just wait it'll happen one day)  

The newest member of our family...

Meet Hooch!

Hooch is 10 weeks old and what we thought was a Chocolate Lab or Lab Mix.  Went to the Vet today to find that he is a German Shorthaired Pointer or GSP Mix.  The first thing you find when you search GSP is that they are hunting dogs.  Now, we are NOT a hunting family and we live near farms who have smaller livestock, goats, chickens, pigs, oh and one neighbor has pigeons, now we live in the middle of nowhere Indiana and finding a pigeon on your back deck is a funny site, anyways, lets hope this guy doesn't bring us any livestock "game" when he gets older or our neighbors are not going to like us! 

Now who is interested in potty training this guy, because its not going very well!