Divinity

• I got the recipe here
•  2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional) or 1/2 cup cherries (optional)

Directions:

1. 1
   In a 2 quart saucepan mix your sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt.
2. 2
   Cook to hardball stage, (260 degrees), stirring only until the sugar dissolves completely.
3. 3
   Meanwhile, as temperature of syrup reaches 250 degrees, beat your egg whites until stiff peaks can be made by lifting your fork in and out of the mix.
4. 4
   When syrup reaches 260 degrees, very slowly add the syrup to the egg whites, while beating at a high speed with electric mixer.
5. 5
   Add the vanilla and beat until your candy holds its shape, usually 4 to 5 minutes.
6. 6
   Stir in the chopped nuts or cherries, if you want to, this step IS optional.
7. 7
   Quickly drop the candy from a teaspoon onto some waxed paper, swirling the top of each piece for decoration.
8. 8
   Let cool, and enjoy! After all, what is Christmas season, without Divinity?
    

Easy Quesadias

So, for lunch, almost every Tuesday, my family USUALLY makes mini pizzas. But when your Pepperoni, Lunch meat, AND Bacon stocks are empty, you have to improvise.

We just used some tortillas.Corn, homemade and Flour tortillas.
Then, we grated up some cheese.We used maybe a quarter of a chunk of Medium Cheese, and put the rest of the block back in the fridge.

Anyway, after the 'tacos' had been in the Microwave for about... eh 30 seconds, sometimes it needed a little more time to melt the cheese, but only rarely.

Really easy and Quick! Plus, there was a verse to a song stuck in my head the whole time!

I may never march into Mexico,
Ride a Donkey, Oh so slow...
Eat a cheesy taco,
I may never wear a big sombrero,
But I'm in the Lord's army.
I'm in the Lord's Army, (Si Senor!)
I'm in the Lord's Army, (Si Senor!)
I may never march into Mexico,
Ride a Donkey, Oh so slow...
Eat a cheesy taco,
I may never wear a big sombrero,
But I'm in the Lord's army.
I'm in the Lord's Army, ( Si Senor!) 

(full song here)

Perfect song right?

TMNT birthday cake!

Well, on the 5th, it was time for another birthday! my brother, who turned 6! he was really excited when he saw his cake, which was decorated like Raphael of the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Pretty close, don't you think? :)

To start, my mom made a chocolate cake the day before, we waited until around 6:30 in the morning on the 5th to decorate. it was really crumbly, but the crumb coat seemed to lock it up pretty good

 After that was all on, we made the rest of the frosting, and four different colors; Green (a lot of it) Yellow, Red, and White. We also got out some chocolate chips for outlining .

(yes I realize the picture is sideways, but I couldn't find a better one)

Well, the cake was great, and I think he had a happy 6th birthday, with a new Rescue Bots movie, and a Transforming Heatwave toy, and a TMNT go kart with Leo, and a huge thing of K'nex and a smaller thing with Legos. 

And now, two days later, we have already eaten it all (with some help from our dad, grandma, and grandpa of course) ;)

Fishy Trail Mix

A few days ago, we needed an easy afternoon snack, so, I suggested Trail Mix, and somehow ended up being the one to make it.
My ingredients were:
Whales (crackers)
Chocolate Chips
M&Ms 
Sunflower Seeds
Cheerios 
& Craisins

It's a great, simple snack, that anyone can make! Just throw in a handful or two of all the ingredients, and there you are! Fishy Trail Mix

Happy-Birthday-Yellow/Lemon cake

Today is my father's birthday, and I was allowed to make the cake. I decided on a Lemon cake, but since we didn't have any Lemon Extract, it was just a Yellow cake.
I found the recipe here, and really enjoyed it! The cake was delicious!

Here is the Recipe, that I used:

Stuff You Need	Ingredients
Oven	1 cup (two sticks) or room temperature butter, plus more for the pan(s)
Pans (See baking sizes below)	2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
Electric mixer	1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
Toothpick	¼ teaspoon baking soda
Cooling racks (optional)	½ teaspoon salt
	1 ½ cups sugar
	2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (if you want a lemon cake, use Lemon extract)
	3 eggs, room temperature
	1 cup whole milk

Directions

    Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. 

use your extra butter to grease your pan(s), and lightly sprinkle with flour, tapping out the extra. 

(For cupcakes, the flour is optional)

 In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; move aside when well mixed.

    Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy (2 to 3 minutes usually).

Mix in the vanilla/lemon extract, and then add the eggs one at a time, wiping the sides of the bowl as needed

   Reduce mixer speed to low, so that it doesn't splatter high. 

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture in 3 additions and 1/2 the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. 

Mix until just combined (do not over-beat).

    Move the batter to the prepared pan(s) and bake until a toothpick/knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (see baking times, below). 

Cool the cake(s)/cupcakes in the pan(s) for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack(s) to cool completely.
If it is for a birthday, add some candles! if it's your dad's, you can spell out DAD with the candles, if it is your mom's, spell out MOM, if it is a sibling, well, do what you can!

   

 Baking times: For two 8-inch rounds: 25 to 30 minutes. 

For two 9-inch rounds: 22 to 25 minutes. 

For one 9-by-13-inch rectangle: 25 to 30 minutes. 

For 24 cupcakes: 15 to 20 minutes.

Hamburger and Egg Fried Rice

What You’ll Need to cook it	Ingredients
A large frying pan	3 cups of rice
A medium sauce pan	6 cups of water
A small frying pan	Soy sauce
A large pan	4 eggs
	½ pound of cooked hamburger
	Garlic
	Ginger
	Sesame oil
	Olive oil
	A pat of butter

Directions:

Place your rice and water in a large pan, and wait for it to boil. Once boiling, put a lid on the pan turn the heat down to low, and set your timer for 20 minutes.

When there are 10 minutes left, heat the small frying pan until your butter sizzles in it, and scramble your eggs in the small frying pan. 

Once they are almost cooked, add in the sausage.

Once it is all blended together, add in a dash of Garlic and Ginger, a swirl of Sesame oil, and a swirl of Soy sauce. 

Stir well.

When the rice is done, place it in a large frying pan that has heated Olive oil and Sesame oil in it. 

Wait for the rice to soak in the oils, before adding your eggs and sausage.

 Stir, and add in another swirl of soy, or however much you need for your ‘perfect’ taste.

Serve, and enjoy!

Stir-Fry-Surprise

Stir-Fry Surprise

What You’ll Need to cook it	Ingredients
A large pan	Any type of noodles (fettuccine works best) (1 box)
A large frying pan	Frozen veggies (half a bag)
A sauce-pan	Lunch meat (as much as you want, diced)
	Cooked chicken (as much as you want, shredded)
	Butter (1/4 cup, sliced)
	Garlic (a dash, optional)
	Ginger (a dash, optional)

Directions:

Place a frying pan on the stove, and heat it until a slice of butter sizzles away to nothing; while waiting for it to heat, boil 6 cups of water (or however much your noodle box says) in a large pan.

Boil 2 cups of water in a sauce-pan.

Once the frying pan is heated up enough, add your lunch meat then, add your cooked chicken.

Once your larger pan of water is boiling, add in your noodles, and cook them for 7-9 minutes, or however long your box suggests.

Once the smaller pan of water is boiling, add your frozen veggies and cook for 2 minutes. When your noodles are done, strain them if needed and add to the meat.

Once your frozen veggies are done, strain and add to the noodles and meat.

Add your spices if wanted (Garlic and Ginger)

Serve and enjoy!