Big Baller Brand Shoe Birthday Cake

David would love a pair of the big baller brand shoes, but after we saw the price tag, he realized they just aren't in our budget. So...I told him if I couldn't buy him the shoes, I would try my hardest to make him one. This was a time consuming cake, and there are things I would have done differently, but it turned out okay.

I started by making a 10" square cake. When it was cool, I cut it in half and stacked the halves together. I froze this portion for a few hours. Then I created a template on cardstock to give me an idea of where to cut. 

Then I carved out the top and sides. Looking back, I would have made the back a lot taller because it seemed to sink when I put the fondant on the cake.

I used my marshmallow fondant recipe for the frosting. (Place 16 oz of mini marshmallows and 2 Tbsp of water in a microwaveable bowl. Heat for 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval, until marshmallows are melted. Add 1 lb of powdered sugar. Stir. Then knead in 2 more cups of powdered sugar on a Crisco coated counter.) 

After the cake and frosting were chilled overnight, I started decorating. I covered with the white first and then the yellow. I added the other touches as I went. 

I used a toothpick to add the textured looks to the white frosting. 

I didn't have a ton of frosting left, but I did the best I could to make this shoe box to go with it. I used edible food writers to draw the design on the shoe box. 

Emoji Movie Photo Board

The Emoji Movie comes out later this month. So, we decided to create a photo board. I buy the display boards for these photo boards from the Dollar Tree. Therefore, this is a very inexpensive project. I draw the images on by hand with a pencil first. Then I outline with a black Sharpie. Finally, I paint with acrylic paint. The kids have already had a lot of fun becoming their favorite emojis. 

Brownie Cookie Dough Cake

I saw some pictures of this cake on Facebook, so I decided to bring a few of my favorite recipes together to create our own version of it. It is absolutely delicious! 

Ingredients:

Brownie Layers:

2 brownie mixes of your choice

Oil, eggs, and water (amount required on the box)

Cookie Dough Frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup milk

1/2 cup chopped chocolate chips (or mini chocolate chips)

Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup chocolate chips

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup light corn syrup

Pour the 2 boxes of brownie mixes in a bowl. Add the oil, eggs, and water required for both mixes. Stir until well incorporated. 

Spray and line three 9 inch pans with parchment paper. (I didn't line with parchment paper. It will make getting the brownies out of the pan easier.) Bake the brownies for about 22 minutes at 340 degrees. Let cool. 

While the brownies are cooling, make the frosting. Cream the butter and brown sugar together. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla. Beat until incorporated.

 Slowly add the milk. (I added about 1/4 cup at a time.) Beat until smooth. Add the chocolate chips. 

For the ganache: 

Put 1/4 cup of heavy cream in a microwavable bowl. Heat in the microwave for about 45 seconds. Add the chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate is melted. Add the corn syrup and vanilla. 

When the brownies are cool, place one of them on a platter. Add about 1 cup of the frosting to the top. Add another brownie. Then place more frosting. Finally, add the last brownie layer. Top with remaining frosting (I didn't end up using all of it.) Place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

 Top with ganache and place back in the refrigerator for another 15 minutes. Or, if you can't wait, just spread the ganache on top of each piece when you serve it. (We couldn't wait!) Decorate with chocolate chips. 

Sausage Caprese Pasta

Ingredients: 

1 lb pasta 

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion

4-5 cloves garlic

1/2 cup Italian dressing

6-7 small to medium tomatoes

8-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 fully cooked chicken sausage links, cut

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cubed

Red pepper flakes (optional) 

Start by boiling water for your pasta. While that cooks, make your sauce. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan. Add the onions. Cook down until they are translucent. Add the garlic cloves. Cook for about 30 seconds. Add the 1/2 cup Italian dressing. Add the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes, stirring occasionally. 

Using your spoon, press the tomatoes a little while they are cooking down. This will take about 5 minutes. 

Add the two sausage links to the sauce. I used the chicken sausage pictured below. Any flavor or brand would work. (Or if you don't like chicken sausage, this is optional.) 

Drain the pasta and add the sauce to the pasta. Add the basil and salt and pepper. Stir. Just before serving, stir in the mozzarella cubes. 

NBA Draft Party

The boys were pretty excited for the NBA Draft tonight, so we decided to through a little party for ourselves. 

We had these decorations from a past birthday party. We drew basketball lines on the cups and balloons. 

For food we had basketball cheese bread with pepperoni basketball lines. (http://workingmomwonders.blogspot.com/2014/01/snowman-cheese-bread.html) 

We also had a lot of other circular items: hamburgers, onion rings, and tator tot crowns. 

For dessert we had basketball cupcakes. I frosted the cupcakes with orange frosting and drew on basketball lines. I made sugar cookies into rectangles, put white glaze on them and stuck a mini peanut butter cup on as the hoop. I stuck a stick in the cookie and then placed the stick in the cupcake. 

I also did some without the glaze on the cookie. 

The best part was getting "draft" root beer from the local brewery. 

Beauty and the Beast "Be Our Guest" Dinner Party

The DVD release of Beauty and the Beast was yesterday. We decided to celebrate getting the movie with a little "Be Our Guest" dinner party. We had beef ragout (just beef sauteed with onion and potatoes on the side because my kids don't like beef stew), cheese souffle (biscuits baked with cheese on top), mini apple pies, and "the grey stuff" (vanilla pudding with crushed Oreos and Reddi-whip mixed together, piped on a plate, and topped with sprinkles) We raised our plastic champagne glasses, had our dinner, and then watched the movie. 

We had more fun with this photo board I painted when the movie came out in theaters in February: http://workingmomwonders.blogspot.com/2017/02/beauty-and-beast-photo-board.html

Healthy Banana Bread

I was looking for a new banana recipe tonight and came across this one: http://cookieandkate.com/2015/healthy-banana-bread-recipe/ I changed a couple of things to fit the ingredients I had on hand. 

I love this bread, and love even more that it uses coconut oil and honey replacements. 

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a bread pan. 

In a large bowl, whisk the oil and honey together. Add the eggs. bananas, milk, and vanilla. Whisk together. Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to blend. 

Switch to a big spoon and add the flour. Stir until just combined. 

Pour the dough in the greased pan. Add about 1/2 tsp of additional cinnamon if you choose and swirl on top. Bake for 50 minutes. 

Let sit in the pan for about 10 minutes when done baking. Then place on a cooling rack to finish the cooling process. 

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

David's classroom celebrated his summer birthday today. He saw these cupcakes on Pinterest, so we made a version of our own. (https://sprinklesforbreakfast.squarespace.com/sprinkles-for-breakfast/cookie-dough-cupcakes) 

Cookie Dough Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cupcakes:

2 eggs and 1 egg white

1 cup milk

2 1/4 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 3/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

12 Tbsp butter, softened

1/2 cup sprinkles

Start by making the cookie dough. Place the sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a mixing bowl. Using the paddle attachments, beat the ingredients. Add the vanilla. Then add the flour and salt. Mix until all incorporated. Add the mini chocolate chips. 

Using a mini ice cream scoop, roll out 60-64 cookie dough balls. Place them in the freezer for at least 3 hours. 

When the cookie dough is frozen, make the cupcakes. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line a cupcake pan with liners, and spray the liners with cooking spray. 

In a small bowl, combine the eggs, egg white, and vanilla. Set aside. 

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use the paddle attachment to stir the dry ingredients for about 30 seconds. 

Add the milk and butter. Mix on medium speed for about 1 minute.

Add the egg mixture in two separate additions. Beat on medium speed until just combined. Stir in the sprinkles.

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way full. Add a frozen cookie dough ball to the middle of each cupcake. 

Bake for 16-18 minutes. (The ones I didn't fill 2/3 of the way full, had a small hole in the cupcake.)

Place on a cooling rack. 

When cool, frost the cupcakes and add sprinkles and another cookie dough ball. 

DIY Fidget Spinners with Legos and K'nex

The fidget spinners have really caught the kids' attention over the past month. I personally refuse to buy one, but that doesn't mean that I won't help the kids make one of their own. Today we crafted some out of K'nex and Legos. (Rachel's hands are too small for the regular-size spinners, so we made the smallest one pictured just for her.) My STEM students are going to use products they find around their homes this week to make their own creations. I can't wait to see what they come up with!

No Bake Cookies

Ingredients: 

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup milk

3 Tbsp peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 3/4 cup quick cooking oatmeal

Start by combining the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. 

Boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and stir. 

Add the oatmeal. This recipe normally calls for 3 cups of oatmeal. We like ours more gooey than dry, so I only add about 2 3/4 cups of oatmeal. 

Drop the mixture on a piece of wax or parchment paper and let it set up for about 10 minutes. 

Coloring Easter Eggs with Baking Soda and Vinegar Explosions

My kids love doing science experiments, so we decided to bring some reactions to our Easter egg coloring. 

Start by making baking soda paint. I put about 1/4 cup of baking soda in 6 containers. Then I added about a Tbsp of water and some food gel coloring (food coloring drops would work too). You want a paste-like consistency. Add more baking soda or water as needed. Paint the eggs with the different colored baking soda paint. 

We used muffin tins for this process. It worked very well. 

For added coloring, drop food coloring on eggs.

Then put vinegar on the egg and watch the colors explode. (If you want to write messages on your eggs, use a white crayon to write on the egg before you add any paint or coloring.) 

You can continue to add other drops of food coloring or baking soda paint to create a new design on an egg. 

Every egg will look different and has very vibrant colors.