3 little cakes

Well, my days have been so busy the past 3 days. I really enjoy posting but have found NO time in the last 72 hours. Yesterday was jammed pack full of events of taking Gabe to school, taking stuff back to Target, taking Gabe to an appointment that never happened because the doctor was an hour late, and then some Relief Society work, and then making lots and lots of cake. It was all in all and very successful day and everything went smoothly (besides the doctors, which I am still bitter about)


Today was a bit less chaotic, we finally got in to the doctors (but with the nurse) and Gabe is 42 lbs and 41 inches tall.....A BIG BOY! Then Heather came over to put together tester cakes for the girl we are doing a wedding cake for.........yes.........a wedding cake.......yikes. It is our first one and she knows that we are just starting. We are offering 3 different types of cake and three differnt types of filling (pictures below) We are getting a lot better with the fondant and we are putting them together so much faster. Today I think it took only like 30 minutes!! (Right Heather?)


So after we put those cakes together I had a personal project cake to do for James. So here is a quick story about the cake I had to make. Out at James' work, when ever any of the guys go to another shift or another job they always have a cake. One of the guys James works with is going to another shift before he retires and James said that WHENEVER you see this guy he ALWAYS has a white styrofome(sp?) cup with coffee in it. This guy is known for it. So James asked me the other day if I would make a cake that looks like a white styrofome cup with coffee in it......so I did. (pictures below) I also made a bunch of cupcakes which I havnt frosted yet so I dont have pictures of those (tomorrow I will) But i wanted to post a picture of the cake now because it is so darn funny.



Make sure you take a look at the two great recipes I have posted also under the pictures!!!!They are GREAT!



I have found quite a few friends and family on here! I am so excited to keep in contact with a lot of people who have blogs, I had no idea how big the blogging world was and that it was the new "cool" thing.....lol. I love seeing how peoples families are growing and how people are doing. So I do hope I can keep in contact with you guys!!

Cakes:

Yellow ribbon: Vanilla Cake with a Chocolate Ganache frosting

Brown ribbon: Chocolate cake with an almond Buttercream

Pink ribbon: Strawberry cake with a cream cheese frosting

All are covered in Marshmallow Fondant (soooo much better than the bought stuff)

The coffee cup :)

These next recipes I have both tried quite a few times. I love them both so much. James and I love the Olive Garden soup and salad. So I thought I would give you guys the two soups we love so much, they actually taste sooo much like them if not better, yes, I wrote that right, better.

Zuppa Toscana
1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage (we use "hot" turkey sausage)
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces (we use turkey bacon)
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
6 potato, thinly sliced (I cube them so they don't dissolve)
1 cup heavy cream (Heavy cream is good, we used 1% milk last time and it turned out great)
1/4 bunch fresh spinach, tough stems removed

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Pasta E Fragioli

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion , chopped
3 carrots , chopped
4 stalks celery , chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes , undrained
1 (16 ounce) can red kidney beans , drained
1 (16 ounce) can white kidney beans , drained
3 (10 ounce) cans beef stock
3 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons pepper
5 teaspoons parsley
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 (20 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces pasta

Brown beef in a skillet.
Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.