Birthday cakes...(please don't call me a Wreckerator)

So, the love of my life turned 28 today. (I'm the older one in this relationship...hehe.) And I decided, since we were celebrating our wedding anniversary and his birthday this weekend, that it'd be fun to take on a whole new cake project in order to celebrate his birthday.  You see, with last year's wedding and honeymoon, his birthday sort of went on a back burner, and I've felt badly about that...so I wanted to go all out and make his birthday really special.

I'm laughing so hard I'm crying...

This website has me sitting at my desk dang near crying because I'm laughing so hard. I love to dabble in cake making, and occasionally I've been known to dabble in design...good thing to know that no matter how badly a dessert of mine may turn out, it won't necessarily be as bad as these winners. LOL.

Cake Wrecks

Three months later...and a new lasagna recipe :)

So I've been noticeably absent from my blog.  Noticeably as in, my BMF (that's best male friend) said, "You know, you can't get mad at me for not reading your blog when you don't write anything new."

Can't wait to make this...

...for dinner tonight. 

Coconut Curry Thai Chicken

Thanks Food Network!! :)

Food Blog: Twice Baked Potatoes

There are two ways to look at this recipe - either as twice baked potatoes as a complementary side dish, or as potato skins and an appetizer. I adapted this recipe from a version I found in Cook This, Not That that features jalapenos and a chipotle sour cream topping. For a shameless plug, I definitely think that the book provides some good insights on how to make healthier versions of foods that you may enjoy eating in restaurants.  The recipes can be modified further to be healthier (which is what I've done), but they're still much, much better than the same foods you would find in a restaurant. 

Food Blog: Sun-dried tomato and feta turkey meatloaf

First of all, sorry for the hiatus! A lot has been going on since I returned from Georgia, to include cutting my first orders for my Reserve job (really, this isn't complicated, but it was my first time so I was a little freaked about if I was doing it right), but I'm back on track.  I've been cooking a LOT lately, as well, and reading some foodie autobiographies, so I have a lot to update. 

Teaser

OK. It's been a long, indulgent week and a half of wonderful time with my Mama - who is also my best friend - traveling the Midwest and the South, creating new recipes together, road tripping, and eating some very authentic Korean food. However, all good things must come to an end, and this morning I'll be taking my Mom to the airport and coming home to catch up on a number of job-related tasks that built up over the last week. 


As promised, the triple chocolate toffee cookie recipe is coming - I've made it twice in the past week for friends and family, but as I was making it with some of our friends, I was more focused on the cooking part than the "taking pictures" part. Nonetheless, I will still post the recipe and some great tips. 


I also took some great shots of the mountains in Georgia, where I was able to do quite a bit of running and hiking.  The altitude wasn't nearly as severe as Colorado, but it was still enough to give me just a little more of a workout than I'd get at sea level.


With all of that, I'm going to leave you with this picture for now - something my Mama cooked that was amazingly simple to make, but more flavorful than anything we'd have ordered in a restaurant :)  Recipe to follow...New York Strip with lemon pepper char and chipotle shrimp :)