Time-Saving Kitchen Ideas

I thought I would write a post on some simple time-saving ideas that I use in the kitchen everyday! I would love to hear some more of your ideas that I can also implement in my kitchen- I love to learn new things!

1. Cookie Bars: (Shown above) Instead of portioning out cookies on my cookie tray I like to put all of the cookie dough into a square (Shown is a 10x10) or oblong pan and bake them all at once. This saves time with multiple batches that are quite simply just a pain in the butt! This also makes the cookies more chewy and moist and gives you the ability to ice them with frosting even easier if you wish to add some extra guilt to your dessert ;) 
2. Bake Ahead:  This is a no-brainer but it's worth the mention! When I bake on a day off or in preparation for a special occasion, I like to bake extra and freeze it! This saves time when you have company in a pinch or are invited to a last minute event. As a working wife it is sometimes hard to find time to cook/bake when you hold a full time job! 
3. Transform Your Leftovers: Something I have learned while rushing around to get dinner ready after work is to learn to make meals that can be recycled into something new. A few ideas are this: Make hamburgers and with your leftover meat turn it into chili, reuse sides like biscuits or vegetable the next day to accompany your next dish, or use leftover veggies to make vegetable soup, chicken noodle, etc.
4. Buy Smart: When I buy for the week (or two, because I don't have a love of spending time at the store) I plan my menu to have items that overlap. Example: If I need onion for perogies or soup I cut the whole onion up and freeze or refrigerate the rest until it is needed again. This way I am only prepping that ingredient on time!
5. Clean As You Go: This is something that I personally NEVER did. I always would make a mess and clean it all up when I was completely done. I have come to learn that if you clean as you go it really does save time. I have now become the queen of using as few dishes as possible. Just tonight I boiled my perogies in a frying pan just so I would only have to use one pan when I added the onions and butter! 

So there ya have it, very obvious and simple ways to keep life in the kitchen a little bit easier. If you are like me: you love being in the kitchen but don't always have the most time. Enjoy these ideas and really- I want to hear yours too! 

                          ~Alicia~ 

Easy Cherry Milkshakes

Doesn't it look delightful? Josh (the Hubster) and I had these tonight with dinner- they were so good and super easy!

Here's the not-so-fancy ingredients:

• Half a Jar of Maraschino Cherries & half the syrup from the jar too!
• 1-1.5 cups of 2% Milk
• 8 cups of Vanilla Ice Cream (This is an approximation. For those of you with a vitamix- it was about 3/4 of the way full)

I took all the ingredients and threw them in my ever so amazing Vitamix and gave it a whirl! If you really like cherries there's always room for more! I like a nice Vanilla Cherry flavor- you can taste the cherries but they are not overwhelming. So there ya have it- a super simple weekday treat for your sweet tooth! Enjoy!

Butter Cream Icing Technique

     Today I thought about a simple technique I could share with you all pertaining to cake making! Some people think that Fondant is the only type of icing that you can get smooth as a baby's bum- but I'll tell you what- Butter cream is close in line for that title! When making wedding cakes or any special occasion cake I like to make sure that it has a flawless foundation to start. Butter Cream is my favorite Icing to decorate with overall because of it's taste, stability, and color retention. While Fondant looks amazing- It's taste is usually lacking. Any whipped icing I have used tastes great- but it does not hold it's color or form as well. Whereas Butter Cream does all of these things.

     So in the cake world we call this the Hot Spatula and Viva Paper Towel Method. I do not have pictorial instructions but I do have some end result photos. Here's the deal:

• Stack each tier of your cake and fill the centers with your icing or filing
• Ice a crumb coat on your cake: It doesn't matter if you get crumbs in this, that's the whole point! (This is especially important with dark cakes like chocolate)
• Place Cakes in cooler/fridge to firm up for a few minutes
•  Grab a pitcher and fill with HOT tap water
• Take a flat edge spatula and place in pitcher. Also have your Viva roll nearby.
• Then you will bring your cakes our and ice them as normal. You will have the normal streaks. This is where the spatula comes in. I take my spatula out of the pitcher and shake it off. If there is a small excess of water this is okay. The spatula with glide over your cake as your smooth out your streaks as if to almost melt them. You will repeatedly do this, and when your water becomes cooler- simply replace it.
• One you have done this to all of your cake then let it sit to dry up a little bit. If the Butter Cream is too "tacky" this will not work. It has to get the slight Butter Cream "shell" on it. 
• Once your cake's icing is no longer tacky you can take a sheet of viva and gently rub it on the icing. This must be done very carefully. DO NOT DRAG THE PAPER TOWEL. Simply placed it on the cake and rub your fingers gently on the "streak" is will kind of flatten it down like play dough and your cake will be good to go! 

This technique can only be used on Butter Cream Icing. This Technique I have found to work best with Viva Paper Towels because of their material being un-designed and clothe-like. 

     Hope you ladies enjoyed this little tid-bit of information! Have an awesome weekend and stay sweet :)

~Alicia~

Here are just a few examples of cakes I have made using this method:

Oreo Ice Cream Cake Tutorial

Hello All! This is my first tutorial so have mercy on me! :) I made this DELICIOUS cake in celebration of Labor Day and boy am I happy I did. Browsing through Pinterest I could not find the perfect ice cream cake recipe so I decided to make my own and here it is!

• 1 package Regular Oreo Cookies
• 1 Tub thawed regular Cool Whip
• Approx. 2 tubs of Softened Vanilla Ice Cream (1.5 quart)
• Chocolate Sprinkles (Found in ice cream toppings section)
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter
• Your Favorite Chocolate Sauce
• 10" Spring Form Pan

Okay! Now comes the fun part- making the delicious treat! 

First off, take approx. 1/2 of your oreos and crush them up pretty small. I like to leave them a little bit bigger for an added crunch. You can break them with a blender, vitamix, in a plastic bag, or my personal favorite-  in a plastic bowl with the bottom of a coffee mug. 

Once these are crushed, add the melted butter and mix together. Then, press contents in the bottom of a spring form Pan and line edges of pan with oreos like this:

Once this is done, then take 1/2 of your softened vanilla Ice cream and spread layer onto oreos. Then squeeze a thin layer of chocolate syrup or chocolate fudge onto entire layer. Sprinkle chocolate sprinkles on this

 ...and then place remaining layer of ice cream onto that. One done top with the ENTIRE (Yeah- you heard that right!) cool whip container and top with desired garnishes! I placed mine pack into freezer for an hour to harden up for dessert. it made it much easier to cut. That gives you... 

This Delicious Treat!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I have and don't hesitate to shoot me a question anytime!

~Alicia~

Welcome to my New Blog!

     Hello all! I have decided to start a blog... again! This one will be much more well kept now that my studies are over and I am a graduated woman! Woop woop!

     This blog will be a mash of my baking and cooking recipes, tutorials, and experiences. I will also (hopefully) be able to share some of the sewing and craft patterns I have made and used myself. And finally I want this blog to be an encouragement to those who may feel overwhelmed in life. Life can be glorious and God-designed if we simply allow Him to take the reigns. So... here's a little about me:

     I am a twenty-two year old young wife of almost two years to my awesome husband Josh! Many people (you would be surprised) thought I must have been pregnant or something crazy when we got engaged at nineteen and married at twenty but it's this simple: God gave us each other and we were ready to start our lives together- forever! I currently work as a decorator and maker of all things delicious at our local grocery store bakery and my husband works in the health plan area of our local hospital. Our jobs aren't glamorous but they are a provision of God and we are SO grateful to have jobs in this tough economy. Besides working- we love to go to the movies and go on little trips together. On the side you can see pictures of my Bunny Eloise and Cat Ivy- I spend lots of time with them and they keep me feeling carefree, they're so silly! I absolutely love baking and crafting for my family and friends. It is one of the most productive pass times I have found, and it really encourages people through little kinds acts like simply bringing them some cookies. Finally, we love being an example of the love of God in our daily lives. Often times it is so difficult to stay focused on God and it is a daily choice to follow Him. I will not try and act like it comes easy to me. Because when you are caught up in your daily shenanigans it gets TOUGH to stay Christ-like and seek His will. I really try to step back and take perspective and know that everything is for a reason. I know that many unanswered questions I have will some day be answered by God and until them I just need to keep seeking His face.

     I hope this tells you a little bit about me and my life and what this blog will hopefully become! Keep calm and carry on ladies!

~Alicia~