Pinterest pass!

Need a quick healthy idea for breakfast in the morning!? Here is a quick, easy Pinterest idea I tried this week that was great! They are ham /egg muffin cups! Perfect to make if you have extra time in the morning or make a bunch on Sunday and warm them up during the week!

There are many variations and modifications you can make so ill just give you a simple recipie and a few other ideas and you can spice it up however you would like!

Ham cups

(To make a full batch)

-12 slices of your favorite lunch meat ham

-12 eggs

-1 tbs of any shredded cheese 

- a pinch of salt and pepper

Pre heat your oven to 375. Using a muffin  tin spray each cup with Pam and then place one piece of ham into each cup as a lining. Next add a tbs of cheese to each cup and then add your egg to each cup. (One egg per each muffin cup). Now sprinkle with salt and pepper and pop them into the oven for 20-25 minutes! Once they are done, let them cool and then eat and enjoy or store in the fridge for later use! 

Pre cooked. I did some scrambled and some I left whole. When they are left whole they turn out like a hard boiled egg.

After 25 minutes in the oven! Ham cup perfection! 

Here are some variations:

-Use egg whites instead of eggs and no cheese for a healthier option 

- use finely chopped veggies (spinach,tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions) to add to your scambled raw eggs before pouring into the cups

- use prosciutto or bacon instead of ham 

- add cheese to the top

- add salsa to the top after they are cooked and cooled.

- use for a Mother's Day brunch and serve with fresh fruit, yougart, and toast!

As you can see you can make them your own and get creative! Feel free to post any of your ideas or recipie alterations!

Sincerely,

Sarah :)

Beer, Run!

Another check off the ole bucket list this week, run a race! Pat Tillman run was Saturday and my goal was to run the entire way and finish! And ladies and gentlemen, I did just that! Why you must ask is this a big deal? Well in my childhood years I wasn't the most active kid. Yes I danced but other than that I was pretty much a couch potato or for my generation a computer potato. Luckily my senior year of high school I got a kick start on some weight loss and since then I haven't looked back! My hold isn't to be skinny but to be healthy! My childhood was also filled with lots of sickness, medication, and restrictions thus now trying to be a little more health conscience. 

 Anyways back to the run.. It was 4.2 miles in Tempe to honor Pat Tillman foundation. I have been training for about a month and yes I'm sure most people didn't have to train but like mentioned before I am not a runner til recent. I had struggled to run the full 4 miles on the treadmill probably due to sheer boredom but Saturday the 4.2 miles was not a problem! Not only did I run the WHOLE time but I also did it in 43 minutes! It was a rewarding experience I have to admit I did shed a tear or two once I crossed the finish line. I felt VERY accomplished after the run and can't wait for the next one!

Where we started... Well not really we kinda cut ahead.. Oops!

So many people! 30,000 people came out to run!

After I went thru the finish line!! Wooo hoo!!! I made it!!!

My support team! The girls I ran with! Can't wait to do it again!

After the run it was time to go home to get ready for work and deliver the cake for this week! It was a 7 layer confetti cake shaped like a PBR can. This was a project I have never done so it was a learning experience this week. How do you cover it in fondant, how do you support it, what sprinkles work best for making your own confetti cake...? 

Here's one of the layers. I used red white and blue nonpareils that I froze and just lightly folded into the batter because they quickly turned the batter purple. Maybe next time I'll just use jimmies.

I read that you need a large dowel down the center of the cake and I have never done this before and I also wondered if I still needed dowels thru-out the cake... The answer was yes! Next time I make a cake this big I will make a whole in each cake board before putting the cake on it. Before putting the large dowel in I had to sharpen it! Luckily, it was easy and I didn't cut myself!

The cake with crumb coat and all supported!

The cake with all the frosting. You can see the size of it next to the cup sitting next to it!

All the fondant is on! This was very difficult because I didn't drape it over the top and wrapped it around.. It wasn't the best fondant job but at the time there was no redoing it especially after I rolled the fondant for over an hour! 

The top view also made of fondant. I used the spray color and it was a little splotchy... Next time maybe ill just use gray fondant with a pixie dust over.

Finished product! I wished after I completed it I could do it again knowing all the things I learned but, I think it turned out pretty good! It weighed about 30lbs if not more! 

The opposite side! Happy Birthday Adam! 

It was an eventful week with another successful cake! Stay tuned for this weeks cake Disney's Cars! 

Have a good week!

Sincerely,

Sarah :)

Hoppy Easter!

What a week! A lot went on and I felt like I could hardly keep my head above water! I had a lot of baking projects and Easter preperations! 

I always like to spoil my staff when they have to work on holidays so I wanted to make a bunch of sweet treats to go along with the delicious ham lunch I also prepared. 

Chocolate covered Oreos and mini cakes. The Oreos were fruit punch flavor a little different but good.

Cakepops... Lemon flavored and were a hassle. I think they got too dry and cracked. Nothing worse than things going your way! 

I wanted to throw the pan across the room in anger. Do you ever feel if your having an off week it reflects in your creative output? I feel like that was me this week.

Rice crispy treats! Always a favorite! 

Along with these i had 2 baking projects. A rainbow unicorn cake for a child's birthday and a garden whimsical cake for another birthday. For once in my life, I was trying not to procrastinate and got the cakes done early and I'm happy I did because i had a few issues along the way.

Cherry chip rainbow unicorn sheet cake. 

Colors of the rainbow!

Garden party whimsical cake! I loved this one it's one of my favorite creations so far! Id like to try to do a whole watercolor cake after using food coloring like paint for the grass on the bottom layer.

Dispite my crazy week and creative block I managed to get it all done!

I celebrated Easter at work. It wasn't the busiest day but everyone enjoyed their goodies and lunch! 

Me and the girls on Easter

And although I didn't get to see them my ever so cute niece and nephew showcasing the shirts i made for them! They are the cutest models!

Despite the stressfull week and few minor set backs I was really happy with the outcome of this weeks projects! Until the next time...

Sincerely,

Sarah :)

Cookies and bunnies!

It is a rare occasion that I have 2 days off in a row but last week I just got lucky! Normally when this happens, I spend one day being a bum and the other trying to be productive. But I feel I used my two days off wisely! 

I had an order for sugar cookies! They were a simple design but pretty for a bridal shower! I liked how they turned out once bagged and ready to go. I had a good new sugar cookie recipe this time and added some orange zest for a good spring flavor. 

Cookies before being bagged! I don't have a lot of experience with sugar cookies but I keep trying! I'm by no means as good as Sweet Sugarbelle! She is amazing and quite an inspiration to the cookie decorating world! 

Here are the cookies all bagged and ready to go! Such a cute idea for a favor at a party!

Another project I got into this week was making Easter shirts for my niece, nephew, god daughter, and new baby cousin. And oh what fun this was! Once I made one I wanted to make more and more! I need to learn to sew because it would be cute to do matching little shorts! The shirts were so easy to make and you can do it for any occasion! Just pick out your favorite fabric buy a fuse able adhesive (found at a craft store) and a cute shirt to iron your design on to and your set! 

Fabric... After I did a few I learned you should fuse the adhesive to the fabric before cutting... It saves time.

Fuseable adhesive. Rough side gets ironed on to the back of the fabric then a layer peels off and it's ready to be used as an iron on! 

A few of the different shirts I made! They turned out so cute and perfect for Easter! Like I said it would have been fun to make little shorts with the fabric used for the bunnies but sadly, that is one hobby I haven't learned yet. Hopefully soon! 

Sincerely,

Sarah B:)

How about a little more baklava!!!!!

I have a friend that has been bugging me to make him some baklava for some time now. Well today, I finally granted his request and made the BEST (well I thought so) baklava! 

Considering I work at a Greek restraurant there is always baklava around! And let me tell you, it is not easy not eating it on a daily basis! We used to have a baklava coupe with pistachio, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream with baklava and fresh strawberries... TO DIE FOR!!! But lately we took it off the menu for baklava Sundae... Not as delish but still good! We have also dabbled in making a baklava milkshake once which is phenomenal! But even after a rough day a good, buttery, sweet piece of baklava can make it alllll better! 

So knowing how great baklava can be, I knew I had some standards to meet! And I'm pretty sure I surpassed them...AND luckily I am giving them away or else I probably would have ate the whole pan.. 

I started with the syrup. It's best to make that first and then let it cool while you prep and cook the baklava. After the syrup I made the nut mixture with walnuts, pecans, cinnamon, and brown sugar in the food processor.

Once i had my nut mixture I started on the phyllo dough bottom. FOREWARNING!!! Move over Paula Deen because there is ALOT of real butter used in this recipe! 

After making a solid buttery bottom I added the nut mixture and layerd the phyllo dough again for the top and it was prepped to bake!

Before baking! You can see all the butter! Yummy! 

After baking with the added pistachios and syrup topping! Yum to DIE for! 

I'm so glad the phyllo dough package had 2 doughs in one box because I'll be making more very soon!

See recipe below!

Sincerely, 

Sarah :)

Baklava to give you a muffintop!

1 pkg phyllo dough 

1 lb of walnuts and pecans mixed

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup butter

2 cups pistachios 

Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey 

1 tbs vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

To start make the syrup first. On a stove dissolve one cup of sugar into the water and bring to a boil. Add in honey and vanilla turn down to a simmer for 20 min stirring frequently. After the 20 min set aside and let cool

Next, using a food processor, combine the 1lb of mixed nuts, cinnamon, and brown sugar and grind into a fine mixture and set aside. Now, melt 1 and 1/2 cups of butter to start making your phyllo crust. Using a greased 9x13 pan start layering 1-2 sheets of phyllo dough saturated in butter. (The best way to do this is using a pastry brush).  Once you have about 8 layers add your nut mixture and start layering you phyllo dough with butter again to make the top crust. Once you have your top crust you will now cut the baklava into squares and then place them into the oven at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. You will notice the baklava turning golden brown. After the 50 minutes, sprinkle pistachios on top and then pour cooled syrup over and let the baklava cool. If needed re-cut baklava so they are seperated and come out nicely. 

And now try not to eat the whole pan to yourself :)

Happy birthday Lucas!

This weeks order was a BLAST! I tried something I have been wanting to try and it turned out GREAT!! The joy of sprinkles, it's almost as fun as glitter but more tasty!

 So for this order she wanted 30 cake pops and a smash cake and the only direction she gave me was colors and patterns and I got to use my imagination.  For a while now, I have been wanting to try a sprinkle cake so this was the perfect opportunity! And luckily it was quite easy as well! I should have taken more pictures during the process but considering my assistant is out of commission for a bit here's what I got for now...

It was a two layer 6" yellow cake with chocolate filling, buttercream frosting, and TONS of SPRINKLES!!! 

The cake pops were half chocolate half vanilla with the patterns she had picked for the party! Again I was very pleased with the turn out of these as well! 

The red, orange and yellow are vanilla and the blue, green, and purple are chocolate! And the extra sprinkled ones remind me of candy crush!! #usedtobeobsessed 

The whole project turned out perfect and I can't wait to do a sprinkle project again!

Happy first birthday Lucas! So happy I got to help with the party festivities! 

Stay tuned for more sprinkles to come! 

Sincerely,

Sarah :)

April Fools

I'm not a big jokester but on April Fools I do like to prank my staff. Two years ago I sent them personal messages to come in and "talk to me" when they get a chance... This normally means they are fired or they are in trouble. After many texts back asking what they did wrong I finally relived them with the ole April Fools!  

This year, I saw an exclllent idea on Pinterest to put mayo in cupcakes! Considering everyone goes ga-ga when I bring in treats it was the perfect plan! Since my mayo at home was expired I filled them some with blue cheese and others with garlic and hot sauce.  I was so close to getting my boss to eat one but some of the staff ratted me out. Luckily, I got some victims and they weren't too happy! It was a good joke in the end! Ha ha! April fools!

Who could resist these tasty treats!?

Sincerely,

Sarah ;)