Red Velvet Cake

My sweet cousin, Brynnlee, wanted a red velvet cake for her birthday. I'm not that great with cakes, but I gave it the old college try. I searched for some yummy looking recipes, but ended up with one from Brynn's boyfriends mom. I would rather use recipes that people have used and say they're great. And it was! It didn't look that pretty from the outside but it was beautiful and tasty! I love the color such a rich burgundy. It was moist and melted in your mouth. The frosting was pretty good too. So, here ya go! Pretty easy. And worth trying out!

2 1/2 C flour
1/2 C baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 C softened butter
2 C sugar
4 eggs
1 C sour cream
1/2 C milk
1 oz red food coloring
2 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, cocoa, soda and salt together, set aside. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl for about 5 minutes (until fluffy). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, color, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Do not over beat. Pour batter into two 9" round cake pans or 24 cupcakes. Bakes at 350* for 35-40 minutes. Let cool before you frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Beat 1 package of cream cheese, 4 T (1/2 stick) softened butter and 2 T sour cream until smooth. Add 2tsp vanilla. Gradually bead in 16 oz powdered sugar.

I put a layer of frosting in the middle of the 2 cakes and then a nice thick layer on top.
ENJOY!!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I made this CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE last week and my boys gobbled it all up so fast! It was moist, sweet, and delicious! The boys all sat around the bar and helped me make it and were enjoying themselves until I started pouring in shredded zucchini. All of them freaked out and were mortified that I had done that. It was pretty funny to see their reaction. When it was done baking they all tried it, reluctantly, and really liked it. So I'm making it again! Here is the recipe:

1/2 C margarine

1/2 C cooking oil

1 3/4 c sugar

2 eggs

2 1/2 C flour

1/2 tsp. salt

4 T cocoa

1/2 tsp soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C buttermilk ( I use reg milk in my fridge and all a tsp of white vinegar, and hurry and pour it in)

2 C shredded zucchini

1 C chocolate chips

Cream first four ingredients together and then add all the dry ingredients. Then add the vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips. Bake at 325* in a 9x12 pan for 45 minutes.

EASY!!

The day before...

The day before Thanksgiving the turkey goes in the sink to defrost.....The bread gets sliced up and placed around the kitchen to dry out to make Margene's Homemade Stuffing... Pies are baked...and crafts begin!

Strawberry Freezer Jam!!

We made our first batch of starwberry freezer jam! On Friday, before the boys left we made a batch, and it was a lot of fun doing it with the boys. Tyler and Gavin helped with washing the strawberries, putting them in the blender and adding half the sugar. Jackson and Will helped with adding the certo, more sugar and lemon juice and also poured the jam into the containers. It was super easy. 1 container is already gone! We can't stop eating toast with our yummy jam on it!