Madi's 11th Birthday Party

When birthday's come around I do my best to avoid parties.  Too many   children in one small confined space is not my thing.  I especially avoid sleep overs.  I can't stay up all night and I can't leave a group of pre-teen girls unsupervised.  I may be a bit of a control freak!

When we started out planning I decided I would give in and allow them to stay over all night.  By the week of the party before sending out invitations, I panicked and backed out.  I talked her into one evening full of fun.  I researched some party ideas online for the pre-teen.  I knew I would need to have them busy or they might get out of control.  I found one web-site that recommended a cooking party.  I thought about it and decided that I could do this.  I had to keep telling myself you can do this, you can do this.  It is only a few hours, you can do this.  I felt like the little engine telling myself over and over.   I made homemade pizza dough and gave each of them enough to make their own pizza.  After cooking the pizzas, we had homemade doughnuts for dessert.  The girls helped to glaze them and add the sprinkles.  I actually survived the evening and enjoyed being around the girls.  One down, one to go?!

      

      !!

Paula's Birthday

In September, Paula came to visit for her birthday.  We made her a delicious Lemon Cake.  It is a recipe from Pampered Chef.  I am not usually a big fan of anything lemon but I tasted this at a party and really enjoyed it.  Paula loves Lemon Meringue Pie so I knew this would be perfect for her birthday.   It is really good.   This recipe is a little bit more involved than I like but if you love lemon it is worth every second!

Mock Lemon Meringue Cake   by Pampered Chef

• 5 lemons
• 1 yellow cake mix
• 1c. sour cream
• 1 egg
• 2T. plus 1c. powdered sugar, divided
• 1 pkg. instant lemon pudding and pie mix
• 1/2c. milk
• 1 16oz. Cool Whip thawed, divided
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1. Preaheat oven to 350*.  Spray Torte Pan with nonstick cooking spray.  ( This pan helps by making a well in the center for the pudding to go in later.  I guess you could make this without the pan but it does help.)  Place an 8 in. circle of parchment paper over the center circle of the pan.
2. Zest four of the lemons to measure 1/4c. ( I zested all 5 lemons,  just made it easier to get enough zest.)  Juice the zested lemons to measure 2/3c. lemon juice, set aside.  (I also had to juice all five to get enough.)
3. In bowl, combine cake mix, sour cream, egg, and 1T. of the zest, whisk 1 min.  Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.  Bake 10-12 min or until center is firm.  The batter is pretty thick but the cake is the consistency of a pound cake. 
4. Remove cake and allow to cool approx. 3 min then invert onto cooling rack.  Remove parchment paper and cool 10 min.   While cooling prepare glaze.  Combine 2T. of the lemon juice and 2T. of the powdered sugar and heat in microwave 15-20 seconds or until sugar is dissolved.  Transfer cake to serving platter, brush with the glaze. 
5. For filling, combine pudding mix, milk, 1T. zest and 1/4c. of the lemon juice; whisk briskly until smooth.  Fold in 1c. of the whipped topping until very thick.  Spread this into the well of the cake. 
6. For the topping, whisk cream cheese, remaining 2T. of zest and 1/4c. lemon juice until smooth.  Slowly add remaining sugar; whisk until smooth.  Add remaining whipped topping all at once; fold just until combined. 
7. Garnish can be sliced lemons or zest which ever you choose.

 

My Birthday

This year my birthday was a very special one.  The kids made me a birthday cake.  I just had to share the photos of this one.  It was so sweet.  Madi planned this for a week.  She kept saying " Mom if we decide to cook this week Dad said it was ok.   We'll clean up our mess, I promise."  She just couldn't wait to give it to me.  She was so proud.  It made it such a special day.  I was also blessed to share an evening out with some very special friends.  Mike and Cindy took our family and Billy and Sharon out to eat at Simon's Catch.   Bill and Sharon don't get to go out very often and were thrilled at the chance to go.  Cindy arranged it all and it was a very memorable evening.  Sometimes we don't realize what God has blessed us with.