Tiptoe Tuesday Hop

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Welcome to Tiptoe Tuesday Blog Hop!!This is a fun hop to break up your week just a bit. If you are a blogger, feel free to link up to wherever you would like to get some love on FB, Twitter, Pinterest, GFC, Email, the list goes on.. If you are a reader, we would love for you to visit and hopefully find some new blogs to follow.
Please take a minute to say hello to Maria of Close to Home!



You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, PInterest and Google +.
You can find Insights by April onFacebook, Twitter, Google+, Email, LinkedIn and Pinterest
This week we are having a spotlight cohost!! Stephanie of Three Loud Kids!! A little about her blog: I am a stay at home mom turned crazy mom blogger who is pretty much the queen of random. I write about anything and everything over at Three Loud Kids! From  parenting tips to products reviews and giveaways ,you name it I write about it (including my current addiction to Pinterest). You can find Stephanie on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+

We ask that you click on spot 1, 2 and 3 of the linky and follow us. And if you would like us to follow you back, please leave a comment below so that we can return the favor. We hope you all can spread the love with everyone today and check back often to see who is new on the list and show them how much you care :)
Thanks and Happy Tiptoeing :)
We are looking for bloggers to feature each week and be our Spotlight Cohost. We will write a little intro about your site and link back to you as well as be #3 on the linky list. If you would like to be considered please email me april (dot) ockerman@yahoo.com

Super Quick Dinner

When at the grocery store this week, I saw a new product in the refrigerated cheese section, Kraft's Fresh Take.  Basically Kraft's version of Shake and Bake.  They come in a variety of flavors to choose from.  I could not resist, they were 2 for $5 and there was a $1 off coupon dispenser right next to the product.  For $1.50 I was promised a super quick change to a otherwise boring chicken dinner. 

I chose the Southwest Three Cheese Recipe.

You can see the directions right here, mix, coat and bake.  I made 5 breasts and had plenty mix left over.  One of the best features of this product is, the ingredients are packaged in the bag you will shake your meat in, so no mess or extra clean up!

Ready for the oven in the time it preheated.  I cut up some small potatoes and put them on a sheet pan with some olive oil and salt to put into the oven at the same time.

Dinner in no time and no effort.  Steamed some sugar snap peas I had for the veggie.

I loved the browned bits that were on the bottom of the dish.

This was a little spicy for even my initial bite.  The kids ate it and said it tasted like cheese with taco seasoning added to it.  I served it with a dollop of sour cream and some fruit salsa I had on hand.  It mellowed the spiciness.

Next time you are looking for a super quick meal and lost for ideas, grab one of these Fresh Takes for a pleasant surprise.  There was a $1 off coupon in my Sunday Paper today too!

I was NOT given this product to review,  all the opinions are my own and thought us busy folks could use this review!!

Devils Food Cake---From Scratch in about 2 hours

If you know me well enough I love to use baking mixes, from cakes to brownies, as basis to wonderful desserts.  This past Monday was my husband's birthday and when he woke up he was pouting about how he did not have a cake.  I reminded him about the Mardi Gras Party I threw him just 2 days prior, but this was his actual birthday.

I had to sub at preschool that morning, but due to some snow there was a two hour delay.  That was my ticket, I will grab one of my mixes I keep on hand and maybe just make some frosting.

He wanted chocolate cake with white frosting, (his exact words).  To my surprise I only had white cake mix in the pantry.  I tried to convince him to have brownies, but that did not fly.  What to do, what to do?

Two hours until I had to leave:

I grabbed my Better Homes and Garden cookbook and looked up cake recipes.  The Devil's Food seemed pretty easy, no melting chocolate.   I did improvise a little bit and added 1/4 cup of non-fat greek yogart to the batter. (out of sour cream).

Success they came out wonderfully.  Only one hour to go.  As they cooled on the racks I whipped up some butter cream frosting.  Amazing how easy if you have butter and powdered sugar on hand, plus none of the extra ingredients in the canned variety.

20 minutes left:  It was so cool in the house due to the wintry weather, the cakes were cooled.  Frosted them with the homemade frosting.  I used the recipe off the confectionery sugar.

Still not happy with the look of the cake, a little boring.  My husband loves chocolate jimmies, so I smooshed some around the cake for decoration, and flavor of course, although I really don't think they taste like much!!

My husband and kids thought this was the best cake they had tasted.   I am so proud that I did not give up and made it from scratch.

Want a bite

Poor guy, I did not have any candles but found a #2 which works for his 42nd!

Next time you are in a pinch, don't think you can't make a wonderful and moist cake for that special or not so special occasion!!

• 2  1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  1 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/2 cup shortening
  1  3/4 cups sugar
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups cold water
• 1/4- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (optional)

directions

1.Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Grease and lightly flour two 9x1-1/2-inch round cake pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set pan(s) aside. Stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

2.In a large mixing bowl beat the shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla; beat until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.   Add the sour cream if using.  Add the dry mixture and water alternately to beaten mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

3.Spoon batter into prepared pan(s), spreading evenly. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool layer cakes in pan on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks. Or, place 13x9-inch cake in pan on a wire rack; cool thoroughly.

Buttercream Frosting--From Domino Box

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened
3-4 tablespoons milk
1 tsp Vanilla

In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, combine sugar, butter, milk and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed 1-2 minutes until creamy.  If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency.  Makes enough to fill and frost 2 layer cake, 13x9 sheet cake or 24 cupcakes.

Wine Cork Monogram---Thanks to Pinterest

I am relatively new to the Pinterest world and this is one of the first pins I made.  We have plenty of wine corks for crafts so this was a no brainer to try!!  Thanks to the tutorial from My Happily Ever After the end blog I was anxious to try one.

Source: myhappilyeveraftertheend.blogspot.com via Maria on Pinterest

I purchased the wodden letter from Ben Franklin for under $4, you can probably find it at various craft stores.

Here is my letter "L"  I made.  I love that it can be hung on the wall or since I kept the corks full size it sits nicely on it own.  What a great Hostess, wedding or birthday gift for someone.  We hung ours in our bar area but would look great on a bookshelf too.

Don't have the time to make your own, check out her Etsy shop.