House Week: Jessica

I have two dream houses, one that is practical and sensible, and the other that is frilly and fun. I’ll share both.

For the practical one, I have a pretty specific floor plan in mind. I want a ranch/rambler. You need to be able to come in through the garage, into a mud room and then into the kitchen (no carrying groceries across the house). I want a kitchen that is big enough to function in, but not too big that it is a pain to clean. I want the fridge, stove and sink to make a triangle in the kitchen. I’ve lived in enough houses to know that the triangle is the most functional kitchen design. The kitchen/dining area should be attached to a living room. There should be a front entry that comes into the living room area, but it has to be set up so that you can’t see the kitchen from the entry way. (I’m just not that good of a housekeeper.) Then, there should be a hall with at least 3 bedrooms down it. There needs to be a bathroom that is accessible from this hall. The master needs a bathroom attached to it, but the one in the hall can be the same bathroom. The bathroom attached to the master should have two rooms, one with the sink and counter, and one with the toilet and tub. This allows more people to get ready at the same time.

Downstairs, I want a big family room, a food storage room, another storage room, and two other bedrooms, with a bathroom near them. The arrangement down here is not as specific.

I want a lot that is 4-5 acres, has two-three out buildings (one big enough to house a hoist, and the other to store farming equipment). It should have an established tree fence, a deck off the kitchen, an attached garage, and lots of good climbing trees. It should not be located on a highway, but I want it close to the school and town. To add to all this, my husband is a farmer, and I don’t want to be more than a few miles away from the main fields. We choose this profession so he could be around home more. I don’t want him to have to travel far to get to work. This leaves only a few houses (in rural areas, houses are few and far between). Most of these homes are two-story 100 year old farmhouses that are in the family and stay in the family.

Sounds impossible to get this house? Well, we just bought it, and it had exactly what we wanted. This list existed before we found this house; we were just lucky enough to find one that fit the list. It also had extensive damage due to a pipe burst, which meant we could afford it, too. Luckily, my husband has some good handy-man skills, so we are able to repair it. In a few weeks, we’ll be moving into this dream house.

But, let’s look at a little less sensible option. I would love a master bedroom with a waterfall in it. I want a walk in shower that is the size of a room. I want a huge, whirlpool tub in there, too. The master area would also have a small kitchen in it, so we can keep the food that we don’t want the kids eating there. Yes, that means a freezer stocked entirely with the best ice cream. I want a sewing room that has floor to ceiling shelving for fabric, and an organization system for that. Speaking of floor to ceiling, I want a Beauty and the Beast style library. I want to look up and see books, as far as anyone can see. Just for fun, I’ll put a secret staircase in there that goes up to our master suite. My husband wants to have a tiled kitchen that has a slight slant to the floor, and all the furniture on metal legs. Then, there would a high-powered water system on one end. With the push of a button, it sprays water and soap across the floor and mops the floor. He figures we’d have a scrubber to hit the bad spots, and then would run a rinse on it. Sounds good to me. For décor, I love fresh flowers. Fake ones bug me. So, I want a constant delivery of real flowers that match my décor. I’ll add some really good chocolates to that delivery, too, not that those have anything to do with the house, but I would love a constant delivery of fine chocolates. I like the frosty machine idea, too. That can go into our home entertainment room, which has a movie theater in it, and every fun arcade game ever made. I want a very fun hang-out spot for teenagers. I want to have the house that teenagers hang out at, so that I know what is going on my kids’ lives. My husband wants to include an indoor slide park in there, because that would be fun, too. Lastly, it has to have a music room, with a gorgeous grand piano and areas to keep every other instrument my kids may ever want to learn, and lots and lots of music books for them to learn from. I would say it needs an exercise room, but I’m not sure that I would actually use it.

I’m happy with the house we have, though, and I love it. I’ll save the second house for my mansion in heaven. That would be better, anyway, because I’m pretty sure a resurrected body can handle all the ice cream, fine chocolates, and frosties that it wants. Then, I can skip the exercise room, too. Do I have to do housework there?

House Week: Dream Playhouses (Ohhhh myyyy)

I found these DREAM HOUSES here: http://www.lilliputplayhomes.com/

I was just going to put up a few pictures but I couldn't decide. So here you go. Prepare to be amazed.


Keep in mind these are PLAYHOUSES...for CHILDREN! hahaha I love it.


What's that? You are worried about the condition of the houses INSIDE? Lest you think these children might be roughing it, here are a couple photos:

I love these so much...and I can't stop smiling. Oops, never mind, I just saw the price tag on these babies.

House Week: Some sites

If you want to jump start your home dreaming, check out a few good spots I've found for you:

Martha Stewart Home Tours- Here you can look at 23 Martha Stewart-approved dream homes, as well as peak inside Martha's houses. I love to snoop around.

or the HGTV Design Blog always makes for good reading.

Are you traditional, contemporary, modern, romantic, cottage, mid-century modern, urban? If you aren't really sure what your taste is, find your own design style here: HGTV Design Style
(I'm eclectic, if you were wondering...)

Want to see some home makeover before and afters? Go here or here. Or here (I'm a little obsessed with before and afters, as you might've gathered.)

Finally, if you want to get inspiration for how you'd love your home to look one day, nothing is better than catalogs or online stores...Are you a Pottery Barn girl? Or does Crate and Barrel float your boat? Or would you do you house in ALL Anthropology if you could?

Have a little fun dreaming about your ultimate home and how you would decorate it, okay? Promise me!

House Week: Stefany

You'd think I would be pretty happy with my current housing situation. After all, we have 2500 finished square feet of house (plus 300 not finished), including four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a very large kitchen. That sounds like a nice amount, but there are nine of us living in it, and the bedrooms aren't laid out in a way that works very well for putting multiple bunk beds in them. As it doesn't have an office space for Aaron, and he really needs his own space to study and work, he uses one of the upstairs bedrooms. That leaves three bedrooms. Two boys live in one of them, and Katie gets one to herself (I just don't like babies sharing rooms, as it cuts down on my sleep, and after that, she'll get her own room forever anyway, as Aaron and I don't think girls and boys should share rooms, after a certain age). Aaron and I have the master bedroom, and that leaves four of the boys with the basement family room.

Unfortunately, that means that everyone makes their noise on the main floor of the house. The living room is a place of noise and chaos. The music room is right next to it, and open, and so more noise is produced as they practice the piano, drums, sax, trumpet, etc. The kitchen is open right off the other side of the living room, and so is exposed to all of the noise. When we want a quiet place to work on homework, I normally end up bringing a child to my bedroom to get away from distractions. It isn't ideal.

But, this isn't supposed to be about how much I dislike my house. This is supposed to be about my dream house. Ahh...let's think...yeah, that didn't take me long.

My ideal house has a sitting room in the front with enough room for a couple of couches, lounges, and two grand pianos (at least baby grand). Yes, the part about the two pianos is for my husband, more so than for me. I would be able to use the room for family home evenings, visiting teaching and home teaching visits, as well as piano lessons. Just opposite the sitting room would be an office for Aaron to work and study.

Beyond that room, there would be a kitchen that is hidden from initial view when entering the house. I don't require a dining room, but a large area just off the kitchen that would hold an enormous dining table would suffice. There would also be a living room that would be large enough for extended family to gather with us, as well as a small play room, just off the kitchen, where my kids could make a mess and not have it seen by any unexpected visitors. The pantry would have to be quite large, and I'd like my deep freezer to fit in it.

If my main floor was that large, I'd like the upstairs to have five bedrooms. The master suite would have two walk-in closets, one of which would be off the bathroom, and in the bathroom there would be a jetted tub that I can actually lay down in (my current jetted tub is not built for tall people). There would also be enough room for me to have a sewing table and a nook where I could put a desk. The boys' bedrooms would have Jack and Jill bathrooms. Katie's bedroom would have her own bathroom. They would all have walk-in closets. A little spoiled, I know, but this is a dream, right? The other nice part of my upstairs would be the laundry room. It would have plenty of space for folding and hanging clothes.

My basement would have a few nice features. First, it would have a workout room with mirrors and weights and treadmills and mats - you get the idea. It would have a family room with room for the pool table that Aaron dreams of, a music room, and a large storage area. The music room would have Aaron's dream keyboard, the drum set, shelves and racks for all of our other musical instruments, and plenty of chairs and music stands.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll probably never have my dream house. In all likelihood, we'll still be in this house when the kids start moving out, and it will seem bigger to those of us who remain here. There are only 4 1/2 years left until they start leaving home, after all. But wouldn't it be nice if our dreams came true so they could all enjoy the space with us?

House Week: My awesome sister

How perfect that we are talking about this subject the same week my sister's house gets on the news!

My sister Heather & her husband & little guy live in Des Moines, and their house is the first certified "green" house in the area! Watch the video to see how cool it is.

Check it out by clicking here.

The thing I love about their house is that it is so eco-friendly, but completely fabulous and stylish too. Looks like dream houses can come true!

House Week: Melissa

Here's what I love about our current house...

Breakfast is provided 7 days a week, prepared by someone besides me.
Dinner is provided 3 days a week, also prepared by someone besides me.
Every day someone comes to make the beds, give us new towels and do my dishes.
There is a swimming pool.
And we have cable.

Okay, so in case you start thinking that we're living super extravagantly, know this: we're living in a hotel for the next month (Suite Life of Zach and Cody anybody?) Our dream apartment smells like smoke- thats what happens when the dryers in the laundry room below you start on fire. So presently, my dream house is very simple- a smoke free apartment- with a dishwasher that fits more than 10 dishes and toilets that flush without having to turn the handle 360 degrees. This is very much an upgrade from our last apartment in Provo- where my one true wish was to have a bathroom that wasn't infested with black mold. I know, I ask for a lot.

Really, in the dream house that I've been building in my head since childhood- only two details have been consistent from age 5 til now: Ice cream dispenser with all of the good flavors and a swimming pool filled with jello. Strawberry Banana Jello.

New Topic: Dream house

I was talking to my husband the other night and somehow we got to exchanging ideas about our dream house. What kinds of things would we want? Of course we got a little silly (A Frosty machine!) but it was fun to think about.

So I've been thinking about that for the past couple days, and I have of course been watching my favorite shows on HGTV. (Househunters anyone?) I know you like this stuff too girls! Let's talk.

What would you want in your dream house? Where would it be? How would you decorate it if you had all the resources? Have you ever seen photos of things you would love in your house one day? I know I have.

Let's have a dream house building/decorating week! Send me your dreams, ideas, and maybe photos of things you love. If you have things about your current home that you love, tell us about those too. Happy dream house hunting!

Blog Week: Nancy

I'm afraid I have been very lax in my blogging lately. My own blog, which anyone is welcome to read is called ibeimomenti, and while i love the writing and feel a great sense of accomplishment when I get something up, I've just barely been able to keep up on facebook lately, let alone my blog. I think its been over a month. I haven't given up, I'm just too tired to think of clever things to say anymore.

I do, however, spend lots of time browsing the blogs of my family and friends, many of which are private, but a few of which are real gems. Like my friend Susan's blog www.smallworksinwool.blogspot.com She is an artist with a fun insight to everything that happens in life, and I giggle and nod with every post she posts.

I also follow seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com Mostly because I like to double check myself. Its a sattirical and over-the-top look at the mormon blog culture, and I enjoy most of what she posts. If I have done anything that she does on her page, I laugh at myself and make a note to be more careful. It has both its humor and its learning uses.

Oh yeah, and mylifeisaverage.com is a fun time out when stress gets high. Don't overdo it though. Too many posts and you might start expecting people around you to respond with harry potter spells and superhero references.

Here's a little advertisement for another friend too. My friend Crystal takes some beautiful photos, and I stalk her photography blog. http://www.envisionimage.blogspot.com/ I doubt I'll ever use her services as a wedding photographer, but I certainly enjoy watching everyone else get married in her posts.

OK, now for those of you who don't know me, I am a bit more liberal than is some people's flavor. These next blogs come with a little warning. Cakewrecks occasionally has its less than appropriate moments. So do these blogs. All the same, I trust myself to screen the posts and be appropriate in my viewing. You are grownups who can do the same, just know, they aren't exactly approved for relief society.

Failblog.org is wonderful. It even has a "G-rated" button, so once you are on, the site will screen things for you. I still giggle at the funny swears though.

whatnottocrochet.wordpress.com has some consistent language, but the writer usually warns you ahead of time if its a post you should be careful of.

passiveaggressivenotes.com is actually really safe, just an occasional swear in the notes. But then again, some of those notes....

www.peopleofwalmart.com is self explanatory in the risk you take when you log on. Its all photos... of people who go to walmart...

And finally my very favoritest blog of all is called postsecret.com
this one is the most risky and the most heartbreaking and the most hopeful. There is this guy named Frank, and people mail their deepest darkest secrets to him, and he selects a few and posts them every Sunday. Some of them are definitely just "scroll past" kind of things, and others are just incredible.

But like I said, you are all grown ups, so judge for yourselves!

Blog Week: Jessica

I really only follow two blogs outside of family member’s blogs.

The first one is www.ourbestbites.com. This was started by a couple ladies on a forum I post on. They “met” there, and discovered their love for cooking, and this blog grew out of it. They have now been featured on early shows and such. I love their recipes because they work, and because they are also moms at home with kids and can write them in a way that I know how to do them. No fancy words, just real, mom cooking. And, it’s good! I’ve learned lots of little tricks from them.

The other is a must-read: www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com. Just go and laugh.

Blog Week: Ally

I have tons of blogs that I follow religiously. Yeah, I probably need a life. But here are a few good ones for ya:

1) The Love, Actually blog is wonderful.

http://loveactually-blog.blogspot.com

It is a never-ending source of ideas to keep romance alive, even on a budget. Date ideas, creative ways to express yourself, etc. It's completely adorable. (and I just found out after stalking it closely that it is by a girl from my freshman ward, talk about cool!) You need to look at it, but I must warn you that if you take a peak you might be there for hours.



2) I love me some Pioneer Woman! She has been mentioned before but I need to emphasize that her blog rules. So funny, so cute, so useful!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

Especially The Pioneer Woman Cooks section. Please check it out. The food is delicious, and there are step-by-step photos of how to cook each recipe. I love that, because it is REAL. Not overly styled food.
I especially love the section on "Cowboy Food", but that may be because of the man I'm married to!

3) Hostess with the Mostess!


http://www.hostessblog.com/

This blog is one of my favorite places to spend a minute...or an hour...or a day! It is mostly party ideas and you will fall in love with it. Decorating, recipes, entertaining, parties, cuteness. It's just happiness in blog form.

Okay I could go on, but I want to hear from the rest of you!

Happy Valentine's day weekend, but more importantly, happy blog stalking!

Blog Week: Emily

Oh I have so many!!

Here's my list of favorites:

http://work-it-baby.blogspot.com/

I love this one because it's partly mine...I have made it my goal to take
fashion to the women of the world, and what better way than a blog?!
Every woman has the right to feel fabulous, and it's my mission to make
sure they have the chance.

http://gigilovesparis.blogspot.com/

A dear friend...book reviews, giveaways, writing tips...

http://howtofindmrwrong.blogspot.com/

This one speaks to my heart...

http://thepioneerwoman.com/

Who doesn't love P-Dub?! I feel like we're friends.

http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/

I come here for my daily dose of Paris, though it does make me homesick.

http://www.scrap-e-blog.blogspot.com/

I like to change my own blog up, and this is the perfect place to find free backgrounds.

http://www.sondereggersmiles.blogspot.com/

Shout out for my sister-in-law! She's got some great photography going on.

http://www.bakerella.com/

More fabulous food...speaks to my heart again.

I'm sure I have more. I'll go through my bookmarks and send any others that I find!

New Topic: Blogs, what else?!

If you're here, that means you are blog savvy. So lets talk about blogs. We all have them, we all love them, we all stalk them.

That's right, I blog stalk, and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

And there are so many great ones out there- blogs for mommies, blogs about weddings, blogs about decorating, blogs for coupons, blogs that make us laugh, blogs that are just plain pretty to look at.

So what are some of your favorite blogs or websites? The ones you frequently lurk around. Share with us! Email me your favorite blogs, and why you love them. This will be a fun one!

Just as a note...

I'm noticing that topics work better if I give them 2 weeks instead of one. So I think I will do that from now on. I love hearing from you guys, and this way you have more time to write in or respond to each other.

Thanks for being here!
-Ally

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Erin

I feel so un-lady-like admitting this, but I haven't gotten into the food network yet. It's something I aspire to. I want to watch it in a fancy apron someday when I'm cooking for an adoring husband. The one show I have sporadically enjoyed from the food network is The Iron Chef. Not the American one, the real one. Sadly though, I don't EVER watch it for recipes because everything they make looks disgusting. I watch it for the overly dramatic egg presentations:

And for this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIbVygiJ21s

I can't get over how he bites that yellow bell pepper. Who does that? He does. And it's hot.

I love how the little interrupter guy is always yelling "squeezon" or whatever it is he says. And I love the polite little Japanese actresses who taste the food and comment how delightful the eel eggs dance on their tongue. Really, this show makes me so happy.

OK, so we need a recipe. This is definitely not from Iron Chef anything. It's totally a made up Erin original. It's called Mexican Delight. You're supposed to hum the song "Afternoon Delight" as you put it together. It's basically just a high protein, low fat salad. And I admit it's a little weird. I made it up, and I might be the only one who likes it :)

Mexican Delight

Ingredients:

can of pinto beans

baby green salad

cooked seasoned chicken that comes in a bag (in the refrigerator section)

pico de gallo salsa

laughing cow mini babybel cheese light

fat free sour cream and onions pringles

fat free ranch dressing (optional)

drain beans, then put about 1/2 cup into a bowl. Break up the mini babybel and put that on the beans. Heat in the micro for about 1 minute. Begin layering the salad, then the chicken (you can heat the chicken too if you like), then the salsa. Just put as much as you like of everything. Crumble the pringles on top. Sprinkle a little dressing if you like. Done. Don't forget to hum the song. It doesn't turn out right if you don't.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYwEHLRmILY

Food Network/Cookbook Week: Nancy again

(Dear Nancy, how much do I love you for writing twice? lots.)

"As long as we still are on the subject of food and recipes and tv, I wanted to add another goodie to your "do this someday" list. Generally speaking, I'm not a huge fan of Wolfgang Puck. He's not really even on the FoodNetwork anymore. BUT, he is from Vienna, and Vienna does one amazing thing better than anyone else in the world. Pastries. Paritcularly chocolate pastries. This is the very first foodnetwork recipe I ever tried, years and years ago, and I love it. I'm not usually a big fan of chocolate with fruit either. I like the occasional chocolate covered strawberry (zupas, anyone?) and chocolate pear is a to-die-for combo thtat I can only take in small doses, but this one is one I never would have put together, but was the biggest hit when I tried it. Seriously, don't judge it til you've tried it.

Wolfgang's Sachertorte

Ingredients

Cake:

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 3 ounces butter
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 ounce sugar, plus 3 ounces
• 5 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup flour, sifted

Apricot Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon apricot brandy

Glaze:

• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
• 1 ounce butter
• 2 ounces heavy cream
• Schlagobers, or whipped cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch cake pan.

In a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter and melt over a double boiler. Set aside to cool. In a mixer, using a wire whisk, whip the egg yolks with 1 ounce sugar until light and ribbony. Beat in the chocolate mixture.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 3 ounces of sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks. Fold in the flour and then fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites, gently but thoroughly. Pour into prepared cake pan.

Bake for 40 minutes or until done. To check for doneness, insert a paring knife in center of cake. It should come out dry. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

To make the apricot filling: puree the apricot preserves. Stir in brandy.

Slice the cake into 3 equal layers. Spread half of the apricot filling on the bottom layer. Top with a second layer of cake. Spread the remaining apricot filling and top with the last layer of cake. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

To make the glaze: in a bowl, combine the chocolate and butter. Melt over a double-boiler. Bring the cream to a boil. Stir into the melted chocolate. Cool until it reaches glazing consistency. Spread over and around the cake. Chill for another 30 minutes before serving. Serve a slice with Schlagobers or whipped cream.

Now- Before you get too scared of it, heres a simple way to dumb it down a little: (this is what I did the second time I made it) don't make a filling, just use apricot jam/preserves of some type. and for an even more basic approach, make your favorite chocolate cake recipe (don't tell me if it's from a box, I'm no priest, confess your sins elsewhere) and fill it with the preserves and cover it with the ganache and decorate it with homemade chocolate dipped dried apricots. This cake recipe is actually easier than it looks, but if it scares you don't let that stop you from trying out the whole chocolate apricot thing."

Food Network/Cookbook week: Emily

I'll admit it, I'm a Food Network Junkie. I'll watch it any chance I get. I especially love Iron Chef America, and my favorite Iron Chef is Michael Symon. He brings that bad boy-ness that I can't seem to get away from!

Overall, I think my very favorite FN chef is probably Giada de Laurentiis. I love that her stuff is so easy and so incredibly satisfying. She's fun without being annoying (coughRachaelRaycough) I have all of her cookbooks and they're definitely my favorites. I've made her lasagna rolls my specialty!

Ingredients

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

Lasagna:

• 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

Directions

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 13-by-9-by-2-inch glass baking dish. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Starting at 1 end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamelsauce in the dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.

Food Network/Cookbook week: Ally again

Yeah, I'm posting again. Because I want to. A new topic will be here soon, but first I need to get the Food Network out of my system. Does anyone out there like these guys?

It's the Neely's! Some people say that they are obnoxious but I love-love them! I love how they talk about food- you can tell it's a true passion for them. And I love how they talk to each other, too. If they ever got divorced I think I would be devastated! Haha I really need a life.

I have gotten some great recipes from them too. They have a great Alfredo recipe with bacon and a little bit of lemon which is deliciouso. They also have a trademark bbq sauce recipe that I haven't tried yet but I've heard is amazing.

On the last episode I saw of them, they made something that husband & I were salivating over. It's a Cookies N Cream Cake! It looks like a little bit of work (in comparison to a boxed cake haha) so I would make it for something special- maybe a birthday. Mmmm look so good.

Neely's Cookies and Cream Cake

Recipe courtesy The Neelys

Prep Time:

15 min

Inactive Prep Time:

20 min

Cook Time:

35 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

8 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups finely crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies
• Cookies and Cream Cheese Icing, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray 2 (9-inch) cake pans with cooking spray and dust with flour.

In a large bowl, using a hand-held mixer, combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the eggs and egg yolk, 1 at a time, and beat until well mixed, then add in the melted butter and combine. Next, add the buttermilk and beat until smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the crumbled cookies and beat until incorporated.

Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool, on a rack, in the pans for 5 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto a rack and let cool completely. Frost with Cookies and Cream Cheese Icing and serve.

Cookies and Cream Cheese Icing:

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups finely crumbled chocolate sandwich cookies

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend the butter and cream cheese until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and vanilla. Add in the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until smooth. Beat in the crumbled cookies. Frost the chocolate cookie cake when the cake has cooled.

FoodNetwork/Cooking Week: Melissa

Truth be told, my favorite Food Network Chef is not actually a food network chef. I heart the Challenges on Food Network. Particularly the cake challenges. Bronwyn Weber is my favorite favorite. I always love every single cake she does. I once took a fondant master class from one of her good friends, and he said she is as sweet in person as she seems on TV.

My favorite recipe is actually from Paula Dean, via my sister. Its the most awesome chicken nuggets you'll ever have. And, they're gluten free. Yay!

1 bag of sour cream and onion potato chips, crushed
A bunch of boneless skinless chicken breasts, chunked
A couple of eggs

You beat the eggs, and then dip the chicken chunks in the eggs. Then you roll the chicken in the crushed potato chips. Bake until done- about 20 minutes- and tada- yummy!