Laundry Basket Entertainment

Jon loves that Taelyn is big enough for him to really play with now. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.

Sorry the video is sideways. Again.

Domino Tower

RS Cooking Class 2

So we had our second class. We started off with Nancy and I. Yup, you heard me right. Two of us. I was sad. Then people started showing up. And more people. We ended up with 7, besides me, and only 2 of them had been there for the first class. I know it is still a small turnout, for a normal ward, but for an inner-city ward...well, I'm pretty excited. I'm still hoping to get more as this thing progresses.

Anyway, we made Chocolate Cake Parfait and German Chocolate Cheesecake.

CHOCOLATE CAKE PARFAIT
(from my Aunt Mavie)

1 Chocolate cake mix from a box, plus ingredients to prepare
2 pkg. Instant chocolate pudding (1 Large pkg and 1 Small pkg)
2 8-oz containers of cool whip
LARGE bowl (clear is best so that you can get the visual affect of the parfait)

Bake cake according to directions. While cake cools, mix up your pudding.

Layer 1: Cut entire cake into 1 inch squares (doesn't have to be exact). Put half the cake, breaking up squares, in the bottom of your bowl. Make sure your bottom layer is even.

Layer 2: Pour half your pudding over the top of the cake. If you are using a clear bowl, be careful around the edges so that you keep your layers even and don't make a mess on the side.

Layer 3: Carefully add 1 container of cool whip. Be careful to layer on top of pudding, and not mix it into pudding. Again, be careful around the edges if you are using a clear bowl.

Layer 4-6: Repeat layers 1-3 in same order, using the remainder of your cake and pudding.

If desired, you can sprinkle chocolate shavings or crushed toffee on the top.

Refrigerate overnight before serving. This step is not required, but it sure makes it taste better. It gives the pudding time to sink into the cake AND it tastes much better when it's cold.

A variation that Jon and I like is using a white cake, vanilla pudding, raspberry pie filling and cool whip is optional. Also very delicious-especially after chilling overnight. Note: even more care must be taken when putting the pie filling on top of the pudding.


GERMAN CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE
(From Fig)

1 German chocolate cake mix from a box, plus ingredients to prepare
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat cream cheese and sugar until soft and combined, blend in 4 eggs.

In separate bowl, mix up German chocolate cake according to package directions.

Pour a little more than half of chocolate batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Carefully pour all of cheesecake mixture over. Even more carefully, spoon remaining chocolate batter over the cheesecake.

Bake at 325 degrees for 65-75 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost completely clean (a few moist crumbs are good; it's a cheesecake after all).

While cake is cooling, make frosting.

Whisk together the egg yolks, milk, and sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add cubed butter and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cook several minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Allow frosting to cool until it is thick and spreadable. Add to top of cake.

Store refrigerated. Pic also from Fig.

Jon was a little disappointed by this recipe because he was expecting it to taste like cheesecake. It doesn't. It tastes like an incredibly moist chocolate cake, with a slight hint of cheesecake and an amazing, not too sweet frosting. Of course, that is just my opinion.

Silly Tae

RS Cooking Class

So I'm heading up a Relief Society cooking enrichment activity. We meet twice a month. Or that is the plan anyway. The first class was on the 6th. We focused on bread. I was sad that only 5 ladies showed up...but I am so grateful those 5 showed up. For a few minutes there, it looked like no one was going to show.

We made a garden herb loaf. It was amazing. The recipe is from Fleischmann’s Yeast Best-Ever Breads. It is my favorite bread book EVER. It is the book we used the year we focused on bread for 4-H. Even though the book is by Fleischmann's, I don't use their yeast. I finally found out that my stuff never turns out like my mom's because she uses Saf's. Lesson learned. I now only use Saf Instant Yeast also. Now that I've gone off about yeast, here's the recipe for the garden herb loaf.

GARDEN HERB LOAF
Makes 1 Loaf

4 to 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
4 ½ tsp instant yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
¾ tsp dried majoram leaves
¾ tsp dried thyme leaves
¾ tsp dried rosemary leaves
¾ c milk
½ c water
¼ c plus 1 Tbsp butter
1 egg
additional majoram, thyme, and rosemary (optional)

In large bowl, combine 1 ½ cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, salt, majoram, thyme, and rosemary. Heat milk, water, and ¼ cup butter until very warm (120 to 130F); stir into dry ingredients. Stir in egg and enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 6 minutes. Cover; let rest on floured surface 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece to 30-inch rope. Braid ropes; pinch ends to seal. Tie knot in center of braid; wrap ends around knot, in opposite directions, and tuck under to make round loaf. Place on greased baking sheet. Cover; let rise in warm, draft free place until doubled in size, about 20 to 40 minutes.

Bake at 375F for 30 to 35 minutes or until done, cover with foil during the last 10 minutes to prevent excess browning. Melt remaining butter; brush over loaf. If desired, sprinkle with additional majoram, thyme, and rosemary. Remove from sheet; let cool on wire rack.
Our next meeting is this Thursday. We are focusing on desserts. I'm hoping a double feature of Chocolate Cake Parfait and German Chocolate Cheesecake will be enough to draw a bigger crowd. If not, here's hoping for at least 5.

The International Peace Garden

Jenni told us about the International Peace Garden. It is super close, so we decided to check it out. It is actually quite pretty. We had a good time smelling flowers and sifting rocks. And sitting on statues...

Over the Weekend

We were home for the weekend because Jon's brother was called to be in the bishopric and he had asked Jon to ordain him to the office of a High Priest. These are a few pics that I took while we were visiting with Jake's family.

Reading with Casey, Nick and Evey. I love watching Tae interact with her cousins. Her face in this one just made me laugh!

UBIC Parade

We found ourselves in the Basin for the weekend. It happened to be the same weekend as the UBIC Parade. When we found out our neice and my sis were both in it, we decided we had to go. Tae, of course, loved it.

Morgan is the 11&12 2nd Attendant (CONGRATS MORGAN!). Taryn is the FFA VP.

Curlers