Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Happy birthday, daddy!

Happy birthday, daddy!
My husband's birthday was on Christmas (poor guy) and since Solis and I were both down for the count with the stomach bug, we had to postpone his celebration.  
Solis worked real hard on daddy's card.  The first step was a mommy job and I cut out letters from tape....tedious work.
Then I taped the paper to the table and she went to town coloring.  As Solis kept saying, "I go crazy, I go crazy!"  She loved this part.
When she was all done, I peeled off the tape and whoala!
The finished product:
 My cupcake loving daughter wanted to make cupcakes.  My husband doesn't really eat cake but he does love red velvet.  Win, win.  We took the lazy way out and baked them from a box but I made the icing from scratch.  
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
(adapted from Kraft Foods)

Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 pkg. (16 oz) powdered sugar
1 cup thawed Cool Whip

Directions
1. Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with mixer.
2. Gradually beat in sugar.
3. Whisk in cool whip. 

I also made nut bars for my nut loving hubby.
He calls these dessert.
I call him nuts. 
Rustic Nut Bars
(adapted from Taste of Home)
Ingredients
1 TB plus 3/4 cup butter, divided
2 1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten

Topping Ingredients
2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 TB butter, cubed
2 TB heavy whipping cream
1 cup cashews
1 cup pistachios
1 cup almonds

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375.  Line 13x9 pan with foil.  Grease the foil with 1 TB of butter AND spray with non stick cooking spray.  Like double time.  B/c mine still stuck.  Spray again just to be safe.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in remaining butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in egg until blended (mixture will be dry).  Press firmly onto bottom of pan.
3. Bake 15-18 minutes or until edges are golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.
4. In a large saucepan, combine honey, brown sugar, and salt.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve sugar.  Then boil 2 minutes without stirring.
5. Stir in butter and cream.  Return to a boil.  Cook and stir 1 minute or until smooth.  Remove from heat; stir in nuts.  Spread evenly over crust.
6. Bake 15-20 minutes or until topping is bubbly.  Cool completely.  Cut into bars and hopefully you have better luck getting them off the foil than I did.


I ordered him some homemade cookies from a fellow mom at MOPS.  She makes the BEST cookies.  They are so rich and hearty and absolutely delicious.  I got him a sampler pack that included The Peanut Butter Surprise, Give Me S'more, and the Pistachio.  She ships her cookies anywhere and I highly recommend them!!



And to finish this birthday post, Solis tuned 2 1/2 on January 8th.  What a perfect excuse to head to the local bakery and pick out cupcakes!  To say she was excited was an understatement.  This chick LOVES to celebrate birthdays.