Bleeding Cake

Tags

Aussie films, bloody cake, Caid Rhymes, creepy cake, Dark Are the Woods, edible blood, Indy Films, Outback Gorehouse, special affects, weird foods

An awesome friend of mine, Caid Rhymes, does this really killer youtube show called “Outback Gorehouse” where he and his co-host go through a multitude of how-to’s for special affects for movies or Halloween or whatever you really need them for.  One of the special affects that Caid and his co-host, Sonya, video recorded for their show was fake edible blood.  It was as though the video was just MADE for me! Ha! As an amateur foodie and food blogger, this recipe was an absolute dream come true.

I decided to bake a cake so that I could practice using different icing tips and also see what I could do with this edible blood.  I used cake mix from a box, generic frosting from a can (there’s a generic brand that is thicker than the name brands and perfect for practice and even tastes better), and the ingredients for the blood…Nothing spectacular, since this was just an experiment and a means for practice.

For the edible blood recipe, I’ll just let the experts show you how it’s done!

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The only thing that I did differently was that I added just one drop of almond extract to the blood because I thought that chocolate/almond/vanilla on the butter recipe cake mix would be absolutely awesome…and I was right! Without the almond, though, the blood was soooooooo good and I thought that it would make a great ice cream topping for a Halloween Ice Cream social next year.

So, without further ado, I give you my masterpiece…

Also, for good measure, you should all check out the trailer for Caid’s new film, Dark Are The Woods! <—- There is the link to the facebook page.  You should all go there, like the page, and show them some support 🙂

 

My adventure with icing cupcakes…

Tags

chocolate cupcakes, cupcake decoration, cupcake nail

I made some cupcakes today and used a specialty tip for the icing, but I think they turned out well! This was just for practice.

I think that by the time I got the last cupcake done, I figured out how to maneuver the cupcake nail 🙂 Another lesson learned for this amateur baker.

Turkey Casserole Made From Leftovers…

Tags

leftover turkey, thanksgiving leftovers, turkey casserole

There are a blue million casserole recipes out there these days, but a while back ( a few years ago when I was still new to this whole housewife thing ) I just decided to combine many recipes and make one out of it.  This always seems to work for me.

*In case you’re wondering, I am NOT a professional food photographer, so sorry for the shoddy image lol.
Ingredients:

1 lb. to a lb. and a half of leftover turkey, shredded or cubed into bite sizes.

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, diluted

1 can of mixed veggies (or frozen if you wish)

1/2 of a small onion or to taste

1 box of stove top stuffing (either turkey or cornbread…you can even use leftover homemade stuffing if you like)

two cups or so of prepared macaroni noodles.

Shredded cheddar, Mexican blend or Swiss cheese, optional.

Directions:

Boil noodles to package directions.  Prepare stuffing to package directions.  At the same time, empty soup with water (diluted as you normally would) into a small pot or saucepan.  Add entire can of vegetables (drain) or add 1/2 cup of water and frozen veggies.  Toss the onion and leftover turkey into the pot with the soup mixture.  Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.  Let this simmer for about twenty minutes.

When your noodles and stuffing is cooked, take them off the stove.  Pour soup mixture into a glass baking dish (or casserole dish of your choosing).  Add the drained noodle to the casserole dish and stir it all up.  Optionally, you can sprinkle in some shredded cheddar cheese or even swiss cheese.  On top spread your prepared stuffing.  Add an extra sprinkling of cheese on top if you want to 🙂

Bake this casserole on three hundred fifty degrees for about twenty minutes. It really doesn’t take long for everything to cook since half of it was already cooked on the stove anyhow.  You can cook it longer if you want to.

 

Thanksgiving Turkey Cake

Tags

dessert, Thanksgiving cake, Thanksgiving desserts, Turkey cake

I bought a cake decorating kit from Wilton, just a beginners kit, and I wanted to share with you the first cake I made using my new icing bags and tips. It didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, but I know what mistakes were made and how to fix them and avoid those mistakes in the future.

I found the instructions for creating the turkey here.

^ Step 1: First cake layer.

Step 2: Frost between the layers 🙂

Step 3: Add top layer.

Step 4: Frosting the rest of the cake, top and sides.

Step 5: First row of feathers.

Step 6: Second row of feathers in lighter chocolate, third (last) row of feathers same as the first row.

Step 7: The body of the turkey, then preparing to make the beak and eyes and feet.

 

Step 8: Cake border. Not bad for a beginner, huh!

Step 9: Write whatever message you want on it.

Step 10: Eat it!!! 🙂

Baked Sausage and Potatoes

Tags

kielbasa, polish sausage, potatoes

Before it goes into the oven 🙂

Ingredients:

5 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

3 tbs. vegetable or canola oil

1 lb of smoked sausage or kielbasa cut into bite size pieces

salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste

Directions:

Chop up your potatoes and sausage, add oil, then spices in an oven safe dish.  I used glass.  Mix well with a spoon.  Bake for about an hour on 400 degrees.

Variations:

You can add onions and peppers to this if you wish.

Crowd Pleaser Cake

Tags

coconut cake, Crowd pleaser cake, delicious cake, strawberry and blueberry cakes

I took several different cake recipes to make this one, no one recipe is responsible for this beautiful monstrosity of a dessert. I used a recipe called “Celebration Cake” and combined it with a recipe for a buttermilk cake that I’d found clipped from a newspaper that had been tucked into an old cook book that belonged to my great grandmother.  Recipes like this, concocted from a mixture between old and new, are my favorites.  Also, this cake never lasts long as it seems that people will grab and eat at it until there’s not one crumb left! That is why I call it the “Crowd Pleaser.”

Ingredients:

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (or 1 1/4 cups), softened

2 cups sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

4 tbsp. baking powder and salt (each)

4 large eggs at room temperature

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

 

Buttercream:

1 lb. butter (4 sticks)

16 oz. marshmallow fluff

2-4 cups confectioner sugar (varies, depending on your taste. I end up using about a lb.)

2 tbsp. vanilla extract.

 

Directions:

1. Preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease three 8 x 2 in. round cake pans.  Line bottoms with wax paper.

2. In a lg. bowl with mixer on med-hi, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, and salt until very well blended and lighter in color.  Bump it up to high speed and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low.  Beat in half the flour, all of the buttermilk, then remaining flour until just blended. Batter will be incredibly thick.  Divide evenly between cake pans. Switch the positions of your pans half way through baking.  Bake for 30-35 min.  Remove cakes carefully from the pans so that you don’t tear them up!

3.  BUTTERCREAM:  Beat butter i a large bowl with mixer on med-hi speed until creamy.  Beat in marshmallow cream until well blended.  Reduce speed to low and then beat in confectioners sugar and vanilla. Increase speed to high and beat until fluffy.  Makes a LOT of buttercream 🙂

4.  Once cake layers have cooled, put bottom layer on a plate and you can ice one layer at a time, then decorate however you choose!

OPTIONAL ADDITIONS:

To make a chocolate Crowd Pleaser Cake, add cocoa powder to the batter and also the frosting. Shouldn’t take much. I never measure, I just add until it tastes right.

To make a lemon cake, add lemon extract to your batter and frosting.

You can also add fruit, coconut, or anything else to make this cake yours. Even lemon slices!

Easiest Hot Dog Chili Ever

Tags

budget friendly recipes, easy, easy hot dog chili, good recipes, Homemade hot dog chili, hot dog sauce

 

Ingredients:

2 lb. ground beef

1 med. onion, chopped and diced finely

1/8 – 1/4 cup brown sugar, light

2 tbsp chili powder, or to personal taste

Garlic salt to taste OR 2 tbsp. minced garlic (and some of the juice)

Couple splashes of worcestershire sauce

 

Directions.

1.  Brown hamburger well and drain.  Add about two cups of water and onions, then garlic salt/minced garlic.  Let simmer.

2.  Add ketchup, chili powder, brown sugar, worcestershire sauce.  Let simmer, stir every few minutes.

Cream Cheese Wontons

Tags

chinese recipes, fried wontons, oriental foods, wontons

**This recipe was sent to me and I’m not sure where it came from, but I’m thankful to have it because these things are AWESOME.**

CREAM CHEESE WONTONS
——————–

6 oz. cream cheese
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/3 cup real or imitation crab meat
1 package small wonton wrappers
***
Blend together ingredients. Drop 1 teaspoonful onto each of
the wrappers.

Fold in corners and seal with egg white.

Fry in 365°F oil until crispy and brown.

Serve with Sweet and Sour or Duck sauce.

Makes approximately 2 dozen.

Cajun Chicken – great on a budget!

Tags

budget friendly food, budget meals, Cayenne chicken, cayenne pepper, dinners, kid friendly meal variations, kid friendly meals, pasta dishes, spicy food

This dish is one that my step dad adapted from a local restaurant years ago.  The restaurant went out of business, but this recipe is always a favorite at my house and with the rest of my family as well. Everyone has shared it over and over.  You can adjust the heat level as much as you like and you can also make it as creamy as you like.
Ingredients:

16 oz. Ranch dressing

1 cup-2 cups of milk

1-2 Tbsp. cayenne pepper

salt

1 pkg spaghetti noodles (16 oz)

1-3 lbs. boneless chicken breast halves (depending on how much chicken you want with your noodles and sauce)

Directions:

1. Boil chicken until done. Remove from water, set aside to cool.

2. In a saucepan, empty entire contents of ranch dressing bottle.  Fill bottle with the milk.  Put the lid back on, shake, and then pour this milk/ranch mixture into the saucepan with the other ranch.  Add cayenne.  Heat on med to med-low. Heat this for a good twenty minutes, but I always heat it longer.

3.  Shred chicken into bite size pieces and drop the pieces into the ranch/cayenne mixture.

4.  Prepare spaghetti noodles according to package directions.  Drain. Do not rinse.

5.  Add sauce to noodles and enjoy!

**For a complete meal, add a salad and bread sticks**

 

Kid Friendly Variation:

For kids, you can omit the cayenne pepper completely or reduce the amount so that it isn’t too hot for them. If you opt to omit the cayenne rather than simply reducing, however, the sauce as a whole isn’t going to have the same flavor, so I would recommend adding just a tad of black pepper while you cook your child’s sauce.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tags

baking, chocolate chip cookies, comfort foods, fun things, kids recipes, nestle, snacks

**This recipe was taken straight from Nestle, but I changed it. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS cream your butter and sugar together FIRST in any cookie recipe if you want them to be nice and soft rather than cardboard…**

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
  
• 1 cup chopped nuts Optional
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Cream butter and sugars in a bowl.  Add vanilla extract, mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beat well after each egg.

3. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl (If you use self rising, don’t use baking soda). Gradually add flour mixture to butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.