Friday, May 27, 2011

Playing Catch Up


I can not believe it has been over a month since my last blog. Lately, life is running 150 mph and I am running 20 mph!

Days after LL Cool Jake's fall, Grammy & Grandpa came up for Easter weekend. Grammy had a wedding to attend up here the following weekend and Grandpa had to the teach a course that weekend. So, Grammy spent the week here with us. Which is all good, however, she does not think too highly of blogging. So, no blogging while Grammy is here (mental note made!). Actually, she would prefer no computer while she is visiting but we all know that won't happen :)









After hanging with us for 11 days, I treated Grammy to a trip to Disney. It was her first trip since I was 12 years old and boy, that was a long time ago. It was a horrible day to take her. It was sooo busy. She kept saying she had never seen so many strollers in her life!


Jake does not care for the characters, at all! He is actually climbing out of the high chair!


That night I started my cake decorating class. We started with cookies, then a single layer cake, cupcakes, then double layer cake. I went to the 1st two class, then on the 3rd, I was so exhausted and yucky feeling, I skipped it. Well, when the next class came, I had just gotten back from a weekend scrapbook crop and had so much to do that baking and making frosting was not a priority. So, I missed the last class, too! Oh well.
A horrid recipe for a lemon cake. It came out dense like a pound cake and did not rise. Bleh!

My lemon cake (Betty Crocker) with raspberry preserve filling. OMG! So good. Roberto told me not to bring anymore cakes home, he liked this so much.


We have been so busy with our house in Lakeland. We are attempting to move in there around August 1st. So, we have been shopping for flooring, contractors, going on budgets, yuck. The whole thing is making me sick to my stomach. I would like to sell both homes and find one we are going to stay for years and years. But I love the location for us and Jake.

Jake is growing up so quickly. He is quite the chatterbox, albeit, a foreign language. I love watching him study us as we speak and imitate us. Speaking of growing, just 2 weeks before his birthday and 3 weeks before his party. There is another reason I have been so busy. But it is coming together. 

For Mother' Day, we went to Gaylord Palms' Sunset Sams for dinner on Friday since Roberto had to work Sunday morning. On Mother's Day, I was lucky enough to make myself coconut shrimp. Yummy, though!

Coconut Shrimp with Orange Marmalade
from
FoodNetwork

  • 2 cups shredded sweetened coconut
  • 2 cups bread crumbs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs, beaten
  • 24 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

Dipping Sauce:

  • 1/2 cup orange marmalade
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons dark rum

Directions

In a large bowl, combine coconut and bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper. Place flour, eggs, and bread crumb mixture into 3 separate bowls. Dredge the shrimp in flour and shake off excess. Next, dip the shrimp thoroughly in the egg and rub against the side of the bowl to lightly remove excess. Finally, coat the shrimp thoroughly with the bread crumb mixture. Lay out the shrimp so they do not touch on a parchment-lined baking sheet or platter until ready to fry. In a large Dutch oven, heat several inches of oil to 350 degrees F. Fry the shrimp in batches until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Be careful not to overcrowd shrimp in the oil while frying. Drain on paper towels.

For the Dipping Sauce: heat the marmalade in a small saucepan over low heat. Thin with rum as desired.


This past weekend, we went to Jake's little friend's party and his aunt made him the sweetest Elmo and Cookie Monster cake balls. So, today being Jake's snack I decided to bring in Oreo Truffled "Cake" Balls.
Aren't these adorable??


My finished product.

My cake ball dissected! Mmmm, oreo cookie and cream cheese goodness!
I took the idea from Lovefromtheoven.com. If scroll down her page a bit, she shows in detail step by step how these are made. And so easily, too! No Baking Required!

Now, I bid you adieu! But not without a couple more pics of Jake!






Piglet smiling!

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