Birthday Cookbook

So, I am afraid of bugs.  I am afraid of crickets and spiders and things that are creepy crawly.  When I was a young, maybe 15, and I would find creepy crawly things in my bathroom, I would run to my little brother to come kill them for me.  He was about 7 at the time.  He did complain about what a big baby I was, but he always came and killed them for me.  He was my bug killing hero. 

My brother got his first motorcycle when he was four.  It was a tiny little motorcycle, just perfect for him.  I wrecked it the first morning he had it - ran it straight into the fence while nervously giggling.  He was so mad! 

One of my other favorite memories of my brother was yelling for him at his baseball games.  I would scream for him from the stands.  It was embarassing for him.  I can still see him rolling his eyes as he peeked out from under his baseball cap. 

Isn't he cute?  Y'all don't tell him I put this picture on here.  He'll KILL me!

These are the memories I have of my "little" brother.  Today, he turns 32.  Hard to believe.  Happy Birthday Little Brother!  Thanks for being my bug killing hero.

So, my brother "M" somehow got roped into taking care of the monthly birthday celebrations at work.  Keep in mind that my brother is a bachelor.  While he could easily just pick up a cake from the grocery store and have them put "Happy Birthday ____" on it for him, he decided to go a different route.  He finds out what the birthday people's favorite dessert is, and makes it homemade every month.  I'm not talking about buying a cake mix and canned frosting.  I'm talking about homemade Strawberry Cake and homemade Italian Cream Cake.  He has also started ditching the microwave meals and frozen pizzas he lived on in college in favor of Mexican Chicken Casserole and other dishes he makes himself.  He has often called mom, or my sister or me from the grocery store to ask us what he needs for a particular family recipe, so we decided to make him his own cookbook for his birthday and fill it with his favorite recipes.  Wanna see?

My brother is an Arkansas Razorback fan.  His kitchen is decorated with various Razorback cups, platters, etc., so I decided his cookbook needed to match.  I found that cute football scrapbook paper at HL.  I took one of the cupcake toppers I made and added it and cut out the letters for "Family Recipes" on my Cricut. 

Here is the inside and it's filled with some of his favorite family recipes. 

Here he is with his cookbook, our nephew "M" holding his new cake dome and his cool new Razoback grilling spatula my sister got him (it's on the table). 

Happy Birthday Little Brother!  Thanks for being my Bug Killing Hero!