Honeybun Cake aka "Crack Cake"

So, some of you know my obsession with cinammon and sugar.  I crave cinnamon toast and cinammon rolls and this is amazing cake is my other major craving. 

I first had Honeybun Cake at my friend Brad's house.  It was his birthday and his mom invited me over to have some birthday cake.  It was his favorite and one bite of it and it was one of my favorites too.  Brad's mom gave me the recipe that same night and I have been obsessed with it ever since. 

So, here it is....welcome to my obsession.  Before you make this cake, I have one warning.  Apparently these few simple ingredients, when combined, make crack.  Granted, I know nothing about crack, or drugs of any kind, but this cake is so addictive, it must be crack.  One taste and you will not be able to stop eating until you are full as a tick and sick to boot.  Just sayin.  Also, it is absolutely imperative that you have a freakin' huge, mondo, enormous glass of milk beside you at all times while consuming this cake.  Okay, that concludes the warning portion of this post.  Here we go.

HONEYBUN CAKE


1 box yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Golden)
2/3 c. oil
4 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
Chopped nuts (I leave out the nuts)

Mix together cake mix, oil, eggs, sour cream and granulated sugar; pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts; swirl into batter. Bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes.



ICING:

1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 tsp. milk

Mix together icing ingredients and pour over cake while still HOT. Serves 8 to 10.

Let's just pretend for a moment, shall we?  Let's pretend that this cake "looks" as it good as it tastes.  Let's pretend my oven wasn't sitting crooked and baked everything evenly and not all wopper-jawed (yes, that's a word).  And, as long as we're pretending, let's pretend I am a size 8 with no gray hair.  Okay?  Now, go eat and don't worry because your cake will look better than mine - unless your oven is crooked too. 

I am linking up to: 

 

It's That Time Again...

What does fall mean to you?  For me, it means the start of school, cooler weather, getting ready for the holidays and.....FOOTBALL!  WOO HOO!  This weekend was the official start of the fall football season.  Saturday night was the NFL Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.  One of Hubby's favorite players, Emmitt Smith, was inducted into the Hall of Fame and gave a very moving speech.  Yes, I cried like a baby.

 

Sunday, was the Hall of Fame game.  The Bengals and my beloved Dallas Cowboys.  It is a preseason game so it was mainly our second and third string players, but it was still exciting, especially when we intercepted and scored a touchdown.  WOO HOO!  How 'bout them Cowboys?! 

The other thing I love about football games, besides the game....football food!  YUM!  I usually use football games to make the yummy finger foods and treats that I don't usually have around the house.  You can't watch a football game without good food, right?  Only problem is, Hubby wanted veggies and Ranch dip.  Seriously?  That's no fun.  So, I figured I at least needed to make a good dessert.  Be sure and come back tomorrow to get that recipe. 

Know the one thing I hate about football?  The football commentary.  Hubby watched about twelve hours of football commentary over the weekend.  I loved hearing Emmitt's speech, but I only needed to hear it once.  I didn't need the pre-speech interview, commentary or the 23 recaps after it was over.  And I get sick of hearing all the commentators opinions on the game.  "Who do you think is gonna play today?"  "What did you think about this play?"  Quit talking and let's watch some football!!  Am I alone in this?  How do y'all feel about the commentary?  Okay, enough whining. 

One more thing, I must apologize for my weird blog makeover.  While I love my new header and button, I am having LOTS of trouble making my own background.  I am not so hot at html codes.  Anyway, I hope to get it fixed, but it may take awhile.  Sorry.

The Jr. Decorator

As some of you may know, I recently painted my TV stand.  It seems my little E has taken to helping me decorate this space. 

Her pig flashlight and drawing are displayed in this arrangement.

That is her idea of a family portrait.  I don't even want to know which one is me - probably the big one. 

Pink bear and kitty kat with a pot on his head.  Nice, huh?

I'm sure this particular arrangement took hours of contemplation.  Lovely, isn't it?  Yes, I see a very bright future in decorating for her...or maybe window dressing at FAO Schwartz.  Hmmmm.

The Girls' Room - Bedding

Because I haven't had much time to be crafty this week and because of
 
I decided to share my favorite fabric project.  Have you checked out The CSI Project?  They have a theme every week and you enter your favorite project. 

So, one of my favorite fabric/sewing projects involves the girls room.  I realized that I've never posted on the girls' room before so here it goes.  My daughter's share a room.  They are 12 and 4 - quite an age gap, I know.  While E is a tomboy with a girly streak, C, my 12 year old, is not girly AT ALL.  She didn't want anything pink in her room.  Her favorite colors are blue and green.  She picked her own fabrics for this project.  I picked E's fabric. 

I'd never made bedding before, but after seeing the prices on custom bedding, I decided I could do it myself.  Custom toddler bedskirts started at $60.  Custom double bedskirts started at around $100 and went as high as $230.  Seriously?  Um....I don't think so.  I think I spent $75 or so on all the fabric so I'd say that's a pretty good savings on my part.  AND, I have fabric left over for other projects. 

This is a picture of the C's bed. 

Here's a close up of the flanged pillows I made.

Then I made matching bedskirts.

and

We bought C's turquoise sheets at Wal-Mart and her brown comforter set at Linens N' Things.  We decided just to paint the room white because I knew she'd change her mind about the colors and we end up redoing her color scheme before I felt like painting the wall.  I HATE to paint.  She has the only white walls in the house.  Kind of sad, huh?

We're thinking of getting the girls new beds next year.  E is outgrowing her toddler bed.  She used to loooove her bed, but lately, she wants to sleep in a big girl bed.  I see a room redo in my future. 

I'm linking this project to

 

I Am Not A Web Designer and I Had A Hot Date and Free Movie Tickets

Okay, I think I'm a pretty smart cookie.  Don't get me wrong.  I didn't get straight A's and have a 4.2 grade average in school.  Certain things make sense to me - I aced Physiology and Anatomy in school.  I loooved that class.  I worked in a doctor's office YEARS ago and I loved it.  It made sense.  Things like algebra - forget it!  Chemistry?  I made a D - my first and only.  I may not be brilliant, but I can follow directions....or so I thought. 

I recently decided I was going to attempt to make my own blog header, buttons and background.  I have seen tutorials all over the place, including The Cutest Blog on the Block.  I went to Scrapblog and  built my header, button and background.  I was very excited, until I went to put in the durn html codes and stuff.  I am so aggrivated and confused and I apologize to anyone who might have visited my blog last night between the hours of 11:30 and 1:00 this morning.  My blog was a lovely convergence of the old design and the new design (red, aqua, black, white).  It was horrible.  So, I have a great background, header and button that I can't figure out how to actually code to show up on my blog.  If you happen to visit me and my blog's all out of whack...I apologize.  Maybe I can find someone to code it for me.

So, on other topics, I had a hot date with my Hubby last night.  We had FREE advance tickets to see  The Other Guys with Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg.  This is the trailer.



If you like Will Ferrell, you will like this movie.  It's silly/funny, although not like Talladega Nights.  It's got lots of action and to tell the truth, it was better than I thought it would be.  I do love Will Ferrell.  I think The Cheerleader skit on SNL is one of my favorites, but some of his movies are just too silly for me.  This one was very funny.  There was lots of action and lots of funny moments.  The language wasn't that bad, BUT I would caution against taking anyone very young, despite the PG-13 rating because of the sexual discussions.  I wouldn't take my soon to be 13 year old and I wouldn't watch it with my dad, if that tells you anything.  Mark Wahlburg was fabulous in this movie and there were small parts by lots of stars, including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Anne Heche, etc. 

All in all, it was a very enjoyable night alone with my Hubby.  We got to have an actual conversation before the movie started without being interrupted by "Mom, I need...." or "Mom, she...".  A few hours of peace.  Ahhhh.

Hope y'all have a great day!

Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne

Do you ever get sick of making the same old thing for dinner?  I am so sick of spaghetti that the smell of it now makes me sick.  EEEWW!  But, my kids love spaghetti and it's one of the few things that L will eat without fussing, so we eat it at, orTHEY eat it.  I'd rather have a ham sandwhich.

Anyway, I'm always on the hunt for new recipes.  I visited one of my favorite recipe blogs - Real Mom Kitchen.  Laura has four kids, just like me and she always has great recipes on her blog.  This week, I picked Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne. 

Picture from Real Mom Kitchen (Laura's picture is prettier than mine!)

Doesn't that look good?  So, here's the recipe:


Baked Cheesy Chicken Penne




6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes

kosher salt and black pepper

1 pound penne rigate (I used a 14.5 oz box of Ronzoni Smart Taste Penne Rigate)

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 8 ounces each), halved horizontally (I used some leftover cooked chicken)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

6 cups whole milk

10 ounces white or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced (I used 8 oz of button mushrooms)

1 cup sliced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained

1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces) (I used an italian blend that had provolone in it)



1 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. If you’re going to freeze one, use a disposable foil pan. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta and set aside.

While pasta is boiling, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise. While chicken pan is still hot, toss the mushrooms in and saute until golden brown (3-4 minutes). Use a little extra olive oil if needed.(Since I used left over chicken, I just cooked the mushrooms in the olive oil)

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot , melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking constantly, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer. Keep whisking frequently as sauce thickens, about 1 minute more. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and and gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.

Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes. If freezing, place remaining parmesan cheese in a zip-top baggie. If cooking, sprinkle on top.

Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Freezer instructions:


To freeze, prepare through step 4 and then let pasta cool. Cover pan well with plastic wrap. Place extra cheese in baggie (for topping) on top and then cover entire pan well with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, preheat oven to 400. Remove foil and plastic from pan and set cheese baggie aside. Place foil back on pan and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil, stir pasta, and top with cheese. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes (I only did 10 minutes) or until mixture is hot and bubbly throughout.

*I added 3 pieces of bacon crumbled to the mixture before baking. 

See?  This is mine.  Doesn't Laura's look prettier?  I know, I need a pretty baking dish and some parsley on top, but I'm just keeping it real.  My kids would just pick off the green stuff anyway.  Speaking of keeping it real, I didn't clean my stove before I took this picture.  Oops! 

I'm linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.

Baby Girl Gets Her Cast Off

So, as some of you may know, my little E fell off her brother's top bunk four weeks ago and broke her arm.

Isn't she cute with that big ole pink cast?  She was such a big girl, she barely cried when she broke it.  She didn't complain about her cast, even when she couldn't swim with everyone else at the lake.  After we got her cast on, she kept saying, "Mom, thanks for taking me to the doctor." 

In the doctor's office, getting ready to get her cast off.

Here she is waiting to get her x-ray, all by herself.  On a sidenote, when that x-ray tech guy asked me if I could be pregnant, my first thought was, "Um, NO, these tubes have have been cut, tied and saudered!"  My second thought?  "Is he saying I look pregnant?"  I've GOT to lose weight!  UGH!  Anyway,

Here she is all finished and ready to go.  She was excited to swim our in fancy pool in the backyard.  Okay, so it's one of those plastic pools from Wal-Mart, but it has a slide - fancy!  I couldn't wait to give her a real bath and wash her hair in the tub instead of the kitchen sink.  WOO HOO!

The best part?  That sweet little voice saying, "Mom, thanks for taking me to the doctor to get my cast off.  It's all better!"  Sweet girl!