Hostess inspired cake balls

There is something magical about a Hostess cupcake. I mean, how can you beat a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting AND a cream filling? Oh heavens.... tasty.

With that being said I was really excited when I stumbled on Sugar Derby's blog and found her creation for "Hostess inspired cake balls". Cream filling and all!!! 

I thought I'd give it a try and take a batch over to the fire station for Deke and the boys to try. After all, who would make better judges than 7 hungry firemen? 

Welllll... it was also an excuse to visit my on-duty husband - win-win for everyone! ;)

I believe Tyler likes them :) 

We have a future missionary on our hands...

This past weekend Tyler's father took him to church on Sunday. This morning I received a picture text with the message that Tyler had doodled the following picture while in sacrament. It absolutely melts my heart to see that Tyler has developed such a strong testimony of the church at such a young age.

Tyler encourages Deke and I to have family scripture study every night before bed and always begs to read just a few more verses before passing the book.

Last night Tyler found Deke's old missionary training booklet (which has princess stickers on the cover) and Tyler said, "One day I will have a missionary training book too, but mine will NOT have princess stickers on it."

I am so grateful to have a son that provides such a good example to me and invites the spirit into our home on a daily basis. I have already witnessed him trying to teach his non-member friends about the gospel and I can't wait to see him as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.



Bacon wrapped eggs

I LOVE breakfast foods, all of them. I love pancakes, French toast, bagels, English muffins, burritos, sausage, bacon, eggs, etc.... but I love it even more when you can combine two fantastic breakfast foods into one dish. Here is a fabulous recipe for eggs wrapped in bacon. It made for a wonderful Sunday brunch dish! 

Step 1: Fry the bacon in a pan for a few minutes but not too long because you still want it to be flexible. 

Step 2: Wrap the bacon in a greased muffin pan.

Step 3: Make a bowl of scrambled eggs (1 egg per tin) with all your desired ingredients. For this one I used green onions, milk, salt, and pepper. 

Step 4: Pour the eggs into the tin, evenly dispersing them between each tin. 

Step 5: Bake on 350 degrees for appropriately 15-20 minutes or until the eggs are firm. 

Several minutes before the eggs finished I placed some cheese on top and allow it to melt. 

Step 6: Enjoy your fabulous meal! 

Thief in the night....

We went to New York a few years ago and while we were there I had picked up a little Statue of Liberty clock to place on my bookshelf. Looking at it today it looks a little different. Do you see what I mean? 

Lets take a closer look.... 

My son... the little stink... made a photocopy of it and placed it back on my shelf hoping I wouldn't notice! And where do I find the actual clock???? Hmm... I wonder.... 

On HIS bookshelf!!! 

I guess I should of gotten one for him too.

Ahhh... back where it belongs. At least for now until my little thief in the night returns! 

A quarter of a century old!

On March 4th my hubby Deke turned 25 years old! He loves to make fun of the fact that I am older than him and the first thing he says to me on his birthday is, "I'm finally to the age you were when we met!". G-thanks babe! 

Tyler was at his dads house this weekend so we decided to throw Deke a tiny little surprise party for the 3 of us on Thursday night when Deke returned home from school... 

Here is our mini-surprise party ♥

I know that looks like a red blob but it is indeed a heart on his cake.

When I asked Tyler what he wanted to get Deke for his birthday he immediately said a Barbie. Apparently they think its funny to make fun of each other for "liking" girl things. So I took him to the dollar store and he picked out a fairy doll and a princess card. He then went over to the balloons and grabbed the first pink one he saw. I told him that it was a baby shower balloon and read "its a girl" on it... his response: "PERFECT!" LOL when Deke opened his girly present he declared war on Tyler and told him to just wait for his birthday! 

Here is the cake I made for his family party 

The awful thing about Deke having his birthday in March is that he will always have a nasty mustache for that entire month. Its a Cal Fire ritual to grow mustaches that month! Yuck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART! I'm glad your brain has finally fully developed! ;D 

Crab cakes with a savory chipotle sauce

Deke worked at the Cal Fire crab feed last Saturday and ended up brining home a HUGE bag of leftover dungeness crab. I've never been a huge seafood fan but I didn't want all that food going to waste either. So I made some delicious Paula Deen inspired crab cakes with a savory chipotle sauce. 

I say "inspired" because I took her ingredients but decided my own portions. Her recipe looked too mild and I needed a bold flavor to hide the fish taste that I hate. I was very pleased with my results!

I even convinced Tyler to try one... I only had to tell him they were Crabby-Patties and I had gotten the recipe from Sponge-Bob himself. hehe....  ;)

For dessert we had some strawberry Italian sodas :) 

Recipe with MY portions:
1 1/2 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells 
2 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz), I used 1 cup for mixture and 1 cup for outside layer
5 green onions, finely chopped 
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper 
1/4 cup mayonnaise 
1 egg 
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 
1 lemon, juiced 
1 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
Several dashes cayenne pepper
Approximately 1/4 cup of flour (not for mixture) 


Directions: In large bowl mix all ingredients except the oil and 1 cup of Ritz crumbs. Once mixed, make medium sized patties and coat with Ritz crumbs and flour. Fry in pan on medium heat for 4 minutes on each side.  Once slightly cooled add chipotle dollop and enjoy! 


Chipotle Sauce: 
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise 
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp finely chopped cilantro 
2 tsp of finely chopped chipotle peppers 
several dashes of cayenne pepper