Kreative Blogger Award

Thank you Kanga for giving me the Kreative Blogger Award! Ok, let's see if I can get this right.

Here are the RULES of this Award:

(1) Thank the person who nominated you for this award. (check)
(2) Copy the logo and place it on your blog. (cannot figure this out yet)
(3) Link to the person who nominated you for this award. (check)
(4) Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. (check)
(5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers. (check)
(6) Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate. (check)
(7) Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated.

7 bloggers I nominate are...

http://modestmaven.blogspot.com/
http://sugarteachers.blogspot.com/
http://minetterushing.typepad.com/my_weblog/
http://sugarbloomcupcakes.blogspot.com
http://charmainepastry.blogspot.com/
http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/
http://mooshinindy.com/

7 things about me...

1. I am a sci-fi geek. I love science fiction tv shows!
2. I have a cake obsession but can't make a decent looking cupcake. I always take them out too soon and they sink in the middle.
3. My husband is the best guy in the world. :)
4. I love Bollywood movies.
5. I have two cats who think the world revolves around them.
6. I'm a coupon clipper.
7. I'm getting ready to open my own cake shop!

Cake Cookie Sandwiches

I made this recipe out of desperation one day. I wanted something sweet and chocolate but I was out of everything I could possibly use to make anything decent. No chocolate chips, no cocoa powder, no milk, I think I may even have been out of sugar. What I did have was some frozen buttercream and one chocolate cake mix. I definitely didn't want cake but I remembered hearing someone mention being able to make cookies from a cake mix. So I looked it up on the internet and found this recipe that called for very few ingredients. Perfect! They came out similar to the Doozies from the Great American Cookie Co.

Cake Mix Cookies
By Jan White

1 pkg. cake mix (any flavor but I've only made chocolate)
1 large egg
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water

Mix well. Just like cookie dough, drop on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes. When they've cooled down spoon buttercream on one and sandwich together. Feel free to add chocolate chips, nuts, oatmeal, whatever you want in your cookies.

Chocolate Cake in a Mug

As if we needed an easier way to add volume to our hips, someone discovered how to make a cake in the microwave within a couple of minutes. Unfortunately, it's really quick and easy so I find myself making it when normally, I would bypass sweets because I don't feel like going to the trouble of baking. The recipe I found that tastes the best was posted on an online forum by a woman named Jeanie, so that's as much as I can credit her. I make mine in a bowl because my mugs are kind of small (and it's easier to *cough*double the recipe.)

Chocolate Mug Cake

2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (I mound them for a little more chocolate flavor)
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon oil

"Mix together all your ingredients and stir well. Put the cup in the microwave and cook it on full power for 60 seconds. Depending on the power of your microwave, and your altitude (go figure) you may have to cook the cake longer. Only cook in additional 15 second intervals, because an overcooked cake is no good, and it's even worse because you're microwaving it. Trust me, you think an overcooked cake out of the oven is dry and yucky, try having a solid wedge of dry microwave cake sometime. No fun. Once your cake is finished, it should be nice and fluffy."

Chocolate Mousse

For her birthday, my friend requested a chocolate cake filled with chocolate mousse. I had never made chocolate mousse before so I was excited to try it out. I watched a couple of videos on youtube and found a recipe with good reviews and actually got it right on the first time. So it's pretty easy. It's basically a fluffy chocolate pudding. Here's the recipe I used. It has egg yolks in it so I recommend buying fresh eggs even if you already have eggs from last week in the fridge.

Heavenly Chocolate Mousse
By Christy Freeman

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup water, divided
2 TBS butter
3 egg yolks
2 TBS sugar
1 1/4 cup whipping cream, whipped

• In a microwave or double broiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water, and butter until the chocolate and butter are melted. Cool for 10 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar, and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 1-2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate mixture.
• Set saucepan in ice and stir until cool, about 5-10 minutes.
• Fold in whipped cream.
• Spoon into dessert dishes and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

I like this recipe because the egg yolks are heated to kill off bacteria. Which was probably negated when I added the whipped egg whites. I didn't want to waste perfectly good egg whites so I whipped them to the soft peak stage and added a TBS of sugar even though the recipe didn't call for them. I folded them in like the whipped cream and it gave the mousse a little more volume. If you want your mousse a little denser then don't bother with the egg whites. To whip the cream, it helps if the bowl is chilled so just stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. I also didn't bother to cool the mixture in an ice bath since that sounded like too much work. I just let it cool on its own while I whipped the cream and egg whites.

Here's the link to the recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Heavenly-Chocolate-Mousse/Detail.aspx

And here's a video demonstrating how to make mousse in general:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqDa7sdEcGs

Stop prescription drug abuse

I wanted to thank everyone for their prayers and kindness when Jared died. We are very fortunate to have such good friends and family. I made a video in memory of my brother mainly to spread awareness of the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. We live in a time where we can get effective medicine for many ailments and I used to think that was a good thing. However, their regulation is very lax and they've become easy for people to get and misuse or abuse. Many teens are self medicating or abusing prescription drugs because they think they are safer or they can find them in their parents medicine cabinets. I encourage parents to learn as much as they can about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and to teach their children. Keep your prescriptions locked away and hidden. When you don't need them anymore, mix them with something gross like cat litter or coffee grounds, seal them in a non see through bag or container, and throw them in the garbage. Please don't flush them down the toilet or sink since they can harm the environment. I've included information and links to reputable drug prevention sites on the video page. Please take a few minutes to learn what you can about prescription drug abuse. It's become a major problem and is claiming so many victims.