Buttercream Icing and a TIGER Cake!

As you may/may not know, my Dad's wedding is tonight and I've been delegated as photographer. And my sister was kind enough to volunteer me to make Dad's grooms cake as well! {Oh I'm just being dramatic... I LOVE an excuse to bake :)} So I've been busy these past few days gathering supplies, ingredients, and creative ideas, and low-and-behold I just put the finishing touches on my-so-called-masterpiece a little while ago:

My Dad's a Memphis basketball fanatic, so I think he's gonna love it. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out myself.

I debated on using fondant icing becasue cutting out those tiger stripes would have been A LOT easier then piping them (my hands hurt!) - but I finally settled on good old fashioned buttercream due to the fact that humidity and fondant don't mix well (outdoor wedding) and also because I'm partial to the taste of buttercream. But geeze it took long to pipe this thing!

This was actually my first time making a true butttercream from scratch and I was very pleased with the recipe I used:

As for the cake itself: Pilsbury Classic White mix :) You really can't beat it on taste for just a plain white cake, don't ya think?

Taco Soup

This is a favorite recipe from one of my Southern Living cook books...

{ Print }

I know July isn't really "soup weather" - but the Tex-Mex flavors in this one make it seem more like a summery vegetable soup.

Pecan Encrusted Chicken

Have you ever had the Pecan Chicken Tender Salad at O'Charley's? Well if you haven't you should. It's the only dish I can eat there. (TGI Friday's has a version, but it's not as yummy.)

It's so good, in fact, that I had to come up with my own Pecan Encrusted Chicken recipe just so we can enjoy it at home:

{ Print }

I added step 5 after my first trial run because I found it hard to get the batter to "stick" to the chicken. And if you want a more "candied" finish, add more honey and/or broil for a few minutes at the end of baking. (James likes it that way.)

Another tip - Cut your chicken breasts in to 2" strips. Will result in more crunch and bakes faster.

And if you want to imitate O'Charley's salad - here's how I do it...

- Pecan Encrusted Chicken (cut into strips)
- romaine lettuce
- mandarin oranges (drained)
- feta cheese (OC uses blue cheese)
- Salad Pizazz Cherry Cranberry Pecano
- your favorite Balsamic Vinegarette salad dressing

Hamburger-Mac & Asparagus

This is actually one my mom created back when we were young, and now I can see why it was a family staple: It's cheap. Easy. And all ages can enjoy! Especially little ones. But let's be honest, anything having to do with mac-n-cheese is bound to go over well with kids, right? And another plus: you probably have everything you need for this one right in your pantry!


{Print}

And for our side - Asparagus... My favorite kind, actually. (Thanks to Mom again!) I used to steam my asparagus, but it always seemed to get soggy and over-cooked if I was one second late getting it out of the basket. Well, I've found that this baked recipe cooks it to absolute perfection. Crisp yet Tender...

{ Print }



This is actually a pic of our left-overs, but they were just as tasty!

Chicken Pasta

[click to enlarge]{ Print }

Tips...
- I use whole wheat pasta because it adds so much flavor and texture.
- I put 1.5 tsp. crushed red pepper in mine and it was a little spicy for my taste but J loved it. That's why I recommend 1 tsp. in the recipe. However if you're not big on spicy or if you're feeding kids, I'd cut it down to 1/2 tsp. or omit it altogether.
- I used Del Monte's diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano.
- If you don't have sea salt I'd just substitute a pinch of table salt.
- You can kind of play around with the spices, garlic, and cheese to suit your family's taste.