Food Follow Up

If you've read my "pooped" entry, you'll know I've been trying to figure out how to control fatigue. Unfortunately, something had to give, and unfortunately that something was cooking every day. Even though my meals were almost always simple, I've simplified my menu to about 1 to 2 new dishes a week and just sandwiches and very easy stuff the other days. However, cooking is a passion of mine, and I will still be posting menus and grocery lists, as well as following up on good things I've cooked lately. Here are a few things that have been cooking in my kitchen lately:

Chicken Bryan - my attempt at the delicious dish from Carrabbas

My version of their Chicken Bryan actually turned out very well. Click HERE for the recipe. I did some research on the basics of the recipe, and found that most versions had way too much butter for my liking and my waistline. So, I lightened it up and bit and it was scrumptious.

Cake for Alissa's shower

This was a two-tier double layer white with strawberry filling. It is iced with buttercream icing and decorated with fondant polka dots and pearls. Spider Mum topper. Cake baking is fun, but more difficult and time consuming than you might realize. This is one of those projects I put on my radar while I was still on maternity leave not knowing how hard it is to juggle everything. All was well though - I had made and stored the fondant ahead of time, and if you've been reading you know I practiced. It definitely turned out better that the first, but I'm definitley still a novice. This time I learned how important temperature is if you're serious about cake decorating. You really need a cool room so you icing wont start melting! I also learned that my oven is not level, and that I need to find out how to make my cakes more smooth and semetrical. I call it my Cindy Loo Hoo cake (it looks like something out of a Dr. Suess book!) but it was made with tons and tons of love for the future Mrs. Burlison.

Also, on a totally random note, I found a really fun blog the other day. A friend of mine from high school sent me the link and I got a kick out of it. It's called A Year of Crockpotting. This girl made a new years resolution in 2008 to cook in her crock pot every day. There are tons of recipes on there, and even directions on how to make baby food!

Ta ta!