Birthday Cakes!

We've had a fun family week of vacation!
We'll have a fun St. Patrick's Day treat idea up in the next couple days.
Here are a few of the recent Birthday Cakes for Foster Kids we've done. I've had lots of emails from you asking how you could get involved in your own communities, that's wonderful! I'll put the information at the end of this post for those of you who are interested.

A chocolate, flower, and ice skating-loving girl gets a chocolate decadence cake (made with Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge mix and this recipe) and all the decorations are made out of....what else...CHOCOLATE!:)

A Kentucky Derby Horseshoe cake for a horse loving girls whose favorite color is blue...

Little H LOVED putting the horses on the cake!
When I asked Little C what she thought of the cake, she looked at it for a long time then said slowly and diplomatically, "I really really like it buuuuut......um, why did you make it shaped like a potty seat??". I realized that she didn't know what a horseshoe was. lol!

My friend Shalece made this one--A "Strawbery and Steel" birthday cheesecake for a skateboard and cheesecake lovin' teen.
So, here's the rundown on our birthday cakes for foster kids experience and the system we've found that works...sorry, this is a lot of information, but I thought I'd share the things I've learned for those of you interested.
Making cakes for foster kids was new territory for us AND the foster care center, so we’ve been learning as we’ve gone along.
If you're interested, try the Yellow Pages to look for foster care agencies in your area. I’d suggest calling them, telling them that you know of someone who has been doing this project and see if it’s something they are interested in. Obviously you can’t make cakes for all the kids, but let them know how many you can do (maybe it’s only 1 per month) and have them pick the kids most in need.

Originally, Olive Crest got together and chose 3 children per month to get cakes (that’s how many I said I could do). They would give me the foster parent’s contact information and have me call and coordinate it. That did NOT work well for me. It was hard to communicate with them, arrange cake drop-off, etc—it was taking me longer to do that than to make the cake and was really frustrating.

At the beginning of 2010, we started this new system and it’s been working GREAT. The foster center emails the parents about 6 weeks ahead of time with the questionnaire below. If the family wants the cake, they have to return it at least 2 weeks in advance. I drop off the cake at the Foster Center at the specified date (by noon) and the foster family picks is up. It’s been great—I don’t actually have any contact with the foster families and it seems to go easier that way. Also, I have the freedom to create whatever cake we want from their responses. It’s more fun for us that way to have it be a surprise. Here’s a sample email below:

Hi ________,
You have probably heard that we have a volunteer who wishes to make birthday cakes for our foster kids. You can see examples at www.gourmetmomonthego.com. Your children have March birthdays coming up!!!
If you’d like to have a cake made for your foster child, please complete the following questions and return it to me ASAP. She likes to have this 1 month before the birthday.
If you do not wish to participate, just let me know.

1) child’s name:
2) birthdate:
3) date you would like to pick up the cake at Olive Crest in Bellevue (we will have it there by noon):
4) child’s favorite colors:
5) child’s favorite flavors:
6) any flavors they don’t like or allergies in the family?:
7) Child’s favorite hobbies:
8) Anything your child is passionate about?:
9) Other suggestions:

Turtle Cheesecake

My fabulous friend Suzette has turned many a get-together into a PAAAAAARTY with her famous cheesecake. I finally got her recipe and tried it for ourselves.The results were amazing! This is a great one to whip up when you need an impressive, decadent dessert!

Suzette's Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake
Crust:
1-3/4 cup (1-1/2 pkgs) Chocolate Graham Crackers (crushed)
1/3 cup Margarine (melted)
Filling:
3-8 oz pkgs Cream Cheese
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Sugar
3 Eggs
3 Tbls Lemon Juice
1 Tbl Vanilla
3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
topping:
1/4 C. mini chocolate chips
1/2 C. caramel ice cream topping
1/2 C. hot fudge ice cream topping
1/4 C. chopped pecans

Directions:
• Mix graham cracker crumbs and butter in bowl with fork & press into bottom & 1-1/2 inches up sides of spring form pan. (13 x 9 can be used in a pinch). (We used regular graham crackers because we had a bunch on hand)
• Beat Cream cheese and condensed milk together until creamy.
• Add remaining filling ingredients until well combined.
• Remove 1 cup of filling and set aside. Melt chocolate chips about 1 minute, (just until melted) and mix completely into the 1-cup reserved filling.
• Pour 1/2 of the white filling into crust, then the chocolate filling, then the last 1/2 of the white. Take knife and gently swirl colors.
• Bake at 300 for 1 hour and 15-30 mins-until light golden on top and edges are set and middle moves slightly. Cool completely & Chill. **(I place a pie pan full of water on the lower rack during cooking time for moisture. Also, I turn oven off and leave cake in oven to cool for 1-2 hours before removing from oven)
• Remove outer ring just before topping and serving
• Top outer edge and center with 1/4 cup mini choco. Chips & 1/4 cup Pecans (chopped). Drizzle melted chocolate chips and caramel topping all over top and drip down sides.

Sunshine Sweet Potato Sorbet

This sorbet is so easy to make! The citrus in the lemon cuts the starch in the potatoes and makes a smooth, delicious treat. If you want to be fancy, you can serve it in Pecan Cookie Cups... Or, shot glasses for a simple dessert or palate cleanser between courses.
It's also a great way to use leftover cooked sweet potatoes! This make-ahead dish will keep in the freezer for several weeks.

Sweet Potato Sunshine Sorbet
Serves 12
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, any variety (about 9 oz. each)
2 C. water
2 c. granulated sugar
juice from 4 lemons (about 1 C.)
zest from 2 lemons
10 fresh mint leaves, chopped
lemon slices, for garnish (optional)
mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes and pierce several times with a fork. Bake sweet potatoes for 55 minutes until tender. Remove from oven, let cool, and peel. If you are using leftover sweet potatoes, ignore this step.
Place water and sugar in a medium pot. Stir well. Cook over medium-high heat until mixture comes to a full boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool, at least 10 minutes.
Place cooled sweet potatoes, sugar mixture, lemon juice, lemon zest, and 10 chopped mint leaves in blender. Process until smooth, about 90 seconds. Pour into pan and freeze until firm, about 2-3 hours. Remove from freezer and process again in blender. Return to freezer. When you are ready to serve, use a melon baller to make small scoops and place in shot glasses or almond cookie cups. Garnish with fresh mint leaves. You can also keep this covered in the freezer for several weeks--great for a make-ahead dessert!
Pecan Cookie Cups
Serves 12
Ingredients:
1/2 C. pecan pieces, crushed
1/2 C. packed light brown sugar
1/4 C. butter
1/4 C. light corn syrup
1/2 C. all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pecans in ziploc baggie and crush with rolling pin.
Cook brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth and just starting to bubble. Stir in flour and pecans and cook an additional 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Drop by heaping tablespoon onto a well-greased (or lined with Silpat) baking sheet. They spread out quite a bit, so I baked four cookies per sheet.
Bake at 350 for 6-7 minutes until bubbly all over and starting to turn brown.
Remove from oven and let cool 3-4 minutes, until barely firm and cool enough to handle. While cookies are cooling, generously grease the underside of a cupcake or muffin tin. Place cookies onto muffin tin and mold into cup shapes. Let cool completely. Keep in airtight container until ready to serve, up to 1 week. Serve with Sweet Potato Sunshine Sorbet or your favorite "scoopable dessert". Easy and fancy!I made this recipe for the Sassy Sweets Blogger Recipe Challenge, you can join in the fun and enter your own recipe, too!

"Slice O' Heaven" Sweet Potato Pizza

I have one word for this pizza...AMAZING!
Packed with Vitamin A and C, this dish takes less than 10 minutes of prep. It's perfect for a quick weeknight meal and even "gourmet" enough for a dinner party.

You must try this--I know it sounds unusual but it's the perfect pizza--a little sweet, a little salty, creamy and crunchy. Heaven!
When I first mentioned my idea everyone said, "huh??". After trying it, there were rave reviews all around. Skeptical Gourmet Dad loved it! My super-cute friend Katie stopped by while I was whipping it up and tried a piece. She exclaimed, "I am going to go buy the stuff to make this TONIGHT!". She served it to her husband who also raved about it.

"Slice O' Heaven" Sweet Potato & Marscarpone Pizza
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes (any variety, we used O'Henry)
1 12" ready to bake pizza crust (we used Boboli Whole Wheat)
5 oz. Marscarpone cheese, softened (in a pinch, you can use 5 oz. cream cheese mixed w/ 2 Tbs. sour cream)
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar (the older, the better!:))
Note: For those of you who aren't familiar with marscarpone, it's a delicious soft italian cheese that you can usually find in the fine cheese section of your grocery's deli. The marscapone really makes this fabulous but if you can't locate any, you can substitute 5 oz. cream cheese mixed with 2 T. sour cream. It's not as fabulous, but still tasty!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into very thin slices.
Lightly drizzle olive oil over pizza crust then spread with marscarpone cheese. Sprinkle with garlic salt. Layer potatoes over the marscapone and sprinkle with rosemary, thyme, and kosher salt. Drizzle olive oil over entire pizza (about 1 T).
Bake at 425 degrees for 18-25 minutes, until potatoes are soft and crust is crispy.
Remove from oven and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately.

I made this recipe for the Sassy Sweets Blogger Recipe Challenge, you can join in the fun and enter your own recipe, too!

Fairy Dust Sandwiches

Do you have 2 extra minutes today to turn an ordinary lunch into something magical? This brought out lots of smiles and giggles.....it seems that Tinkerbell came by and took a bite of the girls' PBJ's!

These would also be SO EASY and cute for a fairy birthday, disney birthday, or tea party!

You can download and print the poem/sandwich signs I made here. Simply print, cut out, and tape on a toothpick.
The poem says:
"I was flying by and needed a rest...
What did I see but the lunch I love best!
So I took a few nibbles then went on my way.
I left you some pixie dust, enjoy your day!"

Fairy Dust Sandwiches
Ingredients:
Your favorite sandwich
Pink icing (we used Betty Crocker cherry icing)
Quart-sized ziploc freezer baggie
colored sugar (any kind, for pixie dust)
toothpicks

Directions:
Print and cut out Tinkerbell poem then tape to a toothpick (one for each sandwich). Make sandwiches then carefully cut out a half circle shape from one side. Put icing in baggie and snip a small piece of one corner. Pipe out "footprints" across the plate and sandwich. Sprinkle with colored sugar and place toothpick in sandwich. Serve and watch the giggles fly!:)

Notes: Little C, always the investigator, wondered why Tink left footprints when she can fly......
While I was thinking about that one, Big C saved the day and said, "She only gets so much pixie dust every day so they walk whenever they can to save it!". Nice job, Big C!

Penguin Party!

When it came to planning Little H's birthday party, I turned to one of my very favorite resources, BettyCrocker.com. They have so many fabulous birthday ideas, including instructional videos, shopping lists, party activities and games, and even invitations that can be printed from your home computer! I was trying to decide which way to go....a Fire Engine Party? a Perfectly Pony Party? Or, my favorite, Panda Bear Party. Well, for Little H it was Penguin Party or nothing! Hold on to your hats, we're packing in a LOT of PARTY in one post!:)

Fortunately, I found this adorable cheeseball on the Betty Crocker site! They also had tons of adorable penguin ideas! I began to think we might actually be able to pull this off!

For the cake, Little H wanted Betty Crocker Dark Chocolate with Vanilla icing. Good choice!
Inspired by the cheeseball, we made an igloo cake with penguin cookies. Instead of cream cheese blocks, we used marshmallows to decorate it. This cake was a snap!
I bought an igloo cake pan, however you could really just bake a cake in a bowl and use a single cupcake to form an igloo.
But, I bought the pan because it did double duty as the invitations, too!! We froze blue water in the cake pan with an invitation and a toy penguin inside (placed in a ziploc baggie). We dropped them off at friends' houses and told them to take it in the tub or melt it in the sink for a surprise. Cake? Check. Invitations? Check. Let's get on to the food!
Here's my verion of the penguin cheeseball. Definitely not as cute as Betty's but the kids loved it!
We also whipped up some rice krispy sushi for those fish lovin' penguins. Shape rice krispy treats into ovals, place a small swedish fish on top and wrap with a piece of green fruit roll-up. I used raspberry candies for the "roe" on a few pieces.
Easy and cute! These were a big hit with all the little penguins in attendance.
We also served ham/cheese and PBJ sandwiches cut out as penguins and fish (the girls gave me a penguin cookie cutter for Christmas and my friend Jean bought a fish one for the occasion!). Speaking of Jean, she did so much to help make everything, thank you!!
Blue Jello-Jigglers cut into cubes...these were "ice blocks"...
We served it all up with a table covered in rainbow popcorn! For activities, the kids each got to color and customize a grocery bag to hold all their game prizes. This kept the kiddos busy while everyone arrived.
With a little spray paint, posterboard, and craft foam, we turned a large cardboard box into a penguin! Not only did it serve as a fun decoration, the kids got to try to "feed" it by throwing fish shaped bean bags into its mouth.
Everyone had fun making her own penguin scarf. The Birthday Girl was very excited about them!
Gourmet Dad magically turned pieces of foam board into "icebergs" for Musical Icebergs. Here little A is anxiously waiting to see if her number is the winner!
A note on the "icebergs"--they were actually my favorite part of the party! Whenever I needed the kids to sit down or listen to instructions, I told them to go "find an iceberg" and sit down. They loved it! Great job, Gourmet Dad!
Penguin Bowling with a little set I found on clearance at Target...

...a strike!

Last, the kids went "fishing" by nibbling sweedish fish off strings without using their hands.

In addition to their game prizes (we wrapped every prize then let the kids open them after Little H opened her presents--they loved having their own "presents", too!), we sent home some black/white polka dot swag bags filled with goodies...

I even got crafty and made a few things for the bags, Organza Rose headbands (tutorial here) and personalized magnetic bookmarks (tutorial here).

The big question is, was it a hit? Well, a picture is worth a thousand words....

Happy Birthday Little H and special thanks to BettyCrocker for all the birthday ideas!

Betty Crocker, through MyBlogSpark provided us with VIP coupons, a gift card, and camera to document our birthday planning adventure. The opinions expressed in this post are honest and not influenced by any source. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

Healthy Valentines Snack

I love Valentines Day but the kids seem to get candy everywhere! Here's what I made to encourage healthy snacking during this candy-crazed week.

These are great for a class party or just to have on hand for snacking. My girls loved the tiny hearts. It was a great chance to have a chat about loving our bodies and taking care of them with good foods. Peppers are expensive, so I used the leftover scraps for fajitas. yum!

Pepper Heart Snacks
Ingredients:
Red and Yellow Bell Peppers
Light Ranch veggie dip
Small heart cutter (we used a pastry cutter)
Oven Mitt or glove

Directions:
Cut off the top and bottom of pepper, remove center and unroll. Use small cutter to make heart shapes. If you're looking for a small heart cutter, Williams Sonoma used to make a great set of tiny pastry cutters. It's discontinued, but I found a similar one here.
Why the oven glove? After the first pepper, the heel of my hand hurt from pushing down. So, I put on on a oven glove and it worked like a charm! Save scraps for fajitas or pasta salad.
Serve on a tray with light ranch veggie dip. Enjoy!