Gumball Machine Cake

I saw this cake in a Parenting magazine at the doctor's office and I thought it would be perfect for my six year old's birthday. He loves gumballs. He has to have one every time we go to the mall. So I looked it up online and it wasn't too difficult. I've tried to make creative cakes before but they take way too much time and it's just not worth it. If it's more difficult than this one, I won't make it.  I'm not the best cake decorator and I get frustrated when it doesn't turn out right. But I thought this turned out really cute and my little boy loved it!

Burton with his cake...

Printable Recipe

Gumball Machine Cake


I used the recipe for the Simple Sprite cake and buttercream frosting

1 cake baked in a 1-quart pyrex bowl (I used a 1.5-quart bowl)
1 cake baked in a 3 by 5 inch loaf pan
frosting
red food coloring
3/4 cup M&Ms
4 red licorice twists
1 red Tootsie Pop
black decorative icing

Cut the loaf cake into two pieces. One piece should be 2 inches long and the other piece 3 inches long. Place the 2 inch piece at the top of the bowl cake and the 3 inch piece at the bottom of the bowl cake. Reserve one cup of the frosting. Mix with food coloring. Frost the bowl with the plain frosting. Place M&Ms on the cake. Frost the two loaf pieces with red frosting. Trim licorice and place around the edges of the base cake and the bottom edge of the top cake. Place the Tootsie Pop in the top of the cake. Pipe a black line on the bottom of the red cake for the gumball machine's opening.

Spaghetti Casserole

I know this isn't the best picture but I promise this is really good. You only need about half of the sauce that this recipe calls for. So instead of halving it, I just use half of the sauce for this recipe and then freeze the rest. Then I can either make spaghetti, lasagna, or another batch of this. 


Printable Recipe


Spaghetti Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups beef broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 can sliced olives
2 Tbsp sugar
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 cup cottage cheese
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
12 oz. spaghetti


Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic; drain. Add beef broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and seasonings. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Add mushrooms, olives, and sugar. Simmer while spaghetti is cooking. Mix cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and parmesan cheese together. Spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Place cooked spaghetti on top of cheese mixture. Pour half of the sauce on top. Top with mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes. Remove cover and place under the broiler for 5 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned. 


Serves 8

Alice Springs Chicken

I've had this recipe for a while. I got it from a cookbook that my mother-in-law gave me. It has a bunch of recipes that people have submitted. After I had made it a few times I realized that Outback Steakhouse makes this. I altered the recipe slightly so I guess it's my own variation of it. This is one of my husband's favorite dishes that I make. It is so good. 


Printable Recipe


Alice Springs Chicken
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sliced mushrooms
8 slices bacon, cooked or precooked
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp lemon juice


Mix together dijon, honey, vegetable oil, and lemon juice. Pour half of the sauce over the chicken. Marinate for a few hours. Saute mushrooms in 1 Tbsp butter. Place chicken in a baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over chicken. Place bacon slices on top of chicken. Top with half of the cheese. Place sauteed mushrooms on top. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Stuffed French Toast

Like I said before, I rarely make breakfast. So if I ever post a breakfast recipe on here, chances are my husband made it. This morning he made stuffed french toast. It was so good. I'm usually not a big fan of waffles, pancakes, or french toast. It's too sweet for me first thing in the morning. But with this french toast, the cream cheese in the filling balances out the sweetness of the syrup. I loved it! The fun thing about this recipe is you can try different flavors of cream cheese and different berries so it can be different every time.


Printable Recipe


Stuffed French Toast 
1 loaf French bread
8 oz tub whipped cream cheese (any flavor)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (or any other fruit you want), thawed and drained
6 eggs
2 Tbsp milk
salt and pepper 


Cut bread into 2 inch slices. In each piece of bread, cut a slit almost all the way through, creating a pocket. Combine cream cheese and berries. Spoon into the pockets in the bread. Combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Dip bread into egg mixture. Cook bread on both sides until done. Serve with syrup. 

"Rushin" Chicken

My six year old started playing t-ball a few weeks ago. He's my oldest and this is our first time with organized sports. His games are in the evenings, any time from 5:00 to 7:00. This makes dinner time a little challenging. We don't want to go out to eat every time but I don't want to come home after the game and make dinner. Crock pot meals are perfect for this. When we come home from the game, dinner is already ready. This has got to be the easiest crock pot recipe ever. There are few ingredients and you just throw it all in the crock pot together. I love simple recipes, especially with my busy life!


Printable Recipe


"Rushin" Chicken
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 packet onion soup mix
1 bottle Russian salad dressing


Place chicken in the crock pot. Top with onion soup mix. Pour Russian salad dressing on top. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. 

Chicken Parmesan

This is one of my husband's favorite meals that I cook. It is so simple. There's hardly anything to it. I think all of the cheesy goodness makes it taste so good. I love it!


Printable Recipe


Chicken Parmesan
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
6 slices swiss cheese
6 slices mozzarella cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce (any kind)
parmesan cheese


Heat oil in a large skillet. Dip chicken into egg and then coat with bread crumbs. Brown chicken in oil for a few minutes on each side. Spread half of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Place chicken on top. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of swiss cheese and mozzarella cheese. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. Serve over linguini noodles. 

Stuffed Peppers

This recipe came from Mel's Kitchen. My kids are not picky eaters but there is one thing my 6 year old doesn't like. Green peppers. I realized this after I started making these and I felt kind of bad. We have a rule in my house that you have to at least try it before you can say you don't like it. Whatever I make is what we eat. I will not do special orders. So my 6 year old ate all of the filling and a little bit of the green pepper. I think he actually liked it, he just didn't want to admit it. My other kids loved it! I thought it was really good. It was very flavorful. 


Printable Recipe


Stuffed Peppers
4-6 bell peppers
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 can tomatoes, undrained
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded cheese


Cup tops off peppers. Remove seeds and membranes. Chop edible parts of tops. Rinse peppers in cold water. Place in a large pot. Cover with water and 2 tsp salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add green pepper tops, onion, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, basil, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine egg, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and worcestershire sauce. Add beef, rice and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix well. Stuff meat mixture into peppers. Place in a baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture on top of peppers. Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes. Top with cheese. Return to oven until cheese is melted.