Butter almond wedding cake! Wow

This cake is absolutely amazing!!!!! The texture is awesome. It's so fluffy and SOOO moist. Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon Almond Extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
Makes: About 7 1/2 cups cake batter.

Instructions:

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray pans with vegetable pan spray, or use Cake Release.

Step 2
In mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla and almond flavor. Mix flour with baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, starting with the flour; mix well. Pour into prepared pans. *WARNING* only fill pans 1/4 inch because they expand!!!!

Step 3
Refer to baking chart, for baking times and temperatures for specific pans.

Step 4
Cool 10 minutes in pan. Loosen sides and remove. Cool completely before decorating.

Seriously.... DELICIOUS!

I have two AMAZING recipes that go well with either mascarpone or cream cheese. The first one is a bread and butter jalepeno and onion recipe that you can pour over the mascarpone or cream cheese and serve with crackers. The second one is a smoked salmon dip that is spread on crackers! Happy dipping :)

Bread & Butter Jalepenos and Onions
-2 lbs jalepenos, deseeded, deveined, and sliced into rings
-2 white onions
-3 cups vinegar
-2 cups sugar
-2 teaspoons celery seed
-2 teaspoons turmeric
-2 tablespoons mustard seed
-1 tsp ginger

This recipe may be doubled, tripled, whatever depending on how many jars you want to make. I make 2-4 at a time so this works perfectly for me.

After deseeding, deveining, and slicing the jalepenos and dicing the onions, fill up however many jars you have.

Put the remaining ingredients into a large pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn off heat and ladle mixture into jars, leaving 3/4 inch space from the top. Close jars and put in a hot water bath for 10-15 minutes until jars seal.

THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING! And it only gets better over time. I prefer more onions in my jars so you can alter the amount of onions and jalepenos you need to cut up.

The second recipe....

Smoked Salmon Dip (by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa)
-8 oz cream/mascarpone cheese at room temperature
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
-1 tablespoon fresh minced dill
-1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-4 oz. smoked salmon

Combie all ingredients, chill, and serve with crackers!

I used mascarpone cheese in the batch I made, but I bet cream cheese would be even better since it is more tangy.

I hope you love these recipes!

Connor Connor Connor.....

At 6 months old, Connor is sitting up perfectly, rolling over, and....THROWING FITS! I just went to eat at the cafe with Papa and him and I let Connor suck on a french fry. It started getting soggy and his two little teeth kept tearing pieces off, so I took it from him. Bad idea. He started SCREAMING. I tested my hypothesis of him already being spoiled by putting the french fry back in his mouth.... Yep. He stopped screaming. My hypothesis was definitely supported. Absolutely crazy lol. I did this a few more times to test the reliability of this study.... and my hypothesis was supported over and over and over again.

I came home and fed him some sweet potatoes and chicken (the kind appropriate for babies), bathed him, and now he is sleeping soundly. He is cracking me up lately. I never expected to see such a big personality in such a small person. I am so in love.

Last night he was fighting his sleep so hard. He would calm down, close his eyes, and then throw his fist at the bed and wake himself up. This was a continuous cycle for about an hour.... Finally around midnight (two hours past his bedtime), he fell asleep.... Only to wake back up at 2:00 am, like always. And then again at 4:40 am..... But then slept until 10:00 am. Wow I feel so refreshed today.

I have been babysitting my cousin for the past two weeks and I've had to wake up between 6:30-8:00 am everyday, which is not what I am used to... So it felt very nice sleeping in this morning.

I'm spending the rest of my day playing with my new handheld sewing machine, attempting to make a massive baby bow, and maybe watching tv in my old bedroom, since I'm out at my parents' house.

What a good life!

Church, fathers, and good cookin'!

Today my husband, son, and I went to church with one set of my grandparents. The church was a very cozy and intimate Baptist church, far from what I am used to! The churches I have recently been a part of are very large and of a nondenominational practice. I felt good at this little church and plan on returning in a couple of weeks. My grandmother and I have decided to go on a women’s trip in July with the church and I am very excited about it!
After church my husband, son, and I came to my parent’s house to eat and spend time with my dad for father’s day. I always enjoy days like these because they are full of family, food, laughter, and LOTS of love!
Tomorrow I am going to start on some little girl headbands! I have some really good ideas and I’m so excited to get started!
On another awesome note, my grandmother gave me a really neat device to help in my efforts of sewing a straight line on my sewing machine! I cannot wait to try this out!

Newfound Glory and Aspiring Inspirations

Hello! I’ve been wanting to create a blog for some time now so I finally did it! I always revert back to my Xanga days and I always remember how exciting those times were…. Expressing every little thought on my mind, finding myself through words, and rationalizing any thought or worry I had at the time through the art of word arrangement.
This blog may be a tad more mature than my old Xanga since I am no longer interested in the latest hardcore band and being straightedge but instead interested in crafting, cooking, and the design of life created by our heavenly God. Oh…. And I am no longer a bright-eyed teenager but now a “wiser-than-I-once-was” new bride and mother.
I really just want a place that I can write about my experiences in the kitchen or with my hot glue gun. I also want to share the wonders of being a new wife, mother, Christian, daughter, sister, niece, and ALMOST college graduate.
I have literally filled about 50 different note pages on my iPhone with random sayings, thoughts, recipes, bible verses, song lyrics, etc. And… Since my #1 goal right now is to become Mrs. Organized (I think I’m allowed to be two different Mrs. in these circumstances…. Right??) I’ve decided I should probably begin organizing my thoughts first.
This introduction of my intentions has to be cut short because I’m certain my darling 6 month old son is hungry…. And I have to wake up early for my first time visiting a new baptist church with a set of grandparents I have recently reconnected with.
Goodnight to anyone interested in this. I feel great!