Wedding Cake Idea: A Crepe Cake!

June 5, 2018 by Leave a Comment

(Photo and idea by Jasmin Fine at 1 Fine Cookie)

Mother of the Bride, is your daughter looking for a unique idea for her wedding cake? If she and her groom aren’t big fans of traditional wedding cake, today’s idea might be just what’s they’re looking for.

How about a three-tiered (or more!) crepe cake? Top it and layer it with fresh strawberries and a pastry cream with whipped cream folded in and you not only have the splash of color it needs but also a sweet and yummy flavor that will tickle your taste buds.

You can find out more about the cake pictured above by visiting Jasmin Fine’s 1 Fine Cookie site. She has even included a link to the recipe for the crepe cake as well as instructions on how to make it. Can’t beat that!

Check with your girl, MOB, and see if a crepe cake might be the cake of her dreams. And if she doesn’t think it’s quite what she has in mind, you might think of doing one for her bridal shower. Bet it would be a hit!

*You might also like to read Wedding Cake Roundup and Unique Wedding Cake Idea: Word Search Cake! 

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride check out my Books/My Work page.

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, will come out in early August. Sign-up is FREE and to the right! (If you’re on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click View Full Site to find it.)

*Photo and idea by Jasmin Fine at 1 Fine Cookie

Filed Under: bride, cake, creation/creative/creator, dessert, fruit, Mother of the Bride, recipe, variety Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Career Recipe for Writers

May 2, 2016 by 6 Comments

2597109669_d8b0b519e9_zJust for fun—and for a little introspection and insight—let’s write a recipe today.  Let’s make it a recipe for whatever our careers or main job descriptions are at this point in our lives. You game?

Here’s my recipe for being a writer:

1 computer

1 printer/scanner/copier/fax

1 direct line to God the Father (aka prayer)

2 heaping c. of “learn the ropes”

4 c. BIC (butt in chair) time (aka writing, writing, writing)

2 c. reading widely

1 writers market guide

1 c. ongoing education and conferences

½ c. business know-how/record keeping

½ c. critique group

1/2 c. business emails

1 thick skin

2 c. positive outlook

8 c. perseverance and determination

1 1/2 c. blogging

½ c. Facebook and other social media

1 T. fellowship at monthly writers group

1/8 c. networking on other blogs

Mix all together and let simmer.  Add humor and journaling to taste and eat chocolate as needed. Do this every work day.

So what does it take to do your job? What would your recipe look like? As you consider the ingredients for your recipe, do you see anything in your life that needs to be altered?

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Colossians 3:23

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, comes out this week. Sign-up is free and to the right!

*Flickr photo by DeaPeaJay, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: fun, preparation, recipe, success, variety, wisdom, work Tagged With: , , ,

A Cranberry Salad Recipe for the Holidays

November 16, 2015 by 4 Comments

305095614_dd169d1ab0_zI don’t feature recipes on my blog very often, but there’s something about autumn, something about the holidays, that makes me want to share yummy food with you. I always try to offer soul and spirit refreshment and nourishment here, and I think a recipe can fit the bill every now and then. I don’t know about you, but something yummy has a way of refreshing my spirit!

Last autumn I shared my mom’s Old-Fashioned Dressing recipe, and this year I’d like to gift you with Mom’s Cranberry Salad recipe. It was a regular on Mom’s holiday turkey dinner menus. Mom has been gone for two years now, and we miss everything about her—including the delicious food she prepared for us all the time. So I’ll share this recipe today in honor of Mom. Hope you enjoy!

Mom’s Cranberry Salad

2 c. fresh cranberries
1 c. water
1 c. sugar

Boil for 10 minutes with lid (not too hard of a boil).

Add:

2 c. mini-marshmallows
1 pkg cherry jello dissolved in 1 c. hot water. (Add to cranberry mix after dissolved.)

Pour in serving bowl and start it to set up in the fridge.

When partially set, add:

1 c. finely chopped raw apple with peeling
1/2 c. chopped pecans.

Stir and then let it finish setting up. Keep refrigerated.

God bless as you prepare for your family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. May your celebrations include not only yummy food, but love, gratitude, and lots of great memories as well. Be refreshed this season, my friends!

“‘Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.’” Genesis 18:5

*What are some favorite items on your holiday menus?

*Flickr photo by Half Chinese, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: family, fruit, holidays, memories, recipe Tagged With: , , , , ,

An Autumn Gift: Mom’s Old Fashioned Dressing Recipe

November 10, 2014 by 10 Comments

Dinner waiting to happen

I don’t know what it is about autumn, but it always makes me want to share a recipe with you. Since I’m all about refreshing spirits and nourishing souls, recipes don’t take the stage here very often, but doggone it, a yummy dish of some sort can go a long way to refreshing our spirits, can’t it?

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and with memories of my mom especially dear to me (we lost her one year ago on Oct. 21st), I’d like to share her Old Fashioned Dressing recipe with you. It definitely qualifies as comfort food for me because it reminds me so much of Mom. But for you, even without the memories, it will make a super delicious side dish for your Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey.

So here’s an autumn gift from my mom to me to you—my mom’s recipe for dressing:

Old Fashioned Dressing (from the kitchen of Charlene Hoy)

3 1/2 C breadcrumbs
3 1/2 C cornbread crumbs
1 C chopped onion
2 C chopped celery (saute celery and onion)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
2/3 C melted margarine
1 1/3 C milk
1 1/4 C turkey broth
2 eggs slightly beaten

Combine crumbs, onion, celery, and seasonings. Add margarine, milk, broth, and eggs tossing lightly to blend. Stuff loosely into turkey cavity or spread into greased casserole. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Yield stuffing for 12 pound turkey.

Hope you enjoy this gift handed down from Mom!

“‘Freely you have received, freely give.’” Matthew 10:8b

*What’s one of your favorite dishes for Thanksgiving?

*Flickr photo by ldrose, Creative Commons License

*The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is underway. Details are in my Oct. 16 post and sign-up is to the right under “Free For You.” Deadline is 6 p.m. Nov. 12. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

Filed Under: autumn, family, giving, holidays, recipe, refresh

Autumn Fun: A Favorite Family Recipe

October 31, 2012 by 7 Comments

There’s something about fall that makes me want to share a recipe. I bet fall makes you want to cook or bake a little more, too. After all, with the sizzling temps of summer passed, it’s just a little easier to think about heating up the kitchen.

Even though I don’t post a lot of recipes here, I think something yummy can also refresh our spirits :) Past autumn seasons have found me sharing favorite family recipes for pumpkin bread, my Grandma Hoy’s homemade crescent rolls, crock pot chili, and potato chowder. All of these are part of my or my daughters’ heritage now, part of our baking roots, if you will.

Today I have another family favorite for you. My mom started making her now-famous Peanut Butter Bars around twenty years ago, and they immediately scored as favorites with our whole clan.

My initial attempt at making Peanut Butter Bars didn’t go too well so I’ve been content to let them be one of those treats I enjoy when I visit Mom and Dad. Our daughter Kelli has taken up the Peanut Butter Bar mantle as well so now I’m really set. I’ve got a generation on either side of me making sure I get to enjoy these yummy peanut butter and chocolate concoctions from time to time. It’s kind of fun to have a treat to look forward to that I don’t make here at home! :)

Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Peanut Butter Bars

1 c. flour
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
½ t. soda
¼ t. salt
1 c. oats
½ c. peanut butter
½ c. butter
1 egg

Combine dry ingredients then add peanut butter and butter. Press into 13×9 pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (check earlier so as not to overbake). Sprinkle with 8 oz chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes (until melted). Spread. Then drizzle with peanut butter topping. If you have the will power, let them cool before eating :)

Topping:

¼ c. peanut butter
2-4 T. milk
Powdered sugar (as much as you need, maybe 1 cup)

What are some of your family favorites? As we enjoy our favorites this fall, let’s whisper a prayer of thanks for our families!

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:16

*Flickr photo by Muffet

**The Life Notes Subscriber Appreciation Giveaway is still underway. Details are in my Oct. 17 post and sign-up is to the right. Don’t miss out on the chance to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble!

Filed Under: family, recipe
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