Rainbow Cake Part Two: The Next Level

After my youngest daughter saw her sister's birthday cake in August, she decided right then and there, that she too wanted a rainbow cake for her birthday.

So here we are, five months later, and my sweet rainbow loving girl finally got her cake.♥

Holly absolutely loves all things rainbow! (I was the same way when I was little. I even had a pair of rainbow jeans in 6th grade!;-)


This time, I made the inside of the cake the same as Megan's, only instead of chocolate frosting in the middle, I used strawberry. Because if there's anything Holly likes more than rainbows, it's the color pink.☺

The directions to the cake are right here.

And since Holly loves rainbows, I decided to kick things up a bit, and give her rainbow frosting.

I got the idea from Pinterest. Isn't it cool?! The directions can be found right here. There are pictures too! I used Betty Crocker Gel Food Color.

The frosting I used was homemade buttercream frosting. I had never made it before, but I can assure you that after tasting it, I'll never go back to store bought again!

Here's how I made it:

2 Sticks of unsalted butter

4 cups of powdered sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1tbs Vanilla

4tbs milk

Beat softened butter until creamy. (I just used my hand mixer)

Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, and mix until it has a cornmeal consistency.

Add 2tbs of milk, and continue mixing.

Next, add the remaining sugar and mix, followed by the other 2 tbs of milk.

Add your 1/4 tsp of salt, and 1tbs of vanilla and mix.

If it's too runny, add a little more powdered sugar, and if it's too thick, add more milk.

The frosting ended up being the perfect consistency for what I needed. I did have to make two batches though, because this wasn't enough to frost the entire cake. Next time I'll just double it.

(I almost forgot to take a pic of the inside! At least I got this one, right?lol)

Before you pipe the frosting onto your cake, you'll want to place the bag in the freezer for a few minutes. If the frosting is too warm, it gets runny and makes it hard to decorate the sides. Maybe there's another trick for that, but I'm kind of new at this.☺

The cake was a big hit, and the only mishap, was that the frosting on the side of the cake, stuck to the cake safe and came off when I lifted the lid. It probably happened because I had it in the fridge all night, and didn't let it sit out long enough before taking the lid off.

Oh well! Lessons learned I guess!☺

Let me know if you try something like this! I would love to see what you came up with! ☺

Even with the sides messed up, it was still a pretty cake.☺

Santa Bread

I finally made another Pinterest find! (Yay for productivity!!) I really thought I would get around to making more of the holiday stuff I pinned, but alas, life as a mommy to 3 kept me busy. ☺

This one was found via Taste Of Home, and the directions are there when you click the link. Pictures and all, thank goodness!! ☺

I used the suggested 2 loaves of frozen bread dough, instead of making the from scratch recipe given. It explains how to make it either way you choose.

I read the reviews at the bottom, and used the suggestion of brushing on the plain egg yolk before brushing on the red, that way they don't bleed together.

I also used chocolate chips for the eyes, instead of raisins.

All and all, I'm really pleased with the outcome! Next time I'll make his pom-pom a little smaller, because a little warning, Santa rises like crazy in the oven!! ☺


We'll be serving our Santa bread with some Hoppin' Jalapeno and Bacon Dip, from Tastefully Simple. But I'm not going to lie....cutting into it will be a little heartbreaking!! What a cutie!!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Washer Necklaces

I finally broke down and made my first Pinterest craft. After all, a girl can only pin so much, before she starts feeling like a slacker!

I decided to make these necklaces made from washers. I also made my own Mod Podge also found on Pinterest.

I've never been a crafter, so all of this stuff is new to me.

But I can honestly tell you that this craft is super easy, and super cute.

Please click on the links if you want to try making this cute craft! All of the directions are on there.

The only thing I had to do differently, was use Mod Podge Gloss Sealer, instead of Glossy Accents, because our local Walmart didn't carry it, and we don't have a craft store in town.

I still like the way they turned out though! I made these with old Christmas cards.

The front of Holly's

The back of Holly's

The front of Megan's

I plan to make some more, once we dig out our Christmas decorations. I always keep the prettiest Christmas cards that are sent to us each year, so I bet I can find a few with glitter. If not, I can always add some, right?;-)

I also want to work on making the middle a little cleaner, and more "finished". Maybe smooth it out a little?

But for now, I'm happy with what I made! And the girls were happy, so it's a win-win I think.;-)

Don't you think they would also be cute as magnets? I think I'll try that next time too!:)

The back of Megan's

The back of this one is the same as the front.

Cheesy Potato Soup

I, like so many of you, have fallen victim to the wonderful world we call, Pinterest.

And up until now, I've only been pinning things, and never actually trying anything. But in my defense, can I just say how fun it is to pin stuff on there?! There's just something so gratifying about it!:-)

So, for my first Pinterest recipe find, I decided to make Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup. If you click on the link, it will give you the Betty Crocker version. If you keep reading, you'll get my version of the same soup, only with a few revamps.;-)

For My version, you will need--

32 oz. of diced potatoes (4 cups)


1/2 cup chopped onion


I medium celery stalk, diced. 


32 oz. chicken broth, or 4 chicken bouillon cubes in 4 cups boiling water.


1 cup of water


1 package of cooked bacon, chopped, to garnish when it's done.


Green onion for garnish.


Put all of the above in your slow cooker, except the bacon and green onion, and cook on high for 5 hours. (Cooking on low is fine too, just make sure to allow more time.)


After 5 hours on high, (6-8 hours on low) you'll need to mix--


3 tbs all-purpose flour and 1 cup of milk.


Add the mixture to your soup, and stir. Let it cook for another 20 min. on high heat.


The last ingredient you'll add, is 1 bag (8 oz.) shredded American cheese. I find it helpful to take the cheese and melt it in the microwave with a tbs of butter. It will end up creamier that way.


Stir the soup every 5 min. to allow all the cheese to melt into the soup nicely. It's super hot, so it doesn't take very long.;-)


After you're ready to serve it up, sprinkle some bacon pieces and finely chopped green onion on top.


And that's it!!

Doesn't it look yummy?!

I added some of the bacon into the soup while it was cooking, but it ended up with fatty pieces, so I won't do that again.

We ate our soup with rolls, which made me realize how wonderful this would be in a bread bowl!

Maybe next time!:-)

January 16, 2012

I made this soup again tonight, and left the bacon out, and it was wonderful! It was super yummy on a cold winter's night.☺