Thanks for the compliments, ladies!

I have not been baking much lately, but I think it’s about time to make cupcakes again if I can just think of an excuses for making them.

Sorry I don’t know anything about ice cream cakes, fantasia. When my youngest sibling turned one, he got a bowl of whipped cream. The good stuff freshly whipped. We had cake and he had the whipped cream. He did very carefully stick his fingers into the cake, but he didn’t like it. I believe it was too sweet for him!

SnowAngel

SnowAngel, I must thank you profusely for your brilliant suggestion of whipped cream. That's exactly what we made for him. He did have a few bites of his cake too, but he went crazy for the cream.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/ ... bd147c.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/ ... 463cbf.jpg

WAAAAAAAY too much cuteness in those pics, FK. Glad that he was able to enjoy something sugary sweet on his birthday.

*melts with the cuteness* Such adorable photos, fk. Whipped cream, eh? I wonder if anyone would consider adding that to my own birthday meal sometime. I could kinda go for that. (Great suggestion, SnowAngel!)

Awwwww, Happy Birthday Evan! Those pictures are too cute.

Yes, good idea, SnowAngel! Hey, I'm not one years old, and I act similarly around whipped cream. Whipped cream is almost all we use for cakes; it's delicious.

First, I have a question. Does anyone have a good recipe for an egg bake? My sister and I are hosting a brunch on Sunday and we promised an egg bake but are having a bit of trouble finding a good recipe.

Second, here are some pictures of a cake I made for my grandma's birthday:

The spout, handle, flowers and little knob on the top were made out of gum paste colored with fondant. I found out the hard way that even if fondant is wrapped up, it does dry out. I spent hours shaving piece off and making it usable by working Crisco into it. I definitely prefer working with frosting. The tea pot itself is made of two cake mixes. Each was baked in a glass measuring cup to make a 1/2 sphere. We had to bring our grandma to our place because I didn't want to move the cake. It was already starting to fall apart just sitting there.

If I attempted that I have a 98% guarantee it would look terrible keep falling apart.

SnowAngel, I must thank you profusely for your brilliant suggestion of whipped cream. That's exactly what we made for him. He did have a few bites of his cake too, but he went crazy for the cream.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/ ... bd147c.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/ ... 463cbf.jpg

Oh, he is way too cute, fantasia! I am so glad he enjoyed it! That is definitely something I will do when I have my own kids someday.

Yesterday we had company, so I baked chocolate chip cookies. This morning there were only a few cookies left and my littlest brother came up to me in the kitchen, while he was eating one of the cookies, and asked me if I would please make some more soon, because there were almost gone. Who can resist a little brother?

SnowAngel

I don't know about a little brother, but I can't resist chocolate chip cookies. Any excuse to make them!

So I'm looking for advice from my fellow NarniaWebbers. Does anybody have a casserole recipe or two that they wouldn't mind sharing? Specifically, I'm looking for something I can make over the weekend and then freeze and use throughout the week. I'm finding that having a little one makes it very hard to cook dinner beyond instant foods throughout the week and those are just... blegh. So yeah, I would love some ideas.

Casseroles, hmm. Let's see. I've got ideas; not necessarily recipes because my mom doesn't really use them and we mostly cook by a package of this, a can of that. But that's fine because you don't need to measure ANYTHING in cooking unless you're baking.

- Lasagna. Can be the typical kind or you could mix it up and do an Alfredo version or something. Freezes very well and you will NEVER eat a pre-made lasagna again.
- I'm blanking on the name, but there's a dish my mom makes that uses leftover chicken or turkey. You mix up cheddar cheese, broccoli, shredded chicken or turkey and cream of whatever soup (whatever floats your boat) up and then bake it at 350 until hot and bubbly. Serve over a bed of steamed rice and enjoy! This one freezes super well.
- Cabbage rolls...cabbage leafs stuffed with ground beef and rice and then placed in a dish with pureed tomato poured over and around it. I think you would freeze it before adding the tomatoes and it would be better; I would have to ask my mom.
- Shepherds pie...mashed taters, ground beef, corn and cheddar cheese.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cate ... asseroles/ Check this site out...she always has amazing recipes and is always freezer-friendly.

Yum...............casseroles.All of Gymfan's sounded really good, the only one I have to contribute to the list would be Pierogi casserole. That's yummy.Escpecially with gravy.

I was wondering of anyone had any good crock-pot recipes to share? I LOVE my crockpot. Love love love it.It's perfect for my more busy days. I like making soups and stews and chickens in it, but I was wondering if anyone had anything else? I've heard of things like mac n cheese, or even cake, but I'm very hesitant to just throw dry ingredients into the dish and viola, you have food! Supposedly...

Thank you for the casserole suggestions everybody. Once the craziness of the holidays is over, I will definitely check these out.

Speaking of the Holidays, it's almost USA Thanksgiving. I'm in the process of working on my massive grocery list, and it inspired me to bump this thread up.

This year, Thanksgiving happens to share a date with Hanukkah and my sister stumbled across this site....
http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/thanksgivukkah
...We're going to be trying a few Thanksgivukkah dishes off this list for fun. She's doing the Turkey, I'm doing the Stuffing, and our mom is doing the Mashed Potatoes. (Lots of other dishes, but those will be much more traditional.) In addition to stuffing, I'm going to make Sweet Potato Pie and my Grandma's Mississippi Mud Pie. The traditional Mississippi Mud Pie is chocolate and vanilla, but her spin on it is chocolate and peanut butter. It's AWESOME.
Then for my husband's family, I'm doing the same two pies, but I'm going to do a roasted vegetable dish. (No offense to them, but they aren't exactly veggie eaters and I love veggies, so I'm selfishly taking care of this dish. )

Bumping this thread up from the depths...

I made a new recipe for the first time this last week that I liked enough that I made a second batch. So I thought I'd come in and share....

Skillet Cassoulet
2tsp canola oil
1/4 lb smoked turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2in slices
1/4 lb fully cooked boneless ham, cubed
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 celery rib, sliced
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15oz) no-salt-added white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp pepper
Crusty French Bread, optional

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add kielbasa, ham, carrots, celery, and onion; cook and stir until sausage is browned and vegetables are tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
2. Stir in the beans, tomatoes, thyme, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until heated through. If desired, serve with bread.

This week I discovered that hummus on white flour tortillas is really yummy. New favorite semi-healthy snack!

I have a couple of really good and healthy casserole recipes, fantasia. I will try to post the recipes next week, we have company right now.

Yesterday, I made blueberry 'n cream cheese Danish! It was so good! And it was fairly simple. I made a whole recipe (it's linked in the link below ), we ate all of it and could have eaten more, which is one reason why we are having it again tomorrow. Plus all of the men requested it be made again today, and that's not normal, so we will be trying apple 'n cream cheese and probably peach tomorrow. We are going to have to eat healthy next week after the Danishes!

Pictures of the Danish here.

SnowAngel

Oh my, I think I just put on a few pounds even looking at that amazingly delicious Danish, SnowAngel. That looks so decadent!

Does anyone have a recipe for a good split pea soup? If so, speak up now ... or forever hold your [split] peas.

I still want to get some casserole recipes in here, but time always seems to get away. Homemade macaroni and cheese is extremely tasty ... if the family enjoys lotsa pasta. One of our many favourites is an old "7-layer dinner" recipe, which is comprised of rice or potatoes, beans, peas, carrots, onions (optional), hamburg on top, all baked in diluted tomato soup. So tasty! (They must count the tomato soup mixture as a layer. )

That skillet casserole looks yummy, fantasia!