Fall Festival Bake Sale

Tomorrow is the annual Fall Festival at Jonathan's school. We are looking forward to it! Lots of games for the kids, pony rides, inflatables and a magician show in the afternoon. There is also lots of food! Hot dogs and burgers hot off the grill, corn on the cob, cotton candy, sno-cones and more. Of course, any school festival worth its salt will have a bake sale and a cake walk!

I have been preparing for the bake sale for a couple of weeks now. I gathered my supplies. I baked two pans of brownies and 48 cupcakes and put them in the freezer. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much spent in the kitchen, and today I delivered all the goodies to school. I baked 3 dozen sugar cookies and 4 dozen peanut butter cookies.

Every item has to be individually packaged, of course. I didn't really want to put my items in sandwich bags. Things get smashed and they don't look very appetizing. I paid a little visit to my local GFS Marketplace to see what I could find. I just love that store!  I purchased 1/4 lb. size deli containers with lids, which worked perfectly for cookies and brownies. The cost was not significantly more than buying Ziploc bags, and they look so much more "professional" and they stack easily. I bought 9 oz. drink cups with lids for the cupcakes. They fit in there perfectly, but they may be a little hard to get out with the frosting on them. I think I'll stay away from cupcakes at future bake sales.

 I put little paper doilies from Dollar Tree in the deli cups as an added little touch. I found red paw print stickers at the Parent-Teacher Store, as well as labels edged in black and white. Our school's mascot is a Bearcat and the school colors are red and black, and they earn red paw print for good behavior, etc., so I used these to label the goodies.

I also made Rice Krispie Treats. Jonathan, and most of the kids I know, love these! I made them into balls and inserted a cookie stick to prevent sticky little hands. I made a basket of these.

For the cake walk, I sent a dozen chocolate cupcakes and a homemade angel food cake. My local Kroger store's bakery gave me a box for the cake, and I had saved the plastic container from Jonathan's birthday cupcakes to send the cupcakes in.

It was quite a bit of work, but I really want to support Jonathan's school. I couldn't volunteer to work any of the booths, because I have no one to watch Jonathan, so I decided to concentrate my efforts on baking.

The weather forecast for tomorrow is perfect! It should be a fun way to spend an afternoon, and I hope I get to meet some of Jonathan's new friends and their parents. Wish you could all join us!

Bountiful Produce

One of my neighbors is a member of a produce co-op where she shares produce with several other families each week. She picks up her week's worth on Thursday mornings, and she never knows what she will get. She called this morning and graciously offered to share her bounty with me. We probably can't use all of this, so I will, in turn, share with a friend. I do see a pot of vegetable soup and some banana bread in my immediate future (and in my freezer!).

A Muffin Tin Lunch

This is something I started doing when Jonathan was about 2, and I still do it occasionally. It makes lunch fun!  We call it a "muffin tin lunch". I think I originally saw the idea on another blog.

This was today's lunch: Tyson Homestyle Chicken Fries (otherwise known as "chicken sticks" around here) with ketchup, tomato wedges and cucumber slices straight from this morning's Farmer's Market, a piece of cheese and mandarin oranges, along with a glass of milk. He ate every bite!

Tomato Season

Tomatoes ripening on the kitchen window sill. Nothing tastes quite like a tomato in July! My neighbor brought me several last evening. He said something was taking bites from the ripe ones so he picked some just beginning to ripen. A day or two and they will be perfect.

Easy-Peasy Banana Bread

While visiting my sister this past week-end, we decided to bake some banana bread to share. It's a busy week for me--Jonathan has 9 AM swim lessons every day this week--and this makes a perfect quick breakfast for on the go mornings! This was very easy to make and very delicious! Here is the recipe:
Banana Bread
1/2 c butter, melted
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c all -purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c sour cream
2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350*. Stir melted butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Combine the dry ingredients,stir into butter mixture until smooth. Fold in sour cream, mashed banana and nuts , if using. Bake in a loaf pan 60 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min. on wire rack.

We used mini loaf pans and the recipe made four loaves. If you have bananas beginning to get too ripe, or if you buy overripe bananas for a song, stick them in the freezer until you are ready to bake.

If Practice Makes Perfect.....

....then I will master this buttercream icing. I love white cake with buttercream icing, and I have never been good at making it. My niece makes exceptionally good frosting, and she has shared her secret with me. I have been practicing!

Jon & I made a 2-layer heart shaped cake before Valentine's Day, which tasted good. Last night after Jonathan was tucked into bed, I decided to try another. So here I am in the kitchen at 10:30 at night, mixer whirring, making buttercream icing and questioning my sanity. This batch tastes considerably better than the first, so I am making progress! I'd really like to make Jonathan's birthday cake myself this summer.

The problem with all of this practice? Wanting to eat the finished product!

Like the cake pan? Find it here. Lots of great designs, comes recommended by The Pioneer Woman!