Tutorial: Rainbow Cake with Homemade, All-Natural Dyes

These rainbow cakes are everywhere lately, but usually they are made with food coloring....which Claire-bear is highly allergic to.  Here's a tutorial for making this beautiful rainbow cake with natural dyes.  

You could decorate it easily with some little flags and some bamboo skewers.. . . .

Someone make this, OK?

Peeps Week - Does Everyone Love Peeps Except Me?

Left over EASTER PEEPS???  I have come to realize that people are passionate about their Peeps.  IF you get peeps in your Easter baskets and IF they end up being left over.....I have found a solution for you.  

Peeps S'MORES.  Of course.  These crack me up, but totally make sense if Peeps are part of your Easter basket.  Just pop the Peep in the microwave.....and watch it get huge, then put them on the chocolate.

OR you could roast the peeps over a campfire outside.  Kids LOVE roasting marshmallows, don't they?  Would children of vegetarians be allowed to do this?

OR....do them in the oven.

And this woman makes Peeps S'mores kits and gives them to teachers.  There's even a free printable.  People really do love their peeps. 

Then, finally, there are PEEPS Rice Krispy Treats: 

So there you have it.  I never knew there were so many options for Peeps. 

Well.....YOU are MY peeps...and I love you all. 

Want Help Decorating the Table?

I found this woman who had a great idea for getting kids to help set the table.  She gave them the assignment to make place card holders and a center piece.  Here's what she said:

"I designed this paper rainbow with the purpose of using it for a place card on St. Patrick's Day. I've found that my youngest is more enthusiastic about setting the table when she can make the place cards, fold the napkins in cute shapes and pick out a centerpiece (usually a toy). It makes the entire process fun and hopefully she learns where the utensils go in the process."

Here's her link to the rainbow place card.  All you have to do is print it out.  Older kids can color it and cut it out and put it together. 

Here's an even easier Easter place card idea.....


 Egghead Placeholders - Using a razor-thin sharpie and your best John Hancock, carefully scribble guests' names onto the front of each egg. Make a short tube to set the egg upon by taping two ends of cute scrapbook paper together. Everyone may be seated!


AND....Here's a picture of the correct way to place all the silverware--the knife always faces the place.....just in case you forgot. : )

Happy Easter Dinner....love you all.

What's for Dinner?

This darling woman wrote a book and has a blog called "365 Days of Slow Cooking".  She held a contest during March....a March-Madness type of thing where people made and tested recipes.  Here's the flow chart for the "meaty" category down to the Final Four.  If you click on the pic, you can see the comments the 'judges' made: 

The overall WINNER was the Cafe Rio-ish Beef Salad.  The 'tournament' had 64 original recipes in 4 categories, and this one beat them all!  Someone please try this and let us know how it is.  She includes a home-made mexi-ranch dressing that sounds wonderful. 

If you peruse the site and see any other recipes worth trying, let us know.  I will be checking out more recipes later.   I think crock pots are the way to go for busy families (where the wife does the cooking).

Here's the bouillon I use all the time, and I love it.  You can get it at Costco for a lot cheaper than a regular grocery store. 

Hey, Brie, maybe this should be our Easter dinner.  Too weird?

HAPPY DINING....love you all.