2/21/09

OK, only two cakes this week...a Jack-in-the-Box themed first birthday. Strawberry cake with buttercream and fondant "Jack."

And a birthday cake for my friend, Karen. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she said "Chocolate."

I said, "Do you want a filling?"

She said, "Chocolate."

I said, "What kind of icing?"

She said, "Chocolate."

Mission accomplished.

Stir-Fried Pork and Broccoli with Hoisin Sauce

3/4 lb. boneless pork loin, trimmed and cut into 2 x 1/4" strips
2 T. dry sherry
1 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 T. cornstarch
3/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 t. Asian (dark) sesame oil
2 c. broccoli florets
1 orange bell pepper, cut into strips
1 1/2 t. grated, peeled fresh ginger
1/4 c. orange juice
1/4 c. hoisin sauce
2 T. honey
2 c. hot cooked white rice

Toss together the pork, sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until coated evenly; set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a nonstick wok or large deep nonstick skillet over high heat. When a drop of water sizzles in it, add the broccoli and bell pepper; stir fry for about 2 minutes. Add the pork and stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger and stir-fry about 1 minute. Add the orange juice, hoisin sauce, and honey; stir-fry until the pork is cooked through and the sauce thickens and bubbles, about 2 minutes longer. Serve with the hot cooked rice.

Serves 4 (about 1 c. pork mixture and 1/2 c. rice)

calories- 313
Fat-6g
chol-54mg
sodium-453mg
carb-43g
fiber 3g
protein-22g
calcium-51mg

Pts- 6

My Valentine's Day....

Steve actually sent me roses! They are beautiful!!! Thank you Steven, love you so much!

And check this out...I've seen these little purple flowers a bunch of times at weddings and stuff but who knew that they actually bloom again? Look at the the little white blooms in the middle of the purple! Cute!

Valentine's Day!

Black Forest cake for the love of my life! I rarely make him cake, pitiful I know. (In case you don't know, Black Forest is chocolate cake with cherry filling and whipped icing)

MMMMMM, chocolate covered strawberries on top of white cake with strawberry filling ! lingerie tossed off to the side....

a Happy Birthday to a Husker fan

Happy Birthday to my husbands captains momma

A Valentine's Day wedding...heart shaped tiers with red buttercream roses.

And here is my dogwood cake for Kelli and Craig. All handmade fondant dogwood blooms.

Kelli's dogwoods

If you guys are on my facebook, you know I spent several days last week making dogwoods for an upcoming wedding. I thought I would share the fruits of my labor with you! :) These are all made by hand for a cake this weekend, Valentine's Day so stay tuned for a pick of the finished product.

Too bad my camera stinks, I can't even take a close up to show you the detail....ugh. A real dogwood blossom has green in the center and pink on the tips of the petal but since there is no green in the wedding, I changed a thing or two... ;)

Mini-Meat Loaves

So, I said I would post some healthy recipes and of course, I slacked off. I am so lazy that even when I make a good one, I won't walk downstairs to get the camera! :P
1 slice whole-wheat bread, torn into pieces
1 shallot, quartered
2 c. baby spinach (we used 2/3 box of frozen)
1 lb. ground skinless chicken
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1/2 t. smoked paprika
1/2 t. black pepper
1/2 t. salt
6 T. ketchup

1. Preheat the oven to 450F. Lightly spray 1 (6 c.) muffin tin with nonstick spray.

2. Finely crumble the bread in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl. With machine running, add the shallot through the feed tube and process until minced. Add the spinach and pulse until finely chopped. Add the bread crumbs, chicken, cheese, egg, paprika, salt, and pepper; pulse until blended.

3. Fill each prepared muffin tin with 1/2 c. of the chicken mixture. Bake until an instant read thermometer inserted into the middle of a mini-loaf reads 165F, about 30 minutes. Top each meatloaf with 1 T. ketchup.

serving size-one meatloaf
Cal-170
Fat- 7g
chol-88mg
sodium-528mg
carb--7g
fiber-1g
protein-20g
POINTS- 4

Bride's Choice Awards 09

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Cakes by Combs has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Cakes by Combs is one of the very best bakers.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

Cakes by Combs would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

If you are a past bride and haven't yet rated our service, please visit http://www.weddingwire.com/ and leave us some feedback! Thanks!

2/1/09

Littlest Pet Shop for a 10 year old... Notre DAme for my pal, Donald. If you know Donald, you will understand why he needed this cake....it's another one of those unhealthy obsessions, I think.

And little lamb for a baptism