Easter Bunny Cake

It's almost Easter, and I have the perfect activity for you and your family!  Making this bunny cake is one of my favorite holiday traditions.  My mom always made this with her children growing up and now she does it with her grandchildren.  This Easter bunny cake is so easy and fun to do with kids.  I seriously look forward to this every Easter and love watching my nieces and nephews attack the bunny cake with candy.

What you'll need:

your favorite cake mix- preferably a white/light colored mix

Any flavor of white frosting

optional:

shredded/flaked coconut 

jelly beans

peel apart licorice 

and any other favorite Easter candy

Bake the cake mix according to the directions on the box

Use 2 8x8 round cake pans

After the cakes have cooled, take one of the rounds and cut the ends as pictured above.  This leaves you with 2 ears and a bow tie.

Place the circle cake in the middle of a baking sheet and add the ears and bow tie as pictured above.

Time to decorate!  Frost the entire cake (I put the frosting in the microwave for 15 seconds to make it spread easy).  Put the shredded coconut over the face and ears (optional).  And the rest is up to you for how you want it to look!  

This is how my finished bunny looked.  How cute?!

I now have to share a couple of cakes that many, many nieces and nephews have helped with over the years.  They turn out a little rough, but the kids love it and the memories stay with you forever!

(My mom is going to be horrified that I put these up, but I love what the kids add to it!)

Italian Chicken

This recipe is so unbelievably easy and is so full of flavor!  This is one of my go-to, fast meals when I haven't planned anything in advance.

(This picture is cooked in an 8x8 pan and is half of the recipe below, my husband and I can't eat everything in a 9x13 pan)

What you'll need:

2-4 Thawed Chicken Breast

1 Stick of butter

1 Pkg of Zesty Italian Dressing Mix (found by the salad dressings)

4-6 Red Potatoes 

Carrots

Green Beans

Or whatever Vegetables you'd like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place the chicken breast in the center of a 9x13 glass pan.  Wash and cut the red potatoes into fourths and place them on one side of the chicken.  Add the desired vegetables on the other side of the pan.  Melt one stick of butter and drizzle all over the dish covering everything.  Sprinkle the Italian package over everything in the pan.  Cover with foil and bake for 50-60 minutes.  And that's all! So fast and easy!

Easy Banana Bread

It took me a while to find a great banana bread recipe that was easy and yummy.  I came across a simple recipe from, The Dough Will Rise Again blog- http://thedoughwillriseagain.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/classic-banana-bread/
I decided to try it and add in a few things that I wanted, and it turned out fantastic!  To our embarrassment, my husband and I devoured it in under two days.  I don't regret it much though, it was divine!

What you'll need:

3 very ripe bananas (the more bruises the better!)

1 stick of butter

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 cup of milk

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Peel the bananas and place them in a bowl.  Smash them with a fork really well and add the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugar for 2 minutes.  

Add in the eggs and mix well.  

Add the bananas to the wet mixture and mix until combined.
In a sepreate bowl, mix together the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon).
Add half of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and beat until combined, add half of the milk and combine and repeat with the remaining.
Grease two 9x5 loaf pans (can use mini loaf pans) and pour the mixture in filling just under half way(it will rise quite a bit in the oven).
Cook for 30 minutes- 20-25 for the mini loaves.  Insert a toothpick or knife in the center of the bread to make sure it's done and not gooey.

Beware: This banana bread is dangerous and can be eaten in a blink of an eye! It's so delicious!

Easy Sweet Potato Fries

What you'll need:

1 Large Sweet Potato (can feed 2-3 people)

2-4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon of Paprika

1 Teaspoon of Cumin

1 Teaspoon of Salt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Get a good chef's knife and chop the sweet potato into strips.  They should be about 1/2" thick or a little less.  After the sweet potato is cut up, make sure to dry the strips really well.  Place the strips into a large plastic bag and add the olive oil.  Shake around so that all the strips are covered.  Add in spices (use how much spices you desire, what I put is what I like), and shake around.  Pour the fries onto a large baking sheet and spread them evenly around the sheet.  Put them in the oven and bake for 30 minutes flipping them after the first 15 minutes.  Really keep an eye on them and make sure they're baked to your liking! Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Quesadilla

This recipe is a fun twist to the original, boring burger and quesadilla.  It's ridiculous easy and delicious!

What you need:

1 pound of ground beef

1/4 Cup of ketchup 

2 tablespoons of mustard

4-6 burrito sized tortillas

2 cups of shredded cheese

Optional:

bacon bits

sliced tomatos

avocado 

lettuce

Brown beef in a medium saucepan.  In a separate bowl, mix together the mustard and ketchup and add the mixture into the ground beef and stir.  Lay the tortillas on the counter and sprinkle desired amount of cheese down the middle.  Add the beef over the cheese and the garnishes you'd like to add.   Roll up the tortilla and transfer it onto a panini press and grill for 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Fast, easy and delicious!

A Pinch of Chaos: Is a look into my chaotic every day life.  I LOVE to cook and bake but find it hard to make big, detailed meals every day.  With everything going on in my life, I don't have time and most days the energy to cook fancy meals.  I'm all about simplicity.  I try to use as little ingredients as possible in recipes.  I don't like to spend all day preparing a meal.  I love using the crockpot (it makes life so easy!), and I'd rather spend my time with my family.  Most blogs I've found, use ingredients I've never even heard of, and take three hours just to cut a radish into a flower.  Not me, I want fast, easy and affordable!
  My chaotic life: I've been married to my wonderful husband for 2 1/2 years, I have the cutest baby boy in the entire world, and I have one crazy dog.  Although my life doesn't seem too busy with just a small family, my days always seem to end with me trying not to pull my hair out.  Although insanely adorable, my baby doesn't sleep and is crazy!  Even when was a day old, every picture we have of him in the hospital, his eyes are open.  For some reason this kid does not need a lot of sleep day or night.  He has also been pretty advanced for his age.  He started crawling before he was 6 months old!  So now my days are spent just chasing him around from room to room, which I love!  My dog also requires just as much attention.  But only we can be blamed for this, we treat him like a human baby.  I'm also trying to finish school, which seems more impossible every day.  I've always been one of those people who goes to bed early, sleeps in, and loves naps.  So this being a mom thing has been quite the adjustment.  Being a mom is the greatest thing in the world, but man, am I tired!
Now, I have to give a lot of credit to my mom, sisters, aunts, cousins, and friends who are all amazing cooks!  I use a lot of their recipes and always tweak them a little, but I will give credit where it is due.  In the end, I'm just trying to help other mammas and busy people out there by providing easy recipes that they can enjoy.

*Disclaimer:  I am not a professional photographer.  If my pictures don't look amazing it's because I'm horrible at taking pictures.  Hopefully I'll get better as I go along!