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Mardi Gras Mambo

Posted on February 21, 2012 // Louisiana Traditions

Happy Fat Tuesday!!!

Once again I am outside of Louisiana on this most festive of holidays, but I am living it up in my purple sparkly fleur de lis shirt today!

Let’s have some fun with pics (and if you want, check out my Mardi Gras decorations from last year and read how I snagged some crawfish all the way in Richmond last year.)

Here are some pretty Mardi Gras things I pinned. See all of them on my Mardi Gras pin board.

And you know I’m reminiscing about entering my wedding reception with a second line:
And if you’re feeling the spirit, here’s a traditional Mardi Gras song for you to jam to:
Have a great day everyone!

Filed under Louisiana Traditions   ~  2 Comments
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How to Fake a Homemade Cake

Posted on June 22, 2011 // A Day in the Life, Budget Eats, Budget Gifts, How To, Louisiana Traditions
This past weekend involved a few exciting celebrations! Not only was it Father’s Day, but it was also my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary! I was so happy for them, I actually got the desire to BAKE something.
While the baking fairy did not bestow any natural skills on me in this arena, she did give a heaping load of talent to my Milly (mother in law). My Milly, y’all can call her Ms. Sara, sweetly offered to help me make a carrot cake for my parents. This was an amazing lesson for me, as she spilled all her secrets for making a cake seem homemade, when it’s really from a box. See, I told you – magic, fairies, me cooking – Somebody take a picture. 
Oh wait, we did. :)
Basically, she taught me how to add a few ingredients of our own into the box recipe (which was a basic carrot cake off the shelf) to give it a bit of oomph!
Here we go: Snatch up some carrots, pecans, pineapples, & raisins (no precise measurements, just use what you have on hand):
Choppity chop chop (we added a little whiskey to the raisins which made them fluff up a bit – never knew that!) Note: no whiskey was consumed during the creation of this cake. ;)
Now, into the blender! We only blended for a minute or so.
Split into three 8 inch pans and bake according to the box. For us, it was 30 minutes.
Now, the super duper trick is to make homemade icing:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 stick of butter
1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 tsp of vanilla
+ a little bit of milk
{I didn’t say this was fat free, people!}
Anyway, more chopping ensued to put pecans in between the layers:
Stack them, finish icing, garnish with a cherry and more chopped pecans.
Enjoy.
And now you have photo evidence of why I’ve gained almost ten pounds since moving home to Louisiana. ;)

Filed under A Day in the Life, Budget Eats, Budget Gifts, How To, Louisiana Traditions   ~  9 Comments