Smorgasbord

I said in a previous post that I was getting ready for my cousin's benefit. I made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with cream cheese filling. I usually mix the ingredients using a hand mixer and it gets very tiring. I remembered that we received a standing mixer as a wedding gift and thought I would try it out. There were pros and cons to this. One pro is that it was not as tiring to mix. One con is that it didn't get to the bottom of the bowl and I had to use a spatula to get all of the ingredients mixed in.

The finished product! I bought this cake stand the day after Christmas and it was 50% off marked down to $4.50! That's a deal. I made a small card to go with it that said, "Two Dozen Homemade Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling For You and Your Sweetheart". The pies were put on the silent auction and went for $35. I was quite surprised and flattered that someone was willing to pay that much for them and very pleased that the money went to help a wonderful cause.

My sister has become a crafty person. She likes to refinish and distress furniture. She donated these shutters

She did a fantastic job and the shutters went for $65!!

I was having a healthy moment.lol I decided to make Sassy Water after seeing it on Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/pin/211950726184940979/) The biggest mistake I made with this was not buying mint LEAVES!! I bought mint flakes and dumb-dumb me did not think it would be a problem. The texture and taste of the mint leaves in my mouth made me want to gag. I could hardly drink it. I don't have a tea strainer and couldn't find anything in the house to pour the water without the leaves coming out. The actual taste of the water wasn't bad. I could drink it again if I changed something next time. (Note to self: buy mint leaves, NOT flakes)

I tried a new Pinterest recipe....Lasagna Soup (http://pinterest.com/pin/211950726184891267/). 

It was okay. My husband prefers more stews than soups, so I didn't add water when I added the pasta. It made it thicker and he gobbled it up. I wasn't completely pleased with it and I think I will try another lasagna soup. For all of the seasoning and preparation it called for, I didn't think it had a very strong or appealing flavor to make it again.

I also tried a Lawry's dry mix of Asian Broccoli and Beef. It had so much seasoning in it that it overpowered everything else in the recipe. My dad came over for dinner that night and hardly touched it. The first thing my husband said when he ate it was, "It has too much ginger!"(Imagine that British accent there). Needless to say, I am not making that one again. Think I will look through the Slow Cooker cookbook that my best friend gave me and find something new.

I hope you all had a great week. It's been a long and busy one here. And next week looks busier. Hope I can keep my sanity :)