Cake Truffles

I guess my family really liked these because this lone truffle is all that is left within a few short hours of making them.

To make these I used the "Red Velvet Cake Balls" recipe from Bakerella. I did not have a red velvet cake mix so I used a chocolate cake instead. I have to say that I definitely prefer the red velvet cake to the chocolate on chocolate, but they were still yummy.

Pasta Primavera

Any recipe by Giada is delicoso and this one is healthful and super easy to make to boot. It makes a great summer meal. We served it with a cesar salad.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat.

Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Spider Man Birthday Cake w/homemade Buttercream icing

My Son is crazy about super heros especially Spider Man. I recently made him this cake just to make him feel special. We celebrated his 3 1/2 birthday. I have never before made a cake like this before. It was a first and turned out better than I expected. I purchased the cake pan at Micheals and used a boxed cake mix. The cake pan comes with terrific directions to prepare and decorate. I used a great buttercream icing recipe from the Bakerella blog. It was yummy!