mini caprese salad bites

raise your hand if you love caprese salad!
a burst of fresh deliciousness in every bite.

it was about 2 1/2 hours before i needed to be at a party with a side dish in hand.

i had a napping babe i did not want to wake just to go to the market.
what ever i had on had was going to have to suffice.
i felt like i was on a cooking game show.

what could i make that didn't LOOK like i'd totally forgotten i needed to bring something??

thank goodness i had recently picked up a container of cherry tomatoes at costco that was still sitting in my pantry.
i had also purchased a huge bag of mozzarella string cheese for the munch during that costco run.
:: i obviously would have preferred buffalo mozzarella, but hey...beggars can't be choosers ::
low and behold a friend had given me a very large bunch of fresh basil just the day before.

bite sized caprese salads for everyone!!

the most time consuming part is scooping out the cherry tomatoes.
it took me about 30 minutes to make about 30.
man these lil guys were tasty and a big hit at the party.

Mini Caprese Salad Bites

1 large package of cherry tomatoes
8-10 sticks of mozzarella string cheese or 1 container pearl sized buffalo mozzarella
1 bunch of fresh basil
Kosher salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar


Rinse and pat dry the cherry tomatoes. Remove all stems. The tops of the cherry tomato are usually flat, so I cut off the bottom more rounded portion to get inside the tomato. Use a sharp paring knife cut a thin slice off the bottom. Scoop out the seeds with a melon baller or the paring knife. Discard the seedy centers. Place the tomato cut side down on a paper towel to drain liquid.

Depending on the size of your cherry tomatoes cut the mozzarella sticks into bite size pieces that will fit nicely in to the tomato.
Rinse and gently pat dry the basil. Hand tear generous pieces to go in the middle of each tomato.
I made them large and folded them to fit.

To assemble, line your scooped out cherry tomatoes on a cutting board or cookie sheet.
Season to taste with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt.
Line each tomato with a piece of basil, gently pushing it to the bottom of the tomato.
Top off with a piece of mozzarella.
Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Best served when cheese is at room temperature.

5 months

5 months.
153 days.
220,320 minutes.
a relatively short amount of time to know someone.

i am not able to recall what life was like before you arrived.
maybe i can't seem to remember because you've always been there.
in my minds eye.
in my prayers.
in my future that is now here.

you are asleep on the bed right behind me.
i can hear you breathing.
your chubby arms and legs are tossing about as you try to get comfortable.
you some how figured out you like to sleep on your side with your leg propped up on a pillow just like me.
that makes me smile.

i just turned around to look at you for the 1,254 time today.
you have a sweet little grin on your face.
what exactly does a 5 month old dream about?
your favorite teething toy?
puppies?
eating real food?
watching the waves at our favorite beach?

i adore you.
you remind me that God the Father gives good gifts.
i breath deep and slow when i hold you.

i was terrified and shocked when the ultrasound tech uttered the words:
"let's get a better look at your little boy."
a boy?
i'm going to have a boy??
are you sure?

i had talked myself into thinking i was pregnant with another girl.
i'm a girl.
i have a girl.
i can handle a girl.
boys on the other hand....yikes.
i don't know how to raise a boy.

but then i realized it wasn't just any boy.
it was you.
sweet, happy, perfect for me, you.
God knew all along i needed a little b in my life.

i love you with all that i am.
thank you for making me realize i don't need to have it all figured out.
i just need to enjoy every. single. day. i get to be with you.

i am grateful Lord for that precious reminder.
to relish this life i have been thoughtfully given.
that You've got "this"....what ever "this" may be.

that you Lord, make me whole.
everything else is just icing on the cake.
you alone are enough.

then you go and place desires in my heart.
and then You fulfill those desires.
that on this journey to an eternal destination, i get to live this amazing life.
i really don't deserve it.

i am  p o s i t i v e  i have no idea what i'm doing.
how to raise a boy, what to make for dinner tomorrow night, whether or not i sent in the car registration.
i could go on and on.
but i have complete confidence in You Lord that you know exactly what You're doing...
and i'll happily go anywhere with You.

thank you for that.
thank you for the little boy fast asleep on the bed behind me.
thank you for his beautiful sister, her heart of worship and crazy dance moves.
thank you for their amazing father...the handsome, Godly man that calls me his bride.
thank you for everything.

long time, no blog...

how the heck are you!?
i am good.
super busy as always.
new baby, working, had gallbladder surgery, running after a 3 year old, trying to remember to make dinner.
you know...every day sort of stuff.

the kids are awesome.
lil b is not so little any more.
he is a chunk.
the munch is adorable and as sweet as ever.
learning to be mommy's helper.
here are some newer pictures of the two of them.

 

 

 

i am actually able to write this post right now because they are both napping...i've won the mommy lottery today ;-)
hopefully i will be able post more regularly in the near future.
aloha...and happy new year.

introducing...

the most handsome lil guy in the whole wide world....
baby b!

7.1 lbs 21 inches long and perfect.

 i'm utterly and hopelessly in love!
he's brown like his mommy ;-)

 

welcome to the world peanut!

featured on bump smitten....

what an honor to be featured on the super cute baby shower inspiration blog bump smitten!
i did this bird and nest themed shower for my good friend lacey over a year ago.
it was so much fun to put together and one of the most detailed events i've ever worked on.
i love how everything turned out ;-)
i hope you like it....
happy planning! 

ruffle cake

 

 

there are certain things that i see on blogs and pinterest and i think to myself "MUST. make. this. NOW!!"

this cake was one of those things.
i have been searching for a reason to make this adorable ruffle cake besides just busting it out for dessert after a tuesday night dinner.
my mom and auntie's threw jere jae and i an awesome baby shower bbq last week.
i told my mom i would love to make all the desserts because heck, its just what i do.
and i love doing it!
for this cake i decided on a lemon blueberry with almond cream cheese frosting.

my biggest concern was that the frosting would melt in the heat.
the biggest obstacle was actually keeping lil fingers and big hands from bumping and poking it once we put it out on display!
the frosting actually held up perfectly.

i followed this simple youtube tutorial on how to apply the frosting.
i frosted this 6 layer cake 6 inch round cake in about 10 minutes.
the look of this cake is decadent and looks difficult but it is SO simple!!

i am short and my kitchen counter tops are pretty tall.
so i wasn't able to get the piping bag and tip as parallel to the cake base to go up and down as i would have liked.
overall i was very pleased with the results on my first ruffle cake.

i encourage you to try this!
don't be scared! If you mess up you can just scrape the frosting off with a spatula.

for the life of me i can't find the frosting recipe i used....pregnant brain strikes again.
i will add the recipe for the frosting and the cake soon!
you can use any cake recipe you like and here is one of the cream cheese frosting recipes i love to use.
just replace the vanilla extract with almond extract.
i added wilton sky blue food gel with a little leaf green till i got the color i was looking for,
i used small 6 inch cake pans and then split the cake in to two layers.
i placed 1/4 cup of frosting in between each layer.

i loved the look of this smaller cake and i was able to get 14-16 slices out of it. cut the slices on the small side because there is so much height to this cake.
have fun!

flag cake for independence day!

hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend.
i am so blessed to be living in this wonderful country!
that's one thing that i never want to take for granted.

in honor of july 4th, i decided to tackle making this glorious flag cake.
i found the recipe at crafty mama.
i followed her basic instructions on assembling the cake.
the one thing i did different was i baked three 8 inch round cakes with 2 cups of red cake batter in each cake pan, one 8 inch round with 1.5 cups of blue cake batter and one 6 inch round with 1.5 cups of red cake batter.
then i split the cooled cakes in half with a knife...except for the blue cake.
i would have used my cake leveler but it was MIA.

i used 2 boxed of white cake mix, wilton food gels and 3 cans creamy home style cream cheese frosting....do not used whipped frosting.
it was HOT here today. i was fearful my cake and all the hard work it took to build it would slide apart in the heat and humidity. i decided to make it easier on myself and went this route.
i didn't want to use my trusted favorite buttercream recipe in this heat, so the canned stuff seemed more sensible and sturdy. it worked out just fine and did not melt or separate.

we had a pre-4th of july get together today.
we gathered all the kids, big and small, around the table for the cake cutting.
i told them there was a surprise inside...and that definitely peaked their interest!
as i sliced the first piece, there were ohhh's and ahhh's all around.
everyone asked "how did you make that?!"
it was so fun to share with everyone ;-)

 

 

hope you make some memories this weekend!
oh and don't do this:

thank goodness lopsided, uneven layers do not affect the taste factor of this or any cake for that matter!

a little late - easter

hope everyone is ready for SUMMER!!
i can not believe that we are in graduation season and the end of the school year is upon us.
this actually doesn't really affect us one way or another since no one in our home is IN school at the moment...but it does signify they beginning of my favorite season ;-)

i know i'm a little late with these pictures but better late than never.
we had a wonderful 1st easter here in our new home in hawaii.
our lil cutie had the time of her life.
she went to three easter egg hunts and loved going to the mall to see the easter bunny.
we had a great family dinner where she was spoiled rotten with gifts and goodies.

i also had a sweet time praying with her before bed explaining the meaning of easter to her.
she really loves Jesus and praying.
it was so fun to color eggs with her.
everything is more fun with the munch.
she had a blast making a mess with the "eggies" and they actually turned out very vibrant and beautiful if i do say so myself!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

so fun to see the surprise on her cute lil face easter morning when she saw her basket...

 

 

 

  

 

while i was busy making dinner, everyone was entertained by the munch.

i made crown roast of pork. my fave holiday recipe. here is the recipe.

 

 here she is opening up her goodies from nana and pop-pop

 she has been wanting this little battery operated fan for a while.
she LOVED it!

 pure joy ;-)

 

 

 

  

my crazy and super fun auntie theresa.

 

 

 

 

 

  

our sweet tonya that the munch calls ton-ton. 

her mom and i are good, good friends which in turn makes us family ;-)

tonya recently returned to california after attending school here and we MISS HER!

 

 hope you enjoyed the pictures...

have a great memorial day weekend!