Pistachio cake

I'm not a big fan of pistachios but my dear husband is, so he has been asking me to make this cake that his mom used to make for him when he was a kid, since I couldn't find her exact recipe I look it up on internet and I came up with my own version! He didn't like the cherries so next time I will just omit them. All in all he was very happy with the finish product! ;)  & I was happy I could bring warm & happy memories from his mom & his childhood!

For the cake:

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding
4 eggs
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp. almond extract
7 drops green food coloring (optional)

For the frosting:

2 packages (4-serving size each) instant pistachio pudding and pie filling mix

3 cups milk
2 envelopes whipped topping mix

Additional maraschino cherries and pistachio nuts (optional)



PREPARATION:
Cake

1.Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.

2.Combine cake mix, pudding, eggs, water, oil and almond extract in large bowl. Mix according to package directions. Spread half of batter in each pan. Bake and cool according to package directions.

Frosting

1.Combine milk, pudding mix and whipped topping mix in large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until blended. Beat at high speed 2 to 3 minutes or until stiff, scraping sides of bowl often. Stir in cherries and pistachios (Optional). Refrigerate until ready to use.

2.To assemble cake; spread filling between each layer. Frost top and side of cake with frosting. Garnish with maraschino cherries and pistachios, if desired.

 

 

Nutella cupcakes with a nutella buttercream frosting

Nutella Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Devil’s Food Cake Mix
3 eggs
½ cup oil
¼ cup milk
½ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
24 teaspoons Nutella
(1 per cupcake)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 muffins tins.

2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, oil, milk, water and vanilla.

3. Sift in cake mix and stir in sour cream.

4. Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and then place a teaspoon of Nutella on top of each one. Using a toothpick, swirl the Nutella into the batter.

5. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until the sides spring back. (The tops will stay gooey because of the Nutella.)

6. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place directly into airtight containers so seal in moisture.


Nutella Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 13-ounce jar of Nutella
pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6-8 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and Nutella until well combined. Slowly add in confectioner’s sugar, and continue creaming until well blended.

2. Add salt, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 3-5 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

I'm linking up to the Larson Lingo

Sedona

This last sunday we got in the car & drove 150 miles to go to Sedona, AZ.

What a beautiful place!

So quiet & calm!

We had a great day exploring, walking by the river, the food was delicious and there were ice cream involved, yummy!

We are going back very soon!

What Grace has been up to ...

Oh My!

Where to start? She is seriously big but funny part is that she still fits her clothes form last year, she was chubby and now she is very tall so I'm happy that I haven't spent a little fortune in new clothes!

She is talking up a storm, repeating EVERY single word we say! Even though she is not formulating long sentences yet but I think thats because she is bilingual and I read that bilingual kids take longer to start talking which I don't mind at all since I know that as soon as she starts school her language skills are going to improve.

She eats everything, her favorites are mac & cheese, bananas, olives & spicy food (what can I say?, she is part mexican!)

She is such a loving and caring little girl, she absolutely adores her big brother (Junior) and he loves her back just as much, they have a lot of fun playing and wrestling togehter! When he cries about something she would say {Don't cry Jr, mommy home soon}. She loves her "Ima" so much, they spend the whole day together and I'm just thankful that my daughter gets to spend her childhood with her granma!

Overall she is a very happy & healthy little girl & I love her to death!

She calls me {honey} & my heart just melts!

I'm back!

Dear blog:

I'm sorry I was gone, I promise I would never leave you again! I have a lot of things to tell you and a lot of pictures to show you!

Just be patient!

Love,
Me

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas

I love the holidays but now that Gracie is more aware of her environment it has a whole new meaning to me, we had our traditions even before she was born like going to the Tempe Festival of the Arts every year at the beginning of December & after that just get ready to travel to Colorado to spend the holidays with David's family.



But not this year! This year we are staying home which means early presents from Santa.




And of course our very OWN Christmas tree, the first tree we have as a family in our house, Oh my was I excited! I think I was more excited than Grace. We got it today fresh from the store, smells sooo good & it's so beautiful. It was love at first sight. Grace took a nap so I started putting the lights on and when she woke up I turned it on & the only thing she said was the only thing I was waiting for ... "WOW!!!", that just made everything so worth it. She is such a great helper passing the ornaments one by one ...







And speaking of ornaments, David's family has a tradition that I think it's pretty cool, his mom used to give each one of her kids an ornament every year, so he has a full box of ornaments that now decorate beautifully our tree.

This one is from the year I was born!!!


I'm so happy & excited that I literally can't wait until Christmas morning gets here!