Lil' E's Cake is Posted

Lil' E turned five on the 4th but we waited to celebrate with cake and icecream until today. He has been asking for a shark cake for the past 3 months. However for the past two days he has been a little cranky. I have warned him over and over that if he didn't change his attitude and start listening to mommy, his shark cake would be turning into a tinkerbell cake. Well today he and his brother got a little out of hand and broke one of my willowtree figures. I told him that was his last warning about the cake and sent the two up to their beds for a nap. While he napped I came up with a Fairy cake as a trick. I frosted a shoe box with pink frosting and put one of Razy's fairies on top and then put some Rhodys on it...Do not eat Rhodys they are POISONOUS! The cake was not meant to be eaten so I thought the Rhodys were an easy decoration in crunched time.

We sent the kids out to play and had them come in for cake and icecream. This is what Lil' E came into see sitting on the table.

He took one look at the cake and quickly turned around and walked out of the house. No tears (yet) or words. Just a turn and leave.
I ran out to follow him. I asked him what the matter was and why he was upset. He told me..."I don't like it. I don't want to see it." I told him to come back in and I was sorry for making a fairy cake, but I had told him that it would happen if he couldn't change his behavior. My dad came out to help me and I went back in. He got him to finally come in and told him to really think about what he wanted his cake to look like and make a wish...

It still took him a lot of courage to look. He DIDN'T want to see a pink cake

He finally looked and the sadness had changed to joy!

After the whole ordeal he wanted to cut the pink cake for the girls....Ooops sorry no can do to a box. He got a kick out of that.

Yes I know that this probably places me into the running for world's worse mom of the year. But now we all...yes even Lil' E laugh at the whole thing. The REAL cake made him forget about the whole thing. To see pictures of the REAL cake follow the link below. There is also a recipe found at the end of the post of the Shark Cake.

Lil' E's Shark Cake

Take a look at Doble's Birthday Cake!

Follow the link to Doble's cake. I finally got it posted.
http://peachofcake.blogspot.com/2009/06/tiered-thomas-cake.html

I have even added a new cake recipe I found and really like...yummy!

I am in dire need of a catch up. It has been way to long since I last blogged. I will be doing so in the near future to let you know what we have been up to. Just know that we are doing really well, enjoying the beautiful weather that we have been blessed with, finishing up preschool, and enjoying life together as a family.

Thomas at Action Canyon Giveaway!

Most if not ALL of you know how big of a Thomas Fan Doble is. So when we came across this giveaway from Momdot.com I couldn't resist. It is dream come true for Doble.


Thomas the Train at Action Canyon:
Cinders and ashes! Thomas at Action Canyon is Thomas’ most exciting adventure yet! This super-big play set was inspired by The Great Discovery and has all the excitement of the DVD. Your child can send Thomas chugging up a steep mountain track, puffing over an old bridge, and zooming down a thrilling mountain canyon! The best part is …kids can press a secret button to make the old bridge collapse and send Thomas rocketing through a waterfall!

Six Lucky families will be able to win this action packed Thomas playset. Head on over to Momdot.com to enter. While you are waiting for the results, check out the Thomas Website to play games, see playsets, and watch videos with your little Thomas fan.

TACKLE it TUESDAY!! **Baby Shower Cake**

This week's tackle is a Baby Shower cake that I made for a party tonight. The baby's name is Riley. She was born last Monday. The mommy didn't have any preferences on the cake, just that it was chocolate. She told me to surprise her. So I went with what I knew I would like...Pink and Brown. I wisha that the pictures gave justice to the true colors of the cake.

To see more cakes that I have done check out my cake blog.

It's A Peach of Cake.

Flashback Friday

For those of you who know JBody, you know that he is really into sports. I found some pictures of him when he was in middle school on some of his team sports. Hope you enjoy. 6th Grade Football 7th Grade Football 8th Grade Baseball
8th Grade Footall
And my favorite because this is such a JBody picture
8th Grade Baseball

Tasty Thursday

(Not the picture of our dinner. I forgot to take a picture. This is the actual meal from Cheescake Factory.)

I had some of you asking for the Orange Chicken Recipe that I talked about on my Facebook well here it is.

CHEESECAKE FACTORY ORANGE CHICKEN
1 1/2 pounds Chicken thighs--skinless trimmed and cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces (I used breast)
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar--packed
3 cloves garlic--mincedd or pressed
1 piece (1 inch size) ginger--grated
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch PLUS
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water
8 strips orange peel (each about 2 inches long by 1/2 inch wide)
8 small whole dried red chiles--optional (I left these out and it was still good)
***Coating and Frying***
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups peanut oil (again I used something differnet. Lil' E is allergic to nuts)

FOR THE MARINADE AND SAUCE: Place chicken in 1 gallon zipper-lock bag; set aside. Combine chicken broth, orange juice, grated zest, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, adn cayenne in large saucepan (with at least 3-quart capacity); whisk until sugar is fully dissolved. Measure out 3/4 cup mixture and pour into bag with chicken; press out as much air as possible and seal bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes, but no longer.

Bring remaining mixture in saucepan to boil over high heat. In small bowl, stir together cornstarch and cold water; whisk cornstarch mixture into sauce. Simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in orange peel and chiles (sauce should measure 1 1/2 cups); set sauce aside.

FOR THE COATING: Place egg whites in pie plate; using fork, beat until frothy. In second pie plate, whisk cornstarch, cayenne, and baking soda until combined. Drain chicken in colander or large mesh strainer; thoroughly pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place half of chicken pieces in egg whites and turn to coat; transfer pieces to cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly. Place dredged chicken pieces on wire rack set over baking sheet; repeat with remaining chicken.

TO FRY THE CHICKEN: Heat oil in 11- to 12-inch Dutch oven or straight-sided saute pan with at least 3-quart capacity over high heat until oil registers 350 degrees on instant-read or deep-fry thermometer. Carefully place half of chicken in oil one piece at a time; fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning each piece with tongs halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to large plate lined with paper towels. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.TO SERVE: Reheat sauce over medium heat until simmering, about 2 minutes. Add chicken and gently toss until evenly coated and heated through. Serve immediately.

I served this over rice like at the restaurant. You can also add the snow peas and julienned carrots as well.

The first time around I fried the chicken. However, next time I don't think I would coat the chicken and fry it. I am going to try just cooking my chicken. This will save time and be alot healthier. Good luck.