Hectic Holiday

Geesh. I feel like I am already slacking here. I have been so busy preparing for the holidays, I forgot about my blog! I bought a house last year, and am hosting Christmas day for the first time. Man, that is a lot of work. Ive been making my cookie dough's, baking cake, cleaning, making gifts, sewing drapes, and just getting the house all ready for guests. This week will be a scramble to bake all the cookies, decorate them, and wrap last minute gifts. Phew! I was hoping to post a few pictures up here. Hopefully I will get a chance in the next few days. I love the way the house looks all decorated :)

In the meantime, here is a simple cake I am making for christmas - inspired by a sinfully delicious cake I had recently on a vacation in Mexico.

Adrienne's Chocolate-Mousse Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (follow ingredients on box)
1-1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
4 strawberries

1. Bake cake according to directions on the box, using two 8" cake pans ( I use square ones)

2. Prepare the pudding in a large bowl using 1 1/2 cups milk instead of the suggested 2 cups.Fold in the whipped topping until blended. Refrigerate.

3. When cake is cooled, remove from pans and slice each cake into two layers. Put in freezer for at least one hour.

4. To put cake together, spread the pudding mousse between the cake layers. Refridgerate.

5. To make the Chocolate Gonache topping, bring the heavy cream to a slight boil (watch this, because if you dont, it will be all over your stove). Add hot cream to chocolate and wisk together until smooth.

6. Remove cake from refridgerator and spread gonache over the cake and chill once again. Garnish with sliced strawberries on top.

Happy Holidays!

Jumping on the bandwagon

So, I recently discovered the world of blogs. I mainly read crafty blogs, and thanks to Craftzine.com, I have a new addiction. Seems a bit odd reading about other peoples lives. Almost intrusive, but hey, they put it out there for a reason. There are so many crafty people out there. They offer inspiration, ideas, laughs, smiles, and a way to make my day go by a little quicker. So, i guess blogs aren't that bad afterall. After reading a few this morning, I decided I need my own blog. Even though I am not one to jump onto the latest trend (by any means) this is a way for me to express myself in another format. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, gluing, drawing... you name it, I do it. I even started selling my stuff on Etsy! Lets add blogging to that list.

And here you have it. Blog #1 from DeLunaDesign. Enjoy.