Big Toothy Grin

I took a photo of my Xray to show the adult tooth that I have impacted. I've marked it in the photo. It's just hanging out there. It's very uncommon to still have a baby tooth when you are an adult, but here I am, in braces, waiting to make enough room for this tooth to come down and join the party! Only 1o more months to go! When there is enough room, they will extract the baby tooth and begin pulling that adult tooth down and into place. Right now it is hiding and can only be seen on xrays.

Here's the profile shot, just because it's creepy cool!

Naked Lemon Cake Experiment

I was experimenting with my Wilton Fanci-Fill Cake Pan today. My daughter isn't really a fan of cake because she doesn't like frosting. She thinks it is too sweet. I thought I tried to make a cake sans frosting, but still full of pizazz. I made a basic lemon cake in the Fanci-Fill pan. I filled it with Lemon pie filling and home made whipped cream. I sprinkled confectioners sugar on top and, viola. It's basically a giant, super delicious lemon Twinkie!
It is light and yummy with a surprise in the middle! I would add fresh raspberries to the top if I made this again, just to make it more presentable. I think they would taste great with this.
I was going to today, but the store was running low and the raspberries that were left looked a tad mushy. I might do this one again when they are in season!

Italian Tortellini Soup

This is what I made for dinner tonight. We have a vegetarian house guest, so I wanted to come up with a new veggie option. It was also a good practice run for the next time our favorite Brit veggies, Mark and Suzy, visit again!

Ingredients

• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 6 cups Vegetable Broth
  
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 mini can of V8 juice
  
• 1 1/2 cups frozen cheese-filled tortellini
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Place the carrots, onion, celery, garlic, thyme and 3 cups of the broth in a 6-quart sauce pot. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the onion is tender.
2. Add the remaining broth, V-8 juice, zucchini, tomatoes, tortellini and beans. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the tortellini is tender. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Strawberry Refrigerator Cake- RECIPE!

Since so many people have asked for the recipe, here it is:
Strawberry Refrigerator Cake

For the cake:
1 pkg of plain yellow cake mix
4 oz of reduced fat cream cheese at room temp
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of vegetable oil
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs at room temp

For the filling and garnish:
2 quarts of fresh strawberries (Or any other seasonal fruit that you like!)
1 cup (8ozs) of Sour Cream
1 container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

1- Make the cake. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat at 325F. Spray three 9 inch round cake pans line with parchment paper.

2- Place all cake ingredients in large mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until all ingredients are well mixed.

Divide the cake mix between all three pans, approx 1 3/4 cups each pan. Smoothing the batter with a rubber spatula.

3- Bake the cake layers until they are golden brown and the tops spring back when touched. 20-25 minutes.

4- Meanwhile, make the filling. Cut off and discard the caps of the strawberries. Cut into 4 or 4 slices each. Place in a bowl and set aside.

5- Place sour cream, whipped topping and confectioners sugar in a bowl and beat together at med speed for about 2 minutes.

6- Transfer the cakes to wire racks to cool for 30 minutes.

7- To assemble cake: Transfer one layer right side up to a serving tray. Spoon a heaping cup of the filling on that layer and, using a spatula, spread it not quite to the edge of the cake. Arrange 1 1/2 cups of the sliced strawberries on top of the filling, making sure you spread them all the way to the edge. Repeat for the 2nd layer.

8- Place the final layer on top of the 2nd layer and spread the remaining filling over the top leaving the sides of the cake bare.
DO NOT add the remaining strawberries yet!

Place the cake in the refrigerator for up to 4 hours or overnight.

9- Just before serving, garnish the top of the cake with the remaining strawberries. I find it helpful to make a little strawberry wall around the edges and then fill in the middle, that way they do not slide off.