Recipe Share and more...

Hello and happy Friday!!!!  Yes, Friday has finally blessed us.  It's rather chilly here in South Florida (mid 60's today!!!) So grab a cup of Hot Cocoa (my preference hehe) or Coffee and have a nice read....it's a rather long post!!

It's been a crazy, crazy week for me. Normally I get all my Christmas decorations, my Dept 56 village, and my lights up over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, but this year I couldn't do that since we were in Sarasota. Sooooo....I have been working my booty off after work all week trying to get things in order. At one point you couldn't walk through my house...yes....I'm serious!  At last though, I have it in somewhat order. Finally!  We still have to do the lights outside, saving that for Saturday. It's dark by the time the hubby gets home during the week.  I love this time of year, but I hate how dark it gets so early!!! This is the ONLY nice time to go for bike rides here....and by the time you get home...it's dark!! It really puts a damper on things!

So what does this all my crazyiness mean??? Well, no time for stamping! I have just been slammed. Although I have no project to show you, I thought I would share a recipe with you today. Actually, I think I am going to post some of my favorite recipes of the season on days that I do not have a card to post. I will try to do this up until christmas.  All are tried and loved recipes by myself. I am a pretty awesome cook and baker, btw....not to toot my own horn....but I do rock! LOL I have a rather large department at my job and if anybody see's any sweets in our little break room, they will ask who made it....did Tracy? hehe

I'm going to start out with with a Rum Cake recipe. Why? Well because the Holiday Parties are starting and it's great to take with you. So easy, so MOIST and soooooo yummy!



Rum Cake

1 cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Yellow Cake Mix (I prefer Dunkin Hines)
1 (3.4 oz) instant yellow pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum (I use Spiced Capt Morgan)
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 dark rum

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch bundt pan. Sprinkle the chopped nuts evenly over the bottom of your pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix. Add in the eggs, 1/2 cup water, oil, and 1/2 cup rum. Blend well, about 2 minutes. Pour batter over chopped nuts in Bundt pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes in preheated oven. While your cake is cooking, mix up your glaze. In a saucepan combine butter, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup dark rum.

Once your cake is finished, let sit for 10 mins in pan, then turn out onto serving plate and then back into your bundt pan. (I do this to loosen it up so the glaze soaks in nicely.  Spoon glaze over the cake letting it soak in. You may want to add a little. Let it soak in. Add some more...repeat. After it's all soaked in nicely, invert onto your serving plate. If you have glaze left you can brush the outside of the cake...but not neccessary.

That's it...easy, peasy.

I have a friend who has a recipe that I think is almost exact and she makes 20 or more of these over the holiday season! yikes!  I am not that loved....I will probably make about 5 or so!! I'm actually making one maybe two tonight for a party tomorrow night!

Also, this cake freezes great. I cut in into wedges and wrap each individually and freeze. Comes out just as moist as when you put it in the freezer!

Next....While we were in Sarasota we had our pictures taken on the beach. We have beaches where I am but they are not nearly as nice as the beaches on the gulf side. So we took this opportunity to have my husbands aunt and uncle do pictures...they are photographers. I did the touch ups my self..because we were antsy and didn't want to wait to get the pictures! I still need to work on that!

Oh you see my face.......ok so really I had just put my foot into a bunch of "stickers" or Burrs, whatever you want to call them....so I was feeling the pain...trying to laugh it off! LOL

My babies, oh my gosh, I can't believe how big they are getting!!! My son will be 11 in January and the little one is 6. Time just flys!

Since I am typing, thought I would show you my massive village. Ok...so maybe it isn't as massive as some peoples, but I think it is! I once belonged to a Dept 56 club with my MIL and Friend. We had just started out collecting and the others were "DIE-HARDS". Let me tell you they were not very nice about it either..ok not all of them were mean....but you know that ol' saying one bad apple....well needless to say I do not belong to that group anymore. One good thing did come of it. We got some awesome ideas for villages. Like...using styrofoam and cutting holes to "drop" the cords...well duh! Seems simple now...but it didn't at first!  Some of these people started their village in Sept...thats how detailed they were! They had different levels and trains.  Mine isn't that fancy, but I think it's nice. Btw, I put up 2 villages one is Christmas in the City and the other is smaller, it's my kids village and is a mixture of North Pole and Elfland...

The river is made out of stryofoam and envirotec. I used a hot knife to make "waves" and then painted it. After it was dry, I poured envirotec on it. It hardens to look like almost like glass. Pretty neat stuff. I also made the brick walls out of styrofoam. 

Central Park....I haven't finished the ice skating rink. Who knows, I may not! lol  I have a skater for it too, but she isn't out and I just don't have it in me to find her at the moment!

Our North Pole Village, it's small..I want more pieces, but then again, I don't. Trying storing things like this all year round in Florida!! We have no basements!!! Not easy to have collections this big.

Our tree...pretty much finished.

Well thats all that I have to show today. I will have a post tomorrow.....with a card!! Yay!!  Look for more yummy family recipes to come this week.

Hugs and Happy Holidays,