Blogging on hold......

We are finally home after spending Easter in Charlotte and then a few days at the Beach. Tomorrow more family arrive and then hubby is shipped off for deployment. I will be back next week sometime! Miss Blogging and reading my fellow Bloggers Blogs but things are super crazy around here for me to even try to sit down for a minute or two!! Hope everyone had a fabulous Easter and see you all next week :)

HH6 - April Challenge

April's Challenge -

Create a meal or a dish from a country you have been stationed in, lived in, visited, or would like to visit (America excluded). It can be a main dish, side dish, dessert, drink, or all of the above. Tell us the story of why you chose it and if it has any special meaning to you or your family.

Some of my all time favorite childhood memories are the trips we made as a family to the Black Forest while stationed at Ramstein, Germany.  We always stayed at our favorite Gastehaus where rolls, cheese, butter, and slices of meat were served as breakfast items (which to this day I blame for my hips and love of all butter, cheese, and bread - HAHA).   The scenery is truly breathe taking during all seasons but my favorite was always winter.  Where I could look out the window and dream of walking through the Forest while the snow was falling at night. 

As I get older the memories are fading but I hold onto the hope of going back one day to visit.  Till then, occasionally I try my hand at German dishes and treats.  Like the treat I am about to share with you.....Black Forest Cake.

I didn't have a a recipe of my own for Black Forest Cake.  So I went to the Internet and researched many recipes.  I quickly learned about "Traditional" Black Forest Cake and "Americanized" (so to speak) version.  I decided to make more of a "Americanized" Black Forest Cake because the traditional made me nervous.

Black Forest Cake -
*my notes

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
 
1/2 cup kirschwasser *searched all over town and no one sold this.  I used the juice from the jar of cherries
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon strong brewed coffee *I don't drink coffee, therefor none was made and used
2 (14 ounce) cans pitted Bing cherries, drained *Can't tell you what Bing cherries are.  I used the jar cherries that were pitted and believe they were Wal-Mart brand.  Cherry Pie filling could work but I wouldn't use.
 
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon kirschwasser *I used cherry juice from jar
1 (1 ounce) square semisweet
**Make sure to taste your whip cream for sweetness.  I added sugar until it was to the sweetness of my liking.
 
Directions


1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottoms of two 8 inch round pans *I used 2 round 9 inch pans since I couldn't find my 8 inch pans with parchment paper circles. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

Dry ingredients shifted...I need to buy a nicer one

so the ingredients don't clog up

2 - Cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, until combined. Pour into 2 round 8 inch pans.

My mixer starting the creaming process

3 - Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool completely. Remove paper from the cakes. Cut each layer in half, horizontally, making 4 layers total *cut carefully and evenly or you will have uneven layers like mine....honestly if going 9 inch I would skip cutting cakes in half. Sprinkle layers with the 1/2 cup kirshwasser. 

1st ever from complete scratch cake...very delish!

Cooked 35 and 30 probably would have been perfect.

4 - In a medium bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add confectioners sugar, pinch of salt, and coffee; beat until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a couple teaspoons of cherry juice or milk. Spread first layer of cake with 1/3 of the filling. Top with 1/3 of the cherries. Repeat with the remaining layers.

Bottom layers

This is where I was distracted singing with my iPad

and cut the other cake way horribly.  Nothing a little

bit of frosting can't fix......

5 - In a separate bowl, whip the cream to stiff peaks. Beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1 tablespoon kirshwasser. Frost top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with chocolate curls made by using a potato peeler on semisweet baking chocolate.

 

Finished cake

Now I wish I could tell you how fabulous or horrible this cake is.  I didn't want to cut into the cake since it was going to work with Mr. May (Mr. May's unit are sometimes my taste testers).  However, I can tell you Mr. May brought home a empty cake tray.  As well as several requests for me to make the unit more cakes.  So from my fabulous taste testers......HUGE Success!!

Enjoy and don't forget to check out the other HH6 Bloggers

(listed on the first HH6 Posting)

Patio Furniture Redo

Tip Me Tuesday I try to share craft projects I have created or ones I find in Blogger World that I love.  Today I am sharing my latest project.....Iron Patio Furniture Redo.  We are renting our house and the owners left this 3 piece White Iron Table and Chairs set.  It was in bad shape.  As in rusting, missing a few nuts and bolts, and part of of the table is broken. 

All over Blogger World I see people using Spray Paint to recover or redo furniture, picture frames, etc.  Thats when I decided I wanted to try my hand at Spray Paint.  Called the landlord and she said I can do whatever I want with the table since a friend was supposed to collect before the move.

Their lose is my gain.  I now have the patio set on our back patio.  Slowly turning a small section of the patio into my flower pot garden area.  I will admit that I jumped feet first into this project.  I went to Home Depot, bought Spray Paint that I liked, came home, and spray painted the furniture.  I did zero prep work and the pieces came out great!

Here are the pictures.....Enjoy!!

Before with the spray paint I used

Before and After of the Chairs

Left table white because I couldn't make

up my mind if I wanted to go all Black

or a fun color. 

The final product

I decided to go with Purple for the table.  The red, blue, and white pots have my herbs (basil, lavendar, and mint).  Green Pot I am still brainstorming on what I want to plant inside of it.  Pot on top of the table did have my pink blooms but the storm that blew through this past weekend blew off all the blooms. I am also thinking about painting the pot on the table a different color as well!!  The red pot used to be a brown color.  

The paint I used

Do you have a Tip Me Tuesday project you would like to share?  If so, make sure to leave a comment and link below.  Would love to see what you have created.  Happy Crafting!!!

*Linking up with Tip Junkie this week*

Wedding Dress - Mindful Monday

December 6, 2003 is truly one of my all time Top 10 Days of my life.  A day where my last name changed and my heart was wrapped in such intense joy, love, and happiness ever since (add in few tears, heartbreak because that is what real love is....loving, getting hurt, but always fighting your way back to love). 

I searched for a few weeks for the "perfect" dress.  The dress where we will only wear once.  Some may dream that one day your own daughter would wear the same dress on her wedding day.....I wore my dress for a few hours, quickly changed out of it, hit the road for a weekend trip to Hot Springs, AR (both Nathan and I were in college so we were very limited on budget for honeymoon, he had finals the next week, and I had to walk across the stage for my diploma). 

Rocket forward (truly can't believe we will celebrate 11 years this Sept. since we have been together) to today.  8ish months short of celebrating our 8th Wedding Anniversary.  I have not worn the wedding dress since, it has been shuffled between 4 moves, and until this weekend, it sat in back of the spare bedroom closet. 

Till today.....A friend told me about a Blog where you can send in your wedding dress for donation.  The donation of your wedding dress, will then be turned into small gowns for babies and children who have died.  Your wedding dress that helped you look even more beautiful on your wedding day, will be able to help babies and children be buried in something beautiful. 

http://lisahusmann.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/wedding-dresses/

I knew in my heart that this was something meant for my dress.  Especially after losing our baby at 10.5 weeks (miscarriage) I couldn't help but think of what sorrow you would feel when picking out an outfit to bury your child in.   

So I have boxed up my dress and will ship it off this afternoon.  My dress is in honor of our own loss and friends who have lost their own precious babies.  I would gladly pull out every wedding dress I could to just be able to bring some form of relief and joy in a time of such sadness and grief. 

Shrimp Tacos w/Spicy Cream Sauce - Recipe

I really really REALLY enjoy Seafood.  Past three years in Ohio I have not had good Seafood.  Blame it on being way up North, no bodies of water to get fresh fish, shrimp, etc, and if it was flown in "fresh" it would cost you an arm and a leg.  Now that we are back in the South, especially in the Carolina's, I can now get fresh seafood.  Here is a fabulous Shrimp Recipe!

Shrimp Tacos with Spicy Cream Sauce - Southern Living All Time Favorites Cookbook
**My notes

-1 (16oz) container of fat-free sour cream **we had so much sauce left over.  So either cut the sauce in half or invite a large crowd over for Shrimp Tacos....my vote is large crowd!  Also I used light instead of fat free
-2 t. chili powder, divided
-1 t. ground cumin, divided
-3/4 t. ground red pepper, divided
-3/4 t. salt, divided
-1/4 t. ground cinnamon
-3/4 c. water **I only used about 1/4 c. of water because fat free is liquidy enough for me
-1 lb. unpeeled, medium-size raw shrimp **I made sure to devein the shrimp as well as added a few more shrimp because the three of us were hungry
-3 T. orange juice **used V8 Splash flavor because all we had
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 t. olive oil
-1 avocado, chopped **I made a quick avocado dip since they were on the brown side
-8 (6 in.) corn, tortillas, warmed **Next time we will lightly fry to have some crunch

-Whisk together sour cream, 1 t. chili powder, 1/2 t. cumin, 1/2 t. red pepper, 1/4 t. salt, and cinnamon.  Add 3/4 c. water, stirring until smooth.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.

-Peel shrimp, and devein, if desired.  Combine remaining seasoning ingredients in Ziploc bag, add orange juice and shrimp.  Turn to coat and chill for 15 minutes.  Remove shrimp from bag and discard marinade

-Saute' garlic in hot oil in large skillet, over med-high heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add shrimp and cook 5 minutes OR just until Shrimp turn pink.  Do NOT over cook the shrimp. 

-Serve with sour cream mixture, avocado, **shredded cheese, in warm tortillas. 

-Enjoy!!!!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu - Recipe

I love CCB (Chicken Cordon Bleu).  Just was to afraid to tackle making it homemade.  Until my newest cookbook had simple ingredients and the best step by step directions.  This recipe is a keeper and oh so yummy!!

CCB - Our Best Bites Cookbook
**are my notes
-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-1/2 t. garlic powder
-1/2 t. onion powder
-1/4 t. black pepper
-1 c. shredded mozzarella, provolone, or Swiss cheese **I used mozz but next time will try with provolone
-6-12 slices thinly sliced ham **our ham was smoked ham
-1/2 c. all purpose flour
-2 eggs, lightly beaten
-1 c. panko bread crumbs
-1/2 c. freshly shredded Parmesan cheese **I used my Kraft green bottle that is grated since all on hand
-1 1/2 T. melted butter

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray

-Place breast on cutting board and place your non-dominant hand on top of chicken breast.  Using sharp knife, cut each breast completely in half-horizontally.  Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound until breasts are about /4-1/2 in. thick.  Repeat for remaining chicken (6 total pieces). **Make sure to pound out as much as possible or it is very difficult to roll and keep insides inside.

-Combine seasonings and sprinkle over one side of chicken breasts.  Divide cheese among all chicken breasts evenly, then lay 1-2 slices of ham, and roll chicken up to secure with toothpicks

-Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs/parm cheese all in separate shallow bowls

-Working with one chicken piece at a time, drudge into flour, then egg, and finally bread crumb mixture.  Coat all sides and use fingers to press bread crumbs on **no pictures here because fingers were covered in yummy goodness

-Place chicken on baking sheet, drizzle with melted butter, and bake 25-35 minutes

-Cool 10 minutes before serving and remove toothpicks. 

-Serving with some veggies and warm sourdough bread....Enjoy!!!!

Fever Series - Book Review

Good vs. Evil, Human World vs. Fae World, Love, Lust, War, and man I didn't want this series to end.  Set to current day.  Our world is coming to an end as we know.  All because of the Unseelie unleashed into the human world.  If you like mystery, a book that keeps you guessing on who done it, whose next, will love bring them together or continue to tear them apart, and come magic filled with Irish folklore.....then this series is for you.  4 out of 5 stars is my rating.  It would get 5 out of 5 but language.  It is not overly horrible with language but the "F" word is used through out but I know about readers and the "F" word. 

It kept me guessing through all 5 books and even down to the last pages, asking exactly "Who is MacKayla Lane"?  The Fever Series and one of the Highlander Series by Karen Marie Moning are the first I have read of Moning's.  I plan on checking out more of the Highlander Series and see if I like them as much as the fever series.  

Enjoy and if you have read the Fever Series, what did you think?

Social Parade Friday!!

Last Friday I joined the Social Parade and found two new Blogs that I love.  Thought I would join again and see what I find this Friday.  Hop on over and check it out!!

April 11-15 - Friday Wrap Up

Instead of actual Tot-School this week, Gabriel played his little heart out all week long, while he gave me the chance to finish some much needed projects.  Finished two craft projects (check back this coming Tuesday for Tip Me Tuesday), tried some fabulous recipes (didn't get to posting yesterday but will this weekend), did some more organizing of the house, went to a Pope Spouses Meeting, brainstormed some fabulous ideas with a fellow Key Spouse about our unit, and most importantly, had important paperwork finished for upcoming deployment.  Nothing like a deployment to get your Will and Guardianship in order. 

Low point of this week was the reality of how fast the deployment is approaching.  Mr. May just stops and watches Gabriel like he is memorizing every detail.  Even down to the number of hairs on Gabriel's head.  Asked him one night whats up and Mr. May just replied "I am going to miss so much while I am gone".  I smiled, reassured the best I could, and made a mental note to charge every camera battery and video camera.....this deployment might turn me into the crazy camera lady around time.

High point of the week is Gabriel's vocabulary.  This kid just won't slow down with his talking.  He has been saying 2-4 word phrases for awhile now but this week he is talking in sentences (subject, verb, emotion, etc).  Sometimes we laugh because he will quickly try to spit out whatever he is trying to say, that his sentence comes out like Yoda talking!!  Other times we have ZERO idea what he is talking about and man does he get mad.  He gives us this look of, man my parents are dumb.  Just when I think he is such a little man, he will stb his toe, scream like the world is coming to an end, and run to jump in my lap for all the snuggles he can get.  During thos snuggle times, I get all sentimental and realize how much I love being a mom.  It is never boring for sure! 

That has been our week in a nut shell.  Next weekends are going to be packed with parties, celebrations, family visits, and beach vacation.  I am really looking forward to it all!! 

Hope you all have had a fabulous week!!!! 

Leave a comment if you want to share you highs and lows of your week

My "Work-In Progress" Back Patio

Little Sneak Peak of a Table and Chairs I am redoing 

Wordless {Wordful} Wednesday

I see you.....

Now I don't......

This is how mom feels about my haircut

I keep telling her I am still a little stud

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!! 

Linking up with PBD

HH6 - New Bloggers

Our cooking club has added two new Bloggers.  Welcome and can't wait to see what they create for April's Challenge!!!

Which April's challenge is - Create a meal or a dish from a country you have been stationed in, lived in, visited, or would like to visit (America excluded). It can be a main dish, side dish, dessert, drink, or all of the above. Tell us the story of why you chose it and if it has any special meaning to you or your family.

New Bloggers -
Courage Is Not An Image

Bitchin' In My Kitchen

Mindful Monday

Things that are on my mind this gloomy weather Monday Morning..............

1.  Judging of others because they are Army vs. Air Force or Enlisted Wife vs. Officer Wife.  I always thought you decide a relationship by that person's character and how they treat you.  No by their marriage status or what other's tell you.

2.  Seriously considering trading in my SUV for a full size car.  Gas prices are killing me and in a month or so making a 15 hour drive back home.....that is a lot of gas.  Or should I keep the SUV, pay it off, and have husband get a truck.  But then two tanks to fill with gas, but only one car note.  I truly want something with better gas prices but need something to haul things.  Point in case a friend is giving us a little kids picnic table and we couldn't get it in SUV.  If we had a truck we could......

3.  Need to do a better job of posting our 30 Days of Outside Inspiration Ideas.  Out of 11 days we have been outside all but 1.  However, I hardly took pictures......blame it on upcoming deployment and living within the moment.

4.  Upcoming deployment.......

5.  Scrub and declutter house from top to bottom to get ready for MIL for a few days and then FIL.

6.  Gabriel.  He is growing up like me by being hundreds (some thousands) of miles away from his grandparents.  It breaks my heart to think of all the grandparent fun he is missing out on.  Yep some days it just kills me and other days I get jealous for him.  He doesn't know any different so he can't be jealous.

7.  My grandma in Texas and my Grandparents in Missouri.  Hope they know how much I love and cherish them!!

8.  4 craft projects half way finished.  Blame it on reading some amazing books lately and jumping feet first into a few of the projects without researching the best way to create these projects.

9.  Baby fever.........yeah moving on HA!

10.  The love I have for my family and friends.  May they know I am their biggest supporter and I miss them dearly!

11.  My nieces and nephew.  This Air Force life prevents me from being the fun and cool aunt that spoils them rotten, takes them to parks, movies, and coming to their school functions.  None the less I cherish those 3.....even if I am always late mailing them their birthday gifts.....time and I don't get along when it comes to the Post Office!!

Image courtesy of Google

Goodreads

Wanted to share a fabulous site for Book Lovers.  It is called Goodreads.  It is a free (truly love a freebie) site where you can keep track of books you want to, are, or have read.  It has been the best thing for me since I can never remember which book(s) I want to read. 

I highly encourage you to hop on over to Goodreads and if you would like, request me as a friend.  Yep that is another positive about Goodreads, you can be friends with people to see what they are reading and click that book to your list of Read, To-Read, or Reading.  How else do we find books to read....by suggestions from fellow readers! 

Happy Saturday and I am off to start a new book - The Other Life by Ellen Meister

It's a Social Parade

I really enjoy reading Blogs and learning about cooking, crafts, decorating, and oh so much more.  A friend of mine over at Ooh Lala......Thirty has participated in It's a Social Parade for awhile now.  Through her and this parade I have found some great Blogs.  Finally thought why don't I join?  So I am!!! 

Tot School - Month Long Wrap Up

We have taken about a month off from any structured Tot-School.  Reason being I had a little melt down.  It was because of a alphabet book.  Gabriel and I go to the library once sometimes twice a week.  All the ladies know him and know our routine of reading, walking the shelves, picking out books for him and I, and just enjoying the peace of a library. 

One day he picked up a Dinosaur Alphabet Book (can't find the title at this time).  He loves this book.  At the end of the book is the alphabet in lower and upper case letters.  I wanted to see which letters we needed to work on, so I pointed out the upper and then lower case letters.  Our son knew ALL the letters but 3.  Yes you read that right my 2 year and 3 month old child correctly said the name for each letter.  We thought it was a fluke so tried a couple of times over the next few days and had the same response.  All upper and lower case letters but 3.

At first I was so stinkin proud of our little guy and not to mention what my teacher brain started thinking.  I immediately sent out texts and emails to my teacher friends and asked for advice of where we should go in our schooling and do next. 

I truly am thankful for their responses and have a game plan brewing in my mind.  However, I also cried and realized I'm not ready for Gabriel to be this mature.  Silly.....probably!!  But kids already grow up so fast as it is, that this momma needed a break from school and just enjoy the small window of joy, fun, exploring, learning.  As well as be proud and oh so very thankful for this child God has truly blessed us with.

However, Gabriel has been bored this week....very bored.  Come Monday I guess back to Tot-School we go.  I am very excited but plan to take it slower.  Do more observing and zone in on what he truly finds joyful and reinforce that. 

Today I thought I would post some pictures of things we have done the past month or so.  Everything from Dr. Seuss, St. Patrick's Day, building towers, and gravity. 

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

Green Eggs for Dr. Seuss and

Pancakes for National Pancake Day...who knew?!

Coffee Filter Shamrocks

Can you guess which plate is Gabriel's paint?? LOL

Walk away to wash your hands and little guy

sneaks the camera

Making Oobleck after reading

Bartholomew and the Oobleck - very fun!!

Our hands might have been bluish/green for a little while

1st sorted our colors into groups

2md I drew lines for the rainbow

Together we glued and laid out our tissue paper

for the rainbow

Building Towers and Playing Drums

Our old girl had to supervise the noise

Testing out gravity with a piece of a napkin

Finished rainbow and shamrock

This Shamrock is my favorite of Gabriel's!

King Cake - Recipe

Yes I know it is April and this is the month for Easter but......I didn't get a chance to post about Mardi Gras, Dr. Seuss, so I am now for the next few postings.
Mardi Gras is a fabulous celebration in Louisiana.  Many people only see what the news decides worthy enough to air.  As in drunk fights, shirts flipped up for beads, and yeah...whatever...that is NOT my Mardi Gras.  My Mardi Gras is fabulous Cajun Food, Drinks, celebrations, laughter, catching beads (no I do not show my ta-tas people), and King Cake.  I have been away from my Louisiana home for almost 7 years now.  However, I always make sure to bring a little bit of Mardi Gras to wherever we may be stationed.  This year I brought Mardi Gras to North Carolina.  After weeks of trying to find a local place that sales King Cakes I went to the Internet to make my very own King Cake.  Thanks to Our Best Bite (you will hear more about them within the next few posts) I created my first ever King Cake!!! 

King Cake - Recipe - Our Best Bites
**My notes**

Dough
2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. canola oil
1/2 c. sugar
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 heaping tsp. baking powder
1/2 scant tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Filling

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
3/4-ish c. powdered sugar. This depends on personal taste–once you’ve added the fruit filling, adjust the sweetness to taste.
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 heaping c. cherry (or strawberry) pie filling
**In Louisiana you will find everything from cherry, blueberry, cinnamon, and yummy pralines.  You truly can't go wrong with the filling.  I used cherry because that is my favorite!**

Glaze

8 oz. powdered sugar
4 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. almond extract
Enough milk to make a glaze to desired consistency

Topping
Yellow, green, and purple colored sugars.  **I made my own purple with sandwich baggies, sugar, and few drops of red and blue food coloring.  Mix/shake bag and go from there on what to add of the red or blue to create purple**

Create
First, you’ll want to prepare the dough. In a large (at least 4-quart) pot or saucepan, combine milk, sugar, and oil. Heat just to boiling, stirring occasionally, and then remove from heat.

When the milk is warm (around 105-115 degrees), sprinkle yeast over the milk mixture. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. Stir. Mix in 4 c. flour and cover. This can be done with a wooden spoon; the dough is VERY soft, more like a batter. Allow to stand for 1 hour.  **When it was time to add flour, I have done it two ways, by hand or the Stand Mixer.  For King Cake I went by hand but I think the Stand Mixer is so much easier!**

Mix remaining 1/2 c. flour with baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle over the dough and then mix it in with the wooden spoon. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the pan and refrigerate for at least a few hours and up to a few days.

When ready to make your King Cakes, prepare the filling. With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, almond extract, and powdered sugar until soft and fluffy. Mix in fruit filling and add more powdered sugar and/or fruit filling if you need to. Keep in mind that you’ll have the filling in a semi-sweet dough and topped with a sugar glaze PLUS a sugar garnish, so you might want to go easy on the sweetness.

To prepare cakes, turn dough onto a greased surface and divide in half. Roll one half into a 4-5″-24″ rectangle. Spread with 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture and then carefully fold the top half of the dough over the filling and then fold it again so you have a tube.   Seal the edges of the dough and then carefully form a circle and seal the two ends together. 

Place on a greased cookie sheet and cover with a clean cloth.

Preheat oven to 375 and repeat with other 1/2 portion of dough.

Bake each ring for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are deep, golden brown–you don’t want to burn them, but you want to make sure the cakes are cooked all the way through.

While the cakes are cooling, prepare the glaze. Mix powdered sugar and melted butter together with an electric mixer. Add in almond extract and then add enough milk to achieve the desired consistency you want for your glaze. When the cakes are cool, spoon the glaze over the cakes and then sprinkle with alternating yellow, purple, and green sugars.

Milk mixture cooled off

Adding flour

After I let it rise

Form into a ball was/is easiest for me

The cream cheese mixture

After adding yummy cherry filling

Half of the dough about to rolled out

Hands were a mess but the filling has been added

and I then folded to transfer to baking pan

Form into a ring shape 

Lightly golden brown

(sorry but have really bad lighting in kitchen)

Decorated with glaze and the colors of Mardi Gras

This King Cake is truly easy, delish, and so much fun to make!  Enjoy and hope you hop over to check out Our Best Bites site!!  Next up will be my review on their cookbook and recipe of Chicken Cordon Bleu'