New Career?!

I'm so excited! I made money off my cooking/baking! It was the greatest thing that could of happened at this moment.

Rusty and I have recently tossed around the idea of me getting a job at night so we could have a little extra income. A few days after that discussion, my friend asked if I could bake a cake for her to take in to work. I have to admit, I had a mix of emotions (scared, excited but mainly scared) because I had never made anything for money before.

So, I baked a 4 layer strawberry cake with strawberry icing and fresh strawberries. It was similar to this one:
After sending the cake out the door I started to want some cake! So, I baked one for Rusty and I but made it in a bundt pan so it wouldn't be as time consuming to finish.

I must admit, it was pretty darn good!

The great part, I think she is going to order more food from me!!! I think it would be great if I could make money off of my baking/cooking instead of getting a night job that would take me away from Rusty and Rowynn.

Praise God for wonderful blessings!

Yummy!

I have to share the dinner that we had last night! It was super yummy and fairly healthy (until the pie enters the picture!).

I made a turkey and vegetable meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Then, I noticed my pears were going south. That's when I decided to use the crust I had in the freezer to whip up a pear and apple crumble topped pie. Let's just say I'm pretty happy with myself!

This was our full meal. (Ignore the dirty stove.... it was just cooked on! Give me a break.)
The meatloaf turned out SO yummy. Even Rusty said it was good. Normally I have to twist his arm to get a complement about my food!

For the meatloaf:

1 T olive oil

1 small zucchini, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1-3 cloves of garlic,minced or use salt to make a paste

1/2 t red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

1 T fresh thyme

1/4 C parsley, chopped

1 1/2 lb ground turkey, 90% lean

1 C panko bread crumbs

3/4 C Parmesan cheese

1 C ketchup

1/2 C + 2 T balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425.

Saute veggies and garlic in olive oil until soft. Season with salt, pepper and 1/4 t red pepper flakes.

Whisk egg and herbs. Add turkey, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 C ketchup, 2 T balsamic and veggies.

Press into a 9x5 loaf pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Combine 1/2 C ketchup, 1/2 C balsamic and 1/4 t red pepper flakes. Pour evenly over meatloaf. Bake for 60-75 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes.

After dinner we munched on this delicious apple pear crumb topped pie. Mine came out a bit wet but it was still VERY good. I had a few pie crusts in the freezer. I use Pioneer Woman's crust recipe.

Crumb Topping

1/4 C oats

1/2 C flour

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 C cold butter cut in cubes

1 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 C chopped pecans

Filling

2 1/2 C peeled and sliced apples

2 C peeled and sliced pears

3/4 C sugar

2 T flour

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 T lemon juice

1 t lemon zest
1/4 C chopped pecans

9 in pie crust

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine crumb topping mix in mixer and mix on low until fine crumbles.

Combine filling mix and spread evenly in pie crust.

Top with crumb topping and bake for 25-30 minutes. Don't let your crust burn.