Cornish Pasty is a hit with many, which make sense considering so many of us Phoenicians come from the Midwest. A tasty pasty can offer some serious comfort for anyone feeling nostalgic for their Midwestern roots. If you have the blues and are longing for a treat from your youth but don’t feel like heading to the local pasty maker in town, why not whip up some of you own?

Learn how to make pasty’s from my piece at the Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog: Cornish Pasty At Home

Will Prince Williams favorite dessert  be a part of the many celebration breakfast, dinner or after party? Well it should be a part of your viewing party. It is called Chocolate Crunch Cake and it is decadent.

Click Here for the Recipe: Prince Willams Chocolate Crunch Cake

When the short one requested that the theme of her 5th birthday be “Under The Sea” I thought, this will be fun. I busted out the Cricut to make table top decorations that looked like aquariums. To do this I covered Subway Sandwich 3 foot delivery boxes with blue plastic table clothes, the boxes were left over from my friend Carrie (of Suchity Such) son’s birthday party – I thought they were a perfect re-use item. I then cut fish and octopus from the Create-a-Critter Cartridge and glued them on. I then used Wite-Out markers to make bubbles.

To save the memory of the day I made a matching photo frame by painting a ply-wood frame metallic blue, attaching aqua washi tape and then matching octopus and gluing on googly eyes, I will put a picture from the birthday party once I print them.

For snacks at the party I filled clam shell bowls with gold fish crackers and chocolate “treasure” coins.

Finally, I made cupcakes topped with plastic swords and blue frosting for the boys and plastic mermaids with purple frosting for the girls.

Happy Crafting xoxo

Happy St. Patrick Day – I made Irish Soda Bread.

Okay, so soda bread came long after Saint Patrick. Bicarbonate of soda arrived on the scene in the mid 1840′s as a leavening agent and was used in Ireland to work with the wheat grown there. Whatever, who needs the details of St. Patrick anyway. This bread is to soak up all the beer in your belly on the biggest beer drinking day of the year. Spend your money on the brew and get thrifty on the bread by baking a loaf yourself.

Today I am baking bread and sipping tea. I made homemade delicious caramel tea – yum! It is made with candy caramels, milk and black tea. For the complete tutorial visit mu piece at The Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog: Caramel Tea

If you’ve got that caramel loving feeling – head out to Caramelpalooza tonight at Smeeks on Central and Camelback for some caramel taste testing.

The King Cake is a Mardi Gras tradition that involves a bread type cake, a small plastic baby, and a party. Legend says the King Cake has a small plastic baby hidden inside and the person who gets the slice with baby in it has to host the next party. This recipe offers  thriftiness because it makes two loaves, enough to freeze and save for later. It is a labor of love but well worth the all day process and since most of the ingredients are in your pantry, it’s a lot cheaper to make a King Cake for Mardi Gras then to rush out and buy one.

Learn how to make a Mardi Gras King Cake from my piece at The Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog post: Mardi Gras King Cake

Lasagna can seem like an ingredients-heavy meal with a lot of steps and full of fat from the noodles and cheese, but there are ways around all of the road blocks. Make it simple by using “no-boil” lasagna noodles, skip the meat and add in grated vegetables for a sneaky healthier — and affordable — option.

Learn how to make this quick recipe from my piece at The Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog: Quick and Sneaky Lasagna

What’s better then home cooking? Home cooked baked goods – that’s what!  This week I am sharing the brownies I made for Valentine’s Day and decorated with powdered sugar. What made these extra special? I used my Cricut and the Valentines Day Cartridge: Love Struck to cut out paper “candy hearts” designs. I laid those paper cut outs on top of the brownies and used a flour sifter to coat with powdered sugar. Results? Love, kisses and a smiles all around.

Step 1: Mix up Brownie Recipe. For my homemade brownies click here: Valentines Brownies

Step 2: Pour the mix into a 5 inch pan.

Step 3: Take out of the oven, allow to cool, place paper cut outs on top

Step 4: Fill a hand squeeze flour sifter with powdered sugar and coat the top of the brownie. Remove paper hearts.

Step Five: Enjoy!

Happy Crafting and Happy Eating – Yum! xoxo Lovely Lula

While helping an elderly neighbor of mine to unpack all of her Christmas things I came across a vintage ornament printed with a recipe for Campbell’s tomato soup cake. She shared with me that this was a popular thing to do bake in the day when you were trying to be thrifty and change up flavors. It was also from the hay day of adding cream soups to everything. Those days have died out somewhat, but for a thrifty Christmas throwback I thought I would give it a shot. I didn’t follow their recipe because they just used a boxed cake mix and I am more interested in the “from scratch” approach. I added a contemporary spin by making the recipe into cupcakes instead of a cake. They are actually pretty good.

Learn how to make Tomato Soup Spice Cupcakes via my post over at Phoenix New Times Chow Bella blog: Tomato Soup Spice Cupcakes