Five Favorites: It's June!

Playing with Hallie and her Five Favorite Fanatics.

1) 

Strawberry picking!

Eamon at 21 months

We haven't even gone yet this year, but it's on the summer to-do list!  The kids love gorging themselves on fresh strawberries while they pick a few, and I love coming home and making a cake with fresh strawberries.  Yummy!  Then in July, it's raspberry picking and blueberry picking in August, followed by apples in September.  Love!

2)

If you want an easy and delicious white cake with white frosting recipe, here it is!  I've made it exactly as the recipe reads, and also with vanilla extract in place of the almond extract and they are both delicious.  I love sheet cake because the ratio of cake to frosting is perfect!

3)

I just ordered this for Xander's 2nd birthday next month.  

(But I think we will have to break it out before then...he's too little to care, right?)

4)

Going to the beach this summer needs to be streamlined for Phil or he can't handle all 5 kids and their stuff.  (What a saint, I can't handle 5 kids at the beach alone, never mind all their stuff!)  This beach cart makes it possible.  It folds up in the car, then you get to the beach (or pool) and throw everything in it and only have one thing to drag instead of towels and bags of sand toys and chairs and floaties and sunscreen and a cooler.  So much easier!

5)

Anne from Bazin Chronicles nicely reminded me that I could join in their Mystery Ingredient Mondays, Mint Edition with my mint chocolate brownie recipe:

Mint Chocolate Brownies

 So easy to make but seem more complicated...which is exactly the kind of thing I like to serve to guests :)

Just bake these brownies as directed:

While they are baking, unwrap a whole box of these (this is a great kid cooking opportunity):

And when the brownies come out of the oven, layer the candies on top and once they start melting, just spread it around like frosting.

Let cool (sometimes I put them in the fridge to let the topping harden faster) and serve.

 I think the next mystery ingredient is jalapenos, which means I need to remember to have the milk ready for my eye ;)