Lucky You!

My neighbor makes Irish Cream every year during the holidays and passes it out to his friends for gifts. It is so much less expensive to make than to buy a bottle of Baileys and is perfect for your St. Paddy's day celebration. Drink up!

Irish Cream from Jim and Andrea

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 c. half and half
• 4 large eggs
• 2-3 tbsp. chocolate syrup
• 2 tsp. instant coffee
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. whiskey

Blend all ingredients in the blender til smooth. Refrigerate for up to one month. Makes one half gallon. Add this to your coffee for a nice pick-me-up, or use it in other recipes. Be sure to share with your friends, maybe you'll get lucky :-)

Looking Back...

...To the day we said "I do".

March 6, 2005

Make A Wish

*Birthday 2007*

Happy Birthday Mr. H! I love you honey :-) This cake is not the prettiest cake, but it is so good and easy-peasy. It's just a simple Texas sheetcake- chocolate cake, chocolate icing and pecans. I add a little cinnamon to the icing to give it a real depth of flavor. It really makes the chocolate stand out, but a little espresso would be good too. This recipe comes right off the Duncan Hines cake mix box. I prefer to make my cakes from scratch, but this one is so good, I didn't feel the need to.

Pecan Fudge Sheetcake from Duncan Hines

Cake:

• 1 pkg. Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Fudge Cake Mix

Icing:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp. milk
• 3 1/2- 4 c. (1 lb.) powdered sugar
• 1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x 9 inch glass pan. Prepare cake according to package directions. Pour into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to cool slightly before pouring icing over the top.

To prepare icing, place butter, milk and cocoa in medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until butter is melted. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time while continuing to stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract and chopped pecans. Pour over warm cake. Cool completely.

NOTES: This cake is best if made the night before or in the morning, so the cake has plenty of time to cool and set up. You can also use a different chocolate cake mix, if you have a favorite brand, but the butter in the recipe makes it extra rich and yummy.

I add an extra 1/2 c. of pecans (total 1 1/4 cups), but you can add other nuts if you prefer.