WOO HOO--I broke 1000....d

as they say, "if the shue fits, wear it".

Spring Break has sprung here in the Valley outside the LA Valley -- fun day!!!

Party at sons pre-K, I got to mediate an ongoing dispute between fantasy baseball owners (40 yr old men are such babies- I wont be 40 till Easter ) as the "Commish's Official Beancounter and Yes, Boy'

CC- did you notice I changed my siggy to Shawnshuefus- I think I'll start a webblog 'The Official Rants and Ramblings with Wisom of THE Shawnshuefus (parts of the title taken from beignets on PTOtoday Ubb)'

Carrot Cake- mmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm (no coconut- I'm allergic to that AND benadryl )

Oceans 13 cool- the first was good- 2nd was OK- here's hoping they dont hit the dreaded sequel curse

Warning: Random meanness on the Sample of Donation Letter thread. Why do some people feel the need to be nasty? I'll never get it. I mean, when I'm in a bad mood I snarl at my husband for no reason. I don't go out on the web and find places to drop stink bombs.

Page two is all over the place today, huh?

beignets - You're too much fun. Shawnshuefus.... LMAO

Shawn - I agree. It's time to find a way out and bring our people home.

GaMom - Roman soldier, huh? You're a lucky girl.

Justa - Carrot cake is awesome!

d - Great recipe. I can't wait to try it.

LUV - I'm glad to see that Hummingbird Cake isn't as literal as Carrot Cake.

My boyfriends have all gotten together and made the best birthday present ever. Ocean's Thirteen opens on June 8 - my birthday. George, Brad, Matt. They're so, so yummy..... {sigh}

Okay, I found it on the website. I will say I can't get the frosting recipe to cover the entire cake so I just put some between each layer and on top. It's still good looking even when done that way and I think if you double the frosting and covered the whole cake it would be too much. Also, this cake doesn't rise much. It is very dense which is why you need to make 3 layers.

Coconut Hummingbird Cake
Serving: 12
INGREDIENTS:
Cake
Butter, for pans
3 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups (about 2) mashed ripe banana
One 18-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
1 cup chopped pecans(optional)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Cream Cheese Frosting
18-ounce package cream cheese, softened
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 1-pound box sifted confectioners' sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened; do not beat. Stir in the banana, pineapple with juice, pecans, and vanilla.

2. Divide batter evenly among cake pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of a cake layer comes out clean -- 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

3. Prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Reduce speed to low, and slowly add confectioners' sugar until frosting thickens.

4. Place one cake layer on a cake plate. Cover top with Cream Cheese Frosting; repeat with remaining two layers. Cover sides of cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle coconut over top. Serve.

Everyone have a happy and safe holiday weekend!

I got a recipe a couple of years ago from Country Living magazine for Hummingbird Cake. It's made with pineapple and bananas with a cream cheese frosting. Really yummy. Goes like crazy at our spring carnival! I won't be able to get the recipe posted, but you can probably search for it on the Country Living website. Decorated sugar cookies are always a hit at our family gatherings too. Something small but sweet. You could get egg shaped and bunny shaped cookie cutters at lots of places.