Colorful Birthday Surprises!

***WARNING: This post is riddled with pictures!***

Consider yourself warned. A few weeks ago, Laura and I traveled to her home to surprise her dad for his birthday. We had a blast planning out the menu and executing, as we were both officially DONE with school. Summer is in! So we celebrated by spending all day in the kitchen. It was heaven to me! Plus, Laura and I have learned to be a pretty bang-up kitchen team. She's the cook, I'm the baker. It works out nicely.

EDad really likes spaghetti. It's standard fare for most American households, and he's happy as a lark when spaghetti is served. We wanted to give the spaghetti a nudge of excitement, as this was a party we were throwing! Our spaghetti came with homemade tomato sauce, sauteed veggies, and turkey meatballs. And everyone seemed to enjoy it! Sometimes ground turkey can turn out dry, but our meatballs were really good, if I do say so myself.

We also made another one of EDad's favs - Frozen Pea Salad. We omitted the step about warming the bacon bits, but apparently it was a crucial step that allowed the flavors to meld together Whoops! We'll know for next time.

Finally, the cake of all colorful cakes was made for dessert. EDad's favorite of all favorites is M&Ms, so we, naturally, HAD to incorporate them. Laura found a great little recipe for M&M cake, and it turned out quite nicely. The batter was more of a pound cake consistency, and M&Ms were baked right in, so a layer of candy-coated chocolate formed on the bottom. There was a simple lemon-y glaze that went over the cake and created the glue for more M&M decorations. It was pretty tasty if I do say so myself!

We had a great time! Thanks to Laura's family for allowing us free-range in the kitchen! I love birthdays!

I leave you now with just a little bit of ambiance (haha!) and a recipe.

Christmas M & M Cake or...Anytime CakeCAKE:

1 cup butter -- softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1-16 oz. pkg. red and green M&M's (Any Color Will Do)

FROSTING:

1 cup powdered sugar

juice of 1 lemon

2 teaspoons water

1. Cream together butter and sugars until light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. Stir together milk and vanilla.

3. Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add flour and milk to creamed mixture.

4. Reserve 1/4 cup M&M's for topping. Stir remaining M&M's into batter. Pour into greased and floured 12-cup bundt or tube pan.

5. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan.

6. Mix together frosting ingredients to make glaze. Drizzle over top and decorate with reserved 1/4 cup M&M's.

NOTE: The chocolate from the M&M's melts and goes to the bottom of the pan (top when turned out of pan) and the red an green M&M's leave colorful trails throughout the cake.