Lasting Memories Challenge #72 -- A real TREAT -- YUM!! :)

Happy SUNNY Sunday!!  I'd like to welcome my NEW friends who have joined me this week...  I have an AWESOME bunch of Fabulous Followers, and I'm so GLAD to welcome some new friends to the crew!! :)  I love Sundays cuz there's always a FUN challenge going on...  And this Sunday is certainly no exception!!

Over at Lasting Memories Layout Challenges, my Design Team Sisters and I were challenged to create some inspirational layouts featuring RECIPES for a REAL treat!! -- Now, I had no idea what that meant when I first read it...  Usually a "recipe" challenge means so many buttons, adding a ribbon, stirring in some bling...  But THIS TIME the challenge is to include a REAL RECIPE on your layout!!  I don't know about you, but I had a few pictures involving food that I could choose from...  Of course, if you want to share a special family recipe (with a picture of the finished dish), or some kind of fancy drink that you look forward to creating, or even some homemade bath salts or crafty gifts, we'd LOVE to see your take on the challenge too...  Be sure to pop on over and check out all of the Design Team inspiration to help get your creative mojo hopping!! :)

 

So....  To inspire ya just a bit, I've created this 12x12 layout from The-Girl-Child's 17th Birthday...  

The tradition in our family is that the Birthday-Person gets to choose where they would like to go for dinner (or they can choose a favorite home-cooked dinner instead, but public humiliation when the wait-staff that isn't hiding in the back room comes to sing at your table seems to be the preferred way to celebrate in this house!).  I expected The-Girl-Child to pick someplace that served large cuts of beef...  Perhaps a 32 oz. steak or a T-Bone for four, but instead she chose The-Boy-Child's favorite spot...  The local authentic Mexican Restaurant...  One of the great things about having this fantastic (and authentic) Mexican Restaurant only a few miles from home is that we've learned quite a bit of Spanish since they've opened...  I haven't decided if it's a good thing or not that most of the employees now recognize us on sight (and immediately bring The-Boy-Child his customary bowl of Queso Dip), but it's definitely a real treat when they spoil us with the biggest and the bestest of the authentic Mexican desserts...  And did I mention that this place is authentic??? :)

When they place Fried Ice Cream on our table, what follows is the most amazing thing EVER...  Spoons become fencing swords, sparks fly, and the road-runner moves in slow motion compared to The-Boy-Child AND The-Girl-Child vying for the next bite...  By the time I got my camera out, what you see above is all that was left for a picture...  

I'm always surprised when people tell me they've never tried Fried Ice Cream before...  I mean, with strange things like deep-fried Oreos, macaroni-and-cheese, and Twinkies out there, who wouldn't think that Ice Cream would be an even better delicacy rolled in cornflakes and dipped in hot oil before being drizzled with chocolate, strawberry, and caramel sauce and topped with whipped cream and a cherry???  No, really...  It's delicious, and you should definitely put it on your list of things to try...  Hey, tonight seems like a good night to do it!! :)

 

Mexican Fried Ice Cream

 

Ingredients:

• 1 qt. vanilla ice cream
• 3 c. crushed cornflakes cereal
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 3 egg whites2 qts. oil for frying

Directions:

1. Scoop ice cream into 1/2 c. sized balls.  Freeze for 1 hour.
2. Combine cornflakes and cinnamon.
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until foamy.
4. Roll ice cream bowls in egg whites, then in cornflakes, covering completely.  Repeat if necessary.
5. Freeze for 3 hours.
6. In deep fryer or large, heavy saucepan, heat oil to 375.
7. Using a basket or slotted spoon, fry ice cream balls for 10 to 15 seconds each or until golden. 
8. Drain quickly on paper towels and serve immediately (with chocolate, strawberry, and caramel sauces, whipped cream, and a cherry!).

Now about my layout...  I wanted to use the bright, fun colors of the restaurant in my layout, so I selected many colors (red, yellow, sea foam, mediterranean, purple, and raspberry) as well as some geometric strips that have been hidden in my stash...  I cut the "Feliz Cumpleanos" title with the Lyrical Letters Cricut Cartridge at 3" -- I used my Gypsy so I could weld the title together...  I wanted to bring out the ornate design of the sombrero in the picture so I added the gold Stickles to the title and dots...

I used my white Signo pen to add the faux-stitching to the geometric strips and cut some tabs for some focused journaling...

I have a few more pictures to add to a second 12x12 layout (for the page opposite this one), including a picture of The-Girl-Child with our favorite waitress, Rosa...  And now that I'm hungry for some authentic Mexican food, I think I'd better get my snow boots ready!! :)

 

A new "treat" over at Lasting Memories is the bi-weekly SKETCH inspiration...  If you need a little help getting started on your RECIPE layout, feel free to use the sketch as a starting point...  Hey, I did, but I ended up veering FAR off the sketch path!!  It still helped me to get an idea of where I wanted my pictures and title (if you turn the sketch sideways, you'll see how I started)...  Anywhoooo...  This sketch is provided by Heather... This is an optional sketch and is NOT mandatory for our challenges, BUT if you do decide to use the sketch (even if it's NOT for our challenge), please be sure to leave a comment with a direct link to your creation as we'd all love to see it!! If you choose to use the sketch IN the challenge, be sure to link it up HERE (so you'll be considered for the LMLC TOP 3 as well as the GIVEAWAY)!!

This week, we have another GREAT GIVEAWAY from DT member, Stacia !!  For your chance to WIN this AWESOME prize pack of goodies, be sure to play along with us by sharing YOUR favorite recipe layout!! :)

Thanks for stopping by today!!  Hope your Sunday is as blessed as it can be!! :)

Until next time,