It’s Sunday and I’m already thinking about the week ahead of me. It should be light, but sometimes things come in without notice. That’s why my dinner schedule I keep flexible. I always start the week with what is still in the freezer or what’s on sale. I have salmon in the freezer and chicken so we’ll be eating those this week and all I have to shop for is side items!!

Tonight we are going over to friends for dinner, but still need to cook for lunch. Today is spaghetti – dad and kids love it and it’s easy. Plus yesterday when shopping at Wal-Mart I picked up a day old loaf of French bread (need to use).  That is a great tip for French bread pizzas you don’t need fresh bread and you save up to $1.50 a loaf. I always start with good store bought sauce and spice it up with my own seasoning. I add garlic (1-2 bulbs), 1-3 Tbsp. of Italian seasoning, and a little nutmeg (1/8 tsp.) to the sauce! So I’ll slice the bread and toast it while waiting for the water to boil for spaghetti. You want to set your oven at 350* and toast each side for 8-10 minutes. While both of those items are working brown your beef or turkey. Your spaghetti water should be boiling by now so throw in the amount of spaghetti you need to feed your family. After draining add your spices and turn a couple of times in the pan. Then add your sauce to heat. After the bread comes out sometimes I will rub a bulb of garlic over the bread and then spread it with butter.  In 20 minutes you have a great dinner.

I’ll be sharing more of my tips and recipes as we go along this sometimes mundane and sometimes exciting journey we call “what’s for supper”?

Look what Reed did this summer.  After helping in the cafe over the winter she wanted to tackle something a little more difficult for her birthday this year. She actually baked the caterpillar and the leaf and all I did was ice the leaf. But she did everything else.  She chose vanilla cake with lemon butter cream icing. It was AMAZING!

Normally I would not be able to take the time to do this craft with Reed.  So when my lease came up this summer I made the difficult decision and chose my kids over my business.  For the first time in three years I was able to enjoy the summer with my children. We went swimming and we were able to go to Washington, DC for 4th of July weekend.  During this time I received numerous phone calls and emails from my loyal customers.  This was very encouraging during this difficult transition and I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your love and support.

After all the fun and relaxation I found that my passion for creating good food hasn’t left. It’s because of this that I have decided to still offer Chicken Salad ($11.95 a pound) Cake Balls and Peanut Butter Balls by the dozen ($15.00). So if you would like to put in an order please email me at dana@purplekitchen.com. Please give a 48 hours notice and put order in the subject line.

I know that in the past I have not kept up with my blog but now with some extra time on my hands I will be able to update for frequently so please check back often for decorating tips, quick and simple recipes for your family and future products and services that I might be offering.

Reed serving her caterpillar cake.

My two beautiful girls

As a busy working mom, I’m always looking for an easy way out for supper! So I started making extra servings of our casseroles here at the cafe for my family. And then I thought that other women could benefit from me making these extra casseroles.  We great tasting casseroles that the whole family will enjoy, and it beats having to eat dinner out every night of the week. Buy a gift certificate for a new mom so she could have a few days worth of meals in the freezer. Or do you have to bring a meal to a family in your church buy bring them a hot home cooked meal from The Purple Kitchen. We also sell our awesome Chicken Salad by the pound. Whether it’s a hot meal or a cold meal that you are looking for – look no further than The Purple Kitchen!!

Spring time is the time of year to through Wedding Showers and Baby Showers!! Cupcakes are still a great way to make a great presentation for your table scape. There are so many cute things to put on cupcakes and so many different colors to match your theme. Just call for ideas or order for your next party.

Happy New Year to you all!!! I hope every one had a great Holiday season. We enjoyed our break, but we are back and ready to go!! 

This year I would like to share my decorating talent with my clients. We are going to set up a few classes this spring to teach decorated cookies, cupcakes and cakes. So keep close to the calendar to be able to catch one of the classes. We are also branching out to be in venues in town this year. We are going to be at The Chocolate Soiree and we are also going to be a part of the Options Magazine Bridal Wars. This is going to be a huge event and a lot of fun. Our part is to give samples away at the event and we are giving away a FREE wedding cake. I’m still getting the details and will have those along with the website information for my brides.

I’m looking forward to this 2009 year. Stay tuned and hold on for the ride!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Don’t forget if you need a gift for that some one that has everything buy a Purple Gift Certificate!! What a sweet alternative to the boring gifts stand by!!! We also have little gifts for your kids teachers just a little something to say Thank You for caring for my child.

The staff of The Purple Kitchen would love to take this time to say ” Merry Christmas and may God bless your New Year. We also want to thank all our guest for making 2008 a great year!”

I know this time of year everyone gets excited about baking. So I thought I would pass along some tips for your baking season. These tips are for before you even start your baking process.

• Read through your recipe to familiarize yourself with the steps of the recipe.
• To save time pre-measure your dry ingredients.
• Don’t forget to pre-heat your oven (I’ve made this mistake a couple of times)
• Follow your recipe carefully and remember you can over mix cookies. When mixing cookies you want to mix them just until the wet and dry are combine and some what smooth. When baking a cake you do want to beat air into the batter to help it rise, but if you beat it too long you will beat the air out of the batter and end up with a flat cake.
• Be sure to have plenty of baking pans to make light work of baking all those cookies. For cakes be sure you have the right pan size to ensure your cake has as much height as it needs.
• When your goodies are in the oven this is not the time to take on another project!!!! Stay with your oven or near your kitchen so you can hear the timers going off and be able to smell your goodies.
• Store baked goods properly. Did you know that if you put a piece of bread in the container with you cakes or cookies that it helps keep them moist? 
• Last but not least make baking fun by getting the kids involved or you and your sweet heart make a night of baking Christmas present. You may be surprised how this may become a tradition!!!

We hope you enjoy this beautiful time of year and I truly wish you all HAPPY BAKING!!

WE WILL BE OPEN UNTIL 6:00PM ON CHRISTMAS EVE – HOWEVER WE WILL BE CLOSED FROM DECEMBER 25 UNTIL JANUARY 3RD. This is our week to restore The Purple Kitchen and our family so that when we see you in 2009 we have rested faces and great ideas for you.