S'mores cake

 I LOVE s'mores... ALL THINGS S'MORES! I've tried bars, cookies, cupcakes, and of course the real thing. But why not try a cake!
So this is what I came up with for a friend's birthday.

 And it was a crowd pleaser cake. You know the one's that people go "eww...and ahhhh" over. It looked stunning on the cake stand. And then when you cut into it...forget it! All bets off. This cake asks for a glass of milk and a second piece.

So, make a yellow boxed cake in 9" pans (2 of them)
While the cake is cooking, mix up your favorite brownie batter. The fudgier the better.
When the cake comes out and cools, turn it out on a cooling rack and then put the brownies in one of the 9" rounds.
As the brownies cook, crush one package of grahams and add butter and a little sugar till it is holding together. Now you have to wait. The waiting is the hardest part.
I found that taking the brownie out of the round pan was tricky so I just sort of molded the brownie back together on the bottom yellow cake. But before that you need to add a layer of marshmallow creme with a little buttercream icing to make it easier to spread. Beware..super sweet layer!
Then add the brownie layer, then mold the graham layer ontop of that. Then another marshmallow creme layer then the top layer.
My marshmallow creme layer was to runny, hence the drip off. It would be pretty if it was thicker, also. I kind of liked how you were able to see the layers though. Let 'em know what they're getting into, right?
Enjoy.

sweet potato puree waffles

Basically, a healthier version of a classic.

We love breakfast for dinner. I feel like with my 3rd child, who eats nothing, that when she eats something I gotta make it count. So, we needed a breakfast for dinner/ nutritious something...and here it is adapted from several others I found on the net.

These are so good and you can't taste the "health" in them at all. My new favorite for all times of the day.

SWEET POTATO PUREE AND CARROT WAFFLES
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2-3/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/2 c skim milk
3/4 cup pureed veggies. (I used 3 sweet potatoes and 2 carrots, it was just about 3/4 cup)
3 T. oil
1 T. orange juice concentrate or 1 tsp. rind. (I don't love rind in things so I did concentrate)
*3 splenda packets (optional)

1. mix the dry ingredients
2. mix the wet
3. combine with wet with the dry.

Cook on a hot waffle iron sprayed with Pam.
Serve with homemade maple syrup.

3 cups water
3 cups sugar
1/4-1/2 cup brown sugar
Bring all to a boil.
Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add 1 tsp. maple and 1 tsp. vanilla

This is a sugar less version of traditional maple syrup and my family loves it and doesn't miss all the sugar of the regular.