Domestic Diva!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to try to cook more meals myself. I have never been one who loves to cook, but I am really trying to cook more so that I can get better! I have always had the mentality of taking the easiest route possible when it comes to cooking, but recently I've really been diggin' homemade cooking! Shocking!

In the spirit of Mardi Gras season kicking off, I decided to cook a Shrimp Gumbo Casserole that Kelly's Corner had blogged about before. I think it's a Paula Deen original recipe. It was SO GOOD and VERY easy. I am talkin' easy peazy! You can find the recipe HERE.

I have also been craving a Mardi Gras King Cake the past couple of days, and just as I was ready to order one online from Randazzo's, Elizabeth from Elizabeth's Epigrams told me about the Southern Living homemade recipe she had made before. Now, I am down with cooking meals myself, but baked goods? No ma'am. I just don't get down with that. But, with a New Year comes a new me, so I thought, "what the heck".

{Don't you just love my bangs clip? ha!}

I will admit, it was VERY DIFFICULT to make the King Cake. It took me a total of THREE hours and was very tedious. You have to let the dough rise two times and there are several steps to the whole recipe, but by the time it was done the end product is SO worth the work!

The grocery store did not have purple sprinkles, therefore I only got to use yellow and green. I hereby named the cake the "Jamaican Pride" King Cake because of the colors! ha!

{My King Cake- I think I was supposed to make it round, but whatev!}

{An offical King Cake- the pros don't play!}

The cake tastes AMAZING and Rob even said it's the best thing that I've ever made. If you're up for the challenge, HERE is the recipe for the King Cake.

The finished meal was spectacular and hit the spot for the beginning of Mardi Gras!