Oh my goodness where have we been!?!? We've neglected the poor blog here for a while. We have been busy though. Crazy schedules, summer holidays, no time. No time at all. Back in June I had a track meet for the KC Corporate Challenge and so that took up a good week of June. Prior to that were races and a myriad of other things like trap shooting for KC Corporate Challenge as well.
 |
| Color Me Rad: April 2013 |
 |
| Warrior Dash: April 2013 |
 |
| Mother's Day 5k: May 2013 |
Then in late May I competed in the KC Corporate Challenge trap competition at Smithville Lake Missouri. I shocked myself and won 2nd place in my division for the women. How cool is that!!!??? And to think I had only practiced for 3 months. Next year's goal....1st place.
 |
| KCCC Trap: 2nd Place May 2013 |
 |
| KC Corporate Challenge |
So with me being busy with races, meets, and competitions Mike has been busy running around at work training and covering during the summer season. He, I am sure, is ready for hunting season. We are also looking forward to going to St. Louis to spend time with his family in October for the pig roast. Hope we get to see his folks before then too. Scheduling hasn't worked out quite enough for that recently. He also attended a wedding of a co-worker last weekend. Isn't he handsome?
So all in all it's just been busy and I can't say we have really been cooking a lot of awesome things due to that busy schedule we have maintained for a few months.
We are also moving in the next couple of weeks so that makes for interesting plans anyway. So we are limited at this point. Soon I will be extremely limited to paper plates and plastic-ware.... 0_o
So, on to the purpose of this post. Jell-O infused with vodka, vanilla ice cream flavored mind you, and then layered upon itself to create a rainbow.
Of course this requires 7 boxes of gelatin, 6 colors and 1 plain.
Of course this also makes me think, I need a mold - unless everyone wants me to make it in a Power Cat mold. Which of course since all these folks that will be eating it are pretty much from Missouri, it's a resounding "no." So instead, since we will all be at the pool I decided a sand bucket would suffice. Yes, I washed it thoroughly and it was purchased new to boot.
So I have laid out my ingredients all pre-measured to ensure easy start and finish to this monumental task. We have 3 cups of vodka, 4 1/2 cups water, 1 1/8 cup vanilla yogurt, 3 pkgs plain gelatin, 6 packages flavored jell-o in the rainbow colors of ROYGBIV (minus the indigo). Then We have the mold and a saucepan.
So this requires that you go layer by layer. Which I didn't think was terrible. You have a regular red (strawberry) layer, then you have a yogurt red layer, then orange, yellow etc until you reach the last color.
My reds sort of mixed a little, so I knew the top layer was going to look a bit off since I had issue with the amount of time it was taking to set up (20-30 min my patootie).
You have to really do about 2 colors at a time, so make 1, then when you have that set aside, start your next while you wait for your jell-o to set up a little.
Then you end up with 2 or more bowls at any given moment and a measuring cup as well as a bucket full of jell-o firming up....my kitchen was getting a little cramped.
The fun part was when I started the lime jell-o. The smell reminded me of church events and also "Ghostbusters." I know, strange combination of memories, but I can't help but think of Slimer when I see green jell-o with floating globs of vanilla yogurt.
So you alternate layers, plain, then yogurt. It starts stacking up over the course of a few hours like this. Glad I got the big bucket honestly. Didn't think green would be this high already.
By the time I had reached the blue layers I was ready to hit the sack, it was around 11 pm (I always start these things too late, or get the urge to bake at 10pm - why Lord, why!?)
I was getting excited after the blue layer since that meant only 1 layer I had to stay up for. That last vanilla yogurt infused layer I could leave overnight and not worry about.
So upon reaching the purple ending of the night I was ready to leave it in the fridge. I had begun, around the orange layer to set the bucket in the freezer for half of the recommended sitting time for set up so that this would go faster than 6 hours. Honestly it seems to have worked out just fine.
So all in all, it seems to have worked just fine. Once that last purple layer was semi-set in the freezer I pulled that baby out and poured the final layer and placed in the fridge to be forgotten about until morning, where I toted to work to keep in the fridge to prepare for the 1 hour drive out to drop off.
I hope everyone enjoys it.
****NOTE: If you want t make this for kids instead, just substitute the liquor for juice or water instead.***
Rainbow Jell-O Shot Cake
INGREDIENTS:
4 1/2 cups water (divided)
6 - 3 oz pkgs flavored gelatin (6 different colors - remember ROYGBIV)
6 tsp (3 envelopers approx) plain gelatin (like Knox)
3 cups rum or vodka (I used half plain vodka and half vanilla ice cream flavored vodka by Most Wanted)
1 1/8 cup vanilla yogurt (divided)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place bottle of liquor in the freezer for several hours if not overnight before beginning recipe.
2. Lightly spray bundt pan/or chosen mold with non stick cooking spray (get creative with your mold, I used a kids sand bucket purchased new for a pool party - you could use just about any container). Wipe off excess spray with a paper towel. A slight residue should remain, just enough to help unmold the gelatin without affecting the taste or appearance.
3. Pour 3/4 cup water into a saucepan and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the plain gelatin. Allow gelatin to soak for a minute or two. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Whisk in the first package of flavored gelatin. Whisk for at least 2 minutes, or until completely dissolved.
4. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup of the cold liquor, and stir to combine.
5. Pour 3/4 cup of the gelatin mixture into the prepared mold, and place in refrigerator (or in my case freezer for 10 min). Allow to set for 20-30 minutes, until gelatin is a little firm, but still sticks when touched. VERY IMPORTANT - if the layers set up too much, the next layer won't bond appropriately.
6. Refrigerate the remaining gelatin mixture in bowl for about 5-7 minutes or until slightly thickened and cooled. Gradually stir in 3 tablespoons of yogurt and stir until well blended. **This cooling step is also important - the gelatin must be cooled to room temperature before adding on top of other layers, or the layers will not be well defined.
7. Gently spoon the gelatin/yogurt mixture over set gelatin and return to refrigerator (freezer for 10 min). Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until gelatin is set but not firm (again, it should stick to finger when touched). As the layers progress, the setting time will become shorter as the pan and gelatin becomes colder, and the layers become thinner as more layers are added to the mold.
8. Repeat steps with remaining gelatin flavors, for a total of 12 alternating clear and creamy gelatin layers.
9. After completing all the layers, refrigerate the gelatin mold overnight. To unmold, fill a larger container or clean sink with warm water. With clean fingers, loosen the gelatin around the edges of the mold cavities. Next, dip the mold almost to the edge into the warm water for just a few seconds (10 seconds is usually more than enough). Dry the bottom of the mold with a towel and check the edges to see if they are loose. If not, repeat the dip for just a few more seconds. Place your serving plate on top of the mold and invert.
Your masterpiece is now ready to serve.
(recipe courtesy of Just a Pinch)
Now go out and cook!
