Birthday Dinner:)

.. so last monday night was my birthday dinner! my birthday was actually a month ago when we were in Mexico for my brother's wedding, but life has just been so crazy busy that this was the first chance that my whole family could get together to celebrate! last week, i didn't get a chance to cook, but i did get the chance to make my own birthday cake! usually my dad decorates it and he does a phenomenal job! but this year i wanted to do it as i had bought a frosting spatula and  hadn't had a chance to use it yet; this was the perfect opportunity. originally i was going to make my cake from scratch, but then i realized that as silly as this may sound, i love the Betty Crocker yellow cake mix. it is seriously the best. so i just used a box cake mix and canned vanilla frosting.

 one thing i learned with canned frosting is that if you dye it, it does something funny to the frosting and then it becomes very soft and does not hold up too well. by the time we ate the cake my flower was drooping down the side of the cake.

 For the meal we had:

 bagels from Panera: blueberry, french toast, chocolate chip, and cinnamon crunch.

 sunchips

 watermelon.

and for the main course, Marston's salad!
Marstons is a restaurant in Pasadena, California, where my mom grew up. they make this really great salad dressing and on the back of the dressing bottle is this amazing recipe. the recipe for what in the salad is below.

every year i celebrate my birthday with my Aunt Lynne, whose birthday is the day after mine!

i can't believe i'm already 17! next year at this time i'll be getting ready for college! it's crazy how fast time flies. i remember when i was little, looking up at seniors and thinking wow, they are so grown up. i feel very blessed by all the great family and friends that i have in my life!


oh yes, one of my birthday presents was a subscription to the Food Network Magazine ! so be looking out for some new recipes from there!

Marston's California Orange Salad

4-6 chicken breasts
2 heads Romaine lettuce, chopped
(or 2 heads iceberg lettuce and 1 head red-leaf lettuce, chopped)
1 avocado, chopped
4 handfuls of candied pecans, chopped
6 oz. black raisins
1 large apple, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
12 oz. Mandarin oranges, drained
4 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
8-12 oz. San Pasqual Dressing.