10 Days....

There are 10 days of school left this year!!  How is this possible?!? Where did this year go?  I'm really excited that my kids have finished up a great year.  For Meg, it was her 1st full year of elementary school.  For Bryson, however, it was his LAST year of elementary school! As of 11:10 on June 14th, I'll officially have a middle schooler!  What?????!!!!!???  I'm not old enough for this!!! 

In my mind, crazy as it is, Bryson is about 7.  Of course, then I look at him, almost directly in the eye I might add, and his big feet (bigger than mine) and remember he's less than 2 years away from being a TEENAGER!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! 

Sorry....just had to let that out.....

Have a great day!!!

Do you ever feel...

Overwhelmed?  Frustrated?  Defeated?  Alone?
 

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. 

Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.

   But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 

 I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people,

 that have set themselves against me round about.

Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God: 

for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone; 

thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah

Psalm  3

The Man I LOVE

If you didn't know, Adam and I started dating in high school.  We began dating in the fall of 1991, when I was a Junior and he was a Sophomore...yep, I'm older! :)  I knew from the first time I saw him play with one of his little cousins, and how good he was with her, that I was going to marry him one day.  I mean, what was not to love about this guy, who at the time wore flannel shirts and Doc Martens (we all did, it was the 90's!)?

We dated for almost 8 years before we got married in the middle of the summer in 1999...my grandparents 51st wedding anniversary no less! (one day, Adam will meet Grandpa...inside those pearly gates!)  Soon after, we became pregnant with our Bryson.  Enter autism.  Enter struggles.  Enter GOD!! Enter Grace!!!

Adam isn't the man I married.  Yes, he's still able to quote just about any movie line, loves cars and Metallica, but God changed him. (me too!!) He's patient. He's loving.  He's kind.  He's sweet.  He makes me laugh til I cry.  He loves our kids fiercely, but most of all, he loves the LORD! More than he loves me, Bryson or Meghan.  More than American Pickers and classic cars.  He has transformed in front of my eyes into one of the most Godly men I know.  I am honored to be his help mate in this life.  I'm blessed that God gave us each other so early in our lives.  I'm blessed to be serving along side of him in our live and at our church.  He's an amazing man, and I love him so, so much!!!

Opening Day!!

Now, if you know me, you know that I LOVE baseball!!  I mean, it's an emphatic, I-don't-care-who's-playing-I'm-watching, LOVE of the sport!!  Well, what better way to celebrate than to have hot dogs?  And what better place in Michigan to get them, than A&W!!???  In my excitement, I bought a gallon, yes, GALLON, of root beer from A&W.  After the food was gone, the excessive amount of root beer wasn't.  I started to think that we would have this for a while, but then I remembered "cupcake Friday", sooooooo....I made root beer cupcakes!!  Let me just say, these are FANTASTIC!! By far, my favorite I've made!!  You open the container, and you instantly smell it!  YUMM-O!!!  So, if you by chance, have a extra gallon of root beer hanging around at your house, I highly recommend this recipe!!!

Root Beer Float Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon root beer extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/4 cups root beer


Directions
Allow the butter and eggs to stand at room temperature.  Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set Aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds.  Gradually add sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time.  Beating on medium speed until combines.  Scrape sides of bowl; beat on medium speed about 2 minutes more or until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in root beer extract and vanilla.  Alternately add flour mixture and root beer to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.

Spoon batter into lined muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in centers come out clean.  Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from muffin cups.  Cool completely on wire racks.

For the frosting, I used this....

2 1/2to 3 c. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. root beer (not diet)
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

Mix ingredients until smooth. If too thick, add more root beer. If too thin, add more powdered sugar until you get a consistency that is easy to spread.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Classic....yes!!

So, my kiddos haven't really liked any of the cupcakes I've made in past weeks.  In fact, Bryson asked if I could just make a "classic" cupcake!! What is that you may ask?  Well, I needed a little clarification on the definition too!  He said a yellow cupcake and chocolate frosting.  Okay, I can do that!

Well, I started my research...do you know how many recipes there are for vanilla cupcakes?!?!?? Way too many!!  I finally settled on one, and then started searching for a frosting.

Now, I honestly haven't been satisfied with any of the frosting that I've made.  They all have been too sugary or something.  I found a cream cheese frosting and thought I would give it a whirl...so far, the outcome has been good.  I guess I'll find out when my "criticker" tastes it....here's the recipes I used!

Vanilla Cupcake

1 1/4 cups cake flour (I used all purpose flour)

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (I only used a pinch)

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup oil (vegetable, canola or extra light olive oil)

1/2 cup buttermilk

(or 1/2 cup milk plus 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice- add acid to the milk then set aside for 5 minutes before using)

Directions-

* Preheat oven to 350*F.

* In a medium bowl, add cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together with whisk, and set aside.

* In the bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs and beat 10-20 seconds.  Add sugar and continue to beat on medium speed about 30 seconds.  Add vanilla and oil, beat.

* Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add about half of the flour mixture.  Add half of the milk, then the rest of the flour and the rest of the milk.  Beat until just combined.  Scrap down the side of the bowl.  

* The batter will be thin.   Pour batter into a muffin pan prepared with paper liners.  Fill liners about 2/3 full. 

* Bake cupcakes in pre-heated oven for 12-14 minutes. 

* Cool in pan 1-2 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan (carefully) and finish cooling on a wire rack.

* Frost as desired when fully cool.  

Frosting.....YUMM-O!!!

½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar (I only used 2 cups)
1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (I used 3 tbsps)

Directions:
*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don't add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
*Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

The recipe above will produce a delicious VANILLA flavored frosting, here are a couple of other options to try...

For a Stronger Cream Cheese Flavor: Use an additional 4 oz. (½ block) of cream cheese. This is good for any cake/cupcake recipe that is traditionally topped with Cream Cheese Frosting, like Carrot Cake, or Red Velvet Cake.

For Chocolate Frosting: (my favorite!) add ½ cup unsweetened cocoa.  Add the cocoa powder before adding the powdered sugar, so it gets fully incorporated into the butter and cream cheese *****I used Hershey cocoa)*****

Happy Baking!!!!

What is better than chocolate chip cookie dough?

Seriously, what is better than eating it as you are making them?  I found this recipe and had to try it too...although I'm a week behind on my posting...sorry!!!  I didn't,  however do the filling for this cookie and they turned out YUMMY!! Here's the recipe if you want to give it a whirl!!! I recommend you do!!!

hocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)


For the filling:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips


For the frosting: 
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
3½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
3 tbsp. milk
2½ tsp. vanilla extract

For garnish:
Tiny chocolate chip cookies
Mini chocolate chips

• To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners (24 total). In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and brown sugar. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  
• Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir together to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl on low speed, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing each addition just until incorporated. Blend in the vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips with a spatula.
  
• Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
• To make the cookie dough filling, combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until the mixture has firmed up a bit, about an hour.
  
• To fill the cupcakes, cut a cone-shaped portion out of the center of each cupcake. Fill each hole with a chunk of the chilled cookie dough mixture.
  
• To make the frosting, beat together the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy. Mix in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Beat in the flour and salt. Mix in the milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended.
  
• Frost the filled cupcakes as desired, sprinkling with mini chocolate chips and topping with mini chocolate chip cookies for decoration.
  

Chocolate, cherries and coke...wow!

If you know me, you know that I adore Cherry Coke...I mean, LOVE it!! I swear that it is going to be in Heaven it is that good!! It's been a few weeks on this "cupcake journey" and was wondering if there could possibly be a cherry coke cupcake...welllllllll....I found one!!  Let me just say that I did 2 things differently from the recipe...one on purpose, and one not (haha!)...I only put a cherry in half of the cupcakes, and only 1 cherry.  I knew my kids would NEVER eat cupcakes with cherries in them. 
And 2...I added a lot more powdered sugar to the frosting.  I added 3 cups, rather than 3-4 tbsps....OOPS!! It still turned out yummy though!  I guess I'll just HAVE to make them again and make the other frosting! :)  Here's the recipe if you would like to try it!



Cherry Coke Cupcakes
Printer-Friendly Version
Yield: 10-12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
¾ cup Coca-Cola
¼ tsp. maraschino cherry juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. Coca-Cola

For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line  a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter.  Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.   Mix in the egg until incorporated.   In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.  (This mixture may look disgusting and/or curdled – it’s okay!)

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners.  Drop 4 or 5 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake well and push them down into the batter.  Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the optional glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and Coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake.  Allow to set.
To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners’ sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks.  Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to overbeat.  Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

PB & Chocolate? Why yes please!!

So, I'm in week 3 of my cupcake journey...I have to make one that my kids will still eat...I thought since they LOVE PB & J, I might go that way...we'll see. 
I have to say, these are my favorite so far!!  I hope that you'll try them!!!


Peanut Butter cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt, table
2 large eggs
2/3 cups sugar, granulated
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted completly, no chunks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 to 2/3 cups peanut butter

 

Preheat oven to 350°F.Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

Add eggs and sugar and beat with electric mixer until evenly combined. While beating, gradually add the butter, then the vanilla.

Add the peanut butter first, then while beating, add the milk slowly. 

Bake for about 20 minutes

For the Chocolate Butter Cream frosting:

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 1/2 pound), softened (but not melted!)
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream

Instructions

1. Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed. Turn off the mixer. Sift 3 cups powdered sugar and cocoa into the mixing bowl. Turn your mixer on the lowest speed (so the dry ingredients do not blow everywhere) until the sugar and cocoa are absorbed by the butter. Increase mixer speed to medium and add vanilla extract, salt, and milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time.

Mint & Chocolate...mmmm....

So, two of my favorite things are mint and chocolate.  If you put them together, it is, for me, the BEST!!  I was so excited when I found a recipe for Chocolate cupcakes with Peppermint frosting.  Now, I only made this once, and honestly, I over baked the cupcakes, BUT, the frosting was A-MAZING!!  If you want just a light peppermint flavor, cut the peppermint extract in half.  So, here's the recipe I used....

• Cupcakes:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (about 5 1/2 ounces) 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• Peppermint Frosting:
•  
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) tub-style light cream cheese 
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 16 hard peppermint candies, finely crushed (about 1/3 cup)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cupcakes, place brown sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in vanilla extract.
3. Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups lined with paper liners. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
4. To prepare frosting, combine powdered sugar, cream cheese, and peppermint extract in a bowl, stirring until smooth. Spread about 4 teaspoons frosting on each cupcake; sprinkle evenly with candies.

****after 12 minutes, they weren't really done enough, so I left them in for 5 more minutes...2 minutes too long I think....****

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hmmm...too much tv? or a good idea?

I'll admit it, I watch too much tv.  I have 3 major networks I like...HGTV, MLB & the Food network.  Lately I've been watching a lot of Food Network...mostly cupcake wars.  So, I started thinking...I could make cupcakes...where do I start?  I'll admit, my cupcakes have always consisted to a box cake mix, so I was a bit scared.  Well, I started with Orange creamsicle cupcake. 

The first batch turned out good, but not great.  So...I googled another recipe and they turned out much better!!  So, I've gotten my confidence...let's see what other kinds I can make!!???

Here's the recipe of the one I loved!! :)

Delicious Creamsicle Orangesicle Cupcakes

Get ready for a group of happy family members when you make this wonderful treat.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup flour
• 2 teaspoons orange flavoring
• 7 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup of softened margarine or butter

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place decorative cupcake liners into a 12-hole cupcake pan.
2. Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.
3. Mix the salt, sugar, baking soda, vanilla, egg yolks, butter, baking powder, and flour in a large bowl.
4. Add the orange flavoring and beat for one minute.
5. Add the milk and stir.
6. Fold in the egg whites.
7. Divide the mixture evenly between the liners.
8. Bake 18 minutes, using the toothpick test for doneness. Remove from oven and let cool.
9. (Makes 12 cupcakes)

For the frosting, I used this...

Cream Cheese Frosting
(1) 8 ounce package of cream cheese; room temperature
2 tablespoon of butter; room temperature
1 tablespoon of shortening
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar; add more to reach desired consistency
Directions
1. Combine cream cheese, shortening and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until smooth, creamy and well blended.
2. Blend in the vanilla extract.
3. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar until you reach the desired consistency.

YUMM-O!!!!!

It's been a while....

So, it's been a while since I've blogged.  Let's just say that life has gotten busy...let's do a quick run down of things that have happened since my last post....

My kiddos went back to school...Meghan's first day of elementary school and Bryson's last day of elementary school...not exactly a happy momma! :'(

#1 turned 11...#2 turned 5...

Went back to visit my NC family in October...it was a blast!! Can't wait to see them all again!!

BSF started and I'm a leader this year...very scary prospect...

Thanksgiving....

Christmas....

36...yuk!!!

A whole new year!! I'm so excited to see what 2012 has to bring!! 

Adam was voted onto the Deacon board at church...wow!!  I think we're a little too young for it, but God has a plan and He is moving at Beacon Baptist Church.

Those are just a few highlights...hopefully it won't be so long to post again! :)