Candy Corn Cupcakes

Saw these somewhere but lost the link. Super easy to make. I used a white cake mix & then divided it into 2 bowls. Tinted one bowl with yellow gel & the other with orange gel. Scoop about 2tsp of yellow into your cup & then top with about 2 tsp of orange. Bake & then ice with your favorite icing. I used buttercream - which proceeded to melt on me. I sprayed them with a black food coloring spray. I should have refrigerated the cupcakes after I iced them & then sprayed them. Oh well it was a learning process. :)

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

I wanted to do something different than the usual cupcakes. Another momma made pumpkin whoopie pies so she got me thinking about those. No pumpkin mix in this house at the moment but I had some red velvet mix & cream cheese frosting sounded so good. For the cake part I followed the instructions on the box minus about a 1/4 cup of water & added 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Place about 1tbsp of mix onto a cookie sheet. Cook for about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Onto the super duper yummy icing...

3/4 cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk (I used 1 tbsp
2-4 cups powdered sugar (I used 3 cups)

Blend together the butter & cream cheese. Add in the brown sugar & vanilla extract. Blend. Add in 2 cups of the powdered sugar, blend on low. Add in, alternating, the milk & powdered sugar - depending on your desired consistency.

Place icing on 1 cake piece & top with a second. Enjoy!

S'mores Bake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients:
10-12 whole graham crackers (break up into quarters)
about 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
1-1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Spray pan lightly. Layer the bottom with half of the graham crackers, chocolate chips & marshmallows. Repeat. Bake until marshmallows are slightly golden & the chocolate chips have started to melt - about 10 minutes or so.

Chicken with Mustard-Citrus Sauce

Found this in one of the magazines I get & we needed something new for a chicken dinner. It's approximately 1 hour of prep time & 30 minutes of cooking time.

Ingredients:
boneless, skinless chicken of your choice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp minced garlic, divided
3 tbsp honey, divided
2 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper
3 tbsp chopped shallot
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp orange zest


1) Marinate meat - mix lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp garlic & 2 tbsp honey in a plastic bag. Add chicken & put in the fridge for an hour.

2) Heat oil in large skillet. Remove chicken from bag & pat dry. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Brown chicken on all sides for about 10 minutes. Add shallots, remaining garlic, & crushed red pepper to the skillet. Cook for about 2 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan. Add orange juice & chicken broth. Simmer & turn once until the chicken is cooked through (about 10 minutes).
3) Remove chicken. Add mustard, orange zest & remaining honey to skillet. Bring to a boil & whisk until sauce thickens - about 7 minutes. Spoon over chicken & serve!

Crockpot Fajitas

Super easy & super yummy!

Beef &/or chicken (I get meat that is already seasoned - Carne Asada & Pollo Asdo.)
2 Fajita seasoning packets (use only 1 if your meat is already seasoned. Otherwise 1 packet is for your meat & the other for veggies.)
1 can of beer
green peppers, sliced
onion, sliced
your handy dandy crockpot

Slice your veggies & place at the bottom. Pour fajita seasoning over them & about half a can of beer. Mix. (If your meat is not seasoned, do so now.) Place your sliced meat on top of veggies. Pour rest of the beer over the meat. Cook on high for about 5 hours.

If you like hot dogs & beans....

here is a hot dog & bean casserole.

Ingredients:
1 package of hot dogs
3 cans of beans (drained)
1/3 bottle of BBQ sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
package of corn bread mix (& the ingredients required - milk & egg)

Cook your hot dogs & cut up. Mix hot dogs, beans, BBQ sauce & brown sugar together. Place in a casserole dish evenly. Combine corn bread mix, milk & egg. Then pour evenly over casserole. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

Donuts & donut holes

Ingredients:
1 package of refrigerated biscuit dough
~3 cups oil

(Glaze)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp apple juice
1/2 tsp (total, not each) of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & all spice. (I eye balled my measurements)

Separate your biscuits. Cut centers out of them with a small cookie cutter. Set aside until room temperature. Wisk your glaze together & set aside. Heat up oil, but not to hot**. Place up to 3 biscuits in at a time. I continuously flipped mine until they were golden brown on each side. Do the same with the holes. Place them on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Drizzle with glaze & enjoy!!



**This is what happens if you heat your oil up to much... burnt donuts & a melted spatula.

Champagne Cupcakes

Yep, cheated on these, too! ;) The taste is only a hint, but soooo yummy!

Ingredients:
White cake mix
1/3 cup oil
1 3/4 cup champagne
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Icing:
I didn't have enough of the ingredients to make a butter cream icing so I used a Wilton mix I had stashed. Instead of milk or water I used 1/4 cup champagne & tossed in 1tsp of lemon extract (optional).

S'more Brownie Cupcakes

Tomorrow the kids & I are heading down to base to meet up with some of the other wives in the squadron. I got a bit of a late itch tonight to bake something for tomorrow. Between it already being late into the evening & 3 kids to chase after & get into bed I cheated a bit. I used a box brownie mix... {{GASP}} Ok, so I use mixes often & "doctor" them up to make them a bit of my own. There - the cat is out of the bag! So....

Ingredients:
1 Box of brownie mix
3 eggs (to make it more like cake)
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Crushed graham crackers

Topping:
Large marshmallow
Hersey chocolate bar broken up.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients but the graham crackers. Spoon into cupcake tins. Top with the crushed graham crackers. Bake for about 28 to 30 minute. Let cool. Once cool roast marshmallows. Place on top of cupcake & add in a piece of chocolate. Eat & enjoy!!

You're invited to "cupcakes & tea"

I hosted this months OWC meeting for our squadron. My theme was "cupcakes & tea". Most of the food was mini-cupcake size & yes, (iced) tea was served.
Drinks:
1) Iced Tea
2) Sangria
3) Champagne & raspberries
4) Cucumber & lemon water

**SANGRIA**
6 cups of Carlo Rossi Sangria
4 ounces of Brandy
4 ounces Triple Sec
Fruit: oranges, apples & lemons
2 cups Sprite or Club Soda

Mix ingredients & chill.

**CUCUMBER & LEMON WATER**

Ingredients: Water, cucumber slices, & lemon slices
Add slices to water & chill. Light & refreshing summer drink!

Finger Foods:
1) Mini meatloaf "cupcake" iced with mashed potatoes
2) Spiral sandwiches
3) Spinach Souffle-Phyllo cups
4) Wonton Salsa cups
5) Pepperoni pizza cheese ball & crackers
6) Pillsbury Savorings
7) Fruit & dip

**MINI MEATLOAF "CUPCAKES":
Make your favorite meatloaf recipe & instead of baking in a loaf, use a mini-cupcake pan. Cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Top with mashed potatoes of your choice. I used an icing bag & tip to "ice" the meatloaf.

**PEPPERONI PIZZA CHEESE BALL**
(click on above link for recipe off of the "Give Peas a Chance" blog)
**WONTON SALSA CUPS**

Spray mini-cupcake pans & press wonton cup wrappers. Cook for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. In a bowl mix 8oz of salsa with 1 - 15 1/4 oz can of corn (drained), 16oz can of kidney beans (washed & drained), & 1oz can of black beans (washed & drained). Spoon into shells & top with shredded cheddar cheese.

**FRUIT DIP** (passed onto my by another wife)

1 lemon

1 lime

1 orange

1 beaten egg

1 cup sugar

1/2 container cool whip

1) Juice and zest all 3 citrus fruits. 2) Boil juice w/ egg and sugar for one minute(stir constantly once boiling) Also, start timing 1 min once it's boiling. 3) Let cool. 4) Stir in cool whip and serve. (if you want it more like a dressing, add less cool whip.For a thicker like a dip put in more cool whip)

Desserts:
1) Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing
2) Cream Puffs with a little twist
3) Brownie bites covered in (purple) icing
4) Candies - (purple) M&M's, hard fruit candies



**CREAM PUFFS WITH A LITTLE TWIST**
Ingredients:
1 package of frozen cream puffs
4oz of frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 tbsp grenadine syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar

Place 12 cream puffs on a cookie sheet to thaw. Place the whip topping, grenadine, & vanilla in a bowl; mix well. Slice tops off of cream puffs. Top with mixture. Replace cut off tops. Dust lightly with powdered sugar.

Truffles

**What you need:

- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 - 12oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2tsp vanilla extract
- choice of toppings to roll candy in
- candy wrappers

**What you do:

1) Heat heavy cream over medium heat until it begins to boil. Reduce heat & slowly add in chocolate chips. Stir until chips are melted.

2) Stir in vanilla extract. Pour into an ungreased 9" metal pan. Cool to room temp & then freeze for 2-3 hours until firm.

3) Scoop & roll into 1" balls. Roll into topping. Wrap in wrapper. Place back into freezer until set. Serve chilled.

Mini muffin & fruit skewers

The kids LOVE these because it has all their favorites.

"Rustic" curtains

I've finally gotten around to making Mr I's curtains. I've only had the fabric for just under 2 years, lol. The blinds in our house are the originals - 23+ years old. His finally kicked the bucket which forced me to get moving on these. I have some red bandana fabric that I will probably do a swag in. These were rather simple to make. Yes, I cheated. ;) I felt I could get away with cheating because of the type of fabric & the theme of the room. I used pinking shears to cut the fabric & then "no-sew" tape to make the curtain rod loop. No sewing required!!

Chicken Paprikas

This is an old Hungarian meal my grandmother makes & now I make. I can eat it for days on end. Not The Pilot's favorite, but he is getting used to it. Different than what he grew up with. I make it a lot while he's gone. So this is the 1st time making it since last August/September. I have an old Hungarian recipe book with a recipe in it, but this version is simpler to make.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
2lbs chicken (cut into cubes)
1 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
1 tsp Paprika
1 3/4 cups water (broken into 1 1/2 & 1/4)
1 tbsp flour
1 (8oz) sour cream

You can serve over egg noodles or dumplings. I've made my own dumplings before but now I get Maggi Spaetzle. It's a small German dumpling. I've found it occasionally at the commissary or at a grocery store with a very good international isle, but mainly at World Market.

Directions:
Melt butter on medium-high heat & brown chicken, drain. Stir in onion soup mix & blend in 1 1/2 cups water & paprika. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low & simmer covered for 45 minutes or until done. Stir it. Remove chicken & keep warm. In pan blend flour with 1/4 cup water. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low & simmer uncovered, stirring frequently for 2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat & with wire wisk blend in sour cream. Add chicken. Serve over noodles or dumplings.

(I'll add a picture later when it's all done)

Stuffed Pizza

Nothing fancy. Easy. Crust is very light.

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of Pillsbury Crescent Creations
- Pizza Sauce
- Your choice of pizza cheese
- Your choice of toppings (I used sausage, ground beef, green peppers & onions)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook any meat you choose to use. Lay out 1 can of dough. Top with sauce, cheese, & toppings. I poured any extra sauce in can on top. Lay other can of dough on top. Pinch sides. Cook 15 minutes.

I'm a cheater :D

Just stealing some "mommy time" & trying to play catch up. It's been a few months! I'll have to dig through my photos to see what I have been up to.

So why am I a cheater? I volunteered to make cookies for our family day coming up this weekend. Turns out I need to make 99 cookies. 33 packages of 3. I'm 29 weeks pregnant now & chasing after 2 wild little ones. I'm hoping it's just the full moon tonight. Either way, I am exhausted. I have several other items to cook & bake for various events this weekend. So I cheated a little with the cookies. Easy way to fancy-up Oreos. Dip them in chocolate. I used white. Before they harden, sprinkle them. Let them dry.

Lemon pudding cupcakes

These were a craving. Lemon cupcake with cream cheese icing. I added a little lemon juice for a hint of flavor & yellow dye. Oh! Before doing this I piped into the cupcake some vanilla pudding. Topped with sprinkles... of course! :D

Baklava

Ok, so I only post recipes I find to be yummy. I DO NOT make pretty food, lol. There fore you won't see a lot of pictures & the ones you do see won't be anything to rave about. I have been craving this for about a month now. I saw it posted on another blog & it only added fuel to the fire. Have I mentioned previously yet how much I <3 Sandra Lee Semi-homemade recipes? Easy & delicious!! This is her Baklava recipe...

For syrup:
2/3 cup honey

1/3 cup premium orange juice

1/3 cup water

For baklava:

3 cups whole natural almonds, roasted

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1-pound package phyllo dough, thawed for 15 to 30 minutes if frozen

Syrup: Combine ingredients in a microwave-safe container, and cook on high heat 1 minute. Stir and cook 1 more minute. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold.

Baklava: Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place almonds in a food processor and process with sugar, cinnamon, allspice and salt until almonds are roughly ground.

Generously brush a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish with melted butter. Halve phyllo sheets crosswise and stack sheets. Keep stack covered with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and then a dampened clean kitchen towel. Lay 2 sheets of phyllo in bottom of baking dish and brush top sheet generously with butter. Add a couple of tablespoons of almond mixture. Continue to layer 2 sheets at a time, staggering sheets in each double layer slightly to cover bottom of dish, brushing every second sheet generously with butter and add 1 cup of the almond mixture, until 10 sheets of phyllo have been used, total. Brush top layer of phyllo with butter. Let baklava stand at room temperature to harden slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Using a sharp knife, cut baklava into 6 equal squares, then cut each piece in half diagonally to make 12 triangles. Be sure to cut all the way through.

Bake baklava until golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Transfer dish to a rack to cool, then slowly pour cold syrup around edges of hot baklava, in between all cuts, and over top. Let stand at room temperature at least 8 hours. Cover when baklava is at room temperature. Do not chill.

Baklava keeps in an air-tight container up to 1 week.

Valentine's Day chair bag

I clicked onto an old episode of John & Kate plus 8 one day. It was last Valentine's Day episode. She had these cute goodie bags for each child. So I looked them up to see where they came from. Pottery Barn Kids sold them. They have a different version this year. I made my own spin off. You can use any material really. I decided on foam. Just thought it would be fun to work with.

Pottery Barn Kids version:
Mine:

Shades of purple

I made this tutu for a friend's daughter. It has 2 layers. The top is shorter & a light purple while the bottom is a darker purple.

Chicken Curry

Mmmmmm... even better as left overs! I made this for New Years eve. It's traditions that the toppings are in odd numbers. I did:
1) chopped hard boiled eggs
2) chopped green onions
3) chopped green peppers
4) chopped peanuts
5) raisins
6) chopped bacon, &
7) French's fried onions