Martha Stewart's Cupcake Book Giveaway!

I would like to start off by saying, who doesn't love a good cupcake? I mean, really. There are so many different flavor variations and combinations that you could  probably never try them all in your lifetime.

I wanted to thank you all so much for all your support, so I decided to pick up something special for you to win! After one glance at Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book, I immediately felt like i'd been wasting many cupcake-making-years by not having this book! I couldn't stop turning pages. I looked at every single cupcake in this book and I wanted to try every single cupcake in this book. This is seriously one of the greatest books i've ever laid eyes on!  It contains a bunch of awesome recipes for cupcakes, frostings and fillings, beautiful pictures on every page and more!

I know what I want for Mother's Day...


Here's how you can win this book:

Giveaway Prize: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Required Entry:
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Giveaway will end on Friday, May 6th, 2011 at 12pm PST.
Winner will be selected using random.org and will be announced Friday evening!

Mother's Day Printable Cupcake Toppers

I just wanted to quickly share these Mother's Day Cupcake Toppers I created today. I'm pretty sure these are going to be my inspiration for this Mother's Day. I'm really loving blue and silver! If you're going to use them just print them out, use a 2" punch and tape some toothpicks to the back and you have yourself a cupcake topper! Couldn't be easier :)

Download them here.

Linked With:
Tip Junkie, Elements Interiors, House of Hepworths, Thirty Handmade Days, Tatertots & Jello, Craft-o-Maniac, Ninth Street Notions, Today's Creative Blog

Marshmallow Pops

Yesterday was my daughter's ballet class, so we decided to make an easter treat for all her classmates. I've been seeing these Marshmallow Pops around the blogosphere for a while now and thought they were super adorable! Plus, I still had tons of easter sprinkles left from previous treats. We got up early wednesday morning and melted the chocolate, dipped the marshmallows, put on the sprinkles, let them dry, packaged them up, tied the cute little ribbons on them all, put plastic easter grass in a little easter basket, put the pops in the easter basket and then we were all ready to go! We were running a little late and all I could think of was my sweet little daughter freaking out because "we'll miss the marching and that's my FAVORITE part!!" We finally got there, she grabbed her basket, got her ballet bag and... there's a huge sign on the door that says "Studio is closed for Spring Break!" I love when stuff like this happens, it reminds me of what a horribly unorganized human being I truly am.

We ended up taking the pops to my sister in law's house and handing them out to her family and her in-laws who are visiting from Scotland. On top of that, some of her music students happened to be there for lessons, so it all worked out in the end! My lesson has been learned. Never, EVER throw away or misplace any important documents that may or may not list very important dates.

Marshmallow Pops Recipe:
20 Marshmallows
20 lollipop sticks
1/2 bag white chocolate or milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Assorted sprinkles

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler along with shortening.

Put the lollipop sticks into the marshmallows.

Dip the top 1/3 of the marshmallow into the chocolate and allow the excess chocolate to drip off.

Now, just personalize to your liking with the sprinkles!

Probably the easiest treat to make!

Linked up with:
Sun Scholars, Alli-n-Son, Dee Dee's Delights

Easter Bunny Printable

Just wanted to share a little printable I created. It's a 5"x7". I think i'm going to frame it for my daughters room!

Download it here

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

One thing my husband and I both enjoy is cooking. Well, in his case, BBQing. We both love to try to think up really fun and interesting things to make that you might not think could be made at home! One day last week we were talking about all the different things we love to cook; one thing I love to make is the tradtional stuffed bell peppers with ground beef, rice and tomato sauce, and one thing he loves to make is philly cheesesteak sandwiches. My mind immediately had one of those "lightbulb" moments, and thought, if I put those two things together, you could have philly cheesesteak stuffed peppers!

I was so proud of this pepper. It turned out exactly as I had imagined it would. It's warm, gooey and melty and it's super flavorful! The cheese sauce is what really makes this pepper over-the-top delicious. I love thinking of new recipes, and I love when they actually turn out well! I had never actually heard of anyone stuffing anything too crazy into a bell pepper, so now i'm on a mission to find different things to stuff into them! My next stuffed pepper idea is just waiting to be born!

Philly Peppers Recipe:1-1/4 pounds steak (we used a ribeye steak)
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
4 bell peppers
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 onion (sliced)
2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups cooked white rice

Pepper Jack Cheese Sauce:2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup packed pepper jack cheese (grated)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blanch the bell peppers in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove peppers and immediately place in ice bath. Cut off tops of peppers and remove seeds/innards. Place them in a baking dish.

In a pan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and begin sauteeing mushrooms and onions. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent and mushrooms are soft. Remove from pan and set aside.

Next, prepare the sauce. In a saucepan over medium heat add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. Whisk until mixture becomes smooth. Cook for 1 minute. Add in milk and continue to whisk until mixture begins to boil. Once it begins to boil, turn off the heat and add in the cheese. Stir until mixture becomes smooth.

Cut the steak into very thin slices. Place them in a medium-high heat pan and season with salt and pepper and worcestershire. Cook the steak for 1-2 minutes per side, or until steak is no longer pink. Add the vegetable mixture and rice to the pan and mix. Now, pour 3/4 cup of pepperjack sauce into pan and combine it all together. Divide mixture and place into bell peppers. Pour another tablespoon full of pepper jack sauce over the mixture and top with additional shredded pepper jack cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and melty.

Linked to:
Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker, CraftoManiac, Today's Creative Blog, Tip Junkie, Elements Interiors, Designs By Gollum, Mom's Crazy Cooking

Crockpot Shredded Beef

Back when we were dating, before we got married, one of the things my husband liked to do for me was to cook me dinners. At this time I was actually the one in the relationship that never cooked. I'm pretty sure the only things I made were macaroni and cheese and toast. He used to make me all kinds of delicious food, and to this day there are still a few of his recipes that are very common in our house.

The recipe i'm going to share with you was a recipe his dad used to make for him when he was young. Him and his dad both share a love for mexican food, which is probably why the recipe was one of their favorites. It's a crockpot recipe with only 3 ingredients, which means it's great for days when you are super busy! It is probably one of the simplest and most delicious crockpot recipes out there!

Crockpot Shredded Beef:
2.5 - 3 pound beef chuck roast
1 (14.5 ounce) can of stewed tomatoes
6 ounces beef chorizo (in the pacakage we usually get, it's a little over half)
The only thing you need to do for this meal is place your meat in your crock pot, pour the can of stewed tomatoes over the meat and place the chorizo on top. You don't have to cut it up or mash it up.

Turn your crockpot to low and cook for 8-9 hours.

While you're preparing the rest of the meal you can shred the beef and make sure the chorizo is all mixed in with the beef and the juices.

We like to serve ours with tortillas, spanish rice and a dollop of sour cream. Oh, and you can't forget the perfect salsa.

Blackberry Cobbler with Homemade Ice Cream

Today I decided to share something that is so delicious that i'm pretty sure it will be your new favorite thing. I was searching around the many, many blogs I follow and I found an interesting little post on making homemade soft serve ice cream... without an ice cream maker! I was so excited when I saw this that I immediately (well, about 4 hours later) went to the store and got the ingredients to make it.

Here is the final product:

It's very, very creamy and has a deliciousness to it that you can only understand once you've tried it!

I divided the recipe into two plastic containers and since we ended up eating one of the containers within 10 minutes of opening it, I had one container left. I knew there had to be a purpose for this ice cream. There was so much more it could give than to just sit in a little bowl. It deserved something to compliment it's creamy goodness... So, I searched for something more. I happened to notice that my local store had a really good deal on blackberries and since i've never made any kind of dessert with blackberries, I decided that the answer was to make:

Blackberry cobbler!

So, what i'm here to tell you is that you need to make some homemade ice cream. Then, you need to make some blackberry cobbler. Then, you must put the ice cream on top of the blackberry cobbler. It's as if they were made for eachother. The ice cream was truly meant to go on top of warm desserts because when it melts it tastes so very, very good!

You're welcome.

Homemade Ice Cream Recipe (from Come Together Kids)
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the whipping cream with an electric mixer until it's nice and creamy and slightly starts to form soft peaks.

Add in the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract and mix until it's all combined.

Place it in a plastic container and freeze it. I found that it was the best consistency after at least 6 hours.


Blackberry Cobbler Recipe (from Pioneer Woman)
1 stick butter
1-1/4 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour (or you can make your own self-rising flour by mixing 1 cup all purpose flour with 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt)
1 cup milk
2 cups blackberries

Melt butter in the microwave.

Pour flour and 1 cup of sugar into a mixing bowl.

Whisk in milk.

Pour in melted butter and whisk it all together.

Rinse and pat blackberries dry.

Pour the batter into a buttered baking dish (I used a round dish). Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over the top.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour (or until it's nice and golden).

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over cobbler about 10 minutes before it's done. It just makes it look so much prettier!


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Free Printable 'Sweet' Bookmark

Is there anything cuter than a doughnut? Other than cupcakes... I think not! I have been working on these doughnuts since yesterday and I think they're finally ready to be served! Enjoy these free bookmarks that will sweeten up anyone's reading experience!

Download Bookmarks Here

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

I have been sick for the past few days and have basically just sat around watching Martha Stewart and Chopped. There is nothing better than watching cooking shows when you're feeling under the weather! The problem is I had so many plans to make wonderful treats this weekend and I was only able to make one. But, it was a good one. It's my favorite homemade easter candy and if there is any treat that has magical sick healing abilities, peanut butter eggs would be it!



Peanut Butter Eggs Recipe: {Print Recipe}
1 cup peanut butter
3 cups confectioners sugar
4 sheets of graham crackers (crushed)
4 tablespoons butter (melted)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 package semisweet chocolate (or white chocolate is really really yummy too!)
1 tablespoon shortening

Combine peanut butter, confectioners sugar, graham crackers, butter, salt and milk. Mix it together and make sure everything is well combined. It may seem a little dry but it will help to keep the shape of the eggs!

Form into balls about the size of a golf ball and shape it until it starts to look like an egg. You can also make smaller eggs (about the size of a cherry tomato) to put on sticks, if you'd like! If the mixture is cracking while you form it, you can definitely add another tablespoon of milk.

Put them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer for 45 minutes.

While the eggs are in the freezer, melt your chocolate in a double boiler along with the shortening.

Dip the eggs into the chocolate using either a fork or toothpicks and place on parchment paper.

Before the chocolate sets you can put sprinkles on or you can wait until the chocolate hardens and use some colored chocolate to make pretty designs on the eggs. The designing part is really up to you! I had a little 4 year old begging to put sprinkles on the eggs, so that's the direction we ended up going for the big ones :)

Recipe yields about 14 eggs.

Linked To:
Baked by Joanna, House of Hepworths, Tidy Mom, CraftoManiac, Today's Creative Blog, Mom's Crazy Cooking, 30 Handmade Days, Sun Scholars

Teriyaki Chicken & Fried Rice

The first time I made this meal something changed inside me. I knew immediately that you truly could make the most delicious tasting food at home and that it wasn't very hard. This is one of those meals that I know my daughter will remember when she's all grown up and has a family of her own. It's just that good. When you make this and serve it to your family try not to be surprised when they eat every last piece of chicken and tell you how much they love you and that you're the best wife and mother on the planet. If this sounds good to you then I suggest you give it a try!

Teriyaki Chicken Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

10-12 chicken thighs (There are a couple of different combinations you can do here - it just depends on your preference: boneless/skinless, bone-in/skin on, boneless/skin-on, bone-in/skinless. I personally have tried them all and I prefer to use bonless/skin-on)

Instructions:
First you'll need to put your chicken in a big pan. I use a large lasagna pan.

Next, combine the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and set it aside. Place all of your ingredients for the sauce into a medium saucepan, along with the cornstarch/water mixture. Cook on medium-high heat for about 5-6 minutes (or until it just starts to thicken and bubble). Let the sauce cool down, then pour it over the chicken. Cover the chicken and place in the fridge until it's time to start cooking it (You can definitely skip this step! Most of the time, if i'm in a hurry, I don't refrigerate it).

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Place your chicken in the oven for 50-60 minutes, flipping it over after 30 minutes. Oh, and I like to baste the sauce over the chicken every 20 minutes to keep it nice and juicy and saucy!




Chinese Fried Rice Recipe:   {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:
4 cups of cold, cooked white rice (I usually cook my rice earlier in the day and put it in the fridge until it's time to use it!)
2 tablespoons of oil
2 eggs
2 cups of cooked peas/carrots (I use the frozen pea/carrot mixture)
3-4 stalks of green onion (sliced)
Approximately 1/2 cup soy sauce (more or less to taste)
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Instructions:
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Break 2 eggs into pan and scramble them around for 1 minute.

Once the eggs are cooked, add remaining tablespoon of oil, heat, and dump in the peas/carrots and rice. Mix it around with the spatula until there are no clumps of rice and allow it to cook while you stir it for 2-3 minutes.

Pour in sesame oil and soy sauce and continue to mix it until the rice is evenly colored and no white grains of rice remain.

Throw in the green onion and stir ir around for 1 minute and then you're done!

Printable easter cupcake toppers

I just wanted to share some printable easter cupcake toppers that I made. I had some leftover cupcakes from the Spaghetti & Meatball Cupcakes, so I let my daughter decorate them and I made these cupcake toppers to go on top!

Download them here

Use a 2" circle or scalloped punch to cut them out. If you don't have any punches you can definitely cut them with scissors if you're confident in your cutting skills! Next, you can just tape a toothpick or lollipop stick cut in half to the back of the topper and you're all done!

Linked to:
CraftoManiac

The best carne asada you will ever eat

My husband's favorite time of the year comes when he can bring his grill out of hibernation. We are huge BBQ fans and during the spring and summer, I'd say we BBQ almost 50percent of the time! Now that spring is here, our grill is up and running and my husband is happy once again. We have a lot of joint BBQ recipes where I make the marinade or the rub and he grills it to perfection. I'm pretty sure that's what marriage is all about, right?

I think a lot of people are scared of BBQing because they think it's a lot harder than it really is. I'm here to tell you that BBQing will be your new best friend if you learn how to do it properly. Now, I need you to prepare yourself for what you are about to see. Once you see this, I guarantee you will run to store and make it. This is, hands down, the best carne asada you will ever taste. I guarantee it!

Also, if you have yourself a local farmers market or a place you can find homemade tortillas, I highly suggest you use homemade tortillas for this! Also, be sure you make the perfect salsa to go with it!

Carne asada marinade:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
4 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
Around 3 pounds of good quality, thinly sliced, carne asada

First, you're going to want to mix all of the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Now, you can either place your meat into the bowl with the marinade or you can put it into a ziplock bag and pour the marinade into the bag. Place it in the refrigerator for 4-24 hours. Make sure you marinate it for at least 4 hours.

Grilling instructions:

Prepare your BBQ for direct heat grilling. Make sure it gets nice and hot. With carne asada, the meat cooks very fast so you want to make sure to get those perfect grill marks!

Place the carne asada on the grill, sprinkle with salt, close lid and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes (depending on the thickness).

Turn meat over, close lid and cook for an additional 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.

Now, put it on a plate and serve it to your eager family.

The perfect salsa

Our family loves salsa. We often determine whether or not to return to a restaurant based on their salsa. Personally, i'm not a huge fan of cilantro so my least favorite part of making this salsa is chopping the cilantro. Sometimes i'll even make my husband do it :). But, once the cilantro has been blended into the salsa, I like it!

It took me a lot of searching and testing to find the best salsa recipe and this is it! It's sweet and flavorful and you can adjust the spiciness to suit your taste!

What is the absolute best thing to put this salsa on? Check back tomorrow and find out!


Salsa Recipe:
2 (14.5 ounce) cans of stewed tomatoes (you can also use fresh tomatoes if you prefer, I personally like the sweetness of the stewed tomatoes in this recipe)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 tablespoons of chopped roasted green chile (you can also use one of the cans of diced green chiles)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste (I personally use around 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons)

optional: chopped jalapeño

The only steps in this recipe are chopping all the ingredients and pulsing them in the blender a couple of times! Try not to blend it too much, unless you like watery salsa.

Be sure to put it in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. The longer it sits in there, the better!

This recipes makes about 3 cups of salsa.

Happy April Fools' Day!

Doesn't that spaghetti look tasty? It's the best kind of spaghetti - the cupcake kind! I think mine looks a little more like linguini, but at least it's still a pasta! I decided to make something for April Fool's day this year because I found so many cute ideas in my "Hello, Cupcake!" book! I couldn't get over the cuteness of the little Ferrero Rocher meatballs! If you don't already have a copy of the "Hello Cupcake!" book, here are the instructions for the Spaghetti & Meatballs cupcakes:

10 Vanilla cupcakes
1 Can vanilla frosting
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
3 drops yellow food coloring
11 Ferrero Rocher chocolates
3/4 cup low sugar strawberry preserves (the book says the low sugar has the best "sauce" color!)
2 tablespoons of grated white chocolate

First, mix the cocoa powder and yellow food coloring into the frosting. Then, spread a little bit of the frosting on the tops of your cupcakes. Make sure all your cupcakes are touching!

Place the remaining frosting in a ziplock bag and seal it. Snip a tiny, tiny bit from the corner of the ziplock bag. Squeeze the frosting all over the cupcakes and make it look nice and noodle-y!

Put the ferrero rochers into a bowl and add the strawberry preserves and mix it around. Then, I took a little extra sauce from the jar and put a small spoonfull on top of each cupcake and placed a meatball on top of it.

Top with some grated white chocolate and you have yourself a big place of sweet spaghetti goodness!