Oreo yumminess!

I have been going through baking withdrawal's for the past week or so. So, today I decided to bake some cupcakes. Brian will be taking them to work tomorrow and I hope everyone enjoys them!

I found the recipe on My Baking Addiction, it's called (easily enough) Oreo Cupcakes and they smelled divine while they were baking. The recipe for the cakes calls for two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and I only used 1 cup of the mini size but I think next time I make this recipe I will eliminate the chips all-together. I don't really think they need it...but, that's just my preference. Here is the recipe for both the frosting and the cupcakes. I'm pretty sure they are diet, too. NOT!! hahaha

Too Much Chocolate Cake

from allrecipes
Adapted recipe makes approximately 28 cupcakes
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil’s food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used miniature)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased muffin pan.
Bake for 21 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before removing.

Buttercream Dream Frosting

Ingredients
1 stick salted butter – room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter – room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk (I used 5 TBS)
8 crushed Oreo cookies with the cream removed before crushing
Directions
Cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. Add the clear vanilla extract and combine well. Begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. After all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk, one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency. Fold in the Oreo cookie crumbs. Top cooled cupcakes with the buttercream frosting and garnish with 1/2 an Oreo.

I also didn't use clear Vanilla because I had run out. So, I used the regular vanilla I had and the frosting still looks very white. Always use pure vanilla though, no matter what color it is. There is no comparison for me...pure all the way!

School started this past Friday the 19th...it's going to be an interesting year. I hope I am up to the challenge and don't let anyone down (kids or adults). Derek and Daniel both like all their classes. They said the teachers are nice and that's always a good thing, right?

Better run...need to make lunches and get showers going for the kiddos. If you try this recipe for Oreo cupcakes, let me know what you think! I would love your feedback...have a great week!

Where did summer go?

Seems just yesterday we got out of school...now we are going back on the 19th! I started the yearly required training yesterday and I have two more days of it this coming week and then we start real school on Friday.

So sad!

I really didn't get any of the things done this summer that I planned...either lack of funds, lack of desire or plain ole' laziness kept me from them.

Summer school (in June) was fun, but I think I am done with that for a while. I enjoy the kids immensely and I like seeing TA's that I don't normally see in the school year. But, then it feels like I really don't get to start summer break until July (when you just do the first session) and then it's a couple weeks of being lazy and sleeping in (till 8:)) until it really feels like summer. So, anyway...I'm gonna take this next summer off and just enjoy being with the boys!

I have to say that I have a new addiction that HAS been taking up my hot summer days...it's called Pinterest and I LOVE it! It's so fun and soooo time consuming. You can literally spend an hour (or more :) ) pinning and not realize it! You should check it out...if you want/need an invite let me know and I will be happy to oblige!

We took a family vacation to Omaha the last week of July...nothing fancy just visiting Brian's parents and sister with her family, too. We went to the Henry Doorly Zoo, hung out at the pool, did some shopping and went to a giant bowling/go karting/lazer tag place in Elkhorn, the name of which I can't remember. It was a great week and we had lots of fun seeing everyone. The kids are growing up SO fast...I managed to get this shot on my iTouch and I love it!

Ok, that's it for today. We are finishing housework and then going to the movies this afternoon. My mom and I are seeing "The Help"...can't wait! And, Daniel and Brian are seeing "Planet of the Apes". We have to get school haircuts, Daniel's school shoes and groceries too...in addition to church tomorrow and soccer practice. Busy busy!!

HOTT!

It's just miserable here in Oklahoma...we are going on 20 straight days of 100 degrees and OVER. This doesn't even count the intermittant days we had in the 100's before that! It's been the kind of summer where you just don't go out unless you absolutely have to. So, I have been doing a lot of baking and playing around on Pinterest (which is a total time-sucker but oh so fun!) And, thankfully, only one of these activities is bad for my waistline!

I decided to give my family a break from the cupcakes and try my hand at a desert that I first had about 15 years ago. It was when we lived in Des Moines, Iowa and both Brian and I worked for the same bank (it started as First Interstate Bank and changed hands 3 more times in the 10 years we were there). Anyway, I worked with a lady who was a great cook...especially deserts. Kind of like me, not that I think I am great, but I really do enjoy baking more than cooking! During a holiday party one year she brought these rice krispie bars that were to DIE for! The part that made them so fabulous???? Caramel in the middle...rich and thick, ooey gooey caramel!

I went nuts over them and asked her for the recipe. Well, she wouldn't share it...I was shocked! Really? Nope...she wouldn't budge. I have spent a lot of time searching online and cookbooks for a similar recipe but never had any luck.

Fast forward all these years (and two different states!) and I think I finally have found the recipe online here . Scroll down on the page and it's the first recipe listed by the poster named "mypie2".

Here are a few photos of the finished product...can you say YUMMY!! They are exactly the way I remember from all those years ago!

If you try the recipe, let me know how you like it...I would love to hear your thoughts and see photos, too!

Here's to staying cool on this wonderful Sunday evening!! Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

One word: YUM!

The cake is strawberry supreme and it's fabulous! The frosting is this one to which I added yellow gel paste (Wilton brand - where a little goes a LONG way! These are more yellow than I wanted. Oh well!). Now, this recipe makes a TON of frosting...I have more than I need. You might want to consider halving it if you only need to frost 24 cupcakes or one sheet cake. And, mine didn't turn out as thick as hers did...not sure why. But, it's still very good!

Enjoy!

Custom Etsy Order

Yesterday I was contacted through my newly re-opened Etsy store by a deployed soldier (I didn't ask where...they usually can't tell anyway) whose wife is due to have a birthday on the 11th. He wanted me to make a card for her and told me her favorite colors.

I was shocked that I had someone requesting a custom order already and wasn't sure if it was legit or not. But, he was very nice and loved the card I created for his wife. He paid quickly and now the card is winging it's way to Washington as we speak. Amazing how quickly that happened and it was so fun, too! Hopefully, I will get more custom requests because I enjoy that process!

Here is the card I made, using Basic Grey papers from the "Kioshi"collection:

He told me that her favorite colors were black, purple, pink and red...so I chose two and went to town. I'm happy with how it turned out, but you can't really ever go wrong with Basic Grey, right?

I'm off to do laundry and make some strawberry lemonade cupcakes. I'm excited about these...will post photos when they are done!

The day after...

So, it's the day after the holiday. Most people are back at work, I know my hubby wasn't looking forward to it though.

We had great food, my mom came over for the afternoon and we ate and played card games. It was a nice time. We were supposed to attend the Redhawks game last night (it had fireworks afterwards) but it was SO hot that we just decided to skip it. We also skipped the LibertyFest parade here in Edmond for the first time in 7 years. That felt kind of weird...but, I think we will go again next year.

So, we ended up driving over to UCO for their fireworks show. It was pretty good...I was able to take a bunch of photos, which I enjoy! Of course, only about a dozen of them are really good quality. But, it's good practice!

I also entered one last card into the Gallery Idol contest. It would be so awesome to make it to the Top 20...there were over 1600 entries as of last night though. Can you imagine? That's a LOT of work for the Paper Crafts folks to look through!

I made Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese buttercream frosting for desert yesterday...along with Brian's homemade ice cream. Man, this frosting is just so addictive and I totally don't even like frosting!

I hope you have a great day today...we are working on laundry and then after 2pm, when Derek gets off work we are going to the Penn Sq. Mall....his money is burning a hole in his pocket!! Hahaha

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy Independence Day everyone! I hope you all have had an awesome holiday weekend, spent with family and friends! Hopefully nobody has had any injuries...fireworks scare me so I usually leave them to others to light. I'm a chicken!!

Today is the final day for the Gallery Idol contest entry...they will be deciding the Top 20 and announcing it on Friday. It's nerve wracking to me...I LOVE to make cards so being in the competition would be so awesome! With over 1500 entries so far it's going to be a hard choice for the Paper Crafts folks!

Here are the last three cards I have made:

Better run for now...Brian is having a breakdown over the BBQ and the corn on the cob not cooking properly. I will post the details of the cards later tonight or tomorrow.