Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I'm really excited for it to be a 3 day weekend but it is so bittersweet since come Tuesday, I'm going to have my first middle schooler. It is so cliché but I don't even know where the time has gone. Looking at Zachary grow into such a wonderful young man has been a delight of my life. He is so tall that I am literally looking straight across to him because he is the same height as I am and I know soon he will be surpassing me.  But enough mushy stuff, let's talk about Cookies and Cream Cupcakes!

Look at these babies... Are you drooling?

These actually were really easy to make and I found this awesome recipe on Confessions of a Cookbook Queen

Cake:
1 box Duncan Hines White Cake Mix
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup water
3 eggs
24 whole Oreos

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins with liners.
Place an Oreo in the bottom of each liner.

In the bowl of a mixer, combine cake mix, eggs, melted butter, and water. Mix on low speed for one minute. Increase speed to high and beat for a minute more. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for about 20 minutes or until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched.
While cupcakes are baking, make your filling.
Filling:
13 oz jar Marshmallow Creme
1 stick salted butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
In a large bowl, beat Marshmallow Creme, butter, heavy cream and vanilla on medium low until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and increase speed to medium high and beat for about a minute. Refrigerate filling until cupcakes are done baking and cooled.
Once cupcakes are cooled completely, remove filling from the refrigerator and fill the cupcakes. Because I don't keep pastry bags on hand I used a ziplock bag and cut a hole in one of the corners then filled the bag, squirting the filling into the holes I cut in the tops of the cupcakes. (I use the same method for the frosting, cutting a bigger hole for the frosting the come out of)

Frosting:
4 sticks salted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 cups powdered sugar
15 Oreos, crushed VERY FINELY
In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter, cream, and vanilla on medium-low until smooth and well-combined. Slowly add powdered sugar. Once powdered sugar is barely mixed in, increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Add crushed Oreos.

Frost tops of cupcakes using method above.

Store uneaten cupcakes in the refrigerator. - They will melt otherwise. (trust me!)

YUM! These cupcakes were so delicious however they were extremely rich! The day I made them I sent some home with my sister in law, my dad and sent a few to my friend next door to get them out of the house quicker because I didn't want to eat them all!

Also, I felt I was pretty generous with the frosting and filling but I only used about HALF of what this recipe made! Maybe I wasn't as generous as I thought, but I couldn't imagine adding more! So I actually took the rest and put the filling and frosting in their own freezer bags and froze the rest so I can make these again soon and use the leftovers, so I guess it all worked out!


Happy Friday everyone. I hope you have a wonderful three day weekend. What are your plans?

20 Wishes- August

1. Decorate our master bedroom
2. Save blog money to put towards a blog conference
3. Make my own skirt
4. Go huckleberry picking
5. Host a dinner party
6. Learn to identify 10 constellations
7. Make a perfect cheesecake
8. Finish Summer’s quilt
9. Spend an afternoon reading in the park
10. Improve my posture
11. Try out Stitch Fix
12. Start donating blood again
13. Go on a double date
14. Take a class (cooking/sewing/dance)
15. Massively de-clutter my house
16. Don’t spend any money for a week
17. Send flowers to someone
18. Put change in someone’s expired parking meter 
19. Get a “little black dress”
20. Get to my ideal weight

Ok, progress this month? Ya, limited. I'm getting to the point where I don't have a lot left on my list, and some of the things are big ones. However, I'm working on them still.

#20. I'm not close to my ideal weight. But I'm working on it and doing ok. I have my first half marathon coming up in October and I'm getting ready for it. (sorta)

#10. I'm always working on my posture. While it's not as terrible as it was, it could still be better.

And #15. I worked on this a ton during the first couple of months of the year. But then items got shifted in the house to finish the room in the basement, and it's still not done. So right now a lot of my "clutter" is packed away. I'm not pushing it to the side though, it'll get worked through for sure!

But what did I actually finish? Well, I'm officially crossing off #2. I have a good amount of money saved up to put to a conference. However I have no idea which one I'm actually going to go to. Any ideas for me? Also, I've purchased a laptop and a swing set for my kiddos and that feels pretty great!

And I'm crossing off #6. I've spent time looking at the stars this summer and actually can point out different constellations, which I love!

Want to check out what I did last month? July 20 wishes

And now, it's time for you to enter the giveaway. It comes from me this month!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don't forget to Link up!

An InLinkz Link-up

Goulash and Mini Spaghetti cups

In my house, we are all pretty big on pasta (Except Tyler). We eat spaghetti or lasagna weekly basis and when I came across these fun Mini Spaghetti Cups I was sure they would be a hit with the kids.
Zach and Summer both loved them, but Tyler just isn't much a pasta fan. I can get him to eat it once in a while, but not regularly. And hey, if the kids doesn't want the extra carbs, I don't want to force it!

For spaghetti cups:

• 1 lb small pasta (I used penne)
• 1 lb hamburger- browned
• 1 can/jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Line your cupcake pan with foil liners
3. Mix together all ingredients, fill 12 liners (the rest you'll use for the goulash- or you can just make extra spaghetti cups)
4. Bake for 15 minutes
5. Let cool completely before freezing/ remove foil before reheating

So easy, right? My favorite part is just grabbing them out of the freezer one or two at a time to heat up with the kid's lunches. And Zach liked them so much that I think I will make some more right before school starts because they would be a great addition to his lunch.

Then with the left overs, if you didn't use it all to make the mini spaghetti cups you can make this goulash. When I made mine I didn't have any sour cream so I mixed some cream cheese and some milk until I got the sour cream consistency and it worked out. I think the cream cheese is a little sweeter or something, but it worked out fine and tasted delicious.

For Goulash:

• Use the rest of the spaghetti cup mixture
• 1/4 c. sour cream
• 1/2 c. shredded cheese
• Additional veggies to taste

1. Mix all ingredients together and empty into 2 aluminum pans
2. Add foil to cover 
3. Cook on 350 for 45-60 minutes if frozen

Recipe from Ring Around the Rosies

Do you make special toddler lunches? I'm always looking for new ones for the kids, what are your favorites?

Teriyaki Chicken {Freezer Meal}

I've really been enjoying putting freezer meals together more regularly. It is so nice to grab something out of the freezer, get it in the crockpot and not have to think much about dinner again, until it's about time to eat.

I love Teriyaki Chicken so I was excited to give this one I found over at Ring Around the Rosies a try.

• Medium bag of carrots
• large onion cut into pieces
• 2 large cans of pineapple- undrained
• At least 4 garlic cloves
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 C teriyaki sauce 

Add additional 1/4 c teriyaki sauce to crockpot and cook on low for 7 hours. Serve over hot rice.

Add all ingredients to gallon size freezer bag, lay flat to freeze

(This was originally meant to be 2 meals for a 3 person family but I combined it all into one bag for our 5 person family and I have leftovers. I could have easily split it in half)

My take on this freezer meal? I thought it was all right. The carrots were weird for me and next time I wouldn't use them. But I'll make it again with a little ingredient adjusting! Other than the carrots I thought it was good and had a good flavor. What do you put in your Teriyaki Chicken?

DIY Baby Wipes with Viva Vantage

Thanks to Viva for sponsoring today's discussion.

It's no secret that I love make most anything that I can. I have a problem with seeing an item and thinking, "Oh, I don't need to buy that, I can just make it!" It really is a problem because sometimes the projects never get finished, or maybe they didn't even get started. Or actually, maybe they turned out terrible, right?  But sometimes they turn out awesome and this is one of those projects that I love. Home made baby wipes couldn't be easier to make and with only 4 "ingredients" I feel more confident about what I'm using on my babies bum.

All you need to make these amazing baby wipes is 5 things.

• Viva Vantage Paper Towels- Picked up at Walmart
• 2 Cups of boiled water- cooled to room temperature
• 2 Tbsp. Baby Wash
• 1 Tbsp. Baby Oil 
• A container of some sort to keep the roll in.- I found a set of 4 for about $6 at Walmart.

First you are going to use a knife and cut the roll in half and remove the cardboard tube.

Next, mix all other ingredients in the bottom of your container and then set half of your roll cut side down into the mixture.

Put the lid on and let it sit until all liquid is absorbed.
Now, flip the container over and let it sit for a full 10 minutes

And you are ready to go! Pull out a piece from the center of your roll to start it off and you now have home made baby wipes that use the strongest paper towels out there!

I love these specific home made baby wipes because they are so strong. Viva Vantage paper towels have an awesome stretch to them that can hold up against my old brand and everyone who has wiped a baby bottom knows just how important that can be! No one wants their fingers going through a wipes when you are cleaning the mess of all messes, right?

Find out more about  Viva Vantage at Walmart

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

It's my first official day as Hacked by Kate and I am EXCITED! Not everything is exactly where it needs to be, but hopefully will all be in place shortly.  More to come regarding the changes in a later post, but today is Friday and that means Foodie Friday! I am LOVING these mini corn dog muffins!

If you are looking for some fun lunches for your littles this is a great one for sure. A different take on a classic corndog that you can make quickly at home.

I made these as part of my freezer meals that I made last week after finding them over at Ring Around the Rosies and they are delicious and my kids love them.

• 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Bread mix
• 6 hot dogs
• milk
• egg
   

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line cupcake pan with foil liners
    
2. Mix corn bread as directed on box.
    
3. Chop hotdogs in toddler size pieces
    
4. Add hotdogs to cornbread mix
    
5. Scoop mix into liners and cook for 15-20 minutes

It is important that you use *foil liners* because if you use the regular paper ones, they'll stick. Believe me, I tried it after I ran out of foil liners and needed just a couple of more. Don't do it!

After getting them out of the oven I let them sit on the counter to cool for a little while and then packed all my mini corn dog muffins into a gallon size freezer bag to freeze them.

Now when lunch time comes around all I have to do it pull them from the freezer, remove the liner and toss them in a microwave for about 30 seconds and these mini corn dog muffins are ready to eat!

Luckily I have (pretty) good fruit and veggie eaters and so I like to serve this along with apple slices, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and grapes and it makes for a great lunch for my littles.

What do you like to make for your toddlers for lunch?

Banana Muffins

Who doesn't love banana bread, right? I love it and that makes these banana muffins even more fun. They are quick and easy to make up, toss in the freezer and thaw in just seconds when you want one, still with the same amazing flavor.



These banana muffins are so delicious. I think I ate more than I froze and I ended up making a second batch so that I would have more around. Ya, they're that good!

So now you want to make some for yourself?

• 1 stick butter at room temp


• 1 C sugar


• 1 1/2 c Flour


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp baking powder


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 3 bananas


• 1/2 chopped walnuts


• 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven and fill cupcake pan with liners.

1. Mix butter and sugar together.

1. Add in all other ingredients. Mix until moist.

1. Put mixture into muffin pans and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Yep, that is all. They are done in less than a half hour from start to finish and you now have muffins to eat right away or to stick in the freezer. I like to make them ahead and freeze so that when I want a quick snack for me or the kids I can grab a couple out and stick them in the microwave for 10 seconds and I have a nice warm muffin to eat.

Home made Pico De Gallo

I've never been the biggest fan of Pico De Gallo but a few weeks ago my sister in law brought it over for a BBQ we were having. I refused to eat it, saying I don't like it, while everyone around me was shoveling it in because they all loved it.

So later that night after everyone was gone and I was sitting around looking for something to snack on, I decided to give it a try and it was amazing! I couldn't stop eating it and I understood why no one else could stop earlier that evening.

After asking for the recipe and not getting it, (I think she doesn't want to share it ;) ) I finally decided to make my own.

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• 6 "on the vine" tomatoes- firm. I took all of the seeds out of the tomatoes.


• 3/4 of a medium red onion


• 1/2 of a medium onion


• half of a bunch of cilantro, cutting the long part of the stem off


• 2 jalapenos (I took the seeds out)


• 1 serrano pepper with seeds out


• 1/4 of a red cabbage


• juice from 1 lime

Just chop everything and mix it together, salting to taste. Refrigerate before serving.


It didn't taste any different than the one we had before- It was delicious! I was pretty proud of myself.   The biggest part of this is chopping everything. It probably took about 1 1/2 hours to chop everything- Maybe I'm just slow? But it was totally worth the wait!