Stabbed Cupcakes

shared from:  http://www.thepeachkitchen.com/2011/10/stabbed-cupcakes/

Found this on my "Blog Reading List" today.... so freaking funny that I had to share!

Stabbed Cupcakes

I am dead serious.

I should be working my butt off to lose a few pounds these past few months….

…instead I’m trying to finish off these Halloween recipes I have in mind matching them with the ingredients I have on hand…

Did you know that last week I’ve been to the two branches of Forever 21? {there are only two branches in the country}

Yeah, I know I shouldn’t be shopping there…cause I’m what, thirty-ish?..and my size is like, x-large nowadays….

So I bought earrings….

I bought two pairs of sexy earrings with a promise to be back before my birthday to do some pre-birthday shopping…

…when I say goodbye to some of the calories I’m keeping..LOLz…

If I’m a psychiatrist and it’s not Halloween season, I’d probably tell myself that these cupcakes are a manifestation of my desire to kill these delicious calories….

.. I would also probably shock myself because I won’t…–ERR, I can never EVER kill any delicious calorie whatever form they maybe.

These cupcakes are a manifestation of my love for all things creepy…..

Who would wanna stab a cupcake, anyway?

Are you going to stab an innocent cupcake?

With a fork maybe and the part that clings to that fork will probably go straight to your mouth.

Yup. I will try to go on a diet again….

the keyword there is TRY.

Stabbed Cupcakes

Ingredients:

♥for the Chocolate Cupcake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tabsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp white vinegar
2 cups cold water

♥for the Vanilla Frosting

½ cup solid vegetable shortening
½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp milk

and for the broken glass used to stab the cupcakes, I used….

Yup, I was lazy, don’t have time, still don’t own a candy thermometer. So I bought these white mint candies and baked them in the oven until they melt into one blurry slab of glass-candy.

Then I gave it a little tap to create the broken glass effect.

♥For the “blood”, I used my ever reliable Strawberry Jam.

Directions:

♥for the Chocolate Cupcake:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners and set aside.
• In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vanilla extract and vinegar.
• Slowly whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients being careful not to overmix.
• Pour the batter until the cups are two thirds full and place in the oven for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cup comes out clean.
• Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then place on a wire rack until completely cool before frosting.

♥for the Vanilla Frosting

• In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer.
• Add vanilla.
• Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed.
• Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often.
• When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use and keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use.

• Put Vanilla frosting evenly on top of the chocolate cupcake and then “stab” it with the broken glass candy.
• Put a dollop of strawberry jam to make it look like the cupcake bled.

P.S.
These cupcakes can also be sent as gifts to people you are not so fond of…
Just kidding…

*Dill*icious Vegetable Salad

Ingredients
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 tomato, chopped
... ... 1/4 cup diced red onion
2 avocados, diced
4 green onions, chopped
2 Tbls Gourmet Cupboard® Dill Dip Mix
2 Tbls balsamic vinegar

Directions
1. In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients.
2. Serve immediately or chill no longer than 30 minutes.*

*If chilled longer, the cucumber will soak up the dark color of balsamic vinegar.

See my link for Gourmet Cupboard products!

Update on the 365 project photos.   I have created a Photo-log and have moved all of the photos to that new site.  I will continue to link them to Facebook, but this blog will not have the project photos included in the posts going forward.

see the new blog at http://kjkae.blogspot.com/

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes**Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 Duncan Hines yellow or white cake mix
1 cup sour cream (full-fat or light, but not fat-free)
3 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
24 unwrapped mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Chocolate Frosting:
1/4 cup melted butter (real butter, not margarine)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 pound powdered sugar
3 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup  real butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons (or more) of milk (you can use some of the leftover evaporated milk; it’s awesome in this frosting)
Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all the cupcake ingredients except for the peanut butter cups with an electric mixer on medium-low speed for 30 seconds, scraping the bowl frequently. Turn the speed to high and beat for another 3 minutes.
Fill each muffin cup about 1/2 full with batter. Top with an unwrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup , then fill the muffin cups with the remaining batter. Make sure the Peanut Butter Cups are covered and the cups are about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frostings. For both frostings, just combine all the ingredients for each one and whip until light and fluffy, adding additional milk as needed. Frost the cupcakes with the swirled frosting in this tutorial.

Monkey Bars

1 Pkg Nana's Banana Nut Bread ( the gourmet cupboard)
(ingredients listed on back to prepare it)
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
...1 cup Mini Chocolate chips

Directions:

Prepare Banana Bread as directed on package. Add in the Cinnamon, Vanilll and half the chocolate chips. Stir togethe well.
Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with the remaining chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until done in the center. Let cool and cut into bars.

 

Recipe from Roberta Whalen ~ my TGC Sponsor and the best dang cook around!

words to live by:

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway...

Shared Recipe

Herb Grilled Vegetables

Recipe from Swanson

Bring out the best flavors of fresh vegetables by basting them with herb-infused chicken broth during cooking.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Servings: 6

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup  Swanson® Chicken Broth (Regular, Natural Goodness or Certified Organic)
• 1/2 tsp.  dried thyme leaves, crushed
• 1/8 tsp.  ground black pepper
• 1   large red onion, thickly sliced (about 1 cup)
• 1   large red or green pepper, cut into wide strips (about 2 cups)
• 1   medium zucchini or yellow squash, thickly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups  large mushrooms

Directions

1. Stir the broth, thyme and black pepper in a small bowl. Brush the vegetables with the broth mixture.
2. ightly oil the grill rack and heat the grill to medium. Grill the vegetables for 10 minutes or until they're tender-crisp, turning over once during cooking and brushing often with the broth mixture.

Tip:

A grilling basket is handy for grilling smaller foods like these veggies. Just place the vegetables in a single layer in the basket, close and place on the grill. You can baste the vegetables right in the basket, and flip the basket to grill the other side.

• Weight Watchers Points®*: 0
• Dietary Exchanges: 1 Nonstarchy Vegetable
• USDA MyPyramid: 1 cup Vegetables

*Weight Watchers and Points ® are a registered trademark of Weight Watchers International, Inc. All references to Points values are based on Weight Watchers International, Inc. published information and do not imply sponsorship or endorsement by Weight Watchers International, Inc. of any such number of Points, or of Campbell products, by Weight Watchers International, Inc.

 

Weight Watchers® Points® Value: The POINTS® value for this product was calculated by Campbell's and is provided for informational purposes only. This is not an endorsement, sponsorship or approval of this product or its manufacturer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the Weight Watchers® and POINTS® registered trademarks.

 

And the Winner is....

Oklahoma!   With a record breaking July!!  As of July 2011, Oklahoma recorded the country's highest monthly average temperature ever.  That's the highest average temperature, for any month, for any state, associate Oklahoma state climatologist Gary McManus said.  The average temperature for the month of July was 89*.  Texas was not far behind, recording an average temp of 87*.   Surprisingly, we broke our own record ~ the previous record was set by Oklahoma as well, in 1954 with an average temperature of 81*.

Oklahoma, Texas Set Heat Records In July

365 project....

To take a photo a day for a year.  I know that I take a ton of photos, but one a day?  Well, I have decided to start this challenge and see where it takes me.  The goal of course is to improve your photography skills.  I just hope to preserve some memories and in the process, possibly, improve my techniques slightly ;)

Day 1   7/1/11
our 35 lb lap dog.
Sadie is a cutie.  She has a wonderful personality and spirit.  She loves to be loved and she definately loves to be in your space with you!

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee Beans

Carrots, Eggs or Coffee Beans Movie: "All of us at one time or another have experienced a difficult situation, had setbacks, or dealt with our share of disappointment. Most things that happen to us on a daily basis we can’t control and I can honestly say (with conviction) that it is not what happens to us that matters but rather, how we choose to respond.

 

"http://www.flickspire.com/m/LifeSecrets/CarrotsEggsCoffee

New Adventures

Hi All. I have decided to start a blog. Why? And do I really have the time to do this?

I thought it would give me a chance to share with friends, family and colleagues a little bit of what’s on my mind. I’m sure I will end up with a true hodge podge of postings: recipes, photos and the mundane followings of my mind. 

So buckle up, and hold on... here we go

One of my first dedications to the blog will be a 365 photo project.  Again, why?  To capture fun moments in our life, to improve my photography skills, and to share with my friends and family just little pieces of me.