Hoppy Easter!

Jared and I made these for the kids this morning! I found the idea online and thought it was a simple fun way to celebrate this morning!

Jared made the pancakes. He is the pancake maker at our house. I don't know what it is but I am horrible at flipping pancakes. Jared is amazing and he doesn't mind doing it. 

I don't have a recipe to share since we are always trying new ones but our favorites always involve buttermilk. They go great with buttermilk syrup.

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp. Karo syrup (optional)

1 cube butter

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add sugar and Karo syrup. Cook on low to medium heat for a few minutes. Add buttermilk and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla, turn off heat. Add baking soda, stir and enjoy. It is normal for it to separate once it has been sitting out for a little while so just give it another stir and enjoy it again and again.

Jared made a large pancake for the bunny bum and 2 small ones for his feet. I added a banana and chocolate chips or blueberries for his footprint. We used a can of whipped cream for the tail. Easy peasy and the kids loved them.

Hoppy Easter little cuties!

Healthy Easter egg hunt

We wanted to do something different for Wyatt's snack this month. Easter is in 2 days and we thought it would be fun to do an Easter egg hunt. Mr. Estrada was on board and said we could hide the eggs in the courtyard just outside their classroom door. 

We always have to do a healthy snack so this is what we put in the eggs: pink egg-auntie Annie's bunny grahams, green egg-stickers, orange-bunny cheddar crackers, blue-bubble gum, (we had to add a couple treats)

purple egg-grapes, yellow-lifesaver, white bunny egg- sixlets,  and orange carrot-carrot sticks.

Each kid had to find one of each color, 8 all together. It was sooo much fun watching them run around finding their eggs. They even liked the healthy snacks. Even though this was a lot of work, the kids were so sweet which made it all worthwhile. 

Here they are running around trying to find their eggs!

Hero Tribute 2016

 

This year to honor Clint we wanted to pay tribute to the heroes we personally know that serve in the military. We have a few friends who attend church with us that we dropped treats off to. 

Raspberry Brownie Bites:

Bake your favorite brownies in a small muffin/tart pan (sprayed generously with Bakers Joy) for 10-13 minutes. Let them cool then gently twist them out. In a large bowl  mix:  8 oz of softened cream cheese, and a jar of marshmallow cream. Once that is mixed, fold in an 8 oz. container of cool whip.  Place the mixture in a piping bag with Wilton Tip 1M and pipe a little on each brownie. Then top with a raspberry or blueberry.

Lucy and Wyatt wanted to share these treats with their classes and tell them about their Uncle who is a hero.

Rice Crispy Treat recipe:

 Soften 4 Tbsp. salted butter in a big bowl in the microwave.

Add 6 cups marshmallows and microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until melted and add 1 tsp. vanilla.

Stir in 6 cups rice crispy's then add 2 cups mini marshmallows. Once mixed in pour onto a greased pan. 

*I usually double this recipe and put it in a greased jelly roll pan.

We used a star cookie cutter to cut these out and added a blue and red chocolate drizzle.

We added this to Lucy's container because she was afraid she would forget what to tell her teacher about Clint. So cute!

Lemon cupcakes

I made these lemon cupcakes for a lesson I taught at church today.

The topic I was assigned to teach about was Adversity and I don't think it was a coincidence that today is the anniversary of my brothers death. 12 years ago today I was given one of the hardest trials I will ever face. My brother was my best friend! I miss him so much!

I found this recipe on asideofsweet.com

For the vanilla cupcakes: (I doubled this)

• 1 1/2 cup (170 grams) cake flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup milk

For the lemon curd (makes extra):

• 1/3 cup lemon juice, about 2 lemons
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch table salt

I used my Lemon Cream Cheese frosting because it's my favorite.

1/2 cup butter softened

8 oz. cream cheese softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2-1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Zest from one lemon

3 to 31/2 cups powdered sugar

 

Make the vanilla cupcakes:

1. Combine the dry ingredients. Beat in the butter on medium low. The mixture should resemble coarse sand. Beat in the sugar on low.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla and milk. Mix until just combined.
3. Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, pour into lined cupcake pan until 2/3 full.
4. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Make the lemon curd filling:

1. Heat lemon juice over medium heat until hot but not boiling.
2. Meanwhile, whisk eggs and yolk in a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in the sugar. While whisking, slowly pour hot lemon juice into the eggs. Return to saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture registers 170 degrees and coats the back of a spoon.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in butter. Once melted, stir in cream, vanilla, and salt.
4. For a more even texture, strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer (optional). Curd is able to be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks, just cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

*I used a cupcake corer to gently hollow out the center of the cupcake. You could use an apple corer too but just don't got far down. 

*I topped these cupcakes with crushed lemon heads.

**update: I have made these a few times and I don't always bake the cake from scratch. Instead 

I have used a cake box with extenders. Here are my favorite things to add to the cake mix:

-an extra egg

-replace water with milk

-1 cup of sour cream

Happy Birthday, Mr. Estrada!

Today is Mr. Estrada's birthday. Wyatt hit the jackpot when he got him for his 1st grade teacher. Some of us mom's wanted to show our appreciation by surprising him with some birthday treats. I volunteered to make the cupcakes and they pulled money together for a gift card and balloons. I got the easy job!

*I decorated the boxes using my, "Life Is A Party" circuit cartridge.

Under box number one is...

mini cupcakes for the kiddos! I used a simple vanilla cake mix, cream cheese frosting, and sprinkles.

Under box number two is...

chocolate peanut butter Oreo cupcakes! These are a favorite at my house. 

Chocolate Buttermilk cake
1 box devil's food cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines)
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Combine and mix for 2 minutes.
Put about 1 TBSP of cake batter in the bottom of a cupcake liner. The original recipe says to place the cookie on the bottom with no batter but my first batch burnt the cookie so adding the batter really helped.  Add 1 Oreo cookie on top of the batter. Then add a mini Reese's peanut butter cup on top of the cookie.  Add enough batter to cover the PB cup which should be 2/3 full. Bake 325 for about 17 minutes or until cake is done.

• Oreo Peanut Butter Buttercream
  Ingredients
  
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter
  • 2-3 cups confectioner’s sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons oreo cookie crumbs
  Directions
  
  1. Separate ~8 oreo cookies and discard the cream filling.  In a food processor or plastic bag, crush the cookies into fine crumbs.
  2. In a large bowl, beat butter and shortening on high until fully combined.  Beat in peanut butter.
  3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 2 cups of the confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and a pinch of salt.  Start the mixer on slow, then eventually crank it up to high and beat for 2 minutes.  Add more confectioner’s sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until you reach your desired consistency (more sugar = thicker buttercream).
  4. Add the cookie crumbs and beat on high for 2 minutes.

I know I can't post a pic showing all the kids so here is the one and only Mr. Estrada. He makes me happy just seeing his smiley face. We love you!