Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting...YUM!

Are you guys getting sick of all my food posts lately? I just can't help it, being able to eat again is AMAZING! I think I can truly say it, "Goodbye morning sickness...Hello food!!" Yeah, I've been feeling pretty good these past two weeks. I hope I am finally into my 2nd trimester "Good" phase!!!!

So, I was totally in the mood for cupcakes today. My kidlets are always in the mood for cupcakes too so it was the perfect choice for my naptime baking this afternoon. I just LOVE this recipe for vanilla cupcakes from Billy's Bakery via Martha Stewart. It makes the best homemade cupcakes, they really are soooo good! They don't take long to mix up and bake so you get to eat them quickly...this always earns recipes an extra star in my book!

I decided to frost them and turn them into a football design. Cause that is just what you do, right!?! I think every Super Bowl party needs to have one of these on the buffet table next weekend, what do you think?

Me likey, it's just cute...and every party needs some cute!

Okay, here's the recipe....and remember, they are soooo good! Make them today!

Billy's Vanilla Cupcakes

1 3/4 cup cake flour

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line your cupcake pan with liners. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition. Beat until ingredients are incorporated...DO NOT OVERBEAT!

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until toothpick comes out clean. About 17-20 minutes. (Mine took a bit longer than 20 minutes!)

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

**Nestle's Chocolate Lover's Frosting recipe is my go to chocolate frosting recipe, I think it's super yummy! You can find the recipe on the back of the cocoa powder can too so you will always have it in your pantry...if you like to have cocoa powder on hand, that is!**

Easy and Yummy...you definitely need to try these!!!

Remember, cut your butter up nice and small.

Add your butter in and mix just until all the butter pieces are coated with the flour mixture.

Then, whisk together your eggs, vanilla and milk until nice and combined. Then, add to your dry ingredients in increments until just incorporated.

Fill your cupcake liners about 2/3 full.

Bake for about 20 minutes...YUM!

Let cool on a cooling rack...oh boy, I can't wait to try one!

Oh yeah, light and cake-y...the way every cupcake should be!

But wait, I think we need some frosting on these babies.

I like to frost my cupcakes with Wilton Tip #21, it gives you that nice "frosted swirl" look. I just cut a tip from a corner of a ziploc bag, place the tip inside said corner, add frosting to bag and voila you have yourself a piping bag for cheap!

Yup, just what I thought...chocolate frosting makes everything better :)

And, lots of chocolate frosted cupcakes makes my weekend a whole lot better :)

And, turning those chocolate frosted cupcakes into a football for Super Bowl Sunday next weekend is just cute! Who said footballs can't be cute!?!

TOO CUTE!

Homemade Fingerprint Cards

Here is a fun project to do with your littles that grandparents and relatives will LOVE! Get some washable ink pads, plain cardstock and a nice supply of baby wipes and you have the makings for some easy, fun and very "Awwww" inducing cards.

I always love to make cards using the kidlet's thumbprints which we turn into some sort of design. It not only let's you capture their fingerprints at a certain age but let's others in your family have a little artwork from your budding picasso(s) that doesn't look like the typical little kid chicken scratch.

For Valentine's day, we make thumbprints into hearts and flowers. For Easter, we turn them into bunnies. For Birthdays, they become cupcakes, candles and 2-tiered birthday cakes (these ones are great to give to all their little friends and cousins at their birthdays!) Mother's Day, more flowers, Father's Day, ties. Really, the list goes on...whatever your imagination comes up with :) Sometimes I'll embellish their thumbprints with some hand drawn additions just so the pictures aren't too abstract.

It's fun, really!!!

Go ahead and try it, your grandparents will thank you!

Fingerprint Cards

Different colors of washable ink pads

Plain cardstock

Baby wipes (to wipe off little fingers before they use the next color)

Butcher paper (for your table...so they can put their little hands anywhere without giving us mommas a heart attack!)

The artist deep in thought.

YES, she is wearing her swimming suit and YES, it's winter in Illinois, you see

I bought her a new one for a trip to a water park resort we are taking next month and wanted her to try it on to see if it fit. She wouldn't take it off :) Pick your battles, right!?!

Dirty fingers and little boys go together nicely...and dirty fingernails too...Eeeew!

In the zone.

♥ A Valentine's card from Noah and Penny ♥

Little baby hearts from little baby Penny!

A garden of violets for Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Marc

(FYI, Bobo is Noah's word for grandma/grandpa!)

A mess, I mean bouquet, of flowers!

And some Easter cards...

Have fun getting messy with your littles!

They'll Love it!

And so will you!

See, even I had to take a few deep breathes after seeing this:

(Her mouth and cheeks all the way back to her ears, hands, arms and chest are covered in marker and ink from the inkpad!!!)

Thank goodness for washable markers is all I have to say!!

Dinner Tonight: Crockpot Chicken Taco Soup

Ok, so for dinner on Sunday I made this recipe, one of my absolute favorites for it's simplicity and taste. I ate and ate and ate. On Monday, I ate some more. Man, I love eating now that it doesn't make me throw up! Yay for not being nauseated 24/7 anymore!!!

Tonight, only being Wednesday, I am making it again! I know, I'm a little insane. But, seriously it is that good! That and maybe my body is trying to tell me that I need some major veggies and protein since months of eating nothing can really wreak havoc on your body, especially when there is a little someone else nestled in your belly.

So, here it is. My super yummy in your tummy recipe for Chicken Taco Soup. Make it, let it simmer all day, smell the 'yum' take over your house and then devour with shredded cheese, sour cream and taco doritos chips! Awesome!

Chicken Taco Soup

2-4 chicken breast (depending on size, about 1 pound...these can be frozen too!)

1 can no salt added corn, drained

1 can black beans

1 can chili beans or light red kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 8oz can tomato sauce

1 12oz bottle of beer (or chicken broth)

1 1.25 oz packet taco seasoning

Place all the above ingredients into your crockpot and mix well. Set on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4. Pull the chicken out, shred, and place back into crockpot. Devour!!

Oh, and don't forget the shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and TACO doritos chips...this makes it over the top AWESOME!

Looks so good you want to eat it off the computer screen, don'tcha!?!

YUM!

Things to Get You Laughing Today

Here are some funny pictures and a video of my kidlets that have made me laugh a lot lately. I hope they give you a smile too, kids are the best for turning a Monday into a Friday!!!

Noah.

He has worn this outfit, above, every single day for over 1 month now. Fireman monkey shirt and blue striped pants (that he has obviously outgrown)...can we say "high waters"! The holes in the knees keep getting bigger and that seems to make him want to wear them more and more. I debated patching them up but instead am going to hope he grows out of this phase soon and then I'll just store them away, as is, in his memory box. Just for laughs when he is older.

This phase is especially great for his momma and daddy since in the freezing winters of Illinois it makes us look like we can't afford to dress out child properly. It doesn't help that Penny is always taking her shoes off in the car, so every where we go in a store she is shoe-less and sock-less! Yup, we are looking like Parents of the Year over here. We have finally come to getting him to wear a different shirt, for bedtime only he tells us EVERY night, and his underwear...no pants...so that we can wash this outfit and feel like it is sometimes clean!

BOYS!

As for Penelope, she has started wearing underwear...

...on her head!! She now has a new collection of winter hats thanks to Noah and his itty bitty little boy underwear. I think it's classic, what girl can't make accessories out of anything? She's into re-purposing just like her momma!!! I just LOVE her!

Here is Noah snacking on his newest winter treat...icicles!! (Do you see him in his "favorite" outfit again?) My hubby found a nice Noah-sized one outside one day and brought it inside for him. Noah automatically thought it was a popsicle and so we did what any parent would do, we gave him a paper towel to wrap it up and let him go to town licking it. He couldn't have been happier :)

And lastly, please enjoy this video I found on our computer that my hubby made of the littles this past December. I was nauseated and pukey so I have no recollection of this dance party even occurring. I think it's the sweetest video of the two of them party-ing it up to Bruce Springsteen. Check it out, they really are precious...and they can really shake a leg!

Fabric Block Letter Tutorial

So, I had a lovely reader email me last week with a question on how to do 3-D decor letters. I can't remember exactly who it was but I do remember that she was from England, so cool. I just read the email in my head using my English accent that only sounds good in my head...it sounds so good until I say it out loud, why is that!?! Well, I tried my hand at making some and this is what I came up with:

Aren't they adorable!?!

I hope this is something close to what she had in mind!

Oh, and by the way, I just want to tell you all how I love all the emails you send me! It's so nice to open my inbox and see piles and piles of email from all over the country and the world. Some of you just want to say "hi" while others of you have questions about crafts of sewing projects or just want to send me some pictures of what you made from my tutorials!! Oh, how I love it!! Sometimes, I can't get back to you right away and I'm sorry about that, but I really do try to get back to all of you! And for all the comments I get, I also wanted to say a big thank you too. I love all your comments because it let's me know who is reading my blog and what you all like to see more of. It's also how I get to find out about all your awesome blogs too!!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Ok, so on with this craft...

Here is your list of items you will need to make some for yourself:

Fabric Block Letters

Cardboard or Paper Mache letters (I saw them called both. I bought mine at the Hob Lob but I realize this store may not exist in England, hopefully these two names will help you find them!)

1/4 yard of fabric for each letter

rotary cutter and mat

x-acto knife

modge podge

foam brush

freezer paper

**My letters were 50% off at Hobby Lobby so they ended up being $1 each and the fabric was $1 per 1/4 yard. So this total project was $8...not bad for all that CUTENESS!!!

Your accomplices for this project.

Here is what the cardboard letter look like close up. If you have letters like a "P" that are top heavy you can cut into the base with an x-acto knife and fill the bottom with some rice or plastic pellets to keep it stable!

First, you will cut your fabric around your letter with about a 1/2 inch border, like so.

Then, get out your modge podge and lay it on thick! Press your fabric onto the modge podge, smoothing it out as you go. Do one flat side, then the outer edges of the letter, then modge podge the other flat side, and then overlap the outer edge to make sure no cardboard is showing.

You will then cut out the inside of the "G" with an x-acto knife and modge podge the fabric to the inner cardboard edges.

Then, cut a strip of fabric that is slightly smaller than the width of your letter's edge and modge podge it to the inner edge of the letter "G". This is to help cover all the open spots of cardboard that you have remaining from cutting your fabric around all the corners and curves.

The finished letter "G"

Now, who wants to see another letter being modge podged?

Ok, here is how I did the letter "I"

Again, cut around your letter with a 1/2 inch border.

Time to layer on the modge podge and press on your fabric...nice and smooth!

When you get to the corners, again, snip the fabric and modge podge each side separately! You will need to go back and cut a small strip of fabric to cover the little bits of cardboard that remain to be seen.

The finished letter "I"

If you have letters with a lot of curves like the letter "R" just snip the fabric all around the curves to make it easier to modge podge the fabric onto the cardboard without all the ugly bumps!

When you are finished modge podge-ing, go ahead and let your letters dry for 20-30 minutes. Then get your modge podge out again and brush the outside of the fabric with modge podge to seal the letters up. I let my letters dry on the waxy side of the freezer paper so I didn't mess up my cutting mat. Make sure to use the waxy side too, so the letters come off nice and easy!

SO cute! Wouldn't this be a great baby gift!

Side View

Little Miss P's Dresser Top all decked out!

Sweet!