Engagement Fiesta

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I tested out a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes today for Kyle and Wesley's Engagement Party next weekend. I think they turned out pretty tasty, Hudson liked them that's for sure! They are very rich, but if you like chocolate and peanut butter then there's a pretty good chance you'll like them. I made chocolate cupcakes and filled them with a peanut butter filling by Martha Stewart. Then made a peanut butter cream cheese frosting for on top. To decorate them I chopped up Reese's peanut butter cups and sprinkled them on top of each one.

Hudson had fun helping me make the cupcakes. He placed all of the cupcake liners in the cupcake pans. Helped pour the measured ingredients into the bowls. Counted as I poured the batter into each liner. He frosted his own cupcake. And he had fun unwrapping all of the Reese's peanut butter cups.

Peanut Butter Filling:

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

 Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag until ready to use.

Craft Store Coupons

 It's been a while since I've posted some links to coupons. Here are some for the rest of this week and into labor day for Micheal's and the wonderful Hobby Lobby.

Michael's 40% off Coupon Expires Sept. 4th 2010


Michael's 20% entire purchase Expires Sept. 4th 2010

Coupons from Mommy Saves Big

Click here for Michael's labor day coupons up to 50% off

Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon Expires Sept. 4th

Pistachio Crusted Tilapia

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shelled pistachios
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tilapia fillets
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons honey mustard
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 

In a food processor, combine pistachios, oregano, thyme, and garlic powder. Process until finely chopped and transfer to a shallow dish. Season both sides of tilapia fillets with salt and pepper. Brush honey mustard over both sides of tilapia and then transfer to pistachio mixture. Press mixture into both sides of fish.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add tilapia and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until fork-tender.

Recipe by Robin Miller on foodnetwork.com

Coffee Cup

While in La Jolla with Casey for our anniversary we went to the wonderful Coffee Cup Cafe located in downtown La Jolla. La Jolla has a lot of great places to eat, but this quickly became one of our favorites. We ate brunch there and loved the atmosphere and the food was amazing! We often find ourselves craving another breakfast from Coffee Cup, we might need to take another trip to La Jolla soon! If you're ever in the area you have to check it out.

Tilapia with Purple Potato Crust and Chive Rosemary Oil

I've been looking for some new recipes lately and can't believe I haven't come across this one yet. I am a big fan of Giada de Laurentiis and also a big fan of tilapia. I made this tonight for dinner and it is soo good. I halved the recipe and also didn't have any fresh rosemary, so I used dried thyme. After baking it in the oven, the potatoes still were not crispy on the edges, so I placed the skillet back on the stove top on a high heat for a few minutes to brown the potatoes. The chive oil that you drizzle on top is really good!

Ingredients:

• 4 (4- to 6-ounce) tilapia fillets
• 8 to 12 ounces purple potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced rosemary leaves, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup minced fresh chives
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the fish fillets on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Top each of the fillets with enough slices of potato to completely cover the surface of the fish, overlaying the potatoes like shingles. Sprinkle the potatoes with a bit more salt and pepper, and the 1 tablespoon rosemary leaves.

Heat a large, oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the butter. When the butter is melted and the oil is hot add the fish, potato side down. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the fish is cooked through, about 15 to 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the extra-virgin olive oil, chives, the remaining 1 tablespoon rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

To serve, place the fish on serving plates, potato side up. Drizzle the fish and the plate with the chive oil. Serve immediately.

Color Game

I've been trying to teach Hudson his colors and my friend Crystal told me about a color game you can play at home with your kids with M&M's. Today we used these colored goldfish that he picked out at the store. To play the game you show the child one of the colored M&M's or goldfish and tell them to go find something in the room that is the same color. When they find a match and tell you the correct color they get to eat the snack. After we were done playing Hudson had fun sorting the remaining goldfish by color on his table.

Strawberry Banana Ice Pops

My mom found this recipe by Paula Dean and made these popsicles for Hudson. He loves sitting on the front porch eating a popsicle and watching the cars drive by. These are easy to make and Hudson loves them! Here's the recipe:


Ingredients:

• 1 (3 1/4-ounce) package instant banana cream pudding mix (regular, not sugar-free)

• 1 3/4 cups milk

• 2 cups sliced strawberries

• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into ice pop molds and freeze for at least 4 hours.
Cook’s Note: If you don’t have molds, divide the mixture among 8 (5-ounce) small plastic or paper cups. Cover each with plastic wrap and insert a wooden pop stick through the wrap.

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 10 min
Difficulty: Easy

Noodle Craft

I've been trying to find new things to keep Hudson entertained during these hot summer months, when we seem to be inside most days. Today I filled up a large plastic bowl with some uncooked noodles for him to play with. We got out all different sizes of cups, bowls, pots, and spoons. He had so much fun just pouring the noodles into all the different containers. After about an hour of playing, he began to lose interest so I folded a paper plate in half and had him pour some noodles into the middle. I stapled up the sides and then we colored the plate together. Now he has his own little instrument to shake while he dances.

Felt Food

Hudson has loved playing with toy kitchens and pretend food for a while now. We still haven't gotten him a play kitchen, but he has some pots and pans and some pretend food. I would love to make him some of these adorable felt food kits. These pictures are from American Felt and Craft. You can purchase their patterns along with all of the supplies to make each item on their website. There are lots of great ideas online for felt food. I will hopefully find some time to make some soon for Hudson.

Window Box

I love this idea of having fresh flowers outside your window. In Arizona this could be a bit of a challenge, especially in the summer heat. You could always plant succulents instead of flowers. Find out how to make this window box by Martha Stewart here.

Invisible Trellis

We have had some of our vines recently take off and have been trying to keep them up on our walls and pillars out back. So when I read this article by Martha Stewart I thought I would have to give it a try. 


Vines appear to defy gravity and let your wall show through when they climb without supportive woodwork. Eyehooks screwed into siding or walls and networks of medium-gauge wire hold delicate vines. (Heavier climbers, such as roses, will need heavy-gauge wire.) Design a grid by placing eyehooks 12 to 16 inches apart and running wire through them. Or you can follow one of our designs, placing eyehooks at intersections. Support wires across a large expanse with hooks every 2 feet. To install eyehooks in a brick or another masonry surface, use a masonry drill.
 From Martha Stewart Living, March 2002

Cupcake Gifts

I think all of these little cupcake gifts are really cute. They can all be found on paper-source.com. The cupcake kit is $19.95 and includes a book and decorating tips. The Tea cupcakes come with 4 silicone teacup liners and saucers for $19.95. The cupcake oven mitt is $11.95, and the wrapping paper $3.50.

Big Boy Room

I am trying to come up with some ideas for a big boy room for Hudson, and my friend Alex sent me a link to the Land of Nod's site. The top three pictures are some of their boy bedding items. I am leaning towards doing Hudson's room in a music theme since he really loves music, dancing, drums, and guitars. I really love the colors used in these pictures and would like to include some of these color combos in his new room. Alexis spotted these guitar hooks for me at bed bath and beyond for $19.99 for the set of 3.

Amy's Baby Shower

We had Amy's baby shower this afternoon to celebrate baby Payton. Can't wait to meet this little girl! I made the same cupcakes that I made for Hudson's birthday party, because they've become a favorite. They are vanilla cupcakes filled with lemon mousse, and topped with vanilla butter cream frosting. I made a marshmallow fondant to cover the small cake and topped in with a letter "P" for Payton. Crystal and I found a variety of green and chocolate candy for the candy buffet. We had bags with ribbons to tie for the favors for the guests as they left the shower. We also made some tissue paper pom poms, which I had never made before, but are very easy to make. We hung the pom poms over all the yummy food that Susan and Danielle made for everyone. It was a fun afternoon with the girls. Congratulations Amy!!!

TuTu

Most of my friends have all boys... so now that my friend Amy is pregnant with a little girl, I had to jump on the opportunity to make something fun and extra girlie! What's more girlie then a little pink tutu? This tutu was really easy to make and requires no sewing. A lot of people use elastic to tie the tull to, however I used a ribbon that ties in the back. All you need for this project is tulling and elastic or ribbon. It was really easy and convenient to buy the 6" spools of tulling, which I found at Hobby Lobby for $4.99 for 25 yards. I have plenty leftover to make another one. All you need to do is cut the tulling to the desired length, (but know that it will actually be tied to only half the total length) and tie it onto the elastic or ribbon with the knots all lined at the bottom.

Salted Toffee Chocolate Squares

I have not made these yet, but have heard that they are delicious!  What's not to love? Toffee, chocolate, nuts...yumm!

Ingredients:

• 13 graham crackers
• 1 bag (8 ounces) toffee bits
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped toasted natural almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (4 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

 Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Place graham crackers in a single layer on sheet, edges touching. Sprinkle toffee bits and almonds over graham crackers.
2. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and butter to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat and cook at a rapid simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is syrupy, 2 minutes. Immediately pour over graham crackers. Bake until sugar topping is bubbling, 12 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle chocolate and salt over graham crackers. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Let cool completely on sheet on a wire rack. (Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

• Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine, May 2010  

4th of July

4th of July Printable Party Collection

Found on Etsy by Tweedle Dee Designs
$8.00

I love this idea! You can order this party pack collection for only $8.00 and in includes all of the items below:

1. 5x5 Invitations
2. Party Punchables
3. Stars and Stripes Banner
4. Party Labels
5. Patriotic Straw Flags
6. Mini Notecards
7. Bottle Labels
8. Treat Bag Toppers

Starbucks

I am in love with my new Starbucks cup! I fill it up every morning with ice water and take it out with me all day, and even drink from it at home. It's helping to keep my hydrated during these hot summer days. Apparently the Venti size is difficult to come by, but Costco even offers a similar insulated cup with straws.
Thanks Carley! :)

Arizona Hunger Campaign

Mission Community Church is joining with other Phoenix area churches and organizations to help end hunger in our communities. The goal of the campaign is to collect five million pounds of food in one year. The food collected will benefit Open Arms Care Center, and also House of Refuge; if their capacity is exceeded then donations will go to other food banks in the area. Please bring your food donations on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month to Mission Community Church.
AZ Hunger Campaign Needs:

Canned Fruit
Canned beans
Hearty Canned Soups
Peanut Butter
Canned Vegetables
Canned Juices
Canned Meats
Spaghetti Sauce
Cake Mix/Frosting
Flour
Sugar
Oil
Macaroni & Cheese
Tuna
Pasta
Jelly
Rice
Muffi n Mix
Granola Bars
Cereal Hot/Cold