Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Boojiboo Flirty Apron GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Chocolate Mint Oreo Cupcakes and a Contest!

My daughter Sloan wanted to make cupcakes, so after a little chat to figure out what kind she wanted, and a call to her older sister, Jennie (over at Tuffets) we came up with our own recipe with Sloan's favorite ice cream flavors! We had so many goodies in the house we walked some over across the street to some neighbors with little kids! Thank goodness they didn't mind!


Chocolate Mint Oreo Cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used 3T dark cocoa & 3T regular)
1 1/2 teaspoons soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (I used milk soured with 2T vinegar,minus 2T milk)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup shortening
1 bag mint chips, save out about 1/3 cup for top of cupcakes
11 crushed mint Oreo's (I just crushed them up in a Ziplock bag)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners (makes 24).
In a mixer bowl measure all the dry ingredients and mix for a minute. Add the wet ingredients and beat for 3 minutes on high. Add 1 bag mint flavored chips and crushed mint Oreos, and mix in with a spoon. Scoop into cupcake liners, I use my 1/4 cup ice cream scoop. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and frost.

Mint Oreo Frosting

8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1/4 to 1/3 cup milk
2-3 drops green food coloring
8 Oreo's, finely crushed

Toppings

Reserved mint chips from cupcakes
Cut up Oreo's

Cream the butter and shortening, add the powdered sugar, mint extract and 1/4 cup of the milk. Add the rest of the milk if needed. Add in crushed Oreo's by hand. Pipe frosting on cupcakes. Top with some cut up Oreo's and some of the reserved mint chips.


Sloan is wearing my favorite apron that a dear friend of mine gave me for my birthday this year. It looks like a baby doll top. I keep teasing my family that if I can't decide what to wear, I might just wear it with a little t-shirt!

Here's another fun giveaway to enter! Go to Sweet Life In The Valley and check it out!

Amish Friendship Bread Starter Pancakes

My kids love pancakes, so I thought I'd come up with one using my Amish Friendship Bread Starter. These turned out nice and fluffy, and the kids loved them! My sweet husband gave them the thumbs up too! My daughter decided she wanted syrup and whipped cream on hers. My kids get up at 5:30am every weekday morning to go to swim team, so they like lots of carbs for breakfast. They train hard for 1 1/2 hours, so they're usually hungry when they get home too!






Amish Friendship Bread Starter Pancakes

1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
2 tablespoons oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Measure the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk with a wire whisk. Add the wet ingredients and whisk just until mixed. Fry on hot greased griddle.

Enchilada Casserole

This is the bouquet that my son helped me pick (so neat having a son who wants to pick his mom wildflowers still!) when we went on our hike yesterday. I love wildflowers and these are really pretty! The long sprig is sage. My son especially wanted that in the bouquet. I told him that I always pick some when I run and rub it between my hands, because I love the smell so much!



I love this recipe for enchilada casserole because I usually have everything on hand. If I don't have tortillas, I'll use broken crispy taco shells or the end of a bag of tortilla chips. I've also used leftover chicken, turkey, beef and pork roast for the hamburger. It's even better the next day!

Enchilada Casserole

1 pound hamburger
1 onion
2 small cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 can of corn, drained
6 - 8 tortillas, I used flour
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Brown the hamburger and add the onion and cook until tender, drain. Add the corn, tomato sauce and salsa. You can use all tomato sauce, but you'll need a little seasoning, 1 /2 teaspoon cumin and salt and pepper. You don't need the seasoning if you use salsa. Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam. Tear up some tortillas and cover the bottom of the pan. Top with half the meat, corn mixture. Do another layer of tortillas, then the rest of the meat, corn mixture. Top with the cheese, cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes.

Happy 4th of July! Snickerdoodle Blondies with Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips and my latest sewing project!

Happy 4th of July! This is my front porch (I know, it's kind of plain looking this year) and the flag pole my husband made out of an auger. It has an old tea kettle on top! Sometime I'll have to share my embarrassing story about the tea kettle.



I was looking around on some of my favorite blogs for a new cookie recipe and I found this bar cookie. I love making bar cookies! They're so much faster than dropping out cookies. This recipe is from Two Peas and Their Pod. They were a big hit with my family! We seem to be on a snickerdoodle kick this summer! Maria made them with cinnamon chips, and I used semi sweet chocolate chips, but they would also be good without chips!



Snickerdoodle Blondies with Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons white sugar (I used 4 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used 3 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.
In another large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Stir in the cinnamon chips.
Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be similar to a cookie dough.)
Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.
Bake 25 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool slightly. While still warm, cut into bars with a sharp knife.

This is the present I made for my biggest granddaughter, Amelia. She's having a birthday next week and I wanted to make her something special. I said I'd never piece another quilt, but this one was small and it turned out to be fun putting the fabrics together. It's a sleeping bunny baby and has a cute pompom tail.


Here's the back of the blanket and the pompom tail. Now, don't tell Amelia about her present, it's a surprise!

Crunchy Blueberry Tart

Don't you love berry season! I picked up some nice juicy blueberries at Costco the other day and once I read The English Kitchen the next day I knew just what to do with them!



Have you been to Marie's blog The English Kitchen? She's an amazing cook! Here's her recipe for Crunchy Blueberry Tart that I made, and my family loved it! My son Chauncey said he was to full to try it, but I told him he had to eat a piece because I had already dished it up and put whipped cream on it and it would go to waste because no one else was home. He said he'd eat since I forced it on him! When I came in later to get the plate it was all gone, and he said it was terrific!

I've never weighed out ingredients before, but once I got my little scale out I found out it was pretty easy. The amounts don't convert well to cup measurements, so I kept them in ounces.

Crunchy Blueberry Tart

For the crust

6 ounces butter, softened
6 1/4 ounces flour
4 3/4 ounces sugar
2 1/2 ounces quick oats

For the Filling

9 ounces fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup of blueberry jam (I used orange marmalade, Marie's suggestion)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

For the Topping

3 ounces butter
4 ounces quick oats
4 3/4 ounces sugar
Whipped Cream or ice cream for serving

For the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk together the flour, sugar and oats. Add this mixture to the melted butter, stirring well to completely combine. Press the dough into a 10 inch tart tin with a removable bottom, I used my cheesecake pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

To make the topping, melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk in the oats and sugar. Mix together well, and then set aside while you make the filling.

To make the filling, gently stir together the blueberries, jam and balsamic vinegar, mixing well. Stir in the cornstarch. Pour this mixture into the oat pastry crust.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over top and then place the tart onto a baking tray. Bake in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.

Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool. Remove the side from the pan before serving. Serve cut into slices with some whipped cream or ice cream.

Peanut Butter Fingers

Years ago we lived in California and a friend of mine brought these wonder peanut butter fingers to a women's meeting. I knew I had to have the recipe. She told me she grew up in Utah and they had these in the school lunches all the time. Remember when the cooks at the schools actually cooked and you could smell rolls cooking and cookies baking at school? It's to bad those days are gone. I didn't grow up in Utah, but my school made wonderful baked goods too. So if you grew up in Utah, you might remember these bars. I think they're kind of like a homemade candy bar, and my family loves them!


Peanut Butter Fingers

1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick oats
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
Glaze

Cream shortening and sugar, add egg,peanut butter and vanilla. Add the flour, soda, salt and quick oats mixing well. Spray a cookie sheet with sides with Pam. Using your hands that you've rubbed with oil, spread out cookie dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately sprinkle 2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips over cookie layer. Let cool before topping with glaze. If I'm in a hurry I'll put it in the fridge our freezer.



Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 - 4 tablespoons milk

Beat butter, vanilla and peanut butter. Add powdered sugar and enough of the milk to make a nice glaze. Spread over the chocolate chips once they've set up.

Work For Me Wednesday - A great summer morning breakfast! Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes

First you have to see the pictures from our hike the other day! This is one of our favorite trails! I forgot, the post with the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Pancakes will be later on this week, sorry!




We went for a gorgeous hike the other day. We started out at the creek where there are two sets of bridges. This is my husband Ken and our son Chauncey with his dog Seamus.

This is Sloan with Seamus.



Time to hug a tree!
You can't see it, but there's a little creek here. It's one of my favorite little spots along the trail, it's so green! (I live in Utah, which is a desert state!) The old bottomless pail hanging in the tree is a marker for another trail.

It was in the high 80's out during our hike, but the trail was shady and cool.

This is above a retaining wall above a highway.



We went to Costco the other night and they had blueberries! Here's my new pancake recipe I came up with to use some in! The batter has a nice yellow color from the cornmeal and they cooked up really nice! These are a great summer breakfast treat, and for my kids it would work for dinner too!


Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
5 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons soda
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 cup yogurt
3 eggs
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup or so blueberries

Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk with a wire whisk. Mix the eggs, oil, milk and yogurt with a whisk in another bowl. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture and whisk just until mixed. Spray a hot griddle or frying pan with Pam and ladle a 1/2 cup or so pancake mix onto hot griddle. Sprinkle with blueberries when the pancake starts to bubble flip and cook on the other side. Serve with syrup and more blueberries.

My daughter over at Tuffets is in the Iron Cupcake Challange! She has come up with 2 wonderful cupcakes, and she needs your help! Please go to No One Puts Cupcakes In A Corner and vote for her 2 cupcakes! They are Strawberry Balsamic Cupcake and Alien Blueberry Cupcakes. Thanks for helping her out!