Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope a nice leprechaun finds you some treats not tricks!

Hope you find a yummy rainbow!

Lunch with my Girls and Cupcakes

Today was a nearly perfect day. A couple of my favorite girlfriends came for lunch and to see the new house. This means I got a clean house, lots of good talk and dessert. Company definitely warrants a good treat so it was a good excuse to make some cupcakes. I tried to make them a bit more sophisticated by adding orange zest and strawberries but who was I kidding? I personally wanted the ones with the sprinkles. It did make me think maybe I would share my favorite frosting tip. You take a small package of instant pudding, mix it with a little milk and then whip in a large tub of Cool Whip. It makes a nice light, not too sweet frosting. I wish all days could be like today and include lunch, friends, a clean house and a little crafting at the end. It would have been perfect if our fourth friend hadn't had a sick baby and had to stay home. Next time Tif!

Oh, and this is how I got the house clean and lunch ready. Thanks for the Kipper tip Tif, Josh loved him. Why is it that two-year olds make this face when you take their picture?

Cupcakes!
Loads of cupcakes at our house today!
I decided that it would be fun for Matthew to take Easter cupcakes to his class party tomorrow. Yes, this is right after we did the St. Patrick's Day of fun. I have no idea how the date of Easter is determined. I think it has something to do with the phases of the moon or something. All I can say is I am so glad that according to Martha Stewart whom Iactually got watch while folding laundry for a minute the other day, Easter will not be this early again for 150 years! Hooray! This is a total pain to have Easter the same week as St. Patricks Day! In addition my kids get out for spring break on Thursday. And Spring break is TEN days long here! Since we are not going anywhere this is not good news to me. Anyhow, in typical Michelle fashion I decided to make cupcakes and then realized I needed two batches as they are combining the morning and afternoon classes for the party. They are supposed to look like little grass nests of eggs.


LOADS of cupcakes later my boy is happy with his offering for tomorrow. They do look pretty cute all lined up.

And just in case all those kids cupcakes aren't enough, yesterday I discovered a new treat for me. I like Angel food cake in cupcake fashion. I have posted about this before, but yesterday on the box it suggested you add 1/3 c. cocoa powder to the dry angel food cake mix before you add the water and combine. Then I just dropped the batter in muffin tins and baked them for about 15 minutes. They are so yummy and low-cal and low-fat-for cake anyway!

I hope all of your pre-Easter preparations are going well. I have done it to myself again. I still would like to make myself a new skirt for Easter Sunday, mail a couple of Easter packages that probably won't make it in time, find Joshua new church pants, dye the eggs, and it would be nice if the Easter bunny could visit a clean house. Oh well, I am constantly doing this to myself but it almost always turns out okay!

Yummy Peppermint Candy

So in between Nutcracker performances and doctor visits this has been the candy weekend. I have been trying to get all my candy made this weekend so I can package it up all cute to give away in the next week. This is one of our favorites and it is so easy you won't believe how yummy it is. This is all you need: a package of candy canes, I think there are 12 in there, a package of white chocolate chips and about 2/3 of a cup of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips depending on your preference

This is great candy to make if you have little helpers around like me. Brittany is unwrapping the candy canes(while her hair is trying to think curly thoughts for the Nutcracker), Matthew is crushing the candy canes after they were put in a freezer bag, and Joshua is of course, eating one of the candy canes. This recipe is nearly perfect, but its flaw is the mess that is somehow required while making it. Even when I have made it without kids it is really messy. But trust me, it is worth it!

Great concentration is required for the crushing!
Once your candy canes have been pulverized into a fairly fine powder it is time to melt the chocolate. Empty your whole bag into a glass bowl and microwave one minute at a time at 50 percent power. Stir after each minute. After about 3 or 4 minutes it should be melted and smooth.
Add the crushed candy cane and a few drops of food coloring. My kids have an ongoing debate about whether pink or green tastes better! Mix it all together and then spread it on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. It is actually better to line your cookie sheet before you start any of this because you do need to work quickly or the chocolate will cool.



Then take the milk or semi-sweet chips and melt them the same way. Drizzle over the top and then run a knife through to make it look pretty. If you skip this stage it will still look pretty but will look unappealingly like barf. If you live where it is cool just stick it outside to set up, if not the refrigerator works. When it is cold and hard you just peel it off the aluminum foil and break into small pieces. I promise if you give this as a gift or take it to a party people will love you! And the best part is it is done start to finish in about 30 minutes and costs about $ 3 a batch! Let me know if you try any--and if you think pink or green tastes best!

Pumpkin Bread!

Well with the weather turning a bit cooler and Halloween almost here I was in the mood for pumpkin bread yesterday. Actually I was more in the mood for the smell the bread makes more than anything, and it smelled just as good as I had hoped! So if you are in the mood for a good fall smell here you go.

2 1/4 C sugar 2 3/4 c flour

3 eggs

1/4 t plus 1/8t baking powder

1/2cup water 1 1/2 t baking soda 3/4t cloves

1/2 large can of pumpkin 3/4 t nutmeg 3/4t cinnamon 1 t. salt

3/4 c oil Combine everything and then pour into greased pans, I did mine in the little pans to give away but I think it makes two regular loaves. Bake regular loaves about 1 hour at 325.

Hope your house smells as good as mine did!