yum yum yum!

This past weekend we hosted a game night! Guilty pleasure foods was chosen as the theme and boy did everyone come through! I tossed the idea around for  few days before I decided on my guilty pleasure.  I love coffee, and I love cupcakes.  So I used this recipe as a stepping stone for my cupcakes.  I didn't make major changes.  But I decided that we were not going to use alcohol.  All in all they turned out so super yummy!  Usually I have a few left over that we snack on for a few days.  But not this time.  They were gone!

 I used chocolate covered coffee beans as garnish! 

  They were such a hit, they have already been requested by Matt's office! 

Cooking lessons resume

Its CUPCAKE TIME!!!

 Each time we cook together I let him do a little more on his own.  This time I felt he was ready to fill the cups himself.... I was wrong.  He just basically painted the paper cups but never really got the batter in.  So I had to help him out.

 But boy was he ready to lick to bowl!  I think everyone remembers licking the spoon or bowl.  And then i realized, he has to have a first sometime... why not now! Needless to say he loved it! 

 My first attempt at making buttercream was a bust as you can see on the counter.  I just love his face though.  He looks as though he is about to get caught doing something naughty.

 He didn't  complain one bit about the icing.

I just love his eyelashes!

I love this picture!  Not only is he covered in batter and icing, he is standing under my "kiss the cook" sign.  I love that boy! 

We are a craftly little family!!!

Last month I made my own colored pasta as an experiment, and I  have to say it turned out AMAZING!  I knew I wanted to have a stockpile of craft "stuff" for rainy days and times when I just couldn't get out of the house.  Well  that time came when our kitchen floor had to be replaced.  I plugged Christopher into his chair and gave him a lesson on patterns, sorting, counting and necklace making! All in all... a success!

I also had to make a dessert for my bunco group!  This was the first one I had been to in a while when I wasn't HUGE pregnant!  So I decided it was time to put some effort into it!  The theme was St. Patrick's Day so I  made rainbow cupcakes!  They turned out so awesome!  Everyone at the party thought they were regular cupcakes until they peeled them open!  For all of you asking me to show you how I did it... here you go!  Complete with help from my little monster!

Here is what you will need.  I use icing food coloring because it is VERY bright and doesn't water down the batter!

 Cupcake Monster!

 I used plastic cups to keep from dirtying so many dishes.

 Follow the recipe as per the directions and then separate evenly between the six cups.

 Start adding your coloring to the desired brightness.

For some reason I didn't take a picture of the next step, but basically I spooned a little bit of each color into each muffin cup.  REMEMBER to start with purple and work backwards or you will end up with backwards rainbows like this one.

 

 I iced them and topped each one with a golden chocolate coin.

 And VIOLA! Rainbow cupcakes!  And the were a huge hit!

Nana sent Christopher and I a set of 101 cookie cutters.  YES you read correctly.  101!!!!  We were so excited we just had to make salt dough crafts to break em in!  Christopher is really getting into helping me in the kitchen, which I LOVE!  So here you go!  I mixed the dough and rolled out the first set and then after that, I let him go to town! 

He had such a fun time!  And the good thing is, we still havent decorated them yet!  I know that sounds awful, but they were cool by the time Christopher went down for a nap so I tucked them away for a future rainy day craft! GENIUS I know!

It's time!

Well it is that time of year again!  Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love covering up with Christmas blankets on the couch, while watching cheesy holiday movies on TV that I have seen a million times over.  And drinking hot chocolate while wrapping presents with ELF playing in the background.  I even like putting lights on the tree.  But one of my all time favorite things to do, and I have done it since I was a little kid... I like to go downstairs very early in the morning and plug in the tree lights and just sit.  I settle down right in front of the tree and look at all of the decorations and lights and glitter.  I actually decided to update my blog while sitting there just a few minutes ago! And while yes this year is a little different, well, a LOT different.  The lowest the temp. has gotten here is 72 and I have yet to drink hot chocolate because of said temperature and due to the fact that I am 24 million months pregnant (or so it seems).  And I have chosen sleep a few more mornings that I normally do instead of sitting in front of the tree,   I am still trying to enjoy some of the things I love doing around this time.  I have been making quite a few holiday snacks and gifts this year.   Nothing real fancy but fun! 

The Christmas tree! :)

 Christopher looking at the tree with ornaments on it for the first time this year.  Soon after this picture he was told "don't touch the ornaments" for the first of probably a zillion times this year.

He loves to kiss the really pretty ornaments.  

Talking with Grammie and Pops on skype!  

And now the yummy treats!  I would show you some of the crafts I have been making, but they are Christmas gifts, and I don't want to spoil the surprise. 

 Our newest favorite treat (thanks Sue) Rollos, pretzels, and M&Ms or as we call em.. RPMs. So simple to make but oh-so-yummy!!!

And spicey Texas Trash!  It has been a big hit this year. 

Well so far that about wraps it up!  Hahah  WRAPS it up.  Okay come on people you know that was kinda funny!  The craziness is about to begin here so I can not guarantee that updates will come quickly, but I do promise to do my best.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Continuing Tradition

Thinking back to when I was little, I have very fond memories of learning to cooking! I remember standing on a chair next to my mom or dad or Nana watching all of the steps closely. I usually would take my recent culinary knowledge and head to the play kitchen and get to cooking. That being said, I felt it was time to give Christopher his very first Cooking lesson! And what better first lesson than my Granny Faye's homemade Oatmeal Cookies! So I grabbed the boy, and daddy grabbed the camera and well... this is what happened!