Ava Bug Party..... (Lady Bug Party)

Our little Ava Bug is now a year old. Here are some of the pictures from her Party.
Here are her invitations that we sent out.


Her invitation with her little lady bug outfit.
For her outfit, I just got a spool of red netting cut it into strips and tied it onto a black ribbon. Soo easy. Then I bought a little black onesie and a lady bug stencil and painted a lady bug on it. With a pair of wings that I got at a garage sell, and one cute cheap and easy lady bug outfit.

So my oven was still broken so I had to buy a cake and the cupcakes. Truthfully it was kind of nice to not have to worry about making them.

I was having a hard time finding lady bug things for the party, so for the cupcakes I put buttons on top. They were cute, but was sure to tell the guests not to eat them.

Kaden was so cute, he made this cake for Ava.

The day before he had gone to a garage sell and bought this baking kit. It was a no cook bake set. You just add water and the powder turns into this spongy cake stuff. It is so nasty, but he was very proud of it. It's the thought that counts, right .

We gave Ava a pretty big slice of cake. I then served everyone else. By then I noticed she had almost eaten it all. I took the rest away from her, for fear she was going to get sick. She was so mad at me. She is just like her momma, loves her treats, especially chocolate. That's my girl. It was a fun party. We are so happy to have our little cute Ava bug in our home.

Teacher Gifts

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOORAY!!!!!!!!!
(Well that's what the kids are saying anyways. I might not be so excited ;)

Teacher gifts? What do you give your kids teachers? Can you guess what we did?
That's right...... Cupcakes!
We made Chocolate Peanut Butter and Hummingbird.
I am sure I have posted humming bird cupcakes before, but here it is again.

From Martha stewart

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts, or pecans
1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
Cream Cheese Frosting
Dried Pineapple Flowers
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.with rack in center. Line cupcake pan with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, vanilla, and sugar until combined, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each before adding the next. Beat at medium speed until mixture is pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together banana, pineapple, walnuts, and coconut. Add to egg mixture, mixing until combined. Stir in flour mixture.

Divide batter evenly among liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cupcakes have cooled, use a small offset spatula to frost tops of each cupcake. Decorate with dried pineapple flowers, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

They might not look that moist, but they really are. These are Ethan's favorite. They get better after they sit for a day or two. Ohh so yummy.... I highly recommend this recipe.

Then The packaging. It's all about presentation right?

The Bag had a blanket in it that Kaden and I made for his teacher who is having a baby.

The boxes came from Micheal's. They have the cutest cupcake boxes, all different colors and prints. I chose the plain ones, they were the least girly :)

I would like to hear your ideas for teacher gifts.

Gingerbread Cupcakes and Candy Cane cupcakes

So I was going through my old pictures, and I remembered these yummy treats I made in December, but I don't think I ever posted them. So here they are.
Gingerbread Cupcakes........

These are oh so yummy!
From Epicurious.com

I doubled this recipe to make 2 dozen-

* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon allspice
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1/2 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
* 1 large egg, beaten lightly
* 1 teaspoon baking soda

Into a bowl sift together the flour, the ground ginger, the cinnamon, the cloves, the allspice, and the salt. In another bowl cream 1/2 stick of the butter, add the granulated sugar, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy. Beat in the molasses and the egg, beating until the mixture is smooth. In a measuring cup combine the baking soda with 1/2 cup boiling water and stir the mixture to dissolve the baking soda. Stir the mixture into the molasses mixture (the mixture will appear curdled) and stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture, stirring to combine the ingredients well. Line twelve 1/2-cup muffin tins with paper liners and spoon the batter into the liners, filling them halfway. Bake the cupcakes in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. (The cupcakes will be flat or slightly indented on top.) Transfer the cupcakes to a rack and let them cool.


For the frosting I just used my favorite Cream Cheese/ whipped cream frosting.

Whip 1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream in mixer until it forms stiff peaks. In a seperate bowl mix room temperature cream cheese (8 oz) with 1 cup of sugar. Once that is creamy mix it in with the whipped cream.

Pipe onto cupcakes and dust with cinnamon

So Good a must try!

Candy Cane Cupcakes.......
I took these to a ward party, they didn't last but 2 minutes once I set them down.

This is from Cupcakerecipes.com
Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 ounces melted unsweetened baking chocolate

This is from Cupcakerecipes.com

Chocolate Cupcake Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine all ingredients into large mixing bowl. Mix at low speed for 30 seconds, and scrape bowl. Mix at high speed for 3 minutes.

Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pans then remove from pan, and place on wire racks to cool completely.

Frost when chocolate cupcakes are completely cool.

For the frosting I just used a buttercream frosting. I don't really use a recipe, it's just a scoop of shortening and an scoop of butter. Mix it with heavy cream or milk. And add powder sugar to consistency. On this one I put in a tsp of peppermint flavoring.
Then take half of the frosting and add some red food coloring. Put in piping bag half pink on one side and half white on the other. It makes a fun color swirl on top. Then just add a small candy cane. This one is a definite repeat too. Sooo good. Even though it is summer these would be a fun treat to make. Enjoy!

Oven Still Broken

So my oven is still broken, so I pulled out the old sewing machine. But before I show you what I made for Ava's One year birthday which we just celebrated Let me show you a couple of dresses I made for her a while back, I don't think I posted these already. If so sorry.

So I took a sewing class for a couple of months after Ava was born, there is just so many cute little girl dresses I want to learn to make and I don't sew.

But no worries.....Kaden was on hand to help me. He loves to create.


I made a couple of these dresses for my nieces baby girls. I like to go onto Etsy and see all the creative ideas then try to make them myself, much cheaper. Maybe not as professional but I don't think the babies care.

Ava's Birthday dress. Just some scrap material sewn together no pattern needed. Sew-easy. If I can do it sew can you :)

This is called a pillow case dress. Once again no pattern needed. Another idea borrowed from Etsy. I just got a stencil and fabric paint and painted these cute flowers on here.

Karl always calls Ava his little bug, because she is as cute as a bug. So we had a lady bug party for her. Here is her lady bug costume, which she hates by the way. Once again just a stencil and fabric paint to make the ladybug. And a spool of red tulle.

I realized I had never made Ava a blanket but I did for my boys, so I decided I had better make her one. Really easy I just lay it on the ground, because I don't have quilting stands. The binding is always the hardest. I mess it up every time.
So the moral of today's story is. I don't sew. If I decide to try, it has to be a quick couple of hour project, that's all I have the patience for when it comes to sewing. I hate picking my stitches out, so usually I don't and it doesn't look that great. But my sewing instructor was great and taught me some neat tricks and techniques. So go find something to sew today.

Baking

So my oven went out on me... in the middle of making bread, brownies and a casserole for my neighbors, not good timing. So here is a couple of older recipes that I use a lot and love. Hope you do too.
Bread:
This is the best recipe ever.
This is my friend Lori Farnsworth's recipe. She is the kind of woman who can do everything. She is amazing.

Fast and Easy Homemade Wheat Bread


4 cups hot tap water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons saf-instant yeast

Put hot water in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and yeast. Stir. Let rest about 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.

Next add:
2 tablespoons potato pearls
2 tablespoons oil
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey or sugar

Stir all together.

Then add
5 cups of red wheat flour
4-5 cups of white wheat flour

Can be any other combination of flour. But this is the combo I like the best.

Mix all together with wooden spoon until you get a soft dough. Dump onto a kneading surface and knead in additional flour until a nice stiff ball is accomplished. Cover with damp towel and let rise for 20-30 minutes.

Split dough into 3rds and form loaf for bread pans.
Spray bread pans with non-stick spray. Also, spray top of bread.
Cover again with damp cloth and let rest 10 minutes.
Bake in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool. I have found this bread gets moister with age.

(This bread was made with all white flour)


Vanilla Bean Buttermilk Cupcakes:

VANILLA BUTTERMILK CUPCAKES
Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini-muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a mixer bowl. Transfer bowl to mixer, and add egg, yolk, water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until mixture is well combined and smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Divide batter among liners, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until golden brown and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks for 30 minutes. Invert cupcakes onto racks, and let cool completely. (Cupcakes can be stored for up to 3 days.)


I also added my own Bourbon Vanilla Beans:

I bought these off of Amazon, it is way cheaper then the ones I bought at the whole foods store.

Simply take a sharp pointed knife and slice down the center of the bean. Then take the back of your knife and scape out the seeds,(it looks for like mush)
then add it to your recipe. It really adds to the flavor and I love seeing the little black flecks in the batter.
Once the cupcake was cooked and cooled, I cut a little bit of the center out and filled it with this.
Berry Cream Cheese Marshmallow filling.

I don't really have a recipe for this. I put in some marshmallow cream, cream cheese, powder sugar, heavy whipping cream, strawberry and blackberry preserves. Until it was the right consistency and taste. It was yummy, sorry I don't have exact measurements.
And then I topped that with Whipped Cream Cream Cheese Frosting.
Whip up one cup heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.
In separate bowl, cream together one cup sugar, with 8 oz room temperature cream cheese. Add this to the heavy whipping cream with a dash of vanilla. Ohhh so yummy.

Then of course the final touch.... Chocolate dipped strawberries.


OK - so I am totally craving one now :) Maybe I'll go make some more, oh that's right my ovens out. I should lose weight if I don't get it fixed :)

Ava Marie is getting big!

Ava is now 11.5 months old. I can't believe it has already almost been a year. She is so much fun. She is a very happy baby, as long as she likes you :) No but really she is a content baby and she adores her daddy and her brothers and they adore her back.

Porter and the Bug.


Only Karl can get her to snuggle and fall asleep in his arms. I have to put her in her crib.

Easter Dress and first little purse.

"Ok guys, enough with the pictures, I need my beauty sleep".

I know, you thinking, "What hair"?

Ava on her new Bug-mobile.
She is such
a joy to have in our home.

I'm Back

Yes I have been busy, so blogging was pushed to the back burner. I am now finished with student teaching, my baby in now 11 months old and I am done with my Masters degree in Secondary Education. Life should slow down a bit now. This month was also busy with three birthdays. I think April is almost as hard as December, except in December you only have to Celebrate Christmas on one day. In April we have to throw three separate parties. But we are happy to do it. Here are some of the cupcakes that I made for Karl and Ethan's Birthday. It took me hours because I made enough for Karl to take to work and share with all the Management and field workers.And anyone that knows me I believe boxed cupcakes are just not as good as ones from scratch.


Cupcake #1 (Karl's favorite)
Peanut Butter Delight.......

It is a thick fudgy cupcake base. This is my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.
Ghirardelli Recipe:

2- cubes butter (1 cup)
2- 4oz 100% Ghirardelli Chocolate bars
Melt these together on stove over med. heat. Set aside to cool a bit.

Cream together
3- cups sugar
5- eggs
vanilla

Then slowly pour chocolate mixture in.
Slowly add 1 1/2 cups white flour and a pinch of salt.
Put in oven at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 min. Not really sure my oven is so old it works different then most.

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes I think.
The middles will sink a bit

* For these Peanut Butter cupcakes I put a peanut butter cup in the center and then cooked it.


Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting: (From Food.com)
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
* 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, don't use old-fashioned or natural brand
* 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 pinch table salt
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon heavy cream


Directions:

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

1. 1 In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter and peanut butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds; scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

I then refrigerated for a little while. Melted a bag of 60% chocolate chips in microwave stir every minute. Once smooth, dip cupcakes in like a dipped ice cream come. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Put back in fridge until chocolate sets up.

Cupcake #2
Hi-Hat


Same Chocolate cupcake as above.



For the frosting - From Martha Stewart


Prepare the frosting: In a large heatproof bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup water, egg whites, and cream of tartar. Using a hand held electric mixer, beat on high speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Set bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Beat on high speed until frosting forms stiff peaks, about 12 minutes; frosting should register 160 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and almond extracts, and beat for 2 minutes more until frosting thickens.


Transfer frosting to a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain pastry tip. Leaving a 1/8-inch border on each cupcake, pipe a spiral of frosting into a 2-inch-high cone shape, using about 1/2 cup of frosting per cupcake. Transfer cupcakes to a baking sheet, and refrigerate while preparing the chocolate coating.


Prepare the chocolate coating: Combine chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl set over a medium saucepan of barely simmering water; stir until melted and smooth. Transfer to a small bowl, and let cool about 15 minutes.


Holding each cupcake by its bottom, dip cupcake in the chocolate to coat frosting, allowing excess to drip off. Transfer to a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack. Spoon more coating around edge of cupcake and any exposed frosting; none of the frosting should show. Let cupcakes stand at room temperature 15 minutes.

I will post mare cupcake recipes later. Here is is Porters (popo's) Batman party.


Party Favors, Karl and I made at midnight the night before. Cape, mask and batman pouch filled with candy.



It was a fun party, we ate pizza, brownies and ice cream, (porter doesn't like cake, and that was fine with me). And went to the movies and watched Gnomeo and Juliet. Loaded the kids with pop and popcorn, they were all so well behaved. It was a fun day.