Blue Velvet Cupcakes and Piping Tricks!

I am not a baker.  So when I saw blue velvet cupcakes on Pinterest, though it sparked my interest.. there was absolutely no desire to try them, only eat them.  The problem with that is.. who is going to make 'em for me?  I suppose... me.  *le sigh.

With football season starting and our team being blue... this was the perfect time to try them.  So Jordan and I got all the ingredients in place and we attempted to make cupcakes and pipe them.  We even went so far as to purchasing a big fat 2M star piping tip from JoAnn Fabric for about $2.  I am usually not a fan of messy things but after learning my piping trick (see below), I am all about piping now.  If only I could get the texture of the icing right. ...

Here's the cake part.  There are spaces in between the ingredients that correspond with the instructions, it just helps me for future repeat cupcake making.

Cake:

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

2 sticks butter, room temperature

2 eggs

1 T cocoa powder

1T blue Wilton food coloring (icing color or something)

1 dab of Wilton violet (I did this but mine still came out bright blue, which I kinda liked anyway)

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 t salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 t baking soda

1 T vinegar

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream sugar and butter, then mix in one egg at a time (mix after each egg)

Separately, mix cocoa and food coloring into a paste.

Add to sugar mixture and mix well.

Sift flour and salt, then add to colored sugar mixture alternating buttermilk as well.

Add in vanilla extract, mix.

Separately, combine baking soda and vinegar.  Then add to batter and mix.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 and bake for about 20-25 minutes.  Mine were ready around 23 minutes.  And I made 28 total (but a few were runt looking.. )

This is how you do it Mom...

Watch me!

The ingredients.. and one cute boy!

The cocoa powder and icing dye (which Jordan is holding)

up close and personal (great movie!)

I'm blue dadeeeba doooo daba do badee ba doo doo

it's blue alright!

Frosting

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter

2 of the 8 oz cream cheese packages (I always use light)

4 cups of powdered sugar

1 t vanilla extract

Instructions: Mix butter and cream cheese until mixed and fluffy, add vanilla, then slowly add sifted powdered sugar all while mixing.  If not thick enough for piping, add more powdered sugar.  

Piping Trick:

This is my absolute favorite thing to do because it's clean and makes piping fun (I hate messes... I'm the girl who is cleaning her bowls in between the cake and frosting because I'm anal like that).  

You will need saran wrap, a freezer size ziploc bag, scissors, and your piping tip!

1) Begin by laying a piece of saran wrap on the counter top - I usually tear one about 8 x 15.  

2) Scoop up some of your frosting into the middle of the saran wrap.

3) Wrap the icing the long way (hot dog) 

 4) Now take the sides and holding it, start to toss the icing around until it wraps up like a piece of candy, like this:

 5) Taking scissors, cut one side of the wrapped candy like icing, and one corner of your ziploc bag.

 6) Now place the cut part of the wrapped icing, and place it into the ziploc bag, after placing the piping tip into the hole you cut in the ziploc bag.
I used a 2M Wilton tip (but the inscribing says 2D), found in the baking aisle at my local JoAnn Fabric!

 

Should look like this:

 7) Now ... you pipe!  And no mess!!!  SOOO awesome.

I'm still learning how to get the icing the right texture to pipe.  I think you need more powdered sugar to make it stiffer?! Bah, who knows.  It's a Mone!... looks good from far (but far from good).

8) When you're done... you'll have an almost empty thing of saran wrap to just dispose of. Like this:

I'm not crafty, I'm just cheap.  

They tasted pretty good!

Love me some potlucking....

 And kids running around...

And husbands standing to watch their game intensely while the kids ask if they can go home now

 And leftover cupcakes for breakfast.

And blue poop for days.  No photo of that one.  Sorry, maybe next time. 

Dual-Purpose Your Cleaning Routine

There are two things I like to get done around the house but never manage to find time for.

Clean.
Work out.

Today, I tried to prioritize both.

Made bed.
25 jumping jacks.
Loaded laundry.
15 girly push-ups.
Tidied up living room.
50 bicycle sit-ups.
Prepared son's breakfast.
Jumped with son on medicine CORE ball for 2 songs (about 6 minutes) - must have a strong core to do this, otherwise you'll fall off with your kid!
I am sweating.. and the house doesn't look so bad.  An idea worth revisiting!

Tuna Casserole

Would you believe me if I told you I never had tuna casserole until Andy made it for us recently (a few months before we moved from LA?)  It's true!

My mom made a slightly different version of it, but there was never any tuna and it was more clam chowder than cream of whatever and I just remember there being a lot of seafood in it and it being baked.  I'll have to get the recipe from her sometime (though knowing her, she probably just threw it all in!)

Not my go to for dinner, but it is great for those weeknights when you are really busy!

Serves 4, with some leftovers

Ingredients:
for casserole:
1 package of frozen peas, cooked
2 cups of noodles, cooked
1 can of tuna, drained
1 can of cream of whatever - I'm using potato
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup of cheese
for sprinkling on top:
more cheese and bread crumbs (1/2 cup)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook noodles, set aside.  Cook peas, set aside.  Mix noodles and peas with tuna, cream of whatever, milk, and cheese.  Put into a 9 x 12 glass dish (spray with Butter Pam) and pour in mixture and top off with some bread crumbs and cheese.  Cook for about 30 minutes.

Easy Microwaved Eggs with Milk

It's hard to figure out what the heck to feed my son in the morning.  Besides waffles, I have discovered something else to throw into the rotation.

Ingredients:
1 egg
2 oz milk (I usually use his leftover bottle milk and if he finished it all, I use our 2% milk - the good whole milk is for him to drink straight from a bottle, not mixed into food!)
garlic salt, for taste

Directions:
In a microwave safe bowl, beat egg, add in milk, beat mixture and sprinkle some garlic salt, continue mixing.  Heat for 1 minutes and 30 seconds (may vary depending on your microwave strength).

Let cool, remove and mix with a fork, and serve to your baby!  He or she will love it and it will not have taken you more than 5 minutes!

Mango Salsa

Yes please!

Serves: 2 people (well, my husband and I can sit and engulf the whole thing.. it'd probably serve 4 on tacos, we each had 2 tacos and then ate the rest with chips)
Time: 15 minutes (the preparation of the mangos, onion, and cilantro, take the longest!

Ingredients:
2 mangos, diced
2 avocados, chopped into blocks
3 mini cucumbers (optional)
10 grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/4 red onion, chopped
2-3 T lemon juice
3 T cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper for taste

Mix all of the above together and enjoy on fish tacos (for easy and quick ones, use Costco's fish sticks or Trader Joe's fish nuggets with a tortilla) or tortilla chips (we like the organic blue tortilla chips from Trader Joe's)!

I'm Back!

I decided I didn't like the way Wordpress worked to organize my stuff.  So I'm back!!