Hugs cupcakes!

I wanted to make some cupcakes one day, and I had an extra bowl of my vanilla buttercream frosting, so I thought I could try something fun.

With a chocolate box cake mix, I followed the recipe, filled the cupcake pan, and then place a hug on top of each. The hug will start to sink down, but no worries, unfortunately it will eventually sink down to the very bottom. Follow the baking instructions on the box, and let cool before frosted. The hug melts about half way, so if you eat them within a few hours of baking, you should still be able to enjoy the melting action. After frosting the cupcakes I added some chocolate shavings to garnish, with a regular chocolate bar and cheese grater. I kept them in the refrigerator until they were ready to be served, because my buttercream has a tendency to soften easily.

It's an easy way to make a quick and easy dessert look fancy. Give then a try, I think you'll enjoy them!!

jack's birthday cake!!

Melissa's boys have a thing for star wars, obviously! The star wars themed party was a lot of fun, and I loved making the cake! Although character drawing is not my specialty, this storm trooper looks alright. I could use some practice. Michael's and a few other stores like walmart carry cake art kits so you don't have to use too much of your own creative talent and you just follow the directions. So if you've ever wanted to do a character cake, that's what I would suggest!!

P.S. Melissa I think you're an amazing mom and wife, and all those crazy boys are lucky to have you ;)

some more of my art :)

Have I shown you these yet? I'm not sure and I couldn't find them posted. These are some of my favorite pieces of art from when I first started working with pastels and charcoals. I love drawing, I don't know why I don't spend more time doing it. I'm an art major, and I guess after prolonging my college career for so long, I find it as more of a chore. But these drawings I did only for fun, because I love creating and working with beautiful things.

Fried Zucchini

Fried zucchini

2 large zucchini
¼ c. flour
¾ c. Italian bread crumbs
1 egg
2 T. melted butter
Salt and pepper

Mix the egg and melted butter in a small bowl (make sure the butter has cooled slightly). In a medium sized bowl mix flour and bread crumbs. Place sliced zucchini in the egg mixture first, let excess drip off, then place in the bread crumb mixture, make sure to cover completely. In a hot frying pan with oil about ½ inch deep you can fry the zucchini. It takes about 2-3 minutes on each side. Instead of a deep fry, you can place the breaded zucchini on a sheet of tin foil over a cookie sheet, and bake at 425 for about 12 minutes on each side. You’re going to want a golden brown before you flip it and then the same amount of time on the other side. Serve right away with ranch dressing or any dipping sauce.

The baked zucchini turned out amazing!! So for a healthier option, try it baked!!

Tomato bisque...soooo delicious

Tomato Bisque

½ c. butter
1 large onion
2 large carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 t. garlic salt
2 t. salt
6 T. flour
8 cups of stewed tomatoes
(2 28 ounce cans)
2 c. chicken broth
(or water)
1 bunch of thyme
1 bunch of basil
2 c. cream
In a large pan sauté butter, chopped onions, carrots, and celery until onions become translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic salt, salt and flour, mix well and continue to stir over heat for about 3more minutes. Slowly add chicken broth, or water if you don’t have broth on hand. Add tomatoes, basil leaves, and the whole bunch of thyme, stir the bottom of the pan well and cook for about 30 more minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Keep the temperature on medium, make sure the bottom doesn’t burn. Whisk in 2 cups of cream, and mix thoroughly, cook another 5 minutes on low heat. Remove any stems from the thyme. With a hand mixer, or in smaller batches in a food processor, mix until ingredients are fully blended.
Serve right away hot, or can keep in the refrigerator for up to a 1 week. You can also freeze in zip lock bags. Garnish with basil and parmesan toast (toast slices of a baguette, butter each slice, top with Parmesan cheese and garlic salt, toast another minute under the broiler.)

Because we have an abundance of tomatoes in our garden I decided to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned. It is a surprisingly easy task, so if you have tomatoes of your own, try stewing up a pot! With a bowl full of washed tomatoes, without the stem, I scored the bottom of each with a knife and placed them in a pot of boiling water. After just a few minutes you'll notice the skins starting to peal away from the meat of the tomato, which is exactly what you want! After about 5 minutes you should be able to take them out, with a slotted spoon and place them on a plate or cookie sheet. After they have cooled enough for you to touch them, you can start to peel off the skins, and in some cases you will need to cut off the top were there once was a stem. Place the skinned tomatoes in a bowl and there you have your stewed tomatoes!

Chicken Tacos

3 chicken breasts
¼ c. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 t. salt
½ t. pepper
½ t. mesquite chicken spice
(or taco flavoring, or any spice mix of choice)
Dash of paprika
Slice chicken breasts at an angle about ¼ inch wide, place in bowl. Make sure you strain the liquid from the bowl, you can even use paper towel to press onto the chicken, absorbing the last of the liquid. Drizzle the olive oil over the chicken, mix thoroughly. Chop garlic and add to bowl, as well as all dry ingredients. Mix well. Cook in a large frying pan on med/high heat. Cook on one side until golden brown and flip or mix around, you will eventually want all sides of the chicken golden brown, about 10- 15 minutes. If the pan becomes too dry and chicken sticks, add a few more tablespoons of olive oil.

10-12 tortillas
4 tomatoes chopped
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
3 corn on the cob cooked and cut
1 ½ c. spinach leaves
2 cups shredded cheese
1 recipe of my guacamole

This should serve 5-6 people, about 2 tacos per person

we love avocados!

If you don't absolutely love avocados, I think you're crazy, because not only are they delicious, but they are soooooo good for you!! They are high in fat, but monounsaturated fat, which actually helps to lower your cholesterol by lowering LDL (bad cholesterol) and increasing HDL (good cholesterol). They also have more potassium than bananas and the most fiber of any fruit! Every time I go to the store I make sure to pick up a few. I eat them on just about every sandwich, or salad, and find plenty of other ways to use them, like in a large batch of guacamole. Whenever I feel like loosing a few lbs. or even just attempting to be healthier, I try to squeeze them in my diet whenever possible. You would be surprised the difference it makes to add more "good fats" to your diet when trying to loose weight, as opposed to cutting out fat all together. Your body works at much higher efficiency rate with an increased fat intake, including your metabolism and the balance of hormones. On top of those health benefits, it helps to improve the clarity and tone of your skin. Along with avocados, I try to add in nuts (mainly almonds), seeds (pumpkin seeds are among the best, as well as flax seed and flax seed meal, which I add to all my cereals), all of which you should eat raw and plain, so not toasted or salted. These are all high in fat, but the benefits are astounding.

Guacamole

5 avocados
4 cloves of garlic
1 lime
1 lemon

½ t. salt
½ t pepper

Slice avocado in half, remove pit and score all the way to the skin, in a checkered pattern. Use a spoon to scoop out, place in bowl. (Now the avocado is already chopped). Chop garlic as fine as possible, add to bowl. Add juice from one lime a lemon, salt and pepper. With a fork, mash to desired texture, and make sure to mix thoroughly. I like my guacamole a little thick and chunky.