Friday, April 22, 2011

Oreo Cupcakes

I've seen Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies popping up all over blogland...
So I decided to make an Oreo stuffed cupcake...

Oreo Stuffed Cupcakes
1 pkg.  (14oz) OREO Cookies
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake mix, prepared as directed
(You can certainly make your own cake batter, but I used a short cut since it was a weeknight)

Put about 1 tablespoon of batter in the bottom of the cupcake liners, put in an Oreo and put another tablespoon of the batter on top. 
Bake as directed.  Let cool.

Oreo Icing
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 pkg. (4oz) Cream Cheese, softened (I used Philadelphia Fat Free Cream Cheese)
1/2 container (4oz) Cool Whip
2lb bag powdered sugar
Remaining OREO Cookies, finely crushed
Mix cream cheese, butter, and cool whip until well blended.  Slowly add powdered sugar while mixing.  Finely crush Oreos in a food processor, and add to the icing.  Mix well.  Use a plastic bag to pipe on icing...and ENJOY!

Now I'm sure that you have had ENOUGH of the OREO recipes! Do you have an Oreo lover in your family?  These cupcakes make the perfect birthday treats!
 
I am taking the weekend and Monday OFF to enjoy the Easter holiday with my family!!  I'll be back next week with some great projects I've been working on.
 
Happy Easter to you and your family!!
 
~Kara

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Oreo Madness

I mentioned last week that my brothers birthday is TODAY!  So first Happy Birthday to my first real friend and still one of my best friends, my little brother! 

My brother just LOVES Oreos so here is his favorite recipe and one with a twist:

Traditional OREO Balls

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 pkg.  (16.6 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed
Melting Chocolate of your choice


MIX cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended
SHAPE into 48 1-inch balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with sprinkles of your choice.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Then just as I was working on this post yesterday I stumbled upon this Easter twist, HERE on Kraft Food's website.  These would be the perfect addition to any Easter event this weekend.


Spring OREO Cookie Balls

6 oz. (3/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 tsp.  orange zest
1 pkg. (16.6 oz.) Spring OREO Cookies, finely crushed
2 pkg.  (6 squares each) BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted, divided
2 drops each red, yellow and blue food coloring

MIX cream cheese, zest and cookie crumbs until well blended. Shape into 40 (1-inch) egg-shaped balls. Freeze 10 min. Meanwhile, spoon 1 Tbsp. melted chocolate into each of 3 small bowls. Tint each with a different color food coloring.
DIP balls in remaining (untinted) melted chocolate; place in single layer in shallow waxed paper-lined pan. Decorate with tinted chocolate.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm.

Stay tuned tomorrow, for the Oreo cupcakes we will celebrate my brother's birthday with :)


~Kara

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Cake Pops

Those adorable cake pops I showed you yesterday HERE, are great for all kinds of parties.  You can easily change the colors and sprinkles to go with any theme.
Karen used a basic cake ball recipe she found HERE by Bakerella, that I thought I would share with you:

Cake balls are bite-sized balls made of crumbled cake mixed with frosting and covered in candy coating. They are super-easy to make and form the basis of endless variations of decorated cake pops, cupcake pops, and cake bites.

You’ll need
1 box cake mix (any flavor you choose)
9-by-13-inch cake pan
Large mixing bowl
One 16-ounce container ready-made frosting (any flavor you choose)
Large metal spoon
Wax paper
2 baking sheets
Plastic wrap
32 ounces (2 pounds) candy coating
Deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl
Toothpicks
Resealable plastic bag or squeeze bottle (optional)

Bake the cake as directed on the box, using a 9-by-13-inch cake pan. Let cool completely.

Once the cake is cooled, get organized and set aside plenty of time (at least an hour) to crumble, roll, and dip 4 dozen cake balls.

Crumble the cooled cake into a large mixing bowl. The texture of the cake causes it to crumble easily. Just cut a baked 9-by-13-inch cake into 4 equal sections. Remove a section from the pan, break it in half, and rub the two pieces together over a large bowl, making sure to crumble any large pieces that fall off. You can also use a fork to break any larger pieces of cake apart. Repeat with each section until the entire cake is crumbled into a fine texture. If you have large pieces mixed in, the cake balls may turn out lumpy and bumpy. You should not see any large pieces of cake.

Add three-quarters of the container of frosting. (You will not need the remaining frosting.) Mix it into the crumbled cake, using the back of a large metal spoon, until thoroughly combined. If you use the entire container, the cake balls will be too moist.

The mixture should be moist enough to roll into 1 1/2-inch balls and still hold a round shape. After rolling the cake balls by hand, place them on a wax paper–covered baking sheet.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for several hours in the refrigerator, or place in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want the balls to be firm but not frozen.

If you’re making a project that calls for uncoated cake balls, stop here and proceed to decorate the cake balls, following the project instructions.

Place the candy coating in a deep, microwave-safe plastic bowl. These bowls make it easier to cover the cake balls completely with candy coating while holding the bowl without burning your fingers. (I usually work with about 16 ounces of coating at a time.)

Melt the candy coating, following the instructions on the package. Microwave on medium power for 30 seconds at a time, stirring with a spoon in between. You can also use a double boiler. Either way, make sure you do not overheat the coating.

Now you’re ready to coat. Take a few cake balls at a time out of the refrigerator or freezer to work with. If they’re in the freezer, transfer the rest of the balls to the refrigerator at this point, so they stay firm but do not freeze.

Place one ball at a time into the bowl of candy coating. Spoon extra coating over any uncoated areas of the cake ball to make sure it is completely covered in candy coating. Then lift out the cake ball with your spoon. Avoid stirring it in the coating, because cake crumbs can fall off into the coating.

Holding the spoon over the bowl, tap the handle of the spoon several times on the edge of the bowl until the excess coating falls off and back into the bowl. This technique also creates a smooth surface on the outside of the cake ball.

Transfer the coated cake ball to another wax paper–covered baking sheet to dry. Let the coated cake ball slide right off the spoon. Some coating may pool around the base of the ball onto the wax paper. If so, simply take a toothpick and use it to draw a line around the base of the cake ball before the coating sets. Once the coating sets, you can break off any unwanted coating.

Repeat with the remaining cake balls and let dry completely.

If you have extra candy coating left over, pour it into a resealable plastic bag (and then snip off the corner) or into a squeeze bottle and drizzle it over the tops in a zigzag motion to decorate.

You can make the cake balls ahead of time and store them in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator for several days.
Hope you ENJOY

~Kara

Monday, April 18, 2011

Butterfly Birthday Party

I LOVE a great party!  And we got the pleasure of being invited to lil G's friend Kayla's 2nd birthday party this past weekend and it was amazing!!  Kayla's mom Karen is a full time teacher, but she definitely has some party planning talent.  I instantly fell in love with the pink and yellow hues and cute butterfly theme throughout...
How cute is this picture wall she created using month by month pictures of her 2nd year and butterfly clips holding each one?!
Sweet cake pops (the recipe will be posted tomorrow) were served along with butterfly cupcakes and numerous other delicious little goodies for all the party guests.
No details we left untouched...butterflies even made an appearance on the food tables.
Some of my favorite elements are the white and yellow striped fabric, pink satin bows (ribbon makes everything a little bit sweeter), pink chocolate covered strawberries, and the adorable pink, yellow, and yellow and white striped butterfly garland she created herself!
To create the butterfly garland, Karen used a die cut machine and cut out hundreds of butterflies, then glued them back to back on fishing line and fold the wings for the 3-D effect!
And we can't forget the kids favorites...each child got to color a butterfly magnet to take home, had their own personalized pink and yellow cup, and left with their own butterfly catching kit :)
Now that was a beautiful party...right?!  You can see more of the parties Karen has planned HERE on her Glittery Godmother facebook page :)

~Kara


Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Spring Vignette

Welcome to my spring vignette...
 One of my favorite things is this wooden tray I used to display flowers and vegetables seed packets...we will be planting them soon!
 I placed some green moss in the bottom of this large apothecary jar and then added some ceramic eggs I have had for years and the "T" I spray painted brown.
 I freshened up these green candles by tying brown burlap and a strip of the same fabric I used for the runner.
 Here is an even better look at the green and brown floral fabric I used as a runner...and a cute ceramic basket I added some ribbon and flowers to.
And we can't forget the moss easter eggs I showed you yesterday.  They add a little Easter touch. 
 I made this quick burlap wreath I'll be showing you soon...but for right now Mr. and Mrs. Bunny are calling it home!
 And my other favorite thing...this amazing photo from Ashley Sorbello Photography I used to order a canvas print from Canvas People for FREE...you can get yours too by clicking HERE for a limited time.

Here is how it all came together.
I apologize for the bad lighting (I tried for 2 days to take these pictures and it has been dark and gloomy outside). 

-Kara

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Moss Easter Eggs

This spring I decided to go with a very green and earthy decorations and only a few pops of color.  I have had my spring vignette completed for a few months now (which I will show you tomorrow), but I finally added a few little "Easter" touches.  Here are my simple spanish moss easter eggs I made to hang from the Pottery Barn inspired branches I made a few weeks back.
I used some plastic eggs I picked up at Big Lots months ago that already had a ribbon attached, but you could used any egg and attach a ribbon to hang or just put them in a basket to display.  You will also need a bag of spanish moss and some spray adhesive.
Lightly spray each egg with spray adhesive and then cover the egg with the spanish moss.  At first they will look a little crazy and out of control.
Spray another layer of the spray adhesive on top and then squeeze the egg with your hand to mold the moss to the egg.  You will have sticky hands afterwards so as a warning you might want to remove your jewelry...I learned my lesson the hard way!
Here are the finished eggs.  You can leave them as is, or add embellishments like mini flowers or ribbon.  I am hanging mine from some branches on my vignette, so check back tomorrow to take a look :)

-Kara



Monday, April 11, 2011

OREO Pancakes

Last weekend we had some fun and made Oreo pancakes.  Oreos are a favorite in my family, so I thought why not add them to pancakes!
The basic pancake recipe uses 2 cups of Bisquick mix, 2 eggs (beaten), and 1 cup of milk.  We added another 1/2 cup of milk and about 5 oreos ground in the food processor.
Can you tell how excited he was to have cookies in his pancakes?!
Yummy...hope you enjoy!
My brother LOVES Oreos and his birthday is next week...
so check back for my Oreo Cupcakes :)


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I'm HOME...

I'm finally HOME...
I was away in Florida 3 weeks ago for 8 days...then home for 5 days...then away for 6 more days for work in beautiful San Diego.  I wish I could say that I saw more of San Diego than the convention center, restaurants (which were amazing by the way), and my hotel room...but I'm afraid not.  I did get to the zoo one afternoon for a few hours and it was a wonderful escape...

BUT now I'm back home and I'm feeling OVERWHELMED.  You know that feeling you have when you come back from vacation and have to try and get back to reality...well I never really did!  I have so much to do but don't know what to do first.  My mind is racing non-stop trying to catch up at work...then I run home to try and catch up there...and still have to find time to work on my Tizzi Lish stuff.  And the LAUNDRY...don't even get me started on the laundry that is piled from 2 trips!  I missed my son and husband so much, and feel like I should be spending time with them instead of folding clothes or making headbands...but there is just not enough time in the day to do it all.  I was feeling jittery, scatter brained, and like I might throw up or cry at any minute...do you know the feeling? 

And last night I decided to put everything I had to do aside....and take a Zumba class.  I know you think I'm crazy because that didn't help with all the piles that are accumulating everywhere and all the projects that I have to complete or even start for that matter...
BUT I needed it. 
And it worked for me. 
For an hour I didn't think about anything else...I mean how can you when you are sweating and dancing salsa!  I LOVED it!!  It was a great work out, a lot of fun, and a well needed time-out for my brain. 
Have you tried Zumba?  If not you should definitely give it a try!

So, I apologize that I have not been posting regularly.
I hope I didn't bore you too much with my rant.

I have some exciting new projects and recipes to share with you...and I promise I will share my bedroom reveal with you soon :)

~Kara