Stock the Bar Cupcakes

Hello again! 

It has been a looong time since I last posted a recipe, so I'm going to share a couple of fun ones that I tried out for a stock the bar party I baked for a few weeks ago. I had never been asked to make anything for an event like that before, so I thought I would get creative with the mini cupcakes!

First, I wanted to make something feminine, so I tweaked a strawberry cake recipe to be a strawberry champagne cake recipe, and topped it with strawberry champagne buttercream. To die for! I loved this cake! It's very moist and the flavor is incredible!

For the guys, I decided to go with chocolate cake, the recipe my grandmother always uses, and top it with almond buttercream and homemade Maker's Mark caramel sauce. I was really surprised at how much I liked the flavor combination of these, as well!

Strawberry Champagne Mini Cupcakes

 10 ounces of strawberry puree (from thawed frozen strawberries, no sugar)

1/2 cup champagne of choice (I used Barefoot Pink Moscato Champagne)

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3.4 oz strawberry creme Jell-o pudding mix

1 3/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

12 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your mini cupcake tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine 6 ounces strawberry puree, champagne, eggs, and vanilla, then set aside. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pudding mix, and sugar, then slowly add the butter, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Once the butter is completely incorporated, set your mixer to a low speed and gradually add the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth, then fill the paper liners and bake for about 12-15 minutes, checking with a toothpick as necessary. Set out to cool when they have finished baking.

Strawberry Champagne Frosting

6 cups powdered sugar

8 Tbsp butter, room temperature, cubes

1/4 cup champagne (or to taste)

4 ounces strawberry puree

1 Tbsp heavy cream

 

Here's the thing with me and frosting: I never follow the recipe. I start with a general recipe, but then I always add more powdered sugar, more butter, more liquid, etc., in order to get the texture just right. Throw some stuff in your mixing bowl and see what works. That's what I always do.

I topped the cupcakes with some of the frosting, then added some golden sugar sprinkles. Yum!

Chocolate Mini Cupcakes

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup cocoa

3.4 oz chocolate Jell-o pudding mix

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

The recipe that I always use for homemade chocolate cake is the recipe that my grandmother has always used. It's an old Betty Crocker recipe called Black Midnight Cake. The only thing I did differently, which I always do when I make cakes, is add the pudding mix. I've found that it makes a big difference in the moistness of the cake. It's a personal preference, I suppose.

Anyway, this recipe is easy. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line your mini cupcake pan just as before. Throw all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl, and mix at medium speed, scraping as needed, until all ingredients are incorporated. Bake 12-15 minutes, checking periodically.

For the frosting, I didn't really measure any ingredients. I started making just a typical buttercream, and added some almond extract instead of vanilla extract.

Maker's Mark Caramel Sauce

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp Maker's Mark

Cook sugar in a nonstick pan over very low heat. Don't use a spoon to stir the sugar, just kind of shake or swirl the pan every now and then. Continue this until the sugar is melted and it is a pale golden color. Once it has melted, continue cooking the caramel, swirling occasionally, for about 10 minutes. The caramel will reach a deeper golden color. Remove the pan from heat, and pour in the cream, stirring constantly. Return to heat and simmer, while stirring, until the hardened caramel has been made smooth. Add the butter and stir until melted and incorporated. Remove from heat and stir in the Maker's Mark. 

Drizzle over the chocolate cupcakes, and store the rest in a jar in the fridge.

I ended up making about one hundred mini cupcakes, and then making 12 regular-sized cupcakes with the leftover batter. So... I snacked a bit ;)

 

Something else pretty cool that happened this past Saturday...

I graduated cum laude from the University of Alabama at Birmingham!

So now, the job hunt begins! Hopefully I will have good news on that front in the next few weeks!

Happy baking!

Andrea

Meal Prep Sunday, New Snacks, and Early Birthday!

I mentioned in an earlier post about how I made it a goal this semester not to eat a single lunchroom meal from the school at which I am student teaching. Not that the meals are terrible. A lot of them look really great, actually. I just get in a downward slope of spending money on it every day and then I just start to feel really slow and lethargic because I'm not eating my usual healthy stuff. So far, I have stuck with my goal, but that's because every Sunday I spend a few hours at night putting together meals for the week. It means that I don't get as much sleep on Sunday nights, but I don't mind it because it's once a week and it's a small sacrifice. 

Sunday afternoon I went to the grocery store in Gardendale where my fiance lives to buy groceries. Chad was sick all weekend, and he really just needed some rest, so I gave him some time by himself to go stock up on healthy goods. I'm glad I did, because I found a couple of new things that I thought would be good to try. I have a bad habit of getting bored with my usual stuff, so some variety every now and then is very much welcome. 

One of my finds were these Nature's Harvest "Gone Bananas" chips. 

They. Are. Amazing. Some of them are plain bananas, and some of them are salted plantains, and that's it. No preservatives, no artificial coloring, none of that. So they are the perfect thing to incorporate into my lunches, because I'm weird and like to have some sort of crunch with my lunch, and since I can't do potato chips, these fit the bill.

I also found some Quaker Lightly Salted Rice Cakes, and they are gluten free and only 35 calories per rice cake. I've always been a huge fan of rice cakes, and I know that a lot of people hate them with a passion, but I just think they're good for a quick snack, and they're versatile. I've been eating them with PB2/peanut butter, cinnamon, and cacao nibs. Yum!

Another option for snacking this week, in addition to my usual string cheese, is some fruit mix. Strawberries, pineapple, and watermelon. I've been craving watermelon for some reason lately, probably because it's getting warmer outside. I also got a mango, but I haven't decided what to do with that yet. Maybe smoothies. Maybe sorbet. We'll see!

For my lunches this week, I had some more tilapia that I really needed to use up because I've been planning on getting some salmon instead once all of the tilapia is gone. I made some Parmesan broiled tilapia with my favorite seasoning and some parsley flakes.

 

 

For the potatoes, I seasoned them with the same Cajun seasoning I used on the fish, some garlic, and some parsley, and baked them in a sprayed iron skillet at 425 degrees for about 25-30 minutes.

I've been using this seasoning for about 7 years when I just want to fix something quick and have lots of flavor. It doesn't fit the "clean eating" bill, but I just can't give up the spicy goodness!

I put the tilapia and Cajun garlic potatoes on top of a bed of baby spinach for my lunches this week, and then I'll have the banana chips, as well. Quick, easy, yummy.

Last week, I was obviously obsessed with pancakes. This week, I've been making egg white omelets and having a side of sliced bananas sprinkled with cinnamon and PB2 mixed with 1 tsp agave nectar and cinnamon. I don't know what inspired this new combination, but it's pretty delicious, so I'm not fighting it. I am, however, going on a hunt for Ezekiel bread today because I've been dying to try it, and I've heard it makes great French toast.

Tonight, I'm planning on making some turkey burgers and baked zucchini "fries", so hopefully I'll have some more recipes up this week! I also have a cookie and cupcake order for Saturday, and I'm so excited about the recipes I'm putting together for that day, so look for that, as well!

Oh, and my birthday is tomorrow, but I will be spending it at UAB doing interviews at the education career fair, so I kind of got an early start on it this weekend. Chad's parents got me a FitBit that I have been lusting over for some time! I was planning on ordering one as my birthday present to myself, but instead I was able to order my wedding shoes! Anyway, I love my FitBit, and it's nice to be able to see exactly how much I walk throughout the day. It's encouraging to set your goal and see if you can meet it, and it motivates me to be more active. 

Happy Monday!

Andrea

Fluffy PB2 Pancakes

Okay, I know I've been posting a lot of pancake recipes lately. I get on pancake kicks every now and then, and for the past week I've been on a big one. These ones might be my favorite so far, though, because of how fluffy they are! 

Fluffy PB2 Pancakes

3 Tbsp whole wheat flour 

2 Tbsp PB2 powder

1 egg white 

1/4 cup almond milk

1 tsp baking powder 

1-2 Tbsp water 

Agave nectar

Cacao nibs

Whisk together the flour, PB2, egg white, milk, and baking powder. Add a little bit of water at a time until you have the desired thickness. Spray a pan and cook over medium/low heat. 

This makes about 4 big, fluffy pancakes, then I topped them with cacao nibs and agave nectar! These are my new favorite for sure. 

Happy Friday!

Andrea

Blueberry Protein Pancakes and Cacao Nibs

Another blog post on the same day?! This has to be a record. I guess I'm just making up for how absent I've been for the last several weeks. Or I have too much time on my hands. Probably both.

Next week on Tuesday (my birthday), UAB is hosting a career fair for education students where we have to go and sign up for interviews with different schools from around the state. It will be great practice for my friends and I, but I'm pretty nervous about it. I also started panicking over the fact that I had absolutely nothing that would be acceptable business/interview attire. My wonderful mom was kind enough to let my birthday present be an interview outfit, and we were lucky to find some pretty great sales going on today. 

For anyone who isn't familiar with my shopping habits, I never, ever spend full price for anything. TJ Maxx is my favorite place in the world, and I have found some pretty wonderful things at thrift stores over the years. Today, though, mom and I thought it would be good to splurge a little since I'm basically trying to look my best to get a job. We started at New York & Company, and a buy one/get one 50% off sale was going on, so I was able to get a pair of really nice slacks and a jacket for a pretty fair price. For a blouse, I went over to Forever 21 for a pop of color for cheap, and some nice nude heels came from JC Penny for almost 50% off! Seriously, I love a good sale.

Finally, we ventured over to TJ Maxx. Is it sad that I know which TJ Maxx in the surrounding area is the best one? I don't think it's sad at all. It just makes me experience. Mom got these adorable shoes for me as another birthday gift that will go well with some bridal shower outfits since they match my color scheme. I love these! I can't wait to wear them!

TJ Maxx also has a really great selection as far as food items go, and I can often find some great healthy items there that I can't find at the local Wal-Mart. Today, I was lucky enough to find some Cacao Nibs, which I have been trying to find ever since I started my clean eating!

When I got home, I went for a four mile run/walk because it was so beautiful outside. I even beat my best time for running a mile, which isn't that wonderful considering I really do suck at running, but it was exciting for me to see that improved time.

When I got home, I was in a breakfast food mood, as I have been a lot lately, so I decided to make some more pancakes so I could also try out the new cacao nibs!I changed them up this time, though, with some added protein.

Blueberry Protein Pancakes

2 Tbsp whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp vanilla protein powder

1/4 cup almond milk

2-3 Tbsp water

1 egg white

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 tsp agave nectar

handful of blueberries

Whisk together the flour, protein powder, agave nectar, vanilla, egg white, and milk. Add water one tablespoon at a time until you have the thickness you're looking for. I like mine to be pretty thin because it tends to cook through better than when the batter is thick.

Cook the pancakes over medium/low heat, adding the blueberries after you have put the batter onto the pan. Once you're done cooking them, top with about a teaspoon of cacao nibs and some agave nectar for some added sweetness!

This recipe made 5 pancakes for me. I have decided that I do like the cacao nibs, but they definitely aren't that wonderful by themselves unless you like bitter dark chocolate. I love dark chocolate, but these aren't incredibly sweet just on their own. But with the agave nectar on top, as well, they were delicious. Just the right amount of chocolate taste for a breakfast recipe! I'm sure I will have some more recipes with these very, very soon.

Happy healthy baking!

Andrea

More Spring Break Productiveness

Yesterday, I decided to try out another version of the whole wheat pancakes I posted about last time. This time, though, I added a bit of water, some cinnamon, and some vanilla to make these yummy crepes! 

As you can see, I added my favorite PB2 on top, this time mixed with water, cinnamon, and agave nectar. If you still haven't tried PB2, seriously, what are you waiting for? 

Chad and I met in Homewood to start looking around at some different apartments. It's still really too early to make any decisions, but we just wanted to go out and get some ideas rather than continue looking at apartments online. We quickly discovered at the first place that we visited that online photos of apartments are veeeeeeery deceiving. But we visited some very nice ones in Inverness that are definitely number one on my list so far. We also stuffed ourselves at Saw's BBQ in Homewood, and I wish I had gotten a picture of my lunch because it was so much food and it was so delicious. Definitely not clean, but I believe in a good cheat day every now and then! 

Now for the best part... cake! We visited Olexa's in Homewood to plan out our wedding cakes. If you've never been to Olexa's, you must go there. Their menu is great, but it's their desserts that make this place so fabulous. You all know how much I love cake and that I take pride in my own baking, so you know I would never recommend a place so strongly unless I absolutely loved their stuff. 

We sat down and started looking at a few books, and when our consultation started, I mentioned that I wanted several different flavors at the reception instead of the old standard vanilla and chocolate only. Boring. I like variety! So, she brought out four flavors for us to try: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and carrot. 

Let me start by saying that the vanilla cake is the best I've ever had, and their frosting is by far the best in Birmingham. But...that carrot cake...I could eat it every day of my life. It's that good. I asked for it initially because my mom loves carrot cake, and I wanted her to have something there that she would be excited about. But when I tried it, it quickly became my favorite flavor of them all. Chad's favorite has always been their strawberry cake, so he went with that for his cake, but chose to have the vanilla frosting instead of the strawberry frosting on his. 

As far as design goes, this was the image from Pinterest that I brought in as my starting point: 

I love that stucco style frosting texture. I think it's just simple and beautiful. I did decide to pass on the flowers, though. I don't really care to have flowers on my food. Anyway, we started with that, and I chose to go with mint colored frosting to match the color theme. The three-tiered cake is going to be vanilla, and the other two smaller cakes will be chocolate and carrot, all of them with buttercream frosting. I was very pleased with all of the decisions we made! 

I feel like Chad's might need to be more of a surprise...he's super excited about his cake, and it is definitely all him. Very fitting for the man that I love :) 

Now my job will be hunting down cake toppers on Etsy. I've seen a lot of wonderful things, and I hope that I can get something soon. I'm also on the hunt for mint colored cloth napkins to monogram. But my next step is definitely sending out save the dates, which cost less than $20 by using the Makr app I wrote about a few months ago and getting them printed somewhere that we had discounts and connections! 

But until then, I'm just going to be over here eating cake...

Happy wedding planning!

Andrea

Kindergarten Overload

I knew I wasn't done with loading you all up on things I've been up to lately! I just finished my four straight weeks of teaching last week, and I tried to take pictures of a lot of the things we did along the way. 

I started a weather unit with them during my second week teaching full-time. I downloaded an app called Kid Weather, and we created an avatar and voted on a name for him: Metal the Weather Dog. We checked the weather each day with Metal, and as time progressed and their curiosities grew, we started checking the radar and the forecast for our area on the Weather Channel app. This was one of their favorite things to do every day. They learned a lot about temperature and the forecast, and it was fun to hear them talk like little meteorologists. 

To kick off the unit, I asked the question, "Is air really there, and does it take up space?" One child told me, "If air took up space we would be bumping into it all the time!" So we did an experiment (which I forgot to take a picture of) with a beaker, some clay, a funnel, and water. The clay sealed the funnel and the beaker together to prevent air from coming out, and then when I poured water into the funnel, it didn't go into the beaker the way they predicted it would. Then we talked about what was filling up that supposedly empty space. It made for great discussion and they were able to see that, yes, air does take up space. 

The next day we talked about wind. What is wind? What creates wind? How can we measure the wind? We created some anemometers and went outside to measure the wind as a class on a windy afternoon. Watching them chase after the wind was too precious. 

We also talked about how the heat affects us and where the heat comes from. We did an experiment where we left chocolate chips half in shadow and half in sunlight to observe what happened over time. This also made a yummy snack later! 

We talked about the different kinds of clouds, as well. We read several books and wrote some of the descriptive words we thought of for each to make a chart. Then, we made our own clouds with shaving cream, glue, and paint. 

As I mentioned before, the final part of our weather unit was writing about our favorite weather and creating an audio recording on AudioBoo and a QR code to go on our illustrations for people in the hallway to check out. 

I tried to incorporate a weather theme into our centers, as well. Some of our friends are working hard on the teens numbers, so we had a Cloudy Number Words match-up for our writing center one week. 

For word work one week, we had a Rainy Digraph Sorting Station. Those digraphs can be pretty tricky, so we are still working on a few of them. 

In math, we have been comparing numbers. Which number is larger? Which one is smaller? How do you know? Etc. We have also been incorporating more graphs, like the one below that we did for Dr. Seuss Week. 

A huge emphasis this late in the year in kindergarten is more reading. More independent reading, more buddy reading, more more more reading. So I added weekly Book Reviews to their centers/rest time routine. As the year goes on, these will change into more in-depth critiques about the books they are reading, except for a couple of our ELL friends who are still getting used to the review process. 

And finally, these are some of their St. Patrick's Day writing samples. We listened to Eve Bunting's That's What Leprechauns Do, and they wrote their own ideas about what they would do if they were mischievous leprechauns. They came up with some pretty hilarious stuff! I also loved how different each of their faces were that they made. Some of them had 9 eyes! Hey, who am I to say a leprechaun doesn't have 9 eyes, right?  

Phew. I think I'm almost completely caught up on all of this! I probably won't have as much classroom stuff to share over the next few weeks... unless I find a job! Fingers and toes crossed and lots of prayers that that happens for me! Until then, I'm trusting that God has a plan... and I'm stalking ALSDE and Teach in Alabama every day ;) 

Happy teaching!

Andrea 

Whole Wheat Pancakes

I'm loving spring break! Being able to wake up an hour later, work out in the mornings, and be able to cook and enjoy breakfast is so nice. I feel way more rested. This week has so far been the pick-me-up I needed! 

I  woke up early this morning and tried a beginning yoga routine. I'm trying to start mixing yoga into my exercise routine because I have a really bad knee and I don't need to run every single day and screw that knee up. Who has time for surgery right now? Not this girl! 

Anyway, after attempting some yoga, which was pretty relaxing, I decided to make some pancakes that I could actually sit and enjoy with coffee, and they were pretty delicious, so I thought I would share. 

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup almond milk

1 egg white

1 tsp agave nectar

1 tbsp water

I whisked all of that together and made 3 pancakes from the batter, then topped it with some PB2 mixed with agave nectar and some strawberries. So yum! And healthy. Altogether (with my coffee), this breakfast was 307 calories, right around where I like my breakfasts to be. Let me know what you think if you try it out!

Happy Tuesday!

Andrea