Vanilla Easter Cupcakes

I wanted to make something yummy for my grandchildren the other day, and since Easter is only a few days away, I thought cupcakes would be a good idea. The kids were thrilled with these, not just by their taste, but how festive they look, too.

These cupcakes are vanilla, and one of my favorite, basic recipes that I turn to over and over again. The buttercream frosting is a favorite too, sweet and creamy. I tinted the frosting with food coloring in pink and green, and the M&M's are Easter Pastel.

I love being the kind of grandmother who makes treats for her grandchildren. It makes me far happier than it makes them, I think, because they have no sense of time passing and I do. They just know that it's a great afternoon because Nana made treats, but I know this is a day I will remember, and a day that I hope they will.

Recipe for Vanilla Easter Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup sugar

6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg and egg white one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat just until no traces of flour remain, about 30 seconds; do not overbeat.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. Bake until the cupcakes are lightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

8 Tbs. (1 sticks) unsalted butter

2 1/2 Tbs. milk, plus more, if needed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

Food colorings

 

Directions:

 

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, or using a hand mixer, combine the confectioners sugar, butter, the 2 1/2 Tbs. milk, the vanilla and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

If the frosting is dry, add more milk, 1 tsp. at a time, until it is creamy but still holds peaks. Tint with food coloring as desired, and frost and decorate cupcakes.

 

Makes 12 cupcakes.

 

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-Ray Giveaway #TheHobbit

I am a huge fan of the Lord of the Rings series and now the Hobbit movies. I find it exciting to get lost in another world of wizards, elves, rings with the common human stories of survival, love and loss. Seeing it with hobbits, elves, dwarves and other make believe creatures make it a little more fun! The landscape of New Zealand where the film is made is amazingly beautiful. We saw the movie in theaters and are excited to see it again on Blu-Ray.



From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," the third in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpieceThe Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world.

Special Features on the Blu-Ray combo pack include:

• New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth Part 3• Recruiting the Five Armies• Completing Middle-earth: A Six-Part Saga• Completing Middle-earth: A Seventeen-Year Journey• The Last Goodbye: Behind the Scenes• Music Video• Trailers

Own it on Blu-ray NOW

The Hobbit The Battle of The Five Armies App:

• Are you Brave like Bilbo? Take the quiz to find out if you have the bravery it takes to journey through Middle Earth!

• Mouse over the Interactive Map to learn fun facts about Middle-Earth.

• Watch the official trailer & click the box art to bring the film home today!

We are hosting a giveaway for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Blu-Ray, you can enter in the Rafflecopter form below:


a Rafflecopter giveaway


 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 30, 2015 and ends on April 13, 2015 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post. Each household is only eligible to win One (1) Blu-ray The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies via blog reviews and giveaways. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.

Brown Rice Veggie Mix Recipe

As much as I really enjoy eating meat, especially beef and chicken, sometimes I like to make a meatless meal. It doesn't hurt to skip eating meat a few times a week, in fact it can be a nice break for me. And let's face it, meat is expensive.

I do make and eat quite a lot of brown rice, often making it ahead and keeping it for when I want to eat it during the week. Brown rice is healthier that white rice, and I love it's nutty, earthy flavor.

This recipe is super easy to make, and you can vary the veggies if you don't have these on hand. The bell pepper gives it a touch of color, and red bell peppers are so good for you.

Recipe for Brown Rice Veggie Mix

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked brown rice
3 tablespoons olive
1 onion, chopped
1 read bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1-1/2 cups broccoli florets
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and broccoli. Sauté vegetables until softened, about 6-8 minutes.
Stir in rice and heat through. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Little Caesars Bacon Wrapped Crust Deep!Deep! Dish Pizza Review and Giveaway

Its no secret I have a love for Pizza. Even so much my 5 year old seems to know since he was "interviewing" me and asked what my favorite food was, I hesitated and he said its pizza! When I asked my son what he wanted to do on my next day off he said he wanted to have a pizza picnic at the park. I thought that was an awesome idea and it is something we try to do every so often. Some people bring sandwiches and chips to a picnic we bring pizza and bread sticks. 

Since Little Caesars is HOT-N-READY and affordable it is our go to pizza place for pizza at the park. We wanted to try the new Bacon Wrapped Crust Deep!Deep! Dish Pizza. Pizza and Bacon are always a delicious combo but this is the first time I have ever eaten a bacon wrapped pizza. I must say it was delicious. Its a very filling pizza like the deep dish I have eaten before just better cause there is bacon on it!! 

Little Caesars proudly introduces their HOT-N-READY Bacon Wrapped Crust Deep!Deep! Dish Pizza, for just $12 bucks. That’s a large, 8 crunchy corner slices of Deep!Deep! Dish Pizza topped with pepperoni and bacon, then wrapped in over three and a half feet of crispy bacon. No calling ahead or waiting for your pizza, because it’s HOT-N-READY everyday between 4pm to 8pm only at Little Caesars, world’s fastest way to pizza. Available for a limited time at participating locations, $12 plus tax. 






We had a wonderful time with our pizza picnic at the park and even had leftovers. My son was wanting seconds as soon as we returned home. You can find the nearest Little Caesars Pizza to plan your own pizza picnic or other pizza adventure by using the store locator.

You can win a $20 Little Caesars Pizza gift card to have your own pizza adventure with the new Bacon Wrapped Crust Deep!Deep! Dish by entering the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts March 23 2015 and ends on April 6, 2015 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent gift card to review the pizza for this post.

Pear Upside-Down Cake Recipe

Yesterday when I was in the grocery store, I couldn't help noticing all the gorgeous looking fruit available. Everything just looked so ripe and luscious, especially the pears.

Since I love desserts made with fruit, like my Apple Cake, and my Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, I decided to make this Pear Upside-Down Cake with the pears I had bought.

It turned out delicious, and my family had a great dessert on a busy weeknight, which they really appreciated. I didn't have a lot of time to make these kinds of cakes when my five kids were growing up. So much of motherhood is just getting through the day with everyone clean and fed.

So it's nice to be able to spend the time making a cake like this now. It's not really that food is love, or maybe it is, but taking the time to make something for the people you love.

 

Of course everything tastes better with a scoop of ice cream on it, right? This cake is well worth the effort, and holds together really well, perfect for taking it to a friend's house to share it, or even on a picnic.

Just make sure your pears are nice and ripe, and try to use Bosc or Anjou variety. And when you flip it over onto the cake plate when it's done, I let it rest for a couple of minutes like that so the cake comes out in one piece.

Recipe for Pear Upside-Down Cake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 firm but ripe pears (like Bosc or Anjou) peeled, cored, and sliced
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9-or-10 inch round, metal cake pan, over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter with the brown sugar. Stir until butter melts and mixture is slightly caramelized, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Arrange pears slices, slightly overlapping, in a neat circular pattern on top of the caramel.

In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat remaining 1/2 cup butter with flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla for 1 minute on low speed. Increase speed to high and beat 3 minutes longer. Pour batter over pears in the pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center. Run a thin spatula around the edges of the cake and then invert onto a heat-proof cake plate. Let rest for 2 minutes and then remove pan.

Serve cake warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Serves 6-8.