Strawberry Stuffed Cupcakes

After a visit to Paul's Pastries this past weekend, and having only a bite of my friend's cupcake....  They lingered on in my mind...  I just knew I would have to come up with something comparable... a basic white cupcake filled with jelly... but th e icing.... ooooh the icing... i was whipped creamy, lighter than air... not too sweet, pure goodness...

If I had a white or yellow box cake mix.... well, I'm not going to lie... I would have used that... but I did not... I came up with  this recipe Sugar Cookie Cupcakes

so, take the easy route with a box... or try my amazing recipe... either way your friends and family will love you... Promise :)

Bake cupcakes, and cool

You will need the following for the filling and icing... (for 24 cupcakes)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2/3 cup sugar

strawberry extract

plus strawberry jam or preserves for filling

With a paring knife core a small circle in the top of each cupcake... remove the cone add a teaspoon of jam, cut off the "point" portion of your cupcake cone.. then place the cupcake piece back on top.

You can make this ahead and store at this point if needed...

For the Whipped Cream Icing.... with whisk or mixer beat cream until soft peaks begin to form.... then add sugar and either extract or jam, or puree... (this is best done the day of serving, and must be stored in the fridge or it will collapse on ya)

now... it has been years since i have worked with heavy cream... and let me tell you.... I whipped it a little too much.... and it began to seperate... I thought oh no... what did I do wrong here?  let me mix some more.... well low and behold I had done whipped my cream into butter!

batch # 2 then followed... this time I was sure to not over beat... keep it cold and pop it in the fridge a while to make sure it did not collapse on me....

pipe the icing onto your cupcakes.... for a pretty effect use a 1M tip and garnish with a strawberry or 1/2 of one....

I was short on my icing due to the butter incident so I whipped up a strawberry buttercream for my remaining 12 cupcakes...  Wilton has an easy buttercream recipe here that I have used for years... for 12 cupcakes you only need 1/2 the recipe... and I substituted the vanilla extract for strawberry extract which also gives you the pink color :)

Sugar Cookie Cupcake Recipe

The name says it all! While experimenting with a basic white cake recipe I came up with this.... now these have all kinds of possibilities and I may never buy another white cake mix again! I absolutely LOVE sugar cookies.... and this tastes almost like eating one :-) I am using these for the base of a strawberry stuffed cupcake... more to come on that.... here is the recipe.

2 sticks margarine (room temp or softened)
2 cups sugar... (yes... I know... they are divine though)
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°

Cream margarine and sugar... then add eggs 1 at a time. Beat very well until smooth and creamy... I did 4-5 minutes in my kitchen aid mixer... add flour, and baking powder... mix on low until blended... then switch to medium for a few minutes... add milk and vanilla... and beat well until your batter is fluffy.... scoop 1/3 cup of batter into each cupcake liner... bake about 20 minutes until slightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Sourcream Apple Pecan Pie

Sour Cream Apple Pecan Pie

favorite pie crust... I cheated :) place in pie dish then chill

Mix:
1 cup sourcream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

Peel core and slice 4-6 apples.... slice thin... then mix with the sourcream mixture.

Dump in pie crust.... bake on 400 for 30 minutes.... then kick the oven down to 350... bake 20 minutes longer....

Meanwhile mix:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 sugar
6 Tbs melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans chopped

Crumble the topping on the pie and bake another 20 minutes... allow to cool... serve warm... delish :)

Reese's Layered Pie

Oreo Crust

1st Layer... Melted Reese's cups...(I didn't measure, you can't go wrong though)

2nd Layer: (Mix together then layer on the 1st layer)
1/2 C Peanut butter
4 oz cream cream (softened)
1/4 C sugar
1/3 tub of cool whip (Large container)

3rd Layer (again mix these together and then layer)
package of chocolate pudding mix
1/3 tub of cool whip

4th layer
1/3 tub cool whip (this should be the remaining if you did it right :)

drizzle the top with melted chocolate for a pretty effect or garnish with reese's cups :)

refrigerate about 4 hours or overnight before serving

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

1 onion, chunked, sliced, or whatever you prefer:)
Several ripe tomatoes... I used about 7-8 romas plus a large one
1 large cucumber.... or more if you like...

Cut everything into chunks.... then in a shaker mix...

2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 TBS olive oil
Garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste

Pour over salad and mix... refrigerate a few hours before serving

I love feta cheese in this too!

Wilted Cucumber Salad

This is my favorite, esp. in the summer! It is great tasting and light because it has no oil! Enjoy!!!

3 large cucumbers (sliced thin)
3/4 cup finely sliced onions
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 TBS white vinegar
1 TBS sugar (I like a touch more)
fresh ground pepper.. to taste....

1. In a large bowl, place 2 cups of the cucumbers and 1/4 cup onions, sprinkle liberally with 1/2 tsp salt... repeat layering cucumbers and onions and salt... Place a small plate over the cucumbers to weight them down.... (I fill another jug or bowl with water and place o top) Let stand at roo temp for at least an hour.

2. Drain off any water that has accumulated around the cucumbers. Pick up a large handful of the wilted veggies and squeeze them until all the water runs out. Place the squeezed veggies into a clean bowl... squeeze the rest until done.

3. In a medium bowl combie 1 cup water, the vinegar, sugar, & pepper. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Pour over veggies and chill.

For variations you can add miced garlic to the dressing.

Jellystone Park RV Trip

Jellystone Park! What fun we had there! Definately a great place to vacation with the kids. They had a waterpark, mini golf, outdoor theatre that played a family/kids movie at dark each night. Lots of kids. Clint made a lot of friends. Yogi Bear brought cookies & milk to our campsite one night. Sandy is missing from those pictures because she was affraid of him... But she really loved him :) The kids got to do a lot of activities... We will definately go back soon. This was our 2nd trip in our RV. Still learning the tricks of the trade but great fun, and I think when Gavin is a year or 2 older it will be even more enjoyable :)