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Valentine’s Day: Chocolate filled Golden-Cherry Cupcakes

Looking for a fun Valentine’s Day Cupcake idea that looks super impressive, but takes only minimal skill? Then these super delish Chocolate filled Golden-Cherry Cupcakes are perfect for you! {They start with a boxed mix. Love that, right?} Keep reading to learn my secret trick to jazzin’ ’em up!

Valentine's Day, Cupcakes, Red frosting, baking

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” – Ernestine Ulmer

As I mentioned over on the Click, Color, Capture Photo Challenge post earlier this week – I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day. But – I am a fan of cupcakes! And these Chocolate-Cherry filled Golden Cupcakes totally brighten up the holiday for me! They’re incredibly easy to make, and super delicious too. They’re like – cute puppy faces and pretty flowers delivered to your door and sparkles and pretty shoes – everything that’s happy and good, all put together, and transformed into a cupcake. They’re also why my jeans are fitting tighter these days… Lol.

Baking, Cupcakes

“Forget love – I’d rather fall in chocolate!” – Sandra J. Dykes

This cupcake recipe is a kinda-homemade style dessert – Because that’s the only way I do my baking! It starts with the new Fun-da-Middles Yellow Cupcake Mix, with chocolate frosting. But I’m never happy with a plain ol’ boxed mix, I like to get creative – But I admit, I have much more creativity and enthusiasm than I do skill, so there are disasters sometimes. Luckily, this experiment was a total success!

Chocolate filled Golden-Cherry Cupcakes

  • 1. Stir up the Fun-da-Middles mix, following the instructions on the package – but instead of adding regular water, use the Clear American Cherry Flavored Water from Walmart. It fizzes a little bit when you pour it in, which is cool. Now stir up the batter just like you usually would, and move on to step 2!
  • 2. Put adorable cupcake liners into your cupcake pan. I prefer polka-dots.
  • 3. Now, things get a wee bit tricky – You want to use just enough cupcake batter to cover the bottom of each liner, but have enough left over to cover the filling! So, fill each cupcake liner with a small scoop, and make sure it fills the whole bottom of the cup.
  • 4. Now the fun part – Grab the pouch of chocolate filling included in the package, and squeeze it for a minute or two. I listen to my music loud while cooking, so I dance while I squeeze. It’s up to you.
  • 5. Now that the chocolate filling is warmed up, snip off a corner, and start squeezing dollops of it onto each cup of batter. Make them even, and keep it in the middle, not touching the edges of the liner. You don’t want it to ooze out while baking!
  • 6. Now, add one maraschino cherry on top of the chocolate filling! I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and cherry together!
  • 7. Next, use the rest of your batter to cover the cherry and chocolate filling in each cup. Bake ’em up at the temperature recommended on the box. It’s ok to have a glass of wine while you wait….
  • 8. Now, you can take a short cut and use a canister of Betty Crocker red frosting, or tint your own favorite recipe with the Wilton Red Icing Color, and use your own bag and tip to swirl on some fun frosting!
  • 9. Almost done – Grab a pretty sprinkle to top your cupcakes! I used some silver pearls on half, and chocolate sprinkles on the other half. I love sprinkles. A lot.

“I’d give up chocolate, but I’m no quitter!” – Author Unknown

Sounds good, right? These are so super fun, and the kids love the surprise of chocolate and cherry in the middle. They’re also pretty enough for fancier events too. So, while I boycott most things Valentine’s Day related – I do support holiday themed cupcakes, and will be making these again this week! Enjoy…. And – if you’re a cupcake junkie too, check out my Pinterest Cupcake Board!

“Save the earth.  It’s the only planet with chocolate.” – Author Unknown

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Posted by on February 3, 2012 Filed Under: Featured Valentine's Day, Holidays, Food | 14 Comments

Super Bowl Party Food Idea: How to Build a Snackadium!

If you’re a football lover – or even just a party lover who looks for any reason to entertain, even when you don’t know a thing about football {*cough, cough* talking about me here! Lol.} – you’ll love this super fun, super impressive – yet I promise still super simple! – football party food. Check it out….

Football food

“The reason women don’t play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public.” – Phyllis Diller

A couple weeks ago, I was searching Pinterest for some super cool Superbowl party food idea. And I came across a picture of a stadium made of snacks, which led me to the uh-MAY-zing Snackadium.com. The Snackadium site is filled to the top with fun food ideas – but it’s not filled with many instructions. So – I’ll show you how to build your own Snackadium! Awesome, right?


Building a Snackadium

“Half this game is ninety percent mental.” – Danny Ozark, Philadelphia Phillies manager.

Start with either a cookie sheet, {ignore that I used our super duper old one for this project, lol} or a foil baking sheet if you want something disposable – this is going to become your field. You could also use a thicker baking pan, if you wanted to make a 7-layer dip, instead of just the basics like I did. I started with the center section – and used Wholly Guacamole {the best kind evah!} for the playing field. My secret to making the lines nice and even is to use kabob sticks – those type that you get at Walmart in the BBQ section. Outline your “field” with sticks, and fill in with guacamole. Once you have it full – fill your other sides with salsa, and then nacho cheese. You can cover the sticks with the dips, and you won’t even see them. To finish your field, scoop a bunch of sour cream into a plastic sandwich baggie, snip off a tiny end, and pipe it out like frosting to draw lines on your field. Now you’ve got your football field – Easy peasy, right?

fun foods for superbowl

“I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.” – Nancie J. Carmody

Next you want to build your goal posts. We used a package of pepperoni sticks – so good. As you can see in the picture, I used toothpicks to hold the pieces together. To get them to fit together tightly, you can push a spoon against the outside edge, to keep the toothpick from poking out through. Then cut a big square of cheese for the base, and attach it with another toothpick. Done!

Rice Krispies Treat - Big one

“The NFL, like life, is full of idiots.” – Randy Cross

For the outside wall of the Snack Stadium we used Rice Krispies Treats cut into squares, and held together with more toothpicks. I tried using homemade ones, but they were too soft. The store bought type worked MUCH better! And just one treat sheet gave me enough pieces to go all the way around, with a bit leftover.

Superbowl party platter

“I’ve been big ever since I was little.” – William Perry, Former Chicago Bears Defensive Tackle

Now you’re ready to assemble the stadium! You’ve got your playing field filled with dips, the Rice Krispies walls are ready to assemble, and your pepperoni goals are built. So – start putting together the wall all around your field, as large as you want to make it. Use a toothpick in between each Rice Krispies Square to keep it together. Then, fill the space in between the field and the wall with chips. {Another great idea that I saw was to add hot dogs all around that inside edge, to keep the chips from falling into the dips – so smart!} Then, put your goal posts in. You’re almost done!

Superbowl Party Foods

“The Rose Bowl is the only bowl I’ve ever seen that I didn’t have to clean.” – Erma Bombeck

One last piece – You have to make the football players! We used hot dogs cut into little pieces, and topped them with tiny cheese helmets. I’ve also seen little smokies as players, and Fritos corn chips as helmets. You could get really creative and use those tubes of cookie decorating icing to color the helmets to match the teams too. Put your players on the field – and bam! You’ve just built yourself a Snackadium.

Cool Superbowl Party Idea

“I feel like I’m the best, but you’re not going to get me to say that.” – Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver

Totally fun, right? It was actually a lot simpler to build then I thought it would be. If you want to check out more fun football party ideas, check out my Football Party Ideas board on Pinterest. And for more Snack Stadium inspiration – visit Snackadium.com and check out the Snackopolis! Wow.

Do you have a fun football idea to share?

I’d LOVE to see your fun food ideas too – if you’ve posted a cool project, leave me a link in the comments so that I can check it out. Or stop by and visit me on Facebook, and post a picture of your creation! I love to see what you guys come up with! Also – See the sweet version: The Snickers Snackadium!

“You’ve got a goal in life. I’ve got a goal. Now all we need is a football team. ” – Groucho Marx

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Posted by on January 25, 2012 Filed Under: Food | 58 Comments

Halloween Party Foods: Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe

Halloween Party Foods…. Avocados from Mexico can be found at your local grocery store year-round, but this is such a great time of year for them. They’re in season- move from the tree to table in less than a week- and are PERFECT for fall celebrations like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Football parties! Check out their easy peasy tips on buying and storing Avocados too.

Did you know….

  • The world’s first avocado was grown and cultivated in Mexico countless generations ago?
  • That Mexico is the only place in the world where avocado trees naturally bloom four times a year?
  • All Avocados from Mexico are hand-picked and freshly shipped
  • By packers who uniformly exceed international standards?
If you’re a big fan of avocados too – this is the perfect time of year to stock up on some amazingly fresh ones this time of year, make sure to check out the Avocados from Mexico site for more awesome recipes and tips on how to prep, store, and serve them. And then, if you’re planning any type of Halloween entertaining, check out my Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe that’s super simple, yet super fun.

Halloween Party Foods - Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe

It’s Spookamole Time: Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe

This is a super fun, super simple, and super yummy dish to make for Halloween parties and entertaining – or just as a perfect snack to fill up on before heading out to Trick or Treat. {A bit of food helps stop those belly aches kids get from sneaking too much candy…} How to make Spiderweb Spookamole for Halloween:

  • Grab a big plate.
  • Shmear a layer of refried beans over the plate, to about an inch from the edges.
  • Mix up some Guacamole- use your own favorite recipe, or use the amazing Spookamole recipe that I used. Then spread a thick layer of this over the beans.
  • Add some tortilla chips around the edges, and layer with cheese, tomato, onion, and ground beef.
  • Now, the fun part: Put about a cup or so of sour cream into a zip-loc style baggie. Cut a small corner off, so you can use it like a decorating bag.
  • Next, use the baggie to draw circles of sour cream, from the edges of the chips, and getting smaller as you move to the center.
  • After all of the circles are completed, use a knife or toothpick to make the spiderweb- start at the inside circle, and drag it outwards through the other circles. Do this every inch or so through the whole thing, and you’ll see the web appear! Watch a tutorial of how this works- Spiderweb Cake Decorating
  • Last, make the spider- Place one whole olive on your web, then add olive slices to each side for the legs. To make him extra creepy, use a small tube of red cake decorating gel to dot on two little eyes.
  • The kids will love it!

It’s seriously so simple to make. And even if you make a minor mistake or two, trust me, it’ll still come out great. I love recipes like this that are deceptively simple, and make people think you’re a master of the kitchen, lol. You can use this same idea for a ton of other fun Halloween food ideas too – cake tops, on frosted sugar cookies, a pudding dessert – {chocolate or pistachio pudding with the web made from whipped cream on top. Add plastic spider rings to top it off!} The ideas are endless.

If you create a spiderweb dish too – come share your fave photos on my Facebook wall!!

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a Spookamole blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Avocados from Mexico and received avocado items to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.}

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Posted by on September 25, 2011 Filed Under: Holidays, Food, Featured Halloween | 18 Comments

How to Find Coupons: 11 Sources for Big Grocery Savings

So many people think that using coupons is “too hard” or “too time consuming” or even “too confusing.” I assure you ladies – that is NOT the case! I take about a 30 minutes each week to {mostly} plan my meals for the upcoming week, then about an hour to clip, print, and digitally load coupons for my grocery trip. Matching things up and planning ahead save me around 40% each time I shop – and that’s a lot of extra room in my budget to do fun stuff – from little things like seeing a matinee with my little girl or getting a pedicure for some “me time” – to building our vacation fund for summertime. Sounds worth an hour or so a week, right?

Sundays are the day that I clip my new coupons for the week, put together a menu plan, and make my shopping list

If any of you ladies are like me, then I’m sure that you’ll appreciate this list of awesome coupon sites that I use. I clip what I can use from the Sunday paper, but of course that alone isn’t enough, right? We usually only have a couple of coupon inserts, so after browsing them, I head on over to these coupon sites and print out all of the new savings to use in the upcoming week :)

And, you can sign up with Sunday Coupon Preview to get, well, just what the name says… They alert you each week when the early preview is available for the weeks Sunday paper coupons. Really helpful.

Pin or bookmark this page, to make it easy to come back each week to get all of the coupons you need in one spot. It doesn’t take long to browse for your favorite products, and you will definitely love it at the end of your transaction… They’ll start scanning all of those coupons, and it feels like such an accomplishment to watch your purchase total go down lower, and lower, and lower…. If you have any other great ways you use to get coupons too, be sure to leave a comment and let me know so that I can add them to this resource!

Here is a great resource list for new coupons this week:

  • CELLFIRE: Save grocery coupons directly to your supermarket savings card with Cellfire.
  • COUPONS.COM: Free Coupons! Save on your favorite brands. Print free coupons before you shop.
  • A FULL CUP: Great resource for printable coupons, as well as sale match-ups and tips!
  • INBOX DOLLARS: There are a lot of ways to get freebies and earn cash here – But a super awesome tool is that you can find your favorite coupons here, and get PAID when you print them!
  • GROCERY COUPON NETWORK: 100% FREE registration to receive free printable coupons, exclusive email savings, recipes and helpful grocery savings tips.
  • SWAGBUCKS: This is another site that offers lots of ways to get freebies, and also pays you for printing coupons on their site – very cool!
  • PENNY PINCHER GAZETTE: Visit Penny Pincher Gazette for Free Printable Grocery Coupons!
  • RED PLUM: Print Free Grocery Coupons from RedPlum!
  • VOCALPOINT: Vocalpoint was made for smart, deal-savvy women like you. Coupons, Samples, Tips, and more cool stuff.

Many of these sites will have similar coupons. But if you usually buy multiples of an item, such as 3 or 4 packages of lunch meat when they’re on sale, then being able to print out the same coupon on a few sites can be pretty handy.And even if you’re new to couponing, you can still save lots of money without too much work. Just scroll through some of these sites, and print out a handful of coupons for products that you would buy anyway. You’ll be surprised at how fast the savings start to add up!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

 Even more savings – if you shop online a lot, start at Ebates. You get a free $10 gift card when you sign up. They have all of the best online coupon codes in one place. AND you earn totally free and easy cash back every time you shop! Honestly, I’ve gotten into the habit where I don’t even want to shop in-store anymore, because I calculate the cash back I could be earning if I ordered online :) So, I do the “site to store” option at as many places as possible, like Walmart… I can order online and get cash back, not wait in line, and pick it up easy peasy with no shipping fees. Seriously – if you’re an online shopper at ALL, you need this if you’re not using another cash back site, or you’re just throwing away free money! {Click here to learn another way to earn freebies from Walmart.}

And if you love coupons, freebies, and deals (of course you do!) – check out the {Intro} post for my weeklong series “How to Get FREE Stuff” to learn more ways to save! And another great way to get high-value brand coupons is to sign up for their newsletters, and I’ve put together a HUGE resource of newsletters in this post.

Free Coupon E Course{Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. I only share sites and services I use and can honestly promote because I love them – some are affiliates, some are not. But they’re all great tips – hope you enjoy!}

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Posted by on April 10, 2011 Filed Under: Food, Shopping, Deals and Coupon Codes | No Comments
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