cupcake baking tip!

Did you know you can alter the size and shape of your cupcakes by the temperature of your oven?

When I made cupcakes on Sunday I decided to try a little baking experiment. I wanted to know if oven temperature could really alter the height of a cupcake. For my test I used my favorite scratch recipe for chocolate cupcakes which makes approximately 24. 

For the first batch I set my oven on regular bake and preheated it to 350 degrees. I filled  the liners approximately about 2/3's full and baked the cupcakes for 22 minutes. 

The result ~ flat cupcakes. 

For the next batch I set my oven on convection and preheated it to 375 degrees. I filled the liners about 3/4's full this time, baked for 7 minutes, then turned down the oven to 325 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes. 

The result ~ taller cupcakes with round, dome shaped tops. 

A regular oven can also be used to get the tall, domed shaped cupcake. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the cupcakes are in the oven reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. 

I am amazed at what a difference it made.

Happy Baking!

Rose Cupcakes

My 1st attempt at Rose Cupcakes!

I thought it would be fun to try making some pink Rose Cupcakes since 

Valentines Day

 is only a couple weeks away. 

I really like how these cupcakes turned out and 

definitely plan on making them again.

Happy Tuesday!

KEEP CALM

from my list of one thousand gifts

::  prayer warriors :: enjoying a spectacular sunrise together on the way to church :: a BBQ in January :: a walk in the sunshine in flip flops :: tea before Friday night church :: team meeting :: Sunday Supper :: calls from the kids :: the view of Mt. Hood on a crystal clear day :: 

Blessings~

Sweet & Sour Chicken with fried rice

I was in the mood to make something new for supper this week and decided to try these 2 recipes since I had all the ingredients on hand except for the frozen mixed peas and carrots, however, I did have frozen peas without the carrots so I improvised. I took a large fresh carrot, peeled it, cut it into small  cubes {approximately 1/4 inch}, microwaved the cubes in a small covered bowl until tender crisp and then added those to the peas. It worked perfect. From there I followed the recipes and everything turned out great. In fact we liked this meal so much that there weren't any leftovers. This will definitely be added to the menu rotation!

You can find the recipe for the Sweet & Sour Chicken at Mel's Kitchen Cafe and the Fried Rice at Life in the Lofthouse.

Happy Saturday!

banana streusel muffins

A new Saturday morning breakfast treat!

I wanted to make something new last weekend for breakfast and came up with these yummy muffins. They were the perfect little addition to our menu. 

JOY

from my 2014 list of 

one thousand gifts:

clever/funny gift to A that makes me smile every time I see it::visits and emails from boys::recipe requests from J&C::coffee date and shopping with Miss E::CG dinner::encouraging voicemail::decision on TO::L&R women's event::early signs of spring::the rain::a break in the rain::

Blessings,

Beautiful beginnings

Just popping in to share a couple pictures I took while taking Miss E back to school on Sunday. The sunrise and sunsets over the weekend were amazing however I only had my camera with me to capture this one sunset. A beautiful beginning to the New Year!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday! 

Wishing you a....