Know More Cupcakes

I'm not a huge baker.  The main reason being that I have an uncontrollable sweet tooth and if there are yummies around then I will inevitably eat them.  Although, the kids love to help out in the kitchen so occasionally I will resist the great temptation and bake.  This time it was cupcakes.  I found these adorable cupcake wrappers at Home Goods and couldn't pass them by.  Simply Baked makes these festive wrappers and they also offer so many other cute items for beautiful entertaining. Love them! So here we go-Halloween cupcakes yum!

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites from large eggs
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk and vanilla  in a large mixing bowl.  Mix at low speed for 2 minutes.  Scrape bowl.  Add egg whites and mix at high speed until fluffy and smooth, approximately 2 minutes.

Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter.  Do not overfill.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes in pans then remove from pan, and place on wire racks to cool completely.

Frost and decorate your vanilla cupcakes as desired.

Recipe from CupcakeRecipes.com

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Pumpkin Glam

My kids use the phrase, "easy peasy, lemon squeezy." That sums up this project in four words.  This makes Halloween decorating oh so glam!  Choose your favorite metallic finish spray paint and get to work on your pumpkins from the patch.  This quickie DIY takes just minutes to do and minutes to dry and voila-super fancy pumpkins!

 

 

For some other great ideas for painted pumpkins go to Honey We're Home.  Wonderful and creative ideas to avoid carving with the kiddos.

Pumpkin Patch

Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch is a day that I look forward to the minute autumn hits.  Bright mums, colorful gourds, pumpkins, straw bales and yummy apple cider donuts.  I love the hayride out to the patch where the kids go hunting through the field to find their perfect pun kin.  Our youngest calls them pun kins.  It was a beautiful afternoon and the kids loved every minute.  Take a peek......

These are the moments that we will all remember.

Fresh Basil and Sausage Stuffed Shells

I am so happy when I have a meal all planned out.  I feel organized which I love and everyone in the house is cheerful when they know what's for dinner. I have all the ingredients on hand and a recipe waiting to be tackled.  No flying by the seat and throwing something together in a 6pm panic. My goal this year is to have more dinners scheduled for nights during the week when everyone is home and we can all enjoy them.  My shells recipe is a modified lasagne and the fam gobbles them up. Oh by the way, this is a great recipe to double and throw in the freezer for a ready made meal a fews weeks from now.

Shells Stuffed with Ricotta, Sausage and Basil

makes 5-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 box (~6 oz) jumbo pasta shells
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ pound Italian sausage or ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• ½ cup red wine
• 1 (16 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 (16 oz) can of tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• ½ cup parmesan, grated
• 6-8 leaves fresh basil
• 8 ounces thinly sliced or shredded fresh mozzarella

Heat oven to 350º. Cook pasta shells aldente so that they are still firm to the touch when straining. Drain, separate, and let cool. Add sausage to a large skillet and cook until brown over medium heat.   Remove sausage to a plate with a paper towel liner so that the grease will absorb into the towel.
Add a tablespoon olive oil to same empty skillet. Add onion and sauté for about 2 minutes.  Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add wine and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.  Next, add tomatoes, sauce and spices, including salt and pepper.  Let this simmer and reduce for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While tomato sauce is cooking, add ricotta, parmesan, egg, lemon, a little salt and pepper, and basil together into mixing bowl with sausage.  Stuff the shells about ¾ full.
When tomato sauce is reduced down, spread a thin layer over the bottom of a 9X12 casserole dish . Arrange shells face up and then top with remaining tomato sauce. Top with fresh (or shredded) mozzarella.
Bake at 350º for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve hot and garnish with more basil.

Yummy!  Hope you enjoy your family dinner!

Gallery Wall

I am always trying to keep our house tidy even if it isn't clean.  Don't ask me why-it's just this thing about me.  I don't like a lot of clutter but a wall gallery allows for a collection of wonderful family photographs to be displayed in an organized, tidy fashion.  I like all types of gallery walls.  I like them neat and symetrical as well as eclectic and haphazard.  We have several small spaces where I have used small, simple versions of the gallery to add interest in the space.  Recently in our master bedroom I started a gallery on a larger wall.  This space is perfect for a collage of meaningful family pics.  I used all frames but I also like the look of objects, initials and mirrors mixed into the gallery.  I think I'm going to add some things for greater visual interest.  What do you think?

The master bedroom gallery wall.  I think I want to add a small round mirror and an inital to break up the space and add interest and texture.

Small arrangement at the base of the staircase.

Hallway gallery

Some of my favorite galleries that I have come across:

Pottery barn has a ton of ideas on its website.  Great gallery inspiration!  A wonderful way to display our family memories in our home.

Tips for gallery walls:

1. Display a collection of photos or a mix of illustrations and paintings.

2. Choose frames of different shapes and sizes.

3. Stagger displayed items for visual interest.

4. Add small objects such as mirrors, initals for added detail.

5. Remember that there is no right way to create a gallery!

Falling into It

I love decorating our house for the seasons. And fall is one of my favorites. I feel while I love the colors, tastes, smells and feel of fall, I also love that it is just the beginning of the holidays.  The fall decorations blend with Halloween and then Thanksgiving and then Christmas-oh my!!!I’ve been slowly decorating my house for the fall the past couple weeks, so I thought I’d share some photos.  I hope you find some inspiration!

               

                

Kitchen Table

We spend a lot of our time sitting around our kitchen table which is often enlightening but it can also be miserable with four children.  Never the less we do it as much as we can. 

When designing our kitchen several years ago I had imagined a large farm table where everyone would gather with big cushions and fluffy pillows.  But in reality the cushions and pillows would get trashed with the little ones so we settled with a practical bench that's easy to clean. I will hopefully someday have the decorators dream and make this a more comfortable space:)

I feel these days, people don’t gather together as much, and they certainly don’t spend time around kitchen tables. Everyone is just too busy with other things. Too often, meals are eaten separately or on the run. I wish everyone could just get back to the basics and what really matters most–time spent with loved ones around the kitchen table!  Our family does it and I highly recommend it.

Our simple but extremely functional kitchen table.

Our family gathering place.

Built-in benches give us storage for oversized kitchen items.

We love the benches for seating.  It's so fun to have a bunch of kids sqeezed on the bench having pizza.

Bin pulls give the drawers a farmhouse finish.