Sunny Side Up Breakfast Cups

I know that each and everyone one of you know this, but Pintrest is the greatest! It's like the digital storage unit that I have been dreaming of. It's where I can build my make believe new house, pick out my make believe size 2 summer shopping outfit, digitally redecorate my bathroom complete with old window panes and garage sale finds, and visualize that perfect recipe for sharing with our family at the next big Holiday. There are so many different ideas that I sit and look at and think, now why didn't I look at that tissue box and see a hand made bathroom towel rack. Really. I don't know what I'm more impressed with. Pintrest itself for being able to handle all of the greatness that it is, or all of the people who post the ideas on Pintrest. I know for certain it makes this follower feel so much more creative (although slightly more copycat like).

I found this picture on Pintrest a while back and knew I had to give it a try someday.

If you couldn't tell by now, I am totally addicted to cupcakes, or really, anything that is cupcake-esq, cupcake shaped, or just simply cups. Really. I am. I think it's about time to find a support group.

Anyways, I was searching for simple breakfast ideas and I saw this.

 I had to try this!

So here you go!

What you need:

A Jumbo Cupcake Pan(although you could make these in a standard size pan, you just have to skimp on the egg and to me, why waste part of an egg?)

Cooking Spray

6 large eggs

6 slices of whole weat or white bread

(I actually used 12 grain bread and it worked great)

6 slices of bacon

shredded cheese



What you do:



Spray 6 cups of jumbo cupcake pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a skillet, cook the bacon until it's just slightly cooked, you don't want it crispy, you want to be able to mold it to inside of cupcake tin. After cooking it slightly, remove to paper towels to drain off some fat.
Take the slices of bread and cut out a circle close to the size of the bottom of the cupcake pan. (I used the wilton round fondant cutters, but a glass works just as well)
Place one of the round slices of bread in each cup.
Take 1 slice of bacon and wrap it around the edges of the cup, pressing it down around the edges of the bread as best you can.
Place some shredded cheese on top of the bread.
Crack the egg on top of the bread and inside of the bacon.
Place in the oven and bake until the eggs are done to your liking and the bacon is crispy. (I baked mine for about 12 minutes and my yolks were just done. If you like it a little more sunny side up I would suggest about 8-10 minutes.
Remove from oven, cool in pan for a few minutes, remove from pan and enjoy with some nice fruit, o.j. and coffee for a perfect breakfast!

These also tast great left over and reheated. Aiden loved eating these for breakfast before school. They were quick, easy, nutritious and filling!

Remember, Sweet & Simple Sunday #7 is still open and taking posts. Stop over and link up what you've been up to this week! And if you're interested in Guest Blogging make sure you drop me a line at cupsbykim@gmail.com

Sweet & Simple Sunday # 7

Well, welcome to

Sweet & Simple Sunday #7

Thank you all again so much for coming by.

This has been a crazy busy week here in Campbell-land and boy, am I glad it's Sunday!

Here's what we've been up to this week!

Monday we had some yummy fruit cobbler

Wednesday we got our prize pack from Ginger Snap Crafts and Natural Garden Soaps

 

Wednesday we also had a major cake failure.

Thursday Sophie decided to start her own pine cone collection.

And Friday was Cakes for a Cause.

This has been one of those weeks that you're happy to cross off each day with a big black marker. (Am I the only one who does that? C'mon! Fo Real?)

I know all of you have been busy this week too! I can tell by all of the great looking posts you linked up. Here are the Features from Sweet & Simple # 6 in no particular order.

If you're a feature please be sure to grab a button and show it off!!

Cheesecake Brownies from My Happy Place

Chocolate Breakfast Parfaits from Pink Recipe Box

Window Engagement Photos by 2 Crafty 4 My Skirt

Fudgy Peanut Butter Cup Brownies from Back For Seconds

Key Lime Shortbread Bites by Shaken Together

Winne The Pooh Cookies from Bringing Beauty

All of these are such great ideas.

My calendar is starting to get so full with dates in my kitchen! I'm sure all of my co-workers and dear hubby just love it!

Speaking of Calendars. I still have openings available for Guest Blogger Wednesdays! If you're interested in being a Guest Blogger just drop me an email to

cupsbykim@gmail.com

and we'll get you scheduled!

Thanks again for stopping by, now it's time for the fun to begin! Show me what you've been up to and you just might end up being a featured post!!

Have a Great Week!!!

Cakes for a Cause

Today's the day.

The 2012 Cakes for a Cause auction.

I was so happy to be a part of this event, but I'm so happy that my part of it is over.

I loved doing the event, but I have to admit, after 2 serious tension headaches, a constant upset stomach, 5 pounds of fondant and 3 pounds of buttercream I'm glad it's over.

Cakes for a Cause is an event that has been going on in the Piqua area for several years. It's an event that raises money for grants for local Non-Profit Organization.

You can read more about it here.

I was selected to be one of the Official Bakers for the event.

(insert anxiety attack 1 here)

Isn't it funny how you picture something in your head, but when you try to put it on a cake board, sometimes it just doesn't appear the same way?

I did 5 pre-run tests. None of them worked. Defeated.

(insert anxiety attack 2 here)

The idea was to create a cupcake cake with a real working clock.

The theme to this years Cakes for a Cause was Rock Around the Clock.

The cake that I was hired to do was for a local glass shop, Hemm's Glass Shop, which just so happens to be where my husband works.

(insert anxiety attack 3 here)

I thought it would be cool to make a sheet of sugar glass to cover the face of the clock.

Now, if none of you have ever tried this. I suggest not even attempting it. This is why I did 5 trial runs.

I wanted the glass to be clear. The first round the sugar did not cooperate. It was yellow. (And yes, I'm blaming the sugar here). 

The second round. Yellow again.

(insert anxiety attack 4 here)

I decided to research a little more.

Third round. Finally. It came out clear. But bubbled.

Fourth round. Clear. No bubbles. Didn't set up...can you say ran off of the counter. Big mess.

Fifth round. Clear. No bubbles. Sticky.

Dang it!!! What now!

(insert anxiety attack 5 here)

Well, do any of you remember who I said that the cake was for.

Yes. A glass shop. Who sells glass and plexiglass.

I swear. Sometimes I try to over think things.

We finally decided on clear plexiglass as the covering.

Now, how to build the cupcake cake?

Not many of you have probably ever been privy enough to see one of my *ehem* "cake" creations.

Let's just say, there's a reason I do cupcakes.

But you know what, this one turned out just the way that I wanted it to. Well short of the sugar glass incidents.

I've had a great time. And I really look forward to working on these again next year. That is if anyone will have me as their Baker! (hint. hint)

Here are just a few of the other 89 cakes that were entered. If you're interested in bidding on any of these cakes and incentives please check out Cakes for a Cause Piqua!

Guest Blogger Wednesday {two}

I'd like to welcome all of you to the second installment of

Guest Blogger Wednesday

This week I welcome Mandy from Mandy's Recipe Box over to Cups by Kim.

Mandy has an amazing page that is filled with tasty recipes, helpful hints, and just good times all around.

Welcome to Cups by Kim, Mandy. I turn it over to you!

Hello, hello! I am Mandy from Mandy's Recipe Box and I am so happy to be guest posting for Kim today!

I am a wife and momma to 2 girls and a boy, ages 9, 3, and 7 respectively. I was born and raised in the city and then I met a farmer. We now live in the country and I wouldn't have it any other way! I love the peace and quiet and the fact that I can lay in the middle of the road if I feel like it and not get ran over.

Because, really. Who doesn't want to lay in the middle of the road every now and then? {Think The Notebook.}


I love food and all food related things. My favorite books are novels revolving around food, such as Joanne Fluke's stuff.
Today I am sharing a recipe I dubbed The Crazy Brownie. It is part oatmeal cookie, part cake-like brownie. It's just crazy.

Crust
6 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. flour
1 c. quick cooking oats

Mix butter, brown sugar, soda, salt flour and oats. Spread in a 9x9 or 9x7 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Brownie
1/4 c. butter
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 egg
3/4 c. sugar
2/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. milk

Melt butter and chocolate, set aside. Combine egg and sugar. Add to chocolate mixture. Beat well. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Add vanilla and milk. Beat together. Add to chocolate mixture and beat well. Pour over crust and bake another 25 minutes or until done. Cool completely before cutting.

Thanks, Kim, for letting be be here today.

Be sure to visit me on Facebook and Pinterest as well!

Thanks Mandy for sharing your delectible dessert. And make sure everyone that you stop by Mandy's Recipe Box and show her some love!

Herta's Fruit Cobbler

Looking for Sweet & Simple Sunday? Click here and link up your favorites, sweets, treats, and anything neat!! 

Isn't it crazy how things change as we get older?

I was reading this post at Paint Speckled Pawprints earlier this week that immediatly took me back to 1998. Although my experience at The University of Toledo was nothing like that, I still have thousands of vivid memories of it.

I was in my Sophmore year at The University of Toledo.

I was majoring in Administrative Office Assisting, I was Public Relations V.P. of my Sororotiy, Alpha Xi Delta, I was dating my high school sweetheart, and my roommate had access to Malley's Chocolates. One of the best chocolatiers on the entire planet (well, of the one's I've tried).

Everything was great, except for one thing.

I was 2 hours away from my entire family, including my future hubby.

I was homesick.

I loved being in college, but I wanted to be home.

I made a decision to change my life path, and to come home and finish my degree at Wright State University. I'm so glad I did. Sure, there are those days that I wish I would have finished there, but I'm so grateful for all of the experiences I had, and the people I met, both at UT and at WSU that I would't change it for the world.

My days slowly changed after graduating. I went from being a carefree college student, to being a full-time employee, a wife, and eventually a mom.

Before we had kids though, my hubby and I had some friends that we would spend almost every weekend with.  Typically we'd be hanging around a campfire, filling up on snacks and adult beverages. Myself, I've never been much of a drinker, but there's just something about sitting around a fire enjoying a nice wine cooler or Zima (how's that for a flashback!)

We've all grown up a little since then.

There have been marriages, divorces, babies, new homes, sickness, surgeries, deaths.

But one thing has stayed constant.

The knowledge that if any of us need anything, the others will be there to help.

This recipe was always a favorite of  ours around those campfires.

In fact, everytime that we take our family camping now this is the first thing that goes in the camp box to make for dessert.

Herta's Fruit Cobbler

Herta is like a second mom to all of us.

She's one of the strongest women I know.

An amazing mom & grandma.

She's had a tough life, but with the help of her family and friends she greets each day with a smile, no matter what it may bring.

I remember so many times Herta hanging out with us, laughing, smiling, and just being one of us.

I miss her. I know I should just pick up the phone, or just stop by, but some how, life always seems to get in the way.

I make this cobbler as my own personal tribute to her. I helps me remember the good 'ole days.

When we make this, we typically use cherry pie filling, but it is great with any other filling you can find. Canned or homemade, both work just great. This recipe is so easy to make. Like I said I make this both at home and around the campfire. I'll give you both ways.

First, here's what you need:

1 can cherry pie filling (or whatever flavor you'd like)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk

This is what you do:

First-the oven version:

1. In a large glass or ceramic bowl melt butter in microwave, set aside.

2. In a seperate bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Stir until combined well.

3. Pour sugar mixture on top of melted butter, DO NOT STIR.

4. Open pie filling and pour on top of butter & batter, again, DO NOT STIR.

5. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and, if you can wait, allow it to cool before serving.

Next-the campfire version:

1. In a dutch oven, melt butter over medium fire (make sure you don't scorch it).

2. In a large ziploc bag combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Squish it around until it's all mixed up really well (no clumps).

3. Snip corner of bag and pour it into dutch oven, on top of butter, DO NOT STIR.

4. Pour in pie filling on top of batter, again, DO NOT STIR.

5. Place lid on dutch oven, lower closer to fire, place coals on top of lid, and allow to bake over the fire for 30 minutes.

6. Remove coals from top, open lid, and check top for doneness (it should be golden brown)

7. Remove from fire and serve.

I'm telling you, this cobbler is so good and so easy!

We enjoy it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or personally, I enjoy  it right out of the bowl!

I'm not picky!

Mix some up, bake it up, and invite over those friends that you swear you're going to call next weekend! Make the call now! Life doesn't last forever!

Sweet & Simple Sunday 6

I still can't believe it's been 6 weeks since I started Sweet & Simple Sunday.

And it just keeps growing and growing!

It's been a tough week here in Campbell Land. I haven't been around too many of your sites this week, I apologize for that, but we've had some family things we've had to deal with this week.

Hopefully this coming week is better. I'm a little nervous though.

Don't they say things always happen in 3's. Well I'm ready for whatever God is ready to give to us as our 3rd item to be here and over with.

Anyways, seeing your posts always makes me feel better! And this week, yet again, you cease to amaze me with all of your creations.

 I want to again thank all of you for stopping by this past week and cheering me up, even though you may not have even realized it!

Out of all of the amazing posts, I picked these (in no particular order) as my

Sweet & Simple Features

I hope you like them!

Sweet Tea Pies from Searching for Dessert

Mocha Dark Chocolate Cupcakes from Mrs. Fox's Sweets

Virgin Blackberry Pina Colada from Dessert Now Dinner Later

Banana Split Cake from Baking with Blondie

Strawberry Nutella Paninis from Cookies XO

Make sure you grab a button while you're here!

So now it's your turn! Show me what cha' got!!

Feed Me Friday Blog Hop Feature

Happy Friday everyone!!

I wanted to share with you a cool thing that happened this week.

I was chosen as the Featured Blogger at

Feed Me Friday Blog Hop!

*sqeeee*!

Make sure you stop by and check out all of these other amazing blogs that are linked up!

And make sure you link up yourself!

Just a reminder Sweet & Simple Sunday #6 will be up and running this weekend. Make sure you stop by to see who was featured and link up what you've been up to this week!!

See you then!!

  <center><a href="http://naptimeismytime.com/category/feed-me-friday"><img src="http://naptimeismytime.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/FeedMeFriday.jpg" /></a></center> Welcome to Feed Me Friday Blog Hop, hosted by Oh So Savvy Mom, Nap Time is My Time, Great Contradictions and Just Us Four! Feed Me Friday is a Blog Hop to help you meet new bloggers and build your e-mail subscription. Want to be a part of Feed Me Friday? Just follow these simple rules:

- Add your blog link to the linky

- Subscribe by email and follow via Google+ (or Linky Followers) to the four hostesses (Oh So Savvy Mom, Nap Time is My Time, Great Contradictions and Just Us Four) and the Featured Blog of the Week. Make sure to leave us a comment and we will return the favor.

- Visit as many blogs on the list as you can. If you like the blog subscribe to their email (feel free to follow on Google+ too, if you want)

- Leave them a comment with your blog link so they know you are subscribing from Feed Me Friday. Be sure to confirm your subscription! Subscribing back is not mandatory, but it is recommended. It is a great way to build blogging relationships.

Since this is an email subscription blog hop, your blog must have a place for people to subscribe to your email. If there isn’t an email subscribe option, your link will be removed from the linky without warning. Every Friday we will put up a new Feed Me Friday linky, so be sure to stop by and add your blog. Each week we will choose one participant from the previous week’s blog hop to be the Featured Blog of the Week.

This week’s featured blogger is….

Hi! I'm Kim and welcome to Cups by Kim! I'm a self taught Cupcake Baker and confection extrordinaire. I am a wife, and a mother to two of the greatest kids in the world. Besides blogging and owning a cupcake business I also work outside of the home full-time. I started Cups by Kim in April of 2011 on a whim. I specialize in all things cupcakes and have been slowly adding to my reportoir over the past year. I hope that you'll stick around and see just what this whim leads to!

Thanks so much for linking up with this this week. If you’re a new participant, please be sure to leave a comment below!

A Junk Food Junkie turned Clemintine Crazy

I hate to admit it, but we are a house full of

Junk Food Junkies.

Straight up snack-a-holics.

Although I'm so not proud to admit that, it's the truth.

I'm trying to be better. It's just so hard when this is staring you in the face.

And trust me, this is light. We had a massive file 13 cleaning a few weeks ago. It was down to left over Easter candy and apparently some Christmas Sweet Tarts that Santa forgot to put in the little one's stockings.

Anyways.

It seemed as though the littlest one in this house had more of an addiction to this crap than any of the rest of us. She got into such a bad habit of opening up this drawer every morning, noon, and night and sneaking a snack. Yes. She is only 22 months old, but very demanding about what SHE wants!

I decided it was time to rid the house of this junk and start anew.

Two things happened.

I decided to start exercising again and I decided to look for a healthy alternative cupcake.

It's funny. 

How come your body decides these things after sitting for 3 days of being sick and not wanting to move a muscle in your body, and when you finally do decide to do something about it (i.e. order a DVD online to be shipped within 10 business days) that by that said 10 business days comes around, earlier said exercise motivation has gracefully left the building.

Well, it's almost here. The DVD that is. I think I've checked FedEx 100 times today to see if they had delivered the package yet. Never mind the fact that I was sitting within 10 feet of my front door and I would have definitly seen the FedEx driver come down my circle driveway, walk up to my door, and ring my door bell.

But what if I missed him while I was taking out the before mentioned cupcakes from the oven?

What if he/she snuck onto our property like the SWAT Team on National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation?

Or...What if he/she followed Google Maps for our address and ended up on the other end of our road, knocking on someone elses door that doesn't even know who Jillian Michaels is?

What a tragedy that would be.

(Hold on now I'm paranoid I missed him, I gotta check it just one more time! Nope. Not here yet)

Another funny thing about all of this though, is that today as I was sitting down looking over my favorite pages on Facebook, I noticed a post from

Four Marrs & One Venus

It was a picture of a Jillian Michaels DVD.

What! Someone else is just as crazy as I am?! Someone is going to get their Shred On?!

Yep!

Jen from Four Marrs & One Venus has started a page on Facebook for all of us crazy enough to take this on. If you're interested in joining in, you need to go to her Blog and check it out, she'll get you connected up.

So anyways, back to my littlest one in the house. I decided it was time to get rid of all of this junk food that was within her reach.

So instead of the junk food drawer looking like it did, now it looks like this.

One lonely bag of Cuties. But now, Sophie's favorite snack.

I don't mind her getting into the drawer now and grabbing a snack of her own. And she's finally learned how to peel them all by herself. She is a rather independent little thing.

And now that she has taken on a whole new approach to snacking. It's time to start looking at some new cupcake ideas.

I happened to be searching for something to make for dinner and I went to one of my favorite go to websites Taste of Home.

I remember my mom always getting this magazine when I was a kid. I always thought it was so cool all of the different recipes that were published and how they always hid that little toothpick somewhere in the magazine. I'm still to this day shaking my head at why I could never find that dumb thing. I wonder if it was just a ploy to get readers to look at every page in the book searching for that non-existant ticket to wealth, you know, kind of Willie Wonka Golden Ticket-esq wouldn't you say.

But for me, it's a go-to for a much needed update to the dinner time blah's.

I happened to come across a Clemintine Cupcake recipe.

I thought to myself, this sounds interesting, and I know I have the ingredients. I'll give this one a shot!

I was so excited to see further down in the recipe that it was listed as one of their Light & Tasty recipes.

I'm totally game now!

This recipe turned out really well, although, I think that you could probably make it even better by using a sugar free cake mix as a substitution, and I may just have to give that a try. Not that the whole cupcake will be sugar free, but I'm sure it would save you some grams and some calories.

But for now, we'll stick to it as is. Here's the recipe as written on Taste of Home, with a few little notes added in for good measure.

I hope that you will enjoy this cupcake. I hope that you will join me in the 30 Day Shred along side Jen at Four Marrs & One Venus, and finally I hope that all of us will be able to get the Oompah Loompah song out of our heads!!

Have a great day!!

  

• 1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
• 3/4 cup water
• 4 egg whites
• 1/2 cup clementine juice (about 5 clementines)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon grated clementine peel
• 4 clementines, peeled, sectioned and membrane removed (this was the most difficult thing to do...I ended up 4 clemintines into it, using a small can of mandarin oranges drained instead. They worked just fine! An orange is an orange is an orange right? Well for me it was!)
• FROSTING:
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon grated clementine peel
• 5 to 6 teaspoons clementine juice
• GARNISH:
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (you could also use dark cocoa candy melts, that's what I had on hand so that's what I used)
• 24 clementine sections with membrane (about 2-1/2 clementines)

 

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full. Place one clementine section in the center of each; gently press down into batter. Chop remaining sections; sprinkle over batter.
• Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
• For frosting, in a small bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, clementine peel and enough juice to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cupcakes.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Dip clementine sections halfway into chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Place on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet; refrigerate until set. Place one on each cupcake. Yield: 2 dozen.

Nutritional Facts 1 cupcake equals 238 calories, 9 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 7 mg cholesterol, 176 mg sodium, 40 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein. 

Guest Blogger Wednesday {one}

Good Wednesday Everyone!!!

Welcome to the first installment of

Guest Blogger Wednesday

Up first we have Julie from

White Lights on Wednesday

Let's all show her some Blog Love!!

Welcome Julie!!!



Hi everyone!

I'm Julie from White Lights on Wednesday.  

I live in Arizona.  Yes, it's freakin' hot in the summer.  I love to cook and bake.

I read when I can find time.

I am obsessed with freshly cleaned sheets, they're amazing!

I like wine and whiskey. Not together though...ewww.

I LOVE Love love to eat cookies.  

And I think cupcakes are little rays of sunshine in our world.

To give you a little idea of some of the stuff that happens on my blog, I thought I'd show you some of my readers' favorite posts.

Thin Mint Knock Offs

Chocolate Wasted Cake

Cheesy Bacon & Chicken Pasta

Cupcakes are why I'm so excited to be posting for Kim!  I love her blog.  Kim always has such great cupcakes and savory cup recipes.  This is why we are bloggy friends.  We both love food!  Since Kim is gracious enough to have me today, I figured dessert was in order.  Dessert makes me happy.  And happy people are fun to be around!

Cannoli Parfaits

Makes 4 parfaits

Cannoli Shells from Food.com

Ingredients:

Cannoli Shells

1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
1 egg, beaten well
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon cold water
Vegetable oil, for frying

Cannoli Cream

16 ounces ricotta cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semsweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Cannoli Shells

1. Stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  Cut shortening in with a fork until the pieces are the size of small peas.  Stir in eggs.  Blend in the vinegar and water.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
2. Add additional flour, if needed, to get a smooth dough.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
3. Roll out dough to 1/8" thickness.  Cut out 3" circles from the dough.  Re-roll and cut the dough as needed - you want a total of 10 circles for 4 parfaits.
4. Heat oil on medium-high heat in a large saute pan.  Fry dough circles until light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes, turning once.  Remove cooked circles to a paper towel to drain.  Cool circles completely.

Cannoli Cream

1. Stir together ricotta, powdered sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
2. Stir in half the chocolate chips, be careful not to over mix.
3. Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks, fold into filling mixture.
4. Chill filling for 30 minutes.

Assembly

1. Break up one cannoli shell circle in the bottom of each of four parfait cups.  Top shell with two heaping spoonfuls of cannoli cream.  Sprinkle with a few chocolate chips.  Repeat layers once more ending with chocolate chips.
2. Break the two remaining cannoli shell circles in half.  Place on half, broken side down, into the top of each parfait. 

Buon Appetito!

Thanks again to the amazing Kim for having me today.  

I hope you all had as much fun as I did!


Awwww, Thanks Julie for all the Love! And those Cannoli Parfaits!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and make sure you stop by
White Lights On Wednesday
to see what else Julie has been up to!!

Sweet & Simple Sunday # 5

Welcome to

Sweet & Simple Sunday # 5

I hate to say it, but I'm so glad Sunday is here, I'm ready to put this week to bed.

I'm still amazed at all of the creations that everyone comes up with.

Ya'll are so creative. There are many times I just sit and shake my head at how amazing they are. Honestly. I'm jealous.

I secretly sit in the corner of my kitchen and wish I could be more like all of you.

Well, anyways, on with the show.

As always, I had trouble picking my favorites, so these are the top 4 most-clicked posts from last week!

(seriously, I think I'm going to have to keep increasing the number of features each week. This is hard work!)

Yeah. How good do these look?

They would be perfect for breakfast with a Venti Quad Shot. Don't cha think?

Khalua Espresso Cupcakes from Sugarbeams

 And these. Really. Do I have to say anything at all about these.

Just look at all that gooey goodness!

Brownie Mud Hen Bars from Crazy for Crust

And you know how addicted I am to Peanut Butter Eggs.

Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs from Izzy in the Kitchen

 Okay. And these. Who could resist something called Slutty Brownies!

Slutty Brownies from Somewhat Quirky

Aren't they amazing. I'm telling you. God has created some of the most talented people. I want to thank each and every one of you for linking up to my party. I feel so blessed!

Sweet & Simple Sunday # 5

Starts Now!

Week in Review

Well, let's see. It's been a kind of up and down week.

I keep hearing this voice in my head, that I think we learned in First Grade,

It came in like a lamb and is going out like a lion.

I know that is usually referred to for March, but I'm stealing it okay!?

That's just how my week has been.

I decided I wanted to do a weekly review post after seeing a few of my fellow bloggers doing it.

Yeah, I'm a follower. Go ahead and label me I don't mind.

I'm going to kind of mix it up a little. It's going to be a mix between

Project 365 (um, because I've realized I have hardly any pics of child # 2)

and

Cups in Review (what I've been up to in the kitchen this week).

The first reference about child #2 deserves a bit of explination. You see, I'm also a child # 2.

I always swore that I would take an equal amount of pictures of all of my kids, if I were blessed with more than one.

Well, I was, and well, I haven't.

Child #1 has scrapbooks full of first baths, first teeth, first temper tantrum.

Child # 2 has a scrapbook with 2 pages. 2 pages!!

The first, when we found out we were pregnant.

The second, when we found out she was a she.

That's it. How pathetic.

So, after seeing a post on White Lights on Wednesday about Project 365 I decided that this is what I should be doing. Even if I don't get all of them scrapped, at least there will be pictures.

This is my week in pictures.

Friday April 6

My new favorite cupcake accessory!

Saturday April 7

My new favorite manicure secret! Impress Press On Manicure.This is after a full week of washing dishes!

Sunday April 8

My two most favorite people on the planet!

Monday April 9

She is thoroughly enjoying this Easter Grass!

Tuesday April 10

And she really enjoys those binkies.

Wednesday April 11

Our Magic Beans finally bloomed!

Thursday April 12

Hot Earl Grey, Mocha Frappe, and Cepacol to help sooth my Strep Throat!

See I told you it went out like a lion.

I always thought Strep was something kids get.

This is not fun at all.

The only good thing, I get to sit with my computer and talk through my fingers without saying a word.

I hope you enjoyed my week in review. And I hope you'll stop back to see what else I've been up to!

Have a great weekend everyone!

And make sure you stop back by on Sunday for

Sweet & Simple Sunday! 

Key Lime Cupcakes

I really wish this weather would decide one way or the other if it's Winter or Spring. I was totally diggin' the warmer weather (again, not so much the pollen), but now it's started cooling off again. Dear Hubby thinks that it's perfectly normal to sleep with the windows open when it's 29 degrees outside! Wha?? Well now that I have him feeling bad about me freezing he decided to be nice and close them. Because it's been feeling pretty chilly around here, I decided to go on a little stay-cation. Well, sort of. Mostly just in my mind. I envisioned sitting on the beach, warm sand between my toes, drinking a nice fruity drink with those little umbrellas and snacking on one of these, A Key Lime Pie Cupcake.

Then I opened my eyes and realized I was sitting in my kitchen, cracker crumbs between my toes (wonder who those are from), oven door open drinking a Diet Mt. Dew (I know, I live on the wild side!) Hey, a girl can dream right? At least this cupcake is for real!

I've tried doing Key Lime Cupcakes in the past and have struggled with the question whether to do the frosting as the key lime and the cake as the graham cracker or the other way around. I've done it both ways, in fact I think I've tried 4 different recipes at this point, and finally I found one I like love!

There are very few ingredients needed for this cupcake, which makes it even more loveable. Here's what you'll need.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

1 Lemon Cake Mix
1 box (4 serving) Lime Jell-O
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Key lime juice
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Mix together cake mix, Jell-O, lime juice, oil, water, and eggs in a mixing bowl until all ingredients are well combined.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cupcakes bounce back when lightly touched. Remove from oven.
Remove cupcakes from tins and cool on wire racks.
In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese and butter. Slowly add in powdered sugar until mixed well. Add in a little milk until smooth. Mix in 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs. Combine well.
Place 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl.
Once cupcakes are cooled completely, pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes and then dip the tops into the graham cracker crumbs.

Now that you've made these tropical delights, whisk yourself off to the deserted island in your mind, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Calling all Bloggers!

And we have a winner!!

Congratulations! Mandy from Mandy's Recipe Box 

Mandy was the winner of the Blogging For Fishes Recipe Book!

I want to thank each and every one of you for participating.

And make sure you continue to check back, I have a few more Giveaways planned for the upcoming months!

  

Okay, so I know that all of you out there in Blogging world have all been here. Busy home life, busy work life, busy kids life, extra busy blogging life. I have so many projects going on right now, I'm half afraid that my mind isn't going to be in the ones I need it to be in, so I'm putting this out there for you!

 To help me Blog! I'd like to invite all of you to be part of Cups by Kim. I'm looking for Guest Bloggers.

All of you are the most creative people I know, and I'd be honored to have you share your creations with all of my readers.

If you are interested please email me at

cupsbykim@gmail.com

This will be starting next week so get your names in quick!