Sweet Potato Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Thanksgiving and they seemed to be a big hit!

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 ~ 17.2 oz can sweet potatoes (mashed)

1/2 tsp vanilla

orange zest

Cream cheese icing recipe

8 oz. pkg softened cream cheese

2/3 cup butter

2 T milk

8 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with 24 paper liners.

2. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt then set aside.

3. Beat butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at the time. Then add sweet potatoes and vanilla. Add flour mixture a little at the time until combined.

4. Divide batter into cupcake liners. I found that an ice cream scoop works great.

5. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool completely.

6. Pipe cream cheese icing on top and sprinkle with orange zest. I also topped my cupcakes with a pecan.

My nephew, Enzo sure seemed to enjoy his cupcake!

Jewelry/Purse Organizer

I was always looking for an organized way to keep my jewelry and purses and I finally found one. I bought 2 inexpensive, wooden expandable racks (can be purchased at Walmart or Lowe's, Home Depot etc.) I spray painted them black to match the rest of my bedroom furniture and hung them on an empty wall. The racks already come with brackets on the back so they can be easily hung on the wall.  You can expand them to what ever size you want. No more searching through a jewelry box to find a neckalce or bracelet and no more searching through your closet to find a purse! The whole project cost me less than $5.00!

Trick or Treat Buckets

Above are buckets I painted for my niece and nephew for Halloween. The buckets were purchased from the dollar store and I painted them with inexpensive acrylic paint.  After the paint dried, I sprayed them with a clear finish to keep the paint from chipping.  I finished them by adding black, purple and orange ribbon to the handles...super easy and very inexpensive! :)

Baby Gift Basket

Make your own personalized gift basket for any shower and you will be sure to impress.
-Basket (Dollar Store or just one you have lying around the house) try to choose one the new mom could use for other purposes later.
- Choose an outfit/pajamas or onesie and stuff it with tissue paper. This gives a unique look to the basket...and it looks like a little baby is sitting in the basket :) Just be creative! Add some coordinating tissue paper and a ribbon.
-Items that you could include:
diapers
washcloths
blankets
bibs
baby shampoo
baby booties
socks
lullaby cd

Popcorn n S'mores Gift Basket

This one makes a great gift for a family. You could customize it to include whatever items you like. Jazz it up with some cute tissue paper or ribbon and you've got a great gift!
-Plastic Popcorn Box (Dollar Store)
-S'mores ingredients (marshmallows, graham crackers, Hershey bars)
-Hot chocolate packets
-Microwave Popcorn

2 New Recipes

I like easy recipes with few ingredients and here are two that I tried this week and really liked!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 - Ready made pizza crust
3/4 cup BBQ sauce (you can add more or less depending on your tastes)
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup sliced jalapeno peppers
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1- 6oz can of chunk white chicken (or you could use leftover chicken)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread BBQ sauce onto crust. Sprinkle chicken, onion and peppers next, then top with the cheese. Bake for 15 min or until cheese is melted.  Serves 8


Easy Baked Chicken with Bacon

3 large or 6 small boneless, skinless chicken breast
Slices of bacon (one for each chicken breast)
8 oz. sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Wrap chicken breast with bacon. Combine sour cream, soup and salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken breast and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  If chicken is large, you will need to add additional cook time.

Polka Dot Pumpkins

Add POLKA DOTS to your pumpkins to dress them up a bit! Using acrylic paint and a round sponge brush, (can be purchased at the local craft store) simply paint round dots on any size pumpkin. Next, add your favorite fall ribbon or coordinating color ribbon. My favorite are the black and white polka dot ones. The acrylic paint dries fast and will even withstand rain if you decide to put these on your front porch.