Cupcakes Galore!

What could be better than a cupcake, in my opinion, the most perfect dessert in many ways.  The size is just right, not too much, but perfectly satisfying at the same time.  Each cupcake is completely unique in design, some are very pretty, some are super fun, and some are just outrageous in every way!  

Cupcakes have been quite the trend these last few years, even replacing the traditional wedding cake at some wedding receptions.  There are dozens and dozens of wonderful cupcake shoppes popping up everywhere, even a reality show following the lives of two women who have left corporate America to do just that, open a cupcake shop!  

In the last month or so, I have begun to notice is a slight deviation in the trend of dessert cupcakes to more meal-like cupcakes.  I've seen the lasagna cupcake, the meatloaf cupcake and even the buffalo chicken cupcake.  

A great big Thank You to where I am currently getting lots of wonderful recipes.  Here's a compilation of my newest favorites, both meal-like cupcakes and dessert cupcakes for you to try.  These beautiful mouth-watering pictures below of the most perfect little dessert cakes and savories just make me happy and I had to share. 

 Graham Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes 

Vanilla Cupcake with Lemon Filling and Meringue Frosting
 Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes

  
 Chocolate Cupcakes with Maraschino Cherry Filling 
 Glorious Treats Sweethearts Cupcake Cutout Recipe




Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting
Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes

Grape Soda Pop Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

The Kitchen Magpie Grape Soda Cupcake Recipe

 

Blueberry Cupcakes with Maple Brown Butter Frosting
Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
Annie's Eats Recipe for Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes
 
 

Apple Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes 

 
Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcake
My Baking Addictions's Recipe for the Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcake 

Maple French Toast and Bacon Cupcake
Tracey's Culinary Adventure's Recipe for the Maple French Toast and Bacon Cupcake 

 Cheddar Scallion Cupcake with Whipped Cream Cheese
Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes: Savories 

 
Corn Bread Cupcake with Goat Cheese and Bacon Frosting

Recipes at Ming Makes Cupcakes: Savories 

Buffalo Chicken Cupcake
The Cup Cake Project's Buffalo Chicken Cupcake Recipe 

The Churro Cupcake
The Curvy Carrot's Churro Cupcake Recipe

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Toasted Marshmallow Frosting
Annie's Eat's Recipe for Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

If you follow on Pinterest, please check out

Laura Grai's Let Them Eat Cake Pinterest Board

She has a wonderful collection of beautifully delicious cupcakes.  In addition to the websites sited above, I also really like the following cupcake dedicated sites...http://www.cupcakeproject.com/, http://52cupcakes.blogspot.com/, http://www.allthingscupcake.com/

 

I hope you enjoyed all of these wonderfully different types of recipes and found that few peaked your interest to get baking!  

Keep it Sweet and Keep it Spicy,
xxoo Aly

Blog Hop

Looking for a great collection with hundreds of wonderful blogs of all sorts of content to search from...well look no further...Welcome to Blog Hop!

What is a blog hop?

A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS.
When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the
exact same list appears on each blog.

Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list.
The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.

Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog
to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!

Tutu's Galore

Is it me or are clothes for little girls just amazingly adorable.  Who else can get away with wearing a tutu and a glitter top than a toddler.  I am in love the frills and tuele that is the tutu.  Currently, there is only one in Miss Abby's closet, from her birthday, but if I had my way, there would be one for each day of the week. 

Who doesn't love a tutu? 

Check out a few of my current favorite places that carry tutus galore...

http://www.tutusfortoddlers.com/

http://www.tutudoll.com/

https://www.zulily.com/auth/create/


Keep it Sweet and Keep it Spicy
(And you never get too old to wear a tutu, I promise!  Have fun...)
xxoo
Aly

What's for Dinner?

Wow...It's been a very long day, wait, make that week.  The traffic was awful getting home, both Mike and I are looking at each other thinking, please will you cook tonight...please, please, please....

I'm really not in the mood to cook something fancy, strike that, cook at all.  

This is a critical moment. Please tell me you all have been here...do I pick up the phone and order a pizza or reach for the chips and hummus and possibly a cupcake.  No!  Stop Right There...Ladies, this is the opportunity to look like the "Queen of Cuisine" for your family.  Your opportunity to use one of the countless items from your wedding registry which is collecting dust in your pantry.  That's right, go ahead and open that pantry door and get the step ladder, reach way up to the top shelf and reach to the back and grab that handle...Yes, to the PANINI MAKER!!!   

Please admit it, you all have one, just couldn't resist from clicking the gun in the store over the skew number on the panini box as you walked through Crate and Barrel that day with your (now) husband or maybe you were lucky enough to go with your maid of honor and bridesmaids.  My guess is that if it was the latter, you have two pantries full of items you aren't using.  

Now open up the fridge, this has just become a challenge...how creative can you get with a block of Cheddar cheese, deli turkey, a fiji apple and a loaf of cinnamon bread.  Let me tell you, all your husband will need to see to enjoy a meal is Grill Marks!  I am convinced that the Panini Maker was designed by a very smart woman who knew that the simple marks criss-crossing over the top of the grilled bread would suddenly make her man head over heels in love with her and her cooking.  Genius!  

Not for nothing, but those were the exact items I found in my fridge, decided to put together on a sandwich and is now a family favorite.  Try it, I promise you'll love it!

Keep it sweet and keep it spicy!

Aly

SuperBowl Delish!

After two weeks of nonstop analysis, strategy discussions, speculation, and predictions, it all comes down to this...what will be on your SuperBowl Party Menu tonight?!?

Whether you are a sports fan or not, everyone loves a good Superbowl party.  All the excitement of the game, the comraudery of your favorite team and for some of you out there, the most important part...all that delicious food!

Here are a few fun ideas that I have recently discovered (on Pinterest) that we very well may be serving up for our friends tonight as we cheer on the Pats to another victory. 

Taco Cupcakes

Artichoke Bread

Buffalo Puffs with Avacado Blue Cheese

Cheeseburger Pillows

Mac N Cheese Bites

Pizza Puffs

For those heartier appetites, we'll have 5 lbs of marinated steak tips, along with the ribs that Mike already has cooking on the grill (it's 8:30am!).  We are about to start prepping the chicken wings and finalizing a few additional appertizers.  The beer fridges are all stocked and the frozen margarita mix is already in the freezer ready for kick off. 

Enjoy your parties tonight everyone and GO PATS!!!

Keep it Sweet and Keep it Spicy

xxoo

Aly

Abby's Sweet Shoppe 1st Birthday

 

Sweets and Treats and Lots of Fun
Let's Celebrate as Abby Turns One...

 Our home was turned into a sweet shoppe 

inspired by the idea 

"Sugar and Spice and All that's Nice" 

 Abby's Sweet Shoppe on Catch My Party

My craft table (A.K.A Dining Room table) 24 hrs before the guests arrive...

A few fun DYI projects for all of you crafty moms (and dads) out there.  

A First Year Month By Month Banner, Homemade Oversized Gumballs.  I used some fun Christmas Ornaments that I picked up on the dessert table and hung in the windows.

Abby's First Year Month By Month Banner

  

The Sweet Shoppe Candy Bar

Complete with Chocolate Dipped Pretzels, Chocolate Dipped Sugared Marshmallows and Yummy Black and White Cupcakes and Yes...A DumDum Topiary

 

  

What was on the menu?  Well, the party was from 2 - 5pm so we tried to keep it on the lighter side.  We served a buffet of finger sandwiches, green and fruit salad and veggie pasta...

A party is not a party without a signature "Adult" cocktail..."Sweet Tart Martini's" courtesy of my fabulous SIL, Kathy. 

We'll get the recipe posted soon, along with many more tasty Adult beverage ideas. 

And for dessert, well, birthday cake of course.  I tried my luck at making Abby's cake, a bubblegum pink frosted vanilla funfetti cake.  We also served  

chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and yellow cupcakes with bubblegum pink frosting and of course lots of sweets from the sweet shoppe!

  

Abby looks a bit confused about all the singing and a great big pink ball with a
flame coming towards her...  :)

Not loving the party hat, but it lasted longer than expected...about 10 minutes.

 

Here's Miss Abby in her special "I'm the Birthday Girl" outfit complete with pink tutu.

 Party Favors...Everyone was invited to help themselves to a goodie bag of candy from the Sweet Shoppe before they headed out...

We had alot of fun, it was so wonderful to celebrate such an amazing day with all of our family around us.  Abby has been a gift to Mike and I, each and everyday of this last year.  We can't begin to imagine our lives without her here, and struggle to remember what it ever was like when it was just the two of us.  The greatest gift we have ever received was becoming parents and the only person we have to thank for that is our little pumpkin, thank you my love...my special sweet little girl.  We love you with all of our hearts and souls, to the moon and back. 

Thanks so much for letting me share Abby's special day with all of you.  I hope you enjoyed some of the fun ideas we incorporated into celebrating her day.

Keep it sweet and Keep it spicy

xxoo

Aly