Cooking – Page 5

Adorable Watermelon Slice Cookies!

May 23, 2014 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Friday!!

I thought that because this weekend is the big kickoff to summer that it would be the perfect time to share this recipe! It is a very simple recipe, it just needs a little prep, but the end result is so adorable! You will impress all of your family and friends with these *for sure*! I found this recipe in my Taste of Home magazine last summer. If you enjoy this recipe, please pin it to your Pinterest account by clicking the “pin” button that will show up if you scroll over any of the pictures on this blog post : )

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Red and green food coloring

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Beat in the almond extract and the egg. In a seperate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry mix to the creamed batter. Reserve 1 cup of the dough. Tint the rest of the dough red and shape into a 3 1/2 inch roll. Wrap in plastic wrap or press n’ seal (my favorite!). Tint 1/3 of the dough green and wrap in the plastic wrap. Wrap the remaining plain dough in plastic wrap. Put all 3 colors of dough into the fridge for 2 hours. After 2 hours, on a lightly floured surface, roll the plain dough into an 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle. Unwrap the red dough and roll the plain dough around the red. Roll the green dough into a 10 by 3 1/2 inch rectangle and wrap it around the other roll. Put in the fridge again for 8 hours at least or overnight. Slice the cookies into 1/4 inch or slightly smaller circles. Place the cookies about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press mini chocolate chips into the cookies to create the watermelon seeds. (*NOTE: I used regular chocolate chips because that is what I had on hand, but have included a picture of ones I made with the mini chocolate chips at the top of this post. I think the mini look better, personally! But both taste great ; ) ) Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes. Cut in half with a sharp knife immediately. Remove to wire racks to cool.

These cookies are so great for all those summer BBQs I know you’re going to be heading to anyways, and they’re an amazing way to impress your hostess (mother-in-laws?! Meeting the parents!?! go for it!!) or host! These also can be made in advance and kept like other slice-and-bake cookies if you want to save yourself some time the day of an event! If you enjoy this recipe, please subscribe to my blog and make my weekend!! If you have any questions or if you make these, tell me about it! Find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Or, comment by clicking the link by the title of this post. Have a wonderful holiday weekend and stay safe!! : )

POPSUGAR MUST HAVE BOX MAY 2014

May 16, 2014 & 1 Comment

Hi There! Happy Friday!

Today I am very excited to be reviewing the May 2014 PopSugar Must Have Box! Some people read spoilers…maybe that is why you are here reading this?!…but I prefer to be surprised! The box contains full size items in all different categories:food, beauty, fashion, home, and usually an extra goodie of some kind, too. The PopSugar box usually arrives between the 10th-15th of every month for me…it ships via FedEx Smart Post, which means it goes out FedEx but arrives to my P.O Box.

I will quickly go over the items from my April 2014 PopSugar Must Have Box first, and then dig into the May box!

Product titles are also links for more information or to buy online.

APRIL MUST HAVE BOX MINI REVIEWS:

Must Have Food:

PopSugar Must Have Mix from Nature Box

Verdict: I LOVED THIS!! I wish I could buy this at my local grocery store. YUM! I still haven’t gotten a subscription for Nature Box yet, but I want to!

Must Have Home:

Caldrea Rosewater Driftwood Liquid Hand Soap

$10.50

Verdict: I haven’t used this yet because we have been using up what we have, but it smells lovely and I can’t wait to try it.

Must Have Beauty:

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

$36

Verdict: My orignal palette came with a broken shadow, but PopSugar quickly replaced my palette. I love this little palette, and have been getting a lot of use out of it.

Must Have Fashion:

(XO) Echo Shopper Collapsable Tote Bag from Lauren Conrad for Blue Avocado (*Similar)

$24.99

Verdict: I really love this! It still hasn’t made it to the farmers market, but as soon as ours opens up, this bag will be heading there : )

Must Have Home:

Pocket Notes from Graphic Image

$20

Verdict: I used this immediately! It is so adorable and I love it.

Must Have Home:

TOTALLY AWESOME: 80’s Sayings Tea Towel Set by Fresh Pastry Stand (an etsy.com site)

$18

Verdict: I have used these a little bit, and they are pretty cute! I like the summery colors!

MAY 2014 MUST HAVE BOX:

Must Have Beauty:

Smell Bent St. Tropez Dispenser

$45 Value

This smells just like sun screen, salt, coconut…basically a day at the beach in the bottle! This may not be a favorite for everybody, but I LOVE it! It doesn’t seem to last super long on the skin, so that is a bit of a downside, and the bottle is glass so if you wanted to take it in your bag you’d have to consider that. I can’t wait to wear it this summer!!

Must Have Home:

Kerry Cassill Eye Mask (*Similar)

$24 Value

This is really pretty, and I needed a new eye mask, so I will happily use it!

Must Have Fitness:

Tone It Up

$15 Value

I really like workout DVDs because with two little loves running around, I don’t get to the gym very often anymore! I use our treadmill the most consistently, and I like to change up my DVD workouts. This DVD features the ladies from Bravo’s Toned Up, which I have never seen but have heard about. Has anyone watched Toned Up? Have you tried the Tone It Up DVDs? I would love to hear from you! Please comment and let me know : )

Must Have Home:

Zing Anything Cirtus Zinger

$17 Value

This is my favorite thing in the box!! I was *so* excited when I saw it!! In my April Beauty Favorites I mentioned that I have been drinking lemon water every morning recently, so the timing on this couldn’t be more perfect. You can press lemons, limes, or other citrus fruits into your water. Love!

Must Have Beauty:

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Pool Boy Nail Lacquer

$10 Value

This is such a pretty color for spring and summer! This is 100% vegan and cruelty free. I already put it on my nails and I love it!

Must Have Food:

Hi I’m Skinny Sticks Multi-Grain Sweet Onion

I was excited when I saw these, but I unfortunately really didn’t like them. They do have adorable packaging though! I think that if these were savory flavor I would have liked them, but a sweet flavor just wasn’t doing it for me. I sent these to work with my husband, so they hopefully won’t go to waste!

At first glance, I thought this was a fairly small box, but that being said I really enjoy the items in this months PopSugar Must Have Box! This box has a value of $115 and besides the Hi I’m Skinny Sticks, I know that I will use everything in the box. As always, well worth the $39. Do you subscribe to PopSugar? Do you subscribe to any other subscription boxes? Please comment (click the link by the title of this post) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Please subscribe by entering your email into the subscription box on the right hand of this screen and you’ll only get emails when I post something new : )

PHEW! SUPER LONG!!! But thank you for reading : ) Also, don’t forget to check out my column, Leah’s Friday Five, on Pearls and Pastries Shop Blog! There is a new post up today!!

DELICIOUS KALE CHIP RECIPE!

May 5, 2014 & 3 Comments

Hi there! Happy Monday!

In my April Lifestyle Favorites and Big Announcement post on Friday I mentioned kale chips as a food favorite…they’re so so good! So today I want to show you how to make them! I found this recipe from Tayzerfun (she is hilarious!!) and I just added one additional seasoning to mine. If you enjoy this recipe, you can pin it onto your Pinterest account by clicking the “pin” button that shows up when you hover over any of the pictures in this post. Even if you have never eaten kale in your life, I really suggest trying these! They are so delicious, and you can change up the seasoning to your liking.

Kale Chip Recipe

Ingredients:

1 bunch of fresh kale (TIP: I originally bought a box of kale but had better luck with a fresh bunch of kale because the pieces of kale were larger. The kale cooks down a lot so the smaller pieces make very tiny chips, but they were still yummy!)

Olive oil

Seasoned salt

Dill weed

Smoked paprika

Ground nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Wash your kale and then dry it COMPLETELY! If it is at all wet the kale will steam and not make a nice crunchy snack. Remove the kale from the stems. Lay the kale onto a cookie sheet with a small rim. Lay your kale out onto the cookie sheet, but be careful not to layer the kale or it will steam (a.k.a be soggy and not a crispy chip!). Drizzle the kale with a little bit of olive oil and toss to evenly coat. Season with seasoned salt, dill weed, smoked paprika, and a tiny ground nutmeg. The seasoning will be more concentrated as the chips will cook down, so be careful and don’t go too crazy unless you want to…! I don’t take my own advice at all, but I love heavily spiced things! Bake for about 9-12 minutes.

Thank you for reading this and I hope that you enjoyed this recipe! If you try this out, or there is another recipe you would like me to make, comment (click the link by the title of this post) to let me know! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I’m LeahTackles on all social media. I hope you are having a great start to your week!

APRIL LIFESTYLE FAVORITES AND BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!!!

May 2, 2014 & 1 Comment

Hi There! HAPPY FRIDAY!! : )

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!
I am THRILLED to announce that I am going to be writing a bi-weekly column for Pearls and Pastries Shop blog!! I wrote a guest post, Guest Blogger-Leah Tackles, and am so excited to be a part of it regularly now! My column is called Leah’s Friday Five, and my first post went up today! I will still be posting on the same Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule on Leah Tackles. Please check out my column as well as the rest of Lauren’s blog and her AMAZING Pearls and Pastries Shop on Etsy!

Now today as promised I want to do a quick and to the point post on my lifestyle favorites for the month of April!

APRIL LIFESTYLE FAVORITES:

iPhone App:

Groovebook

This app costs $2.99/month and you can print up to 100 photos from your phones photo albums! I love this for scrapbooking and because I am horrible about not printing photos for months at a time!!

TV Show:

Hart of Dixie

I have loved Rachel Bilson since her days on The O.C (I bonded with my college roommates instantly over that show!) and she is just as lovable in this. The show is about a doctor, Zoe (Rachel Bilson), from NYC who ends up living in a tiny town in Alabama…hilarity ensues ; ) But my favorite part of the show is the fashion! Oh my goodness I love it!! I want it all!

Book:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

I am in the middle of listening to this on Audible.com and I think it’s such an awesome idea! Even if you only take a way a few pieces of advice or ideas, I think it’s worth a listen. The book is about her journey each month working on different aspects of her life over the course of a year to make her life happier.

Girl Power Favorite:

Gretchen Rubin

She is the author of The Happiness Project, and I just think it’s pretty gutsy for someone to admit that they are happy but could be happier : )

Workout:

C25K iPhone App

I did the Couch to 5K early last year and loved it! I recently had been trading in my 30 minute runs for walks and needed a way to get back into running! And this app works! I hadn’t been running since having my daughter in 2011 and when I first used this app I was skeptical. I love it!

Song:

Dark Horse by Katy Perry

I.Can’t.Stop.Singing.This!

Movie:

Frozen

My 3 year old just got this for her birthday! HOW CUTE! I already loved the songs, now I am hooked on the movie too! It’s SO good!

Food:

Blue Diamond Natural Oven Roasted Almonds in Dark Chocolate

One of my best friends sent me some of these in a care package over a year ago and I have been hooked ever since! I like chocolate at night, and these really do the trick! I count out servings (yes, seriously) most of the time so I don’t go too crazy…but you really don’t need to because a few go a long way!

Kale Chips:

Oh my goodness! These are amazing! I have made 3 batches since last week! I am a nighttime snacker! Stephan and I usually stay up pretty late getting things done and getting some kiddo-free time while they are sleeping, so I always want a snack after dinner! I am going to make a kale chip recipe post soon!! : )

Home:

King Cube Tray

This is a silicone ice cube tray that makes giant ice cubes! It is suggested for use in cocktails, but can also be used iced tea or soda. It’s awesome because it doesn’t dilute your drink nearly as much as traditional ice cubes.

Copper Milagro Heart

This is a beautiful rustic copper heart that we got recently as a gift from my mom (thank you!!). The Spanish word “Milagro” means “Miracle” and it’s a beautiful handmade reminded of the miracle of love. I am going to be hanging this over my desk on my gallery wall.

Favorite Moments:

1) My son, Connor, walking!
2) My daughter, Hailey, blowing out her birthday candles!
3) Watching Frozen with my hubster, Steph, while the kids were asleep!

Okay, that’s it : ) I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!! If you have any questions or comments, please let me know! What have been your lifestyle favorites lately? I would love to hear about them! You can comment by clicking the link by the title of this post, or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! And if you enjoyed this post, please subscribe!

“Bunny Bait” Treat Bag DIY and Free Gift Tag Template- Hopping Into Spring Series Part 3

April 16, 2014 & Leave a Comment

Hi There! Happy Wednesday!

I hope you are having a great week so far! Easter is only a few days away and today I want to share a super simple treat bag DIY for the third and final Hopping Into Spring Series post. I think that is perfect for a last minute basket stuffer, gift for friends, co-workers, church groups, or just to enjoy yourself! I have also included a free template PDF file printable if you’d like to print out gift tags for your treat bags. Please consider “pinning” this post to your Pinterest account by hovering over any picture until a pink “Pin” button appears and clicking on that.

BUNNY BAIT:

Ingredients:

Mini marshmallows

Small pretzel sticks

Easter candy (I used M&M’s and Hershey Kisses)

Treat bags

Directions: Fill your treat bags to your liking with all of the ingredients! I did marshmallows first, then Hershey Kisses, then pretzel sticks and then finally M&M’s just so I didn’t crush the pretzel sticks with the heavier items.

GIFT TAG PRINTABLE:

Here is my free gift tag printable that you can simply click and print!

What You’ll Need:

The printed gift tags

Paper cutter or scissors

Ribbon Eyelet punch OR regular hole punch

Step 1: Print out your free gift tag printable and cut the tags out with your paper cutter or scissors.

Step 2: Use your eyelet punch to put a grommet onto your tag OR use a regular hole punch to make a hole for your ribbon.

Step 3: Use the ribbon to attach your gift tags to your treat bags : )

I hope you have enjoyed this post! If you try this out I would love to hear about it or see pictures! If you have anything you’d like to see a post about, or have any questions or comments, let me know by commenting (click the link by the title of this post!) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! As always, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read this, and please subscribe!! I will talk to you on Friday!

POPSUGAR MUST HAVE BOX APRIL 2014!!

April 14, 2014 & 5 Comments

Hi There! Happy Monday!!

I hope you’re having a wonderful start to your week! If you want to make my day, be sure to follow me on social media! The pink button links are at the top of this page! It’s LeahTackles everywhere!

Today I am very excited to be reviewing the April 2014 PopSugar Must Have Box! I have been receiving this subscription service since December 2012 and it is like Christmas every month! I personally love being surprised by what’s in the box, so I steer clear of spoilers! If your April box hasn’t come yet and you want spoilers, keep reading! Here is a little bit about Pop Sugar: The box contains full size items in all different categories…food, beauty, fashion, home, and usually an extra goodie of some kind, too. The PopSugar box usually arrives between the 10^th-15^th of every month for me…it ships via FedEx Smart Post, which means it goes out FedEx but arrives to my P.O Box. Today I will quickly go over the March items so you know what I loved and what was maybe so-so for me. When I go over the May box in a post next month I will do a mini review of the items from this month and talk about what I used, didn’t use, liked, or maybe didn’t like as much.

Product titles are also links for more information or to buy online.

Okay, here we go…

MARCH 2014 POPSUGAR MUST HAVE BOX OVERVIEW:

Must Have Food:

Snapea Crisps from Harvest Snaps

$3 Value

Verdict:

I ate these up quickly and really liked them! I was happy to find them shortly after receiving them in my box at my local grocery store. The listed value is $3, but I found them for less than $2, so keep your eyes peeled!

Must Have Beauty:

Herbal Recovery Advanced Serum from Jurlique

$30

Verdict:

I really like this serum! It is a very thin consistency, but I find that only 1-2 pumps is enough to cover my face, neck and décolleté. I have only been using it every few days at night, but I think I am going to be brave and test it during the day on my combination/oily skin to see how it goes! The serum seems to absorb into the skin quickly, so maybe it would work on me for daytime as well.

Must Have Fashion:

Lucky Horseshoe Necklace from Dogeared (*Similar)

$28

Verdict:

I love it! Very cute! I need to remember to wear it more often.

Must Have Fashion:

IKAT Scarf from Brokedown

$72

Verdict:

This is such a fabulous scarf! I have been reaching for it a lot lately, and it’s a great transition piece for spring!

Must Have Fitness:

Mini Stability Exercise Ball from Fusion Pilates (*Similar)

$9.95

Verdict:

I used this only once, right before writing this post so that I could tell you all at least a little something about it. The workouts for this Mini Stability Ball were fairly basic, but as most workouts not quite as easy as they looked! Now that I know how to use it, I need to grab this and give it a try with my exercise routine! I tend to get in exercise slumps where I do the same type of work out over and over! Time to change it up!

Must Have Home:

Elephant Ring Tree Holder from Bauble Bar

$12

Verdict:

I love this still! It looks so cute sitting on top of my jewelry box, and I have two little rings sitting on it looking pretty.

Special Extra:

Whole Wheat Fig Bar from Nature’s Bakery

Verdict:

This was yummy and came in handy when I needed a snack on the go! Would I run out and hunt down this exact bar? No, but it was tasty and I would consider grabbing again if I saw it at the store.

Okay, now onto the good stuff!! This months box!!

APRIL 2014 POPSUGAR MUST HAVE BOX:

Must Have Food:

Pop Sugar Must Have Mix from Nature Box

$5 Value

I have been curious about Nature Box for quite awhile now and was really excited to see something in this PopSugar Must Have Box to try from them. The mix is dried cranberries, corn, soybeans and almonds in it, and it wasn’t something I would have reached for myself, but I really liked it! I almost always have a snack while watching our favorite TV shows with my husband after our kids go to bed, and having healthy snacks like this around keep me from wanting chocolate or other not-so-healthy treats! The fat content is pretty high, it is a trail mix/energy snack after all, but otherwise it’s definitely a healthy option. They also included a coupon for a $9.95 trail month of 5 items, and I am definitely tempted! If you subscribe to Nature Box, do you like it? I would love to hear your thoughts! Let me know by commenting (click the link on the title of this post! Super easy!) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Must Have Home:

Caldrea Rosewater Driftwood Liquid Hand Soap

$10.50 value

I love seeing things like this in the box! I would feel guilty spending too much on hand soap, it’s a spot where I can cut corners or at least get the deals at Bath and Body Works, but I LOVE the little luxury of using them! It is a very nice rose smell, not too overpowering and not at all a fake floral smell that some soaps have.

Must Have Beauty:

Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette

$36 Value

I was SO excited when I saw this in the box!! I love Too Faced bronzers, lip products, and mascara but I have never tried the eye shadows! Speaking of their eye shadows, I am currently lusting over the Chocolate Bar Palette and know that eventually that must be added to my collection! Has anyone tried either of these palettes? Let me know by leaving a comment (click the link by the title of this post) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram ! Anyways, I love neutral eye shadows and was super excited until I noticed powder covering the box while I was opening it : ( One of the eye shadows broke! I know I could try to repair it, but I also sent PopSugar an email to see about sending it back and getting a replacement. It wasn’t wrapped at all sadly, which I was surprised about because I haven’t had that issue in the past. I have only had one other issue in the 17 different boxes I have had since December 2012, so as long as it’s replaced I am not concerned about it, and PopSugar has always had great customer service.

Must Have Fashion:

(XO) Eco Shopper Collapsible Tote Bag from Lauren Conrad for Blue Avocado

$24.99 value

I wasn’t thrilled initially with this bag because I figured it would just be another bag that wasn’t any different than others that I have. However, upon further inspection it’s simple to use and an adorable print! This bag makes me so excited for warmer weather and hopefully heading to some farmer’s markets with my family! So many bags advertise that they fold up “easily”, but this one really does fold up without a struggle. I think it will be functional for so many things, for day trips or barbeques I always have extra stuff I want to bring along and this is a great way to look stylish while doing it. The company Blue Avocado works with other companies and they upcycle by using plastic bottles to make the Blue Avocado products. The Lauren Conrad line from Blue Avocado also has lots of beauty and travel items that are just adorable! She can seriously do no wrong!

Must Have Home:

Pocket Notes from Graphic Image (*Similar)

$20 Value

I LOVE this so much! It says “Run The World” (how CUTE!) on a small periwinkle leather notebook with silver glit edged pages and a little ribbon bookmark. I am already using this, and it’s a perfect addition to toss into my bag or have displayed on my desk.

Must Have Home:

TOTALLY AWESOME: 80’s Sayings Tea Towel Set by Fresh Pastry Stand (an Etsy.com site)

$18 Value

These are cute, and I will definitely use them a lot this summer in the kitchen. They are big enough unfolded that they can be very multi-functional, which I love! I think they’re a fun way to liven up and lighten up the kitchen for spring.

All in all it is another great box from PopSugar! The total value was about $115 (each month $100 value or more is promised!) and for $39 it is well worth it since I will use the products. I am not as excited as I was about last months box (I LOVED last months box, so pretty stiff competition), but I still think I will enjoy and use all of the products in the box! I will keep you posted and put a note at the bottom of this post when I hear from PopSugar about my broken Too Faced palette. If you liked what you saw here, you can subscribe to PopSugar Must Have Box and join in the fun too! It’s the only subscription box I have tried so far, but I am *SOCLOSE* to trying more! Everybody loves fun mail, right?! If you subscribe to any subscription boxes that you love, tell me about it commenting (click the link next to the title of this post), or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! As always, thank you so much for reading this and please subscribe! It’s easy, just enter you email and receive emails only when I upload a new post, and it’ll make my day!

***UPDATE*** PopSugar has emailed me back and are replacing my Too Faced palette! I am SO happy with the customer service and once I have my palette in my hands I think this will bump up to being one of my top boxes so far!! Makeup? Eeek! Too Faced makeup? EEEEEEK!

***ANOTHER UPDATE*** PopSugar sent my replacement and it arrived carefully packaged this time! So excited : )

Simple 3 Ingredient Easter Candy-Hopping Into Spring Series Part 2

April 9, 2014 & 2 Comments

Hi There! Happy Wednesday!

Today I want to share with you another recipe that I found in Taste of Home for the second week of my Hopping Into Spring Series! It is tasty, looks so sweet tucked into a gift bag or Easter basket, and best of all? It is only 3 ingredients! You really can’t beat that! I had my daughter, Hailey, helping me out in the kitchen and she was SO proud of her candy-making skills! If you missed last weeks Hopping Into Spring Series, here is the recipe for Easter Basket Cupcakes! If you enjoy either recipe, please scroll over any of the pictures in this post until you see a round pink “pin” button, and then click that so you can pin it to your Pinterest account.

Okay, let’s get started!

JELLY BEAN BARK (re-named Bunny Bark in my house!):

This is a great recipe where you can involve your kids or nieces and nephews, but it’s also a lot of fun to do with or for your friends! It takes almost no time to do and the result is a very nice looking, homemade springtime candy. I love the touch of whimsy that homemade candy has, especially tucked into an Easter basket or a gift bag for friends. It is very sweet, you only need a couple of bites, but it is a very delicious combination of flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/4 cups of white candy coating, coarsely chopped (NOTE: I found this by the chocolate chips in the baking section, but I have also seen it by the specialty cake and candy making things)

2 cups small jelly beans

DIRECTIONS:

Line a 15 X 10 X1 (a close size will also work) with foil. Grease the foil with butter. In the microwave, melt the candy coating according to the directions on the package and stir until smooth. Spread into your prepared pan. Top with the jelly beans, pressing them down a little bit as you go. Let the bark harden completely before breaking up into pieces or cutting if you prefer.

I hope that you enjoyed the recipe and look out next Wednesday for the third and final Hopping Into Spring Series post. If you have anything you’d like to see a future post about, have any questions or comments please let me know! And if you try this recipe, I would love to see it! Comment (click the link by the title of this post) or you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I am LeahTackles on all social media. I hope you have a great rest of your week! If you enjoyed this post, please remember to subscribe! You’ll totally make my day! Stay tuned Friday for another new post!!

Easter Basket Cupcakes-Hopping Into Spring Series Part 1

April 2, 2014 & 2 Comments

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

I typically wouldn’t do two food posts right in row, but I decided to do a mini series: Hopping Into Spring. This series will feature springtime treats just in time for some warmer weather and Easter! I was flipping through my Taste of Home Magazine and browsing some fun websites recently and became inspired by all the springtime yummy cuteness. The next three Wednesday posts will be part of the series, that way they will all go up before Easter so that you can make them for your families, friends, or coworkers. If you don’t celebrate Easter, all of these treats are really just springtime goodies that can work for any occasion! If you like this post, please pin it to your Pinterest page, simply hover over any of the pictures until a pink “pin” button appears, then click on that to pin to your Pinterest account.

EASTER BASKET CUPCAKES:

I found these Easter Basket Cupcakes in Taste of Home Magazine and knew right away that I had to recreate them! I really like Taste of Home because they offer a wide variety of recipes, but it is always with ingredients that are easily accessible and simple directions. My daughter, Hailey, loved helping me stir and pour in the long list of ingredients for these! If you are pinched for time, you can buy a boxed cake mix or canned frosting but still decorate these sweet little baskets. This would also be a great opportunity to use my cupcake wrapper diy with a sweet springtime paper!

CARROT CAKE:

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 lb carrots, grated

2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted

1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup flaked coconut

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1 package (8oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon grated orange peal

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

DECORATIONS:

3 cups flaked coconut

1 teaspoon water

6-10 drops green food coloring

Candy Eggs (jelly beans or small chocolate eggs, whatever type you prefer)

Candy Straw (Sour Punch Straws worked well, licorice would also work. TIP: Do not use any really thin candy because you need something to stick into the cupcake so the “handle” of your basket stays up)

CARROT CAKE DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350°. Line 25-30 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugars, canola oil and vanilla until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, ground ginger and ground nutmeg. Add your dry mixture and your buttermilk to your egg mixture, alternating and blending after each addition. Stir in the carrots, walnuts, pineapple and coconut until well blended. Do not over mix. Fill prepared baking cups about 3/4 full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on wire racks.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until well blended. Beat in the orange peel and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Frost you cupcakes. Because you are going to be covering the frosting with coconut and then decorating them, the frosting doesn’t have to be perfect and you can use a pretty thin layer. I was able to quickly frost the cupcakes I made using a butter knife.

DECORATING DIRECTIONS AND TIPS:

To make the Easter Basket grass, simply put your flaked coconut into a large resealable plastic bag and mix in the water and food coloring. Seal and shake until the coconut is evenly tinted. Do this a little bit at a time because you can always add more drops of food coloring if needed. I then dipped my cupcakes into the coconut to evenly coat the tops. TIP: Put your candy straw about 1/4 inch from the edge of the cupcake and push into the cake. I made the mistake at first of trying this too close to the edge and it didn’t stay very well. Then decorate with your candy eggs. Ta-da! An adorable Easter or springtime cupcake!

I hope you have enjoyed this post! What desserts do you like to make this time of year? Is there anything you’d like to see me make on www.leahtackles.com? If you try this recipe, I want to hear about it! And if you have any questions or comments please let me know in the comments (click the link by the title of this post) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I would love to hear from YOU! It’s “LeahTackles” on all social media. Thank you very much for reading this, and if you like this post please subscribe by entering your email into the subscription box on the right hand side of this page to receive emails only when I post something new! Have a wonderful rest of your week!

Easy Smoothie Recipes

March 31, 2014 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

The sun is shining here today which is making this week start off right! I hope the sun is shining where you are, too. I try to be reasonably healthy, and during the week it’s usually pretty easy for me, but the weekends are filled with a lot more temptation. Because of that, I start almost every Monday morning off with some sort of healthy breakfast smoothie. I have always loved smoothies, and would buy them occasionally, but that got pricy! My husband and I got a Ninja Professional Blender with Single Serve for Christmas this past year and I started making smoothies at home. If you would like a review or more information on the Ninja Blender, please leave me a comment (click the link next to the title of this post), or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I like that I know what’s going in my smoothie when I make it at home. I also like that I can get so many fruit and veggie servings in so easily. Today I want to share two simple smoothies with you that I have been making on a regular basis.

SIMPLE YOGURT FRUIT SMOOTHIE:

Serves 2

Prep Time: 3 Minutes

Blend Time: 1 Minute

What you need:

A blender

A glass

A straw *optional

Ingredients:

1 cup of orange juice (any juice you prefer is fine)

1/3 cup strawberry greek yogurt (regular yogurt is also fine or a different flavor)

1/2 of a ripe banana

1/2 cup of ice

1/2 cup of frozen fruit (I used a strawberry and banana mix)

Directions:

Add everything into your blender and blend until smooth. Enjoying with a fun straw is completely necessary!

FRUIT PARFAIT SMOOTHIE:

Serves 2

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Blend Time: 1 Minute

What you need:

A blender

A glass

A straw *optional

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

5 strawberries ( fresh is best but frozen is also okay)

1/4 cup raspberries ( fresh is best but frozen is also okay)

1/2 cup almond milk (regular milk is also fine)

1/2 cup granola

Directions:

Blend the fruit and the milk until smooth. Pour your smoothie into a glass and top with the granola. I usually eat this with a spoon at first before switching to a (fun!) straw.

Finally, take a mandatory silly picture showing how much you’re enjoying your smoothie!

Okay, that’s it! I hope you enjoy these easy smoothie recipes!! Please comment (click the link next to the title of this post) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram if you try either of these recipes out or would like to see other smoothie recipes! I have some with veggies, protein powder…and I could always do a dessert smoothie as well! I hope your week is off to an amazing start! Thank you for being here as always, and please share and subscribe if you’ve enjoyed this post!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes and Free Cupcake Wrapper Template

March 24, 2014 & 7 Comments

Hi There! Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

I got to eat cookie dough this weekend, safely, and it was so delicious! Today I’m going to share with all of you…I have a recipe for chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes! I also have included a template for a cupcake wrapper that I first made for my sons first birthday party several months ago. They are very simple, and you can use any scrapbook paper you like! If you enjoy this post, please consider pinning it to Pinterest by hovering over any of the pictures & clicking the big “pin” button that appears.

I stumbled on Sweet Emelyne’s videos and blog some time ago, and quickly came to love her sweet personality and baking expertise! She is a very talented cupcake baker and decorator, yet she shows things in an approachable and unintimidating way! This is nice, it is realistic for people like me who have no real cupcake decorating experience or skills. If you like to bake or are interesting in seeing lots of creative ideas for cupcakes for every occasion, I think you would love her videos and blog! And a huge thank you to Emelyne for being such a doll, and being so kind when I asked about sharing this recipe on my blog.

Vanilla Cupcake:

Leah’s Note: You could use a boxed cake mix for this if you just want to get right to the cookie dough, but from scratch was definitely easy and tasty!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pan with wrappers. Whisk together flour and baking powder. In a different mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with flour. Use an ice cream scoop to place batter in liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes. To test the cupcakes place a toothpick in the center of the cupcake, if it comes out clean they are done.

COOKIE DOUGH FROSTING:

3/4 cup butter

1 cup + 1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

7 tablespoons milk

1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

*Optional chocolate for garnish

Directions:

With an electric mixer cream together the butter and brown sugar, next add in the vanilla. Stir in the flour until doughy. Beat in the milk, now fold in the chocolate chips. Pipe onto your cupcakes. ( Leah’s Note: In her video Emelyne shows this being done with a simple large zip baggie with the end cut off. The frosting is thick, so the hole needs to be pretty large. Also, I added another small step by adding a small piece of chocolate to the top for garnish…not needed but I had some and figured more chocolate couldn’t hurt!)

CUPCAKE WRAPPER:

Here is my free cupcake wrapper template that you simply can click and print!

SUPPLIES:

Scissors

Scrapbook paper

Scotch tape, glue dots, scrapbook glue, or something similar to these

STEP 1:

Print the template (please make sure that your printer is printing in actual size).

STEP 2:

Cut out the templates.

STEP 3:

Trace the template onto the scrapbook paper you would like to use.

STEP 4:

Tape or glue the two ends of the wrapper together.

STEP 5:

Set you cooled and frosted cupcake into the liner.

STEP 6:

Admire your gorgeous, homemade cupcake wrapper!

This bite was pure cookie dough frosting, and it was girlie night-in, tell-all-of-your-secrets, sleepover worthy! Sorry for the super close up of me eating, or about to eat! He-he!

Again, a BIG thank you to Emelyne for letting me share the delicious cupcake love! I really hope that you enjoy this post and if there is any other baked good you’d like to see, I would be happy to try! Let me know your questions or thoughts by commenting (click the comment link right next to the title of this post), or find me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! I would love to hear from you! Also if you have enjoyed this post, please stay awhile and subscribe by entering your email into the subscribe box on the right of this page. You will only be emailed when a new post from my page goes up!

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