Mini Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

So, for our Ladies' Day at church last month I decided to try out a new recipe I found online for mini lemon meringue cupcakes. They just looked so cute and like a little mouthful of joy. Well, there wasn't much joy in making them, to be quite honest. Mixing up the batter was fine, but then you were to insert a filling inside the cupcake and that's when my battle began. I had one gigantic mess in my kitchen and what I thought was going to be an easy recipe, turned into an all night affair with me mopping my floor at midnight from all the stickiness. I did get lots of compliments on them, so I guess they weren't too bad, but will most likely not be making them again anytime soon.

Graduation Cupcakes

So, I kind of opened my mouth, inserted foot at our last Wednesday evening meal at church. A friend of ours is graduating tomorrow from the U of I with her masters, so I just naturally, being the party lover that I am, ask if they are having a little graduation party. Oh my. Her husband's head about whipped off his neck as he turned to her and says, "Are we having a party? Do you want to have a party?" Oh, no. So, after a little discussion, I offer to make them some cupcakes. She said she liked chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Oh, my. I've never made chocolate frosting.... but never fear.... someone else surely has so there has to be a recipe out there in blog land and sure enough, Jessica over at Party Box Designs had just what I needed! Check out her recipe for chocolate buttercream frosting. Yum. I also whipped up some cute cupcake toppers which say (since it's kind of hard to read) Congrats, Amy!, Hats Off to Amy!, and Congratulations. Thanks to my sweet sister for helping me out with those!! So, let's keep our fingers crossed that my first attempt at baking cupcakes for an occasion other than my own turns out okay. (How about crossing your toes, too, while your at it!)

Grandma's Strawberry Jam

So, I had my Grandma come over this week to give me a tutorial on how to make her famous strawberry jam. You can put her jam on anything from Beef House rolls to waffles, or even just eat it out of the jar with a spoon. De-Lish. It actually turned out a lot easier than I thought it was going to go. So, I best post some good directions, as I didn't write anything down while she was here. I took photos! First, get 3 of the smaller packages of strawberries. You need to have enough for 4 cups of mashed up strawberries. Go for the ripe, juicy, red ones as they are easier to mash. Wash and quarter them up, then start mashing. Grandma was really, really good at mashing. You need to put a good twist on 'em! Once mashed and you've measured out your 4 cups, in a separate bowl, mix your pink box of Sure-Jell with 3 cups of sugar. Then in a sauce pan add the sugar mixture with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Once it's at a rolling boil, boil for only 1 minute. Grandma says that is the key! After that, mix it together with your mashed strawberries, stir, and let it set up. After it's set, transfer to your jars. Easy-Peasy!!! And this is what you'll get:

Thanks Grandma for sharing your strawberry jam wisdom with me! Now if only I had a Beef House roll to smother it with my freshly made strawberry jam... YUM-OOOO!!!!

Teacher Gifts

So, I realize that my kids aren't in school yet, but they do have some pretty amazing Sunday School and Wednesday night bible school teachers. So, we appreciate them and plus I just needed an excuse to make these sweet treats! I got my inspiration from one of my new favorite blogs, eighteen25. You should definitely go check their site out! Lots of ideas and FREE downloads!!! Plus, they'll give ya step by step directions on all their projects, like this one!

One More Detail...

I had this sign at Kindi's "Sprinkle" but you saw the generic Welcome Baby Girl Kooi instead of this since the name was top secret. (Even after she was born Kinley still wasn't 100%, but thank goodness they stuck with it!) Her name is written out in the bible verse Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." LOVE that verse. I think she totally looks like a Kinley, don't you?

***I guess I should explain how I made the sign! It was really easy! I picked out a font and then printed off her name using Microsoft Word, having zoomed it really big. Then I took a clear piece of velum and put it on top of the name and just traced the verse out on top of the letters. Then I cut out a piece of scrapbook paper and put it in the frame and put the velum on top. Easy-Peasy!