Friday, December 9, 2011

BabyCakes Cupcake Maker: Breakfast Sausage Muffins

Ok, so I'm on a roll with this Cupcake Maker!

I am always looking for different things to try for breakfast. I found this recipeon Betty Crocker and modified it a bit.

Sausage Mixture
3/4 lb ground pork breakfast sausage
(I used Bob Evans Maple Sausage)
4 oz diced fresh mushrooms
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Baking Mixture
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
4 eggs

In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage and mushrooms over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Cool 5 minutes; stir in salt, pepper and cheese.

In medium bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with whisk or fork until blended. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoon baking mixture into each muffin cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon of sausage mixture on top of baking mixture.

Bake in BabyCakes CupCake Maker for 5-7 minutes. Check with a toothpick. Carefully remove and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

I got almost 30 out of this mix. They aren't quite muffins, more like fluffy egg cups. They are tasty plain, or dipped in ketchup or maple syrup. I plan on freezing some of these for later.



* I did not put in the onions from the original recipe because 1. I didn't have any and 2. I didn't want to overload the cups. I bet the onion and maybe some green or red bell pepper would be good in these. Maybe even green chilis and a different sausage.

First Snow!

It's December 9th and we just had our first real snow. Unusual for this part of Northwest Indiana! We got just under an inch. This was the first time the girls had seen snow and it was hysterical! Normally, they are clucking at me once they hear me coming and then race out of the coop once the door opens. They were quiet this morning. When I opened the door, they started to come out, then quickly retreated :)


And they took turns looking outside. I was laughing too hard to put their ladder in place :)

Goldie was giving me funny looks...


And flew to my shoe...


Took a bold step onto the snow...



And back onto my other shoe...



Now this is quite unusual for this little girl. She is my flighty one. For her to sit on my shoe for 15 minutes was quite brave of her.

Then Ruby decided she wanted out. She started eyeing me too and I told her that I am NOT a perch and to not even think about it.


And flew to the sawhorse perch to survey the snow.


Finally, Lace came out and tried to push Goldie off my shoe. She wasn't in the sharing mood.

Lace discovered the scratch and mealworms, which brought the other two running.


They better get used to this! We're going to have much more!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Product Review: BabyCakes Cupcake Maker

I recently discovered an awesome blog Love From The Oven. She introduced me to the BabyCakes Cupcake Maker. I did some more research and just had to have one. And the Cake Pop Maker, but that review will come later, haven't tried it out yet.

I went to Meijer yesterday and picked up the Cupcake Maker, on sale for $24.99 and used Santa Bucks to get an additional $4 off. I had to try it out right away. Well, once the boy went down for a nap.

Isn't it cute? Pink!!

For the first batch, I used the directions on the booklet for a cake mix. It takes half a cake mix. I used Duncan Hines (I always use Duncan Hines) Dark Chocolate Fudge. I had never tried this flavor before. It made 23 adorable cupcakes. It's going to take some practice to get them out though. I just kind of rolled them out onto a towel, then carefully moved to a cooling rack. I used their vanilla buttercream recipe to fill and frost. Not the prettiest frosting job I've done, but I was tired and just wanted to get it done :)


For the second batch, I used two packages of Martha White's Blueberry Cheesecake Muffin mix. I. Love. These. The mini size is perfect. The two packages (well, pouches really) made about 24. The lighter ones weren't filled as much as the browned ones, so they didn't touch the top. Didn't affect the taste though! Most of these went into the freezer.


There are lots of other things you can do with this Cupcake Maker. You can do bread rolls, fruit pies, savory pies, cheesecake, brownies, all sorts of appetizers, and much much more.

Update: I made crescent rolls to go with tonight's dinner! I took a roll of Pillsbury crescent rolls, cut them into 10 discs and put them in the Cupcake Maker for about 6 minutes. Turned out really good!


(I don't know why Blogger is yet again turning pictures on their side. I can't figure out how to fix it...)

You can find your own BabyCakes Cupcake Maker at most major retailers or online at The BabyCakes Shop.


* I was not compensated in any way for this product review. I wanted to try this product and purchased it on my own.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Updates

I'm sorry I haven't been updating too much lately. I've been busy with Lindt Chocolate RSVP vendor events and parties, house cleaning and Thanksgiving prep.

For Thanksgiving, it was just Jon, Connor, myself and two friends. We had a wonderful time with good company and great food. It was nice to have a stress-free Thanksgiving for once.

I did some Black Friday shopping. I was at Meijer at 4:25 am (opened at 4 am) for Wii Just Dance 3 for $19.99 and it was already sold out. I did get Biggest Loser Challenge for $10.99 ($10 off) and started that two days ago. Later on, Connor and I went to Petsmart and I let him pick out some new fish. He did well, he picked out 4 silver Mollies and 4 Sunburst Platys. I also picked up a new bed for Madison. I did end up getting Just Dance 3 at Target on Sunday for $30 off using gift cards.

Saturday, we had dinner with Jon's family including relatives in from South Carolina. We all had a good time!

I have three parties, two vendor events and one meeting in the first two weeks of December and then I am done until after Christmas! I already have one party booked for January and one for February. Yay!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Truths For Mature Humans

This was too cute (and true) not to repost!

Truths For Mature Humans

1. I think part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection…again.

13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this – ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? **** it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voice mail. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.

21. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text. (please do not text and drive, it is not worth the risk)

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’t hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber & dumber every year?

29. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

31. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I’d bet my *** everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time

Monday, November 14, 2011

BzzAgent Fekkai Shampoo and Conditioner Review

As most of you know, I am a BzzAgent with www.bzzagent.com . It's a great program where you sign up, answer a few questions and then start getting products to try for free! You pass out samples or coupons and then post reviews. I've gotten so many products for free!

The lastest was 8 oz Fekkai Glossing shampoo and conditioner, samples of Fekkai glossing cream, one sample of Fekkai shampoo and conditioner for colored hair and a dvd. Now, I don't do much with my hair and I have well water. I do a lot of ponytails in the summer and end up with broken hair on the top which is quite hard to deal with. I've been using the glossing shampoo and conditioner exclusively for a few weeks now and it's made my hair stronger, smoother and shinier. I still have some broken pieces, and will until it grows out, but not nearly as many. The glossing cream adds extra shine and smoothness without being heavy or oily. Oh, and the smell of the shampoo and conditioner is amazing!

While this is a more expensive product than I would usually use (around $25 for each 8 oz bottle), you don't use a lot of it so it lasts. I was surprised to find out that CVS and Target carry it, as well as many online retailers. I will be purchasing it!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Only 10 Days Late...

Halloween pics!
Banana bread muffins

Connor was Simba from the Lion King

He did much better this year.


"Connor got some! I got some!"