Cupcakes Mmmm!

My memories of elementary school consist mostly of world class dodge ball games at recess, playing the recorder like a rock star in music class, and getting the most gold stars next to my name on the dental hygiene bulletin board. But there were a few days each year that overshadowed all other memories. Birthdays. That was the day when the mothers would bring cupcakes to school. The birthday kid would glow with pride as they handed out cupcakes to all the other students as if they were passing out winning lottery tickets. And the teacher would look on in fear knowing that the sugar high would hit any minute. Even now as an adult when I pass the bakery case full of beautiful cupcakes piled high with whipped frosting they evoke all the same feelings of excitement and celebration that they used to. The good news is that cupcakes aren’t just for kids. They can be as simple or sophisticated as you want them to be. They can be used at birthdays, baby showers, and backyard barbecues or just as a special after school snack. If you want a quick way to bring a smile to someone’s face, a cupcake can usually do the trick. Here are a few delectable recipes to try. There are sure to make the people in your life happy.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
(Food Network)

• 3 cups flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 1 ¼ teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1⁄8; cup water

For the cream cheese frosting
• 1 ½ lb cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 lb butter, room temperature
• 2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out. tough. Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool. For the cream cheese frosting: Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined. The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week. Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

Lemonade Cupcakes 
(food.com)

• 1 (6 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate , thawed
• 1 (18 ¼ ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 (12 ounce) can whipped cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Remove 2 tablespoons lemonade concentrate from can and discard or reserve for other use. Combine remaining concentrate, cake mix, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs in large bowl. Beat with mixer until well blended. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Cool completely before frosting.

 For Frosting: Whip together canned frosting and reserved lemonade concentrate.

  
Coconut Cupcakes With White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting 
(Cuisine at Home)

For the Cupcakes

• 1 ¾ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg whites
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut Frosting
• 8 ounce cream cheese, room temperature (do not use nonfat)
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
• 2 ounce white chocolate, melted • ½ lime, juice of
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 ½ cups sweetened flaked coconut(for topping)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a regular sized muffin tin with cupcake papers. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. In a measuring cup combine egg whites, coconut milk and extracts. Cream together sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed. Blend until butter lightens in color and texture, 4 minutes. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with dry, in 3 additions. Fold in coconut using a rubber spatula. Scoop batter into prepared tin, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in the pan 5 minutes; remove completely. For frosting, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Add melted white chocolate and lime juice; beat to blend. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth (it will be gooey). Spread 3 Tbsp frosting on each cupcake. Top cupcakes with coconut.

Homemade Mosquito Repellants

Let’s say you’re in your backyard this summer with the family. You’ve just finished cleaning off the grill after a great meal. It is dusk and the kids are using up their last bits of energy before they crash in their beds and you are enjoying the peaceful wind down of a relaxing summer day. Ouch! You look down on your arm and see a swelling mosquito bite and realize you’ve become something of a feast yourself. What can you do to protect yourself from this blood-sucking disease-carrying menace? Funny you should ask.

Mosquitoes can become a nuisance during the warmer months when we tend to be outside more often. Most of us think that our only option to fighting these little pests is a bottle of repellant spray containing a strong chemical called DEET. DEET was created by the U.S Army and was originally tested as a pesticide on farm fields. It became part of Jungle Warfare use in the 1940’s, later being used in the civilian arena in the 1950’s. It was originally thought to block the attractive smell of our bodies but come to find out mosquitoes just can’t stand the smell of the chemical itself. DEET has been known to have some risky toxicity issues and comes with plenty of warnings from the EPA on possible seizures as side effects and even more strict rules for its use.

I’m pretty turned off at the thought of spreading pesticides all over my kids’ skin and paying a hefty price to do it. And for that reason, I’m willing to test out some relatively harmless (and less expensive) alternatives to see if I can come up with something a little less toxic to use. So if you want to fend off the little pests this summer (the mosquitoes, not the kids) here are some formulas gathered from around the internet that you can try out at home to see what works best for your family.

Essential Oil Insect Repellant

www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com

6 drops Peppermint oil
6 drops Tea Tree oil
9 drops Eucalyptus oil

Application:

Topical: mix with 8 ounces of water in a spray bottle, shake well and spray directly on exposed skin areas.

Mom’s Bug Repellant

www.food.com

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup Listerine cool mint mouthwash

Mix water and cool mint listerine in a spray bottle. Shake and spray on when you go outside to keep the bugs away.

Lavender Mosquito Repellent

www.gardenmandy.com

Ingredients: Fresh lavender (the flower)

Directions: Rub a lavender flower behind your ears, wrists and neck. Not only will you smell great but mosquitoes will leave you alone.

Garlic Mosquito Repellent (I wonder if this might repel people too)

Tipnut.com

Ingredients: Minced garlic, mineral oil, and lemon juice

Mince a few cloves of garlic then cover with mineral oil. Allow it to sit for at least 24 hours. Next you take a teaspoon of *just the oil* and mix it with 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Strain through a cheesecloth if you have any floaties then pour into a spray bottle. Shake before each use.

Frugally Frozen Treats

When the hot summer days hit, my kids live on popsicles. It’s staggering how many of those things they can consume in one day. The only time they’ll eat real food is when the sun goes down and they finally come dragging into the house after a long day of running and playing. So I have to make sure that the frozen treats they are getting are not only chock full of some sort of nutrition but are easy on my budget.

Homemade summer treats are a breeze to make and require very little equipment. A few dollar store popsicle molds and some fresh fruit and you’re in business. You can be as creative as you want by layering colors to make striped treats or by mixing different fruits and juices together to create custom flavors. And the best part is that you know you’re giving your children healthy snacks where you can include the freshest ingredients and control the sugar content as well.

Here are a few ideas for some frugally frozen treats that are sure to please the kids and maybe a few adults too.

Peaches and Cream-sicles

• 1 (6 oz.) can peaches in light syrup or
• 2 fresh ripe peaches, sliced and pitted
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp. sugar or honey (optional)

Whip cream in a blender for 30-45 seconds. Add peaches and honey. Whir until smooth. Pour into molds, and freeze.

Fresh Fruit Pops

These are fun and can be as creative as you want. Mix complementary flavors to come up with your own gourmet popsicles.

• 2 cups of fresh fruit chunks (watermelon, berries, pitted cherries, mango….etc.)
• 2 cups of juice (white grape, orange, pineapple, etc…)

Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Pour into molds and freeze.

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Pops

• 24 ounce container Vanilla Yogurt
• 4 bananas sliced small
• 1 ½ cups strawberries sliced small
• 1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

Stir all ingredients together and freeze in popsicle molds.

Frozen Chocolate Bananas on a Stick.

• 6 firm bananas
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• Shredded coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, etc.

Cut each unpeeled banana in half, and gently insert a popsicle stick into each one. Then peel bananas. Place bananas onto a baking sheet and freeze until frozen. In a double boiler melt chocolate chips. Dip frozen bananas into melted chocolate, then roll in coconut, chopped nuts, sprinkles, or leave plain. Freeze until chocolate hardens and they are ready to eat. Enjoy!

Frozen Fruit Cups

• 16 ounces strawberries
• 12 ounces pineapple-orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 2 (20 ounce) cans crushed pineapple, undrained
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin oranges, undrained
• 6 bananas, diced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 16 ounces blueberries

Combine all ingredients in a very large bowl. Freeze in 1-cup increments. Thaw to a slushy consistency before serving.

Frugal Vacations Close To Home

With the rising cost of…well…everything, summer vacations can seem out of reach. If you’re dedicated to keeping that credit card balance at zero but still want to have some summer fun then a staycation may give you the best of both worlds. A staycation combines the fun of a vacation getaway with activities that are close to home. Who says the only way to have fun is to hop on a plane only to come home to a whopping bill that you’ll be paying off all year long? There are some amazing things to do that are close to home and can provide your family with all kinds of wonderful summer memories. Here are five ideas to get you started.

Try Geocaching. Geocaching is like a high tech treasure hunt. All you need is a handheld GPS system and you’re good to go. We’ve had great fun tracking down hidden caches and leaving our mark. Find a cache in your area, enter in the coordinates on your GPS and start hunting. Most caches have a logbook inside for you to sign your name and you can leave little treasures inside for the next person to find. Go to www.geocaching.com to find some hidden geocaches in your area.

Bargain Day at the Oregon Zoo. Every 2^nd Tuesday of the month the Oregon Zoo has a discounted rate. For $4 per person (regularly $10.50) you and your family can have a whole day full of fresh air, animals and fun. Kids under two enter free. Pack a lunch and have a picnic to save on overpriced zoo fare.

Take a Hike: Washington State has some of the most beautiful scenery to be found. Just 30 miles east of Portland you’ll find several breathtaking waterfall hikes one of which is the famed Multnomah Falls. You can actually feel the spray of the 542-foot, two-tiered plume that plummets into a mossy forest grotto. There is an easier hike for the kids or a longer hike for the more adventurous.

Attend Community Events: Find out what’s going on in your own town. In Longview attend the 4^th of July events, take in a free concert at the lake 6-8pm every Thursday from July 7^th to August 18^th, or visit the Squirrel festival on August 6^th. In Clatskanie show up on August 5-7^th for the annual bluegrass festival. In Kalama on July 23^rd check out the 2nd annual Washington State Championship Chili cook-off at the Kalama Fairgrounds. St. Helens offers 13 Nights on the River every Thursday from June 19^th to September 1^st where you’ll find live music and an open air market. These are just a few of the many events in our area. Go to the website of your nearest town and look for events or markets they might be hosting.

Be A Day-Trip Tourist in your own State: We are fortunate enough to live between big cities full of history. Put on your tourist glasses (Hawaiian shirts and sandals with socks are optional) and travel around like you’ve never been there before. Visit Mt. St. Helens, take an underground tour of Seattle or Portland, visit museums and state parks, stroll through Pikes Place Market, explore the Portland Rose Garden or step back in history at the Cedar Creek Grist Mill.

Fun can still be found close to home using whatever budget you have to work with. And don’t forget the camera. Just like any vacation you’ll want to take photos of your staycation fun. But this time you’ll have fond memories as well as a wallet that’s not empty.