Raspberry Cooler

For a change of pace, I decided to give you a recipe for something other than pumpkin food. Shocking. I know.

After a long couple of weeks, some friends and us had a taco night. We’ve done this before and its seriously probably one my favorite times. We go all out.
Hard shells, tortillas, chips (this time, homemade by Beth), guacamole (also made by Beth), salsa, pico de gallo, re-fried beans, sour cream… I’m sure I’m forgetting something.

So, again, it had been a long week for us all, so I decided to make a fun drink to share. I scoured my Pinterest boards and found something easy. (since I knew I wouldn’t have tons of time to make anything too fancy)

Here’s what I came up with. Barefoot Mascato Wine with Sprite, topped with frozen raspberries, a.k.a a Raspberry Cooler

Okay, maybe I didn’t come up with it, but I found it on Pinterest and made it my own. Meaning I switched diet Sprite for regular Sprite…

Either way, it was a big hit and this is super easy to put together!

Raspberry Cooler (adapted from Make it, Bake, Create it)

Barefoot Mascato Wine
2 Liter bottle Sprite (or any clear lemon lime soda)
Frozen raspberries

In a pitcher, combine equal parts wine and Sprite. Add raspberries to taste.

I enjoyed adding the raspberries to each glass to be used as ice cubes.

You could also use frozen strawberries or any berry you prefer 🙂

Enjoy!

Thanks to Janelle for the use of her beautiful pitcher and the table cloth that happens to match perfectly!!!

A Bun (or cupcake) in the Oven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No, its not me that expecting, but pretty much every other person I know. Seriously. It’s like another baby boom around here!
So, in honor of these babies (and my best friend, in particular, who is on her third baby in 3 years! ) I made some cupcakes! She finds out what she’s having next week, so I couldn’t make just pink or just blue, I HAD to make both!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She didn’t want chocolate (I know, a prego lady that doesn’t want chocolate? What’s up with that?) So I chose funfetti with pink and blue sprinkles, and per her request, Raspberry Buttercream frosting, which I found out does not pipe well… *sad face* (see recipe below for reason why)
And since the raspberry frosting turns out pink, I added some blue sprinkles to the top! These are just cutest baby-themed cupcakes I’ve ever made (not to mention the only baby-themed cupcakes I’ve ever made) And they taste great too!
I decided to use a new funfetti recipe, and although its quite similar to the last one I used, I think I like it a little better. The cupcakes turned out soft, were shaped well (at least most of them were), have great flavor, and the recipe is pretty easy. And I am all about easy!
Happy Baking (to the cupcakes and the babies!)

Funnfetti Cupcakes with Raspberry Butter Cream Frosting
(cupcake recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats)
Yield: about 24 cupcakes

1 cup milk, divided
6 large egg whites
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
2 3/4 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
12 tbsp (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup multicolored sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, egg whites, vanilla and almond extracts. Whisk to blend. In a larger bowl (I used my KitchenAid mixer) combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix briefly on low speed to combine. Add butter and mix on low speed until the mixture resembles wet sand. Then, mix in the remaining 3/4 cup milk, then increase to medium speed and beat for about 90 seconds more. With the mixture on low speed, add the egg white mixture in three additions, mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition. Scrap the sides of the bowl as needed. Gently fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake about 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan briefly, then transfer to a cooling rack  to cool completely before frosting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting (from MyRecipes.com)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup fresh raspberries (I used frozen this time, and I think that’s why it didn’t pipe well), washed and dried
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
16 oz pkg powdered sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat (I used the whisk attachment, because I like the consistency it makes the frosting when complete), beat together butter, raspberries, vanilla, and salt, until creamy.
Add the powdered sugar in two additions (I do this to avoid the ‘cloud’ of sugar that will poof when you start the mixer)

Frost your cupcakes any way you’d like!

Smooth(ie) Operator

I have been really enjoying smoothies lately. Now that I’ve found an easy recipe that I always have the ingredients for, I have one of these almost every day. Seriously. I feel like a lot of smoothie’s I come across (mostly on Pinterest) have weird ingredients in them like kale or spinach, which, let’s be honest, still kinda freaks me out. That stuff is meant for salads. But, maybe one of these days I’ll give it a try and love it. For now, I’ll stick with what I know.

The other thing I really like about this smoothie is that it’s pretty versatile. You can add just about any fruit that blend well. I have been sticking to berry’s mostly, because, again, it’s what I know. (I don’t branch out much) The only ingredient that I found weird was the oatmeal. I’ve looked at other smoothie recipes with oatmeal in them and thought it was the weirdest thing and that it would give it an odd texture. But, I gave it a shot and it’s delish! You can’t even tell the oatmeal was in there. It just gives it a little more body. So don’t freak out when you read that it has oatmeal in it. It’s totally worth trying out before you judge it.

The original recipe used raspberries, which is truly delicious. I ran out of them very quickly, since I love raspberries so much, so I replaced with strawberries and blueberries. I have some blackberries right now and I will be trying that out soon too! Possibly today 🙂

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simple Fruit Smoothie  (adapted from marthastewart.com)

Yield: 2 servings

1 cup ice

1/2 cup berries (I’ve used raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and combinations of them as well)

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 banana

1/2 cup  dry oatmeal

1 Tbsp honey

1 cup milk (I’ve been using almond milk or coconut milk. You could also use white milk)

Add ice and berries to the bottom of the blender, then add the other ingredients on top. Blend until smooth.

*Note: I generally only make half the recipe when I make it for breakfast. I freeze the other half of the banana to use the next day. I do suggest slicing the banana before freezing, because I think it blend better that way. I make mine in my Magic Bullet so I don’t have the blender to wash every day.