Applesauce Cupcake with Brown Sugar Frosting

 I originally found this recipe on Better Homes and Gardens.  This was the dessert I chose to serve last Friday during my get together.  They were a slightly dry cupcake so next time I make them I'll probably add a little more applesauce or maybe even a couple drops of apple juice.  My applesauce was homemade so it may be that it didn't have as much liquid in it as a traditional store bought applesauce.

The original recipe didn't call for the glazed walnuts but I thought they were a nice addition to the cupcake.  I've also marked the nutmeg and cloves as optional since my personal opinion was they detracted a little from the cupcake.  If you love nutmeg and cloves leave them in, since I'm not a huge fan I think it would taste better without them.

After I frosted the cupcakes I added a dried, cinnamon apple chip to the top.  Any brand will do but my favorite is Seneca Crispy Apple Chips.  If you haven't tried them yet you're missing out!

Applesauce Cupcake

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening 
• 1-1/3 cups applesauce (I would recommend chunky so you get bits of apple)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking power
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• Glazed walnuts (optional)

Brown Sugar Frosting

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups sifted powered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Milk (optional)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degree F. Line eighteen 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups; set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat granulated sugar and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Beat in applesauce. (Mixture will appear curdled.) In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves. Beat into applesauce mixture. Stir in raisins and walnuts.
  3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.* Bake in the preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups. Cool completely on wire rack.
  4. For frosting, in a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, the 1 tablespoon milk, and the vanilla. If necessary, stir in enough additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make spreading consistency (if frosting thickens, stir in additional milk).
  
  Note:  Sifting the powered sugar will make the frosting smoother.  I didn't sift the sugar but I did beat the frosting extra well.
  
  Frost cupcakes. Makes 18 cupcakes.
  
  
  Test Kitchen Tip: If all of the cupcakes do not fit in the oven at one time, refrigerate the remaining cupcakes while the first ones bake.

  nutrition facts
  
  

  • Servings Per Recipe 18 cupcakes
  • Calories253
  • Total Fat (g)8
  • Saturated Fat (g)3,
  • Cholesterol (mg)10,
  • Sodium (mg)109,
  • Carbohydrate (g)46,
  • Fiber (g)1,
  • Protein (g)2,
  • Vitamin A (DV%)0,
  • Vitamin C (DV%)0,
  • Calcium (DV%)0,
  • Iron (DV%)0,
  • Other Carbohydrates (d.e.)3,
  • Fat (d.e.)1.5,
  • Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Weekly Menu

I don't always enjoy meal planning.  While I definitely see the value in having a menu,  the thought of having to actually create one taxes my brain sometimes.  Of course not having a plan taxes my brain when I'm standing in front of the refrigerator contemplating what to serve for dinner.  I also find my lack of creativity a little disturbing.  There are so many different foods out there to cook and I seem to resort to the same items! Maybe one of these days I've venture out of my comfort zone but it certainly isn't going to be this week.

This is a fairly quite week but I do have at least one meeting.  I'll plan on that being our fend for yourself night.  Otherwise it's going to pretty much be more of the same old thing.

Brats, salad, corn on the cob, strawberry shortcake
Grilled chicken, strawberry salad, potatoes, Texas toast, cranberry relish
Hamburgers, applesauce, tomatoes
Pizza
Fend for yourself x2
Dinner out

Of course, it helps if you're serving brats to have those little things called brat buns!  I sent Michael out to buy the corn but forgot to ask him to buy buns.  I like to buy my buns the day that we use them 1) so their fresh 2) I don't like waste.  The poor kids needed to eat them without buns.

That's what we're eating this week.  What's on your menu?

I'll be linking this up at I'm an Organizing Junkie

The Wonder Woman Complex Lives On

I've mentioned my Wonder Woman complex before to you, hence the blog name to remind myself that "Wonder Woman I'm Not".  Sometimes, however, the inner Wonder Woman wanna be rears her ugly head.

It all started innocently enough a couple of weeks ago during one of our Mile High Club Meetings.  We needed to do a full day workshop (Teaser - we are working on a really fun project that I can't share with you yet.  I'm REALLY excited about it).  As I hadn't hosted a meeting yet and my commute makes my home a little undesirable for our after work get-togethers, I offered to host the workshop day at my house.

Here's a little bit of inside knowledge about me.  I love hosting but my inner perfectionist tends to come out.  A lot of thought and effort usually gets put into the event.  Sometimes to the point where I've spent an obscene amount of money on specialty items.  Like the personalized M&M's I bought for my son's graduation party.  I thought my husband was going to have a stroke when my uncle was eating them by the fistful :)  Point is, I love entertaining and I really want to make it special for my guests.

Prior to the event I spent time thinking about what everyone likes to eat.  The best way to serve.  What dishes to use.  How to decorate my desert.  How beautiful everything would look.  Anyone else out there suffer from these delusions of grandeur?

I decided on my blueberry muffins, zucchini muffins and fresh fruit for breakfast.  Lunch would be a breathtaking salad of mixed greens, chicken, glazed pecans, Craisins, mandarin oranges and blue cheese plus a selection of fine cheeses, lunch meat and fresh baked bread.  Snacks were to be fresh baked cookies as well as chips and dip.  All of which would be beautifully plated, ready to be placed on the table at the appointed time by the calm, wonderfully coiffed hostess wearing her June Cleaver dress and pearls.  The piece de la resistance would be the spiced applesauce cupcakes I made.

The reality?  I woke at up 5am to start cooking.  I immediately burnt a batch of cookies.  The second batch was at least edible if not totally appealing.  When I went to grab the french bread out of the fridge I noticed I bought one pizza dough and one bread instead of two breads.  "Don't worry" I thought to myself, we'll just stretch the bread.  That would have worked out fine if I wouldn't have burnt the only loaf I had to a crisp.  My blueberry muffins would not release from the pan and the zucchini muffins were pretty much a figment of my imagination.

At 8am (when they were suppose to arrive), my hair was wet and scraggly.  The kitchen was a mess and smelled like burnt garlic.  I hadn't plated any of the food and I realized I never did buy the chip dip.  What was I going to do?

Then the phone rang.  It was the ladies.  Thankfully they were running a little late and yes, they were more than happy to stop by the store to pick up bread and chips.

By the time they arrived I had managed to dry my hair (somewhat), clean the kitchen and light a candle to hide the garlic smell.

You know what?  Not one of them cared that we ended up eating lunch meat out of a package or that they had to assemble their own salads.  My friends weren't expecting Wonder Woman, all they wanted to a fun day with a relaxed hostess.

I guess I just need to repeat more often "Wonder Woman I'm Not, Wonder Woman I'm Not, Wonder Woman I'm Not".

You might also like:

Shopping for School Clothes

Coat Closet Organization

Organizing the Laundry/Storage Room

Redecorating the Living Room

Well, we finally did it.  After years of nagging discussion, Mike and I finally got around to redecorating the living room.  We've been in this house 19 years with the same white walls, the same bland window treatments, the same entertainment center and the same furniture (albeit with a slip cover re-do a number of years ago).

I'm going to let you in on a secret, my husband hates change.  The running joke is that what makes our marriage so successful is getting a new wife would require A LOT of change.  When he looks at something that is horribly outdated he really just doesn't see how bad it looks, until he sees how wonderful it can look!  I love how every time I twist his arm convince him to redecorate he admits how great it looks.  Of course he then adds (tongue in cheek) "I don't know why you didn't ask me to do this sooner?"

Here is what we had to work with.

The view of the living room from the dining area

Sorry - I forgot to take the "before" picture before Mike started.  This at least gives you the general idea of what our entertainment center wall looked like.

Don't you love the white on white? I did intend to put up a valance when I bought them.  19 years ago.

As you can see we had a lot to do.  I also wanted to keep our budget down.  The good news - we spent $415 to accomplish this transformation!

Here is where we spent our money:

• Window treatments - $175
• Paint - $65
• Art work - $145
• Cushions - $30 for zippers (the material was purchased four years ago with Christmas & birthday money)

Here's the after pictures.

View from the dining area

New TV & stand replacing the rather large pine entertainment center 

New window treatments

Window Treatments

     If you look closely you may notice that the window treatments are the same as in our kitchen.  Since our living room and kitchen/dining room open up into each other I carried the same color palette through both rooms.  I fell in love with these curtains a number of years ago but put off buying them for the living room because of cost.  

     Murphy's law - when I went to Lowe's to pick them up they were gone.  Discontinued.  No longer available.  Have you ever seen a grown woman throw herself on the floor and howl?  Fortunately the patrons at Lowe's didn't get to witness that either although I was pretty close.  Do you know what stopped me?  I spied the bargain bin with them marked down to........$5 a piece.  While it took me trips to two different Lowe's I was able to find all the pieces I needed for $25.  

     For the blinds I used Levelor Wooden Blinds that are custom cut in the store.  MUCH cheaper than special order and they'll cut them while you wait.

Paint

     When it came to picking out the paint color, the experts recommend using using varying shades of the same color for rooms that flow together.  The wall that the TV sits on is connected to the red wall in the kitchen so we decided to carry the red all the way through.  I also took the other kitchen paint to the store and asked for the same thing only half color.  Guess what, you can't tell the difference!  We should have just used our existing paint and saved ourselves some money!  That's ok, it's painted and that's all that matters.

     While there was no financial cost for the actual painting,  the physical and psychological costs were astronomical.  At least once an hour I heard "Have I told you how much I despise painting?"  to which I would answer "Why didn't you tell me before?  I would have NEVER asked you to paint if I would have realized how much you disliked it."  There is also a little matter of a sore wrist (requiring the appropriate amount of sympathy), however since he broke his bench pressing record today he no longer gets to complain about the sore wrist.

Cushions

     When we first moved into our house we bought This End Up furniture.  It's served us well and we still like it.  The downside is even though I've requested multiple samples I haven't been able to find cushions they make that I like.  Plus it would cost about $1,000 for us to buy the new cushions through them.

     A few years ago I decided that I would make slip covers for our cushions instead.  For about $300 I bought enough material for 10 cushions.  You'll notice that the floral cushions are the same in the before and after picture but I did actually re-make them.  The before cushions were made 2-3 years ago and were faded so I made the  new ones.

     Since the material was bought a long time ago with Christmas money I didn't include it in our cost.  I did however break down and buy new zippers.  My original thought was to reuse the old zippers and write about frugal ways to decorate.  My tip - buy new zippers.  You'll save yourself a lot of headaches!

Art

     Gordman's is where we buy most of our prints.  Did you notice the two floral prints?  They both had minor scratches on them.  When we got to the checkout I pointed them out and received an extra 20% off.  Mike took a red Sharpie to them when we got home, you would never know they were damaged!  The picture above the TV is my absolute favorite!  I'm going to keep my eye out for matching smaller prints and potentially swap them out for the poppies down the road.

TV and Stand

     I did not include the TV in the cost of the redecorating because that was something we would have bought whether we redecorated or not.  Last year our TV broke, we didn't have the money to buy the TV we wanted.  Our solution was to buy a new TV that would work in our bedroom (we needed a new TV there as well) and use it in the living room until we could afford the TV we wanted.  

     We didn't have quite enough money saved up to get the exact set-up that we wanted so we compromised a little bit.  We bought the TV and stand that we wanted but didn't buy the Blu-Ray player or a new receiver for the surround sound.  We'll continue to save the money and pick those up at a later date.

General redecorating tips

• Focus on what's important to you - The blinds were a "must" in my decorating plan.  The cushions were pretty worn and would have had to be replaced sooner or later, the paint was something I wanted but not required and the TV wasn't a necessity at all.  When working with a limited budget I would recommend prioritizing your wants/needs and then working down the list.
• Reuse what you can - you'll notice that I didn't change my lamps, shelves, vases, etc.  I still like them and they still fit in with my decor.  By not replacing the knickknacks I saved myself quite a bit of money
• Re-purpose items from different rooms - see the candle on the coffee table?  That was actually in a different room but wasn't working that great.  I've moved it to the living room and like it MUCH better.

Since we finished the room I've decided that the front door sticks out like a sore thumb.  Guess what's next on the list?

You might also like:

Keeping the Living Room Semi-Company Ready
Keeping the Kitchen Semi-Company Ready

Remodeling the Kitchen

Vacation Week Goal Update

Well, vacation week is over and we're back to work.  While I didn't get all of my list done we really kicked it in to gear and got quite a bit accomplished while still having some fun.


The highlight of my vacation?  My living room was completely redecorated.  I was hoping to paint, finish my cushions & get new windows treatments.  Not only did we do those things but we bought new prints and a new TV/entertainment system.  It really looks amazing and I'm very appreciative of the work Mike did.  I'll be writing about what we did and showing you my before and after pictures.


We did have some fun.  We had a frugal afternoon at Cabela's and took in a minor league baseball game.  Mike and Michael were picked to do a fun stunt on the field.  I'll be posting about non-expensive ways to attend a baseball game and I'll include some pictures of them battling it out.


Here is my original list and how I did under each category.


Organizing
Laundry Room (I've been struggling with sustainability and need to get it up to snuff)
Master bedroom Closet
Basement Closets
Coat closet (I'm embarrassed to admit but we still have some winter coats in there!)
Movie room credenza
Utensil Drawer
Garage organization


I started to do some work in the laundry room but since that's the only unfinished part of our basement it becomes the staging area when we're purging.  With all the work we've done we have a pile for Goodwill as well as some furniture that we no longer need.  Rather than wasting my time in that area I'm focusing on getting the rest of my projects finished and then will work on re-organizing that area.


I feel pretty good with the three organizing projects that I did get done.  I took before and after pictures of the credenza so I'll be writing about that in the near future.

Decorating
Finish couch cushions (I know, this has been on the list for a long time but I really mean it this time! :)
Window treatments for living room
Replace computer desk in basement (This is half done.  I purchased the replacement bookcase but didn't have a chance to get it up yet)
Paint living room
Hang print we recently bought


Holy smokes Batman - we totally kicked butt in this category.  I've been nagging mentioning to my husband that we needed to redecorate the living room.  We've lived in our house for 19 years; we still had the original white walls, original window treatments and quasi original furniture.  I say quasi because this is our original furniture but I have bought at least one new cushion set for them.


Re-decorating the living room took us two full days.  Because of that I wasn't able to finish unloading our computer desk and put up my new bookcase.  I'm hoping to get to that this week yet otherwise it will probably be a couple of weeks before I finish.


Since we no longer needed our bedroom TV in the living (long story) we were able to move it into the bedroom and finally get it hung on the wall.  Let me tell you, hanging a TV isn't as easy as they lead you to believe!  The changing of the TV's was a minor redecorating project itself which I'm not quite finished with yet.  One more thing to add to my to-do list!


Mike also fixed our garage door opener.  With all the work he did, I didn't have the heart to mention that we still needed to hang our new print in the basement.  I'll probably let that slide for a couple of weeks :)

Freezer Cooking
Breakfast bowls (I'm trying to wean myself off McDonald's!)
Shredded Chicken
Mashed potatoes
Applesauce
Cranberry relish


I did do some freezer cooking but I just wasn't in the mood to get crazy.  I'm going to admit to a couple of lazy mornings where I didn't do much but sleep in and watch Ancient Aliens.  However, I did get my breakfast bowls made which you can read about here.  I also made up two batches of applesauce which made my kids pretty happy.

General Upkeep
Garage door trim (paint)
Replace garage window
Basketball hoop (paint pole)
Stain front porch slider
Clean out and re-plant side bed

The first half of our vacation was so hot that we didn't do anything outside.  Once the heat broke we took advantage of the cooler weather to take the kids to a baseball game and then spent two days on the living room.  What that means is we didn't get anything done on this list.  Do I at least get credit for buying the stuff to do the front porch slider?

Blogging
Write posts
Buy dishes for food pictures (I thought I'd check out Goodwill to add some visual interest to my pictures)
Buy a new computer
Update various aspects of the blog itself


I actually spent quite a bit of time blogging.  I didn't get as many posts in the hopper as I wanted but that's OK.  The new computer has gone on the back burner and I didn't buy any dishes.  However, I have created a new Christmas portion at the top.  Since I seem to write so much about the holidays I thought I'd give the holiday it's own label!  I'll be adding to it but check it out and let me know what you think about it.


New Recipe Trials
Mango Ice Cream (I found this recipe I wanted to try out)
Sushi
TBD Cupcake


I did make the mango ice cream (you can read about that here) but I didn't get to the sushi or the cupcakes.  


This Friday I'm having a get-together at my house so pretty much all of my goals for the coming week revolve around getting prepared for that!  Of course, I'm hoping that part of the preparation includes getting my new bookcase up but it won't be the end of the world if I don't get to it.


Have you done anything fun around the house lately?

Weekly Menu

It's Sunday and I really don't want to think about menu planning.  I'm actually going to admit to going to the grocery store without a plan this week.  I have an incredible amount of food but I really have no clue what to make this week.  Hopefully no one is thinking really bad thoughts about me!

Here is what I do know for sure:

• Family reunion - no cooking necessary
• Steaks on the grill (we bought the steaks so that's a given)
• I have three types of brats; regular brats, cheddar/brat patties and mushroom & Swiss brats so I'm going to assume that at some point we're going to have brats
• Sandwiches - I'm having a get together this week.  While my plan isn't finalized I'm thinking that I'll make sandwich platters to serve.
• Eating out (I'm not sure which night but it's pretty much a given that we'll eat out at least once)
• Fend for yourself 

Sides will be the usual suspects; corn, rice, strawberry salad, roasted potatoes, tomato salad, etc.

In the freezer I do have some hamburger patties and chicken breasts.  I've got a yummy sounding recipe for the chicken but I honestly don't think I'm going to be up for it this week.  There is a lot that I've got to get accomplished this week and I have a feeling I'm going to be a little overwhelmed.

Sorry to be such a poor planner this week!  Anyone else having trouble planning their menu?

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Buffalo Chicken & Bacon Pizza

I will be linking up at Www.orgjunkie.com

Spending the Afternoon at Cabela's

I told you earlier this week that we were on vacation this week.  I also mentioned that in addition to my crazy to-do list we were going to make time for fun.

Earlier this year we had our mega vacation, taking the kids on a Caribbean cruise.  That vacation pretty much emptied our vacation budget so for this week of vacation we wanted to do fun things without spending a lot of money.  Today our frugal vacation fun included a road trip to Cabela's.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did end up spending more money than I meant to (I couldn't resist the candles!) but if you're looking for a great way to spend a few hours without it costing a lot of money (as long as you have more willpower than me!) then Cabela's is the way to go.

Here are some of the fun things to do at the store that doesn't cost any money (unless stated):

Explore the fish of the Great Lakes.  This is just a small portion of the aquarium.  The aquarium is on both sides of the walk way and wraps around the room.  The fish are amazing, even though the thought of those things swimming in the lake with us is a little creepy

Hunt the beasts of the Serengeti.   These are all real animals preserved and displayed.  I thought it would be fun to put Mike in an explorer hat with a hunting rifle but he wouldn't do it.  Maybe next time.

This is a wall of different types of sheep, bears, moose, etc.  The wall is two stories and contains a wide variety of different animals.  The light in the store was a bit bright so my picture of the full wall didn't turn out well.

Get attacked by a bear.  Don't worry - he was a toy bear so I wasn't in any real danger.

Learn all about the different species in your area.  Here's Mike posing by the deer display.  Who knew there were that many different species of deer! 

Having a contest in the shooting gallery.  For only $.50 a game you can spend quite a bit of time without spending a lot of money.  I can hold my own but of course Mike beat me at every game.  Since he practices for work I think he has an unfair advantage! 

Here's a picture of my big splurge.  This is a ginger peach candle that just smells divine!  I honestly didn't need another candle but I just couldn't pass this one up.

No visit to Cabela's is complete without stopping by the Cabela's Fudge Shop.  They are incredibly generous with their samples and have a wide array of fudges to choose from.  Plus, you want to talk about customer service?  The lady behind the counter told me that if I gave them 24 hour notice they would make up any of the fudge that was on their menu without any order minimum.  

Not pictured was our stop at their cafeteria where you can try wild game meat like elk & bison.  We always enjoy eating here except today was a little bit of a disappointment.  Cabela's - if you're listening you need to step up your game a little bit in the cafeteria department, it seems to have gone down hill a bit.

If you're really big into firearms there's also a gun library you can explore.  I thought the store officials might get a little hinky about me taking pictures of their guns!

So - if you're looking for something to do without spending a lot of money and you have a Cabela's fairly close by I would recommend a visit.  Oh yeah, the kids might enjoy it too :)

Wasn't Mike a great sport?  I have to say I'm pretty lucky to have a guy who is willing to pose for pictures in the middle of the store just so I can write a post.  I guess he's a keeper!