Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

I'd been wanting to make ice cream cone cupcakes since I saw the above clip! How cool are these? :)

You will need your favorite cake mix, icing, cones, cherries and other toppings. I have sprinkles, chocolate sauce and caramel sauce. :)

First, take a piece of foil and line a meatloaf pan. Then with a knife slit 6 holes. Put the cones into the slots.

Mix up your cake batter according to the directions. (Preheat oven to 350 degrees)

Fill the cones with the batter and bake them. I put a little more in my cones than I should have but it still worked, they just kinda overflowed while baking.

Cone cupcakes are done! Once they are done cooling you can decorate them! :)

I used a small ziploc bag for the icing to put on the cone like ice cream, then put on the rest of the toppings. It can get messy but it's what makes it fun! :)

How cute? :)

With the rest of the batter I didn't want to make more cones cupcakes so I just put the rest of the cake batter in a small round cake pan and baked a chocolate cake. I used the rest of the icing once the cake was cool and put some sprinkles on top. :)

Spaghetti with meat sauce

Tonight, for dinner we're having Spaghetti with meat sauce. :) MMMM Good! :)

New Things Monday

For new things Monday, I decided to try a new cereal. I got honey nut cheerios. I LOVE THEM! :) YEY!! I'd never had them before. The cereal was on sale, buy 1 get 1 free. I figured if I didn't like it Kristen would be getting some cereal. But sorry Kristen, I found a new favorite! :P

Couscous

Tonight, for dinner we decided to have Italian Grilled chicken with some asparagus (with bacon) again. We also wanted to try something else to go along as a side. We thought couscous sounded like a great idea. We picked up some at the store. It was okay. I wasn't really excited for the flavors. I ended up just kinda picking at it. I might try it again. :)

State Fair of Virginia

Last night, we went to the State Fair of Virginia. Sharon and Joe picked up Nate and me and we met Kristen, Dave, Crystal, Eddie, Melissa, Eric and Dill in front of the ticket booth. Sharon and I managed to get tickets from the station for everyone. Woo-hoo!

We saved everyone $15 a person. :) YEY!

My Nate! :)

Sharon and Joe!

Kristen and Dave with Nate in the background. I think it's a cute pic! :)

Here's the ferris wheel. If you look closely you can see Melissa, Eric and Dill! :)

Crystal and Eddie swinging @ the fair! :)

I saw a guy who guesses your age and they never get Nate right. So, Nate had him guess his age. He said 38! LOL Nate is only 30....so I ran over to look at prizes. And Nate saw the 'Edward' picture and said 'get that'. Then he posed for some silly photos. ahahaha :) Later on, Nate did a test your strength game and only got to 94 out of 100 but I think it's totally rigged. LOL He did win an inflatable hammer! :)

Nate and Kristen both got a donut bacon cheeseburger. I tried it. It was ok. :)

Funnel Cake! I didn't buy any but I did manage to sneak a couple pieces off of Kristen's plate.

I bought fried oreo cookies! (don't mind my gum off to the side) I liked them! :)

Sheepies! :) Baa!! :)

Piggies with their mama. :)

We all had lots of fun at the state fair!

Somewhere Inside

What a book! I couldn't put it down. To imagine that this really happened is just crazy and scary at the same time. Laura Ling and Euna Lee stepped onto North Korea's soil for just a few min and were captured and held for 5 long months. I just couldn't imagine being in Laura's, or Euna's shoes. They never intended to go into North Korea but like any journalist, they were trying to get their story. They wanted to show what defectors go through and give them a voice on what they dealt with on a day to day basis. Euna Lee has a book coming out on September 28th. I'm hoping to get that book to read too. Euna and Laura were seperated once they were taken into their compound in Pyongyang. Lisa Ling, (she is Laura's sister) is one of my favorite journalists from her days at National Geographic and at The View, helped make connections to those high political figures that could help the girls get home.

5 months later in August of 2009, Euna Lee and Laura Ling are finally getting off the plane in the US, overcome with happiness.

Lisa (left) and Laura (right)

Free Money

It's another Saturday, and I'm working till 2pm. I was looking out the window and I noticed out in the gravel parking lot there was something laying there that looked like money. I decided to go down to see. And guess what??? It was $2 bucks folded up!!! I was excited!!! $2 isn't much but it made me smile and made me laugh that I could spot money on the ground from 30 plus feet away. Woo-hoo! :)

Chicken & Mashed Potatoes

I got this idea from another dish I made back in the winter. Read about it here. Instead of using beef tips I used the leftover chicken from the whole chicken I made last night.

Potatoes (washed, peeled, cut, cooked and mashed)

Cream of Chicken soup

Chicken (cooked and cut up)

As the potatoes were cooking, I put a can of cream of chicken in another pot and let that heat up. I picked off the chicken left on the whole chicken I made last night. (You could use regular chicken breasts if you'd like. Just cut it up into pieces). I heated the leftover chicken up in the microwave. Once the potatoes are done, you can mash them. I mashed them and added some fat free milk, butter, salt and pepper. A great dinner in 30 min. :)

I added the finished mashed potatoes to the middle of my plate, then some chicken and then poured some cream of chicken soup on top. MMMM.....It's def a good comfort food. :)

30 Minute Roasted Chicken

I baked a whole chicken in my pampered chef baker in 30 min! :) I also added some potatoes. I plan on having a small side salad and some corn to go with the rest of the meal. :) YUM!

Ticking

I have this blue and white striped ticking material that Grandma Miller gave me many years ago. She said some of Nate's Amish relatives used the ticking. Instead of a mattress on their bed, they sometimes sewed ticking material and stuffed it with straw and used that for a mattress. When it was time for fresh bedding, they would simply take out the straw, wash the ticking and then restuff with new straw. I love the ticking material especially since it dates back to the old days. :) I want to get some more ticking material which you can find in sewing stores. And I want my friend Kristen (pretty please Kristen) to make me some curtains for the basement. I plan on getting a magnetic blind for the basement door and then for the 2 windows just hanging the ticking curtains. Eventually, I plan to put Nate's old childhood twin bed in the basement and I think it would look cute with the ticking on the bed and then as curtains too. :)

New things Monday

It's time for another 'New things Monday'. This time I tried something I'd never had before. Vitamin Water- Spark- Grape/Blueberry. It was ok. I felt it was more watery than flavorful. It quenched my thirst but I don't think I would buy again.

Grilled Italian Chicken, Asparagus and Baked Potato

For the last couple of Sunday's Nate and I have been making a homemade meal together. He grills the protein and I make the sides. It's been fun cooking together. :)

Tonight, we made Grilled Italian Chicken which Nate prepared with Italian dressing, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes. Then he grilled them for us. I made Asparagus with some crumbled bacon and I cooked the baked potatoes in my pampered chef baker. (Just wash the potatoes, poke some wholes, cook for 10 min, then flip them and cook them another 10 min, then they are done and they are perfect!!) :)

Nate's plate! Looks good eh??

I put some olive oil and garlic in the skillet. Once that was hot, I added cut asparagus. I let it cook for a few min and then I added some crumbled bacon, salt & pepper and then a little Italian dressing. YUM! :)

Busy Saturday

The morning started with getting up at 5:30am to get up and ready and get going to the Lake Land Or Community Yard Sale in Ladysmith. The neighborhood has 2 big sales a year. One in the spring and the other in the fall. It's always a huge success! It's the biggest yard sale I've ever been to and the extra spending money is nice!! :) I made $105.75 plus $33 for my friend Jessica who gave me a few things to sell for her. The picture below is just the right side of the sale. There were people behind us, in front of us and to the left of us. The sale is huge! :)

After the sale ended the plan was to go to IKEA. Ashley, Kristen and I all had a great time. We all found things that we wanted. I spent the least. I only spent $12.67 on 3 items. :) I got some little tiny glass bowls for whatever, a lazy susan to use for cheeses and other foods when guests are over and a funnel for Sharon.

Here are my purchases.....

And then.....
Of course, I had to get some IKEA cinnamon rolls b/c they are soooo good! :)

After IKEA we were going to go to Riverfest 2010 but we didn't make it there on time. Oh well, there's always next year. :)

Pesto Penne Chicken Pasta with Asparagus & Bacon

I really wanted something with chicken, penne noodles, and asparagus. So, I came up with my own dish tonight. I call it....... Pesto Penne Chicken Pasta with Asparagus & Bacon! How good does that sound? Let me tell you....words don't even describe how delicious this is!! You will not be disappointed. Trust me! :)

Pesto Penne Chicken Pasta with Asparagus & Bacon

Penne Pasta

Pesto sauce

minced garlic

salt

pepper

chicken (cooked and cut up into pieces)

bacon (cooked and cut up into pieces)

asparagus (cut up into pieces)

olive oil

parm cheese (optional)

Cook Penne pasta noodles. Bake chicken breasts while noodles are cooking. Once the noodles are done drain them. Then when the chicken breasts are done, let them cool for a few min then cut into bite size pieces. Cook your bacon and set aside to cool. Cut up your asparagus. In a skillet, heat up some olive oil and minced garlic. Add asparagus and then bacon. Cook until asparagus is tender. In a separate pot make your pesto sauce. Once everything is done, add to a big dish and mix well. Cover and bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 min @ 350 degrees. You can add fresh parm cheese if you'd like. :) ENJOY! :)

Kristen's Baked Ziti

I made Kristen's baked Ziti for dinner tonight. YUM, YUM! :)

1 pound of ground beef or turkey (I used ground turkey)

2 bags of shredded cheese (I only used 1 bag of cheese)

1 box ziti noddles (penne noodles)

1 jar/can spaghetti sauce

Italian spices (your choice but I usually throw in oregano parsley and basil)

Brown beef and cook noodles

Throw everything except 1 bag of cheese into a bowl and stir it.

Pour mixture into 9 by 13 casserole dish (I used my pampered chef baker) and top it with the other bag of cheese.

Bake at 350 just long enough to melt the cheese on top :)

Latest books I've read

I love the Amish and I love to read fictional romance stories. Mainly by Beverly Lewis and Wanda Brunstetter. Years ago, they were the main Amish Fiction Writers and now a days there are tons of Amish books. The last series of Amish books I read were by Beverly Lewis. These books were just like an other Beverly Lewis book. Secrets, shocking news and in the end everything works out just fine. I don't want to give too much away in case you're reading them or thinking about reading them. This series kind of got on my nerves. I thought Lettie was rather selfish and her mother Adah was just as bad. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book and in the end everything worked out just fine. I just think I need a break from Amish books. LOL :)

New Things Monday

Yep it's Monday so it's time for another 'New things Monday'! I'd been wanting to paint my finger nails and toe nails but I really couldn't find a cute polish. I don't want something that's too flashy or that's hideous depending on what colors you're wearing. I went to CVS to look at their polish selection and found Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri line of nail colors. There are some crazy colors that I wouldn't wear but they had some lighter colors too that are just what I was looking for.

The colors I liked the most were Mauve it, Rose-a-go-go, Blush Rush and Expresso. I think expresso would be nice for FALL!! I ended up buying Mauve it! I painted my nails a few hours ago. I like how the polish is quick drying and I feel pretty! :)

Chicken & Beef Salad

I got some beef the other day at Wegmans and figured Nate could grill it. I went to bloom earlier today for a few things and ended up spending $100. I really don't know how I spent $100 but the best deal I did find was a perdue chicken breast marinated in a bbq sauce. It was only $1.56. So, I picked it up and figured I would have Nate grill the chicken too and I could cut up both and put into a salad. Nate liked that idea and that's what we did. :)

For the salad, I just got a pre-mixed blend. I added some shredded cheese, pepper, and croutons.

Also at Wegmans the other day I picked up some tiny potatoes. You can't really tell in this picture but they are like the size of a quarter. Very, very tiny. I boiled them on the stove for a little bit. Once, they were done I put them on a cookie sheet and added some butter, salt, pepper, olive oil and Italian seasoning. Then baked for about 15 min. until they were nice and roasted.

They were delicious! I told Nate to eat as a side but we both ate them with the salad. It all went very well together.

I also made some whole grain blueberry muffins for dessert. :)

Fried Green Tomatoes

About a year ago my asked me to make him Fried Green Tomatoes. I had never made them before and told him I didn't know how. So, I kinda 'forgot' about it. And he didn't mention it again. Kristen, made fried green tomatoes earlier this week so I figured I would use her blog as my guide and surprise my dad. :)

I stopped off at a road side farmers stand Wednesday but they didn't have green tomatoes. Yesterday, while at Wegman's I came across green tomatoes. They were rather small but I grabbed 5 and put them in a bag. :)

• First bowl/tray - 1 cup flour
• Second bowl/tray - 1/2 cup milk and 2 eggs, whisked together
• Third bowl/tray - combine 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 2 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Tomatoes sliced up!
Tomatoes all coated and ready to be cooked.

I put vegetable oil in my skillet and heated it up. Once the oil was hot, I added some of the tomatoes and let them brown.

Once, they were done I drained them on a paper towel and then put them in a tupperware container and took to my dad. I tried one. It was pretty good. I don't know what they are supposed to taste like since I'd never had a fried green tomato before. My dad was very happy with his surprise and said he would be taking them to work to enjoy. I hope he likes them. :)