This time, I included a short description of the things needed for each of these cupcake ideas. Perhaps that will help you save some time as you scan through the list. If you’re like me, you’d rather choose a project that you already have the supplies for, rather than making another trip to the store.  Each cupcake requires icing, so I did not include it in the list.

• Peeking Monster – sour candy corn, Necco wafers, blue mini M&Ms
• Spider Crawler Cupcake – chocolate truffles, melted chocolate, mini red M&Ms, pretzel sticks
• Howling Werewolf – shredded wheat, red mini M&Ms, candy corn, black licorice, sunflower kernels
• Witch Legs – black marzipan, yellow mini M&Ms, peppermint sticks, dyed green coconut
• Frankenstein – chocolate graham crackers, miniature marshmallows
• Funny Frog – Hostess Ho Hos or Swiss Cake Rolls, melted chocolate, blue mini M&Ms, green mini M&Ms, red fruit roll-ups
• Green Goblin – sour gummy straws, sour gummy rings, white jelly beans, mini chocolate chips, green jelly beans
• Little Witch – sugar cones, chocolate cookies, melted chocolate, mini M&Ms, dyed coconut
• Gone Batty – chocolate cookie wafers, chocolate M&Ms
• Spooky Eyes – candy coated almonds, Cocoa Puffs, icing
• Who’s There? Owls – fruit flavored candy circles, oval chocolate cookies, frosting, cashews, shaved coconut, pretzel rods
• Googly-Eyed – dark chocolate-covered almonds
• Peek-A-Boo Ghosts – sugar, marshmallows, small mint candies, M&Ms
• Bare Bones skeletons – large candy mints, licorice pastels, small mint candies (Tic-Tacs), white sprinkles
• Under Wraps Mummies – M&Ms, chocolate chips
• Ghoulish Delight ghosts – white fondant
• Madcap Monster – silicone cupcake baking cups with feet,  lollipop sticks, cornstarch, black licorice, white disk shape candies, chocolate pieces, gel frosting

Which cupcakes do you think you’d like to make?

image sxc.hu

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Easy Meatball Dinner

• One 15 oz. can whole potatoes, drained, rinsed, cut into chunks
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 14.5 oz. beef broth
• 32 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 12 oz. frozen mixed vegetables
• Approx. 15 oz. meatballs.

In a large saucepan, combine potatoes, onions, beef broth, tomato sauce, water, Italian seasoning, pepper and vegetables. Bring to a boil on stovetop. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Add meatballs, cover and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.

Meatball Pitas

• 1 package of Mama Lucia Italian Style Meatballs
• 8 small pita breads
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup cubed feta cheese
• 1⁄2 cup chopped black olives
• 1⁄2 cup chopped shredded lettuce
• 1⁄2 cup chopped onion
• 1⁄4 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of oregano

Heat the meatballs on the stove top with red pepper flakes and oregano. Heat the pita breads in the oven on low heat until warm. Once heated, place 2-3 meatballs in each pita bread. Top with feta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. As cheese begin to melt, top off with lettuce, onion and black olives. Serve “taco style” for a snack or main meal.

I hope that you enjoy these easy recipes!

Post from: Keeping the Castle

This recipe is great for burritos, tacos, taquitos, and more.  I usually cook a 3-4 pound roast with this recipe and then save half of the cooked roast for the freezer.  It’s nice to pull the cooked beef out of the freezer and have meat that’s ready to use!

 In a crock pot add:

• roast (I use one that’s about 3 pounds.)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 bell pepper, sliced
• 2 beef boullion cubes
• Adobo seasoning (salt and pepper can be substituted)
• minced garlic
• cumin
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• fresh chopped cilantro (dried cilantro can be substituted)
• water – enough to cover the roast

Cook the beef in the crock pot on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 hours or until the meat is falling apart.  Pull the beef apart and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Remove from heat.

This meat can be used in so many different Mexican dishes.  The first night I usually make tacos.  Of course, you’ll need taco shells and the traditional taco toppings – cheese, sour cream, salsa, or pico de gallo, etc.  Then I freeze the rest of the meat and use it to make taquitos.  Sometimes my husband puts a little in a breakfast omelet. 

Enjoy!

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle

4)  If you are renting a moving truck shop around for rates with different companies.  Find out if they charge extra for each mile driven or if there are a certain number of miles included in their rate.

5)  When renting a moving truck, it is best to call to make sure your truck is there.  We usually do this the day before.  Even if you have reserved a truck and paid a deposit, sometimes the truck will not be there. I know it sounds crazy, but it has happened to us.

6)  Always inspect the moving truck before leaving the rental company.  Check for dents in the truck, missing trim, and any other kind of damage.  Also, check to see how much gas is in the truck.  Make sure all of this is documented on your rental agreement.  Otherwise, you might face unnecessary charges.

7)  If possible, use plastic totes for fragile items.  When we moved a few years ago, I decided to spend $30 on totes so that my china would be in a safer place.  Sure enough, someone was helping us unload the truck and dropped a tote with china in it.  I was surprised that none of it was broken. Boxes can easily get damaged during moving.  Get plastic totes if you can.

These are a few moving tips that I’ve learned along the way.  What tips make moving easier for you?

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Post from: Keeping the Castle

1)  Get organized.  Keep a notepad handy for all the things you need to do.  It’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget some of the extra tasks that you need to do.  A “to do” list will help you stay focused.

2)  Pack ahead of time.  If you have a choice, there is no need in waiting until the last minute to pack.  Start by packing the things that you don’t use regularly such seasonal decorations, clothing, and wall hangings.  During the last week before the move, you should only have necessities left to pack.

3)  Label your boxes well.  Simply writing “kitchen” just isn’t enough.  After the move when you’re looking for your casserole dishes, you don’t want to hunt through 15 boxes before you find them.  It’s worth the extra effort to write something like “kitchen silverware” or “kitchen pots and pans”.

Stay tuned for more helpful tips for moving.  What things make moving easier for you?

Post from: Keeping the Castle

Anyway, this is the second year that I haven’t had my mom’s cake abilities at hand.  After all, five hours is a bit far to travel for a party.  With a limited budget and limited cake decorating skills, I knew I needed something easy.  And with the other crazy schedule of us going out of town two days after the party, I knew I needed something that wouldn’t be time consuming.

I was so thrilled when my teenage cousin volunteered to make the cupcakes.  She has been trying some new things recently and decided she would help out on this project.  I was so thankful.  Check out these cute and easy cupcakes she made.

For the frog cupcakes, she simply decorated the cupcakes with green icing. For the eyes she used a white chocolate disk and a chocolate chip. For the princess cupcakes she found some princess crown cupcake sleeves at Michael’s.  She decorated the cupcakes with white icing and sparkly pink sprinkles, and then put the cupcake sleeves around them.

As you can see, the cupcakes turned out cute and they didn’t require a lot of cake decorating knowledge and skill. If you’re interested, you can check out the easy baseball cake that I made on Cuddlebug’s birthday.

images (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle

And after baking . . .

Mmmmmm. Warm delicious goodness. And oh so easy to do.

So far, I’ve tried this recipe with canned peaches, blueberries, and strawberries.  It’s simple to switch it around according to your tastes and easy to double the recipe as well.

You will need:

cooking spray
1 stick butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups fruit (approximate)*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9×13 glass pan with cooking spray.  Put 1 stick of butter into pan and bake until butter is melted.  Add 1 cup sugar and stir.  Add 1 cup self-rising flour and stir.  Add 1 cup milk and stir.  Add 2 cups fruit (drained) and stir all ingredients together.  Bake at 350 degrees until light brown (approximately 35-45 minutes).

Have you ever made this easy cobbler recipe?

images (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle

A few months ago, I let you all know about the cute cupcakes from Bright Ideas.  In their ideas were some baseball cupcakes.  These looked very simple.  I took their idea and modified it into a cake.

I simply made a regular box of cake mix (any flavor will do) and I halved the mix into two round cake pans.  I iced the top of the first layer, put on the second layer, and then iced the rest of the cake.  I could have used canned vanilla frosting, but I made my own icing.  Then I had a tube of gel red frosting that I used to make the lines in the cake.  It was really that simple.  I wish I had remembered to use my round cake holder.  Oh well. 

As you can see below, Cuddlebug was very pleased with his cake. lol

What kinds of easy cake ideas have you found?

images (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle

For this recipe you’ll only need 1/2 cup cold butter, thawed or canned peaches, and one pouch of the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix.  The preparation only takes 10 minutes.  It would be great to keep these ingredients on hand for a quick dessert.  You just never know when someone will stop by or you’ll need something fast for the covered dish dinner at church that you forgot about. 

Of course, I’m sure this recipe is very versatile.  Since it’s blueberry and strawberry season, I’m sure this recipe would also taste great with other fruits.  And if you’re feeling like you could cook with more ingredients, you might want to check out this recipe for Ridiculously Easy Cobbler.  It also works well with blackberries, blueberries, peaches, strawberries, and more.

Happy baking!

image from betty crocker

Post from: Keeping the Castle

• 3 large cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• dash of ground cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients except the cucumber and cook it until the sugar melts.  Pour the warm mixture over the cucumbers.  Store covered in the refrigerator.

This tastes better if you allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving it.

Enjoy!

image (c) Karen Weideman

Post from: Keeping the Castle