Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

Mickey asked if I'd make ice cream cone cupcakes for Georgie's birthday party - I make a LOT of cupcakes but I haven't made the cone ones since like the 90's so I thought it'd be fun to make something different. I told her that I remembered standing the flat bottomed cones up on a baking sheet but don't remember if they tipped over easily so I'd play around with that - she said or we could just order these stands for 7 bucks that you can both bake and serve in. HAHA so yep, that's what I did! Easy.

I bought sugar cones instead of the softer cake kind because I read that with regular cones you need to bake and serve as soon as possible because the cones get soft - using the thicker sturdier sugar cones kept them crunchy for at least 3 days.

I followed the instructions on the stand box and filled the cones with 2 (not heaping) Tablespoons of dough and baked them until they were done (it took longer than I expected, I didn't keep track of the time but I kept adding minutes onto the timer - just watch them). Once cooled I filled them like I usually fill cupcakes (click here for one example) and then frosted them with a big swirl of buttercream so they'd resemble an ice cream cone. 

And of course lots of sprinkles to finish them off!

8.14.24: thru the years

8.14.23: how to sew a pillowcase 

8.14.22: 🔥 week 33

8/14.21: buffalo dip

8.14.20: mason jar lunchable

8.14.19: chocolate chip cookie ice cream cake

8.14.18: tissue paper flower gift topper

8.14.17: make a personalized shopping bag

8.14.16: quebec chicken

Playhouse Flowerbox

We got Georgia an outdoor playhouse for her birthday - it came with a window box and I thought it'd be cute to fill it with artificial flowers. I cut a piece of floral foam to fit, then cut flowers off of a bunch from  the craft store using wire cutters. Stuck them in the foam and look how cute it turned out:

8.13.24: TT baking powder vs. baking soda

8.13.23: 🔥 week 33

8.13.22: dirty shirley

8.13.21: taco cake

8.13.20: notebook paper frame

8.13.19: TT - opening a can

8.13.18: framed travel coins

8.13.17: chicken tortellini salad

8.13.16: copycat purple drink

Tip-sy Tuesday: Layering Vinyl

Yesterday I showed you the cute dress Georgia wore at her birthday party (click here for that post) - I don't have much experience layering vinyl so wasn't sure how to build the cupcake using different colors. After some YouTubing I was pretty comfortable attempting it and sure enough, no issues. 

You can layer regular vinyl over glitter but I read that the glitter texture might show thru, so after cutting the cone shape out of gold glitter vinyl I trimmed away most of what would be under the ice cream shape. There was a little overlapping but after it was all ironed on you couldn't see the glitter under the regular, so not sure I needed to trim. 

For the sprinkles - I cut them out using 3 different colors; to apply them on top of the ice cream shape you don't want to iron each one too long or you'll end up using way too much heat and potentially ruining the design - so first I ironed on the cone for just a few seconds, just long enough for the image to stick and I could peel off the packing; next I did the same with the ice cream shape, just a few seconds and remove the packing; do the same with each of the 3 different colored sprinkles (note: put a piece of parchment paper over the entire design when ironing so you aren't directly on top of the whole image); once all of the vinyl is on then hold your iron or heat press over the layered design for 30 seconds to really set it all in place. 

8.12.24: fluffy peach tutu

8.12.23: words

8.12.22: candied almonds

8.12.21: room assignment cards

8.12.20: mini banana cream pies

8.12.19: zucchini chickpea patties

8.12.18: 🔥 week 32

8.12.17: baked spinach dip

8.12.16: candy bouquet

2 Year Old's Party Dress

We celebrated my great-niece's birthday over the weekend and Mickey asked if I'd cricut 'two' on the front of a cute tutu dress she found. It was an ice cream themed party so I played around with different fonts and  ice cream images (found on the cricut design space but you can import your own if you don't find anything on the site that you like - click here for instructions how to do that) and came up with this design. It turned out so cute and she was adorable!!!

8.11.24: 🔥 week 32

8.11.23: MSTI coffee chiller update

8.11.22: salted caramel ice cream cake 

8.11.21: baked breakfast frittata

8.11.20: TT - brownie liners

8.11.19: 🔥 week 32

8.11.18: boozy bears (gummy bears soaked in vodka!)

8.11.17:  bead bracelets with charms

8.11.16: citrus pesto

😂 Around the Campfire (week 32)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

8/3: 🔥 week 31

8/4: bleu cheese dip or dressing (re-run)

8/5: TT (take a pause!)

8/6: hungarian potato and sausage soup (re-run)

8/7: shrimp and quinoa bowls (re-run)

8/8: mojitos (re-run)

8/9: words (homeschooled)

That's it for this week! See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp - bye :)

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

8.10.24: thru the years

8.10.23: shortcut chicken potpie by Jen

8.10.22: black bean salsa

8.10.21: TT - drizzling chocolate

8.10.20: hello doormat

8.10.19: briam (greek roasted veggies)

8.10.18: square knots for macrame

8.10.17: breakfast salad

8.10.16: birthday desserts 

8/9 ~ Words

8.9.24: thru the years

8.9.23: bacon and boursin stuffed peppers

8.9.22: TT mangoes

8.9.21: texas caviar

8.9.20: 🔥 week 32

8.9.19: paper straw easels

8.9.18: hemp dog necklace

8.9.17:  zucchini muffins

8.9.16: mason jar lunchables

Mojitos (re-run)

My mouth is watering just thinking about the mint in these drinks!

Original post:

Al made us mojitos using mint leaves from 'mojito mint' plants that Cathy and I bought at a nursery at the beginning of summer - and they are so refreshing and delicious! Do you like mojitos? I'm a fan of the sour notes of lime and mint, you can make them as sweet as you like depending how much simple syrup you add - I prefer it on the tart side. 

Simple syrup is simply equal parts sugar and water; heat them in a saucepan for a couple minutes until the sugar is dissolved. 

Muddle a few mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker or glass (muddling is just gently smushing the leaves to release their juice and fragrance, you don't want the leaves smashed into pulp tho). Add a couple tablespoons of the simple syrup, couple tablespoons of lime juice, rum to taste (I'd do equal amount of rum as syrup and lime juice - in this case about 4 tablespoons of rum, more or less to taste). Shake and pour over ice. Garnish with additional mint leaves and lime wedges. 

8.8.24: thru the years

8.8.23: TT herb flowers

8.8.22: painted knife block

8.8.21: 🔥 week 32

8.8.20: caesar-inspired asparagus

8.8.19: msih - french onion soup with cauliflower 

8.8.18: cucumber and smoked salmon appetizer

8.8.17: Candy's corn shortcut

8.8.16: how to paint a "hello" doormat

Shrimp and Quinoa Bowls (re-run)

 I still love this recipe and am re-running it to suggest that you might love it as well! 

Original post:

I made these bowls the other night for dinner and I can honestly say that I loved them...and Dave ate his* but requested that while it was fine one time he'd rather not have them for dinner again. So I won't put this recipe in the dinner rotation - but you can bet I'll be making this for myself at lunch! Easy and healthy, win-win. 

*I should mention that he's not usually a fan of salad for dinner so take the above for what it is. 

*I'll clarify that - he likes salad for dinner just fine if it involves fried chicken nuggets, cheese, bacon, and blue cheese dressing 😂

Recipe found here at Eating Well - I'm just pasting their recipe because I didn't change a thing other than I substituted thawed, cooked and cleaned large shrimp:

EatingWell

These shrimp, pesto and quinoa bowls are delicious, healthy, pretty and take less than 30 minutes to prep. In other words, they're basically the ultimate easy weeknight dinner. Feel free to add additional vegetables and swap the shrimp for chicken, steak, tofu or edamame.

Prep Time:

 

25 mins

Total Time:

 

25 mins

Servings:

 

4 

Yield:

 

10 cups

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup prepared pesto

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

• 1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp (16-20 count), patted dry

• 4 cups arugula

• 2 cups cooked quinoa

• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

• 1 avocado, diced

Directions

1. Whisk pesto, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Remove 4 tablespoons of the mixture to a small bowl; set both bowls aside.

2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and cook, stirring, until just cooked through with a slight char, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to a plate.

3. Add arugula and quinoa to the large bowl with the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Divide the arugula mixture between 4 bowls. Top with tomatoes, avocado and shrimp. Drizzle each bowl with 1 tablespoon of the reserved pesto mixture.

   Tips 

To make ahead: Cover and refrigerate dressing (Step 1) for up to 2 days.

Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, June 2019; updated February 2023

Nutrition Facts 

              

Serving Size 2 1/2 cups
calories429
total fat 22g
saturated fat 4g
cholesterol 188mg
sodium 571mg
total carbohydrate 29g
dietary fiber 7g
total sugars 5g
protein31g
vitamin c 14mg
calcium 205mg
iron 3mg
potassium 901mg

8.7.24: thru the years

8.7.23: baby play ring 

8.7.22: 🔥 week 32

8.7.21: mimosa and 'mary bar banner

8.7.20: baked tortellini with turkey sausage

8.7.19: sweet potato corn bread

8.7.18: freezing cookie dough

8.7.17: make a pompom throw

8.7.16: roasted tomato, zucchini, and white beans

Hungarian Potato and Sausage Soup (re-run)

Yes it is waaaaayyyyy hot here and soup should probably be the last thing anyone wants to eat right now, but this is such a good recipe and I'm in the mood to make it - who care's if it's 89' feels like 96' outside hahahaha. 

Original post from 2020:

Al made this soup a couple months ago and I just haven't had time to post the recipe -  this time I didn't forget about it tho,  it's too good to forget! I am a soup all-year- round person so even tho it's summer right now and you might not be craving potato soup I still highly recommend you make this! Or at least bookmark it and make when the temp suits you and you want soup again hahaha. Dave and I both loved, loved this soup and this is a keeper recipe for sure. 

• 3 T. unsalted butter
• 6 ounces smoked Hungarian sausage, sliced into rounds
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 t. salt, or more to taste
• 3 T. flour
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t. Hungarian paprika
• 5 cups chicken broth, or more to taste
• 2 cups chopped green cabbage
• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 bay leaf 
• 2 T. white vinegar
• 1/2 cup sour cream, or to taste
• 2 T. sliced green onions (optional)

1. Melt butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add sausage and cook and stir until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove sausage to a bowl, leaving behind any butter in the pot.

2. Toss onion into the pot with 1 teaspoon salt. Cook and stir until onion just starts to turn translucent and picks up a brown color from the meat juices in the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Add flour, cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and paprika, cook nd stir until fragrant, about 1 minute, being careful not to burn the paprika. 

3. Stir in 5 cups chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally so flour does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir in cabbage and cook until it just loses its stiffness, about 2 minutes. Stir in potatoes and bring back to a simmer. Add pepper, cayenne pepper, and bay leaf plus a splash of chicken broth if desired. Bring back to a simmer. 

4. Stir soup and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very soft and tender, about 30 minutes. Add sausage and vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt.

5. Remove from heat and ladle into bowls. Garnish with sour cream, green onions, and cayenne pepper.

Note: Al couldn't find anything at the store called Hungarian sausage, so he substituted Eckrich smoked sausage.

recipe from allrecipes.com

8.6.24: thru the years

8.6.23: week 32

8.6.22: lemon squares

8.6.21: avocado hummus

8.6.20: Cathy's vase re-do

8.6.19: tt - chocolate chip bag hack by Brooke

8.6.18: crimp beads

8.6.17: corn salad

8.6.16: accidental gardener

Tip-sy Tuesday: pause

Just a quick note - not a tip other than when life gets tooooooo hectic and something you love to do ends up adding more anxiety on top of everything, I'm giving you permission to put the thing you love to do on the back burner. In case you haven't figured out what I'm trying to say - is that while I love to make things and blog I just don't have time and it's making me stressed! I will catch the past few days up at some point, but at least for today I'm not sharing anything (I did make corn chowder this morning tho and will share that soon). 

Didn't want you to worry or wonder where I am! 

Now I'm off to pick veggies at the farm, anyone know how to freeze swiss chard? That's my next experiment. Later!

8.5.24: thru the years (apparently I'm always too busy to blog on 8/5 haha!!)

8.5.23: words

8.5.22: perfect lemon bars

8.5.21: greek broccoli gratin

8.5.20: milk dud ice cream cake

8.5.19: friendship bracelets by Brooke

8.5.18: creamy cucumber salad

8.5.17: porch sittin'

8.5.16: fidget stress balls