Easy Pumpkin Muffins

I have seen the recipe for these pumpkin muffins all over the internet, and decided they were way too easy not to try. All you need is this:


Yup. A box of cake mix and a 15 oz can of pumpkin.

You just mix the cake mix and pumpkin together, put in a greased muffin pan or liners, bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. You don't add the eggs, oil, water, etc. The recipe actually called for either plain yellow or spice cake mix, but the store was out of spice cake and yellow just seemed too boring to me. I tried it with this cinnamon swirl and they came out pretty good. I think I will try it again with the spice cake mix because the cinnamon swirl cake is pretty sweet and I prefer spicy pumpkin. Still delicious though, and they are the moistest muffins I've ever tasted!

Baby Update

I just realized I haven't posted a baby update in forever! We are currently in the middle of the 28th week and have a little less than 3 months to go. I can't believe how fast time has started to fly by! I think the third trimester is going by the quickest for me. Emmett should be roughly the size of an eggplant now, and should weigh a little over 2 lbs.



We're getting pretty excited for his arrival. Justin has almost finished the drywall in the nursery. I know it seems like that has taken forever, but he's doing it by himself and it looks like a ton of work.





We plan to prime/paint it this weekend or next. After that Justin just has to put the ceiling fan/light fixture up and then we will order carpet. We haven't ordered nursery furniture yet because we can't decide what we want. I think we are going to use Justin's childhood dresser, so once we get that cleaned up we will probably pick a crib that matches it.

I was also given this adorable diaper cake as a gift yesterday! It was so cute, and I can't imagine how much time it took to assemble that whole thing!






We have an elective 3D/4D ultrasound scheduled for October 1st and I can't wait to see our little guy! We are also attending an all day birthing class and taking a tour of Labor & Delivery at the hospital on October 9th. It's all getting so real now! :)

Mini Pineapple Upside-down Cakes

These didn't come out as I had expected, but they were pretty good. I used a can of sliced pineapple since I am way too lazy to cut up a fresh one. The canned slices are a little too big for the muffin pan so my cakes came out a little messy/lopsided.



2 tablespoons melted butter or vegetable shortening
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices, or 1 can sliced pineapple
12 maraschino cherries, well drained
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat the bottom and sides of 12 muffin cups with 2 tbsp. melted butter or shortening. Set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Spoon 1 tablespoonful into each muffin cup. Top each with a pineapple slice and a cherry. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thickened and lemon-colored. Beat in the oil, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to egg mixture and mix well. Fill muffin cups to the top. Bake for 25-28 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto wire racks to cool completely.

Source: The Comfort of Cooking

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I have wanted to try these all summer and finally got around to it tonight. They came out really good. I made the less tart version and am glad I did. They have the perfect amount of lemon kick.



Cupcakes
1 1/8 cup (9 oz) frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate, thawed
White cake mix
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Non-stick spray

Frosting
3 cups + 3 Tbsp confectioners sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Red food color (to color icing and sugar, optional)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (optional)

Cupcakes
For a less tart cupcake (and these babies do pack a punch), try reducing the amount of pink lemonade. 3/8 cup water and 3/4 cup pink lemonade will cut the tartness.

In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and the pink lemonade concentrate. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for 90 seconds (the batter will still be a bit lumpy; take care not to overmix so you don't end up with dry cupcakes).

Spray each cupcake liner with the non-stick spray and spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (fill the cups between 2/3 and 3/4 full). Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick registers "done" in the center cupcake. Remove the pan from the oven and cook 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack.


Frosting
Add the butter, confectioners sugar, salt, lemon juice, and food coloring (if using) to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the icing is fluffy and uniformly pink.

Optional - Add the sugar and a couple drops of the food coloring to a food processor. Process until the sugar turns pink. Spread the sugar onto a plate and let dry for 15 minutes. Sprinkle onto freshly-iced cupcakes.


Source: Confections of a Foodie Bride

Frankenmuth

We went out to Frankenmuth today so Justin could go to the farm toy show. I figured since we drove all the way out there we might as well browse around town and make a stop at Bronner's before we left.

Let me tell you, downtown Frankenmuth is a terrible place for a pregnant woman. I could have eaten myself sick. The streets smelled like fudge! We ended up leaving with 2 pounds of delicious peanut butter, chocolate and butter pecan fudge. Justin also snagged some taffy.

I keep smushing a piece of the chocolate together with the peanut butter and eating it that way. Must. Stop.


I'm probably the most excited about what we got for baby Emmett at Bronner's though. They had a huge selection of baby Christmas ornaments and it was so hard to pick one. We went with this one because it had the most room for personalization, which they do for free!


The other side just has a ducky on it.


I can't wait to put up our tree and hang it for him. :)

Simple Tomato Sauce

This is a recipe for tomato sauce that has been floating around a lot of the cooking blogs. It was my first attempt at making a homemade sauce and I think it came out OK. It was super simple and tasted good with spaghetti noodles and meat balls. It is a little plain if you are looking for a flavorful sauce though. I think it may be better used as a homemade sauce for lasagna, ziti, etc.



1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, with juices
1 onion, peeled and halved
5 tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt to taste

Combine the tomatoes, onion, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to keep the sauce at a low, steady simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard onion, add salt to taste.

Source: Annie's Eats

Introducing...

Emmett Gerald! We had our anatomy scan that revealed baby is a healthy boy! We get to go back for another peek in a couple weeks because he fell asleep on his belly before she could get a good view of his heart. Pictures from the scan: