Recipe posted

I know I haven’t written in a while, but I’m super busy, so this will be quick.  My mass was benign.  The pulmonologist is just going to re-test me in 6 months.  Everything is going well.  And, I just posted the Neapolitan Cupcake recipe from Valentine’s Day, so please enjoy!

Neapolitan Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 24 ounce strawberries
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions

This is a great recipe for cupcakes, and everyone loved them!  I top them with a good buttercream frosting, for the white part.

First, make the brownies …

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line your muffin tin with cupcake cups.
2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder.
3. Spoon batter to half-fill the cupcake cups.

Then, make the strawberry cake …

1. Hull, slice, and toss fresh strawberries with a teaspoon of sugar and let sit for a couple of hours to allow to get juicy. OR Thaw frozen strawberries in whatever form (sliced, whole, etc) and in whatever container/bag you have them in. Pour into a fine strainer placed over a bowl and let sit. Lightly toss the strawberries occasionally to remove any pockets of excess liquid. Reserve the liquid for another use or discard.
2. Place strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree.
3. Reserve 3/4 cup puree for the cake. Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting, if desired. It’s also fabulous spooned over ice cream… and eaten straight with a spoon.
4. In small bowl, combine puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs.
5. Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds.
6. Spoon the batter on top of the brownie batter in the cups.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (time will vary). Let cakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Let cakes cool completely (about 2 hours).

More waiting…

I’m at home recovering from surgery today.  My wonderful doctor removed a large mass from my uterus yesterday.  It was attached in two locations, and was not like anything she’s seen before.  So, now I am waiting for 2 more weeks to find out the pathology results. But, luckily, I should be better by the weekend, which is good, because Tuesday is Valentine’s Day and I have lots of cupcakes to make.

I’m making Neapolitan cupcakes, which will be a layer of brownie on the bottom, a layer of strawberry cake in the middle, and vanilla frosting on top. I hope they turn out yummy.  If they do, I will definitely post my recipe here next week.

My husband has been great. He took the day off of work yesterday to take care of me and Jade while I was recovering, and he’s working from home the rest of the week to help me out as I recover. He is such a great husband!

We’re not doing well with potty training.  She went so many days without wetting, but then she’ll have a bad day and not want to go on the potty any more. I’m doing my best to be patient with her on this. I know she’s young, and it takes time.  My hardest part of all this is making my husband understand that she’s young and it takes time.  How do others deal with husbands who want to punish for accidents and messy pants?

Birthday week

My birthday is this Saturday. I’m going to be 18 (x2).  I’m excited to have a fun time with my family, but don’t expect it to be too much different from any other weekend with my family, except for the fun sushi dinner with some of our friends.  I am so happy and excited to have so many good friends in my life and feel so blessed! I can’t wait!!!

There has been progress on my health front.  I’m getting the mass in my uterus removed next week.  I spent the morning at the hospital doing pre-op tests.  So, once that is done, the doctor may have some insight as to whether the mass is from the miscarriages or if it is what caused the miscarriages.  Either way, it’s a step forward and I’m looking forward to that.

Adventures in potty training aren’t going so well.  We tried going to school with underwear today, since she seems to be more likely to tell us when she has to go potty more when she’s wearing them.  She stayed dry in underwear for almost a week now.  I still can’t get her to do her stinkies in the potty, but that will take a while, I’m sure.  But, after just 30 minutes at school, she wet her pants.  Plus, her stinky was due, so I just put the diaper back on her.  She’s not quite ready yet, I guess.

One more thing … everyone in the Orlando area … go out to http://eventsforchangeinc.org/events/orlando-chili-cook-off/ and get your tickets for the Orlando Chili Cookoff.  I will be cooking my Barracho Chili as Beauty and the Beans, and will need all the support (votes) I can get.  Your admission fee goes to charity, so it’s win/win for everyone!

I hate waiting!

This has been a whirlwind of a week.  I have been going through lots of tests to find out why we have been miscarriages.  I became anemic.  My doctor, to be safe, sent me to the ER to make sure I didn’t have a clot in my lung.  Well, no clot, but they found a nogule (sp?) in my lung that she said I should get biopsied right away.  So, I’m waiting on my doctor to recommend a good pulmonologist.  Then, on Monday, I had an HSG, which is basically an x-ray of my uterus and ovaries.  They found a “large mass” in my uterus.  So, we probably know what’s causing the miscarriages now, but I’m waiting for my doctor to tell me what we do next.

So, I’m freaking out.  2 masses in 2 different organs found in one week.

I finally heard back from my OB-Gyn this morning and have a follow-up appointment on Tuesday.  So, I have to go another weekend, not knowing what’s wrong.

So, I’m going to immerse myself in Jade and our potty training adventures.  Oh, and the petting zoo as a family.  That should be really fun.

Speaking of potty training, Jade pooped on the floor, twice, yesterday.  But, she tells me every time she has to even dribble her tickles. So, we’re in the bathroom about 70% of the day.  Ugh! I hate the bathroom!

Happy Birthday, Jade!

2 years ago today, my daughter was born.  I was scared.  I was afraid she would hate me.  I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to do and that I would hurt her.  Now, here we are, 2 years later, and she loves me, and she’s adorable and wonderful.  I am so happy!

Her party was a huge hit.  Yes, it was 50 degrees outside, and I had to bundle her up and cover up her pretty Minnie Dress, but she still had fun.

The cakes turned out great.  I made 4 1/2-sheet cakes to make 2 double-layer 1/2-sheet cakes.  I put a layer of strawberries between one of them, and just frosting between the other.  My wonderful husband drew on the Minnie Mouse face on the strawberry one and the 2 and Jade’s name on the other, and I colored them both in.  I made 2 dozen Mickey Mouse sandwiches. I made a pasta salad and a fruit salad.  I made a vegetable tray and a cheese tray.  I bought 2 platters and sodas and juices from Publix.  We had tons of food left over.

Everyone loved playing in the beach volleyball pit (big sandbox), and even though it was cold, everyone looked like they were having fun.

The party hats didn’t stay on well with the 15 MPH winds, but the goody bags seemed to be a hit.

Jade loves all the gifts she got from everyone and had a great time playing with the family and friends that celebrated with her.  Thank you so much to everyone!  We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends in our lives.

Now that that’s over, on to the next adventure.  I have officially entered the Orlando Chili Cookoff on March 3.  Mark your calendars to come vote for Beauty and the Beans and my Barracho Chili. More information to come later.

Prepping for Jade’s Birthday

My husband and I spent an hour or so making the party hats for my daughter’s birthday party next weekend.  We still have to put the ribbons on, but the Minnie ears and bows are on and they’re almost ready to go.  Now, I need a plan for the rest of the week, or I’m not going to get everything done without going crazy.

I’m making two cakes, a Minnie Mouse cake and a #2 cake, since there are 73 people scheduled to come to her party.  I hope that’s enough.  Plus, my husband is not letting me to do this the easy way. I have to make sheet cakes and then cut them to the design that I want.  This will not be easy, as it is my first time attempting this.  But, it makes it so that I can add strawberry filling to the birthday girl’s cake, since she loves berries so much.

My father-in-law is coming to town on Thursday, and I have to prepare his room and clean up the house.

I need to prepare the goody bags for the kids. It ended up being more cost effective to buy bags instead of make them, so that’s a little easier for me.

I’m making Mickey-shaped sandwiches for the kids at the party, plus a veggie tray, cheese tray, fruit salad, and pasta salad.  I was talked into just ordering sandwiches for the adults to eat.  But, I need to schedule out my week before too much of the week gets away from me.

So, instead of writing too much more, I’m going to stop this post and get to work. Next post will probably be post-party, so you can hear how it all went.