A BaByQ Party

Our DIL doesn't like attention drawn to herself.

She didn't want a baby shower because

it would draw attention to her, even

though this is her first baby.

Her sister really wanted to throw her

a baby shower, so she worked with

our DIL and they compromised on

having a BBQ/Baby shower instead.

That way all of the men could attend and

it would seem more like a get together.

No games were played and she requested

that the presents not be wrapped.

(No drawing attention to her by opening presents)

The BaByQ was going to have a Nautical theme.

Custom made invites were sent out.

No, I did not make these, and

I deleted some of the info.

Here is our DIL the day of the party.

She is 30 weeks along in this picture.

I was asked to make cupcakes to bring to the party.

They had no idea that I was going to do this with the cupcakes.

Cupcakes displayed in an anchor shape,

and cupcakes with eatable whale tails that I created.

There was plenty to eat. 

We had brats, hamburgers, hot dogs, fish and chips, shrimp dip, and finger foods.

I also brought along a fruit salad that I made.

Since it was going to be a Nautical theme,

I created a whale bowl to place the fruit salad in.

I mentioned that I was going to bring a fruit salad

but I didn't tell them what I was bringing it in.

Imagine their surprise when I showed up with

the cupcakes and fruit salad displayed for a Nautical theme.

Here is a closer view of the whale bowl with the fruit salad in it.

I will share how I made the whale bowl and fruit salad in a later post.

Here is a picture of one of the tables.

This is their version of the fish and chips.

Funny, huh?

Little "Thank You" milk cartons were created to give each guest.

Inside the milk cartons were little Hersey kisses,

with little stickers on the bottom, and Baby Ruth bars.

Sorry I ate the Baby Ruth bars before I took my pictures.

They also created these mason jars with Lifesavers on them

for our drinks that were sent home with us also.

It was a HUGH successful BaByQ party.

This was actually their second party thrown for them.

I wanted to take pictures of the Baby's room with all

the gifts they received, but there were so many people

and gifts in the room that it was hard to get a good picture.

I mentioned to our son the other day that they have

so much in the baby's room that there isn't
any room for our grandson.

His comment was , "We'll STUFF him in there somewhere."

That's all I have for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Just A Swinging

Just popping in with a quick post today.

I've been very busy trying to get a

lot of projects completed around here.

Then to throw in a little more

pressure, I had a co-worker who was

in the middle of decorating her 7 year old

granddaughter's bedroom and couldn't

find what she was looking for.

So she came seeking me out because

she knew that I would be able to help her.

Her granddaughter wanted a vinyl wall

decal that had an owl on a swing and she wanted it to

match the colors in her bedroom.

Oh, and she wanted her name in cursive,

even though she can't read cursive yet.

I had my co-worker bring me in a pillow

and a paint swatch that was going to

be used in the new bedroom.

I told her that I would see what I

could come up with.

I made a rough draft and sent it for approval.

They were both excited about it and gave

me the go ahead.

Want to see what I came up with?

Here it is laid out on our living room floor to see how it would look.

The tree is 45 inches long!

The owl measures 8.5" x 11".

Her name measures 26".

My co-worker's granddaughter applied most of this

to her wall by herself.  The only thing her grandmother

helped her with was the name, to make sure it was straight.

Here it is on her freshly painted room.

They were both beyond excited with the results.

What a sweet little girls room this turned out to be.

I'm so happy that I was able to help them out.

Well, I'm off to try and finish up a few more projects.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Whip It Good

Remember my luscious looking frosted cupcakes?

I shared how to fool people with a box cake mix

but didn't share the frosting recipe.

I'm such a tease that way and

I'm truly sorry for that.

I didn't want to share the recipe

because I was going to do another post

with the cupcakes that I made for our

Son and DIL's baby shower.

Oh are these ever yummy!

I know, I shouldn't tease you this way.

I made 75 cupcakes!

The baby shower was a Nautical theme.

I used some of the cupcakes to create an anchor.

Then I created these.

Cupcakes with little whale tails.

I made some marshmallow fondant and created the whale tails.

The cupcakes were a HUGE success!

This frosting is the only frosting I will EVER make again.

It is a whipped frosting with

 just the right amount of sweetness.

It is light and fluffy, unlike the super sweet,

heavy Buttercream frosting.

Let's make some Whipped Frosting!

First you need to make a thickening agent.  In a medium saucepan, whisk one cup of milk with 5 tablespoons of flour.  Heat over medium heat whisking constantly.  Continue to stir as the mixture thickens and has the consistency of cake batter.  Stir in 2 teaspoons of vanilla and set aside to cool COMPLETELY. I placed mine in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Place 2 sticks of softened butter with 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar into a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, and whisk until light, fluffy and white in color.  Whisk until all the sugar is completely incorporated into the butter.

Add the completely chilled milk/flour mixture into the bowl and beat on high speed until everything is smooth and well blended.  The frosting should be as light and fluffy as whipped cream.  I beat my frosting mixture for 5 or more minutes, stopping and scrapping down the sides.

I was able to frost 24 cupcakes with one batch of frosting.

Here is the recipe.

The Best Whipped Frosting EVER

1 cup milk

5 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temperature

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (not powdered sugar)

In a medium saucepan, whisk one cup of milk with 5 tablespoons of flour. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Continue to stir as the mixture thickens and it reaches the consistency of thick cake batter.  Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and set in refrigerator to cool COMPLETELY.

In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat 2 sticks of butter with 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar until light, fluffy, and white in color, making sure that sugar is completely incorporated into the butter.

Add in the milk/flour mixture and whisk until frosting is light, fluffy, and has the consistency of whipped cream.

Now, go frost some cupcakes, or a cake.

Recipe adapted from Missy Dew on Tasty Kitchen

ENJOY!

Until Next Time,

Veronica

What Are They?

Does anyone know what these are?

One of Hubby's co-workers brought these in from her

garden and ask him if I would like to have them.

I had no clue what they were.

Once she told me what they were I ended up

taking several of them.  I knew exactly what I

was going to do with them.

They are called Lemon Cucumbers.

Don't let the name fool you,

they taste just like any other cucumber.

I LOVE anything fresh from the garden,

so when co-workers bring in fresh produce

from their gardens I always make sure I grab some.

My favorite type of pickles are Bread and Butter.

I thought I would make a couple of pints of

Bread and Butter pickles using these cucumbers.

They turned out fantastic!

They were SO GOOD that I ended up eating

one pint in 2 days all by myself!

I took a few samples to work with me and shared them with

co-workers.  Everyone commented that they were really good.

I gave a sample to the co-worker who gave me the cucumbers

and she said that they tasted just like the ones her Grandma

used to make.  She had been wanting to make Bread and Butter

pickles for a while but she didn't want to do the canning and

couldn't find a recipe that tasted just like her Grandma's.

She was surprised when I told her that these were

Refrigerator Bread and Butter pickles.

No canning required!
She ended up bringing me in more cucumbers and
requested a pint of my Bread and Butter pickles.

If you know me, you know that I try to find recipes that
are quick, easy and tastes great.
This recipe is all that and then some.
These pickles don't only taste great,
they also have the perfect crunch factor.

Hubby is a Dill pickle kind of guy.  He saw me eating
so many of these that he actually tried some.
His comment was, "those are really, really good".

Would you like to make some of these?
I promise, you won't regret making them.

To make my cucumbers have the same thickness
I used my mandolin.  I LOVE this thing. It makes
slicing anything quick and easy.
It gets A LOT of use in my kitchen.

I didn't take any pictures of the process because I started
making these before I headed off to work one morning.
The recipe is very easy to follow and I'm confident that
you will be able to make these.

Before I give you the recipe, I wanted to show you
these HUGE Vidalia onions that I picked up at
our local grocer.  These are locally grown.
I've NEVER seen onions this big.  Hubby
was my hand model so that you can see
for yourself just how big these were. I bought
3 of these and chopped them up to freeze. I
ended up with 20 cups of onions.
That should last us a while.

This recipe is my version of the Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles.

REFRIGERATOR BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

5 1/2 cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers

1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 cup thinly sliced Vidalia onion

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoons celery salt

1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours.  Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.

Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium microwave safe bowl; microwave  for 5 minutes on high, or until sugars are completely dissolved. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Recipe adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker

You're Welcome.

I know that you will thank me for sharing this simple, easy and great tasting recipe.

Until Next Time,
Veronica