FiRe AnD mOrE

they came this week!  merry Christmas to us.  mom and dad got us the kindle fire for our presents this year.  in one word they are amazing!  affordable at $200 a piece and so much fun!  we are very thankful for them and should get them for free with all of promotion we have been doing in the last 2 days.  between the 2 of us we have probably convinced at least 8 people that they must get one.  so i'll put it on here for all 3 of you who read this, you need one.  if you have been thinking that a tablet pc would be fun (and you would be right) this is a fantastic option.  the price is unbeatable.  the quality is amazing.  i was doing the dishes with pandora playing on it and the speaker quality and volume was perfect to rock out during my chores.  size is ideal.  it fits in my scrub pockets at work.  it easily fits in any of my purses.  its easy to hold.  it is almost exactly 3 of my iphones.  i'm really enjoying the size.  the only downside i can see so far is that if you love to sit outside and read and that is a  main reason for having an e-reader than just get one of the many kindle options and you'll be very happy.  this does not have e-ink that has no glare in sunlight.  but if you are trying to read at night and have a spouse that is trying to sleep this allows you to do so without a light.  and if you play with the settings you can find ways to make it easier to read in brighter light.  all in all kindle fire is perfect for me.  james is loving it as well.  of course he is testing it to see its limits way more than i am but what can i do.  anyway back to reading....i've finally started the hunger games books and i can't put them down!!!!

It'S oN!

the beet competition is has turned into cupcake wars!  so i'm crossing my fingers and hoping i win!!!!

to see my competition check out megan's blog

ComBEETing for the Prize!

Thanks to Tina and her blog challenge I have finally worked out most of the kinks in my all natural Red Velvet Cupcakes! Tina's challenge was to create a recipe that used beets and luckily I had been working on a Red Velvet cupcake recipe that used a natural food coloring. Beets had been my food of choice for some time and this was just the challenge to help me perfect them! so here you go.....

Food Coloring:

1 bunch of beets (3 or 4)

1/3 cup sugar

1 cup water

peel and chunk beets. place in food processor with sugar and puree till very small pieces remain and there is a lot of juice. Place all of the beets and 1 cup of water in medium sized sauce pan and heat on medium until boiling. Allow to boil until it is no longer pink but a beautiful deep red. See below...

Cupcake Recipe:

1 cube butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 egg white

1/4 cup half and half

1 Tbsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking soda

3 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup NATURAL cocoa (I use Ghirardelli natural cocoa powder, this is important)

1/4 cup lemon juice (I prefer fresh squeezed, about 2 lemons)

1 tsp salt

1 cup boiled beet puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar well, about 5 min. Add eggs and egg white and continue to beat until well mixed. Mixture will be light and fluffy. In a separate bowl mix half and half with vanilla and vinegar. Add this mixture to the butter, sugar and eggs. Then add natural cocoa, salt, and lemon juice. The cooled beet puree is added next. Then finally add the flour and mix till combined. The mixture will be gooey!

I use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners. It keeps the mess down and the cupcakes come out perfect every time. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

The cupcakes are not quite as red as I would like them to be. I'm working this out but it is much better than it was before. I'll let you know if I can get it even better...

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 oz package of cream cheese

1 cube butter

1 lb powdered sugar

1 Tbsp sweet and condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

Place all of the ingredients in a mixer and beat until creamy and smooth. Takes about 10 minutes starting on low and working up to high.

After cupcakes cool completely frost anyway you like!

Enjoy!