Funfetti Whoopie Pies

Aren't those yummy looking! 

My friend Jessica is the Funfetti Queen.  If there is one thing that everybody knows about her, it's that she loves Funfetti cake, cupcakes...anything.  Her passion for funfetti runs so deep, that a layer of her wedding cake was funfetti with a raspberry filling....It was DELICIOUS!  So when I came across this recipe to make Funfetti Whoopie Pies, I knew immediately I needed to save these for a day when I could make them with Jess.

This day came last weekend when they had me over for dinner.  Before we got started we had to contend with the little lady you see below.

(picture not for the squeamish)

I want to apologize to all the animal rights people out there who even have a spot in their heart for spiders, but this was no lady, she was a tramp...in fact we had reason t believe she was fully preggers.  We knew we couldn't knock her down and step on her, because there was a chance that thousands of little baby tramps would survive and spread like wildfire (no pun intended, in light of all the recent wildfires).  Jess' husband Devin sent our friend Brian on a mission to find some spray that would take care of her.  Devin bravely took care of the situation outside, so once she was handled we proceeded with our whoopie pie making.

This is my Funfetti Addict Accomplice and measuring Queen, Jess!

You can find the recipe for these yummy cookies over at Baked Perfection!  She has some amazing recipes on her site..you should go check her out!

We used the boxed Funfetti Cake mix, but Risa at Baked Perfection changed the chemistry of the ingredients so that the dough comes out like a cookie dough instead of a cake mix... GENIUS!

In the oven these little beauties go!  8 minutes later.....

They come out looking perfect!

While the cookies cooled, we prepared the icing!

Tip:  Most bakers are probably aware of this, but always sift your confectioners sugar, so that it doesn't make your icing clumpy.

Spread the icing between the cookies, then roll the sides through the candies and....

....WA LA!

You have Funfetti Whoopie Pie Heaven!

Don't forget to check out all of Risa's great recipes at Baked Perfection.

Enjoy!

Candice

Birthday Day Off

Today is my Birthday, so I am taking the day off!

Here is a little teaser for tomorrow's post!

Enjoy,

Candice

Zucchini Pie

While I was waiting on the stain to dry on my patio project, I decided to put some effort into making my lunch.  The weekend before was my annual girls weekend with some of my closest friends from college.  As I've mentioned before, I'm not one who dilly dally's in the kitchen too much, but my friends Candace and Lindsey LOVE it, so they did all of the cooking over the entire 3 day weekend.  What did I do?  I ATE myself stupid.

One of my favorite dishes that was made over the weekend was this super easy Zucchini Pie that Lindsey made.  She sent me the recipe from Real Simple while she was at the airport waiting to catch her flight back to Colorado.  Luckily I had all the ingredients needed at home except the Basil, so I left it out.  This dish is paired great with a salad for a light lunch.

Zucchini Pie

Ingredients

3 cups grated zucchini

1 small onion, chopped

1 cup all-purpose flour (I subbed whole wheat flour)

1 cup grated provolone cheese

3 eggs, beaten (I subbed 1 egg and 3 egg whites)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine all (reserve some Parmesan to sprinkle on top if you desire) ingredients in a large bowl and mix together thoroughly (don't be afraid to get your hands dirty). 

Pour/Spoon/Plop the mixture in a 10 inch pie pan (metal or glass), but don't forget to spray with vegetable cooking spray.  Spread evenly in pan.

Cook for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown on top.  Cool 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy,

Candice

Patio Transformation: Staining Concrete

And.....I'm back.

I know it has been a while since my last post, but keeping up with this blog has been more of a challenge than I had anticipated.  With my work schedule and everything that has been going on socially, I have not found a lot of time or energy to put into this, but I want that to change.  So...Round 2!

I had a pretty productive weekend, what about you?

My neighborhood HOA (Home Owner's Association) was kind enough to hire people to come pressure wash our back patios over the past couple weeks.  In the 4 years that I have lived there I have only pressure-washed the patio once before and dang what a difference it makes.  I mean night and day!!  Some people in the neighborhood were not happy about the idea of someone coming in their back gate and washing their patio....I was all for it considering I'm paying $90 a month in association fees, so I want to get my money's worth.

When I found out they were coming to my house early last week I decided this would be a perfect time to spruce up the area.  Granted, it is a work in progress, but first things first.....stain and seal the concrete.

The hardest part of the entire project was picking out the color stain I wanted.  Because of the rules and by-laws in the neighborhood, I figured I better not get too crazy with my color selection, so I went with New England Slate, which from the picture below you can see is quite a bit darker than what I started with.

(Not sure why the upper right corner of this picture looks dirty, but it doesn't look like that in person..hmm)

As you can see the concrete lacks a lot to be desired.  It is pale and bland!

 Now look at the after...isn't that so much better.  Can you see the potential for this space?  I can.

It adds a little bit of life to the space and only took me about 4 hours all together to put 2 coats of stain and 2 coats of clear sealant, which I spread out over a 2 day period as you want the stain to completely dry.

Now, I need to find a way to hide that huge GIGANTIC air conditioner without restricting the air flow.

Do you have any ideas?  

The two chairs were a housewarming gift from my mother when I bought the place in March of 2007.  Thank goodness I didn't take any close-up pictures because they are looking pretty rough these days.  I have never treated or protected them from the elements...Sorry Mom!  They will probably end up getting a coat of white paint and shellac, along with recovering the cushions (which are tucked away in the outside storage because they are ugly hideous).

Enjoy,

Candice