Sunday Mish Mash

Y'all, I have been SO LAZY today.  This whole daylight savings time thing really got me off kilter.  I'm going to complain about not being used to the time for about month, I'm going to refer to "real time" (aka before-Daylight Savings Time time) and "this stupid time it's supposed to be now," but then I'm going to be eating my words because of the glorious daylight we'll have in the evening.  I really hate getting out of class, or just having a busy afternoon, and feeling like the whole day is over at 5pm because it's super dark outside.  Daylight Savings Time means glorious runs in the evening because it's still warm out, dinner on the screened porch, and working in the flowerbeds and getting my spring planting done because it just seems like there's so much more time!

Yesterday, we went to a family cookout and bridal shower for my cousin and his soon-to-be-wife.  I wish I had taken pictures, because my cousin S hosted it and did such a great job.  Marinated chicken kabobs, salad, fruit, fancy cheese, and the cutest little individual cheesecakes in flower-shaped baking cups that I have ever seen.  I love to cook, and I love to make baked treats that I slave to make delicious, but I very rarely make pretty food.  It's something I need to work on.

Speaking of food, I made orange dreamsicle cupcakes the other night.  I was quite proud of them, because they're sort of my own creation and I have to say, they might be one of my favorite desserts, ever.  You might have seen my post about orange birthday cake for PB's birthday last year, and these are similar.  But y'all, when I make these cupcakes, I fill them with vanilla pudding, and I make cream cheese frosting.

I took them to a cookout that we did with PB's family on Friday night, and I didn't come home with one. Single. Cupcake.  Not to toot my own horn (I hate self-horn-tooting), but you gotta make these, because people will want to build a shrine to you.  And they are easy-peasy.

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix (has just got to be Duncan Hines)
1 2/3 cup orange juice (I always use the high-pulp kind)
3 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp vanilla

Mix all cake ingredients together with an electric mixer.  Pour into muffin pan lined with cupcake papers.  Bake at 350 in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile - mix together two cups cold milk and another box of vanilla pudding.  Let set in refrigerator while cupcakes bake.

Then, use a pastry bag with a big star tip to fill baked cupcakes with vanilla pudding.

Make any cream cheese frosting you like (butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla) and frost completely cooled and filled cupcakes.  I didn't post a frosting "recipe" per se because I really don't use one anymore - it's basically just half a stick of butter, a pack of cream cheese, creamed together, then add 2-3 cups powdered sugar and a teaspoon or so of vanilla.  If it gets too stiff, add a few teaspoons of milk.  Wait, that kind of sounds like I just articulated a recipe.  So, yeah!  Make it like that!

And these darlings are what you come up with:

I promise, promise, promise - they are amazing.  

Please don't think you are going to make them better by skipping the cake mix and using flour.  This is an unfortunate mistake I have made before. Let me make you a promise because I like you and I don't want you to waste time.  Unless you are making a sponge cake or a pound cake, USE. A. CAKE. MIX.  I hate to be all bossy, but take it from a girl who has wasted time and flour thinking she was overachieving with "from scratch" cupcakes.  They don't taste as good.  They ain't as impressive.  They get crumbly.  Use a cake mix.  

I was horribly disappointed with the last cupcake I had that was bought from a baker - and I know it was because homegirl worked real hard and didn't use a cake mix.  Dry, crumbly, no bueno.  So there's my speech for you for the day.  Like I said, hate to be bossy, but it has to be said, 'cause ain't nobody else gonna say it.

Anywho.  Last night we went to T and J's house for delicious steak, mashed potatoes, Velveeta shells (I could eat a whole box of those), salad, and garlic bread.  That huge meal, combined with a few glasses of wine, combined with daylight savings time, made me wake up to see 10:15 on the clock this morning and make me feel like a huge slob.

Time to go for a run, so that I can earn my viewing of Sister Wives, and some spaghetti with homemade sauce which involves Italian sausage.  Super excited.  Happy Sunday, y'all!

Until next time - love from PB and Peg!