Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes

I am a huge Cherry Coke fan so when I saw this recipe for Cherry Coke Cupcakes on Annie's Eats I knew I had to make them.  

Whenever I go to a restaurant and they have Cherry Coke on the menu, you can guarantee that I am ordering one.  

These cupcakes were very tasty, not too sweet, but enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.  

I didn't tell the boys what I was baking, I wanted to see the surprise on their faces when they bit in and saw all those cherries inside the cupcake.

These cupcakes were definitely a winner.  The boys were so excited when they got to the center and saw those cherries!!

Renee

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
½ cup buttermilk
¾ cup Coca-Cola
¼ tsp. maraschino cherry juice
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Maraschino cherries, stemless

For the glaze (optional):
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tbsp. Coca-Cola

For topping:
2/3 cup heavy cream
3-4 tbsp. powdered sugar
Maraschino cherries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line  a muffin pan with foil or paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and butter.  Mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.   Mix in the egg until incorporated.   In a bowl or large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, Coke, maraschino cherry juice, and vanilla extract; stir to combine.  

Mix the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture on low speed, alternately with the liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.  Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners.  Drop 4 or 5 stemless maraschino cherries into each cupcake well and push them down into the batter.  Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the optional glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and Coke in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.  Spoon or drizzle a small amount of the top of each cupcake.  Allow to set.

To make the whipped cream topping, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Begin whipping on medium speed, slowly adding the confectioners' sugar and gradually increasing the speed to high as the cream holds soft peaks.  Whip until the cream holds stiff peaks, being careful not to overbeat.  Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the cupcakes and top each with a maraschino cherry.

Adapted from Annie's Eats

Life On The Go With NOLA Girl!!

Well, after much debate and soul searching I've decided to go back to the original name of my blog, Life On The Go With NOLA Girl.  I began blogging in 2010, but a full time job,  2 young kids and a husband, didn't leave much time for blogging.
Now, I have been blessed with the opportunity to give up my pharmacy career (at least temporarily) and focus on my family.  This badly needed break has allowed me time to spend doing my favorite hobbies and blogging about them.
When I decided to give blogging another try, I wanted to start fresh, which to me meant changing the blog name.  I chose 'To Thine Own Self Be True' in honor of my grandmother.  She implanted in me my love of cooking, sewing, books and all things crafty so I wanted to honor her in the title.
After being up and running for over a month, other than the connection to my grandma, I haven't felt a real connection with the title.  I definitely want to honor my grandmother, but the title never really felt right to me.  'To Thine Own Self Be True' was something she would always tell me and I've always tried hard to be true to who I am, and that is a quirky New Orleans girl.
As I stated in an early post, I bleed Black and Gold!!  I love my city, all the good (and even bad).  I LOVE my Saints and I LOVE my family.  Even though I moved away from New Orleans almost 15 years ago, New Orleans is still a HUGE part of who I am.  My entire extended family is there and every chance I get,  I go home.  Hubby and I have even discussed moving back one day.
So to be 'true to myself' from here on, the blog will go back to it's roots and be known as

Life on The Go With NOLA Girl!!  

Renee

Glitter Easter Eggs

I fell in love with my last Easter craft for the year on the Sew and the City blog.  They did  a great tutorial on how to make glitter easter eggs and they were so cute I knew I had to make some.

I used foam easter eggs (2 different sizes), glitter (extra fine), a paint brush, wooden skewers, and a plastic cup (to dry the eggs).

All of the glitter colors were so pretty, it was hard to choose.  I ended up purchasing them from Michael's and Hobby Lobby.

The first thing I did was to gently insert the skewer into the egg.   

Then I covered the egg with the Tacky glue.  I used the paintbrush to ensure that the egg was completely covered. 

Once the glue was on, I sprinkled on the glitter.  Since the glitter was so fine I ended up pouring out all the glitter then using a spoon to pour more on until the egg was completely covered.  

Here is what they look like all covered in glitter.

I made the small eggs first then I did the larger eggs.  When I did the larger eggs I discovered that punching holes in the bottom of the cup was a much better (and safer) way to let the eggs dry.

After about an hour or so of drying, I took the skewer out and put a dab of glue in the hole.  Then I sprinkled on more glitter to cover the hole.

Here are some pictures of the completed eggs.  I didn't use hairspray like the Sew and the City blog, but the glitter seems to be staying on fine.  Maybe later I will give them a spritz to ensure the glitter stays in place for next year.

These eggs are so pretty and festive.  I love the way they look on my dining room table.  

My boys were very disappointed when they discovered that the eggs were not edible.  Ry just knew he was going to bite into a pretty chocolate egg  :-)

Renee

Fruity Pancakes

We are a family that loves pancakes for breakfast on the weekend.  Especially pancakes loaded with fruit.  This weekend I made a batch with strawberries and blueberries.  I also had to make a few with chocolate chips for MJ.  

I started by cleaning about 6 large strawberries and 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries.  Sometimes we also do bananas, but the boys didn't want any this time.  I used some of the fruit in the pancakes and the remainder I put on top.

This batter is a little thicker than the traditional box mix, but it is so much better.

Please excuse my old skillet, I really need to buy a new one, but it is the largest I have :-)

I love to put the fruit in the batter once it is in the skillet, they look so good!!

These are MJ's chocolate chip pancakes with a side of strawberries and homemade whipped cream.

At the last minute I decided to make homemade whipped cream.  Unfortunately, I whipped the cream a second too long so it looked a little curdy but it was still delicious.

I hope you give the recipe a try, it is definitely a keeper.

1 & 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon orange rind

4 tablespoon melted butter

fruit 

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, butter, milk, vanilla and orange rind.  Then slowly pour dry mixture into wet mixture and combine until no longer lumpy.  Put approximately 1/3-1/4 cup of batter into a pre-greased skillet.  I like to use butter, but cooking spray will work also.  If you use fruit add it after adding the batter to the skillet.  Once you see bubbles flip once.  After a few minutes the pancake will be ready. 

This recipe yields at least 8-10 large pancakes.

Whipping cream

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoon powdered sugar

Whip all 3 ingredients together until you get peaks.  Once you get the peaks, STOP beating, or the cream will look curdy like mine :-(

Renee

Black and Gold Friday

This post is in honor of all my fellow New Orleanians who are sad, hurt and angry about the awful punishment our beloved Saints have been handed by the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell.

In case you are totally unaware of the situation, here it is.

In early March an NFL investigation found that from 2009 to 2011, more than 20 defensive players for the Saints participated in a 'bounty' system which rewarded individuals with cash for harming opposing players.  The penalties are as follows:

• The Saints organization has been fined $500,000.
•  The Saints will forfeit their selections in the second round of the 2012 and 2013 NFL drafts.

• Head coach Sean Payton is suspended without pay for the 2012 NFL season, effective April 1.

• Mickey Loomis, the Saints general manager, is suspended without pay for the first eight regular-season games of the 2012 season.

• Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams (currently with the Rams) is suspended indefinitely from the NFL, effective immediately. 

• Saints assistant coach Joe Vitt is suspended without pay for the first six regular-season games of the 2012 season.

• The players in the bounty program remain under investigation and Goodell will address possible discipline at a later date.

Now, no one wants to see any player get a serious injury, but for goodness sake, this is football not chess!  We want our players to play hard and to win.  Football is a rough contact sport and the players are paid to make big hits and win games.  

Ok, if the Saints have to penalized, I think all teams should be penalized.  I KNOW that my beloved Saints are not the only team to offer 'rewards' for big hits.  I and pretty much the entire city of New Orleans definitely think that suspending Sean Payton for the entire year is utterly and completely RIDICULOUS!!!

One of the ways the Who Dat Nation has chosen to show support for our team and our coach is to sport our black and gold gear today.  All of the t-shirt companies in New Orleans, including my favorite, Fleurty Girl, began selling shirts supporting our coach.  It was said that within the first 3 hours Fleurty Girl sold over 500 of these shirts and trust me, I was one of those 500. 

I really hope that Goodell comes to his senses and realizes that he is being entirely too hard on Payton.  Regardless of what he thinks of this 'bounty' program suspending him for the entire season is way too much.  

Too much for Payton and too much for the fans.  

Whatever the outcome of this mess is, we will prevail.  We have been through hell and high water, literally, and we will make it through this.  

We are still hoping for a 2013 Superbowl win in our city next year.  That will truly be the best come back in NFL history.  

So for all of the Saints fans out there, Who Dat Forever!!!

Renee

Spring Candy Jars

Here is another spring craft idea that I saw on Pinterest.  We always have glass jars in our house and I try to keep many of them for crafts.  When I saw them being made into candy jars I thought that would be a great idea.  My boys love to have candy in the house, and with Easter right around the corner, I knew that this would be my next project.  

I used 2 different size jars (olives and strawberry jelly) and 2 candle holders I purchased at Garden Ridge for $6 ($3 each).  Next time I will use 2 very different sized jars so the size difference is a little more obvious.  Since orange is my favorite color, I decided to paint them orange.  

I took the candle holders outside to paint them.  I really should have primed them first since the candle holders were a dark grey color.

I placed the candle holders on an old can and an old bottle in order to paint the bottoms and to keep them from sticking to the paper.

I ended up using the entire can of spray paint because the original color was so dark.  Lesson learned, next time I will definitely prime.

Once the paint was completely dry, I super-glued the mason jar to the candle holder.  Then I filled them with Easter jelly beans.

These are great jars.  I think I will make some for every season.