Total Pageviews

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Leap Day!! Frog Cupcakes


Frog Cupcakes

Frog Cupcakes
Have everyone green with envy at the next bake sale when you present these "toad"ally cute cupcakes!
  • PREP TIME
    25 min
  • TOTAL TIME
    1 hr 25 min
  • SERVINGS
    24

 

1
box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
2
containers Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy creamy white frosting
Betty Crocker® green gel food color
48
miniature vanilla wafer cookies
48
Betty Crocker® red cinnamon decors
Betty Crocker® red decorating icing (from 4.25-oz tube)
Large red gumdrops
  • 1Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make, bake and cool cake as directed on box for 24 cupcakes.
  • 2Reserve 2 tablespoons frosting. Tint remaining frosting with food color to make green; frost cupcakes.
  • 3For eyes, place 2 cookies near top edge of each cupcake, inserting on end so they stand up. Attach 1 cinnamon candy to each cookie with reserved white frosting. Add dots of white frosting for nostrils.
  • 4For mouth, pipe on red icing. Slice gumdrops; add slice to each cupcake for tongue. Store loosely covered.

Expert Tips

For a touch of whimsy, cut small pieces of black gumdrops and place one on each “tongue” to resemble a fly.
If you have only one pan and a recipe calls for more cupcakes than your pan will make, cover and refrigerate the rest of the batter while baking the first batch. Cool the pan about 15 minutes, then bake the rest of the batter, adding 1 to 2 minutes to the bake time.
Got a question for our Kitchen Experts? Ask it in the Message Boards

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Cupcake (Cake and Frosting Only))
  • Calories 250
    • (Calories from Fat 80),
  • Total Fat 9g
    • (Saturated Fat 2g,
    • Trans Fat 2g),
  • Cholesterol 0mg;
  • Sodium 220mg;
  • Total Carbohydrate 40g
    • (Dietary Fiber 0g,
    • Sugars 30g),
  • Protein 1g;
Percent Daily Value*:
  • Vitamin A 0.00%;
  • Vitamin C 0.00%;
  • Calcium 4.00%;
  • Iron 0.00%;
Exchanges:
  • 1/2 Starch;
  • 0 Fruit;
  • 2 Other Carbohydrate;
  • 0 Skim Milk;
  • 0 Low-Fat Milk;
  • 0 Milk;
  • 0 Vegetable;
  • 0 Very Lean Meat;
  • 0 Lean Meat;
  • 0 High-Fat Meat;
  • 2 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choices:
  • 2 1/2;
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Culinary Tricks for Busy Mamas!! Check it out!



Alright momistas, I hope you enjoyed part one of our time-saving tricks, because today I’m back with more life-simplifying ideas.

Here are four creative tricks to up the fun of your culinary routine:

1. Reuse that rubber band

culinary tricks
Stop a cut apple from browning in your little one’s lunchbox by securing it with a rubber band. No more “it looks icky” excuses!

2. Add some heart to your breakfast

culinary tricks
Entertain the kids at breakfast with this heart-shaped egg tutorial- too cute.

3. Reinvent the ice cream cone

culinary tricks
Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones – it’s much more fun and easier for kids to eat. This would be perfect for a kids’ party.

4. Creative cookie bowls

culinary tricks
Here’s a fun twist- turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila – you have cookie bowls for fruit, pudding, ice cream or whatever sweets you’re serving! Click here for a recipe.

http://www.torispelling.com 



Monday, February 27, 2012

My 600 pound life: Ashley


How one woman realised childhood dream of becoming a softball coach after losing 364lbs in seven years

Last updated at 12:07 PM on 24th February 2012
    My 600-Lb Life charted the lives of four morbidly obese adults as they battled to confront their weight and shed pounds.
The TLC series finale last night saw Ashley lose an astonishing 364lbs from her huge frame, and credited much of her motivation to a love of softball.
'I used to play softball when I was young. I played every summer,' she told cameras, but she was forced to drop the sport as she piled on pounds as a teenager.
Ashley My 600-lb Life TLC
Ashley My 600-lb Life TLC
Then and now: Ashley lost 364lbs over seven years. She shed the vast amount of weight after gastric ban surgery and now coaches softball and has plans to open a childcare centre
The show documented her seven-year journey from an almost certainly shortened life to something she could never have imagined just years before: A healthier, more mobile and independent existence, free from the grip of over-eating and vast weight gain.
 
At the outset, a doctor had warned her mother that if she doesn't lose weight, she would die. Gastric band surgery - with just a five per cent chance of lasting success - was her best chance of survival.
A new woman: Ashley was told she may die if she did not undergo the surgery
A new woman: Ashley was told she may die if she did not undergo the surgery
When she had dropped to 500lbs, still worryingly overweight, she made a decision to go back to her favourite game. 
This time round, she would play softball as a coach, to help prevent children from falling into a life of self-abuse, as she did. 'If only I felt like I got enough weight off and everything, I said I want to coach. So I did.'
Having relied on a mobility scooter and her parents for leading as relatively a normal lifestyle as possible, Ashley's life has turned around.
Her damaging relationship with her mother was a very personal obstacle to overcome so publicly - but was far from being the only roadblock along the way.
Taking a swing: Ashley had loved playing softball as a child but was forced to stop playing as her weight ballooned
Taking a swing: Ashley had loved playing softball as a child but was forced to stop playing as her weight ballooned
At one point, Ashley's doctor consults her father, explaining that despite the very serious surgery, the young woman still has an overeating problem. 'She eats 3,000 calories a day,' he says.
She is seen exercising, throwing the ball, swinging the bat and warming up with star jumps, putting her gastric and multiple skin removal surgeries behind her.
'It was exciting to lose the weight,' she explained. 'I didn't realise when I started this journey that I would change so much.'
Ashley My 600-lb Life TLC
Ashley My 600-lb Life TLC
On the move again: Now a softball  coach, Ashley's days of mobility scooters and severe difficulty at taking even just a few steps are over. She dreams of opening a childcare centre
Star jumps: Exercise is something that just a few years ago Ashley never believed she would do again. When she started shedding pounds, the idea of taking up softball once again gave her the motivation she needed
Star jumps: Exercise is something that just a few years ago Ashley never believed she would do again. When she started shedding pounds, the idea of taking up softball once again gave her the motivation she needed
The newly transformed Ashley, with seven years of hard work behind her, plans to open a childcare centre.
My 600-lb Life, saw the group of four adults, each member of which started out at over 600 pounds, attempting to lose an astonishing one ton between them.
The story took an amazing seven years to document. In 2004, cameras started rolling to film the overweight Americans as they each underwent a life-changing gastric bypass operation.
They were some of the heaviest patients ever operated on for the revolutionary surgery.
The old days: Ashley weighed over 600lbs and used a mobility scooter to stock up her food supplies. Even after surgery, she was over-eating, taking in 3,000 calories a day
The old days: Ashley weighed over 600lbs and used a mobility scooter to stock up her food supplies. Even after surgery, she was over-eating, taking in 3,000 calories a day
Another of the show's stories was that of Melissa Morris, who lost a staggering 500lbs. On a recent appearance on ABC News' Good Morning America, she proudly displayed a skirt she had worn on the day of her operation.
Looking happy and healthy - if a little shell-shocked by the experience - the mother held up the garment, arms outstretched. It is made from a vast, 12-foot-length of fabric.
The shocking series documented the highs and lows of dealing with addiction and dependence - and the transformation from being utterly dependent to gaining a modicum of normality and a sense of self worth.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Watch Sophia Grace and Rosie on Tuesday on Ellen!!


Sophia Grace & Rosie - Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The two most dynamic, pint-sized performers on the planet, SOPHIA GRACE & ROSIE are here for another spectacular visit! They've been in the States interviewing some of the biggest and brightest stars, and they're showing Ellen their favorite moments on the show today!


Read more: http://ellen.warnerbros.com/promos/2012/02/26-week/#ixzz1nQ4S9pAf