My Favorite Coconut Cupcakes!

  If you love coconut, then you will love these cupcakes.  They are easy to bake and smell unbelievably good.  A family favorite!  The buttermilk makes the cupcakes really moist.  The coconut on top of the cupcakes makes frosting the cupcakes very forgivable and so pretty!

Ingredients

1 box Coconut Cake Mix

1 Cup Buttermilk
1 stick of butter, softened
3 Large Eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2, 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.  Set aside.
Add cake mix, butter and buttermilk in a mixing bowl.  Beat until well blended.  Add eggs 1 at a time until blended.  Using an ice cream scoop fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter. 
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Frosting:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 cups sweetened coconut flakes, for garnish

Instructions
Using a hand-held mixer beat cream cheese and butter together until light and smooth. Add coconut, then vanilla extract and slowly add the confectioners' sugar 1 cup at a time until thoroughly incorporated.
 Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with coconut.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.cooks.com/

I'm HomeGoods Happy!

  Last Saturday, I was invited to attend a blogging event held at Home Goods by Lakeitha from Home To Three Duncan Boys.  This was my first time meeting Lakeitha and she was just as I imagined she'd be...  sweet and very friendly!  I also had the pleasure of meeting Lori May from Lori May Interiors, Julie from The Little Kitchen, as well as Rhoda from Southern Hospitality.  Thanks ladies for making this event so much fun!!

  While there, we each received a gift card to shop with.  Here's what I came home with...

Thanks again Lakeitha for inviting me to shop with you.

Shrimp Po Boy

  My husband had his first shrimp po' boy while stationed in Louisiana.  They were so good that we went searching for a recipe to make them at home.  The heart of the recipe is the spicy remoulade sauce.  I am not a fan of horseradish so I just omitted it.  These were a snap to make and delicious with the perfect amount of a kick!

       Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, deveined
• Salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup cornmeal or bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons Tony Chachere's Famous Creole Seasoning
• 4 soft hoagie rolls split
• tomato, sliced
• lettuce
• mayonnaise
• hot sauce
  
   
  

     Directions

  Preheat 1-inch of oil in a deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Beat egg and milk together. Pull tails off shrimp. Salt shrimp then soak in milk batter. Before you begin breading the shrimp, cover a plate with plastic wrap for easy clean up then mix together the flour, cornmeal or bread crumbs and seasoning on the plate. Using tongs, remove a few shrimp at a time and coat in breading. Add breaded shrimp to the hot oil and fry them 5 to 6 minutes or until firm and deeply golden all over. Using a spatula, spread the mayonnaise on both sides of the bread.  Pile lettuce and tomato on rolls and top with shrimp, douse the shrimp with a little hot sauce. 

Recipe adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/

Trackback: http://www.recipenut.com
Trackback: http://www.mykirklands.com

Thrift Store Chair

  This chair was a thrift store find.

Solid wood and inexpensive, but in need of a makeover.

After sanding it down, I gave it a few quick coats of Rustoleum Camouflage Spray Paint.  This was my first time using Camouflage Spray Paint and I really liked the ultra-flat finish.

Ta-da!  A nice new chair!  This chair makeover was quick and easy!

A great addition to my entryway.

  

Coffee Filter Wreath and A Pesky Squirrel

I know coffee filter wreaths have been seen all over blog land.  I've been wanting to make my own for a while now.  You just need a few things to make your own: natural coffee filters, a cardboard wreath form, and a hot glue gun.  To construct my wreath, I followed Kristin's instructions.  I didn't have any poster board, so I used the round cardboard from a frozen pizza box.  I added a couple of dried leaves to finish it up!

Awesome and super easy!

Party Details

 Graduating from the 8th grade is a time for celebration!  My daughter is moving on to high school and a lot of her friends will be going to different schools.  We had a small party to acknowledge the occasion.  These are some of my favorite details of the party!

  Thank-you for visiting!

  

Shortcut Strawberry Shortcakes

  This recipe came to me via my amazingly-talented cousin.  Because it's so good, I'm sharing it with you!  You can make this delicious dessert in a snap!  This is my favorite dessert for spring and summer.  I hope you like it too!

Ingredients
1 can Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Butter Tastin refrigerated biscuits 

1/4 cup sugar

3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup sugar

Whipped Cream

Directions
Heat oven to 375°F. Separate biscuits. Dip tops of each biscuit in 1/4 cup sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, mix strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar. Set aside.

To serve, split biscuits; place on individual dessert plates. Top with whipped cream and strawberry mixture.  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from:  http://www.pillsbury.com