Cupcakes

I love cupcakes, not only are they super easy to make but they are so fun to decorate!

For my sister in law birthday I made her these cookie monster cupcakes. ( I call her my cookie monster thus the cupcake theme) I found these on http://birdonacake.blogspot.com/2011/11/om-nom-nom-nom.html and they are way to cute not to make!

 Here is mine :)

You have to try these, the cookies soften from being in the cupcake and HEAVEN!

 Speaking of cupcakes my daughter just turned 12 ( wow time flys) She wanted to have a 'Paris' theme party. I wasn't able to find much in an 'paris' theme. So we came up with these cupcakes and black and white decorations. I found the chocolate mold on ebay. I think they turned out really cool. We also made black and white paper flowers, and painted little wooden suitcases for our 'trip' to Paris.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

At our house we eat a lot of chicken. I love how I can buy a large bag and get two meals out of it and chicken is really versatile. I had seen a bacon wrapped chicken on TV one night and decided to try it out. I found this great recipe from Ms. Paula Deen. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/sweet-chicken-bacon-wraps-recipe/index.html

This recipe is for a smaller version for appetizers. I decided to make them a little larger and serve them with a side of noodles and a veggie. Let me tell you, SOOO Good! A must try!

Here is the recipe: (courtesy of foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
• 1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
• 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons chili powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

I also turned up the oven to 400 for the last 10 minutes to crisp the bacon. ( with the larger pieces I used, of course I had a longer cook time)

Cut chicken

mix spices and cut bacon

Wrap chicken with bacon

Place chicken on pan after tossing in spice/sugar

Bake :)

Enjoy, also good dipped in ranch