Sara Likes Birds and Baking

Long Distance Baking Project #12!

2011-12-24T22:25:00.007-06:00

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

Amber and I have finally completed our first Long Distance Baking Project!!!!! We already have plans for next year, hopefully to include cookies too!

This month we had to use peppermint!!! What would December be without peppermint!?
And what would peppermint be without chocolate!?
And WHAT WOULD CHOCOLATE BE WITHOUT COFFEE!!?!?

We were a tiny bit worried that this would be similar to March's recipe. Totally nothing like it!

She found this great recipe once again from Annie's Eats! These were so much fun to make...and eat! The frosting was a bit tricky to make. Mine was a bit runny and never actually peaked even after about 12 minutes of beating. Still tasted amazing!!!

Peppermint Mocha Cupcakes
From Annie's Eats

Cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 tsp. espresso powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. Salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs

Frosting:
6 large egg whites
1¾ plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tsp. peppermint extract
1-2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir together. Combine the milk, coffee and peppermint extract in a liquid measuring cup.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugars. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

3. Blend in the eggs one at a time. Alternately mix in the dry and liquid ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing just until incorporated.

4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting
1. Combine the egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture reaches 160° F and the sugar has dissolved.

2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and the mixture has cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.

3. Reduce the speed to medium and add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, adding more once each addition has been incorporated. If the frosting looks soupy or curdled, continue to beat on medium-high speed until smooth again, about 3-5 minutes more.

4. Stir in the peppermint and vanilla extracts and mix just until incorporated.

I served these at our staff ladies Christmas lunch! Big success!

Sara's Name: Good enough to drink Peppermint Mocha cupcake

Amber's Name: Still waiting :)

Long Distance Baking Project #11!

2011-12-24T21:39:00.007-06:00

Um....yeah...I'm so behind...as I've been all year. Not sure a New Year's Resolution can fix this...Moving on...

So I'm a HUGE fan of baking with pumpkin! My mom always makes a super yummy Pumpkin Pie Cake around Thanksgiving. Yellow cake mix, lots of butter and pumpkin pie filling. Yummo! It's one of my all time favorite desserts, hot out of the oven, or day old out of the fridge. So being November, I had to choose a recipe with pumpkin!

I also love coffee. So when I found a pumpkin spice latte cupcake, I couldn't resist. The coffee flavor is subtle and the whipped cream frosting is delightful!

I actually attempted these cupcakes in October for another occasion to be sure it was good enough for our LDBP of the month!!
Here's attempt number one:

Then I baked them again for Thanksgiving! Jon's parents came to Missouri this year! We also had the privilege of sharing a meal with Andrew Temm, David Anderson, Tabby Wilson, David Terry & Sharon Anderson. Great times with great friends!

So here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
From Annie's Eats

Cupcakes
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbls espresso powder or instant coffee
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
½ cup strong coffee or espresso, for brushing

Whipped Cream
2 ¼ cups heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar

Garnish
Ground cinnamon
Caramel sauce

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup cupcake tins with liners.
In a medium bowl combine flour, espresso powder or instant coffee, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & salt. Set aside.

2) With an electric mixer, blend pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3) With the mixer on low, add flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.
The batter is beautiful!!

4) Fill cupcake liners about ¾ full. Bake until cupcakes are dark golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.

5) Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans. While cupcakes are still warm, brush them 2-3 times with coffee or espresso, allowing the first coat to soak in before repeating. Let cool completely.

6) To make frosting, place chilled heaving cream in a bowl. Using the whisk attachment, whip on medium-low speed at first, gradually increasing to high. Blend in confectioners sugar gradually. Whip until stiff peaks form, being careful not to overbeat. Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce.

This is the 2 baking attempt. I actually had some butterscotch frosting left over from some other cupcakes (See below).
Taaaa-sty!

Sara's Name: I LOVE THESE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE CUPCAKES!!!!

Amber's Name: still searching through my text messages to find it!

*********************************************************************
Other cupcakes made and/or eaten this month:

Butterbeer Cupcakes for our Harry Potter Halloween Party!
From the Pastry Affair blog

Purple cupcakes in honor of Molly Kruse's birthday!

Toffee Crunch Cupcakes
From Annie's Eats

Long distance Baking Project #10!

2011-10-22T19:32:00.006-06:00

Yipee! Yipee!
Jon & I made a trip to Louisville to visit his family for a long weekend. And of course, since Amber lives there too, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to bake together in person. And it's a good thing we did this together! From getting the ingredients on the counter to cupcake in mouth, it took a good 4 hours! And it required the help of Jon's mom, as she cleaned up our messes so we could make a bigger mess with each step!

This recipe required attention to details, with lots of steps along the way, but it was worth it! I really, really love the apple cake! I could eat it like a muffin for breakfast! And the homemade caramel was a big mess, but tasted just like you want a caramel apple to taste like!

Since it only made 9 regular size cupcakes, we made 5 regular size and 9 tiny ones.

Here's the recipe Amber found:

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

From www.thecupcakeblog.com
Yield: 9 regular cupcakes

Apple Cupcakes
2-3 apples, granny smith
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 large eggs
½ cup oil
¼ cup apple juice
1 tsp vanilla

1) Rinse and core the apples. Place them on an ovenproof pan or baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes until soft.
2) Remove the apples from the oven, let cool slightly, then remove peel and mush the apple with the back of a fork. Measure out 1 cup of apple mush and set aside to cool.
3) Combine flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium sized bowl and whisk to combine.
4) Crack the eggs into a separate, medium sized bowl and beat with a form to break up. Add the oil, apple juice, vanilla, and cooled apple mush and mix to combine.
5) Combine the wet and dry ingredients until all ingredients come together.
6) Scoop into cupcake papers about 3/4 full so cupcakes will have a significant dome. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, rotating the pan after 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Filling
4 ounces Philly cream cheese
1/4 stick butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1) Be sure to bring the butter to room temperature by letting it sit out for 1 or 2 hours. Then beat the butter vigorously with an electric mixer.
2) Scrape the bowl and add the cream cheese and beat until combine. 3. Add the sifted powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Fill Cupcakes
1) Cut out a cone from each cupcake. Flip the cone and cut off the excess. Set the top aside.
2) Fill each cavity with the cream cheese filling.
3) Replace each top.

Thick Caramel
***NOTE: Don’t make this until the cupcakes are cooled & stuffed.***
½ cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup light corn syrup
6 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 Tbls heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt

1) Bring the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium-high heat stirring to combine.
2) With a wooden spoon, stir all ingredients together and then slowly add the heavy cream.
3) Continue to stir for about 20 minutes until the caramel reached 248 degrees. It is important to continuously stir the mixture and to allow it to reach temperature.
4) 4. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and salt. Transfer to a bowl and continue to stir for 2-3 minutes allowing the caramel to cool slightly.

Final Assembly
1) Using a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with the caramel.
2) If desired sprinkle warm caramel with any number of toppings, like coconut or crushed nuts.
3) Transfer the cupcake into the freezer to allow the caramel to set without dripping over the edge of the cupcake paper.
4) Continue frosting and topping the cupcakes and try to work fast. As the caramel cools, it becomes less spreadable. If possible work in pairs and let your helper top the cupcakes and transfer them to the freezer. By the time you reach the last few cupcakes, you will not longer need to freeze them and you can take all the cupcakes out and transfer them to the counter.

We had so much fun! These were tasty apple cupcakes! The caramel was super chewy, but oh so yummy!

Long Distance Baking Project #9!

2011-09-26T19:25:00.009-06:00

We are back it this month with the same recipe! I got to choose this month!

I had to think a little about this recipe. It's September, which means it's fall...and the weather has been perfectly fall for the past couple of weeks. So I wanted a fall flavor, but didn't want to conflict with October's recipe (that Amber & I will get to back together!!) or with November's recipe which will undoubtedly include pumpkin. So I opted for this delightful almond/maple combo! I found this recipe at the Vanilla & Velvet blog

I'm not always the biggest fan of nuts. I rarely choose a cookie or brownie or piece of banana bread with walnuts when I can have it plain. But I do really like almonds because they are subtle. I put them in my homemade granola and they are just so tasty when covered in brown sugar & honey and on the crunchy side.

Vanilla Almond Cupcake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Vanilla Almond Cake
(Makes 12)
Cupcake Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk

1. Make the almond meal. I did it by grinding almonds in my coffee grinder. It made it finer than my food processor could, but not so fine that it was flour-like.

2. Mix together flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt.

3. Beat in room temperature butter (this seems a little weird since you normal cream the butter with sugar, but it worked nicely!)

4. Add sugar and mix thoroughly.

5. Add eggs one at a time, beating between each egg. Stir in vanilla and milk until just mixed.

6. FIll each cupcake liner a little over half full.

7. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until you can stick a toothpick into the cupcake and it comes out almost clean. This was also a little weird, as cupcakes normally bake at 350 for 20 minutes. I will bake them a minute or two less next time.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup

Beat the cream cheese and butter until blended, then begin to add powdered sugar. Beat until cream, then add the maple syrup and beat until well combined. I frosted my using a piping bag with a large tip.

Candied Almonds
1/2 cup white sugar
2 Tbls butter
2 cups sliced almonds
1 tsp vanilla

Add white sugar, butter & almonds to a med heat skillet and stir slowly and consistently until the sugar melts and the almonds turn golden brown. Keep stirring so the mixture doesn't stick to the pan. Remove from heat and add vanilla. It will sizzle and pop. Pour onto wax paper to harden. Spread as thin or as chunky as you like.

Garnish cupcake with as much as desired. YUMMY!!!

Makes 12 regular cupcakes

We're struggling with our names...stay tuned!

Long Distance Baking Project #8!

2011-09-26T18:58:00.005-06:00

So this month, we decided to fly solo. We had some special birthday parties that required a little extra effort, so Amber & I let ourselves off the hook!

Here's Amber's extra special niece, Madison!! She turned 2!!

Here's what Amber did for her!!!

The ice cream cones were strawberry cake. The awesome little "smash" cake was funfetti. The purple cupcakes were chocolate cake; green cupcakes were white cake & yellow cupcakes were funfetti!

She went all out for Madison...and made a giant mess in her kitchen!! But it was totes worth it!

BEST AUNT EVER!!!

This month was also my Jon's birthday!! We decided to throw him an "apple" party!

Everyone brought his favorite twin tip sharpies! It will be a long time before he has to buy one again!

Here's what we wore!

Here's what I made!

These were super fun! I just made chocolate cake with white icing. I thought I'd try fondant for the apples, then realized that it would be a huge risk for my first attempt! So I found a sugar sheet by Wilton at Walmart. I made an apple logo template out of cardboard and used my exacto knife to cut them out. The apples turned our mouths black temporarily, but actually tasted okay!

This was a lot of fun for both of us!

Long Distance Baking Project #7!

2011-07-28T17:54:00.008-06:00

Since it's summer and since I LOVE raspberries...I really wanted to make a raspberry sort of cupcake. I was talking to my friend Maggie, who told me her friend made some raspberry lemonade cupcakes. Ummmm....Yes please!!

And so began the search for a raspberry lemonade cupcake recipe...lots to choose from. Some with lemon pudding. Some with lemonade drink mix. Some with a raspberry on top. Hard decision! I went with the recipe that included a raspberry puree in the middle and in the butter cream icing. Score!

This was a fun cupcake to make as you actually made the raspberry puree, and used lemon juice and lemon peel from a real lemon. I got to buy cheese cloth! (Amber had no idea what this was! Glad I could edumacate her!)

Here ya go!

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Lemon Cupcake (makes about 12)

1/3 c. butter (softened)
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1/4 c. lemon juice, fresh squeezed
3/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 package (6 oz.) fresh raspberries – You can substitute frozen in a pinch

1. First, do your prep work! Make a raspberry puree by putting the fresh raspberries in a blender. Then, over a bowl, pour the puree onto a few layers of cheese cloth. Get your hands dirty and squeeze the puree through the cloth in order to strain out all the little seeds. Set strained puree aside; it will be used for both the cupcakes and the frosting.

2. Zest two lemons into a bowl – the zest will be used for both the cupcakes and the frosting. Squeeze those two lemons, careful to catch all the seeds, making sure that you have at least 1/4 c. of juice for the cupcakes themselves.

3. Now, get started on the cupcakes themselves! Cream together the softened butter and the sugar together. Add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest and blend until just combined.

4. In a measuring cup, combine the lemon juice and milk (do not do this too far ahead of time or else it will curdle!).

5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate blending in the milk mixture and the flour mixture, ending with the flour.

6. Fill the cupcake liners 1/2 way up. Top each scoop of batter with about a teaspoon of raspberry puree. Now, add a bit more batter on top of the puree, making each cup 3/4 full.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Take into account that the raspberry may show on the toothpick. Just be sure that there’s no raw cake batter!

Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
1/2 c. butter
2-3 c. powdered sugar (to taste)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. raspberry puree

Just like a standard butter cream, start by creaming the butter! Blend in the vanilla. Start to mix in the powdered sugar. Just before you reach a thick consistency that you want, add the raspberry puree. The frosting will be thinner now, so continue to add powdered sugar until you reach the taste and texture that you like. If the frosting is still thin, let it sit in the fridge before piping onto the cupcakes!

In make these, I would change a few things. 1. I would use 2 layers less of cheese cloth. My puree ended up more like juice. Tasty juice, but juice none-the-less. 2. I would use more lemon juice. Maybe double. It smelled lemony and had a hint of flavor, but I would have liked it to be a little more tart. 3. I would have beat my buttercream a little longer and would have added a little more powdered sugar. The puree that was juicy changed the texture just a little bit.

Sara's Name: All Puckered Up Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Amber's Name: Rainbows & Smiles Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Long Distance Baking Project #6!

2011-06-24T19:19:00.006-06:00

Wow! June is almost over! This month's recipe might be both mine and Amber's favorite so far! She picked it and everyone we shared them with loved them! But as Amber said, the are "involved" but they are totally worth it!
The recipe came from http://annies-eats.net/2011/03/11/banana-split-cupcakes/

Banana Split Cupcakes 
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. Salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2½ cups sugar
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. Buttermilk
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana

For the filling:
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and diced small
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
12 oz. crushed pineapple, drained

For the frosting:
1½ cups heavy cream, chilled
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the ganache:
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. light corn syrup

For garnish:
Multi-colored sprinkles
Maraschino cherries

Directions:
1. To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and add in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in 1 the mashed banana until well combined.

3. With the mixer on low speed alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients and mixing only until just incorporated.

4. Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 to ¾ full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. To make the strawberry filling, combine the strawberries and confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl. Toss well, smashing slightly with a fork. Allow the berries to macerate at least 20-30 minutes.

6. To fill the cupcakes, cut a small cone out of the center of each cupcake with a paring knife or small biscuit cutter. (The excess cake can be discarded.) Add a teaspoon or two of the strawberry filling to the center of each cupcake. Top with a teaspoon or two of the crushed pineapple, filling to the top of the cupcake.

7. To make the frosting, add the heavy cream to the chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whip on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and continue to whip until thoroughly combined and stiff peaks form. Be careful not to over-beat! Blend in the vanilla extract.

8. Add the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe a swirl of the whipped cream onto each filled cupcake, covering the filling. Transfer the filled and frosted cupcakes to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

9. To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate; let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk together until a thick, smooth ganache forms. Blend in the corn syrup. Let stand at room temperature at least 10 minutes so the ganache is not hot.

10. To finish the cupcakes, pour a spoonful of the ganache over the whipped cream topping of each cupcake. Garnish with sprinkles and maraschino cherries before the glaze sets. Chill the assembled cupcakes until ready to serve.

Makes 30 cupcakes!

I had a couple of baking assistants to help me, Jackie & Cassa!!

Amber's Name: Oh My Ganache Banana Split Cupcakes!

Sara's Name (not near as good as Amber's): Well Split My Banana Cupcake

Long Distance Baking Project #5

2011-06-24T19:04:00.010-06:00

Finally catching up on our May recipe! A lot has happened here to make life feel a little out of whack.

Joplin is very slowly shifting into the rebuilding stage, which is certainly encouraging. In the midst of all of that, CIY is finishing week 2 of the summer. Jon has been to CO, MI & FL already! And the summer is just beginning.

I chose Strawberry Shortcake for May's recipe. The strawberries have been so yummy and I couldn't resist!
I looked at several strawberry shortcake cupcake recipes, but none of them were quite enough shortcake for me. So I decided to use a typical shortcake recipe and bake it in cupcake tins without liners. They turned out so well!!

Super Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes
From Taste of Home
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced
1-2 Tbls sugar

Shortcake
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbls sugar (I recommend 3-4 Tbls)
1 Tbls baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup cold butter
1 egg
¾ cup sour cream

Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1) Preheat oven to 425. Lightly spray cupcake tin with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the strawberries and sugar; set aside.

2) For shortcake, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl; cut in butter until somewhat crumbly. In a small bowl, beat egg; add sour cream. Stir into the flour mixture just until moistened.

3) Turn onto a floured board; knead 25 times or until smooth. Roll out dough to about a 6” circle. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. I used a small biscuit cutter to help make them equal sizes. Roll each part into a ball then flatten just enough to fit into each cup of the cupcake tin and drop in the bottom.

4) Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown but not burned. Remove cupcakes from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

5) For the topping, beat whipping cream and sugar with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes; stir in vanilla.

6) Just before serving, cut each cupcake in half horizontally. Spoon juice from the berries over each bottom layer, then a few berries and a dollop of cream. Add the top of the cupcake and layer remaining topping and berries.

Makes 1 dozen cupcakes

Amber's Name: Streetfest '11 Sugary Sweet Strawberry Shortcakes

Sara's Name: Super Strawberry Literally Short Cakes

I actually took them to a cupcake party! there were 8 of us. We each brought "naked" cupcakes and helped each other decorate. It was a really great time and hopefully something we'll do more often. Here's a pic of all of our cupcakes!

I also made one other cupcake this month to celebrate the graduates that come to Tuesday's at the Hill's!

Long Distance Baking Project #4!

2011-05-17T13:28:00.007-06:00

So I’m super behind on my blog…this recipe is from April and here it is May 17!! Where has the time gone?!?

Amber chose this recipe and I have to say, it was certainly one of the most fun and messy cupcakes I've made! It’s super sweet! Amber chose to top hers with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. I chose to top mine with whipped cream and two dried cherries, certainly adds to the sweet-ness!

April Recipe:
Pineapple Upsidedown Cupcakes (From “the great CUPCAKE book”)

For the Pineapple Topping
6 Tbls unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbls light corn syrup
1 cup dark brown-sugar
12 pineapple slices, drained (1-20 oz and 1-8 oz can) or a large can of crushed pineapple

For the Cupcakes
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cups granulated sugar
½ canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream

1) Preheat over to 350. If using pineapple slices, line the bottom of 2 extra-large cupcake tins with wax paper circles. If using crushed pineapple, line the bottom of 2 regular cupcake tins with wax paper circles. Spray the wax paper circles and the inside of the cupcake tins with cooking spray

2) For Pineapple Topping: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, corn syrup and brown sugar. Stirring continuously, cook until the butter and sugar melt and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.

3) For Cupcakes: Sift the first four ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.

4) In a large bowl, with your electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg, egg yolk and sugar together until thickened and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Reduce the mixer speed to low, mixing in the oil and vanilla until combined. Mix in the flour mixture and beat until batter is smooth.

5) If using extra large cupcake tins, put 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar glaze in the bottom of each prepared cupcake cup. Place 1 pineapple slice on top of the glaze. Then spoon 1/3 cup of batter over each pineapple slice.
If using regular cupcake tins, use 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar glaze in each cup. Place 1 Tbls-ish of crushed pineapple on top of glaze. Then spoon ¼ cup plus 1 Tbls of batter over the crushed pineapple. Either way the batter should come to the top of each cup.

6) Bake for 25-30 minutes for extra-large cupcakes or 12-15 for regular cupcakes, or just until the tops feel firm and cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate tins halfway through the baking process to promote even baking. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Use a small knife to loosen any topes that may have stuck to the pan. Carefully place a wire rack on the top of the cupcakes. Holding the pan and rack together, invert the cupcakes the cupcakes to release them onto the wire rack. Allow to cool completely upside down.

7) Serve with whipped cream and a cherry on top!

Makes 1 dozen extra large cupcakes or 2 dozen regular cupcakes

Amber’s Name: Rootie Tootie Fresh & Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes

Sara’s Name: Upsy Daisy Upside Downsy Pineapple Cupcakes

Long Distance Baking Project #3!

2011-04-06T16:26:00.012-06:00

It's already April and I'm just now posting from last month's baking adventure!

This recipe was SO yummy! Since it is March, I decided to choose something Irish, of course!
I adapted Martha Stewart's one bowl chocolate cupcakes by adding a sleeve of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies!

The recipe calls for buttermilk. I feel guilty buying a quart of buttermilk, because either it goes to waste because I never need it all, or I decide to make everything that week with buttermilk...biscuits, fried chicken, pancakes, etc., etc. No good. So this time I decided to buy powdered buttermilk. You use the same amount of water as the recipe calls for buttermilk. It's easy and seems to have the same effect as real buttermilk!

Also, for some reason my frosting was really runny! I would recommend adding a little more cream cheese or powdered sugar than what the recipe calls for.

March's Recipe
From Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes (plus special ingredient)
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons safflower oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 sleeve of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies!!!

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
From Southern Living
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat over to 350. Line cupcake tins with liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

2) Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.

3) Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full of batter. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the next dozen.

4) Meanwhile, prepare frosting.
In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat on low. As it gets thick alternate with milk one Tbls at a time until sugar is completely mixed in. Beat at least 3 minutes until it gets creamy and fluffy.

5) Spread frosting on top of each cupcake.

Makes 18-24 cupcakes

Amber's Name: March Madness (Thin) Mint

Sara's Name: St. Patty O'Mint

Long Distance Baking Project #2

2011-02-23T11:11:00.010-06:00

February is almost over! I can hardly believe it!

This month was Amber's month to choose. She chose Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing! The recipe came from another baker at heart, Angela Bennett. I LOVE that Angela has been participating in our baking adventure. She lives in Louisville and Amber gets to spend lots of time with Angela and her family. Strangely I have known of Angela for many years as her dad was one of my professors at Lincoln Christian College. He was also my home church's interim minister until her brother Scott came to be our Senior Minister. It's a small world, huh?

Disclaimer: I did not read the recipe completely before I purchased the food coloring!! I bought a bottle of red food coloring, however I bought the .25 oz bottle, not the 1 oz. bottle. Oops! Good thing the food coloring doesn't affect the taste, as these cupcakes are divine!

February's Recipe:
Red Velvet Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup softened butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 bottle (1 oz.) McCormick Red Food Color
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pkg (8 oz) softened cream cheese
2 sticks softened salted butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 lbs powdered sugard

1) Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake tin with liners.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

2) Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and
fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color, and
vanilla.

3) Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed just until blended.

4) Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely.

5) Meanwhile, prepare frosting.
In a medium bowl beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until combined. Gradually add the sugar. Beat first 3 ingredients until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar. If frosting is too stiff, add 1 tbsp water at a time until desired consistency.

6) Spread or pipe on frosting.

Makes 30 regular size cupcakes

Amber's Name: Red Velvet Crush Cupcakes

Sara's Name: Flirting with Red Velvet Cupcakes or Slightly Interested in Red Velvet Cupcakes

Long Distance Baking Project #1

2011-02-04T13:53:00.005-06:00

We are off to a great start! I chose the recipe this month. It just so happened that without knowing it we decided to bake our cupcakes on the same day!

Though I presented my cupcakes pretty well, Amber went the extra mile and put her cupcakes to the test in front of a panel of 3 judges. She’s so cool.

January’s Recipe:
Chocolate Cupcakes (From Nestle Cocoa Box)
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup Nestle Toll House Baking Cocoa (I substituted ¾ Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ cup butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (I used 2 cups sugar w/dark chocolate cocoa)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup water

Peanut Butter Frosting (From the kitchen of Angela Bennett)
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 Tbls milk, or as needed
2 cups powdered sugar

1) Preheat over to 350. Line cupcake tins with liners.
In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Set aside.

2) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually beat in the flour mixture alternately with water.

3) Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the next dozen.

4) Meanwhile, prepare frosting.
In a medium bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium speed until combined. Gradually add the sugar. As it gets thick alternate with milk one Tbls at a time until sugar is completely mixed in. Beat at least 3 minutes until it gets creamy and fluffy.

5) Spread or pipe frosting on top of each cupcake.

Makes 2 dozen regular cupcakes or 1 dozen large cupcakes

Amber’s Name: Not Yo Momma’s Reese’s Cup…Cake

Sara’s Name: Dark Chocolate-y Peanut Butter-y Bomb Diggit-y Cupcake

I can hardly wait until February!

Accountability Baking!

2011-02-04T13:49:00.001-06:00

If we’re friends on facebook, or if you look back at my most recent blog posts, you know that I love food! I’m not overly creative with my food. I mostly like good ol’e home cooking from scratch, which always includes a good baked good or two! Not sure why I have this obsession, but I decided to just embrace it and share it.

One way I’m going to embrace my obsession with baked goods is through what I like to call accountability baking!

I have a friend named Amber.

Things that make our friendship special:
• Jr High Believe and a bird named Presley made us friends.
• My boss now, used to be her boss.
• She’s a huge Webb City Cardinals fan! You can tell by the sticker in the back window of her car.
• She lives in the same town as my in-laws.
• She can convince me to do things I wouldn’t normally do, but don’t tell her that.
• She makes me laugh out loud on a regular basis.
• She shares her mom’s chex mix with me!
• We love animals.
• We have lots of inside jokes.
• We have impromptu lunch appointments, at least every other week.
• We love details, systems and rules.
• We love to be creative with our gift giving.
• We love themed texting wars.
• We love to bake and share!

Thing that makes our friendship difficult:
• We live 9 hours away from each other!

One night during one of our many texting conversations, while I was watching Cupcake Wars, Fabulous Cakes, Cake Boss: Next Great Baker, etc., she asked me if I had ever tried making any of the recipes I saw for cupcakes on tv.

I told her I wasn’t brave enough to try some of their crazy recipes and that I needed a good reason to bake a lot of cupcakes, otherwise Jon & I would eat them all by ourselves. So I asked her if she wanted to come over to help me bake & eat. That answer is always yes. However as I mentioned, she lives 9 hours away. We both got sad for a moment. Then Amber in her brilliance suggested a plan for us to bake “together” anyway.

She calls it “Sara n Amber’s Cupcake A Month Long Distance Baking Project” or “Greatest Idea Eva”

Because we are a “couple of willy nilly-less girls” (her phrasing) here are our guidelines:
• Bake a different kind of cupcake each month for an entire year, me from MO and her from KY.
• Both bake the same recipes. One month I choose, the next month she chooses.
• All recipes are from scratch; variations are allowed.
• Creativity is highly encouraged.
• We must name our cupcakes as if we were selling them!
• Have fun and bake lots of cupcakes!!!

I can hardly wait! 12 yummy recipes and pictures to come!

Broccoli Cheese Noodle Soup

2010-11-02T17:08:00.005-06:00

While I'm in the business of sharing recipes, this is another one of my favorites! There is no story to go along with this recipe, but it's perfect for chilly nights and leftovers the next day! I usually double this recipe and add cooked chicken. Also, I adjust the broccoli and cheese to whatever I'm feeling that night.

Broccoli Cheese Noodle Soup
10 oz chopped broccoli
2 oz angel hair pasta, in small pieces
1/4 cup butter
1 Tbls flour
1 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1/8 tsp. pepper
6 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed (optional)

Cook broccoli and pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth.
Gradually stir in water, milk and pepper until well blended.

Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes until thickened.
Reduce heat and stir in cheese until melted.

Stir in broccoli, pasta, chicken & sour cream.
Heat through, but do not boil.

Yield: 4 small servings

Grandma's Apple Crisp

2010-09-19T16:31:00.004-06:00

Most of my tweets and facebook status updates have to do with food. I love food. I get excited about food that I love. I'm a verbal eater, meaning I ooh and aah over the best bites.

I'm not exactly a brave eater. The menus around our house are not necessarily adventurous or overly creative. We eat a lot of the same things a lot of the time. But none the less, I love food.

Particularly I love baked goods. Sweet breads, doughs, cookies, brownies, cakes, cupcakes. I do my best to only make these when a particular activity necessitates it, or when people come over. We have people over a lot.

I also love heritage. My paternal grandma, Bernadine Carter (Grandma Bernie, to me) has always given great attention to the preparation of food. "Presentation is half the battle," she always says. Her mashed potatoes are as smooth as she is thorough. But her great attention to food stems from her great value of people. She always wants to present the best, not so she'll get the praise, but so that the people she serves feel deeply cared for.

Years ago, she was the "chairperson" for the committee who put together a cookbook through their little country church. Bethel Church is a sweet little church in the country just outside Farmer City, IL. It is where my Grandma grew up. It is where my Grandpa's father was the preacher. It is where all of my dad's cousins grew up in Sunday School and social gatherings. Until my dad's generation moved out of the area, it was where 75-100 people would cram into the little basement every November for Thanksgiving dinner. Aunt Toosie always brought the noodles and Grandma her mashed potatoes! It is where most of my extended family met Jon. We were "only friends" though.

Anyway, this cookbook called "Recipes and Remembrances" is one of my treasured possessions. It is full of recipes, mostly from my family, and from the other members of Bethel who were like family. As I turn the pages of this recipe book, I'm filled with thankfulness for all the people who shared recipes, but who also shared life with my family, the good and the bad.

My banana bread recipe is from this book. Nothing fancy. Just a list of ingredients all dumped in a bowl and mixed well. I've added a few of my own things to it, but at it's core, it will always be Great Grandma Pearl's recipe. And I love it.

One of the other cherished recipes is Grandma's Apple Crisp. My Grandpa worked at the University of Illinois as an electrician for years and my Grandma would go to the orchard on campus each fall to get "educated apples" to make applesauce (another fav) and apple crisp. She always gets Jonathan apples. They are bright red and tart. A mixture of flour, cinnamon, sugar and butter go on top. And my mouth is watering. It's the perfect fall treat, and even Jon, who doesn't like fruit, loves it!

I stink at blogging...but today I'm blogging about pizza!

2010-08-20T11:32:00.011-06:00

There are so many great things to blog about in my life...I just don't take the time to do it!

It's way to easy just to post a pic and a sentence on facebook or twitter, and completely forget about my blog...

So today...on Jon's 30th birthday...I blog about pizza!

For the past year and a half, Jon & I have been on a weekly mission to recreate Monical's Pizza ...and drag as many friends as we can into our obsession!

I grew up eating Monical's Pizza nearly every Friday night, while watching the Dukes of Hazzard. My entire family is obsessed by it, especially my uncle Ben who moved to Indianapolis, a town that had not yet discovered the heavenly pizza. If we celebrated Christmas not on Christmas day, we'd eat a huge lunch, open presents, then follow it with a huge feast of pizza!

When I began dating Jon, Monical's Pizza quickly became a favorite of his when we would go back to Illinois to visit my family. We love it so much that we catered it for our rehearsal dinner!

So a year and a half or so ago, we decided that since we probably will never have Monical's Pizza here in the Joplin area, we would do our best to recreate it in our own kitchen.

We read everyone's advice from crust recipes to the layering of toppings, to cook times and utensils. We purchased a pizza peel from a local restaurant supply store, plenty of basil and we were on our way.

It is now our Friday night tradition to make our version of Monical's and invite friends over to share.

The Student Ministry Center at our church recently acquired a pizza oven. Fantastic! I thought to myself, "I'm the Student Ministry Assistant and I oversee our cafe for students. I should probably learn how to use this amazing oven, right?"

So this past Tuesday Jon and I loaded up our pizza peel, homemade dough, rolling pins, corn meal, basil and toppings and invited a few friends to join us.

Here are the results:

I don't know how I can ever make pizza in my own oven again!

And we're trying it again Saturday night!

Our obsession has gone to new heights!

A birthday gift for Jani

2010-03-22T13:50:00.007-06:00

March 23, 2010 is Jani Bravenboer’s 30th birthday!!! I realized that she has been in my life for almost 7 years!

Jani moved to Joplin in May 2003 from Pretoria, South Africa. All by herself, she showed up to the Oklahoma City airport, with 2 suitcases, both bigger than she is. She came here to work for Jr High Believe at CIY. We traveled all over this country together and quickly she became my kindred spirit.

That summer in 2003, Martin also moved here from South Africa. Jani & Martin were certainly acquaintances in South Africa, but it took them moving halfway across the world to find out that they were to make a life together. Martin quickly became a true friend and confidant for my Jon.

We traveled many miles, shared many meals and holidays, and lived through many good and bad experiences during their time here. In December 2007 they needed to move back to South Africa, and we were all devastated.

However, trusting God's plan and taking with them all of their American experiences and opportunities, they are now living in Cape Town, South Africa, ministering to a new group of people, who desperately need to hear the Gospel.

Not only are they celebrating Jani’s 30th birthday this month, they are also celebrating the birth of their little girl, Anke Louise, who was born 2 weeks ago.

Today I wish I were taking cupcakes to Jani’s house, sharing a strong cup of coffee with her, and holding her sweet baby. Many things in my house, in my garden and in my heart are daily reminders of my dear friend. And today I celebrate her!

Since I can’t be with her today and give her a gift in person, a picture will have to do. This picture leaves my computer with much anticipation, and many plans still to be made.

Happy Birthday Jani!

We’re coming to see you next December!!!!!

I’m tired of being uncultured. I’m tired of letting that fear keep me from experiencing some amazing things. So I'm taking one step at at time. First, tell Martin. Second, get passport. Third, tell Jani! South Africa, here we come!

Soon we will be eating cupcakes, drinking coffee, walking on the beach and playing with your sweet baby TOGETHER!! And we can hardly wait!

I love you my dear friend! And I can hardly wait to hug you tight!

Happy Birthday!

Ever wonder if you have something to write about?

2010-01-04T22:36:00.001-06:00

Looking back on this year, I realize I have had so much to write about, but just haven't taken time to do it.

Taking the lead from a dear friend who lives too far away, I'm going to "sentence blog" tonight.

I started working at our church in June. Amazing.

I started sewing again on my mom's Singer.

I found out that a dear neighbor is a card maker too! She has inspired me to make cards for all occasions!

I built a bluebird house.

My garden got a bit of a face lift, thanks to a dump truck of dirt, a truckload of mulch and good friends.

Jon and I took our vacation in October for 3 days to busy New York City followed by 3 days to the peaceful mountains of Highland County, VA.

I love coffee more than ever!

I'm learning to Tweet.

We bought a fire pit - which I've wanted for a long time.

Jon tiled our guest bathroom!

I'm trying to read more.

My community has grown especially now that I work with the student ministry.

I've seen God work in the lives of many people and in many ways.

Jon bought me the best coat ever for our 7th anniversary!!

My car turned 10 years old this week.

I have always struggled with putting words to my emotions and experiences. There's always something to write about. I just need to take time to find the words.

God has been so good to me and I'm so thankful to be in His presence every moment of my life.

It's June now!

2009-06-21T08:04:00.003-06:00

I'm in Holland, MI now. Beautiful weather. Beautiful place. We are sitting in a MOVE grid walk-through meeting.

Our getting here was very interesting! We left Joplin last Friday at 7:30am. Beautiful weather. A van with 10 people (3 of which are Jayson & Janice's awesome kids!) and pulling a trailer. We were moving right a long doing great. Kayla was driving. We made our famous stop at I-44 Exit 274 for lunch at QT.

We crossed over into Illinois knowing that we were most likely going to hit bad weather. We drove through Lincoln and were almost to Bloomington when the wind picked up. It started hailing and pouring down rain. We could barely see, so Titus got us to a rest area for a few minutes to let the storm pass.

Janice French started driving and we stopped for dinner around 6-ish for dinner just south of Chicago on I-80. By the time we crossed over from IN to MI...all crazy broke lose. It was dark, thundering and lightening everywhere. The rain was pouring down and the wind started to pick up just as we got on our final leg to Holland. Water was rushing over the interstate in several places...in the dark and the rain.

Hwy 31 was closed where we needed to go in Holland, so we had to snake through town. The roads were flooded. Cars were stalled. By they time we go to campus it was a mess. We had to park 3 blocks from our apartments and carry luggage, food, kids through knee deep water! It was a crazy experience at 10:30pm at night.

A lady had just tried to drive down the road in front of our apartments. Water started rushing into her car. We went to help them get out of the car. 4 people, a suitcase and 2 huge graduation cakes. We toted all of them across the street and up to the apartments until someone got there to help. Wreckers were making a ton of money that night!

A guy was kayaking down the street. Brave people were forcing there way through the streets hoping to make it. The "tidal" waves they created were rocking the other cars down the street! It was all very surreal!

The next morning when I got up around 7am...I thought was had dreamed it all...there was no water anywhere. Seriously!!!???

I promise I didn't make it up! See:

I was so excited to see the water gone the next morning! I got up and walked down to an amazing Farmer's Market. I got some fresh strawberries, nectarines and homemade spice cake doughnuts! Happy day!

So excited for the week to get started. It's going to be awesome!

New Hair Cut!!!

2008-12-13T11:56:00.005-06:00

In May 2006, I had just resigned from CIY and began spending my mornings walking on the treadmill at the gym watching the Today Show on NBC. One morning they had the Rockefeller Plaza filled with 20 or more beautician chairs and hair dressers ready to cut hair. Their story that morning was about Locks of Love, which is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.

They filled the 20+ plus beautician chairs with people of all ages who were donating 10 or more inches of hair to Locks of Love. I was inspired by the stories of the recipients and the donors to do this myself. I've never had trouble growing my hair, and it isn't all that unmanageable long because it is so straight. I also found out that it takes 6-10 donations of 10 inches each to make one prosthetic hairpiece. So I decided to do it.

It has taken me a year and a half to finally have 10 strong inches of hair. I was anxious in October, so I waited 6 more weeks to cut it.

I love my new cut and my heart is so happy to help some child feel pretty and normal. I plan on doing this again, but it will probably take 2+ years to grow it back out.

So much for keeping people updated...

2008-10-21T16:37:00.004-06:00

Apparently I have forgotten the point of a blog. Not having internet at home is about 90% beneficial. The 10% that makes it not beneficial involve my time blogging and using facebook.

So, here's what's been going on...

Back to work. I love my "employees." It's hard to call them employees some days, because they have become my friends too. I have 10 people that work under me in the Ministry Contact Center.

My morning employees, Sally, Lori & Ashton, do mostly data entry. Last year they made phone calls, but because of our high volume of data entry needs, they were more than willing to take this on. I enjoy our conversations about life, and coffee break time(s)! I appreciate their life wisdom and their commitment to hard work.

My afternoon employees are all Ozark Christian College students: Curtis, Jeremy, Chelsea, Derek, Tyler, Cassa & Ryan. I've found that I shouldn't offer them too much chocolate or candy, as things will get a little wild and crazy around 4pm! I love the way they are learning and searching through life circumstances. I also love to here about campus life. I appreciate them for coming in each day with positive attitudes, and continuing to pick up the phone over and over again no matter the response of the people on the other end.

Kudos to my MCC Staff (and my friends)!!

Recently we've spent fall cleaning around our house.

I bought 14 bags of mulch for around my trees and my flower beds. I still need about 3 more bags, but everything certainly looks better and is ready for the winter.

While I mulched, Jon power-washed our house, thanks to our friend, Ryan, who graciously let us borrow his power washer. Our house truly looks white now! I've yet to get our water bill, but Ryan said it won't be as bad as I expect! Regardless of the cost, our house needed a good healthy cleaning before winter.

The last cleaning that we did this past weekend was for a really great reason!!! We had to clean out our garage to make room for a 2nd car! Some of our friends recently purchased a Honda Pilot from a Honda dealer in Kansas City, so that kind of set us over the edge to actually pursue a car purchase.

Last Thursday, we drove to Kansas City, MO to look at a 2005 Honda Accord. It's the same car we had looked at many times, but this car only had 27,000 miles and was priced $3,000 under blue book. We drove it home that night! And we absolutely love it!

Thanks for helping us make a good purchase, Dave Ramsey!!!

Next week Jon's parents are coming for a visit. We haven't seen them since February!!!

Also, we've been helping out at the teen service at CCO on Wednesday nights called "Refuge." We're helping with behind-the-scenes things and it's been great. Our church is in the process of building a new youth center to be finished next spring.

I'm so much better at blogging random things. Maybe I can try to do that more often!

MOVE

2008-07-14T14:50:00.005-06:00

Over the course of the past year or so, Christ In Youth has been in the process of rebranding just about every program we have. We are celebrating 40 years of ministry this year. Probably the biggest branding change has been with the name of our high school summer events. In the past they have been known as "Summer Conference"...that's been real descriptive. That's like saying "Hey, let's go to "Restaurant" for dinner tonight. Other people have referred to these events simply as "CIY", which isn't accurate either since CIY hosts many different events through the school year for students from Pre-Teen to College.

After much deliberation the leaders decided to call our high school summer events "MOVE". The change has been amazing. The word seems simple, and it is, because it reaches every student and sponsor at their level. God is calling us to MOVE. For some people, MOVE means go to another country and tell people about Christ. For others, MOVE simply means become more Christ-like in your home and school. MOVE can also mean, when you feel the nudge of the Holy Spirit to say something to someone or do something for someone, do it. The word has become very powerful and the concept very concrete.

I am currently in Carbondale, IL, at the beginning of my 5th week of MOVE this summer. Though we've already seen almost 3500 students at the other 4 events I've been to, MOVE will come alive for another 1700 this week. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to witness thousands of students understand what it means to MOVE. Even sitting in the back of the room, you can sense the anticipation and the motivation in the hearts of these students to do something big for God.

CIY as a whole has also recently shifted its mission statement from "Change Youth, Change the World" to "Amplify the call of Christ." Both of these changes have allowed us to be more intentional. The noise in students' lives is loud. We want to be an agent of change by amplifying the call of Christ in their lives, and raising up a new generation of Kingdom workers.

Some pics from my Garden

2008-06-11T13:09:00.007-06:00

I like to take pictures of my spring garden every week or so because once April is here, it changes quite a lot.

April 22

May 13

May 17

Purple iris from dad's garden & A peach iris from Grandma's garden

White Clematis & Jani's Gerbera Daisy

May 21

Oak trees from Martin & Jani

Sweet gum tree from dad's yard

May 23

Time of Death 152,000+ miles....

2008-06-11T09:17:00.003-06:00

It was a very sad day in the Hill household. On May 7, 2008 Jon's car finally called it quits...
His dad bought the 1997 silver Ford Escort for Jon in 1997. It was his first and only car. "Silver Sally" served him well.

We had just gotten her looked at that morning. The mechanic told us she needed a new engine. We had resolved to drive her and keep a towing company's number with us. Wasn't even 30 minutes after we left the shop...she was done...

Because the car was still in relatively good condition, we could bear to just "sell" her to a salvage yard for them to pick her apart :( So we donated her to an organization who will spend some money (more than we wanted to spend) to fix her up and give her to a needy family. www.donateacar2charity.com

I'm really still here!

2008-05-27T16:08:00.002-06:00

An update on my decision making blog from 2 MONTHS AGO...has it really been that long!?
What color to paint our bedroom? Or do I paint out bedroom?
YES!! We picked 2 shades of a blue/gray - Autumn Fog & Winter Flannel. We have almost finished our bathroom and will hopefully get the bedroom done before we leave for the summer.

How, where & when to dig a french drain in our yard...so that water doesn't sit on my foundation?
Well...it's been raining yet again...and we have a lake in our backyard as usual. Still not sure the best option.

Should I build a pergola in the back yard, or just a lattice wall?

Should I start walking in the morning at 6:15 or wait until after work when Jon can walk with me?
I didn't start walking, however I did start going back to Tae-robics...which is by far my favorite workout! Though it's only once or twice a week, I feel so much better!

When do we purchase a new car? Or do we just let one of our cars die before we think about it?
I'll blog about this real soon...but Jon's car finally gave up the fight. It died 3 weeks ago at just over 152,000 miles. Jon was very sad...for now we will remain a 1 car family and save some money over the summer.

Where an when to do we take a vacation this year?
As my friend reminded me...there's always Disney World! Not sure if we'll go again or not, but we are planning to take a couple of long weekend trips to Dallas and possibly Chicago.

Do we have children or not? ( I know. This is pretty huge decision compared to the others)
This one is still up in the air!
*****************************************************************************

We leave a week from Friday for the first 4 weeks of MOVE. We go to Anderson, IN for 2 weeks, then on to Holland, MI for another 2 weeks. We have a really great group of interns this year. They have only been in the office for a week, but are knocking projects out like crazy!

I've been "officially" off for the summer as of May 15...but somehow I'm still working between 6 & 10 hours a week...hhmm...

I have been cleaning out all of the closets in our 3 bedrooms, taking things to Goodwill, throwing things out, and selling books and other random things at a local flea market!

Book recommendation of the week (not that I'm one to regularly recommend books!):
"The Shack" by William P Young.

We read this book in our CIY wives book club a few weeks ago. It's blowing my mind! I highly recommend this as a summer read!

Hopefully I'll have some pictures to post next time :)

I have decided...

2008-03-22T10:42:00.003-06:00

So there's this thing about me. I have a hard time making decisions. For example, it took me almost exactly 1 year of my life to decide to go ahead and date Jon. Then it took another full year and a half to decide it was okay to marry him. He called me out!

He delicately pointed out to me that I am a fence walker. I love standing on top of the fence because I can see both sides. When I'm on a fence I can enjoy both sides of the situation, see them from above and manage them both. But when I am forced to jump off the fence and into one yard or the other...that's where my problem begins. Did you know that if you jump off the fence and into the one yard...you can't see the other side anymore? But what if the flowers are blooming over there and they aren't in the yard I picked? What if the grass is greener? What if the house is bigger? What if...what if...what if?

I do great once I decide to make a decision. I have very little trouble following through, but deciding to decide is a big problem! And believe me, I can find just about any excuse in the book as to why I can't make a decision. This problem carries over into much of my life. Some days are better than others...deciding what to wear...deciding what to make for dinner...deciding which chore to do when I only have 15 minutes...what TV show to watch when I am home by myself...

This is why, as many of my friends already know about me, I like routine. In routine, I've obviously already made the decision sometime earlier and I can just follow through with the decision that has been made.

I lay in bed almost every morning at 6:15 asking myself, should I get up know and take a walk around the neighborhood...or should I go do a little bit of yoga...or should I get up and read my Bible...or should I...or should I just hit the stupid alarm and get my feet on the floor? Instead I lay there for at least another 30 minutes until I absolutely have to get up to get to work on time...I just need to make the decision to get up at 6:15, and once that decision is made, then I can move on and decide what I need to do once I'm up...

Current things I want to make decisions on in my life:

What color to paint our bedroom? Or do I paint out bedroom?

How, where & when to dig a french drain in our yard...so that water doesn't sit on my foundation?

Should I build a pergola in the back yard, or just a lattice wall?

Should I start walking in the morning at 6:15 or wait until after work when Jon can walk with me?

When do we purchase a new car? Or do we just let one of our cars die before we think about it?

Where an when to do we take a vacation this year?

Do we have children or not? ( I know. This is pretty huge decision compared to the others)

It's not that I have to know the answer to all of these questions tomorrow. It's more the fact that I need to decide that I'm actually going to make a decision on them...or none of them will ever get dealt with...

To some of you reading this, this seems completely ridiculous that I can't just make a dumb decision! But to others of you, I know you have this problem too!

To give myself a little credit, I did make the decision to read through the Bible this year with the help of my Through the Bible in a Year. So far I am caught up to date. Almost 1/4 of the way through the year. One decision down...lots more to go!

My words, or lack there of

2008-02-29T09:32:00.003-06:00

I find it very intimidating to blog after reading all of my other friends' quippy and clever thoughts on their Facebooks and blogs.

Do I have anything to say? I like it better when I'm just a wallflower. I can sit back and listen, comment and laugh at appropriate times and walk away with a happy heart.

I do have things to say. I'm just not sure if anybody else cares about the things I have to say. It makes me nervous to have the center stage in a conversation. When I'm talking, I usually walk away, not with a happy heart, but with wondering questions..."did I talk too much?" "did I waste people's time?" "is what I said really important or was I just bumping my gums to hear myself talk?"

It's just easier sometimes to be quiet. This isn't a pitty party by any means. Just an ongoing thought I've had most of my adult life.

The Matthew 12:34 says "For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks."

What do my words, many or few, say about my heart?

Today

2008-02-21T14:16:00.002-06:00

10 reasons to be happy today

1. Waking up to a thunderstorm in February (followed by sleet & ice!)

2. Turning 32 today!

3. Sharing my birthday with Krystle and Brittany!

4. My parents came from Illinois for a visit

5. Listening to Corinne Bailey Rae on a rainy/snowy afternoon

6. A girls' lunch at Bella Peppers!

7. Feeling loved by so many amazing FRIENDS

8. "Praise to the King of Kings" after every singing of "Happy Birthday" at CIY!

9. Starbuck's and dark chocolate

10. Text messages from SOUTH AFRICA!!

Thank you to all of my friends who remembered me today. I'm so thankful for all of you.

Happy Anniversary Martin & Jani!

2007-12-31T12:40:00.001-06:00

Our last week with Martin & Jani

2007-12-15T14:04:00.000-06:00

Since the last time I wrote, so much has happened. Most recently though, 2 of our closest friends moved back to South Africa. This past Tuesday they left Joplin to go back home indefinitely. Good thing their last few days in America is something they will remember for a long time!

They stayed at our house the week before they left. We met with our small group.

We had our last meeting with our Financial Peace University small group.

Jani made us Roobis tea almost every night and we sat around in our pajamas and watched Mythbusters! We ate the Donut Hole donuts on Saturday morning.

It was great!...until our power went out Sunday morning because of the ice! They were supposed to have a big "good-bye" party on Sunday night that ended up being canceled due to the ice storm.

We stayed the night at the Spurrier's house, which then lost power Monday morning. We had to scrape Jon's car off which I'm sure made Martin & Jani glad they were going back to summer in South Africa!!

We stopped at Starbuck's, picked up kerosene and drove back home so Jani & Martin could back pack the bags they were flying with. Martin felt terrible, so he laid on the couch the entire day while Jani & Jon crammed as much as they could in their 4 checked bags and 4 carry-ons...in the dark.

Thankfully we had gotten a kerosene heater from Jon's parents when we got married. We were able to keep the living room temperature at about 65 all day. We got a little creative with our meals and our house smelled like the Yankee Candle Company! We had a slumber party in the living room that night. Martin felt much better the next morning. We were able to warm water on top of the kerosene heater and on our grill, so Martin & Jani could at least feel somewhat clean before they traveled for 40 hours!

Tuesday morning Peter Buckland and Scott Boudreaux picked Martin & Jani up to take them to the airport. They left on time and arrived in South Africa on Thursday morning.

We love you friends and we miss you so much already!

Bald River Falls - Tellico Plains, TN

2007-07-22T14:12:00.000-06:00

One of our core values at CIY is community. We add specific elements into our events that allow youth groups to experience community. I love when our staff gets to experience community! Because we have so much fun together!

Yesterday the TN 5 & 6 team got to sleep in, then we ventured about and hour and a half east to Tellico Plains, TN. We spent the afternoon playing in the river. Some of the guys went fly fishing while others climbed on the rocks and hiked some small trails. We ended the trip with a dinner at a hole in the wall BBQ place.

We all came back refreshed and ready for our final week of Conference, that begins today!

Bald River Falls

Sydney French

Jon & me

Jennifer & me

Jayson ready to fly fish

Everyone wading in the river

And the answer is....

2007-06-29T21:23:00.001-06:00

YES!!!

Maggie Frazee and I waited at the Johnson City AT&T store this afternoon for 3 hours to purchase our husbands iPhones.

Not too much excitement during the wait. A nice lady gave us Klondike Oreo cookie ice cream sandwiches and we may have been in the background of a couple of live local TV broadcasts. We were numbers 10 & 11 in line. Some of the people had been there since 6am. By the time the doors opened there were 38 people there. The store had 40 phones.

Jon & Greg will probably be up half the night learning! They are so excited and proud to be "early adopters"!

Question of the day...

2007-06-29T11:30:00.000-06:00

Will I go stand in line to buy an iPhone for Jon or not?

4 hours 28 minutes and counting...

My visit to Louisville and back

2007-06-24T19:26:00.000-06:00

This evening I returned to Milligan with Jon after being in Louisville with my wonderful inlaws this past week.

Jon's parents came to CIY at the end of week 1 here at Milligan. They took me back with them to Louisville for some R & R.

We didn't have a whole lot scheduled which was nice. My 8 year old niece, Kelsey, stayed the night with us Sunday night. I don't get to spend much time with her, especially one-on-one, so this was a special treat for both of us. We did the usual girl things, painting her nails and braiding her hair, and we watched Flicka before going to bed. The next morning we went up to the neighborhood pool and played for about and hour until it looked like it would storm. She had to go home after lunch so she could make it to her dance classes on time that evening.

Tuesday morning we got up and met some of my inlaws friends for a horse farm tour at the Undulata Saddlebred Farm. We ate at Claudia Sanders Dinner House (wife of Colonel Sanders, KFC). Best fried chicken I've eaten! Then we went to downtown Shelbyville, KY for some antique shopping in the historical downtown.

Wednesday we picked up Kelsey and her brother Jordan and took them to see some movies. Jordan & Kinney went to see "Surf's Up", and Meredith and I took Kelsey to see "Nancy Drew" which was adorable! We had dinner at their house, then said goodbye to them as they were heading to Atlanta to visit their cousins.

Thursday I went to the pool again and we pretty much relaxed all day.

Friday my friend Amber came down from Indy to visit me! We went to the Highlands area and ate, walked around and drank coffee. It was so much fun! She came back for dinner that night and we laughed and carried on until 9 or so. Thanks for visiting me, friend!

Saturday Meredith and I went to a Garden Party with some ladies from her church. I was definitely one of the youngest there, but I had the best time. We all had to follow the derby tradition and wear hats! I felt like a southern bell, and reconfirmed my belief that I was meant to live in the south! You can see me and my mother-in-law below:

Jon and Seth came Saturday night, surprising Jon's parents, and brought me home today.
I had such a nice time, and I will miss them dearly. But I'm excited to be back at Milligan for week 3 of Summer Conference here. The new team and the camp team reps all showed up this evening and the churches all show up tomorrow!

Vacation Girls!

2007-06-09T19:19:00.001-06:00

Last weekend was finally another Vacation Girls party! Our dear friend Carrie turned 50, so we celebrated in Kansas City.

These women are so special to me. My life is so much more full because of each one of them. We have shared many life moments together even though some of us live many miles apart.

At one point in time all of us worked at CIY, now only one is still there as an employee, and others are still directly connected to the ministry. I can't imagine life without these friends.

Love you girls!

What did you do when you resigned from your job...?

2007-05-20T19:25:00.000-06:00

I went to Disney World!!!

It's been almost 2 weeks ago now. I love that place! I could go over and over and over again. If you recall, Jon & I went there at this time last year for an entire week. This time we only got one day for MGM, Epcot and Magic Kingdom, then one day at Animal Kingdom. Am I really 31? Because I feel like a little kid just looking at these pictures!

Jon & Me on the tea cups! I hate those things!

This is us on the new Clam-mobile ride with Nemo at Epcot!

These aren't the greatest pictures ever, but it's just a little taste of the fun we had. I can hardly wait to go back again!!

Day #3 of not working...

2007-05-03T17:07:00.000-06:00

Last week this time, I had high hopes of crossing all kinds of things off my home to-do list...I've not gotten very far.

Here's what today looked like:
1. Took Jon to work

2. Went to the Y for a 30 minute cardio workout on the treadmill

3. Came home and cleaned up

4. Made 2 batches of yummy banana bread

5. Ate left over lasagna

6. Filed a few things while listening to Corinne Bailey Rae

7. Watched The Ellen Degeneres Show

8. Watched Oprah

9. Picked up Jon from work.

I didn't even do 10 things that were significant today! I'm going to "blame it on the rain"...isn't that a song Johnny?
I have high hopes for tomorrow...

The newest addition to my garden!

2007-04-28T19:17:00.000-06:00

Can you see him???

Jon named him Curtis. He is living in my Burning Bush plant in the front yard. I noticed him while I was shaping the bush today. He started calling out to his frog friend across the street, who mimicked his call. Wonder what else I'll find this year!

I've come that they may have life...

2007-04-28T18:58:00.000-06:00

...and have it to the full. ~ John 10:10

I've always loved that verse, mostly because I believe it. I believe that the time Jon & I just spent with 2 of our most favorite people is what Jesus means by life to the full.

Yesterday Martin & Jani B showed up at our house around 9am and we headed to Kansas City. Since we've been gone so much this spring, we've been missing our friends.

We went to the zoo and got rained on! But we saw some lots of animals and an IMAX movie on the Deep Sea.

Jani & I resting in Australia

A sweet little koala

A meek lion

A lazy tiger

Jon & I in front of the roos!

To the Plaza for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and shopping at the Apple Store, Gap, Barnes & Noble and Restoration Hardware. To the Comfort Suites (thank you Choice Hotels points) for laughter in the hot tub and a long night's sleep. To the Pier 1 Clearance Store for a new coffee table for the Bravenboer's, and finally the Independence Center for more shopping.

I'm incredibly thankful for our true friends. We were realizing on the way home that this time last year all four of us were traveling with Believe, and we never would have imagined that one year later our lives would look completely different; all four of us making job transitions, but still living in Joplin.

Thank you, Martin & Jani, for sharing life with us. I can hardly wait to see how God will allow us to live life to the fullest during this next year.
We love you!

Wow.

2007-04-25T18:58:00.000-06:00

I feel like life has been flying by too quickly.

I have 3 days left of full-time employment at CIY. We've just finished the 5 busiest weeks ever. I'm not even sure life has existed outside of a CIY van or venue. It's been awesome, but everyone in our Conference department is exhausted...and summer is almost here!!

This past weekend was the last Jr High Believe of the tour, and my last CIY event. As Johnny said, it was too busy to be emotional. Thank you, Lord. I was surrounded by some of my most favorite people who have become my closest friends.

It was all very bittersweet, as Jon & I are letting go of a huge part of who we've become. Everyone has been so kind to me, encouraging me and loving on me. I can't say how incredibly thankful I am that God has allowed us to stay at CIY. Our hearts are here. And I'm so excited for Jon's opportunities. Today, more than ever, I feel God's hand heavy on CIY. Sometimes He prunes and sometimes He allows fruit to flourish. In both cases He is at work, and I'm overwhelmed.

We've been so busy that I've hardly had to time to think about how much our lives are changing. I'm trying to get through all of my self-created to-do lists at work before Monday, while trying to not be overwhelmed by a huge to-do list I've started at home.

I'm excited about what my future holds. I'm praying hard that God will help me find my place in a real world that I've never really known here. I want to rest. But I don't want to get so comfortable and used to being at home that I miss out on actualizing the passions that God is developing in me.

What I do know is that my yard needs a lot of work. The grass is already too tall and it's been raining for 2 days! At least I know I won't be bored!!!

You might be a crazy old bird lady...

2007-03-06T21:07:00.000-06:00

My dad has always taught me to notice the little things around me, especially in nature. We camped and hiked a lot when I was young and he would always be quick to point out a hawk high up in a tree or several deer or pheasant on the edge of a wooded area. So now I naturally notice those kinds of things everywhere I go.

I think this is why I am so fascinated with birds. I begged my dad for a pet when I was little. He never wanted us to have a dog because he felt they need a lot of room to run. He hates cats with a passion (sorry Teri). And I had no desire for smelly rodents. So one year for Christmas, when I was about 8, he bought me a little bird cage. We went to the pet store together to pick out a little parakeet. I chose one similar to this little guy:

http://www.thelensflare.com
Someone told me that if I wanted him to learn how to talk, I needed to give him a name with a lot of the letter "p" in it. So my brilliant self named my new little bird Pepper! Needless to say, he never even came close to saying anything but "SQWAK!!!" I loved my little bird and found great joy and mystery in watching him.

Somehow almost 20 years later, I reluctantly became the care taker for a 2 year old Umbrella Cockatoo named Presley. What an overwhelming task that was at times! What an amazing bird he was!

He on the complete opposite side of Pepper talked way too much! His personality was that of a learning 2 year old child. I loved him and was blown away by his human-like expressions and characteristics. I could watch him and be thoroughly entertained for hours.

I promised myself that I would not become a crazy old bird lady like the one I bought Presley from. However, I find myself looking out my back window waiting to see what kind of bird will eat from my 3 bird feeders in the back yard. Somedays I think I could watch them all day.

So many things about birds are amazing. Their tiny little fluffy bodies that can stand heat and cold. Their many different calls that each mean something very specific. Their migrating in the winter in huge flocks, flying hundreds of miles, then returning in the spring to the place they started. Their balance. Their eyesight. Their voices' volume. Their resiliant yet delicate features.

This morning I was fixing my breakfast when I heard an unusual call. It made me even more ready for spring that I could hardly get to the window fast enough to see what it was. I had noticed a bright red male cardinal eating from one of the feeders earlier this week, but I knew that wasn't his call. When I looked out the window I saw this proud little male red winged black bird. He was hanging sideways off the feeder, pacing back and forth claiming his territory. He was calling out as loud as he could to anything that would listen to him, letting them know that this was his feeder!

Now I'm pretty sure blackbirds aren't the most desirable birds to have in my backyard, however I can't help but look at him and see his beauty. The red on his wings is amazingly brilliant. He stretches and pumps his wings flaunting his color, warning those who can see him not to mess with him. He might be a bully, but I can't help but be amazed by his ability to communicate in detail through his many different calls and body language, and by the incredible detail God has given to him. And I can't help but be reminded of the very specific detail that God has given my life. I see it now more than ever. Doesn't God care more for me than for the birds of the air?

I'm totally a crazy old bird lady!

Digerati, I never will be.

2007-03-03T23:30:00.000-06:00

I've never really considered myself computer illiterate. After all I sit in front of one all day long. I use a computer to pay all of my bills online, to do all of my banking online, etc. However I'm realizing that I'm not computer illiterate, I'm just Google and Blogger illiterate.

Tonight, in an attempt to begin changing over all of my online accounts to my new Gmail address (since I will no longer have a ciy e-mail address after April), I deleted our blog. That's right. I deleted our blog. jonandsara.blogspot.com no longer exists.

How in the world could this happen? I have no excuses except that I obviously didn't understand the ramifications of using my Google Account to log into Blogger. I have nothing but a sick feeling in my stomach.

Oh well, I guess now is a good time to start fresh. And now that Jon is working at CIY, this will give him and opportunity to start his own blog. So I am in mourning and have no motivation or intention to recreate what once was. Tomorrow I'll wake up and look forward to a clean slate, which can be quite overhwhelming to a girl who likes structure to her life. We'll see how it goes.

Goodbye "geekandgirl." Hello "I love flowers."