Ice cream cone cupcakes!

 For a golden birthday of sorts of the triplets turning 3, I decided to make ice cream cone cupcakes for the celebration.  They were super easy, cute and a big hit!  I gathered a few helpful hints that I used to make these cupcakes, chosen because they seem to be repeated by the majority.

- 1 box of confetti white cake following the instructions for cupcakes

- 1 package of colored ice cream cones, placed in a muffin tin covered with tin foil.  Using a knife or fork or something to penetrate the foil then put the cone in so it was secure for cooking. 

- I filled the batter near to the line (pictured below) and after they cooked I wanted a bit taller for the so I filled the cones to the line, which was perfect.

  

- When the cupcakes were done cooking I immediately removed them to a drying rack to cool and  punctured the bottom of the cone with a fork.  It made sense to do this to help release any condensation to keep the cone from getting soggy BUT really only useful if used same day.   I was cooking mine the day before the party and after fully cooling and storing over night ended up with soft cones to my horror.  If they are soft, just place in the oven on a low temp to help dry them out. I think I heated the oven to 250 and cooked them for about 10min. checking on them regularly.

- Not being a professional cake decorator and never working with frosting tips I decided to give it a go and bought a little decorating bag and tip package from the dollar store only to find frosting that came in an easy dispenser can with tips!  It came with 4 different tips!  ok, so I have no idea how to use any of them but think this is definitely one of the best finds this year.

  - Trouble transporting the cone cupcakes seems to be a recurring theme but I just found a simple solution.  Using a clear plastic cup, I scrunched up some colored tissue paper to fill in some of the dead space, placed the cones and then surrounded the cones by teddy grahams.  I found an unused rubbermaid with a lid to place them in to protect them in the car. I would've used just a cardboard box had I had one.

Taco seasoning in a pinch!

Taco seasoning is one of the packets I always try to have on hand.  I guess just to try is not enough so I found myself needing and easy dinner, came to the conclusion of tacos and lo and behold, no seasoning.  After skimming a few recipes I tried this one out and the results were great!

• 6 teaspoons chili powder
• 5 teaspoons paprika
• 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Because I, for whatever reason, do not have onion or garlic powder on hand I just added one clove of fresh garlic and I also thought 'what's the point' on the cornstarch so I nixed that. In the end I used -
 

• 6 teaspoons chili powder
• 5 teaspoons paprika
• 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

and you know what?  It was perfect!  even the otherwise selective husband liked it!

What is the right age for Disneyland?

I feel like I hear people all to often saying 'we are going to wait until the kids can remember' to take their kids to Disneyland.  To hit the free under 3 years of age limit, we took our kids a few weeks before their 3rd birthday.  It is now a month later and the triplets still talk about mickey mouse land and it is one of their favorite topics to play around.  Yesterday they built Disneyland, they put their FP castle & pirate ship and many other memories from their trip into their mickey mouse land.  They even took had a doll house 'hotel' nearby their park.  Sure, going as a teenager to Disneyland for the first time has its memories but I did not fill my days after running around on the playground or in my room talking and reliving my time spent at Disneyland.  Now I ask you - what is the right age? Is it worth the parents money for their child to remember it or to play and live the excitement from their day Disney regularly?  For me personally it just makes me smile to see how much my kids truly enjoyed their day at Disneyland by hearing them talk about it and reliving it, it was worth every penny and every minute. 

Granola!

Being a fan of granola and thinking I might actually eat breakfast more often I decided to see if I could save money and make some.

Following the below recipe from this website, I was pretty impressed with how easy it was to make granola.  Also it didn't cost much since I was able to buy the ingredients in the bulk food section.  Since making granola is a no brainer, it is a great recipe to make with kids and I'm excited about future batches and using some creativity.  I've eaten with plain yogurt, added it to the kids cereal and we also took some to the park to munch on overall a winner in this household.

Homemade Granola Recipe:

3 cups (300 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

3/4 cup (75 grams) sliced or slivered almonds

1/2 cup (45 grams) raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup (45 grams) raw pumpkin seeds

1/2 tablespoon (5 grams) wheat germ (optional)

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil or 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup (120 ml) pure maple syrup (preferably Grade A Dark Amber)

1 cup dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, figs, and/or raisins) (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Either butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, ground cinnamon, and salt. 
In a small bowl, stir together the oil (or melted butter), and maple syrup. Pour this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss together, making sure all the dry ingredients are coated with the liquid. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 - 45 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally so the mixture browns evenly. (The browner the granola gets (without burning) the crunchier the granola will be.) Place on a wire rack to cool. You will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven but it will become crisp and dry as it cools. Make sure to break up any large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm. Once the granola has completely cooled, store in an airtight container or plastic bag in the refrigerator. It will keep for several weeks.
Makes about 5 cups.
Note:  Once the granola has cooled completely you can add a variety of dried fruits; cherries, cranberries, raisins, and apricots are popular choices.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/HomemadeGranola.html#ixzz254mA7lxW

Milk shakes, back to the basics

Summer heat, lack of inspiration and kids without much of an appetite led me back to my childhood and a favorite snack, milkshakes!  Easy, cool and a yummy afternoon treat how can you go wrong?

Get your blender ready.....
Toss in a handful of Ice
Milk, it is a milk shake after all, I would say I put up to about 2/3 of the ice with milk
handful of strawberries or other fruit

When I was a kid I liked making banana milk shakes but the bananas always seemed to be green, having no patience I would just throw in a little sugar to off set the bitter, green banana taste.  With all the diets and low calorie recipes out there I'm pretty sure a simple ice, milk, fruit shake keeps the calories low and taste high.

Banana, Nutella Bread

A favored banana bread recipe in our house nutella - swirled banana bread.  It's decadent so not repeated as often as it is craved.  When I was whipping up a batch this afternoon I was inspired to put stripes of the Nutella mixture instead of swirling it, because, well stripes are fun.  No matter striped, swirled, mixed in, this is good bread and a must try if you haven't.  I unfortunately did not get a picture of piece of the bread, the vultures (aka husband & kids) got to it before I had a chance to remember.  

The Gear. On the go with triplets! Part III

After the kids outgrew their snap & go car seats they simultaneously outgrew their Tripledecker stroller.  There are toddler seats that you can purchase to use in the Tripledecker, you can even use the toddler seats that attach to a bicycle.  We opted to not go this route when I found this amazing stroller.  When I say amazing, I mean life saving, awesome, easily lets me go anywhere with my triplets.

Without further ado.......Valco, Twin Tri Mode Ex stroller with Joey attachment. 



Why I love this stroller -
1. lightweight, it is a jogging stroller after all
2. folds easily, unsnap each side and then step on it
3. takes up little room in the car, it does carry 3 kids after all
4. accessibility, if a door is handicap accessible this stroller will fit!

Love, love, love.  The kids are 3 now and I still use my Valco stroller for regularly outings and the occasional stroll through the mall where I need to keep them contained.  If you have triplets and want independence to be out and about with them this is a must!   It seems like an expensive set up but we got the Twin Tri Mode off of Craig's list for $250(!) and then only had to buy the separate Joey seat.