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.