Nathan and I had a fun, low-key weekend. We saw Taken 2 on Friday night and ran into my brother and his friends at the movie. It was a fun movie and Liam Nieson is always awesome, but the movie was pretty predictable if you've seen the first movie.
Saturday mornings I always have one student from 8:30-9:30 which is great because it forces us to get going early on Saturday, pick up the house and get organized for the day ahead. After my student left, we made the 30 minute drive to Home Depot where we picked out lights for the porch, got a few plumbing supplies and picked out the shower heads/shower handles for the new bathroom. Nathan worked on the plumbing all day, except when we made another trip to the hardware store for plumbing pieces we didn't expect to need and a can of PVC primer to replace the one that a nameless person backed into and dumped over. I painted the porch an orangish shade of red (Georgian Brick by Benjamin Moore), Watson sniffed the walls and got a red nose, and then I painted the hallway between the kitchen and porch.
Sunday was busy, as usual. How does that always happen? Nathan is the worship leader for our church so he is out the door more than two hours before church starts to get set up. I head over there an hour later to practice with him and the rest of our group. After church, it takes about an hour to tear everything down. I did that by myself this week as Nathan had to rush over to the soccer fields and coach two games. He coaches a U-14 club team and they won both of yesterday's games. What a great way to end the season! I usually watch the games, but yesterday I cleaned the house during the first game then headed into town to bring Nathan lunch during the break between games. It was such a beautiful day to eat outside! After that, I got our groceries for the week and headed home to do some baking.
When Nathan got home from his games, he and Watson watched football together. I went into the living room to ask him a question and this was too cute not to photograph. In the evening, we went to our church's fall cookout and hay ride. I brought Almond Joy Cupcakes and Butterfinger Cake, both were recipes I found on Pinterest. Sometimes I can pretend that desserts are healthy. These are not, but so delicious! You should definitely try them this week.
Almond Joy Cupcakes
Chocolate Cake:
1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
4 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1 small pkg. chocolate instant pudding
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Coconut Topping:
1/4 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
2 cups chocolate chips
sliced almonds
This recipe makes 24 cupcakes that you bake for 17-20 minutes. After they cool, generously spread the coconut frosting on them. Dip in a bowl of melted chocolate chips, and while the chocolate is still wet, top with a few sliced almonds. At first I used Nestle chocolate chips and they just weren't dipping well. The chocolate was sticky and lumpy. I switched to melted Ghirardelli chocolate chips and it worked great! The only thing I would change is that next time, I will substitute almond flavoring for the vanilla in the cake and frosting. Maybe I'll even stir some into the chocolate chips!
I did that tile backsplash in this picture all by myself, so feel free to compliment. :-)
I don't have a picture of the butterfinger cake, but it is so easy and you really don't need a recipe. Here's the directions:
Butterfinger Cake
Bake a yellow cake in a 9x13 pan according to the package directions. Cool 5 minutes. Poke 12-15 holes in the cake with the back of a spoon (they will be about 1/4 inch holes). Pour a small can of condensed milk over the cake. Pour a jar of caramel topping (16 oz) over that and spread evenly. Top with an 8 oz. tub of softened Cool Whip. Crunch 3-4 regular size Butterfingers and sprinkle over the top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
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