The Dirt on Sippy Cups

My husband is a fan of Slate.com.  He sent me this link to a review of sippy cups for kids.  I thought it contained great information.  If you are in the market for sippy cups for your child please read this article.  You can find it here.  

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes the other day and loved them.  Beware, they are rich, in fact I sent half of them with my husband to work because we couldn't eat them all. Next time I think I will make them in mini muffin pans instead so that we can enjoy them in a bite size.

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for garnish
• 1 (21-ounce) box brownie mix(recommended: Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge)
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water

Frosting:

• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Directions

Special equipment: 12 paper cupcake liners, a 12-cup muffin pan

For the cupcakes: Place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl combine the walnuts, 1 cup mini chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of the brownie mix. Toss until all the ingredients are coated. Set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the remaining brownie mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and water. Stir for 20 seconds until blended. Fold in the walnuts and chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan (cupcake liners will be full). Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the cupcakes comes out with moist fudgy crumbs. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting, about 30 minutes.

For the frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat the cheeses together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until smooth and spreadable. Refrigerate the frosting until ready to use.

Spread the frosting on top of the cupcakes and garnish with the remaining mini chocolate chips. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve at room temperature.

I got this recipe from the Food Network site.  You can visit it here. 

Retro Bassinet

Check out this modern bassinet.  We were fortunate enough to have my husband's family's bassinet for our little guy, but this one is sleek and modern and will look great in any modern home.  You can check it out here.  

Gorgeous and Green Giveaway

 Mom's View is hosting a giveaway from Gorgeous and Green.  I went to their website and was very impressed with what they had to offer. Gorgeous and Green is a Canadian Company.  All of their products are environmentally friendly and very stylish.  You can visit their website here.  They are offering a $30.00 gift certificate to a lucky winner.  You can enter the contest here.

Vegetarian Lasagna

When I had my son a few months ago my mother and father flew in from Idaho to help out for a week.  While they were here my mother made us a lot of casseroles to put in the freezer for after they left.  What a lifesaver.  This is the best gift to give brand new parents.  I am going to remember this for all my friends when they have babies. This lasagna is vegetarian but if you are a meat lover (like myself) you won't miss the meat.  In fact we loved this lasagna recipe so much that I am making it again today!  My mom found this recipe on about.com you can find it here if you want to print it off.  If you would like to copy it, here it is:

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 20 ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 (8-ounce) cans chunky tomato sauce
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 12 ounce carton ricotta OR crumbled drained tofu
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated provolone cheese (my mom and I used sliced provolone and it worked great)
• 12 ounces lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
• 24 ounce jar cheesy Alfredo Sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Cook and drain chopped vegetables as directed on package, measure out 3 cups, set aside. Brown onion and garlic in olive oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in tomato sauce and paste, water, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper; simmer for 10 minutes.

In large bowl, mix the ricotta or tofu, eggs, parsley, mozzarella and provolone cheese.

For the freeze-oven method, line a 9x13" baking pan with heavy duty foil, long enough to fold over the casserole. Spray the foil with cooking spray. Place a layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan. Layer noodles, tomato sauce, vegetables, Alfredo sauce, ricotta mixture, and Parmesan cheese in that order, repeating to make three layers of each. Fold the foil over the lasagna and close with a double fold. Freeze until solid. Remove the foil wrapped casserole from the pan and seal it in a 2 gallon heavy duty ziplock bag. To bake, place the foil wrapped casserole in an oven dish, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Then bake, covered at 350 degrees for 50 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 15-20 minutes longer until bubbling and heated through.

For the freezer-crockpot method, assemble the recipe in a foil-lined one gallon ice cream container. Wrap well and freeze. To cook, remove the foil from the frozen package, place it in a 5-quart crockpot and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cook covered one hour on high, then turn to low for 6-8 hours (automatic setting on most crockpots). If it seems a little juicy, remove the lid and turn the heat to high for the last hour. Serves 8-10

Love This Baby Outfit

I love, love, love these adorable outfits.  I especially love the elephant.  I would love to get this for Jonah for winter.  You can find these at Trumpette here.

Vote for Jonah Blaine

Please take a minute to vote for my website.

Paul Frank Child Carrier

Check out this cute baby carrier by Paul Frank.  I love the Paul Frank company.  This carrier is very modern with a cute side.  I think my husband would love carrying our son in this carrier.  You can find it here. 

My Mom's View Giveaway

Check out this giveaway at My Mom's View.  It is for a Bamboo Baby Gear Shopping Cart Cover.  Earlier this year I had pinkeye and I am convinced that it came from a shopping cart at my grocery store.  What a great way to keep your child free from germs with this product.  You can enter to win this shopping cart cover here. 

Fill in the Blankie

Jonah received one of these blankets as a baby gift.  It is super cute and I love how personalized you can make these blankets.  All four side can be personalized up to 200 characters.  This shows off more than just a name.  I love it.  You can find Fill In the Blankie here. 

Peg Perego Tatamia

Check out this high chair that converts to a recliner that also converts into a baby swing.  What a great idea for smaller homes.  I also like the design, it is very modern looking and would look great in any dinning room. You can find more information on this high chair here.

Gymboree Giveaway

Check this out... this blogger is giving away a $100 gift card to Gymboree just because she feels like it.  She also has a really neat blog.  Check it out here for your chance to win, 

Child's Rocker

Check out this cute Danny Dinosaur Rocker  and Raffi Giraffe Rocker by Rockabye.  All of the rockers play four different songs about the alphabet, shapes, colors, and numbers.  Check out Rockabye's website they have a bunch of cute rockers for baby.  I would love this for Jonah when he is a little bit older.  

Etsy

I just found this great site where you can buy handmade items from people all over the world.  It is a very cute find.  On this site is a lot of cute baby items including clothes, puzzles, and handmade toys.  Visit Etsy,  you will enjoy it!