Zucchini Cupcakes wtih Caramel Frosting

Oh my word...this has to be one of the best frostings I have eaten in a long time.  I am thinking my next carrot cake needs this frosting...or a spice cake...or pumpkin cookies...or pumpkin muffins....you get my drift.  

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 
  CARAMEL FROSTING:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and extract. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to egg mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini.
• Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 20-25. Cool and Frost.
• For frosting, combine the brown sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to lukewarm.
• Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Maddy's Summer Fun

Mad-Dog is somewhat of a celebrity in the eyes of Ruth (Trisha's kiddo)...we talk about Maddy alot, we look at pictures and videos of Maddy alot and we draw lots of Maddy pictures.  Ruth drew this picture for Maddy and wanted to give her a treat! 

Mad-Dog certainly enjoys all the attention and is so gentle when Ruth gives her treats, poor kid has been slobbered on more then one in the face though.  Maddy is a good kisser.

In other note-worthy Maddy summer days she got to take a ride in Ellie (my car) to town to go to the groomers...we even stopped at Trisha's store to visit Ruth. She loved it. I folded up the seats for her and so she could come up front and hang with me.  She sat next to me the whole time and checked out the scenery!

Summer Days

Aunt Cheryl sent me this picture the other day and it brought back so many memories of house boating on the lake in the summer...how I miss those lazy days of summer.  House boating trips are my favorite childhood experience...well it's actually a toss up between showing horses and house boating...I digress, my point is just that I love this picture...look how young my dad looks...

Summer Sunsets

As much as I love fall, I am just not ready to give up summer yet...we have been having some awesome summer sunsets!

Apple Muffins

Baking muffins is what I do when I want to procrastinate on things like vaccuming, editing photos, or laundry...I especially love making muffins because they are something that can be easily distributed to multiple people.  Part of why I love baking is because I get to give it away!

Apple Muffins

Cream together:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Sift: 
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

3 cups peeled, cored, diced apples (around 3 apples)
Brown sugar for topping 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.

Cream together sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon (I never sift and they turn out fine). Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Add the diced apples.

Fill paper liners almost to the top, about 3/4 of the way full. Sprinkle with brown sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-24 minutes. Makes 18 muffins.

Grant Co. Fair and Little Big Town Concert

I have been going to the Grant. Co. Fair since as long as I can remember and I love it, I love the smells, the fair food, the animals, the people, the rodeo, I don't even mind the lines.  

One of the best thing is the space burgers...we go every year to get em!

 Ashley and I in our cowboy boots!

 Tuesday was the Little Big Town Concert at the Fairgrounds and it was awesome!  Jonda got us 2 box seats it was so much fun!

 Jonda, Julia, and I

Jared & Shelley's Wedding

Finally the wedding! Shelley was a beautiful bride, not that any bride isn't, but she had this sophisticated look to her and it was stunning!  Jared was looking pretty stellar in his suit too!  They had a quaint church wedding at the Pioneer Church in Quincy, it is a restored over 100 year old church, so awesome.  The reception was in Russ and Cathy's yard and it was a beautiful evening complete with Country Boy's BBQ for dinner!  SOOOO good!

 Here is the Faw Clan!  You'll have to wait to see all the beautiful wedding pics when Jonda posts them on our photography blog!

 Ash and I at the reception

 Meara, Shelley, and I

 The beautiful bride!

 Mom and I!  My hair at this point is looking wow, extra matted down and sweaty! 

wedding weekend extravaganza...

Wedding weekend continued with lots of family, friends, and fun.  Here are the Faw ladies at Rehearsal...

 The Faw Men

 Brian and Kevin had the very important job of being the door men for the wedding...they did an excellent job!

 Cathy's basement became a floral shop!  Meara was the fearless florist (she made shelley's bouquet, boutineers, and more). She directed us for the task for making the centerpieces..which were wild flowers all picked from Jared's dad's garden and a few neighbors.

 Let's just say the basement may never be the same!

 Maddy was especially excited to have friends over (since the wedding was at the house Elsie and Moxie didn't need to pester the guests) so they came for a sleepover!

YeeHaw!

Let the wedding activities commence!  This last weekend Shelley and Jared got hitched and we started the festivities off with a bang...the gals all piled into the suburban and headed to the Omak Stampede for a good ol' fashioned rodeo and suicide race! The suicide race is where they run down this incredibly steep hill on the horses, cross a river, up another hill and then into the rodeo arena...it is a very dangerous trek but many attempt it yearly!

 We made shirts with vintage cowgirls on the front....

 Shelley got us particularly good seats right above the shoots...as you can see from this picture!  

 Meara and I

 Amy and I

 The Chuckwagon races were pretty entertaining!

 Here's all of Shelley's gal pals!  

Food Preservation

There are numerous reasons why summer is the best, but all the awesome food is one of the reasons...I found rotten bananas at the store the other day!  Love rotten bananas!  Cause they make awesome dried bananas which are by far my favorite dried fruit.

 Brock and Amber have a killer bean garden and shared some green beans with me so I canned them up for enjoying mid winter!  

Weenie Roast

Saturday afternoon we had a weenie roast at the Roberts Lake house for my birthday. It was a lovely afternoon spent with friends! Boating, sitting by the fire and roasting weenies!

  Karly and Amy came from Lind.

The loverly Ashley and I

Here's the fearless Jacoby going down the slide with Payton and Hayden waiting their turn.

Brian and Hayden had fun playing with Payton and Jacoby!

 Jacoby is only 20 months old and he was lovin' riding the tube behind the boat!

WEENIE ROAST!

Hayden giving me my birthday spankings!  All 28 of them!

Ok best cupcakes ever!  Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel!  We had them at a wedding a few weeks ago and I had to have more so Jonda called the gal up and had her make me some!  

Ruth even brought me a birthday balloon!

Trisha and Ruth!

Hayden tried all day to get me to ride the "Tornado" which is this tube that basically does donuts over is self in the water...yeah right!  The boys on the other hand thought it was a great idea!