Don't you just love Sundays? For us, Sundays are all about church, family, friends, and food. It's a wonderful day of the week and I have so many fond memories of Sundays past. It's a wonderful day to worship the Lord, sing praises and pray, and leave uplifted for the coming week. We frequently have potlucks with our church family and it's always nice to spend the afternoon together and trying out each other's recipes and getting to visit and catch up from the past week. Most of my life Sunday afternoons have been spent at my parent's house. My mom is an amazing cook and she more often than not has got up at the "crack of dawn" to make Sunday dinners before getting ready for church most of her life. We frequently had a house full of company on Sundays growing up and I remember always hoping there would be enough of her wonderful homemade rolls to go around so us kids could have one or two! (We were raised company came first and if there was enough rolls, dessert, etc, after they had filled their plates, then we could have all we wanted) :) Most Sundays after the dishes were washed, the girls would play card or board games while the guys did whatever guys do...ha...and sometimes after that we'd take naps or go out and enjoy the sunshine if the weather was nice. We all have busy lives now and circumstances have changed so we don't eat Sunday dinner at my parent's house every Sunday now, but when we have the chance to, it's always wonderful and brings back fond memories. Today, however, we were all able to get together and ate at my parent's house today after church. It's been a while since we've been able to do that. My dad smoked chicken {amazing} and everything was delicious as always. I am so thankful for the life God has blessed me with. Hope you and your loved ones have had a wonderful Sunday as well!
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This past weekend our dog, Isabel, who is a Silky Terrier, celebrated her first birthday! She has been such a great pet and is a wonderful companion to our daughter Abigail! She didn't know quite what to think, though, when we put a party hat on her and started singing to her. It was pretty funny. Our daughter Abby giggled the whole time, though, and loved the celebration, and we did it more for Abby than Isabel. It was a fun occassion. (oh...and Abby insisted on wearing bracelets on her arm like this...lol)
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Last week, Bible study was at our house. I wanted to make a dessert that was "Summery" and thought that something with key limes would be wonderful. On Trisha Yearwood's new show,
Trisha's Southern Kitchen, on Food Network {love it}, she made a Key Lime Cake that I thought looked amazing. It is still on my "to do list" to try it but it looks to be pretty time consuming and has more steps/ingredients, etc...so I decided to try an adapted recipe I found online for Key Lime Cupcakes. They turned out great and were a hit at Bible study so this recipe is a keeper! I shared the recipe with friends on Facebook and thought I would share it on my blog, too.
RECIPE: KEY LIME CUPCAKES
1 box Lemon or Yellow Cake Mix (I used Yellow because I had it)
3/4 cup oil
5 eggs
1 (3 oz) package Lime flavored Jello mix
3/4 cup Orange Juice
The juice and zest of 1 Key Lime
Combine all ingredients in mixer and mix on medium speed 2 minutes.
Place in cupcake lined tins. Bake @ 325 degrees...10 minutes for mini cupcakes (like I made) or 15 minutes for regular sized cupcakes. (May need more or less time depending on oven)
When done, let cool completely.
Frosting:
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
Beat these two ingredients until well blended.
Then add:
3 Tablespoons FRESH lime juice (I used Key Limes...it was about 10 of them for this amount)
And then gradually add:
4 cups powdered sugar
Mix well. Pipe on top of cupcakes. Keep in fridge until time to serve.
**Optional Garnish: Sliver thin slices of Key Lime on top of each cupcake**
{Note: this was my first time to make these...I love the cake alot...but next time I might experiment some with the frosting? But I think they are very good as is!} Enjoy!!
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The past week or so has been very busy for us. Abby had her very first dance recital. SO.PROUD.OF.HER! She has worked a whole year preparing and even though it was a bit scary for the girls to go out on the stage and perform, they all did and did a great job! She also takes dance with her cousin Haven who is the same age as her. They both did a great job and looked so cute in their outfits. Here are a few pictures from the recital. When their teacher told us they were going to be pirates, I was less than thrilled...I had visions of pink tutus and glitter for her first dance recital...ha. But, they looked very pretty and the dance was cute. Her Daddy and I both got tears in our eyes watching her. :)
Abigail has also started swim lessons every day this past week. She is doing pretty good. Some things she loves, some she's not crazy about. But this is her first year and they are trying more than anything to get them more familiar with the water, safety, etc. So it's been really good for her. She loves to jump into the water and be caught but doesn't like to have to float on the boogie board. She goes all next week and then will be finished with her first course. :) Here is a picture of her on her first day of class.
Hope you all have a great week! I hope to be back with another post next Sunday. :)
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