Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

November 11, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains affiliate links

We love cupcakes around here Yesterday was National Vanilla Cupcake Day (I just ran out of time to post it yesterday!), so I made these Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.

They are so good! The cake is soft, and flavorful, very vanilla-y. If that is a word. lol

Here’s how I made them.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Vanilla Cupcakes

2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between. Add vanilla. Beat in half the milk, then half the flour. Beat in the remaining milk. Then beat in the remaining flour, the baking powder and the salt.

Fill paper lined cupcake pan about 3/4’s full. Bake for 15 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Cool completely before frosting. Yield: 24 cupcakes

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in bowl and beat well until frosting is smooth and creamy. I used about a tablespoon of frosting for each cupcake. The cupcakes are so flavorful, and the frosting is rich, so you don’t need a lot of it. I had plenty to frost all 24 cupcakes. Ok, there was a spoonful left. And I ate it…….

Enjoy! My family loved them! Thankfully I stashed half of them in the freezer before my family saw all of them!

Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

Apply Today to Join the Homeschool Review Crew!

November 2, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I have been part of the Homeschool Review Crew since 2011. It has been great for our homeschool! We have been able to use and review some great homeschool curriculum and other products with our family. If you are a homeschooler that blogs, check out this info to apply for the 2017 Homeschool Review Crew!

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. a resource for support and encouragement for homeschooling families, is printed annually and available in a free quarterly digital format online, or by free app for tablets and phones. The Homeschool Review Crew is part of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. The Homeschool Review Crew is a viral marketing network made up of homeschooling families that use, review, and share about home education products. Crew members must apply and applications are being accepted now.

To be part of the Crew you must be a homeschooler and willing to use the review products with your students for about six weeks in your homeschool before writing your review.

You must have an active blog on which to publish your reviews and have at least one social media platform. You will check in on our Review Management forum, have access to sample reviews, and we provide mentoring for new members, a social media networking group, blog and social media tutorials, and lots of great opportunities.

In 2016, 75 total reviews were run, including products from some well-known companies like Homeschool in the Woods, Apologia Educational Ministries, Memoria Press, and Math U See, as well as products from lesser-known companies like Rocky Mountain Christian Filmmaker, Foreign Languages for Kids by Kids, Star Toaster, and ArtAchieve. It is possible to review full curriculum packages like Writing with Sharon Watson or a music program from Zeezok Publishing. Smaller curricular items like books from Carole P. Roman or a unit from Progeny Press are also reviewed. And some items, like audio dramas from Familyman Ministries and Heirloom Audio, personal care items from Koru Naturals, or games from Simply Fun and Chara Games, are just a lot of fun! As a Crew Member, you can set your interests and your own limits on how much you can handle. Some Crew members reviewed 60 or more products in 2016. On average, reviewers completed three reviews per month.

After making sure you meet all of the requirements, if you believe you would to an asset to our Crew and wish to join us, please read more on our blog, or fill out our application. If you have questions, feel free to email Debra Brinkman.

As the number of homeschoolers and the diversity of curriculum continue to grow, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and the Homeschool Review Crew are in place to help home educators worldwide produce students that are in high demand in the workplace as well as in colleges and universities across the country.

*Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, and those aren’t affiliate links. I’m just sharing information that might be of interest to others.

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

October 31, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I didn’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen last week. No freezer cooking, no cookie making. Just simple, go to meals that could be made quickly.

Like this oven bbq chicken.

I served it with rice and broccoli.

Later in the week, I used the planned over rice to make chicken stir fried rice. Planned overs are when you plan to have leftovers and make extra. Stir fry goes together very quickly when the rice is already made.

Sunday, my daughter cooked. She make fried potatoes, cabbage, and smoked sausage. We usually put onions in it, too, but she didn’t this time for some reason. My family loves this, and we call it “slop”. lol

Check out the two recipes I shared last week! Ginger Snap Pumpkin Pie

And Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

Saturday – quick & easy- Cookout! Cheeseburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, roasted marshmallows

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Daughter cooked! Fried potatoes, cabbage, smoked sausage

Monday – chicken or turkey – Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore, rice, broccoli

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Lasagna, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s

Thursday – pork or venison – Skillet Sausage Pasta, green beans

Friday – venison – Venison roast, potatoes, & carrots in slow cooker,

Check out my 5 Great Glazed Carrots Recipes!

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Why We Don’t Celebrate Halloween

October 27, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Both mine and my husband’s families all celebrated halloween when we were growing up. So it just seemed natural to us to do the same with our children.

We started out celebrating halloween with the kids when our oldest was 4 months old. We dressed them up in non scary costumes, and went out to see family and friends. We never went door to door in the neighborhood. By 1990, 4 years later, we decided that that wasn’t working for our family and that we would just have parties instead.

So we got together with some friends and had a halloween party for the kids. With games, decorating their own cupcakes, and a jack o lantern pinata. It was a lot of fun, for the kids and the adults. After that year, though, we felt parties weren’t the answer either. So at the age of 4 & 2, our 2 oldest kids had celebrated their last halloween. Our four youngest kids have never celebrated halloween. (I’m talking about while under the age of 18, by the way.)

Why We Don’t Celebrate Halloween

We just FELT that there wasn’t something right about it. So we set out to learn about the origins of halloween and what a lot of the halloween traditions started as and represent. This information convinced us that our feelings were right.

Over the years, our convictions about halloween have grown. In the beginning we didn’t know the facts that we later learned, we just knew how we felt. Yes, I believe that God gave us those feelings. Thankfully, we followed those feelings, and now we know why.

We only have one child under 18 now. Those over 18, 5 of them, have chosen different routes. One doesn’t celebrate halloween, one has celebrated halloween with parties, etc., two participate in trunk or treat at church, one just turned 18 and I don’t know what her choices will be yet.

No, we don’t hold it against others for trick or treating. Or our kids for deciding to participate in halloween activities after they turn 18. In fact, when we lived in an apartment for a few years, we purchased candy & Christian tracts to hand out to the kids that came to our door. All of our nieces and nephews celebrate halloween. And, no, we haven’t told them they shouldn’t. They just know that we don’t. It really hasn’t been a problem with our families. We live out in the country now, and don’t get trick or treaters. If we did, I would have to scramble to find something to give them. lol

A lot of churches encourage celebrating halloween, including hosting “Trunk or Treats”. They park their cars around the church parking lot, and the kids go from car to car and get candy. Call it what you want, it’s STILL trick or treating and it’s STILL celebrating halloween! And we don’t need halloween “alternatives”! Why do so many Christians have a hard time standing up and saying “This isn’t a Christian holiday, and we aren’t going to celebrate it?!”

That being said, I do not tell others they shouldn’t celebrate halloween. In fact, you very well may see me liking and sharing other people’s halloween posts on social media. Because, come on, their kids are cute! And some of those recipes look really yummy!

Celebrating or not celebrating halloween is a matter of fun for some and a matter of conscience for others. Not celebrating halloween has been the right thing for our family.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies

October 26, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link

I got this recipe off an email list I was part of quite a few years ago. They are so good! They are a soft, almost cake like cookie. The cinnamon chips are usually available in the stores in the fall. I like to buy extra so I can make these cookies whenever I want.

Hersey’s has a product locator so you can see if any store near you carries the cinnamon chips. You can also find the Cinnamon Chips on Amazon now.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Cookies

1 c. pumpkin
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp milk
1 c. cinnamon chips
1 tsp vanilla

Dissolve baking soda in milk; set aside. In large bowl, add pumpkin, sugar, oil and egg. Stir. Add flour, baking powder cinnamon, salt and baking soda mixture. Mix well. stir in cinnamon chips and vanilla Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 10 – 12 minutes till done.

These are also good with chocolate chips instead of cinnamon.

The cookie dough can be frozen and baked later. Or the cookies can be frozen after baking. If your family doesn’t eat them all!

*This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

Ginger Snap Pumpkin Pie

October 26, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link

This is my new favorite pumpkin pie. It’s so good!

And there are leftover gingersnaps that you get to eat! I love them with a nice, hot cup of tea.

Make it gluten free by using Gluten Free Ginger Snaps!

Ginger Snap Pumpkin Pie

Crust

1 1/3 cups ginger snap crumbs (you used to be able to buy the crumbs, I don’t know if you still can)
2 T sugar
2 1/2 T melted butter

Run the ginger snaps through the food processor, blender, or use a rolling pin to crush them in a plastic bag. It just takes a couple of handfuls, so crumb them then measure, so you don’t end up with a lot of extra crumbs. Of course, they can be saved in an airtight container until you make pie again.

Mix the crumbs, sugar and butter. Spray the pie pan, I prefer using glass pie pans. Press the crumb mixture into the pan and up the sides. Bake at 325* for 5 minutes. Cool. Can be stored in fridge up to 2 days before filling.

Filling

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1 – 12 ounce can evaporated milk

Combine everything in a bowl. Whisk well.

Pour into shell. Bake 325* 1 hour or until firm.

Cool completely. Chill.

Look at that crust!

Serve with lots of whipped cream!

If you should happen to have any leftovers, store them in the fridge.

*This post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

October 25, 2016 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

*This post contains an affiliate link

I made 2 different kinds of hummus last week. Classic and roasted red pepper hummus. Yum! I used Hummus Made Easy and it really is easy. And delicious!

I made the last package of Slow Cooker Butter Chicken that I had in the freezer. I need to make more to freeze and it’s really good. I use the recipe from MyFreezEasy.com.

I also used the last package of Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos I had in the freezer. I was make your own nachos night. I set everything on the table and let them have at it. lol This recipe is also from MyFreezEasy and my family loves it.

I had some bananas ready to use for banana bread. I actually had enough to make 2 loaves of bread. My family loves banana bread. They would have eaten both loaves at once if I let them. I didn’t. Because banana bread is even better the next day. Have you ever tried toasting it? Slathered in butter, it’s amazing for breakfast! I have 3 banana bread recipes. Banana Bread, Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread, and Gluten Free Banana Bread. Check them out!

Apparently, last week’s theme was use the last of everything in the freezer. lol I used the last Chicken Ranch Macaroni. This recipe is also from MyFreezEasy. It’s a family favorite. The next time I make it, I’m going to put more than 2 in the freezer. I’m also going to make some in smaller containers to freeze from lunches.

It is soooo good!

The weather turned cold here in Kentucky. Temps down in the mid 30’s, and frost a couple of mornings. It was definitely time to make some homemade hot chocolate mix! Yum! So nice on a cold morning!

I was very busy on Sunday afternoon making snacks for the week. 2 kinds of trail mix, one with raisins and one without. Homemade Chex Mix, and cheese cracker snack mix.

I also made a pan of no bake granola bars. I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap so everyone can grab one when they want it.

Now that the family is stock on snacks for the week, I need to plan my next freezer cooking section!

In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

Saturday – quick & easy- Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Get your own day! They had Soup, sandwiches, hot dogs

Monday – chicken or turkey – BBQ Chicken, rice, broccoli

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with bolognase sauce, salad

Wednesday – Taco Night- Tacos with all the fixin’s

Thursday – pork or venison – Pork chops, oven roasted potatoes, green beans, homemade applesauce

Friday – venison – Venison roast, potatoes, & carrots in slow cooker,

Check out my 5 Great Glazed Carrots Recipes!

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

*This post contains an affiliate link. If you click the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission.

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