The kit arrived on my doorstep filled with dry ice to ensure that the perishable items survived the journey here. I chose the Celebration Cupcakes as my dessert, but there are tons of different options to choose from, ranging from easy to advanced.

The kit comes with step by step directions, making it super easy to create a delicious, from scratch dessert at home! Alex enjoyed reading the directions and helping make our cupcakes.

I love that everything came pre-measured because it made clean up a breeze (no stacks of measuring cups and spoons to wash) and really easy for Alex to do it himself. If you follow the directions there is no way to mess up, so you can take all the credit for creating a gourmet dessert without any real baking skills.

The cupcakes turned out delicious and we even made our own frosting. Alex’s only complaint was that it took (according to him) forever for the cupcakes to cool before we could frost them, but then again patience is not really his strong point.

But seriously, how perfect do these cupcakes look? It makes you want to reach through the screen and dig in!

A big thank you to Red Velvet for sending us this delicious kit. If you want to get your own Red Velvet NYC kit, use code FROLIC for 15% off anything at redvelvetnyc.com.

Happy baking!

The post Homemade Dessert Hack: Red Velvet NYC appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1 cup coconut oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Cover cream cheese in plastic wrap and shape into a log. Place in freezer for up to one hour.
3. Sift together all the dry ingredients.
4. If a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil and mix well.
5. Add in dry ingredients, bit by bit, mixing in between.
6. Remove the cream cheese from freezer and cut into slices.
7. Fill muffin tins halfway and place a cream cheese slice onto each muffin and press into the batter.
8. Bake at 350F for 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part. Do not touch the cream cheese until it cooks.

3.1.07

Try to eat just one…I dare you!

The post Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I threw together one of my favorite waffle combos from last fall – Pumpkin Cream Waffles. All you need is a tablespoon of pumpkin, tablespoon of Chobani, some pumpkin spice and some maple syrup and viola!

 The next thing that I am dying to make are a healthier version of Starbucks’ pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Those babies were my BFFs when I was pregnant with Munchkin, but since then I’ve tried to stay away since they aren’t exactly the healthiest thing on the Starbucks menu.  Every time I step foot into Starbucks, I swear that I hear them calling my name from the pastry case! 

What pumpkin goodies do you want to try this season?

The post Official Start to Fall appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Chobani plain yogurt, farm fresh peach, Love Grown granola and a spoonful of strawberry preserves.

Two egg scramble with cherry tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and turkey.

I’m horrible at eating lunch at work. Even when I do pack a lunch, it often doesn’t get eaten until I get back home. Because of this I’ve started packing smaller snacks instead of a whole meal.

Luna Bars have become my go to snack. The White Chocolate Macadamia is to.die.for!

Sometimes we girls get a little crazy and order takeout for lunch. Luckily, the area that I work in has a ton of amazing restaurants to order from.

Nicoise salad with seared Tuna. Who said take out can’t be healthy AND delicious?!

Dinner is a meal I have no problem with eating.

Chicken Pad See Ew. One of my favorites dishes in life. Try it!

Salmon Explosion Roll. Salmon tempura and asparagus topped with more salmon and salmon tobiko.

Seaweed Salad. Recipe will follow..this is so good and easy to make!

Some Tai Thai goodies. Tom Yum Soup, Calamari with Sweet Chili Sauce, Red Curry and oh yea, some white Sangria.

Life ain’t worth living if you don’t enjoy dessert once in a while.

I shall call these quinoa fail cookies. They tasted great, but looked horrible and fell apart when touched. It was my first time baking with quinoa and coconut oil and with some tweaking, I’m sure I can make these look as good as they taste!

If you can say no to fresh cut watermelon, you have superhuman powers. End.of.story.

Since July’s theme is Food and Fitness, let’s move on to the calorie burning portion of the post. Just last night, my new home gym was completed. Tommy ran all the cables and I got to do a killer arm and back workout. I am seriously in love, but was not in love when Tommy asked me to read the instruction while he was putting it together..check this out.

Yeaaaaa…luckily, Tommy is pretty handy without my help. The boy knows how to read plans for skyscrapers, so what’s a little home gym to him!

Don’t mind the curtains, they are coming down as soon as I can find something to replace them. That’s what you get when your dad buys new basement curtains at Walmart!

It’s small and cramped, but it is coming together. I also want to buy some mats to put down under the machines. And maybe some posters and pictures on the walls. We shall see!

I have a feeling that soreness will be coming on rather soon and I could not be happier! Feel the burn!

What’s the best thing you ate this week? Do you go to the gym or work out at home?

The post Back in the Kitchen WIAW appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I used the supermarket recipe as inspiration and came up with Strawberry Banana Muffins. They are good, and pretty good for you – whole wheat flour, no added fats and packed with fresh fruits!

Strawberry Banana Muffins [makes 12 muffins]

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat over to 375 degrees and line a pan with muffin cups (I used leftover cars cups. Munchkin loved it!) In a large bowl combine flours, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, eggs, applesauce, honey and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in the strawberry chunks. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups until 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

I love how the fresh berries gave the muffins a marbled look on top…it makes them that much more mouthwatering, if you ask me!

What inspires you in the kitchen? What’s your favorite thing to bake?

The post A Healthier Alternative: Strawberry Banana Muffins appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I’m a firm believer that moderation is key to a healthy diet. Deprivation is not something that I have ever been good at, nor would want to practice. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat that cupcake, fro yo or chocolate? You’d be a liar if you said you didn’t! The two recipes I’m sharing today are on totally opposite sides of the health spectrum – one is packed with fresh greens, the other with sugar and butter, but both are equally delicious and part of a diet that is high in moderation!

Spinach and Kale Tomato Sauce with Shrimp

• 2 cups farm fresh spinach
• 1 cup curly kale
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup shrimp, cooked
• Italian Seasoning, to taste

On a hot skillet, saute the spinach and kale in olive oil, until wilted. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add in shrimp and seasoning. Allow to simmer until shrimp is pink and fully cooked. Serve over quinoa pasta.

Since my dinner was on the healthy side, I knew that I had room for a delicious treat! My parents came home from PA with farm fresh strawberries, eight pints of strawberries to be exact.

I made these muffins last year during strawberry season and have been craving them ever since.

Strawberry Muffins (recipe adapted from Heckman Orchards)

• 1/2 cup room temperature butter
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups all purpose flour [I’ve also made these with half whole wheat flour]
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup strawberries, halved or quartered

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin pan with paper liners.  Cream butter and sugar until smooth and creamy.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.  Blend in vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix dry mixture into creamed mixture until well combined. Gradually mix in lemon zest and buttermilk. Fold in strawberries.
Spoon batter into muffin cups until 2/3 full and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean.  Cool and enjoy!

Have a great Tuesday!

What’s your diet mantra?

The post A Diet High in Moderation appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

I ate it along side an orange because I love me some citrus fruit, or really any fruit in general, except cantaloupe. I really dislike cantaloupe for some reason and it really hinders me from buying pre-made fruit salad because they are almost always filled with cantaloupe. First world problems people!

Lunch was my usual work lunch – salad. I made it with some spring mix, red, orange and green baby tomatoes, orange bell peppers, cucumbers and veggie meatballs.

I love how this tomato looked like a little baby watermelon!

When I got home from work, I decided to make some kale chips. I bought a huge bunch of kale over the weekend, but ran out of hours in the day to make my chips.

I washed, dried and ripped up the kale into chip size pieces. I arranged them on my poor excuse for a cookie sheet, sprayed with some cooking spray, sprinkled the chips with garlic salt and chili pepper and baked them for 20 minutes at 300 degrees.

Boom – kale chips!

While the chips were baking, I fixed myself some dinner. Leftover lasagna with a side of all things orange – carrots, peppers and baby tomatoes.

After din din, I enjoyed a pumpkin protein bar which I baked up yesterday as well. I topped the bar with a bit of Razzle Dazzle peanut butter.

It tasted pretty much amazing!

Munchkin and I hit up Target in the evening to pick up some necessities. Diapers for him, leopard print flats for me. Yes, those are a necessity! I totally love them!

I have the same shoes in nude patent and they are super comfy. You also can’t beat the $14.99 price!

Have a great Wednesday!

What’s the best thing you ate today? What’s a fruit or veggie that you really dislike?

The post New Shoes WIAW appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Even though he came as a surprise and I didn’t know if I was ready to be a mommy, he has brought out the best in me, taught me what matters in life and showed me that anything is possible with the help of true friends and family.

Happy Birthday little Munchkin! I love you!

————————————–

On Saturday, we celebrated Munchkin’s second birthday with our best friends and family. It was a great time and Munchkin had a blast.

We played silly games.

Had some yummy CAKE!

Blew out the candles like a champ!

And tried to sneak a taste when no one was looking.

We opened our gifts.

And when it was all over, Munchkin was all tuckered out and went straight to sleep. Or maybe he just didn’t want to help with the clean up.

———————————–

Since Munchkin’s birthday is one of the most important days of the year, I wanted to include everyone who couldn’t make it to the party in the celebration. I’m sure you remember the Red

Velvet cupcakes I showed the other day.

Turns out, they were a big hit.

Now you can make your own because I am giving away the Cake Mix Doctor’s Cupcake book, and since most of the recipes start with cake mix as the base, I’m throwing in 5 coupons for free cake mix to get you started on the baking.

How To Enter:

1. (Mandatory): Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite cupcake flavor is.
2. (Optional): Follow Frolic Through Life on Twitter! @Frolic_Life_Syl
3. (Optional): Tweet about the giveaway and leave a separate comment telling me that you did – “Get your bake on! I want to win @Frolic_Life_Syl’s Cake Mix Dr. Cookbook Giveaway! http://wp.me/p1Ukf9-iL”
   
4. (Optional): Like Frolic Through Life on Facebook and leave a separate comment telling me that you did.

I will select a winner bright and early Monday (Jan. 23) morning. Fingers crossed!

Have a great Monday!

The post A Special Birthday + Giveaway appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

After hitting up the Asian Market, regular supermarket and Polish deli, we were back home and ready to get down to baking. Since Munchkin’s birthday cake is going to be vanilla with buttercream frosting, I wanted to make something for the chocolate lovers. I followed the Cake Mix Doctor’s recipe for red velvet to make these beauties. I topped them off with cream cheese frosting, because who doesn’t love cream cheese frosting?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 1 package (21.6 ounces) yellow cake mix
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• Red food coloring

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 24 paper liners in cupcake pans and set aside. For the cupcakes, place the cake mix, pudding mix, cocoa, milk, oil, eggs, and red food coloring in a large mixing bowl and blend until just combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and blend until smooth, 1 to 1½ minutes. Scoop the batter into the liners, filling them three-quarters of the way full. Place the pans in the oven. Bake the cupcakes until the cake springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 8-oz. package room temperature cream cheese
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) room temperature butter
• 1 pound confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Place cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until creamy, about 30 seconds. With the mixer on low, slowly add sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowls as necessary. Add vanilla and increase mixer

speed to medium. Blend until frosting is fluffy, about 1 minute.

After the cupcakes were done, we moved on to decorating.

We only decorated the play room downstairs where the kiddos will be hanging out during the party. I still have to do the upstairs tonight. The rest of today will be spend in the kitchen. We are going to have a buffet style meal at the party and we decided to make it all ourselves. We are also making a few appetizers. Hopefully I remember to take some pictures to share with you guys tomorrow.

Have a great weekend! I’m off the kitchen!

What are your plans for the weekend?

The post Rainy Day Red Velvet appeared first on Frolic Through Life.

Cranberry Bliss Bars are basically a blondie with dried cranberries and white chocolate chunks, topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting. If you’re not drooling, you may need to have your taste buds examined.

Cranberry Bliss Bars

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 ounces white chocolate chips

Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 6 ounces white baking chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Have a great Saturday and Christmas Eve!

What kind of cookies did you leave out for Santa as a kid?

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