Just a little summery thought today…
Archive for the ‘Entertaining Ideas’ Category
Happy Summer!
Posted in Entertaining at Home, tagged Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield on June 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Summer Scents
Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, tagged Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield, Summer Entertaining, Summer Scents on June 18, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Around this time of the year, I start dreaming of being somewhere tropical and wonderful versus somewhere that the lawn needs mowed, the housework needs some attention, and someone needs to go to the grocery store. Again.
So to compensate for the fact that fresh pineapple is about as close to an exotic location as I’m going to get, I like to fill my home with some fun fragrances.
Some of my favorites for summer are:
Citrus
Sage
Nectar
Tropical
From candles to lotions, you’ll find me using these during the next few months.
Certain scents, like a delightful lotion that mixes tropical flowers with coconut, get me through my island-less existence. I inhale it deeply, slather too much of it on, and pretend I’m sitting in a chair somewhere close to the beach.
Find the scents that make you smile and add them to your go-to selections for the summer months.
She Who is In Need of a Vacation
Love of Junk
Posted in Entertaining Ideas, tagged Book Signing, Love of Junk, Shanna Hatfield on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Just a reminder – I’ll be at Love of Junk today and tomorrow signing books and having a blast!
There are sixty vendors ranging from antique goodies and vintage camp trailers to food booths. Don’t miss out on the fun!
The show opens at 9 a.m. today and tomorrow in Walla Walla at the Swenson Farm!
See you there!
Root Beer Cupcakes
Posted in Cake, Captain Cavedweller, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged Root beer cupcakes, root beer float cake, Savvy Entertaining, Shanna Hatfield, Summer Recipes on June 6, 2014| 1 Comment »
The other day I discovered a bottle of root beer in the fridge and debated drinking it or doing something fun with it.
I’m glad I went with something fun. These cupcakes (particularly the frosting) are super yummy and just scream “summertime!”
Staring with a cake mix, they are easy to make and the frosting can be whipped together in a jiffy!
Ingredients
Mix everything together, saving the addition of the root beer for last. I loved the way it bubbled up in the bowl.
Pour into paper-lined muffin cups and bake at 350 degrees until the tops bounce back when touched (about 15 minutes or so).
Remove from pan and cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, mix up your frosting. You’ll need some vanilla (and you can use canned frosting for this or make your own. If you make your own, use 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 2 tbsp. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla. Blend together and set aside.
Here are the ingredients for the root beer frosting.
The root beer concentrate gives it the chocolatey color.
If you like root beer, the smell of the frosting will make your mouth water in anxious anticipation.
To get a root beer float affect on the cupcake, mix the vanilla and root beer frosting.
I just swirled it on. Swirling was very tasty.
Root Beer Cupcakes
1 white or vanilla cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 1/4 cups root beer
2 tbsp. root beer concentrate
Vanilla Frosting (optional)
Root Beer Frosting
Root Beer Frosting
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter (softened)
1 tbsp. root beer concentrate
1/4 cup root beer
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, mix cake mix, eggs, root beer concentrate and root beer until smooth. Pour into paper-lined muffin cups and bake until tops bounce back when touched (about 15-18 minutes).
Remove from oven and cool completely.
Mix together the root beer frosting ingredients.
For a simple vanilla frosting, mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 1/4 cup softened butter, 2 tbsp. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
If you want to give the cupcakes more of a root beer float flavor, mix the vanilla and root beer frosting together. You can also just use the root beer. If you do that, double the frosting ingredients so you’ll have enough.
Try to keep from snitching as you frost the cupcakes because the root beer frosting is amazingly delicious. Even Captain Cavedweller raved about how good it was – and that is saying something.
For an added pop of color and fun, insert a paper straw before serving.
Note – you can find root beer concentrate in the flavoring section of most grocery stores (look near the vanilla extract).
She Who Will Make These Again
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