We are back!

We are back from a fabulous vacation and what a wonderful time we had!!!!!!! I have many many pictures to share, but not today for two reasons:)

1. Our camera is on the mend right now! We were playing putt-putt last week while we were at the beach and Chris was carrying the camera in a bag on a shoulder strap. He whipped around and the camera flew out. Even worse, it bounced across the ground, into a rushing rapid that led down into the fake, bright blue lagoon, and fell right in. You couldn't see the camera, thanks to the fact that the 18 inches of water were dyed a fake dark blue. After about five minutes of all of us searching, Chris spotted the camera and climbed in the lagoon to fish the camera out. (Let's just say that many people enjoyed this crazy moment!) Since that episode, the camera has been sitting in a bag of rice as we are trying to dry it out. I did get it to turn on yesterday, but the lens still is not clear so we will see if the camera works or not. Cross your fingers that it works because this is the longest that I have gone without taking pictures and I miss it!!! (If not, I think that Best Buy might be a must need shopping trip this weekend!!!!)

2. We arrived home after a LONG LONG day of traveling on Saturday. We left the beach after 7 am and finally made it home at 6:00 pm. The boys were wonderful travelerss-thanks to our awesome DVD player, lots of entertaining by myself, and a couple trips to McDonalds. But instead of coming home to an empty house, our house quickly turned into a zoo as we welcomed our guests: both of my parents, my sister Jen and her two kids, and Chris' brother, Nate. My dad was up in the Catskills for my great-uncle Floyd's funeral, my sister and her kids are in the process of moving and are staying at our house for a few days while she finishes teaching in the city, my mom is here to help with my sister's transition, and Nate was in the city for a work training and came out to see us finally meet his nephew, Andrew! 10 people in our 3 bedroom house-it was a zoo, but a fun zoo:):) So I spent today in a chaos of kids and full suitcases that still need to be unpacked with no time to upload pictures. Instead, I want to share a recipe that I used to make Nate for his birthday...these chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes were delicious! You MUST try these delicious treats that I found here:

Ingredients

• 24 paper liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)
• 1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 package (1 pound) frozen cookie dough (see "the Cupcake Doctor says" below)
• Chocolate Buttercream (see below)
  

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Cut the frozen dough pieces in half to make 24 pieces. Place a frozen cookie dough piece on top of each cupcake. Place the pans in the oven.

3. Bake the cupcakes until they are golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 23 to 27 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting. They may sink a bit in the center.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Buttercream.

5. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

The Cupcake Doctor says...

If you use the 18-ounce logs of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough (instead of the 1-pound packages of frozen dough), cut them into 24 equal pieces and freeze them before using them in this recipe. It's important to use frozen dough, because you don't want it to bake completely and become a cookie. You want the center to be gooey when you bite into it.

Chocolate Buttercream

Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 1/2-inch size) generously
Preparation time: 10 minutes

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 3 to 5 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the butter and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until the mixture is soft and well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more milk if the frosting is too stiff.