Crafts

Funfetti Bold Strawberry Shortcake

0 · Apr 8, 2014 · 3 Comments

// This post brought to you by the new vibrant Pillsbury Funfetti® Cake Mixes //

I LOVE going BOLD! I LOVE finding something a little different… I LOVE standing out in a crowd!

Who doesn’t really? We all like to feel like a STAR at times…

Even on those normal, hum drum days…

When the day is normal, the meal is just your typical fair and there is nothing special to celebrate… You CAN add a little FLAIR and turn something typical, into something Funfettilicious!

Our family LOVES strawberry shortcake and we are always looking for fun new “cake” options. We’ve tried several different types of cake from sponge to pound and almost everything in-between! The folks at Pillsbury made my day when they released their new Funfetti® line of cake mixes and bold frostings.

So many fun colors to play with… Immediately I thought of creating a BOLD Strawberry Shortcake with the Vibrant Green Cake Mix…

I knew that the bold green color would look amazing with the strawberries and the cream, together they could turn a normal dessert into something extra special!

What I really love about these new products is how it make baking even more fun with your kiddos! My little guy, Gage and I worked on this project together. It was so fun to open the cake mix together and to our surprise the mix was blue. I thought this would be a fun opportunity for a little kitchen magic so I took a video of the two of us mixing the cake…

Bold Strawberry Shortcake from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

We had so much fun making this dessert for the family and couldn’t wait to share our goodies. We decided to make it two ways. I found these super cute baking cups from Target that are quite a bit larger than a cupcake liner. They are actually baking cups and create the cutest single serving little cake… We mixed up our cake batter…

Then poured it into our cake molds…

And baked them for about 19 minutes. We pulled them from the oven and let them cool for 20-30 minutes and then we got to work building our strawberry shortcakes. First we made our simple Strawberry Shortcake by just topping a few of the single serving cakes with some strawberries and fresh whipped cream…

Then for a couple more, we decided to make Strawberry Shortcake parfait’s or we could also call them a trifle. No matter what you want to call it… They turned into beautiful, layered strawberry goodness in just a few simple steps.

Gage and I tore up the cake into bite sized pieces and simply layered cake, strawberries, fresh whipped cream, cake, strawberries and topped it all off with a nice dollop of whipped cream.

You know what one of the perks is to helping Mom? You get the first taste…

To quote Gage, “This is TASTY!”

So… How are YOU going to GO BOLD? Check out all of the fun colors you have to choose from…

Visit Pillsbury Baking for all kinds of fun ideas on how to turn the everyday into something special! You can even enter to win a Pillsbury Baking Prize Pack!

Disclaimer // This is a sponsored post. I did receive product and payment for this post. However, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are all my own! ©/® The J.M. Smucker Company. Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC, used under license.

Hot Cross Scones

2 · Apr 7, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Hello Whipperberry friends! I’m thrilled to be back here to share another post with you! Since Easter is just a few weeks away, I thought I’d share a festive recipe. Tis’ the season!

I don’t know about you, but we love hot cross buns. They’re really the best aren’t they? I love them so much I was trying to think of other ways to enjoy the flavour. Then I thought, what about scones? So I did some digging and found a recipe for inspiration and came up with this delicious twist.

Hot Cross Scones with a Buttermilk Sugar Glaze.

Yum.

Now I realize technically these should have the icing added in a cross shape to more resemble a hot cross bun, but I just could not resist getting all drizzly. I just drizzled like it was going out of style! Looks yummy, no?

Serve them up with a big glass of milk and you have the perfect snack!

Hot Cross Scones

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Author: Jo-Anna // A Pretty Life in the Suburbs

Ingredients

Scone Ingredients:

3 cups flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cloves
4½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
zest from 1 lemon
½ cup currants
¾ cup butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1 egg
¾ cup buttermilk

Icing Ingredients:

1 cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
1 - 2 tbsp buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg cloves, baking powder and salt.
Stir in the lemon zest.
Using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand with a few pea-sized pieces.
Whisk in the currants.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.
Add the buttermilk/egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until a loosely formed ball of dough is formed. Then gently work the dough into a 1 inch thick disk.
You can use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut out the scones, or I like to use a pizza cutter and cut the disk into 12 equal sized pieces.
Transfer the scones to your parchment paper lined baking sheet, and brush with a little buttermilk.
Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.
Transfer the scones to a rack to cool completely before applying the glaze.
To make the glaze, stir together the buttermilk and icing sugar until the desired consistency.
Transfer the glaze into a ziplock bag, cut a corner of the bag off, and pipe the icing onto the cooled scones.
Enjoy!

– – – – – – – – – – – – – –

These Hot Cross Scones would make a perfect addition to your Easter Brunch!

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Have a delicious day!

10 LDS General Conference Quotes

6 · Apr 7, 2014 · 3 Comments

10+ LDS General Conference Quotes // This last weekend was one of my favorite weekends throughout the year. Twice a year our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gathers together in Salt Lake City and all over the world via the Internet for a Semi-Annual General Conference. This is our opportunity to be taught by the leaders of our church, modern day Apostles and our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. It is a time to be spiritually feed and to receive modern day revelation that is relevant for our challenging times. We take the whole weekend to slow down, make yummy treats and enjoy being together as a family. I’ll post our special breakfast that we made a little later…

This weekend I used the Rhonna Designs app from my sweet friend Rhonna Farrer to take some of the quotes that touched my heart and share them via Instagram. I’m sure everyone got tired of me, but I just could help myself. Rhonna’s app is just so fun to work with and the quotes were just amazing I couldn’t help but share. A few of my friends on Instagram asked if I would post them here so that they could download them and use them in their homes. I am more than happy to do that, so here are the designs that I created, with Rhonna’s fabulous app as help, for you if you would like.

You can download the full-sized version HERE.

“Christ is the anchor for us and our families through the storms of life.” – Elder Boyd K. Packer

“Today’s complexities demand greater simplicity.” – Elder L. Tom Perry

“He who loveth God, loveth his brother also.” – 1 John 4:21 quoted by President Thomas S. Monson

“Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith.” – Elder Jeffery R. Holland

“Pure Christlike love, flowing in true righteousness can change the world.” – Elder Jeffery R. Holland

“Choose to be grateful, no matter what!” – Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“Live compassionately.” – inspired by President Thomas S. Monson

“Everyone, regardless of his or her choices deserves our kindness.” – Elder Neil L. Andersen

“The spirit of gratitude brings true joy and great happiness.” – Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“His gospel is the path to peace and happiness in this life.” – Elder Richard G. Scott

My friend Kiki over at Kiki & Company is also sharing some of her favorite quotes with her fabulous artistic talents this week. I LOVE this one from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf...

Click HERE to visit Kiki and download the full-sized version of this print. She will be sharing more throughout the week so keep checking back for more amazing inspiration!

Tropical Shrimp Bites

20 · Apr 4, 2014 ·

This post brought to you by the folks at Hidden Valley® // With the weather slowly starting to warm up, I’m starting to get the itch to entertain a bit more. One of my favorite things to do when planning for a party or get together is coming up with unique menu items. Tasty dishes that are simple to make, but have a big WOW factor for my guests. Recently, the folks at Hidden Valley challenged me to come up with a new recipe for a appetizer using one of their fabulous Hidden Valley® products. I was super excited when I discovered their new Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette and instantly I thought it would pair nicely with some type of shrimp dish. After some playing around, I came up with these super tasty Tropical Shrimp Bites…

The Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette is amazing with the shrimp! I added a little coconut cream and shredded coconut to the shrimp and then quickly baked them in the oven. I topped off the little bites with some grilled mango and pineapple and together the pairing was amazing.

Unfortunately my market didn’t have any fresh mango at the time so I had to used bottled mango, but it worked just fine. Here is how I made my Tropical Shrimp Bites…

Tropical Shrimp Bites Recipe

1 lb raw shrimp

1 bottle Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette

1 cup coconut cream

6 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

1 fresh pineapple

1 mango

cooking spray

Directions

Prepare your shrimp by rinsing thoroughly and peeling off the shell if necessary. In a large bowl, whisk together the coconut cream and Hidden Valley® Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette. Add shrimp to the coconut and vinaigrette mixture. Let marinade for no more than 15 minutes. Any longer in the marinade and the acid in the dressing will start to cook the shrimp and you don’t want that.

Preheat your oven to 425˚. Remove your shrimp from the marinade and place in batches into a bowl of the shredded coconut. Coat the shrimp and then place on top of a wire rack that has been coated with cooking spray and placed on top of a baking sheet.

Lightly spray the shrimp with cooking spray and place in the preheated oven for five minutes. After five minutes, remove from oven and carefully turn the shrimp, lightly spray the other side with cooking spray and place back into the oven for an additional four to five minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

In the mean time cut your pineapple and mango into bite sized pieces and grill either using a grill pan or directly on a grill. Grill for 1-2 minutes on one side, turn and grill for an additional 1-2 minutes on the other side. Remove from grill and set aside until the shrimp are ready.

Now all you need to do is assemble your tropical shrimp bites… I used a bamboo skewer and added one piece of grilled pineapple, a shrimp and finally a bite of mango. Your perfect tropical bite!

It’s amazing how much flavor the shrimp takes on from the vinaigrette in such a short time. You can really taste the mango with a little hint of the chipotle, it’s tasty!! Your guest are going to love this little bite from the tropics! This recipe will make roughly 40 tropical shrimp bites, perfect for a medium sized gathering. You can adjust accordingly to the size of your gathering. I served my shrimp bites on top of some sugar pea greens that had been lightly dressed with the Hidden Valley@ Farmhouse Originals Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette as well. That made for some added flavor along with a very pretty presentation.

From dressings and dips to sandwich spreads and side dish solutions, the special blend of herbs and spices makes Hidden Valley the perfect addition to any recipe. For more delectable ranch recipes, visit www.hiddenvalley.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hidden Valley Ranch. The opinions and text are all mine.

The Party Bunch Link Party // no. 24

0 · Apr 4, 2014 · 9 Comments

HAPPY FRIDAY… Time for The Party Bunch Link Party!!

Amy from The Idea Room, Mique from 30 Handmade Days, Heather from Whipperberry and Desiree from The 36th Avenue want to thank you for partying with us… You guys are the best!

Here are some of our favorites!

Heather’s Favorite

Icosahedron Pendant Light at The Gathered Home.

I just love the fun and unique geometric shape.

Mique’s Favorite

Pear Crisp at Clean and Scentsible.

It is almost…too beautiful to eat!

Amy’s Favorite

Nut and Berry Salad from I Heart Naptime.

This salad looks so delicious and healthy.

Desiree’s Favorite

Snickerdoodle Pound Cake a la mode at Lil Luna.

Oh my goodness…this looks so yummy!

As always thank you for so may fabulous projects and recipes!

We hope you take a minute and button up here!

Also we want to invite you to click here and follow

The Party Bunch Favorites on Pinterest.

We are featuring more of our favorite projects and recipes from the link party on this board!

Now it is time to party!

TPB Party Bunch Link Up... Every Friday to Sunday link up your projects over at theidearoom.net , thirtyhandmadedays.com , whipperberry.com or the36thavenue.com Four bloggers = ONE BIG PARTY! We can't wait to see your projects!

Here are a few things to remember before you link up!

Please make sure to share the love and grab a button here to let your readers know that you linked up with us!
By linking up with The Party Bunch, you are giving permission to any of us to feature your projects and recipes on our social media with a link back to you. Thanks!

An InLinkz Link-up

Crafts

You can download the full-sized version HERE.

Tropical Shrimp Bites Recipe

Directions

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