Life is like a cupcake.

           I love cupcakes, and really that is an understatement. What I really love about cupcakes is the frosting. And really that's what makes a cupcake a cupcake. Without the scrumptious frosting, it'd be like a muffin or what ever a piece of cake is without frosting. But you, of course, can't have a cupcake without the cake. It wouldn't be a cupcake unless it had cake under the layer of yummy frosting. 

          The cake and frosting go hand in hand. The cake and frosting work together. To truly enjoy a cupcake, there must be a balance. There shouldn't be to much cake or to much frosting in each bite. 

          Then there are those people that like more frosting and less cake, or those who like more cake and less frosting. How do you find your balance? You must test the waters. Or in this case, test and eat some cupcakes. It's really a piece of cake. 

          Cupcakes are like life. One must have a balance. You don't what to much of the frosting or to much of the cake. Each person has his or her own balance; each person is different. Some people are more cupcake compatible with each other than they are with others. 

          The cake is the part of life that is stable, rational,  & logical. It is necessary to life, so that a person may survive a day longer. The frosting is the of part of life that is irrational, fun, and it gives life it's spice. It allows you, through reason, to live and have fun. 

         A cupcake isn't as good when there is to much of one part and not enough of the other. This should be kept in mind when living one's life. A person's life could become toxic or become unbalanced with to much of one element. Life wouldn't be as good if there wasn't a balance, and we all what to enjoy life just like we all strive to enjoy the perfect cupcake. 

           Make sense? It at least makes sense in my head. I wish life could always be explained through food, it'd be much easier. Plus everyone on the planet has that one thing in common: food. That's another post all together. 

           Thanks for reading my ramblings on life and cupcakes, and how they are intertwined. Remember: Life is like a cupcake. 

                                                   Peace, love, bake on.

                                                                                

                                                                                 Andrea 

Prom: Dress shopping on a budget.

Prom season is around yet again. Prom is the time when every girl is looking for the perfect dress at the hopefully perfect price. Prom is the time when I am shopping for hard bargains; I'm scouring the internet for a beautiful dress with a price tag to match. Last year, I found several good (trustworthy) sites that you can purchase nice dresses for prom and other formal occasions. You can find my post about them here. This year I did some more researching. The site that I found this year was really hidden. It is truly a hidden treasure. The website is called UWDress.com. It's really a great site. 

There were so many beautiful dresses for affordable deals. I purchased my prom dress from UWDress,com. It's beautiful, and my signature style; I think. Every time I showed a picture of my dress that I ordered to my friends, they were all like "that dress is so you" and "that dress is so pretty" or "you should get that in emerald green." Several of my friends were very adamant that I should get an emerald green dress. Guess why? My RED hair, of course. Red heads look amazing in green; the funny thing is I never wear green. I wear a lot of blue or peach colors. I don't know why, but I do. Maybe I should wear green more often. 

Anyway, ya'll should definitely check out UWDress.com. You won't regret it, and even if you don't find or buy your prom dress from them, you can now recommend them to others or for yourself for future reference. 

This is my dress. It's simple, which is what I like. It isn't over the top extravagant, but it's classy. It also comes in other colors.

This dress is pretty and it can be found in many other colors. It can be found here. 

This dress was my second or third choice. I like how it has some sparkle, but not to much. It is strapless, which I am not a huge fan of, but it is sill a most gorgeous dress. This dress can also be found in other colors.

This dress is really nice also. It is all silver sparkles. But this dress is really nice. If you want something classy and modest, this dress is right up your alley.

What can I say, a girl loves her sparkles . I think it reminds us of diamonds, which are sparkly too.


UWDress.com has so many dresses that come in different shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. These examples were just a few of the many, many dresses that they have. Anyway, good prom shopping!

                                                       Andrea, The Fiery Redhead.

Happy Valentine's Day cupcakes.

Happy Valentine's Day! How do you celebrate the Valentine's Day? When I think of holidays, I think of sweets. So it's only natural that when I think of Valentine's Day, I think of cupcakes. What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to have cupcakes. 

Cupcakes pretty much sum up the holiday. They make a statement, especially if you made them yourself. Everyone loves cupcakes. So, if you don't know what to give your sweetheart for Valentine's Day then make them cupcakes. Doing so shows that you care enough about the person to share the cupcakes with them. Even if you don't have a sweetheart to share cupcakes with make them anyway, I did. I promise you won't regret it. 

When I made Valentine's Day cupcake, I made chocolate cupcakes ,  my favorite buttercream frosting, and various decorations I found that was Valentine's Day themed. I used these adorable tiny heart shaped sprinkles and these hard candy heart decorations. Both were Wilton. 

I used my favorite piping tip: the Wilton 1M tip. I colored my frosting light pink to go with the theme, of course. 

I hope you draw inspiration from these scrumptious desserts. I shared these Valentine's Day cupcakes with my friends. They all ooohhhed  and ahhhed over them. Let me tell you a secret. I think decorating cupcakes is easy and fun. It just takes a little patience, love, and time that's all. 

 All you that need to make these is a little heart and extra love. 

All it takes is a little heart. 

Have a very, very happy Valentine's Day. Make the most of it. Tell the one's you cherish that you love and appreciate them. Because all it takes three little words to sometimes make a difference. 

As always,

Peace, love, bake on. 

                                                 Andrea 

Salsa Roll-Ups

Okay, so I am a little late on this, but the Super Bowl was over the weekend. So, I am not much a football watcher myself, but since I was given the chance to make a bunch of food, I was all for it. I do watch football now and again. And I do understand the basic concepts and rules of football, but I don't usually let on that I do, though. I'm not sure why. 

Anyway, I was at this party several days before with my cousin, who also happens to be one of my best friends, and her boyfriend. And at this party, I had some roll-ups that had cream cheese and salsa in them. When I asked what they were made of, I told myself I was going to recreate them as soon as I got home. And I did. It all worked out perfectly since the Super Bowl was the very same weekend. 

Of course, I recreated them with my very own version. I did some research and decided to make my own version of them. And the recipe came out to be something like this.

Cream Cheese Salsa Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

1- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup salsa

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded cheese plus a little extra

1/4 tsp. chili powder

1  4-6 oz can olives (sliced, which 

I always buy the whole ones and cut them myself)

3 green onions, sliced thinly
5-6 tortillas (I used 10 inch, but 
smaller ones can be used)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, using mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Next, add salsa and sour cream, and mix together.  
2. Add the chili powder, cheese, olives, green onions and mix together. Now, add the olives (after adding olives, I mixed using a spoon or spatula instead of the electric mixer.) 
3.  Now, spoon about a 1/2 of a cup of the mixture (or smaller amount if using a smaller sized tortilla like a 6 inch) onto a tortilla. Sprinkle a little extra cheese (because you can never have enough cheese, this is optional), and then roll up tightly.
4.  Wrap each tortilla roll-up in plastic wrap individually and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours. 
5. Cut into 3/4 inch pinwheels and serve immediately. Can be served with extra salsa if desired. 

I love these because they are easy to make and they are delicious. My whole family loved them. They make great appetizers and snacks for any occasion. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did. If you have any questions or just want to comment please by either emailing me or commenting below. Thanks!

                                                      Andrea 

One Year Anniversary

Drum roll please. Guess what day it is? It is the one year anniversary of The Fiery Redhead! The year went be so fast. It was super exciting and amazing. I have learned so much since the first day of The Fiery Redhead. So in honor of the one year of The Fiery Redhead lets take a look back at highlights of the first year of  The Fiery Redhead. 

A Fishtail Side-Do

My Favorite Buttercream Frosting

Fishtale Braided Hairstyle

Homemade Caramel Frappuccino

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Roasted Potatoes and Sausage

Cheesy Taco Pasta

Homemade Egg Rolls

Nutter Butter Ghosts

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Hope you enjoy scrolling through the highlights of the year for The Fiery Redhead. This year has been magical, wonderful, and amazing. I would like to thank you readers for viewing my blog. Again thanks! This next year I hope to become a better blogger. I have so many people to look up to in the world of blogging, and I hope I can learn from them. This is all a learning experience, and it is all so much fun. I enjoy creating new creations to share with the world and my family and friends. It's sometimes a bit crazy, but that's just life. I hope to post more this coming year. Fingers crossed. Anyway Happy One Year Anniversary to The Fiery Redhead. Have a great year.

Peace, Love, Bake on.

                            Andrea 

Patty melts.

Do you ever wish to bring the diner food at home? Well, I know I do. Diners are home to classic comfort food. They serve up dishes and don't spare you the side of extra grease. I think Patty Melts are a classic diner dish. They are greasy, cheesy, and piled with meat. If you like grilled cheeses and you like hamburgers, then you will most definitely love Patty Melts. Patty Melts are easy to make and just so yummy. So here you go from the diner to your home table. 

Patty Melts

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

Salt and Pepper, to taste 

5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce 

8 slices of cheese ( I use American or Swiss)

8 slices of bread (some use rye)

1 large onion, halved and sliced thinly

1/2 cup butter (or 1 stick)

Directions: 

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet. Toss in sliced onion and cook on low for 20-25 minutes until onions are golden brown and soft. 
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix the ground beef and Worcestershire sauce. Form the ground beef into 4 patties. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of patties.
3. In separate skillet, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Put patties into skillet and cook until cooked thoroughly, so that there isn't any pink on the middle.
4. Next, assemble patty melts in this order. 1 slice of bread, a slice of cheese, hamburger patty, 1/4 onions, a slice of cheese, a slice of bread. 
5. Over medium heat grill the sandwiches in a griddle or skillet. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in skillet or griddle. Grill sandwiches over medium heat until golden. Remove sandwiches from skillet or griddle and melt another 2 tablespoons of butter. Turn the sandwiches onto the other side and grill until golden, crispy and the cheese is melted. Remove from skillet or griddle. Cut in half and serve immediately. Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe! My family loves patty melts. They are classic at my home, and I hope they become the same at your house too.

Peace, love, bake on.

                             Andrea

Pumpkin cupcakes with a cream cheese cinnamon frosting.

My favorite season is fall. The leaves are changing beautiful bright colors, and as they fall and drift through the wind, everything seems magical. I, more than normal, took great notice in the colors of the leaves this year. There were these trees that I passed everyday on my way to school that were this beautiful, bright red. You couldn't help but notice them when you went by. During this time of the year to express the magical qualities that I find in fall, I think of pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin, pumpkin pumpkin. Pumpkin just screams autumn. Above I mentioned pumpkin cupcakes, these little cakes are just scrumptious. Pumpkin cupcakes are fall, all wrapped up into one little delight. So if that wasn't enough to get you to make them, I don't know what will.

Another reason to love these is that this recipe is so super easy to make. If you have a cake mix and pumpkin then you can probably make these. Not a lot of work involved since it uses a cake mix. BONUS! You of course don't have to use the cream cheese cinnamon frosting recipe that I provided but I would highly recommend because it is awesome.  

The cream cheese cinnamon frosting as mentioned above that accompanies these pumpkin cupcakes is absolutely amazing. Cream cheese frosting is amazing with out cinnamon, but you add the cinnamon and it is even more amazing. I could probably just eat it right out the bowl all day long. Pair that with the pumpkin cupcakes, and you have one delicious dessert. So go ahead and make them for Thanksgiving or for just the heck of it. You won't be disappointed. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Ingredients:

For cupcakes:

1 yellow cake mix

1 can (14-15 oz.) pumpkin puree 

1 cup milk

2 Tbs. oil

5 Tbs. butter, melted

4 eggs

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

For cinnamon cream cheese frosting:

1-  8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

7 Tbs. butter, at room temperature

1 lb. powder sugar (or about 7 cups powder sugar)

1 tsp.vanilla

2 tsp. cinnamon 

Directions:

For cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake holder with liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pumpkin pie spice. Add pumpkin, milk, oil, butter, and eggs to the bowl and mix well until smooth.
3. Fill each lined cupcake holder with batter 2/3 full. 
4. Bake in oven for 10-16 minutes or until when a inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes and then remove from pan and let cool on wire rack or towel. 

For Frosting:

1. Using electric mixer, in a large bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy and smooth. Next add the butter and mix with mixer until light and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla and mix. Combine in powder sugar 1 cup at time, so that it doesn't make a huge mess. Mix until smooth.
3. After adding all the powder sugar, add the cinnamon. Mix until well blended.
4. Frost cupcakes or pipe frosting on with piping bag and tip. I used the Wilton 1M tip. 

Enjoy! Everyone in my family loved these cupcakes, They each came back wanting another one. I plan on serving these at Thanksgiving dinner. They will easily fit in with any Thanksgiving meal. Or eat them anytime like I am sure my family and I will. 

Have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Peace, love, bake on.

                                             Andrea