Cupcakes A-Z: H is for...

How I Met Your Mother!

5 suits, one of which sporting a ducky tie, creates the pop reference for these cupcakes. 

Cupcakes A-Z: G is for...

Glee!

The TV show on Fox that involves a high school glee club who burst into song routinely and get bullied via flying Big Quench slushies. 

Which brings us to cupcakes.

Cupcakes A-Z: F is for...

Friends!

... the TV show. 

Not just my friends. That'd be a weird choice. 

Cupcakes A-Z: E is for...

Elmo!

Elmo and Friends!

Cupcakes A-Z: D is for...

Dr. Who! 

My somewhat sorry attempt at creating the Tardis. 

Oh, Mono!

Hey, I have mono! 

And this section of my blog! 

Check this post out for more info on the mono life and, hey! Letters D and E set to come tomorrow!

Thank you all for the love and support as I died in my bed, ha. 

Happy Friday!

Cupcakes A-Z: C is for...

Calvin and Hobbes!

One of my all time favorite cartoons, if not all time favorites. Calvin and Hobbes is just overwhelmingly charming and funny. 

Duncanpology: An Apology, Cherry Blossom Cupcakes, & Duncan Heinz Mix Ups Review

HELLO! I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL! 

Which brings me to, SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!

I am not dead, injured, ill, or anything quite so dramatic. 

I was however cut from my position in the company I work for and shifted to new ones that involved interviews, travel, craziness, and now ridiculous hours. 

So, no blogging happened. 

Life happened all over the place though. 

Now I have a new role that involves more responsibilities and hours, plus a handsome boyfriend, and all the usual drama of being me twirling around on an endless loop.

Oh look! Cherry Blossom Cupcakes! 

Cute :)

Much nicer as a topic than my life. Let's talk cupcakes.

Cupcakes A-Z: B is for...

Bears...Beets...Battlestar Galactica!

From this scene, for those of you who don't recall this particular reference from "The Office". 

Gosh, I had way too much fun with these cupcakes. 

What Happened to B? Ice Cream Cake Pops...

Well, so. B never happened on Monday. I have no idea why, it was supposed to post. It just decided not to. Which is fine, I'll post it now. But, still.

And I don't notice because of that list. Pretty fun, right? 

My To-Do list is self generating at this point. And it's tragic because all I want to do is play SNES and eat pretzel M&Ms.

Or some of these guys. Yummmmm!

These pics are kind of old. /Really old. Remember that giant Hogwarts cake I made? Well, it was chocolate and massive. And so, after about 3 days of it taking up way too much space, I spooned it and smashed it into dixie cups topped with ice cream and made more ice cream cake pops again. 

Cucpakes A-Z: A is for...

ALIEN!

A is for Alien! Or in this case, ET.

News! News! An Alphabet Project

So I came up with this idea for a blog series on my pages.... 

Cupcakes A thru Z. A is for.... B is for....

You get the idea. (Find all the letters to date here)

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling: The Story of the Photogenically Unprepared Pies

Back from the beyond! And by "beyond" I mean, trips home and to California!

Good to see you too!

Once upon a time, it was the holiday season and I made a frack ton of holiday cookies for my house's holiday party and then for my dear friend, Sean's holiday party. Including these amazing amazing whoopie pies that got raved over, devoured, and were never seen again.

Avocado & Tomato Pasta... Hello there, Summer!

Yum. There is just something about avocado that makes everything better. 

This is one of those recipes that doesn't even count as a recipe. I took whole wheat pasta, sliced up a carton of grape tomatoes (over the bowl so I kept the tomatoey juices), and an avocado. Drizzled with a TINY bit of olive oil, dashed with some salt and pepper and, ta da.

Yummy clean eating. 

I am going to California for the week so, I'll be off the grid/no posting (again). 

Also, thanks to all of you who were supportive when I was sick last week. I got better just in time to go to Cali but, I am not allowed any alcoholic drinking due to the antibiotics I am on for the throat. I scratched it apparently which caused an infection which caused the death cold which required crazy powerful drugs that I am still on for the moment. 

Always an adventure, right?

Happy April! Talk to you guys in May! :)

And the winner is....

Hey guys! I am down for the count with a cold from h-e-double-hockey sticks but! I wanted to take this opportunity to announce the cupcake give-away winner! 

Drumroll please... 

And the winner is!

Nancy O'Connor Ames! 

As I said in my response, Maine isn't too far! Ha. I am so happy that I get to replace the cupcakes you so narrowly missed out on! And that such a loyal reader got the treats. 

To all of you who entered, you guys are amazing. I am so so blessed to have such loyal and supportive readers.  Thank you for all the comments and support! 

I am off to some nyquil induced sleep, ha. Nancy, can't wait to hear from you!

Georgetown Cupcakes Giveaway! AKA The "Over 200 Awesome Humans & Over 50,000 Views" Giveaway!

So, I mentioned this on my facebook page but I haven't said it here yet. You guys are pretty much awesome. 

Over 200 of you follow me! Possibly even more! And you guys (and random strangers) have viewed this page over 50,000 times! So, I really really want to thank you somehow and, this is really the best way I know.

A giveaway! Yay, free things for you readers!!

So, what am I going to give you guys in this give away? Isn't it obvious? One lucky reader gets Georgetown Cupcakes! So long as you live in the United States- You can win a 1 dozen custom assortment of Georgetown Cupcakes (from TLC's "DC Cupcakes") sent from me directly to your door!

Sorry about that "United States" residency thing. I don't make the rules of Georgetown Cupcake's shipping policy but, that's apparently a thing. International readers, if you want to call me out on the fact that this stinks and you are bummed you don't get to enter, here's a prize just for you! If you send me your address and grievances about missing out on cupcakes via e-mail, I will send you a postcard with a comic of my condolences!

I know my comics are not as sweet (see what I did there?) as Georgetown Cupcake's but, maybe they can sooth some of the pain in missing out this round... 

Soggy Left-Over Fries Get Revamped to Crispy-Spicy-Joy-Bites... Plus Clutzy Cooking gets Revamped, Too!

(That's my infamous finger lickin' roast chicken in the background but, try and focus on how deliciously crunch-tastic and spicy those fries look...)

First of all, no I did not fry these things again. 

But how many times have you brought home your left overs and had these once crisped to perfection french fries sitting in your Styrofoam container all desolate, wilted, and sad? 

Too many to count? Me too! 

Screw the WORLD Brownies!

Here is the sentiment of the year thus far. I have committed to over a dozen things and am seriously thinking about adding one more doozey of a commitment despite the fact that this commitment to so many commitments is going to get me committed...

Things haven't been the easiest lately. Remember how in my last post I had a breakdown after biting off more than I could possibly ever chew? Good times. I know a lot of you have also been picked up in the whirl wind that is spring but, it seems as though things are always spinning out here in DC and I have come to realize I need to take some more (a lot more) me time and stop having this lovely pattern of "go go go!" and then a few days of zombie like exhaustion in which nothing gets done.

It's just funny because it's been an EXTREMELY fun 2012 because I have had these epic, jam packed plans, often with awesome visitors, every single weekend... but I feel so worn out on all sides I don't think I am even really projecting "happy" anymore. I feel like my tired is a living, breathing, thing that is just making me miserable to be around. I have noticed I am sharper than normal, more bitter wit than good natured. Also, due to the constant stream of amusing activities and then exhaustion, oh yeah, and MY NORMAL JAMMED PACK ROUTINE OF WORK/HOBBIES, I seem to have become a hoarder. 

Things an OCD personality does not handle the concept of very well: hoarding. But all these clutter piles from clue mystery dinner crafts, ball attending, brother visiting, friend touring, and lord knows what else need to go somewhere before I have time to clean them up so, I have two junk boxes and the hall closet hiding my shameful, shameful, mess/unfinished projects/unopened mail/that's not even mentioning the laundry and what has happened to 3 of my purses.

Somewhere hiding in the ever creeping mess is a 1 inch SD card that has the photos from my clue party. I really wanted to update this blog with THAT first (as it was my amazing valentines day project and I think you guys would appreciate it) but, they photos never got uploaded and now the memory card is missing.

That's right guys. I am in a living nightmare of mess and disaster and lost memory cards. This is how we have ended up here. With "screw the world" brownies. Check these babies out:

I agree. These should be illegal. You may be wondering how these brownies got their name. Well, I originally found them in a Taste of Home cook book and they had a boring name like "Peanut Butter Brownie Bars". While I GUESS that describes these bars, I don't think it even really begins to touch on the RIDICULOUS decadence of these treats. These are brownies, topped with peanut butter cups, topped with a rice crispies, all held together by a chocolate peanut crunch of joy.

No sane person would ever, ever, go into that much sugar, butter, and sheer peanut butter joy without taking a moment to pause and consider. But only the insane wouldn't respond with "Screw it, I'm having one!"

Thus the name of the treats was created. These brownies are to be made in truly dire circumstances. When you've been dumped, devastated, or have no idea what else to do but have a small pity party and savor. These can really knock your taste buds back in gear and make you feel the chemical reactive joys of chocolate and sugar. Plus the "Screw him, screw this, screw THE FRIGGIN WORLD, AT LEAST I HAVE THE MOST MAGICAL BROWNIES ON THE PLANET" thing can be very therapeutic.

Happy Belated Birthday Sarah!: Inception Pops (Pie-Cake-Ice-Cream Pops)

OKAY! These are Inception Pie-Cake-Ice-Cream-Pops! That is, pumpkin pie, within german chocolate cake, within cookie dough ice cream. They are a dream, within a dream, within a dream. 

Get it? 

They were not supposed to be what I posted on today. At all. That was supposed to be cupcakes. For Sarah's birthday. Not an homage to Inception. Clearly, this is not what happened. Let's start from the beginning. 

So, for those of you who live in DC, you listen to the KANE show.

If you don't, I judge you. It's on 99.5 FM in the mornings and makes my work drive cheerful. It's on iheartradio too if you guys who don't live in the area want to listen with the cool kids. 

Anyway. So for those of you who listened today, you know that besides the usual news and general shenanigans the KANE show team discusses, it was a bit of a celebration. Or at least, it was mentioned with many positive comments and cheers every few moments. 

It was Sarah's birthday.

Now, I may not KNOW Sara but, I had really wanted to make her some cupcakes for her birthday. That had been the goal of today on top of some other plans and agendas. I guess it may not make sense to some people, making cupcakes in honor of a stranger... but these guys are so much more than that. I suppose no public figures are really strangers but, Sammy, Sarah, and Kane really do make my morning drives better. I am more awake listening to their fun and energy. Or at least, happier to be awake so I can be entertained by them, with them, for that window of time.

A lot of KANE fans can surely relate. I listen on my drive, park my car, time it for a commercial, and practically run to my cube to plug my headphones into iheartradio before they come back from commercial, and am in my cube until 10 when they are off air.

Or maybe that's just me. 

I highly doubt it though. The show is instant entertainment and cheer in the mornings. You just want to grab a cup of coffee with them and continue to be charmed.

Well, anyway. So I clearly am a BIG fan. And as I had said, I had wanted to make cupcakes in honor of Sarah's big 3O. She had talked recently about Pinterest and how she is threatened by what some people whip up and I wanted to make something easy in honor of her that she could make whenever. From one kitchen clutz to another. I love Pinterest, I really REALLY do, but I knew what she meant. A lot of these people just HAVE to have a background in cooking. Or I am lacking a gene somewhere. So the goal was also something simple but, pin worthy. And that had been the plan this morning.

But, then again, a lot of things had been the plan this morning.

Girl Scout Brownies

Once upon a time, I had a box of brownie mix, 3 boxes of girl scout cookies, and a dream. Below, you'll see the results of that dream.

Meet my Tag-along brownie cups. Baked in a cupcake pan, I simply poured some brownie batter (boxed, as I was pressed for time/lame), put a tag-along in, and then topped it with more batter.

Then, being truly sinful, I swirled it with peanut butter. 

Yes, it is indeed as delicious as you'd imagine. 

Here we have the Samoa version. Same idea, just this time I topped the combined cups with not peanut butter swirls but rather, coconut and caramel.

I know, I'm pure evil sometimes. But you know it's so so tempting...

This is a deconstructed Samoa brownie cup. Because  I couldn't help myself.

And then, finally, there were my favorites. The Thin Mint brownie cups. 

I didn't top these with anything but powdered sugar, and I did that after they were done baking.

But oh my gosh, so good. The minty crunch held within cakey brownie. You need to make these now.

Make any of these now. I promise you, you'll thank me. As the girl scout cookie orders start rolling in, you're going to want to keep this in mind :)

In A Rut- Help Me, Guys?

Hey, it is TOTALLY February! 


When the heck did THAT happen? 


So, fact. I haven't posted since my Mom's birthday. 

(Love you, Mom. Sorry again the recipe isn't up yet...)

Which, as I forgot to put up the accurate recipe of blueberry pizza, even that needs to be updated. Not a great showing for Team Meaghan. 


I have been focusing a lot this past month on myself and me time which, has been very helpful. New Years resolutions include getting myself more involved with the city of DC, getting my body more in line with the streamlined diva I feel I am inside my slightly more curved (don't be shocked, this is a cooking blog!) diva shell, and connecting with all my loved ones so I stay balanced on all sides... 


But perhaps most importantly: my resolution is to NOT lose my creative edge. Which, hey, I have been.