Not Really So Different

This is apparently several months old, but it has just started popping on facebook. An amazing and profound speech by Zach Wahls (even more incredible is that he is only 19!) This is one of those video's that will stick with me, much like Joel Burns' It Get's Better speech. 

The world is not full of cookie cutter people, we all have differences, but that is what makes the human race so beautiful!  Everyone should be able to experience the same feeling I did when I walked down the aisle and married my best friend.  I pray every day that when Kipper and I have children they will be able to grow up in a world that is loving and accepting of everyone.

This Thanksgiving, Kipper is Thankful I Didn't Burn Down Our House

You might laugh about the title of this post but sadly when I told Kipper I was baking for our family Thanksgiving meal I know he stopped and prayed we still had a home come Thanksgiving morning. Well before we even get started I happy to announce our home is fully intact. While we did ALMOST have a repeat of Thanksgiving 2004 (Short Version: I caught something on fire in the oven I was making for the Fire Department potluck, house was full of smoke and it took me forever to get the flames out. Kipper didn't answer his phone and I knew he was with the fire chief so I had to call the fire chief to have him get Kipper to bring the big fan from the station home to clear the smoke) we noticed the smoke and fixed the issue before any real flames started and the food ignited! :)  

Okay on to the awesomeness that was my baking! 

As you all know I am addicted to Pinterest and because of Pinterest I all of a sudden have decided I want to start cooking. And what better time to test out this plan other than Thanksgiving with my family, right??? Whitley apparently had the same idea to test out her cooking skills on our family so we decided we would  bake together at our house. (I think this plan made Kipper even more nervous! lol!)

After lots of hunting I decided on a recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes from Your Cup of Cake. (I highly recommend this blog! Everything on it looks amazing and the recipes are really easy to follow!)  After a trip to the grocery store to get all the needed ingredients we were ready to get started! Well actually after I got the speech from Kipper about cleaning up any mess we made and to please be careful...THEN we were ready to get started. 

First we made the cheesecake filling and place it in the freezer until we are almost ready to start baking the cupcakes. Oh and we had to preheat the oven!





Next we mixed together the oil, applesauce, sugar, brown sugar and eggs  into a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, we combined the flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking soda and baking powder.

Over the course of the next few steps we began to combine the oil and dray mixture, as well as adding in the remaining dry ingredients, milk and the pumpkin.

 After everything was completely mixed together it was time to fill the cupcake liners with the batter. We had to make sure to leave enough space for the cheesecake filling that we added on top and lightly swirled in with the batter.


Then we said a prayer and popped them in the oven for 20 minutes.At first glace I was really rather nervous because they were not looking near as pretty as the photo on Your Cup of Cake. 



At this point we were working on 3 other dishes so we just let them cool, then in the morning I would make the frosting and ice them. Several more hours of cooking craziness took place, but at that point we were more concerned with burning cookies or mixing the wrong this, so the play by play photos didn't happen as planned!

Fast forward to Thanksgiving morning:  I got up and made the cream cheese frosting and iced the cupcakes. I was a little concerned as they still looked nothing like I thought they would. I was also a little nervous about what they tasted like since Kipper sampled one right after it came out of the oven and was a little unsure. BUT after tasting one with the frosting one it I was very pleased at how they turned out..They were really good!

What we HOPED they would look like:

Photo from Your Cup Of Cake

How they actually turned out: 

As you can see I am FAR from landing a show on Food TV, but I was still proud of them and they were a hit with everyone at dinner too!  Plus I have a new found respect for all the bloggers who post step by step photos when they are cooking! Just getting the ingredients combined and baked/cooked is enough for me for now. lol.

Want to tryout the recipe for yourself? 

Here you go - Pumpkin Cheesecake Cupcakes