Valentines Day is right around the corner and Walmart Challenged me to come up with some great Valentines cupcakes to share!

Lately on Pinterest I’ve seen a bunch of cool “oreo” desserts and I was just itching to try one in particular-Oreo cookies baked into cupcakes!

The ingredients are simple!  You just need a package of Oreos, a box of cake mix (with whatever oil, water & eggs necessary to mix them up), some frosting (I made my favorite no boil homemade icing) and some cute cupcake wrappers & picks!  All these ingredients & decorations cost me under $10 at my local Walmart.

To make your Hidden Oreo Cupcakes, just mix up your cake batter according to the directions on the package.  I chose to make strawberry supreme in honor of Valentines Day-but this would work with whatever cake flavor was your favorite.

Next get your cupcake tins ready.  Just pop your liner in and then set an Oreo cookie in the bottom of each one.

Pour your batter over each cookie filling the tins 2/3 full and pop them in your oven–again, just follow the directions on the back of the box for how long and what temperature.

The cake bakes right around the Oreo!  How cool is that?

Now there are many ways to decorate you cupcakes.  Let’s start with the basics.  You can go with what I like to call your basic “mom” frosting–ie just use a knife or spreader to get the icing on there.  The cupcake liners came with cute Valentines Day picks you can stick in-viola! Decorated!  Or you can buy some candy to stick on top-I bought these large conversation hearts at Walmart.  Simple, cute, festive and even the least talented decorator out there can make them.

Now lets move on to a slightly more advanced technique.  I promise you, this is one of those things that looks fabulous and difficult but really isn’t!  All you have to do is the basic 1M Swirl (click through to my Easy Elegant Cupcake Tutorial post to see how really super easy it is using the 1M start tip)

The 1M swirl looks fantastic on it’s own, but if you paint nice lines of food coloring on the inside of the bag before you put the icing in you get a really awesome variegated effect that will have your friends and family swearing you bought these cupcakes at a bakery!

As you pipe the food coloring gets used up and less vibrant, which is why the on the left looks different than the one in the back.  Of course you can dress them up even more with the picks or candy as well.

Another super easy but impressive technique is to use that huge 1M star tip and just to cover the top of the cupcakes with stars.

There you have it-gorgeous and easy.  And if you spring for this cute cupcake tree (I found it in the Valentines Day aisle at my Walmart) you’ll be able to display your creations in style!

So what do you think?  Have I inspired any of you to make cupcakes for Valentines day?

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post I am participating in as one of the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.

Do you like fish?  I do!  Fish is a great healthy addition to any family’s menu plan.  Why not try this healthier (and far less odoriferous) take on fried fish.  While no one is going to mistake it for something that has been deep fat fried–you will get a nice crunchy coating.

Served up with some homemade tartar sauce (that’s just mayo and relish mixed together with a dash of salt or pepper thrown in folks-really, that’s all it is) you’ve got a tasty meal!

Who doesn’t love pizza?  Or Monkey Bread?  Put them together and you’ve got a sure fire, pull apart hit on your hands!This is more of a technique than an actual recipe.  It takes a little bit of hands on time to do, but the kiddos can help and everyone will enjoy eating the final product.

Basically you make your favorite pizza dough recipe (or buy a tube of pizza dough or a ball of frozen pizza dough-whatever floats your boat is fine.  Me-I make my Pizza Hut Crust Clone recipe)

Then you assemble your ingredients. The sauce will be on the side for dipping, so at this point you just need whatever you want to be inside the monkey bread-in my case pepperoni & mozzarella cheese.  (note:  I bought a block because it was less per pound-but shredded would work fine)

Assembly is easy.  Pinch off a ball of dough, pull, spread, roll or whatever technique works for you to make a flat shape-then put your toppings in the middle and roll, pinch, shape the dough around it.

Place them in a greased bread pan (or to be more monkey-bread like use a bundt pan).  I did a layer, then brushed it all with a mix of butter and garlic, added another layer and brushed with more garlic/butter.

My dough recipe that usually gives me 2 thin crust pizzas filled up a single bread pan.  I gave mine a 20 min or so rise in a warm oven-then I baked for about 30 minutes.

Mmm.  Doesn’t that look good?  Just serve with pizza or spaghetti sauce for dipping!

This got gobbled up faster than you can imagine-next time I’ll do a double batch of dough and do two bread pans full!

Enjoy!

This tasty, filling soup is a sure-fire hit on a cold winter day! The fact that’s it’s made in the crockpot is an added bonus-get it going in the morning and have dinner ready and waiting for you when you (and the hungry hordes) get home.

This recipe highlights potato,an inexpensive and filling ingredient, and sausage, which gives you a big punch of flavor.

Looking for a tasty fall meal to stretch your budget?  These delicious butternut stuffed shells are just what the doctor ordered!  Winter squash such as butternut is easy (and cheap!) to find this time of  year.  They are a budget stretching meatless meal (aka vegetarian!) to put into your rotation, and they are packed full of fiber and fantastic things like potasium, vitamin B6 and carotinoids.  If you don’t have the shells on hand, think about using manicotti tubes or even lasagna noodles roll up style!

Note:  Yankee Bill swears he doesn’t like winter squash-I let him eat two of these and comment on how delicious it was before I told him that the stuffing was made of butternut squash.  His response:

“These are SQUASH?!?”

After which he proceeded to eat about four more.  So if you have folks who believe they are not squash lovers try making a small batch (halve or quarter) and give them a taste!

The difference between homemade caramel corn and storebought is amazing.  What’s even more amazing is how truly simple it is to make it at home.

Starting in the fall, whenever I’m going to a party and need something to “bring along” this caramel corn is my go to item.

I hope you all love it as much as we do!

Photo by Randy Robertson

Caramel Corn

12 C Popcorn (plain, unsalted, air popped)

1 C Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 C Butter

1/4 C Light Corn Syrup

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Split the popcorn between 2 9×13 pans.

Cook brown sugar, corn syrup, salt & butter in a large saucepan over medium heat stirring occasionally, until bubbly around the edges.

Continue cooking 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda.  (Note: This will foam up, so use a big pot or move the whole shebang into a big bowl)

Pour caramel mixture over the popcorn and toss to coat.

Bake 45min-1 hr in a 200 degree oven, stirring every 15 minutes.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Variations:

You can add up to 3 cups of nuts-mix them in with the popcorn before adding the caramel.

Substitute Margarine (stick) for the butter.

Use white sugar instead of brown and then add food coloring to make “theme” caramel corn.

What’s your idea of a great Game-Day snack?

Every month Walmart gives me a food related challenge to share with you all here on my blog as part of the Walmart Moms.  This month’s challenge was a bit, well, challenging.

Not because I don’t like snacks-actually “snack-y” food is some of my favorite stuff.  I’d skip a meal and just eat appetizers if I had my druthers!  No, the hard part was that I have already shared most of my favorite snacks here on Frugal Upstate.  Deviled Eggs, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, Buffalo Chicken Dip, Reuben Dip, Jello Jigglers, Biscotti, Spinach Artichoke Dip. . . what the heck was I going to write about?

So I decided to do something new. . .Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

****This is a sponsored post****

Disclosure: This is a sponsored review I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.

Welcome to the FINAL week of the Frugal Food Series. Yes, believe it or not 8 weeks have sped by. We’ve covered a lot of ground in the last 7 weeks: eggs, tuna, beans , ground meat, chicken, Pasta/Potatoes/Grains and desserts and snacks.

We are wrapping up the series this week with potluck favorites. Let’s face it-we all occasionally (or some of us more than occasionally) have “bring a dish to pass” type events we attend. It could be a potluck supper at our place of worship, a family get together or a party with friends. What inexpensive dishes do you turn to when someone says “Why don’t you bring something”?

Personally my favorites are a veggie platter from the garden (in season of course), Homemade Caramel Corn, Crunchy Asian Chicken Salad or a big pan of brownies (made from the inexpensive Aldi’s box brand-folks LOVE those).

Photo by Marshall Astor

So got a favorite potluck take along? Link it up below! I can’t wait to see what you all contribute. Maybe I’ll find a new favorite too!

Remember, you will always be able to find the all of the Frugal Food Series links at the Frugal Food Series Index!

Don’t forget to grab the badge:

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Welcome to week seven of the Frugal Food Series. Yes, that’s right, seven! So far we’ve talked about eggs, tuna, beans , ground meat, chicken and Pasta/Potatoes/Grains.

This week we are highlighting those little things that make life sweeter-namely Desserts and Snacks!

Photo by Scubadive67

I love desserts and snacks personally-I’d rather go to a party full of hor’s devours type foods than a fancy sit down dinner. A little of this, a little of that. . . mmmm.

And although you can spend a fortune on fancy nibbles-there are plenty of delicious things that cost pennies to make. Homemade cookies. Dips. Candy. The list is endless! Not only that-but when you are watching your budget some great low cost “snacks” can make you feel less like you are depriving yourself and more like you are splurging.

So join in and add on your favorite dessert and snack recipes below!

Remember, you will always be able to find the all of the Frugal Food Series links at the Frugal Food Series Index!

Don’t forget to grab the badge:

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Here’s an easy but elegant addition to your recipe box!

Photo by sfgamchick

I became acquainted with popovers as a child in my home state of Maine.  In the summers we would drive the hour or so down to the beautiful Mount Desert Island (home of Acadia National Park).  One of the famous eateries there was the teahouse know as the “Jordan Pond House“–and their trademark dish is the popover.

Popovers are a lovely buttery, egg-y hollow roll.  I know that sounds weird, but trust me on this-they are delicious!  If you have every had Yorkshire pudding, this is sort of a single serving version of that.

While a bowl of soup and a couple of popovers will cost you $10 at the teahouse, you can make your own at home for just pennies.  And by using your blender to whip up this thin batter you can have popovers to go with your soup in no time!  Not only that-but everyone will think they are much more complicated to make than they really are