Peppered Maple Bacon

I married a manly man. 

You know how I know? 

Bacon is an every meal thing. 

If I served it breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, he'd only fall more in love with me. 

Would he have a heart attack at 42? Probably. 

So I save his sweet heart the punishment. 

But I do love to treat him to pure deliciousness... 

And I did that in the form of peppered maple bacon. 

Yep, he loved it. 

So does Baby Bear. And Bubba. 

Pamper your mister with this treat and he won't stop thanking you.

Just be prepared for the daily requests... 

What do you need? 

A pack of thick cut bacon (it'll be easier to flip in the oven) 

1/2 cup maple syrup

Black pepper

How you ask? 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Lay the bacon out in a single layer on two baking sheets. 

Pop in oven for five minutes. 

Once it's bubbling nicely, brush it with a layer of maple syrup. 

Let cook for ten minutes.

Flip and brush with syrup again. 

Finish for ten more minutes or remove when cooked to your taste. 

Sprinkle with pepper.

Enjoy! 

Seriously this stuff comes out HOT. 

J learned that when he popped it right into his mouth.

Talk about burning the roof of your mouth.

Maybe sit on your hands for five minutes while it cools... 

Another idea: 

I made BLTs for Bubba and J the first time I cooked this.

Tasty! The sweet and spicy really added another element.

Taking BLT to the next level!

See the bacon on the side...

I'm telling you, just can't get enough of this stuff!

Birthday Blues

Last Sunday was my sweet baby brother's nineth birthday...
Yeah, he's nine already!

Ten rambunctious third graders joined Baby Bear for a jolly jumping good time

followed by pizza and the Lizard Wizard...
Precious just doesn't cover it.

I quickly volunteered to bake the cake... Actually cupcakes because that's what Baby Bear loves.

I have seen pictures of layered rainbow cupcakes, but haven't felt like I could justify making them...

Then Baby Bear's birthday came around and I knew it was fate! 

These ended up being a semi-messy labor of love, but they were vibrant and appreciated. 

He loves yellow... That's why the frosting looks like mustard. 

And the little sprinkles are slices of Sour Punch Straws... They added the perfect contrast of sour! 

How cool does the inside look? 

I almost (alllmoossstttt) didn't want to eat them. 

But oh my didn't regret it once in my tummy! 

And this was all that was left at the end of the day. 

How amazingly artistic does that wrapper look?!? 

And how did I achieve the look? 

Following the process I found here!

1 box white cake mix 

2 eggs

1 cup yogurt or sour cream (I ended up using a half cup of each)

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup canola oil 

Preheat oven to temperature on box. 

(You'll bake according to those) 

Beat all ingredients together for two minutes.

(This makes it so airy and wonderful!) 

Once batter is mixed dish it into three, four, or five different bowls 

(this depends on the number of colors).

Add food coloring until it reaches the shade of your liking. 

*Aside: I used Wilson food coloring because it is fantastic and doesn't give the food coloring taste.

Line cupcake pan with liners. 

(go with light colored liners... then you get the tie-dye vibe)

To layer: spoon first color into a well. 

It won't spread like normal, so use your fingers to fill the base of the well. 

Repeat as many times as necessary. 

For the second (and remaining layers) plop a spoonful on top of the previous layer and spread. 

Fill about 2/3 of the way full and you won't get too overfilled. 

Bake for the time listed on the box.

You'll know they're done when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. 

Let cool, ice, and ENJOY! 

IMPORTANT: This won't make two dozen cupcakes like the box says... 

I had to make a second batch of batter at the last second to finish!