Party Time!

So, along with the occasional bougie recipes I'm going to be bloggin about my love of a good party. I think that it's important that you splurge on a few things but anything you can do yourself and add a little personal flare will set it off! So the first part of planning is determining a theme, I am a big one on themes especially for kids birthday parties. The theme I'm working on is Wizard of Oz for my 9 yr old daughter. So I made the invite list and the next step is to order invitations. Invitations are one of those things that I splurge a little on. The invitation sets the mood for the whole party, you want your guest to look forward to the party. Below is the template for the invitations that I ordered for my daughters party.

I like to give at least a month notice on the invites but that doesn't always happen. So now I have to come up with some ideas for the party. It's hard because she's at that age where she's to old for a lot of the kiddie games but not to old for a fun party! I know I'm going to do a candy bar (representing the lolli pop guild) but other than that nothing is for sure. Food is another thing that I splurge on. People want to eat and kids birthdays are their free weekends to be a kid again. I had a cotton candy machine at my sons bday and I had more adults in line than kids. Decorations I try not to spend alot of money on, I try to get basic colors and add my own personal things. I threw my son a Fair birthday party and here are a few pics.


The hay was a cheap trick, but it tied everything together.



You always need sweet treats!

I painted these, it took a little extra time but they were a hit!

Little touches will make any party, it may take extra time but it's  always worth it!!

                                      To Be Continued.......

Who wants a Pina Colada!

"If you like Pina Coladas, And getting caught in the rain. If you're not into yoga, If you have half a brain. If you'd like making love at midnight, In the dunes on the Cape.”

If you’re looking for that quick escape to the dunes of the cape these cupcakes would be that escape. They have a few more steps than the usual cupcakes but could be well worth it if your looking for a different cupcake.  These particular cupcakes have a pineapple filling that really brings out the pineapple all ready in the cakes. Just a reminder take out the eggs and coconut milk out of the fridge so they can reach room temp.

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple (drained slightly)

Start by mixing flour, baking powder, baking salt and set aside.

Now you want to mix eggs and sugar until it becomes a light yellow color.

Continue to mix on low speed and add oil and vanilla after combined mix in pineapple and sour cream only mix until combined.

Add the flour mixture and only blend until it’s combined, don’t over mix or your going to get pina colada flavored rocks.

Place your cupcakes in the oven for 20 mins.

While the cupcakes are baking start on your pineapple filling.

Place chopped pineapples in your food processor (canned pineapples will work ).

Add the juice of half a lemon and a ¼ cup of sugar. Mix until pineapple is the consistency of  a jam.

Once you take the cupcakes out place a ½ tsp of the pineapple mixture  in the center of the cupcakes.  Wait Rewind: let the cupcakes cool slightly before putting the mixture inside the cupcakes.

Time to start on the frosting!

1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut ( if possible put it in the food proc until it becomes itty bitty)

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

3 tsp of Coconut Rum ( Hello it’s a Pina Colada!)

2 tsp of coconut milk

1 cup of room temp unsalted butter

1 cup of powdered sugar

*If you have a coconut emulsion (which is a thick coconut flavoring) add 1 tsp. This is just a little extra coconut flavoring!

 Add room temp butter, coconut and sugar and start mixing on low/medium. Once they start to look slightly combined start adding rest of ingredients. The reason for less sugar is the coconut is sweetened and this frosting can get a little to sweet if you add to much of anything. I think frosting should be made to your individual taste so these ingredients are just a starting point, play with them and see what you come up with.

Frost your cupcakes and don’t forget presentation is everything, it’s what makes an ordinary cupcake a show stopper! If I had those little umbrellas I might of put one of those on the cupcake, but I didn’t! I added a single cherry and I thought they looked amazing and they smell sooo goooood!

Try these out and let me know what you think.

Cheers!!

Happy Hour!

CHOCOLATE ECLAIR CAKE!

The name alone will make people think that you had to pull out all your skills to make this cake!!! All you need to do is keep it a secret about how easy it is!!! This is the type of cake you make when you need something fast and want to make a good impression. I wish I could take full credit for this recipe, but this delicious recipe comes from my moms bestie! She held out for years on this recipe and I finally have it!!!! Thank you Annette, and everybody else thanks you when they try this cake! I make my own whip cream but if you don’t want to just substitute the homemade whip for some cool whip. I like the homemade whip over cool whip, to me cool whip has an artificial flavor and the homemade is delicious!

Whip cream

2 cups of Heavy whipping Cream

1 ½ cups of powdered sugar ( while your making you can taste and if you want to add more or less its up to you).

½ tsp. Vanilla Extract

Add all ingredients and whip until soft peaks form. DON’T OVER WHIP your cream will fall flat and it’s hard to save it after that!

Put cream aside in fridge and proceed to make vanilla pudding.

2  3.4oz of instant Vanilla Pudding

3 cups of cold milk

Mix pudding with 3 cups of milk and beat for 3mins until it looks like pudding.

Fold in whip cream to the pudding mixture being careful not to mix to much and deflate the whip cream.

Now it’s time to start making the cake!

Place a layer of graham crackers covering the bottom of the dish. Follow by adding a layer of the pudding/cream mixture, enough to cover the graham cracker. Continue to make two more layers and you want to finish with the cream being the last layer. Place the cake in the fridge for 2hrs, you want the top layer of pudding to harden.

After the cake hardens put the chocolate frosting in the micro for about 45 sec. The frosting should poor out and continue to frost the cake. That’s it you have a great cake to take to any get together and I can guarantee that your going to be asked to bring this cake to everything!

JAW DROPPIN CHICKEN!

This recipe I have to give credit to my girl Ina Garten, and if you don’t know who she is you need to!! Her recipe calls for fennel and Yukon Gold potatoes. For those of us that don’t shop at a specialty grocery store these ingredients may be a little difficult to find at your local Food 4 Less! I have made it though with the Yukon golds but their way more expensive then you $1.98 10lb of russet potatoes. So I made it with your average potatoes and added carrots and an onion and some chicken stock.  I know cooking a whole chicken can sometimes be scary, if you’re like me the whole wondering if it's cooked correctly is a little daunting. I can guarantee that this chicken will be delicious and you will look like a chicken makin ninja!

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees F.

1 Whole Chicken

Carrots (however many you think will feed your family)

Russet Potatoes (Same goes for the potatoes)

*I have a family of 4 and I use 8 carrots and around 6-7 potatoes depending on size.

1 Yellow Onion

I Stick of Butter

1 lemon

10 Cloves of Garlic

A handful of Thyme

Olive Oil

1 14.5 oz. can of Chicken Stock

Kosher Salt

Black Pepper

Butchers Twine (you can find this at any grocery store, even Food 4 Less!)

Peel and cut carrots and cut potatoes, you don’t need to peel the potatoes but wash them very well. Place carrots and potatoes in a roasting pan pour olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a few sprigs of thyme.

Now it’s time to get the chicken ready don’t get scared it’s very easy! If you buy the whole chicken you will have to clean it that means taking out the neck and gizzards that are in the chicken. They will fall out but after you will need to clean the inside by rinsing with water.  You will also need to rinse the whole chicken under the wings and legs. Pat dry the chicken and cut away any fat that is at the opening of the chicken.  Cut the lemon in half and place inside the cavity of the chicken, followed by the cloves of garlic and thyme and the other half of the lemon.

 Now you want to tie the legs together, I don’t have any special tie for this just tight enough to close the legs and keep the cavity closed. Place the chicken on top of the veggies in the middle of the roasting pan, put the wings under the body of the chicken so they don’t show.

 Melt your stick of butter and spread melted butter all over the chicken, sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken. The butter will give you the most delicious crispy skin!

 Put the chicken and veggies in the oven uncovered for an hour 1/2, with 30 mins left put the chicken stock in the pan covering the veggies. The last step you don’t have to do, I just like my veggies a little on the softer side. When the 1 ½ is up poke the thigh of the chicken with a fork and if the liquid is clear it’s done and if there is no liquid it’s done. Take the chicken out and let it rest for about 15 mins, this will let the juices settle in the chicken.

This chicken is so moist and delicious serve it with some rice pilaf and you have a fancy dinner!

DELICIOUS!!

RED VELVET CUPCAKES!!!

RED VELVET!!!!! Everyone loves Red Velvet cupcakes!

The recipe that I’m going to share is one that I have always used but over time I have tweaked it a little.

Let’s get started!!

*Before you get started take out your eggs and buttermilk, they need to come to room temp.

Ok let’s try it again!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 ½ cups of All Purpose Flour

1 3/4 cups of sugar

1tsp. Baking Soda

3 tsp. Cocoa Powder

1 ½ cups of Veggie Oil

1 cup of Buttermilk (room temp)

2 large eggs (room temp)

2 tbsp Red Food Coloring

1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and cocoa powder and set aside. Combine veggie oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla extract and whisk together. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients with a mixer until batter is combined. Place in cupcake holders and bake for 18-20 mins. Ovens vary so check after 18 mins, cupcakes should come back to shape if pushed with your finger.Batter makes 24 cupcakes .

FROSTING!!!

I use a traditional cream cheese frosting for these cupcakes and it’s AWESOME!!

1 8oz cream cheese

½ cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)

2 cups of Powdered Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract.

1 tsp. milk (add if needed)

Combine butter and cream cheese and mix in the mixer, once combined add powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Add the milk if the frosting is dry and needs some moisture . Only add a a tsp of milk at a time because you don’t want it to be runny!

Once the cupcakes have cooled frost and if you don’t have a frosting tip use a storage bag and snip a hole at the bottom and pipe in a circular motion. I think they look way fancier with this type of frosting but you can always spread the frosting.  Once there frosted and if you place them in a holder it really will look bougie and set them apart from other desserts! Let me know what you think!!!

ESSENTIALS!!!

To get started I think a few cheap investments that can really make any recipe or get together stand out.

1. Glass pitchers: These inexpensive pitchers can be found at any store, but the cheapest I have found is Wal-Mart. This is a great tool to bring a little pizazz to any table setting. You can pour some .99 punch and cut up a lemon and you have a bougie element to your table.
2. Platter: These you can find at any store as well and range in price. Anything will look fancy on a platter, you can make pigs in a blanket and if you platter them WOW!!
3. Kosher Salt: I think this is essential because I add this in many of my recipes and it is very versatile.
4. Good Butter: I do spend a little more money on a higher quality butter. I find that it has a higher fat content and makes everything smoother from any savory dish to the best buttercream.
5. Decorating tips: These are the little tips that you can pipe buttercream/whip cream. This will make any dessert pop, and will be very useful!
6. Cupcake holder: This is another investment that you will get a lot of use out of. Even if you don't make homemade cupcakes and make box cupcakes ,and you pipe some buttercream and place them in the holder it is a wow factor!

These are just a few tools that will make an impact and is worth the little extra cash!

Welcome everyone to Budget Bougie! This is my personal guide to help make the average fabulous and help keep your budget in tact! I hope to provide you with useful recipe and little tricks that will make anything you do look a little bougie! To start off I am not a professional chef or baker but could spend the whole day doing both. Some of the recipes I will provide will be a little mix of my own and some that I have picked up along the way and have made my own. I learned that if you add a few personal touches to anything it will make any experience fabulous! I welcome anyone to contact me with their own recipes and tricks and would love to post them.  So let’s get started!