Very Berry Brownies - 4th of July

This may be the best semi-homemade concoction I have ever made! I made these for Fathers Day a few weeks ago and decided I HAD to share with all of you. I will be making it again for 4th of July since it looks so patriotic. They are so simple and got great reviews!

1 package of brownie mix
1 block cream cheese
1 can of sweet and condensed milk
1 cup confectioners sugar
Berries

First, I made brownies in a glass casserole pan. Yep, just follow the instructions and let them cool. (If you don't let them cool, your topping will melt.)

Next, mix together 1 block of cream cheese (I used fat free) and 1 can of sweet and condensed milk (I used fat free here too, have to help out where  I can!) Once it is blended well, gradually add in powdered sugar. I don't really measure, I just add to taste. If I had to estimate, I would say I probably

use about a cup, maybe a cup and a half. Mix until smooth.

Spread the topping over your brownies. Sprinkle berries over the top. (I used blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries)

Let sit in the refrigerator for about an hour. This will firm up the topping. It will still be a little runny but it's oh so good!!

Let me know if you try it!

Shirley Temple Cupcakes

This is a easy, great cupcake recipe that is just perfect for summer. I made these a few weeks ago for Memorial Day but I'm just now getting a chance to share them.

For our Memorial Day celebration, I decided to go with a coctail cupcake theme. I made both Shirley Temple and Rum and Coke cupcakes. I got the Rum and Coke recipe from iheartcuppycakes. I didn't change a thing and it was AMAZING! One thing I will warn you about.... she is NOT joking when she warns about the icing looking curdled for a while. Even though I read it, I still freaked out a little because it took longer than I thought for it to smooth out.

For my Shirley Temple cupcakes I doctored up a yellow cake mix by substituting the water and oil with Cherry 7-up. This also makes it a little lighter, a little trick I learned from my failed attempt at Weight Watchers. You can also leave out the egg if you do this but I kept the egg. I would also suggest adding a little splash of grenedine for an extra kick. After all, this is a coctail (vergin as it may be) cupcake. For the icing, I used a recipe from "It's the Little Things in Life" and added some grenedine. It was phenomenal! She also gives what is probably a better recipe for the cakes so if you have a bit of time, I would encourage you to try hers instead of taking my easy way out :)

Here's a pic of the process and the end results!

Monogrammed Mug Winner!

First of a I would like to give a HUGE thanks to everyone for entering my give-away. This post blew away records on my blog with almost 500 views and 126 comments and gained almost 100 folowers in about 2 weeks.  I never imagined it would get this large!! How exciting!! I'm super pumped that you all like my mugs :)

Now for what you really want to read....

The winner is.....

Comment number 50! Cynthia Richardson from Arizona!

  Congratulations!