Wastin’ away again in Margarita(cupcake!)ville…

What a weekend!  It went soooo fast!  I’m sad that it’s Monday, but I’ve got some exciting things coming up!  Let’s rewind a bit:

Saturday was BBQ day!  My roommate like to entertain, so she invited a bunch of her work/church/high school friends over for a BBQ, and I invited the Rocket Scientist’s grad school friends to venture over to Pennsylvania for a good time.  We had TONS of food (and beer…), and it was generally a good time.  Mainly people sat around and chatted while eating food, but there was some volleyball playing, which the Rocket Scientist always enjoys.  I think I spent more time avoiding the volleyball than actually bump/set/spiking it, but with a little practice I don’t think I’ll be half bad.

Although my volleyball skills leave much to be desired, my baking skills never seem to fail me.  (Knock on wood!)  If you’ve been around for awhile, you may remember the fantastic cruise that the Rocket Scientist and I took in January.  (Towel animals, anyone??)  Anyway, while on the cruise, we took a trip to Margaritaville in Grand Turk, where we took pictures with a giant parrot:

 
And sipped margs by the pool:

 
What does this have to do with this weekend, you ask?  Well, this was my baking inspiration!  I’ve always wanted to try margarita cupcakes since I like venturing out and baking new things.  I searched the internet and decided on this recipe from the Hostess with the Mostess.

Margarita Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

INGREDIENTS

Cupcakes:
1 box white cake mix
8 oz margarita mix (liquid)
2 oz tequila
1 oz Grand Marnier
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp grated lime zest

Lime Buttercream Icing:
8 Tbsp butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp lime juice (approx 2 fresh limes)
1 Tbsp margarita mix
1 tsp lime zest
5 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar
cane sugar & fresh limes (for garnish)
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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350º and prepare muffin pans.

2. Combine margarita mix, tequila, and Grand Marnier in a large glass and stir well.

3. In large bowl, combine cake mix, egg whites, lime zest, vegetable oil, and margarita mixture from step one. Stir ingredients together, then beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for approximately 2-3 minutes.

4. Spoon the batter into prepared muffin pans. Fill each cup/liner about 2/3 full.

5. Bake at recommended temperature on cake mix box (usually 325º – 350º) for 20 – 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Icing:

6. In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, lime juice, margarita mix, and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

7. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and continue beating until smooth. If icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time.

8. Spread icing generously on each cooled cupcake* or use a pastry bag to frost. Sprinkle cane sugar around the edges of the cupcake for a “salt rimmed” look and garnish with lime wheels & wedges.

*Make sure to remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely before frosting.

Tip: Leftover frosting makes a great dip for fruit!

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Here’s how they turned out:

Complete with sugar “salt” rim!

I get a C- for presentation, but I really like the straws.  :)

Margarita cupcake and a Corona?  What an excellent pairing, especially when I put that lime garnish to good use!

While I prefer super sweet desserts (I have a huuuuge sweet tooth), this was definitely something different and fun for a party!  I might try strawberry margarita cupcakes next time…

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With all the cupcakes and BBQ food I ate on Saturday, it’s definitely a good thing I like to run!  I headed out for a short four miles on Saturday before the baking craziness began.  Nothing too exciting, just a little recovery-get-in-the-miles run.

Saturday, August 29
4.05 miles in 33:30, avg pace of 8:16

Sunday..a cut-back week “long” run.  Twelve miles doesn’t really seem that far, especially since we’ll start doing that during the week now!  However, I was just not feeling it yesterday.  It was a little warm by the time we got out the door since the Rocket Scientist is usually a pretty good alarm clock (waking up around 8-ish no matter what), but we didn’t get out of bed until 10:30.  Oops.  My legs felt heavy, and I definitely suggested walking back when we were six miles out.  Luckily the time difference between running and walking was definitely a motivator in making me run back.

Sunday, August 30
12.05 miles in 1:39:03, avg pace of 8:13

I’m messing with my schedule in order to minimize the running I have to do when I’m at home next weekend.  (!!!)  I’ll have to do 20 miles when I’m home, but I don’t want to spend all my time running…I want to be with my family and friends!  Therefore, I’ll be cutting out a rest day this week in an attempt to move everything up a day.  We’ll see how my legs like that…haha.  Starting easy with a four mile recovery run…

Monday, August 31
4.02 miles in 33:14, avg pace of 8:15

It was 60 when I woke up this morning!!  I had to close the window a little because I was chilly.  This should make for some good running weather this week, but I was hoping for a little more pool/deck time.  I have a love/hate relationship with summer because it’s amazing for everything except long distance running.

Back to work today…I’m supposed to work five days this week, but the big question is how much I’ll get cancelled or pulled to another floor…