Cheeseburger Pie and Dill Pickles Fries aka Dilly Fries (for short)

Here's a twofer! I have made cheeseburger pie a few times now, but the dilly fries are new. I had to use a square pan tonight for the cheeseburger pie, but I would suggest a pie pan. Also, I used regular Ore Ida fries for the Dilly Fries, however, my Points+ recipe is based on the organic ones I usually buy (they were out at my grocery store this week!). 

Ingredients for Cheeseburger Pie
Adapted from Disney Family Approved Dinners

	16 oz uncooked 93% lean ground beef
	2 tsp mustard
	1 cup water
	2 Tbsp 2% reduced fat milk
	1 1/2 cup(s) shredded reduced 2% fat mild cheddar cheese (DIVIDED)
	8 item(s) crescent dinner roll
	1/3 cup(s) Del Monte Ketchup
	25 slices dill pickles about 1/3-1/2 cup chopped

8 item(s) crescent dinner roll

Brown ground beef, add water, milk, ketchup, mustard and pickles. Simmer until thickened. Then add 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Pat crescent rolls into a lightly greased pan, making sure to get the sides of the pan as well. Place burger mixture in the crescent roll dish and add the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on the top of the burger. Place in oven at 400 degrees (or so), and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until it's browned and the cheese is melted.Yields 8 servings at 7 Points+.

Ingredients for Dilly Fries
From Peas and Thank You

15 oz Alexia Yukon Gold Yukon Gold Julienne Fries with Sea Salt
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp sea salt

Place the fries on a foil lined pan. Mix next six ingredients together and pour over fries and mix so each fry is covered. Bake at 425 (or package directions) until browned and crispy.Yields 5 servings at 3 Points+.
VERDICT: The cheeseburger pie is fantastic, and the fries were a great accompaniment. We love it more and more each time. However, the portions are fairly tiny--so make sure to have some other veggies and fruit ready. We had dilly fries and bananas. The dilly fries were great--but I thought a bit too spicy. I actually used a scant amount of each spice when I made them, and I added a few more fries, because otherwise it seemed too strong. However, that's just me!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

I made this last year for a Father's Day celebration. I think I remember what was in it :)

Ingredients
Peanut butter sandwich cookies (one package)
butter (1/2 cup)
peanut butter cups (I can't remember how many I used)
hot fudge sauce (I used Hershey's)
vanilla ice cream, softened (I used Breyer's)
Real whipped cream (in a can)



Crush the cookies (either by hand in a plastic bag, or in a food processor) and add melted butter. Reserve 1/2 cup crumbs and set aside. Line the bottom of a spring form pan with foil and place the cookies in the bottom of the pan, firmly patting them into place. Next, cut up peanut butter cups into 1/2-inch slices and completely cover the cookie layer. Freeze the pan for at least 30 minutes. After freezing, cover the chocolate/cookie layer with vanilla ice cream until the pan is 1/2 full. Put back in freezer for about 15 minutes. Then, open the hot fudge sauce and stir. Pour evenly over the top of the vanilla layer and sprinkle with the reserved cookie crumbs. Freeze until the hot fudge is stiff. Next, add vanilla ice cream to the top of the pan. Freeze overnight, or at least 12 hours.

When time to serve, pipe whipped cream rosettes around the side of the cake, and place peanut butter cups on the top of the cake. I actually did this ahead of time and froze it so that the cream wouldn't topple over!

VERDICT: Blossomed like peanut butter!!

Slow Cooker Hot Cocoa

I love hot cocoa, and when I saw this recipe from Mrs. Happy Homemaker, I couldn't pass it up! I've been searching for a hot cocoa to make from scratch, and this sounded super easy; and guess what? It was! I took the picture up at my mom and dad's house in Iowa on Christmas Eve. 

This makes a very creamy hot cocoa, and even tastes good the next day. 

Ingredients
1 pint heavy cream (2 cups)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package milk chocolate chips (2 cups)
6 cups milk (I used 2%, because that's what we drink right now)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Dump into slow cooker and cook on low for two hours, stirring occasionally.

The original recipe called for 1.5 cups of heavy cream, but I didn't want to throw away the other 1/2 cup of cream, so I just dumped it in.

This was on the heat for more than two hours, and I think it did very well. We also refrigerated it over night and I drank some the next morning. It was thick, but it still did taste good.

VERDICT: I really liked this. However, I'm about the only person in my family who likes hot cocoa--everyone else likes coffee. So, I am going to try another hot cocoa recipe, because it makes less, but I bet I still come back to this one!

Banana Split Cake

I made this for my birthday/father's day back in June; yes, that's right, back in June.

Anyway, this pictures shows a slightly melted cake, and I have learned from my first attempt. I have made a peanut butter version as well, but this is still my favorite. 

Moreover, the instructions are a mere guide, you do not have to follow them exactly. I got the idea from savorysweetlife from A Tasty Recipe. I pretty much follow their ideas, I just rewrote them in terms I will remember.


Ingredients
Oreo Cookies (one package)
butter (1/2 cup)
ripe bananas (I can't remember how many I used)
strawberry ice cream, softened (I used Breyer's)
hot fudge sauce (I used Hershey's)
vanilla ice cream, softened (I used Breyer's)
Real whipped cream (in a can)
maraschino cherries

 Optional:
frozen strawberries (thawed)
crushed pineapple (drained)
buttermilk caramel sauce (I made this, and intend to post it sometime soon!)
NOTE: I had these on the side
chopped peanuts (I did not have these)

Crush the Oreo Cookies (either by hand in a plastic bag, or in a food processor) and add melted butter. Reserve 1/2 cup crumbs and set aside. Line the bottom of a spring form pan with foil and place the Oreo Cookies in the bottom of the pan, firmly patting them into place. Next, cut up bananas into 1/2-inch slices and completely cover the Oreo layer. Freeze the pan for at least 10 minutes. After freezing, cover the banana/Oreo layer with strawberry ice cream until the pan is 1/2 full. Put back in freezer for about 15 minutes. Then, open the hot fudge sauce and stir. Pour evenly over the top of the strawberry layer and sprinkle with the reserved Oreo crumbs. Freeze until the hot fudge is stiff. Next, add the vanilla ice cream to the top of the pan. Freeze overnight, or at least 12 hours.

When time to serve, pipe whipped cream towers around the side of the cake, and place maraschino cherries on the top of those towers.

VERDICT: Legend--wait for it--dairy!

Frog Cake

I didn't have much time, but this is the cake I decorated for Mason's first birthday. My mom made the cake and two cupcakes. I cut the tops off the cup cakes and cut them in half. Two of the halves became the eyes, and the others the feet.

I don't know what recipe she used, but I can tell you that she made it from scratch. The frosting recipe is a butter cream recipe that I got from here: Hoosier Homemade

Reindeer Food

Ok, so I only have a moment. Here's my post from Google+

We just made reindeer food. I put the oats and sprinkles in the bags; Jeff cut out the tags; Mason shook the bags; then I finished closing the bags by using my rectangular hole punch and cutting holes in the sacks and tags, and attaching the tags to the bags.

I did this two ways: In the first two, and the last bag, I tied the bow in the front. In the third bag I tied the bow in the back. Personally, I like the bow in the front the best.

Also, the tags are not mine, I got the tags here: http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/2010/12/free-printables-reindeer-food-tags.html

One Pot Spaghetti

One pot spaghetti was something I threw together on one of those nights when I was super busy and needed something that I could start and leave on the stove for a few minutes. Because I was busy, I didn't measure everything, so I don't know the Points+ on it. Also, this isn't anything fancy, and I'm sure A LOT of people make their spaghetti this way. I'm just posting this to remind myself.

Ingredients
1 lb 93% lean ground beef
8 oz of spaghetti noodles (1/2 of a package)
1 28 oz jar of Prego Heart Smart Traditional Sauce
Water
Grated Parmesan cheese

Brown the ground beef in a sauce pan, then break spaghetti in half and add to pot. Add just enough hot water to cover the beef/pasta mixture. Boil until the noodles are soft. Drain water if you need to (I should have, but I let some of the water boil off later). Then, add the spaghetti sauce. This mixture will be a little thick, and you can boil it down if you wish, or eat it this way. Personally, I like it a little moist, because I know I will have leftovers, and I dislike dried out spaghetti noodles. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

VERDICT: We all really liked this. First, it was easy to throw together, and at the end, I could let it simmer and forget about it while I was working on another project. This is a keeper in my book.

BBQ Cowboy Beans

I got the idea for this meal from $5 Dinners, but I had a "duh" moment while making them...why haven't I ever tried doing this before? I couldn't bring myself to add tomatoes to the dish. First, the tomatoes I bought didn't look great; second, it just didn't seem to mesh with this dish--at least in my head. This meal was very hearty, and tasted fantastic. We will DEFINITELY be having this again. 

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef--I use 93% lean
1 15 oz can (or two cups) black beans
1 15 oz can (or two cups) pinto beans
1 cup Bulls Eye BBQ sauce
1/2 cup hot water

Brown the ground beef, then add the beans and the BBQ sauce. Stir, then add the hot water, and simmer for 10-20 minutes (you don't have to add the water and do this, I just like to simmer my meat in sauces). Serves 6 (almost 7!) at 3/4 cup of mixture.[At some point I will make this again, and I will try serving it at 2/3 and let you know.]

Because it didn't quite make 7 servings, I had to say 6 servings, so this came in at 7 Points+ per serving.

VERDICT: I paired this up with cornbread (which came in at 3 points) for a very hearty meal. Oh, and we had a banana for our fruit. Jeff already asked for me to make this again...he wanted next week, but due to my schedule I had to grocery shop for two weeks in a row, so he's going to have to wait! But, we all LOVED this meal and will have it again!

Porcupine Roadkill

Porcupine Roadkill

This afternoon I was thinking about supper, and for some reason porcupine meatballs came to mind. However, I didn't want to heat up the house, and to be honest with you, I didn't feel like starting supper at four. So, instead of meatballs, I thought, why not make roadkill? I'll just brown the burger in the skillet and add ingredients. Additionally, I wouldn't have to cut up a meatball into tiny sections for Mason. That fact alone made me want to make porcupine roadkill.

I like skillet meals, because they are a fast meal. However, many skillet meals call for a lot of cheese, and aren't always that healthy. This one, on the other hand, easily fits into my Weight Watchers Plan. Plus, it's easy to eat for Mason. 

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef, 93% lean
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1-1 1/2 cups hot water
1 cup instant brown rice, uncooked
2 tbsp packed brown sugar

Brown ground beef over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add tomato sauce and water (I originally started with 1 cup of water, but I added more as the rice was cooking) to the beef, then stir in uncooked rice. Let mixture come to a boil until rice is tender. Stir in brown sugar and simmer until mixture is reduced, yet still moist.

This yields 4 servings (one cup each) at 8 Points+. 

VERDICT: I liked it, and so did Mason. Jeff thought it needed onion, but those of us who like bland food, this was right up our alley. Pair this with a fruit and a vegetable, and you have a very well-rounded meal.

Betty's Lazy Lasagna

I watch a lot of Betty's Kitchen on YouTube. I started watching it this summer when I was housebound due to 100+ degree weather. Anyway, I found A LOT of recipes that have become part of my repertoire. And, this is one of them. I did change the recipe some, so here is the link to Betty's Lazy Lasagna. 


The lazy lasagna is not only easy, but it tastes fantastic. Moreover, it's easy to take to work, too. As you can see, the photo I took was with my phone at WORK. That's right, for some reason I kept on forgetting to take the picture at home, and this was the LAST piece we had, so I snapped a photo. As a funny side note, I accidentally threw away that GLAD bowl you see there, I was thinking about something else at lunch and threw away all of my napkins, etc, and this went with it. Because it only cost around $0.50, I didn't feel like digging through the trash to get it. BUT--they make fantastic take to work containers.

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
28 oz Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Spaghetti Sauce
8 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups cooked Campanelle pasta

Brown hamburger and add spaghetti sauce, simmer. Meanwhile mix cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream together. In the bottom of an 8x8 pan add the cooked pasta, then layer on the cheese mixture, next add the hamburger mixture. Lastly sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly over the top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or when the Parmesan cheese begins to brown. 

Yields: 9 servings at  8 Points+ per serving.

VERDICT: We really like this! It has a lasagna flavor, but is much easier to make. What I really like is that you can do all of the work ahead of time, and then just throw it into the oven, which feels like free time for me. And, all you have to do is pair it with a vegetable or fruit, and supper is complete!

Summer Rotini Salad

So, I decided to join Weight Watchers again. The baby weight just wasn't come off (like I want--I can wear all of my old clothes--they just don't fit the same), and after snacking A LOT during yearbook, so I had put on a few pounds. Instead of doing meetings this time, I joined ONLINE. This has been AMAZING for me. I just type in recipes and find out points. I can check points from anywhere...it's been great. 2 weeks and 6-7 pounds down!! I'll know for sure when I weigh myself on Sunday morning. The downside has been that I've had to learn a new point system; but to be honest, I like this one a lot more.


The nice thing about Weight Watchers is that I can eat any food I want--I just have to watch portions. And, that's how I created this recipe.


I was making pasta for Mason and I had some tomatoes and onion from my mom and dad's garden to use up, so I tied some ideas together. One cup of this comes in at only 5 Points+. Serves 6.


Please note: I cooked the pasta and then measured it when cool. I don't know the measurement for the dry pasta.


Ingredients
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup onions*
3 cups cooked and cooled tri-colored rotini noodles
1 2.25 oz can black olives
1/2 cup Kraft Creamy Italian dressing

Mix noodles, tomatoes, onions and black olives together. Add dressing and stir to combine. You can eat right away, but tastes better after sitting for a few hours.

*If onions are not your thing, I would substitute with either more tomato, or with cucumbers or zucchini. Also, if you have a strong onion, you might want to use 1/2 cup onion and 2 1/2 cups diced tomatoes.

VERDICT: We really liked this--especially for the number of points! It's nice and creamy, and feels bad for you--but it's not with all of those tomatoes and onions. However, if you have a strong onion, I would only use 1/2 and add more tomatoes. But, then again, the onion was very strong and it settled down by the next day.

I combined this salad with saucy chicken (I really need to make that again and take a picture of it to post here) and some watermelon for a total supper of 12 Points+.

Frito Pie (3 ways)

So, where have I been? Great question! Between the end of the school year wrap up, yearbook and being a mom, I have very little time to blog. Rest assured, though, that I've been cooking A LOT of new items. However, most of them will never grace this page, because, well, I live in the real world where time is not saved in a bottle. 

Anyway, I've made this three ways in the past couple months, and I think each way is great! I got the original idea and recipe (which I modified) from Real Mom Kitchen. Each recipe easily makes 6-8 servings.

Frito Pie #1
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained (I use 93% lean)
2 can pork and beans, remove pork, but don't drain
1 can green chilies, drained
1/4 c ketchup
Fritos--1 bag

Mix first four ingredients together in  skillet and cook until nice and thick. To plate, put some Fritos on a plate then put ground beef mixture on top (it's whatever is your desired amount--aren't I so technical!). Top with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.

Frito Pie #2 (pictured above)
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained (I use 93% lean)
1 large can (or 2 small) baked beans
1/4 c. ketchup (optional, but used to thicken the recipe)
Fritos--1 bag

Mix first three ingredients together in  skillet and cook until nice and thick. To plate, put some Fritos on a plate then put ground beef mixture on top (it's whatever is your desired amount--aren't I so technical!). Top with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.

Frito Pie #3
1 lb ground beef, browned and drained (I use 93% lean)
2 cans chili beans
8 oz tomato sauce
Fritos--1 bag

Mix first three ingredients together in  skillet and cook until nice and thick. To plate, put some Fritos on a plate then put ground beef mixture on top (it's whatever is your desired amount--aren't I so technical!). Top with shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.


VERDICT: Fast and excellent...but maybe not the healthiest choice. When the new crop of potatoes come in this fall, I think I'll try putting the meat sauces over a baked potato. 

Easy Rice & Beans

This recipe is so easy! I found it on a kids health site, and wanted to try it. I did change it a little, because the smallest jar of salsa I could find was a 16 ounce jar. And, I know I could have measured it out, but that would have been too easy. HA!

Ingredients
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
16 oz jar chunky salsa
1 cup minute rice, uncooked

Cook rice according to package directions. Add jar of salsa and rinsed black beans. Reheat if needed.

VERDICT: Sweet victory, you are mine! I found a vegetarian dish to take to work tomorrow. I am on an antibiotic--just finishing it--and can't eat cheese, so cheese pizza is out of the question. That has been the hard part about Lent this year, finding good vegetarian dishes that do not consist of peanut butter. And, this week I had to avoid dairy--yikes! But, I'm sure this dish will do just fine!

Taco Meatloaf

When I found a recipe for taco meatloaf from Lauren's Kitchen, I knew I had to try this one, since I'm not in love with my taco loaf. But, once I took a closer look, I realized I don't use a lot of those ingredients; so  I modified the recipe. For instance, I always have salsa on hand, and decided to substitute that for the Ro-tel and onions. When I drained the chunky salsa I had, I noticed  that there was enough tomato/salsa sauce to put on the top of the loaf, so I could eliminate the taco sauce. Thus, I reduced the amount of ingredients, which works well for this working mama. So, here's my rendition of taco meatloaf. 


Ingredients
1 lb lean ground beef
1 c chunky salsa (I use the Target generic), drained, reserve the juice
1 egg
1 package (or equivalent) taco seasoning (I find it's cheaper in bulk)
1 c crushed baked Doritos (crush them fine!)
1 c shredded cheese
GARNISH: Your favorite cheese sauce (I make mine with Velveeta light, salsa and taco seasoning)

Mix ground beef, drained salsa, egg, taco seasoning, crushed baked Doritos, and cheese. Place in a greased loaf pan. Take the reserved salsa juice and pour evenly over the top of the loaf. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 35-45 minutes (it depends on how you like your meatloaf, and how your oven cooks). Let sit for five minutes before cutting.After cutting, you may garnish with your favorite cheese sauce.

VERDICT: Flavorful! This was so good, I took it to work and ate it cold! I didn't need the cheese sauce when I took it to work, because the loaf packs a tongue-tingling punch!

Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread

I think I gained 5 pounds when I made this. It's a lot like Pringles...once you pop, you can't stop! The only changes I made were using white onions for green, chopped black olives instead of sliced, and light mayo. Here's the original: Pioneer Woman's Olive Cheese Bread

Ingredients
1 loaf French bread
6 ounces, (1 jar) pimiento-stuffed green olives
6 ounces, (1 can)  weight black olives
About 1/2 cup chopped white onion
1 stick butter, room temperature
½ cups Mayonnaise
¾ pounds (1 1/2 cups) grated Monterey Jack Cheese (I used a mixture of jack cheeses)

Chop both types of olives. Stir together: butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and onions in a mixing bowl. Spread mixture onto French bread that has been sliced lengthwise. Bake at 325ºF for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browning.

Verdict: So rich, so good...addicting...do I need to go on?!

Chicken BLT Salad

Let me first apologize if this post does not make sense; my computer time is when I feed the baby, so I only have one arm!

I found this recipe over at Cassie Craves and knew it would make a perfect week night meal. I made a few changes, because we don't like cherry tomatoes (ok, I don't), I used Ranch dressing, and I used less bacon and croutons. 

Ingredients for 2
2 small cooked chicken breasts, cut on an angle
6 slices bacon, crisped and crumbled
1 box croutons  (I plated how to each person's taste)
Washed romaine
1 plum (Roma) tomato, seeded and diced
A buttermilk dressing (I used Hidden Valley Light Ranch)

Toss romaine, tomato, bacon and croutons together. Place chicken on top. Add dressing to taste.

Verdict: Easy! I cooked the chicken and bacon in the oven at the same time, which helped on cleanup, and everything else just came together!

Considering I created this blog for my family, so I would have a recipe collection for when they want something I make, I think I've hit some home-runs, and this is one of those! 

Another Version of Party Potatoes--Easy

Here is another version of easy party potatoes.

Note: The dish below contains approximate values. I rarely measure when I cook.

Ingredients
32 oz cubed frozen potatoes (or hash-browns), thawed
1 can cream of celery soup (the healthy version), or cream of mushroom
1/4 soup can water
3/4 soup can fat free milk
1/2 jar (about 1/2-3/4 cup?) Cheez Whiz
1 cup (approximately) light sour cream (I only use Light Daisy)
1 package of cubed ham--I think my package was 12 oz

Spray a casserole dish with oil. In a large bowl mix everything together except for potatoes, and mix well. Then, add potatoes and place in a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, or until done. Then add topping if you wish.

Topping:
1 TBSP butter, melted
crispy rice cereal, or crushed corn flakes (add until course crumbs)

Mix topping together until coarse crumbs form, then place on top of potatoes. Place casserole back into over for at least 10 minutes.

Verdict: They were loved!

No PB Puppy Chow AND Santa Hats

I wanted a no peanut butter puppy chow, so I came up with this idea. I think it worked well! Also, I made Santa Hats to go with the Christmas treat. I will detail how to make the Santa Hats in another post.

Ingredients for Puppy Chow
3/4 C chocolate chips--semi-sweet
3/4 C butterscotch chips
9 C corn Chex
1 C powdered sugar (or more)

Melt chips in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then at 10 second intervals until smooth. Meanwhile, add Chex to a large bowl (I used a gallon baggie). Then, pour the chocolate/butterscotch mixture over the Chex, stirring well, until all Chex are covered. In another baggie add the powdered sugar. Add the chocolate covered Chex to the powdered sugar and shake until well coated. Place in a large bowl to dry.

VERDICT: Tastes great!

Cauldrons for Halloween

I started making these cauldrons a couple years ago when I saw them in a 3-in-1 Idea cookbook. I try to make this treat around Halloween each year. 

Ingredients
1 roll of sugar cookie dough--either bought or see the recipe below
1 14 oz bag of caramels
About 2-3 TBSP millk
1 cup crispy rice cereal
Mini M&Ms (or plain M&Ms if you can't find the mini ones--I couldn't this year)

Lightly grease a mini-muffin tin. Then, roll sugar cookie dough into 24 equal pieces, flatten with the palm of your hand and then stuff into the mini-muffin pan, pushing dough down gently and up the sides. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 9 minutes. Take out of oven and with the back of a spoon, gently deflate the cookie dough, pushing it up against the sides--but DO NOT break the dough. Place back in oven until the cookies are done--usually 1-2 minutes. Take out and let sit for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Cool before adding the caramel mix.

Next, over low heat melt caramels with the milk. Once melted, add cereal and stir until well mixed. Spoon mixture into the cookie cups and top with M&Ms. Let cool before eating.

VERDICT: These never last long around here. In fact, we had some family members down, and the cauldrons were gone within 24 hours. :) Around Easter I hope to give you the recipe I use to make "Easter Baskets," which is based off of this recipe.


SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE:
Cream together: 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar.
Blend in: 1 medium egg (I use large and there's no problem)
Sift and add: 2 tsp baking powder and 2 cups flour (I don't sift, and I don't have problems)
Blend in: 1/2 tsp vanilla

Roll out into about 1 inch balls before flattening with your hand.

How to: Decorate a Cupcake with Sugar

I made cupcakes for my brothers a few weeks ago--back when I could still walk, stand and sit without pain (I love you, baby, but GET OFF my left side and off of that nerve). Anyway, to make the cupcakes look nice, I put a sugar coating on them.

To do this place A LOT of colored sugar (small sprinkles will work, too) in a small bowl. Frost each cupcake and immediately dip and rotate the top of each cupcake in the sugar so that it sticks to all of the frosting.

That's it folks! Unless you want to place a plastic football in the center cupcake like I did.