Mini Lime Cheesecakes

  Cheesecake is one dessert I have a hard time passing up and when you add lemon or lime to the mixture, well, I'm all in.  I like to make mini cheesecakes as opposed to a regular sized cheesecake because #1, portion control is my friend when it comes to these and #2, they take 15 minutes(ish) to bake, rather than 45.  It makes for a quick & easy dessert option when I'm in a pinch!

the instagram shot, this recipe makes about 1 dozen cupcakes

 To make your own delicious lime cheese-cupcakes...

You'll need:

1 package from one box of graham crackers, crumbled

3 TBSP butter

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar (still looking for a good natural option to this--raw sugar does not work...trust me, I tried)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

juice of one lime

1/4 tsp lime zest

And here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 325*

Combine graham crackers in a food processor until sufficiently crumbled (or crush them to death with your hands, whatever works)

Add 3 TBSP butter, melted & mix until evenly distributed.  Place cupcake liners in cupcake tin & pat down 2 TBSP graham cracker mixture into each liner.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, add powdered sugar & mix well.  Still beating, add in 1 egg, juice of lime, & vanilla until well blended.  Stir in the zest.  Distribute mixture into cupcake liners, until each is about 2/3 filled.  Bake at 325* for approx. 18 minutes or until done.  Cool completely, then chill for 2 hours.  Finally, for good measure, garnish with whipped cream & zest of lime.  Enjoy :)

NEW Fall Items + SALE

Happy Monday! Just wanted to introduce to you some of our newest accessories!

Windswept Hip Bag in Fields of Green

Windswept Hip Bag in Autumn Sunshine

Windswept Wristlet in Fields of Green

Windswept Wristlet in Autumn Sunshine

Take 10% off our order with the coupon code: SUNSHINE10
This week only (offer excludes sale items).

AND I have a major SALE going on 25-40% select summer items!! Check it out HERE.

Skirt Steak Tacos with Black Bean & Corn Salad

Ben claims this is one of the best meals he's ever eaten.  I think it might have something to do with the fact that it's main ingredient is beef.  But carnivorous desires aside, it was a really tasty dish (and quite pretty too!) so here I am to share it with you!  

Ok, first things first:  the steak.  I bought a nice looking skirt steak & marinated it with lime juice and balsamic vinegar for 24 hours.  A lot of recipes only say to marinade for an hour, but I think going the extra mile makes a big difference!   When ready to cook, rub the steak on both sides with a mixture of 2 parts chipolte seasoning to 1 part cinnamon and 1 part cumin.  Cook on a preheated grill pan or outdoor grill.

Once the steak is done, let it rest for a few minutes then cut into pieces against the grain.

 Cucumber & Tomato Pico:  Combine 1/2 cup quartered grape tomatoes, 1/4 cup diced cucumber, 1/2 diced jalapeno, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 minced garlic clove, juice of one lime & salt & pepper to taste.  Very tasty!  Especially for a girl like me who doesn't like onions in her pico!

Shred a few handfuls of red cabbage & set aside. It makes for a nice crunch in your taco!

For perfect corn tortillas, heat each over a gas flame like so.  It makes them much less likely to fall apart and don't you hate when that happens?  

Assemble tacos with steak, pico & cabbage.  

Serve with Black Bean & Corn Salad:

Arugula, grape tomatoes, black beans, corn, feta cheese (chill salad before serving)

Serve with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette:  1/4 cup safflower oil, 1 juice of lime, 1 TBSP unfiltered apple cider vinegar, 1 garlic clove, minced, chopped cilantro, salt to taste. 

Serve over salad & enjoy!

Fantastic New Fabrics!!

**ENTER to WIN a $20 shop credit to My Little Sunshine Fabric over at Yellow Songbird**

Coming at the end of August to My Little Sunshine, Cloud9 Organics "Across the Pond" collection!

Not only are these beauties 100% organic, but they are fabulous colors & patterns for fall!  I have a feeling these guys will go fast so feel free to email me at mylittlesunshineshop@gmail.com for more info.

I have the sweetest husband {ever}...

This is what I woke up to on my birthday...3 bouquets of beautiful flowers & 3 sweet notes that I found as I made my way down the stairs.  See? He's the sweetest.

THEN, when I arrived downstairs, I found my husband doing this.  He gets extra points for making breakfast healthy {blueberry buckwheat pancakes} they were also DELICIOUS!

After breakfast, coffee & presents, he took me out to the lake for a rainy picnic...a little rain won't spoil our day :)

evening sunset over the lake to end a wonderful & memorable day.  the best part?  I had him ALL to myself.
 ALL. DAY. LONG.

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes throughout the day!  It was one of my favorite birthdays yet :)

I just had to brag on my husband a bit because he went wayyy out of his way to make it such a special day and I love him so.

A Fair is a Veritable Smorgasbord...

Charlotte's Web...Anybody?

No? Ok. Moving along.

Yesterday we braved the crazy heat & went to the fair with a group of our friends! I actually think it was my first STATE fair...quite a milestone for me. (wink*wink)

  

here's about half of our group...poor ben looks like the 5th wheel in this pic ;)

It's not a fair without a ferris wheel.

oh look, there's wilbur.  sorry, I'm still on my charlotte's web kick.  

the goats were just a wee bit cuter & cleaner than the piggies & they smelled like goat cheese.

and, ok this is a random one, but what is more random than selling spas at a fair?? yet, they are ALWAYS at any fair I've ever been to!  impulse buy? looks like this guy is about to get sucked in...

Clearly, we had a great time looking at soooo many different things that the fair brings together.  Pigs, goats, carnie rides, spas, RVs, arts & crafts...you name it, it's there.  Sadly, we did have to head out before the Jimmy John Sandwich eating contest & the pig races, but all in all it was a fun day spent with fun people :)

what i spent my day getting ready for...

nothing better than a little summer party :)

DIY Wednesday {Hardware}

Ok, so I'm not talking about lumber today, but I am talking about furniture hardware.  That, I know a little bit more about!  Changing out hardware on an outdated furniture piece can be a really easy & affordable fix for furniture that just doesn't quite fit your motif.

We have family heirloom sort of piece in our house right now that will eventually need to be stripped & repainted, but for the mean time (aka...I have no time to do that right now) a little hardware switcheroo should do the trick!  

Here's what used to be on the piece:  

 Nice, but not our thing.

And here's what we replaced it with: 

Found these bad boys at Hobby Lobby, 50% off {of course!}--I love the rope & wire weaving & it goes perfectly with the rest of our decor!

Just making this small adjustment to the piece, really helped tie it in to the rest of our decor, or at least nudged it in that direction!  

Next step is to decorate the top of it & the wall above it with objects & art that will bring it into cohesion even more with our home! 

Moral of the story...don't like your furniture?  Before you toss it and pay bookoos of money to replace it, change the knobs!  You may find that the perfect furniture piece was sitting right under your nose...

Pizza Pick Me Up

The Hubs has been working really hard lately & although he knows I am so proud of him & all his hard work, I felt that this week called for a little extra pick me up. Being that all you really want to do after a long hard day at work is crash, I opted to keep it real at home, but planned some yummy dinners that I knew would make his heart happy.  One of the sure ways to a man's heart is food.  I am certain of it.

One of the faves during this week of fun hubby food, was Pizza.  

I'm not gonna lie, that one was not just for him, I loooove me some good homemade pizza.

Look at this delicousness...sooo good.

Now that I have hopefully whetted your appetite, the recipe!

Dough (makes 2 large thin crusts)

1 1/3 cup warm water

1 tsp. honey

2 tsp. sea salt

2 tbsp. EVOO

2 cups unbleached flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/4 tsp. dry active yeast

Preheat oven to 425*F

Directions:  (this is where I totally cheat & use the bread machine)   BUT if you don't have a bread machine, you would first combine water, honey & yeast.  Let sit about 5 minutes until bubbly.  Combine flour & sea salt in a bowl, add yeast mixture & olive oil.  Mix thoroughly & knead dough well.  Cover with a damp cloth & let the dough sit in a warm place for about an hour.  Punch dough down, separate into two balls & roll flat onto pizza sheets. 

Before putting the dough in the oven, I like to spread it with a little bit of EVOO & sprinkle garlic powder & thyme or rosemary on it.  Once the dough is seasoned, place in oven for 10 minutes.

Toppings:

Heirloom tomatoes (thinly sliced)

Mozzarella (very thinly sliced)

Basil

Remove dough from oven, arrange tomatoes & mozzarella on pizza & top with basil, fresh is best, but you can definitely use a generous amount of dried basil also.

Return Pizza to oven for 15 min or until cheese begins to brown a little.  

& if you are like us & like a little spice, top with red pepper flakes & Enjoy!

And that's how we made life a little lovelier this week! :)  

Fresh Picked

I picked these delicious blackberries today & cannot wait to use them in lots of yummy recipes!  And yes, I definitely picked enough to use them in LOTS of recipes.  

So, of course I had to search up & down pinterest to find some of the most delightful blackberry recipes around. 

Bon Apetit!

blackberry + feta salad

blackberry yogurt popsicle 

granola + blackberries

blackberry cheesecake

lemon cream with blackberries

blackberry cheesecake in jars

(( all via pinterest))

Sunshine {in your hair}

Newly added to the shop are these adorable hair clips & barrettes.  These are some products I have been selling at all of my craft shows this summer {they have been quite the hit!} and finally decided they needed to be added to the website!

Choose your color: Rosette Clips + Barrettes

Lovin' each & every one of these color options! The clips are SO easy & versatile to add a little something extra to whatever hair style or in my case, lack of hair style you have going on each day. :)

And these barrettes.  So much better than a ponytail holder.  And just as simple.  I love 'em and wear them all.the.time.

Shop these cuties here & while you're at it...

Take 10% off with the code: SUNSHINE10   this week ONLY!