Zzyzx Road

There it is, the Zzyzx Road sign along I-15 in California. I knew I wanted to get a photo of this while we were traveling home from our vacation in Utah last year.

Did you know there's actually a place called Zzyzx in California? This unincorporated settlement was historically known as Soda Springs. Zzyzx is located about six or seven miles southwest of Baker, California in the Mojave National Preserve.


California State University actually has its Desert Studies Center located in Zzyzx. You can see part of the Center in the photo below.


What about you? Have you passed by Zzyzx Road before? And did you know about the Desert Studies Center located in Zzyzx? I didn't know about the Desert Studies Center until I did some research for this blog post.

 Linking with Our World Tuesday.

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Filling

Not too long ago, I made cupcakes for the bridal shower of a friend's daughter. One of the varieties of cupcakes I made for this event were Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Filling.

These cupcakes are basically a variation of the Molten Chocolate Cupcake recipe by Betty Crocker. You can find the Molten Chocolate Cupcakes recipe by clicking on the link below.

Molten Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe

For the cupcakes I made for the bridal shower, I used a peanut butter cake recipe from the "Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor" cookbook. I've made this cake before and it's really delicious.

I happened to find the peanut butter cake recipe online. Here's the link for the recipe -

Cake Mix Doctor's Peanut Butter Cake

For the chocolate filling, I used the chocolate filling recipe from Betty Crocker's Molten Chocolate Cupcakes recipe.

CHOCOLATE FILLING

Ingredients

3/4 cup whipping cream
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Pour whipping cream into small (1-quart) saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat. Do not boil. Add chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Pour the chocolate filling mixture into a bowl and place it in the refrigerator for one hour. Stir occasionally until thick.

PEANUT BUTTER CUPCAKES WITH CHOCOLATE FILLING

To make the Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Filling, first prepare the chocolate filling. Place the chocolate filling in the refrigerator for one hour and stir occasionally until thick.

Follow the directions for the peanut butter cake recipe I shared at the top of this post. Instead of pouring the cake batter into two 9" round cake pans, place cupcake paper baking cups in cupcake pans. Then pour 1/4 cup of the cake batter into each cupcake baking cup. Place 1 tablespoon cold chocolate filling on top of the cake batter. Make sure the filling is in the center of the batter and not touching the sides of the baking cup.

Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20 - 23 minutes until tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans. Cool and then frost with your favorite frosting.

I decided to place a miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cup on top of each cupcake. This served as a pretty decoration and also let the guests know that these were peanut butter cupcakes. That way those with peanut allergies would know to choose a different variety of cupcake to enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by!


© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Things Have Changed ~ Welcome to My New Blog!

Welcome to my new blog!

For some time now, I've wanted to expand the focus of my photo blog and not be restricted to just sharing my photos. I wanted my photo blog to become my personal blog.

So here we are! Jana's Photo Journal has officially become Jana's Place - a place to share my photos, recipes, my faith, family updates and anything else I find interesting.

Thanks for stopping by!

© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Mossy Cave Trail – Bryce Canyon National Park ~ Part 3 – We Arrived at Mossy Cave

Here we are! We arrived at Mossy Cave! Yes, ukuleles are allowed on the trail. Haha! That's one of our sons there with a ukulele.  This photo shows us arriving at Mossy Cave.


There was a helpful informational sign that told us about Mossy Cave.


Here's a closer look at the writing on the sign.


To make it easier to read, I've transcribed the information on the sign.

"This grotto forms as an underground spring permeates the bedrock and water slowly dissolves the calcite that bonds the silts and muds of the Claron Formation. During the short spring and summer season, in this otherwise arid landscape, a cool, moist environment becomes a perfect place for mosses to grow. By late fall, icicles begin to form as water continues to seep through the rock. Sheltered from the sun, even as the days are growing warmer and longer, these icicles sometimes last until June!"

It's interesting that icicles can sometimes last until June. We visited Mossy Cave in June, but as you can see from my photos, there were no icicles when we visited. I guess they didn't last until June in 2013.


Instead of icicles, there was moss on the walls of the cave.


See the trees growing on top of the cave?


Our adventures along Mossy Cave Trail were not done once we arrived at Mossy Cave. I'll be sharing more photos from our trip to Mossy Cave Trail in a future post.

Linking with Oh, the PLACES I've been!

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Because of Him

I know this isn't the usual kind of post I share here on this blog. I'm not sharing one or more of my photos.

But, as Easter approaches, I wanted to take this opportunity to share this beautiful video called "Because of Him." I hope you will take a few moments to watch this special video.

I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ. He truly is our Savior and Redeemer. I'm so thankful for His divine mission here on earth.

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

Grandpa C's Peanut Clusters

I shared this recipe on my genealogy blog a few months ago. I thought I'd share it here as well.

This peanut cluster recipe was given to my daughter many years ago by one of her teachers at church. They are yummy and super easy to make.



There are only four ingredients – butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and a 16-ounce jar of roasted peanuts.



First, pour all of the different chips into a microwave safe bowl.



Mix the chips together.



Then, microwave the chips for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir.



Repeat this process until…



…the chips look smooth and well combined.



Add the peanuts to the chip mixture.



Stir together.



Then, drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Leave on wax paper until the clusters harden. Enjoy!



Grandpa C’s Peanut Clusters 

Ingredients 

1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips 
1 11-ounce package butterscotch chips 
1 10-ounce package peanut butter chips 
1 16-ounce Jar dry roasted peanuts 

Directions 

Put chips in a microwave safe bowl. Mix evenly. Microwave at 30 sec. intervals until melted. Put nuts in. Stir and drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. 

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© 2012 - 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved

A Yellow Canna Lily

I love yellow flowers. I planted this yellow canna lily in our yard many years ago. We've since changed our yard's landscaping and replaced this canna lily with a different plant.

I took this photo with our Canon AE-1, which is a film camera.

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© 2014 Copyright by Jana Last, All Rights Reserved