Jul4

July 4th Cupcakes

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These cupcakes were so much fun to make and eat.  I wanted to cut them all open to see how the layers looked… each one was different!  I simply made my white cupcakes recipe and then divided the batter into three bowls- I added red powdered color to one and blue gel color to another, keeping the last white. Simply layer each color in baking cups and bake as normal. I topped them with white butter cream frosting and red, white, and blue star sprinkles.  I’m excited to try this with other colors for other holidays. 🙂

Happy Independence Day!!

Jul4

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Very fun dessert! The Oreo at the bottom was my favorite part. 🙂

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk
20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped 

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For garnish:
Oreo cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners.  Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.  Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired.  Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.

From: Annie’s Eats

This recipe is supposed to yield 24 cupcakes but I was able to make 32.

Apr18

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

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Ingredients

House Seasoning:

  • 1 cup salt
  • 1/4 cup black pepper
  • 1/4 cup garlic powder
  • Olive Oil, for tossing
  • 5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
  • Oil
  • 1 tablespoon House Seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

For the House Seasoning:

Directions

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Line a sheet tray with parchment. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with House Seasoning and paprika. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Mar13

Chocolate Chip Pie

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I made this for Shania to take to school for “Pi Day.” My goal was to find a pie that would be appealing to kids and that Shania could transport easily and not worry about refridgerating.  So it came down to this or fudge pie and she, of course, chose chocolate chip! Very simple recipe and what kid wouldn’t love a pie inspired by chocolate chip cookies?

I altered the recipe just slightly by using less butter and adding vanilla extract. I used a pre-made graham cracker crust. When I make this again for the family I plan to serve it with whipped cream.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 9 inch pie crust

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add the flour, white sugar and brown sugar; beat until well blended. Blend in the melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into a 9 inch pie crust.
  3. Bake for 1 hour.

Modified from: All Recipes

Mar13

Spicy Shrimp Penne Pasta

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Ingredients

  • 28 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails off
  • 12 ounces whole wheat penne pasta
  • 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
  • 3 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 tablespoons parsley
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • salt, to taste

Directions
Combine tomato sauce, italian seasoning, garlic, olive oil and crushed red pepper and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in salted water and drain. Cook shrimp in a little olive oil in the same pot that the pasta was in for about 3 minutes. Slowly add sauce and cook for 5 minutes. Put pasta back in and stir to coat the pasta with the sauce. Add parsley and salt.

Feb6

Crab Crescent Squares

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Another easy recipe using crescent rolls. 🙂
Cran Crescent Squares
Ingredients
  • 1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
  • 8 oz real crab meat, cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay Garlic and Herb seasoning (I really just sprinkled it on without measuring)
  • 1 1/2cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 1teaspoon parsley flakes
Directions
Heat oven to 375°F.
Unroll dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press to form 12×8-inch rectangle; firmly press perforations to seal.
Top dough with crab meat and remaining ingredients in order listed.
Bake for 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cut into squares.
Modified from: Pillsbury
Feb6

White Chocolate Oreo Truffles

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Easy dessert- no baking! 🙂

Ingredients

  • 36 Oreo sandwich cookies
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 3 Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bars (4 oz), melted

Directions

Crush cookies to fine crumbs in a food processor.  Add cream cheese and process until well blended with cookie crumbs. **Roll into 1 inch balls and dip into melted chocolate. Place them on a wax paper covered sheet cake and refridgerate until firm, about one hour.  Store leftovers, covered, in the refridgerator.

** Next time I will put them in the fridge before dipping them in the chocolate.  I think that will be much easier!

Modified from: All Recipes

Jan23

Thai Shrimp and Cabbage Stir Fry

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Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat 3 tsp of oil in a skillet or a stir fry pan.
  2. Add cabbage and stir fry cabbage for about 2 minutes or until tender.
  3. Remove cabbage and keep warmed; sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.
  4. In the same pan, add 3 tsp of oil and stir fry onions and garlic until tender.
  5. Add the shrimp, water and soy sauce; cook until shrimp turns pink.
  6. Sprinkle with cilantro and red pepper flakes, stir.
  7. Serve shrimp mixture over cabbage.

From: food.com

Jan23

Decorating Cream Cheese Frosting

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This is a great cream cheese frosting to make if you plan to use it for decorating purposes- it’s stiff enough to pipe with and you can add milk, as needed, to make it creamier.

Decorating Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/4 cup Crisco shortening
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 tbs milk (or more as needed)

Directions

Beat cream cheese, butter, and shortening until creamy.  Blend in vanilla extract. Alternate adding the sugar and milk until you have your desired consistency.