Fall Flavors Poke Cake

Happy Halloween!!!

I had always dreamed of the day that I would be passing out candy to kids in my neighborhood from my own home. Except, my own home is on a main road, so I don't think we'll get any kids here. Looks like the bag of Dum Dum Pops are coming to work with me tomorrow....

Today, in my classroom we had a Halloween/Send Off party. One of our teacher aides had her last day today, so the kids and teachers brought in goodies and we had a celebration all afternoon. I decided to make something for it, obviously, and I wanted it to be pumpkin. Apparently, poke cakes are all the rage on Pinterest, I've seen about 30 different recipes for them, and I actually made an oreo one last year for a student's birthday. I found a recipe for a pumpkin one, but then couldn't find any pumpkin spice pudding at the store, so I improvised and made the cake my own. I decided to go with cheesecake flavored pudding, and chose butterscotch pudding to put into the cake mix. It's a great mix of pumpkin, butterscotch, cheesecake, cinnamon and maple flavors. We just need some apple and it would be every fall flavor you could think of. Oh, and I topped it with some caramel, so even more! The great thing about poke cakes, is that you can make it any flavors you want, with extremely little work. You used a boxed cake mix, boxed pudding mixes, and can use Cool Whip for the topping, with a few extra ingredients threw in. I recommend taking the 5 minutes to make fresh whipped cream though, there are few things better than fresh whipped cream, except maybe a flavored whipped cream.

Fall Flavors Poke Cake
adapted from Beyond Frosting 

1 pkg. spice cake mix
1 3.4 oz. pkg butterscotch pudding
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk

2 pkgs. cheesecake pudding
4 cups cold milk

2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
3 tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the cake mix and butterscotch pudding mix. Add the eggs, oil, sour cream and milk and beat until combined.
3. Pour into the pan and bake for 18-22 minutes.
4. When the cake is done baking, cool for 10 minutes and then, using the handle of a mixing spoon, poke holes into the cake all over.
5. In a bowl, whisk the cheesecake pudding and cold milk together for 2 minutes. Let sit for 3-5 minutes until it thickens up just a bit, but is still pourable. Pour over the cake, spreading to cover the holes and entire cake. Place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
6. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the heavy whipping cream for about 5 minutes until soft peaks form. Slowly add each tablespoon of syrup while whisk. Add cinnamon and whisk on low until combined. Spread over pudding layer of cake. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Top with chocolate chips or caramel sauce (or any topping you like!).

Crumbs Bake Shop Review

A Crumbs Bake Shop went into the mall near us some time ago, and I just never got the chance to get in there. I was excited when I saw the "coming soon" sign in the store front, so you would think I would have made it a point to go there when it opened. But, I never did. Today I had to go to the mall to pick up newly re-sized engagement ring, so cupcakes just seemed like a good idea.

My good idea got even better when I walked into Crumbs and the girl told me, "Everything today is buy one, get one". Really?! A BOGO sale at a cupcake shop? Don't mind if I do. I had planned on just grabbing two to try, so now I could get four! For someone who almost never eats sweets, I was overly excited. Here's what I ended up with, and what my thoughts are. I took a big bite out of each (it will take me about 3 days to eat all 4, though Dan will get to them first).

Cupcake #1: Pumpkin
Pumpkin cake, filled and topped with a vanilla cream cheese frosting, with streusel around the edges and a cinnamon dusting on top. The cake was actually pretty good. Not as moist as many homemade pumpkin cupcakes I've had, but good flavor. The frosting was pretty standard. I'd give this a 3 out 5.

Cupcake #2: Cannoli
Vanilla cake, filled and topped with vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with mini chocolate chips, and topped off with a mini cannoli that is filled with vanilla cream cheese frosting and mini chocolate chips. This was just eh. The cake was slightly drier than I would have liked, and it's that same basic frosting. It also would have been nice for the cannoli to be a little more authentic, rather than filled with the same frosting as the cupcake. I give this a 2 out of 5.

Cupcake #3: Thin Mint
This is a Girl Scout special. It's a devil's food cake filled with fudge, topped with mint cream cheese frosting, rolled in chocolate cake crumbs, and topped with a thin mint cookie. This is getting better as far as the cupcakes go. The cake was pretty moist, but I never noticed any fudge filling. The frosting was slightly dry too, and only had a hint of mint flavor, I would have liked to taste more mint. I give this a 3 out of 5.

Cupcake #4:Caramel Coconut
Another Girl Scout special. Vanilla cake, filled with caramel and topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting. Then it's rolled in toasted coconut and finished off with a caramel coconut cookie. The vanilla cake was the same, a little drier than I preferred. The frosting was delicious and the coconut added a great flavor and a little chewy texture. I did not, however notice any caramel filling in my big bite. I give this a 4 out of 5.

Maybe after I eat some more, I will notice the fillings that seemed to be missing in my bites.

All in all, I would say Crumbs are worth a try, but not so sure they're worth the money. Every time I try a nationally known cupcake brand, they fall short of that yummy homemade goodness that cupcakes are all about. I still prefer my own standard cupcakes baked in my own kitchen.

White Chocolate Chai Spice Cupcakes

It was freezing today. Seriously. There was still frost everywhere at 8:30 this morning. It was so cold, I even made Lana wear her coat today for the first time.

What else did I do for the first time? I made brown butter. Or browned butter. Or beurre noisette if you want to get fancy. I've seen plenty of recipes calling for browned butter, but never attempted it yet. Why?I have no idea, it's so easy. I followed the directions given in the original recipe for these cupcakes, but I also did some researching as well. Lots of my resources (blogs, cooking websites, etc) said basically the same thing. Some recommended using better brands of butter, such as Kerrygold or Plugra. And, almost said to use unsalted butter. The recipe I followed called for regular salted butter, which I was skeptical about. Whenever I make frosting I always use unsalted. But, I also always follow on original recipe as intended the first time I try it.

Here's what I have to say about using salted butter for this...

The frosting tastes like salted butter. It kind of made the cupcake akin to drinking chai tea with a side of buttered toast. As far as one of those sweet and salty desserts, this would be great. but if you want a nice sweet cupcake resembling a cup of chai tea, go with unsalted. I'm wondering if the original poster meant to list unsalted butter or not. There was no mention of it under the comments either. Next time I make browned butter (and I most definitely will), I want to try a better brand of butter and most definitely use unsalted. So, if you make these, go for unsalted! But the process of making browned butter is easy. Make it ahead of time so it can chill in the fridge and harden up a bit. I chilled mine for almost 3 hours and let it sit out for an hour before using it in the frosting and it worked well. When they say you can really smell the nuttiness of the browned butter, you really can, even more so when it's chilled and you beat it in the mixer. When you're melting and cooking the butter, keep it over medium or medium-low heat. Once it's brown and you can see the little brown flecks, take it off the heat. I actually wish I had left mine on slightly longer to get a deeper amber-brown color, but I did get the little flecks, which are just the milk solids that cooked faster. It can be very easy to burn butter, so watch it when you make it. It took me about 10 minutes with some whisking here and there.

One last thing about this recipe. I followed all directions, but did have to adapt the frosting after. I added in about 3 tablespoons of milk to the frosting and a half teaspoon of vanilla. The browned butter and 3 cups of powdered sugar just made an incredibly unspreadably (that's a new word) thick frosting, and I like a smooth frosting that is easier to pipe and smoother to eat as well.

All in all, these cupcakes are good, but just not what I expected due to the saltiness.

A little closeup so you can see the flecks in the brown butter frosting...

White Chocolate Chai Spice Cupcakes
adapted from The Proper Pinwheel

For the browned butter:
2 sticks of unsalted butter

For the cupcakes:
1 and 2/3 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup white chocolate chip, melted *(see note)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cardamom

For the frosting:
prepared browned butter
3 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. milk or cream
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Make the browned butter ahead of time. In a sauce pan or small skillet, melt the butter over medium or medium-low heat. Keep cooking until it turns a nice deep amber brown color with little brown specks in it. Whisk occasionally. Chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour until it hardens up. You want it the consistency of softened butter.
2. To make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with liners.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, soft together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat. Add the egg whites and beat until combined.
5. Add the flour mix and milk in alternation. Start with the dry mix, then some milk, then some dry mix, then some milk and end with the dry mix. Mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
6. Add the vanilla, melted chocolate and spices and combine.
7. Fill liners 2/3 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.
8. To make the frosting: Beat the softened browned butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. (Feel free to really take in the nutty aroma!)
9. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. In between each addition of sugar, add a tablespoon of milk or cream. Add the vanilla and mix. If you want a thicker frosting, add less milk or add more sugar in the end. If you want a smoother frosting after this, add a tablespoon more of milk or cream at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Sesame Chicken

At the end of the summer, I signed up for Weight Watchers. I did good for a couple of weeks, then went on vacation for a week at the beach. The beach means almost all meals out, seafood, fried food, fried seafood, and a week of bottomless drinks. When I came home, school was starting and my diet wasn't so much continuing...

At school, my breakfast and lunches are decently healthy. Three days a week at least I have a Lean Cuisine or other healthy frozen meal for lunch. I do usually have a breakfast sandwich from Dunks with my pumpkin coffee, which isn't the healthiest thing, but I at least choose the turkey sausage egg white flatbread sandwich. My Dunks runs will end tomorrow, since I found some pumpkin spice creamer at the grocery store today. Usually I just have coffee with skim milk, but when pumpkin season rolls around, it's pumpkin and skim milk, which makes it a bit unhealthier. But, I'm a firm believer in a little indulgence each day, and since sweets aren't my thing, a little pumpkin spice in my coffee isn't so bad. Right?

Yesterday, I went with my bridesmaid to choose their dresses. I cannot believe how smoothly it went. I have 10 bridesmaids (yes, 10) and 9 were there and it took under an hour for everyone to choose a dress they loved. I also tried on my dress again for them. It's definitely time to re-instate the Weight Watchers.

When I do diet, I like to use some sort of tacking for it. Weight Watchers, though it's not free, has a great system. You get all the tools you need to track your meals and recipes. I have the website (I don't do the meetings) and the apps on my phone (the tracker and scanner). I've also used MyFitnessPal.com (and the app), which is free and pretty good. Sometimes some foods can be hard to find, and portions can be hard to track unless they can do individual pieces of things. Sometimes, on MyFitnessPal, you have to choose a set serving size, so trying to put in that you ate 10 Wheat Thins, instead of a serving of 12, can be tough. With WW, there was more variety. Also, when I diet, I don't religiously stick to every single rule. It's okay to have a meal out on date night and not feel like a total failure. Just eat some extra veggies the next day and try to get more exercise in. I'm also honest when I track my foods. I put everything in, and if it ends up being high in points (for WW), then I try and remember and balance it with healthier foods for the rest of the day. I also put my recipes into the recipe calculator, so I can see exactly what one serving will be. I don't necessarily choose healthy meals to cook either (seriously, I bake cupcakes once a week...but I don't eat them). My first two weeks of Weight Watchers and a week or two of semi following it after that (other than beach week), resulted in a 7-pound weight loss. Not bad. Now if I can just keep up with it, and use to help me be more conscious of what I eat around the holidays, I'd say that would be making some good progress. Oh, and be more physically active. I wish looking up wedding ideas and recipes on Pinterest burned some serious calories...I'd be a stick figure if that were the case. Wishful thinking!

Tonight's recipe, when I put it into the recipe calculator on WW, is worth 9 points if you portion it out to be 6 servings. The rice jacks up the points, but a girl needs some starch every now and then. The sauce for this was really good, but not enough to cover all of the chicken in there, so next time, I'll double it. That may bring the points up a bit if I do. I also added in some steamed broccoli for color, health, and something more than chicken. I used 3 pretty large chicken breasts, so there was more than 1 pound, but I reflected that when I put it into the WW calculator, so if you only use 1 pound, that may bring the points down.

Sesame Chicken
from Budget Bytes

For the chicken:
1 egg
2 tbsp. cornstarch
salt & pepper
1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken breast
2 tbsp. vegetable oil

For the sauce:
1.5 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
1.5 tbsp. rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced (I left out because I forgot!)
1 tsp. ground ginger or 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 bag frozen broccoli pieces that can be steamed in the microwave (like Valley Fresh Steamers)

4 cups of cooked jasmine rice

1. Cut the chicken into 1-inch pieces.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the egg, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Toss the chicken in the egg mix to coat.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and all of the egg mix. Cook the chicken until cooked through and browned, stirring occasionally.
4. Mix all the of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. When the chicken is cooked, add the sauce. The sauce will thicken once it's added to the pan. Stir and cook until sauce is heated. Add the steamed broccoli, mix with the chicken and sauce and serve over rice.

I really need to work on my sub-par photography...

Steak Bruschetta Tortellini

Umm....soo....yeah...

I'm drawing a blank and have no motivation to be wordy or clever. That's not such a good thing if you're blogging for the world to see, right?

Didn't think so.

Tonight's one of those nights where Dan and I were full of ambition. We were going to start winterizing the house, do some more laundry, and whatever other small projects Dan comes up with. But, we may just watch a movie and veg out, because we want to and Dan never stops moving...ever.

At least the recipe I had planned for tonight was easy and quick and I hadn't planned a time-intensive dinner. A quick searing of steak, cooking of tortellini, and heating some sauce and dinner was made. Quick, painless and done in no time. Just like this post.

Steak Bruschetta Tortellini
semi-adapted from Sarah's Cucina Bella

1 sirloin steak, about 1-inch thick, cut into thin strips
1 package tortellini (I used fresh. not dried)
1 box Kraft Recipe Makers Chicken Bruschetta Pasta kit

1.Cook tortellini according to package and drain.
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook steak until desired doneness.
3. Remove steak and drain juices. Return skillet to stove and turn heat to medium-low.
4. Heat the Basil Garlic Simmer sauce until heated through. Add steak and tortellini to pan. Top with Chunky Bruschetta Finishing sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until everything is heat through.

Spiced Apple Cider Cupcakes

Another cupcake recipe in the books. I was really losing my motivation for baking earlier today. I was exhausted and the dogs were crazy and Dan had class and I just wanted to sit on the couch and veg. But alas, I needed to bake. Not only for my own happiness and peace of mind (which it gives me), but I need to bake for my bridesmaid gathering tomorrow night! Tomorrow is the first time most of us can get together and kick off some wedding planning/wine drinking fun!

I, of course, found this recipe on Pinterest. It's listed as a cake, but cakes are big cupcakes, and cupcakes are little cakes, so it's easily adapted. Continuing with the fall spirit, a fall flavor it had to be. I never got a chance to go apple picking this year, which bums me out. I have so many apple recipes I want to make, but I want to make them with my own picked apples. This recipe doesn't have actual apples in it, so I'll let it slide and let it count as an apple recipe item.

This recipe was so, so easy. I appreciate that when I do weeknight baking and I don't have Dan to distract the puppy. It's another doctored box mix, but you can easily find a recipe you'd want to use for a spice cake and have it be fully from scratch. Sometimes, convenience is key.

One thing I do wish I had changed about this recipe was to thin out the frosting a bit. I liked the consistency of it when I was mixing it, but as far as piping it, it was very thick and harder to work with. My frosting isn't as pretty on these cupcakes. If the frosting had been a bit thinner, it would have made frosting the cakes smoother and prettier for sure. Even though the frosting gave me a hard time, the taste didn't! These are great. You get the great taste of the spice cake with a really great tart apple flavor from the cider. The frosting is nice and sweet, but you can definitely taste the apple butter in it. Everything worked out nicely together for a delicious fall treat!

Spiced Apple Cider Cupcakes
barely adapted from Bird on a Cake

 Cakes:
1 box spice cake mix
1 and 1/4 cups apple cider
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
3 eggs

Frosting:
2 sticks unsalted butter
5-6 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup apple butter
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 muffin tins with liners. (This made 23 cupcakes for me).
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix all cake ingredients together and beat for a couple of minutes until fluffy.
3. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes. (Mine were about 21 minutes).
4. Let cool. While they're cooling, make the frosting.
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
6. Add the sugar, one cup at a time. After 3 cups, add vanilla and apple butter. Add more sugar, one cup at a time. Add the cinnamon and give it a good final mixing.*

*If you want thinner frosting, as I wish I had, add a tablespoon of cream or milk at a time until you get the consistency you want. I recommend using cream over milk, keeps everything nice and rich! (And unhealthy!)

Chicken Potato Bake

Yesterday at the grocery store, I had planned on getting something easy to make for dinner tonight, like a lasagna or something. But, as I was walking past the potatoes, I remembered a recipe I saw somewhere on Pinterest that was a chicken and potato bake type thing. I figured I could create my own pretty easily, so that's what we had tonight.

At first, I debated tossing the chicken and potatoes in some of my sweet 'n smoky chipotle rub, but then I decided to marinate the chicken in some Italian dressing. Here's what I came up with...

Chicken Potato Bake

1 lb. chicken breasts, about 3, cut into chunks
3-4 russet potato, scrubbed and cut into chunks (I used 4, could've used 3)
1 cup Italian dressing
4-5 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Marinate chicken chunks in Italian dressing for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. (I think mine was actually a bit smaller)
3. Spread half of the potatoes on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with chicken chunks, half the bacon and half the cheese. Top with remaining potatoes, bacon and cheese.
4. Bake for 1 hour, covered. Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes.

Already dug into...

Pumpkin Butterscotch White Chocolate Cupcakes

Today is a very special day. My grandmother, my hero, the best person on the planet, is celebrating her 85th birthday!

Seriously, she's the best person on the planet. There's no one kinder or more generous (or better at crossword puzzles) than she is. Except for maybe Mother Teresa or Jesus himself...

As I'm always looking for excuses to bake, a birthday celebration is a great reason. We're all getting together for some Chinese food and desserts. I spent hours trying to decide what kind of cupcakes to make. Gram loves carrot cake, lemon meringue pie, coconut cream pie, and she's liked everything I've had her try, so it was a tough choice. I was going to make a pumpkin coconut cream cupcake, but not everyone likes coconut, so I didn't want a bunch of uneaten cupcakes leftover. Granted, all leftovers go to work with me, but still...

In the spirit of fall, and in the spirit of using one of the 8 cans of pumpkin in my pantry, I decided on a pumpkin cake. I wanted to do a white chocolate frosting, so I went with that as well. Then, the last decision I needed to make was an accent flavor - caramel, butterscotch or dulce de leche. I had just done some caramel stuff lately, so that was out. And though it's easy, I didn't want to have to make some dulce de leche, so I went with some butterscotch.

The flavor is great. These are definitely for the sweet tooths out there. The butterscotch seeped into the super moist cake, so I put some extra frosting in the middle too so there's wasn't a giant hole in the cupcake. I made my own white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and everything paired up nicely. The frosting has a bit of a sugary texture from the white chocolate, so I only tested one bite. I'm just not much of a sugar person, go figure! But, these are superb! I used the cake recipe I've used for these Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes that I got from Taste of Home. The butterscotch is store bought and the frosting recipe is mine.

Pumpkin Butterscotch White Chocolate Cupcakes

for the cake:
3/4 cup butter, softened 
2-1/2 cups sugar  
3 eggs 
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin 
2-1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 cup buttermilk *

Butterscotch ice cream topping for the filling

for the frosting:
1 (8oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
4.5 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. heavy cream
6 oz. white chocolate (use good baking chocolate, not chips or candy melts!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 2 cupcake pans with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Add the pumpkin and mix until fully combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and ginger.
4. Add the dry mix, alternating with the buttermilk, to the stand mixer, starting and ending with the dry mix. Mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Let cupcakes cool. Cut out a small piece from the center of each cupcake and fill with butterscotch.
7. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla.
8. Mix in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Add the white chocolate slowly and mix to combine.
9. Add the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time. If you find the frosting too thick, add more cream. If you find it too thin, add more sugar.
10.  Frost cupcakes and serve!

* If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own, like I did. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a glass measuring cup. Fill with milk until the 1 cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes, then use as much as needed.  

Everyone that tried one loved them! They're definitely a recipe worth repeating!

I make a mess when frosting

Butterscotch craters

Super moist and super sweet!

       

Maple Bacon Rice Krispy Treats

I honestly don't remember the last time I had a rice krispy treat. Absolutely no idea.

In my latest Cooking Light issue, they featured some different variations of your standard rice krispy treat. I obviously went for the maple bacon ones, but they also had recipes for double chocolate, cherry chip, espresso toffee, chocolate butterscotch, browned butter pecan, candy corn m&m, s'mores, and lemon white chocolate. Eventually, I'd like to make all of them. Rice krispy treats are so easy to make, but not something I usually think of for a dessert. My mind tends to stay glued to cupcakes.

These were good, but definitely not enough maple flavor. I would double the maple next time and see how that does. The bacon adds a nice saltiness to these. There also isn't as much marshmallow as I had expected. When I think of rice krispy treats, I think of the ones we used to get in the cafeteria in elementary school. They were super gooey with all of the marshmallow in them, these are just stuck together with some marshmallow, but mostly crunchy rice cereal. Maybe less cereal next time as well.

Maple Bacon Rice Krispy Treats
from Cooking Light Magazine, October 2013

2 tbsp. butter
10 oz. mini marshmallows
4 slices Applewood smoked bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces
3 tbsp. maple syrup (definitely add more)
6 cups rice cereal (maybe add less)

1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and marshmallows over medium-low heat and stir until marshmallows are melted and everything is smooth.
2. Add the bacon and maple syrup and mix to combine. Add the cereal and mix to combine.
3. Press into a greased 9x13 pan.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

What's a better way to follow up a day of running around after a long weekend and making a pretty delicious Stuffed Pepper Casserole other than having Glazed Doughnut Muffins?

There isn't one. Unless it was also Friday and I didn't have to work tomorrow. Or I hit the lottery...

You get the point. As far as food goes, this is the best follow up. These muffins are unreal, and pair perfectly with a cup of chamomile tea with honey and milk. Good thing I'm on a wedding diet...

So, the muffins themselves aren't too sweet. The cinnamon and nutmeg add great flavor. The glaze is what gives them a sweet kick, but just enough so it's not overly sweet.  While baking these, when I went to rotate them halfway through, I thought they were going to be a disaster. They looked like they were overflowing the muffin cups and just going to be a spillover and burn type of baking disaster. But, after the last round of baking, they came out perfectly rounded and popped up. Like magic! This is the best muffin batter I've ever made. I definitely want to try it with other flavors in it like berry, banana, chocolate chip, caramel, pumpkin, apple spice...

Glazed Doughnut Muffins
from Sweet Pea's Kitchen

For the Muffins:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

For the Glaze:
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

1. Preheat oven to 425 and line a muffin pan with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time. With the mixer on low speed, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined.
4. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing until just combined. Do not overmix!
5. Spoon batter into cups, filling the cups, and smooth tops. Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until muffin tops are a pale golden and springy to the touch, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 10 minutes before glazing.
6.To make the glaze, In a medium bowl mix together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
7. When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Once hardened, dip a second time and allow to harden then serve.

**I only dipped mine once, I didn't want the second layer of glaze, I'm not keen on all that sugar!

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

I haven't made anything for myself in quite some time. Tonight, I was able to make something and not worry about if Dan would eat it or not, which, while I love cooking for him, it's nice to eat a wider variety of veggies :)

One of my all-time favorite foods is stuffed peppers. I've made them traditional style, soup style, and healthier versions with quinoa and veggies. Tonight's version is casserole style. It tastes just like a stuffed pepper, but without the work of digging the filling out of the pepper and having to cut it all up.

This is a great dish for colder weather and it makes a massive amount, so making it for one like I did, is not the best idea. I will be eating this for lunch for a week. At least it's delicious and I'm going to want to eat a lot of it. I was even lucky enough that the dogs entertained themselves outside the whole time I was in the kitchen. Lana has taken an interest in oven mitts and will run at them when I try to take something out of the oven. Trying to battle a puppy away from a hot oven wearing oven mitts is not an easy task, nor one I want to engage in at all. You can make this healthier by using low-sodium products and healthier cheese. The Velveeta Shreds happened to be on sale, so I had some of those. They are by far not the healthiest shredded cheese out there, but they taste just like Velveeta, so they are super delicious. It's not the prettiest dish when served, just looks like stuffed pepper slop, but it's pretty good, so that makes up for the appearance.

Stuffed Pepper Casserole
from Mostly Homemade Mom

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 green peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cans corn, drained
2 and 1/2 (15oz) cans tomato sauce
1 (29oz) can diced tomatoes (I omitted)
1 tsp. garlic powder
sprinkle of kosher salt
sprinkle of black pepper
2 cups cooked rice
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Brown the ground beef in a stock pot or deep skillet. Drain and set aside.
3. Add the oil and saute the peppers and onion over medium-high heat 5-10 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.
4.  Add tomatoes, sauce, corn, beef, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the rice. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish and cover with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

Today was quite the day. I started by running to the mall to get two of those magnetic tags removed from clothes I bought a while ago that weren't taken off when I bought them. One was a pair of pants from the first week of September, and another was a pair of underwear that I bought over a year and a half ago...yeah, I kept forgetting about them.

Then, I hit the grocery store to grab what I needed for meals this week. After the grocery store was the real challenge...taking Lana to Petco.She's still fairly new to the leash, but she did pretty well. She walked through the store, stayed with me, and let people pet her. She even let someone put a coat on her. But, once we were in the checkout line, about 5 golden retrievers came in, sparking wayyyy to much excitement for her. What does she do? Pees. Right in the checkout line. Luckily, it's Petco and they didn't care. Lana had a pretty active weekend, playing with another pitbull, and then hanging at the hockey rink last night until 10, so I was banking on her taking a nice long nap while I prepared dinner and baked all afternoon. Nap she did, so into the kitchen I went.

I made my shrimp and corn chowder that Dan requests on a monthly basis fir dinner. Getting into the fall spirit, I had to make some fall flavored cupcakes. Pumpkin Snickerdoodle was the final vote. I changed up the recipe slightly, but just by filling my cupcakes with some pumpkin caramel sauce I had from Stonewall Kitchen. The stuff is delicious and is recommended for a topping on desserts and ice cream, so using it as a filling for these cupcakes was a no-brainer. The cupcakes came out very moist due to the pumpkin and applesauce in the batter. They made the liners really stick to them though. One step I over-looked was sifting out the cake mix. I wish I had because I had little tiny clumps of cake mix throughout the batter that never mixed out. Next time, I will definitely sift it first (and it must be with a sifter, not with a whisk). The frosting was incredibly easy to make, and since you want to showcase the cinnamon sugar topping, you only want a small amount of frosting. You could even cut the frosting recipe in half, I had so much leftover. Usually, I like a full frosted cupcake, but since these had the cinnamon sugar coating, it was okay that there was only a small amount. These cupcakes were delicious. Super moist and PACKED with flavor. The cake, filling and frosting all went well together. Due to the sweetness of all the cinnamon and sugar, I recommend going with the cream cheese frosting instead of a buttercream. Or, for something even fresher and a little less sweet, you could make a cinnamon whipped cream for a topping.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes
adapted from Your Cup of Cake

1 box yellow cake mix (or use a spice cake mix and omit the spices)
1 tbsp.pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce (or oil)
2 tsp. vanilla

4 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup of cinnamon and sugar. mixed (you will have plenty leftover)
Stonewall Kitchen's Pumpkin Caramel Sauce (or any caramel sauce)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1.5 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line two pans with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the cake mix, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the pumpkin, eggs, milk, applesauce and vanilla. Add the cake mix and continue to beat until combined.
4. Fill liner 3/4 full and bake for 17-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.
5. Brush cooled cupcakes with melted butter and dip the tops in the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating the tops.
6. Using a straw, poke 4 holes in the tops of each cake.
7. Put the caramel sauce into a squeeze bottle and microwave for 30 seconds on half power. Squeeze caramel into the holes in the cupcakes.
8. For the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the cinnamon and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. If it seems too thick, add a tablespoon of milk until you get the consistency you want. Frost cupcakes and eat!

Honey Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

Oh. My. Good. Lord.

Yesterday, I saw a recipe for shrimp tacos, which sounded delicious. I decided to wing it because tacos are pretty simple. The only thing I looked up was a sweet and spicy sauce to cook the shrimp in. I decided on a honey chipotle sauce. The best thing about this sauce is that it uses things you already have, no reason to run out to the store. I finally used up the last of my sweet and smoky seasoning with this, so I guess a trip to the store would be needed for this if I make it again. I mean when I make it again, because this recipe was FANTASTIC!

Usually, when I just decide to wing it, there's always something that doesn't come out right or that I wish I did different. The only thing I would change about this, is that I would add the shrimp a little later and let the sauce thicken up more first. Other than that, I was incredibly pleased with how everything came together so nicely. I thought I had some Mexican shredded cheese left, but I didn't I had about 1/3 cup of shredded Monterey Jack and a bag of Velveeta shreds. That would have to do.

I started with my Mission Carb Balance tortillas. Seriously, I've talked about these before, and they are hands down the best tortillas ever. EVER. They are just so super soft and fresh. I melted some cheese on them and them topped them with my sour cream-avocado mash. I was pretty nervous about attempting the mash, because avocado is very bland to me, and then I worried about over-seasoning it. It came out perfectly for my taste. I topped this with the shrimp and corn and some cilantro. Perfect!

The sauce was sweeter than spicier, which was fine with me. It paired perfectly with saltiness of the sour cream-avocado mash and you could taste the cilantro with everything as well. I was pretty impressed with myself on this one. And there's no way I'm fessing up to how many servings I had....

Honey Chipotle Shrimp Tacos
sauce from Grocery Budget 101

1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. white vinegar
2-4 tsp. chipotle seasoning (I use Grill Mates Sweet n Smoky rub)
1/4 tsp. salt
40 small shrimp, tail removed (I used frozen)
1/2 can sweet corn kernels
1/2 Hass avocado
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chipotle seasoning
shredded cheese
cilantro, minced
flour tortillas

1. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the honey, corn syrup, ketchup, water, vinegar, chipotle seasoning and salt. Heat in a skillet over medium heat and let cook until sauce thickens and reduced a bit.
2. While the sauce cooks, mash together the avocado, sour cream, garlic powder, salt, and chipotle seasoning.
3. Once the sauce is reduced, add the shrimp and corn. Cook until heated through.
4. To serve, melt cheese on tortillas, spread some avocado mash on top, top with shrimp and corn and minced cilantro.

Chocolate Caramel Bailey's Cupcakes

Two sets of cupcakes in one week! It makes me feel pretty productive. It makes me feel even more productive that it was two sets of cupcakes in a matter of three days. Also, I broke my frosting gun tonight. I've been meaning to get another one anyways, but the tip on the pump handle broke off. Now, I know it's not the end of the word. I do own plenty of pastry bags, but I like the gun. Pastry bags can get messy, and I need more practice with them. I'm just used to my gun.

These cupcakes are a thank you to Dan's aunt who has been coming over and letting Lana out now that my friend and his sister can't stop by during the day anymore (they'll be getting treats too!). These cupcakes are also a recipe that I know about 100 people would want to try, so I have a feeling I'll be making these again when people complain that they didn't get to try any. Dan said they were some of his favorite ones yet, which is pretty big considering he is not a chocolate guy. But, he is a Bailey's guy, and these cupcakes have a decent amount in them. They're also filled with a chocolate-caramel ganache.

In the past, I've made some intensive filled cupcakes. These are not that case. This is a doctored boxed cake mix (which I stated in my last cupcake post I tend to stay away from). I actually probably wouldn't use this mix again. The cupcakes are extremely light and fluffy, they feel like a little cloud when you hold them without the filling and frosting. That might sound good, but for some of them, biting into them makes them sort of collapse because they're so light. A denser cupcake is better for filling and a good serving of frosting. I also used a different brand of cake mix, so that could be it too. The cake does come together quickly though, as well as the ganache, which cooled faster than some other ganaches I've made, which was nice - less waiting around. The frosting is also easy, but I needed to add the Bailey's and cream mix halfway through the addition of the sugar because it got so thick. I also added more Bailey's and cream than the recipe called for to get the consistency I wanted. Below is the original recipe with some of my notes of what I did.

Chocolate Caramel Bailey's Cupcakes
semi-adapted from Tidy Mom

For the cake:
1 box Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix (I used Betty Crocker's Triple Chocolate Fudge cake mix)
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup Bailey's
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the ganache:
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I only had 7 oz, so I used 3 oz of semi-sweet too)
1 cup heavy cream
10-12 caramel candies, unwrapped

For the frosting:
1 cup shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
8 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/3 cup Bailey's
1/3-1/2 cup heavy cream

Caramel sauce for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 cupcakes pans with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together all cake ingredients on low until combined. Then, beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
3. Fill cupcake liners evenly and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.
4. While the cakes are cooking, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Heat the cream and caramels in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and stir until combined. Pour over chocolate, let sit for 5 minutes, then stir until melted, combined and glossy. Place in the fridge to thicken up until ready to fill.
5. For the frosting, combine the Bailey's and cream in a measuring cup. Beat the shortening and vanilla until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time. When it gets too thick, slowly pour in half the Bailey's mixture. Add the rest of the sugar one cup at a time, and then slowly add the remaining Bailey's mixture. Add more Bailey's or cream if you want it thinner.
6. Use a pairing knife to cut a cone/hole in the middle of each cake. Fill with ganache. Top with frosting and drizzle with caramel sauce.

** A note on the caramel sauce: I used the ice cream topping caramel sauce in the squeeze bottle. I forgot how liquid-y it is and how fast it comes out. So as you can see below, the first couple are drenched in caramel before I had a good pressure going to drizzle the rest. I suggest putting the caramel (homemade is even better!) into a small decorating squeeze bottle for better control.

All packed up

Thank you much!