Banana Caramel Cupcakes

Happy Thanksgiving!

There's something about the holidays that just wipes me out. And no, it's not the tryptophan. Dan and I are fortunate that we can spend the holidays with both of our families, since we all live about 10-15 minutes apart. But, that's double the food and double the energy, which makes for a long day.

My prepping started yesterday when I started making a pumpkin ginger cheesecake. Water from the water bath got into the pan and sort of ruined the crust. Everything else baked up nicely, but I think I'll try making it again before I post about it. The flavors were great, but the crust was just a big ginger mush. Then, today, I got up at 8 and started the cupcakes. This recipe was great for today because it only made 16 cupcakes, and I had everything for it except for butterscotch chips and caramel. I even had the bananas, I didn't even have to choose this recipe because I had bananas, I wanted to make these and it just so happened I had bananas. It was easy and quick, since I modified it and made a basic buttercream, but my buttercream ended up being super thick. It was so thick my hands hurt trying to ice them. I was happy to have this recipe go smoothly...

...until during transport when the case got bumped and turned over almost all of the cupcakes.....

I guess Thanksgiving wasn't my holiday for baking this year. My cheesy potatoes that I always make for family occasions came out great, but that's a no-brainer.

Banana Caramel Cupcakes
adapted from Susi's Kuchen und Backen Adventures

1 and 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup butterscotch chips

1 and 1/2 stick of unsalted butter, room temp
4-5 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp. heavy cream
1/3 cup caramel sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line 16 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In a small mixing bowl, mix together the mashed banana, vanilla and buttermilk.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, fully mixing in each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed.
6. Add the flour mix in two batches, alternating with the banana mix. Mix until fully combined.
7. Stir in the butterscotch chips.
8. Divide evenly into liners, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
9. Let cool.
10. To prepare the frosting, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, with the mixer on low. After a cup or two, add vanilla and 2 tbsp heavy cream. Add more powdered sugar and add more heavy cream. Add in the caramel sauce and mix until combined. If you want your frosting smoother, add more heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time until your desired consistency. 
11. Frost cupcakes and drizzle with extra caramel sauce.

The cupcakes came out very moist and sticky, and were hard to peel the liners off of, but they were delicious. I think next time I would make a different banana cake that is lighter and not so much banana bread like.

Chocolate Chunk Gingerbread Stout Cupcakes

In a previous post this week, this one about the honey and beer chicken, I showed 3 different bottles of beer that I purchased for making that dish. One was the winner and the other two were going to be used for other recipes. Well, the hazelnut brown nectar ale didn't last. Dan drank that the other night. The gingerbread stout survived. I was going to use it to make my shepherd's pie with stout gravy , but I forgot that I'm going to Boston to see a play tomorrow, so I may not get time to make it. And the stout gravy that goes with it, is seriously the best gravy ever. I would drink it if I could, by the gallon. I always choose a different stout each time I make it, and it's delicious every time. My favorite so far is the milk stout I used once.

Anyways, I was going to make some honey hazelnut cupcakes to begin with, and then I bought that hazelnut brown nectar ale, so I thought to myself, "Boozy cupcakes instead of virgin cupcakes?!". Well, the ale disappeared. That didn't stop me though. I then thought to myself, "Gingerbread stout cupcakes, with some chocolate chunks perhaps?!" And so, these cupcakes were born. I even stuck with the honey buttercream I had planned to make. Gingerbread and honey go together well, right? The answer to that is: they do. I know this, because I baked these chocolate chunk gingerbread stout cupcakes and topped them with honey buttercream, and even a drizzle of honey for good measure.

These cupcakes almost didn't happen though. Dan and I started our day with a nice sleeping in (love when I get to do that) and then ran a whole bunch of errands. We needed breakfast, truck parts, a trip to the bank, Petco to exchange the broken remote control collar we bought for Lana, and some S hooks for the dogs new ID tags we bought. Tess is staying with my parents (which she does a couple nights a week because my parents can't go that long without seeing her), so Dan, Lana and I set out for our Saturday adventure. We got some coffee (breakfast), went to the bank and then headed to Petco. Lana was lucky enough that my friend was working in the grooming room, so she got a free nail treatment. She also met several other dogs and was howling up a storm. We grabbed some treats, a new collar and newly engraved ID tags for the dogs and headed home. We ordered some lunch and shortly after lunch my day headed downhill. I get chronic migraines, which are becoming more frequent lately. I can always tell when a dull headache is going to become a migraine, and today was one of those time. Off went the lights, off went the TV, and my afternoon/early evening was spent laying in the quiet darkness. I would say that 50% of the time, when I start recovering from a migraine I either get a surge of energy for a while before I crash again, or I just lay like a slug, feeling like I got hit by a truck for the rest of the night.

I got a surge of energy and these cupcakes came to be. Now that you've had a recap of my day (and my health), I bet you want the recipe. I bet you want to know how good these came out. This is another doctored box mix, which may have been while I was able to throw them together. Just a box of cake mix and the ingredients it called for (eggs, oil and water). Except, I replaced the water with stout. Voila!

Yup. They taste as good as they look!

Chocolate Chunk Gingerbread Stout Cupcakes w/ Honey Buttercream
from me and the frosting idea from Half Baked Harvest
made 22 cupcakes

1 box yellow or white cake mix (I had a sugar free yellow mix)
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup stout (I used Sam Adams Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout)
1 to 1.5 cups chocolate chunks

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey
3-4 cups powdered sugar
4-5 tablespoons of heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 325 and line 2 cupcake pans with liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil and stout. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth and combined.
3. Fold in chocolate chunks. Divide into cupcake liners and bake for 20-22 minutes. Let fully cool.
4. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, vanilla and honey until smooth and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, one cup a time, starting with the mixer on very low speed. Once the sugar is slightly combined, you can increase the speed. If you don't start on low speed, you'll get sugar everywhere (trust me!).
5. To get the desired consistency you want, add cream, one tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is the way you want it. I used 5 tbsp for a smoother, creamier frosting. It was still pretty thick though.


Let me tell you, these are fantastic! As they were baking you could smell the gingerbread. The stout itself has a slight and bitter gingerbread taste (in my opinion, but I am no stout expert). When they came out, it was a warm waft of gingerbread with a big kick of beer aroma. I didn't mind it one bit. The frosting is very sweet due to the honey on top of the sugar, but it paired up very well with the gingerbread cake. The bitterness of the stout off-set the sweetness of the frosting, and the chocolate just gave a nice extra flavor. You can taste all of the different flavors as you eat it, and they go lovely together. The drizzle of honey on top is the icing on the cake (literally).

Cheers!

I know it doesn't look good, but trust me, it is...

Get that frosting ready!

Cupcakes dripping with honey? Yes please!

Honey and Beer Chicken

 No, this picture does not signal a rough day or a drinking problem. It signals that my dinner recipe called for beer, I went to get a bottle of pale ale, and of course, had to try others I saw. Variety is the spice of life, right? I am no beer connoisseur. I drink Bud Select 55. The lightest (and what most say is the most tasteless) beer. "Taste's like tinted water" they say. Eh, I enjoy it. It had 55 calories and has the same effects on me as any other beer does. If I go for a fancier beer, I like pale ales and fruity beers. I've been into the Curious Traveler Strawberry Shandy lately, even though summer is over...

I did a taste-testing of all three, just be sure I chose the right one for the recipe. And yes, we own shot glasses and drink glasses, but they're still packed up from the move with no room in the liquor cabinet for them. So, my little measuring shot glass had to do. Don't judge.

Sam Adams Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout

Sam Adams is a maker I don't usually prefer. I've tried so many varieties, and have never found one that I would ever ask for a second bottle of. When I grabbed this bottle, I almost didn't notice that it was Sam Adams. I also started to re-think if I should buy it or not, since I never really like Sam Adams. But, it's the fall, and it's a gingerbread stout, so why not? It has a nice dark color and a slight (and bitter) hint of gingerbread in my opinion. It also left a lingering aftertaste that left me immediately wanting to cleanse my palate. I'm not a big fan of stouts to begin with (remember, Select 55?), unless it's used in my stout gravy for my shepherd's pie. Which by the way, I will be making this weekend just so I can use this in the gravy. 

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Hazelnut is not something often found on bottles of beer, so obviously I chose it. It has a nice dark tint, but wasn't as bitter as I was expecting. It had a nice hint of sweetness with a great smooth nutty malt flavor. As far as a darker beer goes, I could drink this. I could also use this in a cupcake recipe. The gears are already turning....

Berkshire Brewing Company Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale

Here's the pale ale I went looking for in the first place. It was nice and light. You could definitely taste the hops, but it wasn't overwhelming like a lot of extra pale ales. This one won the vote for tonight's dinner. Good thing I already plans for the other two bottles. That is, if Dan doesn't get to them before I can use them.

Honey and Beer Chicken

from My Recipes

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper

2 tbsp canola oil

1 small shallot, sliced

1/2 cup beer (whatever kind you prefer)

2 tbsp soy sauce 

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

1. Season chicken with some salt and pepper.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl. Add chicken and cook for 6 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove from pan and keep warm.

3. Add shallot. Cook for 2 minutes. 

4. Combine beer, soy sauce, mustard and honey and whisk together. Add to the pan.

5. Scrape the pan to scrape up those brown burnt bits that are there. Let the liquid boil until it reduces down to about a 1/2 cup.

6. Return chicken to pan and turn over to coat with sauce.

This recipe was delicious. The second you whisk up the beer, soy sauce, mustard and honey you can just smell how good it will be. I recommend only one tablespoon of soy sauce though, it was a bit salty for me. I love a good and easy chicken recipe.

Now, I'm off to go watch my cousin who's in the local high school production of Les Miserables. She plays a prostitute. Yep, my 17 year-old (baby) cousin is playing a prostitute. The good thing is, the high school's theater program is amazing and gives Broadway a run for its money. 

Carnitas Pizza

Every now and then, I get a meal idea in my head. It's one where I build my own recipe. Once it's in there, I have to test it out to see if it was a good idea. I had already decided tonight would be a make-your-own pizza night. Then, Dan changed a shift at work, so he had to work tonight. No big deal, making a pizza for one is just as easy. But, a week ago, I decided I wanted a fancier pizza. You know, not your ho-hum pepperoni, or my favorite Hawaiian. I wanted to get creative, but still make it a quick and easy process, since that's what pizza night is all about. Top a crust, bake it and eat it. So, what would this fancy pizza entail?

In college, out at UMass Amherst, there is the greatest pizza place of all time - Antonio's. You could buy almost any imaginable kind of pizza by the slice until 2am, and it was located right in the town center amidst the bars. Talk about the best money-making plan ever! My three favorite kinds of pizza were tortellini, potato bacon, and BBQ steak bacon. They also this steak fajita style pizza with the best shredded steak and drizzled with creme fraiche. For some reason, that slice stuck in my mind, and I decided to make my own fajita-style pizza, except with some carnitas. So, I got to work researching some different ideas, and then building my own. The only recipe I followed was the one to make the carnitas a day ahead, which can be found going here, or by going to my previous post. Yes, this is a two-day recipe for this pizza, but the first day includes a crock pot recipe that took me 5 minutes to prepare, 5 minutes to shred and 3-4 hours to smell the carnitas cooking all afternoon. I'll take the ten-minute total prep I needed to make the carnitas a day ahead of time, because when it came to making the pizza tonight, I spent another 5 minutes. One minutes to take some leftover carnitas and put it on a pan and another 4 minutes to throw it under the broiler to crisp it up ever so slightly.  What else did I do to prep this pizza? Spent another 10 minutes dicing up some shallots and green pepper and sauteing them. All-in-all, this pizza took about 15 minutes from start to finish, with all ingredients prepped and ready to go. Seriously, this pizza is a pre-made crust, some creme fraiche and cheese, a good dose of carnitas, peppers and shallots and some seasoning to give it a little kick. The seasoning is just an adapted version of the seasoning I used when making the carnitas. This is what you get:

Carnitas Pizza
from my brain

1 pre-made pizza crust (such as Boboli)
1/3 cup creme fraiche
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1.5 cups pre-made carnitas (see link to recipe above)
1 green pepper and 1 shallot diced and sauteed until soft
1 cup shredded cheese of any variety (I used a pizza blend)

1. To prep, be sure your veggies are sauteed. Crisp up your pork under the broiler if desired. And mix all spices together in a small bowl.
2. Preheat oven to 450.
3. Spread creme fraiche on pizza crust. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Then, sprinkle half of the seasoning mix over cheese.
4. Top with carnitas, peppers and shallots. Sprinkle remaining seasoning on top of that. Add a little more shredded cheese if desired (I did!).
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

This pizza was delicious. I love the seasoning mix. You get a slight little taste of heat and flavor, but not overpowering. The creme fraiche gives the cheese a little bit of a lighter and fresher taste, and the pork is divine.

**For anyone who has never used creme fraiche, I found it in the specialty cheese section of my grocer. It tastes like sour cream, but with more of a cream cheese texture. When heated, it thins out A LOT. I found that out when I went to heat a good spoonful to drizzle on the pizza. Even 10 seconds in the microwave turned it into complete liquid. So when you bake the pizza, it will seem to liquefy and sort of melt into the crust. It still tastes delicious, just changes texture as it cooks!

Crock Pot Carnitas

How do you turn this

Into this?

Unless shredded pork is smothered in BBQ sauce, I usually don't want much to do with it. It's all about flavor for me. Needless to say, when I thought of making carnitas (and yes, I know, this is not your traditional carnitas), it took me a long time to find a recipe that sounded like it would be flavorful enough. Not to mention I came across about 10 paleo recipes for pork in the crock pot. I don't follow any of those (what I consider) crazy food fads, so it was on to the next recipe.

Finally, I found one that seemed flavorful enough and quick enough to throw together, not to mention I already had all ingredients except for the pork.

I strayed only slightly from the recipe. I used 2 smaller roasts instead of one larger one. I also just used 1 can of chicken broth rather than 2 full cups. I kept all seasonings the same. When reading the reviews, a lot of people doubled or tripled the seasoning, or omitted the cinnamon. I think if you doubled the seasoning it might be a little too strong. And, the cinnamon was fine, some people seemed to notice it more than the other flavors, but I didn't agree with that opinion.

Crock Pot Carnitas
from All Recipes

2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 lbs pork shoulder or pork roast
1 can chicken broth

1. Place 2 bay leaves on the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Mix all seasoning together in a small bowl.
3. Place pork on top of bay leaves. Sprinkle seasonings all over pork.
4. Add the broth around the pork, trying not to rinse off any seasoning.
5. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low on 10 hours.
6. Shred and serve however.

Beef and Bacon Pasta

I just spent 6 hours grading student work and planning vocabulary lessons. Somewhere in the middle I made dinner too...

This weather is really throwing me off. Usually I plan lots of comfort food and cold-day meals for November. Granted, I'll eat a baked pasta dish anytime, but it's a great meal for a cold night. Tonight was not a cold night. It was in the low 60s today...oh well.

I knew if I was going to make a pasta dish with red sauce (which Dan doesn't tend to prefer), that it needed to be packed with some meaty goodness. I sort of overlooked the recipe a bit and added more pasta, beef and bacon than called for. In this case, that wasn't a bad thing, it was a perfect thing. We also have plenty of leftovers, which is great since Dan has class tomorrow so I don't have to cook again! Though I will because I have something planned....

The sauce in this was great, but I would maybe do a tad bit less of the balsamic vinegar. I know, I know. I know that anyone who has followed this blog has read about my love for balsamic vinegar. I would drink it if I could. But it just really stood out in the sauce rather than blending in nicely with everything else. The sauce had a nice sweetness to it, which I enjoy in a red sauce, especially when paired with some salty bacon.

Beef and Bacon Pasta
ever so slightly adapted from Goodies a Volonte

1 box rotini
1 can crushed tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, minced or mashed
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
8 strips of bacon roughly chopped
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups mozzarella and cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Cook pasta according to package for al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Mix the tomatoes, vinegar, worcestershire, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, peppers and oil together in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Heat a deep skillet to medium-high heat. Add a little bit of oil and cook onions until slightly golden and soft. Remove onions and set aside.
5. Add bacon to pan and cook until slightly crispy. Add beef and cook until browned and juices are mostly evaporated.
6. Return onion to pan and add sauce. Mix everything together and cook for 2 minutes.
7. Add pasta and toss in the sauce.
8. Put pasta mix into a large baking dish. Top with cheese and bake for 20 minutes until cheese is good and melted.

Most of my casserole dishes are currently in use, so you will notice in the pictures I used a foil pan I had.

Easy Beef Noodles

I always wish I could focus my dinners into some sort of category. Weight Watchers friendly, Under 30 minutes, Budget Friendly....you know, some sort of theme. But, I'm all over the place when it comes to cooking. Quick meals and budget meals should be my focus however. I don't get a huge window of time when the dogs are calm enough for me to cook if Dan isn't home to entertain them, so quick meals are great. As for budget meals....we just bought a house, we're getting married next year, and it's the winter and we have oil heat. Enough said on that I think. I definitely need to focus on budget meals and better grocery shopping habits.

Tonight's meal was quick and pretty cheap. Which was great, because Lana was off the wall all afternoon and we leave to go to the vet in about 10 minutes. And cheap? Do I need to explain why saving money is a good thing?

Easy Beef Noodles
adapted from Kitchme

1 lb. stir-fry steak
2 tsp. sesame oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can cut mini corn
handful of snow pea pods
1/2 cup shredded carrots
3 packages beef ramen noodles, with seasoning packets
2 and 1/4 cup water
1 tbsp. soy sauce

1. Heat 1 tsp of oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add steak and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
2. Heat remaining oil. Add garlic and veggies. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
3. Add water to the pan with the ramen seasoning packets. Bring to a boil.
4. Break noodles in half and add to the pain. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Add the beef and veggies back in. Stir in the soy sauce and cook until everything is heated through.

Off to the vet we go!