Strawberry Cupcakes

February is birthday month around here, and M decided he wanted strawberry cupcakes to share with his class at preschool.  They were super easy to make and they were quite good too. I did cheat a bit and just doctored up a box mix, but I don't think the 3, 4 and 5 year olds noticed.

Strawberry Cupcakes

1 Vanilla Cake Mix

Ingredients called for on box

1 1/2 cups diced strawberries

Prepare cake and fold in strawberries at the end. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Let cool then frost.

Cinnamon Rolls

I made these for Hubby's breakfast for his birthday.  The day before he was telling me how much he wanted a big cinnamon roll with lots of gooey and frosting. Well mine didn't have quite as much frosting, but they were gooey and pretty close to perfect.

Gingerbread Whoopie Pies* Revisited

* I had a request for this recipe the other day, so I thought I would share it with you once again as we are headed into the perfect season for it. Enjoy!!
xoxo
Heather


Okay, I lied. I know I said I was done with cookies, but really I couldn't help it and I made these. Then they were so so good that I knew I had to share. Sorry I hope you can forgive me. Though if you make these I'm sure you will.

I watched Throwdown again the other night, and when I saw it was whoopie pies I knew I would be making them the next day, and I did. I made these friday morning and they were awesome. I didn't use Bobby Flay's recipe. I used the one out of my Whoopie Pie cookbook, and it is perfect. Moist on the inside, and just a bit of crunch on the outside. Exactly what you would expect from gingerbread. I also filled mine with a cream cheese frosting, I thought it was much more classic, and it is what I would expect to find with gingerbread.



Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
From the Whoopie Pie Cookbook
1 stick unsalted butter
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Preheat oven to 325, line baking sheets

Mix all dry ingredients together and set aside.

Cream butter, shortening and sugar in bowl until just combined, add egg and mix well, then add molasses and mix well again. Scrap down bowl as needed. Add in 1/2 of flour mixture and 1/2 of buttermilk, mix until just incorporated, add the remaining flour and buttermilk mix on low until combined then beat on medium until light and fluffy up to 5 minutes.

Using your medium cookie scoop, scoop out whoopie pies and bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets half way through. Let cool completely then add filling.

Cream Cheese filling
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons cream cheese
1 pound powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
heavy cream

In your mixer cream butter and cream cheese, scrap down bowl and add in sugar and vanilla, mix on low after it starts to look a bit crumbly start adding in heavy cream very slowly until it just comes together. Beat on medium until light and fluffy.

Take one cookie frost the flat side then sandwich with another one.

Enjoy!!!

Monkey Bread

I made this, and with a bit of shame I have to say it didn't last 18 hours in my house.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding* re-posted

* I posted this last year, and I thought it too good to not share again this year. Enjoy!


For those who haven't watched it or don't know about, Pioneer Woman was on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I won't tell you how it went, they still are airing it over the weekend. It was good and the food looked awesome. So good in fact that I made bread pudding for the first time....ever.

I never thought I would like bread pudding, I just thought it wasn't my thing. I didn't understand what all the oohhh and aaahhh was all about. Well I made it and it is good. I don't think it will hit my top 5 anytime soon, but I won't turn it down if offered. Hubby thoroughly enjoyed it and that was a surprise to me. Perhaps it was the cream?? It was good, and to that I am thinking I might add it to my Thanksgiving dessert menu, though if I do that then I will have to cut something else. Life is so hard sometimes.  Here is the link to the recipe. Give it a try you won't regret it.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Sugar

As part of our homemade Christmas this year I made some vanilla sugar to put into the baskets too. Last year I bought vanilla beans in bulk from here, and needing a place to store them I stuck them in sugar, the result of that is vanilla bean flavored sugar. You could easily do this with a casing from a vanilla bean that you needed and scraped the seeds out of.

Vanilla Sugar
1 vanilla bean with or without seeds
Sugar

Place vanilla bean in container with sugar and seal. It should ready in about 2 weeks, keep adding more pods when you have used ones. As you use your sugar keep adding more to it. Put on the lid and give it a good shake to mix it up a bit.

The sugar is rather clumpy since it has drawn the moisture from the vanilla beans. The clumps can be easily broken with a spoon.

Note: I didn't put my vanilla bean pods in with the sugar, I used them (pod and all) but since the beans had been in the sugar for 16 months it is very flavored. I will be giving instructions on how to keep the sugar going.

Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti

I found this over at How Sweet It Is, you really need to try it. Yes it sounds really funny, but it tastes oh so good.  

It's a bit spicy so beware of that one thing. I reduced the spices by half and it was still plenty warm for my family.

Enjoy!

Cake Doughnuts

I don't have anything good for you today and I'm sorry. M got sick and that pretty much put an end to any extra time I had to create.

I did make these on Sunday, they were my first attempt with my new doughnut pan. I wasn't overly impressed with them so it's back to the drawing board, and hopefully I will have something good to share next time.

And yes I thought the sprinkles would make them better.

xoxo
Heather

Apple turnovers

These have to be one of my all time favorite desserts. They are quick (under 1 hour), easy and so very tasty. Of course when you are on a diet (me) they are also considered evil and which is why I only made 4 of them. The boys devoured them and I did have one small bite which did remind of me how wonderful they are.

It's best if you know you are making this ahead of time as it takes awhile for the puff pastry to thaw, but if you are like me it's a spur of the moment thing. Which I have a trick for you. Take you puff pastry sheet and wrap it in parchment unless you are doing both sheets then just open the paper surrounding them but leave them in there. In the microwave heat the sheets for 15 seconds at a time. Flipping them every time until they are thawed, this may take 1-2 minutes.

Apple Turnovers
Makes 4

1 puff pastry sheet thawed
1-2 apples, peeled, cored and diced.
cinnamon and sugar to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, line a baking sheet with parchment and let aside

Take you diced apples, a bit of sugar, a dash or two of cinnamon, mix together, then taste and adjust to suit your needs.

Take your puff pastry and cut into 4 pieces. Place filling in and close. I used a fork to crimp the edges. Brush with a bit of milk or water and sprinkle with a bit more sugar.

Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown. Let sit for a few minutes then serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

These can be made ahead of time and then rewarmed later.

Enjoy!

Kokanee Casserole

One of the great benefits of going up to the lakes and fishing when it's snowing out ie. freezing our rears off is that we get to bring home fish, that I later spend days canning, and those fish being Kokanee. They are basically, but not exactly a land locked Salmon. The taste is similar and unless you have Kokanee at home that you have canned or frozen just substitute it with Salmon.

I'm sorry there is no picture for today's recipe, I forgot to take it, I was hungry.

This is one of those dishes that I love, I always make enough for two meals. This can also be made in advance and then baked later. Just up the baking time to 40-50 minutes until it is completely heated through.

Kokanee Casserole
Serves 10

1 cup diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk (I used 1%) use what you have on hand
1 pound pasta, shells are my favorite for this
3 6 ounce jars/cans of canned Kokanee or Salmon
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt
Panko Breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In large skillet over medium high heat melt butter and add olive oil, cook onion and mushrooms until soft add in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes add in milk and salt, stir to combine, keep stirring until the mixture has thickened. You don't want lumps. When it has started to thicken turn it down to low until hte pasta is ready. It should hold just fine.

While you are making the onion/mushroom mixture cook pasta per directions on package but under cook by 1-2 minutes as it will continue to cook in the oven. Drain, return to pot and pour the onion mushroom mixture on top and add in Kokanee, if it is in large chunks break it up at bit. Stir and transfer to a large baking dish.  Top with breadcrumbs.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until topping has browned.

Enjoy!

Chunky Applesauce

Last night I made a great Kokanee casserole, which I hope to share with you soon, along with it I made quick chunky applesauce and apple turnovers for dessert, I will share those soon too.

As you know it's apple season and instead of making a pie (which I am dying to do) I made apple turnovers (coming soon....promise) and since I had some extra apples ready to go I made applesauce. Really it couldn't be much easier. It's a great side dish to whatever you are making, and we will be having it again soon.

My boys are hilarious, now that it's fall I've brought back out many of the recipes that I put away come spring and summer. K was so surprised the other day when I made dinner rolls. I'm not sure why though as I've never bought dinner rolls. Then again with the applesauce. I've never bought it, but he was still amazed that I was able to make it myself. I think he needs some cooking lessons.

Sorry about the recipe, but this is how I cook, a bit of this and a bit of that.My measurements are not precise, but more of it looked about this much. I know hard, sorry. Cookies, pies, cakes, and when I am canning are really the only time that I follow a recipe exactly and even then I find myself adding in or leaving things out all the time. It's how my Mom cooks and I am sure it was how she was taught.

Chunky Homemade Applesauce
Serves 4-5
2-3 apples- peeled, cored and cut into smallish pieces
1/4 - 1/2 cup sugar depends on the apples you use and how sweet you want it
Cinnamon- to taste

In a sauce pan over medium high heat put in apples, 1/4 cup sugar and about 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer stirring from time to time. They will be done with the apples are super soft and mash easily with a fork. Add you cinnamon and more sugar if needed. If you add more sugar then let it cook for a few more minutes until sugar is completely dissolved. If you want less chunky use your masher or fork, or just leave them alone and enjoy.

Salmon Chowder

I've been in a soup making mood lately, it must be the cooler evenings and now rain that has brought it all, because all I can think about is soup, and more soup. Along with really good bread. You have to have good homemade bread to go along with your soup...right.

A few notes about this recipe first.
1. I threw it together with the things I had at home.
2. It would be good with shell stock rather than chicken stock. Make your own or buy low sodium.
3. It's not a traditional thick chowder so if you want to thicken it up, use a bit of cornstarch and water or make a rue. I did.
4. It was really good and I ate it for 3 meals.

Salmon Chowder
Serves 8-10

6-8 cups shell or chicken stock
1 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrot
2-3 cups Yukon gold potatoes bite size with skins
3-4 pieces bacon cut into slivers
3/4 to 1 pound of salmon
1 cup milk

In large pot or dutch oven cook bacon until crispy, remove and set on paper towel to drain remove all but 1-2 tablespoons of fat. Add in onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until onion is soft. Add in potatoes and cook until they just begin to get a crisp on the outside. Add in stock, bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until potatoes are cooked through. On low heat add in salmon, bacon and milk stir gently. The salmon will only take 2-3 minutes to cook through (sometimes less)

Serve with warm bread and enjoy.

Corn Chowder

I promised you this recipe last week and then life got busy. I didn't forget about you though, I just didn't have a lot of time. I don't have a picture, that is just how good this stuff really is, so make this soon and you will be happy.

I have a bit of a warning for you, this is a really loose recipe. It was given to me by a chef in town, all he did was right down the ingredient list no measurements. Lucky for me I did it right the first time.

Just a note: I tried it without bacon and it's better with it. This soup is very filling and it's a great base for so many other chowders, so if corn isn't your thing, just tweak it a bit and then you could have potato soup, clam chowder, or anything else that your heart desires. I also tried it with less half and half and it was okay but not as tasty. Next time I will do my best not to eat it all before taking a picture.

Also this is a nod as to how good this really is, C (9) doesn't like chowder, but he loves this and has asked for it numerous times. I keep telling him that no I won't make soup when it's 96 degrees outside.

Corn Chowder

1 cup diced onion
1 package of bacon
3 cups diced yukon gold potatoes
3 cups corn (fresh blanched is best)
2 cups half and half (I used fat free)
2 cups milk (skim)
2 tablespoon butter

Slice bacon into strips and cook in your dutch oven or other large pot. When cooked remove bacon and drippings. On medium to medium high heat Add two tablespoons of drippings back in along with the butter. Add in the onion and cook until  soft then add in potatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes add in half and half and milk. Cook until potatoes are soft. Add in corn and cook for another 5 minutes. You can either add the reserved bacon at this point or you can use it as a topper for your soup.

Enjoy!

Swings and misses

As so many of you know there are times when you make something and it falls short of expectations. This was it. It looked pretty, and tasted okay, but really nothing worth sharing. I didn't want you to think though that I hadn't been up to stuff, because we all know that I have. (especially my jeans)

No judging, no I didn't use real whip cream, yes it was from a can. I was tired, it was late.

Really everything was wrong with this, from the cherries to the crust, really nothing was right. The cherries didn't have the flavor I was looking for and the crust wasn't what it should be. Back to the drawing board I go. I will try again in a few days. Right now I have a dinner party to prepare for.

xoxo
Heather

Mudslide Cookies

I found these on How Sweet it is the other day, and just had to make them. First I made them per recipe (sorry no pictures of those), they were delicious, but as I can have very little chocolate and coffee, I needed to make a few alternations. Here is my mudslide cookie.

Mudslide cookies
Makes about 18 cookies

Adapted from How sweet it is

1/2 stick unsalted butter, very soft
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2ounces coffee liquor/Kahlua
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 or 325 on convection.
Prepare baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper

Cream butter and sugars, add in eggs and vanilla mix until blended, add in coffee liquor and mix. Add in flour and baking soda. Stir in chocolate.

Using medium scoop, scoop out cookies and bake for 10 minutes, rotating half way through. Let sit on pan for 3-5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

If using a small scoop you will get about 34 cookies and bake them for 8 minutes

Enjoy!
Heather

My must haves....

We all have those thing in our kitchen that are our must haves. They always have to be in the cupboard, and they are your go to in the "what to make for dinner" "last minute...can you make this" type of stuff. For me it is a list of all the things to make my families favorite dishes.

I just got to thinking maybe you don't have a stock pile of things in your cupboards, perhaps you live in town and your can run to the store for last minute times when needed. Well living in the middle of nowhere that isn't an option for me. I make a weekly run to the store for all my basics but more than likely I am back at least once to pick up something I forgot or if I decide to make something new and don't have it on hand. No I am not patient enough to wait till next week. It has to be now.

My list:
Flour: white, wheat, cake
Sugar: white, brown, dark brown, sanding, powdered
Butter unsalted only please, when I get down to two pounds I start to worry
Vanilla: Only the good stuff, and vanilla beans
Eggs: lots of them
Yogurt: plain is better to work with
Sour cream
Cream cheese-I am out right now, used it up on the dessert.....not good.
Heavy cream & fat free half and half, always in my fridge
Tomato sauce
Re fried beans
Crackers
Yeast
Beans
Cake mix & frosting-emergency purposes
Brownies-still working on homemade ones
Tortillas
Chocolate
Cheese- at least 5 different ones, minimum
Carrots, peppers, onions, broccoli, strawberries, mushrooms, apples, lemon
Cool whip-yes it's okay
Popcorn
??? I am sure I left something off that I will regret later.

What's on your must have list? Honestly mine got longer than I expected it to.

No Bake Cheesecake with pictures

Over the weekend we had J's parents over for dinner, which is always nice. After fighting with the decision of what to make for dinner, it was nice to know what I was making for dessert. See I had seen this the week before and knew I had to make it. It is super simple and way better than the box stuff that you can buy at the store.

It's nothing like a baked cheesecake but it will do in a pinch and it is lighter and less dense than the baked version. Perfect for a spring day, or summer, or just whenever you need something smooth, creamy and luscious.

This is a great make ahead dish and I will be making it again.  Sorry it's a bit messy, I put them in individual ramekins and while cute and all, you can't see any of the good stuff, so I un-molded one and well, it may not look the prettiest, but I can tell you it tasted sinfully good.

No Bake Cheesecake 

Crust:
2 sleeves graham crackers
2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons softened butter

In a food processor break graham crackers, add in sugar and butter then pulse until it clumps together. Press into the bottom of a spring form pan or into individual ramekins.

Filling:
10 ounces cream cheese softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

In your mixer beat heavy cream until soft peaks form, place in another bowl and set aside. In the same bowl beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy, scrape down bowl add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until well combined and no lumps. The great thing about cream cheese is you can't over beat it. When smooth and it has no lumps fold in your whipped cream. Pour into pan or ramekins and put in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours best if longer.

Topping:
You can put anything you want on top of these. I had some thawed berries in the refrigerator so I cooked them down in there juices and added just a bit of sugar, until they were thickened. This is another do ahead and put in the refrigerator, if you want them warm they are easy enough to rewarm.

Or you can always just top with fresh berries.

Enjoy!!
Heather

Homemade Taquitos

You know that chicken taco recipe that I shared with you the other day, well this is what I made out of it on it's second go round. It has one more to go and I am not sure yet what I will turn it into, but I know whatever it is, it will be good too.

I love taquitos, what I don't love is the calories, fat and the fried part. Well I would take all that if I never had to watch my weight and figure, but that isn't ever going to happen. Plus a bit of healthy that doesn't taste healthy is never bad for you.

These were super simple to make and I love the fact that you can make them ahead of time and even freeze them for later if you wanted to. Perfect for busy baseball nights. I had left over burger and beans from earlier in the week, so I made half of them chicken and the other the burger and beans.



Again these are super simple, something that I would even go so far as to call stupid simple. They are that easy.

Taquitos
1 to 2  packages corn tortillas (your favorite I used mission extra thin)
2 cups or so of a filling of your choice, hamburger and beans, chicken tacos, anything you like
Shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, spray a sheet pan with a bit of non stick spray and set aside.

Assemble all of you ingredients on the counter ready to use. You need to make these one at a time, and if you have everything ready it makes it so much faster and easier.

In a nonstick skillet on medium heat, warm one tortilla at a time until soft and they won't break. Place on workbench (counter, mat, board) on the side closest to you put in 1-2 tablespoons of filling then just a bit of cheese, roll and place seam side down on baking tray. Repeat. I ended up with about 30, two rows down a sheet pan. 

While you are filling the first place another tortilla in the pan, by the time you are done with the filling, cheese and rolling the next one will be ready to go.

Now you can bake them for 18-20 minutes or you can put them in the refrigerator for later. Bake them cold at 425 for 20-25 minutes or once they are cold you can put them in the freezer then transfer them to a storage bag for later. Bake them frozen at 425 for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

The winner is......

Strawberry Cake. I wanted to do something different, and not to say that I am not a lover of chocolate cake, but the weather is finally starting to get warm here after a very cold and wet spring. I just wanted something that felt lighter and more spring-like. Plus the picture in the cookbook made me want to eat it. This is basically just a doctored up cake mix, though by the taste of it you would never guess that it is so.

The recipe called to make three 9" layers and although yes I have 9" cake pans I do not have 9" cake boards and I refuse to buy them for this one cake. Instead I just baked it in three 8" pans and it turned out a bit thicker, but still just as pretty. I topped mine with a strawberry butter cream and chocolate covered strawberries (one of my favorites).

Because the covered cake plate that we are using isn't tall enough to accommodate a three layer cake, we decided to suck it up and eat the third. You wouldn't want it to go to waste.  That would be horrible.

After I frosted the cake(s) I put them in the fridge to set up properly and I should have let it come back to room temperature before eating it, but I couldn't wait. Even cold it had great strawberry flavor and the color is just perfect. My boys they aren't so sure about eating a pink cake, but I am sure I can talk them into it.


Strawberry Cake
1 box white cake mix
3 oz strawberry flavored gelatin
4 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup oil
1/2 milk
1/2 cup diced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour (or spray) three 8" cake pans, set aside.

Mix on low until combined, then turn up to medium and beat for about 2 minutes. Divide among pans and bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.

Let cool completely then frost.

Strawberry Butter cream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 pounds powdered sugar
1 cup diced strawberries

Put butter in mixing bowl and beat until it is creamy, scrape down bowl and add in strawberries and powdered sugar. Mix on low until creamy. If it is to thick add a few more strawberries, to thin add a bit more powdered sugar. Mine ended up being to thin, and I ended up adding about 1 pound more powdered sugar. My strawberries were really juicy.

Frost and put in refrigerator to set. Bring to room temperature, about an hour, prior to serving.

Enjoy!!

Chicken Tacos

These are a variation of a recipe that was given to me by a good friend. I had to change them do to K's new diet, and they were excellent. The best part is you have dinner for multiple nights or you have enough to freeze for another day. Another great thing about this is you can take the chicken and turn it into enchiladas, soup, nachos, really anything that you want. I made this yesterday for lunch with my girlfriends and kids, tonight they will be enchiladas and then I will freeze the remaining for next week. I love dishes that lend themselves to so many things, that way, yes you are eating it again, but it isn't the same.

I made this in the crock pot, but it would simple enough to stick it in the oven too. This recipe is perfect as you can pick the heat of your dish. You like it spicy, grab a jar of the hot stuff, not so much well it is good without much heat too. I used a jar of medium and of mild since we were serving kids, though if it were just adults I would go with something much warmer. A good homemade salsa would be great here too, but I didn't make any last year since my tomato's were a bust.

Chicken Tacos
6-8 chicken breasts
2 jars salsa (30oz total)

Cook on high in slow cooker for 4-6 hours. Take chicken out shred with fork then put back in and set to warm. Mix the chicken in well with the the sauce.

Lay out a spread of toppings of your choice and enjoy!