Berry Patriotic Cupcakes

These colorful cupcakes are always a hit, and the bright pink cake color is fun and unexpected. I garnished with strawberries and blueberries for the 4th of July :)


1 box white cake mix
2 tbsp flour
1 small box strawberry jello
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup blueberries
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter (room temperature)
4 oz. cream cheese
strawberries/blueberries for garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix cake mix, flour and jello in a bowl with a wooden spoon.  Make sure all the little clumps of cake mix get all broken up.
3. Throw in the water, oil and eggs.  Mix all that together.
4. Fold in the blueberries gently.
5. Distribute into lined cupcake pan.  (I was able to make 26)  Bake for 12-15 minutes.
6. Cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a bowl. Frost the cupcakes and garnish with berries!

Peach Cocktail

Person who can come up with the best name wins!  Jon came up with "Son of a Peach"

Either way, it's amazingly delicious. 

Peach Cocktail

For two drinks:

1 can Kerns Peach Nectar
~2 shots honey, microwaved in a small bowl for 20 seconds (until liquidy)
2-3 shots vodka (must be room temperature or the honey will congeal)
Ice
[Peach slice for garnish]

Tip: Best to use a martini shaker.

1. In a martini shaker, combine room temperature vodka and microwaved honey and swirl it around.  Add ice and peach Kerns and shake.
2. If you're ambitious, swirl honey straight onto the sides of the glass.  (It'll look pretty)  Add some ice cubes to both glasses.
3. Pour the drink into two glasses and serve with a peach slice!

Meaty Baked Ziti!

I've been bad about posting recipes.  But I'm proud of this one I made this week! (Plus, I'm waiting for my iPhone to finish syncing before I can go buy the ingredients for my 4th of July cupcakes.  More on that if they turn out...)

Not exactly a light summer meal, but a great dish. Serves about 4 and can take up to 2 hours of simmering and baking to make, but it's well worth it.

Meaty Baked Ziti

• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
• ~2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine (Cabernet works - I used Merlot but it turned out a little sweet)
• ~1 tbsp each of:  oregano, rosemary, marjoram, basil (fresh is always better (double the quantity), but I'm cheap and dried works too)
• salt/pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 lb ziti
• 1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic until they start to get translucent.  Add beef and brown it.  Drain the fat if you'd like. 
2. Add the tomato sauce, herbs, a healthy dose of salt/pepper, wine, sugar and lemon juice.  Stir everything together and simmer together, mixing occasionally, for 30-45 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.  (As the sauce is cooking and melding, give it a taste.  Adjust salt, sugar, spices to your taste.)
3. While the sauce is thickening, boil/cook/drain the pasta.  Put the cooked pasta in a rectangular baking dish.
4. Preheat oven to 325.
5. When the sauce is ready, mix in 1/2 cup mozzarella and melt together.  Pour everything into the baking dish with the pasta and stir to distribute.  Top with remaining cheese, cover with foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.
6. Before serving, remove the foil, turn on the broiler, and broil for ~3-5 minutes until the top is browned.
7. Enjoy!!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Cake

So I'm apparently a terrible contributor, and haven't written in anything new in months. This is a cake I made for a work potluck a month or so ago, and it was a big hit. No original recipe here; I discovered this gem of a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and it's as delicious as it looks! I did very slight modifications: I reduced the amount of sugar in the frosting because it sounded way too sweet for me. Next time, I might even reduce the amount of sugar I use by another 0.5 cup. I also added more cream in the chocolate glaze/ganache because I found it to be a bit too thick.

Recipe (adapted to include the modifications listed above):

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 cup All Purpose Flour


• 2.5 cup sugar


• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder


• 2 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 cup neutral vegetable oil (canola, soybean, etc)


• 1 cup sour cream


• 1.5 cup water


• 2 tbs distilled white vinegar


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 2 eggs

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. butter your cake rounds. Smitten Kitchen uses 3 8" pans; I used 2 9" cake pans (so I had a double layer cake versus her triple layer cake). Line the bottoms of your pans with parchment paper, and butter that as well.

2. sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk them together until well combined. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water, and then blend in the vanilla and vinegar. whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl. Divide evenly among your cake pans.

3. bake for 30-35 minutes (could be longer if you make a bigger cake like I did), but check for doneness by inserting a toothpick. It should come out mostly clean. Let the pans cool for around 20 minutes, and then invert onto wire racks (peel the parchment off the bottom of the cakes). Let them cool entirely. Once cooled, stick them in the fridge or freezer so they're easier to work with later on.

4. Frost the cake by setting down one cake layer (if your cake layers are domed, shave them so they're flat). Spread .75-1.5 cups of frosting on the top and evently spread out (this will depend on how big your cake is). Repeat with any remaining layers. then frost the outside of your cake with your remaining frosting. If your cake was previous frozen or very cold, you might even manage to do this without first frosting a crumb layer. then stick your frosted cake in the fridge for another 30 minutes.

5. To finish off with the chocolate glaze/ganache, pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and quickly spread it to the edges, letting it drip down the sides before it sets. Because your cake is chilled, it will set quickly, so work fast! After applying the chocolate, stick the cake back in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 10 oz. cream cheese, softened


• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened


• 2.5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted


• 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
  

1. In a large bowl or electric mixer, combine cream cheese and butter and beat until light and fluffy. slowly add the confectiner's sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing well (remember to scrape down your bowls). Continue to beat 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.

2. Add the peanut butter and thoroughly mix.

Ingredients for Chocolate glaze/ganache:

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped


• 3 tbs smooth peanut butter


• 2 tbs corn syrup


• .75 cup half and half
  

1. In a double broiler over simmering water, mix together the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. whisk often, and heat until chocolate is thoroughly melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. remove from heat, and add the half and half while whisking. Beat until smooth and shiny. Use while still warm.

bon Appetit!

Strawberry Lemonade Mousse

This is a great summertime dessert, and it's surprisingly easy to make!

Strawberry Lemonade Mousse (4 servings)

• 2/3 cup lemon juice (no pulp or seeds - anywhere from 3-6 lemons)
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• ~4 strawberries, finely diced
• 4 strawberries for garnish

1. Juice the lemons into a cereal-size bowl.  Sprinkle the gelatin packet and let sit ~2 minutes.
2. Pour the gelatin mixture, zest, sugar and salt into a small pot and heat over medium heat until sugar is all dissolved.
3. Meanwhile, int he sink, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice for an ice bath.  Pour the warm gelatin mixture back into the cereal bowl and float the bowl in the ice water, stirring until it's around room temperature.  
4. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream until soft peaks form.  Will take several minutes.  (If you do it by hand, it will take a really really long time, but it's doable.)
5. With a wooden spoon or spatula, gently stir the cooled lemon mixture and chopped strawberries into the cream.  Separate into four small glasses.  Refrigerate for several hours.  (If you want to rush it, freeze it for ~10 minutes and move into the fridge.)
6. Garnish with strawberries and serve!

Mexican Spiced Soup

Real Mexican pozole is one of my favorite soups.  This soup is my attempt to recreate some of those unique flavors in a recipe that is way easier and faster to make.  Also, this is a great way to use up leftover chicken.

Mexican Spiced Soup

• Leftover, cooked chicken (Up to a full breast), diced or shredded
• olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 Anaheim chile (seen below), chopped
• 1 box [low sodium] chicken broth
• 2 ears corn, cut from the cob (careful - this can be dangerous)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1-2 tsp chili powder
• black pepper
• 1 lime
• 2 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped
• toppings of your choice - tortilla strips, sliced radishes, cheese, sour cream, etc.

1.  Heat a tbsp or so of olive oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.
2. Throw in the garlic and cook for a minute.  Add in the pepper and cook for another minute.
3. Pour in the chicken broth, bay leaves, oregano, chili powder, and black pepper and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer.  Throw in the corn and let simmer until cooked through.  This should only take a couple minutes.
4. Add in the chicken and juice from 1 lime and continue to simmer until the chicken is warmed up. 
5. Remove from heat, pull out the bay leaves (never serve bay leaves!  choking hazard!) and stir in the cilantro.  Serve with your choice of toppings!

  Anaheim chiles are about the size of a bell pepper, but generally longer.  They are fairly mild, but add a little spice to this soup.  I also throw them into fajitas with regular bell peppers to mix things up a bit.

Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Cakes

Apparently I've been on a baking kick lately.  But this turned out really well and it's super easy to make.  You'll just need some small 3/4 cup ramekins for baking and serving.

• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 3/4 sticks butter (cut into smaller pieces)
• 3 tbsp raspberry preserves (or any other flavor you'd like to try)
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Put first 3 ingredients in a small pot and melt over low heat until everything melts.  It goes faster if you stir it.
2. Preheat oven to 325.  Meanwhile, spread butter in each of 6 ramekins.  Place on a baking sheet or something.
3. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined.  Pour cooled chocolate mixture slowly, stirring as you go.  Pour batter evenly into each ramekin.  Wipe down the sides.  Bake for 20 min.  Toothpick inserted into the center should not be completely clean.
4. Dust w/ powdered sugar and enjoy!