Corn on the cob cupcakes
Posted: February 28, 2011 Filed under: Cakes/Cupcakes, Dessert 3 Comments »My H work was having a work bbq and dessert contest. I thought it would be fun to make some bbq themed desserts. I made my favorite slider cupcakes and these fun corn on the cob cupcakes from Hello Cupcakes! These were simple to make. Just bake up your favorite vanilla cupcakes and frost with your favorite butter cream tinted yellow. Once you have that you are ready to decorate your cupcakes like corn on the cob!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 batch favorite vanilla cupcakes
1 batch vanilla frosting tinted yellow enough for 24 cupcakes
3 cups small yellow and white jelly beans
4 yellow laffy taffy or starburst
White sugars
Black sugars optional-I omitted
Directions:
Working with 3 cupcakes at a time, spread yellow frosting on top of each. Arrange about 5 rows of jelly beans, close together, on each cupcake. Place the 3 cupcakes side by side on a corn dish or serving platter. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, frosting, and jelly beans.
Cut the fruit chews into eight 1 inch squares, and soften the edges slightly by hand so that they look melted. Place 1 square on top of each group of 3 cupcakes. Sprinkle with the sugars. Insert 1 corn holder, if using, in each of the end cupcakes.
ENJOY!
I am back!!
Posted: February 23, 2011 Filed under: Random Thoughts about cooking 1 Comment »I hope to be posting again soon! I had a computer problem and just got my new one and hope to be back to blogging very soon!!!
Keep an eye out for new recipes!
Banana nut scones
Posted: February 7, 2011 Filed under: Breakfast, Brunch, scones Leave a comment »We have fallen in love with scones. I love how easy they are to whip up, can be frozen after mixing and baked up as needed and are a perfect breakfast to send H off to work with. We have loved the bacon cheddar scones, the cranberry orange scones and the chocolate chip scones, but I wanted to try something new. I had a few bananas that needed to be used up so I made some banana scones. I used this recipe as my guide, but used bananas, cinnamon, and pecans instead of orange and cranberries. They were great!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
6 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 mashed bananas
1/2-1 cups chopped pecans
1/2 tbsp cinnamon-depending on how much spice you like
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
3/4-1 cup heavy cream
Additional sugar for sprinkling
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a food processor, combine the flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse briefly to blend. Add in the cold butter pieces and pulse again briefly until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the butter pieces are no larger than peas. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
In another small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, combine the mashed banana, egg, egg yolk and heavy cream; whisk to blend. Add the liquid ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Add in nuts. Gently stir them in.
Knead gently to be sure the dough is evenly mixed, being careful not to overwork the dough.
Place a 2½- or 3-inch round biscuit cutter on the lined baking sheet. Scoop some of the dough inside the cutter and pat down gently to form a 1-inch thick round. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the rounds 2-3 inches apart on the baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with additional sugar.
(To freeze before baking, flash freeze at this point. Place the baking sheet with the shaped scones into the freezer and chill until frozen. Transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag and store until ready to bake.)
Bake in the preheated oven until light golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. (If baking from the freezer, add approximately 5 minutes to the original baking time.)
Great giveaway
Posted: February 5, 2011 Filed under: Random Thoughts about cooking Leave a comment »Check out I try stuff on blog for a great giveaway
http://itrystuffon.blogspot.com/2011/02/loccitane-and-davi-napa-giveaway.html
Lobster/lump crab mac and cheese
Posted: February 3, 2011 Filed under: Cheese, Fish/seafood, Mac and Cheese Leave a comment »Mac and cheese is not a huge deal in our house. I am not a huge pasta person and if H was gonna have pasta he would prefer spaghetti. But every once in a while I come across a mac and cheese meal that I just cant get out of my head. This was one of them. I used crab instead of lobster, ww noodles, wwbread crumbs but it was still unbelievably good. I posted the original recipe below for you to make to your liking!
ENJOY!
Ingredients: (I cut this wayyy back for H and I but it can freeze well if need be)
Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat (or lump crab meat)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg.
Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well. Place the mixture in a large baking dish or 6 to 8 individual gratin dishes.
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the pasta is browned on the top. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve hot.
