Rocky Road Cupcakes

Who doesn't love rocky road, well everything LOL. And after much looking I could not find a rocky road cupcake recipe anywhere. So I decided to remedy that situation! I used a basic chocolate cupcake recipe and added (freshly shelled!) pecans and cut up mini marshmallows. Now I used pecans because my son is allergic to peanuts, so if allergies aren't a concern for you, feel free to use peanuts. Just run your nut of choice (an edible nut not a family member that is nuts) through the food processor first of course. To cut up your mini marshmallows just use scissors and keep a glass of hot water near by and dip your scissors in the water after every few snips so that you don't end up gluing your scissors shut. OK here's the recipe

What you need
1 Cup Brown Sugar (make sure you press it into the measuring cup to compact it) Light or dark will work.
6 Tablespoons of butter at room temp
2 eggs
1 1/4 Cup Self Rising Flour
1/2 Cup Cocoa powder(sift it so it doesn't get lumpy)
1/2 Cup Butter Milk (2 teaspoons lemon juice added to 1/2 cup regular milk makes butter milk)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract

1 cup nuts, chopped

1 cup chopped mini marshmallows_____________________________
What to do
Preheat you oven to 350F
In large bowl mix sugar and butter till creamy, then add eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla, then dry ingredients adding flour last and only mix until the flour is mixed in well. If you mix it for a long time after you add the flour it will make the cupcakes chewy and not in a good way. At this point add in the nuts and then the marshmallows just fold them in with a spatula.
Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Fill liners no more than 2/3 of the way full with batter. ( I prefer only half full so that they don't dome up)
Bake on center rack for 14 minutes. Since every oven is different, check after 12 min. To see if they are done stick a tooth pick in the center, if it comes out clean, they are done.
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Frosting.
What you need
1 stick of butter softened but don't bring to room temp, that will be too soft.
3 cups (at least) of powdered sugar
4 table spoons of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
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What to do
Cream butter with mixer, then slowly add half the sugar, then half the milk, and vanilla. Then more sugar. Just keep adding sugar and milk till you get the consistency you want. I usually do about 3 1/2 cups sugar and 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon milk.

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Topping

1/2 cup White chocolate chips run through the food processor.

Sprinkle on top of cupcake after you have frosted.

Cactus Fruit Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

I stopped at a produce stand the other day and found some cactus fruit, so of course I couldn't pass it up. You can't really just slice and eat it, because it is FULL of little seeds that are hard as rocks. So I decided to put them through the juicer and make cupcakes. Just make sure you strain the juice really well so you don't end up with any surprise seeds hiding in your cupcake.
What you need.


1 1/3 cups self rising flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup cactus fruit juice
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 and line a cupcake pan
In large bowl mix oil, sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, water, mix well.  Alternate adding the flour and juice. mix well. Fill cup cake papers 2/3 of the way. Bake for 15 minutes.


Frosting
4 oz Cream Cheese softened
1 stick of butter softened
3 cups powdered sugar
cream butter and cream cheese together, slowly add sugar till well blended.

Frosting for the Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

I used a basic butter cream recipe and added some spices to it.
What you need
1 stick of butter, at room temp
about 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons cream (you can use milk)

Cream butter, slowly add sugar, adding milk when needed. once mixed well add the spices, and mix. I also sprinkled some orange sugar, and shaved some Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses on top

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

What you need

1 3/4 cups Flour

1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 Teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 Teaspoon allspice(or clove)

2 Eggs

1 cup White Sugar

1/2 Cup butter, melted and cooled

1 Cup canned pumpkin 

1/4 Cup water

1/2 Teaspoon vanilla

Cream butter, and sugar, add eggs one at a time mix well. Add spices,and vanilla mix. Slowly add flour and water, once mixed add pumpkin. 

Bake at 350 for about 13 mins.

I also got some Hershey's kisses that were pumpkin spice flavored and stuck one each into some of the cupcake. To do this, after filling your lined cupcake pan with the batter, UNWRAP and stick kiss into the batter. Make sure you push it almost to the bottom or the cake won't cover it.

I love fried chicken, like I LOVE it. But, I only eat it about once a year, because it is awful for you. So I decided to try my hand at a healthier version. It turned out pretty darn good.
Here's what you will need
3 chicken breasts with bones and skin removed.
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
olive oil.
Preheat your oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil and set aside.  Heat olive oil in skillet.
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. In separate bowl mix milk and egg, whisk well. Slice the chicken breast  lengthwise so that it's thin. Dip chicken into milk/egg mixture. Then dredge in breadcrumbs. Place chicken in single layer in the skillet, cook 3-5 min each side. Really just long enough to brown the breading so it doesn't fall off. Once browned, place on lined baking sheet, and bake for about 15 min, until done.  Set on a napkin to drain any excess oil. Enjoy!

Smoked Paprika Pork Chop w/ Bell Pepper, and Corn Relish and Roasted Potato Wedges

• In trying to find a new way to cook pork chops I ran across this, and decided to make it for dinner. Of course I made a few changes here and there, and you are getting my version. My husband really doesn't like pork chops and I have only found one other recipe that he would be willing to eat more than once. He really enjoyed these, and said he looked forward to having them again.  It was super easy, and pretty fast to fix too.
• What you need for the Pork Chops
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1/3  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1  teaspoon  ground coriander
• 1/4  teaspoon  dried thyme
• 1  (15.5-ounce) can no salt-added whole kernel corn, drained
• 1  teaspoon  red wine vinegar
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper, divided
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  smoked sweet paprika
• 4  (4-ounce) center-cut boneless pork loin chops, trimmed
• Cooking spray

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped red bell pepper, ground coriander, dried thyme, and corn; cook 3 minutes or until the bell pepper is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in red wine vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Spoon relish into a bowl.

Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and paprika; sprinkle evenly over pork. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add pork to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Serve with relish.

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What you need for the potatoes

4 Yukon potatoes Cut into wedges

1 teaspoon powdered thyme

1 teaspoon of powdered garlic

1 table spoon olive oil

cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350. Put potato wedges into a bowl and drizzle  with the oil, and sprinkle with the garlic and thyme. Toss to coat well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Put potatoes on pan in single layer. Bake at 350 for 15 min, using a spatula flip them over, and put back in oven and cook for another 15 min till slightly browned.

Broiled Tilapia with Tomato Caper salsa

I wanted a super easy and fast dinner, and this was it. It turned out delicious.
What you need for the fish
2 Tilapia Fillets (I use frozen because it doesn't smell funky)
A little Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Lightly rub olive oil on fish, sprinkle with pepper and salt, do this on both sides. Broil for about 4 min. Till white and flaky
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Salsa
1/2 a tomato chopped
about a tablespoon fresh parsley
2 tablespoons capers with liquid
1 clove minced garlic
toss it all in a bowl and set aside. When the fish is done spoon this on top and serve.