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.

Scones! Yummy soft scones!

I watched Chef Ann make these on Food Network the other day, changed the recipe a little. Holy wow they are yummy!!
What you need
3 Cups Selfrising Flour
1 Cup White Sugar
Dash of Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Whipping Cream
1 1/2 sticks Butter (that's 3/4 cup) cut into chunks
1 1/2 Cups Cranberries (or chocolate chips, other fruit, nuts, whatever you want)
Preheat oven to 350. Put Flour and Sugar in bowl, add butt a few chunks at a time, mashing them into the flour/sugar till it's all crumbly. Then add cinnamon, and whipping cream. mix with your hands till like a think dough. Then add your Cranberries (or whatever you want) fold it in really well. Form into a ball. Put a sheet of wax paper on the counter. Put dough ball onto the wax paper and press it into a disk. You want it about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, you can make it thinner or thicker if you prefer. Cut into triangles. Bake at 350 for about 15 min. I like mine warm from the oven with a little butter on top.

Super Simple Mexican-ish Casserole

I had some left over chicken and just wanted something easy to cook. So after raiding my cabinets this is what I made. It actually turned out quite well. The boy did not eat the black beans, he's not a bean eater anyway. The husband really liked it and even took leftovers to work for lunch. I made a crap ton, so you might want to scale down. This made a 9x13 pan of it.
What you need

About 1.5 pounds of chicken, cooked, and cubed (I just bake mine, then pull it off the bone and chop it once it's cooled)
2 Cups Cooked Rice
1 Can Enchilada Sauce
1/4 Cup Chunky Salsa
1 Bell Pepper Chopped
A pinch (or about 1/4 teaspoon) of Cumin
1/2 Can Black Beans
Lots of cheese. whatever kind you like

Preheat Oven to 350. Use a 13x9 Pan.  In a large bowl mix first 6 ingredients. Put into pan, cover with foil and bake 15 min (longer if everything was cold). Remove pan. Top with beans, and cheese put back into oven till cheese is melted, about 7 min. Personally I like mine topped with a little sour cream and tomatoes, my husband liked his with just a little sour cream, and the boy liked his plain.

Crepes with Cream Cheese and Strawberry Filling

I have been wanting to make crepes for a while,  just haven't gotten of my bum and made them. It's not that they are difficult, just hard to decide when to make something like that. So since the husband had to work super late and would not be eating dinner with us, I decided that that the boy and I would enjoy crepes for dinner tonight. I love the Food Network website (well I love their cable channel too!!). So I went looking on their site, and of course the recipe that grabbed me was an Alton Brown one. Oh how I love Alton Brown. The only thing about his recipe I changed was I added cinnamon. They turned out perfect! Well not perfectly round of course, this is me after all. But the flavor was great. I wasn't really feeling any of the filling recipes I found. They were either savory, which I didn't want, or had a full cup (at least) of sugar, don't want that much sugar for dinner. So I just whipped one up myself that only had a little sugar. 

Here's what you need

Crepes

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup Milk

1/2 Water

1 Cup of Flour (I always use self rising)

3 Tablespoons of melt Butter

Extra butter for pan

Starting with wet ingredients first, put everything into a blender, and blend for about 10-20 seconds. Put mix into the fridge. You can put it into a bowl 1st if you want. Leave in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours to let all the air bubbles subside.   To cook them, heat a pan (I use a griddle) to med/high heat. Once hot add a little butter to pan. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into pan, and swirl the pan around to create a thin circle of batter. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Once done put on plate, and start another.

 

This only makes enough for half the crepes. I had no reason to cook all the batter, therefore I didn't need enough filling for all of it.

Things you need for filling

4 oz of Cream Cheese (half a regular package) softened

2 Tablespoons of Sour Cream

1 Tablespoon White Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla 

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon 

1/3 Cup Whipping Cream

Using the whisk attachment on your mixer (if you don't have one then just use the regular beaters). Whisk the cream cheese and sour cream till mixed. Add the sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl beat the whipping cream until thickened. Add the cream a scoop at a time to the cream cheese mixture.

I also tossed some chopped fresh strawberries into a sauce pan with a little water and sugar and let it reduce way down.

Lay the crepe on the plate, spread a few tablespoons of the cream cheese mix onto the crepe, then add some of the strawberry reduction, then top with some fresh chopped strawberries if you want. Fold it up and enjoy.

Breakfast

I am forever trying to find new ideas for easy breakfast dishes. Having a toddler means that I have to cook breakfast every morning. Since I don't normally eat in the morning I have to find recipes that I can modify to feed 1. I read a recipe for peanut butter and jelly stuffed french toast. So I modified it a bit to fit my needs. One major change is I do not use peanut butter. The boy is allergic to peanuts, so I have to find alternatives. He loves almond butter, but I don't love the price. So he usually gets almond butter for nutbutter and jelly sandwiches, and I cook with sunflower butter. Sunflower butter is also a big hit with him and not quite as expensive at almond.You can get both almond butter and sunflower butter at Fresh Market.   OK my version of the Taste of Home french toast recipe.
Serves 2 (because if course I had to try it too)
4 Slices of bread (we love honey wheat)
1 egg
about a 1/4 cup of milk
Sunflower butter
Jelly
Powdered sugar
Butter.
cooking spray
Heat skillet to med/high heat. Spray pan with cooking spray.  In bowl mix egg and milk, set aside. Spread sunflower butter on 2 slices of bread, and top with other 2 slices, making 2 sandwiches. Dredge sandwiches in egg mixture, and put in pan. Cook on each side for about 3 mins. You cook this a little longer than most french toast to make sure any egg mixture that got on the sunflower butter has time to throughly cook. Remove from pan and place on plate. Lightly spread some butter on both sides of the sandwiches, then top them with jelly and a light sprinkle of powdered sugar. YUM! My toddler ate his sandwich, then proceeded to eat half of mine.

My version of Red Beans and Rice

1st off, I can not cook rice the old fashioned way to say my life. I always either burn it, or under cook it so it's still crunchy. Thankfully some wonderful person invented the rice cooker. That little sucker is the only reason anyone in my house gets to eat rice.  For this recipe I cook to cups of rice (that's 2 cups raw), but I also feed 3 a half, and like to have lunch left over with this.
Things you need
1 Package smoked turkey sausage sliced in half length wise and then cut into bite sized pieces.
1 onion, finely chopped
2 bell peppers chopped
1 can of kidney beans (use 2 if you really like beans)
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Chili Powder
Cumin powder

Heat large pot to med heat, add beans. Heat pan to med/high heat. Add a splash of olive oil. Once hot add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Sauté for about 3 mins then put into pot, leaving pan on hot burner. Add sausage to pan, sauté for about 5 min, then put in pot. Now you're done with the pan. To pot add chili powder to taste, and a pinch of cumin, or more for taste. If you don't have cumin, you can use cajun seasoning, but use a good amount of the cajun, since it's not very potent.  I also like to toss in a few of my vegetable puree ice cubes. I like to add carrot, and broccoli because they don't alter the taste at all.

I also serve corn bread with this. I personally use Jiffy Cornbread mix, because it's just sweet enough.

Rosemarry Chicken w/ Balsamic Orange glaze, and Green beans

I used Balsamic vinegar for the 1st time last night. I am now in love! Talk about easy, and Yummy!!  Here's what I made.
Things you need
Chicken, with skin removed. I prefer it bone in, because it makes it really tender and juicy.
Salt and Pepper to taste
A sprinkle of Poultry seasoning
Rosemary
1/3 Cup Orange Coulis (recipe to follow)
1/3 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth

 Preheat your oven to 350.  Heat pan, add about a table spoon or so of Olive oil. Sprinkle you chicken with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, put into heated pan. Sprinkle chicken with rosemary (I like to use a lot). Cook for about 3-4 min on each side. Remove from heat, and transfer chicken into baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min, till completely cooked. While chicken is in the oven, in bowl combine orange coulis, vinegar, and broth. Whisk well. Once Chicken is done reheat the same pan, put chicken back in pan. Pour liquid over chicken. Simmer for about 10 min, until liquid turns into a glaze. Then you're done.
For the green beans I smashed 1 garlic glove and tossed it in a hot pan with olive oil, and cooked for a min or two. Then added about 2 handfuls of fresh green beans, and drizzled with a little bit more oil. Cook for about 7-10 min. You want them to still be firm, but not raw. Remove from pan and put on your plate.

Orange Coulis.
2 oranges peeled, and chopped. Toss into sauce pan with 1/3 cup of white sugar, and 1/2 cup of water. Simmer for about 15 min. Remove from heat and strain, using a spatula to mush it, so that you get all the juice out.   Super easy. You can add more sugar if it's not sweet enough for you.

Sneaky Muffins

1/2 Cup Natural Sunflower Butter (you can use peanut butter)
1/2 Cup Carrot puree
1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons of butter
1/2 Cup Plain Yogurt 
1 Large Egg White
1 Cup Self Rising Flour
About 1/2 Cup Jelly ( you just scoop it on top, so I didn't measure, I just put some in a bowl)

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 12 cup muffin pan with Crisco, or line with papers. In large bowl combine Sunflower Butter, Carrot puree, Butter, mix until well combined. Add egg white and yogurt, mix well. Then add Flour, stir until just combined, don't over mix. Put batter into muffin pan, put a spoonful of jelly/preserves on top of each muffin. Bake for 30-40 min.

Easy Candied Lemon Zest

You will need
2 Lemons
1/3 Cup Water
1/3 Cup White Sugar
2 Tablespoons White Sugar in a bowl

Using vegetable peeler, peel zest from lemon. Make sure you get as little white as possible because it's bitter. Then slice the zest strips thin. Put in small sauce pan, and cover with water (not the 1/3 cup that's listed). Bring to boil and turn heat down to simmer. Simmer for 6 mins. Drain, then put zest back in pan, and add 1/3 cup water and sugar. Simmer for about 15 min. Until the sugar reduces and you are left with zest in a thick sugar gel. Remove from heat and put zest on wax paper. When slightly cool sprinkle with sugar from the bowl. roll it around to make sure it's completely covered. Let cool completely, and store in air tight container.

How to make your jarred spaghetti sauce better, and better for you

Is using 1 jar of spaghetti sauce then add 

1/2 cup carrot puree. 

2 Tablespoons Garlic powder

1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

1 & 1/2 Tablespoons Oregano

Just add it all in when heating the sauce.

Also try using Spinach Spaghetti Noodles instead of plain ones.

You can not taste the carrot in this.

When pureeing carrot do not use the water that you cooked them in. Nitrates cook out of the carrot and into the water. So always use fresh water when making the puree.

What's for dinner you ask. Pork Chops, Lemon Herb Rice, and Steamed Broccoli

These are so yummy and kid approved.

Sage Rubbed Pork Chops
you will need
Sage
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Sweet Basil
Pork Chops

The amounts really depend on how many pork chops you have. Personally I like to put each seasoning in a bowl that way I can just rub on a pinch of everything to each chop.
Preheat oven to 350
Rub all ingredients on both sides Pork Chops. Heat a pan to med heat, put about a tablespoon of Olive Oil in pan. Put Pork Chops in pan. Cook chops for 2 -3 minutes on each side. Just enough to brown each side. Remove from pan, and put into baking dish, cover with foil, and bake about 20 mins. Until cooked through.
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Yummy Rice

2 Cups rice cooked in half water and half chicken broth mixture.
2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoons Parsley
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon (juicing lemon after zesting it makes it easier to juice)
 Cook rice. In large bowl mix cooked rice, and all other ingredients and mix with a fork. Serve warm.
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I cheated with the broccoli and got organic steam in the bag broccoli.

Cardamom Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

This was my first attempt at cooking with Cardamom. Know what I learned? That I big pink puffy heart cardamom! They are on the border of a sweet cupcake. They aren't very sweet, but not quite savory. They are delicious, that's what they are. If you didn't know, a little cardamom goes a long long way.

1/2 Cup Butter (that's 1 stick) softened
2/3 Cup White Sugar
3 Eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 &1/2 Cups Self Rising Flour
3/4 TEAspoon Cardamom (you don't want to confuse that with tablespoon that's for sure)
1/4 Cup Milk

Put Flour and Cardamom in a bowl and mix together well. Cream Butter and sugar till well combined, add vanilla. Add eggs one at a time. Slowly alternate adding milk, and flour/cardamom, until well combined. Do not over beat, or they will be chewy
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with liners or coat with Crisco. Fill cups 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 19 mins. Tooth pick inserted in center should come out clean. You want them to brown a little on top or they will be sticky when cooled.
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Easy Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter (that's 1 stick) softened
8oz Cream Cheese (that's 1 regular package)
2 teaspoons Vanilla
2 &1/2 Cups powdered Sugar
1/2 Cup Cocoa powder.

Cream Butter and Cheese till well mixed and fluffy, add Vanilla, Slowly add Cocoa, and Sugar. If you rush it, you will be covered in cocoa and sugar.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

This is the BEST lemon frosting. Seriously, I could have eaten it all by itself. OK who am I kidding, I did eat quite a bit of it, by itself. LOL

8oz Cream Cheese (that's 1 regular package) Room temp
1 & 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
Zest from 1 lemon
1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice. (Use the lemon you just zested. It's easier to squeeze the juice out after you zest it)

Use mixer to loosen the cream cheese, then add the lemon juice, and zest. Slowly add in sugar.
Personally after putting this on something I like to top it was candied lemon zest. YUM! Yes I'll post a recipe on lemon zest

Peach Cupcakes with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

These are Amazing!! The cupcakes aren't overly sugary, and the raspberry frosting has just enough tart to complement the sweetness of the peach.

Peach Cupcakes
1 & 1/2 Cups Self Rising Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 & 1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (1 stick) softened
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 Teaspoons Lemon Zest
3/4 Cup Milk
2 Peaches, peeled, and mashed

Cream Butter and Sugar till smooth, then add Eggs one at a time, add Vanilla, Nutmeg, and Zest. Slowly add Milk and Flour, alternating between adding the two. Mix until just combined, do not over mix, it's makes the cupcakes chewy. Fold peaches in with spoon, or spatula.
Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with papers liners, or coat with Crisco. I never trust cooking spray for cupcakes. Fill liners 2/3 of the way. Bake 20-25 min. toothpick inserted into center should come out clean when done. Well unless you end up sticking it into a piece of Peach LOL.  The two easiest ways to fill the liners is with either an ice cream scoop (the old school round kind) or fill batter into a ziplock bag and cut one of the corners out.
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Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1 Stick of Butter, softened
8oz Cream Cheese (1 regular package)
1/4 Cup Raspberry Coulis (recipe to follow) or Seedless Raspberry Jam
1 &1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar. You can use more or less depending on taste and consistency desired

Cream Butter and Cream Cheese until well combined and fluffy, add Raspberry Coulis or Jam mix well. Slowly add sugar a little at a time, or you will end up wearing it LOL.
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Raspberry Coulis. Best if made the day before, due to time it takes to make, and cool it.

1 Cup Raspberries. fresh or frozen and thawed.
1/4 Cup White Sugar.
1/2 Tablespoon Lemon Juice.
Put berries and sugar in sauce pan, and bring to boil. Simmer for 15 min or so. You will know it's done when it's reduced to a thickish jam consistency. Remove from heat. Press mixture through a strainer or cheese cloth. Strainer needs to have teeny tiny holes so seeds don't get through. Take your time so you get all the liquid out.  You will be left with seeds and pulp in strainer. Stir in lemon juice, you can add more sugar and or lemon to taste. Pour into small bowl or jar,and stick in the fridge until cooled

Hello

The whole point of starting this blog is so that I can share my love of cooking with others. I love cooking all kinds of things, everything from breakfast to dessert, and every in between . Trying new recipes is always fun, it's just doesn't always turn out good. I'm that lady that always has dirty dishes in the kitchen, because I'm always cooking something, about to cook something, or just finished cooking something. I have two very very critical taste testers. One is my husband, who is kind, but doesn't hold back, which I love about him. The second is my two year old son. Rest assured if he doesn't like, he will ask for my hand and spit whatever it is into my hand, and tell me it's nasty. I hope you enjoy the recipes!