Reindeer Games Cupcakes

I typed in "christmas cupcakes" into Google because I needed a cute design and something much simpler than what I had originally planned to do. I was supposed to make cupcakes for a work party. So I came across these adorable little cupcakes that are soooooo very easy to make. I used my "cheat" recipe which I got from My Baking Addiction. You should really check out her sight!!!!

What you need:

1 box of Duncan Hines devil's food cake mix
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of instant espresso
1/2 cup of warm water
1 cup of vegetable oil
1 pkg. of instant chocolate pudding (5.9 oz)
4 large eggs
1 cup (8 oz) of sour cream (not pictured because I'm an idiot)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line 2 cupcake tins with cupcake liners (I used red and white polkadot ones for   Christmas).
3. Place cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, vanilla, oil, eggs, and oil in a medium bowl.
4. Mix espresso and warm water and add the mixture to the mixing bowl.
5. Mix until all ingredients are blended together.
6. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the liners. The texture of the batter at this point should be thick and creamy. This is because of the pudding mix. The pudding mix and sour cream allows for a very smooth and moist cake.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes




















Tips:
- I find it easiest to use an ice cream scoop (or large cookie scoop) with a lever latch thing. I makes it easier to get a thick batter out and into the pan. I spent about $5 for one at Target and I love it. It is also easier to accurately measure how much should go into each liner that way.
- It is best to fill the liners only to about 3/4 of the way full. This makes it so the cake doesn't spring a muffin top which can make frosting difficult, especially when you are going to be decorating it.
- When the cupcakes are done, they might look a bit underdone but they shouldn't be. They just look like that because of how moist they are.
- DON'T use the tin liners. They keep cooking the bottom of the cake once they are out of the oven.

Once the cupcakes are out of the oven, place them on a cooking rack and allow them to cool for about one hour. Prep the frosting. I used store bought frosting for these because I was in a rush but home made frosting can also be used for these. It is important to use a round piping tip because other tips will texture the frosting too much. Unfortunately, in the pictures below you will see a textured tip because I couldn't find my round tip. To pipe, you may use a baggie or a piping bag. I like the piping bags myself. I used milk chocolate frosting for these cupcakes.

To pipe: 

1. Cut the tip of the bag (my tip is too big to use the coupler) and place the large round tip in the bag until it tip of the tip pops out of the bag.

2. Use a spatula to place frosting into the bag.

3. Frost the cupcakes with not too much frosting. It is not important to make the frosting look perfect because it will be mostly covered up by the decorations. 

What you will need to decorate:

- Christmas M&Ms (I used the mint ones. They come in red, white, and green. You will need red and white ones).

-Vanilla wafers

-Mini pretzels

-Black icing

-small round piping tip

-piping bag

-coupler

1. Place vanilla wafer on the cupcake towards the edge.

2. Place 2 pretzels on the top.

3. Place 2 white M&Ms between the pretzels and wafers. (I ran out of white so I used brown regular M&Ms)

4. Place black dots on eyes using piping bag and tip.

5. Place black icing dot on center of wafer. Add red or brown M&M. The icing allows the M&M to stick to the wafer.

Back at it

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!! After months of non stop school and work I am finally back to blogging. I'm excited because I have so many recipes to catch you all up on. Here's an update on my life even though this has nothing to do with my blog. It should shine a little light on why I have been MIA for the past few months. For starters, I was in summer school and worked full time. Done. Fall semester started and that was uh, how do I put this...honestly the only word to describe it was crazy because I worked a lot, went to school every day (compared to when I only had school two days a week), started applying to nursing schools, and began volunteering at a county hospital emergency room! So yeah the next few days I will catch you up on mostly baking stuff dating back all the way from summer! Hope all is well!


Emma <3

Funky Monkey Cupcakes

So this cupcake is fun and different in a good way. It's so simple yet so tasty! I'll post the specific recipes that I used a little later but for now...

Take your favorite chocolate cake/cupcake recipe and add three mashed bananas. Mix extremely well and bake according to cupcake recipe. Top with peanut butter frosting and you're done!

Be lazy:
- 1 box Devil's Food cake mix
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp instant coffee
- 1 cup hot water
- 8 oz. sour cream
- 1 5.9 oz pkg chocolate instant jello
(courtesy of My Baking Addiction)
- 1 container of buttercream frosting
- 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky- depends on the texture you want)

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with liners (24 cupcakes).
- Mix cake mix, eggs, oil, vanilla, sour cream, and jello together.
- Mix coffee and water together and then pour in batter.
- Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. Let cupcakes cool on baking rack for 1 hour.
- Mix buttercream and peanut butter together. Frost cupcakes, serve, and enjoy!

Baby shower Cupcakes

Hello all. I know it's been a while since my last post but between work and school (that's my excuse for everything) I barely have time to cook yummy meals to even write about.

This post is all about an upcoming baby shower that I have been hired to bake cupcakes for. I'm trying to get a little extra money on the side and baking is a therapeutic way of doing that for me :) I need some ideas people! So far all I have come up with is a lemon poppy seed cupcake with blueberry compote (because blueberries are blue and the baby shower is for a family expecting a boy!) and then a potato chip cupcake (weird pregnancy craving is the idea here) which would be a chocolate cupcake with crushed potato chip pieces and a salted caramel filling. It would be topped with a chocolate fudge ganache and topped with a salty potato chip.

Please let me know if you have any more fun ideas for cupcakes for a baby shower!!!!!

RJ's giant taco

Sounds dirty? It's not. Just delicious. It's really a burrito but RJ got lazy when folding his up. This is a really quick (15 minute) delicious and healthy burrito that everyone will love!

1 lb of lean ground turkey (this fed 4)

1 shallot chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped

1 tbsp ground pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 container of grape tomatoes (quartered)

2 tbsp Chalula (optional)

Flour or whole wheat tortillas

1 avocado

1. pkg of Soyrizo

2 cups of mexican cheese

1. Heat a large pan and add the olive oil. Once heated, add the chopped garlic and shallot.

2. Add ground turkey to heated pan and brown. Make sure it is cooked through. Add the salt and pepper. Once the turkey is mostly cooked, add the quartered tomatoes.

3. Once turkey is completely cooked, add 1/2 of the Soyrizo pkg to the meat. Stir until it is all combined. Add the Chalula.

4. Once the meat is done, turn off the stove and place it to the side. Cut up an avocado. Turn on burner on the stove again and put a tortilla on it. Warm the rest of the tortillas like that.

5. Once the tortilla is warmed, add the meat and avocado and cheese and fold up into a burrito!

Optional: sour cream, refried beans

Serve the burritos with some mexican or spanish rice and maybe a salad with a chipotle ranch dressing!!!!

"Get your kids to eat veggies" pasta

So I'll admit that I channel my inner kindergartener when it comes to food. I'm pretty picky and I'm not a big fan of those colorful things called veggies. I will admit that I try though to hide veggies in dishes so that I'll get the nutrients my body needs without the taste of unappetizing vegetables (so sad that I'm almost 21 and I have to hid veggies in food. please don't judge me!). So here is my quick fix to that!

1 pound of whole wheat/whole grain/ healthy spaghetti (I like the omega 3 noodles)
1 pound of ground turkey
1/2 cup white onion chopped
1/2 cup carrots chopped
1/2 cup celery chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (I used garlic basil)
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 container of fresh basil (optional)
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper

***I shop at fresh and easy and i got the "stew" veggies. It's this super convenient little plastic container with the chopped onion, carrot, and celery all together.

1. Heat a large pan. Once it is heated add the olive oil and make sure it coats the entire pan. Add all the veggies. Let them soften (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. once the water is boiling, add the noodles and cook 9 minutes.
3. Once the veggies have softened, add the ground turkey. Add salt, pepper, and garlic.
4. Brown the turkey (about 5 minutes). Once the turkey has browned, add the sauce.
5. Drain the pasta and set in a bowl.
6. Serve the noodles on a plate and spoon the sauce over it.
7. Chop the basil and sprinkle over the pasta and sauce. Add parmesan cheese if you feel crazy!

Down that and some garlic bread :)

I like this meal because it's light but so full of flavor. You can swap out the turkey for chicken or beef. Feel free to play around with this and add your favorite veggies. You can even add diced zucchini instead of meat.

Parm chicken :)

Parmesan crusted chicken! Eassssssssssssssy! I hate long complicated recipes so every week I try to think of something quick, easy, and most importantly...delicious! Walking through the grocery store on Sunday I was like what can I make with stuff I already have. I hate getting a really good recipe and having to buy a ton of ingredients for it that I know I won't use again or at least not for a really long time. So this is what I came up with for this week's home cooked meal...

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast. I prefer thinner breast filets

1 tbsp of kosher salt

2 tbsp coarse black pepper

1 cup of Bisquick

1 1/2 cups of shredded parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Crack the eggs in a small bowl, whisk them, and place them off to the side. Put the cheese, Bisquick, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss them together with your hands.

2. Place a piece of chicken in the egg and coat the chicken. Once it's covered sufficiently, place the piece of chicken in the cheese and Bisquick mixture. Make sure the piece is covered on both sides. Place the chicken on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.

3. Do step 2 with the rest of the chicken breast.

4. Place the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes.

5. Take it out of the oven and enjoy!

How easy was that!!!!!!! Tonight I had it with mac n' cheese and caesar salad.

Pesto Rigatoni with Chicken

So this is what I'm making for dinner tonight. And I felt the need to post about food since that's what I'm thinking about right now because I'm hungry but can't eat because I'm on a diet and have to wait until I have my next meal :(. Anyways...enough of my complaining. Here's the recipe!

1 lb of rigatoni (you can use whatever noodles you prefer but this is what I had on hand already)
1 cup of pasta water (once the pasta is done cooking, set aside 1 cup of the water it cooked in and there you have it! pasta water)
1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 jar of basil pesto (if you made your own...8 oz)

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet covered in foil or sprayed with PAM. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken.
3. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Once in oven, bring water to a boil for the pasta.
4. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook "al dente" (chewy with a bite to it). Take 1 cup of pasta water and set it aside. Drain the noodles.
5. Add the noodles, pasta water, and pesto to a large bowl and toss.
6. Once the chicken is cooked through, slice it into strips and place it int he bowl with the pasta. Make sure the chicken is also covered with the pesto.

I love this with steamed veggies and salad! Make it vibrant and colorful. The more colorful it is, the healthier it is.

Basil Pesto

Hey everyone. I told you that I'd be posting a recipe for basil pesto and I'm just now getting around to it. Pesto is really easy to make and super easy to vary. I'm just giving you the basic basil recipe but you can add as much or as little of other herbs to make it your own and switch up some boring dishes!

1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 cups of basil
1 cup of chopped parsley
1 tbsp salt (Don't use sea salt or kosher salt here. You want to use fine salt so it blends better)
1 tbsp black pepper
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 lemon zested

1. Combine the basil and parsley in a food processor.
2. Add the garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper to the food processor.
3. Pulse the mixture while slowly adding the olive oil.

You can make big batches of this and freeze it. Also, this pesto goes great on some baked or grilled chicken, pizza, or pasta!

Update on Tied With Love

Hey guys! So for those of you who don't know what Tied With Love is, it's a project I started a while ago. I make fleece blankets with ties around the edges for patients who are undergoing treatment for cancer and other diseases at City of Hope hospital in Duarte, CA. I started it because my mom passed away from breast cancer ten years ago and I wanted to give back to the hospital that helped out my family when we were struggling. This last summer, with the help of the Psi Beta honors club at Citrus College, family and friends, and my community, I was able to deliver 39 blankets to the pediatric in-patient unit at the hospital.

I am now working towards doing another delivery of blankets to the hospital hopefully for next summer (Summer 2012).

Bleu Cheese and Apple Salad

This is one of my favorite salads! I make it year round but fall is the best time to make it when the apples are fresh and crisp. This salad is also really easy to vary. You can change the they type of cheese, apple, nuts, and lettuce. Just keep in mind that you want your apple and cheese to compliment each other. For instance, if you have a sweeter apple, use a sharper cheese. I'm using bleu cheese and granny smith apples because the rich and creaminess of the bleu cheese pairs well with the sour crunch of the apple.

1 pkg of spring mix lettuce
1 granny smith apple
8 oz. of bleu cheese crumbles
1 handful of walnuts
1 handful of currants or raisins (currants are a sweeter version of raisins)
1/2 cup of your favorite balsamic dressing (I'll post a few balsamic dressing recipes later)
1/2 tbsp of course black pepper

1. Put the pkg of spring mix lettuce into a mixing bowl.
2. Add the bleu cheese and currants into the bowl.
3. Put a small pan on the stove. Heat the pan on medium heat and add the walnuts once the pan is heated. This shouldn't take much time at all. Once you start smelling the nuts, it's time to take them off the heat.
4. Once the walnuts are cooling, thinly slice the apple. They should be large slices but very thinly cut. Place them in the bowl
5. Once the walnuts are cool, place them on a cutting board and run your knife through them (just a rough chop). Place them in the bowl.
6. Add the pepper and dressing to the bowl. Toss the salad so the dressing covers all of it. You can add more dressing if you feel that you need it but be careful when doing that with balsamic dressing. It is very acidic and you don't want it to overpower the salad.
7. You can toast some stale wheat bread if you want and then crumble it over the salad as croutons. (Optional)

This salad goes great with lemon chicken or grilled steak!

To make this salad into an entree salad, try adding some grilled chicken.

Pesto Pizza

So this recipe is an easy 15 minute meal. I love pesto pizza and wanted to make it myself but I was on a budget and a time crunch so I bought the ingredients ready made. I'll post a recipe later for really good basil pesto if you actually have more than 20 minutes to make a delicious meal.

1 bottle of basil pesto. Any brand will do but I bought the store brand and it actually wasn't bad! And don't spend a ton on this ingredient. You're not going to use much of it anyways.
1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese
2 bright red tomato. I like plum tomatoes because they are smaller and to me, taste better but you can use whatever tomatoes you like. In summer, you can use yellow and green tomatoes too for a colorful dish.
1 tbsp coarse black pepper or red pepper flakes
1 pkg of ready made pizza dough (I used Pillsbury)

1. Preheat your oven to the degree stated on the pkg of pizza dough.
2. Roll out the dough on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
3. While the dough is in the oven, cut the tomato into very thin slices and place it to the side.
4. Take the dough out of the oven after about 5 minutes to spread on the pesto. Shake up the jar of pesto so that it's mixed well. Take a rubber spatula and spoon out about half the jar of pesto onto the dough. Spread it thin and sprinkle the cheese onto the pizza. You can also use different types of cheeses like Parmesan, Asiago, Ricotta, etc. Place the thinly sliced tomato on the pizza as well.
5. Place the pizza back into the oven and continue cooking until the edges of the pizza begin to brown.

With this pizza, I like to make a fun and festive salad with seasonal fruits.

Citrus Whipped Cream

After I started making this recipe I can no longer use store bought whipped cream for anything. And a little heads up...if you have anyone in your house that is like my dad, hide the whipped cream or make extra. Every time I make this I have to tell my dad not to eat the entire bowl of it...at least not in one sitting.

8 oz. marscopone cheese
8 oz. of heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tbsp of vanilla extract (if I could find vanilla bean I'd use it here to get an intense vanilla flavor)
1/2 cup of sugar (I'd use a fine sugar like baker's sugar. It will dissolve and blend easier)
1 tbsp of orange juice (either fresh or from concentrate)
1 juiced lime
2 tbsp lemon juice (Fresh is best)
The zest of 1/2 lemon, 1 lime, and 1/2 orange

1. Add the marscopone cheese and the heavy whipping cream to a large mixing bowl (I'd use one with high sides so it doesn't go everywhere when mixed).
2. Add the vanilla, zest, sugar, and juices to the bowl.
3. Mix (with a mixer not just a whisk and hand...you need machine power on this one) for 2 minutes or until fully blended. You can add extra sugar to taste if needed.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 1 hour at least.

This is the best thing over some honey toasted pound cake and orange slices!

Most Delicious Sounding Appatizer Ever

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/goat-cheese-chorizo-rolls-recipe

Just In Time For the Holidays

I got a fantastic Christmas sweatshirt to wear for the holidays at various family gatherings and I thought I'd share the site with you. This sweatshirt is so ugly it's cute! I'll post a picture later but here's the site...

http://www.etsy.com/shop/UglyXmasParty?page=2

Foundation Tips For a Flawless Finish

I hated how my makeup would come out after I applied my moisturizer and foundation because it would be faded under my eyes and next to my nose exposing my freckles (hello...this is why I wear makeup in the first place!). I figured out that it was because I wasn't allowing my moisturizer to full dry and sink in. I always apply moisturizer before, especially in winter, because I feel that it gives a really nice glow to my skin. Apply a moisturizer that you like and wait about 20 minutes. This will allow your skin to soak up the moisture and won't give you a greasy look where your makeup fades over the day. Then apply your foundation and allow that to set for about 20 more minutes before you put on your compact. I know this seems like applying makeup will take forever but I do my other morning routines while I wait.

Cold season leaves my nose red and dry :(

Here is my first non-food related post/tip. During winter or whenever I get sick my nose gets so dry and hurts really bad. It stings every time I try to put my makeup on or blow my nose. I started using chapstick to relieve the pain. You can use Vaseline or other creams but those don't smell all that great and they can get expensive. I go to Target or Wal-Mart and buy chapstick in whatever flavor I feel like. Then right when I get home I take out my trusty label maker and make sure I label it as my nose chapstick. No one wants to wipe snot and booger germs all over their lips. Gross! I put it on about three times a day and this way, my hands steer clear of my cold germs. Make sure you don't buy one that has color to it because you're going to look like Rudolph if you do. Unless that's the look you're going for...?

Why do I add lemon or zest to everything?

Reading some of my posts over, I realized that in a lot of my cooking I use lemon juice or the zest of lemon. If you don't like lemon, you can substitute it with something else. I use it though because it has such a refreshing and light flavor. I don't like to use a lot of salt because it isn't all that great for you. Because of that, I must find other ways to flavor my dishes. Not only do I use a lot of citrus in my dishes but I also love love love using fresh herbs like basil. These ingredients add so much great flavor to dishes without making them high in sodium. Try experimenting with some yourself and see what awesome flavor combos you can come up with.

Green Bean Salad

This side is great to go with any meal! Serve cold or hot. It's light, healthy, and refreshing!

1 bunch of fresh green beans
1 red onion sliced very very thin
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp of sea salt
1 1/2 tbsp of coarse pepper
1 lemon zested
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (I prefer light)
2 tbsp of red wine vinegar

1. Cut and wash the green beans.
2. Steam them. If serving hot, steam them until soft and keep them hot. If serving cold then steam them until cooked but still crunchy and immediately put hot green beans in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
3. While the green beans are steaming, slice 1/2 of the red onion very thin. You should almost be able to see through it and the slices should break up to become thin strings of onion.
4. Finely chop the garlic and zest the lemon.
5. Once the green beans are done cooking (if serving cold then this will come after the grean beans have chilled) put them into a large bowl.
6. Add the onion, garlic, lemon zest, salt pepper, olive oil, and red wine vinegar to the green beans and toss.

This side goes great served cold on a summer night with BBQ!

Italian Sausage Sandwiches

My comfort food is Italian food and nothing is better than on a cold night making these yummy sandwiches!

1 pkg. of french rolls
1 pkg. of Italian sausage (mild or hot, whichever you prefer. I usually go to Costco and buy the two packs of Old Spaghetti Factory sausage.)
1 can of your favorite pasta sauce or make your own (I'll put up a recipe later)
2 cups of mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp of red pepper flakes (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the sausage spread out on the sheet.
3. Bake the sausage for 20 minutes on each side. Because it's pork...make sure you cook it through! There should be no pink.)
4. While the sausage is baking, heat the sauce on medium low heat.
5. Once the sauce has come to s light boil, turn the heat down to low.
6. About 2 minutes before the sausage is done, heat the rolls on a baking sheet.
7. Put one sausage in each roll, spoon sauce over the sausage, and sprinkle red pepper flakes on each sandwich.
8. Put cheese on each roll and let the cheese melt. If you need to, you can put them back in the oven to allow the cheese to melt.

These sandwiches go great with a green bean salad!