Happy New Year!

Happy New Years!
In 2013 I plan to get back to this blog that is so fun for me!
So watch for new posts next year!

PB&J how??

Happy first week in June everyone!
Do you like peanut butter? Do you like jelly or jam? I love both of those but sometimes a pb&j sandwich makes me feel like I am eating a kids school lunch! lol Well, this recipe is about to change that!  Adults and children alike love these and they are suppose to make everyone happy and feel child like! While cupcakes have a European ancestor in the Queen Cake, a small pound cake with fruit baked in a paper cup which was popular among the upper crust British in the 18th century, the cupcake itself is definitely an American fair. Not to be confused with the cup cake, which was a cake made in Colonial America when they used actual cups as a form of measurements due to a lack of standard weights and measures, the cupcake was born from the need of sweets when baking a large cake was hard to pull off. In Colonial kitchens everything was baked and cooked by fire, so cake batter would be poured into a heat-proof cup and baked at the edge of the kitchen fire. Thank goodness for those innovative early Americans! So now that the history lesson is over, on to the recipe!


I found this recipe watching The Chew. Do any of you watch that show? I love it! Anyways, Carla Hall made them on the show and I just knew I had to try it! So last I whipped a batch together and they were FABULOUS!!!  These are some very tasty cupcakes! All peanut buttery with a strawberry buttercream frosting! Honestly, I loved the frosting so much I couldn't stop eating it from the bowl!  I am not very good at frosting, will have to practice a lot more, so don't giggle too much at the picture. I hope you all like them as much as my family did!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes
(recipe adapted from The Chew)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Cake Flour (spooned and leveled)

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup water (hot)

4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (softened)

2/3 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/3 cup Canola oil

3 Large Eggs (slightly beaten)

1/2 cup sour cream

For the Frosting:

3 cups Confectioners Sugar

1 cup Butter

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 tablespoon Whole Milk

2 tablespoons Strawberry Jam

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat over to 350 degrees.

2. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

3. In a mixer bowl, combine brown sugar and hot water, mixing on low for a few seconds until sugar dissolves.

4. Add butter, peanut butter, vanilla extract, salt, and oil, mixing to combine.

5. Mixing on low, gradually add flour, mixing just until combined and remove bowl. (don't over mix)

6. Mix eggs and sour cream together in a separate bowl.

7. Stir egg mixture into batter.

8. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 of the way.

9. Bake for 18-20 minutes until middle of cupcake springs back. (do not over bake)

10. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Frosting Instructions:

1. With the whisk attachment, beat confectioners sugar and butter until well blended, beginning on low and gradually increasing the speed.

2. Add the strawberry jam, vanilla, and milk, continuing to beat until a spreadable consistency is reached.

3. Frost the cooled peanut butter cupcakes and serve.

Options:

I made the frosting with strawberry jam and whole milk, because that is what I had on hand but the original recipe calls for strawberry puree and heavy cream. Also, using a different fruit for the frosting would be really fun! For a lighter version, piping some fruit puree folded into light or fat free whipped topping would also be very good!

I just wanted to show you how wonderful just the cupcakes looked when they come out of the oven! Yummy!!

Get Ready for Company!

(Ok, so being new to this blogging thing, I some how removed my previous post of this recipe. I really have no idea what happened, but oh well, I am sure it will not be the last mishap. LOL So please enjoy, again!)
For today's post I wanted to do something a little sweet but also practical.  I love to make these for when we have overnight company or in the morning, or even just as a snack! As a matter of fact, I like pretty much all muffins! lol Baked goods are one of my weaknesses.  These muffins are wonderful with or without the streusel!  The trick to having moist muffins, or cakes and bread as well, is to not over mix once you have added the wet ingredients to the flour. 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins
(recipe adapted from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook: Everything you need to know to cook)

Ingredients: 

Streusel Topping

4 Tbsp firm stick or butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

 

Muffins

1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 tsp baking owder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup fresh or canned (drained) blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Grease the bottoms only of medium muffin pan with shortening or line with paper baking cups.

3. Prepare streusel by cutting margarine into 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in medium bowl until crumbly and set aside.

4. Beat milk, oil, vanilla, and egg in a large bowl.

5. Whisk together  flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

6. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture all at once just until flour is moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

7. Fold in blueberries.

8. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

9. Sprinkle each with 2-3 tsp of streusel topping.

10. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

11. Immediately remove from pan to cooling rack.

Options: Try using whole wheat flour to make this a little healthier. Also, you could add 1 Tbsp of poppy seeds to change up the usual recipe.

Tools I used for this recipe:
Classic Batter Bowl
Adjustable Measuring Spoons
Mini Measure-All Cup
Easy Read Measuring Cup
Stainless Mixing Bowl Set
Muffin Pan
Stainless Whisk
Bamboo Spoon Set

Pan-tastic Panini!!!

Hello everyone!

I hope you are having a great week! So I am sure you have seen some variation of the today's recipe all over the place. Wraps have been hitting restaurants in masses with many different fillings as a healthier selection compared to a sandwich. I have only tried of few of those out there and do like some of what I have had. I found today's recipe in The Pampered Chef's Spring/Summer 2012 Season's Best Recipe Collection and was very intrigued by all the different ingredients and how they were going to mingle together to create a wonderful wrap! And to top it off, it is grilled!! No more soggy wraps! One of the reason's I love this recipe is that you cook it on a grill pan inside! I am still working on my grilling skills, the grill outside is pretty intimidating if I am making anything other than grilled veggies. Plus, I always see the chef's on the cooking shows use an indoor grill pan, so it made me feel a little special and I wasn't nervous about it at all! Another great thing about this recipe is that including cooking the chicken, it doesn't take long to make at all, about 30 minutes. Gotta love those quick meals for those busy days! The wraps came out fantastic! My husband and I loved them and I will defiantly add them to the rotation of meals!

So I know I always list what Pampered Chef tools I have used to make a recipe but I haven't really talked much about our products, so here is where I do a little sells, being a Pampered Chef Consultant and all. If you haven't tried any of our pantry items, this would be a great recipe to to get started! The recipe requires a dijon mustard rub and The Pampered Chef has a great one! I have used it on both pork chops and chicken, and it is wonderful! Also, if you do not yet have a grill pan and press and would like to get one, The Pampered Chef has a fantastic dinner set that comes with the pan, press, panini spatula, dijon mustard rub, season's best cookbook, and a Color Coated Bread Knife! Or you can purchase what you need separately.

Grilled Chicken, Ham & Swiss Wraps

(recipe adapted from Spring/Summer 2012 Season's Best Recipe Collection by The Pampered Chef)

Ingredients:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 1/2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard Rub, divided

1 large while dill pickle

6oz Swiss cheese

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, pressed

16 thin slices low-sodium deli ham

4 11in flour tortillas

Instructions:

1. Brush chicken with oil and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp of rub.

2. Arrange chicken in microwavable baker (Deep Covered Baker), cover with lid and microwave on high for 8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165F.

3. While the chicken cooks, slice pickles lengthwise with a vegetable peeler and grate cheese. 

4. Combine mayonnaise, pressed garlic clove, and remaining 1/2 Tbsp of rub in a large bowl, mix well and set aside.

5. Remove chicken from baker to a cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes.

6. Dice chicken into 1/2-in pieces.

7. Add chicken to mixing bowl with mayonnaise sauce and stir to coat.

8. Warm the tortillas between two paper towels in a microwave on high for 30-45 seconds to make them easier to roll.

9. To assemble wraps, layer two slices of ham width wise over center of one tortilla, overlapping as necessary; top with 1/3 of chicken mixture, 1/3 of pickle slices, then two additional slices of ham, and 1/3 o the cheese.

10. Fold in sides of tortilla and roll up tightly like a burrito.

(I ran out of ham when I made this video of how to assemble the wrap, so I used 1 peice of ham split for the top layer of ham but it will fold alright with the 2 peices of ham on top.)

11. Repeat the assembly and folding 3 more times to make 4 wraps total.

12. Preheat grill pan and grill pan press over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, repeat as necessary.

13. Place wraps in pan; top with grill press and cook for 3-4 minutes or until grill marks appear.

14. Remove wraps from pan; cut in half on bias and serve immediately.

Tools I used preparing this recipe:

Chef's Silicone Basting Brush

Deep Covered Baker

Cutting Board

Chef's Knife

Serrated Peeler

Microplane Adjustable Coarse Grater

Garlic Press

Classic Batter Bowl

Grill Pan

Grill Press

Nylon Panini Spatula

Dijon Mustard Rub

Super Shrimp!

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  This week's recipe is a definite keeper! If you want a quick, easy, light meal, take note of this one! This meal was made by my husband and he said he would make it again for sure!  I wanted to do something fun and light for the summer and I saw this recipe on Pinterest, so I had to try it! With the heat here, heavy meals tend to weigh us down, so I try to make light meals when we are going to be out in the sun for the day and this one was perfect.  Just don't go too heavy handed with the cayenne pepper unless you like more heat!!

Ever make a recipe that calls for a certain size of shrimp listed as a number and wonder what exactly that meant? Well this is something that use to stump me often until I researched it, so I wanted to share it with everyone, so you don't have to use the friendly search engine to get the answer you are looking for. So for example, this recipe calls for shrimp in the size of (31-35) or large shrimp. The numbers 31-35 represent how many shrimp there will be per pound and some packages will list it as (31-35 per pound). I don't know if I was just completely oblivious to this or not, but for some reason the numbers just baffled me. So, the less shrimp there are per pound the bigger they are. When you get into the bigger sizes they will be listed as U10 - U15. The U means "under" so this means under that number of shrimp per pound.  I don't know why I had such a problem with this as it is pretty simple, but there you have it.  So if you happen to have shrimp bigger than what is called for in this recipe, you can cut them into bite size pieces.

Super Simple Shrimp Tacos
(recipe adapted from Clean & Delicious with Dani Spies)

Ingredients:
1 lb of frozen raw large shrimp (31 - 35); defrosted, peeled, & deveined
6oz fat free Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 a head of cabbage, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
8 flour tortillas
1 ripe avocado
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat tortillas over medium heat in a dry skillet until warm and starts to form small brown spots. Set aside on a plate covered with a clean kitchen towel.

2. Mix yogurt, cayenne, lime juice, cilantro, & salt in a small bowl, set aside.

3. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a medium non-stick skillet and add cabbage, cooking for about four minutes or until cabbage is barely wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

4. Saute shrimp in 2 tsp of olive oil and seasons with salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne pepper over medium heat just until done. Shrimp cooks really fast so be sure to watch them to avoid over cooking.

5. Cut avocado into thin strips or dice.

6. Build your tacos! Place a scoop of cabbage on a warmed tortilla then top with shrimp, avocado, and cilantro sauce. Enjoy!

Options: When I read this recipe on Dani's website, it sounded wonderful! I like yogurt so I thought the sauce sounded great, which it was, however, my husband does not really like yogurt, so if you want to make it a little differently you could use sour cream instead of the yogurt. Also, I added the avocado to the recipe.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

Today's recipe is another great Pinterest find! I have to say, I am so addicted to Pinterest! I am hooked!  I find myself mostly pinning recipes, and there are some great looking ones out there!  It is pretty awesome to be able to keep all the recipes on a board, so they are always in one place to find, as long as the website they were pinned from stays active. It is more organized then the recipes I have wrote by hand! They are all in a big manila envelope for now. LOL My sister-in-law told me about Pinterest a year ago and I kept avoiding it because I knew she was hooked on it! That is all I need, something else to do instead of the stuff  I should be doing, like cleaning! LOL I finally jumped on and now I look at it for at least 5 minutes every day. Haha

Anyways, back to the recipe. I made this and I was so excited how well it turned out! It is a great feeling to make something and have it be a hit! This recipe is very flavorful and super easy to make!  I would say the recipe makes 4 - 5 servings, so if you are wanted more than that, double it. I served the stroganoff on egg noodles, but it would be great on rice or mashed potatoes as well.

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

(recipe adapted from The Well-FedNewlyweds)

Ingredients:

2 to 3 lbs. beef stew meat (or a 3 lb. chuck roast, cubed)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 cube of beef boullion

1 1/2 cups water
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. ketchup
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
6-7 T. water
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sour cream (reduced fat is fine)

Instructions:

1. Put the beef, onion, and bouillon cube into the slow cooker.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the water, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

3. Pour the mixture over the meat and onion in the cooker and stir to combine.

4. Put the lid on and cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-5 on high.
 

5. An hour before the end of cooking, whisk together the flour and water. This should be the consistency of pancake batter. If it is still too thick after the 6-7 Tbsp of water add addition water 1 tablespoon at a time until at the right consistency.

6. Add the flour mixture and mushrooms to the slow cooker and stir to combine.

7. Put the lid back on and continue to cook for remaining hour.

8. Add sour cream, stirring to combine, just before serving.

Options: I used a beef bouillon cube and water but you could use 1 1/2 cups of beef broth or stock in place of it if you wanted to. Also, to make it gluten-free try using 1 Tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in one cup of cold water in place of the flour mixture, adding more cornstarch as needed for desired consistency.  

Tools I used making this recipe:
Small Batter Bowl
Stainless Mini Whisk
Adjustable Measuring Spoons
Measure All Cup
5" Utility Knife
Cutting Board
Bamboo Spoon Set
Spoon Rest

Easy Beef Sliders

I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day and couldn't wait to try it! I made it and it turned out really good! We had leftovers for dinner the next night too!  This would be a great recipe to make for a crowd!

Slow Cooker Pot Roast Sliders

(recipe adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff)

Ingredients:

1 3-4 lb boneless beef roast

1 cup water

1 cup salsa

1 packet onion soup mix

1 packet Italian dressing mix

1 packet Au Jus mix

1 pkg King's Hawaiian Rolls
Sliced mozzarella cheese (1slice for each roll)

1/4 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp adobo sauce

2 tsp creamy horseradish sauce

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the water, salsa, onion soup, Italian dressing, and Au Jus mix.

2. Place the roast into the slow cooker and pour the seasoning mixture over it.

3. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or 4-5 hours on high.

4. While meat cooks, mix together the sour cream, adodo sauce, and creamy horseradish in a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to assemble the sliders.

5. Shred the roast and place back into slow cooker with the juice.

6. Cut each roll in half and place on a baking sheet.

7. Place once slice of cheese on the bottom half of each roll.

8. Place baking sheet in over with broiler on low.

9. Broil for 1 -2 minutes or until the rolls are golden and the cheese has melted, remove promptly. *Be sure to watch them closely so they don't burn!)

10. Spread creamy chipotle sauce on the top half of each roll. The more, the spicier!

11. Place a spoonful of the shredded beef on top of the melted cheese on each roll.

12. Assemble each slider by placing the tops on the beef and serve.

I used mozzarella cheese but this recipe would be great with swiss or provolone. I also used adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers to make the dressing but for a less spicy version chili sauce can be substituted. The roast I used was just over 4lbs and made enough for 24 sliders, depending on how much you put on each one. A great idea for the leftovers are burritos, shredded beef tacos, or even nachos!

Pampered Chef tools I used:
Small Batter Bowl
Stainless Whisk
Adjustable Measuring Spoons
Mini Measure-All Cup
Large Sheet Pan

 

Easter Fun!!

So I know Easter has come and gone, but I wanted to share this fun recipe that I made for our family picnic.  It was really easy and looks great! I put a section at the bottom with links to the tools I used during this recipe.

Chocolate Bird Nests

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, for greasing the muffin pan

6oz (1/2 bag) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

6oz (1/2 bag) of butterscotch chips

1 cup creamy peanut butter

6oz (1/2 of a large bag) of chow mein noodles

36 Cadbury eggs or jelly beans

Instructions:

1. Generously grease the wells of the muffin pan with the butter (this will help later when you are taking out the chilled nests)

2. In a large microwave-proof bowl, heat the chocolate and butterscotch chips in 30 second intervals until thoroughly melted, stirring after each increment.

3. Once melted, add the peanut butter to the chocolate/butterscotch mixture, mixing well until smooth and completely combined.

4. Carefully fold in the chow mein noodles using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until completely coated.

5. Using a large spoon, mold the mixture into the wells of your muffin tin, indenting the tops slightly.

6. Chill the nests until hardened, about 1 hour in the fridge. ***I didn't have a lot of time, so I put mine in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

7. Once chilled, gently remove the nests from the muffin tin. ***I used a butter knife to pop them out but be careful if you are using a nonstick pan, it may scratch it!

8. Place three eggs or colored jelly beans on top of each nest.

Serve and enjoy! Be sure to have napkins handy, they can be a bit of a yummy sticky mess!

Tools I used making this recipe:

Pampered Chef Classic Batter Bowl

Pampered Chef Measure All Cup - for the peanut butter

Pampered Chef Small Mix 'N Scraper

Pampered Chef 12 cup Muffin Pan (Stoneware)

Slow Cooker Roast Beef and Potatoes

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone has a fun and safe St. Patrick's Day!!

So my first post is a simple yet delicious one!  I am starting out with small posts until I get the hang of it!  So how many of you love a good roast beef and potatoes meal?  I know I do!!  This recipe was given to me by a very good friend and since then I have made my roasts this way!  My husband and I love it! Ok, here it goes:

Slow Cooker Roast Beef and Potatoes

Ingredients

2-5 pound boneless beef roast (any kind)

1 envelope ranch dressing

1 envelop Italian dressing

1 envelope brown gravy

1 - 1 1/2 cups of water

Carrots

Potatoes

1 Tbsp cornstarch - optional

Place roast into slow cooker. Combine dressings and gravy with 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water, mix well. Pour the gravy mixture over the roast. Set slow cooker to high for 6 hours. Place the lid on let it go! After 3 hours of cooking, peel potatoes and cut into even sizes. Peel carrots if desired and cut into even pieces. Place on carrots and potatoes on top of the roast, place the lid back on and let cook for remaining 3 hours. 

Optional - For thicker, combine 1 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1 cup cold water and mix until fully dissolved, then pour into cooker and stir to thicken. Also, any vegetable could be added to this, celery, onions, anything you would like, just keep in mind that softer veggies, like mushrooms or zucchini, require a shorter cook time.

Rolls or bread go great with this meal! I love to sop up all the gravy with a soft baked item! :-)
I know, I should of included it in the picture, but honestly, I was just using a regular slice of bread. Nothing picture worthy!

Tell me what you think:

I have been trying to make more slow cooker recipes, just because they are easiest on busy days!  But I was wondering what you all thought about those slow cooker liners?  I have only used them twice and have just not been too impressed.  This last time I used it for the roast beef, and it actually caused the juices to spill out over my cooker, making a big mess!  Tell me what you think!

This is the beginning....

Hello everyone!  This blog, as you can well see, is under construction. I have been thinking about blogging for a while and finally decided to start it. So please bare with me, I will have it all figured out soon and have some great posts for you!