Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Red Velvet Cake.....almost

Continuing on my Spotlight Sunday of Brownies for Dinner, I wanted to try Patricia's Red Velvet Cake recipe. I've never made a red velvet cake before, so I was excited!

Rounded up my ingredients:
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I'm off and mixing:
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The recipe is SUPER easy to follow and comes together quickly. YEAH!

I decided not to do cupcakes, though, so I poured that lovely batter into my trusty-dusty (ok, so it isn't really 'dusty' - but you know what I mean) bundt pan.

A beautiful cake is in my near future, yes?

Well, no actually, it wasn't!

Did you notice in the picture above when I was rounding up my ingredients what kind of flour I grabbed? Here, look again:
Flour mix-up

Yup, that is right....I grabbed the WRONG FLOUR out of my pantry! I've never had that happen before...even with FOUR different kinds of flour in there! *blushing* Ok - so needless to say, I was disappointed.

Here is my not-so-successful turn-out:
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The consistency was horrible, very greasy and it collapsed while baking...then even more so during cooling. I've never had anything stick to my silicone bundt pan before, but this did!

So, I'll be trying this recipe again.....making sure to double check (and probably triple check) which flour I'm using BEFORE beginning! *smile*

Let this be a lesson to everyone....we ALWAYS double check the flour BEFORE mixing a recipe! *tee hee*

Thanks Brownies for Dinner! I'll get it right and I'm sure it'll be fabulous!

For the complete recipe, please visit Patricia's site....it is awesome anyway.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter!

I always loved the Holidays...all of them. But I especially love them now that I have kids. Their excitement is just awe-inspiring.

We dyed Easter eggs yesterday....3 dozen of them. Now, there are only 4 of us in the house and there is NO way that we'll eat all those eggs, but it is fun! Syndel (my 4-year-old) picked out two different egg dying kits this year (one tye-dye and one regular), so we knew that we'd need lots of eggs.

This is the first year that she really participated...and how! Ceryse isn't quite old enough to do it, but she really enjoyed watching!

Here are some shots of our eggs:

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Aren't those tye-dye eggs really cool?

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Syndel wrote on the eggs herself, she was so proud of herself!!!

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Row of Eggs
You can see more of her fantastic writing.

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I absolutely adore this shot - look at her enthusiasm - she is beaming as Dad pulls the egg out of the dye! LOVE IT!

Later they were just cuddling on the couch and I took a "spy" shot. :)
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I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Enjoy!
-Erica

Sunday Spotlight: Brownies for Dinner

Happy Sunday!

I've decided that I'm going to "spotlight" one of my favorite blogs each Sunday...along with a few of their recipes that catch my eye. :)

For my first spotlight:

Brownies for Dinner

What could be better? The moment I seen the title, I knew that blog was for me! *smile* I found Patricia's blog through the Daring Bakers' blogroll. Her blog is really nice, so if you have a few minutes, go check her out.

Alright, so moving on....the first post that really caught my eye:

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Blueberry Scones

They just looked so good. I knew I was going to have to try them! So, I went on searching her blog for a few other things that I wanted to try....and boy did she deliver! I'll be posting later with a couple more recipes I tried from Brownies for Dinner....so be on the lookout!

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The recipe is easy to follow and has no obscure ingredients. So, it made me happy!

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I cheated as well, though, and didn't separate the scones prior to baking. What I did was put them in a "round" and cut them. Then I baked them for 10 minutes, pulled them out, cut them again and then separated them. Put them back in the oven and finished baking. They turned out fabulous (I think so anyway).

My daughters had them for breakfast and totally agreed!

Thanks Patricia!

PS) You can view the recipe and try them for yourself by clicking here.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Friday, April 10, 2009

Orange Dreamsicle Cupcakes

Creamy vanilla.......sweet and tangy orange......mixed together, what could be better?

Do you remember these delicious ice cream treats? They were my favorite when I was a kid. Now, I have recreated them....in cupcake fashion!

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These little drops of bliss were created for the IronCupcake: Earth challenge for April, also. I actually have a little something else up my sleeve, too. So be on the lookout for another yummy cupcake post.

Okay, so I used the same recipe from Hello, Cupcake for these babies, too. You can find the recipe here. I substituted orange extract for the vanilla in this case.

Once I had the batter mixed together, I took some out and dyed it orange (with red and yellow food coloring) so that they would look pretty. And did they ever?

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From the top:
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For the icing, I kept it simple (again). I like yummy but simple. *smile*
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I added some food coloring to the icing as well.
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Can you just taste them now? Here, take a little nibble:
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I topped them with a little scoop of the Orange & Vanilla Ice Cream from UDF and then drizzled the icing over top it all. Messy, but totally delicious!


Check out IronCupcake for more cool cupcake stuff.
Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES, a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Root Beer Float?

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Ok - so I came across this site today

IronCupcake: Earth

What a GREAT site that is - you have to check it out!

Anyway, so I found myself intrigued by this month's challenge.

To make cupcakes with SODA POP - somehow, someway

The first thing that popped in my head......

ROOT BEER FLOAT CUPCAKES!

Voila!

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Aren't they dreamy? *smile*

So, how I decided I was going to do this was take a regular vanilla cupcake recipe and alter it. I used the vanilla cupcake recipe from Hello, Cupcake!

The alteration I made to the recipe was to use root beer concentrate instead of vanilla (mixed with veggie oil and milk).

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Creepy looking, huh?

Alright, so then I mixed everything together
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The tip about spooning the batter into a ziplock baggie and clipping a corner is an awesome one! Next time you make cupcakes - do it! Absolutely no drips on the pan and it is much easier to get all the cups even. I was happy!

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Since I was making mini cupcakes, I only baked them for 13 minutes. Here they are naked:
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For the icing, I kept is simple....very simple
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Just some cream cheese with root beer concentrate and some powdered sugar for sweetness. Beautiful.

I really enjoyed thinking outside the box on this challenge and will most likely make these again. They tasted wonderful, though, I would probably start with a different "basic" recipe, as I found this one a little too dry for my tastes. :)

In case you're interested, though:

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c milk
1/2 c veggie oil
1 t vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
3 large eggs

1 - Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2 - Whisk together the flour, powder, soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the milk, oil, and vanilla in a 2-cup measuring cup or a small bowl.

3 - In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4 - Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until blended.

5 - Spoon half of the batter into a ziplock bag. Snip 1/4-inch corner from the bag and fill the liners two-thirds full. Repeat with the remaining batter. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.



Check out IronCupcake for more cool cupcake stuff.
Our April ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:
A creation by FRUITFLYPIE, a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES, a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery,
PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS ; TASTE OF HOME books, a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

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Yesterday my hubby and I went grocery shopping and I asked him what he wanted me to make for dinner. Now, the variety is endless, but I had a feeling that he'd say, "Chicken Broccoli Casserole". This is one of his all-time favorite dishes I make. I make it fairly often (at least once a month, though he'd like it once a week) and each time I basically "zombie-out" and just make it.

I've made this dish so many times and I can make it in my sleep. Yesterday, though, my hubby said, "Why don't you put this on that blog-thing of yours?" Gotta love him, he is so clueless when it comes to computers. *smile* Our 4-year-old daughter can navigate better on my PC than he can. Can you believe that?

Ok, so moving on....

*giggle giggle*

Sorry, let me compose myself.

*clears throat*

Alright, so I thought that was a great idea. There are probably many households out there (especially now) looking for something new to try. Something that is super easy, delicious, and economy-friendly.

Here it is:

1 lb. skinless and boneless chicken, cooked and cubed
1 bag of frozen broccoli cuts
1 egg
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
1 box Stove Top stuffing (prepared according to box directions)
bread crumbs and extra cheese for the topping

Mix everything together and bake (covered) at 375 F for 35 minutes. Uncover and return to the oven for additional 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

*NOTES*
So, you can make this dish MORE homemade by using fresh broccoli and steaming it first. Making your own cream of mushroom soup, making your own stuffing recipe, etc.

I never use pre-shredded cheese because of the icky things they put IN the cheese to prevent "caking" - yick! Instead, I have this AWESOME little Rotary Grater from Entertaining at Home - fabulous! Here it is in action:
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All you do is cut the cheese into blocks and put them in and voila - easy shredded cheese with NO scraped knuckles. The best! *smile*

Alright, so now you have one of my Family's favorite dishes.

Enjoy!
-Erica

Giveaways - COMING SOON!

Alright everyone....so I'm going to pump this blog up!

Starting on May 1st, I will be doing giveaways! The first gem up will be Paula Deen's: The Lady & Sons Just Desserts

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I'll feature some recipes out of this cookbook so that you can get a taste and then you'll get a chance to WIN that cookbook!

Stay tuned and I've got more up my sleeve.

*evil grin*

Enjoy!
-Erica