Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I have been experimenting with cupcake recipes lately. They seem to have become quite popular lately. I have found a few failures, which I won't mention, but I have also found a few good ones. I'll post the ones I liked. This one is one I found on http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen-blog. I will post again here, I followed it pretty close I think, and we loved them!!!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES:
12 whole OREO Cookies, Twisted Apart With Cream Filling attached to one half (if you can)
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
½ teaspoons Baking Powder
¼ teaspoons  Salt
4 Tablespoons Butter (room Temp.)
3/4 cup granulated Sugar
1-½ whole Large Eggs Whites, Room Temp
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ cups Milk
10 whole OREO Cookies, Coarsely Chopped (I Quarter Them)
6 Oreo's cut in half, to place on cupcake after frosting
_____

FOR THE FROSTING:
4 ounces, Cream Cheese, Room Temp
3 Tablespoons Butter
1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 cups Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line the wells of cupcake pans with 12 paper liners. Place an Oreo half in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. (Place the other half without the cream in a ziploc baggie, and crush with a rolling pin, these will garnish the top later)
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract.
With the mixer on low speed, beat half of the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 14-17 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in the vanilla extract. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Continue to beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Don’t overbeat because it can become runny. If frosting is a bit runny put it back in the fridge for an hour for it to set-up.

Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves -- but don’t garnish until just before serving because the cookies will get soggy.

Pulled Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

My life has been way busy lately, and full of changes, but I did find time to make pulled pork tacos, you know how I love tacos!!  I saw the Neely's make them a while back on the Food network. Although, I didn't look up their recipe and did my own thing, these turned out way yummo!!! I made a pineapple salsa to go on the top, and also pico de gallo. We liked them best with a spoonful of both on top with cheese and an avocado slice on top. Yum!!!

Pulled Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

1 Pork Roast (any kind, I used a pork shoulder roast about 2 to 3 lbs)
salt and pepper
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup diced onion
olive oil
12 Corn Tortillas
1 Avocado, sliced into thin strips
Pineapple Salsa (recipe to follow)
Pico de Gallo (see recipe under salsa's)
Grated Cheese

Place Pork roast in a crock pot along with the chicken broth and season with salt, pepper, Chili powder, ground cumin, and a little cayenne pepper. I just sprinkled some of each of the seasonings all over the roast. After this cooks you can season to taste. You could also just pour on some enchilada sauce instead of chicken broth.  I let my roast cook in the crock pot all day while I was at work. This makes it fall apart when you are ready to make the tacos.
When pork is done remove to a plate, strain juice and set aside. Let the pork cool slightly until cool enough to handle. Pull apart and shred with a fork.
In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon or two of oil, then add the diced onion and saute for 2 or 3 minutes. Then add shredded pork, cook 2 or 3 more minutes until hot. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and cayenne pepper. Add a little of the reserved juice if pork is on the dry side.
Fry corn tortillas in skillet with about 1/2  inch of hot oil 1 at a time for about 30 seconds or so on each side, drain on paper towel. ( You want to cook them, but you still want them soft).
To assemble, spoon a spoonful or two of pork on 1 tortilla, add a spoonful of pineapple salsa and pico de gallo if desired. Sprinkle on some grated cheese, and add a slice of avocado. Fold over like a taco and enjoy!!




Pineapple Salsa
1 medium size pineapple, cored and quartered
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper (or two if you like spice)
At this point, I grilled my pineapple and veggies on a grill at medium heat for about 10 minutes or until they had good grill marks, turning after 5 minutes. I think grilling them just makes the flavors of each taste a little sweeter. You don't have to grill them at all if you don't want to.
Cool, then dice everything and place in a medium size bowl.
Then add:
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you want your salsa)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
Toss to combine.

Dark Chocolate Strawberry Tart

I found this recipe a few years ago out of a Woman's day magazine. I ran across it when thumbing through my recipes looking for something yummy to make for dessert for my Valentine's day dinner. It turned out awesome!! Tastes like chocolate covered strawberries only better! I think next time I will slice the strawberries and layer on the top, it was hard to eat with them whole. But other than that this recipe was devine!! It's quite rich though, Jim and I split a piece, how romantic is that?? but after all  that's what I was going for. :o)

Dark Chocolate-Strawberry Tart

By Jacqueline Hopkins from Woman's Day

May 30, 2006
Active Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Recipe Ingredients

CRUST :
33 shortbread cookies (I used vanilla wafers)
1 cup pecans
2 Tbsp sugar
1 white from 1 large egg

FILLING:
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3 Tbsp cold butter
11⁄2 cups (9 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (I used Baker's chocolate baking squares, it takes 9)

1 large container (16 oz) plus 1 pt (12 oz) strawberries, rinsed, patted dry, cap ends cut straight across; put cut sides down on paper towels . (I bought 2 packages I think they were 1 lb packages and had plenty)
1 can spray whipped cream

Recipe Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-in. fluted tart pan with removable sides with nonstick spray, (I just used my springform pan that I use for cheesecakes and it worked lovely)
Break cookies into food processor. Add nuts and sugar; pulse until fine crumbs form. Add egg white; pulse just to blend. Press evenly over bottom and up sides of  pan. Freeze 10 minutes, or until firm. Cover crust with foil.  Bake 15 minutes; remove foil. Bake 5 minutes more, or until lightly browned.

Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make filling: Heat cream and butter over medium heat until butter melts. Remove from heat, add chocolate chips and let stand 2 minutes to melt. Whisk until blended and smooth. Let stand at room temperature about 1 hour until cool but still pourable.

Pour into crust. Place strawberries cut sides down on filling.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours for filling to set.  To serve: Put tart pan on a small, sturdy bowl; let sides fall down. Gently slide tart off pan bottom onto a serving plate.Planning Tip: Can be made up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate loosely covered.
Serve with a dollop of  whipcream ! YUMMO!

**Next time I make this, I will let the tart set up in the fridge for 1/2 an hour, then slice the strawberries and layer around the top of the tart, I think that would make it easier to cut and eat.

My romantic Valentine Dinner- Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Oozing Maitre d' Butter

I made my Valentine's Dinner on Sunday since I was off work and had lots of time! It turned out quite yummo!! I love cooking and enjoy making a nice dinner over going out. I made stuffed mushrooms, look on my blog under appetizers for the recipe, Grilled Rib-eye steaks (which I will post here, garlic mashed potatoes (looked under vegetable recipes, or side dishes), and steamed asparagus. Yumm!!
Here I will post my Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Oozing Maitre d' Butter! I got this off of the food network show Alex's Day off. I tweaked it a bit for our tastes and with what I had on hand. Turned out Delisioso!

Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Oozing Maitre d' Butter
Ingredients:
1 cube butter
4 green onions, minced
1 heaping teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, plus a "few grates" lemon zest
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoons dried parsley
3 ribeye steaks, brought to room temperature, this makes the steak more tender
Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning


Make the butter: In a medium saute pan, heat  1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat, then add the green onion. Season with salt, to taste, and cook until they are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the green onion/ butter mixture to a medium bowl. Add the black pepper, mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest and Worcestershire sauce. Whisk to blend so all of the flavors start to meld together. Use a fork to blend in the other 7 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt as needed, to taste, and stir in the parsley.
Roll the butter into a log shape (like cookie dough) in plastic wrap or parchment pepper and refrigerate until ready to use. When ready to use, unwrap and slice into 1/4 inch slices.

Cook the steak: Heat your outdoor grill to medium/high heat. Sprinkle both sides of steaks with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Place on grill, and cook on one side about 4 minutes, and then flip, and cook 4 more minutes. This makes the steak about medium/ medium well done. They are slightly pink in the middle. Adjust cooking time to your liking.

Let rest about 4 to 5 minutes before serving.

When ready to eat, place 1 slice of the Maitre D'Butter on top of the steak. The heat from the steak should melt the butter. If not, place under the broiler for a few seconds. Spread over the steak so you get butter in each steak bite!

Yummo!!!

My Favorite Cinnamon Roll Recipe

I don't make cinnamon rolls very often, but I saw my neice Alison's blog and she had made some and shaped them like hearts for Valentine's Day! How cute!! So I just had to make some for Sunday morning breakfast, and of course I tried the heart shaped ones!! This is a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com, but instead of making them in a bread maker, since I don't have one, I tweaked it to just make in my kitchen aid mixer. When I do make cinnamon rolls this is the recipe I use. And I added a little cinnamon to the creamcheese frosting... after all they are Cinnamon rolls... :o)

Best Ever Cinnamon Rolls

Disolve in 1/4 cup warm water
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
in the bowl of your mixer.
Let this mixture sit for about 10 minutes until yeast starts to bubble.
Meanwhile, warm 1 cup of milk in a small saucepan, remove from heat and add 1/4 cup butter, a 1/2 teaspoon salt, and another Tablespoon of granulated sugar. Set aside and let the butter melt, you want this to be lukewarm before adding to the yeast (I set mine in a sink with a little cold water in it after the butter is mostly melted).
Next, add 1/2 of a (3/4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (about 1/4 cup) to the yeast mixture along with the milk mixture , 1 egg, and 2 cups bread flour. Mix to combine. Add 2 more cups as you mix on medium speed (this does the kneading for you! Yay!). After about 3 minutes of mixing you should have a soft but firm dough, place dough in a large bowl that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, turn dough ball so that the top is a little greasy from the spray. Cover with towel and let raise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about an hour.
Punch down dough and roll out into about a 10 by 17 inch rectangle.

Spread 1/4 cup softened butter over the dough. In a small bowl, combine together 1 cup brown sugar, 4 teaspoons cinnamon, and 3/4 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle this mixture over your butter covered dough, go clear to the edges! Kind of press this down into the dough so it doesn't fall out when rolling into a log.

Roll up dough starting at one end on the long side to form a long log roll, slice roll into 16 1-inch thick pieces and place in a buttered 13x9 baking pan. Let raise until doubled (about 45 minutes)
While rolls are raising preheat oven to 350 degrees. Then bake rolls for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Make cream cheese icing -see recipe below. Frost while still warm from the oven.

**to make heart shaped rolls, instead of rolling the dough from one side to make a log, roll from both sides to the middle,

 then cut into 16 pieces, and place on cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick cookig spray,and pinch the middle to form the point!

How cute are these?!!

Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes until just turning golden brown.
While rolls bake make icing:
Combine:
1/2 (8 ounce package) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons milk (more if needed)
Cream together the cream cheese and butter first to remove lumps, then add rest of the ingredients and whip together on high speed in mixer until fluffy and there are no lumps.
Frost Cinnamon rolls while still warm.

Enjoy with a large glass of milk ! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Baked Pasta and Chicken Casserole

I made this casserole the other night for dinner! I LOVE anything Pasta.... I got this recipe from my Food network magazine. It was one where you could pick a pasta, a sauce, and mix-ins. I had leftover cooked chicken and some ricotta cheese that I needed to use up. So this is what I did, and it turned out yummo! You can substitute the veggies you use, I had leftover asparagus that I used, but broccoli flourets would be good too. This made quite a large casserole, we ate for two meals with still a little left over. So if you don't need quite so much, you might half the recipe. We loved the leftovers for lunch though. This would be good served with a salad and crispy french bread! Yummo!

Baked Pasta and Chicken Casserole

1 pound of  Rigatoni Pasta (or you could use Penne or Bowtie)
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic, (or 4 cloves, minced)
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
2-8ounce cans tomatoe sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons chopped  fresh Basil (Remember, I like to use the pre-chopped stuff in the tube you find at walmart, but you could just chopped about 4 large basil leaves, or a teaspoon of the dried basil)
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
Season with Salt and Pepper (start out with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken (I had leftover grilled chicken, or you could use rotisserie chicken)
1 can artichoke hearts
1 handleful size bundle cooked asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces (I had leftover in the fridge)
1/2 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper (I buy the roasted pepper in the jar, and use as I need)
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 cups grated mozzerella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, cook pasta until al dente, or cook 2 to 3 minutes less than the time reccommended on the package (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and set aside.

While the pasta cooks, make the sauce. Heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, cook until the garlic starts to turn golden brown. Add the diced tomatoes, and the tomatoe sauce. Rinse the cans with about 1/2 cup water and add to the sauce. Add the basil, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Simmer the sauce, uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until thickened.
While the sauce is simmering, prepare your veggies. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces, and cut the veggies into bite size pieces, set aside.

After the sauce cooks 15 minutes add in 1 cup ricotta cheese and stir to combine,

Then add the meat and veggies to the sauce, and stir.
Toss in the pasta and 1 1/2 cups grated mozzerella, and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. When combined, place in a 3 to 4 quart baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle the remaining mozzerella cheese over the top, then the remaining 1/2 cup parmesan. Bake uncovered until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let rest 15 minutes before eating. Enjoy!!

We loved the crispy cheese on the top!! Yumm!!!

My version of Pizza Bites (or tootie patoodles as Sarah called them) :o)

I've been experimenting with appetizers that we could make at Sarah's wedding reception, but the more I experiment, I think I'll get a caterer... I could do it, but it would be a lot of work, so I think I'll let someone else do the work for a change. BUT these pizza rolls were heavenly if I do say so myself! I made them when we got home from church last Sunday, and we were all sooo hungry, that we had eaten them ALL before I had gotten a picture of the finished product... :o(  I got the above picture from Kraftrecipes.com where I got the idea for these and  they looked kind of like mine, they had made a similar Savory Parmesan bite recipe, but with just cream cheese, parmesan, and red peppers. One of the caterer's we were looking at had a stromboli stick on their menu, so that started the idea of how I could alter the kraft recipe into what we would be more like a pizza bite and this is what I came up with. We were trying to come up with a name, I thought of Pizza Bites, or Stromboli bites, but Sarah just said to call them Tootie Patoodles or something like that... Ha-ha!

Di's Pizza Bites
1 package of Pillsbury Large cresent rolls (should be 8 in the package)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 scant teaspoon dried italian seasoning
2  heaping Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, and a little more more sprinkling on top later
a dash or two of salt and papper
1/2 a package of pepperoni slices, diced (I think it was about 3/4 cup after I diced it)
1 small jar of Pizza sauce (you won't use the whole thing, I just keep it in the freezer till I need it again)
Kosher salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the creamcheese, italian seasoning, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Stir. to combine. Then stir in diced pepperoni.

Take two cresent triangles and press slightly to seal seam. You want a rectangle shape. Spoon about two Tablespoons cream cheese filling down the center of rectangle,  then spoon about two smaller spoonfulls of pizza sauce down and ontop of the cream cheese mixture.

 (don't use too much sauce or it will ooze out) Next fold sides over , I folded one side over, then the other, you will have a slight overlapping of the dough then pinch a little to seal.

I rolled mine over so the seam was on the bottom. Then cut roll in half and each piece in half again so you have 4 pieces. Place on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place about 2 inches apart and seam side down. Repeat process until all the roll dough is used. You should have 16 Pizza bites. You might have a little creamcheese mixture leftover, just put in fridge, I used my leftover in a pasta sauce, you didn't even know it was there.

Sprinkle the top with more Parmesan cheese and just a pinch of Kosher salt (if desired).
Bake in hot oven for 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes so you don't burn your mouth, and place on serving tray (if you make it that far) and enjoy!! (We devoured ours right from the cookie sheets!!)
I was sad I didn't have a pic of my finished product, but I did take pics while making them. :o)