Happy Valentines Day!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Made: February 14, 2011

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Instructions

Cupcakes:

- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.
- Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated.
- Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
- Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

For the first time ever making them, they were a success! :) Everyone enjoyed them. Which makes me happy. With the frosting, I think I put in too much powdered sugar was it was very sweet; 4 cups is a lot. (Almost an entire box!) I have so much left over. I wanted something pink and easy for Valentines Day :D

(Recipe used: Food Network)

Super Bowl Munchies

Pizza in Crescents

Ingredients: 
- Crescent roll dough
- Pizza sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Favorite Pizza toppings

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Separate the crescent pieces
- Put pizza sauce on one part of the piece
- Add toppings and cheese
- Fold over and around to make a cute little pouch

** I used Olives for myself, Pepperonis for Rob & Mom just wanted cheese. I had olives ontop of mine so I knew which ones were which :)

My kisses taste like tacos

Ingredients:

- Tortilla shells/taco shells
- Shredded Cheddar cheese or "Taco" cheese
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Sour Cream
- 1lb ground beef
- Taco Seasoning packet

Directions:

- Cook meat until no longer pink; drain
- Add 1 cup water & taco seasoning; cook according to the packet.
- Dice up tomatoes and lettuce
- Make tacos however you  please!

** I had olives on mine. :) (Yea, I love olives <3)

Meatball sliders

 Ingredients:

- 5 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
- 1/2 cup each red bell pepper and red onion,fine dice
- 1 Tbsp. each fresh basil and flat leaf Italian parsley, minced
- 1 tsp. each minced garlic, kosher salt and red chili flakes
- 2 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper
- 25 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1 cup)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. milk
- 1 pound ground beef 80/20
- 1 egg
- 48 RITZ Crackers
- Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli
- 12 KRAFT Deli Fresh Provolone Cheese Slices, quartered 

Directions:

Red Bell Pepper Aioli
- IN the bowl of a food processor fitted with steel blade, process 1/2 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise, 1/3 cup chopped roasted red bell pepper and 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed until thoroughly combined.
- Refrigerate 1 hour.

Meatballs
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 Tbsp. oil. Add red bell peppers and the red onion. Sauté 4-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and red chili flakes and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the basil, parsley, salt and pepper, stir to combine. Cool.
- Mix cracker crumbs and the milk, set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef and the egg. Add the vegetables and the crumb mixture; mix well.
- Form into 1” meatballs. Cover with plastic wrap and press to flatten slightly.
- Heat the remaining oil in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs in batches and cook until done, turning occasionally. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place 48 RITZ on foil-lined baking sheet. Top each with 1 meatball, 1/2 tsp. Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli and a piece of cheese. Bake 3-4 minutes or until cheese melts.
- Serve immediately.

**I didn't know I had to make the aioli ahead of time, so I opted it out. Next time, I'm definitely going to try it!

I hope you guys had a yummy spread while you were watching the Super Bowl! (Congrats Packers) <3

Chili with Beef

Hearty Black Bean Chili

Made: January 29, 2011

Ingredients:

1 pound dried black beans
1 pound ground beef
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cups water
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 1/2oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 & 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese & thinly sliced green onions - optional

Directions:

- Sort beans & rinse with cold water.
- Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water to cover by 2 inches.
- Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes - remove from heat, cover & let stand for 1-4 hours or until beans are softened.
- In Dutch oven, cook the beef, chicken and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
- Add the water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes & seasonings; mix well.
- Add the beans & bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
- Cover and simmer for 3 1/2 - 4 hours or until beans are tender.
- Serve with cheese and green onions if desired.

At the beginning of making this recipe, I didn't have a dutch oven and planned to make this in a slow-cooker. So I sorted, rinsed and cooked my beans in a slow-cooker on low for about 4-5 hours as I had a couple things that had to be done while cooking. This worked out well for the beans, as they were nice and soft by the time I was home and ready to start making the chili.

To my surprise today, my Dutch Oven arrived early! So I was able to finish the recipe in there. Which really saved me a step from cleaning out the pan of the bean goo. (Or whatever it may be called, it's kinda gross to be honest). So I used a slow-cooker bag/saver and it worked to my advantage with draining the beans into my strainer to rinse/drain.

The Dutch oven is pretty amazing, as this was my first time cooking with one. I'll definitely be using more recipes requesting it. :)
(Recipe used came from Taste of Home)

Beefy Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes

Made: January 25, 2011


I didn't make it exactly as the recipe, mainly since I made Granny's slightly different, and I liked how that way came out. So I stuck with it.

Ingredients:

6-8 medium tomatoes
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato and discard & remove the core.
- Carefully scoop out the pulp; reserve 1 cup for later use (leave a nice 1/2 inch shell of the tomato)
- Invert tomatoes onto paper towels to drain.
- In a non-stick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
- Stir in the basil, salt, pepper and reserved tomato pulp; bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
- Stir in the rice, cheese and egg; heat through.
- Spoon into tomato shells.
- Place shells into 2-quart backing dish coated with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes are heated through.
- Top with shredded cheese


I had bought 2 4-packs of tomatoes, and I was able to fill all 8 with the meat and rice mixture I had made. So that may vary with how much ground beef/rice you use. I tweaked the recipe for my liking.

I had 1/2 cup of uncooked rice, cooked it through and then added it to the beef. I didn't use it all, but enough to see that it was well mixed/spread around all throughout. I also used the pulp of all the tomatoes instead of just 1 cup. I found that it made the beef and rice more flavorful.

Since I was pressed on time for my Granny's single tomato ... instead of baking it in the oven, I put it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. It seemed to heat it throughout and even made the tomato softer. I liked it better and did that for ours as well. :)
(Recipe used came from Taste of Home)

Ricey Chicken

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Made: January 11, 2011

Ingredients:

1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® chicken enchilada soup

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (15 oz) Progresso® black beans, drained, rinsed

1 box (9 oz) Green Giant® Niblets® frozen corn

1 package (1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (4 oz)

Directions: 

 - Heat the oven to 375°F.

- In ungreased 2-quart glass baking dish, mix soup, water, rice, cumin, pepper, beans and corn.

- Top with chicken. 

- Cover & bake about 30 minutes.

- Stir rice around chicken.

- Top with cheese.

- Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I had to tweak the recipe a bit as I couldn't find the chicken enchilada soup ... so I substituted that for Chicken Tuscany. I also used any brand of frozen corn & black beans. I had a little bit of a mishap while cooking. My middle chicken breasts were still pink all over while only the outside breasts were cooking. Turns out that when I ripped my foil while putting it back on to cook for another 30 minutes (My one fear is serving raw chicken) it worked a lot better. Everyone said it was delish! So that makes me happy. :)

(Recipe used came from Pillsbury)