Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

For some reason A has been begging for 3 days to make cupcakes...I think he saw the toy story sprinkles his grandma brought him and the liners. So I finally broke down and made them even though I know he only really cares about the frosting.

I decided to go with chocolate cupcakes so I went with a tried and true recipe, Hershey's Best Chocolate cake. I will warn you this recipe IS NOT good for cupcakes. It is very thin and is very hard to pour into cupcake tins...if I didn't have a little one begging specifically for cupcakes I would have gone the cake route! I made quite the mess even after moving the batter into a measuring cup with a spout!

Hershey's Chocolate Cake-adapted from Hershey
1 3/4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk(I did use almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 batch of peanut butter frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients. Add in milk, oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 2 mins. Stir in boiling water. Pour into floured and greased cake pans or muffin tins.(NOT recommended for muffin tins though) Bake for 30-35 mins for cake or 22-25 mins for cupcakes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

*I got one dozen mini cupcakes, 16 regular size, and 4 ice cream cone cakes...it made quite a lot! These were quite tasty, super moist, perfectly chocolatey and even had a bit of crunch around the edges. YUM!

Beef Empanadas

I first ran across this recipe on Jenn's Food Journey, at least the idea. But I knew I didn't want to use store bought dough so I went to my trusty friend Hallee's site and she also has a empanada recipe on her blog, so I used her dough recipe which is quick and simple!

Just in case you haven't seen yet, you should head over to Hallee the Homemaker and see her WONDERFUL blogiversary prize she is awarding to one lucky winner! It is something all cooks/bakers need...and I love mine, but love this one more!!

Beef Empinadas-adapted from Jenn's Food Journey and Hallee the Homemaker
Dough:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp kosher salt
10 tbsp cold butter, cut up
4-6 tbsp COLD water

Mix flour and salt together. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter, fork, or fingers until dough looks like peas. Slowly add in 4 tbsp water and mix gently with fork, keep adding water 1 tbsp at a time until a soft dough forms. Divide dough in half, kneed a couple times(not too much as it makes it tough), flatten, and roll out. Using a circle cutter cut out circles, place on cookie sheet. Continue until all dough has been cut. *Becareful not to re roll the dough to many times as you want a flaky crust.

Filling:
1 lb ground meat(I used beef)
2 tsp taco seasoning
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup(or so) shredded sharp cheese
hand of of grape tomatoes, diced

Brown meat in pan and season with spices. Drain. Add in tomatoes and stir. Add in cheese and stir until melted and well combined. Cool.

Once slightly cooled, place 1-2 tsp of filling in the middle of each circle. Dampen edges with water, fold over, and press. Seal with a fork. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 mins until golden brown. *I did have some filling leftover that I will use in a quesidilla or something.

**These came out excellent! K said they tasted like a taco...while I didn't "use" my recipe for taco seasoning I did use the same spices, but it was eye balled. So for recipe sake I just said to use that. You can add whatever spices you would like. K really enjoyed them as did I. A even ate one and Q ate a bit of one. So while they were a bit labor intensive they were still worth it! They were small and a picture is coming once I can use the laptop again, I just don't know where the supply is for the camera!

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Toss

Again this is another recipe not intentionally made for this week....but I had all these veggies I needed to use asap so I went with it! This was also in an effort to go meatless at least once a week.

You may have to bare with me...as I might not get many recipes posted until my laptop is fixed, well the cord anyway. It had a little run in with a certain 3.5 yr old and he won, so I am currently on my husband's desktop and I only last so long with it because of my carpal tunnel, plus its not very convenient!

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Toss-shared by Taste of Home
1 lb pasta(I used penne)
1 sweet pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
4 summer/zucchini squash
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup sour cream
2/3 cup broth
1/2 cup parm cheese

Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile saute veggies for 5 mins and add in broth. Cover and cook until veggies are tender. Add in ranch and sour cream heat until warm. Drain pasta and add to veggie mix. Stir throughly and serve.

*At first I thought this was water...aka too much broth. Or it could have been that I used ranch dressing and not dip, which may have been thicker. K ate it....and really liked it. I had a run in with chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter frosting so I wasn't hungry at dinner time. I did try some as I put away the leftovers and the sauce thickened nicely around the noodles and gave a great flavor. It was also pretty easy and used up the tasty summer veggies. I did mean to put some grape tomatoes in the mix as well. You can also add in carrots but I didn't have any. *Picture coming soon...

Homemade Rice Pilaf

I decided to give my mom back her FOUR Taste of Home cookbooks I had since oh I think Christmas...but before I did I went through and wrote down all the recipes I wanted to try as I knew I could get them online. I am already off the menu for the week, but it was stuff I had on hand so it still worked well. I have also been looking to find a good pilaf recipe as I love the "boxed" stuff.

This was served with grilled chicken and grilled rainbow carrots. If you haven't tried them and you see them, give them a try! They are delicious! Ok now on to the recipe....

Homemade Rice Pilaf-shared from Taste of Home
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup thin egg noodles or broken vermicelli
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp minced garlic
2 bouillon cubes
2 3/4 cup water
parsley

Melt butter in large sauce pan. Add in rice and broken noodles, saute and stir until golden brown. Add in water, garlic, and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil and stir. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until rice is cooked and broth is absorbed. Stir in parsley and serve.

**I know this might not be a low sodium side dish...I am not even sure if the seasoning was low sodium but it did not taste salty at all. I think this needed a bit more liquid as I used the brown rice, so if anyone knows how much I should use for next time let me know. It still tasted great, there was a bit of a bit still with the rice but you really couldn't tell. K really liked this and said it was better than "the box", so it will be made again! I will also probably cut the butter down next time...I even think that it called for 1/2 cup butter and that is a lot of butter!

Menu Plan Monday

So seen as last week I forgot we had dinner plans with a friend, plus a party to attend on saturday my menu got a little skewed so I apologize for repeats!

Breakfast/Baking:
-Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
-Double Oat Breakfast Cookies
-Pumpkin Apple Streusal Cake

Dinner:
-Beef Empanadas
-Mu Shu Chicken Wraps
-Cheese Steaks
-Creamy Veggie Bow Tie Toss
-Beer Braised Beef

This was a tough menu to make as I have very little food in the house...although it should be easy as I should be starting from scratch. I just can't seem to make up my mind! I'm still working on August's menu...and its just not happening! I have a very long list of recipes to try though....

I also may make some simple blueberry muffins...even though we *tried* to go picking today the prices were just outrageous($3.29/lb)!! So we passed, I know I can get them at the store or a local stand for $2.50. I have one more place to check so I may head out there this week! Are pick your own berries that pricey anywhere else?

Pineapple Salsa Chicken

This was another easy to make meal perfect for a hot summer day...except today was rainy and cooler than it has been in weeks! I was originally going to make beef empanadas but realized I was missing an ingredient so this came into play!

Pineapple Salsa Chicken-shared from What a Crock!
1 lb chicken breast
1 jar salsa
1 20 oz can pineapple tidbits(although I did used crushed)
2-3 cups black beans
rice

Place chicken in crock pot. Cover with black beans, salsa, and pineapple. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Once chicken is done, you can shred or chop and add it back to the sauce. Serve over rice.

**This was just ok...the pineapple didn't seem to stand out as much, it could have been because it was crushed and not the tidbits.(I just used what I had on hand). The original recipe says to drain the pineapple, but leave the liquid in the canned beans. I decided I didn't need the extra salt(plus my beans were cooked by me) so I left the juice in the pineapple. We have enough for leftovers for at least 2 meals, plus I froze some to make burritos, tacos, or whatever with it! I think the addition of corn work work very well at the end.

Double Oat Breakfast Cookies

Well seen as it is raining today...which I was NOT aware of, so much for passing showers! A and I decided to try these breakfast cookies that have been on our menu for 2 weeks now and have been neglected do to the extreme heat and humidity! A is my helper when it comes to baking...he runs the kitchen-aid mixer. Hopefully both boys will love them seen as they involve one of their favorite breakfast cereals!

Double Oat Breakfast Cookies-adapted from What a Crock!
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup applesauce
1 banana*
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips
3 rounded cups cheerios

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter and peanut butter. Add in banana, applesauce, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Mix until combined. Add in water and mix again. Combine flour and oats and add it to the mix. Fold in cheerios and raisins/choc. chips. Place by 1/4 cup spoonfuls onto baking sheet and slightly flatten. Bake for 12-14 mins until golden brown.(The original says 10-12 mins but mine took longer to cook!)

*you can use 1 egg in place of the banana, I just had a very ripe one needing to be used!

**These were a very chewy cookie with a crunch from the cherrios. The boys loved it...perhaps next time I may leave the banana out. It was ok but it seemed to overpower it. Still good and filling though!