In the Kitchen -Cadbury Cupcakes

Ladies and gentlemen I’d like to say I’M BACK!! Although I’m still recovering from my knee injury for the first time in months I was inspired enough to step into the kitchen and bake something new. I don’t promise that I will have weekly posts going forward, but I will try to be more active. I’m still relying on my taste testers to tell me if a recipe is good and this cupcake got the seal of approval! I will say though that these cupcakes are EXTREMELY sweet and not for everyone. I noticed a lot of recipes online mentioning using Cadbury cream eggs as the base & I decided to take 2 recipes I found and combine them together. I took my recipes from Pizzazzerie (which I have been a fan of for a VERY long time) and Culinary Concoctions by Peabody (which I found through good ol’ pinterest).

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups butter, softened
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3.4 oz Jell-O instant pudding in Chocolate Fudge (1 package)
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs

Instructions:

1. pre heat oven to 350 degrees
2. combine all ingredients together and beat on medium high until fully mixed, about 60 seconds
3. bake for 18-20 minutes

Frosting Ingredients:

• filling from 24 Cadbury cream eggs (you’ll want to save the shells to garnish your cupcakes
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 4-6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• milk to thin frosting if needed

Instructions:

1. place butter in mixing bowl 
2. add 4 cups powdered sugar
3. add vanilla extract
4. beat with mixer until smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes
5. at this point you can taste the frosting and see if you want it to be sweeter, I added the extra 2 cups of powdered sugar but you can choose not to
6. if you frosting is too thick you can pour some milk while beating to make it a better consistency
7. frost cupcakes and garnish with half of a Cadbury egg

The most tedious part of the whole process was sitting there and scooping out the insides of all the Cadbury eggs! The insides are my favorite so it was very hard for me not to just eat it all! This cupcake will truly be something everyone will love at your Easter celebration. I hope you enjoyed this sweet Easter treat & follow me on Pinterest to help me pick what I make next! Also I just want to say I truly appreciate everyone who has stuck around while I took this unplanned hiatus, hopefully the road to recovery continues to go smoothly.

In the Kitchen – Deep Fried Munchkins

For Christmas Mr. H finally got me a deep fryer & I couldn’t wait to dive in and start using it. I had seen so many recipes on the web that involved deep fryers and sure I could have used a wok to create the recipe but it just didn’t seem the same. Growing up my mother had a deep fryer and I just loved watching her make fries and how crunchy they would be, I could never get my fries to be crunch in the oven.

Now we don’t have a Tim Horton’s anywhere near us, but seeing the pictures Leanne posted of her donut creation had me drooling. The look of Leann’s also reminded me of munchkins at Dunkin Donuts which I love, but never buy for myself. These tasted amazing and served as breakfast for the week since I made mine much smaller than Leanne’s. The only issue I had was that I had made fries the nights before and didn’t filter my oil before making these so they had a hint of fry flavor.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp milk
• 3 tbsp boiling water
• 1 tsp dry active yeast
• 8 oz plain flour (about 2 cups) I recommend using a kitchen scale instead of measuring cups for a more accurate measurement!
• 1 1/2 oz sugar (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 egg
• 1 oz butter, cold to room temperature (DO NOT MELT THIS!)
• dash of salt
• Enough oil to cover the bottom few inches of a wok, or a deep fryer.

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl combine the milk and boiling water
2.  Add a teaspoon of the sugar
3.  Add yeast, stir gently then let sit in a warm place for yeast to activate (foam)
4.  In another large bowl combine flour, rest of sugar and the salt
5.  Cut in the butter using your fingers or a pastry blender until your mixture is crumbly
6.  Quickly beat egg and add to flour mix
7.  Add in yeast mixture as well
8.  Mix into a smooth dough, this should take about 5 minutes
9.  On a lightly floured surface knead dough for about 5 to 10 minutes
10.  Place back in bowl, cover with a cloth or plastic wrap & let it rise for about an hour or until it is double in size (this took a little over an hour for mine, but my house is usually pretty cool)
11. Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Take one piece at a time and stretch into a long rope about an inch wide.
12.  Cut strips about an inch long and ball them up. Place them on a baking tray
13.  Cover the munchkins with a cloth while you heat your oil to 375F
14.  Place munchkins into oil and fry until golden color is achieved
15.  Drain on paper towel
16.  Pour glaze over the munchkins while still warm so that it will cover whole munchkin.

Glaze Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 tablespoons hot water or as needed (I only need 2 tablespoons)

Commenters on Leanne Bakes were sort of mixed on the final outcome, some people had a horrible time making them while others raved so I was a little hesitant, but I had no issues making these whatsoever and I urge you to try them also! Visit Leanne Bakes to also see her Cinnamon Sugar-Coated donuts.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe & follow me on Pinterest to pick what I make next!

In the Kitchen – Healthy Egg McMuffins

There is always a crazy rush in the morning before leaving for work between Mr. H and I. (Mostly because I sleep in until the last possible second, I am not a morning person!) Usually I end up running out of the house without breakfast and lucky to have grabbed a drink. Mr. H usually does the same, but grabs breakfast from his favorite cafe or Dunkin Donuts. Well not eating breakfast is not so great for you & buying breakfast every morning can really add up quickly so this year one of my resolutions was to try to be more prepared so the mornings go a little smoother as well as save a little money. I had seen these make-ahead healthy egg mcmuffins quite some time ago on pinterest but sort of forgot about them until last Sunday when I realized we needed breakfast for the week. The great thing about these egg mcmuffins is that they are totally customizable to your taste. I like my food more plain while Mr. H needs more than just an egg and cheese, so I made them plain and then in the morning when you reheat them Mr. H just adds what he wants. It doesn’t hurt that these make at home egg mcmuffins will also save you some calories, which I’m sure is on every resolutioners check list right now.

 

 

Ingredients:

• eggs
• english muffins
• american cheese
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. Cook eggs in jumbo muffin tin or ramekins (regular muffin tins work but the egg will be smaller and quite thick like mine)
2. You can break the yolk so that you get a more authentic taste like McD’s
3. bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes
4. while eggs are baking separate muffins & place cheese slice on bottom muffin
5. once eggs are done you can place on top of cheese & wrap individually in tin foil.

You can add bacon, sausage or whatever you’d like at this point as well. Place them in the freezer and just defrost in the fridge the night before you want one. I place mine in the toaster oven for about 10 minutes in the morning and then add salt and pepper to taste.

 

I hope you enjoyed this quick make ahead breakfast! I have been loving bringing these to work and eating breakfast on my own time and not rushing to eat at 5 am. I can’t wait to post what I have cooking in the kitchen next week. One of my resolutions was actually for the blog! I will be introducing The Baking Challenge 2013 next weekend & explaining my thoughts behind it.

Follow me on Pinterest & pick what I make next!

 

In the Kitchen – Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Usually for Christmas Eve we have dinner at my house, but this year due to downsizing our house before we move my sister volunteered to have it at her house. This was her first time ever doing it and it was a huge success and a wonderful evening. Mr. H and I went over first thing in the morning to help out as much as possible so I volunteered to make breakfast for everyone. Of course I decided that I wanted to make breakfast for all of us the day before so I didn’t have very much planned. Thankfully I hopped on Pinterest and knew I had a few things that I could try. I made a cinnamon roll casserole that was absolutely delicious. There are definitely a few things I’d like to tweak on the recipe the next time I make it but really you can do whatever you like to this and it will still taste fantastic! Mr. H already said that he wants sliced apples on it next time.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of melted butter or baking spray
• 2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2  teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (I did not measure this out, I just poured some over the rolls)
• Icing from cinnamon rolls

Directions:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Pour melted butter into ungreased 13×9-inch baking pan.
• Separate both cans of dough into 16 rolls; set icing aside. Cut each roll into 8 pieces; place pieces over butter in dish.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Beat in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended; gently pour over roll pieces.
• Bake 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes.
• Place icing in microwave 15-30 seconds until warm enough to pour over rolls. (REMEMBER TO TAKE METAL TOPS OFF, I almost forgot)
• Pour icing over rolls, serve & enjoy!

 

I hope you all had a lovely holiday & a happy New Year! Follow me on Pinterest & pick what I make next!

In the Kitchen – Skinny “Fried” Chicken

A couple of weeks ago Mr. H & I decided to both start weight watchers and stick with it. I did it 2 years ago with a friend and did pretty well on it, but without someone to do it with I slowly lost interest. Mr. H eats pretty healthy for the most part & works out everyday, I on the other hand am the pickiest eater this side of the Mississippi & hate the gym. Being such a picky eater made weight watchers pretty hard the first time around & I really just didn’t eat much. Thanks to my introduction to the wonderful world of blogging this time around I’ve been able to make amazing meals that both of us enjoy while still sticking to the point system & feeling satisfied. A month ago I got the email for the Crazy Cooking Challenge saying that this months challenge was fried chicken & I immediately knew which recipe I wanted to test. I found this recipe on 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet. The comments had me worried that the chicken was going to be too dry if I didn’t add extra, but I didn’t want to add extra calories to something if it wasn’t necessary & let me just say I am so happy that I didn’t! The chicken turned out amazing & is being written in my recipe book as soon as I am done here! I even ended up making my own poultry seasoning since that wasn’t something I had on hand. I made just plain white rice to go with it because I needed something quick, but this would be great with mashed potatoes or corn & a biscuit.

In the Kitchen – Blow Pop Martini

Oh my goodness how has so much time passed since my last post! I apologize for the lack of posts, but for us summer is the craziest time of year which I’m sure is true for others as well. A couple weeks ago it was my sisters birthday and instead of going out and spending ridiculous amounts of money we decided to throw a Casino Royale themed bash at my house which turned out awesome. We all dressed up and we set up the bar & poker table in my dining room, my sister even made candy sushi! My contribution to the party was a blow pop martini because my sister LOVES candy (as if you couldn’t tell from the candy sushi). I found the recipe for the drink through Pinterest of course, Taste for Adventure. I was a little worried that this would taste too sweet for me, but this drink was seriously amazing! Also after a little playing around and tweaking the recipe just a little me and my sister came up with a whole new flavor!

In the Kitchen – Banana Cupcakes

I will admit with the holiday weekend I have been very lazy in regards to the blog, I apologize! But I do have a new recipe that has been a hit with the taste testers! Mr. H has been eating at least one of these cupcakes every morning. Now I don’t think it’s a great breakfast food, but there’s no arguing with Mr. H. This weeks inspiration came from Annie Eats, which I found of course through Pinterest. I changed her recipe just a little bit & since I was being lazy this week I did not make the caramel frosting that she uses, although some day I may attempt it, I just used the whipped cream topping I used for the Pink Lemonade Pie.

In the Kitchen – Pink Lemonade Pie

Oh my gosh you guys, Mr. H picked a good one this week! This weeks In the Kitchen is a Pink Lemonade Pie which I found on Prepared Pantry, through Pinterest of course. The cool thing about this website is that they have all different variations of this recipe so you can really create something that everyone will love. Now I think I would like this better if it had a waffle cone crust instead of graham crackers, but everyone else loved it so I guess I’ll just leave it alone. Is it weird that I usually don’t eat what I bake? I usually have a taste of course, but otherwise I don’t really eat anything I bake. I rely on all my taste tasters, so big thanks to everyone willing to try my creations! Now without further ado..

In the Kitchen – Ruby Tuesday’s Pasta Salad

Better late then never right?! Sorry, but life got a little hectic this weekend with work & I wasn’t able to post this till just now!

I don’t know ’bout you guys, but I seriously just go to Ruby Tuesdays for their pasta salad at the salad bar! Everytime we go there Mr. H and I sit there trying to decipher the recipe, thankfully we now have Pinterest so I can recreate the pasta at home. I’m sure I could of googled it before and found it, but let’s be honest I’m way to lazy for that! This pasta salad is great for all the parties I’m sure everyone will be going to this summer because you can really add whatever you’d like to it!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound cooked rotini pasta
• 3/4 cup ranch dressing
• 3/4 mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 8 ounces diced ham (I just got a fully cooked ham steak and cut that up)
• 1 cup frozen peas

Directions: 

1. Cook pasta & peas according to packaging
2. Whisk together ranch, mayo and seasoning salt.
3. Pour over rotini
4. Slowly fold ham and peas

I added more ranch to mine just because I don’t think you can taste the mayo on the one at Ruby Tuesday’s, but add whatever you’d like to your taste! Mr. H is loving that this is his lunch for the week! Definitely an A+ recipe that will be made again and again at our house. Follow me on Pinterest & help me decide what I make next In the Kitchen.

 

Side note: Mr. H went through my pinterest earlier in the week & picked Pink Lemonade Pie to be made this week for In the Kitchen, but unfortunately I had to work all weekend and forgot to pick up one of the ingredients I didn’t have so alas Pink Lemonade Pie will be brought to you next week!

In the Kitchen-PuppyCakes

This weekend at my job we had an open house and I was in charge of making cupcakes that visitors could have for free. For those of you who don’t know I work at animal hospital & of course I couldn’t just put out plain ol’ cupcakes, baking is in my blood and someday I will open my own bakery! This weeks In the Kitchen is inspired by a pin I found on Pinterest. It didn’t have any source or any instructions so I winged it all, but I have to say it came out pretty darned good!

Ingredients:

• any kind of cupcake you’d like. Since I was making so many & didn’t have much time I used a box mix
• chocolate frosting
• smarties (eyes)
• Nutter Butters (ears)
• Nilla Wafers
• Junior Mints (nose)
• Black gel frosting, you could also use an edible marker for this

Directions:

1. Bake cupcakes & let cool
2. Frost with chocolate frosting
3. Split Nutter Butter cookie in two and use as ears
4. Place Smarties & Nilla Wafer as eyes & nose
5. Put some frosting on back of Junior Mint and add to top of Nilla Wafer
6. Dot eyes with black gel & draw mouth on wafer

These cupcakes are super easy to make & would be great to make with kids! There wasn’t a single cupcake left at the end of the event and kids were coming up to me telling me they were the best cupcakes in the entire world. Also if you receive the Derry Newspaper keep an eye out as the cupcakes and a puppy should be featured!

Follow me on Pinterest & pick the next thing I make In the Kitchen by commenting here!