Nutella Frosting

Ever since I tried the bella nutella cupcake at Cupcake A La Mode I’ve had a hankering for nutella frosting.   Some googling brought me to this recipe, a nutella buttercream frosting.  Perfect for a neighborhood cookout like the one we are going to tonight!  I didn’t spring for the ferrero rocher candies but did get some hazelnut pirouettes to top them off with.  Sooooo good, and not too rich!

Nutella Frosting (from Koko Cooks)

Ingredients:
¾ c butter, softened
¼ c chocolate hazelnut spread
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs milk
3 c powdered sugar

Blend all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Adjust consistency by adjusting with a little more milk if too stiff, or a little more powdered sugar if too runny. Frost and decorate cupcakes as desired.

Read Full Post »

Mediterranean (un)Stuffed Chicken

So on my last trip to Costco I was in a bit of a rush and grabbed the first bag of chicken breasts I found.  Turns out they were the wrong brand (I prefer the ones that are individually sealed, make less of a mess when you thaw them out) and they are filets.  So they are way too thin to be stuffed!  So Tyler just put the filling on top, as a kind of salsa.  It was still delicious!  This is a 5 ingredient recipe, making it super quick to put together.  We really enjoyed it, and next time we have regular chicken breasts, we will actually stuff them!

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 1  large red bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
• 2  tablespoons  finely chopped pitted kalamata olives
• 1  tablespoon  minced fresh basil
• 8  (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Directions:

Preheat broiler. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and finely chop. Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Combine bell pepper, cheese, olives, and basil. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff 2 tablespoons bell pepper mixture into each pocket; close opening with a wooden pick. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from grill; cover loosely with foil, and let stand 10 minutes.

Read Full Post »

Key-Lime Raspberry Bars

Mercy, these were SO GOOD!  I’ve never used freshed squeezed key lime juice before (the store bought stuff is a decent shortcut) but I’m glad I did for this recipe.  While my fingers got a bit sore from the squeezing, it tasted so incredibly fresh, mmm.  I only discovered that I liked key lime a couple of years ago when I first made Dorie’s Florida Pie, which is an amazing combo of key lime and coconut.  We had a bunch of raspberries we had recently defrosted that were pretty squishy and had lost their shape, not great for baking but perfect for making the raspberry puree.  Next time I will let it cook longer, I was impatient and didn’t let it thicken as much as I should of.  The end result was still spectacular though, a very fresh summary taste!  I baked it in a 9×13 pan but next time I might try an 8×8 so they are thicker. 

Key-Lime Raspberry Bars (from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, adapted from The Greyston Bakery Cookbook by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan )

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
1 ½ cups ground graham crackers (about twelve 2 ½ by 5 crackers)
3 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP freshly grated lime zest
1/8 tsp salt
6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

For the Topping:
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
½ cup freshly squeezed key lime juice
1 TBSP freshly grated lime zest (use regular limes…more colorful)
1/3 cup raspberry puree (see below)

Position rack in the center of the oven. Preheat to 350F.

Grease a 9-by-13 inch pan. Set aside.

Combine graham crackers, sugar, lime zest, ans alt in a bowl. Pour the butter over the mixture and blend with a fork. Press the mixture inti the bottom of the prepared dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of and electric mixer set on medium speed, cream the cheese and sugar together. Add the egg yolks and continue to mix until will blended. Scrape down the bowl.
Add the key lime juice and lime zest and mix until well incorporated.

Pour the mixture over the warm crust, and make sure it is spread evenly. Drizzle raspberry puree in a random pattern over the top of the filling. Use a knife to swirl the puree into the filling. Do as much or as little of this as you like.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center of the topping is set and the top begins to color slightly. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into bars.

Raspberry Puree

2 pints of raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
lime juice, to taste

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until berries have given up their juices. Bring liquid to a boil and continue to boil until liquid is thick but still fluid.

Run berries through a fine mesh strainer. Pressing down to make sure that you are forcing all the fruit and juices through.  Refrigerate.  This will make more than you need but is a versatile sauce that can be used for many things. Will last about 3-4 days.

Read Full Post »

Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomato Tian

This recipe caught my eye in the recent issue of Cooking Light.  However I forgot how much I dislike eggplant, so next time I will leave it out.  It upsets my stomach and the texture just weirds me out.  This was a great dish though.  I can’t wait to make it again later this summer when we can use zucchini and tomatoes from our garden.  We used herbs from our garden this time, definitely a money saver when you only need a couple of tablespoons!

Eggplant, Zucchini, and Tomato Tian (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

• 1  pound  eggplant, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1  pound  zucchini, cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• Cooking spray
• 1  pound  large beefsteak tomatoes, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 4  ounces  French bread baguette
• 1  cup  (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2  teaspoons  chopped fresh oregano
• 1 1/2  teaspoons  chopped fresh thyme (I used dried)
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Arrange eggplant and zucchini in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat vegetables with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Arrange half of eggplant in a single layer in an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with half of zucchini and half of tomato. Drizzle 2 1/4 teaspoons oil evenly over vegetables. Sprinkle vegetables evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper.

3. Place bread in a food processor; process until coarse crumbs measure 2 cups. Add cheese and next 4 ingredients (through garlic) to processor; process until combined. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups breadcrumb mixture evenly over tomato. Repeat layers with remaining eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, oil, salt, pepper, and breadcrumb mixture. Pour broth over top. Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender and topping is browned.

Read Full Post »

Snap Peas

One of the best things in the produce department this time of year is the abundance of fresh and crisp snap peas.  I intended to grow these myself but didn’t get our garden set up in time this year.  I could eat these every day!  This isn’t really a recipe, I just sauteed them for about 5 minutes in some butter, salt, and pepper.  Delish!  I always trim off the ends too, makes them easier to eat.  We have also boiled them for a couple of minutes, dunked them in cold water, and then tossed them in this sesame pasta salad, it is an excellent addition!  I wish they were always in season.

Read Full Post »

Buttery Jam Cookies

Or the cookies that weren’t…cookies.  I should have read the description better instead of skipping the intro and jumping straight to the recipe details!  These were like…fluffy biscuits, with the ginger flavor overpowering the last of my beloved raspberry-lemon jam.  I honestly thought these were gross, but fortunately Tyler likes them, so they are not going to waste.  However I will not make them again, sorry hun.  I will however post pics and the recipe, for those that are curious.

Buttery Jam Cookies (from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup jam

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place two racks in the oven, one in the upper third of the oven and one in the lower third of the oven. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar (on high speed) for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat on high speed for an additional minute. Add the milk and the vanilla extract and beat on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the jam and beat on low speed for 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients, with the mixer on low speed, just until they’re mixed in. The dough will be extremely thick and stiff.

With a an ice cream scoop or a teaspoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough onto baking sheets, forming cookies that are about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches in size.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the trays from top rack to bottom rack halfway through.

Once baked, let the cookies sit on the pan for a minute or two and then remove to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Read Full Post »

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

I think this recipe has been on my “to try” list for about 3 years now.  I meant to make them for my end of grad school party last week but ran out of time and just served chocolate raspberry brownies.  Then I considered making them for mother’s day brunch but made lemon poppyseed muffins instead (with lemon raspberry jam inside, so delish!)  Finally I had friends over last night and whipped up these cupcakes for the occasion.  I just used store bought vanilla frosting that I tinted pink w/food coloring, next time I will try from scratch frosting with a lemon twist!   These were great, I did like how the vanilla frosting balanced out the tart cupcake.  I got about 24 cupcakes from this recipe. 

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes (from Confections of a Foodie Bride)

Ingredients:
1 1/8 cup (9 oz) frozen Pink Lemonade Concentrate, thawed*
Boxed white cake mix
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Non-stick spray
frosting of your choice, from scratch or store bought!
red food coloring

* For a less tart cupcake  try reducing the amount of pink lemonade. 3/8 cup water and 3/4 cup pink lemonade will cut the tartness.

Directions:
In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, and the pink lemonade concentrate. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for 90 seconds (the batter will still be a bit lumpy; take care not to overmix so you don’t end up with dry cupcakes).  note: I discovered that my first batch didn’t come out very pink, so I added 2-3 drops of red food coloring to the batter for the second batch and they came out much pinker! 

Spray each cupcake liner with the non-stick spray and spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (fill the cups between 2/3 and 3/4 full). Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick registers “done” in the center cupcake. Remove the pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack.

Once the cupcakes have cooled you can ice the cupcakes.

For the lemon-buttercream icing recipe check out Shawnda’s original post here.

Read Full Post »