Bailey's Mint Chocolate Chip Cuppy Cakes

Nothing quite welcomes a person to town like desserts and drinks, right?  So, why not combine both (and like it hasn't been done in every other one of my cuppy cakes..)?  Imagine end of winter when the cold still has you in its grips, and you fight it off with a delicious cup of hot cocoa with Bailey's.  Num :)

Bailey's Mint Chocolate Chip Cuppy Cakes
Cuppy Cake Ingredients:
1 1/3 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C butter, softened (Crisco)
1 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C Bailey's with 1/2 tsp Peppermint Schnapps
1/4 C milk
2/3 C mini chocolate chips

How To:
1. Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin tin with liners or grease it up.
2. In small bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. 
3. Beat in eggs one at a time.
4. Add vanilla, then Bailey's and Schnapps.
5. Mix in the flour.
6. Don't forget to add those chocolate chips!
7. Fill muffin tins about 2/3 ful and bake 18 min or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool before frosting.

Frosting Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter, softened
2 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk or cream
1 tsp Peppermint Schnapps

How To:
1. Mix all together until smooth.
2. Spread a layer on top of each cooled cupcake.

Bitter Chocolate Glaze Ingredients:
2oz unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbsp butter

How To:
1. Melt together chocolate and butter in a microwave safe bowl in the, who-da-thunk-it, microwave.  Stir every 30 seconds until smooth.
2.  Let cool a few minutes, then transfer to ziplock baggie.
3.  Cut a hole in the corner of the baggie and drizzle over cuppy cakes.

Blue Moon Cuppy Cakes

Forwarning: I am the only one to have tried these cuppy cakes, even though they were made for a fellow grad student's birthday.  No, sad to say I did not devour them all.. I caught the flu and food was not allowed to leave my apartment..  So I sent him a picture!  It's the thought that counts, right?

Blue Moon happens to be one of our groups favorite beers, so hell, why not make a cup cake with it?!  Here goes, and please, if anybody makes this, let others know they are delicious!

Blue Moon Cuppy Cakes
Cuppy Cake Ingredients:
3/4 C unsalted butter, softened (Crisco)
1 3/4 C sugar
2 1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs, room temp (quickly brought to this temp by walking around with them in my sweatshirt pouch!)
1tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 C Blue Moon beer
1/4 C milk

How To:
1. Preheat oven to 375.  Prep muffin tins with grease or liners.
2. In large bowl, beat the butter until a bit fluffy.  Add the sugar a bit at a time, beating until all is incorporated. Then beat a few minutes longer!
3. Add eggs.  Beat.
4. Add vanilla and orange zest and keep on mixing!
5. Add milk.
6. Add beer.
7. Add flour!
8. Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full.  Bake 18 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frothy White Frosting Ingredients:
2 egg whites, room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 C sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 C water

How To:
1. In saucepan, mix sugar, water, and cream of tartar.  Cook on medium heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is bubbly.
2. In large bowl, beat egg whites, vanilla, and OJ until soft peaks form.  Slowly add hot sugar mixture while beating continuously.  Beat until stiff peaks form (5-10 minutes).
3. Frost the cooled cupcakes.  To be honest, when I did this, I could not get the frosting to spread!  So, I just dipped my cupcakes upside down into the frosting and they came out with cute little hats!

*If this recipe sounds like it's not your thing, you can try a cream cheese frosting like I will next time!

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Do you ever get those cravings for that one specific food?  Well, one night, I was yearning for the spicy deliciousness experience while in New Orleans (and once at Fat Tuesday, a Cajun restaurant in Des Moines!).  I wanted Jambalaya to beat back the chill from the windy winter day.

As I dug through my freezer, I came across fajita seasoned pork.  The fridge held peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes... Man, was I ready for this!

Slow Cooker Jambalaya
Ingredients
   1 pound whatever meat you happen to have on hand, cut into cubes
   1 pound of sausage, if you have it
   1 28oz can diced tomatoes with juice (I can't totally recall what I used)
   diced onions
   1 C chicken broth
   2 tsp oregano*
   2 tsp parsley*
   2 tsp minced garlic
   2 tsp Cajun seasoning
   1 tsp cayenne pepper
   1/2 tsp thyme*
   white rice or instant rice
     *to be honest, I also don't recall the herbs I used since many of mine are mixtures of them)

How to
1.  In slow cooker, mix the meat, tomatoes with juice, herbs, broth, basically everything but the rice.  Cover and cook seven to eight hours on low (3-4 on high). 

2.  Mix in cooked rice about 15 minutes before serving to let all get warm and flavorful!

Coconut Cream Pie (at Papa's request!)

Way back when there was snow on the ground and Christmas carols were abound, I ventured into making my first ever cream pie...  Just for Papa.  As it is his favorite dessert and he had made the trip to join us for the holidays with two of his daughters, I favored him and his sweet tooth!

First off, I will admit that I don't think I made the crust..  If memory serves me correctly, I had bought pie crust in the refrigerator section at the grocery store.  Like I said, my first pie and I wanted at least a part of it to taste properly!  Prepare the crust according to directions.

The Filling
Ingredients
   1/2 C granulated sugar
   1/4 C cornstarch
   1/2 tsp coarse salt
   1 1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk (from 13.75oz can).. I for one was not expecting what I found
        in the can..
   1 1/4 C whole milk
   4 large egg yolks
   3/4 tsp vanilla extract
   1 C shredded sweetened coconut

To make filling
1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan.  Whisk in the freaking coconut milk after you have dug it out from the solidified layer on top (is that normal?) as well as the whole milk.  Cook over medium-high heat until bubbling and think while you stir continually.  Whisk egg yolds in a bowl.  Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the yolks in slow, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated.  Return to saucepan and the heat.  Bring the mixture again to a boil while stir, stir, stirring!

2.  The recipe called for the baker to strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl...  I did not have such a sieve and it turned out just fine!  Stir in vanilla and shredded coconut.  Pour that mixture you just made into the pie crust and smooth even.  Wrap in plastic and refridgerate until set.. Any where from four hours to two days.

The Topping
Ingredients
   1/2 C large-flake unsweetened dried coconut
   1 1/2 C heavy cream
   2 tbsp. sugar

To make topping
1.  If using un-dried coconut and attempting to bake them, turn the oven to 350.  Place coconut on a cookie sheet in an even layer.  Bake 5 minutes, mix, and then bake for a few more minutes.  Keep an eye on these buggers, for I recently had a batch burn on me ridiculously quickly!
2.  Beat together cream and sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form.  Tope pie with cream, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and serve!!

My papa and dad thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas dessert! (The rest of enjoyed my staple cheesecake with a peach syrup topping!)

Coconut Cream Pie (at Papa's request!)

Way back when there was snow on the ground and Christmas carols were abound, I ventured into making my first ever cream pie...  Just for Papa.  As it is his favorite dessert and he had made the trip to join us for the holidays with two of his daughters, I favored him and his sweet tooth!

First off, I will admit that I don't think I made the crust..  If memory serves me correctly, I had bought pie crust in the refrigerator section at the grocery store.  Like I said, my first pie and I wanted at least a part of it to taste properly!  Prepare the crust according to directions.

The Filling
Ingredients
   1/2 C granulated sugar
   1/4 C cornstarch
   1/2 tsp coarse salt
   1 1/2 C unsweetened coconut milk (from 13.75oz can).. I for one was not expecting what I found
        in the can..
   1 1/4 C whole milk
   4 large egg yolks
   3/4 tsp vanilla extract
   1 C shredded sweetened coconut

To make filling
1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan.  Whisk in the freaking coconut milk after you have dug it out from the solidified layer on top (is that normal?) as well as the whole milk.  Cook over medium-high heat until bubbling and think while you stir continually.  Whisk egg yolds in a bowl.  Slowly add the hot milk mixture to the yolks in slow, steady stream, whisking until completely incorporated.  Return to saucepan and the heat.  Bring the mixture again to a boil while stir, stir, stirring!

2.  The recipe called for the baker to strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl...  I did not have such a sieve and it turned out just fine!  Stir in vanilla and shredded coconut.  Pour that mixture you just made into the pie crust and smooth even.  Wrap in plastic and refridgerate until set.. Any where from four hours to two days.

The Topping
Ingredients
   1/2 C large-flake unsweetened dried coconut
   1 1/2 C heavy cream
   2 tbsp. sugar

To make topping
1.  If using un-dried coconut and attempting to bake them, turn the oven to 350.  Place coconut on a cookie sheet in an even layer.  Bake 5 minutes, mix, and then bake for a few more minutes.  Keep an eye on these buggers, for I recently had a batch burn on me ridiculously quickly!
2.  Beat together cream and sugar with a mixer until soft peaks form.  Tope pie with cream, sprinkle with toasted coconut, and serve!!

My papa and dad thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas dessert! (The rest of enjoyed my staple cheesecake with a peach syrup topping!)

Smoked Turkey

Right before Easter I was organizing the freezer!  I found a few turkey breasts and Paul decided he wanted to make a turkey for when Sannie came home.  (Plus we had Ham and Sammy's Pizza).  This is one recipe I love to eat and don't have to make at all! 

1     cup        Morton Tender Quick Salt
1     cup        white sugar
1     cup        brown sugar

Directions: De-skin turkey.  Sprinkle mixture on top & leave up to 8 hours.  Baste with solution.  Smoke at 165 degrees.  4 hours for 9 lbs.

Pizza Hotdish

This recipe is one of our family favorites!  I got this recipe many many years ago from my college roommate's sister. 

 

1            can                    crescent rolls1            can/jar               pizza sauce           
1            pound                ground beef, browned
1            4 ounce pkg.     shredded mozzarella cheese

1            4 ounce pkg.     shredded cheddar cheese

 

Directions: Lay 4 crescent rolls in 8 x 8 inch greased pan.  Combine ground beef & sauce.  Lay on top of rolls.  Sprinkle cheeses over mixture.  Top with rest of crescent rolls.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  (I usually double this when I make it for 4).