Gobble, Gobble

Just a little treat to say Happy Thanksgiving! I keep looking for reasons to make something from my Hello Cupcake book, and there just hasn't been a great opportunity. So, I decided to stop waiting for something special and just make something for fun. I had to go visiting teaching yesterday, had most of the ingredients on hand, thought they looked easy, and decided to make some turkey cupcakes!

I think they turned out so cute! Jaxon and Gavin had fun helping me. My only complaint is that the cupcakes in this book are supposed to be easy, with easy to find supplies. Well, I had to visit 3 grocery stores to find the right kind of cookie for the feathers, and was never able to find any caramel jimmies (not even Michael's had any--the only place I could find them was online.... not handy)... so we settled for a different sprinkle mix, that still turned out OK (not as cute as the jimmies would have been, though...)

Plus, I thought I had one fruit by the foot left in the pantry for the wattle... I did have 1 left, but it was a multi-color one and not red! So we had to pipe the wattles with red frosting. But I liked it just as much, and these really were easy to put together... once I found all the blasted stuff. (Even the candy corns were hard to find... you cannot get them after Halloween! I had to rummage the clearance bins to find 1 measly bag... moral of the story is stock up on candy corns at Halloween time!) I can't wait to try some Christmas themed ones next month! Thanks for the book, Daysh!

Supplies:

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes (mini and regular, baked in white liners)

Cream Cheese frosting (tinted light brown)

Regular can of white frosting

Candy Corns

Caramel Jimmies (or Turtle Crumb mix from Michael's, when you're desperate...)

Anna's Thin Ginger Cookies (finally found at Von's/Safeway)

Black chocolate covered sunflower seeds

Regular marshmallows (cut in half diagonally, and used to support the tail feather)

Cream Cheese Chicken Soup

I spaced dinner the other night and needed something quick and cheap at the last minute. This soup met all my criteria and even though I didn't have carrots (who doesn't have carrots?!), I still pulled it off and it was delish. (Don't let the horrific pictures fool you... food pictures with flash are awful! Eventhough I had this soup ready at 5:30, it was still pitch black outside...) Even Jared commented on how much he liked it... you KNOW that's a big deal. He even ate the leftovers the next day. The cream cheese gave it a fabulous tang and you could make it healthier by using Neuchtafel cheese instead of fatty regular cream cheese. I really liked that this didn't taste like your typical cream soup, but was still extremely creamy and rich. This is going into my "staples" file. I found the recipe here (quickly becoming one of my new favorite sites...)

A couple of notes: Like I said, I didn't have any carrots, so I used red peppers instead and thought they were great. I also think celery, mushrooms, and peas would be good in this soup. Feel free to add whatever veggies you have on hand.

I also didn't have a ton of chicken on hand, so I upped the potatoes and veggies to make my soup go farther. I just added a bit more broth to completely cover them.

I threw my chicken breasts into the oven right before I started my soup. They ended up being done at almost the exact same time the veggies were tender. It made meal prep easy and quick.

Finally, the recipe calls for softened cream cheese. I find that no matter how "soft" my cream cheese is, when I add it to a sauce or soup, it gets slightly lumpy and doesn't look very appetizing. I almost always put the cream cheese in the microwave for 30 or so seconds, and stir it until it's smooth before I add it to a sauce or soup. That way it doesn't go lumpy and looks more appetizing.

1 lb. chicken, cooked and diced (I used 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

3 cups chicken broth (either canned or use bouillon or chicken base--I used water with chicken base)

1 onion, finely diced

1-2 T butter

2 handfuls baby carrots (4-5 regular carrots) (think about 2 cups chopped vegetables)

4-5 potatoes, diced

1 cup milk

4 Tablespoons flour

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cayenne (I like my soup with a teensy kick... this is optional)

1. Saute onion in butter. Add 3 cups chicken broth, carrots or other vegetables, and potatoes. Add more broth to completely cover vegetables if necessary. Bring to a boil, then simmer until veggies are tender.

2. Mix the flour with the cold milk. Once veggies are tender (about 10 minutes), add milk mixture to pot of veggies, stirring well.

3. Add cream cheese to soup, little pieces at a time and stir until melted. Add cooked chicken and heat through. Season well with salt and pepper and cayenne, if desired.

Gourmet Rice Krispies, Take Two

One more yummy dessert from our pre-Thanksgiving fun this last week. I actually made this dessert twice... once on my own accord, and the second time, it was requested. It's super quick and easy, but looks gourmet... and tastes mighty tasty, too. You wouldn't believe how much dried fruit adds to rice krispies! I found the recipe here, a new favorite food blog that I've wasted far too much time on lately, perusing recipes, appreciating beautiful food pictures (the pictures are from her site), and increasing my ever growing "must try" list.

3 Tbsp. butter

1 (10 ounce) bag marshmallows

1/2 cup white chocolate chips, plus extra if desired (I used about an extra 1/2 cup)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

5 cups Rice Krispies

1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, etc. (I used a mixed bag of cranberries, blueberries, and cherries)

1/2 cup choc. chips, melted (the original recipe calls for semi-sweet, but it was a bit too rich for me. I didn't use any the second time and liked them better. But I may try milk chocolate next time)

1. Prepare pan by spraying with cooking spray or lining the pan with foil, allowing excess foil to hang over the pan edges (still spray your tin foil with cooking spray). The size pan you use depends on how thick you want your rice krispies. I used a 9x13 pan, and got thinner treats. But you could easily use an 11x7 or 8x8 pan, too and get really nice, thick, pretty treats.

2. Melt butter in large pot over low to medium heat. Add marshmallows, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until melted and smooth, about 8 minutes. Stir in vanilla.

(OK... so this may be obvious to many of you, but I just figured this out, after making dozens of crappy rice kripsies... you have to use fresh marshmallows (duh) and you have to melt over low heat. If you melt your marshmallows too quickly over higher heat, they will harden and you won't get soft, gooey rice krispies. Be sure to use a lower heat setting to get the gooiest, softest, and most perfect rice krispies!)

3. Off heat, stir in rice krispies, dried fruit, and any extra white chocolate chunks if you desire, until incorporated. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and press into bottom and corners with either a greased spatula or greased hands.

4. Let cool completely. Pour melted chocolate into baggie and snip off a small corner of the bag. Drizzle melted chocolate over treats. Allow chocolate to cool and harden. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Lemon Chiffon Cheesecake

I may or may not have mentioned that I love anything tart... especially lemon. You certainly couldn't tell from the types of recipes I post on here.... but here's one more that I made for our pre-Thanksgiving feast this last week and it was delicious! I wasn't sure it was lemony enough at first for my tastes, but the more I eat of it, the more I love it (my hips not so much, though...). The texture is just sooooo smooth and creamy and perfect, and the gingersnap crust adds just the right amount of tang. Plus, there's no baking involved, so it's a no fail cheesecake! Oh, and the presentation is gorgeous. I found the recipe here, again. (Oh, her desserts are so amazing! She has so much yummy stuff... I could look at her pictures for hours). I'm borrowing her pictures until I get a copy of the ones Alan took of mine. Enjoy!

Crust:

2 cups crushed gingersnaps

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Filling:

6-7 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (yes, it needs to be fresh!)

1 envelope unflavored gelatin (about 2 1/2 tsp.)

2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided

10 ounces white chocolate, chopped

24 ounces cream cheese (3 8 oz. packages), softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. lemon zest (don't skip this, even if you hate lemon zest, Dacia...)

For the crust:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the gingersnap crumbs, butter and sugar. Press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 10 inch springform pan. Set aside. (I let mine chill in the fridge)

For the filling:

1. In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice and gelatin and let stand for 2 minutes.

2. Bring 1/2 cup of whipping cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add white chocolate, stirring until smooth.

3. Stir the gelatin mixture and whipping cream mixture together and allow to cool.

4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and lemon zest at medium speed until well combined. Slowly beat in cooled white chocolate mixture and combine.

5. In a large bowl beat remaining cups of cream at high speed until soft peaks form. Fold into white chocolate and cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust. (Instead of garnishing later with chocolate curls, I poured some white chocolate chips into the bottom of my crust, before pouring the cake mixture in.)

6. Cover and freeze overnight. Remove from freezer at least 15 minutes before you plan to serve (otherwise it's too hard to cut slices... I may know this from experience). Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the crust from the sides of the pan. Garnish with chocolate curls and enjoy!

Kicked up Rice Krispies

Sometimes you just want something easy and quick, but you still want it to be a little special. These rice krispie treats are perfect for that occasion. Quick, easy, a little special, and super tasty. We made them twice in one week. Apparently, Jared approved of them... I found the recipe here. She has the most amazingly beautiful desserts and each one looks better than the next.

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

10 ounces mini marshmallows

4 cups Cocoa Krispies cereal

3 cups roughly crushed (but not pulverized) Oreo cookies

1. Butter a 9x13 pan baking pan, or spray with cooking spray.

2. Over low heat, melt butter in large pot.

3. Once butter has melted, add marshmallows. Continue to cook over low heat until completely melted. Remember to be patient and melt over low heat.

4. Once they're almost completely melted, remove from heat and add cereal and Oreos. Stir to fully incorporate.

5. Scrape into prepared pan, using a greased spatula or greased fingers to press into pan. Cover and allow to set for about an hour.

Beef Stroganoff

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. I was in the mood to try something a little different (well, different from what I make time and time and time again...) Well, I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand for this and it hit the spot! I love when you try a new recipe and it turns out yummy the first try!

I actually halved the recipe and it was just right for myself and Joey.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef chuck roast (I used some leftover Roladen meat that was already sliced thin)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 ounces butter (I used half a stick)
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed beef broth
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard ( I used a little bit more to taste)
  
• 1 (6 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup white wine (I used chicken broth)
  
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• I also added a bit of Wooster sauce for taste while it was simmering
  

Directions

1. Remove any fat and gristle from the roast and cut into strips 1/2 inch thick by 2 inches long. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper and marinade in beef broth for 30 minutes or so (if you want to).
2. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and brown the beef strips quickly, then set beef broth aside and add the onions to the remaining liquid in your pan and cook slowly for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Stir the flour into the juices in your pan. Pour in beef broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and stir in mustard. Add the beef strips back to your mixure and cover and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
4. Five minutes before serving, stir in the mushrooms, sour cream, and white wine (chicken broth). Heat briefly then salt and pepper to taste.
   

This is so yummy!! Enjoy!

White Chicken Chili

 Mmmm mmm mmm. That's all I can say about this recipe. I found it on All Recipes and it was delish! I had one just like this years ago when I was doing a temp job around Halloween and the company had a party and some lady brought this. OOOooh, it was good. But she was a punk and never brought the recipe, like I asked. Rude, I know. Anywho. I found this right in time for our Halloween get together at my dad's and tried it out. It was good. All the reviews I read said it was a little spicey, so I left out the jalapenos. But to make sure it still had a kick...I might've added a little much cayenne. So if you make it, and don't like your food to bite back, maybe go easy on the cayenne. :)

So here ya go. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I didn't use this since I made it in the crock pot)
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers (didn't use this either)
  
• 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (used a little much of this...)
  
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
• 3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

I just plopped everything in the crock pot and let it cook for a good 4 to 5 hours. It was so good!
Photo courtesy of Allrecipes.com