Friday, September 16, 2011

Key Lime Margarita Cupcakes

I wanted the dessert for the Monograms and Margaritas shower to go along with with theme, but lets skip rimming the cupcake with salt! I tried a few recipes that had alcohol in the icing but it just wasn't turning out like I wanted. After a little trial and error this is the wonderfully scrumptious concoction I decided on, Key Lime Margarita Cupcakes with a Sweet Key Lime Buttercream! 


Here is what you'll need for the cake: White cake mix, lime jello, self-rising flour, sugar, vegetable oil, water, eggs

Here is what you'll need for the buttercream: unsalted butter, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, sweetened lime juice

This recipe is what I used for a shower and it makes about 48 cupcakes, if you don't need that many then just simply cut the recipe in half.  But if you are making the whole batch then you will need a very large bowl! Combine cake mix, flour, sugar, and jello until well incorporated.  Then blend in, on medium speed, the water and oil until will mixed.  Then add in the eggs ONE AT A TIME, beating on medium until well mixed. 


I always line with cupcake tin with plain white baking cups. Boring? Not when your double cup them! When you bake in the cutesy printed ones they usually don't come out of the oven looking like they did when they went in, this is the perfect way to fix this! It also give depth to your presentation and makes for pretty pictures! :) 


Fill your plain boring white :) baking cups about 2/3 of the way full, that way the cake will stop just around the top of the baking cup and will be flatter and the icing will look better that way. 

Now on to the buttercream! I love buttercream, it is so simple yet so versatile! You can literally take the base recipe, butter and powdered sugar, and add in basically anything and ta dah! 


Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add in powder sugar in increments and continue to cream. I normally add in the heavy whipping cream in between my powdered sugar additions. Once the icing is about at the right consistency add in the sweetened lime juice, to taste.  Frost the cooled cupcakes, sprinkle with the decorating sugar (to resemble salt), garnish with sugared fruit slices (I only used the lime, lemon, and orange ones), and slip the finished cupcake into its party dress! :) Enjoy!
                                                    

Happy Baking! 
-K



Ingredients 
2 - 18.5 ouncebox white cake mix (without pudding)
2 - 3 ounce package lime jello
2 Tbsp self-rising flour
8 tsp granulated sugar
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
8 eggs
1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated

Pour in oil and water, beat on medium until well blended

Add in the eggs, one egg at a time, beat on medium until will blended after each egg.

Bake for about 20 minutes. 


Sweetened  Key Lime Buttercream
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 16 oz packages powdered sugar
Heavy whipping cream
Rose’s sweetened lime juice (to taste)
Sugared fruit slices (for garnish) 
Decorating Sugar (for garnish)

Cream butter until light and fluffy
Add in powder sugar and continue to beat on slow
Start adding in the cream and sweetened lime juice
The liquid ingredients are something you will just have to judge. The cream will help you get the right consistency and the lime juice is for flavor, so use your best judgment here.

Monograms and Margaritas Bridal Shower

This summer my best friend, since 2nd grade, got married! I was an absolutely beautiful wedding! I threw her a Monograms and Margaritas Bridal Shower, complete with lots of monograms, lots of margaritas, and some pretty delish food!


I found these adorable invites at  Polka Dot Design! They came very quickly! And here is a money saving tip.. a lot of online stores that sell invitations also offer printing, but it is usually pretty pricey. I ordered these invites blank and had them printed at a local print shop, only cost me .15 cents an invite! 

The Menu

Chilled Cucumber Avocado Soup Shooters
Kiwi Mango Salsa
Mini Taco Bits
Watermelon Margaritas 

I'll be putting a link to the recipes up soon! There really is something to be said for making all the food your serve! It gives you more pride in the table spread and I think it's more personal and thoughtful! However, I was so busy getting everything ready for the shower I forgot to take pictures of the food! So as soon as I locate some the recipes will be posted!  


Happy Party Planning! 
-K 





Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes


Need a quick breakfast to whip up for that special someone? Here it is! I don't know about y'all but we eat pancakes a lot and while plain buttermilk pancakes have their rightful place in the breakfast table, sometimes you just have to mix it up a little and try something different. These are super easy to make and if you bake even a little I'm sure you have all of the ingredients in your fridge already. 


Here is what you will need: Flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, egg, milk, and vanilla.  


Whisk together all dry ingredients, in one bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and vanilla. 


Make a depression in the middle of the dry mixture. Then pour liquid mixture into the center of the depression. 


Mix just until blended. Prepare your skillet by heating up some butter. You will want to cook your pancakes on medium/high heat. 



*HINT* When you start seeing little bubble all on the top of the pancake it is ready to be flipped.


Enjoy! 
-K

Cinnamon Vanilla Pancakes
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Makes 14 pancakes

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Sweet German Chocolate Sauce

This is a super easy and quick way to add a little something extra to just about anything you can put chocolate sauce on!




Ingredients

1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz of German sweet chocolate

Break up the chocolate and set aside

Bring the corn syrup and cream to boil over low heat; stirring constantly

Remove from heat and add in the chocolate; stir until melted 


Told you it was simple :) Enjoy!

-K

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Sauteed Summer Veggies

Need a healthy way to use up the last of your summer veggies?! A fresh light dinner is just what the end of summer ordered! :) Summer squash and zucchini are two of my summer diet staples! Not to mention they are so yum and super easy to cook! 


Yep! That is about all you need to get started.. plus a few staples from your cabinets!


Make sure that you wash your veggies very well, since you will be leaving the peel on. Also cut off all the ends and throw them away. 


Chop the veggies into rounds and place them in the skillet. If you have a large one with a lid that would work best! 


Next chop your onion. I like to chop mine into medium size pieces. Then add them into the pan as well. 


Next add the water and the olive oil. 


As with most of my dishes.. season with mortons! Make sure to not over season.. you can always add more but you can't always take it away!


And that's it! It isn't the prettiest dish but it is so yummy and perfect for a light summer dinner! If you like a little more protein or have that better half that would never just eat veggies for a meal pair this with the Lemon and Rosemary Roasted Chicken  and then make the leftovers into a yummy summer chicken salad! 



Enjoy!


Sautéed Summer Veggies

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup water
Mortons to taste
3 squash
1 zucchini
1/4 cup chopped onion

Chop squash and zucchini into rounds
Dice onion
Place veggies, onion, olive oil, and water in large skillet (with lid)
Season with motons
Cook on medium-high heat for 20 minutes
Stirring occasionally

-K

Monday, September 5, 2011

The Perfect Way to Spend Labor Day

This weekend all my favorite people and I went to the beach to celebrate for Labor Day! One of our favorite places to eat, drink, and be merry is Tacky Jack's! It has such a fun atmosphere, great food and amazing drinks! It is seriously the best beach place! We were so excited to learn that a new location had just opened up in Panama City! We headed there on Saturday for food and football!

Tacky Jack's Famous Bushwackers are definitely something everyone should experience!
But for those of you no where near south Alabama or the panhandle of Florida then you will just have to make your own!


Here is a recipe I found at PTIT Chef

1 Part Malibu Rum
1 Part Bacardi Rum
1 Part Kahlua
1 Part Creme de Cacao
1 Part Coco Lopez
1 Part Bailey's Irish Cream

Put all ingredients in blender, add ice and blend. I find that
putting the Kahlua in after all the others have been blended and then
mix in the Kahlua seems to keep it from frothing up. Serve in a tall
glass with a straw. Top with whipped cream if desired, but not
necessary.

Recipe by: Jeremy T. DeDear

Hope y'all had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend! 

Enjoy
-K


Thursday, September 1, 2011

Coco Loco Muffins

Whether you are a coconut enthusiast or just like shredded sweetened form that comes on your favorite coconut cake these muffins are sure to please!

The idea for this recipe all started after I found organic dried shredded coconut, which I had been trying to find forever! Finally, one glorious afternoon at Earth Fare there it was just waiting for me to take it home!

Odd as it sounds, I dreamed up this recipe.. no really I had a dream about coco loco muffins. When I woke up I decided it had to be done! What a great decision that was! These are seriously good!

I know some people have a thing against coconut, more often then not I hear it is the texture. But don’t rule this recipe out until you have tried it! If you can find organic unsweetened shredded coconut I am willing to bet you will change your mind! The texture is different and the pieces are smaller then the sweetened varieties that you find on the baking aisle of the local supermarket. And you could always dump it in a food processor and make it even smaller. 


Once you have gathered all of your ingredients for the muffin batter you are ready to start! I would suggest melting your butter first. The butter will need to cool before you can add it in to the liquid mix, and anyone that has ever melted butter can tell you that it takes a while to cool! 

The next thing you want to do is sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Unless you bake a lot you probably don't have a sifter handy.. no need to fear! Using a whisk will work just fine! Make sure that you whisk it very well!


Now add in the sugar! :) And mix well. I use real cane sugar in all of my baking, but if you want to splenda can be substituted. 


Now that all of your dry ingredients are well mixed add in the chopped pineapple. You might want to use a spatula to mix in the pineapple.. I used a whisk. I'll admit not one of my brightest ideas! 


In a new clean bowl break your eggs. You always want to break eggs in a separate bowl just incase any shell falls in and most importantly that one bad egg doesn't ruin your whole mixture! No matter how much you bake or how long you have been doing it you can always run across a bad egg. :)


Whisk your eggs well. 


In the bowl with the eggs add in the coconut milk, vanilla extract, pineapple juice, coconut extract, and
melted butter. It is very important that your butter is cooled! If the butter is hot it will cook the eggs.. which is bad! Also, if you like a lighter coconut flavor you can leave out the extract and you will still have very fluffy light muffins with just a hint of coconut flavor!


Whisk all the liquid ingredients well. 


Make a depression in the middle of the dry ingredients. This will make mixing the dry and liquid ingredients easier and will save you from over mixing! 


Add in liquid ingredients into the depression. 


Before you start to incorporate the dry and liquid ingredients together add in the shredded coconut. 


Now that all of your ingredients are in the same bowl fold the ingredients together. 


Once you have mixed your batter it is time to add them to the muffin tin! 


If you want your muffin to have a crust then do not line the muffin tin with baking cups but remember to grease them. I personally like the outside to be soft, so I always line mine with baking cups! Plus they are pretty! :)

Bake on 400 for about 20 minutes. Take out of oven and let cool. 

While your muffins are baking you can make the Mango Coconut glaze! 

The hardest part about the whole muffin/glaze process is the mango! Sure chopping it is easy.. pureeing it is not so easy. If you have a magic bullet use it!! It will work much better then a huge food processor.. plus the clean up is way easier! 


Puree mango until very smooth.. this can take longer then you think it should. Mango can get stringy.. it is a tough fruit to work with! I am still trying to prefect my mango buttercream! Don't worry you will be the first to know when I do!

Once you think that the mango is almost done being pureed add the coconut milk into the food processor and continue to blend.


Add in the water and whisk well. Then add in 1/4 cup powdered sugar and whisk until well blended. Add in another 1/4 cup powdered sugar and whisk well.


As you should with all food.. even if it is just for you.. make it look pretty! Drizzle the glaze and garnish with just a little lime zest! 

Finally, Enjoy! :) 


-K


Coco Loco Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups All purpose flour
1 tbsp Baking powder
Pinch salt
Heaping 1/2-cup sugar
1/2 cup Pineapple (finely chopped)
2 Eggs
1 cup Coconut milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract
3 tbsp Pineapple juice
½ tsp Coconut extract
6 tbsp Unsalted Butter (melted and cooled)
1/2 cup Dry unsweetened coconut*

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; whisk well
3. Add in sugar; whisk
4. Add in finely chopped pineapple and mix well
5. In separate bowl crack eggs; whisk
6. In the same bowl add coconut milk, vanilla extract, pineapple juice, coconut extract, and
 melted butter (cooled) ; whisk well
7. Make a depression in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in liquid ingredients
8. Add in dried coconut
9. Stir until well blended.. Be careful not to over stir!
10. Line muffin pan with baking cups; fill cups about 2/3 full with batter
11. Bake for 20 minutes            


Mango Coconut Glaze

Ingredients:
1 mango (peeled and chopped)
¼ cup water
¼ cup coconut milk
½ cup Powdered sugar
Lime Zest (for garnish)

Steps:
1. Puree mango
2. Add in coconut milk and continue to puree until the mixture is smooth 
3. Place mango into a medium sized bowl
4. Add ¼ cup water; whisk
5. Whisk in powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time
6. Drizzle glaze over muffins and garnish with lime zest