I’m “Crushin’ ” on these Strawberries and Cream Cupcakes big time. Last weekend I wanted to create my own strawberries and cream cupcake from my base scratch cupcake recipe.  Needless to say I ended up throwing that batch out. Today I went back to the test kitchen and did a few things differently.

Here in South Florida it’s Strawberry Season for us until the end of February. What better time for strawberry season than right before Valentines Day.  Perfect reason to try these.

When I tried these last weekend I baked the strawberries inside. I pureed them in a blender with some heavy whipping cream and it made the cupcakes too sweet.

Looks pretty but didn’t taste so great. The strawberries disintergrated inside the cupcake when baked and they came out purple! How I wish I’d taken a photograph of that, but I was embarrassed to show anyone.

This time I decided to just add the strawberries so as not to change the properties too much and keep a moisture in the cupcake.

I initially didn’t want to look at other recipes online, but I needed something besides strawberry extract to kick it up a notch and give it a more natural taste. I ran across a video on Youtube on Betty Crocker that used strawberry soda. I thought that was genius and would lighten up some of the sweetness in my cupcake.  I may try it again with Nestle Quick strawberry milk next time just to see if it changes much. You could probably also use a strawberry gelatin.  Sure, now as I’m writing this I come up with all the others.

Cue your ingredients…

The real test was giving them to my boyfriend to try.  I asked him to honestly rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, obviously 10 being AWESOME! He gave them an honest (hopefully) 7/10.  I’ll take it!  I’m constantly trying to make my cupcakes taste better that is the fun of baking right? So I’m sure I’ll be trying to improve upon that number.

But for today. I’m satisfied. Happy Sunday everyone.

The Stuffing v. Dressing  debate. It’s been around for eons.  I suppose it depends on the region and family background you come from. When I was a little girl, (in the mid west) my mother called it stuffing, so growing up and when I finally hosted my first family Christmas dinner for 30 people, (talk about getting a crash course in huge family dinners) I too referred to is as stuffing. Over the years I’ve come to learn, and which is what most people believe, stuffing is what goes in the turkey and dressing is what is outside the turkey. Easy peasy.

My sister-in-law was the one who originally taught me to flavor the dressing with sausage.  I have since modified my own version of this dressing recipe and I also don’t put the stuffing inside the turkey anymore. So hence, I call it dressing.  I also used to use those horrid stale croutons cut of stale bread from our local supermarket bakery. I have since switched to my mother’s way. Using a fresh baked bread. Tee hee, I still get it at my local supermarket bakery and use a sourdough and Italian combination. Whether you are a “stuffing” or “dressing” kinda person, or you use croutons v. fresh baked bread, this sausage, apple, & cranberry dressing is both tasty and a beautiful addition to your holiday spread.  I’m all about easy clean up so I used a throw away foil pan and transferred it to a pretty bowl at presentation time.

Happy Holidays!

Are you a “Dressing or Stuffing” person?

The secret to this tender pot roast is cooking it low and slow and in a flavourful liquid for it to soak up the juices. Top round roast is a tough cut of meat and the tougher the meat, the longer the cooking time.  Meaning at least 6 to 8 hours in order to break down the collagen and muscles which then tenderizes the meat.

Salt, pepper and add Rosemary to top of roast.  Place in hot melted butter chopped onions and minced garlic in large frying pan on medium heat. Sear the roast on all sides.

While meat is searing turn crockpot on low heat. Add can of Golden Mushroom Soup, Add 1/2 can of milk and 1/2 can of water.  Add package of Lipton Onion soup mix. Add 1/2 cup water. Add brown sugar, carrots and slice up a quarter of the apple in small pieces and toss in. Slice up rest of apple in large pieces and throw in crockpot.

Add more salt and pepper to taste. Stir thoroughly. Once roast is browned on all sides slice into 1/4 inch slices and place in crockpot.  Cook on low for at least 6 to 8 hours. Serve up with your favorite side dishes. To make it really easy you can just decide to throw some sliced potatoes in the pot too.

I served up my roast with some Simply Potatoes mashed potatoes and corn and drizzled a little gravy over the mashed potatoes.  The apples gave it a subtle sweet/tart taste and the meat pulled apart with a fork. I love crockpot meals. Don’t you?

]]> http://thekitchenprescription.com/2011/12/15/apple-and-carrot-braised-pot-roast/feed/ 2 http://thekitchenprescription.com/2011/12/15/apple-and-carrot-braised-pot-roast/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheKitchenPrescription/~3/_GgkCb2haKM/ http://thekitchenprescription.com/2011/12/14/strawberry-cinnamon-muffins/#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:15:46 +0000 Sherrismiles http://thekitchenprescription.com/?p=1938 Continue reading →]]>

Sunday I looked in my fridge and saw some strawberries begging to be used before they went bad. I’m guilty of always buying fruit and never using it before it loses its luster. I thought, strawberry pancakes.  Bad idea, I was out of syrup.  Bummer. Activate Plan B.

I had a long day ahead of me of Holiday decorating and needed a sugar boost. Strawberry muffins popped into my mind next. But what could I pair it with.  I didn’t just want strawberry. I was out of bananas. That would have worked beautifully.  So I did what any normal person searching out a unique recipe would do (I don’t always just use my recipes believe it or not.) I googled “strawberry muffins recipe blog” and came upon this wonderful recipe. Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins from The Cottage Home.

The combination of strawberries and cinnamon sounded delicious and looking at her baked muffins my mouth began to water. I could almost smell them baking. I hurriedly whipped up a batch and popped them in the oven.

Yup, just as I had imagined they would smell.The aroma filled the whole house and made it feel Christmas-ey. I paired my muffins with a mimosa.  Alright, maybe I paired my mimosas with a muffin. I needed an extra cheery kick to get to the Holiday decorating.  Can you blame me?  Everyone knows that this time of year is extra stressful.

I also couldn’t help but think these would be amazing with apples in place of the strawberry. Definitely going to try the apples next time.So even though I didn’t get my pancakes, I ended up with something much better and discovered a new blog to check out. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Be blessed and be well and eat lots of muffins!

Phew. I’m exhausted. So I’m keeping this post extremely short.  I’ve had a lot of cookie, cake, and cupcake orders to fill this week and I’m not done yet.  The new week is upon us along with more orders and Thanksgiving dinner. I want to wish you all a blessed Happy Thanksgiving and hope you all enjoy it with people you love most.

If you want the cookie and buttercream frosting recipe for these cookies you can visit my Valentine Cut Out Cookies.  (Where you see banana or strawberry extract, just use vanilla extract in place.) However, for the chocolate buttercream I tried out a new recipe and will probably never buy chocolate frosting from a can again. It’s the first time I’ve tried it and it came out delicious.

After your cookies are cooled and you have all your buttercream colors and piping bags ready you can begin by piping the chocolate buttercream on with a #18 Wilton tip.

Use a #5 Wilton tip to pipe the eyes,  feet, and wattle.

Use a #67 Wilton leaf tip to pipe the feathers.

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble. I’m planning on putting on my elastic pants and eating my way through the day.  I won’t be partaking in any Black Friday festivities I assure you. My turkey blood level will have me comatose for two days.

I have to mention out of blog courtesy and proper due credit that I did look up a base recipe and adjusted and added ingredients to my liking.  You can find that recipe at Blog Chef (dot) net  Chinese Honey Chicken.

Now combine your dishes. Take the chicken you have resting on paper towels

Place in bowl and pour on honey lemon sauce

Sprinkle on a generous amount of sesame seeds and stir gently in bowl to coat all the chicken.  Serve with your favorite sides. I cooked white rice and a side of honey lemon snap peas and carrot sticks steamed in the microwave. Garnish with scallions if desired.

This dish is every bit as tasty as take out and restaurant quality worthy.The only thing missing was some shiny new black chop sticks.  I couldn’t even find any at Target.  Looks like some online shopping is in order.

This recipe is so easy to make. Just the right recipe for all those apples you harvested and don’t know what to do with. This dessert bakes while you are eating dinner and while you are digesting, cools to a warm flavorful temperature.

So what are you waiting for? Bake one in the oven with tonight’s dinner.

See I told you it was simple. Best of all delicious.

When I created The Kitchen Prescription Fan page this past Spring, I had no idea it would take off the way it did. It’s only because of all of you, my readers and Facebook fans, that I’m able to enjoy blogging and posting on Facebook (and let’s not forget about Twitter) as much as I do.

Recently, I started bringing in a little income through Social Spark blogging about Food Sponsored Blog Topics that I feel relate to my blog content.  Not that I’ll be quitting my day job any time soon. Hehe.  I thought long and hard what I wanted to do with the money that I’m bringing in.  The only answer that came to mind (okay, it wasn’t the ONLY answer but it was the best answer) was to reinvest that money back into by blog by periodically hosting my own unsponsored give-aways.

Welcome to my first Fall Fan Blog Give-Away. The give-away will include a set of Wilton Halloween cookie cutters, a set of Wilton Fall cookie cutters, 3 Wilton decorating tips, and a bag of Tootise Caramel Apple Pops with assorted Apple Orchard flavors

Rules and details of Fall Fan Blog Give-Away (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):

This give-away is open to U.S. and Canada Residents only. The winner will be randomly drawn and announced October 16th 2011 around 12:00 p. m E.S.T. The winner will be posted here on the blog and announced on Facebook and Twitter throughout the day. Winner will email me their address and prizes will be mailed out. In the event the winner doesn’t respond in a reasonable amount of time, I will then randomly choose another winner, and so on and so forth.

All entries must be comments LEFT HERE ON THE BLOG for them to count. If entering more than once, each entry must be in a SEPARATE COMMENT for it to count.

For 1 Entry: Like me on Facebook if you haven’t already and  come back and leave a comment and tell me why you want to win this give-away.

For 1+ Entry: Friend me on Twitter if you already haven’t and come back and leave a separate comment with your Twitter handle.

For 1+ Entry: Tweet this give-away and leave a separate comment with your Tweeted link.

For 1+ Entry: Share this blog give away on Facebook and leave a separate comment stating you did so.  If you are sharing on FB through my posted link you must come back and leave the comment here.

Good Luck to you all and thank you for making my blogging, Facebook, and Twitter experience more fun. It wouldn’t be the same without any of you. Sure, I’d still blog, but it’s more fun when you have readers who interact and comment.  For that, I’m dearly indebted to you all.

October 16, 2011: The winner has been randomly chosen using the WordPress plug in “And The Winner Is” ….and the winner is Julie Grimberg! CONGRATULATIONS you have won the first TKP fan give-away. Happy Baking. Please contact me at sherrismiles1225@gmail.com and leave your address so I can mail out your prizes. Happy Baking and Decorating!  In the event, Julie doesn’t get back to me in a reasonable amount of time based on my discretion, I will randomly choose another winner. Thank you all for entering and participating.  I appreciate you all. Stay tuned for more give-aways.

Fall. One of my favorite times of the year. The change of colors, the cool crispness in the air, the smell of pumpkins, apples, and cinnamon. I absolutely can’t get enough of it.

This post is best described with few words.  Fall should be enjoyed for it’s scenery and beauty. (Plus I’m just too lazy to post all the pictures individually tonight…hehe.) You can find the recipe for my cutouts and buttercream frosting here

Happy Fall Everyone!

It’s Fall and that means Football Season is here. My boyfriend has season tickets to his favorite pro team which means there are nights I spend eating alone.  While I will cook a meal just for me, most times this is an opportunity for me to relax and take a night off from cooking.

That’s why I was excited to find out  T.G.I. Friday’s was introducing a new line of frozen entrees just for one.  How many times have you perused the frozen food isle and finally chose the perfect dinner that you thought was a healthy choice and looked appetizing on the box, only to cook it and feel dissatisfied with the taste? Me too. More than I care to admit.

The new line of T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” solves frozen food boredom with nine new entrées inspired by the bold and fun flavors of the famed T.G.I. FRiDAY’S restaurants. From Sizzling Steak Fajitas to Cajun-Style Chicken Alfredo, the new varieties infuse a fresh new flavor and shake things up in the frozen food category.

I chose the Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo entree.  It’s convenient packaging makes it easy to cook. It contained a reasonable portion and calorie count, and most of all, it tasted like restaurant quality food. I wasn’t disappointed in any way. The pasta tastes al dente,  the Alfredo sauce is rich and creamy, the chicken has a seasoned grilled taste, and the broccoli florets are crisp.  I can’t remember the last time I had crisp broccoli in a frozen meal. Did I mention the price is pretty awesome too?

I love it when a meals represents itself on a plate as well as it does the box and tastes as delicious as it looks. That makes me a repeat buyer of a product!

T.G.I. FRiDAY’S wants you to make your own freezers at home a bit more fun by decorating them with their own unique flair, and uploading a picture on Facebook for a chance to win cool prizes, including a home theater makeover. Visit  Fun Freezer contest     on Facebook like them and enter to win.

Don’t forget there are nine different T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” and don’t forget to decorate those freezers and enter the Fun Freezer contest

Choose your favorite entree and Bon Appetite my friends.