Chronicles of a Foodie

An Evening With Star Chefs 2014

2014-06-30T09:15:00.001-07:00

We had the pleasure of attending "An Evening With Star Chefs" hosted by Rosemary's Children Services on Saturday, June 21. In it's 51st year, the event is one of the most well renowned in the Pasadena area and was founded by Julia Childs.

Over twenty of Pasadena's best chefs and restaurants came out to offer all you can eat tastings of their best dishes. What was so great about the event, besides all the delicious food, was that all the ticket proceeds benefitted the foster children and youth of Rosemary's Children Services! The turn out was amazing and attendees were indulging in Pasadena's incredible dishes and spirits. The band kept up the event's energy, the silent auction had a wide array of items and activities to win, and visitors were moved by the inspiring stories of the speakers and honorees.

My favorite dish of the night had to be the Tuna Tartare tacos from Plate 38, they were just so fresh and came with a side of my personal favorite hot sauce, Sriracha! Lili's favorite was the two different macaroni and cheese dishes and the mini cheesecakes!

We want to send a special thank you to Rosemary's Children Services for including us in this wonderful event and we can't wait for next year!

Ariel's Better Than Spaghetti

2014-02-18T09:33:00.001-08:00

I hate spaghetti. Okay, maybe I just hate ground beef, angel hair pasta, and a marinara sauce. To me, it's a little boring. So a few years ago, instead of sayin I HATE SPAGHETTI, I'LL NEVER EAT IT AGAIN!... I decided to switch it up and use different ingredients. And after many tweaks and adding vegetables, Ariel's Better Than Spaghetti was born. It took me forever to get the ingredients down because I hardly ever measure. So, keep that in mind....sauce especially, if you like a lot of sauce- use a lot, if not...don't use a lot of sauce.

Ingredients

1 cup whole grain rotini

1 zucchini, chopped

2 cups of spaghetti sauce*

1 precooked beef sausage, sliced into rounds

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 small onion, chopped

*i used Puttanesca sauce from fresh and easy, it is up to preference.

Let's get cookin!

Cook the pasta according the directions on the box

Cook the sausage in the skillet for 5-7 mins until they looked cook/brown slightly

Heat garlic, zucchini and onion in the same skillet as the sausage until the veggies are tender.

After 2-3 minutes, add the sauce.

Drain spaghetti.

When you feel your sauce (and veggies) are perfection, pour it over the spaghetti.

Enjoy!

Previously, I've added chopped red bell peppers and onions, which was also delicious. I made some garlic cheese bread to go with it, because why not find a reason for it?

Peanut Butter Nutella Swirl Cookies

2013-12-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

It's time for The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! For the past three years food bloggers across the nation have signed up to participate in the swap where they send three food bloggers a dozen of their favorite cookie recipe.

Besides being a fun way for bloggers to interact the cookie swap also benefits a wonderful charity! 100% of the blogger swap donations benefit Cookies For Kids' Cancer, a national non-profit organization committed to funding new therapies used in the fight against pediatric cancer, which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease. If you're a food blogger and want to participate next year make sure you sign up for notifications here!

I received some amazing cookies from three fabulous bloggers! The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie sent delicious Nutella White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Eggnog Pecan Cookies from Home Baked Happiness and last but definitely not least some delightful Dutch Spritsen Cookies from In My Red Kitchen! Thanks to all my blogger matches for sending over such delectable sweets!

For my Cookie Swap matches I decided to send some Nutella Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies because really, what's better than Nutella and Peanut Butter? That's right...not much.

Two things wonderful on their own but even greater together, these cookies are sure to be a hit among your fellow sweets lovers. I added more Nutella than the original recipe called for since I really wanted to taste that chocolate-hazelnut goodness but I think next time I'll add even more. Or maybe even swap the recipe so that the Nutella is the main part of the cookie, like a chocolate cookie and add swirls of peanut butter. Sorry, getting off topic, thoughts of Nutella jars dancing in your head will do that to you.

The cookies were crunchy and very reminiscent of Peanut Butter Criss Cross Cookies but with the added taste and lovely look of Nutella swirling through their golden brown hue.

I used my handy dandy GIR Spatula to help with the peanut butter/Nutella part of the recipe. It's not just a silicon spatula it's a multipurpose tool that can be used for sautéing, stirring, folding (perfect for when I'm making macarons) and even more handy for getting sticky ingredients out of small jars. I got my spatula in lime green since it's my favorite color but there's a wide array of shades including a limited edition Bacon print.

This recipe is super easy to follow, the longest part is the chilling of the dough but even that only takes 15 minutes! Make sure when you're adding the warm Nutella to the dough that you mix everything up all nice and even so you get those gorgeous swirls in your cookies.

Nutella Peanut Butter Swirl Cookies

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Adapted from Erica's Sweet Tooth

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar + 1/8 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup Nutella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the your butter, peanut butter sugar mixture until just combined.

Microwave Nutella for 20 seconds and then drizzle over the dough. Fold in Nutella with a spatula until well-distributed throughout the dough.

Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 15 minutes and then roll into small balls about a tablespoon sized by hand.

Place about an inch apart on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and use a fork to press down the balls slightly. Dip the fork into 1/8 cup of granulated sugar between cookie criss-crosses.

Bake until the edges are lightly browned, about 8-10 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 2 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

***Disclaimer: I was provided a GIR Spatula in exchange for my honest review of the product. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are my own***

Almond Macarons With TARDIS Tea White Chocolate Ganache

2013-12-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Whoa! Sorry about the delay! I've been crazy busy with Foodbeast work along with my office day job and baking endeavors...I know, excuses, excuses. But I'm back with a delicious new recipe!

Back in September Adagio Teas so graciously sent me some of their incredible fandom teas. Yes, FANDOM. TEAS. Created by Adagio Tea users these fandom teas are blended by fans as a means of paying drinkable homage to their favorite characters. The most well known Adagio blender has to be Cara McGee. She has made blends for Sherlock, Doctor Who, Harry Potter and much more! With over 200 blends under her belt and an incredible Tumblr fan base, the Atlanta based artist is quite the Adagio celebrity. Plus she draws up some adorable labels! See that tea tin up there? Yeah she totally drew that.

Anywho, I've been having some major macaron fears since that whole banana nutella macaron debacle...aka the hot cross bun macaron crisis of 2013, but I decided to suck it up and try to conquer the finicky cookie one more time. Being the superstitious baker I am I decided to leave no cookie sheet unturned. I followed every macaron mythbuster in the book. Double cookie sheeting...check. Cookie sheet on the top rack to prevent overbrowning...check. Leave the shells out to dry for 30-60 minutes...I left those suckers out for an hour. I wanted to make sure the only baking they did was up to get those glorious macaron feet. Smooth shells, chewy texture, and study feet. These are the requirements for a perfect macaron. That and making sure your cookies isn't hollow on the inside. Oh I almost forgot, you have to measure everything incredibly accurately. A kitchen scale is your best friend when it comes to macarons. For reals.

So like I was saying, because I was crazy scared to try making these again I decided not to get too brave and make a flavored macaron, because that's where things went terribly wrong last time. These are strictly almond macarons which is fine, from all my macaron research I've read that most macarons get their flavor from the filling not the cookie. Unless you're using a dry ingredient to flavor, like say oh I don't know powdered freeze dried fruit or cocoa powder, you really shouldn't try to mess with the flow of these cookies. They smell fear. Seriously.

I dyed them blue with the intention of having them become a beautiful TARDIS blue color as made famous by Doctor Who (aka one of my favorite shows in all of time and space) but unfortunately white meringue doesn't take dark colors on so well, which is how I ended up with Tiffany blue macarons instead. Sigh.

Oh yes, so the tea. In keeping with the Doctor Who theme I thought to myself, "Hey, I still have that TARDIS tea...I wonder how it would taste mixed with chocolate." I had seen Earl Grey ganache so how hard could it be to use TARDIS tea to do the same thing? Turns out, not very.

All you do is let the tea steep in some heavy cream until it gets a-bubblin' then you gotta pull those leaves out quick and pour the hot tea-infused cream onto your white chocolate and whisk until everything is all nice and smooth. My ganache didn't set as well as I had hoped so I chilled it for a few hours and then threw it in my mixer to whip it which gave it more of a frosting consistency. Call it a happy accident or just a lucky mistake but I thought it tasted absolutely delish. I drink TARDIS tea on a daily basis English style with cream and sugar and this cookie tasted just like my morning cuppa in macaron form.

Macarons with TARDIS White Chocolate Ganache
Makes 36 large shells or 18 sandwiched cookies

Blue Macaron Recipe
adapted from Ms. Humble's Scatterplot Macarons
120g almond meal
200g powdered sugar
100g egg whites
35g granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
5-7 drops Navy Blue Americolor Food Gel
Sifter
Food Processor
Hand or Stand Mixer
Piping bag
Large round tip

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat. Make sure to double up on cookie sheets so your macarons don't cook too quickly during the baking process. If you have a macaron piping template put it under the parchment paper so you can see where to pipe otherwise you'll have to take the route I took and trace circles all over the parchment paper as a guide. The size is up to you, I made mine fairly large for a macaron which is why this recipe yielded a small amount for me.

2. Weigh out your almond meal, powdered sugar, egg whites and granulated sugar separately using a kitchen scale.

3. Add your almond meal and powdered sugar into a food processor and pulse until both ingredients are well combined.

4. Sift the almond sugar mixture through a sieve or sifter over a large bowl. We're using a large bowl because you'll need the room for the meringue later. After your entire mixture has been sifted it's time to move to the meringue.

5. Place your egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a bowl or in your stand mixer bowl. Using Bravetart's guide to making macarons set your stand mixer to 4 or "medium" for 3 minutes. The egg whites won't look super foamy at this point but that's okay because we're no where near done with them. Increase the speed to 7 or "medium-high" for an additional 3 minutes. Then turn up the mixer to 8 for another 3 minutes. At this time it's best to add your coloring so it's incorporated evenly into the meringue. At this point you should have a stiff meringue, this means that the meringue should stand up on itself so check your whisk and turn it upside down. Is the meringue clinging tight? Can you turn your bowl over your head and not have a head full of meringue? Good, then that's the perfect consistency! Be careful not to overmix as you'll end up with a gritty meringue and won't be able to complete the macaronage stage.

6. Now here's where things get scary. The macaronage stage is where you mix the meringue in with the dry ingredients. You can't beat or stir this you have to gently fold the two together. Pour your meringue into your almond sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula circle the entirety of the bowl then come straight down the middle with your strokes. You want to get the air out of the meringue without over beating it while still incorporating the almond sugar mixture. The consistency you want should be what people describe as "lava-like". Basically it should flow onto itself and melt back into the mixture after about 20 seconds. This consistency is usually achieved after 60 strokes. Do a consistency check to see if your mixture is flowing like ribbons of lava.

7. Take an piping bag and fit it with a large round tip. Twist the bag near the tip end so your batter doesn't flow until you're ready to pipe. Carefully add your batter to the piping back but be careful not to over fill the bag. Make sure all the air is out of the bag by twisting the open end. Take your full piping bag to your cookie sheets and pipe your shells. Don't pipe in a circle just center the tip in the middle of your circle and squeeze just before the batter reaches the edges of the circle. Release your pressure on the bag to stop the flow of batter and move onto the remaining shells.

8. After all your shells are piped carefully grab your cookie sheets (while also holding the parchment paper in place) and tap the cookie sheets on a table. It's okay to be a little rough during this part, we want all the remaining air to rise to the top so we can get the smoothest shells possible. After about 4-5 raps on the table your cookies are ready to dry. Leave them out for about 30-60 minutes until the shells are no longer sticky to the touch.

9. Preheat your oven to 280 degrees. Put a large cookie tray on the top rack of your oven to shield the shells from over browning. Once your oven reaches 280 degrees place your macarons on the lower third rack. Bake for 15-18 minutes pulling the shells out before they get browned. Some recipes say to keep the oven door propped open a crack to release the steam from the cookies but if you doubled up on the cookie sheets you should be fine. After your cookies are done baking let them cool on the cookie sheet until cool. Do not try removing the cookies from the parchment paper until they are completely cool otherwise you risk losing the bottom of your cookie.

TARDIS Tea White Chocolate Ganache
2 heaping Tbsp. TARDIS blend Tea
1/2 cup heavy cream
5oz white chocolate pieces

1. Add heavy cream and tea leaves to a medium sauce pan. Let the cream slowly heat on low. The tea leaves will steep in the cream and turn the cream to a golden brown color.

2. Add your white chocolate to a small bowl. Once your cream begins to bubble it's time to add it to the white chocolate but you have to remove the loose leaves first. You can use a sieve or tea press for this.

3. Add the warm cream to the white chocolate and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Once the desired consistency has been reached cover and let set in the fridge for 2 hours. When the ganache is chilled it will be easier to spread when you assemble the macarons.

4. Match up your macaron shells up by size in pairs. Grab your chilled ganache and add about a tbsp to one shell and sandwich the cookies together being careful not to crack the fragile shells.

5. Once all the cookies are assembled they need to be chilled for 24 hours to achieve optimal deliciousness. I know, it's hard especially after all these steps and you can't even eat one. Trust me, you want that ganache to have time to get all cozy with your macaron shells, it'll be worth it. After 24 hours, dig in!

Broccoli & Cheese-y Cheese Wontons

2013-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today's recipe is brought to you in part by the letter A! Just kidding. It's actually a recipe created by Justin Warner, Season 8 Winner of Food Network's The Next Food Network Star...fancy! Ironically this Asian-American fusion appetizer was created to pair with a Robert Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc...so maybe Asian-American-French fusion? This appetizer/party snack not only pairs well with this white wine, it's actually infused into the recipe via the sauce! Now THAT's fancy.

Let me just put this out there. Wontons are our friends. Whether in soup, stuffed with meat or oozing with cream cheese, these hands free little pockets of goodness are one of nature's perfect foods. Keeping that in mind, if you're maybe in the mood for a more healthy option you can always stuff these little wrappers with greens, case in point these Broccoli & Cheese-y Cheese Wontons.

No, there's no mistake in the name of these wontons, they are literally that cheese-y cheese...y. Goat cheese and cream cheese mixed with broccoli, parsley, shallot and salt. Cheese on cheese on greens. These wontons might take you back to your childhood days of broccoli and cheese at dinner but I promise you this is much better.

There's no correct way to fold a wonton, well at least I don't know the correct way but in the words of the chef himself, "Get creative. As long as they're sealed you're good to go." I tend to pull all the corners up to the top and fold the sides to create a kind of dumpling shape. They don't have to be perfect! Promise!

Once all your wontons are stuffed and folded it's time to make the sauce! We're cooking with wine so don't freak out, it'll be okay. You're just boiling some soy sauce with some wine then adding some sugar to create a dipping sauce as unique and fun as your wontons!

Broccoli & Cheese-y Cheese Wontons
Serves 25-30 wontons
Recipe created by Justin Warner

Ingredients for Stuffing:
6 oz chopped broccoli florets (use fresh, not frozen. We're doing this FOR REAL)
4 oz goat cheese, softened
2 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tbsp minced shallot
2 tsp minced parsley
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Ingredients for Preparation:
25-30 wonton skins
1 egg white
oil for frying

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce:
3 tbsp Robert Mondavi Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp granulated sugar

The Stuffing: Moisten some paper towels and wrap the broccoli with them. Put the moistened broccoli parcel on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 2 minutes on high power. Carefully place the florets in a mixing bowl with the cheeses, shallots, parsley and kosher salt. Using a wooden spoon, a fork or a rubber spatula, mix the ingredients until thoroughly combined.

The Preparation: Put heaping teaspoons of the mixture in the center of the wonton skins. Brush some of the egg white on the edges of the wrapper and seal. Continue until you run out of filling. Place these guys in the fridge while you make the sauce. Preheat the oil in a Dutch oven to 350 degrees.

The Dipping Sauce: Put the soy sauce and the Sauvignon Blanc in a saucepan and slowly bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar. Refrigerate until you're ready to use it.

To Fry: Fry the wontons in the 350 degree oil, in batches of 3, or until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve hot, with the sauce and a cold glass of Robert Mondavi Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc.

***Disclaimer: These product were provided to me for review, I am not being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.***

Let's Chat

2013-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I had an epiphany this weekend. I realized in the midst of all the websites I contribute to along with my day job that I've been lagging on the site that allowed me to start writing for some of my favorite websites. I started this blog one day at a job I really despised. I was still pretty fresh out of college and was still trying to get a footing for this real world situation.

Outside the college bubble. Outside the safety of the friends I spent an amazing four years with in the confines of our little town of Davis. Thrown back into my hometown with all my friends gone left only with the remnants of "congratulations grad" cards and the pressure to get a grown up job. After being exposed to a brand new way of food in college I found myself totally photo spamming all my meals on Facebook. After having countless friends complain to me that I was making them hungry with my delicious photos I figured, "Hey! Why not start a food blog?!" So that's what I did and it became something much more than I ever thought it would be.

This little food blog gave me an outlet to talk about my meals and ramble on about how much I love tea and what not. Then my friends started reading it, then I found wonderful groups of blogger friends to connect with and swap urls with and now here I am. Because of this site I am now writing for Cupcakes Take The Cake and Foodbeast while also running Chronicles of a Foodie, baking for Smashbakes in my spare time (I know right, what spare time), blending up band fandom aka Bandom based teas for fun with a friend, oh and did I mention trying to co-found a nerd girl website with another pal. Phew. So as you can imagine, things are getting pretty crazy over here. I probably haven't mentioned it but I have one of those personalities where I have to stay busy, I'm not sure why I've just always kind of been like that, but on the flip side I get my lazy days. It happens to the best of us.

Anyway, getting back to the point of this post, I just wanted to kind of talk to you my wonderful readers and explain why things might be slower than usual...if you couldn't tell this is what happens when you're 24 and have a crazy passion for food, nerdy things, baking, writing and can't possibly choose just one. Here's to keeping on with the dream of turning these loves of mine into a career... <3

Kerfuffle Lip Balms

2013-09-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Do you remember Lip Smackers? Remember buying them because they smelled so delicious? Personally, I was all about that Dr. Pepper lip balm. Sure, Lip Smackers are still around but at the age of 25 I've kind of outgrown those trendy lip balms in favor of ones that actually help my lips, but I'm still not over requiring them to smell delicious.

Lucky for me mouthwatering lip balms do exist and are made by a friend of mine. Kerfuffle Lip Balms is the name and lip balms are the game. Created by Elise Caloca, these lip balms are handmade with all natural ingredients like coconut oil, bees wax, organic shea butter, organic cocoa butter, vitamin e, olive oil, so not only do they smell incredible they're actually great for keeping your lips ultra kissable! Elise even uses real chocolate in some of her flavors so you'll also get a natural beige sheen. She sent me three wonderful flavors to try: Spicy Chai, Horchata and Amaretto Clove Honey.

Spicy Chai: Immediately you get a whiff of chai that reminds me of my favorite Starbucks drink. About 2 minutes after I used the Spicy Chai my lips got all tingly, not in a bad way but similar to those $18 lip plumper lip glosses. Fun fact, cinnamon is a natural lip plumper so this lip balm not only moisturizes but gives your lips some extra oomph!

Horchata: This one smelled less spicy but still sweet. Perfectly cinnamon-y this flavor reminded me more of snickerdoodles then Horchata but to be fair, they both have the same flavor profiles. Plus, where else are you going to find Horchata lip balm?

Amaretto Clove Honey: When I first smelled this flavor it reminded me of almond extract. That sweet almost cherry aroma but less intense when paired with the sweet smell of honey. This flavor wasn't overly sweet, it was actually almost a calming aroma, the best way to describe it would be warm.

All the lip balms look just like the chapstick you would buy at Target but with a cuter label and much better flavors. These aren't meant to be a dessert you taste on your lips all day, they were intended to keep your lips soft and moisturized. Other flavors include: Orange Sangria, Chocolate Banana Coconut Vanilla, Mango Lassi and Banana Coconut. To try Kerfuffle Lip Balms for yourself head on over to their Etsy shop!

Foodie Adventures in NYC!

2013-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

And we're back! Sorry about the delay, I was on a mini vacay in "The Big Apple" a couple of weeks ago. It was my first time on the East Coast but I have a few friends in New York that showed me a good time in the city that never sleeps. Though I checked out all the usual touristy things, of course my first order of business was to try out some of NYC's most popular eateries...

Shake Shack

I got in late Wednesday night so my first real meal on my vacation wasn't until the next day. I had heard so much about Shake Shack being the East Coast equivalent to our West Coast In-N-Out so I knew I had to try it. It definitely had a larger variety on the menu than my beloved In-N-Out, boasting Chicago style dogs, concretes (like DQ Blizzards), and a selection of alcohol. I had to go for the Shack Stack, a cheeseburger topped with a portobello mushroom that's stuffed with cheese, breaded and fried. The first bite is just an explosion of cheesy goodness that's one of the best burgers I've ever had.

Lady M Citron Mille Crepes

After a day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art I took an afternoon snack break at Lady M. A popular confectionary boutique, the desserts offered at this little shop are their own pieces of art. Most famous for their crepe cakes, a cake made up of twenty crepes stacked and layered with creme these treats melt in your mouth like a cloud. The Citron one I had was a seasonal flavor, the most popular item on the menu is the Lady M Mille Crepe, a whole cake will run you $75, but even a single slice at $8 was a little steep.

Ramen Burger

Behold, in all it's fusion glory, the Ramen Burger. This crazy concoction made it's debut in New York at the start of August and is served up at Smorgasburg every weekend in Williamsburg. There's usually only about 250-300 burgers sold at each event with a wait of an hour or so. We waited about an hour and a half but that was only because the grill went out right when we were in the top 10 to get our Ramen Burger on. A beef patty topped with arugula, green onion, shoyu sauce and nestled between grilled ramen "buns" this was definitely one of the most interesting hybrid foods I've ever had, but nonetheless it was absolutely delicious. The shoyu sauce mixed with the green onion and ramen brought traditional asian flavors to an american classic. The beef was cooked to a nice medium allowing the patty to still be juicy and have a nice pink hue inside. I do wish the ramen buns would have been a little more crispy to add more texture to the dish, it was mostly soft, on soft, on soft, but other than that I loved it.

The view from The Met's Rooftop Garden

Besides eating all day I went to a speak east for the first time, explored New York's bar scene and even hit up some very popular NYC favorites: Momofuku Milk. Georgetown Cupcake, The Halal Guys (Chicken over Rice...I'm so mad this isn't in LA!), Times Square etc. I hadn't had Halal chicken over rice since my UC Davis College days and I could not believe how much they give you at these NYC carts for $6! I was more mad at myself for a) not finishing it and b) not being able to save it since I was going barhopping later.

Overall I had a great trip! I can see why NYC is such a hub for food lovers, there's literally EVERYTHING within blocks of each other. You can go from Little Italy and enjoying some NY style pizza hop on a subway and end up grabbing falafel or even walk across the street and grab some ramen. My trip was my first time on the East Coast but it definitely won't be my last. The way my friends talked about this city they now call home made me think that I need to head out to the heart of LA and explore more often so I too can have that passion for my city.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

2013-08-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the days of school supply shopping, picking out the perfect first day outfit and reuniting with all your friends? Well, September is right around the corner and kids are heading back to school! Though I'm past my first days of school these Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes are perfect for the students in your life!

For this Bella Cupcake Couture Blog Party the theme was "Back to School". We were sent white cupcake wrappers this time for our little ones to show off their inner artists! I had my little brothers design their own wrappers and even asked them for some inspiration on the cupcake recipe this time around. Make sure to check out the links below for the rest of the Back to School themed cupcake recipes from our fellow party bloggers!

Bella Cupcake Couture

Chronicles of a Foodie

Crazy for Crust

Cupcakes Take the Cake

Diary of a Mad Hausfrau

Sugar Swings! Serve Some

The Baked Equation

The Decorated Cookie

My youngest brother is 9 and everyday for lunch he has a peanut butter sandwich. I'm not joking. EVERY. DAY. He never gets sick of 'em! His peanut butter sandwich addiction reminded me of all the PB&J's I ate as a kid and voila! I semi adapted this from the Peanut Butter Jelly Potato Chip Thumbprint Cookies I made before but served up with a chilly glass of chocolate milk, this cupcake takes you back to your own childhood days.

Like the last couple of Cupcake Couture Blog Party themed recipes these cupcakes were made from cake mix to makes things a little easier...let's say, semi-homemade...hey, it works for Sandra Lee! I spruced up this cake mix with some powdered freeze-dried strawberries and filled them with strawberry pie filling! Check out their construction in my Instagram video below!

Isn't that neat? After the "jelly" part of the cupcakes are done we have to add the peanut butter! I'm a huge proponent of peanut butter and would put it on everything if I could. Whip it up with some powdered sugar, butter and milk and you have one killer frosting. In the video below I used a large open star tip to pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Did you catch the surprise at the end? I rimmed the frosted cupcakes in crushed up potato chips! No, it's not weird, it's actually really delicious! Peanut butter, jelly and potato chips. How is this not your childhood in a cupcake? Sweet, salty and sticky this cupcake is served best with some milk. Chocolate or straight up, your choice.

My other younger brother Evan designed the cupcake wrapper above, he was drawing some of his favorite activities of the Summer and decided on the beach trip we took on his birthday. While my little bros were getting their artist on we conducted a mini interview, without knowing it both my brothers wrote down the same answers

What's your favorite cupcake flavor?

Red Velvet!

What's been your favorite moment from this summer?
Raging Waters!

What are you most looking forward to when you go back to school?
Evan: Meeting my teacher! Zach: Seeing my friends!

PB&J Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
1 box of Vanilla Cake Mix
1/2-3/4 cup powdered freeze dried strawberries
1 can strawberry pie filling
Cupcake corer or knife

Directions:
Prepare cupcakes as directed on box mix. Add powdered freeze dried strawberries and mix until combined. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-18 minutes.

Once cupcakes are done baking flip them out of the pan and let them cool completely on cooling rack. When your cupcakes are completed cool use a cupcake corer or knife to make a cavity in the cupcake. Set carved top aside. Fill cupcake with 1-2 tsp. of strawberry pie filling and replace cupcake top.

Frosting Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk

In a stand mixer, cream together peanut butter and butter until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar until mixture is thick. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved. Let whip for about 2-3 minutes to incorporate air into the frosting to get that whipped texture.

You probably know what to do next! Just like all the other Cupcake Couture Blog Parties this is the part where you can enter to win a prize pack! This time, one lucky reader will win over $375 worth of prizes sure to sweeten the baker in your life's day! Enter below for a chance to win!

Thanks to our amazing Prize Pack sponsors for their generous donations! Please, visit their websites to see more of their fabulous products!

Bella Cupcake Couture
The Smart Baker
India Tree
Mesa de Vida
Pretty Party Details
To enter to WIN this Prize Pack, simply fill out the entry form below. Contest opens August 27, 2013 at 7am PST and closes September 2, 2013 at Midngight PST. One winner will be chosen and announced within 48 hours of the contest ending. Winner will be contacted via email by carrie@bellacupcakecouture.com and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. If they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. This contest is open to residents worldwide. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cool Off With REvive! Giveaway Post

2013-08-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we reviewed REvive, a vitality drink packed with 21 super fruits. Though we tried the drink on it's own, we got to thinking, "Hey, this could taste could pretty delicious in a lot of beverages!"

There's some neat ways to cool off in this August heat with this little 2.5 oz shot! Add it to your water bottle for a gym pick-me-up! Get a little fruity with some fruit tea! If you have a Soda Stream you can even create your own REvive soda using a few of these little guys! It's a much better alternative and can be used as a delicious substitute to ween your little ones off their usual sugary soda.

Bonus! Adding REvive to your favorite beverage ensures you're getting your nutritional needs! 21 super fruits, no added sugar or preservatives, what else could you ask for?

If you're more of a cocktail lover we've got something for you! Get your Sangria in the summer spirit by adding 1/2 cup of REvitalize to a pitcher of your favorite blend. How about a Fuzzy RE? Just take a glass and fill with ice, add one shot of your favorite vodka, 1 bottle of REvive (2.5 oz) and fill to the top with soda water. Add a squeeze of lime or some mint, mix it up and you've got yourself quite the refreshing drink!

Interested in trying some of these REvive recipes for yourself? Well good news, RE is giving you the chance to win a bottle of REvitalize or a 12 pack of REvive! We'll also pick five runner up winners to receive a bottle of REvive! Any entrant that provides an email address will receive a coupon so you can try RE products for yourself, available at your local Vitamin Shoppe, Sprouts, Whole Foods or online at Costco.com!

Enter below on the rafflecopter widget!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

***Disclaimer: These product were provided to me for review, I am not being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.***

Skinny Artichoke Spinach Dip

2013-08-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorites on any appetizer menu it seems almost too good to be true that a lightened up version of this cheesy dip exists! Made with Chobani and enjoyed with Cabo Chips this Skinny Artichoke Spinach Dip will have your party guests in bamboozled into thinking they're nomming on the real thing!

So a while back Chobani sent me a box full o' CHO goodness to use in some recipe testing. I used some of it in my Green Monster Smoothie Popsicles but I was hoping to be able to use it in something savory as well. During my recipe hunt I was contacted by Cabo Chips to collaborate and come up with a recipe that would pair well with their chips. Tortilla chips and artichoke spinach dip? It's a match made in appetizer heaven!

Cabo Chips are unique in that they are non GMO, gluten-free, and all natural! The Blue Corn Cabo Chips are even made with organic blue corn! The chips are hand cooked in soybean oil in small batches to ensure that the chips are light and crispy without being over greasy.

My favorite part about these chips, other than the fact that they're incredibly delicious, is that Cabo Chips uses all natural ingredients. No flavorings, preservatives, trans fats or any of those "how the heck do I even pronounce that" stuff. Oh, and they're super easy to find! Check out your nearest Sprouts, Ralphs, or Whole Foods to pick up a bag for yourself!

Even though these chips are light and crispy they are extremely durable when it comes to dips. This Skinny Artichoke Spinach Dip was pretty thick but the Cabo Chips held up well when packed up with the dip...and I was not shy with the dip. Because I was using tortilla chips that were already seasoned (aka salted) I didn't add salt to my recipe. In doing this I avoid over-salting the dip and messing up the natural balance between the tortilla chip and dip.

Sure, most skinny dips tend to not taste like the real thing. I'll be honest, in my dieting adventures (yes, even foodies watch the scales!) I've had some pretty terrible things. But I promise, this dip totally delivers. By making some simple swaps you're still able to enjoy the food you love in a way you never thought possible!

Alright, back to the recipe! The simple swaps in this recipe are Chobani plain yogurt and lowfat cream cheese. The average spinach artichoke dip uses mayonnaise, sour cream and/or whole milk. By using greek yogurt and light cream cheese you're still able to achieve that creaminess without sacrificing any flavor. Also, you're dramatically cutting the fat and calories of a usually heavy dish.

Skinny Artichoke Spinach Dip
adapted from Spiced Blog

Ingredients:
2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
10 oz. bag of frozen spinach (thawed, drained and chopped)
13.75 oz. can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped) (if it's a little more or less than 13.75oz. it's okay!)
6 oz. Chobani 0% Non-Fat Plain Greek Yogurt
8 oz. low or non-fat cream cheese (I used low-fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
1/8 + 1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium frying pan heat olive oil and add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add spinach and artichokes to pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add red pepper flakes.

Remove pan from heat. In a large bowl combine yogurt, cream cheese and 1/8 cup parmesan cheese.

Add cooked ingredients to bowl and combine all ingredients together until well mixed.

Transfer mixture to oven safe baking dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/8 cup of parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.

Best served hot with Cabo Chips or your favorite tortilla chips.

Speaking of lightened up recipes, our friend Kasey over at Kasey's Kitchen is inspiring fellow food bloggers, as well as ourselves to be more active and make some simple swaps so we can continue to enjoy the foods we love while also promoting a more healthy lifestyle in the process! We don't use the word diet here...that word immediately makes you think you're giving up something, where what we're doing is taking ON something: Taking on some extra activities. Taking on the challenge of cooking for yourself vs. eating out throughout the week.

It's a challenge Kasey has dubbed: Foodies Shedding Booties! Cute name right? Well we're definitely into it and we'll be trying to create some more lightened up recipes on the blog as part of the challenge! Keep an eye out for the "Foodies Shedding Booties" badge on our next skinny recipe post!

***Disclosure: Cabo Chips and Chobani products were provided to me for review and use in a recipe. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.***

Seven Layer Magic Bar Cookies

2013-07-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Every Christmas my aunt would make Magic Squares as part of her plate o' baked goodies. Nestled among the Peanut Butter Cookie Kisses, Brownies, and Banana Bread, I would specifically pick out the Magic Squares since I would ONLY get them that time of the year. When I found out one of my favorite food bloggers re-imagined these yummy bars into the portability of a cookie I knew I HAD to make them.

So these Magic Bar Cookies lack the complete "seven layers" i.e. condensed milk and nuts, but you could easily make them "six layer" cookies by adding your favorite nuts. Probably walnuts, those would be the best option to pair with the rest of the mix-ins.

I'll be totally honest, I'm a baker at heart, truly. A few weeks ago I even got a whisk tattoo! I love baking cupcakes, attempting macarons and even decorating cakes, but I swear cookies are my mortal baking enemy. For some reason I could never perfect the art of baking chocolate chip cookies. As I got older and more experienced, I realized my dough was too warm so when the cookie sheets hit the oven, the dough would spread right away, leaving me with sad chocolate chip pancake-esque cookies. It was literally a hot mess.

I love how this recipe called to chill the dough for an extended amount of time. 1) Because it lets all the flavors of all the mix-ins meld together. 2) The dough will be firmer and easier to work with. 3) The cookies won't bake up as quickly, which means they won't flatten out too fast, which means we won't end up with flat cookies! Hooray!

Reading the recipe the first time, I thought the graham crackers were an optional ingredient. I knew it would be to mock the shortbread used in a Magic Bar recipe but what I failed to notice was that the graham cracker crumbs act as flour in the cookie, which is why the amount of flour used in the recipe seems a little less than usual. I keep a stash of Golden Grahams on hand in the kitchen for when I have an order of Reptar Bars to fill so I figured using these would be comparable. They actually turned out to be easier to use as well since they were already bite sized, all they needed was a rough chop and they were cookie ready!

Well this little gif addition is new! With all the add-ins in this cookie it seemed like a fun way to incorporate all that textural goodness into a fun moving picture!

When I got around to scooping my cookie dough I may have used a large cookie scoop instead of a medium one. In case you were wondering, yes, there is a huge difference between the two and I ended up with MUCH larger cookies than the recipe intended. It wasn't a huge deal since not very many people complain about getting a bigger cookie, but it did affect how many cookies I was able to get out of the recipe. I doubled the recipe and ended up with about 30 large cookies vs. the 44 medium sized cookies that the recipe would have made had I used the right cookie scoop...whoops!

Seven Layer Magic Bar Cookies
adapted from Averie Cooks

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 cup Golden Grahams cereal, roughly chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Directions:
Cream together butter, sugars, egg and vanilla with paddle attachment in stand mixer on medium speed until well combined (about 3-5 minutes).

Combine dry ingredients (flour, salt, cornstarch, baking soda) in large bowl. Add dry mixture to creamed butter and sugar. Mix until just combined, do not over mix!

Add the mix-ins! Add the Golden Grahams (including crumbs), chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and coconut to the cookie dough and mix on "stir" setting of stand mixer for about 30-40 seconds. You just want to get everything combined.

Using a cookie scoop form heaping 2 tablespoon mounds. You should get about 20-22 dough balls. Place your formed cookie dough balls on a plate or in a pan, flatten them a little bit with your palm and cover with plastic wrap. Let chill for a minimum of 2 hours or up to 5 days before baking. These cookies will spread too fast and will bake very thin if you try to bake them up with dough that is too warm.

After your dough has chilled and you're ready to bake preheat the oven to 350F. Line the baking sheet with a Silpat or grease your cookie sheet. Be sure to place the dough balls at least 2 inches apart as the cookies will spread a bit. My cookies were much larger than the 2 Tbsp. size listed here as I used a larger cookie scoop but I managed to fit between 8-9 cookies per cookie sheet. (I was using large cookie sheets).

Bake cookies for 8-9 minutes, no longer! The cookies will be brown around the edges but the center will be pale and look undercooked. The cookies will set as they cool on the cookie sheet so don't worry about them looking raw. The cookies can't be baked longer than 9 minutes so they can retain their soft, chewy texture.

Allow cookies to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to cooling racks. Store cookies in airtight container and store at room temperature for up to one week or freeze them for up to 3 months.

PS. YAY! It's our 100th blog post!

REvive Vitality Drink Review

2013-07-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever needed an afternoon pick me up and turned to one of those energy shots? Guilty as charged over here. I chugged those things every time I had to drive to and from LA from Davis back in my college days. The problem with those things are 1) They taste pretty terrible and 2) You crash later.

Wouldn't you much prefer something that tastes great, doesn't make you crash later and is made with REAL ingredients? REvive is what you've been looking for. It's a 2.5 oz. vitality shot made with 21 super fruits, packed with antioxidants, green tea, vitamins and all that good stuff that's naturally found in fruit. Some of these many super fruits include mangosteen, goji, elderberry and prickly pear; definitely not ingredients you see in your average product let alone energy boost. What I love most about the RE products besides how they're 100% real is that with continued use they actually help your body with the antioxidants and natural nutrients!

I chugged one of these REvive shots last week while I was enduring the madness known as Comic Con. In case you didn't know, Comic Con isn't so much a vacation so much as it is a nerd's ultimate mission. I only slept about 4-5 hours a night, stood in lines for hours and crashed out as soon as I got back to my hotel. The REvive shot definitely proved to be a pick me up!

The smell almost reminded me of fruit leather I used to eat as a kid. It smelled like almost like grape but definitely like a blend of aromatics. My first sip surprised me as it wasn't sickeningly sweet like other energy drinks I usually have. It was a balance of sweet and sour but not bitter and didn't taste chemically. The pulpy nature of the drink definitely surprised me! I knew REvive was made with all these fruits but I didn't expect the puree to still have some mouthfeel, it was a shock at first but I enjoyed it. It reminded me of a less pulpy orange juice.

Personally, I'll definitely try these again. I don't feel like I'm drinking chemicals with REvive, I feel almost healthier using these vitality shots since I'm getting a ton of fruits I might not have daily otherwise. RE also makes a larger version of REvive called REvitalize, think of it as the bulk version of REvive. The bottle has 16 servings of the 2 oz. daily you need to feel great everyday!

To try REvive and REvitalize for yourself head on over to Costco.com, you can find them on Amazon! RE products are also available at your local specialty grocery store such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Bristol Farms and the Vitamin Shoppe!

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drinkRE

twitter: @drinkRE

***Disclaimer: These product were provided to me for review, I am not being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.***

Green Monster Smoothie Popsicles

2013-07-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's been totally unbearably hot in SoCal lately. As a winter baby I really don't appreciate Mr. Sun shining down on me trying to see if I'll melt.

In an attempt to find a fun way to cool down I saw an amazing popsicle recipe by my favorite food blogger, the amazingly talented Joy the Baker. I was inspired by her gorgeous popsicles and thought, "Hey! If I had one of those fancy molds I could make some pretty awesome popsicles too!" And thus, we have these Green Monster Smoothie Popsicles!

A favorite smoothie of mine, this power drink packs a ton of vitamins, protein, fiber and greens into a smoothie that's ridiculously delicious. Plus, I love the look that people give you when they see you sipping on an avocado green colored smoothie. The best part is, this smoothie tastes just like a peanut butter and banana shake! You can't even taste the spinach!

These popsicles are a great healthy way to stay cool without messing up your summer diet. Chobani Greek Yogurt, Silk Almond Milk, Frozen Bananas, Spinach & Peanut Butter. That's all you need to create these frozen treats!

Making these popsicles is simple and quick! It's just waiting for them to freeze that's the hardest. Basically you just make the Green Monster Smoothie and pour it into your popsicle mold and voila! Any popsicle mold will do but I really love this one. It was about $20 on Amazon and makes popsicles in that classic shape!

After everything is poured, the lid is on and the sticks are in, pop your pops into the freezer for a minimum of 6 hours, but if you have the patience to wait overnight it'll be worth it.

Green Monster Smoothie Popsicles
Recipe adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:
1 large frozen banana (chopped)
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 cup 0% Plain Chobani Green Yogurt (or Vanilla if you want it more sweet)
1 cup Vanilla Silk Almond Milk
2 cups baby spinach (or more or less depending on your preference)
Popsicle Mold

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour smoothie into the popsicle mold. Cover mold with top and insert popsicle sticks a little over halfway in.

Set filled mold in freezer and let freeze overnight.

Run warm water over the top of the popsicle mold to help loosen the frozen pops. Pop them out and enjoy!

A-Sha Dry Noodle Review

2013-07-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

The 626 Night Market is this weekend at the Santa Anita Racetrack bringing some amazing Asian delicacies and a plethora of vendors selling all sorts of goodies!

One of the vendors attending the second weekend of the 626 Night Market is A-Sha Dry Noodles. The company just recently broke into the US market and produce instant noodles. Their product is unique though, instead of using precooked fried noodles A-Sha noodles are completely air-dried and don't contain any preservatives or MSG!

I decided to try the Hakka Flat Noodle with Spicy Sesame Oil. Upon opening the package I immediately noticed a difference between these noodles and the maruchan or Cup o' Noodle kind. The noodles were much thicker and didn't have that brittle, fragile texture. These were much more sturdy and didn't break apart every time I touched them. I also loved how they weren't pre-coated in a flavoring powder or packed with random veggies. Yes, I'm talking about you Cup o' Noodles.

Similar to packaged ramen you find at 99 Ranch, this product needs to be cooked on a stove. Boil some water and let the noodles cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes then drain. It's that easy!

After draining the noodles they looked exactly like fresh pasta. They were firm and had some chew to them, definitely a step up from that gummy, gooey texture you sometimes get with other instant noodles.

After you drain the cooked noodles you add the included sauce and can even add veggies or meat to make a complete meal. The Spicy Sesame Oil included with the pack I tried was packed with heat which I appreciated as someone who LOVES spicy food. What was nice about the flavor is that it wasn't just hot, it also had a sweet and salty flavor with the heat on the backend.

Look how long those noodles are! It's unheard of! Next time I'll add some beef, veggies and some eggs to turn this into a spicy chow mein! It would make a delicious meal for one or a spicy side dish to share!

Aside from this Spicy Sesame flavor A-Sha offers several other flavors such as Mandarin, Sesame, Spicy and Barbecue.

A-Sha Dry Noodle will be at the 626 Night Market, you can find them at booth E-1 near the food trucks! They'll be serving up some delicious dishes that are sure to be a hit with all the market visitors and will have some of these instant noodles for sale!

A-Sha Dry Noodle
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***Disclaimer: These product were provided to me for review, I am not being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.***

Apple Pie Cookies

2013-07-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July! I'm sure your day is full of friends, fun and of course, food!

Personally, I'll be at my mom's for a little Independence Day shindig but I'll be bringing along these delicious Apple Pie Cookies!

An American icon, this classic dessert is the perfect sweet treat to celebrate the 4th of July!

Though these pie cookie hybrids look tricky their actually very easy to put together! The recipe I used was of the semi-homemade variety but various ingredients used can easily be substituted for made from scratch supplies...i.e. caramel, pie crust, apple pie filling, etc.

I can't wait to try these again with some homemade supplies! My stepmom makes the most incredible apple pies so if I can take that giant pie and shrink it into portable form I'll consider this a success. Or this could end up being a smidge of a problem for me since I'll be able to have these whenever I want...and able to take them on the go. Decisions decisions.

What I love most about this recipe is that it calls for already made pie dough. Though I bake often I haven't yet tried to make my own pie dough, but I'm sure these cookies would be taken to the next level of amazingness if you happen to use your favorite pie dough recipe!

Putting everything is a snap! Roll out the dough a bit, add some caramel sauce, top it off with the apple pie filling and add the lattice pattern. I should have rolled my dough into more of a square/rectangle shape to make the lattice a little easier but it all worked out.

In case you couldn't tell, it was my first time doing a pie lattice. In retrospect I probably should have just used a knife to cut the pie dough into strips instead of a pizza cutter. I'll have to remember this when I make up another three batches in the morning.

Once the lattice is done it's time to cut out the cookies! To avoid having your cookie cutter or in my case, biscuit cutter, stick in the pie dip the cutter into your egg wash before each cut. I wanted to avoid my pie cookies falling apart when I moved them to a cookie sheet so as I used my biscuit cutter I turned it side-to-side to ensure all the surrounding dough had been cut. After you get all the cookies you can get from your "pie"use a spatula to transfer the cookie to the cookie sheet. The cookies hold their shape pretty well but just be careful as the dough is a bit sticky and you could end up accidentally pulling the lattice off a surrounding cookie!

All that's left is to egg wash the cookies, sprinkle your Cinna-Nutmeg-Sugar mix on top and pop 'em in the oven. The recipe I used called for 1 Tbsp. nutmeg which I thought was a LOT, so I'm dropping this recipe down to a tsp. The mixture was very nutmeg heavy so hopefully this will help even things out a little bit. Unless you're a nutmeg nut then do your thing!

Oh, and try not to eat them straight out of the oven. My sister couldn't wait and ended up with a mouth full of piping hot apple filling. Not a great time for the roof of her mouth but she said it was worth it.

If you want to get REAL CRAZY You could sandwich some vanilla ice cream between two of these cookies to make the ultimate Apple Pie a la Mode. Do it! It's a holiday, you deserve it!

Apple Pie Cookies

adapted from Oh Bite It!

Makes about 8-10 cookies (depending on cookie cutter size)

Ingredients:

1 box refrigerated pie crust (2 sheets/crusts per box)

1 can apple pie filling

1/2 cup caramel sauce

1 egg

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. nutmeg

3 Tbsp. flour (for rolling)

Round cookie cutter/biscuit cutter

Parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay out one of the pie crusts on parchment paper. Sprinkle some flour and roll out your pie crust slightly to make it bigger. To make things easier you might want to roll it into more of a square shape.

2. Pour your caramel sauce onto the pie crust and spread it evenly among the crust.

3. Take your pie filling and coarsely chop it to insure bite sized pieces. Add the chopped filling on top of the caramel crust and spread evenly ensuring that you do not add too much filling.

4. Roll out your second pie crust onto some parchment paper, try to make it the same size as the first pie crust. Cut this crust into stripes as it will be used for the lattice.

5. Top your pie filling with half your cut strips, the other half will be used to weave in the lattice. If you aren't familiar with this technique this how-to guide from Simply Recipes helped me out.

6. Mix your cinnamon, sugar and nutmeg together in a small bowl.

7. Dip your round cutter into the egg wash and begin cutting out your cookies. Make sure you cut all the way through the dough so your cookies don't stick when you try to transfer them to the cookie sheet. Brush the tops of the cookies with the egg wash and sprinkle your cinna-nutmeg-sugar mixture on top of each cookie.

8. Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

9. Let cool and get eating!

I'm serious about that ice cream sandwich thing though, if someone tries it please let me know in the comments!

Close Enough: Crispy Cheddar Chicken

2013-07-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

I'm Back! and still, I tried...the food is close enough (and delicious). So the top photo is what it is supposed to be, bottom is me being awesome and cooking for you lovely people to see the pictures.

Okay, crispy cheddar chicken sounds kinda weird right? I promise you, I don't know how I never thought of this in the first place....but leave it to Pinterest. it might be a conspiracy how crafty the women of Pinterest are? Where are you women? Teach me your ways!

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

adapted from: Jamie Cooks It Up

Time: 15 minute prep + 40 minute baking

Yield 7 servings

Put this in a glass pan, you're using the oven.

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees

You have foil right? You need it.

All my fun ingredients for seasoning goodness

Chicken:

4 large chicken breasts

2 sleeves Ritz Crackers

1/4 tsp seasoning salt

1/8 tsp pepper

4 dollops of plain Greek yogurt OR 1 C of milk

3 C cheddar cheese, grated

1 tsp dried parsley

Sauce:

There was sauce, but I didn't use it because I was in a hurry and was trying to watch Dexter and ....okay so I don't know what is in the sauce but the link to the original post will be posted for you to decide if you want it.

Directions:

1. Cut each chicken breast into 3ish large chunks

2. In a small food processor grind up the Ritz crackers (or use your hands to smash them up, c'mon now)

3. Pour the yogurt (or milk), cheese, and cracker crumbs into 3 small separate pans. Put the seasoning salt and pepper into the cracker crumbs in mix into the mixture

Do you like my old pie pans? Good stuff has been cooked here

4. Dip each chicken into the milk/ yogurt.

5. Then the cheese. Press the cheese in with your fingers...make it cheesy & delicious, you know you want to.

6. Roll chicken around in the cracker crumbs. this part gets messy, but good cooking is, right?

7. Sprinkle the dried parsley on the chicken. Do you guys have Parsley? I didn't know I did, why do I have parsley? Seriously.

8. Did you put this all in the pan? Every piece of soon to be delicious cheesy goodness?? Okay good

9. Cover the pan with foil, bake 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Take the foil off and pop back in the oven for 10 more minutes to make sure your cheese is at that gooey crispy stage in life....you know what I mean? That point of deliciousness.

10. Make that sauce if you must, then enjoy!

I'm a Baker Babe!

2013-07-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've officially been dubbed a Baker Babe!

One of my absolute favorite blogs, The Militant Baker, has a segment celebrating "ladies that know how to use their ovens like a champ" aka, Baker Babes! I'm so honored to have been interviewed by Jes and to join the ranks of fellow lady bakers!

The Militant Baker recently made headlines and was even featured on The Today Show for her open letter and photo shoot to Abercrombie and Fitch CEO. She's breaking down stereotypes, spitting mad truths and inspiring beauty of all sizes. I've been a fan of hers for a while and am so happy to be featured on her site!

Check out my Baker Babe interview here!

June Foodie Pen Pals

2013-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month we participated in a Foodie Pen Pals program designed by The Lean Green Bean. This pen pal exchange program started off with 30 participants and has grown to over 1,000 readers and bloggers! It's really fun and a great way to meet with new bloggers and try out some new and interesting products!

This was my first month involved in the Foodie Pen Pals exchange and I received a lovely package from a blog reader named Geneva! She sent me some wonderful items, including my absolute favorite guilty pleasure candy, Ferrero Rochers! She also sent me some Kahlua that I think is homemade...that could make for some fun recipes! Also, I've never had or seen Ginger Preserves! I bet that would be great in a baked good of some sort...any suggestions?

If you're a blogger or reader and want to be involved in the July Foodie Pen Pals exchange it's easy!

Here's a detailed explanation of the program!:

-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

If you're interested in signing up, use this form! Just make sure it's submitted by 9PM EST on the 4th of the month to be guaranteed a spot!

For more information on the Foodie Pen Pals Program, head on over to The Lean Green Bean!

Patriotic Jello Poke Cupcakes!

2013-06-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand...Cupcake Couture Blog Party...part deux! We had so much fun participating in last month's Cupcake Couture Blog Party that we decided to do it again! The theme this time around was, "Sprinkles Will Fly!" All 24 participating bloggers were sent Bella Cupcake Couture wrappers that were either red, white, blue, had stars or stripes...essentially, Fourth of July-esque themed wrappers. We were again asked to develop a recipe that would match well with our wrappers so be sure to check out what my fellow bloggers came up with!

An American Cupcake in London
Bella Cupcake Couture
Chronicles of a Foodie
Creative Food
Cupcake Project
Cupcakes Take the Cake
Diary of a Mad Hausfrau
Haniela's
Hoosier Homemade
Hungry Happenings
In Katrina's Kitchen
Inside BruCrew Life
Java Cupcake
Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons
Love From the Oven
Make Bake Celebrate
Not Just a Mommy
Not Your Mommas Cookie
Pint Sized Baker
Sugar Swings! Serve Some
The Baking Cup
The Decorated Cookie

This time around we were sent this gorgeous Olivia Swirl Red and White wrapper! They were perfectly simple and I knew they would pair well with any cupcake I decided to make. For the display I recycled some folders in my office and hole punched them to make DIY confetti! The cupcake toppers were just a Fourth of July themed clip art that I printed out, glued to some cardstock, and cut up into nice little squares courtesy of a nifty paper cutter at work! I literally taped the square to a toothpick and voila! A homemade, DIY cupcake topper! It makes me wonder why people buy paper cupcake toppers from Etsy! Super easy to recreate at your own patriotic party!

So now let's talk cupcakes. I decided on Jello Poke Cupcakes because it sounded fun and it was a creative way to bring my color scheme together. I had always heard of poke cakes but I had never attempted them. Also, kids love cupcakes, and kids love jello, and I have two younger brothers who are 9 and 10 who would be devouring the majority of these cupcakes so I figured it was the perfect childhood dessert hybrid! Like I said, these cupcakes are semi-homemade, which means I literally took a box cake mix (sacrilegious I know!) and spruced it up a bit to make something you wouldn't know wasn't made from scratch! Plus, this recipe is very quick to put together so you can feel free to make it a day ahead and your Jello Poke Cupcakes will be ready to serve at your party the next day!

Because I wanted a red, white and blue cupcake, I decided to make a Vanilla cake with Berry Blue Jello. Similar to my frosting for the last Cupcake Couture Blog Party, I used a canned frosting and repurposed it into Strawberry Frosting using powdered Freeze Dried Strawberries. I can't say enough how much I LOVE using freeze dried fruits. They are an actual piece of fruit just freeze dried, so you get that fresh fruit taste without worrying about their juices ruining the consistency of your frosting or cake batter. They're absolutely packed with flavor too!

After you bake the cupcakes according to the box let them cool for about 10-15 minutes on a cooling rack. This is the fun part...grab a fork and start poking holes into your cupcakes. Don't massacre them though, just poke enough holes in it so that when we pour the Jello on top of them that it gets absorbed into the cupcake and doesn't just roll off the sides like a few of mine did.

I know the cupcakes look a bit messy but trust me, it'll be worth it in the end. After you've spooned your Jello mixture over all the cupcakes pop them in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes, just to get the gelatin to set a bit. Once everything is nice and cool frost your Jello Cupcakes anyway you please! I piped my frosting on using an open star 1M tip just because I wanted a pretty frosting design. After you've frosted all your cupcakes you can return them to the fridge until you need them, but make sure you sneak a taste of one. You won't be disappointed! The Berry Blue Jello is surprisingly not over sweet in the Vanilla cake, and it just added a different level of moisture to the cake. The Strawberry frosting pairs nicely with both the Vanilla and Berry Blue making the cupcake taste kind of like a fruit shortcake! Yum!

Vanilla Berry Blue Jello Poke Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

makes 24 cupcakes

Vanilla Berry Blue Cupcakes

1 box Vanilla Cake Mix

1 3oz. box Berry Blue Jello (or any blue jello)

1 cup boiling water

Follow the directions on the cake mix to make your cupcakes.

Once cupcakes are baked and cooled, take a dinner fork and poke holes in all the cupcakes.

Empty Jello mix into bowl and mix with boiling water until the mix is dissolved.

Spoon the Jello mixture over the top of all of your cupcakes. You don't need to use the whole bowl of Jello but you can if you want to.

Stick cupcakes in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before frosting.

Strawberry Frosting

1 can Duncan Hines Flavor Creations Frosting Starter (or any Vanilla or Cream Cheese frosting)

1 cup freeze dried strawberries

Dump canned frosting into a stand mixer (or bowl if you're using a hand mixer).

Take your freeze fried strawberries and add them to a food processor. Pulse until fruits are powdered.

Add powder to frosting and beat on low for 1-2 minutes until everything is well blended. You may add more strawberries depending on how fruity you want your frosting.

And now onto the giveaway!

Thanks to our amazing Prize Pack sponsors for their generous donations! Please, visit their websites to see more of their fabulous products!

Bella Cupcake Couture
The Smart Baker
India Tree
Lucks Food Decorating Company
Pretty Party Details

To enter to WIN this Prize Pack, simply fill out the entry form below. Contest opens June 25, 2013 at 7:00AM PST and closes July 1, 2013 at 11:59PM PST. One winner will be chosen and announced within 48 hours of the contest ending. Winner will be contacted via email by betsy@javacupcake.com and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. If they do not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be chosen. This contest is open to residents worldwide.

A winner has been chosen!

Congratulations to Becky Nelson from Hampton, VA!

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Mike Wazowski Cake Pops

2013-06-21T12:33:00.001-07:00

Monsters University was released today and in honor of such a momentous occasion I decided to celebrate with some Mike Wazowski Cake Pops! I've been waiting for this prequel for over ten years so what better way to enjoy the movie than with a themed snack?

I had the idea a few weeks back, I actually sketched a mock-up of our favorite monster:

Not too bad right? I used the Paper app on my iPad with my trusty Adonis Jot Pro Stylus. I ended up using a lot of my original ideas except for Mike's little horns. Instead of Peanut Butter Chips I used Slivered Almonds. They had the same tan color I needed, plus they were a lot easier to get into the cake pop.

The recipe to make these are actually really simple, it's just the dipping and decorating part where thing get a little more time consuming. For the sake of time and my sanity, I used a box cake mix and canned frosting, but I spruced things up a bit by adding a package of Pistachio Pudding to both. I wanted my cake pops to be green on the inside and the outside...plus I just really love pistachios!

Once your cake is all baked and cooled, it's time to destroy it. I know, it seems like a barbaric baking act, but we can't very well make cake pops from a whole rectangle cake now can we? Every cake pop recipe I've seen suggests you cut the cooled cake into four pieces, take two of them and rub them together to "crumb" them up. I tried that for about five minute before I decided that a food processor would make this whole process a lot faster, less messy and more fun.

Isn't that a fun shade of green? After my cake was all crumbed up I mixed in a little more than half my frosting into my cake crumbs. You can try to just stir everything together but to ensure equal coating you have to get your hands all up in the mixture. Don't worry about your hands being covered in cake, you'll be rolling cake balls so they were going to get dirty anyway.

I needed my cake pops to be a bit on the larger side since I needed Mike's signature eyeball to fit on it so I was able to get about 26 1 1/2" cake balls out of my cake mix. I melted a few green candy melts, dipped the end of a cake pop stick in it, then put a stick a little more than halfway through each cake ball. Some recipes say to do this after the cake ball is already chilled but I thought freezing them with their sticks pre-dipping would help me avoid my cake balls falling off the stick and drowning in a pool of candy melts.

To save some time, I made my Mike eyeballs while my cake balls were getting nice and chilly. I used a white candy melt, added some white decorating icing in the middle, dipped the top of the candy melt in blue sprinkles and used some black decorating icing with a #4 tip for the pupil. I got a lot more sprinkled than I wanted on some of them but it's really easy to just brush them off with a small paintbrush.

After the cake pops had chilled for an hour, I melted up some vibrant green candy melts and began to dip! Once your Mike Wazowski is coated and you've let the excess candy melt drip off, stick the eye on as well as his Slivered Almond horns. The almonds are pretty long but they are easy to stick into the cake pop while the coating is still wet. The coating dries pretty fast so you'll have to work quickly! I stuck my cake pops in a styrofoam base so they would stay upright while they dried.

Once Mike is nice and dry, pipe on a grin! Isn't he cute? I didn't want to eat them because they were too adorable but I know my little brothers will have no problem nomming on these little monsters!

Mike Wazowski Cake Pops

Makes about 25 cake pops

Pistachio Cake:

1 box cake mix (Vanilla or White)

1 box Jello Pistachio Pudding Mix

Directions:

1) Follow cake mix directions and ingredients.

2) Add Pistachio Pudding Mix to batter and mix until blended.

3) Follow cake mix baking times and directions.

Pistachio Frosting:

1 can frosting (Vanilla or Cream Cheese)

1 box Jello Pistachio Pudding Mix

Directions:

1) Use a rubber spatula and empty the canned frosting into a medium bowl.

2) Add Pistachio Pudding Mix to frosting and mix until well blended.

Cake Pops:

Food Processor

2 bags Vibrant Green Candy Melts

1 bag White Candy Melts

Black Decorating Icing

White Decorating Icing

Blue Sugar Sprinkles

Slivered Almonds

Coupler

#4 tip

Directions:

1) Once cake is baked and cooled, cut into equal pieces. Use a food processor for about 20-30 seconds to "crumb" up the cake. Depending on the size of your food processor you may have to do this in batches.

2) Put crumbed up cake in a large bowl, add a little more than half of the Pistachio Frosting to the crumbed cake. Mix until all crumbs are coated and the mixture is sticky enough to roll.

3) Roll mixture into uniform sized balls. Place rolled cake balls in a pan or on a cookie sheet in a single layer.

4) Melt 1 Tbsp. Vibrant Green Candy Melts in microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds. Repeat another 30 seconds until mixture is smooth and runny.

5) Dip end of cake pop stick into the green candy melts and stick halfway into cake ball. Repeat for remaining cake balls. Place cake pops into the fridge/freezer to chill for an hour or so.

6) Eyeballs: while the cake pops are chilling make your eyeballs. Take a White Candy Melt and add some White Decorating Frosting in the center using a small paintbrush. Dip iced side of Candy Melt into the Blue Sugar Sprinkles, wipe off excess sprinkles and try to keep the sprinkles in a circle as will be the iris. Fit your Black Decorating Icing with a coupler and #4 tip. Pipe pupil directly onto the sprinkle iris. Set aside let the icing harden.

7) Remove cake pops from fridge or freezer. Melt 1 bag Vibrate Green Candy Melts according to direction in a small, deep bowl. This will make it easier to coat the cake pop all at once instead of having to spoon the coating on.

8) Take cake pop and carefully dip into the melted candy melts. Dunk into the center and swirl around gently to ensure the entire cake pop is coated. Use spoon for trouble areas if necessary.

9) Hold cake pop at an angle over the bowl of candy melts and let the excess coating drip off. Tap lightly on your fist holding the cake pop stick to help get the excess coating off.

10) Once your cake pop is completely coated, hold up and place eyeball on while the coating is still wet. Stick into a styrofoam base to set and add 2 Slivered Almonds into the cake pop for horns while the coating is still wet. Once your cake pop is dry, use the Black Decorating Icing fitted with a #4 tip to pipe on a smile.

McCafe Dulce de Leche Shakes Review

2013-06-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is right around the corner and the weather is starting to heat up in SoCal! With triple digit temperatures on the way it's great to know McDonalds has some delicious new treats to help us foodies keep cool!

The latest product on the McCafe lineup is the new Dulce de Leche shake!

"Inspired by the traditional Latin American dessert, McCafé Dulce de Leche Shake is made with McDonald’s vanilla reduced-fat ice cream, caramel and topped with whipped cream and a cherry." via McDonalds

Sounds absolutely fabulous right? My sister and I tried the McCafe Dulce De Leche shakes over the weekend and they were crazy delicious!

I swear we're sisters, even though we look nothing alike!

As you can see, McDonalds is pretty generous with the caramel in this Dulce de Leche shake, the shake itself is caramel with even more caramel drizzled throughout the shake! It's a caramel lovers dream! What surprised me about this shake was how it wasn't overly sweet. Usually with a flavor like Dulce de Leche you sometimes end up with a super sugary dessert that either makes you sugar crash later or get that almost sickly sweet feeling. That wasn't the case with this shake at all!

We paired our shakes with an order of fries, because salty fries and a shake are one of the food world's greatest pairings. No, it's totally not weird to dip your fries in your shake...right?

Either way, we loved this shake and are glad to have a new sweet pick-me-up for the Summer season!

We want you to have a chance to taste McDonalds Dulce de Leche McCafe Shake too! We're giving away a prize pack to three lucky winners! Each prize pack contains four Dulce de Leche McCafe Shake vouchers to enjoy with your friends along with some other fun surprises! Enter using the rafflecopter widget below!

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***Disclaimer: I have been compensated by McDonalds and the Latina Lifestyle Bloggers Collective for this sponsored post. All opinions and views are my own and they have not been directly influenced by either McDonalds or the Latina Lifestyle Bloggers Collective.***

Close Enough: Skinny Tuna Cakes

2013-06-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

The top is what "Skinny Tuna Cakes" are supposed to look like, according to Pinterest (The people who post these recipes are so creative and clearly have A LOT of time on their hands, I can't even). The bottom is what happened when I cooked the tuna cake. I am sparing you by posting the only picture that managed to look close to the inspiration btw, but ....look; close enough.

Skinny Tuna Cakes

Adapted from SkinnyMom

Ingredients:

2.5 ounce cans of Albacore Tuna in water (are they not all Starkist brand?)

1/4 Tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning (I used creole seasoning because, what is Old Bay? and Creole's do it better)

1/2 chopped onion (maybe I can't chop onions, but that seemed oniony)

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 Egg Whites

1/4 Panko bread crumbs (plain) (really, be generous cause this was probably my issue)

Ingredients for Chipotle Mayo:

1/4 cup Miracle Whip Salad Dressing (I used real Mayo, what's the difference? I have no clue)

1 tsp. chili powder (or to be even better use 2 Tsp of chipotle chili powder)

1 tsp. lime juice (or squeeze a lemon in there until it has a dressing consistency)

I tried to use the ingredients the recipe called for but really...what is Old Bay? Can I just use my own seasoning that I think tuna should have because Old Bay sounds boring. And, do you any of you just HAVE lime juice? I have a lemon tree and that's a citrus fruit....I mean...close enough. Also I'm serious about not being able to chop onions or something, I had onions falling out of my not enough panko- cakes, it was a lot. Unless you like onions...just brush your teeth after, is all I'm saying, okay? Anyways...

Get to Cookin!

1) Open Albacore tuna and drain the water (still with me?)

2) In a small bowl, combine tuna, chopped onion, egg whites, seasoning of your choice (since we're fighting the power against Old Bay all of a sudden), pepper, and Panko bread crumbs.

MIX WELL and form mixture into 4 equal sized patties.

2.5) Okay, you can make more than 4 patties, they'll probably stay together better that way

3) Use olive oil (or cooking spray) to coat a medium sized skillet and cook patties over medium heat, turning occasionally to make sure both sides cook evenly.

For Chipotle Mayo

Mix Mayo, chili powder, and lime (or lemon) juice. Stir until well mixed

(dressing consistency)Serve with mayo on top of tuna cakes and keep the dish on the table because it is great for dipping and is delicious.

When Macarons Go Terribly Wrong.

2013-06-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I made Totoro Macarons for a bake sale my friend invited me to. I used Rosanna Pansino's recipe on her Nerdy Nummies YouTube video. I was so excited, it was my first time making macarons and only a couple of them cracked, they had feet and looked pretty good!

Look at those gorgeous looking feet. I thought it was a macaron miracle, especially for my very first attempt at such a temperamental little bugger of a cookie. They were a hit at the bake sale so a month later when I found a Banana Nutella Macaron recipe I figured, "Hey, I made them once before, I can do it again no problem!"

NOPE.

I don't know if it was beginner's luck with the first batch or if the macaron gods were just smiling upon me that fateful day but today they were not kind. Everything that could go wrong with these cookies did. They didn't get feet. They cracked. They got some kind of terrible puffy that made them look like hot cross macarons.

Macarons are not supposed to look like sandollars. They just aren't. What's even more upsetting about this whole thing is that the macarons totally played me. I piped them out, tapped the pan to get all the air out and let them dry for 20 minutes. They looked perfect at this point, WAY better than my Totoros at this stage so I was really excited that these cookies would look gorgeous.

But it wasn't meant to be. I should have known something was wrong when it took me so long to fold the meringue with the dry ingredients. The batter got extremely stiff and wasn't getting to the macaronage stage I wanted. I think it may have been too much dry ingredients that was the main cause for my macaron fail...that and the batter could have still been undermixed, even though the batter was melting back in on itself and flowing in a lava-like ribbon, which is the state you want it in according to macaron expert, Brave Tart.

Imagine my face of utter baking sadness when I pulled these out. I spent TWO HOURS whipping, sifting, measuring, food processoring, macaron-aging and piping and this is what I get. Like I said, they have no feet on them, I probably should have let them dry a bit longer before I baked them. Or they could have cracked because the heat hit the cookies too fast, which is why some bakers recommend double cookie sheets when you're making macarons.

Even though these macarons were what I consider to be a baking fail, it definitely taught me a lesson in macaron baking. I was upset for a little while but you learn a lot more from your baking mistakes than your baking successes. Plus, it could have been worse, these little guys didn't look like the fancy macarons they should have but they sure tasted amazing! But really, how can you go wrong with bananas and Nutella?

Sound off on your baking horror stories below!

Strawberry Banana Orange Smoothie Cupcakes

2013-05-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's a Cupcake Couture Blog Party y'all! We were invited by Betsy Eves of Java Cupcake to participate in this wonderful Cupcake Couture Blog Party and giveaway along with 20 other food bloggers. How cool is that?! You can find all the participating bloggers' recipes below...that's 20 new cupcake recipes!

An American Cupcake in London
Bella Cupcake Couture
Chronicles of a Foodie
Crazy for Crust
Creative Food
Cupcakes Take the Cake
Diary of a Mad Hausfrau
Eat Your Heart Out
Haniela's
Hoosier Homemade
In Katrina's Kitchen
Inside BruCrew Life
Java Cupcake
Love From the Oven
Make Bake Celebrate
Not Just a Mommy
Sugar Daze
Sugar Swings! Serve Some
The Baked Equation
The Baking Cup
The Decorated Cookie

All the participating bloggers were sent a beautiful set of cupcake wrappers by Bella Cupcake Couture and were asked to create a recipe to match our assigned wrappers. I received the "Hannah" wrappers, which features a fabulous pink and citrus floral pattern.

I was racking my brain for a couple weeks trying to figure out what would go with such a vibrant print, all I could think about was what cupcake would be pink and orange. Eventually I started playing with the idea of strawberries and orange and somehow it turned into an experiment into recreating a smoothie as a cupcake!

I'm tempted to call these diet cupcakes. Or at least semi diet. Definitely semi-homemade though.

I used a yellow cake mix and mixed it with Orange Juice, Orange Creme Light Yoplait Yogurt, Eggs and added some powdered freeze dried Orange Slices. That's it! No butter or oil or water! So it's totally diet friendly, I mean, I used LIGHT yogurt for crying out loud. As you can tell, I'm trying to achieve an orange flavored cupcake, but the frosting definitely takes this cupcake into the smoothie side of the world.

I used Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Frosting Starter just so I could have a neutral flavor base for the frosting. You can go Vanilla or Cream Cheese but I was trying to avoid making the frosting too sweet.

Instead of using the flavor packet companion to the Frosting Creations I used freeze dried strawberries and bananas that I got at Trader Joes. I figured I could throw them in the food processor and make my own flavor powder made out of real fruit.

Using the freeze dried fruits instead of fresh fruit makes it easier to incorporate the flavors into the frosting without compromising its integrity. When you add too many "wet" components into a frosting you need to counteract it by adding more powdered sugar to thicken it back up. Then it turns into a balancing game of adding wet and dry until you get the consistency you want, but end up with a frosting that is way too sweet!

I threw the fruits into a food processor until they were a fine powder and I beat it into the can of frosting until everything was combined. Even though I used freeze dried fruits, I still had that fresh fruit feel to the frosting, like being able to see the strawberry seeds and get the crunchy little texture from them.

I think all the colors of the cupcake ended up matching the wrapper quite nicely! All the flavors went well together too, the orange cake with the strawberry banana frosting reminded me of the good ol' days sipping on an Orange Julius at the mall. I still think it's safe to call these semi-diet cupcakes. I even topped them with a trio of freeze dried fruits!

Strawberry Banana Orange Smoothie Cupcakes
adapted from Yellow Bliss Road

Orange Cupcakes
1 box Yellow Cake
1 container Orange Creme Yoplait Light Yogurt
1 cup Orange Juice
2 Eggs
1/4 cup Freeze Dried Oranges

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cake mix, yogurt, orange juice and eggs on low for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium high for 1 minute. Cut up or throw the freeze dried oranges in a food processor. Add to batter and beat for another minute.

Line cupcake pan with liners. Fill liners 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Strawberry Banana Frosting
1 container Duncan Hines Flavor Creations Frosting Starter (or a white frosting of your choice)
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Strawberries
1/2 cup Freeze Dried Bananas

Empty frosting container into mixing bowl.

Add strawberries and bananas to food processor and pulse until both fruits are ground into a fine powder.

Add combined powder to frosting and beat on low for 1-2 minutes until strawberries and bananas are incorporated into the frosting. Taste to make sure it tastes as fruity as you'd like, if not, continue to add more strawberries and bananas 1/4 cup at a time.

And now onto the giveaway!

Thanks to our amazing Prize Pack sponsors for their generous donations! Please, visit their websites to see more of their fabulous products!
Bella Cupcake Couture
Cupcake Stand
Java Cupcake
Lil' Punkin Creations
Sweets & Treats Boutique
To enter to WIN this Prize Pack, simply fill out the entry form below. Contest opens May 21, 2013 at 7:00 PST and closes May 27, 2013 at 11:59PM PST. One winner will be chosen and announced within 24 hours of the contest ending. Winner will be contacted via email to claim their prize. This contest is open to residents of the USA and Europe only.

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Chronicles of a Foodie

An Evening With Star Chefs 2014

Ariel's Better Than Spaghetti

Peanut Butter Nutella Swirl Cookies

Almond Macarons With TARDIS Tea White Chocolate Ganache

Broccoli & Cheese-y Cheese Wontons

Let's Chat

Kerfuffle Lip Balms

Foodie Adventures in NYC!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

Cool Off With REvive! **Giveaway Post**

Skinny Artichoke Spinach Dip

Seven Layer Magic Bar Cookies

REvive Vitality Drink Review

Green Monster Smoothie Popsicles

A-Sha Dry Noodle Review

Apple Pie Cookies

Close Enough: Crispy Cheddar Chicken

I'm a Baker Babe!

June Foodie Pen Pals

Patriotic Jello Poke Cupcakes!

Mike Wazowski Cake Pops

McCafe Dulce de Leche Shakes Review

Close Enough: Skinny Tuna Cakes

When Macarons Go Terribly Wrong.

Strawberry Banana Orange Smoothie Cupcakes

Cool Off With REvive! Giveaway Post