Martha's Tiramisu Cupcakes with Marscapone Frosting

It's funny how I never thought about baking cupcakes for ANY reason. I always figured they were too much work, but now that I've mastered the skill of gourmet cupcakes, I will never purchase store-bought ever again.

Sorry Albertson's...

While I was trolling the Information Super Highway for tasty treats to make, I stumbled upon Martha Stewart's recipe for Tiramisu Cupcakes. I won't even go into how DEEP my love affair with Tiramisu goes, but TRUST ME...it's pretty deep. The idea of a CUPCAKE version excited me so much that I ran out immediately to purchase supplies.

Before I prepared myself mentally to dig into this recipe, I decided to check on a few reviews first. I ran across one at A Chef's Daughter and her review left me weary. Then I went over to Mexican Chocolate Lore and More and decided to make some changes of my own to the original recipe.

The results?

MAGNIFICENT!

I didn't have a whole vanilla bean as the recipe calls for, so I substituted with vanilla extract (which was fine). I also didn't have the Marsala wine for the coffee syrup it calls for...and I wasn't about to brew only a half cup of coffee...so I used instant and made it EXTRA strong (the equivalent of 2 STRONG cups of coffee in a half cup of water) and I added Kahlua. I also added Kahlua to the Marscapone Frosting mixture because you know how much I love to add alcohol to frosting if I can!

A friend came by after work (one of my official food tasters) and she liked it so much I thought she was gonna have a heart attack and fall out in my dining room! She was twitching and hopping all over the place, raving about how good it was! I just LOVE to hear that sort of thing!

I poked holes in the top of the cupcake in order to help the liquid soak in faster...

Can you see how BLACK that coffee is? It stained my cup! And let me just tell you, this was an exhausting process. Martha's recipe instructs you to brush the cupcakes with the liquid until the liquid is GONE.

::blank stare::

That's almost 3/4 cup of liquid...so I brushed...

...and brushed...

...until I finally said, "Screw it!" and poked some more holes! I place the cookie sheet underneath the rack, whipped out a spoon and started pouring the liquid over the cupcakes. That entire process took me at LEAST 30 minutes.

Then I let them sit for about 30 minutes to allow the liquid to soak thru the bottom of the cupcakes. While I waited for that to happen, I whipped up some heavy cream, marscapone, confectioner's sugar and a dash of Kahlua...ok maybe a little more than a dash...lol.

And to finish it off, I shook a little cocoa powder over the top. I'm sure there's a better way to do that, but I was pressed for time seeing how brushing the coffee syrup took so doggone long that it ran into my dinner preparation time!

The final product...

I personally think this is one of my BEST finds! Even with a little tweaking! And poking holes DEFINITELY did the job! And yes, it DOES taste as good as it looks!

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Introducing {Sweets2Eat}...

I know it seems as though I've abandoned my love of cooking and blogging about it. I can't believe that I haven't posted since OCTOBER! OMG! Where did the time go?

Well...I was caught up in the hype of my 9 year old's football team and all that goes into being a total "football" mom. Our team was responsible for providing the concession stand during one of our final games and I was bitten by the baking bug!

I donated 4 cakes to the cause (because the money we earned went towards the team). Cooking is one thing, baking is entirely another. I forgot just how much I loved to bake. Next thing I know, I'm hustling cakes for Thanksgiving to earn a little side money. Because let's face it...when you've got a tribe of children, and Xmas is coming, all EXTRA money is GOOD money!

I've been having a blast baking and creating new tasty desserts for my friends and family. Although I think all of my girlfriends are probably going to hate me soon for helping them put back on any weight they were TRYING to lose! Hey...every chef should have official food tasters!

Over the course of the Thanksgiving holiday, I baked 21 cakes in 2 days! WHEW!!

Since I'm too lazy to post recipes, I'll post pictures of my latest and greatest creations!


White Chocolate Blackberry Mini-Cheesecakes


And yes, it's a homemade honey graham crust...


Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting


7up Cake with Lemon Glaze


Sock-It-To-Me Cake (think of it as a cinnamon struesel cake with nuts)


Cinnamon Hazelnut Cupcakes with Chocolate Cinnamon Hazelnut Frosting


And what you see inside is Nutella baked right in...


Black Forest Rum Black Bottom Cupcakes with Cherry Vanilla Rum Frosting


...which is a chocolate rum cupcake with cheesecake and cherries inside...YUM!

Today I'm going to try the Martha Stewart recipe for Tiramisu Cupcakes with Marscapone Frosting! Yum...

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Save money...check this out!

A few weeks ago my mother calls me frantically, filled with excitement over something my uncle told her about. She rambles off a list of food items and says, "How much do you think all of this stuff is worth?"

I give her my ballpark dollar amount (because I grocery shop once a week...I should know how much everything costs by heart at this point).

"NOPE! It costs $30!"

So she starts telling me all about this organization called Treasure Box near my uncle's home in Anaheim. Because she's so excited about it, I hop onto the trusted laptop while she's rambling on to see if they have a website because these days EVERYONE has one, right? She's telling me how she and my aunt have already discussed placing their orders and her driving all the way to Anaheim to pick up her food. I think it's a silly idea to waste the gas to save a few bucks, but that's just me.

I poke around their website and discover a pickup location close to my mother's home and tell her about it (mostly to save her from driving to Anaheim which is at LEAST 25 miles from home). Not only is there one close to HER home, there's a pickup location close to mine as well.

The thing you don't know about my mother is that her excitement is contagious...

Next thing I know, I'm whipping out my phonebook and checking all of the zip codes for all of my friends and family. Once I verified that EVERYONE in my phonebook has a pickup center close to them, I send everyone a link to Treasure Box...because saving money is a GOOD THING.

I'm not sure if it's outside of California or not, but it's certainly worth looking into.

Enjoy!

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Fall Comfort Food - Tuna Casserole

My mother made Tuna Casserole for me when I was a child. The combination of tuna, a cheesy sauce and pasta still makes my tummy rumble when I think about it! Over the years I've made it and taken it to pot-lucks and it always turns out to be a huge hit...I never know why because it's so simple to make that I end up sharing the recipe ALL THE TIME!

Today is a cold, rainy day in Southern California...so I decided to make some comfort food to greet my children with when they come home from school. I certainly hope you like this as much as I do!

Ingredients:

1 - 12oz can of Albacore Tuna (or chunk light...I prefer Albacore because it doesn't taste as fishy)
1 - 10.5oz can cream of celery condensed soup (any brand will do)
1 - 10.5oz can cream of mushroom condensed soup (any brand will do)
1 - 14oz can of baby sweet peas (drained)
2 3/4 cups milk
3 cups cheddar cheese (divided)
1 - 16oz bag extra wide egg noodles
garlic salt and pepper to taste



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Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Boil entire bag of egg noodles until tender (set aside). In a separate large pot, combine both cans of soup, tuna and milk. Warm on medium high heat until the soup becomes smooth. Add 1 cup of cheese once the soup is heated (for easier melting). Season to taste then add entire can of drained peas. Mix everything well.

In a large oven-safe bowl pour in half of the cooked noodles. Pour half of the cheesy soup mixture over the pasta.



Combine the sauce and pasta. Sprinkle one cup of cheese over it.




Pour the remaining pasta over the cheese and pour in the remaining cheesy tuna sauce.




Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.



Place the bowl in the oven and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.



To make an entire meal out of this dish, add a salad and some garlic bread!

Enjoy!

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Chicken, Chinese Kale and Mushrooms in Black Bean Sauce

My cousin got married last weekend. Afterwards they had a FULL ON Chinese Wedding Banquet - complete with an EIGHT COURSE MEAL!! I won't go into detail because it'll only make you hungry and jealous of me! HAHAHAH!! But one of the dishes was Rock Cod in Black Bean Sauce.

Now, I'm not much of a fish eater, but it was BEST fish I've EVER had! I've only prepared fish for my family once - and fish sticks for the kids doesn't count! I went on a hunt for rock cod - not knowing that it was EXPENSIVE as hell in the local Chinese market...so I decided on Chicken (read: cheap fish substitute).

I was always under the belief that Gai Lan (Chinese Kale) was Chinese BROCCOLI, but you gotta love the Internet with its abundance of information and pictures! I've only found it in my local Chinese market, but in the event you can't find it feel free to use whatever vegetable that you want.

Ingredients:

2 - 3lbs. boneless, skinless chicken leg meat (or thigh meat)
1 container of fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion, sliced
3 - 4 bunches (think handfuls) gai lin, broccoli or bok choy
1-1/2 tablespoon black bean garlic sauce (found in most Asian sections of your local store)
14 ounces chicken broth
3-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch (divided)
4 tablespoons sesame oil (divided)

Marinade:

1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons rice wine (NOT TO BE MISTAKEN WITH RICE WINE VINEGAR), dry white wine or sherry
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cooking oil

**NOTE: This can EASILY be prepared as a vegetarian dish by substituting the chicken for FIRM tofu and ANY vegetable would go well with this sauce.
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Directions:

Using cooking shears, cut chicken into small strips and place in a bowl. Combine marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken. Mix well and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.



Prepare vegetables. Rinse gai lin WELL and cut into 2 inch pieces diagonally.




Heat wok and add sesame oil. Stir fry gai lin, mushrooms and onions over high heat for 3-4 minutes until vegetables are 80% cooked. Set aside.




Add remaining sesame oil to the wok. Add chicken and stir fry until the meat is completely cooked. Add black bean garlic sauce and mix well.



Add vegetables and continue to cook for another minute. Slowly pour in 1/2 of the chicken broth. Mix remaining 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the last 1/2 of chicken broth until completely dissolved. Pour into the wok and mix well. The sauce will thicken as it continues to cook.



Serve with rice and enjoy!

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Fix It and Forget It - Green Chile Chicken (Crockpot meal)

I know, I know...I've been neglecting my duties here for a few months...but moving can do that to you! It also took me a while to get used to my new kitchen (that I absolutely HATE). It's smaller than our last kitchen, the pantry is far from my kitchen area and the stove top damn near comes up to my chest...but hey, at least I got a house out of the deal, right?

So this was an experimental dinner that turned out quite well. I think this would also work well with pork stew meat or boneless pork loins.

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs. chicken drumsticks (or which ever part of the chicken you prefer)
2 cans of condensed cream of chicken soup
1 small can of diced mild green chiles
1/3 cup diced onions
1/8 teaspoon creole seasoning
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt



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Directions:

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Mix soup, green chiles, onions and seasoning in a bowl. It's going to be a little thick, but don't worry about it. DO NOT ADD any other fluid!! Adding more fluid will make the sauce watery after the cooking process. Place half of the chicken on the bottom of the crock pot and spoon a generous amount of the soup mixture on top.



Add the second half of chicken and repeat.



Cook on medium for 6 or low for 8 hours...



Add sides and call it dinner! I served this with rice pilaf and honey glazed carrots. MmmMmmm!!



Fix it and forget it!!

Enjoy!

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Something Random...

In case you're wondering...I have purposely disabled the comment section. Please don't be offended because I DO love your comments and reviews of the dishes I've made, but I've noticed a few HTML glitches with the last two templates that I used for this site and for WHATEVER REASON, comments will not post.

So...if you DO have a question or comments about anything you see here, feel free to send me an email! Believe me, some people have gone out of their way to locate my email address rather than leaving comments when they COULD HAVE!

I've been slacking. I have recipes and pictures to post, but I've been incredibly busy lately. No worries...I haven't forgotten about you!

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SUPER Easy Chicken Tacos

This really is a super easy recipe. I have to give the credit to my mother. One night I planned on baking some chicken breasts and having rice and veggies on the side, but my husband requested TACOS (because he's REALLY BIG on Mexican food - he could eat it everyday and he isn't Mexican)!

I didn't have any ground meat to prepare tacos the way I normally would, and I wasn't quite sure how to season the chicken properly (and easily seeing how this was the last meal of the week and I needed to grocery shop). I had to use items that I already had on hand.

Let's just say that this is a new family favorite and the chicken has now been used for tacos, burritos, tostadas and taco salads!

Ingredients:

4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 cups of Pace Chunky Picante Sauce (I'm guessing on the amount, I just pour from the bottle til it looks about right!)
2 dozen corn tortillas
Any of your favorite taco condiments


Directions:

Saute chicken until juices run clear.



In a large bowl, shred the chicken.




Add the sauce and mix well!




It's JUST that easy! Picante sauce has the perfect blend of seasoning, onions, cilantro and chiles. If you need it to have more of a kick, simply add your favorite hot sauce!

Enjoy!

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Chicken Chili Stew

I cannot take credit for this recipe, but I WILL say it was well received. My husband decided to try this so-called Slow Carb Diet. He had me trolling all over the Internet looking for recipes and such. Ironically, he was the one who found this recipe and suggested that I give it a try.

I personally think it's odd to have chunk chicken in chili, but that's just me. My husband and oldest son RAVED about it after I finished and said it was better than my usual version. So I thought I'd share!

Ingredients:

3 Whole cubed skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used 4 LARGE cans of chunk chicken I was saving to make chicken salad with)
1 medium onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped (I also added a red bell pepper too)
2 cloves minced garlic (I used 2 tablespoons of jarred minced garlic)
2 tablespoons olive oil (or whatever you have on hand)
2 - 15oz canned stewed tomatoes (I used 1 LARGE can and 1 regular can of diced tomatoes because I HAD them on hand)
1 - 15oz canned pinto beans (I used 2 cans)
3/4 cup picante sauce (I used a little over 1 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder

**NOTE: This recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of salt, but I omitted it because chili powder already has salt in it. I like to keep our sodium as low as possible without sacrificing taste. But it's up to you...

Directions:

Saute chicken, onions, bell peppers and garlic in a large sauce pan until chicken is fully cooked (in my case, this step didn't take so long since the chicken was already cooked). Add everything else to the pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

EASIEST DISH EVER!! Add some cornbread and a salad and you've got a good meal!

Enjoy!

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Tres Leches Cake for PARTIES!

I meant to post this picture a few weeks ago when I actually hosted the party! I baked two Tres Leches Cakes for my son's birthday party (at his explicit request). I wasn't sure how a non-alcoholic version would turn out considering I've only prepared this using rum in the mixture.

I made one cake with alcohol and the other without. Then I cut them into cubed slices and put them in cocktail tumblers. I topped each with a heaping tablespoon of whipped cream and topped the NON-alcoholic cake with fresh strawberries and the GOOD stuff with mandarin oranges.

It was also much easier to serve. For those who didn't want to eat it on the spot, we stuck forks in the cup and wrapped the top with plastic wrap for an easy dessert to go!

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