Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I am way behind on blogging all of the fun things I've been making. I made these a while back for a church party and enjoyed each and every one of them I ate. Really, how can you go wrong with lemon, cream cheese and cupcakes...

*1 pkg. white cake mix
*1 pkg. (3.4 oz) lemon instant pudding mix
*1 c. water
*4 egg whites
*2 TBSP. oil
*16 oz. powdered sugar (about 4 c.)
*8 oz. cream cheese, softened
*1/4 c. butter, softened
*2 TBSP. lemon juice

Heat ofen to 350. Beat cake mix, pudding mix, water, egg whites and oil in a large bowl with a mixer on low speed until moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Spoon into 24 muffin tins lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake 21-24 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove to wire racks and cool completely.
Beat sugar, cream cheese, butter and lemon juice with mixer on low speed until well blended. Frost cupcakes.I was glad I had a little frosting left as I really enjoyed spooning it on some Nilla wafers.

Creamy Rice, Chicken & Spinach Dinner

I got this from Kraft Food & Family several years ago and we used to eat it all the time, until I forgot about it. I found it a few weeks ago in one of my binders and decided to revisit it. I couldn't find the Roasted Red Pepper dressing at my grocery store, so I used a sun dried tomato one instead.

*1/4 c. Kraft Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing
*1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used tenderloins)
*1 1/2 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth
*2 c. Brown Minute Rice, uncooked
*4 oz. Neufchatel cheese, cubed
*8 oz. baby or torn spinach leaves (I usually only use half this amount and do a spinach salad)
*1 medium tomato, chopped (or a can of diced tomatoes)
*2 TBSP. shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat dressing in large deep skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 3 min. Add broth; bring to boil. Stir in rice; return to boil. Cover. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 5 minutes.
Stir Neufchatel cheese into rice mixture until melted. Add spinach; cover. Cook 1 minute or until spinach is wilted. Stir rice mixture gently to mix spinach. Cover.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, (I warm them in a skillet so they are hot when added) sprinkle with cheese.
Photo from Kraftfoods.com

Chicken, Quinoa & Apple Burgers

I came across a similar recipe from a a baby food book and decided to try an adult version. I know a few of you are going to gag and stop reading this immediately when you learn that I pureed chicken breasts to make the base of these burgers. I think they were a lot like my salmon patties and were actually very easy to make.

*1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips or cubes
*2 cloves garlic
*1/2 tsp. onion powder
*1 1/2 c. cooked quinoa, room temp
*6 TBSP. applesauce, plus more for serving
*1/4 c. canola oil

Cook about 1/2 quinoa, fluff and let cool. Pulse chicken and garlic in a food processor until coarsely pureed. In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion powder, quinoa, applesauce. Use a 2 TBSP. cookie scoop to scoop out balls of the chicken mixture. Use a sheet of plastic wrap between your hands to flatten the balls to about 2-inch patties that are about 1/2 inch thick. Place on plastic wrap on a plate or cookie sheet, cover. Refrigerate a couple hours or freeze for up to a month.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add patties to skillet (don't overcrowd); cook, turning once, until golden brown and cooked throughout, mine took about 5 min on each side. Serve warm with applesauce over top or to dip for the kids. For some reason I didn't take any pictures of the final product, just imagine golden brown patties. The verdict, they were very tasty. The fried quinoa with the garlic was great. The girls and hubby liked them and I've got a dozen or so in the freezer for a quick meal.

Cream Cheese Frosting

My bug and I spent the morning making sugar cookies for preschool and had plenty left for us to decorate. Usually if the kids are decorating cookies I crack open a can of frosting for them to make their goopy creations. That said, if I'm going to be doing some of the eating, I prefer to make a bowl of cream cheese frosting. There is no real magic with making good frosting, just a little planning. Butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. I don't recommend using a microwave to expedite this because it will invariably melt something a little too much. Just pull the butter and cream cheese out of the fridge in the morning and a couple hours later you'll be ready to make the frosting. Also, it really makes a difference to add things one at a time and make sure it is well-mixed (including scraping down the sides of the bowl) before adding more things.

*4 oz. butter
*4 oz. cream cheese
*2 tsp. vanilla
*2 c. powdered sugar

In a bowl with a mixer beat butter until nice and creamy, add cream cheese and beat at a med-high speed until light and fluffy. If you still see lumps of cream cheese, it might have been too cold, let set at room temp a bit and beat some more. Add the vanilla, then the powdered sugar and you've got some tasty confection at your fingertips.

Slow-Cooker Pasta y Fagiole

Pasta e Fagioli is one of my favorite soups (even though I just realized I've never posted my regular recipe...coming soon). I first fell in love with it at the Olive Garden and have been making it for years, so when I saw this recipe making it in a crock-pot, I wanted to try it. I had browned ground beef in the freezer, so this took about 10 minutes to prep and get cooking (yeah). This was less broth-y than my standard and although the flavor is a bit different, the hubby and I really enjoyed it.

*1 lb. lean ground beef, browned and drained
*1/2 large red onion, chopped
*1 c. carrots, chopped
*2 celery stalks, sliced
*2 cans diced tomatoes (I used one can and 12 oz. V8)
*1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
*1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
*4 c. beef broth
*2 tsp. oregano (I used 1 tsp. oregano and 1 tsp. Italian seasoning)
*1 jar (16.5 oz.) pasta sauce
*1 TBSP. Tabasco sauce
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1/4 tsp. black pepper
*1/2 c. dry pasta to add at end of cooking time (I use small shells or salad macaroni)

In a 6-qt. crockpot, combine all ingredients except the noodles. Cook on low for about 8 hrs. or high for about 4. Stir in dry pasta and cook another 15-30 minutes until pasta is tender. Serve with fresh Parmesan cheese.
I made half of this recipe and there was plenty for our family of 4. This soup would freeze very well (except for the noodles) so if you don't need the full batch, make it and pull some out to cool and freeze before adding the noodles.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

I was on the phone talking with Carlee when I was hit with a sudden craving for tuna noodle casserole. My previous plan for dinner went out the window and the girls and I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. I know there are a lot of variations on this recipe, but here's how I make it.

*6 oz. extra-wide egg noodles
*1 can cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup
*1 can tuna, drained
*1 c. milk
*1/2 c. frozen peas
*2 slices bread
*2 TBSP butter

Butter a casserole dish. Boil a large pot of water and cook the egg noodles for about 4-5 minutes. They will be very al dente, drain them thoroughly. Meanwhile, whisk soup and milk to combine; stir in tuna. Gently stir in drained noodles and peas and pour into casserole dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375 for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice. Pulse bread and butter in a food processor, to make fine crumbs. When casserole is hot and bubbly, sprinkle with crumbs and bake another 5-10 minutes until crumbs are golden brown. My mom used to put the peas on top of the casserole do her picky kids could pick them out easily. I do the same because only one of my girls will eat peas. Mom also cooked this in the microwave for about 5-7 minutes and skipped the breadcrumbs.

Egg Noodles

A while back I made some homemade chicken noodle soup and froze half the stock and shredded chicken because I had been thinking about making homemade noodles. I put this together for a Sunday dinner and have been converted to making my own noodles. I checked a few books and some online sites and this seems to be a pretty standard recipe.

*2 c. flour
*3 egg yolks
*1 egg
*2 tsp. salt
*1/4-1/2 c. water
Measure flour into bowl; make a well in the center and add egg yolks, whole egg and salt. Thoroughly mix eggs into flour with your hands. Add water, 1 TBSP. at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Be careful to add only enough water to form a ball.

Turn dough onto well-floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Cover the dough and let rest for about 10 minutes. Divide dough into quarters and roll dough, on a floured counter top, one quarter at a time, into a thin (about 1/8 inch) rectangle. (I tried half with my pasta roller and this dough actually worked better with a rolling pin. While working each section, keep remaining dough covered. Use a pizza cutter to cut into strips the width you desire. I found that cutting width-wise vs. length-wise worked a lot easier. Lightly flour a dish towel and place cut noodles on top. Let dry for a couple hours. Cook in chicken broth for 12-15 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Belgian Waffles

A couple weeks ago I got to run away to spend an extended weekend in Manhattan. One of the best meals I ate was brunch at Sarabeth's where I thoroughly enjoyed my pumpkin Belgian waffle (and some 3-pepper home fried potatoes and lemon ricotta pancakes I mooched off the plates of my friends). But I digress, the waffle was amazing and I've been wanting to make them since I got home. Since we were able to enjoy a lazy (not to mention cold, windy and rainy) Sunday morning with no place to go, I made these for the family. My man gave them 5 stars and asked that these be a regular on on weekend breakfast rotation. The flavor was very similar to Sarabeth's, but the texture of these were much lighter and fluffier (hubby said texture was a cross between a good pancake and French toast).

*1 1/2 c. flour
*3 tsp. baking powder
*1 tsp. cinnamon
*1 tsp. nutmeg
*1 tsp. ginger
*pinch of salt
*2 eggs
*1/4 c. brown sugar
*1 c. pumpkin puree
*1 2/3 c. milk
*4 TBSP. butter, melted and cooled

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. In another bowl, beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, milk and butter. Fold liquids into dry ingredients to combine. Pour into waffle maker and bake as per waffle maker instructions. We did ours in our Belgian waffle maker, but they took a bit longer to cook than the light indicated. I think these would work very well in a regular waffle maker as well. Sarabeth served mine with sour cream (don't worry, I substituted whipped cream), raisins and roasted pumpkin seeds, and fresh honey. I think you could dress these up any way you'd like.

Mojitos

I'm surprised I haven't posted this drink recipe since I have one most evenings with my hubby. Traditionally this is made with rum, but we since we're not big drinkers, here's our virgin version. This is a very forgiving drink with very approximate measurements (I like mine sweet and my man likes his dry).

*1 oz. simple syrup
*4-6 mint leaves
*1/2 lime, cut into wedges
*ice
*club soda (6 oz.)

Pour simple syrup into bottom of a glass. Add the mint leaves and use the handle of a wooden spoon to muddle (crush) the mint leaves in syrup until leaves are bruised and smell very minty. Squeeze juice from lime wedges and add to glass. Top with crushed ice and fill with club soda. Stir gently to combine and enjoy.

Creamy Cheesy Potato Soup

A few weeks ago I had some delicious cheesy potato soup in NYC. The soup was a pureed soup and fabulous. I tried to find the recipe online, but ended up altering a baked potato soup recipe from Kraft. Here's what I came up with.

*3 medium size russet potatoes
*2 TBSP. butter
*2 TBSP. flour
*1/2 tsp. dried mustard powder
*1 can low fat/sodium chicken broth
*3/4 c. milk
*1/4 c. cream
*2 oz. cream cheese
*3/4 c. sharp cheddar cheese
*4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled


Wash and pierce the potatoes. Microwave for about 5 minutes, turning half way through cooking. Remove from microwave and peel and dice the potatoes. In a pot, combine flour and butter over medium-high heat until thickened, stir in mustard. Whisk in broth, milk, and cream cheese. Add potatoes and cook 5-10 minutes until soup is thick. Use an immersion blender (or puree in batches with blender) to puree soup. Add cheese slowly and stir over med-low heat until melted. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Stir in bacon or sprinkle on top.