Yep, that’s right. Today is National S’mores Day (there’s practically a “day” for every kind of food these days…). So, in honor of the occasion, I’ve put together a list of all my S’mores recipes. They’re all fool-proof and they’re all GOOD! I’m a girl who LOVES her S’mores!
1.) S’mores Cookies– these were a huge hit with the rest of the opera chorus this season. They were gobbled up in no time!
2.) S’mores Truffles– I made these (along with 3 other flavors- scroll down a ways to get to the S’mores ones) around Christmas this past year and sent them to work with Hubby. They were everyone’s favorite! Who can say no to a dark chocolate graham cracker-coated truffle with a marshmallow in the center??? Certainly not me….
3.) S’mores Bars– I made these a looooong time ago! But boy are they good!! I like these a lot because the chocolate-to-graham cracker ratio is in perfect balance- not too much chocolate like so many S’mores recipes out there! YUM!
And lastly, 4.) Ooey Gooey S’more Stuffed Brownies (my personal favorite)- these were right on the money! Amazingly rich, gooey and chock-full of S’mores goodness! How could anybody resist these babies?? That’s right- they can’t! Try these- you won’t be sorry!
HELLOOOOO! We’re back! We’re tan and probably about 5 pounds chubbier than we used to be, but we’re happy to be home! Omigosh, y’all – we had SUCH a fantastic time in Cancun! The place we stayed at was just amazing- the food was great, our room was great, the pools (there were like, 7 or 8 pools including a lazy river!) were awesome, the people were super friendly and the beach….oh man, the beach was just pure heaven! It wasn’t crowded at all; in fact, you could always get a fantastic spot on the beach or by the pool at any time of day…ahh, to be there again, sitting under a large tiki umbrella snacking on chips and guacamole, sipping on tropical drinks….I’m telling you, pure heaven. However, it is good to be home. We certainly missed our sweet Izzy Bear (although I don’t think she missed us nearly as much! She was livin’ it up at my parents’ house, getting treats and toys and torturing her ‘Aunt’ Beatrice, my mom’s dog), and I definitely missed all of you! Here are just a few pictures from our trip- enjoy!
And finally, one of the pictures our friend Andrea took- she’s seriously amazing!
We’re headed to Mexico for vacation with our good friends Michael and Andrea! I’ll be back next week! Don’t be jealous…. 😉 I’ll miss you!
Here we are at Part 3, the final cupcake, of my Cupcake Week. I sort of like this whole “nothing but cupcakes” thing…kinda fun! I’m especially excited to post these because they happen to be my favorite of the 3. This is Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Buttercream – the very best chocolate cake recipe out there, in my opinion (and it translates beautifully to cupcakes!)! It’s so amazingly moist and tender and the frosting?? Oh MAN, don’t even get me started on that frosting! It’s the BEST chocolate frosting you will ever put in your mouth! Silky smooth, rich, thick, buttery and oh-so chocolaty. I ate an embarrassing amount of these cupcakes at the party. Then I took some home with me and ate another embarrassing amount. For breakfast. I’m in love with this recipe. I’ll never, never stray from it. I don’t want any other smelly old chocolate cake recipe- I’ll always be a Hershey’s girl. Now and forever. Wow, those sound like wedding vows! I’m pretty good at pledging my love to a cupcake, huh?
Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water (batter will be very thin).
Pour batter into cupcake liners.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
Meanwhile, make frosting: stir melted butter into cocoa.
Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.
Add small amount additional milk, if needed.
Stir in vanilla. (Makes approx. 2 cups frosting)
Frost cupcakes when completely cooled, as desired. Makes approx. 24 cupcakes.
I really hope you’ve enjoyed my special “Birthday-Extravaganza-Week-of-Cupcakes” – I certainly have! I enjoyed making them, sharing them, blogging them and especially eating them (I’m starting to really understand the whole obsession with cupcakes now….albeit a little late…). Bottom line: everyone, from little kids having a birthday to 75 year-olds having a birthday to twenty-somethings having breakfast (tee hee) LOVES a good cupcake. They’re cheerful. They’re easy. And most importantly, they’re YUMMY!
Maybe I’ll do another Cupcake Week again sometime and see what other delicious flavors I can come up with- for now, I’m happy with the Holy Trinity – Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate. Who was and is; and is to come. Amen.
Today is my big sister’s 30th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINDSAY!!! Here’s cupcake #2 in my special “Week-o-Cupcakes”. Strawberry. My sister’s favorite. Every year on her birthday, strawberry cake is what she requests. I made her one last year and it was probably the ugliest cake I’ve ever made (but it sure did taste good! Why is it that the ugliest cakes always taste the best?). This year, I opted for cupcakes; and instead of using the stand-by cake mix/jello/frozen strawberries recipe, I just added fresh strawberries (lots of them) to half of the yellow buttermilk cupcake batter I already had on hand (that recipe makes a TON, so I split it in half and made half plain, half strawberry and still came out with over 40 cupcakes). I know it sounds a little “underwhelming” to just add strawberries to the batter and call it a day, but I promise that the end result is anything but! These were so incredibly moist and flavorful, but not too sweet like so many strawberry cakes. They were a huge hit and honestly, I wish I had made more of them!
To make these, I used this recipe. I added fresh, diced strawberries to the batter and iced them with vanilla buttercream. Perfection.
Happy Birthday, Lindsay *and* Uncle Steve!!! (And yesterday was my Nana’s birthday, so Happy Birthday to her too!!)
Yesterday was a fun day. We had a ginormous party for my sister, Nana and Uncle Steve who are all having a birthday this week (within two days of each other) and I made a boat-load of cupcakes (as well as a big batch of pulled pork tacos). It was a really great time- we had homemade guacamole and salsa, chicken enchiladas and pork tacos….and cupcakes. Lots and lots of cupcakes. I made chocolate with chocolate buttercream, strawberry with vanilla buttercream and buttermilk (yellow) with vanilla buttercream. Boy, you just can’t beat a good ‘ol yellow cupcake with good ‘ol vanilla buttercream. That’s the best there is! Normally, when I make cupcakes, I always use Dorie’s perfect party cake recipe (it’s perfect every single time!), but this time I wanted to try a yellow cake, so I chose Martha Stewart’s version. Good call- these were delicious! And as always, I used my stand-by Magnolia Bakery buttercream recipe- it’s everyone’s favorite. I’ll be posting the other cupcakes throughout the week (there’s no way I could possibly leave out those chocolate cupcakes…Lordy, were they good!).
Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes
-Martha Stewart ‘Cupcakes’
Makes 36
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/4 cups sugar
5 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together both flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add whole eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add yolks, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and beating until combined after each. Beat in vanilla.
Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool 10 minutes; turn out cupcakes onto racks and let cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
Vanilla Buttercream
-Magnolia Bakery
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4-6 cups powdered sugar
Cream butter and gradually add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until you reach piping or spreading consistency. *I doubled the recipe- it’s always a good idea to have extra frosting, just in case! Plus, the birthday girl was entitled to a little extra frosting! 🙂
I always, always, always have cans of black beans, diced tomatoes and Mexi-corn in my pantry (Mexi-corn is just canned corn with chopped red and green peppers). They can transform pretty much anything into a spicy, fun, Tex-Mexy meal- which we just love. The other night I had some leftover grilled chicken breasts that were really tasty and I wanted to use them up. This dish was born. It started out just a way for me to use up leftovers and pantry staples, but ended up being one heck of a delicious meal- we couldn’t get enough of it! In fact, I can’t wait to make it again- it was SO easy and really, really delicious. The Ranch dressing really give it a fantastic flavor! If you find yourself in need of a recipe to use up leftover chicken, steak, ground beef, or whatever you have- this is for you! Give it a try!
Southwestern Skillet
2 fully cooked chicken breasts, diced into small pieces
1 can black beans
1 can Mex-corn (regular corn would work just fine too)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1/2 red onion, diced
handful chopped cilantro (reserve some for the top)
1 packet taco seasoning (I didn’t use the entire packet, but if you feel like you want more spice, add the whole thing)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 shredded cheddar cheese (reserve some for the top)
2 large or 4 small tortillas
Ranch dressing
jarred pickled jalapenos
*Feel free to add in any additional vegetables you have on hand- bell peppers would work great, or even zucchini or potatoes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the diced onion until translucent; add the chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro, taco seasoning, sour cream and cheese. Stir to combine. Cook for 4-5 minutes, until the cheese melts.
Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and place on a baking sheet; bake for 5 minutes or until golden brown and slightly crisp.
Top the tortillas with the skillet mixture then drizzle with ranch dressing. Top with jalapenos, cilantro and cheese. Serves 2-3. Enjoy! We sure did!
Aaaand welcome to “more random recipes nobody needs”. Here we have another doozy- Gooey Chocolate Marshmallow Puffs- they’re a little tacky, shamefully easy and by no means low in fat or sugar. But hey, a girl’s got to do something to pass the time. And these are pretty darn tasty, if I do say so myself! I got the idea from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook while browsing in a Half Price Books store with my sis. Basically, just a crescent roll with a marshmallow baked inside it. I took it from there and somehow ended up with these little guys. I’m a little embarrassed to say we pretty much scarfed these (all) down in record time. Hubby was especially impressed.
So if you’re looking for something sweet and tasty that’s just about as easy as they come- look no further! These are a great little snack!
Gooey Chocolate Marshmallow Puffs
1 package Pillsbury Crescent roll dough
1/2 cup prepared chocolate ganache (equal parts chocolate and heavy cream melted together), or chocolate chips if you don’t have any ganache on hand
handful mini marshmallows
cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unroll the crescent dough and spoon a little ganache (or a few chocolate chips) in the center of each triangle. Top with 4 or 5 mini marshmallows and fold the dough up like a little purse, making sure to seal all the edges. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remainder of the rolls, then bake for 12-15 minutes or until the puffs are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
This is a really useful recipe to have around. Not only does it pair well with the quesadillas I made the other night, it goes great with grilled fish, chicken, pork chops….almost anything! The pineapple flavor is just delicious and adds a great sweetness to the rice. It’s amazingly simple and comes together in about 10 minutes. I make it all the time!
Pineapple Rice
1 cup quick cooking rice (I like brown)
1 cup chicken broth (or water)
1/2 cup fresh chopped pineapple
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
salt, to taste
slivered almonds
cilantro
In a medium-sized pot, boil the chicken broth and add the rice. Remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
Add the salt, chopped pineapple, pepper, almonds and cilantro. Stir and let sit for a couple more minutes before serving.
*Additionally you can also add a little soy sauce or in my case, lime Ponzu.
I just want to start off by saying, there are tons and tons of food blogs out there. Many with better pictures than mine, better writing skills, and just better overall food-blogginess; yet you’re here right now, reading mine. So thanks. Thanks for sticking with me and reading my silly posts and taking the time to comment- it really makes my day. My pictures may not be crystal clear and totally flawless, but you know what? I sort of like them that way- that’s exactly how our food looks before we sit down and dig in. I don’t spend an hour adding tiny pieces of parsley, or taking a cloth and wiping away stray crumbs or melted cheese that doesn’t belong. I like stray crumbs. 🙂 And I like my blog. And I’m thrilled beyond words that you like it too. So again, thanks. Thanks for being really fantastic readers. I really, really love you all.
Ok, now that I’m done being sappy- here is a fantastic recipe for quesadillas. We made these this weekend and ate like big-fat-pigs! I was originally going to make these (do those not look insanely delicious?! I can’t wait to try them!), but didn’t have any bbq sauce. Then I remembered how much we adored the chicken kabobs I made a few weeks ago, and decided to just make quesadillas out of them (Good call, Amy!). These were cheesy, slightly sweet, a little spicy….a totally delicious meal! Can’t wait to make them again!
Grilled Chicken, Pineapple and Veggie Quesadillas
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Lime Ponzu, plus more for brushing (If you don’t have this, just use soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and a little lime juice)
fresh pineapple, sliced (you’ll only need about 1/4 of the whole pineapple)
1 red bell pepper, cut into slices
1 red onion, sliced into rings
1 jalapeno pepper
pepperjack cheese
cilantro
large tortillas
Place the chicken in a large ziploc bag with 1/2 cup of the ponzu and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
After 2 hours, grill the chicken over medium-high heat (about 5 minutes on each side). When the chicken is nearly done, add the peppers, onion and pineapple to the grill and brush with the additional ponzu while cooking. Turn only once and remove as soon as the chicken is done cooking.
Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then slice diagonally.
To assemble: preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle a little pepperjack cheese on two tortillas (as much as you like- I used about 1/3 cup for each), then top with the sliced chicken, pineapple, peppers and onion. Top with a sprinkling of cilantro then place another tortilla on top of each. Bake for about 5 minutes, just long enough for the cheese to melt.
Cut quesadillas into 4 pieces. Serves 2.
*To keep the edges of the tortillas from curling up on the sides, dip your finger in a little water and brush along the outer edge of the tortilla just before baking.
