Since Mother’s Day is fast-approaching and so many of us are busy making meal plans, I thought this would be the perfect time to give you a list of some of my best “mom-friendly” recipes. And since Brunch is most often the meal of choice for honoring our moms, here are some of my favorite Brunch recipes. Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is May 9! Show your mom how much you love her by hosting a relaxing Brunch with these simple, delicious dishes!

Bacon, Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche– everybody loves quiche; and luckily, this one is as simple as they get! If you’re short on time, use a store-bought pie crust. Mix the filling, pop it in the oven, and presto! Hot, delicious quiche!

The Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls – I made these for my Mother’s Day Brunch last year and they were a HUGE hit. And let me tell you, I felt oh-so proud of myself for conquering yeast and ending up with such a delicious result! If you’re as scared of yeast as I am, don’t worry – these are so simple and straight forward, they’re almost fool-proof! You can do it! And you’ll look like a rock star making awesome homemade cinnamon rolls for everybody!

Or if you’re short on time but still want delicious cinnamon rolls – these Easy Sticky Buns are perfect! They use frozen puff pastry so they come together in literally no time, but they’re not lacking in flavor (or wow factor!)!

Here’s another super-quick one: Lindsay’s Simply Sweet Coffee Cake– it’s as simple as arranging refrigerated biscuits in a pan, topping with melted butter, cinnamon and sugar and baking. Easy and delicious!

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Strata (you’ll need to scroll down to the bottom of the post, there are a couple of other recipes in there)- I made this for my first Mother’s Day Brunch and it was sooooo good! The good news is, you can make it the night before and bake it the next morning, so there’s no stress involved! I love the green chiles in this; they really add a great burst of flavor that goes really well with the eggs and bacon.

Anytime I serve brunch I always like to have a variety of baked goods, fresh fruits, savory dishes and drinks. Also make sure you’ve got a good balance of sweet and savory (personally, I always tend to lean more towards the sweet side, since my family definitely likes their sweets!). If you didn’t see anything here that floats your boat, head over to my friend Katie’s blog, Good Things Catered; this girl knows her Brunch! She has such wonderful tips for hosting and entertaining- you’re sure to get some fantastic ideas from Katie!

Whether you’re hosting or maybe just bringing a covered dish to your sister’s house this Mother’s Day, I hope I’ve given you some good ideas to help get you started. These are all great, no-fail recipes that are super simple and super delish (that’s pretty much what I’m all about!)- and they’re great for anytime, not just Mother’s Day! Enjoy!

**And don’t forget about my $60 giveaway that ends May 7th! 🙂

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Alright folks, get ready, because this is awesome! The good people at CSN have approached me with a great giveaway opportunity – a $60 gift card to spend however you want, on any of their sites! Woah! Ok, so I’m being a little over dramatic, but it’s what I do, ok? They have a plethora to choose from- anything from lighting to kitchen supplies to home improvement to baby and kid stuff! 60 bucks, man! If it were up to me, I’d go with something along these lines:

The Emile Henry Pie Dish – comes in lots of colors!

The Blomus Ondea Round Bowl – super chic!

You get the idea- you’ll have $60 to spend however you want on any of CSN‘s sites! Free reign!  Here’s how to enter:

*Leave a comment on this post before Friday, May 7th at midnight answering me this question:

If you could go back in time to any era, what would it be and why?? Personally, I’d go back to 1700’s Scotland and find me a smokin’ hot Clansman to take a picture of. (Man, I’ve been reading too much Outlander…)

Bonus Entries:

1.) Follow me on Twitter- Sing4YourSupper and re-tweet this post

2.) Become a Fan (or ‘liker’) of my Facebook fan page

3.) Follow my RSS feed

So there you have it- 4 possible chances to win. Leave a separate comment for each bonus entry. And that’s all you have to do to get $60 to spend as you please on CSN’s websites! Sweet, huh?! I’ll randomly pick one winner, and then the CSN folks will email you with your sweet new gift card. Be sure and leave your email address in your comment so I’ll know where to reach you if you WIN! Yee Haw!! Best of luck, friends! 🙂

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You may not know this but chicken salad is one of my favorite things to eat. I love it! But surprisingly, I’ve only posted one recipe for it on my blog and it wasn’t even my own personal recipe. Well it’s been long enough!

There are SO many different ways of making a good chicken salad – my mom sometimes puts pineapple and almonds in hers and my grandmother puts a little whipped cream in hers. They’re all different and they’re all so good. Mine is a bit different from theirs, but not too much. I love it because it’s really crunchy, sweet and salty at the same time. Mmmm, just talking about it makes me hungry for more….. This is a perfect meal- it’s light, refreshing and keeps really well in the fridge for lunch the next day. You really need to try this one; I promise you’ll love it as much as we do!

My Chicken Salad

1 small rotisserie chicken, deboned and shredded
2 celery stalks, chopped
handful red grapes, sliced in half (we like lots)
1/2 cup lightly salted cashews
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/4-1/3 cup mayonnaise (start with 1/4 cup and see if you need more)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
pinch cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and taste for seasoning; chill until ready to serve.

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Ok, I am officially FIRED UP about Summer!! Every year I get so depressed that the Christmas/Winter season will be over and Spring/Summer is on its way…but not this year! This year I was ready to kick winter to the curb and move on to sunny weather, warm breezes and spending as much time as possible outdoors. But, as luck would have it…it rained. Non-stop. For weeks. I feel like it’s been raining all. stinking. year. Just when we would get a taste of beautiful Spring weather – BAM! More rain for the next 4 or 5 days. But, this weekend, luckily, the rain subsided and we were blessed with a wonderfully sunny, warm, beautiful weekend. JOY! And to celebrate that, hubby and I decided to grill. I marinated (then hubby grilled) some chicken breasts in my beloved Lime Ponzu (and lemme tell ya- this stuff is an awesome marinade!!! Next up is grilled Lime Ponzu shrimp!), whipped up some spiced sweet potato bites with curry, chili powder and paprika (coming soon!) and topped it off with this grilled corn salad (aka, heaven in a bowl- you MUST try this!!). And WOW- what a great meal! We sat outside by the pool and enjoyed every second of our meal- especially the corn salad! And now, I’m SO ready for summer so we can do this every night!! Come on, summertime!!

Grilled Corn Salad
-adapted from For the Love of Cooking

4 ears of fresh corn, grilled, (I took off 1 layer of the shucks, then hubby grilled them over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally)
2 roma tomatoes, diced
half a green bell pepper, diced
1 small jalapeno, diced
1 avocado, diced
handful cilantro, chopped
juice of 2 limes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons honey
salt and pepper to taste

To make the dressing: Put honey and lime juice in a small bowl and slowly whisk in the vegetable oil. Add salt and pepper.

To assemble the salad: Cut the corn off of the husks and place in a large bowl with tomatoes, bell pepper, jalapeno, avocado and cilantro. Toss with dressing. Check for seasoning. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 4.

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One of my favorite things to eat is macaroni and cheese…..from the blue box. Judge all you want, but I love it. And I always will. However, every now and then I get a hankering for homemade mac-n-cheese; you know, the kind with fresh grated cheddar cheese (not from a bag!) and milk and butter??? Yeeeeeah, that kind! Believe it or not, I’ve actually never made homemade before, for whatever reason. I decided the other night was the night to give it a go. I chose the Pioneer Woman‘s recipe for mac-n-cheese. It looked and sounded really good, plus, the woman knows her comfort food. I was pretty pleased with how it turned out – very, very rich, but quite tasty! It makes a TON, so maybe cut the recipe in half if you’re not expecting an army for dinner. And probably if you are indeed expecting an army, it would be just the right amount. 🙂

Macaroni and Cheese
–The Pioneer Woman

4 cups Dried Macaroni
1/4 cups (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
2-1/2 cups Whole Milk
2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
1 whole Egg Beaten
1 pound Cheese, Grated (I used half Monterey Jack and half sharp cheddar)
1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Cook macaroni. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.
Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.
Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt.
Add salts and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.
Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top (I served mine immediately – I’m not a baked mac-n-cheese kind of girl).

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It’s that time of year again. Zero free time, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or fast food for every meal, forgetting what my husband looks like. Those of you who have followed me from the get-go know what I’m talking about – opera season.  Pretty much anyone who reads or has read my blog should know by now that I sing opera (hence the clever title, Sing For Your Supper) – this will be my 4th season with the Fort Worth Opera. I love it. I love the people, I love the music…the wigs, notsomuch, but pretty much everything about opera makes my world go ’round. We started rehearsals a week ago and since then I’ve had about 5 minutes of free time (which is, I’m sure you know, why my poor blog has suffered a bit). I’m lucky enough to have the afternoon off today (aside from Izzy’s ‘Four Legged Fashion’ photo shoot. What an adventure. More on that later!), so I’m taking the opportunity to fill you in on what’s been going on. And no, there’s no food involved (my oven is broken, hence all the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches)- so if you’re here strictly for the food – sorry. And bye.

This year I’m in two operas: Don Giovanni (one of my all-time favorites) and a brand new, never before seen, world premier, Before Night Falls, based on the book of the same title.

Photo: FW Opera

My scene Don Giovanni is over before you know it – about 5 minutes long. Seriously. Almost not even worth the time. Almost. Since I adore Mozart so very much, I’m willing to do it for his sake. I have so many fond memories of this opera – my favorite scene in the world comes from it. I’ve done this scene countless times, but my favorite time was singing it in Italy with my dear friend, Christian (his Don Giovanni will literally give you hot flashes! He’s oh-so good!). It’s racy, beautiful and down-right FUN! (Please pardon the random subtitles…I couldn’t find a video without them!)

Before Night Falls is definitely the most difficult of all the operas I’ve ever been in. The music is seriously kicking my butt; it’s insanely hard. But at the same time it’s fascinating. I’m SO excited about this one – some of the most important people in opera will be there, including Opera News, to do a review! Also, they’ve told us we’re going to be on a new reality TV show all about opera and what goes into the making of a full-scale production (I don’t know all the details yet)! Woah!! This will be my first time to experience taking part in a world premier – this is very big! In case some of you were wondering, this opera is based on the 2000 movie, Before Night Falls, starring Javier Bardem (which is based on the original book I mentioned earlier). The rehearsals are so fast-paced and tiring, but getting to be a part of history is worth every minute! Those of you in the DFW area should definitely try to come and see it – I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

Photo: FW Opera

So there you have it – the latest in my crazy, opera world. After June 6, it will all be over and things will go back to “normal”. Maybe I’ll even cook a meal or see friends or walk my dog. Wouldn’t that be nice……. In the meantime, please be patient with me and my poor little blog; it may suffer just a bit, but I promise to do my best to post as often as possible! And when you’re gathered around your table enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal, think of my poor, neglected husband eating chicken wings for the 5th time in a row and sitting alone with Izzy, wondering when his estranged, opera-singing wife will be home. Poor Joel. I’ll have to make him a big ‘ol Oreo cake after this!

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What exactly is “Ponzu”, do you ask? Well, to quote the good people of Kikkoman, “Ponzu (or citrus seasoned soy sauce and dressing) is the latest Japanese flavor to reach the American supermarket shelves. It has the perfect balance of salty, tangy and sweet to enhance a wide variety of foods.” That’s what it is. And they sent me some to try. I just can’t say no to free stuff. Or food. Especially free food. When Foodbuzz asked me to try the newest Kikkoman product- Lime Ponzu – of course I was more than willing. I’m really glad I did, too- this stuff is wonderful! It’s basically just a really flavorful soy sauce, and it goes GREAT on chicken. I can’t wait to try it on shrimp, either! One of the suggestions they made was trying the Ponzu on Tex-Mex. Wait, wha?? However, they didn’t lead me astray – these burritos were delish! The Ponzu adds so much delicious flavor to the chicken. We really, really enjoyed them!

Yum.

Lime Ponzu Chicken Burritos

1/2 pound boneless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons Kikkoman Lime Ponzu
1 cup white rice
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
salsa
chopped fresh cilantro
shredded lettuce
shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
large, burrito-sized tortillas

Place the chicken and Ponzu in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours (or on high for 3-4 hours). After cooking, shred chicken (be sure not to throw out any of the leftover cooking liquids- just mix it in with the shredded chicken) and keep warm in the crockpot.
Cook rice according to directions on the package. Cook beans over medium-low heat until heated through.

To assemble:
Place 2 or 3 tablespoons of the shredded chicken on the tortilla, top with rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream and cilantro (and anything else you want!) and fold into a burrito.  Be prepared for a big, fat, messy, drippy burrito – Freebirds Style! Oh yeah!

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Woo Hoo!! ‘You Want Pies With That?’ is officially up and running again! And Jessica and I got to choose this month’s theme- “Spring”.  Spring is fresh. New. What better theme to have in mind while making pies?! For some reason Banana Cream Pie instantly came to mind while I was pondering what pie I would make. It always makes me think of Spring for some reason. No idea why. But instead of the traditional pie form, I chose to kick it up a notch or two by making it into a tart and adding in a little dark rum to the pastry cream (yum!).

This is Dorie Greenspan’s recipe- and there are none better, in my opinion. The sour cream in the whipped cream topping sets it apart from any other would-be “awesome” banana cream pies. And I must say, the added rum in the pastry cream really sends it home- I was more than pleased with my tart! Fresh, fruity, creamy, slightly tangy – a perfect Spring pie, in my opinion! 🙂

Banana Cream Tart
-Dorie Greenspan

For the Custard
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar, pressed through a sieve
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon dark rum
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into bits
3 ripe but firm bananas
1 9-inch single tart crust

For the Topping
1 cup cold heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I used vanilla bean paste- that’s why you see the little specks in the topping)
2 tablespoons sour cream

To Make the Custard: bring milk to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the yolks together with the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt until well blended and thick. Whisking without stopping, drizzle in about 1/4 of the hot milk- this will temper, or warm the yolks so they won’t curdle- then, still whisking, add the remainder of the milk in a steady stream. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking constantly (make sure to get into the edges of the pan), bring the mixture to a boil. Boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes before removing from heat.
Whisk in the vanilla extract and rum. Let stand for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are fully incorporated and the custard is smooth and silky. You can either press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the custard to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the custard until cold or, if you want to cool the custard quickly put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water and stir occasionally until the custard is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes. (If it’s more convenient, you can refrigerate the custard, tightly covered, for up to 3 days.)
When you are ready to assemble the tart, peel the bananas and cut them on a shallow diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
Whisk the cold custard vigorously to loosen it, and spread about one quarter of it over the bottom of the crust- it will be a thin layer. Top with half of the banana slices. Repeat, adding a thin layer of pastry cream and the remaining bananas, then smooth the rest of the pastry cream over the last layer of bananas.

To Make the Topping: Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream until it just starts to thicken. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until the cream holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the sour cream.

To Finish: Spoon the whipped cream over the filling and spread it evenly to the edges of the custard. Serve, or refrigerate until needed.

Sweet Tart  Dough
(makes one 9-inch crust)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

To make the dough: Put the flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt in the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a couple of times to combine.  Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is cut in coarsely – you’ll have pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pea-size pieces and that’s just fine.  Stir the egg, just to break it up, and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition.  When the egg is in, process in long pulses – about 10 seconds each – until the dough, which will look granular soon after the egg is added, forms clumps and curds.  Just before your reaches this clumpy stage, the sound of the machine working the dough will change – heads up.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface.

Very lightly and sparingly, knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter the tart pan and press the dough evenly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Don’t be stingy – you want a crust with a little heft because you want to be able to both taste and feel it.  Also, don’t be too heavy-handed – you want to press the crust in so that the pieces cling to one another and knit together when baked, but you don’t want to press so hard that the crust loses its crumbly shortbreadish texture.  Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer, before baking.

To bake the crust: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter the shiny side of a piece of aluminum foil and fit the foil tightly against the crust.  Bake the crust 25 minutes, then carefully remove the foil.  If the crust has puffed, press it down gently with the back of a spoon.  Bake for another 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer the crust to a cooling rack; keep it in its pan.

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I love all things tangy, briny, or “vinegary”. My favorite flavor of potato chip is hands down, Salt and Vinegar (YUM!). So of course, I love to make my own “pickles”- however, these probably can’t really be considered real pickles. They’re more like quick pickles. Let’s call them “Quickles”. Hehehe…quickles….. Anyway, anytime I go to the Dallas Farmer’s Market, I always linger over the short little pickle-sized cucumbers and think, “I could SO make my own pickles”. But I never do and still never have, really. Someday, though, I promise, I’m going to dive head-first into this whole pickling thing- pickles, beets, okra, you name it! Until then, these “quickles” will have to do.

Basically, I slice cucumbers (any size will do, but these little ones work perfectly!), throw them in with some vinegar, water, salt, sugar, pepper and dill; let them sit in the fridge for awhile and voila! Quickles! You can add in anything you want, really- garlic, cayenne pepper…the possibilities are endless! I like mine extra “puckery” so I use plenty of vinegar, but you can use less if you like a more mild pickle. These measurements are just approximations, as I just throw everything in without measuring, so think of them more as “guidelines”.

Quick and Easy “Pickles” (or Quickles!)

10-12 small pickle-sized cucumbers, cut into thick slices
1/2 – 3/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons dill (fresh or dried)
1 – 2 teaspoons salt (depending on how salty you like them)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Check for seasoning. Make sure all the cucumbers are covered by the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve cold.

*I should mention that these small cucumbers are delicious by themselves with just a little salt and pepper – a great side dish!

And now onto more important matters- the winner of the Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Cookbook! And the winner is…………

Congrats, Jen! And thank you to everyone for your sweet comments! I’m so lucky to have such wonderful readers!!!

*On a separate note: if any of you are having issues with my blog not loading…please be patient- hubby is working on it. Once again, (it seems like this stuff never ends!) thanks to Go Daddy.com, we’re having server issues. Sometimes it kinda sucks hosting your own site……

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Wow, 2 years!!  It seems like just a couple of months ago I was writing the post for my 1 year anniversary! A lot can happen in a year’s time- my site got a completely new (and awesome) redesign, I left Tuesdays With Dorie after 2 years of faithful participation (and even got a sweet email from Dorie herself!), I created a cookie that went on to win a contest, I helped to overhaul and revive an awesome pie-making club with my good friend Jessica, and surprisingly conquered my fear of yeast. Not too bad for a year’s work. But I’ve been thinking. All these things are great and all, but none of it, not one single thing, would be possible without my husband. Seriously- if he hadn’t been willing to build me a site (completely from scratch, mind you) two years ago and devote lots and lots of hours to it’s upkeep (really, you have NO idea all the problems we’ve dealt with because of this blog!), Sing For Your Supper might still exist, but it wouldn’t be nearly what it is today. Joel puts in so much work for me and my passion of food blogging; I feel like I should thank him, publicly, for his hard work and devotion.

So Sweetie, this post is for you! 🙂

I’ve been thinking long and hard for months what I would make for my 2 year “blogiversary”. For awhile I thought I might try something really difficult and impressive…but the more I considered the idea, the more I realized that’s not me at all. Nothing about my blog or my food is “difficult” (or all that impressive, really) – just simple and tasty. I’m more of a “make-what-I-want-and-people-can-either-like-it-or-not” type of gal. That’s why I ended up choosing what I did: Lemon Mini-Cupcakes with Lemon-Vanilla Buttercream. Perfectly simple, sweet, and I’ve got to say it, down right delicious. I used Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake as a base and sort of went from there. These were the perfect size- one bite of sweet, lemony goodness. Like a bite of sunshine. Which is why I decided to call them “Sunshine Bites”.  Joel even agreed with me- as soon as he walked through the door, he was greeted with a cupcake being shoved in his face and me saying, “here, try this. Doesn’t it taste like a bite of sunshine?!”, to which he happily agreed (through a mouthful of cupcake).  These turned out to be the most delightful, flavorful, happy cupcakes, and I’m perfectly thrilled with my choice! So, happy 2 year blogiversary to me and to my hard-working, sweet, thoughtful husband, Joel!

Sunshine Bites
-Cake adapted from Dorie Greenspan, buttercream adapted from the Magnolia Bakery

For the Cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
juice of half a lemon

Center a rack in the oven to 350 degrees. Fill mini cupcake pans with cupcake liners.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a medium bowl.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract and lemon juice, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the buttermilk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the buttermilk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Using a small spoon, fill each cupcake liner 1/2 full with the batter.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the tough – a toothpick inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to cooling racks and cool completely before frosting them.

Lemon-Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice of one lemon

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk, vanilla and lemon juice. On the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition (about 2 minutes), until the icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. You may not need to add all of the sugar. If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly (I used yellow). Use and store the icing at room temperature because icing will set if chilled.

And now, to help me celebrate a fantastic 2 years of food blogging, I’d like to give you a little something! I got this to give away a few months ago and I’ve been saving it for just this occasion! I have one copy of Bob’s Red Mill Cookbook: Whole and Healthy Grains for Every Meal of the Day to give to you. This is FULL of great looking recipes; from things like “Bodacious Blondies” to Stuffed Pork Chops to Easy Mexican Lasagna.

All you have to do to enter for a chance to win is leave a comment on this post. Flattery is accepted. Hehe, just kidding…..sort of. I’ll pick one winner randomly. You have until Thursday night 8PM Central Time.

*For extra opportunities to win, you can become a Fan of Sing For Your Supper on Facebook (there’s a little button just to the right of this screen that you can click).  Also, you can follow Sing For Your Supper on your RSS feed. If you already follow me on Facebook or through your RSS feed or both, all you need do is just say so for your extra chances to win! Good Luck and THANK YOU for helping me celebrate 2 years of food blogging awesomeness!!

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