Red Velvet Cupcakes

Well. Yum. Really. And very red, but -- these pretty little things were supposed to be for a birthday party for a friend for a party for tonight, BUT - we had some really messy, snowy roads...so we are...stuck with a whole batch of these little treats...which. We WILL share. Tomorrow. Tonight they will enjoy just being pretty, and tomorrow: they will be devoured by my family.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1/2 cup margarine

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. cocoa

3 Tbsp. red food coloring

1 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. vinegar

Cream margarine; add sugar gradually.  Add eggs, one at a time; beat well. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring in a small bowl, then add to the sugar mixture.  Mix flour and salt in a small bowl, and add alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla. Sprinkle soda over vinegar in small bowl, then add to the batter. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixed.

Put in a well greased muffin pan or muffin liners (I use a silicone muffin pan - they are super easy to clean and get out!)  and bake at 350 for about 22 minutes. Leave in the pan 'til a bit cooled so they don't fall apart.

Icing

1 pckg. cream cheese, softened

6 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups icing sugar

I also had whipped cream - and that was equally as yummy on top in place of icing!

Enjoy! ~ Kristi



Cranberry Raisin Muffins with a bit of Orange

Healthy Cranberry Raisin Muffins

I was looking for a muffin recipe that was not just "healthy" but yummy. I wanted something to eat with a few chunks of hard cheddar cheese for breakfast or a morning snack at work so i wasn't tempted to go to the URBAN EATERY to get one of their delish cookies.  Sometimes the healthy muffins are the grossest.. lets be real.  But this recipe is the combination of two recipes plus a few added goodies of my own to jazz it up. If you actually have wheat germ in your cupboards... kudos to you.. add  2T, but if not.. no worries. Just be regular like the rest of us who have ran out of wheat germ today and your muffin will be just as tasty.

Okay.. lets get started!


1/2 Whole wheat flour
3/4 white flour
2 Tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 dried cranberries

Mix together well with  a wooden spoon or your hands whatever suits your fancy.

In a separate bowl ADD
1 cup plain or vanilla yogurt, (Activia Plain is my fav)
3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 egg
the juice of one small orange
the zest of that same orange. 

Stir a few times until incorporated . Leave lumps!!! this is the secret to great muffins.

Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with Pam and fill 3/4 full. Bake for 21 minutes  @ 350*.

SIDE NOTE:
Muffins are best baked at no higher than 350*

These freeze well for 8 weeks but i promise. You wont let them last that long in your house!
Enjoy,
Amanda

A most amazing sticky sweet jam cookie

So for this old fashion sweet cookie I recommend using homemade jam and claim these puppies as "authentically homemade" from start to finish.

You will need:


1.5 cups of Brown Sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla (you know I think Dominican pure vanilla extract is by far the best, If you have it use only .5 tsp)
2 cups flour
1tsp baking soda
.5 tsp salt.

This is so easy:
In a large bowl mix brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with a mixer. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon.
Using a tablespoon baller roll dough into balls, roll in a little white sugar if you have some, and place on cookie sheet. Flatten with your hand. Make a thumb impression in the centre fill with little dollops of homemade jam. I used strawberry jam for this receipe and it was DELISH!

Bake 12 minutes @ 350*. They wont look done but as you also know.. Kristi & I are big fans of letting cookies finish baking on their racks.  You will definately want a cup of tea with these cookies.

You will easily get at least 3 Dozen.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Dont be tempted to make these small. Often times when they are smaller they come out more plump but drier... go for the tablespoon size and enjoy the sticky sweet yumminess!

Amanda

Guest Blogger: Erin B

Happy to introduce to you, our Guest Blogger today, our faithful reader/friend/sister, Erin...

Winter
The one of the best parts of winter for me has been coming over to my sister's house in the afternoon and playing a good ol game of Racko. But usually before we start playing, my sis will get a big ol' pot of water piping hot to make us some hot chocolate. And she makes a darn good cup of it too.

(*right now, I hope you are envisioning the sequence from Polar Express....HOT HOT HOT HOT Chocolate and I'm also imagining that part in the movie Chocolat when she finally figures out Jonny Depp's "favorite" when she makes him her famous hot chocolate with chili peppers in it. But I digress.)

Anyways. Here's MY way of making Hot chocolate:
1. Get regular water and make it hot somehow -microwave, tea kettle, campfire. (But don't add it to the mug yet!)
2. Take a little bit of cream or milk and put that in your mug then add maybe 2 TBL of Hot Chocolate Mix. It's very important to rapidly whip this into a frenzy and have it nice and frothy before adding the hot water.
3. Ever so gently, pour the water directly into the mug.
4. Add at least 40-50 mini marshmellows on top, and don't put the bag away either because if you keep a spoon handy you can skim those ones off the top and add a few more when they start melting.
5. Enjoy with a game, book or movie! Good served alone or also with popcorn.
*Just remember that sometimes this is very rich and it needs to be very hot, so you may need to reheat it once the cup is half full...also it may give you a slight stomach ache from being too sweet* ~ Erin

Fish Tacos

Okay...this may or may not sound good to you: Fish Tacos. I was a skeptic, too, myself. But. Oh. My. Word. Sooooo delicious. We ate them with white rice and sweet potatoes, but we were thinking refried beans would probably be yummy with them, too. We love refried beans, though.

So...you MUST use corn shells (we use Paco brand) and fry them in a little bit of oil a couple seconds on each side. If you don't fry them, I guarantee you will NOT enjoy the corn shells.

Then you fill the corn shells with shredded cabbage, put a couple pieces of fried fish, and top with white sauce...(see below)

Fried Fish:
We used haddock, and cut into strips. Dipped into egg mixed with a little bit of milk. Then roll into Panko bread crumbs, and deep fry. Doesn't take long - maybe 3 minutes or so...

White sauce: (this is the kicker -- it is soo yummy!)
mix about 1/3 cup of mayonaisse and 1/3 cup of sour cream, and put lots of chopped-up cilantro, a couple squeezes of lime, and a dash of cayenne pepper, maybe 1/4 teaspoon of cumin. mix it all up and load it up ontop of your taco.

You will love it. I'm serious. I wouldn't say I'm a huge seafood lover (shameful, I know, being an Island girl), but I love Fish Tacos!! Enjoy. ~ Kristi

Shoe freak!

                                Need I say more? AMAZING!

Jet French Toast

           Just a little breakfast inspiration from Jet & Meena :)

By Amanda

THE MOST delish Apple Pecan Caramel Cheesecake

Get Prepared!
1 cup Graham Crumbs. I think for cheesecake it is ALWAYS best to get
the crackers, and mash them up in a zip lock baggie. The store bought
crumbs are to fine and you end up with a grainy crust plus we are adding
delish  chopped pecans to this crust  so you'll be happier with  the
texture of the banged up crackers.

3/4 cup pecans, chopped up a bit, divided into ½ and 1/4
3 Tbs white sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melt that puppy for 20 seconds!
2 packs of cream cheese. I used whatever is on sale.. no name is just
fine.
½ cup more of white sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup more of white sugar
4 cups peeled apple, sliced thin.

Lets Bake!

Oven gets turned on at 325* and you will bake this bad boy for 90
minutes.. I know that seems long.. but the temp is low and we want  that
low temp long cook time taste.(I actually don't know what this means..
It just sounds good.. BUT do cook for 90 minutes at 325*)

Mix it up:
Mix banged up crackers, ½ of the chopped pecans, 3Tbs sugar, ½ tsp
cinnamon and the melted butter. stir till everything is coated and press
into a 9' springform pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.You are going to
LOVE how this smells.

Beat the softened cream cheese, ½ cup white sugar and the vanilla until
it's mixed well.Add the eggs one at a time.  Pour over the cooked crust.


Mix the other ½ tsp of cinnamon with the 1/3 cup of white sugar .. then
toss over the thinly sliced apples.  Lay the apples over the cheesecake
however you'd like them to look. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of
chopped pecans over the apples.
Now Bake for the 09 minutes. Cool on rack  for 3 hours.. or do as I
do.. Bake  it at 10 Pm .. remove from Over at 11:30 pm and leave on the
counter over night with a little wax paper on top. But you do what you
like.

This is SERIOUSLY a BIG HIT.. One of my best Cheesecakes.. I wish I
could take credit for it's yummy goodness but I can't.. Im  big fan of
all things Kraft and this is one of their delish recipes.

Invite a friend over for coffee (or pepsi ;) and happy eating.

Cheers!
Amanda

Oatmeal Cookies

Its a snowy, cozy day...and a great day for tea and cookies...so, me and my 2 year old made some delicious Oatmeal Cookies...My hubby likes raisins in his, but...my canister of raisins has been sitting there a little too long, so...we left those out this morning. We did, however, add some chocolate chips to some, because Jonah insisted. And...let's be honest, chocolate chips can never be a bad idea in an oatmeal cookie.  I have thank my friend, Sherry, for this yummy cookie recipe - practically everything I've eaten at her house I've gotten the recipe for...so, I will be sure to give credit where credit is due.

These cookies are chewy, not crispy...and the key is to take them out right around 8 - 9 minutes of baking...you might think they're not done, but...they'll finish cooking and be just perfect if you take them out when you are a little bit doubtful they're ready...about 8 and a half minutes after putting them in.

Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup margerine, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 cup coconut
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder

Mix margerine, sugar and vanilla in large mixing bowl. Add egg and mix well. In smaller mixing bowl mix the rest of the ingredients, then add to the egg/sugar mixture and mix well. Stir in raisins, cranberries, chocolate chips -- whatever you want.  Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet, and bake at 375, for 8-9 minutes. Let cool on cookie rack, and then...Enjoy!! This recipe makes 2 dozen cookies...they do not last long - they're soo yummy!

So -- cozy up on this snowy afternoon and make yourself a pot of tea to enjoy with your cookies. ~ Kristi