Yum Yum Cupcakes

My favorite treat when I was a kid. Chocolatey cake with a soft cream-cheese center. Instead of filling it 1/3 with mix, then dropping in the cream cheese, then putting in more mixture, I just fill it 2/3 with choc cake mixture, then drop in the cream cheese mixture. I like it at the top so you can see it :) it looks way tastier. If I'm feeling lazy or I'm short on time I use devil's foodcake cake mix instead of making it from scratch, then mix up the cream cheese part.

Cream cheese filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chocolate cake mix:
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons vinegar
2/3 cup oil
2 cups water
Directions:
1
Cream together all filling ingredients except chocolate chips. (cream cheese, sugar, egg and salt).
2
Add chocolate chips and set aside.
3
Mix cake ingredients together.
4

Fill cupcake papers 1/3 full then using a teaspoon put 1 spoonful of filling mixture in center of each cupcake.
5
Fill papers another 1/3 with cake ingredients.
6
Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.
7
Cool and serve (if they make it through the cooling stage).

Peanut Butter Delight

Peanut Butter Delight (Yum Yum Brownies)

Makes 12

So I re-did this recipe, and this time actually measured what I did. I liked the first batch better though. I think if I make it again I won't press the centers in, and won't use icing sugar.

1/2 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp of each: white, brown and icing sugar
1/4 cup milk for the peanut butter mix.
Cook in a pot for 8-10 min on low, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn.
It should reach a toothpaste consistancy. Remove from heat and continue to mix for 5 min (so the oils etc don't seperate and it remains smooth. If you want, press with 2 or 3 fingers in the middle of each brownie about 2/3 of the way with a greased bag to create a bit of a depression for the peanut butter mixture to sit in.
Use 2 teaspoons to put on peanut butter mixture, then lightly press the chocolate square on top.
The rest of the instuctions are below.

 

These were the previous instructions:

3 heaping tbsp Skippy’s natural peanut butter

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp white sugar

¼ cup lactose free milk

1 70-90% coco chocolate bar

1 pkg brownie mix

pre-heat oven to 325

I consider myself good at baking, but for some reason I can never get popcorn, kraft dinner or brownies from scratch to work out so for this recipe you can either make the brownie mix from scratch or from a box mix. You can also replace the peanut butter mix and chocolate with Reese’s peanut butter cups, just put a thin layer of brownie mix over top the peanut butter cups.

Mix up brownie mix and ingredients it requires, and put spoonfuls in a greased muffin pan, they should be about half full.

In a small saucepan on low, mix together peanut butter, milk, brown and white sugar, and stir constantly (to avoid burning) until it is smooth and the sugar has melted. Put about a tsp of the peanut butter mix on top of each brownie, then break up the chocolate bar into 1-2 cm squares and place the squares on the very top.

Place in the oven and bake for 26-28 min (time and temp may vary depending on your stove)

Let cool for approx 20 min. Enjoy your gooey peanut butter goodness!

Hearty Tortilla Chip Dip

Hearty Tortilla Chip Dip

1 lb ground beef
1/2 red pepper
1/2 orange pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/4-1/2 green pepper
1/2 jalepeno pepper
1/2 spanish onion
1 Can black beans
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper

1 container sour cream
1 reg container cream cheese

1 jar salsa
cheddar cheese

1-2 bags TOSTITOS® ARTISAN RECIPES™ Roasted Garlic and Black Bean (or any of the other kinds of Tostitos artistan recipe chips)

 

Mince peppers and onion, put into a saucepan with ground beef and black beans. Cook until browned, set aside and let cool for 15 min.
Whip together cream cheese and sour cream, spread in glass pan (9x13 approx), spread beef on top, spread jar of salsa on top, and sprinkle cheddar cheese. Serve immediately.

Beer Dinner Muffin

Got this recipe from my momma

omit onion and cheese if you like
1/2 cups flour (I used White Lily All Purpose Flour, it really does make a difference)
1 tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (plus additional for topping, if desired)
2 tbs chopped green onions
1/4 cup melted butter, plus 2 additional tbs, divided
6 oz beer
(makes 8)
Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cheese and onions, stir until well combined. Pour in 1/4 a cup of melted butter plus the 6 oz of beer, stir until just combined.
Pour batter into muffin tins until each well is about 1/2 full. Pour remaining 2 tbs of butter onto the tops of the muffins, dividing evenly between each muffin. Top with additional cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until the muffins have puffed and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Serve immediately, these are best right out of the oven.

Delicious Breakfast!

I call it 1001 dalmations lol
Meal for 2

1/3 cup Cream of wheat (not the individual packets-the stovetop box kind)
2 1/2 cups Lactose free milk or coconut milk
6-8 Crushed Oreo cookies
dash of salt
2 tbsp brown sugar

Heat milk in small pot on med-low stirring constantly until it boils. Slowly add cream of wheat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir for 3 minutes. Add in crushed cookies and brown sugar, add more milk if desired and serve.

Quick Meal (Thai?)

Easy Meal (Thai wraps?)

I had something like these at a booth at a flea market once and decided to re-create them. Here's what I came up with:

Red chilli pepper jelly

Soya sauce

Round rice paper

Bean sprouts

Finely chopped cabbage (coleslaw)

Chicken breast

Carrots

Cucumber

 

Cook chicken and cut into slices. Mix jelly and soy sauce until it is just a little thinner than liquid honey for the sauce and dip.

Put rice paper in hot water until soft and pliable (5-10 sec), when pulling out, use thumb and pointer finger of both hands at top about an inch away, with pinky holding it against palm to prevent rice paper from folding in on itself (its like saran wrap- can be tricky) them lay on a damp tea towel. Add slivers of cucumber and carrot, add bean spouts, add cabbage, add chicken. Drop in some of the sauce, then roll up tightly. Serve with sauce for dipping.

Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes

Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes

Well… healthier than normal cupcakes. Trick your kids into eating some veggies!

I read about beets being used in cakes to give it a red colouring- so I tried it out. It didn’t really turn out red- and it wasn’t perfect because I made it from scratch with a recipe I made up- since you have to take into account that when you add beets you are adding some water content. The very first time I made it I used a box cake mix and cut liquids in half and put about a cup of beets in. This time, for the recipe I made up, I also added zucchini. It isn’t perfect… but it works. I’ve got to try it a few more times with variations to perfect it. Makes about 40 cupcakes

 

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Bake cupcakes for 16-20min.

 

Wet bowl: Peel beets, chop into pieces that will fit into a food processor. Cut ends off zucchini, slice into quarters. Grate both the zucchini and beets in the food processor, then cook in a pot with the vegetable oil and coconut milk for 1hr on med heat, stirring every 5 min. Let cool until it is bearable to the touch. Blend in food processor until smooth (cooking it makes it easier to blend up into small pieces you won’t notice when eating the cupcake).

Add chocolate squares (it should still be hot enough to melt them) and mix in vanilla.

Mix in the egg once it has cooled to lukewarm (you don’t want the eggs to cook yet!). Set aside.

 

4 cups flour

1 ½  cup brown sugar

1 ½  cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

3 tsp baking soda

4 squared baker’s dark chocolate

1 cup coco powder

1 can coconut milk

2-3 eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 large beets

1 regular sized zucchini

½ cup vegetable oil

½ tsp allspice

optional chocolate chips

 

Dry bowl: Mix flour, sugars, salt, baking soda, coco powder, and allspice in a bowl, mix well. Add chocolate chips.

Combine wet bowl with dry bowl, mix well. Pour into muffin trays with cupcake papers.

Bake, cool, top with cream cheese icing, and enjoy!