GIANT Cupcake

No your eyes are not playing tricks on you that is a GIANT cupcake. I have seen the special giant cupcake pan a few times at different places. When my brother had a BBQ for his passing the CPA exam I knew ordinary cupcakes would not due and the giant cupcake pan would need to be added to my kitchen collection. The picture above was the test run and a comparison to a regular size cupcake liner. I used a cake mix and store bought frosting (so sue me) The pan in a top and a bottom and once baked you pop the top on to stump. I pulled out some cake from the bottom to fill with frosting to increase the cake to frosting ratio because I knew this would be my papa's main concern (the man loves his frosting). It was a huge hit with my brother and the kids at the party.

Scramble!

I LOVE breakfast. I love cooking it and most of the time I only cook something for breakfast on the weekend so that makes everything better! I learned this method of "throw in some stuff with eggs" from my papa (actually I learned a lot of my cooking skills from him). I made this for just Mike and I so if you are making it for more than 2 adjust the quantity.

1/2 pound breakfast sausage
5 eggs
Handful spinach (about half a bag)
Grated cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like, pepper jack would be really good)
Salt and pepper

Brown sausage in large skillet. Crack eggs in bowls with salt and pepper to you liking and whisk. Add eggs to browned sausage and cook until eggs are still slightly wet (eggs continue to cook after heat is off). Turn off heat and add spinach. Fold spinach in until wilted. Add grated cheese over the top and enjoy! Easy and OH so good!

The Perfect Blondie...just like me ;)

I have never had a blondie brown so I thought I would give them a try and I LOVE them.

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups butterscotch (you could also use peanut butter chips) optional
1/2 cup chopped pecans (you could also use walnuts) optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray or grease and flour.

Put the sugar in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a small skillet or in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. Stir the butter into the sugar until smooth, cool to room temperature.

In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Beat the eggs into the sugar mixture. Add the flour mixture a bit at a time and mix until a smooth thick batter forms. Fold in the chips, as desired. The batter will be very THICK

Spoon the batter to the baking dish and spread to evenly. Bake until the blondies are light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Mom's Macaroni Salad

My mom makes the best macaroni salad. I don't think she has a technical "recipe". She just makes it. It is really light compared to the usual macaroni salad that is drenched in mayo. I know what goes in it so I gave it a go and I think I got pretty close. The best part of this recipe is that you can add more or less of the things you like and don't like. This is my list of ingredients feel free to change to your liking.

4 hard boiled eggs diced small
1 medium red onion diced small
3 stalks celery diced small
big handful bread and butter pickles diced small (you can also use relish or sweet pickles)
1 to 2 tablespoons pickle juice (optional)
1 pound macaroni pasta cooked
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. Simple and oh so good.

Champagne Risotto

I have never made risotto because I heard it was hard. It is a lot of work but not hard at all. We got a lot of champagne as wedding gifts and we really don't drink it so I found this recipe to use some of it and it was worth the work my arm went through stirring non-stop. I also added shrimp sauteed in olive oil and garlic.

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I needed 4 cups)
12 asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
3/4 cup Champagne (I used 1 cup)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (I used 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Blanch the asparagus in the chicken stock for 2 minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon. Set the asparagus aside and keep the chicken stock at a low simmer.

In another medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallot and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat in the butter. Continue toasting the rice, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes more. Add the Champagne and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the asparagus, remaining butter, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.

Cucumber Salad

In my on going quest to get Mike to eat more veggies I made this cucumber salad. It is like a salad we get when we go out to sushi and he likes. I could eat it all day.

1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 cucumber
1/2 carrot (I used a whole carrot)

Mix the white vinegar, black pepper, red pepper flakes and vegetable oil in bowl with sealing lid. Slice cucumber as thin. You can slice or grate the carrot, I grate it. Once everything is in the bowl put the lid on and shake to combined everything. It just gets better the next day. I like to try and make it the day before we are going to eat it.

Vicki's Mom's Pistachio Cake

I stole this recipe from Vicki's blog. Very much worth stealing.

Ingredients for Cake:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant pistachio pudding
3 eggs
1 cup club soda
1 cup oil

Ingredients for Frosting:

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 package instant pistachio pudding
1 envelope dream whip

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all cake ingredients together, mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan (I made them in regular sheet cake form and cupcake form). Bake for 50 minutes (see cake package for baking times on cake or cupcakes). Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Turn onto rack and cool completely. Blend all frosting ingredients with an electric mixer and beat until thickened, about 5 minutes. Cut the cake into 2 layers, frost in between layers, then reassemble the cake and frost the outside. Keep cake refrigerated

Artichoke Chicken

I am trying to get Mike to eat more veggies so I tried this artichoke chicken and he loved it!

1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I used 1 cup)
2/3 can of artichoke hearts, chopped roughly
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used 1 tablespoon)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Mix mayo, parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts and garlic powder in bowl.
Spread over chicken and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until top browns slightly.

Roasted Asparagus

I love asparagus and roasting is it is really easy!

one bundle asparagus
olive oil
salt
pepper

First bend one spear of asparagus until it breaks on it's own toward the bottom. Trim the rest of the spears to match. I also peel the asparagus. Arrange on cookie sheet. Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15- 20 minutes.

Turkey Florentine Meatballs/loaf

I have made this recipe in meatloaf form and mini meatball form for parties. Both are great. The meatballs are also really good with spaghetti.

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave
1 1/3 pound (1 package) ground turkey breast
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large egg
1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup bread crumbs, 3 handfuls
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 palm fulls
Coarse salt and black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wring defrosted spinach dry in a clean kitchen towel. Place turkey in a bowl. Add the spinach, onion, garlic, 1 large egg,1/4 cup milk, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 12 large balls, tons of mini balls or meatloaf. Arrange on a nonstick cookie sheet and roast 20 minutes (meatloaf will take longer), or until cooked through. I add marinara sauce for dipping.

Chicken Salad Wraps

This is one of my favorite recipes ever. Very simple to make if you have a small food processor or some of time to chop. Very much worth it. It is designed to be a wrap but is also good as a sandwich.

10 cups coarsely shredded coocked chicken (from about 3 store bought roasted chickens)
2 cups roasted red, drained, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups paper-thin slices red onion
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups (about) Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground pepper
24 butter lettuce leaves (from about 3 large heads)

I usually chop the bell peppers, and onion in my mini food processor. Place shredded chicken in large bowl. Add chopped bell peppers, red onion, almonds, caper in bowl and mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper as you like. Dress with red wine vinaigrette as desired. Remove butter lettuce leaves from head and place spoonful of salad wrap and enjoy!

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Combine the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually add the oil and blend until emulsified.

Chicken-Chorizo Stoup

I honestly can't stand to listen to Rachel Ray talk but I really like some of her recipes. I found this one while looking for something with chicken and roasted red peppers. I really scored here! YUM

1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bit size pieces (I used chicken breasts)
Salt and Pepper
3/4 pound chorizo sausage, diced (the kind I usually buy was all gone so I got chicken andouille)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic roughly chopped (I used more because I LOVE garlic)
1 red bell pepper, chopped (I used roasted red peppers)
1 medium onion, chopped
6 small red potatoes, diced (I used yukon golds because that is what I had)
1-15 ounce can fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1-15 ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 quart chicken stock

Heat olive oil in large stock pot. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to olive oil. Lightly brown chicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Add chorizo and garlic. Cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Add peppers, onions and potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes, then stir in tomatoes and kidney beans. Add chicken stock and bring soup to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 5 additional minutes. Top with cheese if you like, I do!