Kimmy Bean Cupcakes

 

Kimmy Bean Cupcakes 

(aka Vanilla Bean Cupcakes) 

Courtesy of Tasty Kitchen.com

Cupcakes: (yield 12 cupcakes)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon scraped vanilla beans (I used 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla and scraped vanilla beans. Make sure vanilla is mixed into the batter well. Combine dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredient mixture to the wet batter, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool. Then frost.

Frosting: (yield 24 cupcakes)

1 cup

2 pounds powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon scraped vanilla beans (I used 4 teaspoons of the vanilla bean paste)

Mix butter and powdered sugar together, adding sugar gradually to the mix. Add milk gradually, then the vanilla extract and vanilla beans. Continue to add milk and sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. I used AmeriColor Gel Food Coloring to make my Super Bowl themed cupcakes.

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Chicken & Spinach Casserole

Chicken & Spinach Casserole

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1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded (I used 2 chicken breasts that I pre-roasted instead)

2 packages frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded or grated

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 whole onion, diced

1 head garlic, minced (I used about 5-6 cloves)

1 box pasta shells, cooked (I used spirals instead because I had them)

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add spinach and cook until all liquid has evaporated. Mix chicken, pasta, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella, and season to taste with salt & pepper. Pour into ovenproof casserole dish. Mix Parmesan and breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake 25-30 minutes.

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Awesome Party Punch

Awesome Party Punch

Courtesy of Tara and Staci

The color alone on this punch is amazing!!

1 large bottle of Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry juice

2 large bottles of Simply Lemonade

2 bottles of club soda

lots of ice

Mix the ingredients in the order that they are listed with the exception of the ice - fill the punch bowl or serving jug with the ice and pour the ingredients over the top starting with the pomegranate blueberry juice.

It is super yummy!

I just made some to take to a Women's Ministry meeting for our church, and it's a half batch which made about a gallon.... I didn't put it over ice because of the traveling - and I'd say that if you do it this way - you might want to put a tiny bit of water in the glasses with the ice and pour the punch over the top. The ice as it melts dilutes the punch just a bit and makes it really refreshing!

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Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Courtesy of my sister Cathi

1tbls dijon mustard

8-10 oz of spinach (thaw and squeeze dry)

salt

pepper

garlic

minced onion

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg (added by John to a double batch)

1/4 cup bread crumbs (added by John)

Mix all ingredients together. Grill them until they are done, or you could pan fry them. Serve with your favorite hamburger toppings... we also put them on whole wheat hamburger buns.

** This recipe could be used with ground beef, ground pork, ground white meat turkey, or even ground chicken... I don't know if you can get ground seafood - but try it with your favorite ground meat!

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Thanksgiving Punch

Thanksgiving Punch
Courtesy of: MyRecipes.com

Stir 1/2 cup peeled, chopped fresh ginger, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool and strain. Mix syrup with 4 cups pomegranate juice (I used cranberry pomegranate juice), 4 cups pineapple juice and 6 cups ginger ale. Serve over ice.

Serves 8.Pin It Now!

Honey Lemon Chicken

Honey Lemon Chicken
Courtesy of My Recipes.com

4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breast half between two sheets of wax paper. Pound the meat until evenly flattened. Repeat on all remaining chicken breasts.

Melt butter with honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until melted and blended. (I did mine in the microwave.)

Arrange chicken in a baking dish large enough to hold all chicken in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Pour warmed honey mixture over chicken and place lemon slices on top.

Cover baking dish loosely with foil and bake until chicken is opaque and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.

Spoon juices from bottom of baking dish over chicken and lemon several times. Sprinkle chicken with rosemary.Pin It Now!

Rainbow Cake

Rainbow Cake

Courtesy of Mckmama's blog and Tasty Kitchen

2 boxes white cake mix (I used butter cake mixes)

Food Coloring (I used the liquid, but next time I'll get the gel colors)

Frosting:

4 packages (8 oz) cream cheese

1 cup butter

5-6 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix one box of the cake mix according to the package instructions. Separate the batter into three even bowls - I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup to separate evenly and ended up with about 1 1/2 cup of batter per layer.

Mix each bowl with the food coloring for the desired layer - making purple, blue and green first. Bake the cakes in round pans according to the package instructions, but make sure you check them about 10-15 minutes before it is supposed to be finished baking. With less mix in each pan, they cook faster.

Repeat for the remaining colors - yellow, orange, and red. You will have 6 layers of different colors.

(I used store bought frosting for this first time... but next time I will attempt to make this frosting instead)

For the frosting, mix together softened (room temperature) butter and softened (room temperature) cream cheese until well combined. Add vanilla. Combine. Slowly add in powdered sugar.

After the 5th cup of powdered sugar, taste the frosting and see if you like it sweeter. Use 5 if you like it less sweet or 6 if it isn't sweet enough.

To assemble the cake:

Try to level each layer of the cake with a large bread knife. For the rainbow cake especially, if all the layers are level, they they will evenly display when you cut into it. (I didn't do this, and no one gasped that the layers weren't even - if they even noticed.)

Start with the purple layer first. Put the purple layer on your cake stand or plate. Add enough frosting to cover the layer and some to spill over the edges, anywhere from 1/2 to one cup of frosting. Run the flat, straight side of the knife around the cake to smooth out the edges.

Add blue layer of the cake. Put frosting in the middle, start spreading out frosting with the flat, straight side of the knife so that it coversthe cake and falls out over the edges. Then run your knife around the outside edge of the cake to smooth out the sides.

Put the cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours (I only did about an hour) or freeze for 1 hour.

Repeat with the green layer, then the yellow layer.

Put the cake into the fridge for at least 2 hours or freeze for one hour. (Again - only an hour)

Repeat with the orange layer, and then the red.

Cover cake with frosting and run the flat, straight edge of a knife around the edges to smooth out the frosting.

It is important to freeze or refridgerate the cake between layers for a couple of reasons. The cake can get really heavy by the time you add the 4th, 5th, and 6th layers, but if it is somewhat frozen at this point, it will not get smooshed, or crushed. Also, it is much easier to frost the cake when it is solid, or not wobbling.

Once you have finished frosting the cake, add any decorations or words that fit your occasion.

I served this at our church family game night - and it was a BIG hit with the kids!

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