Childhood Is Calling

I do not know about you, but there is something about cupcakes that scream childhood. I do not even know why? It is not like I sat around eating cupcakes when I was little. In fact, I did not even like frosting as a kid. I used to wipe the frosting off. Now I can not get enough of it. Funny how things change.

So, for Christmas this year I got a bunch of wonderful gifts. The gift that inspired this particular blog post, however, came from my older sister, Kate. Check it out: 

Considering the fact that I am on winter break, and have nothing better to do, I decided it would be a great time to bake some of these delicious treats. The cupcake I chose to make this first time around was the 'White Christmas Cupcake', which I renamed 'White Chocolate Snow Cupcake.' Ps. Wouldn't be amazing if snow was really made of white chocolate? It is probably for the best that it is not though. I would be in a sugar coma as we speak if that were the case. 

However, enough of me babbling on and on. Let's get baking! To start you will need...

Cupcake mix:                                                            White Chocolate Frosting:

1 1/4 c. cake flour                                                      3 oz. white chocolate chopped

3/4 tsp baking powder                                               1/4 c. unsalted butter

1/8 tsp salt                                                                  4 oz. cream cheese at room temp. 

3/4 c. whole milk                                                       1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp vanilla extract                                                    1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/4 tsp pure almond extract

6 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp. 

1 c. sugar

3 large egg whites at room temp. 

We will begin with the cupcake mix. First, preheat your oven at 350 degrees and a line 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Next, you are going to need a large bowl where you will sift in the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. set aside. In a small bowl, stir in the milk, vanilla, and almond extract. 

Using another large bowl, blend the butter and sugar together until smooth with an electric mixer on medium speed. (~3 min). Now, alternate mixing in the dry ingredients and liquid ingredients with the blended sugar and butter (continue to keep mixer at medium speed). Once all these ingredients are mixed and smooth in texture, stop the mixer. 

See how easy this is?! The batter is already done! Just fill the paper liners with 1/3 c. of batter and pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. Once they are finished, let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the cupcakes from the pan and onto a wire rack (or plate) where the can cool completely. 

Now for the best part, frosting! First, you will beat your three large egg whites in a large bowl until they become foamy (~30 seconds).  Then, increase the speed on your electric mixture to high and stop once the egg whites have become shiny and smooth. set aside. 

Using a small cooking pot, place the white chocolate into it. While the chocolate is melting, mix your butter, cream cheese, and vanilla extract in with your beaten egg whites. blend on a low speed (~1 min). Then, add your melted white chocolate to the bowl and continue to mix until blended. To finish off the frosting, add the powered sugar and continue to blend until all the ingredients are completely mixed with one another. 

Don't worry, It is ALMOST time to eat them! Once your cupcakes have cooled completely, take a plastic icing dispenser and fill it with the delicious frosting you just whipped up! If you do not have one, you can use a blast baggie and just cut a small hole in the corner to release the icing onto the cupcake. 

 Once I finished icing my cupcakes, I took a little coconut and sprinkled it on top. It creates even more flavor and adds a "snow-like" effect :) 

Hope you enjoy them! Mine were "to die for", so I can only expect yours to turn out just as great!

Once again, Thank you Maggie Fortson Photography for capturing these edible delights :) Check out her work at maggiefortsonblog.com

I Wish My House Was Made Of Sugar

It never fails. I plan out holiday activities with my family and think it will be perfect and it never goes as planned. I made my older sister promise me she would come build these little gingerbread houses we bought at Target the other night with me. I thought we could turn on a Christmas movie and get to building. I should have known that it would not turn out that smoothly.

(This is what it should look like)

We playfully fought over the frosting and ruined a few of the houses in the making. It was a mess. After a while we just gave up on trying to get our little homes to look good and goofed around. They kept falling apart on us! It just became one big joke. The box made it look so easy and cute. It was definitely not easy and they did not turn out too cute. Only two out of the five survived the construction process.

(The three that did not survive)

Besides the fact that they did not turn out as perfect as we had hoped, it was still so much fun. My sister and I just laughed and licked frosting until until our teeth were red. Actually, only my teeth turned red. That would happen to me and not her.

(behind the scenes of our gingerbread house photo shoot) 

After we cleaned up our LARGE mess, we went to let our dogs out. The snow was coming down pretty hard so we let them run around a little without leashes. They loved it, so we decided to join them. We ran up and down the streets chasing them and had a blast. Seriously, running on the snow covered streets at night with christmas lights all around has been the highlight of this holiday season thus far for me.

Fun can not always be planned or scheduled. I always learn that it is the unplanned, spontaneous events in my life that create the greatest memories.

Thanks for building the gingerbread houses and running around in the snow with me, Kate.

Home Cookin'

Whenever I go home I know I am in for a good meal! So, being the super cool person that I am, I decided to go to my parents' house last Friday night to hang with them and have dinner. My mom made a wonderful meal! The funny thing is is that my mom never tries too hard. She can put together an entire meal in no time, make it look so beautiful and taste fabulous!

One of the dishes she made the other night was pizza. It is my favorite. The best part was that she had leftovers to send home with me later that night. It made for a great lunch the other afternoon when I got off of work.

It is a very simple recipe and the amount of the ingredients is really up to you. So get messy and get to cookin'

-Pre-made pizza dough (whole wheat is my favorite)
-Organic pizza sauce
-Mozzarella cheese balls slices thin
-Veggies to top (my mom uses zuchini, mushroom, green pepper, white onion, tomatoes)

Directions: Once you are done putting all the ingredients on top of the pizza (anyway you like it. I dont have to eat it. you do) place it in the oven at 375 for about twenty minutes.

        

The best part about this pizza dish is that you can give it a completely different taste by changing up the vegetables or the type of cheese you use.

Thanks for the wonderful dinner the other night mom. Your meals always hit the spot! ;)

It's Snack Time, Everyone!

Today was one of those days. You know what I am talking about? The kind where the minute you wake you up something goes wrong. That is at least how mine usually go. You see, every Thursday I get to sleep-in but today I did not. Why, you ask? My dog, Jack got sick. I won't go into details, but lets just say cleaning up after his mess suppressed my appetite for quite a few hours. Okay, for about an hour. What can I say? I LOVE to eat :)

Anyways, my day continued to go downhill when I later smashed my finger in my coat closet door. Then, to top it off I had to call off work for this evening because I had to take care of my dog. Honestly that last problem was fine with me. I needed the night off.
During the day I had been busy running errands and didnt have time to make a meal. By the time i did it was too close to dinner so I decided to make a snack. What a great concept by the way, a snack. I wonder where that word was derived from? Anyone know? oops, I am interrupting myself again. Story of my life. Ask anyone who knows me.
Today I decided that fruit and cheese sounded perfect, but then my eye caught the 'triscuit' box on the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet. I could think of nothing better but to combine the three! It was perfect.

After I enjoyed this simple, tasty delight I decided to go online and check out what other people like on their triscuits. I found this website that gave me quite a few different ideas. Check it out:

http://www.squidoo.com/TRISCUIT

Moral of this story: Next time you are having a rough day, grab a box of triscuits and create something bold. I dare you.

Let me know how you like to spice up your triscuit crackers. Oh, and if anyone from the triscuit company reads this, you owe me a ton of money for bragging endlessly about your product. please? ;)

It's A Comfort Food Kind of Night

I have been up since 5:30am. Doing what, you ask? Well, I have a 9am class every Wednesday... IN THE CITY. You are probably still wondering why I got up at 5:30am? Well, In order to make it to class on time, I have to catch a 7:42am train. Let me guess, you are still wondering why I got up at 5:30am? I got up at 5:30am because I knew if I waited until I got home this evening that there would be no way I could drag my butt to the gym. Therefore, I decided to get out of bed early this morning, walk my dog, and head to the fitness center. Yes, I have to workout at least once every few months to keep this tight butt and six pack. I swear I almost look as good as this guy: 

 After six hours of classes and almost three hours of commuting I think it was safe to say I was exhausted. I was planning on making cornish hen this evening, but decided against it. I was freezing my rock-hard buns off all day, therefore nothing sounded better to me than a warm plate of homemade french fries and mac n' cheese. I know, I know! It is not the healthiest meal, but sometimes you have to live a little. To defend myself, this meal was preservative and chemical free. My buns of steal and chiseled abs shall live to see another day ;)

(horrible cell phone picture)

(google image)

This meal was super easy to make! Here is how I did it:

Mac N' Cheese (serves 4)

• 8 oz. noodles (you choose your favorite kind)
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grade parmesan cheese 
• 3 cups milk 
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

French Fries:

The site I got the amazing french fry recipe from is no longer available. I will get back to you all with the recipe. I know, you must be dying!!!! If it is any consolation, you pants will thanks you. 

My sister, Maggie Fortson (check out www.maggiefortsonblog.com if you want to see photography that will blow you mind away :] ), who usually takes all my photo's for my blog, was out to dinner with a friend when I needed my meal documented. I was in no patient mood to wait for her to get home so I am embarrassed to post that horrible cell phone picture. 

This dinner was exactly what I needed today. Sometimes a little cheese and lots of fat does the body good. 
Warning: If you eat like this everyday and do not workout you have an increased chance of getting fat. Working out when you are carrying a little extra weight is no fun. This guy knows...

(google images)

Peanut Butter addict

I'll be the first to admit that I am addicted to peanut butter. The addiction is real and I am happy to be alive to share my story. ;) In all seriousness, everyone who knows me knows that I am a peanut butter lover. In college, I used to go to the cafeteria with my friends and swear I would only have peanut butter once that day. Never happened. Over the years I have created many unique recipes involving this delicious treat, but this recipe I did not make up. What recipe do you ask? This one: 

Peanut Butter Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tbsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 cup plus 2 tbsp milk, plus extra if needed to thin

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, melted

2 tbsp oil

4 tbsp butter

Directions

Preheat a griddle. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Slow mix in egg, milk, peanut butter and oil until combined. Add a little extra milk if batter feels too thick. Let mixture sit 5 minutes. Melt 1 tbsp butter on griddle and move around to coat entire griddle. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake on griddle to form 5-inch pancakes. The batter spreads as it cooks. Fill griddle without crowding pancakes. Flip when air pockets start to pop on the top and a quick peak on the underside reveals a golden pancake. Repeat with remaining butter and batter. 

I got this recipe off food networks website. Yes, I have it bookmarked. What did you expect? I am a food lover. Anyways, I was in the mood for something sweet tonight, and when i discovered I had all these ingredients already in my kitchen I had no choice but to make them :)

dare you to try them! You will fall in love. Oh, and I always like to add a little something extra to any recipe I use, so to I topped my PB pancakes with apple. You could also do banana and even a little bacon (dare devils only). Finally, instead of using syrup, I took a few tablespoons of fresh strawberry preserves (diluted with water--ad as much or as little as you want. depends on how thick you like it) and heated it up on low in a small pot on my stove. After a few minutes, it is ready to be poured over the fantastic peanut butter pancakes you just made! Now it is time to chow! bon appetit!

Let me know of different toppings you added to yours or how your syrup turned o*click on photos to make them appear larger 

*photos shot and edited by the wonderful photographer, Maggie Fortson 

O is for Omelette

Woah, a post two days in a row? I am surprised too.

If you are like me, you LOVE breakfast! If you are even more like me you never know what to make! So today I thought, "What will fill me up, give me energy, and provide me with the nutrients my body needs?" Okay, I didnt really say this to myself, though I did decide an omelette would be a perfect way to start my morning. It is so simple and allows you to get creative in the kitchen.

Let's face it, we all don't get enough vegetables, so here is a perfect opportunity to pack them into one meal.

To start, I cracked two eggs onto a hot pan (on low) and scrambled them a bit. While that was cooking, I quickly chopped up my favorite veggies and tossed them in with my eggs. To finish it off I topped it with a little Feta cheese [You can choose whatever cheese you fancy though :) ] and laid it on a bed of greens.

Did you see how easy that was?! Now you just need a glass of orange juice and you have a nutrient packed breakfast waiting for you at the table!

*I apologize for the quality of this photo. it was taken with my cell phone, which i must say has been dropped more that 20982309572935792378 times.

Your Order's Up!

Tonight I had this random taste for a mexican inspired dish. Considering that it is November and freezing outside, I was a little surprised about this sudden desire for this cuisine. 
There are so many things I love about Mexican food. For one thing, the dishes can be extremely inexpensive to make. Who doesn't love that? Another reason why I love it is because there are so many creative dishes and unique flavors to play around with, as well as classics. 
Tonight I decided to make a classic bean and rice dish with a side of organic corn chips (I got mine from Target). Here's how I went about doing this:
To start I got out a small pot to cook my rice. I used brown rice because it is a healthier option, but white rice is great as well. I filled my pot with 1.5 cups of water and 1 cup of brown rice. I put the burner on as high as it could go to bring it to a boil quickly. Once it began boiling, I put the burner on low, added a lid to my pot, and let is simmer for 20 minutes. 
While my rice was cooking, I cut up some vegetables to saute with my beans and rice later on. This is where it gets fun because you can use whatever vegetables you enjoy! I did a mixture of green peppers, red tomatoes, green onions, and mushrooms. 
Once I was done prepping my vegetables my rice was done, so I let it sit with the burner off, keeping the lid on, for 10 more minutes. I took a small pan and added 2 tbsp's of olive oil. Then, I mixed in my vegetables and  black beans. To add a little more flavor I incorporated a little bit of Oregano and garlic. I let that sit on low for about 10 minutes. Once my rice was done, I added it to the pan to mix with the vegetables and beans. 

Now the fun part; plating the food. I am all about presentation and have great respect for people who can make food look beautiful. I do not know if I have that skill or not but I try. For this dish, I simply placed a small handful of mixed greens at the center of the plate, added 2 tbsp's of sour cream on the lefthand side, a stack organic corn chips around the greens, and placed the rice and beans mixture on top of the greens. To finish it off I topped it with a little cilantro and lemon/lime. 

This recipe is easy to make, healthy, and satisfying without putting a hole in your wallet! Try it out and let me know how you enjoy it! 

*You can click on the images to make them larger
*Photography was done by Maggie fortson