Go-To Cupcakes!

Big thanks go out to Recipe Girl for both the cupcakes and the frosting recipes. I had one crazy Sunday, but had to get cupcakes made for Lilly's birthday celebration at school tomorrow. In my food snobbery, I refused to make a box mix or use canned frosting. So glad I did...I have everything already on hand, and there was really not much extra work.

The chocolate cupcakes were from RecipeGirl's Emergency Blender Cupcakes. There are moist, and delicious. They are so easy that there is no reason I wouldn't make this my go-to cupcake recipe!

I topped them with RecipeGirl's Buttercream Frosting. Reminds me so much of wedding cake frosting. Even though it's made with granulated sugar, you can't even detect it once it's all done. Smooth, creamy and buttery! Just how I love it :)

So, thank you Lori, for helping me appear to be somewhat of a baker!

Welcome, baby!

Our first strawberry is ready for pickin'!

Growing and growing!

Garden Greens with Beets, Figs and Goat Cheese

This salad has very special meaning to me, since it was made with lettuce from my first GARDEN at the West End Community Garden! The other ingredients make me happy as well, since they were all bought from local growers/vendors.

I used all the obvious ingredients:

• honey chevre goat cheese
• sliced beets
• tomato
• salad greens
• dried figs
• walnuts
• cracked pepper

For a simple dressing, I used olive oil and a complimentary fig balsamic from A Taste of Olive. 

Chilaquiles Revenge!

Now, THIS is what you do when you have a ton of leftovers: Chilaquiles! I've made Chilaquiles before (thanks to my friend WWW),  but these were like Chilaquiles on steroids! Talk about a Mexican explosion in your mouth! Your ingredients may vary, depending on what you may have left to use up, but here's what I used:

• Ranchero sauce
• 4 corn tortillas (or use leftover tortilla chips!)
• Rotisserie chicken leftovers
• leftover bacon
• leftover fresh mango salsa
• black beans
• shredded smoked cheese
• barbecue sauce
• cojita cheese
• queso fresco
• chopped cilantro

For the ranchero sauce (I like to make this just to have on hand. It's great for times like this, and I use it for huevos rancheros as well.):

• 28 oz can peeled tomatoes (in JUICE, not sauce. Use the juice, do not drain.)
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce
• about 2 Tablespoons of Canola oil
• small red onion, minced
• 2 large or 3 small garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

In a blender or processor, pulse the tomatoes, reserved juice, and chipotles til liquefied.

Heat the oil in a deep skillet on med-high. Add the onion, cook till translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min more. Lower heat if it's too hot.

Add the tomato mixture and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the stock, continuing to let it bubble on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until flavors blend and sauce is slightly thick. Season with salt. Add cilantro, remove from heat.

For the chilaquiles:

Heat a braiser or skillet on med-high. Add the corn tortillas and let them toast and harden. These will be your chips. Break apart, leave in the pan.  (You can also bake these at 350, if brushed with a little oil.) It's OK if they don't get totally hardened, you just want to dry them out a bit. The tortillas get limp when the ranchero sauce is added, anyway.

Add the ranchero sauce, watch for splattering. See my pan? Yeah. Splattering.

Add the rest of the ingredients, as you would layer a pizza. Some cheese, some chicken, some beans, more cheese, ending with the bacon and cilantro. Drizzle the BBQ sauce, and cover so the cheese melts. I topped with my mango salsa.

Serve family style. Only thing missing here was the sour cream to cool things off. But MAN was it great! Very spicy from the chipotles, so watch that heat of you don't like a lot of spice.

Now, you tell me. Have leftovers ever been better?

Tangy Potato Salad

I don't know about you, but I just think potatoes and vinegar go together. In the warmer months, I love a cold potato salad out of the fridge! The longer this sets, the better it is :)  This made a pretty small portion, feeds 4-6. 

This is a combination of the best salads I've encountered over the years. I especially like the use of celery seed, for a kid-friendly salad. Kiddies don't take kindly to biting into crunchy things in potato salad. Neither do some adults! If this is the case, just omit the onion and celery, and use the celery seed. (add a boiled egg of you wish!)

I love serving this in my pewter bowl. I chill it first, so it stays nice and cold!

I used:

• 3 large red potatoes
• 2 TB malt vinegar
• 3/4 cup organic mayo
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1 TB parsley, dried
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 1 frozen Dorot garlic cube
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 1/4 cup celery, minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• cracked pepper to taste

Put potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and cool in a bath of ice water.

Dice potatoes into cubes, leaving skin on. Place in a bowl, and drizzle vinegar carefully, and evenly. Too much vinegar in one bite of potato could be strong! Toss to coat well.

In another bowl, combine the mayo, dried mustard, parsely, thyme, garlic, onion, celery seed, and celery. Mix well, and add to potatoes. Toss to coat, and add salt & pepper to taste.

Chill for a minimum of 1 hour prior to serving. YUM!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie - for Dummies

Remember... I am NO baker. I do have a killer crust recipe, but I didn't have the time to spare today, PLUS, I've had a Trader Joe's pie crust in my freezer staring at me for eons. So, frozen crust it was. Good news for you AND me, since all I really had to worry about for this delicious pie was the innards. Yes, that sweet, tangy filling!

I found myself at the West Chester Grower's Market this morning, where the strawberries and rhubarb were ready for the pickin' (well, buyin'). I've never eaten rhubarb, much less cooked with it, so I wasn't sure what I was in for. But, this pie? It was nothing less than scrumptious. I hope my neighbors (and blog readers), Sean and Mia, didn't see me licking the serving knife.

I found a few different recipes, all very similar, but I made a mish-mash of them and came up with this:

• 2 1/2 cups of chopped fresh rhubarb
• 2 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (this seemed like a lot, might cut it back to 1 cup next time)
• 2 TB Minute tapioca
• 1 TB flour
• zest of one lemon
• Juice of 1/4 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp water
• Turbinado raw cane sugar (for decoration)

Oven at 425 degrees.

So, you've got the crust part covered, right? Good.

Line your pie plate's bottom with one round crust and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, spice, and vanilla. Mix til coated.

Add filling to chilled pie crust, and cover with the remaining crust. Crimp edges to seal. Pierce top with a thin knife for venting, or cut out decorative cuts if you wish. 

Mix eggwhite and water with fork. Lightly brush onto crust. Sprinkle the Turbinado sugar on top. They should be nice, big granules of sugar.

Cut a collar out of a piece of tinfoil, and cover the pie's edges. Place in oven for 15 mins. Reduce heat to 375, and bake for 45 more minutes, removing the foil at the last 10 minutes. Turn oven off. Let set for 15 more minutes.

Cool completely, then serve.

Camper's Skillet

I'm back! Did you miss me?

If you're going camping, you can't help but have a big breakfast like this one. Or maybe you're just camping in the backyard, and still want all the good rustic tastes like a good camping trip brings. Here's how I made this awesome feast, and was able to have everything done in time for serving together in one big cast iron skillet:

• 3 red potatoes, cut into cubes, rinsed and dried
• Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1 lb bacon
• Olive Oil

Heat the cast iron skillet on the stovetop on medium - med high. Add the olive oil, and then the potatoes. Grind the seasoning over the potatoes. Don't flip these for while, you want a crisp edge before turning. Potatoes take the longest, so start these first. As you turn them, they will get drier edges and soft middles. When done, set aside in a bowl. Keep the pan hot, don't turn off the heat...eggs are next!

SIMULTANEOUSLY...

Oven at 400 degrees (I always do my bacon this way!)

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, lay out the bacon in a single layer. Bake in oven until desired crispiness. I like mine crispy, so about 15 minutes, depending on how thick the cut is. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Set aside.

In the skillet, add a touch more oil (you shouldn't need much if you have a well-seasoned skillet.).  In a large bowl, add the eggs and evaporated milk. (Salt & pepper if you wish). Mix well with a fork. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet, and scramble.

Remove from heat, and push the eggs to one side of the pan, allowing room to add the potatoes and bacon. Serve family style, with toast and butter.