Meatloaf Cupcakes

So what do you do when you want the comfort of meatloaf, but have NO time to make a full meatloaf? Make some cupcakes of course! These were delicious little meatloaf cupcakes that Stephen and I loved! I was worried that making a smaller version of one of my favorite meals might make them a little dry, but boy were they moist and delicious. These are a must try!

Turkey Meatloaf  (click here to read my meatloaf recipe)

Ketchup

Just make the meatloaf mix according to instructions and form them into balls to fit in the cupcake pan. Bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes until they are cooked (when you press on the top they are pretty firm). Halfway through you might need to take them out and remove some of the grease that forms on the pan. You can also add some ketchup to the top with about 10-15 minutes left on your cooking time. 

1 pound of turkey meat provided
6 meatloaf cupcakes

Ketchup as the "frosting"!

Add a little decorative gravy drizzle!

I served this meal up with some
purple carrots, aren't they gorgeous!?

I am on About.com!

Recently I was asked to do a series of Forestry related videos for About.com! So exciting, I am actually putting that Forestry and Natural Resource Degree to use. Because I KNOW you are interested in watching them ALL and learning about some completely random forestry topics, here are the links to all the videos :)  (2 more coming soon...)

What are the Types of Lobed Hardwood Leaves?

How to Identify Trees in the Walnut Family

How to Identify a Willow Tree

What are Balanced Lobed Hardwood Leaves?

How to Identify a Red Alder Tree

What are Palmately Compound Leaves on Trees?

What are Pinnately Compound Leaves on Trees?

What are Trees with Pinnately Compound Leaves?

Pink Alfredo Sauce

I wanted to make Stephen a special dinner to go with our awesome dessert :) He LOVES alfredo sauce, obviously not the best menu choice, but every once in a great while is ok. I wanted to make this alfredo pink to go along with the theme, so with the help of a little tomato paste, that was possible! I served this recipe up with some cheese tortellinis shaped like hearts (totally cheesy huh? but I love it)

1/4 cup butter

1.5 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, graded

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons tomato paste

Directions:

• Peel your garlic and smash. To do this, you will put about 1/4 teaspoon of salt on your minced garlic. Then you will begin to make a paste of the garlic by smashing the edge of your knife on the garlic and pulling your knife back, really just smashing the garlic into your cutting board- the salt acts as an aggregate. 
• Melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic to cook for about 1 minute
• Add in the cream, tomato paste, and seasoning and stir for about 5 minutes
• Add the parmesan cheese and stir. Cook for about 5-8 more minutes until it has thickened
• Serve over your favorite pasta!



Valentines Day

Well now that I am aware of the incredible simplicity of rice krispy treats, I have NO clue why I never made them before. I think I might have become obsessed with them. This year, Stephen and I didn't want to spend $ on gifts for Valentines, just spend some quality time together, which is so much better anyways!

I made a heart shaped rice krispy treat with homemade buttercream frosting to decorate a little Valentines flare. Since I already did the recipe for the treats, I will give you the recipe for this buttercream, it was insanely good! Give it a try! The recipe below is for a smaller batch of buttercream. If you want to make a full batch to have 10-12 servings, just double each ingredient (except the vanilla bean).

1/2 cup butter

1.5-2 cups of powdered sugar

1 vanilla bean pod, beans removed

1.5 tablespoons of heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Start to cream the butter and slowly add in the powdered sugar until it is all incorporated
• Add the vanilla beans, cream, and vanilla extract and beat on medium for about 1 more minute.
• If the buttercream is too thick, you can add a little more cream or milk, if it is too runny, you can add more powdered sugar.
• Top this on your favorite cupcakes, cakes, or in my case rice krispy treats!

Chicken Packets

My mom used to make these when I lived at home and I always loved them. They are so simple and delicious! The recipe below is for 2 people and divide each ingredient in 1/2 to be what you need for each packet. To make it for additional people just add an extra chicken breast per person and bump up all the other ingredients.

2 chicken breasts

4 carrots, cut into chunks

1 onion

3 red potatoes

4 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons parsley
2 table spoons butter, each tablespoon cut in 6 pieces

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
4 teaspoons olive oil

aluminum foil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Lay a large piece of foil down on your counter and season both sides of your chicken with salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, paprika and parsley.
• Then begin to put the following ingredients on the foil:  2 cut up carrots, 1/2 an onion, 1/2 of your potatoes, and 2 cloves of garlic. Then season the veggies with some salt and pepper and garlic powder.
• Add your butter in little pieces all over the veggies and chicken (will be 1 tablespoon per packet, cut into 6 pieces) and drizzle with about 2 teaspoons olive oil
• Bring 2 of the opposite sides of the foil up and begin to fold the foil together. Fold it down to about an inch above the food, then fold in the two sides. You want to have an aluminum foil packet that doesn't let any air escape
• Put your packets on a baking sheet and cook for about 40 minutes. 
• After 40 minutes, slightly open your packet and see if your veggies are fork tender and your chicken is cooked. 
• Enjoy!

Rice Krispy Treats

So I am sure I am the last female on earth to never have made Rice Krispy Treats. Although you can get the recipe right from the box, I wanted to document my first time making them :)  You will notice I made the rice krispies with a store brand. When I went to the store that day to buy the cereal, the brand name was over $5 a box! The store brand, however, for only 1 ounce less was $2.25. I think its a no brainer why I chose the store brand.
I added some little special touches to my treats, so obviously they are optional!

6 cups rice cereal

3 tablespoons butter

1 package (10 oz) of marshmallows

1 Hershey chocolate bar

sprinkles (I used hearts because Valentines day is soon!)

Directions:

• In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
• Add the rice cereal and stir until well coated
• Using buttered spatula or wax paper, evenly press mixture into a 9x13 baking dish that has been coated with cooking spray. 
• Let cool and then drizzle melted chocolate over the top and top with festive sprinkles!
• Cut into squares!

Chicken Enchiladas

There are SO many recipes out there for chicken enchiladas, so I am sure you have your own favorite recipe. When I started making this recipe, I was wanting something that was super simple (as always), delicious, and relatively healthy. What I love about this recipe I created (I am sure there are similar ones out there, but I came up with this one a few years ago), is that it does not have any sour cream, soups, cream cheese, etc. in it. Making it actually a lower calorie and fat recipe than many that you will find. I love this recipe and make it all the time! The recipe below makes about 12 enchiladas and you can cram them in 1- 9x13 baking dish. Sometimes the chickens will have a little more meat and I can make more, it all depends. This dish can also be frozen after it is assembled if you make sure you do a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil over your dish. I had one frozen for several months before eating and when I baked it, it was awesome.

 I will warn you, making this dish can be a little messy, but if you get everything set up before you start assembling, you will be fine. The directions look a little intimidating, but its super easy, I just made sure I told you every single step to get your assembling area ready too!

1 rotisserie chicken

1 package of fresh spinach (you can also use frozen and warm in microwave first)

1 onion, sliced into half moon shapes

1 bag of Mexican cheese blend

3 cloves garlic 

1 teaspoon salt and pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder 

1 pack of flour tortillas (I have also made this w/ corn and its still awesome!)

1 large can enchilada sauce 

1 can of black olives, sliced into circles

4-5 green onions, sliced up

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
• In a pan, saute the onions and garlic until they are slightly tender. Then add the spinach and wilt. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Set close to where you will be assembling your enchiladas.
• Get all of the meat off of the rotisserie chicken and chop into small pieces
• Pour about 1/2 of your enchilada sauce into a low dish, you will be dipping the tortillas in the sauce before filling them. 
• Pour your cheese into a bowl (trust me, this makes it WAY easier)
• Spray your baking dish with cooking spray and set close to your work station
• Get tortillas out of the bag (you are doing all this because otherwise enchilada sauce will be covering everything you own, I have been there)
• Now for the assembly:
• Dip your tortilla in the enchilada sauce and make sure the tortilla is fully covered in enchilada sauce. 
• Grab a small handful of chicken and put in a line on the tortilla, then follow with a spoon full of spinach mix and about 2 tablespoons of cheese. Roll the tortilla up and place seam down in the baking dish. 
• Continue the above steps until you have ran out of chicken and spinach mix. 
• When you have all of your enchiladas in the pan, put all the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and make sure you spread it evenly.
• Sprinkle more cheese over the top and then sprinkle your green onions and black olives.
• Cover with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes until you see the sides starting to bubble.
• Remove the foil and get the top browned
• Serve!

Tuna Casserole

So for one of my bridal showers, my Mother in Law sent a recipe card with every invitation so that people could give me their favorite recipe for a recipe book she was making. There are so many recipes I regularly cook in it and this one is one of my favorites from my Maid of Honor, Lauren, it is one of her mom's amazing recipes! Love this tuna casserole. I will be honest, it's not really as healthy as I would like, but its insanely tasty- perfect for those nights when you need something quick to put together that is just delicious. If you want to make it a lighter dish, you could use the light soups and light mayo- full fat version is the best, but if you are cutting fat and calories, using the light ingredients really doesn't sacrifice much flavor. This recipe makes plenty for 4-6 people (depending on how big your eaters are).   Enjoy!

3 cans tuna, drained (I love the albacore)

1 can cream of celery

1 can cream of chicken

1 cup mayo

2 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 box of shell noodles

1-2 cups chopped potato chips

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Cook the pasta until it is al dente- you really want there to still be some crunch to the pasta so that it doesn't get mushy when you bake it. Drain the pasta
• Mix all of the ingredients (except noodles and potato chips) in a large bowl. 
• When the noodles are cooked and drained, add them to the mix right away and stir until all of the noodles are covered in the mix
• Add the noodle mix to a sprayed 9x13 baking dish
• Crumble the potato chips and put all over the top of the casserole. As you can see in my picture, I only do it on 1/2 the casserole. I would highly recommend this if you know you are going to have left overs. The chips only get mushy when you have them in the fridge overnight, best to just add some fresh chips if you eat left overs. 
• Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until the middle is slightly bubbling and the top is brown and crusty
• Serve right away!

Mozzarella Meatballs

I haven't done a big grocery shopping trip in almost two weeks, so it is definitely slim pickings at our house. I have been attempting to clean out my cabinets and freezer a little. Tonight I was down to my last protein in the freezer, ground turkey and I was really not feeling very inventive. I decided to make some mozzarella filled meatballs since I had all the ingredients at hand.  They turned out to be super yummy and I just served them up with some pasta and jarred spaghetti sauce. Piece of cake!!

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, can be shredded or cubed

2 teaspoons Worcestershire

1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

3 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon pepper

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

• Mix all of the ingredients, except the turkey, in a bowl. Then add the turkey. You do this so that you aren't over mixing the turkey and making it tough. 
• Grab about 1 tablespoon of turkey mix and squish it kind of flat in your hand. Add the mozzarella to the middle and then shape the turkey mix into a ball. Try to make sure all the cheese is covered by turkey. 
• Spray some non-stick spray on a baking sheet and put into the meatballs into an oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees.
• Bake about 15 minutes, flip or stir around the meatballs to get them brown on the other side and cook about 15 more minutes. Cooking time will differ depending on how big you made the meatballs. 
• Put your jarred sauce into a pot to warm. When the meatballs are done, add them right into the sauce. Then stir them up, and put on your pasta!

Cupcake Heaven!

This weekend I made 2 different types of cupcakes for the Super Bowl party we were invited to. They were both DELICIOUS!!! I got one of the recipes from my friend, Alyssa,  and another from a food blog. I added a couple super minor changes and boom- decadent cupcakes everyone loved!

1st Recipe: Triple Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Homemade Whipped Cream

1 box Duncan Hines Triple Chocolate Decadents Cake Mix

Ingredients the box calls for (water, oil and eggs)

1 container Duncan Hines Glazes

1 quart heavy whipping cream

2 vanilla beans

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped semi sweet chocolate chips

5 tablespoons powdered sugar

49er Faithful! Although they weren't
in the Super Bowl, I put red and gold
sprinkles :)

Directions:

• Make the cupcake mix and the filling mix that comes with the box according to the instructions. 
• Fill the cupcakes 2/3 full with the cake mix and then put about a tablespoon of the filling mix on top of each cupcake, don't mix!
• Bake for 20 minutes (I found for my oven they were done at exactly 20 minutes)
• Let them cool completely.
• After they are cool, drizzle some of the glazes mix over them (follow instructions for heating on container) then let it get slightly hard, about 10 minutes. 
• Make the whipped cream by putting the heavy cream and vanilla beans (scrape from vanilla pods) in a stand mixer and start to whip at a low speed. As the cream starts to get thicker turn up the speed. When the cream starts to form little peaks, add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Whip until you have stiff peaks, but be sure not to over mix you will get butter!
• Using a Bismark tip #253 (cake decorating tip), put it into the center of the cupcakes and fill the cupcakes with about a 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of cream, until the cupcake kind of puffs.
• Then switch to an open or closed star tip or a french tip and put some whip cream on top! 
• Decorate with your favorite sprinkles!

2nd Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese filled Cupcakes

1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix

ingredients for box mix (water, oil and eggs)

2 8 oz packages of cream cheese

2 cups of mini chocolate chips

2/3 cups sugar

2 eggs (for cream cheese mix)

Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions: 

• Make the cake mix according to the box directions. 
• To make the cream cheese filling, put the cream cheese in a stand mixer and start to cream with the sugar. When it is nice and fluffy, add 2 eggs and cream for a minute longer. 
• Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the mini chocolate chips and mix by hand. 
• Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and then add a very large tablespoon of the cream cheese mix onto the top of the cupcake batter, do not mix. 
• Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until you stick a toothpick into the cake part and it comes out clean. I did mine pretty much exactly 20 minutes. 
• Let them cool about 5 minutes in the holders and then remove. 
• Let cool completely and then sprinkle powdered sugar over the top