tasty thursday; halloween special!

Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes

cupcakes: 

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

2 1/3 cup flour

1 T pumpkin pie spice

1 t baking powder

1 t ground cinnamon

3/4 t salt

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t ground ginger 

1 cup buttermilk

icing: 

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioners sugar 

1 t vanilla extract

2 t ground cinnamon

orange food coloring (option; for fall/halloween fun!) 

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin. Combine the flour, pie spice, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and ginger; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
3. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. (**add food coloring here if you want a colored icing!) Frost cupcakes (I filled an icing bag and used a star tip). 

Makes 2 dozen DELICIOUS pumpkin cupcakes!

Happy Halloween, Blog Followers!!! 

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

tasty thursday

Burrito Bowls

Warning: easiest meal ever - and SO good!

• 1½ lbs. chicken breasts 
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa 
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained 
• ½ lb. (8 oz.) frozen corn 
• 1 Tbsp chili powder 
• ½ Tbsp cumin 
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 
• may use taco seasoning to substitute (4 ingredients above) 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• to taste cracked pepper
• ½ Tbsp minced garlic 
• 2 cups dry rice
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar 
• ½ bunch cilantro

1. Add everything except the rice, cheese, and cilantro to the slow cooker along with ¼ cup of water (for good measure). Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
2. Secure the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hrs.
3. Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to the package directions (Bring the rice and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot with a lid in place, as soon as it reaches a boil, reduced the heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving).
4. After 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Stir with a fork to shred the chicken (it should be super tender and will shred easily). Build the taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro.

And there you have it.  Chipotle burrito bowl from home! Way fresher - and cheaper!  Seriously guys, this recipe pretty much does the cooking for you - so easy!  Try it!

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

tasty....friday?

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups fat free milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 lb fresh broccoli
• 1 cup carrot, julienned
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper

1. Sauté onion in non stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cook melted butter and flour using a whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Stir constantly and add the milk.
3. Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.
5. Add salt and pepper. Transfer contents to a blender and pulse until desired consistency (if at all). Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

Happy Fall (and Friday!) 

Thanks for walking with us, 

JL

family is the best medicine

My parents came up to Maryland this past weekend and we had the best time.  They arrived Thursday late afternoon and left yesterday after church and lunch.  We had a quick weekend that went by wayyyy too fast (as always) but we packed in as much as we could into our few days together!

Thursday night we went out to eat once John got off of work; we had Jesse Wongs Asean Bistro which is always so good.  Once we got home - we had cake.  Not just ANY cake but sugar bakers cake from Catonsville.  The.Best.Cake.In.The.World.  I mean, I'm drooling right now thinking about it.  It was almond with amaretto, raspberry filling, and buttercream icing.  I just wanted an excuse to get a sugarbakers cake so I decided my parents coming up was a good enough excuse!  My moms grandparents owned a bakery growing up, so she has so many memories of being in the bakery as a little girl, helping, and eating pastries, cakes, etc growing up.  That being said, my mom loves nothing more than a good pastry, chocolate crescent, or cake from a true bakery - I knew she'd love the cake most of all....and she did :)

Friday, John was at work - so mom dad and I spent the day shopping, out to lunch (burgers and milkshakes), and hanging out.  Once John got off we ordered honeybaked ham take-out for dinner and spent the evening relaxing at home and watching a movie.  Oh yeah - and cake for dessert...again :)

Saturday was the day we packed everything in since it was the only full day we all 4 had together!  We started off the day by going to Baltimore to see Fort McHenry.  What an amazing and emotional piece and place of History!  If any of you know anything about me - it is that I do not.like.history.  It has always been my worst subject and I've just never really had an interest in it.  I know - sad.  But it's true. Anyways, Fort McHenry begins with watching a 10 minute introduction video before going out to see it and lets just say all four of us had a tear or two by the end.  It was that incredible and emotional.  Makes me so proud to live here. 

After a picnic and tour of Fort McHenry, we went to the inner harbor where we spent a few hours walking around, shopping, and enjoying the weather.  It was the perfect day weather wise - we could not have had a better day to spend outdoors! 

From there, we went to Camden Yards where we cheered on the Oriole's for their last game of the season!  We won against the Red Sox - which was awesome.  Again, perfect weather, perfect company, perfect night for a ballgame.  

Shout out to our neighbor, Katherine, for watching our pups while we were gone all day long! She's always helping John and I out when we go off somewhere for the day - don't know what we would do without her!

Sunday, we went to church and had chicken cordon bleu wraps at home for lunch!  After that, mom and dad packed up and headed back to Raleigh....It was a quick trip and I felt a pit in my stomach all day after they left - it's always hard to say goodbye...I've yet to have a trip (either to Raleigh or them coming up here) where there hasn't been tears when it's over. I thank Jesus every time that I love them so much that there are tears every time...what a blessing.  In that case - may that never end!

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

tasty thursday

Sesame Chicken 

Chicken: 

• 1 large egg 
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch 
• 1 pinch each salt & pepper 
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for frying) 

Sauce: 

• 2 Tbsp soy sauce 
• 1 Tbsp water 
• ½ Tbsp toasted sesame oil 
• 1½ Tbsp brown sugar 
• 1½ Tbsp rice vinegar 
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 2 Tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch 

For Serving: 

• 4 cups cooked jasmine rice 
• 2 whole green onions (scallions) 

Instructions: 

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, 2 Tbsp cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Trim any excess fat from the chicken thighs, then cut them into small 1 inch pieces. Toss the chicken in the egg and cornstarch mixture.
2. Heat a large skillet with 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot (it should look wavy on the surface), add the chicken and all of the egg mixture. Cook the chicken, stirring only occasionally, until it is golden brown and cooked through (about 7-10 minutes). Drain off the excess oil, if desired.
3. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the sauce. In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, brown sugar, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, minced garlic, cornstarch, and sesame seeds. (You can grate the ginger with a small-holed cheese grater).
4. Once the chicken is cooked through and golden brown, pour the sauce over top. Toss the chicken to coat in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as soon as it hits the hot skillet. Once the chicken is coated and the sauce thickened, turn off the heat.
5. Serve the chicken over a bed of rice and sprinkle the sliced green onions over top.

Thanks for walking with us,
JL

tasty thursday

Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

Ingredients:

Batter:

1-1/2 c. pureed pumpkin
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1 whole egg
3 egg whites
1 c. all-purpose flour
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener
1/2 c. granulated sugar1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cinnamon1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Cream filling

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 T. all-purpose flour
2 egg whites
1 t. vanilla extract

1. For the Batter: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, and egg whites on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

2. For the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites and flour until creamy and smooth.

3. Grease 2 8x4x2″ loaf pans. Divide half of the batter between the two pans. Pour half of the filling in one pan and the other half in the second pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Top with the remaining batter.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don’t overbake or your bread will be dry on the edges. Cool and remove from pans. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container

Happy Fall, y'all!

Thanks for walking with us,

JL

a busy life

It has been far too long since my last post (have you noticed the past few have all been tasty thursdays?)  It has been so long that I have not even felt like logging in and writing a new post.  Like many things in life, once you get so far behind or it's been so long - it just makes it that much harder to start back up.

Anywho - life has always been busy (in a good way) but just got even busier.  Almost 8 weeks ago, I got another little client added to my work!  The family I nanny for had another sweet baby when the oldest child was 16 months; thus, I am now watching 2 under 18 months.  Let's just say life has been B.U.S.Y!  I love nothing more than babies, especially a newborn, so my world is happy happy - just busy busy!

It's so easy to get caught up in a busy life: to go through the motions and just live day by day.  Today, I challenge you to see your world from a different perspective; through a child's eyes.  Live in the present and be thankful for each moment (the highs and the lows) for it is a beautiful yet brutal world.  

Happy Fall!  Pumpkin cream cheese bread (skinny version) coming to the blog this tasty thursday! Don't forget to check back and see!

Thanks for walking with us,

JL