Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

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One of my best friends is getting married in July (right around my one year wedding anniversary — so nuts to think I’ve been married for almost a year!)

I’m one of her bridesmaids, and as I was looking for shower ideas I stumbled across a picture of cupcakes arranged in the shape of a wedding dress.

“This is the most adorable and beautiful thing I have seen for a wedding shower ever!!” I thought. The deal was sealed. I absolutely needed to make this for the bridal shower. Cupcakes are cute all lined up in a tier and all, but shaped like a gown gives them an extra wow factor. I also decided to make them lemon on lemon because it’s the bride’s favorite dessert flavor :D

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I absolutely love lemon, too, but it has to be done correctly. Lemon desserts can end up either too tart or too sweet or leave you searching for any kind of lemon flavor at all. I also am a firm believer in using lemon zest and real lemon juice in baked goods. While searching for the perfect lemon cake recipe, I found one that used frozen lemonade, and another used lemonade mix. My face puckered at the thought of those. Real lemons was the only surefire way, I felt, to get a truly authentic lemon zing out of a cake.

So I turned to my most trusted baking blog — My Baking Addiction — for a lemon cake recipe. I’ve made so many of her recipes with immense success. And after looking at her pictures and her ingredients, knew I hit the jackpot. Although her lemon cream cheese frosting looked delightful, I know a lot of people find cream cheese frosting too heavy, and I wanted something a little lighter — so turned to a different lemon frosting recipe I found on Bakingdom. My taste test of the cake and frosting together won me over, so I made these for the shower.

And they were a hit! Most people are used to eating vanilla or chocolate cake at events and special occasions, so everyone exclaimed how light and refreshing these cupcakes were. Several ladies went back for seconds….thirds for a few ;) ;) And the bride was impressed, too. Wins. All. Around!

lemon cupcakes

Lemon Cupcakes

Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Makes 24 cupcakes
(I made 40 cupcakes for the dress design — or, one and a half of this recipe. You can also simply double the recipe to make 48-50 cupcakes and make the dress bigger — or double the recipe and save 10 cupcakes for yourself. Or don’t even make this dress design and make a shit ton of lemon cupcakes in general.)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • grated lemon zest from two lemons
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

Directions

(It’s important to follow these instructions precisely in order to achieve beautiful, light, fluffy, moist, lemon-y cupcakes!)

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners. Set aside.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a medium bowl. (If you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own buttermilk — stir together 1 tbsp of vinegar for each cup of milk and let sit 5 minutes before using — I used just a dash over 1 tbsp of vinegar in this recipe for my homemade buttermilk. It worked perfectly.)
  4. Put the sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of your mixer (or another large bowl if you don’t have a mixer). Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant with lemon scent. Add the butter and beat at medium speed for 2 – 3 minutes until the butter and sugar are very light.
  5. Beat the extracts into the butter and sugar mixture.
  6. Add one third of the flour mixture until incorporated. Then beat in half of the egg-milk mixture until incorporated. Beat in half of the remaining flour, then the rest of the egg-milk mixture, and end with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl periodically, and give the mixture a nice beating for 2 additional minutes at the end to make sure everything is mixed well.
  7. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 18 – 22 minutes (20 was perfect for me), or until the cupcakes spring back when you press them lightly or a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean.
  8. Let rest in pans for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to col completely.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from Bakingdom
Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes generously, or 40 cupcakes conservatively
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

  • 12 tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), room temp
  • 6 cups confectioners sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Directions

  1. Beat together the butter, sugar, and milk — adding more sugar and/or milk until you reach your desired consistency
  2. Beat in the remaining ingredients.
  3. Frost cupcakes!

Making the Cupcake Dress

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The best thing about this display is that it looks incredibly elegant, but it’s very easy to put together!

As I explained in the cake recipe, I baked 40 cupcakes for this dress. I saw one online that used about 35 and one that used closer to 55 — so really, you can customize the number of cupcakes you’re baking depending on how many guests are at your event.

To build the dress, start at the top and work your way down. I used four cupcakes at the top and placed them at a wide “U” curve to get the effect of a gown with sleeves, and to give it some shape. I continued the bodice with three, then moved down to two rows of two cupcakes. Then I expanded out again with a row of four cupcakes, then a row of six. After the first row of six, I continued down for three more rows of cupcakes — six in each row. Depending on how many cupcakes you have, you can make the bottom rows expand out even more, or make the waist section of the gown three cupcakes wide instead of two. Catch my drift?

I also added a few little bands of ribbon at the waist to give it some detail!

As for the cupcake piping, I tried using a Wilton rose tip in my test run, but hated how they came out. I preferred my makeshift piping bag — simply take a gallon sized bag, fill it 1/3 full with icing, snip off the corner of the bag, and pipe the frosting starting in the center and work your way out. Refill the bag with more icing as needed.

TA DA!

Simple as….cupcakes ;)

A stream of thoughts to entertain you

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I’m going to do something different today.

When I was in high school I read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf for the first time. I remember thinking, “Holy crap. This is exactly what is happening to my brain, all the time, and this is WAAAAAAY more interesting to read than 17th century poetry or trying to figure out what the overall meaning of Tess of the d’Urbervilles is.” For those of you who don’t know, Mrs. Dalloway is written in stream of consciousness — or a stream of continuous thoughts. Very little time passes between sentences, chapters, the entire book, really.

It was kind of like blogging in the early 20th century.

So today, instead of structuring my post in the way I usually do — photo, anecdote, recipe, photo, analysis — I’m going to give you a glimpse into what goes on in my sometimes sane, sometimes crazy, sometimes hormonal, sometimes flawed, sometimes creative, sometimes tired, sometimes energetic, all the time whatever piece of mind. (I’m going to put random pictures in here, too, to spice things up.)

*******

I do things other than eat and take pictures. Though, let’s be honest, living a life with only eating and taking pictures for me would be pretty sweet.

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I like to take long walks when my knee is having a good day. Sometimes with Chris. Sometimes alone.

I like planning things. If I’m going on vacation I like to have a rough itinerary of what to do and where to go and what the best things to see are. I have a really hard time relaxing. I always need to be doing something. I can’t sit and read a book for more than an hour unless it’s a real page turner.

I had a really fun time planning my wedding, but I think I’d rather plan someone else’s.

I am currently listening to country music. I’m positive that about 98.9% of you just winced at that. I’m not a diehard country music fan, but I think that this type of music is good relaxing background music. I also may have gotten used to it when I was in high school and college because it’s what my mom and sister listen to. I do not care for the twangy slow songs, but I do enjoy the songs sung about beer, preferably by Kenny Chesney. Speaking of, Kenny, if you’re out there, let’s go sip some beers down in Mexico, because that would be pretty sweet.

I only like the beginnings of seasons. Actually, I only like the beginning of summer and the beginning of winter. I like all of fall and spring. Mid-summer I want to die and probably will due to the cancer my fair skin has absorbed from the sun during my life. Mid-winter I also want to die, but for lack of sunlight and being buried by sweaters and snow. I’m pretty sure I don’t belong in New England, but rather, in Napa Valley, where it’s always 80 degrees and dry. Humidity is the bane of my existence.

I used to write in a Livejournal. It still exists. You can try to find it if you want, but I will not freely share the link to it. It’s pretty amusing, but also incredibly humiliating to read what I thought when I was 15. The fact that I had friends astounds me. The fact that boys were attracted to me astounds me. The fact that I majored in English and Communications really astounds me because I made up half the words I wrote in those entries. I have also noticed that I was overly concerned about my math homework, well, homework in general.

I bring up the Livejournal thing because I was reading it the other day and actually came across an entry about my knee. To my surprise I wrote about my knee frequently. Have I mentioned on here that my knee has actually been messed up since I was a teenager? I was diagnosed with a patellar tracking disorder when I was about 14, and I don’t think it ever went away completely. When I was younger, my kneecap used to slip out of place easily. Over time the condition got better, I think, because my quad muscles got stronger when I became more active. So I pushed my knee problem to the back of my brain, actually quite literally forgetting the annoyance it caused me years ago. But, falling on it back in October royally messed it up and caused my quad to atrophy, and the condition to resurface, in full, painful force.

I think it’s incredibly interesting how memory works, oftentimes to protect us. I also think it’s interesting to compare how two people in the same place at the same time remember an incident or event — they are often drastically different. Chris and I will sometimes bring up memories from our past — many times one of us won’t even remember the event or thing the other is talking about — or details, or even people we remember we were with are completely different. There was actually one time where my father-in-law brought up a memorable scene in a play I was in during high school, but I did not remember the scene, or what my character was, or what the play was even called. It was a surreal moment, because the rest of Chris’s family could recall that play vividly, but I had absolutely no memory of it, and still to this day cannot remember the scene they were talking about. Weird. But I’ll always remember a lot of things — the first time I stepped into Chris’s house, the first time our eyes locked, the day my grandfather died, my Dad squeezing my arm before he walked me down the aisle, the first day of first grade …. the list is continuous and could go on for pages and pages and pages.

The birds always sing. It’s something I notice when I’m in any and all kinds of moods. When I’m happy I think, “oh you dainty and beautiful little birds, you know just exactly how I feel right now!” When I’m sad I think, “at least someone is happy and knows how to brighten my day, you dainty little birds, you.”

Up is not a sad movie. It’s a realistic movie (in terms of love and relationships, not the floating house thing). It’s what happens in life. It’s perfect and beautiful and hilarious and both adults and kids can watch it, relate to it, and love it.
ocean

I like the mountains and lakes better than the ocean. This might be because I grew up taking vacations on lakes near the mountains. I like standing next to the ocean on cooler days when no one is on the beach, or at sunset, but crowded beaches in the hot summer sun don’t appeal to me. But I think the desert is beautiful. I loved the dryness and open gentle rolling fields of Napa and would love to go to New Mexico or Arizona and see the sunset on dry desert land….or over the Grand Canyon.

I became an aunt recently (hooraaaaaay!) Creating life is remarkable and magical. I don’t mean this in a religious sense. I’m not religious, and understand that the process is very scientific, but also amazing. Science is amazing.

My nephew has red hair. My family is starting to roll their eyes at the amount of times I have mentioned this with glee, but I am the only person in my family — for generations — that has red hair. My brother is married to a redhead, and I was curious to see whether or not he carried the gene — and ta daaaaaa! Red hair is a unique feature of mine that I have been proud of since I knew that it marked me as different from most people. I was never teased or taunted as a kid for having a different color hair, but maybe it’s because I was so loud and proud about it. I hope he is, too. I also can’t wait until my niece and nephew are a little older so I can stuff them full of delicious cookies!

Sometimes I do not want to cook and it mostly has to do with the fact that nothing appeals to me except for white bread and chocolate. This is bad. There are days I crave vegetables, and that’s easy enough, because then I just eat a plate of vegetables for dinner. But there are days where I hate absolutely every single kind of food in the world, yet I’m hungry. Those days I end up eating eggs on toast, which is completely un-blog-able and frustrating. I also wish I had a large budget — big enough for nice cheese (riiight??? Brie and goat cheese make me really happy). But…food is getting more expensive. I used to budget 80 – 100 dollars a week for grocery items (this includes household goods like soap and toilet paper, too), but the past 6 months I’ve been “overspending” by about 20 bucks each week, but not getting anything different from a year ago. The conclusion here is that I need to cut things, or bump up the budget. It’s frustrating.

Speaking of blogging, thank you for reading. I do this for my avid readers, and only you guys. I don’t do a lot of giveaways or feature/review products on here. It’s done a lot. I like keeping this blog about me and the food I make and the stupid stories I tell to go along with it. Sponsors make things complicated. I like simple.

I like being connected. But I also like being disconnected. I still do not own a smart phone. This makes many jaws drop and loud gasps across the galaxy. There are a few reasons behind this — money being the main one (still pretty poor over here). But I also know that once I get one, there’s no going back. I will be consumed forever. Also, the two reasons I want one are for live tweeting and maps. I can and do live without those. But man, having a map at my fingertips would be really handy for ALL OF THE TIMES I get lost — which is lots.

But really, do you ever notice how unpopular you are after a week of being away on vacation? Once people know you are unreachable, they stop trying to get a hold of you. And you come back checking your inboxes expecting 8 trillion messages…only to find about five….half of them spam…

Diet coke is bad. I’m aware of this. I drink it anyway. Too much exposure to the sun is bad. I’m aware of this. I put sunscreen on, but still not enough, and frequently still forget to put it on the part in my hair. I understand this is bad.

I’m a really, really, really, really, big fan of Patrick Stewart. I’m going to the Star Trek convention in Boston next week (if any of you are going please tell me so we can meet up. If you aren’t, you should. If you don’t like Star Trek, you are missing out.) He’s the best of the captains in all of the shows. I’m extremely disappointed he won’t be at the convention, but George Takei will be there, so that will (mostly) make up for it. This is also my first convention … ever. I’m really eager to meet other diehard fans, and see the costumes. Oh man. I can’t wait to see the costumes.

Why do people eat cheese that smells like stinky feet? I love cheese, but this I don’t understand.

lobster roll
I’m slowly but surely becoming more serious about photography. I even made a portfolio online to showcase what I’ve done (check it). I’ve shot engagement pictures this past year, and am shooting my first wedding in July. This is all very exciting, nerve-wracking, and surreal. Sometimes I shock myself at how my pictures come out. “Oh…I did that?” I never give myself enough credit. I also want to take a class this year to polish my skills. I’m slowly getting more equipment, too — like a real flash. Like I said, I have a hard time bragging about myself, mainly because I’ve had a hard time realizing that photography takes a little bit of skill. I recently met someone who has a knack for drawing, but can’t take pictures. Some people can draw. They can make their hands move in a way where a picture comes alive. I cannot. Some people can take pictures. They can frame something and look at the lighting and look at the background and position the subjects and push the button. It makes my heart skip and eyes flutter. I’ve come a long way since I started, and I’m still working at it. I like knowing that I’m still learning and growing. I think it’s important to do that your entire life.

Why did gluten-free and veganism blow up in the food industry in the past few years? Are we all suddenly allergic to gluten? And why would you ever want to give up cheese? Why!! At the same time, when I go out to eat, a lot of restaurants do not have good vegetarian options. I am not a vegetarian, but try to order vegetarian when I go out because meat doesn’t sit that well with me anymore. But no one is creative. Veggie burgers and sad salads are what they have to offer. Give me more tofu-based dishes or portabello burgers or baked sweet potatoes stuffed with a delicious black bean salad….get creative, people. This is the main reason I don’t go out to eat a lot. That, and the ones that do vegetarian options correctly are overpriced.

I was wondering today how me and my four siblings stayed thin in our childhood even when we frequently ate Little Debbie snack cakes and ice cream and white bread and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Then I also remembered that a game we used to play as children was to run laps in our basement. Yes. Yes we thought it was fun to all run until we couldn’t run anymore. The last person running won the game. Maybe that had something to do with it.
cat

I’m pretty sure I would be slightly happier if I had a cat, more importantly, if I wasn’t allergic to them. People keep telling me to get the allergy shot for that…or to move. The allergy shot scares me, and we’re in our current apartment that doesn’t allow pets for one more year.

I just looked at the length of this entry, and though I have more I could ramble on about, I’ll leave it at that.

Maybe I’ll do another one of these in a few weeks ;)

In the meantime, be cool, and stay cool.

Love,

CW

Brunch at BOKX 109

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The other week I won brunch  for two on the Boston Brunchers website at a local Newton restaurant, BOKX 109, located in the Hotel Indigo near the Riverside T station.

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I was psyched to win this brunch. I’ve been to BOKX 109 before for after work drinks with a few co-workers last year (the drinks were really fabulous), AND look at that keyword: local. Many of my brunch excursions are filled with great food, but long travel times on the T. So the fact that BOKX 109 is within walking distance from where I live? Extra extra bonus points.

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Chris and I strolled into the restaurant at our reserved time and were greeted pleasantly by the greeter, but upon arrival, we discovered our reservations were not in the system. I thought this was strange, and brought it to the greeter’s attention. She spoke to the general manager, and after he discovered the mix-up, came to our table and personally apologized, as well as make us a complimentary Bloody Mary with his traveling Bloody Mary bar cart. (The Bloody Mary was exceptional, by the way. Chris and I both remarked on how delicious it was, a real surprise and treat for me, because I can’t stand most Bloody Mary’s at most restaurants. But BOKX 109 put a lot of spices and add-ins to make it unique. It was certainly a knock-out brunch drink.)

We were seated near the window, which was also nice. BOKX 109 has a pool patio open in the summer — we were one week short of its debut opening! But it would be a great place to lounge and order a drink, for sure, during hot summer evenings.

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After studying the menu and putting in an order for a mimosa (my favorite brunch drink!), I settled on the Veggie Burger. Lately when I go out to brunch I’m craving something savory. I love sweets, but typically my stomach can’t handle a stack of pancakes or waffles before noon (though their red velvet pancakes did look rather tempting…)

I normally don’t order veggie burgers when I go out, only because I’ve run into some disastrous ones in the past, but I took a risk with BOKX 109, mainly because they were daring to put a veggie burger on their brunch menu — this wasn’t just some random pub putting a vegetarian option on to please vegetarians. (And please note: I am not a vegetarian. Most people I dine out with assume I am because I tend to order vegetarian when I go out to eat. This is simply personal preference. Vegetarian often means lighter on the stomach!) The general manager noted that this veggie burger was above all the others he’s had, too. Made with a mix of red peppers, beans, tofu, and some other secret ingredients — topped with an aioli sauce and avocado — he said he’d order it over the regular beef burger after he’d tried it.

It was a good sales pitch.

I also noticed this veggie burger came with sweet potato fries, too. And last time I came here for drinks, we ordered the sweet potato fries. And they were phenomenal — I wanted them again :)

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And I was not disappointed with it! Like I said before, veggie burgers are hit or miss — a total hit here at BOKX 109. It was well seasoned, and was loaded with veggies. The aioli sauce that it was topped with really sealed the deal, and the avocado was equivalent to the cherry on top.

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Chris ordered the Green Eggs and Ham — aka, an amped up Eggs Benedict — over a delicate toast and topped with arugula — and licked his plate clean. We were also presented with a beautiful little “bite”, compliments of the chef, which was a pasta-type bite, similar to a ravioli, filled with a scrumptious cream (I can’t remember what it was exactly!), and it came out “smoking” — nice way to impress the guests!

Overall, the service was friendly, speedy, and accommodating, the food was delicious, and the window seats delightful.

I’m glad to know Chris and I have a place we can resort to (in walking distance) to enjoy some drinks and apps by the pool this summer!

Note: This brunch was provided to me free of charge from BOKX 109. I won this brunch on the Boston Brunchers website and did agree to write a blog entry about my experience there. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

Baked Zucchini Fritters

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This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to the blog 84th & 3rd by JJ. After scrolling through countless drool-worthy recipes and beautiful pictures, I settled on making her zucchini fritters.

I love having bean burgers or patties to pack with a spinach salad for lunches during the week, and after taking one look at her zucchini fritters, I knew that these veggie-loaded little cakes would be powerful enough to get me through my work days.

I’ve made zucchini fritters before, but the ones I’ve made were packed with more breadcrumbs than zucchini, and I liked the look of these because of the fresh parsley and dill. I knew they would be packed with good flavors.

However, I opted to bake these instead of fry them. I’ll gladly order fried food — ignorance is bliss — but when making things at home, I opt for the healthier option — and still yielding a perfectly crispy and perfect flavor :)

Thanks, JJ, for yet another great SRC recipe!
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Baked Zucchini Fritters

Adapted from 84th&3rd
Makes 15 fritters
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 medium zucchinis, grated (mine yielded about 3 cups)
  • 1 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 2 tsp dry dill (or 2 tbsp fresh, chopped)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 jumbo eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (or plain if you desire, or 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs)
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 2 tsp dried minced garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.
  2. Squeeze as much water out of the grated zucchini as possible. Then in a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. It should be firm enough so that the mixture sticks together when you try to make patties out of it. If it there is too much moisture, add 1 tbsp of breadcrumbs at a time until the mixture comes together.
  3. Form 15 patties and place on the baking sheet.
  4. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom. Flip and bake for an additional 15 minutes until browned on the other side.
  5. Serve with a salad and yogurt dipping sauce if desired. (I drizzled mine with Sriracha!)

My Two Cents

These were loaded with a lot of fresh flavor! Using fresh parsley makes a huge difference in recipes. They weren’t very oily either, since they were baked. However, I think because they were baked they turned into something similar to mini-quiches. Chris noted how they had a fairly distinct eggy flavor, which by all means, isn’t bad — and I agreed with him. But I wonder if it’s because we baked, not fried them.

I used jumbo eggs, because that’s what I had on hand, but feel free to use regular large ones, too :)

Enjoy!

Secret Recipe Club

To see all of the recipes from today’s SRC reveal, click the link below!




 

Beef Stew — Good for All Seasons

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I don’t know about you.

But beef stew is a year-round recipe in my house. It doesn’t have to be the dead of winter to enjoy beef that’s been slow cooking all day — so that it’s practically like butter when you pierce it with your fork. Why should that kind of loveliness be forbidden in the spring and summer?

Also, this recipe is made in the slow cooker. All you have to do is throw everything in the pot, put the lid on it, set it to LOW, and go about your day. No AC in the summer? No problem — it won’t heat up your house like the stove does if it’s on for several hours.

Oh, and this tastes wonderful! The beauty of the recipe is that you can adapt it to your preferences. If you hate green beans, sub in a package of peas instead. Flavor it with thyme instead of rosemary, or oregano — or a mixture of all three.

Beef stew is your stew. In all of the seasons.

Wins all around.

That’s what this blog is about, after all.
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Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Adapted from The Mommy Games
Serves 6 – 8
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. beef stewing meat, cubed
  • 2 (10 oz) pkgs frozen veggies (I used carrots and green beans)
  • 3 Russet or Idaho potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, with liquid (or stewed)
  • 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp dried herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, or oregano — or a mix)
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Mix the meat, frozen vegetables, onion, and potatoes in the slow cooker.
  2. Combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour evenly over the meat and veggies. Stir gently to combine.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 – 8 hours.
  4. Serve by itself, over noodles/rice, and/or with a slice of hearty bread.

beef stew

My Two Cents

This makes quite a bit of delicious, mouth-watering stew. Mine thickened up perfectly after a day in the slow cooker, but if for some reason yours is still fairly liquidy at the end of the day, just thicken it up with a few tablespoons of cornstarch or flour.

I’m really partial to this recipe, mainly because of its dump and go method. I see so many slow cooker beef stew recipes where you need to brown the meat and cook the onions before adding them to the slow cooker. I hate these kind of recipes. I’m not that picky. I’m not serving this to James Beard. I’m a normal, average Betty Jane who hates 5 extra steps, especially if you’re utilizing your easy, fix-it-and-forget-it slow cooker! Also, shoot me, but I can’t taste that much of a difference between meat that has been browned before putting it in a slow cooker and meat you just throw in there. We’ll blame it on my allergies, okay?

Enjoy, my friends :)

Birthday Bundt Cake

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So today’s my birthday.

:)

I always bake my own birthday cake.

It’s always chocolate.

I like to think of it as a special birthday gift to myself.

a.) It gives me an excuse to bake, which I love. It’s calming and utterly satisfying. And smells pretty fabulous.
b.) It gives me an excuse to throw a party. Specifically a Mad Men themed birthday party (complete with Canadian Whiskey Punch, deviled eggs, stuffed celery, bruschetta, pretty dresses, ties, and pearls.) And how can you not have a 60′s style party without a bundt cake?!?
c.) They’re really fun to frost.
d.) It tastes pretty darn good.
e.) I’m fairly certain I could make a list of reasons A-Z of why baking and eating a chocolate birthday cake is wonderful, but I’ll stop at E and give you the recipe so I can retain most of my readers.
f.) I lied. I’m stopping at F. I just had to note that I think I make too many lists.
g.) But they help me stay organized.

Anyway…

I spent last Friday night completely giddy baking this cake. I was home alone, so I cranked up the country music, put on a pretty apron, and got out my spatula, butter, and sugar. And my neighbors most likely cursed all the way ’til 11 p.m. when I was finally done with this because of a.) the blaring twang of country happening in my kitchen, b.) my singing that went along with it, and c.) the fact that they didn’t have enough courage to knock on my door and ask for a slice, which I’m positive they could smell down the hall (and yes, I would’ve shared, and then just proceeded to make another cake.)

The cake got rave reviews at the party. What homemade cake doesn’t?

I think box mixes do their job.

But you are an alien if you think box mixes win over homemade.

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Chocolate Birthday Bundt Cake

From The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook
Serves 12
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 1 2/3 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs

Frosting:

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 tbsp light corn syrup
  • 1-1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

For the cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan and set aside. (You can also bake in two 9 inch or 8 inch round pans, cupcakes, or 13x9x2 inch pan — but baking times will vary for each.)
  2. Stir the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the butter, buttermilk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients all at once. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed using an electric mixer, or 300 strokes by hand. If you use an electric mixer, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often with a rubber spatula.
  4. Add eggs. Beat for an additional 2 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl often.
  5. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Then invert onto a cake plate and let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

  1. Sift together the sugar and cocoa in medium saucepan. Add butter, milk, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Set pan in a bowl of cold water.
  2. When the chocolate syrup is cool to the touch, stir in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. If frosting is too thin, add a little more confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. If frosting is too thick, add a little more milk.
  3. Frost the cooled cake. Decorate with candles. Sing “Happy Birthday”, or whatever song you want. Blow out candles. Slice into cake. Admire. Devour. Enjoy.

madmen14

My Two Cents

Turning 26 isn’t so bad when you’re surrounded by your amazing friends, sipping Whiskey Punch, wearing pearls, and eating this decadent chocolate cake.

Also, if you ever plan on throwing a 60′s themed party, you absolutely need to purchase The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook. It is phenomenal.

Their cocktail recipes are really fabulous, especially. I don’t have a picture of the Canadian Clubhouse Punch that I made that night because even though I doubled the recipe, it was gone very quickly ;)