Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

Russell came home the other day and said everyone at work was going out to lunch for one of his coworker’s last day. His coworker that is leaving is a very sweet girl, so I decided to do something special and make homemade cupcakes and icing. They turned out wonderful! After reading all of the horror stories about what could go wrong making buttercream I admit I was a little nervous but it turned out amazing! I am so glad these cupcakes had a place to go other than our kitchen counter, let’s just say they wouldn’t have lasted long in the house with me!

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with 12 muffin liners, set aside.

In a bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides and beating well after each addition. Once all the eggs have been added, beat in the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions. Begin and end with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake approximately 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in pan 3-5 minutes.

Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Prepare frosting (recipe for vanilla buttercream below) and decorate cooled cupcakes as you wish!

Source: Annie’s Eats: Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions:

Using a hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds.

Scrape down the bowl and beat about 15 seconds at medium speed until the mixture is fully combined.

Scrape bowl and add vanilla and heavy cream. Beat for about 10 seconds until incorporated.

Then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. This will take about 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl once or twice during this time.

Source: The Way the Cookie Crumbles: Four Vanilla Frostings

Guacamole

I have never liked guacamole. As a child the thought of guacamole disgusted me and as I became older as much as I wanted to partake in the creamy avocado goodness, I just did not like it. I am a person who loves full of flavorful dishes. I realized after making guacamole from scratch that I truly did like guacamole, just every other guacamole I had ever had lacked the flavor I love. Guacamole can be modified to suit your taste. I hope that even if you have never liked guacamole that you will try to make it at home, it makes all the difference.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 Ripe Avocados
• 1/2 to Whole Fresh Squeezed Lime
• 1/4 to 1/2 Chopped Onion
• 1/2 to Whole Chopped Tomato
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Cut avocados in half and remove seed. Scoop out avocado from skin and place in bowl.

Using a fork or potato masher, mash the avocados. Once the avocados have been mashed to your preferred consistency, add the lime juice, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix together.

Add the onion and tomato. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Lemon Chicken

Finding new dinner ideas is always a mission of mine. Sometimes I get in a rut cooking the same things week to week. This recipe from Annie’s Eats caught my eye as it looked like something new and delicious.

Annie’s Eats: Lemon Chicken

The herbs and fresh squeezed lemon juice are so refreshing. I have always had trouble getting crispy, flavorful skin from any baked chicken recipes, but this recipe solves that problem. The skin is so golden, crispy, and yummy and the inside of the chicken is so tender and juicy that you keep going back for more. I did not have fresh herbs on hand so I used dried herbs for the thyme and rosemary.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. lemon zest
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3-4 medium sized lemons)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used jarred minced garlic)
• 2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (I used dried thyme leaves)
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced (I used dried rosemary)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1-2lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
• 2-3 tbsp. melted butter

Directions:

Combine lemon zest, fresh squeezed lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a large ziploc bag. Seal the bag and shake well to combine. Add the chicken to the bag. Seal the bag once again and shake to coat all of the chicken pieces.

Let chicken marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place chicken, skin side up, in baking dish reserving marinade. Brush the chicken with melted butter.

Place chicken in the oven for approximately 50 minutes. About half way through baking, pour reserved marinade over the chicken.

Once chicken is done and the skins are crisp and well browned, remove from oven and cover loosely with aluminum foil for 10 minuets to allow chicken to rest.

Pulled Pork

Last May Russell and I moved to Virginia. Our first night there Serena, Allen, and two of their friends, Brandy and Jason, came over and brought us dinner. Brandy brought pulled pork. It was delicious and very tender. I asked her how she made it and she said it was quite simple, root beer and pork shoulder roast (boston butt) in the crockpot. Unfortunately my crockpot was packed up and put into storage before we left for Virginia, so I had to wait until we returned to Texas earlier this month to try this out.

Russell prefers the vinegar based BBQ sauce and I prefer the traditional style BBQ sauce. I am still searching for a great recipe for both so for now we just used our favorite bottled BBQ sauce. I used the pulled pork to make pulled pork sandwiches and served it with cole slaw since Russell likes to top his pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw.

Another way to use the pulled pork is to make Pulled Pork BBQ Nachos. I know it might sound odd at first but trust me they are delicious. There is a wonderful mexican restaurant in Huntsville, AL called Rosie’s. They serve BBQ Chicken Nachos, and they are amazing! Since I had pulled pork I just substituted it for the chicken. To make Pulled Pork BBQ Nachos, top tortilla chips with pulled pork, then BBQ sauce, followed by some shredded cheese. Place in the microwave for a few seconds to melt cheese. Then indulge yourself :)

Ingredients:

• Pork Shoulder Roast (Boston Butt), I found a 3.5 lb which was a perfect size for the crockpot
• Root Beer
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Celery Salt
• Salt
• Pepper
• Any other additional seasonings of your preference
• Favorite BBQ sauce

Directions:

Place the Pork Shoulder in the crockpot and season with onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, salt, and pepper.

Pour approximately 2 cups of root beer over the pork.

Set the crockpot on low and cook for approximately 7 hours.

Drain off the excess liquid and pull pork apart. If you would like you can pour in your favorite BBQ sauce and continue to cook on low for about 30 minutes to an hour. Otherwise serve pork as you wish, topping it with your favorite BBQ sauce.