Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Source:   My Baking Addiction
Makes 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup standard cupcake pans with paper liners.
2.  Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream and beginning and ending with flour. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
3.  Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
4.  Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Simple Chocolate Buttercream
Source:  slightly adapted from Elinor Klivans in Chocolate Cakes

Ingredients
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream, at room temp
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions
1.  Put both chocolates in a heat-proof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir the chocolates and microwave for 30 more seconds, stir the chocolates until evenly melted and smooth.  Don't burn it!  Set aside to cool.
2.  In a small bowl, stir together the cream and espresso powder until espresso powder is dissolved.  Set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smoothly blended and creamy.  On low speed, beat in the melted chocolate, coffee mixture and vanilla until blended into the frosting.  On medium speed, beat the frosting until it is fluffy and lightens slightly in color, 2-5 minutes.  Spread frosting on cooled cupcakes.


This post is linked to:  Cupcake Tuesday
A Baker's Sunday

Southwestern Chicken-Corn Chowder
Source:  adapted ever so slightly from Southern Living

3 tablespoons butter 
3-4 cooked chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces 
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 (14 3/4-ounce) cans cream-style corn
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add onion, and garlic, and sauté 5-7 minutes. Stir in cooked chicken and the rest of the ingredients, except cilantro.  Cook over low heat, stirring often, for about 20 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.  Serve warm & garnish with additional cilantro.

You need to:

Sour Cream Cheese Enchiladas

slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman

12 whole Corn Tortillas
1 can (20 Ounce) Enchilada Sauce
1 1/2 cups Sour Cream
4 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated
1 cup Sliced/chopped Green Onions
1 teaspoons Ground Cumin
¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together sour cream, green onions, 2 1/2 cups grated cheddar, cumin, and cayenne pepper.
Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towels and warm them in the microwave until warm and pliable.  Pour enchilada sauce in a shallow dish. 
Working one tortilla at a time, dunk each tortilla in enchilada sauce. Lay tortilla on a plate, then spoon a good two or three tablespoons of the sour cream mixture in the middle. Roll tortilla, then place face down in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas and sour cream mixture.
Cover the dish with the remaining enchilada sauce and 1 1/2 cup cheese, then bake for 15 to 20 minutes until bubbly.
Serve immediately.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Source:  Southern Living

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until combined.
Combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan, and let cool completely on wire rack.

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.

Morning Glory Muffins

Makes 18-20 muffins
Source:  My Baking Addiction

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup (unsweetened) applesauce
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated zucchini*
1 medium tart apple, peeled and grated
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1/3 pecans; coarsely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and kosher salt. Whisk the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.
3. In another bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, vegetable oil and vanilla. Stir in carrots, zucchini, apple, pineapple, coconut and pecans.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined, but do not over-mix.
5. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

*I grate my zucchini and then spread it out on a couple paper towels to soak up some of the excess moisture. 

I'm trapped in the house.  Trapped with a husband trying to work, and two kids making more noise than I thought possible.  Children need fresh air, they need sunlight...it's way icy and very cold out though.  Outside ventures are over all too quickly.  So...we are stuck.

On a more positive note, I have fontina cheese in my refrigerator!  Or rather, I had fontina.  I used it to make this fabulous and crazy easy mac & cheese.  This recipe is the primary reason I always keep a block of this creamy, mild cheese handy.  Give this recipe a try.  The cheesy goodness will give you just enough strength to sustain another day trapped indoors....trapped with noisy, rowdy kids and a husband needing QUIET!
Help me...

Fontina Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
1 lb. small or medium pasta shells
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. fontina cheese, shredded*
Salt
Pinch of grated nutmeg
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.  In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to the package directions just until 1-2 minutes shy of al dente.

Meanwhile, dice 4 tablespoons of the butter and place in a large mixing bowl.  Warm the cream in a small saucepan or the microwave.  Cover to keep warm.

Once the pasta is cooked, add to the bowl with the butter and toss to coat well.  Stir in the warm cream and the fontina until the cheese starts to melt.  Mix in salt to taste, and add the nutmeg.

Pour the mixture into a buttered 2-quart casserole dish.  In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.  Mix in the panko breadcrumbs and shredded Parmesan.  Toss with a fork to coat evenly with the butter.  Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the pasta in the baking dish.

Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the topping turns golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Serve immediately.

*Just a little tip:  I put the fontina in the freezer for an hour or so before I'm ready to shred it.  It's really creamy and soft, so shredding it can present a challenge.  Just freeze it a bit--much easier to shred then.

 Let's face facts here...oatmeal is just not glamorous and it is dang hard to get a decent photo of a bowl of oatmeal.  So yes, I'm making excuses for my sad photography skills!  What oatmeal is though, is delicious and nutritious!  I'm not talking about the little packets of instant oatmeal, I'm talkin' steel-cut oats!  Oh yeah!  The little packets are good in their own way...but they are just way too sugary and paste-y for my tastes.  Yes, I just said something was too sugary for me.  I did.  I know.  I contradict myself all the time.  Don't think badly of me, it just happens. 

This is a great way to get a good, healthy breakfast on the table with almost no effort.  I make this in the crock-pot, and let the oats cook overnight.  We wake up to delicious, creamy oatmeal in the morning.  In the winter, this is a weekly staple in my home.

My girl likes hers with raisins.

My little man likes his "just plain, mom!"  The thought of a raisin making an appearance in his oatmeal makes him want to hide under the bed.  :)

Hubs likes his with bananas and a little extra brown sugar.  For the record, he was completely opposed to me taking a photo of his oatmeal.  He just doesn't understand!