Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

A while back, a friend of mine gave me "100 Best Cupcake Recipes." There was a fun summery recipe for pink lemonade cupcakes that I thought would be perfect for VBS this week. When I went to the store to pick up the items I needed I found that they were out of a several things. As you can imagine being a new mom I don't have time to make multiple stops. So my cupcake wheels started turning and by the time I left I had already reworked the recipe to make raspberry lemonade cupcakes. They turned out better than I could have imagined. The cupcakes are fluffy with a tasty tangy flavor. The icing has just a splash of lemon which leaves a nice after taste. The only obstacle in this recipe is that I made them so moist that once the cupcakes cooled they acted like a sponge and some of them pulled away from the wrappers. So I made a few adjustments to stiffen up the batter. So here it is a refreshing summer treat great for parties by the pool!

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

1 box of white cake mix (no pudding)
1 cup of water
3 eggs
1/2 cup of raspberry lemonade concentrate, thawed
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 small container of yoplait lemon burst yogurt
6 to 8 drops of red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350. Stir cake mix, water, eggs, oil, raspberry lemonade concentrate, lemon yogurt, and oil together. Add food coloring to desired shade of pink. Fill muffin tins 2/3 of the way full. Place in oven to bake for 20 minutes.

Raspberry Lemonade Icing

1/4 cup of raspberry lemonade concentrate
4 cups of powdered sugar
1/3 cup of butter, softened
fresh raspberries
2 to 3 firm lemons

Beat powdered sugar, raspberry lemonade concentrate, and butter. If necessary continue to add lemonade concentrate 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. Frost cupcakes. Then zest lemons or cut into 1/8 slices. Add a raspberry and sprinkle lemon zest to the top.

Rosemary Balsamic Pork Chops

In recent weeks, I have been looking for healthy flavorful meals to fix my family. Pork is usually not the first meat I gravitate toward in the supermarket. However, I have found that being chickened out and bored of beef will make you try new things. In this new venture, I am finding quite a few yummy recipes for pork "the other white meat." This savory recipe certainly entertains my taste buds. The rosemary gives it a fresh flavor. While the sweetness of the honey mustard mixed with the bitterness of balsamic vinegar create a deletable sauce!


Rosemary Balsamic Pork Chops

4 lean cut pork chops
4 tablespoons of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper
rosemary
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of water
1 tablespoon of honey Dijon mustard


Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Press the rosemary into each side of the pork chops. Pour olive oil in sauce pan. Add garlic. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Cook pork at medium heat about 5 minutes on each side or until cook thoroughly. Remove pork chops from pan leaving the garlic behind. Mix balsamic vinegar, water and mustard in small dish. Add the mixture to the garlic. Cook an additional 2 minutes until thickened.

Nutter Butter Banana Pudding

One of Ted's favorite desserts is Banana Pudding. One day I was flipping through Southern Home Living when I came across this delicious new twist on banana pudding. So I decided to try it out. In Ted's words, "Fabulous...it's now tied with your strawberry cake as my favorite dessert." Being a new mom, I took a few short cuts. But if you are looking to be a true Betty you can find the original recipe in Southern Home Living's Recipe Box.

Nutter Butter Pudding

1 package of Nutter Butters
1 package of vanilla pudding
1 package of banana pudding
Milk
fresh bananas
cool whip

Break Nutter Butters into pieces. Then mix up the pudding according to the package. Slice bananas. Layer Nutter Butters, pudding, bananas, and cool whip in triffle. Eat and Enjoy a sweet twist on one of America's favorite desserts!

Roasted Garlic Pork Chops

A few years ago, Ted got a new grill for his birthday. As I was shopping for a few accessories, I discovered Weber's Grill Creations. At the time, I picked up their Gourment Burger seasoning. We loved it... so much so that we end up going through several bottles each summer. Well a few weeks ago as I was picking up a new container I saw that they had several new blends. So I decided to pick one up to try with other meats. At the same time, I was also shopping for a new recipe for pork chops. Somehow those two ideas became one tasty new dinner idea!

Roasted Garlic Pork Chops

4 lean cut pork chops
Weber's Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning
2 eggs
bread crumbs

Season the pork chops with the roasted garlic and herb mix. Crack eggs in a shallow dish. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dip each chop in egg then coat in bread crumbs. Place in well greases baking dish. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until well done.

Gingerbread Latte with Eggnog Icing

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…filled with gingerbread and eggnog! By popular request, I was asked to create something special for a Christmas party at church. This is what I dreamed up. Personally I am not a fan of gingerbread flavor, but when you add this tasty icing on top you have a delicious treat fit for anyone who likes a nice blend of holiday flavors.

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
½ cup of white sugar
½ cup of unsulfured molasses
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup of hot milk
1 table spoon of instant coffee crystals
2 tablespoons of coffee flavored yogurt (optional)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line 12-cup muffin tin. Cream together soften cutter and sugar. Add molasses and eggs. Sift together flour, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Then add flour mixture to the creamed concoction until combined. Heat milk for one minute in the microwave. Dissolve baking soda in hot milk. Blend coffee and hot milk together. Mix into batter. Add yogurt to moisten batter. Bake for 20 minutes.

Eggnog Icing

½ pound of confectioners sugar
½ stick of butter at room temperature
2 to 3 tablespoons of eggnog

Cream butter and sugar together at medium speed. Add eggnog one tablespoon at a time until the icing is spreadable consistency.

The Candy Making "Redemption" of 2008

For the last six years, Audrey and I get together in December to make candy for our family and friends. Last year, was the our candy making turned into a major disaster due to the fact that the candy did not get hot enough and therefore would not harden. We were determined that this year we would make the best candy every. And we did! Our two signature sweets are Hard Crack Cinnamon and Peppermint Bark.


Hard Crack Candy

3 3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/4 cup of Karo white syrup
1 cup of water
2 flavored oils
food coloring
powder sugar

Boil sugar, syrup, and water until it reaches 300 degrees. While the mixture is boiling, put powder sugar on a large cookie sheet. When the candy reaches 300 degrees, remove from heat. Quickly add oil and food coloring. Spread candy very thinly and let cool. Next, use a spoon to break the candy into pieces. Finally, bad it up and share it with friends!


Peppermint Bark

1 pound of white chocolate*
1 bag of peppermint pieces*

Place the white chocolate in a double broiler on medium heat. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Mix in peppermint pieces. Pour on to a large cookie sheet or baking pan. Let cool. Then break into pieces.

* You can purchase these items at Sugar Drop in Brentwood. I am sure you could find a substitute product somewhere else, but it will not be nearly as good.

Holiday Traditions

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of year. I love walking down the street on a brisk night looking at all of the lights and watching families enjoy spending time celebrating what they have. No matter how difficult times have been, Christmas seems to bring people together with warm thought and holiday cheer. As most families do we have always had certain traditions that we carry out each year to remember the good old days as well as creating new memories. One of my most cherish memories in walking into my Grandma’s house, which always seemed to smell like sugar cookies, to see that her house decorated form one end to the other with candy dishes and tins of party mix. Grandma Boston would bake all sorts of goodies to share with her family, friends, and neighbors. My parents continued this tradition at our house making sweet bread or stew to pass out to our neighbors during the holidays. Now, many years later my mom and I continue the tradition by pulling out our special holiday cookbook with all sorts of best loved recipes that have been saved and passed down from one generation to the next. This weekend my mom and I shared this family tradition with the Krodel’s who over the years have become a dear part of our family. We truly enjoyed sharing some of our favorite holiday treats with them. In the spirit of Christmas, here is one of my very favorite recipes from Christmas pasts.

Oyster Crackers
In memory of Nancy Boston

1 box of Oyster crackers
¾ cup of Wesson Oil
1 package of Original Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
1 teaspoon dill
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven at 250 degrees. Mix oil, dressing mix, dill, and garlic together. Pour over crackers. Stir until well coated. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes stirring once. Eat and Enjoy!