Red velvet cupcakes

Anna and I made these bad boys for Jess' going away party! They were very tasty and easy to make!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
From Annie eats
Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2½ cups cake flour
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

For the frosting:*
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired. (I used a large, unlabeled star tip to frost these cupcakes.)

*If you are big on frosting as I am, you may want to increase the quantities by 50%. That is what I typically do for a batch of 24 cupcakes. I usually end up with some left over, but I would rather have too much frosting than not enough!

Spicy Pumpkin Enchiladas

We made these tasty enchiladas tonight for dinner. They were good, but I think I expected more. I was thinking there would be a sweeter taste to it, but it was still pretty delicious. We added a little pumpkin pie spice and some jalapeños which made it Ben better!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Serves 4

Ingredients

Rotisserie chicken
6 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno chile, quartered (remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 teaspoon chili powder
8 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine chicken and scallions. Season generously with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2 1/2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth (hold top firmly as blender will be quite full). Pour 1 cup of sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square (or other shallow 2-quart) baking dish.
Lay tortillas on work surface; mound chicken mixture on half of each tortilla, dividing evenly. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet; bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Santa Hats

I was asked to bring dessert to Christmas this year. I went with my favorite for the Holiday season, Pumpkin Cheesecake, but wanted to make something new and festive. I saw this idea on pinterest and had to give it a try. They were a hit and very yummy too. Just get some small brownies, or bake your own using a mini muffin tin, some frosting, and some strawberries.

Overnight Blueberry French Toast

I made this for Christmas Eve morning, it was delicious! I would add more fruit next time and make sure that all of the bread is fully soaked before baking it. It was very tasty and super easy to make. I forgot to take a picture, oops!

OVERNIGHT BLUEBERRY FRENCH TOAST
Found recipe on: Real Mom Kitchen

French Toast:

• 12 slices bread, cut into cubes (french or Texas toast work well.  I prefer Texas Toast.)
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 12 large eggs
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 cups milk (I use 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream)

Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 Tablespoon butter

1.  Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
2. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly over the bread cubes.
3. Top with remaining bread cubes.
4. Mix together eggs, milk, and syrup.
5. Pour over bread cubes and cover pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight.
6. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden. Top with sauce. Serves 8.

Taco Stuffed Shells

Terrible picture, sorry, but these were SO tasty! I ate these for lunch for two days after we had them for dinner and didn't get sick of them. I was sick of having turkey tacos every week and wanted something different and this was perfect. They were easy to make too.

Ingredients:
1lb ground beef ( I used turkey!)
1 package taco seasoning
1 4 once package cream cheese
12 large pasta shells
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
1 ½ cups tortilla chips (crushed)
3 green onions (chopped)
1 cup sour cream
Step 1: In a fry pan cook ground beef and add taco seasoning and prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Set aside and allow to fully cool. While burger is cooking cook the pasta shells, drain and toss well with butter.
Step 2:  Pour salsa in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Step 3: Stuff each shell with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed shells in the baking dish and cover the tops of the shells with taco sauce.
Step 4: Cover and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Step 5: After 30 minutes, uncover, and sprinkle crushed chips and shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses on top.  Cook for about 15 more minutes. Serve with sour cream, additional salsa, black olives or whatever you think goes good with tacos!

Pepperoni/Veggie Pizza Rolls

Found this recipe on pinterest and thought it would be perfect for a Packer game meal. Kathryn and Nikki came over to watch the Packer game on Sunday, so I took out some frozen bread and used whatever toppings we had on hand to make these yummy pizza rolls. They were super easy to make and very tasty. The perfect meal for a night when you have other things going on and need a quick, yummy meal.

Ingredients:
Rhodes frozen bread loaves (2)
Dried basil leaves
Garlic Salt
Mozzarella cheese
**Whatever toppings you'd like, I made 2. One peppeoni and one veggie (spinach, black olives, artichokes)

Let the bread loaves thaw out by putting them on a baking sheet spray with cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap. Once they have thawed out and started to rise a little, roll them out into a rectangle. Sprinkle with basil leaves and garlic salt, layer on toppings (NO SAUCE) and then roll. Place on a cookie sheet with the seam side down. Bake at 375 for 15 to 25 minutes. Serve with a side of pizza sauce to dip them in.

Spinach and Artichoke wontons

Who needs a chip when you have this chip and dip in one combo. These were the perfect appetizer to bring to my husband's work party. 

Spinach and Artichoke Bites

• 30 wonton wrappers
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 4 ounces marinated artichokes, drained and chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• dash of salt
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.

Mix cream cheese, spinach, artichokes, shredded cheese, mayo, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.

Line prepared mini-muffin pan with wonton wrappers, lightly pressing into place to form a cup. Using a small spoon, fill each cup with mixture almost to the top.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are browned and crisp and the filling is hot and melty. Top with Parmesan cheese and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Source: As seen on Cooking This and That and Daily Deliciousness.