Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July today!! We're meeting up at a friends house to shoot off fireworks later tonight, but in the meantime it's time to relax a little in our 100 degree temps which they said should feel like 114 degrees today. I'll plant my hinny in the ac for now until I have to go outside!

Sometimes I have a craving for something and then I'm to lazy to make it so I find another way to satisfy the craving. Kind of an inspiration in a determined kind of way. It's been a while since I made a pineapple upside down cake, but still having 1/2 an anniversary cake left I for sure don't need to make another cake plus with it being a holiday we'll have sweets overload later on. I did a quick search online for a cocktail with the same flavors of the cake and I came across the following from drinksmixer.com. Some comments recommend adding a splash of Amaretto in in to give it a more cakey flavor. I tried it with and without and I think I agree. The pineapple juice can be toned down a little so the other flavors come out, but otherwise it tasted pretty good.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake Martini
(Adapted from drinksmixer)

1 ounce vanilla vodka
2 ounces pineapple juice
1 dash of grenadine syrup (I just used cherry juice)

Shake pineapple juice and vodka with ice in a tumbler. Pour into a martini cocktail glass. Add a dash of grenadine, and serve.

Happy 4th of July from our family to yours!!

Venison Ground Chili with Beans

Why is it that when you crave something it's always the wrong time of year? When it's winter time all I can think about is ice cream and snow cones, then summer rolls around and I want soups and chilis. Well that's what happend to my husband this past week he had a craving for chili so he set out to try a new recipe which ended up being nothing like the recipe he printed off so I'll post his new recipe he came up with. We used venison, but any ground meat would be ok to use.

Check out my new 6 quart crock pot, isn't she pretty?!?! Major upgrade from the 3 quart that we have.

Venison Ground Chili with Beans

4 pounds venison ground meat

1 medium onion, diced

2 (15 ounce) cans Bush's chili beans

1 2 alarm chili kit

2 (14.5 ounce) cans rotel tomatoes with green chilies

2 cloves garlic

3 jalapenos, sliced

water (fill 1/2 of a 14.5 ounce can with water)

extra seasoning to desired heat

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown meat with the onions. Be sure to break up clumps as much as possible. Once cooked, put in the mixture in a slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients, except masa from 2 alram chili kit, and stir together. Cover and cook on high setting for 4 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours.

On the last 30 minutes, stir masa into 1/4 cup warm water. Add to chili, stir and cover until finished cooking.

Ladle into bowls and serve with your favorite fixings.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

We had a wonderful anniversary this past weekend. I can't believe how 6 years has flown by! Since this weekend was one of our first weekends that we didn't have plans it was nice to sit back and relax. We had dinner reservations set for Saturday night and then Sunday we filled up the backyard pool and smoked some ribs and chicken.

Friday night I made the following pasta and it was really good. I'm not a bell pepper fan, but this has me wanting more. I think with some added fresh herbs this would be fantastic.

Pioneer Woman used the following elephant ear pasta and I was excited to see we had some in our HEB just like it.

I hope you give this recipe a try it's well worth it and it's a quick 30 minute meal if you used the jarred roasted red bell peppers.

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

(Adapted from Pioneer Woman)

3 red bell peppers

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/2 medium onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

flat leaf parsley, finely minced

fresh Parmesan, shaved or grated

1/2 pound to 1 pound pasta

Roast red peppers. Whether it's under the broiler or on the grill, I usually blacken them for about ten minutes, then remove them and set them on a plate for a few minutes. Next, place them in a Ziploc bag to allow to sweat. Peel the charred skins from the peppers, then remove seeds. Set aside. (I didn't do this, I did the easy quick dinner version and used the jarred roasted red bell peppers and they worked fine.)

Lightly toast pine nuts in a skillet over medium-low heat for about five minutes. Keep them moving by jiggling the pan now and then. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, puree the peppers with pine nuts. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a skillet or pot over medium heat, drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until soft.

Pour in pepper puree and stir together. Add plenty of salt. Just cook the mixture over medium to medium-low heat while the pasta cooks, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn.

Pour in cream and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt, if necessary. Add cooked pasta, then stir together. Place pasta into a bowl, top with chopped parsley and plenty of shaved Parmesan.

For dessert we had our favorite cake from a local bakery. Our wedding tradition is to order a smaller version of our groom's cake since we didn't get to try it our wedding.

Chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream, and a layer of cherry filling.

6 flowers for our 6th anniversary!

Fried Green Beans

Happy Friday everyone! So glad it's the weekend!! My hubby and I are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this weekend and we're going to see the new Transformers movie tonight. Otherwise it's a weekend of cooking and me playing with my new toy from my grandmother...what is it you ask....well it's a sewing machine. I finally got it back from the shop where it got a tune up and I'm super excited to crank out some projects.

Today's post is kinda short, but it's really good. We first had fried green beans as an appetizer when we went out for my birthday and they are to die for! I had a hankering for them and figured they can't be that hard to recreate. Sure enough they tasted just as good as the restaurant. Everything is done by eye depending on how many you're cooking up.

Fried Green Beans

fresh green beans

1 egg, beaten

bread crumbs

multi seasoning, and spice to taste

Boil fresh green beans for 5 minutes then pour into an ice bath to stop the cooking. Once they have cooled pat dry with a paper towel. Dip in egg bath then the breadcrumb mixture. Deep fry until golden brown.

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Happy Father's Day!

Yeah I'm WAY overdo for a new post, so bare with me. I'm in transition training someone new at the office and I have tons of stuff I need to blog about, but I've been beat at the end of the day. Sooo I hope to get back on track now that I got the computer at home updated with all the editing programs I need.

How cool is this leaf? Hubby found it while he was doing yard work. I've never seen one look like a butterfly.

We don't have any kids except our hairy child Mocha. She's a total daddy's girl and follows him every where. The only time she follows me around is when I'm in the kitchen or it's time to cuddle up on the couch at night. So this is our first father's day with Mocha and I found it appropriate that she get him the perfect gift. I was at Hobby Lobby one day and noticed they had some dog tshirts. I knew I had to get one and make a custom one for her. Moving down the isle where the diamond iron on sayings and the one that caught my eye was....yep you guessed it Daddy's Girl. It turned out super cute and he loved it!

I made the breakfast he requested, sausage and biscuits. I really love the Pillsbury frozen individual biscuits. With it just being the 2 of us sometimes I don't want to make a whole can and to me leftover biscuits get soggy and I don't like them. These work perfectly and I bake only what I need.

I know it's father's day, but since Mocha was such a good sport I thought I would make her a special treat. She loves the frosty paws in the store, but they're kind of pricey and I don't let her have a whole one at one time just to be frugal. Looking for new dog treat recipes online I stumbled upon one for frosty paws. Woohoo! So excited and they take a few minutes to whip up and now I have the portion sizes exactly how I want them.

Frosty Paws Dog Ice Cream Recipe

(Recipe makes 2 ice cube trays and 3 small Chinese soup containers)

32 ounces plain yogurt
1 mashed banana
1 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey

Mix all ingredients in a blender then dump into ice cube trays, paper cups, etc.

If you're doing them for a doggy party, mix in a blender then spread 1-1 1/2 inches thick on wax paper. Freeze for five minutes and then remove product from freezer. Next use a paw shaped cookie cutter to cut a "frosty paw" shape. Return to freezer until it freezes solid.

Here's our little diva showing off her new shirt:

Onion Cassarole

Today's recipe is a little bit of a stretch for me. My dad had brought us some of the largest onions I've ever seen in my life so I had to find a recipe that would use them up so I did a search on allrecipes.com. Don't judge the recipe too quickly I was a little eehhh about it when I first read it, but after reading the reviews everyone seemed to be shocked as to how good it turned out so what the heck might as well reach outside my comfort zone and give it a shot. It did turn out good, my hubby suggested that it needs a topping crust on it such as bread crumbs sprinkled on top. I like thinks with a little spice so I would probably add a little kick to it as well. Overall if you like the flavor of onion you'll really like the dish.

Onion Cassarole

(Adapted from allrecipes.com)

1/4 cup butter
9 large onions, sliced (I used one huge one and a regular onion)
1 (7 ounce) bag sour cream-and-onion-flavored potato chips, crushed
1 cube beef bouillon
1/2 cup water
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions until tender.

Transfer to prepared dish and top with crushed potato chips. (I did this backwards)

Dissolve bouillon in water and mix with mushroom soup; pour over chips and onions.

Top with cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Tiramisu Cupcakes

I'm having a cupcake addiction right now. With Martha Stewart's release of her new book where she's been featuring cupcakes on her show, to trying new recipes I've got stock piled at home. I just love them! Everyone says "oh that cake looks so rich I just want a tiny tiny piece", yet hand them the same thing made into a cupcake and they won't reject you. Tiramisu is one of my favorite desserts and I've found it's really hard to find a good one when we go out to eat. Too bland, too sweet, too much coffee, too much cocoa powder, the list goes on. This cupcake is one of the best and taste like the real thing for not using lady fingers, I'm in shock. I did doubt Martha I have to admit when she had used so much coffee-marsala syrup to soak in the cupcake. Once again I get slapped on the wrist for doubting her. You have to use it all other wise the cake is so dense that you'll be soaking it in your cup of coffee later if you don't use all the syrup. It may seem like a lot, but it's really worth the soak. This dessert will impress your guest for sure I hope you give them a try.

P.S. I'm nominated for tastiest blog so please click on the logo on the far right of my site and vote for me!!!

Tiramisu Cupcakes

(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

Makes 18

1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
3 large whole eggs plus 3 egg yolks, room temperature
1 cup sugar

Coffee-Marsala Syrup (I used Kahlua instead)
Mascarpone Frosting (see below)
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.

Heat milk and vanilla-bean pod and seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles appear around the edge. Remove from heat.

Whisk in butter until melted, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard vanilla-bean pod.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together whole eggs, yolks, and sugar. Set mixing bowl over a pan of simmering water, and whisk by hand until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from heat.

With an electric mixer on high speed, whisk until mixture is fluffy, pale yellow, and thick enough to hold a ribbon on the surface for several seconds when whisk is lifted.

Gently but thoroughly fold flour mixture into the egg mixture in three batches; stir 1/2 cup batter into the strained milk mixture to thicken, then fold milk mixture into the remaining batter until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until centers are completely set and edges are light golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

To finish, brush tops of cupcakes evenly with coffee-marsala syrup; repeat until all syrup has been used. Allow cupcakes to absorb liquid 30 minutes.

Dollop frosting onto cupcakes; refrigerate up to overnight in airtight containers. Dust generously with cocoa powder just before serving.

Mascarpone Frosting

1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk heavy cream until stiff peaks form (be careful not to overbeat, or cream will be grainy).

In another bowl, whisk together mascarpone and confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Gently fold whipped cream into mascarpone mixture until completely incorporated. Use immediately.