Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes

I've been on a coconut kick. While there is nothing wrong with that in my opinion, I'm not fully to blame. You see everyone keeps requesting coconut. Who I am to deny a request? Especially when it's for one of my favorite flavors (and for my favorite person!). My husband and I have transformed our bodies over the past two years with diet and exercise. Because of this, I have been baking much less. For his birthday, he decided he didn't want cake. I know, right? He's crazy! So I didn't plan on making him a cake like I normally do. Well at the last second, my husband broke down and asked me to make him coconut cupcakes for his birthday. I obliged, but I didn't have many ingredients on hand. I found some shredded coconut and raspberry jam in the pantry and came up with raspberry-filled vanilla cupcakes with coconut buttercream. These were sweet and fruity and devoured by the birthday boy! 

Coconut Raspberry Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves
Coconut Buttercream
1/2 shredded coconut (optional)

After the cupcakes have cooled, fill them with the seedless raspberry preserves, using the cone method. Then top with a swirl of coconut buttercream and some shredded coconut if desired.

Chicken & Waffles with Spicy Maple Drizzle

I never had chicken and waffles until I met my husband. I know it's a Southern dish typically made with crispy fried chicken, but here in the Northeast, it's made with shredded chicken in a cream sauce. I wasn't a fan of the creamy kind and wrote off chicken and waffles—that was until I had the real deal at a pop-up dinner that I attended. (Read about Pop-Up dining here. It's an amazing experience.) This version, which included a popcorn dusted chicken thigh on top of a cornmeal waffle with a drizzle of jalapeno syrup, was the perfect combination of salty, sweet, and spicy. I couldn't stop thinking about the dish afterward, so I decided to recreate it. While it wasn't as good as the original dish, it satisfied my chicken and waffles craving.

Chicken & Waffles with Spicy Maple Drizzle
Inspired by Peculiar Culinary Company

Breaded Chicken
3 chicken breasts, sliced in half
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, salt, and pepper and place on a plate. Whisk the eggs together in a bowl. Dip chicken into the bread crumbs, then the egg mixture, and again into the bread crumbs. Place chicken in a greased baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

Belgium Waffle
Bake your favorite waffle, using a waffle iron. I used a box mix, but you can make your favorite waffle recipe. This one from Alton Brown is really tasty! 

Spicy Maple Drizzle
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Whisk all ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat until syrup is warm. Drizzle on top of chicken and waffles and enjoy!

Coconut Creme Cupcakes

If you already didn't know, I love coconut. It's my favorite flavor. I think you either hate it or love it. Many don't like it because of its texture. I love the flavor and the texture, and I tend to gravitate toward coconut-flavored treats. I made these coconut creme cupcakes for my coconut-loving friend's birthday, and they were well received—even by the self-proclaimed coconut-hating partygoers. I stuffed chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with coconut pudding and topped them with coconut buttercream and then dipped the tops in shredded coconut. They are a coconut-lovers dream!




Coconut Creme Cupcakes
Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 1 dozen)
Chocolate Cupcakes  (makes 1 dozen)
1 cup shredded coconut

While the cupcakes are baking, make the coconut creme filling.

Coconut Creme Filling
1 package coconut cream Jell-O pudding
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon coconut extract

Whisk together all ingredients and chill for one hour. 

Coconut Buttercream

2 sticks butter, room temperature

4 - 6 cups powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - 4 tablespoons water

Cream the butter until light and fluffy. Add coconut and vanilla extracts and beat well. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and water until desired consistency is reached. Beat well.

Assembly
After the cupcakes are cooled, remove the centers of each cupcake using the cone method. Fill the centers with coconut creme filling and then top with coconut buttercream. Dip each top in shredded coconut and enjoy!

French Dip Sandwiches

I love Pinterest, but I am weary when it comes to recipes from the site. I've had a few flops along the way. Sure, I pin a ton of recipes that I want to try, but I usually read the comments and reviews before I give them a whirl. Boy was I happy that I gave this one a try. I was hesitant because of how salty dry onion soup mix could be, but everything turned out great! The roast beef for these French dip sandwiches was tender and succulent while the au jus was beefy and not too salty. 

French Dip Sandwiches
Source: Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body via Pinterest

4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast (or sirloin roast, tri tip, brisket, rump roast, etc.)

2 envelopes dry onion soup mix
3 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
10–12 rolls
5–6 slices provolone cheese (optional)

Whisk together onion soup mix, beef stock, and pepper. Pour a little of the liquid on the bottom of the slow cooker and place the roast on top. Pour the rest of the mixture on top of roast.

Cook on low for 6–8 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove meat from slow cooker and shred with two forks on a cutting board. Strain the liquid left in the slow cooker with a fine mesh strainer and discard any chunks. Add about 1/2 cup of the liquid to the shredded beef to keep it moist and reserve the rest.

Preheat broiler. Place shredded beef on rolls and top with 1/2 slice Provolone cheese. Place in broiler until cheese is melted and buns are toasted. Serve with au jus on side for dipping.

What's Baking: Bake Your Favorite Cocktail

July was my month to host the What's Baking challenge for my monthly blogging group.
I chose Bake Your Favorite Cocktail because who doesn't love a nice cold cocktail in the summer? I asked the group to transform their favorite drink into a baked treat.
They came up with some great ideas, so have a look and enjoy! 

Eva from Eva Bakes made White Russian Cupcakes

Nicole from Seven Ate Nine made Guinness Cupcakes

Kate from Kate's Recipe Box made Rum & Coke Cookies

Amanda from Our Italian Kitchen made Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes 

Catherine from Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness made St Germaine Cookies

Steph from Brownies and Blondies made Creamsicle Bundt Cake

And I made Strawberry Colada Cupcakes

Strawberry Colada Cupcakes

This month, I'm the host of our What's Baking challenge, and I chose Bake Your Favorite Cocktail. I am a wine and beer girl, but I do enjoy a cocktail now and again—especially on a hot summer day when I'm floating in the pool. My drink of choice is coconut rum mixed with cranberry juice with a splash of pineapple juice. I decided to use coconut rum and pineapple rum in the cupcakes, and I subbed strawberry for the cranberry in the icing to come up with a strawberry colada cupcake. They were a frozen drink in cake form!

Strawberry Colada Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines.)
3 egg whites
3/4 cup water 
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons coconut rum
2 tablespoons pineapple rum
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line four mini cupcake tins with 48 mini cupcake liners.
Mix together all ingredients except shredded coconut on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Fold in shredded coconut.
Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full and bake about 10–12 minutes.
Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Strawberry Whipped Frosting
1 container vanilla Cool Whip Frosting
3–4 tablespoons seedless strawberry jam
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Stir together frosting and strawberry jam until just combined. 
Spread frosting on cupcakes and then dip tops in shredded coconut.
Store cupcakes in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

"Fried" Ice Cream

When I was a teenager, I used to work at a Mexican restaurant named Chi-Chi's. You might remember the restaurant being in the news for an unfortunate Hepatitus A outbreak a couple of years ago. It was linked to green onions, sickened hundreds of patrons, and spelled the demise of the company. Well way before any of this happened, I worked as a waitress at a local Chi Chi's. And I loved it. While there, I was introduced to all kinds of glorious Mexican foods from enchiladas to burritos to the chimichanga. It was there that my love affair with sour cream blossomed. I also fell in love with another dish: fried ice cream. I probably sold at least one of these to every table that I waited on. People loved fried ice cream and could not get enough. I remembered the recipe from work: corn flakes, ice cream, cinnamon sugar, whipped cream, and honey. Here's a secret: We rarely ever dipped the ice cream into the fryer because it left an oily mess on the plate—so it wasn't truly fried ice cream. I decided to employ this technique. I also decided to use Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal since it was all I had on hand and didn't feel like making a trip to the store for corn flakes. This dessert brought me back to my days at Chi-Chi's.

"Fried" Ice Cream
adapted from Chi-Chi's

1/2 gallon french vanilla ice cream (or any other flavor)
3 cups Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (or corn flakes mixed with 2 tablespoons cinnamon-sugar mixture)
whipped cream
honey (or chocolate or caramel or strawberry sauce)
sprinkles

Crush cereal into crumbs.
Form ice cream into 1/2 cup–3/4 cup balls and roll in crushed cereal.
Place on waxed paper and freeze until solid (about an hour or so).
Top with honey (or any other topping), whipped cream, and sprinkles.