Rainbow Cupcakes

A fun baking project for the kids and I to do together, and what's more enchanting than cupcakes in all colors?! I'll add some flavorings next time to make lime, lemon, orange, raspberry and.....blue? flavored cakes. Eating only one could become a much bigger problem for me!

I mixed a Betty Crocker White cake mix, 3 egg whites, 1/3 cup oil, and 1-1/4 cups water. Dividing this between 5 small plastic cups was about the perfect amount of batter/cup ratio. I let the kids color their own, even though I REALLY wanted to do this myself. The kids had a great time, and the colors turned out nicer than I expected. 

I use silicone cupcake forms because I'm always out of paper liners, but this worked out well to show of the colors of the cupcakes after they were frosted. Bake at 350 deg. for about 16-18 minutes, not too brown and not doughy. 
I wanted a fluffy and extra creamy frosting, so this is my little concoction.


Easy Fluffy Vanilla Frosting:
3/4 cup Marshmallow Creme Fluff
6 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 can Classic Vanilla Frosting

• Mix the first 3 ingredients on high for about 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. 
• Add the whole can of frosting and continue to mix on med-high for 2 minutes.

• Place in a ziploc or frosting bag. (I'm a fan of Wilton disposable bags, strong and easy to pop any tip in there.) I used the 1M tip from Wilton, a larger star tip that makes beautiful cupcake tops. You'll have enough to frost about 30 cupcakes. 

Some Flower Pretties

I've fallen in love with these little rosettes and flowers popping up everywhere. As I stared at the little girl in front of me at church (pardon my ogling, little one!), I figured out how they were made and couldn't wait to try! This morning I made all of these in less than 45 minutes, and probably will get faster as I make more. All my supplies were CHEAP, which is also why I love these little gems. 

• Satin-y, thin fabric, $2.99/yard, 1/8 yard of each color = $.26 cents to make 20 or so flowers! 
• Alligator clips and barrettes, 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby = $3.99 for 45 clips.
• Misc. gems, pearls or buttons, free from my leftover stash.

Putting them on clips, they can go on headbands, sweaters, belts, shoes....OH the possibilities. The baby doll made a great model for infant headbands made from nylon tights with the flower pretties.

 Here is how you make them:

• Trace a flower-shaped cookie cutter, or free-hand if you are so talented, 2 or 3 times onto a silky lightweight material. Chiffon, satin, lining all work well. Trace circles, getting a tiny bit smaller with each one. Approx.4-5. (I found using a pasta portioner, 1-2-4-6 serving holes, the one I never use, to work fantastically)

• Cut shapes out and VERY CAREFULLY singe the edges. This happens fast, try not to burn the fabric like I did the first few tries.

Using a tea light to carefully curl and singe the edges.

• Some hot glue to hold it together and put on a clip. Done! I'm terrible at giving directions, so if anyone has questions, please ask!

To make the cabbage rosettes, make several sizes of circles. I made 5, from about 3/4"-1. Stack them together, sew or glue through the center. 
                              

Berry Galore Muffins using greek yogurt

I love taking a classic favorite and changing it around to be even more tasty and healthy. I started with a blueberry-sour cream muffin recipe, then substituted triple berries and Greek yogurt in place of the blueberries and sour cream, and honey in place of sugar. Greek Yogurt has 2x the protein and 1/2 the sugar of regular yogurt, and using the non-fat yogurt in place of sour cream saves fat calories, too! Honey raises the blood sugar more slowly, is sweeter so you use less, and has minerals and antioxidants. Pretty sweet! 

Berry Galore Muffins
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups fresh or frozen triple berry mixture (I love the bag of Costco frozen triple berries).
2 eggs, slightly beaten (I used Egg Beaters)
1 cup plain 0% Greek Yogurt (I used Chiobani)
3/4 cup honey (or 1 cup sugar, just decrease the baking soda to 1/2 tsp. and bake @350.)
6 Tbsp. butter, melted, cooled slightly
2 Tbsp. sugar

• Heat oven to 325 deg. Grease the bottoms of 16 muffin cups or line with paper liners. 
• Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in medium bowl; mix well. Stir in berries
• Combine remaining ingredients except 2 Tbsp. sugar in another medium bowl; mix well. 
• Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Mix until just moistened. Divide evenly between muffin cups. Cups will be full. Optional: sprinkle tops with 2Tbsp sugar.
• Bake 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes; remove to wire rack. Enjoy warm or cooled.

Thai Chili Cashew Chicken

I am in love with this dish! So healthy and full of robust flavor, a little spice, and lots of good fresh ingredients. I make most of my recipes just to use up the ingredients I have in the fridge/freezer and this is one of my most successful. 

Thai Chili Cashew Chicken

Put all the following ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

(I had leftover chicken from fajitas, so that what I used)

3 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1 in fresh grated ginger

2 cloves minced/crushed garlic

1 Tbsp sesame oil

 In a hot frying pan, add:

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 cup matchstick carrots

Cook for 2-3 minutes

 Add to this the chicken mixture, and 

4-5 sweet mini peppers

1/4 cup Thai Chili sauce

Cook for 5-7 minutes until warm, then add

a handful of unsalted cashews.

Serve over 2 cups of jasmine rice, brown or enriched white. This dish tastes fantastic along with some of Lean Cuisine's Thai-Style Chicken Spring Rolls from the freezer (6 rolls per box). Use the Chili sauce for a spicy dip, so good! Cooks in less than 30 minutes, and serves about 5.