Cupcakes in a Jar

This morning I made my first dozen cupcakes in a jar.  I saw this super cute idea on Pinterest (my new bff).  I thought this was a fun presentation and you can change the colors for different parties or holidays.  Check out these adorable July 4th cupcakes.  These chocolate cupcakes with pink icing are cute, too.  I think my next batch will turn out a little better but I thought I'd go ahead and post pictures anyway.  I bought a case of 1/2 pint canning jars at Kroger, and used a box cake mix.  I did use egg whites and canola oil (it's better for you than vegetable oil) and added about 1 cup of fresh pureed strawberries.  I made homemade icing as well, but I am not in love with my recipe so I'm not going to post it right now.  If anyone has a great icing recipe, please share!

After the cupcakes have cooled, gently cut them in half (horizontally).  Each jar actually has 1 1/2 cupcakes.  Gently place 1/2 cupcake in the jar, squeeze icing around the top edges, then add another layer of cupcake, squeeze another round of icing, then repeat one last time.  John and I each had one tonight and it was kinda fun to eat!  I'd love to make these for party favors for Jack Henry's next party.

Easy Ribs

I would not define this as cooking because it was so easy!  John is a big fan of ribs (any red meat, really).  I like ribs but don't crave them like he does.  And, in an effort to use my crockpot more  I googled how to make ribs in a crockpot.  I came across this quick recipe from Food.com

3lbs pork spareribs
salt and pepper
1 jar BBQ sauce
1 onion, diced

Do not pre-heat the slow cooker.

Dice up the onion and put in the bottom of crock pot.
Rub the ribs with salt and pepper, add to crock pot.
Dump BBQ sauce on top.

Cook on low setting for 8-10 hours.

Try not to lift the lid too much

The meat will FALL OFF THE BONE!

A few notes:  I used half an onion.  I cut the slab of ribs in half and laid them on top of each other in the crockpot.  Also, I only had half a bottle of BBQ sauce so I dumped some ketchup and Worcestershire sauce in the pot as well.  My crockpot is super-charged so my advice is know your crockpot!  My ribs cooked in 3.5 hours.  John loved them.

Cookie Dough Truffles

*Warning*  these are not healthy, but boy are they good!   Since I'm pregnant I've been nesting in more ways than one:  decorating ideas for the nursery if we have a girl, Jack Henry's big boy room, the play room, and cooking.  And baking.  I've been baking a lot, which isn't necessarily a good thing because I have little self control when there are sweet things in my kitchen.  I recently came across Pinterest and I am totally obsessed.  It's introduced me to SO MANY amazing food blogs!  I found this Cookie Dough Truffles recipe last week on the site and was dying to make them.  I am a big fan of cookie dough and this recipe does not have any eggs so no need to worry about eating raw cookie dough!  These are super easy to make:  step 1 -- make the cookie dough.  step 2-- dip the cookie dough balls in melted chocolate.  I will admit I never made it to step 2.  The hubs and I have been eating the cookie dough balls all by themselves, and enjoying every bite.

Makes about 20-24

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour (I used oat flour)

1/4 tsp salt

dash of cinnamon

1 stick butter, softened (it is even okay if it is melting a little)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 package chocolate candy melts

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, and dash of cinnamon.

In a second larger bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Melt candy melts in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.)

Gently dip the cookie dough ball into the candy coating by placing it on a fork and rolling in the chocolate until coated. Once covered remove and softly tap the fork on the side of the bowl until the excess chocolate falls off. Place on parchment or wax paper until set.

Lowfat Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I've discovered Pinterest and am COMPLETELY obsessed.  I have found countless recipes, decorating ideas, and food blogs.  One blog I've started following is www.skinnytaste.com.   I saw this muffin recipe and it sounded appealing.  I made them this morning and they are DELICIOUS!  So moist, I've already had 2!  The hubs loved them as well (he ate 1 because he has more self control than me).

3 ripe medium bananas
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I used oat flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
8 tbsp REAL peanut butter (I used Kirkland's organic real peanut butter from Costco)
preheat oven to 325
mash bananas in bowl, set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce, vanilla, and 8 tablespoons peanut butter, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl
Add flour mixture, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.
Pour batter into muffin tin halfway and bake on the center rack for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Crockpot chili with lots of veggies and Cornbread muffins

I am a big fan of chili and I've been wanting to use my crockpot lately.  I've "liked" 2 crockpot pages on Facebook that post only crockpot recipes.  How genius is that?  The bulk of this recipe I got from Bethenny Frankel but switched it up just a bit.  This is how I modified the recipe and I LOVED it!

½ medium sized onion, chopped
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 pound ground turkey breast (omit if vegetarian)
1 can red pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 zucchini, diced
Throw everything into a crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  *My crockpot cooks super fast so I cooked mine on low for 5 1/2 hours.  This recipe makes a huge pot so it's ideal to freeze some.

In an earlier post, I introduced Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix.   You can find it at Sprout's or Whole Foods.  It's made of whole grain corn and whole wheat flour and other all natural ingredients.  I followed the directions on the packaging to make cornbread muffins.  I also added a small can of cream corn and 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese.  These muffins turned out SO GOOD!!!!  Love them.

Yummy Pancakes

I am a big fan of pancakes but rarely make them.  I've had this recipe from Tori Ritchie for some time and John finally made them a couple weeks ago when his parents were in town.  I think they are a tad on the healthy side because of the greek yogurt, plus he used whole wheat flour.  Also, we didn't have any buttermilk so he used 2% milk.  But, next time I will get buttermilk because I think every pancake should have buttermillk!

2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 stick (4 TBSP) butter, melted, plus additional for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
salt         
warm maple syrup
sliced bananas or other fruit, optional
prep & cook time: 30 min.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks, buttermilk and yogurt until well blended. Add the butter and stir just until mixed. Add the flour, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer or rotary beater, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but still moist. Gently fold the whites into the batter.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat and grease it with a little butter. Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto the pan. Cook until little bubbles appear on top, then turn over and cook briefly on the other side. Serve immediately, topped with syrup and fruit to taste.