Back In Action

Hey y'all! As I sit here writing this it really sinks in to me how long it has actually been since I blogged - since I've been able to blog. I haven't abandoned my blog out of sheer laziness or even lack of desire to share recipes. I've been ill - I'm not talking a bad case of the flu ill. I spent months in the hospital, sometimes not knowing if I would make it home, and as I finally turned the corner on the road to recovery, I spent weeks aching to be home, wondering when the day would finally come. I don't want to go into further details, but believe me when I say I thank the Lord for each new day - now more than I ever have. And I'm so glad to be back on my feet able and wanting to be in the kitchen. Last Friday night was the most fun I've had in the kitchen in a very long time. A friend came over so I could help her bake cupcakes for her boyfriend's birthday party. I can proudly say I'm often the person my baking-challenged loved ones turn to for help when they want to show lovin' with something from the oven. The verdict from the party-goers was that our Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes from "Chocolate & Vanilla" by Gale Gand, were a hit. We certainly enjoyed them during our tastetest! The cupcakes were incredibly moist and rich with chocolatey goodness. My only complaint was the tiny amount of cream cheese filling in each cupcake. I would definitely repeat this recipe, but next time I would double the cream cheese filling recipe. The frosting recipe made a HUGE and I do mean huge batch. We had a ton leftover. Try these out and let me know what you think! Cream Cheese-Stuffed Chocolate Cupcakes for the filling 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 large egg yolk 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/3 c. sugar 2/3 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips for the cupcakes 3 c. all-purpose flour 2 c. sugar 1/2 c. cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 2 c. hot water 3/4 c. vegetable oil 2 tsp. white vinegar 1 Tbsp. instant cofee crystals (optional) 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract for the chocolate frosting 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter 1 1/2 c. superfine sugar 1 1/2 c. cocoa powder, preferabley Dutch-processed Pinch of salt 1 c. heavy cream 1 tsp. instant coffee crystals (optional) 1/2 c. sour cream 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract To make the filling, in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl often, and then blend in the egg yolk and vanilla. Add the sugar and chips and mix for a few seconds on low to fold them in. Preheat the oven to 350. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin tins with cupcake paper liners. To make the cupcakes, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a large measuring cup, combine the water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined (don't worry if there are a few lumps). Fill each cupcake liner two-thirds full of batter. Drop a heaping tsp. of the cream cheese filling into the center of each. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cupcakes have puffed on top and are firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the tins. To make the frosting, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in the sugar, cocoa, and salt. The mixture might look grainy or sandy and this is fine. Whisk the cream and instant coffee into the cocoa mixture and cook over low heat, while stirring to dissolve the sugar grains. The mixture should get hot to the touch but never simmer or boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Let cool until the frosting thickens an becomes spreadable, about 1 hour. If it seems too thin, stir in some powdered sugar. Remove the cupcakes from the tins. Spread the frosting on the tops of the cupcakes.

Whole Lotta Enchiladas!

If you would have showed up at our house the other night, you would have thought we were enchilada crazy. I've been wanting to make chicken enchiladas for a while, but as is often the case with me, for one reason or another I just never got around to it. Well, enough was finally enough. I was tired of just craving them, I was ready to actually make and eat them. So I found a recipe on allrecipes.com, which seems to be my goto site when I'm craving something & don't have a recipe handy. While I was there I thought I'd look around for a recipe for something sorta easy & mexican-ish I could make for dessert. And what did I find?? Yup, you guessed it - a recipe for dessert enchiladas, Apple Enchiladas to be exact. I took a short cut with the chicken for the Chicken Enchiladas. Harris Teeter has whole roasted chickens for $3.99 each every Sunday, so I figured that would be a good deal, save me lots of time considering I would have no chicken to clean, cook and then cool before actually starting my enchiladas. Overall, I thought they were really tasty & will probably use this recipe again. As I was making the filling, I found that it definitely didn't need the water that the recipe calls for. I used Velvetta, as I didn't have enough cheddar & it tasted fine, but that could possibly explain why I needed to omit the water. If you wanted to add some black or pinto beans to the filling, or maybe even some rice, that would probably be good. We had some leftover spanish rice from the night before, so I heated that up & served it on the side. Pretty tasty! The Apple Enchiladas were super easy & made a nice ending our mexican feast. It wasn't a to die for recipe, but it will possibly make a repeat appearance, sometime when we decide to do another mexican night. Chicken Enchiladas 4 cooked chicken breasts or 1 whole roasted chicken 1 onion, chopped 1/2 pint sour cream 8 oz Velvetta, cubed 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional) 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1 tablespoon chili powder 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper 8 (10 inch) flour tortillas 1 (12 ounce) jar taco sauce 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cube chicken & place in a medium skillet. Add the onion, sour cream, Velvetta, oregano and ground black pepper. Heat until cheese melts. Stir in salt, tomato sauce, chili powder, and green pepper. Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Apple Enchiladas 1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/3 cup margarine 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup water Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spoon fruit evenly onto all tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down on lightly greased 8x8 baking pan. Bring margarine, sugars and water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Pour sauce evenly over tortillas; sprinkle with extra cinnamon on top if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Makes 6 large tortillas; may be cut in half to serve 12. *As side note, I apologize to everyone for having to endure the horrible, awful photos that accompany this post. As I may have mentioned before, my camera is trying to punish me by dying it seems. If anyone is knowledgable about low to moderately priced digital cameras, shoot me an email. I would appreciate any help or suggestions anyone may have as I shop for a new one!