Chocolate Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Chocolate cupcakes with caramel buttercream frosting, drizzled with salted caramel sauce and topped with shaved dark chocolate. Food heaven. 

Everything, including the salted caramel sauce, made from scratch!! So yummy!

Got these recipes from my good friend Audrey... Thanks girl! 

So this is my go to chocolate base for everything!! It's seriously amazing and fail proof. Check them early and often though, like 15 minutes.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html

I originally made this recipe with the chocolate cake recipe included and it was good but I much prefer the above cake. I follow the caramel and frosting recipes exactly though. I garnish with good chopped dark chocolate and more salt. I use pink Himalayan.

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/05/23/salted-caramel-cupcakes-recipe/

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/05/22/homemade-salted-caramel-sauce-recipe/

Chicken and pasta in a Gorgonzola cheese sauce

Chicken and bowtie pasta in a Gorgonzola cheese sauce with veggies, sundried tomatoes and basil 

"Crack" dip... With a twist!

Sour cream, ranch dressing mix, bacon bits, cheddar cheese... And my favorite... Franks buffalo sauce!!! So easy. Soooo addicting! Great for a Phillies tailgate :)

Buffalo chicken bites

Message me for the recipe for these. This is an original doggie bag recipe that I won't just give away that easily ;-) 

Skinny chicken florentine

http://skinnymom.com/2012/07/25/skinny-chicken-florentine/

Homemade spicy hummus

2 cans of chick peas; 1 undrained, 1 drained. 4 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp tahini, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, parm cheese and red pepper flakes. Blend everything together. Amazing! I make this every week for breakfast and afternoon snack at the office! Primarily eat w carrots or pita chips :) 

Buffalo chicken pizza

Strawberry lemonade cupcakes

I made these to "motivate" one of my project teams to get a very tedious task completed. Hey, whatever works, right?? Haha  

http://thecakeblog.com/2011/07/strawberry-lemonade-cupcakes.html

Lemon Drop Martini Cupcakes

Made these for my friends birthday. Yet another huge hit! I really should start charging ;-) 

http://www.cupofsugarpinchofsalt.com/2011/08/16/lemon-drop-martini-cupcakes/

Taco salad using new taco bowl maker!

Burgers on the grill

Props to the grill master aka my dad! 

Pork and chicken on the grill

Happy Memorial Day!! 

Drunken fluffernutter cupcakes!

I made these because I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, plus I will never drink marshmallow vodka (gross lol) so I had to bake with it instead :) 

Peanut butter cupcakes with a marshmallow vodka meringue frosting. They kinda came out dry bc of the peanut butter but obviously still edible and yummy!! 

And they look awesome. Duh :)  

Strawberry shortcake cupcakes

My best yet :) 

http://www.ladybehindthecurtain.com/strawberry-shortcake-cupcakes/

Baked shrimp eggrolls w sweet chili sauce

Slow cooker salsa chicken

Homemade pizza w onions and peppers on ww dough

Trix Rice Krispie treats

Blue cheese burger from the grill

Mother's Day mimosa cupcakes!

Margarita cupcakes w strawberry tequila puree filling and frosting

I was told these are now tied with the irish car bomb cupcakes i made for st pattys day... i accidentally (or on purpose??) put in too much tequila so it was basically like taking a shot when you got to the middle of the cupcake lol i made them for my friend's cinco de mayo themed housewarming party and they were awesome! obviously fun to make, too!

i was also told this recipe was featured on the today show but mine looked prettier :) :)

http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2011/05/05/strawberry-margarita-cupcakes/

spicy cheeseburger dip

the #1 requested dish at parties... and it is SO easy! especially in the crockpot!

1 lb of cooked beef
1 lb of velveeta cheese
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can of rotel diced tomatoes with chilies
green onions/scallions
if you love spicy, then you should also throw in some red pepper flakes :)

mix all of that together in the crockpot on high for about an hour. SO good!

Spicy chicken meatballs with parmesan and basil orzo

recipe for the meatballs:
http://amazingpinterestworld.blogspot.com/2012/10/chicken-parm-meatballs.html?m=1
to make them spicy I just added a ton of red pepper flakes!

recipe for the orzo:
http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/orzo-with-parmesan-and-basil-2/
tip - do NOT use as much broth as the recipe calls for

put them together = yummy :)

Farro w goat cheese & veggies (healthy)

healthy and yummy!

-Farro (the grain that I used) - you can get it by the rice and couscous in either Trader Joe's or Wegman's

-chicken broth

-olive oil

-fresh cheese - i used goat cheese but really, any soft and creamy cheese will work. If it's not a really soft/melty cheese, just make sure that it's at room temperature or that you microwave it for a couple of seconds before you add it to the farro. I used 4 ounces

- orange zest

-a big bunch of chopped basil 

-veggies i used: red onion, yellow pepper, green pepper but you can use anything really.

　

　

1. Cook the farro according the directions on the package, but substitute some of the measured water for a cup or so of chicken broth. Also add salt and a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the boiling water.  

2. After farro is cooked (you do not drain it) add the cheese and a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Mix it gently until all of the cheese is mostly melted and combined. Then, grate the orange zest into the farro, and mix again. Then, add basil and whatever veggies/fruit/herb combination you're putting in, and mix it. Taste it and add salt/pepper/red pepper, if it needs it.

(thank you, katie, for this recipe!)

Cannoli cupcakes!!

CANNOLI CUPCAKES!! SOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!
Took a long time to make but totally worth it. Yummy!!
I used fat free ricotta and less butter than the recipe called for, so I consider them some what healthy LOL
Although vanilla bean is very expensive it made a huge difference in the taste of the frosting!
I tweeked the recipe I found online, but the design idea, well, that was all me :) :)

http://foodfolksandfun.net/2011/02/cannoli-cupcakes/

Buffalo chicken eggrolls

buffalo chicken eggrolls are my go-to. No real recipe.
I mix shredded cheddar cheese with blue cheese cumbles, ranch dressing, and hot sauce (enough to fill the number of eggrolls you are making), add some broccoli slaw for crunch and then top it off with shredded chicken marinated in hot sauce. Then fold up the egg roll wrappers like a burrito and bake for about 15 minutes. Oh, you gotta spray the outside of the eggrolls with pam before you put them in the oven so they brown instead of burn. Done and done! :)

Lemon cupcakes w blackberry buttercream frosting. Delicious!!!

These were an unexpected HUGE hit at work! I got so many compliments, and even some requests to make more. I think I had more fun making them pretty than eating them though lol

The hardest part was pureeing (is that a real word?) the blackberries and sifting out the seeds. Other than that, it was cake! Pun intended :)

http://tideandthyme.com/lemon-cupcakes-with-blackberry-buttercream-frosting/

Italian style drunken noodles

This sauce turned out a bazillion times better than I expected!

Angel hair with herbs in a white wine reduction sauce

This was soooooo easy I def recommend it :)

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/six-herb-linguine-recipe-ghk0511

Simple thin crust pizza

Didn't feel like cooking too much tonight lol sorry people!

Chocolate Cake with Coffee Buttercream

My fabulous coworker Allison made this cake for Easter...
Her recommendation is add the coffee and vanilla during the cooking process. Other than that she followed the recipe exactly, including freezing the layers before frosting. No way to frost them otherwise.

http://kitchenhealssoul.blogspot.com/2011/11/chocolate-cake-with-coffee-buttercream.html

Turkey burger platter

Mini turkey burgers with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes drizzled with fat free balsamic vinaigrette atop a bed of spinach. Back to being healthy!

Low fat chicken salad on pita

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/10-summer-snacks-under-200-calories?page=6

(I did not use mustard)