Tiramisu Cake

To go with our italian themed Mother's Day dinner, one of the desserts I made was a light Tiramisu Cake!  It was a hit and went great with coffee.  It only had a hint of coffee flavor so it was not overpowering like so many tiramisu desserts are!  If you like a smack of coffee in your dessert, then just had more of the coffee flavored ingredients.  You can't mess this guy up easily!

Ingredients

1 box moist white cake mix

3 tsps ground coffee

1/2 cup brewed coffee

2 tbsps coffee flavored liqueur

(filling)

8 oz. (1 cup) mascarpone

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsps coffee flavored liqueur

(topping)

2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3 tbsps coffee flavored liqueur

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350

-Make cake according to package directions then add the ground coffee

-Pour into 2 greased 9" round pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean

-When firm, remove from pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

-Mix ingredients for filling, set aside

-Combine topping ingredients until stiff peaks form

-Fold 1/2 cup of filling into topping, set aside

-In a small bowl, combine coffee and liqueur

-Poke LOTS of holes in your cakes with a toothpick or cake tester then evenly pour coffee mixture over them and allow them to completely soak the liquid in

-Spread the filling between the 2 cakes and then cover with topping

Garnish with cocoa powder or shaved chocolate.  I HIGHLY suggest serving this with lots of strawberries and of course, coffee!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

I did some cooking for Mother's Day and had a blast!  Most of our family lives in one place so we decided to bring a Mother's Day (night before) dinner to them and just used my in-laws' house.  It was so fun!  Since they were so nice to let us take over, I thought the LEAST I could do is bring them a yummy breakfast!  I have been dying to try this out and this recipe is definitely a keeper!  It is so easy and quick and this tastes wonderful with coffee in the morning!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsps baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

(Cinnamon Swirl)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp flour

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

(Glaze)

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350

-Mix dry ingredients then mix in wet

-Pour batter into a greased square baking dish

-In a small bowl or stand mixer, cream together the cinnamon swirl ingredients

-Drop spoonfuls evenly on batter then use a butter knife or fork to swirl in

-Bake for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

-While cake is in the oven, mix together ingredients for the glaze

-Pour glaze over hot cake

You can serve warm or allow everything to soak together and serve room temperature or easily reheat!

Royal Icing

I set out on a quest to find the PERFECT royal icing recipe.  After lots of research I now have one!  I found a super helpful blog called The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle that basically taught me the science of royal icing!  Now, this woman is a cookie decorating queen and I hope to only be half as good as her, but the blog is amazing!  I never like taking more steps than I have to and she taught me that you don't always have to line and then fill cookies in order for them to look great!  After watching her tutorials on "20 second royal icing," I knew it could be done and that it would be my new favorite recipe.  The theory is getting the royal icing the perfect consistancy between the lining and filling ones so that you do everything all in one step.  You make your royal icing recipe and then add enough water so that when you cut it with a spoon or spatula, it takes about 20 seconds to come back together.  I literally got the stopwatch out for my first time!  The result is beautiful cookies that come together because of really forgiving and easy to use icing!  You need to have some of these to truly decorate successfully and I totally stand by that statement!

I got my squeeze bottles at Bed Bath & Beyond and Michael's.  They are way cheaper than any other decorating tools!

Ingredients

2/3 1b. powdered sugar (1/3 of a 2 lb. bag)

2 tbsp + 1/3 tsp meringue powder

1/4 cup warm water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions

-In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, add powdered sugar and meringue powder and mix on low until combined

-In a separate bowl combine the extracts with warm water and then pour into dry ingredients

-Mix on low until water is incorporated and texture is like honey

-Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until thickened then turn up to high and mix for 3 minutes until SUPER thick - you should be able to sit whick on top and it just sit there!

-Separate icing into as many bowls as the different colors you want and then dye them your desired color - gel works best, but you can use liquid, too

-Here is the TRICKY part!  Each bowl will be different because of the different amounts of dyes you added.  Add TINY amounts of water at a time and stir to combine

-The icing should be thick, but when you stir, it should fall back into place.  The final test is to time how long it takes to swipe a line down your bowl and it totally close up.  It should be about 20 seconds.  Here is the video tutorial 20 Second Icing Video

-Once your icing is the right consistancy, fill your bottles and get ready to ice!

-You will feel once you get started that this is just like painting and the lines just smooth together.  The trick is the designs you want all in one layer, do instantly before drying.  If you want some texture to your decorations, let icing dry then add more layers on top for different dimensions.  Let totally dry before handling cookies!

This makes enough icing for one batch of my Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies.

It was Avery's birthday last weekend, so I used her as a fun inspiration.  You can see the spread in the cookies at the top of the post.  Below is what I made for my school during STAAR testing.  Of course I had to do stars and then the diamonds are our school logo - remember all girls school!

I just want to make these for every occasion now!!

Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup



I wanted a yummy really healthy dinner that would give us lots of leftovers for Phillip to eat during finals.  This was a success!  I'm still trying to make every recipe healthy when I can, and this one is pretty fresh!  I don't ever add tortillas to mine, to cut back on carbs and it tastes just as good!

Ingredients

1 large chicken breast

1 lb. extra lean ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 yellow squash, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped

1/4 cup milk

2 cups cooked black beans

2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 large can green chiles

1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce

black pepper, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes

Directions

-Bake chicken seasoned with seasonings at 400 until done and then shred, set aside

-Brown ground turkey seasoned with seasonings, set aside

-Coat the bottom of a large pot with cooking spray and add in garlic, onion, squash and zucchini

-Stir in milk and then heavily season with seasonings listed

-Cover and simmer on medium low until veggies are soft, stirring occasionally

-Add shredded chicken and turkey to soft veggies

-Stir in beans and chiles

-Add tomato sauce and then fill the can with water twice and add to soup

-Simmer on low and adjust seasonings - you may need to add some salt or garlic powder here

I served this with salsa and plain nonfat Greek yogurt.  This was so easy and great to pop in the microwave throughout the week!

Secret Ingredient Healthy Cocoa PB Cookie Dough Dip

So I have obviously had a MAJOR sweet tooth lately, but am doing really well sticking to healthy eating thanks to these "secret ingredient" recipes!  I can eat dessert after dinner and my pants are still getting looser!  Best feeling ever!  Last night I was trying to create a version of brownies, but instead came up with another cookie dough-like dip or pudding.  I wound up baking it, but it definitely wasn't as good as it was just cold with a spoon.  I did try it hot out the oven so I'm thinking maybe they will be better as cooled bars.  I will let you know once I test it out.  For now, this recipe is solid for making you feel like you're eating something super naughty and it doesn't even have chocolate chips!

Ingredients

2 tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt

2 tbsp natural peanut butter 

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/4 cup brown sugar - add more if you like things sweeter

1/4 cup quick oats

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup white beans

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

-Blend all ingredients in food processor or blender - it will take lots of stirring the mixture to get it all smooth!

Eat with just a spoon or dip pretty much anything in it!  Ugh now I'm hungry!

Spring.Anniversary.Baking Tips

Good news everyone!  Spring has finally made its way to Dallas and it's in full force!  I was even able to lay out at the pool Sunday and could not be more excited!  I made my seasonal trip to Calloway's and our garden is looking snappy yet again.  There is nothing better than coming home to a colorful and fully in bloom garden!  We thought our azalea was turning into a failure when it didn't bloom in the summer or winter, but apparently it was just playing a joke on us.  It's beautiful now!  Having the summer off will pacify me when it turns blah again soon.

We recently celebrated our second anniversary as well as the newly awesome weather!  Yes, Phillip is still slowly making me want to beat him up studying for finals, but I know what to expect now and he even took a night off for us to cook our favorite meal.... Buford's Beef Wellington!  Those are my awesome anniversary flowers you see on the table.  Phillip knows me so well by now that he got a bouquet of the kind of roses I like and set them out for ME to decorate with.  Now that is a sign of a keeper!  The beef was better than ever, even though I drank my martini too fast and made the pastry pretty darn ugly!  

I had fun making Phillip anniversary cupcakes he "ordered" from me while he studied this weekend.  I am super content doing random things.  He was a great shopper and got me some baking tools that I "thought" I really wanted.  I realized I had been wanting the wrong things for the job I was planning so I had a blast exchanging.  He of course prefaced the gift with being totally ok with that.  Again, he knows me too well.  I made a tiny mistake with these guys that you would never know from looking, but just for future reference.... when making brownies out of a box, do NOT sub water for oil!!  The brownie cupcakes come out like sponges!  I took the icing off and cut them into small pieces to make brownie ice cream soon.  They will make a great texture for being frozen in ice cream!  I should have known when my batter was watery, but I pushed on like a dummy!  Also, I think I'm done subbing the oil for water in cake mixes as well.  I realized that is what makes them get stuck to the wrappers and doesn't give you as moist of a cake.  It looks like I need to buy another bottle of vegetable oil that I was trying to avoid and just make sure I eat the awesomely moist cupcakes in moderation.  It's sad when some things are really made to be bad for you, no exceptions!

We even allowed ourselves to eat a brunch consisting only of dessert leftovers for the sake of our anniversary! Those are some new petunias from Calloway's stealing the shot in the corner.

It's always interesting to reflect on big events that make you realize how far you've come since the last year.  This time in our lives is constantly full of decisions, changes, and attempts at figuring things out.  While it seems like most of the time we get things wrong and have to try again, we have done ALOT of things right, too.  I can honestly say no matter how low down the lows go, my highs are MUCH higher now than ever.  Just remind me of that when I'm in a pit eating fake cookie dough made of beans!

This coming weekend is bringing Avery's birthday and a quick party appearance Saturday night, which means a break from FINALS!  You better believe I have lots of girly baking and laying out on the agenda.  What would I do without weekends?!  Only 1 more 6 weeks until SUMMER!

Secret Ingredient Healthy Snickerdoodle Dip

So I had a rough day yesterday.  I came home from the gym and wasn't even hungry for dinner.  That just about NEVER happens to me!  After relaxing with some tea, I realized I should probably eat something even though nothing healthy like I normally eat for dinner sounded good.  I wasn't about to let my crappy day make me eat something rotten and then feel ten times worse.  I decided to go with one my of secret ingredient "dessert, but not really dessert, because it's mostly protein" foods.  If you are a fan of my Secret Ingredient REALLY Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars then you will love this!  I wanted to eat it with tons of carb loaded things like 'nilla wafers, graham crackers, and pretzels, but decided to add a few chocolate chips and settle on a spoon.  It's all about balance people!  This really was like eating dessert for dinner except I really ate beans for dinner and 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips for dessert all mixed together.  I know that doesn't sound like a healthy amount of food needed for a meal, but again, it had gotten late and it was not my average kind of day.  Try something like this the next time you are down in the dumps.

Ingredients

2 tbsps nonfat plain Greek Yogurt

2 tbsps natural peanut butter (real natural PB only has peanuts and sometimes salt)

2 tbsps quick oats

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

pinch salt

2-3 tbsps raw honey

1 cup white beans

cinnamon, to taste

1-2 tbsps semi-sweet chocolate chips, optional

Directions

-Blend all ingredients but chips in a food processor or blender until smooth and thick

-Stir in chips, if using, and sprinkle with more cinnamon