Taco Cupcakes

The title isn't the sweet type of cupcakes. Got to state that right off. These are simply baked in a cupcake pan. I found the idea randomly on Pinterst (as most recipes are found now!) Mr. P loved them. I strayed away from the recipe I found, but they're not an exact science. I have to stay away from black beans and olives if Mr. P is going to eat it!

The original recipe that inspired mine can be found here.

Taco Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2tsp olive oil
• 1lb ground beef
• 1/3 cup water
• 1  packet taco seasoning (or your own spicy mix)
• Chipotle sauce, enough for 12 "cupcakes"
• Verde Salsa, enough for 12
• 1 bag of Mexican Shredded cheese
• 12 Flour Tortillas, the smaller "fajita" size

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375. Spray cupcake tin with cooking spray.
2. Heat oil in skillet. Begin browning beef and taco seasoning. Breaking beef up. When not completely browned add the water. Let simmer, about 10-15 minutes till water is mostly gone. Drain.
3. Line cupcake tin with tortillas. I ripped a "seam" on mine and folded them nicely in each cup.
4. Pour chipotle sauce in to each cupcake, then divide taco meat and disperse in each cup.
5. Top with verde salsa and shredded cheese.
6. Bake 12-15 minutes, do not overbake or the tortillas will crisp too much.

Yummy and easy. My kind of dinner.

The Best Peanut Butter Cookie

To get back into some form of routine I opted to make peanut butter cookies. I haven't made any in a while. This is the best basic peanut butter cookie recipe. The recipe will make up to 5 dozen. I made basically a few more than a dozen because I wanted big fat cakey cookies. If you choose to make monster sized cookies too, then you will need them to bake for a longer time. I added about 7 more minutes. This is the exact recipe from Domino Sugar's site. And to be honest, I always buy Domino Sugar; I love how it's packaged now.

Peanut Butter Drop Cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups - all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon - baking powder

1 teaspoon - baking soda

1/4 teaspoon - salt

1 cup - creamy or chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup - butter or margarine, softened

1 cup - firmly packed Domino® Light Brown Sugar

1/2 cup - Domino® Granulated Sugar

2 - eggs

1 teaspoon - vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat peanut butter, butter and sugars in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture; beat until well blended. If necessary, refrigerate dough until firm enough to shape into balls.

Shape into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with fork dipped in sugar, making crisscross pattern.

Bake 11-13 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove; cool completely.

Yum! I'm enjoying one now!

A Birthday Tradition

 March 29th was my besties b-day. Mama Bear turned 24 this year. I've been making her cakes since her 21st. So this was year 4! I thought it would be nice to show all the cakes so far. I'm sure I'll get around to adding the recipe for the Take 5 cake sometime, but this post will have the link to this years delicious choice!

21st "The Dr. Seuss Cake"

This was only my second time ever making a 3 tiered cake. Also, the first time covering a whole cake in fondant. I can see my flaws and now know exactly what I did wrong. But I still love this cake and it was made with a lot of love! <3

22nd "The Take 5 Cake"

This years inspiration was from her favorite candy bar at the time. The Take 5 candy bar has the pretzel, caramel, chocolate, peanuts, and peanut butter.

23rd "The Fancy Cake"

We sprang her a surprise party at a local pizza bar when her original plans had to be cancelled. I made this cake in 4 hours. The flowers and ribbon are obviously not edible. I think it turned out beautiful though.

24th "Fall Cake in Spring"

This year we had the almighty Pinterest to peruse for awesome cake ideas. I think we spent an hour sifting through searches and recipes. The one she ended up picking was a cake I had already pinned  on my board. We thought it was quite funny she chose a pumpkin cake after all the pumpkin we consumed this fall. Praline Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. It was actually super duper easy to make. It's a Betty Crocker box cake recipe. But her whipped cream cheese frosting is amazing. It had a wonderful consistency and will be the recipe I use from now on.

Apricot Glazed Chicken

I found this recipe on Allrecipes. One of my "go to" sites for dinner ideas. I love the taste of apricots. I added a little more oomph to it since the review comments stated it was good but rather bland. You'll also noticed I changed the baking time and amount of ingredients. Twenty five minutes was no where near long enough at 350 since I did 3.

Apricot Glazed Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 2 tablespoons dried minced onion.
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
• Generous amount of your favorite spice mix. I have a really great grinder blend by The Spice&Tea Exchange, called Forida Sunshine, it's a really great mix of sea salt, orange/lemon/lime zest, ginger root, green peppercorns and rose petals.  It really compliments the apricot!

Directions

1. Place chicken in a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Sprinkle with half amount of Panko.

2. Combine the mayonnaise, preserves and onion and spices. Spoon over chicken. Finish with rest of Panko.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 45-minutes or until chicken juices run clear.               

I served mine with fast oven roasted potatoes. Click the link to get the step by step guide. It's basically steaming them in the microwave and broiling them in the oven with butter. Again, I put my favorite spices on them as well. Enjoy!