Recent Goodies!

Strawberry cupcakes for a 60th birthday party

 Chocolate-chocolate cake for Bubby's birthday

 

Cookie's shaped like bums for my friend Casey's bachelorette party

 

 

Key lime cupcakes with a lime cream cheese frosting

Mini pineapple upside down cakes for my Granny's birthday

 

 Cupcakes for my best friend's wedding!  Pumpkin spice cupcakes with a cinnamon buttercream

Coconut Cream Cake

For Mother's Day, I made a nice coconut cream cake.  In the words of my boyfriend, "It tastes like it took a bath in coconut milk"!  In reality, it did!

  Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut cream
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup flaked coconut

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour 2 round cake pans or one 9x13" pan. 

In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, oil, water and coconut flavoring. Beat for 2 minutes and pour into 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

In a medium bowl, combine coconut cream with sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. When cake comes out of the oven, poke holes into it in even rows using a large fork or chopsticks.

Pour milk mixture over, allowing it to soak into the cake. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. I put the cakes on cooling racks over baking sheets for easier cleanup and so they didn't get stuck to the pan!

 

 In a large bowl, whisk cream until soft peaks form.  Don't whip too long or it'll turn into butter! Add sugar and continue whipping until stiff.  Spread over cooled cake. Sprinkle top with flaked coconut.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Thanks to my new favorite website, Pinterest, I found this easy, yet absolutely delicious breakfast recipe!
All you need is a waffle iron and a can of cinnamon rolls!

 Directions:

Pop open your can of cinnamon rolls (I used the Wegmans brand, but homemade ones would probably be amazing!)

Heat up your waffle iron.  Place 3 or 4 of the raw cinnamon rolls on the iron and close the lid.

When the waffle iron says the "waffle" is ready, open it up and check.  Mine took about 6 minutes to cook.

Drizzle the icing packet over the cinnamon roll waffles and enjoy!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

It's not a fun dessert, but tonight's dinner was too yummy not to share!   A mixture of pork, sausage, apples and veggies in an acorn squash "shell" - delicious!

Ingredients:
2 acorn squash 
3/4 pound ground pork and sausage (you can use both or one or the other)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/3 cup cheese (I used asiago, but parmesan would work as well)
1 small apple, chopped

How to Make:
1. Slice each acorn squash in half and scoop out the seeds from the middle.  Place the halves cut side down in a large casserole dish.  Add about 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the dish.  Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until tender.

2. While the squash is cooking, brown the sausage/pork and celery and onion until the meat is brown and veggies are tender.  Drain well.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, brown sugar, apple and cheese.  Add this mixture to the meat.

4. When the acorn squash is cooked, flip them each over so the cut is up.  Scoop the meat mixture into each squash "cup", forming a mound.

5. Place back in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the meat mixture is heated thoroughly. 

6. Enjoy :)


My sous chef, Piper...