What We Ate {Coconut Cream Cupcakes}

I'm pretty sure that I was supposed to have been born somewhere tropical.  I love sun, sand, fresh fish and seafood, the concept of 'island time'.....and coconut. 

I LOVE coconut.

So it's no surprise that I love these cupcakes....I think you will too!

Ingredients

1 box white cake mix

3 egg whites, beaten

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 bag (8 oz.) shredded coconut

15 oz. can cream of coconut

1 2/3 cup milk

1 container Cool Whip

1 box Cream of Coconut Jello Pudding Mix

Mix cake mix with egg whites, oil, 1 1/3 cup milk, and 4 oz. coconut.  Pour mixture into cupcake pan lined with 12 cupcake wrappers.  Bake approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Remove from oven and poke holes in each cupcake using a fork.  Stir cream of coconut well, and then spoon over top of each hot cucake.  Place cupcake pans in the refrigerator to allow cupcakes to cool and cream of coconut to soak into each cupcake.  

Combine Cool Whip with pudding mix using a mixer, adding 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, using as much as needed to reach allow pudding mix to blend and reach desired consistency. Frost cooled cupcakes, and sprinkle with remaining 4 oz. of shredded coconut. 

I'll admit that these cupcakes are kind of messy, but OMG they are so delicious!

Hope you love them!

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What We Ate {Oreo Truffles}

You may remember back in December when I told you about our annual Cookie Exchange party at Christmas. Well, hosting this tradition for the past few years has left me with a TON of delicious cookie recipes. Unfortunately I don't bake very often, so most of them go into my recipe box and never see the light of day again.  

But recently, I found myself searching for a recipe that tasted great and looked impressive to take to an event...but I didn't have a lot of time to spend making something that took a lot of work.  Luckily, I remembered that one of my co-workers had shared her recipe for Oreo Truffles at one of our cookie exchange parties.  

They are to-die-for, and I knew they didn't require a lot of time or ingredients.

Sold!

Ingredients

1 package Oreo cookies

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 package chocolate melting wafers

1 tablespoon shortening

Using a food processor, grind cookies into fine crumbs. Reserve 1/4 cup cookie crumbs.  Add cream cheese to the remaining crumbs, and beat cookie crumbs and cream cheese until thoroughly combined.

Roll mixture into approximately 48 one inch balls.

Melt chocolate wafers and shortening using a double boiler.  Or if you don't have a double boiler, just put them in a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water, like I did.

Dip each ball into chocolate, using a toothpick.  Place chocolate-coated balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  

Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs, which is helpful in concealing the holes left by the toothpicks.  Place cookie sheet in refrigerator for one hour to allow chocolate to set.  

I made two batches--one with white chocolate coating and the other with a milk chocolate coating.  They looked so cute arranged on a serving tray, and tasted every bit as good as I remembered. 

Needless to say, there weren't any left to bring back home, which was probably a good thing.  

I'm not sure I could be trusted with them in the house!

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What We Ate {Pumpkin Pie}

Last weekend was Mr. M's birthday, and in our mini-family having a birthday means you get total control over the dinner menu for the day.  His request: shrimp scampi over angel hair pasta and pumpkin pie instead of a birthday cake. I'll show you the pasta recipe sometime, but today it's all about the pie  This dude LOVES pumpkin pie, and with my limited baking skills, I'm relieved that I'm able to oblige with a simple recipe that always turns out great!

The recipe comes from Mr. M's mom, and does include instructions for a homemade crust. She's a rock star and can pull that off, but I know my limits.  I stick to frozen rolls of pie crust and just make the filling myself.  It still totally feels homemade, and gets lots of compliments at Thanksgiving dinner! After knowing how easy this is....I can't believe that anyone ever buys a pumpkin pie.  It's that easy, and that good! 

Pumpkin Pie 

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup pumpkin

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 2/3 cup evaporated milk (13 oz)

Roll pie crust out into greased pie pan.  Mix above ingredients and pour into pie crust.  Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until firm.  

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What We Ate {Chocolate Covered Strawberry Layer Cake}

Sometimes, I just get this urge to bake something.  This is odd because while I'm a pretty good cook, I kind of suck at baking.  There's just too much to screw up.  All of those exact measurements and precise baking times....I'm doomed from the start.  But I still get the urge occasionally, nonetheless.  I think it's because I'd really like to be good at baking, but the truth is I screw it up more often than not.  Mr. M. has eaten a lot of questionable baked goods...But I digress.

So anyway, a week or so ago I got it into my head that I wanted...no I needed to bake a cake.  Why, you ask?  No idea.  But part of it is likely because I stumbled upon an amazing recipe that my mother-in-law gave me called 'No Fail Chocolate Cake'.  That stuff is no joke.  I've really never failed at it, which is saying something because usually the only cakes I make come from a box.  I had some baking chocolate and some frozen strawberries on hand, and thought that a chocolate cake with strawberry filling might be within my capabilities. 

Turns out...it was.  This was the best cake I've ever made in my life. You know I had to share it!

No Fail Chocolate Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
6 tablespoons baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix eggs and oil together, then add dry ingredients.  Stir in boiling water.  Bake in three round, greased cake pans 25-30 minutes.  Prepare the frosting and filling while you wait. I would advise making the frosting first, since it takes the longest to chill.

Frosting
2 bars of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick margarine, cut up into smaller pieces

Bring cream, sugar and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat.  Remove from pan and stir in chocolate until melted.  Stir in butter until smooth and creamy.  Refrigerate until it reaches spreadable consistency (~2 hours).

Filling
16 oz frozen strawberries (I'm sure fresh would be wonderful as well)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar

Puree strawberries in a food processor.  Place in a saucepan with cornstarch and sugar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, over medium heat.  Mixture will thicken as it boils. Once it has reached desired thickness, remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once your cakes are completely cool, divide strawberry filling in half and spread between each of the layers, stacking one on top of the other. Once your frosting is ready, frost with chocolate ganache icing.

Plan on working out a lot this week, because you won't be able to stop eating this cake.  Seriously.  It will be like that episode of Sex and the City, where Miranda eats cake from the garbage can. Or you could just plan to give some of it away.  Whatever works.

What We Ate {Caramel Corn}

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, Mr. M. decided that he simply HAD to make caramel corn. What?!  Kinda weird, right?  His mom had a recipe for it while he was growing up and, once he got the recipe from her, I came home one random weeknight to find him whipping up a batch in the kitchen.

Now caramel corn is not really my thing, and not something that I would ever decide to make myself.  But this stuff was pretty awesome.  I could have eaten all of it, so I was happy when he took the container to work the next day to share with his co-workers.   Out of sight, out of mind, right? 

Wrong.  A few days later, he must have wished that he hadn't given it all away, because he asked if I would give it a go and make some to take to a Game Night that we were invited to that night.  I needed to make something to take anyway, and the recipe didn't look very hard.  After a few pointers from him, I was willing to give it a shot.  So I took some pics while I worked so that I could share the goodness with all of you. Once again, it was a good thing we took it somewhere for other people to eat.  Because the stuff is addictive!

I'm not sure what occasion in your life is ever going to call for you to make Caramel Corn.  But if and when that day comes, now you'll be prepared :)

Caramel Corn

5 quarts popped popcorn

1 cup butter or magarine

2 cups light brown sugar (packed)

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Pop corn in an air popper and pop 5 quarts.

I adore plain air popped popcorn, I could have eaten the whole bowl!

  Place popped corn in oven at 250 degrees to keep warm.

 

Meanwhile, combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt in a 2 quart saucepan. 

 

 

Cook until sugar dissolves.  Bring to a boil and cook (stirring frequently) until what is called 'firm ball stage', when a candy thermometer reads 248 degrees F.  Stir baking soda in to mixture.

 

Now we don't own a candy thermometer, so don't worry if you don't have one either. In order to know when the caramel is at the proper temperature without a candy thermometer, keep a bowl of cold water next to the stove.  Once the caramel reaches a rolling boil, it will thicken.  When that happens, put a few drops of the caramel into the bowl of cold water.  If you can reach into the water and form that caramel into a little ball with your fingers (almost like wax), then you're good to go.  If the caramel remains liquid in the bowl of water, keep cooking. This part intimidated me, but it was super easy.

 

 

Caramel begins to get thicker and bubbly when it is ready. 

Pour caramel over popped corn and mix.  Return popcorn to oven for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.  Cool and place in airtight container before caramel hardens completely. 

 

 

   Make sure you take it somewhere to share!!

What We Ate {Delicious Saltines}

One of my loves in life is cooking and trying new recipes.  I collect cookbooks.  I'm half in love with Anthony Bourdain. Top Chef is totally my jam. In fact, if I were to win the lottery and be fortunate enough to extend my summers of leisure into an entire life of leisure, one of the things I would love to do would be to attend culinary school.  Not because I want to work in a restaurant (I've been there, done that and know I don't care to go back.  Do you know how much your clothes smell when you work in a restaurant?!), but because I know that I would just LOVE gaining actual culinary knowledge.  This lottery winning dream also includes a culinary tour of the world.  Preferably with Anthony Bourdain. But until I win Powerball, I'm stuck with my collection of cookbooks, recipe websites, and limited culinary skills.

So in honor of my amateur love of cooking, I present to you a new feature on the blog: What We Ate.  As I come across to-die-for recipes, I'll document the process and share them with you so that you can try them out.  Some recipes will be old favorites, some will be new discoveries.  Some will be healthy, others will not. All will be awesome.   

Today's entry is one of those old recipes that is too good not to share.  We're invited to a Fabulous 40th Birthday Party tonight, where the host has requested only that we bring dishes to share in lieu of gifts.  Pretty fun, right? 

So I needed something to take to the party, and I wanted to make something that didn't need to be kept hot or cold, and would be easy to transport on the Party Van we rented to take us to and from the party (I TOLD you it was going to be fun!), so I dug out this old recipe for Delicious Saltines, which I can pile in a tin and transport easily.

Delicious Saltines are almost toffee-like and are DELICIOUS, but just a warning: you may want to have your cholesterol meds ready because they are filled with crap.  That's why I can only make these when taking them somewhere to share.  This way I'll (hopefully) only eat one of two. 

Another warning: I'm not huge on measuring (which is why I'm not very good at baking).  If a measurement is important, I'll include it.   If not....just do what you think is right.

You'll need:
Saltine Crackers
1 1/2 sticks butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used WAY less than a whole bag)

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350.  Arrange saltines in one layer on the cookie sheet, so the edges are touching.

  Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan, and pour mixture evenly over crackers.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of crackers and bake one minute more to allow the chips to stick to the crackers.  Place pan in refrigerator for 2 hours.  Cut or break apart. 

That's it! Try not to eat the whole batch (it's difficult)!!

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