Cupcakes Galore!

 

Lil P's birthday came and went. No dinosaur party, no nerf gun party, no star wars party this year. Just good ol' family get together. No birthday parties doesn't mean no cake! So I made an assortment of cupcakes for the festivity: Vanilla, Peanut Butter, Oreos, and Nutella.

Cupcakes
1) Prepare the cake batter by following my moist cupcake recipe here, except replace chocolate cake mix and chocolate pudding mix with yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding mix. For vanilla cupcakes, follow the rest of the recipe's direction completely. For oreos, peanut butter, and Nutella, do the following:

2) Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
3) Pour 1/3 to 1/2 of the batter into each cupcake liner.

For Oreos cupcakes
4a) Place an oreo on top of the batter, push the cookie down to the bottom so the batter rises up

For Peanut Butter or Nutella cupcakes
4b.1) Use a cookie scoop to scoop out peanut butter or Nutella, place each scoop on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, then place them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.
4b.2) Take one semi-frozen scoop of peanut butter or Nutella and place on top of the batter, push it down to the bottom so the batter rises up.

5) Pour additional 1/4 batter on top, use a knife to move the batter to cover the oreo cookie, peanut butter, or nutella completely.
6) Bake for 35 minutes.

Frosting

1 cup powdered sugar
1 stick of butter (soften)
1/4 stick of shortening

My super lazy, yet effective version
1) Place all of them in a sandwich ziplog bag, get all the air out then zip it.
2) kneed them so they're completely combined.

For vanilla, oreo, and peanut butter frosting
3a) Cut a slip at the corner of the ziplog bag, pipe the frosting directly on the cupcake

For Nutella frosting (or you can do that with the peanut butter too if prefer)
3b) Open the bag of frosting, add in a couple tablespoons of room temperature nutella (or peanut butter), kneed to combine, add nutella (or peanut butter) to taste. No need to add toppings since it is already Nutella frosting. =)

Toppings
For the vanilla cupcakes: just cut a vanilla straw in half, then affix on top of frosting.
For the Oreos cupcakes: coarsely cut oreo cookies into small pieces, then pile them on top of the frosting.
For the Peanut Butter cupcakes: coarsely cut reese's peanut butter cups into small pieces, then pile them on top of the frosting.

Here is a picture of how the Nutella cupcake looks like someone says this taste like there is a truffle inside the cupcake.

The peanut butter and the oreos cupcakes were devoured before I get a chance to cut it in half to show to take a pic!

Just so you know, I made 6 of each (24 cupcakes total with one patch of cupcake/pudding mix, and with that measurement of frosting. (I had to mark the pans so I know which 6 is what so I don't put the wrong frosting on the wrong cupcake!) If you like more frosting I would recommend you double it up. It got a bit messy for me when I had to transfer the vanilla frosting to another uncut ziplog to add in the nutella before piping...but overall, I am super duper happy with the results.

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Several Christmases ago a friend got us a popcorn popper with a jar of kernels. I have only used it a few times. So yesterday after talking with my coworker who went to watch a movie by himself, that he was happy with his soda and popcorn, I started thinking about making popcorn. So last night after I making dinner (Honey Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi, recipe to come in a later post), I went on working on my peanut butter popcorn, it was soooo delicious, I couldn't even stop eating it! Good thing I only made a small batch to test...

1/8 cup of kernels
1/4 cup of Honey
1/8 cup of Sugar
1/4 cup of Peanut Butter (crunchy or creamy)
1 tsp vanilla

1) In a sauce pan, heat honey, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla together until well mix.
2) Pop the popcorn, let cool, then place in ziplog bag, picking out the unpopped kernels.
3) Pour in peanut butter mixture into the bag and shake and move the bag until the popcorns are evenly coated with the peanut butter mixture.
4) Optional: Drop the coated popcorn in a single layer on a cookie sheet until cool, OR place in preheated 250 degrees oven for an hour (take out every 15 min to stir the content) then let it cool completely.

The last step is to make your popcorn crunchy, but trust me, it doesn't need to because it was still good soggy!!

I haven't had bento pictures lately because I have been lazy. But summer is coming around the corner and that means I have to make bentos for lil P for his summer fun!! Won't be as cute this year though because he's already 10 and might not like the cute stuff anymore.....

On another note regarding summer, I find this DIY Address Book very useful. What a way for your child to keep in touch with his/her friends over the summer right?

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins by The Sneaky Chef

I have raved about The Sneaky Chef for quite some time now. Missy Chase Lapine (the auther) is really awesome giving ideas on how to hide veggies in everyday food. I absolutely loved her book. Yes she even hides them in desserts too!! I have recently made this Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins and I wanted to share this with you.

1 c Flour Blend(1/3 cup whole grain flour, 1/3 cup white flour, 1/3 cup wheat germ)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c canola oil
3/4 c orange puree (or use baby food! I use this sometimes: 1/2 cup carrots and 1/4 cup sweet potatoes)
3/4 c smooth peanut butter
8 heaping tsp favorite Jam (not jelly)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line muffin tin with paper liners.
2) In a mixing bowl, whisk together the Flour Blend, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
3) In another large bowl, whish together the eggs and sugar until well combined, then whisk in oil, orange puree, and peanut butter.
4) Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until flour is just moistened (don't over mix).
5) Scoop about two tbsp of batter into the large muffin cups until half full.
6) Place a heaping tsp of jam in the center of each muffin, then cover the jame with another 2 tbsp of batter, filling the cups just over the top. (scale back if using mini-muffin cups)
7) Bake for 25-30 min until the tops are golden brown.

















I had two while it was warm and it was delish! Please feel free to check out the website for more free recipes!

Don't forget that you could get your very own, brand new copy of The Sneaky Chef on my GIVEAWAY that is happening right now til the end of the month!! You are qualified if you have contributed to the Tsunami Relief Support for Japan. Go here for the Giveaway details!

I have been taking alot of bentos pictures but have yet to post. I made Chinese Chicken Salad for me and my sister and I brought it to her work (and I got to see my baby nephew)! Here is a pic of that. I used leftover Rotisserie Chicken from Costco.

I also deboned the rest of the chicken, then I threw the carcass in a pot of water and let it simmer until the meat falls off the bone, remove the bones, then added rice and dry scallops in the pot and made myself a bowl of jook too! That's 2 ways for leftover chicken! And don't forget the chicken quesadillas, that's 3 ways with one chicken from Costco!

Here is my lunch for tomorrow, since it's "What's for Lunch Wednesday"!!

This bento consist of Steak (with steak seasoning, olive oil, and mirin), Gen Ji Mai rice, sautee veggies (mushrooms, carrots, asparagus), and grapes. The yellow container is microwavable, so I'm going to microwave the medium rare steak and it would be perfectly cooked for lunch! Looking forward to my lunch!!

Easy Peanut Butter Sandwich Surprise

As I have mentioned previously here, I became one of the finalists or "Undercover Mothers" for the Ultimate Sneak-Away Contest hosted by Veggie Patch and The Sneaky Chef with my recipe of Easy Peanut Butter Sandwich Surprise. It was quite a surprise for me! For the final round, I needed to turn my recipe submission into a video that will teach other moms how to make it. Talk about pressure!