Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sometimes, I think people tend to believe that food bloggers are perfect. We never make a mistake, all of our dishes come out of the oven looking picture-perfect and tasting fabulous – all while our kitchens remain spotless, of course. Well, at least for me, this could not be farther from the truth. I can’t tell you how many recipes I’ve tried that went straight into the trash. Not everything you make is going to be a home-run. Part of being a home-cook is experimenting with different recipes, and finding your own list of tried and true favorites, all while making mistakes and failures along the way.

My latest kitchen mishap was almost a complete kitchen failure. I had been rushing around preparing food for my mother-in-law’s surprise birthday party, and I was whipping up the batter for these banana cupcakes – one of her favorite kinds of cake. As I started to fill the cupcake liners, I noticed that the batter was rather thin, but I kept going, assuming it was just particular to that recipe. After the cupcakes were in the oven for 10 minutes or so, it dawned on me…I never added the dry ingredients! Ughhhh…

Well of course, I had no ripe bananas left, and was in a time crunch to get the cupcakes done before the party, which was just a few hours away at this point. What’s a girl to do? My only option was to dump the hot batter back into the bowl, stir in the dry ingredients, and cross my fingers that they turned out ok.

As it turned out, my rescue mission was a success. The cupcakes came out moist and flavorful, and the cream cheese frosting is to die for. These cupcakes are essentially banana muffins topped with a thick layer of sweet frosting…how could you go wrong? They were a huge hit at the party, and definitely something a little different than typical chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. I can’t wait to find an excuse to make these again…and hopefully I’ll remember to add flour next time!

 Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yields: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup mashed over ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
2 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz applesauce

For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 (12 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
5 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins with paper liners. In a small bowl, mix mashed bananas with lemon juice, set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla, sour cream and applesauce. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk. Stir in banana mixture.

Divide the batter among the cupcake tins, filling each tin up 3/4 of the way. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes. (This keeps the cake moist by immediately stopping the baking so the cake does not continue to bake when you remove it from the oven.)

For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth. Using a pastry bag, pipe frosting onto each cupcake. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Source: The Novice Chef

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette (and a giveaway!)

The weather in Pennsylvania can be such a tease. We had an usually warm winter with very little snow, and then had temperatures skyrocket into the 80’s in mid March. Just when I thought it was safe to take the snow brush out of my car, the temps plummeted last week back into the 30’s. Slushy snow covered the ground, and I fought back tears as I tossed my flip flops back into my closet. Ok, so maybe I wasn’t quite that dramatic, but the little taste of warm weather that we had is making me impatient for summer. I’m craving hot dogs on the grill, baseball games, days at the beach, and of course – fresh berries.

Strawberry season around here doesn’t begin until mid-June, but I just couldn’t resist buying a carton of strawberries from the grocery store last week. I’ve had this salad on my radar for awhile, and I am so glad that I finally tried it. The dressing really makes this salad, and I loved the tartness of the lemon juice sweetened up with some sugar. Between the strawberries and the dressing, you’ll think you’re eating dessert instead of a salad!

Making the dressing was super easy using my OXO dressing shaker. I simply added all the ingredients, shook it up, and voila! – perfect salad dressing. The dressing shaker is perfect for storing and serving the dressing, plus its BPA-free and dishwasher safe. If you’d like to win your own OXO dressing shaker, check out the details below!

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette
Yields: About 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 (10 to 12-ounce) package baby spinach or mixed greens, washed and dried
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered

For the dressing:
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions:
In a large salad bowl, add the spinach and strawberries, and toss together.

To make the dressing, add the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar, oil and poppy seeds into the salad shaker. Shake to combine. Alternatively, you can whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl.  Dress the salad right before serving.

Source: The Comfort of Cooking, originally from Paula Deen via FoodNetwork.com

————

And now for the giveaway…

There are FIVE ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment below describing what you are most looking forward to this summer.

You can earn up to four additional entries by doing any of the following:
2. Subscribe to Stick a Fork In It by either RSS or email. Come back and let me know you’ve subscribed in an additional comment.
2. Become a fan of Stick a Fork In It on Facebook, then come back and let me know in an additional comment.
3. Follow Stick a Fork In It on Twitter, then drop me another comment to let me know.
4. Share this giveaway on your own Facebook page, then let me know in an additional comment.

This giveaway ends Saturday, May 5th at Midnight. A winner will be chosen at random and announced on our Facebook page .

Fine Print: This giveaway is sponsored by OXO. However, the opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.  Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM Eastern time on Saturday, May 5th.  A winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and announced at the top of this post. The winner will also be notified via email; if the winner does not respond within 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Good luck!

DIY Brownie Mix

As you may know from reading the blog, I’m obviously a big fan of making things from scratch. Cookies, pizza dough, tortillas, even brown sugar – all can be made at home with a few ingredients and a little elbow grease. Not only do they taste better and are usually cheaper than buying them at the store, you can skip all the additives, preservatives and artificial flavors found in the processed variety.

Until now, brownies were the one thing that always seemed better from a boxed mix. All the homemade recipes that I’ve tried either came out too dry, too cake-like, or called for a lot of really expensive chocolate. Plus, nothing can beat the convience of using a boxed mix when you just need something chocolate-y, and you need it fast! The only way to get the benefits of a homemade treat with the simplicity of a boxed mix is to make your own brownie mix!

The mix itself takes just seconds to whisk together, and the ingredients are common pantry staples. When you’re ready to bake your brownies, simply add a few eggs, butter and vanilla to the mix and pop them in the oven. The brownies come out soft and fudgey in the middle, with perfectly chewy edges. (I’m a corner brownie girl, my husband is a middle guy…it’s the perfect marriage.)

Each batch of brownie mix fits perfectly into a quart-size mason jar. You can layer the ingredients in the jar to give as a gift, or keep a few jars in your pantry for those times when you need a quick dessert without much fuss. Each jar will make a 9×13 pan of brownies, or if you prefer thicker brownies, bake them in a 9×9 square pan.

DIY Brownie Mix
Yields: 1 9×13 pan

Ingredients:
Brownie Mix:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar

To make the brownies:
1 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
To make the brownie mix: Use a whisk to stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder and sugar. Store the mix in a quart-sized mason jar, or in a ziplock bag.

To make the brownies: Combine the entire mix with the melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Stir until the ingredients are well incorporated, then pour into a greased 9×13 pan. Spread the batter evenly, then bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes.

Source: Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I came across this cauliflower crust pizza on Pinterest, and was instantly intrigued. A low-carb pizza? Sign me up! I was skeptical, of course, but curious enough to try it and see how it tasted. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Now obviously, it is not quite the same as a traditional piece of pizza with soft, chewy crust, but it’s a great substitute when you’re watching your carb intake. Since the cauliflower is mixed with cheese, you mostly taste the cheese instead of the cauliflower, as well as the yummy veggies and meats on top of your pizza.

My husband isn’t a huge fan of cauliflower, so I planned on making the pizza before he got home from work. I figured I would just tell him I was trying a new pizza crust recipe. Well, what do you know, he got home early and caught me mixing up the crust. When he asked what was in the crust, I simply told him “cheese.” Well…the man is obsessed with cheese, so he was immediately smitten with the idea. It wasn’t until after he gobbled down 3/4ths of the pizza that I told him it was made of cauliflower. Even then, he didn’t seem to mind.

So the general conclusion…Healthy, tasty and husband-approved? Winner, winner, chicken pizza dinner!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Yields: 1 serving*

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese*
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
Olive oil (optional)

Pizza sauce
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Other additional toppings of your choice

*Many people have commented and said that the amount of cheese can be reduced by half, and still taste just as good!

Directions:
To rice your cauliflower, take 1 large head of cauliflower, remove the stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to a food processor and pulse just until it looks like rice. Alternatively, you can grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater.

Place the riced cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl, add 1/4 cup water, and microwave for 6-8 minutes, stirring half-way through.

To make the pizza, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a pizza pan or cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the cauliflower, mozzarella cheese and egg together and stir until well incorporated. Add the oregano, garlic, and garlic salt. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and shape into a 9-inch circle. Brush the crust with olive oil to help it brown in the oven.

Baked at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes, until the crust is browned and cooked through the middle.

Remove the crust from the oven, add your sauce and toppings. Place under a broiler at high heat until the cheese is melted and bubbly. (About 3-4 minutes).

Allow the pizza to cool slightly, then cut into slices and serve.

*The original recipe makes 1-9 inch pizza. You can of course, double the recipe, but I recommend sticking to individual sized pizzas. A lot of people have said that the middle doesn’t cook well when you make a large pizza.

Source: Eat. Drink. Smile.

Grilled Cajun Shrimp Kabobs

These grilled shrimp kabobs are perfect for those nights when you get home late, you have nothing prepped for dinner, and all you really want to do is just order a pizza. The spice rub takes just seconds to mix up, and the only prep work involved is just to soak the skewers. The cajun rub gives the shrimp a spicy kick, with a hint of sweetness thanks to the brown sugar. Pop these babies on the grill, mix up a salad, and you have yourself a healthy, tasty dinner.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 tablespoons ground paprika
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1-1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1-1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoons salt, to taste, optional
1/4 teaspoons ground cayenne

1 lb large deveined shrimp, about 40 pieces
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Soak ten wooden skewers in water for 20 minutes before grilling or broiling to prevent burning.

Preheat grill to medium high or preheat broiler.

In a large bowl, mix all the spices together until well combined. Add the shrimp, and toss with your hands to coat each piece. Drizzle with olive oil and toss again.

Thread 4 shrimp onto each skewer by bending each shrimp so that ends are nearly touching and skewer goes through each shrimp twice.

Coat grill grate or broiler pan with cooking spray. Grill or broil kabobs, 3 minutes per side, until shrimp are caramelized and opaque.

Source: Taste of Home

Spicy Thai Noodles

My poor, poor husband. He has always been a huge lover of Chinese and Thai cuisine, yet his lovely wife would much rather have Italian. Even though I’m the one to plan our menu every week and cook almost every meal, I reluctantly add in some Thai dishes every once in a while to keep him happy. At least at my house, a well fed husband is a happy husband – and one who will do the dishes after dinner. 😉

These Thai noodles could not be easier to make – it takes longer to boil the noodles than it does to make the sauce and to prep the veggies. The sauce is a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, and coats the noodles beautifully. I used a thick, whole wheat linguine noodle but you can also use angel hair or soba noodles. We ate the noodles plain, but they would be wonderful with the addition of chicken, beef or even more veggies like broccoli and snap peas.

Spicy Thai Noodles
Yields: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:
1 pound linguine or angel hair pasta
1 tbsp crushed red pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tbsp honey
6 tbsp soy sauce
Green onions, carrots, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
Boil the pasta as directed. Drain and set aside. Finely chop the green onions and cilantro. Peel and shred the carrots.

In a small saucepan, heat the oil and crushed red pepper over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat, and strain the oil through a sieve to remove the red pepper. Whisk the honey and soy sauce into the oil.

Toss the pasta into the sauce, then top with chopped green onions, cilantro, carrots and sesame seeds before serving.

Source: A Small Snippet

Garlic Lemon Chicken & Veggie Kabobs

I think it’s fair to say that now that we’ve entered April, grilling season is just around the corner. Here in western Pennsylvania, we had a small taste of summer last week, with record-high temperatures reaching into the 80’s. The sudden burst of warm weather inspired me to break out my flip-flops, sunglasses, and uncover our grill from its winter hibernation.

Just as the weather cooled down again, Brad and I were off to Florida for some much needed rest and relaxation with my parents and siblings. We spent 5 glorious days lounging by the pool, walking along the beach and eating to our heart’s content. My parents rented a house for all of us to stay at, so as a thank-you, Brad and I volunteered to cook dinner one night for everyone. Thankfully, the house had a grill, so we decided to stick to a low-key menu of chicken, steak, shrimp and veggie kabobs, salad, crispy potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Served with a large glass of Moscato or a bottle of Corona, it was the perfect way to wind down after a long, hard day of lounging in the sun.

The marinade for this chicken is very easy to make, and really gives the chicken a nice, light flavor. By using the zest of the lemon instead of lemon juice, it gives the chicken a nice punch of lemon flavor. For our veggie kabobs, we stuck with three different colors of bell peppers, but feel free to use whatever veggies you have on hand – onion, cherry tomatoes, yellow squash and zucchini work great for kabobs.

Garlic Lemon Chicken & Veggie Kabobs
Yields: 4-5 servings

Ingredients:
For the chicken kabobs:
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

For the veggie kabobs:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Green, orange and red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

In a small bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup olive oil, the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water to cover for at least 20 minutes. (This should hopefully prevent them from burning)

When you’re ready to cook, turn your grill on medium heat. Thread the bell peppers onto the skewers. Remove the chicken from the marinade; discard the marinade. Thread the chicken onto separate skewers, taking care not to pack the pieces too tightly. Brush the vegetables with the olive oil-lemon juice mixture. Close the lid and cook until the chicken is opaque throughout and the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer the skewers to a platter and serve immediately.

Source: Williams Sonoma

Banana Bundt Bread

In my opinion, there is a small window of opportunity when bananas are perfect to eat. They must be light yellow with some hints of green, and not a blemish or mark on them. Once any sort of brown freckle emerges, I deem them inedible and they are set aside to await their fate.

Luckily for brown bananas, they are dozens and dozens of recipes out there for them to be put to good use. I’ve made lots of banana bread in the past, but this recipe is a little different from the usually banana bread. By baking it in a bundt pan, the bread cooks evenly all the way through, therefore avoiding a gooey, undercooked center which tends to plague traditional banana breads. And staying true to the idea that adding sour cream to baked goods make them it exponentially better, it turns this banana bread into more of a dense, moist banana cake. I pawned most of this cake on my favorite taste-testers (my lovely coworkers!), and let’s just say I was the most popular PA in the hospital that night. 😉

Banana Bundt Bread
Yields: 12 servings

Ingredients:
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 whole eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups sour cream (I used plain greek yogurt)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each addition. Add mashed bananas and beat well.

Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the mixing bowl. Beat well until all combined.

Pour into a bundt pan and bake for 1 hour, 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Invert on a cooling rack and allow cake to cool slightly before slicing.

Source: Pioneer Woman

Homemade Frozen Pizzas

Open up any freezer, and you are bound to find a few frozen pizzas, acting as the perfect back-up plan for nights when a homemade meal just can’t make it onto the table. While frozen pizzas are definitely convenient, they are loaded with sodium, saturated fat and ingredients with names that I can’t pronounce – all things that I try to avoid. Luckily, with a few ingredients and a rainy afternoon to spare, you can stock your freezer with homemade pizzas that can go from freezer to table in less than 20 minutes.

There are essentially two different ways to make frozen pizzas. You can either make pizza shells, which are essentially pizza crusts that are frozen without toppings. When you want to make your pizza, you add the sauce, cheese and additional toppings just prior to baking. Or, you can build your pizza so it’s ready-to-go with all your favorite toppings, and therefore you can take it straight from the freezer and directly place it in the oven. I like to top my frozen pizzas with only cheese, so I essentially have a blank canvas to work with. When I pull the pizzas from the freezer, I can add whatever veggies or meats that strike my fancy on that particular day. (It’s also a great way to use up leftovers lingering in the back of fridge.)

Homemade Frozen Pizzas
Yields: 4 individual pizzas

Ingredients:
1 batch of pizza dough
Cornmeal
1 cup pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Additional toppings of your choice

Directions:
Make your favorite pizza dough recipe as directed. After your dough has raised, divide the dough into 4 equals pieces, and pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by sprinkling it with cornmeal.

Stretch your dough into a 7-8 inch round, and place them on the baking sheet.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from the oven and cool completely.

If you are freezing at this point, place them in a gallon-sized ziplock bag and freeze. Otherwise, top each pizza with 1/4 cup sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese. Wrap the pizzas in foil, and freeze. Alternatively, you can freeze the pizzas on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes, then store in a gallon-sized ziplock bag.

To bake: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and place the frozen pizza on a baking stone or pizza pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the pizza is heated through.

Source: A Stick a Fork in It original recipe.

Chicken Fried Rice

Over the past few months, Brad and I have been aggressively saving money in order to buy a house next year. With that, we’ve been keeping track of how much money we spend eating out, and despite the fact that I cook most our meal at home, we still manage to spend a pretty penny at some of our favorite restaurants. The only solution to this was to start making some of our favorite take-out meals at home, ala fake-out take-out!

Fried rice is the staple side dish at every hibachi-style Japenese steak house that I’ve been too. Although there was no knife throwing or flaming volcanos made of onions in my kitchen, this copy-cat recipe turned out pretty similar in taste to the hibachi version. I added some chicken to the rice for some additional protein, and marinated it in soy sauce to give it some flavor. You could essentially add any leftover veggies that you had lingering in your fridge, but I just used soem frozen mixed vegetables that I had stashed in the back of the freezer. This recipe makes a ton of rice, but since it tastes just as good reheated the next day, you’ll be happy that you have leftoves.

Chicken Fried Rice
Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, diced
Low sodium soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons sesame oil
3 eggs, scrambled
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, miced
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups leftover white or brown rice*

*Using leftover rice works the best. Fresh rice can make your meal mushy and sticky.

Directions:
Place the chicken in a airtight container and cover the chicken with soy sauce. Marinate the chicken for a few hours, or up until overnight.

When you’re ready to make the rice, begin by making the eggs. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the eggs, and cook until lightly scrambled. Remove the eggs from the skillet and set aside. Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel, and return back to the stove.

Add the chicken and remaining sesame oil to the pan. Cook the chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add the garlic and onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mixed vegetables, and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and melted butter and stir to combine. Stir in the eggs. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 10 minutes, until the rice is compltely warmed through. Add in additional soy sauce if desired, and serve immedietly.

Source: Adapted from Or So She Says