Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

    Yesterday was my dad's birthday! I made some yummy cupcakes to celebrate. These aren't just any cupcakes though. They are stuffed with a tangy key lime vanilla custard! They are topped with a key lime buttercream! They definitely pack a punch. It's like a cupcake ate a key lime pie!

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Ingredients:

- 1 box of white cake mix, plus ingredients for mix

- 1/4 cup of key lime juice

- 3 teaspoons of key lime zest

For the filling:

- 1 cup of whipping cream

- 1/4 cup of key lime juice

- 1 package of vanilla pudding mix

- 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar

- 2 tablespoons of milk

- 1 tablespoon of key lime zest

For the buttercream:

- 1 cup of butter

- 6 tablespoons of lime juice

- 1 drop of green food color

- 6 cups of powdered sugar

- 1 tablespoon of key lime zest

    Bake cupcakes as directed on the package, replacing 1/4 cup of the water with the lime juice and adding the zest. Once cupcakes are cooled, core them and set aside. While they are cooling, start the filling by whipping the whipping cream with an electric mixer until stiff peaks are achieved. Then, mix in the lime juice, vanilla pudding mix, powdered sugar, milk, and lime zest. Chill for a few minutes while you make your frosting. To make the buttercream frosting, beat the butter alone until smooth. Add the lime juice and food color, mix until creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and then, mix in the zest. Put the filling into a pastry bag and fill each cupcake liberally with the filling. Pipe the frosting on top, chill, and serve.

Double Chocolate Poke Cake

    Happy National Chocolate Cake Day! One of my favorite days! Last year I made my decadent Flourless Chocolate Cake, it was so fudgy! This year I was a little less ambitious, I used a box cake mix. But, it's all good! I made a poke cake!! This Double Chocolate Poke Cake is a chocolate lover's dream!

Double Chocolate Poke Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 box of cake mix , plus instructed ingredients

               or

- your favorite chocolate cake recipe

- 1 box of chocolate pudding mix

- 2 cups of milk

- 2 cups of whipping cream

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1/3 cup of cocoa powder

    Bake cake as directed in a 9x13 baking dish. Let cool completely and use the end of a spoon to poke holes throughout. Whip together the milk and pudding mix as directed on the box. Pour the pudding over the cake and stick in the refrigerator. In a medium sized metal bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the whipping cream, sugar, and cocoa until just combined. Refrigerate the mixture in the bowl, with the mixing blades for about 15 minutes. Once chilled, remove from the refrigerator and whip for about 3 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Spread the cream over the cake, chill, and serve.

Caprese Pockets

    I love all things caprese! There's just something about putting fresh basil over tomatoes and fresh whole milk mozzarella. I was fooling around with the idea of making a caprese pizza and I ended up making these little pockets of goodness. They are so simple and delicious!

Caprese Pockets

Ingredients:

- 1 roll of refrigerated pizza dough. 

- 6 pieces of whole milk mozzarella (about 1/2 ounce each) 

- 6 slices of tomato

- 6 large basil leaves, sliced

- salt and pepper

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll the pizza dough and cut in half place the tomatoes on one half, even spaced. Salt and pepper the tomatoes. Place the mozzarella and basil leaves on top of the tomatoes. Cover with the other half of the dough. Cut around each tomato and form into dough pockets. Place onto greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Baked Philly Cheesesteak

    I like to find new things to make for the kids at youth group sometimes. They are all at that age where they are kind of picky eaters. It's fun to see them eat and like things I make that they wouldn't normally eat at home. I knew they'd all love crescent rolls, add meat and cheese, and we have a winner! Shhh, I didn't tell them about all those peppers and onions, they liked it anyway though.

Baked Philly Cheesesteak

Ingredients:

- 2 tubes of Pillsbury crescent rolls

- 1 tablespoon of butter

- 1 medium onion, chopped

- 1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped

- 3 tablespoons of water

- 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese

- 3/4 of a pound of deli sliced roast beef

- 8-10 slices of provolone cheese

- salt and pepper to taste

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add the water, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir mixture until the cream cheese has melted and is creamy. Chop the roast beef into 1 inch pieces and stir into the cream cheese mixture. On a greased baking sheet, lay out the unrolled crescent roll triangles, overlapping them into a circle. Spread the meat/cream cheese mixture out on the dough, top with the provolone cheese, and then fold over to form a ring. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Slice and enjoy.

Cheesecake Bites

    My friend Rebecca is having a baby girl! I thought it would be cute to make a little dessert to bring with me to her baby shower this weekend. These little cheesecake bites are so super easy! I topped them with pink frosting and sprinkles for the occasion. You could totally top them with anything you'd like. Maybe with a little melted chocolate or chopped nuts and caramel!

Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients:

- 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs

- 1/4 cup of finely chopped pecans

- 1/4 cup of melted butter 

- 2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup of sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
    Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x9 baking dish with tin foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, chopped pecans, and butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of prepared baking dish and set aside. In a medium sized bowl, cream together the sugar and cream cheese. Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust mixture. Bake for about 40-45 minutes. Let cool, slice, and serve. I froze them overnight before I sliced them to make the slicing process easier.

Coconut Pecan Banana Bread

    My boyfriend is the greatest. My laptop has been broken for almost two weeks now. I think it took him like 10 minutes to take it apart, fix it, and put it back together. Hallelujah! I hope everyone had a great New Year's. Mine was pretty uneventful. I worked a lot at Carrabba's over the break. I found it hard to make everything I wanted to for the holidays this year, working two jobs takes a lot out of me. I did a lot of much needed resting. That being said, I had some left over pecans that I hadn't used and thought I would try this almost coffee cake like recipe. With some scrambled eggs and bacon, it was perfect for breakfast Saturday morning with my hunnie.

Coconut Pecan Banana Bread

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup of vanilla greek yogurt

- 1 egg

- 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted

coconut oil

- 1 and 1/3 cup of flour

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- dash of salt

- 1/2 cup of chopped pecans

- 3/4 cup of shredded coconut

For the topping:

- 3 tablespoons of flour 

- 3 tablespoons of brown sugar

- 2 tablespoons of butter, softened

- 3 tablespoons coconut

- 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat together the yogurt, egg, bananas, and oil. Once combined, add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, pecans, and coconut. Use a spoon to stir together until just combined and do not over mix. Pour into a greased 9x5 loaf pan. Next, combine all of the ingredients for the topping until it is crumbly and then sprinkle over the top. Bake for about an hour or until golden brown. I love it served warm with a little butter.

Enjoying my new French press.