Pina Colada Cupcakes

Yes, I went a little cupcake crazy! You see, I was in the mood to bake. But I didn't plan on baking this much!  My first batch was Strawberry Cream Cheese. (In the middle below).  I was at the grocery store and decided to buy my frosting. (Yeah, I know it's lazy...).  I came home, made the cupcakes, went to frost them.... and discovered I had bought LEMON frosting instead of vanilla!  So, I ended up making my own frosting anyway.  Then, what to do with this lemon frosting? Well, make lemon cupcakes of course! (pictured on the right). Then, I was thinking how good a Pina Colada cupcake would be. But, since I had already done 2 batches of cupcakes, I would wait.  Just then, my 5 yr old daughter came in and asked if we could make pineapple cupcakes! Seriously! I think she's a mind reader!  So, yep. Pina Cupcakes were made too! (On the left)

Many, many cupcakes went to work to be shared with coworkers. My personal favorite was the Pina Colada, but the majority liked the Lemon. Let me know what your favorite would be!

Pina Colada Cupcakes

The Double Dipped Life

makes 24 cupcakes 

1 box yellow cake mix

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup water

1 8 oz can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

3 eggs

1 teas coconut extract  (found by the vanilla extract in the store)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 lb butter, softened

1 teas vanilla

2 teas coconut extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Sweetened, shredded coconut

Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy.  Add vanilla and coconut extracts.  Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. I use all 4 cups.

Heat oven to 375.  Place paper baking cups in each regular-sized muffin cups.In large bowl, beat cake mix, oil, water, pineapple, and eggs with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. 

Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to cool on a cooling rack.  Cool completely before frosting. 

Spread frosting on cupcakes. Dip each cupcake into sweetened shredded coconut.  Store loosely covered at room temperature. 

Enjoy!

Lemon Cupcake recipe coming later this week! 

 

White Chicken and Veggie Lasagna

Well, I've given up and joined Pinterest. And found yet another source of great recipes! Now I'm really never going to get through my "new recipe" file! 

I love lasagna. Mainly the traditional red beef lasagna, like my family favorite.  When I saw this White Chicken and Veggie Lasagna on Pinterest though, I knew I wanted to try it. 

I added a few veggies to the original recipe, and feel free to add more.  I cut down the amount of cream cheese, since it was just too rich and creamy for me. The original recipe called for 2 bricks of cream cheese and 1 cup of milk. If you like extra creamy, go for it!

Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

Adapted from Taste of Home.com


2 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts
1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 cups spinach, finely chopped
½ Red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes, drained. Chop into smaller pieces

1 8oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teas Pepper
1/4 cup tightly packed fresh basil, chopped, divided

12 lasagna noodles, cooked

Heat oven to 350°F.
Start cooking your lasagna noodles according to the package directions.

Combine chicken, artichokes, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, red bell pepper, and tomatoes. 

In another bowl, beat cream cheese, milk, pepper, and garlic with mixer until well blended (it will still be a little lumpy, especially if your cream cheese is cold). Stir in 2 Tb basil. Mix half the cream cheese mixture with the chicken.

Spread half the remaining cream cheese mixture onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with 3 noodles and 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Repeat layers of noodles and chicken mixture twice. Top with remaining noodles, cream cheese mixture and mozzarella; cover with foil.

Bake 25 min. or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining basil. Let stand 5 min. before cutting to serve.

Enjoy!

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

It seems like everything is going "mini" lately.  Mini pies, mini cakes, mini sandwiches, mini, mini, mini!  I saw these mini Pineapple Upside Down cakes on Manu's menu and knew I had to try them. They are perfect for a party, and for treats for friends!  They are easy to make, and so very good.

Mini Pineapple Upside Down cakes

Manusmenu.com

Ingredients (makes 10 tea cakes):

3 Tb butter, melted  
12 Tb brown sugar
1 can of crushed pineapple (less than 8 oz)
Candied cherries – as garnish (I only had maraschino, so I added those on top after baking.)

1 egg
1/4 cup yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
3 Tb butter, melted
Dash of vanilla
1/2 cup flour
6 Tb Sugar
1/2 teas baking powder
1/8 teas baking soda
Confectioners’ sugar and blueberries – optional as garnish

Brush the muffin pan with the melted butter and sprinkle the brown sugar in the bottom of each cup.

Add a Tb of crushed pineapple (and a candied cherry in the middle). Whisk the egg, yogurt, melted butter and a dash of vanilla in a bowl. Stir in the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and a pinch of salt. Whisk well. Divide the mixture into each of the cups.

Bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 350°F/180°C. When ready, let cool. Then carefully unmold the tea cakes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Blueberries or cherries are great on top!



Enjoy!