Moist and Tender Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Sprinkles, eat your heart out! 

No longer will I pay that ridiculous price of $3.75 for a single cupcake when it costs me the same amount to make 24 cupcake!

I love chocolate anything but its hard to find the right balance of chocolate desserts without it being overly sweet or dry. This recipe I found on food gawker(per bestie Jenny's recommendation) struck the elusive balance of chocolate and sweetness without bombarding your tongue with a thick coat of chocolate flavor and the need for a side of insulin to lower that outrageous blood sugar levels. 

Make it and weep. 

I guarantee you'll be licking the crumbs off the cupcake foil! 

Without further adieu 

Ingredients: 

Recipe makes about 24 cupcakes ( using 1/4 cup scoop for each cupcake)

2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweeten cocoa from trader joes
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk ( i used 2 %)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (i used melted unsalted butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Frosting:

1 cup peanut butter ( store kind: don't use all natural because the oils will separate)

1/2 cup heavy cream ( I used 4 Tablespoon of heavy cream)

1/3 cup powder sugar( I used less than this. I would sift in a little and taste. I added to my personal preference)

7 oz of softened/room temperature  cream cheese 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with liners.
Stir together sifted sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, butter,and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes.
Stir in boiling water while mixing(batter will be very thin).
Pour batter into cupcake liners.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frosting

Mix peanut butter, cream cheese and powder sugar in a bowl until combined. You can do it the traditional way by whipping the heavy cream separately to medium stiff peaks and then fold into the peanut butter cream cheese mixture. I did it the easy/lazy way where  I drizzled in enough heavy cream to get it to a manageable and smooth consistency that I desired. Frost and enjoy! 

Refrigerate uneaten cupcakes.  

Apple Tarte Tatin

Tarte Tatin is pretty much an upside down caramel apple pie. It is French, easy to make and utterly delicious. All you need is four ingredients and a oven proof pan. Unfortunately, this is not the best dessert to make if you're on a diet because it consists mostly of sugar and butter. You only live once so, cie la vie! 

Ingredients:

5 granny smith apples sliced into wedges

1 stick of unsalted butter room temperature

1/2 cup of white granulated sugar

1 roll pie dough

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F

Spread the butter thickly on the bottom of the pan and edge and sprinkle the sugar evenly over the butter.

Arrange the apples in a spiral and even layer.

Heat on moderate high heat for 15-20 mins ( 7 on my stove) until its a golden brown color. ( It took 14 mins for me) Make sure you watch it!

When its golden brown, place in oven for 17 mins so apples can set and cook.

After 17 mins, take pan out and put pie crust over the apples. 

Tuck the edges into the apples so it creates a dome over the apples.

Put back into the oven and cook for 22 mins. 

Take it out when the caramel is about this rich brown color. 

Be careful when you flip this over. Make sure you use a plate with a lip so the juices don't flow off the dish. also put a dish towel over your arm so you don't get hot juice on your arm and get second degree burns. 

Voila!

Serve with Creme Fraiche and it'll balance out the sweetness! 

Tabouli Salad = Delicious and Easy

If you're feeling lazy and want and easy, quick, and healthy meal, you need to make this. The only downside to all of this is the chopping which doesn't take much work if you ask me. Before you write off this recipe, think about how much time you're saving when you make a big batch of this on Sunday Night! The only time you spend during the week is scooping tabouli into bentos for lunch! This whole meal can come together in very little time and is delicious cold or at room temperature.

The beauty of this salad is you can put in whatever you want. Also, did I mention cheap? Find fresh produce at 99 Ranch Market(Asian market) or Wholesome Choice (Persian market) for roughly 0.50-0.80 cents per pound! Total steal!

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgar (cooked to directions on box and then cooled. I cooked it in chicken stock with 2 smashed cloves of garlic)

2 cup chicken broth

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 large yellow bell pepper cut into bite size pieces

1/2 lb or baby heirloom tomatoes (purchased this from TJ) 

1 can of whole corn kennels ( TJ)

1/4 red onion finely sliced or diced

5 whole Persian cucumbers, sliced to bite size pieces

1 medium avocado, diced

1/2 cup or more of Feta Cheese Crumbles

1/2 cup of roughly chopped or torn basil
1/2 a lemon, squeeze juice on chopped avocados

3-6 tablespoons of Trader Joe's Romano Caesar Dressing. 

Directions:

Cook Bulgar and cool, Cut veggies, Combine in Bowl, Toss, and Eat.

Questions?

Put chicken broth and garlic on stop to boil in a sauce pan, toast bulgar on low heat in a separate pan and then slowly pour into the boiling broth. Give it a stir before you cover and bring broth back to a boil. When the broth begins to boil, turn off heat and let it sit with the lid on. 20 mins or so give or take. Basically until all the broth is absorbed. 

getting nice and toasty

chicken broth boiling with two garlic heads

cooked now cooling.

Place Cut veggies in a bowl! 

missing avocado, cucumber, basil, feta, and bulgar

You can use whatever dressing you prefer. I love this one particularly for the tang. 

So yummy in my tummy!

Enjoy eating! 

Purple Yam and Taro Tapioca Dessert

You know that dessert you get at Chinese restaurants at the end of the meal that is is like a dessert soup? Its always a nice surprise for me when they bring out the coconut milk one rather than the red or green bean ones.

Needless to say I was inspired by that dessert and had to recreate it. This dessert is super easy to make!

I forgot to take more pictures so the only one I have is of it cooking in the pot. 

Ingredients:

3 cans coconut milk

3 tablespoon condensed milk (depending on how sweet you want it) 

2 cups of cubed purple yam

1 cup of cubed taro

1/4 cup of tapioca balls (small white ones)

1 tablespoon of chopped candied ginger (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Warm up coconut milk in pot and stir in condensed milk. Make sure you stir thoroughly and then taste the mixture before adding any additional spoonfuls of condensed milk. If you do happen to add too much, just add water to dilute it down. 

Once you have desired sweetness, Put the yam, taro, tapioca and ginger in and cook till the yam, taro and tapioca gets soft. This might take about 20-25 mins. 

Not a very appetizing photo but trust me, its delicious!

Serve either warm or cold. 

Put some warm water in when cooking if you find the soup too thick from the tapioca. 

Thats How I (Spring) Roll...

Brodards is the best spot to go if you're craving spring rolls aka crack rolls because you will get hooked. The secret to why their spring roll is so amazingly delicious is the contrast of textures. You have a perfectly seasoned meat patty of pork or shrimp with crispness from a fried spring onion and  additional crunch from vegetables.

The anatomy of a spring roll consists of a protein of some sort, usually pork or shrimp, lettuce, cucumber, carrot, daikon (asian white radish-mild in flavor), purple perilla, and whatever your imagination desires.

Spring rolls is all about the rolling technique. Bubba Sparxx said it best  in his song ms new booty, "get it tight, get it right"! Its all about getting the roll as tight as possible so when you cut or bite into it, it won't come apart.

Having a larger spring roll wrapper will help with first time blunders and make it easier to handle. Spring rolls are great for entertaining guests because all you do is prep the ingredients and have the guests make their own rolls according to their taste preferences.

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs of shrimp (depending on how many rolls you want to make)
1-2 bunches of leafy lettuce ( the more leaves and less stem the better. stems causes tears in wrapper when rolling)
2 bunches of cilantro
1 bunch of thai basil (couldn't find perilla)
1 cucumber julienned
1 carrot julienned
1 package of spring roll rice wrapper
soy ginger dressing to cook shrimp in (optional)

Directions:
I first peeled the shrimp and cooked them in the soy ginger dressing to give the shrimp more flavor

Then I sliced the shrimp in half and soaked it back in the cooking sauce for more flavor/saturation

Make sure you have all ingredients prepped and ready to go before rolling!
I julienned carrots and soaked them in a mixture of rice wine vinegar, sugar, and water to get some flavor/ soften the carrots a bit.

After letting it soak for a while I drained it and put it on a tray next to my cucumbers

Wash your veggies.

Organize your prep space so everything is within reach.

Don't bother with the foil. The rice paper sticks to it! such a pain!

Get a big bowl for dipping the rice paper in. Turn your facet to hot and fill bowl with hot water.
Do a quick dip of the paper just to wet it completely and hold the wrapper with two fingers to allow the water to drip off . The paper will become tacky in a few seconds. Lay the wrapper on the cutting board. You want to dip quickly because the longer you soak it in the water the more saturated it gets therefore making it mushy and unable to roll.

I layer the lettuce than the basil and cilantro. I place the shrimp down and the cucumber and carrot right on top of it.

slowly peel the bottom edge up and roll it tightly on the lettuce and slowly roll the entire roll like you would a jelly roll or newspaper. Tuck loose ends in like a burrito and finish the roll.

Easy and utterly delicious!

Eat as is or dip in whatever sauce you desire, sweet chili, hosin peanut, or soy ginger dressing.

Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese

As a fighter, I need to eat healthier foods in order to train at optimal capacity. However, eating boring/bland food is not in my repertoire. I still eat what I enjoy eating but I try to lighten things up. Olive oil instead of butter and skim milk instead of cream. I use veggie or whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta. I like to use veggie pasta in this dish because of the colors! They look so pretty sticking out from the neon cheese sauce. This recipe is so much better than the traditional mac n cheese because you don't get that heavy food coma feeling after eating it. I found this recipe on Tastykitchen.com and made my modifications. 

Here we go. I forgot to take step by step pictures but my directions are very clear and precise

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Package of Frozen Butternut Squash thawed ( freezer aisle at Ralphs) 

1/4 cup of Skim Milk but extra to thin out if sauce is too thick

5 oz of Cream cheese ( you can use light if you prefer) room temperature

1/2 a cheese block of extra sharp cheddar grated ( put in as much or little cheese as you like. I used about a little more than half because I like that cheesy flavor. Purchase cheese from Trader Joes, its a much better deal most of the time) 

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( I like the kick) 

1/4 teaspoon of paprika

pepper (if you'd like...i didn't add any)

Directions:

Put a pot of water to boil for the pasta. Once its at a boil salt the water and pour in the pasta. Give the pasta a stir and cook to directions on package. 

Set burner on medium and pour olive oil into another pan. 

When oil is warm, dump the flour into the pan and wish until the flour becomes a paste. 

Let this paste cook for a few seconds before you whisk in the milk. 

Once the milk and flour come together smoothly, put the thawed butternut squash puree in the the milk mixture and whisk until smooth.

Put the room temperature cream cheese into the butternut squash mixture and combine until there are no lumps.

Season with cayenne pepper, paprika and pepper (optional)

Once this is warmed  put in the grated cheddar cheese. (grated cheese melts more evenly)

Once pasta is done cooking, drain and pour pasta back into pot. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and stir.

This meal literally takes 12 mins! Serve with side of salad or meat if you're feeling carnivorous. 

Mmmm cheesy!

The sauce looks like the blue box mac n cheese but MUCH tastier!

The veggie noodles look so gorgeous!

This recipe makes enough cheese sauce for a pound of pasta! 

Lets EAT!

Put on your stretchy pants, its time to carb load! This also heats up really nicely. If you want to do it traditional casserole way. I recommend cooking the pasta for 5 mins and then mix sauce with the noodle. Pour into casserole dish and sprinkle a combined mixture of panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil or truffle oil on top and bake at 350 for 10-15 or until crust is brown .

Happy Eatings!