Mango and Black Bean Quinoa

I like the flavor combinations in this little salad. Sometimes mango in conjunction with more savory things like black beans and red peppers is just so tasty.

*Note on Quinoa:
The first time I made this I used 2 cups of uncooked quinoa, which was way too much.  Clearly, I didn't read the directions carefully. Cook about 3/4 cup and you should have just enough for your 2 cups of cooked quinoa.

MANGO and BLACK BEAN QUINOA

• 2 cups cooked quinoa, cooked in vegetable or chicken broth, at room temperature or chilled
• 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium mango, peeled and diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 4 green onions, white and green parts thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl.  Add mango, red pepper, green onions, black beans, and cilantro.  

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, olive oil, and lime juice.  Whisk until smooth.  

Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine.  

Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Chill for at least one hour before serving. 

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe 

Strawberry Cupcakes

While strawberry would never be my first choice of cake flavor, I've been asked a couple times in the last year to make strawberry cupcakes for kids' birthdays.  So, instead of looking each time for a recipe, I thought it best to document it here for my own future reference and for anyone out there who loves strawberry cupcakes!

I made these for one of my favorite little people, Maddie,who turned three a while back and requested strawberry cupcakes. (I think she was actually more set on pink than strawberry.) This was the result and they were quite tasty.  I particularly enjoyed the fresh strawberry in the cupcakes.

Here's me with the birthday girl, all decked out in our princess gear.  

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKES

• 1 2/3 cup cake flour **(see note #1 below)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup fresh strawberry puree
• 1/4 cup buttermilk **(see note #2 below)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• red food coloring (optional)
• 3/4 cup small diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Sift cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk to combine.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter and sugar until slightly fluffy.  

Mix in egg and egg whites one at a time.  

In liquid measuring cup containing buttermilk, add strawberry puree and vanilla extract and whisk together.   

Working in three separate batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, add 1/3 of the flour mixture alternating with half of the buttermilk mixture and mixing just until combined after each addition.  

Fold in diced strawberries. 

Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.  

Bake for 20-23 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.  

Allow to cool several minutes in muffin tin and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Frost with your desired frosting.  I would use this cream cheese buttercream or this whipped frosting.  

NOTE #1 ON CAKE FLOUR:

Cake flour is hard to find where I live, but luckily it is very easy to make.  Here are the very simple instructions. Make as much or as little as you need!

1. For every 1 cup of flour, remove 2 tablespoons of flour.  

2. Add 2 tablespoons of corn starch to replace the flour removed.  

3. Sift 5-6 times and it's ready to use!  

NOTE #2 ON BUTTERMILK:

I never have buttermilk on hand, I just make it.  Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup.  Then add enough milk to reach 1/4 cup.  Let rest for 3 minutes.  

Source: Cooking Classy and Food.com 

Easter Macaroons

I've made macaroons a few times before, but have often been frustrated with how they tend to ooze and spread out when baking.  I think this must have something to do with the step where you fold in the egg whites.  The great thing about this recipe is that you don't fold in egg whites and they have nowhere to ooze since they are baked in mini muffin tins. They are super easy and perfectly festive for the Easter season.

Happy Easter!

COCONUT MACAROONS

• 3/4 cup (5 large) egg whites
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 10 ounces sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• Cadbury Mini Eggs
• chocolate (optional)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

In a heavy saucepan combine egg whites, sugar, and shredded coconut.  

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until all the ingredients combine, about 12 minutes. This mixture should be sticky and moist, not dry.  

Remove from heat and stir in almond and vanilla extracts.  

Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes.  

Spray nonstick mini muffin tins with cooking spray.  

Drop heaping tablespoons into each tin, lightly pressing mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the tin to make the nests. A small measuring spoons works well.   

Bake 22-25 minutes, or until golden.  

Let cool 10 minutes, then carefully remove from muffin tins and allow to completely cool on a wire rack.  

Optional: I added a dollop of melted chocolate to each nest before topping with the eggs.  

Makes 24-36, depending on the size of your mini muffin tins.  

Source: Skinny Taste


I packaged these up  and took them to my Easter brunch with me this morning:

Cream Cheese Buttercream

I made a pumpkin cake (using this recipe) with this cream cheese buttercream for my teammate's birthday a few weeks back.

It was almost a disaster.

I had planned on making a simple powdered sugar cream cheese frosting, but as I've said before, the powdered sugar here is just terrible.  I should have known better.  The frosting was way too sweet to use on a whole cake and gritty and blah. I used a little of it for the middle filling, but then moved on to something else.

I found a recipe online for cream cheese buttercream, but got impatient and didn't let the cooked mixture cool enough.  Attempt #2, fail.

After reading some comments online and finding another recipe, I attempted this THIRD frosting.  Talk about wasted butter. Ugh. Well, after working my way through the recipe, I thought this one was going to be pretty ho-hum.  The texture was weird, but it tasted fine and seemed firm enough to hold up on a cake.  I actually spread it on the cake and resigned myself to an end product that wasn't pretty, but would taste okay.  It would just have to do.  While I was frosting the cake I left the leftover buttercream running in the stand mixture.  I was curious to see if it would get any better, texture-wise. And, LO AND BEHOLD, it finally came together!! Hallelujah.  I was so relieved that I actually removed the buttercream from the cake, re-whipped it until it smoothed out and frosted the cake over again. In the end, it turned out lovely and delicious.

And, it is really good and less time-intensive than most buttercreams I've tried.  The cream cheese flavor is subtle and the texture gloriously smooth.

So, the moral of the story is this: when making buttercream, do not give up.  Keep beating it.  It will come around. Eventually.

CREAM CHEESE BUTTERCREAM

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 22 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, cut into small pieces

In a double boiler, whisk together egg whites and sugar.  Heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is warm (about 140 F), whisking frequently (about 3-5 minutes).


Transfer the egg white/sugar mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.


Add the salt and beat on high speed until the mixture is thick and glossy (about 5-7 minutes).


Beat in the extract.


Then gradually add the butter and cream cheese piece by piece while beating; stop beating when the buttercream is thick and smooth.


NOTES: 
This is the part where you might need to persevere.  Follow these tips and you should be successful:

• Scrape the bowl down frequently. 
• Let each piece of butter or cream cheese incorporate fully before adding more.  
• Let the buttercream beat for a long time.  If it looks grainy or too wet, keep going.  
• If it is still not coming together, put the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 minutes and then continue beating it. 

Seriously, I thought my buttercream was a goner, but it just needed more time. When it is finished it will be smooth, glossy, and fluffy.

Source: An Edible Mosaic

Hummus

I currently live in the land of hummus. It's a pretty regular part of the diet in these parts so I haven't really felt a need to make my own, especially since I've tried to make it in the past unsuccessfully.  However, I was at book club a while back at my friend Kelly's house and she served this delicious homemade hummus.  I couldn't get enough.  I raved about it so much that she brought me the leftovers.  The texture is fantastic and it has a nice balance of lemon and garlic.  You can play with the ingredients to get the texture and flavor you like.

HUMMUS

• 2 cans (15 ounces) chickpeas
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup tahini, stirred well
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Place chickpeas, garlic, and Kosher salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for a minute or so.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  

Add the lemon juice, water, and tahini while the food processor is running.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.  

Add the olive oil with the food processor running and process until the hummus is a desired consistency.

Source: Alton Brown and Brad Van

Parmesan Chicken

This is a simple meal that makes me feel a little fancy.  I like that the chicken is pounded thin and always prefer to use arugula as the greens.  Be sure to use seasoned bread crumbs to avoid bland chicken.  

PARMESAN CHICKEN

• 4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/4 cups seasoned dry bread crumbs 
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• butter
• olive oil
• arugula (or other salad greens)

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Pound chicken breasts (between two sheets of parchment paper) until they are 1/4-inch thick.  Use either a meat mallet or rolling pin.  

Combine flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate.  

On a second plate, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon water.  

On third plate, combine bread crumbs and 1/2 cup grated Parmesan.    

Coat chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and dredge both sides in the bread-crumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan.  

Cook 2 or 3 chicken breasts on medium low heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, until cooked through.  

Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts. 

To make lemon vinaigrette, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.  

Toss arugula with lemon vinaigrette.  

Place a mound of greens on each hot chicken breast. 

Top with additional Parmesan.  

Source: Ina Garten 

Peanut Butter Brownies

Oh, how I love chocolate and peanut butter together.  This recipe reminds me a lot of the chocolate peanut butter bars posted here, but I like them even a little more because the base is a brownie and doesn't require a boxed mix.

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIES

Brownies:

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs 

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-2 tablespoons milk or whipping cream 
• pinch of salt 

Glaze:

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 

BROWNIES:

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  

Prepare a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper.  Leave a few inches hanging over the side so the brownies can easily be lifted out after baking.  Spray parchment with non-stick spray.  

In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour and salt.  Set aside.  

Melt butter and chocolate in a saucepan on low-medium heat.  Stir until smooth.  

Set chocolate aside to cool for 8-10 minutes.   

Whisk sugar and vanilla into chocolate.  

Add one egg at a time to chocolate mixture, mixing well after each addition.  

Fold in flour mixture until just combined.  

Pour batter into prepared baking dish and spread evenly.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean with some moist crumbs attached.  

Allow brownies to cool completely (1-2 hours) before frosting.  

PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:

Beat butter and peanut butter with the paddle attachment on a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer).  

Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.  Beat well after each addition.  

Add vanilla, 1 tablespoon of milk (or cream), and salt.  

Beat on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes.  

Add more milk or cream if it is too thick.  

Spread frosting evenly over cooled brownies.    

GLAZE:

Melt chocolate and peanut butter together in a saucepan on medium-low heat.  Stir continuously until smooth.  

Allow mixture to cool for several minutes.  

Pour glaze over frosting and smooth evenly.  

Chill brownies in the fridge for several hours before cutting.  

Source: The Blond Buckeye