Recipe: Chocolate Banana Coffee Cupcakes...oh my!

OK...so I know it's the new year and all that and many people are probably doing that diet thing. But hey, we can all use a little chocolate in moderation, right?

These particular cupcakes happen to combine a few of my favorite things: chocolate + bananas + coffee +powdered sugar + honey almond cream cheese + more chocolate. Holy mess. These are beautiful.

I got most of this recipe from The Joy of Baking, but I did make some additions (coconut oil, instant coffee, and the frosting). Here's the version I did.

Chocolate Banana Coffee Cupcakes

• Ingredients
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 egg
• 1 banana mashed
• 3/4 tbsp. instant coffee
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 coconut oil
• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. Mix all dry ingredients in bowl, followed by wet ingredients. 

3. Pour batter into a muffin pan lined with 12 cupcake liners. Fill about 2/3 full. 

4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• Ingredients
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp. honey almond cream cheese

1. Mix all these ingredients together (preferably with a mixer but mine broke tonight so it worked without!)

2. Once cupcakes are cooled, ice with yummy frosting mix and eat! 

Hope you enjoy! And if you are dieting, it's fine if you just pin them for a reward when you aren't! 

—Holli Anne

Recipe: Zucchini Lasagna

My husband's been on the gluten-free diet for health reasons, so I've been trying to come up with some fun ways for him to not miss out on his favorite foods. That, plus my love for summer vegetables led me to make this zucchini lasagna last week. Holy moly! It's awesome!

Not only is this lasagna, which is awesome in itself, but it's so much more guilt-free when the noodles are replaced with vegetables. Squash is such a wonderful plant, am I right?!

Gluten free or not, this is the way I'm making lasagna from here on out.

I largely used this recipe from food.com and adapted the meat and spices a little and I have a feeling the recipe will evolve the next time I make it. Nonetheless, this is delicious, so here's how to make it.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 zucchini, sliced long like lasagna noodles
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1/2 medium white onion
• 2 small tomatoes
• 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
• 1-2 tbs. garlic
• 1 tbs. oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• 1/4 c. water 
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 c. ricotta cheese
• 1/2 c. mozzarella

Cooking instructions:

1. Boil zucchini noodles until tender, drain and set aside. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cook meat and onions until brown. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, seasonings and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook uncovered for around 10 minutes. 

3. In a separate bowl, beat egg and add ricotta cheese and half of mozzarella (shredded). 

4. In a baking dish, make one layer of meat, top with zucchini, add all of the cheese mixture, remaining meat and top with zucchini.

5. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and bake 10 more minutes.

This is great the first day but even better the second! My husband and I got three meals out of this dish. Good stuff!

—Holli Anne

Easy Recipe: Lemon Strawberry Puffs

I recently made a big, but important, food discovery: puff pastry. There are so many possibilities! 

For this particular possibility, I made these Lemon Strawberry Puffs. They are so simple and so satisfying, especially at a luncheon or hors d'oeuvres type party (which is what I used them for).

Anyway, here's all you need to know about this tasty lemon strawberry treat, though I'm sure you could substitute almost any flavor here if those don't match your cup of tea!

Ingredients:

• Puff Pastry
• Lemon Curd
• Strawberry Preserves
• Sugar
• Confectioners Sugar
• Margarine/Butter

I used a store bought puff pastry and simply laid out the sheets and cut into rectangles and squares. Then I put a sprinkle of sugar over them and baked for around 13-15 minutes.

Once they cooled, I opened the puff pastry in the middle and spread some with just lemon, some with just strawberry and some with both. I was really generous with these so there would be lots of flavor in them. Then I used melted margarine and just basted a tiny bit on the top and sprinkled confectioners sugar on them.

That's it! They were so tasty and such a simple alternative to a lemon square (though, I won't say they are a match for them because let's be real, they aren't!) 

If you are looking for a simple party food, this just might do the trick for you! For you food cookers out there, anyone made any awesome things using puff pastry?

—Holli Anne

Cinco de Mayo Inspired: Guacamole and Cream Cheese Dip

If there is one kind of food I love, it's Mexican food! I don't really need Cinco de Mayo to tell me to eat it, but hey, whatever excuse I can get.

This weekend, I have big plans for some chicken tacos and maybe some quesadillas, too, but I thought I'd go ahead and share some of my favorite dips (besides salsa, of course) in the spirit of the holiday.

Both are SUPER simple.

Cream Cheese Dip

I thought this one sounded crazy when my friend Emily first made it for us in college, but boy was I wrong. It's one of the easiest recipes ever, especially for the wow factor it receives at parties (More bang for your buck type thing).

Ingredients:

• 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
• 1 can Rotel diced chiles
• 1 can Mexicorn

To make: Just pour all ingredients in a pot on the stove, stir occasionally and eat once all the ingredients blend together and cheese melts! You can serve it hot or cold, eat with tortilla chips or use as a topping on tacos/nachos. You really can't go wrong here.

Guacamole

This recipe is a quick and simple version of guacamole. (Not that all of them aren't). Feel free to add more or less lime juice, jalapenos, cayenne pepper and garlic depending on your preferences!

Ingredients:

• 2 avacados
• 1/2 (ish) lime juice
• 1-2 diced jalapenos
• 3/4 can diced tomatoes and chiles
• 1 tsp. garlic
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

To make: Cut avocados, discard seed and scoop out insides into bowl. Mash with a fork. Mix in lime juice, jalapenos, canned tomatoes, garlic and cayenne pepper. Add more lime juice if you prefer. (My recipe doesn't have cilantro but only because I didn't have it). Serve as you wish!

Anyway, hope everyone has a nice Cinco de Mayo weekend! Will anyone be indulging in some Mexican food or fiestas to celebrate?

—Holli Anne

Recipe: Homemade Coffee Syrups

I may have mentioned a time or two that I LOVE coffee. If you don't know this about me, I'll go ahead and let you know I have a pretty healthy obsession. 

A few months ago, I made a Facebook status jokingly that said something like this: Maybe I should buy an expresso machine so I'm not tempted to go spend $4 at the coffee shop for the drinks I want. 

Well, an old friend from college was kind enough to just offer me her expresso machine…um yes!

So, I've been having a lot of fun experimenting with some fancy coffee drinks (when I perfect the proportions I'll blog about those, too). 

These homemade coffee syrups were the first step in taking me to my awesome mocha drinks, so I thought I'd share the recipes with you. Plus, they make pretty adorable gifts and Mother's Day is right around the corner.

Vanilla Coffee Syrup:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Peppermint Coffee Syrup:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-2 tsp. peppermint extract (depending on your taste preference)

To prepare:

Heat water and sugar on stove top until sugar dissolves. Make sure you stir constantly. Add in extract. Pour into a 1 pint mason jar (or dispenser). 

If you are giving this as a gift, I definitely recommend cutting out a little fabric to put on the lid of the jar! I definitely want to try some more flavors next, but I don't want my home to be too inundated with coffee syrup at once. Anyone have any other flavors they love? Perhaps I'll try them next!

—Holli Anne

Cajun Red Beans & Rice

Since my new last name and husband are Cajun (Melancon), I've decided it is pretty imperative I learn to make some Cajun dishes. Plus, they are super delicious and among my favorite things to eat. 

The thought of making roux (the thickening agent used in most authentic dishes) was really the only nerve racking thing about getting my hands into Cajun cooking, but red beans and rice seemed like a good place to start.

I've made this recipe about three or four times now, and it gets better everytime, so I think it's share-worthy! (Though, I'm sorry the pictures don't look that good..I'm no food stylist, but I'm not sure there's a way to make red beans and rice look pretty).

Anyway, here's this super easy, delicious recipe. It's not fancy, but it makes people happy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bag red kidney beans
• 1 lb Conecuh sausage
• Rice
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 3-5 sticks of celery
• Black pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning
• Louisiana hot sauce 
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl, soak beans overnight (or using a quick soak method). Drain water and rinse, then place in a crockpot with fresh water (covering a few inches over the beans) and let cook all day.

2. Cook sausage on stovetop until blackened. Chop into pieces and throw in crockpot. 

3. Finely chop garlic, onion, bell pepper and celery. Place garlic in crockpot with beans, and sauté onion, bell pepper and celery on stovetop until vegetables are very soft and cooked. Celery, onion and bell pepper and the "holy trinity" of Cajun cooking. 

4. Now the fun part: roux. To make your roux use a nice sturdy pan (preferably a cast iron). I used a 1:1 ratio of flour and oil, my ratio being a 1/2 cup, which worked well for this sized dish. First, on very low heat, melt the oil. Then add in the flour and stir constantly and slowly until the mixture is a copper color like a penny. You HAVE to be patient while making this, and you shouldn't turn up the heat. If any part of it blackens or burns, you have to start the whole thing over. The darker the roux gets, the thinner it gets. It's really up to you how dark you end up making it.

5. Once that is done, turn the heat off and stir in your "holy trinity" mixture to the roux. Then, pour it all into the crockpot, stir and watch as the magic happens and your mixture thickens. If it becomes too thick, feel free to add water, depending on how soupy you like it. 

The final step is to add your seasonings, which are honestly just "to taste." Since most of them are spicy, you should add according to what you (and your dinner guests) prefer. We even set out Tony's and hot sauce on the table when we eat this dish. The longer is simmers in the crockpot, the better, though you can technically eat right away.

Serve over rice and with a side of cornbread! 

—Holli Anne

Recipe: Nutella Coffee

I have a big confession to make: I tried Nutella for the first time just a week or so ago. Don't worry, though, I'm a big fan.

As I was googling Nutella recipes, I found out today is World Nutella Day...so clearly I need to blog about it.

I thought the most appropriate way to celebrate would be to incorporate Nutella whereever possible in my daily food, so this morning, I made up some Nutella coffee.

I love chocolate and coffee and mocha-type drinks, and I LOVE Nutella in my coffee.

I have one of those one-cup coffee makers so I took a heaping spoonful of nutella and put it in the cup and as the coffee poured onto it, it melted it. I used about this much Nutella...

Then I just stirred it to finish the melting and added a touch of hazelnut creamer to finish it off. Such a delicious dessert drink OR in my case, awesome way to wakeup.

Happy World Nutella Day! If you have any great Nutella recipes for us, link in the comments.

—Holli Anne

Recipe: The Casey (Alcoholic Drink)

Back in this post I talked about posting drink recipes that I find that I actually like. I'm not a big drinker but there are a few drinks that seem to rub me the right way.

Meet "The Casey." This drink is my absolute favorite drink! Made for me by a dear friend (named Casey!) a few years back and I'm still in love today.

What you need:

• Triple Sec
• Pama Pomegranate Liquer
• Cranberry Juice
• Ice

Now, I will say right off that Pama can be a little tricky to find and the most expensive part of the drink (around $24) but it lasts a long time and is fabulous!

How to make:

1. Put some ice in your drink!

2. Pour Triple Sec in first. It will be 1/3 of the drink.

3. Pour 1/3 Pama in next. It will also be 1/3 of the drink.

4. Fill the rest of the cup with cranberry juice!

5. Stir or shake!

6. Enjoy the fruity sweetness!

Simple, fast, amazing taste.

Give it a try!

-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)

Food Inspiration: FoodieCrush

I don't like to cook. I can bake and even sometimes can enjoy it, but for the most part I avoid tackling any dish that's too complicated. I feel like I should blame the fact that I grew up with men who loved cooking but that spark of interest has also never really been there for me.

However, I want to have about five kids. Always have. So before long I'm going to have to break down and start cooking more. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know how much I love Pinterest. (My profile right here.)  I have some standard boards and then some odd ones but I've never had a food-related board. 

Until now.

Today I was looking up grilled cheese recipes and found this one below.

This sparked my interest enough to hop over to the site. I'm so glad I did.

Foodie Crush is an amazing place for people who love to cook and people who, like me, need a little help in feeling that cooking spark. I browsed the entire site and felt so completely inspire that I finally made a food-related Pinterest board (see here). So far I have posted a few things that I will make!

(This actually excited me the most! It looks so yummy!)

Food & Images: Mexican Turkey Meatball Sandwich with Avocado Smash ; Beer Bratwurst & Onions; Chicken & Mushroom Stuffed Peppers; Avocado Cream & Chicken Suiza Enchiladas

So, if you like to cook or just LOVE TO EAT, check out FoodieCrush!

-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)

Dinner for two: Crazy Coffee Chicken

Coffee and chicken? Yes, you read that right! 

I should probably call this Carribean Coffee Chicken instead since it has lime in it, but I'm most excited about the coffee part, so I'm going to go ahead and stand by my decision. Did you know I'm OBSESSED with coffee? (Proof here).

This is probably my favorite chicken recipe I've ever made. It's got such rich and unique flavor to it!

My recipe is portioned for two, but obviously it could be multiplied or divided for larger or smaller sizes. You do the math because I surely despise math! 

So without further ado, here's how to make this goodness!

Ingredients:

• 1-2 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 tbsp. instant coffee grounds (It makes terrible coffee, but delicious chicken glaze!)
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• Garlic powder
• Basil
• Black Pepper

Glaze instructions:

1. In saucepan, heat brown sugar, butter, water, instant coffee, lime juice, ginger, cinnamon and cloves until sugar and coffee dissolve and all ingredients blend together. Stir occasionally.

2. Once all mixed together and warm, turn off heat and set aside.

Chicken instructions:

1. In separate pan, slowly heat chicken in oil (I used coconut oil). 

2. On each side of the chicken, spice with garlic powder, basil and black pepper. I just covered the chicken in each of the spices. Be generous.

3. Once chicken is cooked throughout, pour glaze on top.

4. Serve over rice and with side dishes of your choosing. 

5. Grab a fork and enjoy the heck out of this!

—Holli Anne

Recipe: Coffee Banana Bread!

There's something each of you need to know about me: I am obsessed with coffee!

This is secondary information, still important, but I'm also pretty into making breakfasty-desserty-type breads. This is the last one I made. 

But now onto the good stuff of today:  I made COFFEE banana bread. Oh. My. Goodness. 

It's so delicious and caffeinated and moist. Conclusion: Make this bread!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 over-ripe bananas
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 c. brewed coffee

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease your loaf pan then set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients in the order listed. Mixture should be slightly liquid-y.

3. Pour mixture in loaf pan and bake for around 60 minutes, or until done. Mine took around 70 minutes. 

4. Slice that junk and enjoy! 

—Holli Anne 

Get Your Drink On

I'm not a big drinker, I want that to be known up front. The alcohol you see in these pictures were left from a few parties and have turned into quite the collection. However, I will occasionally drink but when I do I am very picky so it makes it hard to really enjoy it. 

I know I'm probably not alone out there and that's why I wanted to make this post!

As we get older  we start defining our tastes in just about everything whether it be taste in clothes, music, food, or drinks. With so many kinds of alcohol out there, someone like me can get lost pretty easily on what drink I can call "mine." So, I am going to start doing drink recipe posts as I try to find a few drinks that make my taste buds and friends say "yum!"

I'm even going to post one of my all time favorite drinks in the hopes that someone out there will have one more drink they can make or take to a social event or just sit back and relax while drinking!

Plus, I kind of just love the way most bottles that alcohol come in look! I mean, look at how pretty that Kinky is!

So, in the comments leave your favorite drink and I will probably make it!

-Chick Tyler (aka Tyler Anne)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

So I know the holidays are over, and new years resolutions for healthier living are in full swing. The last thing you probably want to read about is MORE sweets.

But I kind of can't stop myself from blogging about this chocolate peanut butter pie I made for my Christmas wedding shower. See, my mom got a Kitchen Aid mixer…so I had to go ahead and take full advantage of it.

Anyway, whether you are avoiding sweets or not, you may want to know about this recipe. (Hey, it's not like you are NEVER going to eat pie again, right?!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie Recipe Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1c. flour
• 2 tbs. cocoa powder
• 2 tbs. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 stick (1/4 c.) butter
• 2 tbs. crisco
• 1egg yolk
• 2-3 tbs. ice water

Filling:

• 6 oz. cream cheese (room temperature)
• 3/4 c. confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
• 1 tbs. vanilla extract
• 2 c. heavy cream

Here's how to cook this goodness.

The crust:

The pie crust is really simple to make. Combine flour, cocoa, sugar and salt until well-blended. Then add butter and shortening, pulsing on and off until course crumbs form. (The recipe I followed said it takes 5 seconds, but it took me a few minutes to get this mixture). Add the yolk and water and pulse again until the dough forms into a ball.

Press the dough in a ball and flatten into a pie plate. After this, you may want to place it in the fridge or freezer, depending on when you are going to make the filling.

The filling:

Beat cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and salt until fluffy. Then beat in peanut butter and vanilla. Then beat 1/3 of the heavy cream into the peanut butter mixture until peaks start to form. Then fold in the remained. Spoon the filling in the crust and place the pie in the freezer for four hours or in the fridge overnight.

To decorate, you can melt chocolate and peanut butter and drizzle over the top. I used chocolate syrup on mine.

The results:

This pie was a big hit at the party. It's got similarities to peanut butter cheesecake because of the cream cheese used, but it's so much easier to make than a cheesecake. It also only takes about 30 minutes or so to make, including the crust.

I followed Martha Stewart's pie recipe, and she makes a graham cracker crust if that sounds better to you…you can find it here. 

—Holli Anne

Saturday Sunrise: Craisin Orange Bread (with chocolate!)

I absolutely love breakfast food, but one of the problems with this is I'm not the most functional morning person. (You saw my New Year's goal to change that right?!)

Weekends, though, now those are a different story. There's no rush to get busy working, so I can take my time with the breakfast preparation. I'm going to start sharing some of these yummy breakfast concoctions in this new Saturday Sunrise feature. (The sunrise came a little later than normal today...oops! I have to get better at figuring out how to schedule posts). 

Today's treat: Craisin Orange Bread (with Chocolate Chips!)

Ingredients you'll need:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 5 oz. package craisins
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 tablespoon cranberry juice
• Dash of cinnamon 

(Yields one 9x5 inch loaf)

How to make this goodness:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add craisins and chocolate chips and stir in the mixture. Add in all other ingredients until well-blended. If too soupy, add a tiny bit more flour. 

3. Cook in oven for 50-58 minutes. 

4. Slice, get some coffee or hot tea and have a very happy Saturday. 

—Holli Anne

Christmas Craze: Super Thick Hot Chocolate

With Holli from We, Vagabonds bringing in the last day of Christmas Craze, I can't help but be sad it's over! However, it's a great, yummy note to end on! Plus tomorrow we will recap all 12 days of Christmas Craze!

Until then enjoy Day 12 of Christmas Craze here with a nice mug of super thick hot chocolate!



Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11