Rigatoni in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ever try one of those dinners that are great the first time around....and the second? third?? This delicious pasta dish made three rounds in my house (after serving some time in our freezer) and you know what? It was just as tasty as the first day we ate it. My poor husband always has to hear me go on and on about how wonderful it is that I can put a dinner that tastes amazing in front of us that only took some thawing time in the fridge and a quick zap in the microwave and not have to spend the time in the kitchen to prepare it.

This rigatoni is simple but don't let that fool you! It is not lacking in flavor, or texture. It has diced up pepperoni (which as a bonus for me, I happened to already have some leftover in the fridge, which if you don't, well then you have an excuse to make some homemade pizza the next night!) in the sauce which adds the perfect amount of saltiness that there is no need to add any. Another bonus? the basil--yum!! .....hey, top any leftovers of that on that pizza too ;) Enough from me, here is the recipe!

Rigatoni in Creamy Tomato Sauce
(recipe found on allyou.com)

2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 oz finely diced pepperoni
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C dry white wine
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 C heavy cream
16 oz rigatoni
1/4 C finely chopped fresh basil

In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add pepperoni and onion, cook until onion is soft, stirring occasionally about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, saute about 1 min more.

Add wine and cook until almost evaporated, stirring frequently 2-3 min. Stir in tomatoes and sugar bringing to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15-20 min. Stir in heavy cream.

Meanwhile, cook rigatoni noodles as package directs. Drain and add noodles to the sauce, toss to coat. Fold in basil, serve immediately, you won't want to wait!

BBQ Turkey Burgers w/ Mushrooms

How was everyone's Christmas? Mine was great! It was our first holiday spent away from family in our hometown but we managed to keep with our traditions. I'm sad to see the excitement of the Christmas season go...the decorations, music, and all the magic the holiday brings. I am excited however, for a new year to begin and all the great new adventures that await!

Since the holidays, I have neglected my blog for a few days and was not able to get any posts out there....so this fabulous burger will make up for that! Now, I have never met a burger I didn't like, but this one is certainly up there on my top 10.

This burger is very moist, full of flavor, and a little messy. You will be ok as long as you don't set it down between bites...but c'mon, you won't want to set this one down!  ;)

BBQ Turkey Burgers w/ Mushrooms
serves 4

1 lb ground turkey
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg white
3/4 C diced onion
1/4 C water
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 C bbq sauce, divided (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
4 slices sliced provolone
1 tomato, sliced
4 cheese-topped rolls, split

  Combine turkey, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, pepper, egg white and onions in a large bowl. Form into four patties.

Add 1 tbsp oil to large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add turkey burgers to pan, lower heat to medium. Brush tops of burgers with 1/8 C BBQ Sauce. Cook 4 min. Flip burgers, brush over with 1/8 C BBQ sauce. Cooking an additional 4 min.

To the skillet, add 1/4 C water and quickly cover with a lid, leaving a small open gap to allow some steam to escape. Reduce heat to low, cook another 4 min. Top with burgers with cheese slices; cover, cook 1 more minute until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in small saute pan, add remaining 1 TBSP olive oil. Heat over med heat. Add mushrooms, cook until tender, stir in  1/4 C remaining BBQ sauce. Heat through, set aside.

To assemble: Place burger over bottom half of bun. Top with tomato slices and mushrooms. Cover with top bun.

Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

I love cupcakes! I adore everything about them. They are not only a favorite dessert of mine, but I also choose to decorate my kitchen with them ;)  You know of another love of mine?? CHOCOLATE! Yes, you can never go wrong with a good chocolate cupcake...or one with a smooth buttercream to finish it off! Of course a cupcake can still be fabulous with out the frosting...but then come on, we might as well just call it a muffin! These cupcakes will leave you satisfied. They are easy to make and super moist! I hope you will enjoy them as much as I do!


15.25oz pkg Devils Food Cake Mix, such as Betty Crocker Super Moist
5.9oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 C canola oil
1/2 C warm water
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C sour cream

Preheat oven to 350º. Line muffin tins with 24 muffin cups, or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together cake mix and pudding mix, set aside.

In medium bowl, with an electric mixer on low speed, mix together water, oil, and eggs until blended. Pour into cake mixture and add sour cream, mix on medium until just combined, scraping down sides with spatula as necessary.

Using an ice cream scoop, evenly divide batter among cups. Bake for 19-20 minutes until cakes spring back when touched lightly. Allow to cool in pan 10 min before moving cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, prepare your frosting:

2 C butter, softened
7 C confectioners' sugar
2 tsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter, sugar, and salt until blended. Add milk and vanilla, beat until desired consistency ( about 5 min). Add in food coloring of choice (opt.) Frost cupcakes. (frosting is for 24 cupcakes)

Chocolate Coated Marshmallow Red Velvet Cookies

These scrumptious soft & gooey little cookies conclude my holiday baking (which in my opinion, went out with a bang!) These cookies are amazingly addictive, I promise you will want more then just one. I found this in Miss Katrina's Holiday event, I'll Bring the Cookies, by i am baker. 

They start with a melt-in-your-mouth red velvet sugar cookie, topped with a fluffy marshmallow and finally covered in vanilla-flavored candy coating and topped with sprinkles.

 I would say, this recipe is fairly easy, but make sure you either break up the process, or make sure to dedicate your day to these little charms. The only trouble I would say I came across, was finding the perfect size round cookie cutter. I first used slightly too large of a cutter, and then half-way I (thankfully) was able find one of my sons Play-doh cutters that was the perfect size, ever so slightly larger then the width of the marshmallow. Using the proper size cutter was key to having the candy coating easily spread over the cookies to allow excess fall through the wire racks. On to the recipe!

1-½ C unsalted butter 
2 C sugar
3 eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp gel food coloring
4 C all-purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
 regular sized marshmallows (1-2 bags depending on if you plan to make all these cookies with the dough, or use the remaining dough for another use.) 
Wilton Candy Discs in red, white, and green)
vegetable shortening (as needed)
sprinkles

 In a large bowl, beat butter & sugar until well combined, about 2 min.

Add eggs, mix until combined. Add the extracts and food coloring, mix thoroughly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.

About a cup at a time, add the flour to the butter mixture. Using your mixer (or your hands if easier), mix until just combined.

Cover dough in Saran wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. While dough chills, prepare your marshmallows, by cutting each in half. Set marshmallows aside.

Preheat oven to 350º, roll dough out onto floured surface, cut into 2" circles. Place onto cookie sheet, bake 5 min. Remove from oven, place a marshmallow half over top of each cookie. Bake an additional 2 min. Allow to rest on cookie sheet about 2 min, then transfer to a wire rack. Repeat process until desired amount of cookies are baked.

Once cooled, melt a package of candy coating as directed on package (I like to use my glass Pyrex measuring cup) You want a thin consistency, so add a tsp or two of vegetable shortening to help achieve that. Separate cookies into three different piles (if planning to use all three colors). Put cookies on wire rack sitting on top of a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Pour the candy coating over the cookies, and with a spatula, spread the candy coating around to cover the cookies. The extra candy coating should drip through the rack onto the paper. Finally, top with desired sprinkles. Allow to harden either on the counter or in the fridge. Repeat this step for the other two colors if desired.

Chocolate & Candy Cane Topped Rice Krispie Treats

This year, my holiday baking has consisted of trying to find new "keepers" for holidays to come. Every year, we have had the same rotation of holiday treats that have just been what I grew up with. Well, now that my little family of three has moved to a new place (state), it's time we find new holiday treats and traditions of our own. 

These very easy rice krispie treats were inspired by The Sweet Life: White Chocolate Covered Peppermint Rice Krispie Treat recipe. I set out to make these, but I swapped the white chocolate for semi-sweet since I am already making two other goodies that have white chocolate and I want to switch things up a little ;)

First I made the Rice Krispie treats, using The Joy of Baking's recipe (below). Next, instead of putting the rice krispies in a pan, I pressed them into twenty-four cup mini muffin tins (You will have some leftover). Once they have set, I removed them from tins, placed upside down on a wire rack set over a pan. I just used a spoon to add Baker's Dipping Chocolate over the tops and a light sprinkling of crushed candy canes. Allowed them to cool in the fridge about 15 min. 

Whats great about this recipe? There are so many different ways to make them. White chocolate/dark, different flavored candy canes, any other candy you have available etc...

The Joy of Baking, Rice Krispie Treats (ingredients)

6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/8 tsp salt

10 oz pkg mini marshmallows

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 

Directions

• Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Pour Rice Krispie cereal in bowl.
• Spray a medium sized saucepan with cooking spray, add butter and salt, melt over med-low heat.
• Add vanilla and marshmallows. Stir until melted. Remove from heat, pour marshmallow mixture over cereal, stir until combined. Spray a spoon with cooking spray, put globs of rice krispie mixture into muffin tins, press tops with bottom of spoon. Allow to sit about an hour before removing from tins and adding your topping.

White Chocolate Cherry-Pistachio Fudge w/ Marshmallows

We all have our usual Christmas cookies and other goodies that we make each year. The typical selection for me, has always been rolled-out sugar cookies with a sweet buttercream icing, always made with the same cookie cutter shapes  (stocking, bell, tree, star), Russian tea cakes, and on occasion fudge....always with semi-sweet chocolate, and always very rich! Although I  look forward to these treats every year, I am always looking for some new ones to add to the holiday spread. 

Tonight, I decided to make some fudge. It is made with white chocolate (for years, I have stayed away from white chocolate because I knew it wasn't real chocolate...I can be stubborn that way). Well like other food issues I have recently gotten over, I finally gave in to this confection.

This recipe I adapted from McCormick's Pistachio Fudge (found on recipegoldmine.com). I'll admit, I had every intention to just make the recipe as-is, but then I started thinking about how I had maraschino cherries in the fridge (with no intention to use them) and some adorable Christmas-themed marshmallows. Can't go wrong with all that right? 

 White Chocolate Cherry-Pistachio Fudge w/ Marshmallow
8oz cream cheese, softened
3 C powdered sugar 
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
16oz white chocolate chips
Wilton "Leaf Green"  Gel Food Coloring
Wilton "Christmas Red" Gel Food Coloring
1/2 C chopped roasted & salted pistachios
1/2 C quartered maraschino cherries (drained well)
1/2 C marshmallows ( I used red and green Christmas trees/stars marshmallows, cut them in half. Or you can just use mini size)


Line an 8x8" baking dish with foil. Foil extending over sides of pan. Spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. One cup at a time, add the powdered sugar--mixing well with each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.

Over a double-boiler, melt the white chocolate until smooth. Pour into cream cheese mixture, blend thoroughly. Divide mixture into 2 bowls. Add desired amount of green food coloring into one bowl, red into the other (I used only a tiny bit. Dipped a toothpick into the colors and spread it over the mixture, if you prefer a bolder color, repeat until desired shade). After the colors are mixed in, fold in the pistachios into the green mixture, cherries into the red.

Pour the pistachio layer on the bottom, spread evenly over pan. Pour the cherry mixture over top. Or if you wish, swirl the two colors with knife. Finally, sprinkle marshmallows over top, pressing them lightly into the fudge. Cover with saran wrap and allow them to sit in the fridge at least one hour before cutting.

How to Avoid Creases in Cupcake Liners

Ok so I'm sure most of us have encountered this problem. You have plans to make adorable cupcakes. Everything with the recipe worked out great, and you just bought some super cute liners to go with your adorable cupcakes. Then you start to put the batter in, and the liners crease. Bad enough to make your cups look like Pac-Man's evil brother... Fret no more, I did a little research (since I just had this problem.)

^ Before and After ^

First of all, if you keep your liners in a plastic cup, rather than the bag they came in, they will keep up their shape. I have not tried that myself, but I plan to test it out. Another solution though, which was my only one at the time since I was already in the process of using the liners, is to just do a little snip with your scissors on each liner which will allow the liners to open to the correct size you need. The cut you made will kind of have the liner overlap where it wants to crease. See? Voila! Now your cupcakes will come out nicely too!