Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

A few weekends ago, it was a cold, stay inside kind of day.  I was wishing it was a warm, play outside kind of day instead.  So since I obviously don't have the power to change the weather, I decided to make some cupcakes that made me think of the warm days of spring.

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes
followed this recipe from Annie-Eats with a few modifications


Quantity:
I got 10 cupcakes out of this recipe (The inspiration recipe got 16. Not sure how that happened).


What you need:
Cupcakes
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
Zest of 1/2 lemon
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice (I used lemon juice from a jar)
1/2 cup +2 tablespoons milk
1 cup frozen blueberries thawed


Icing
8oz cream cheese
5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used lemon juice from a jar)
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Additional thawed frozen blueberries for garnish

What you do:
Cupcakes
1. Combine 3/4 cup all purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt. Mix and set aside
2. In bowl of electric mixer, combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy- about 2-3 minutes
3. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.
4. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.
5. With mixer on low speed, mix in half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
6. Blend in the milk.
7. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, until just incorporated.
8. In a small bowl, toss blueberries with remaining tablespoons of all purpose flour.
9. Using a spatula, gently fold the berries into cake batter.
10. Divide batter evenly between cupcake liners in cupcake pan- 3/4 full.  Bake 20-22 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven- or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Icing
1. Combine cream cheese and butter in bowl of electric mixer
2. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth- about 2-3 minutes.
3. Mix in lemon juice and lemon zest.
4. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and beat until smooth.

The final product
Make sure you cool the cupcakes and icing both before you start applying icing.  I chose to use a knife instead of using a fancy icing tip.  This particular recipe seemed to make a lot of icing for the number of cupcakes I had so I was able to put on a super thick layer of icing.  I then topped with a single blueberry.

House Update: January 2012

February is more than half over and I have yet to share what got done on the House To-Do List in January.  So before it is time to post about things done in February, lets take a look at what was done in January.

Bed Skirt
Although I loved our new quilt, the bedding just wasn't complete until I added a bed skirt.  When West Elm was having a bedding sale, I knew that was the perfect time to purchase this linen cotton bedskirt in the flax colored fabric.  Now I feel everything is tied together really well.  Next is to get Euro pillows so I can use the decorative shams and do something about the fact that we do not have a headboard.

Dresser
I have been wanting a larger piece of furniture to store my clothing for three years.  I had been using the chest that my dad used when he was a child which was great, but it did not come close to holding all that I needed it to hold.  I had been looking at dressers for quite a while and when I finally was able to actually buy one, I couldn't seem to find one I liked.  In December, I found one at At Home that was perfect- the Shanti.

I asked about the Shanti and was informed that although they had the chest, they did not have the dresser in stock any longer.  They would not be getting anymore of that style in, but they would be getting a similar style- the Victoria- in mid-January.

So mid-January rolled around and I got a call that they did in fact get the Victoria furniture in.  I was looking for the dresser as well as the chest (for JP).  When I arrived at the store, I learned that they had the dresser in the dark wood but only had received the chest in a painted grey.  I was informed that I could get a dark wood chest, but would have to wait 6-9 months.

I knew that this was exactly what I wanted, so I decided to go ahead and get the dresser and wait the 6-9 months to get the chest.  Apparently the furniture is from India and they already have their next shipment ordered so my chest will have to be on the following shipment.

I am quite please with the dresser and can't wait to complete the look with the chest.

So that is it for January.  I did purchase some bedding for the guest bedroom, but have not put it on the bed yet- so it doesn't count for the month of January.

Fun Saturday

A few weekends ago, I got to spend some time with some college friends of mine.  The main activity of the day was chatting and catching up although we did manage to eat at Ashley Mac's (love their strawberry cake!) and La Paz.

Mr. Chef

JP's parents were in town one night this past weekend.  They offered to take us to eat, but since JP has been eating out daily due to his work schedule he decided he would rather cook instead.  I did the shopping but he did all the cooking so I'm not sure of the details plus - in true JP fashion- there is no recipe since he just made it up as he went.  So here we have crusted baked fish with an avocado cream sauce served on a bed of rice with asparagus.

King of the Hill

There are not many tv shows I can say I've seen every episode.  Like a large portion of my generation, shows like Full House and Saved by the Bell have a spot on the list.  Friends, Dawson's Creek and Home Improvement are also on my list.  In January, my list added one more show when watched the final episode of King of the Hill.

I can't remember the exact date when we started the first of the thirteen seasons on Netflix, but I think it was while JP was studying for the CPA exam.  JP was the one who started watching it.  I had my doubts.  I wasn't a big fan of cartoons and assumed it would be inappropriate like most adult cartoons are.  I mean for goodness sake, in every episode there are four men drinking beer in an alley.

I quickly learned though that compared to most tv shows these days, King of the Hill is clean.  Plus, like so many shows from my childhood, many episodes seemed to have a "lesson" that was learned at the end. 

We watched every episode together, and it gave us something to look forward to during some busy/overwhelming times or our life.  Pretty much every episode resulted in laughter.

Eventually we learned that a couple in our home group was also going through all of the seasons too.  It was fun to be able to talk to someone about it.  In January we realized that we were both at about the same point so we decided we would watch the last four episodes together. 

We had them over and had a great time ending the series.  To be honest, I am sad we have no more new episodes to watch!

In this post, I mentioned that JP would not consider a dinner an acceptable meal if it did not include meat.  Well I set out to prove this statement wrong, and I was a success.  This meal was incredibly flavorful and neither of us missed having meat on our plate.

JP commented several times how much he liked these Black Bean Patties with Corn Relish and Avocado Cream Sauce.  When he had cleaned his plate he stated, "My meal is gone, but I want some more."

Black Bean Patties with Corn Relish and Avocado Cream Sauce
followed this recipe from Annie's Eats-with a few modifications.


Ingredients
For the patties:

1 15oz. can black beans
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 chipotle in adobo, diced
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

For the corn relish:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup corn kernels (I used frozen)
1/2 clove garlic
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro (I didn't measure-just guessed)
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the avocado cream sauce:
1 avocado, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and pepper, to taste


 Directions
Black Bean Patties
1. Place about half of the black beans into a food processor (what we use) with 1/2 bell pepper, egg, oregano, cumin, and chipotle.  Process until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, lightly mash the remaining black beans. Stir these black beans along with the remaining bell pepper and the onion into the smooth black bean mixtures.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3.  Stir breadcrumbs into mixture a little at a time mixing lightly.  The mixture should now be able to be formed into a ball.
4. Chill for 30 minutes - move on and make corn relish and avocado cream sauce while it chills.
5.  Form the bean mixture into patties (I got 5 patties).  Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the patties in batches, cooking until lightly browned and firm- about 3-4 minutes/side.

Corn Relish
1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add corn to pan and saute briefly until lightly browned 2-3 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for another minute or so.
2. Transfer to bowl.  Stir in tomato, lime juice, and cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Avocado Cream Sauce
1.  Combine all ingredients into bowl of food processor.  Process until completely smooth.


Plating it...
I gave JP three patties and me two.  Once you place the patties on a plate, top with corn relish followed by avocado cream sauce.

I will say that this meal did take some time to make, but I think it will take much less time the next time I make it.  Everything always seems to take a while the first go around.  Additionally, I did not know how the recipe was going to go over, so I made less than the original recipe called for- hence only 5 patties.  So, I do not know how leftover would reheat.  I did have leftover corn relish which was just as good the next day in a quesadilla.

Things that make me smile.

A few weeks ago, I met a few friends of mine at Whole Food's for their Tuesday pizza special- I mean you can't beat a large specialty pizza for 9.99.  While I was there, their beautiful selection of flowers caught my eye. So, later that week when I had a long day I decided to stop by and get some flowers to brighten my day.  Who says you can't buy flowers for yourself?

Turkey Legs

One of JP's favorite parts of Disney World was the turkey legs. According to him it was the best food option because it provided you with the most protein.

JP let everyone know his love for the turkey legs so a few weeks ago my sister sent him a turkey leg recipe she had found.  Of course, we had to try it!  Surprisingly enough we had no trouble finding the turkey legs to cook.

To go with the turkey legs I made cream corn using JP's mom's recipe.

It was a successful meal! JP's favorite was the turkey leg and mine was the cream corn (not surprisingly).  Although they were good, JP claims that Disney World's turkey legs are better (how could they not be- it is Disney World!), but since a trip to Disney World is unfortunately not a frequent occurrence, this is a good alternative.

Recipe: Zucchini, Black Bean, and Rice Skillet

My sister originally pinned this recipe on Pinterest.  I then repinned it and eventually made it.  Sarah and her friend actually came over while I made it.  Sarah then decided to make it as well.

We both loved it so much! Four reasons:

A) It is healthy B) It is really fast (I who never can make things in 30 minutes definitely did) C) It is really flexible D) Makes enough for leftovers/reheats well

The recipe is originally from ReadySetEat.com. 

Zucchini, Black Bean and Rice Skillet

1 tablespoon olive oil (I rarely actually measure- just but a little in the pan)

1 sliced zucchini (You can use squash instead or in addition to)

1 diced bell pepper (Whatever color you like works. I've used a different color each time I've made this)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, undrained

Note: The original recipe calls for fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic.  I usually just use plain diced tomatoes and add a little pepper and garlic.

3/4 cup water

1 cup instant or minute rice (I use brown rice)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Directions

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.

Add zucchini and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally

Add drained beans, undrained tomatoes and water. Increase heat and bring to boil.

Add rice; stir well

Cover; remove from heat or turn to low. Let sit until rice is down/excessive water is gone (a few times I have had to drain a tablespoon of water or so off)

Once done, add cheese

Flexibility

Try it with some feta cheese instead of cheddar cheese. My sister experimented with that and it was so good.

JP must have meat to count something as a meal. This is SO easy to add meat to.  I used some frozen shrimp and it didn't add any time to the process. You could also use chicken or... be creative!

On another note

This website is new to me but I was just looking around and they seem to have some good quick recipes.  Plus, if you type in your zip code it will tell you which items in the recipe are on sale in your area and where!  You can even tell it to just tell you items on sale at the grocery store you normally shop.