Heaven on a Cupcake

When my mom requested orange creamsicle cake for her birthday, I must admit that I was just a little bit disappointed.  Orange?  Instead of chocolate?  Instead of pound cake?  Determined to make the best of the situation, I began to contemplate what icing I could use that would really turn boring (in my mind) orange cake into a luscious orange creamsicle dream come true.  Remembering an icing that one of Patrick's coworkers made recently, I began to search the internet for a whipped cream cheese icing.  Whipped cream AND cream cheese combined into one amazing icing?  Was it possible?  Yes.

I cannot take responsibility for this recipe, I cannot claim it as my own . . . I can only say that I am never going back to regular cream cheese icing again.  This stuff is heaven on a cupcake, it turned creamsicle into dreamsicle, and it would be awesome on just about any kind of cake (chocolate, carrot . . .).

Enjoy!

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream.

(Make sure that the cream cheese is room temperature.  Even if it is, it may still take longer than usual to get the sugar semi-dissolved so that the mixture isn't grainy!  It took several minutes of beating on high to get it mostly smooth.  Also, keeping the finished icing cool is important because it tends to "droop" after a while.   Some of the reviews stated that it couldn't be piped, but Marissa did some beautiful piping work on the cupcakes--but it got more difficult as the icing warmed).

Adults Only: Variations on Ham and Cheese

My sister and I threw a small get-together together this past weekend.  Being Italian, food was pretty important to us.  We decided to do adult hors d'oeuvres.  In addition to the standard deviled eggs and fruit platters, we made several variations on recipes that I found online.  One recipe that we didn't follow, however (and I'm sure that 900 million other people have already come up with this), was for ham and cheese pinwheels.  How do you make them more . . . grown up?  How do you make them more classy?  And just how do you do all of this without breaking the bank OR using up all of your precious prep time?  Easy.

Thinly Sliced Ham
Cheese (we used deli American because I had it sitting in my refrigerator)
Tortillas (regular size, not fajita)
Philadelphia Cream Cheese Whipped Chive (I'm usually a cheapo--but I figured that this would spread easily [it did] and taste good without my having to spice it up [it did, too]) in the tub
Green Olives.

Throw a bunch of green olives (drained) into your food processor and chop until fine.

Spread your tortilla with whipped chive cream cheese (all the way around).

Spread a thin layer of green olives all the way around (not too much or it will be super salty).

Layer on ham and cheese, roll up, stick with toothpicks, and slice into pinwheels.


Voila.  Easy.  Delicious.  You could even add lettuce and tomato if you wanted.  We didn't.  ;-)

Chipotle Lime Chicken Salad

People might look at me now and think that I could stand to lose a few pounds.  What they probably don't know, however, is that I have lost almost 35 pounds since the initial "post baby weight" came off.  Natalie is now nine months old, and I am 25 pounds lighter than I was when I got pregnant with her.

Exercise and a diet of moderation have changed my life.  As a part of a well-balanced diet, I have been eating a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  In fact, I'm pretty much chickened out.  Patrick claims that he could have chicken every night for dinner and never get tired of it, but he isn't eating chicken breasts and lettuce for most of his lunches and dinners.

Shortly after whining to my mom about how SICK I am of eating chicken constantly, I happened with her upon a sample of "chipotle chicken salad" at Mars Supermarket.  It was really good.  It was also filled with mayonnaise.  We decided then and there to come up with our own delicious, more healthy alternative.  Here is the result!

3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 packet McCormick Chipotle Pepper marinade (or Mojito Lime if you can't find the chipotle)
A dash of olive oil
A generous handful of FRESH cilantro
Two Limes
Two onions
A can of corn
A can of black beans
Three tablespoons of mayonnaise
Adobo w/o pepper
Salt
Pepper

Dump the marinade packet into a glass baking dish.  Instead of following the instructions and using a 1/4 of vegetable oil, pour in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and then add 1/4 of water.  Mix.

If the chicken breasts are thick, cut them in half and put them into the baking dish.  Make sure that each side has marinade.

Bake on 350 until just cooked so that they are nice and tender.

Meanwhile, throw your onions and your washed cilantro into a food processor.  Chop till fine, then put into a big bowl.

Zest both limes and juice them.  Add to cilantro and onions.

Add the mayo, corn, and black beans.  Mix.

When the chicken is fully cooked, let cool.  Throw into the food processor little by little and grind until you get the consistency you want (we didn't make it a paste, but we went pretty fine).

Add chicken to the bowl, then pour in all of the marinade juice that is still in the baking dish.  Add Adobo (I use plenty!), salt, and pepper to taste.

Serve over lettuce or rice.

This chicken salad is sooo good that you'll forget that it's super healthy and good for you!  It gave me a nice alternative to just boring old chicken breasts, thus giving me incentive to continue my venture into the life of healthy living/eating.  Enjoy!

Sundried Tomato Chicken and Broccoli Soup

NOTE:  I accidentally highlighted the text, and now I can't  figure out how to get rid of the highlights.  If anyone knows, PLEASE tell me!!


Since I have been on this diet (more of a lifestyle change, actually), I have been trying to come up with creative ways to make delicious foods that are actually good for me.  A few months ago, I made a creamy chicken and broccoli soup that Patrick really liked.  Because I LOVE making and eating soup, I decided to make a practically carb-free, fat-free version.

I had a bunch of people over for soup, and I made a savory chicken noodle and this "diet" soup.  The diet soup was even more popular than the chicken noodle!

I thought that I would share the recipe here because who isn't looking for the next deliciously healthy meal?  Everything here is approximated, though, because I always throw in a little of this and a little of that and never bother measuring.

3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1-2 bags of frozen broccoli (depending on how thick you want the soup) slightly thawed

2 large onions

3 tablespoons chopped garlic (I keep a big jar in my refrigerator)

5 tablespoons or more sun-dried tomato paste (I get the kind in oil with garlic and spices)

Adobo without pepper

Rosemary

Italian Seasoning

Oregano

Basil

Dash of crushed red pepper

Salt

Pepper

Grated (NOT shredded) Parmesan or Peccorino Romano cheese

Put the onions through a food processor until they are chopped finely.

Put them in your soup pot(s).

Throw in the chopped/minced garlic.

Add chicken breasts and cover with enough water for your soup broth.

*Note: I use two medium pots and put half of the chicken and onions in each.  It takes less time to cook and it's easier than fishing the chicken out of a huge pot later.

Generously add spices and boil until the chicken is tender.

*Note: It is important to be generous because there is no fat to flavor the broth.  I always put in a lot while the chicken cooks and then add more as the soup simmers throughout the day.

Once the chicken is tender, remove it from the pot and fork it apart.

Put back into pot and turn the heat down to medium low.

Put the frozen broccoli into the food processor and chop until very fine.

Note: When the broccoli is finely chopped and then cooked, it almost gives the consistency and taste of rice in the soup!  All nutrients/veggies and no carbs!

Put the broccoli in the pot.

Add the sun-dried tomato paste and mix.  (BE GENEROUS WITH THIS!!)

Let simmer for a while, then taste.

Add in more spices to taste.  I use a LOT of Adobo, and it gives the soup a very savory taste!

Stir in several tablespoons of grated cheese (the cheese should look like powder).

Let simmer all day.  Taste throughout and see if you need to add in more spice.

Ladle into bowls and top with a sprinkle of grated cheese.

Yum!!