Guinness Cupcakes aka Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

Maybe I'll get around to posting every now and then, who knows. In the mean time, I thought I would jump in around where I left off and share these amazing cupcakes I made last year to celebrate March 17th and everything Irish and green. Whats better than a sweet treat with the alcohol included (most of it bakes off, yes, but that frosting is potent and delicious!)? Enjoy!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes
*Note: This name is not meant to offend anyone, it is in reference to a drink. If you find it offensive, please call them Guinness Cupcakes.
Recipe from: Smitten Kitchen

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness) *Hubby loves that this leaves at least a half can of Guinness for him!
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional, I used more like a Tablespoon.. or a little more)

Baileys Frosting
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)
*I made a double batch of the frosting, and used 3 of the mini-bottles of Baileys.. I didn't measure, but I know I added more than is listed here

Make the cupcakes:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

2. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined.

3. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely. (Yes, I made mini-cupcakes because I thought the bite size-ness would work better for the party we were going to. No, I do not remember how long I bakes them, but it was less than 17 minutes.)

Make the filling:
4. Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined. If you add the whiskey to a very hot mixture, some of the alcohol will evaporate. Wait until it cools a little if you want a more potent filling.

Fill the cupcakes:
5. Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using a small knife or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top. I did not put the removed cake back on top of the filling, I just frosted right over it.

Make the frosting:
6. Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

7. When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin, beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar to reach a piping consistency. (You may need to add a bit more powdered sugar if you use as much Baileys as I did!)

8. Ice and decorate the cupcakes. [I used a similar method as here, I painted stripes of orange and green gel food coloring up the insides of the piping bag, and then slowing swirled the cupcakes as I was frosting them.]

REVIEW: Awesome. These are so good! You can easily adjust the amount of whiskey and Baileys to suit the tastes of your crowd. I thought the cupcakes were really moist and I was extremely pleased with how they turned out. Plus, they were quite the topic of conversation!

2 months

That's right. TWO MONTHS since my last post. Well, that is unacceptable. And I missed my 1-year-blogiversary, but I'm not even sure I can count it given that I took the entire last month of that first year off. (Did you follow that?)

I have actually been in the kitchen. I've baked some new goodies, tried a few new fish recipes in honor of Lent, took my first stab at eggplant.... and made a lot of our old favorites and other quick dishes that aren't really worth a picture or blog post.

So, I have some catching up to do. But today is my birthday. So maybe tomorrow. There is nothing wrong with showing you St. Patrick's Day cupckaes at Easter, right?

Beef and Pinto Bean Chili

I recently subscribed to Cooking Light magazine, and I just got my first issue this month. The cover featured a delicious-looking bowl of hearty chili, and the timing coincided perfectly with the near-zero temps we have had here lately.

We usually make Josh's White Chicken Chili, but I thought the beef would be a nice change since I don't often buy red meat. The recipe called for beef chunks, which is a little different from other recipes that call for ground beef. There was a lot of depth to the flavor of this chili, without it being too spicy. Overall it was quite yummy!

Beef and Pinto Bean Chili
from Cooking Light
makes 6 servings

cooking spray
1 pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil (I used olive oil)
4 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
1/4 cup minced jalapeño peppers (about 2 large, use ribs for more heat)
10 garlic cloves, minced (yes, we used that many!)
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (I omitted)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth (I used ~2 cups and 1 cup water)
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup thinly sliced radish (for garnish, I omitted)
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped (for garnish)
6 tablespoons small cilantro leaves (for garnish, I omitted)
6 tablespoons sour cream
6 lime wedges (I omitted)

DIRECTIONS:
Heat a stock pot (or Dutch oven) over high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle beef evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add beef to pan; sauté 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan.

Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 8 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in beer, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. Stir in paprika, cumin, and tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add broth, tomatoes, beans, and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer (uncovered) 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is thick and beef is very tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Ladle 1 cup chili into each of 6 bowls. Divide radish and avocado evenly among bowls. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon cilantro and 1 tablespoon sour cream. Serve with lime wedges.

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

Its been kind of a slow month on the posting front. Josh and I have been sticking with some old favorites, and making lots of quick chicken dishes that don't often deserve their own post.

And here we are with another crockpot recipe. I haven't been good about menu planning lately, and I find the best plan for frozen chicken is to throw it the crockpot. This recipe is great because of the few ingredients required. I happened to have a jar of apricot preserves in the pantry, so all I had to get was the onion soup mix - everything else I had on hand. I served with rice and microwave-steamed broccoli for an easy, complete meal.

**Picture from About.com, because I forgot to take one**

Crockpot Apricot Chicken

adapted from About.com

serves 4 as written

4 frozen chicken breast halves (4-6 oz each)

1 c. apricot preserves (I used a jar of the sugar free kind)

1 package dry onion soup mix

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp. pepper

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place chicken breasts (frozen is ok) in 3-4 quart slow cooker. Mix all other ingredients and pour over chicken, turning chicken to coat.

Cover crockpot and cook 8 hours on low (less if your chicken was thawed), or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and tender.

If you like you can thicken the sauce with a little cornstarch before serving. Combine 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp. chicken stock and mix until smooth. Stir into crockpot juices, turn to high for 10-15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Serve over rice or pasta. Enjoy!

Crockpot Honey Chicken and Dried Fruit

It was noon on a Saturday, and we didn't have anything planned for dinner. Working with frozen chicken breasts, I decided I had enough time to toss something in the crockpot. We adapted this About.com recipe slightly to work with what we had on hand.

I really like chicken in the crockpot - it stays so moist! This recipe had some great flavor to it - I used a cup of mixed dried berries, and I think the cranberries really made the dish work well. Since the fruit is in the crockpot all day, it plumps up from the moisture. I started with frozen chicken, so the sauce was quite watery near the end. I scooped out about 1/4 cup of the juices, and mixed it with 2 Tbsp of cornstarch, and then added this back to the crockpot for the last 20 minutes of cooking. The sauce with nice and thick, and it was great served over whole grain rice. (Yeah, the picture isn't so great. But some dishes are just so hard to photograph!)

Crockpot Honey Chicken with Dried Fruit
adapted from About.com; serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (frozen is ok!)
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup mixed dried fruit pieces
1/4 c. honey
1/3 c. chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Place all ingredients in 4-5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours until chicken is tender and thoroughly cooked. Thicken sauce with a little cornstarch if desired. Serve over hot cooked rice or egg noodles.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

While looking for a healthy chicken recipe I came across Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken. And I thought, no way - it has "sugar" in the title! But as long as you don't go crazy on the brown sugar, this recipe isn't too bad. Everything in moderation...

We really liked this - a little brown sugar goes a long way and adds a tinge of sweetness to the dish without making it "sweet." And the best part - I had dinner ready in 20 minutes, which included making rice and steaming a veggie!

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken
adapted from Spark Recipes
makes 2 filling portions

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, approx 6 oz each
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 Tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1-2 Tbsp soy sauce, reduced sodium recommended
4 tsp brown sugar, unpacked

DIRECTIONS
Pound chicken breasts to approx 3/8 inch thickness. Don't flatten them too much, you are simply trying to make them a uniform thickness so they cook faster and more evenly. Season both sides with some salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium to medium high heat. Brown the garlic in the butter.

Add chicken breasts to garlic and butter and cook thoroughly, about 5 minutes on each side. About halfway through cooking, add a few splashes of soy sauce to the pan.

When chicken is fully cooked, turn off heat and sprinkle 2 tsp. of brown sugar on top of each breast. Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 3-5 minutes).

I served over brown rice with steamed broccoli. Enjoy!

Pepperoni Chicken Roll-ups

Josh found this recipe and cooked it up for dinner one night. It was actually pretty darn good! I had him go light on the pepperoni and cheese on mine, and the sauce was a nice addition of flavor (even though we used the jarred kind and not homemade).

Pepperoni Chicken Roll-Ups

adapted from Brenda on All-recipes

serves 4 as written, we easily halved the recipe for the 2 of us

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 slices pepperoni
4 slices (or 1 cup shredded) mozzarella cheese
1 (28 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 pinch garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Italian-style seasoning

1-2 tsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Pound chicken breasts flat with a meat mallet. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt, pepper and Italian style seasoning.

Place 3 slices pepperoni on each chicken breast and top each with a slice of cheese. Roll up breasts and fasten with toothpicks.

Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil in a small fry pan. Brown chicken rolls in oil about 5 minutes each side. Place chicken in a baking dish. Pour spaghetti sauce over chicken, and top with a little extra cheese if desired.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

REVIEW:

These were pretty tasty. They were a tad greasy from the pepperoni, but you could sub turkey pepperoni if you can find it. We used fat free mozzarella, and it would also be a little healthier if we used our homemade spaghetti sauce.