Make a Bang With Your Dessert This Weekend

My friend is having a 4th of July party this weekend and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to take. I am tired of taking the usual pasta salad and cookies. I did some research and found a fabulous recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes from Good Housekeeping. I tried out the recipe on Tuesday, handed the cupcakes out at work, and they were a huge hit! The recipe was very easy to follow which is good since I am not the best in the kitchen. Below is the recipe if you are still looking for something to cook for the party:

Ingredients:

Filling and Cupcakes:

• 2/3 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup(s) creamy peanut butter
• 10 tablespoon(s) (1 1/4 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/4 teaspoon(s) vanillaextract
• 1 2/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 cup(s) sour cream
• 2 tablespoon(s) milk
• 1 1/2 cup(s) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

Butter Frosting:

• 3 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar
• 6 tablespoon(s) butter (no substitutions), softened
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoon(s) (or more, as needed) milk

Directions:

1)      Mix confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla until blended. Make 24 balls from the batter and place on a wax sheet.

2)      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

3)      On waxed paper, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In 2-cup liquid measuring cup, mix sour cream, milk, and remaining vanilla; set aside. In large bowl, with mixer on low speed, beat granulated sugar and remaining 8 tablespoons butter just until blended. Increase speed to high; beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; add eggs. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat just until ingredients are combined, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.

4)      Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each muffin-pan cup. Drop 1 peanut butter ball in center of each cup and top with another tablespoon batter.

5)      Bake cupcakes 25 – 28 minutes. Then let them cool on a metal rack.

6)      When cupcakes are cool, prepare Butter Frosting: In large bowl, with mixer on medium-low speed, beat confectioners’ sugar, butter, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons milk until smooth and blended.  Then spread onto each cupcake.

You can find more wonderful recipes like this one on Good Housekeeping.

What is your favorite thing to bake?

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5 Foods That Reduce Stress

I am sure we all can use some stress reducers! I found this interesting article on MSN the other day about certain foods that help reduce stress. I was surprised to read Vitamin C is a stress reducer. It not only helps boost the immune system, but it is supposed to help normalize blood pressure and cortisol levels. I would think it would be Vitamin D because lack of Vitamin D can really alter a person’s mood.

• Sweet potatoes help overcome the carbs and sweet craving people get when they are under stress. It also is packed with fiber to help your body process the food.
• Dried Apricots are known a natural muscle relaxant.
• Turkey has L-tryptophan which is supposed to have a calming effect on the body.
• Salmon is packed with Omega-3 which helps keep the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline from peaking.
• Spinach is enriched with magnesium which prevents migraine headaches and  feelings of fatigue.

When I am stressed out, I don’t see myself eating more. I probably eat the same amount or less. My favorite stress reducers are exercising, journaling, talking to a friend, helping another person or talking a long walk outside by myself.

How do you reduce stress?

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Fiesta Salad Recipe

Hattie’s Resaurant

I went to Hattie’s a few days ago and the food was delicious.The look is very chic and clean. I went during lunchtime and it was one of the few places open and it was packed the whole time. The service was awesome!  They are very quick and responsive.  Our waitress was very helpful in recommendations on the menu.

To start I had the Tomato Soup with the mini grilled cheese.  The soup is very rich and flavorful and the grilled cheese was delicious!

For my meal, I had a mac n’ cheese and the fried green tomato sandwich with sweet potato fries.  The Mac n Cheese is awesome.  It is very filling, so be ready to take some home. The Fried Green Tomato Sandwich is just as good.  They bread the tomatoes perfectly and then pair it with a smoked mozzarella and basil mayo on sourdough.  As a vegetarian, I left out the bacon.  It had the perfect balance of rich and tangy.  Finally the fries are great. Not too greasy and have a nice crisp.

I highly recommend this place!

Have you been here before?

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7 Unhealthiest Pasta Dishes

When I read this article, I knew I had to share this information. I was surprised by the dishes listed as the most unhealthiest dishes in America. I was sure that there would definitely be a dish from The Cheesecake Factory, but to my surprise there was 2.  The calories range from 980 to 2,819 calories! That is insane, some of these dishes are your entire caloric intake for 2 days.

Below is the list of the 7 Unhealthiest Pasta Dishes:

1. Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta – 2819 calories and 77g saturated fat
2. Cheesecake Factory Kid’s Pasta with Alfredo Sauce – 1803 calories and 87g saturated fat
3. Domino’s Chicken Carbonara Breadbowl Pasta – 1480 calories and 56 g fat (24 g saturated, 1 g trans)
4. T.G.I. Friday’s Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta – 1,420 calories
5. Carrabba’s Lasagne – 1,360 calories
6. Fazoli’s Tortellini Robusto – 1,020 calories and 50 g fat (28 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
7. Olive Garden Garlic Herb Chicken con Broccoli – 960 calories and 41 g fat (18 g saturated)

I was so glad I ran into this article. Honestly, this doesn’t mean that you have to stop eating pasta or miss out on your favorite dish. It means that you should not eat the entire dish and just have a small proportion instead. Knowledge is power.

Are any of these your favorite dishes?

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Enhance Your Diet

It’s over 3 months into 2010 and I made the typical new years resolution; to get healthy and stay in shape. I have been doing pretty well so far, but I am starting to get bored with the whole thing. I have come too far to just let it go, I love being healthy. I have made a lifestyle change that I plan on sticking to. I am just going through a little rough time.

I was talking to my trainer and he sent me this article on ways to enhance or continue your diet. I found the article very interesting and think that adding some of these suggestions into my regimen will help me stay on track. I will be keeping a food log. I am pretty good about eating, but I see myself slipping into eating more unhealthy options lately. I think seeing my food intake will help me balance it out more. I am going to add more veggies back into my diet. I used to eat carrots and apples for snacks and lately I have been eating more sugary items.

How do you stay on track?

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Chocolate can save your life

According to recent studies, eating a little bit of dark chocolate a few times a week can actually help reduce the risk of having a

stroke. I knew something so good had to be good for me!

Antioxidants called flavonoids are found in high concentrations in dark chocolate. These antioxidants are thought to play a role in reducing the risk of stroke.

Not a chocolate person? Two glasses of red wine provide about he same amount of antioxidants as a serving of extra dark chocolate.

Of course I must stress that this could be beneficial if done on alongside a healthy diet. Exercise, eat, right, and occasionally indulge. It’d good for you!

5 Ways to Spend Less $ and Eat Well

Let’s face it, everyone could use a few tips on saving money and the kitchen is a good place to start.
Here are 5 suggestions to help you become more budget wise in the kitchen.

Buy More
The terms “stocking up” and “saving money” don’t sound like they go together. But if you use a shopping list, buy the larger and more economical package sizes, restock shelf staples when on sale, ultimately you will cut costs. Not to mention, you will save gas making fewer trips to the grocery store.

Dine In
Skip the bill and the tip. You will be surprised to see how easy it is to make restaurant favorites in your own kitchen. Pop in a really good Pizza. My personal favorite is Red Baron and serve it with a simple salad and ice cream for dessert.

Snack Smart
One of my favs is a lettuce, ham and cheese wrap. Just take a piece of lettuce, throw on a piece of ham and top with a piece of sharp cheddar cheese. Roll it up and enjoy!

Take Your Cut
Meat can take a big chunk out of your food budget. A good plan is to buy when on sale and/or in bulk. Separate the bulk meat into meal-size portions and freeze. Look for specials on beef pot roasts, which cook up tender and juicy in the slow cooker, thus saving time and money.

Brown Bag-It
Bringing your lunch from home takes just minutes in the morning or make ahead at night. You can use up last night’s leftovers or whip up your own lunch special.

For more cost-saving recipes and tips, go to the new Budget Wise section of Kraft Foods.