Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream Frosting

Find potato starch in the supermarket baking aisle. Use lemon rind and fresh lemon juice in place of the lime for a variation.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 cupcake)
Ingredients
CUPCAKES:
Cooking spray
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons potato starch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2/3 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4.75 ounces powdered sugar, sifted (about 1 1/3 cups)
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare cupcakes, place 2 muffin cup liners in each of 12 muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

4. Combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended (mixture will be the consistency of damp sand). Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to egg mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in coconut and vanilla.

5. Spoon batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. Cool in pan 2 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

6. To prepare frosting, combine 3 tablespoons butter and next 3 ingredients (through juice) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating just until smooth. Spread about 2 1/2 teaspoons frosting onto each cupcake.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
196
Fat:
5.6g (sat 3.4g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.3g)
Protein:
2.5g
Carbohydrate:
34.8g
Fiber:
0.3g
Cholesterol:
31mg
Iron:
0.7mg
Sodium:
179mg
Calcium:
52mg
Kathleen Kanen, Cooking Light, MAY 2009

Coconut Lemon Snowballs~MyRecipes.Com

Lemon and coconut add a new twist to the traditional wedding cookie. Don't be shy when rolling these in powdered sugar--the more powdered sugar, the bigger the snowball!

Prep: 25 min.; Cook: 20 min. per batch; Other: 35 min.

Gift idea; Make ahead

Yield: 2 dozen
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Preparation
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and extracts, beating well. Add flour, lemon rind, and salt, beating until combined. Stir in coconut. Cover and chill dough 30 minutes.

Shape dough into generous 1" balls; place 1" apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden on bottom, but pale on top. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool 5 minutes.

Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a bowl, and roll warm cookies in powdered sugar, coating well. Cool cookies completely on wire racks. Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar again, coating well.

Christmas with Southern Living, Oxmoor House, DECEMBER 2007

Chicken Parmesan

I got this recipe here and every time we have it, we are like mmm, mmm, mmm! As she suggested, we tried it with Provolone, but actually preferred it when we tried mozzarella cheese.

7-8 garden tomatoes (if you don't have garden tomatoes, I would suggest using 1 large can of crushed tomatoes and 1-2 cans of diced tomatoes)
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 yellow onion, diced
2 Tbsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1 small can tomato sauce
3 chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 c. Panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. parsley
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
6 slices Provolone cheese (or mozzarella, but we had Provolone on hand so that's what we used and it was amazing!)
1 lb. spaghetti

If you are using fresh tomatoes, peel them and mash them with a potato masher in a medium-sized bowl. Add salt and pepper, set aside. Heat a little vegetable oil in a large skillet and saute onion and garlic. When onions are clear, add the smashed tomatoes. Add basil, oregano, parsley, sugar, salt and pepper and bring to a good rolling simmer. Add tomato sauce (to thicken it up a little bit). It still may seem a little watery, but trust me, it thickens up quite a bit after it simmers. Reduce heat a little and simmer uncovered for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

About 20 minutes prior to serving. Put chicken in a Ziploc bag and add beaten egg and garlic. Smash all the air out of the bag, seal tightly, then work the the chicken around a little bit so it is covered in egg.

On a plate or pie pan, combine bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Heat some oil on medium heat in another large skillet. Remove chicken from egg mixture and press into the bread crumbs. When covered in bread crumbs, add the chicken to the oil and cook for about 1 minute on each side. Place chicken on a greased cookie sheet and bake in the oven at 375-degrees for about 12 minutes or until no longer pink. In the meantime, cook spaghetti to al dente. Remove chicken from oven, add 2 slices of cheese per chicken breast, then return to the oven for about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Layer spaghetti, sauce, and chicken on a plate, garnish with parsley, then serve!

Glamour

I found both of these recipes in a Glamour magazine that someone so kindly left behind for me on the airplane coming home from Cali for Thanksgiving. My mother-in-law made a fantastic green bean and cashew recipe last year for Thanksgiving and I saw both these recipes and have a huge bag of potatoes for $1.99. So I cooked both last night and was supremely impressed that they were delicious and healthy! I paired them with the premarinated salmon from Sam's Club (love it).

Coconut Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. Canola oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 Tbsp. cashew pieces
• 4 whole dried red chilies (I only put three in and it wasn't in the least bit spicey, so next time I will try 4).
• 1 1/2 lbs. green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• Salt, to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add mustard seeds. When the seeds start to crackle, add cashews and chilies. Once the cashews are toasted, add green beans and stir. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add coconut and salt. Cook another 8 to 10 minutes while stirring. When green beans are cooked through but still crisp, remove from heat. Serves 4 to 6.

Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. small new potatoes (I used regular Idaho and it was still yummy.)
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (I used 2/3 Tbsp. dried, still yummy.)
• 1/8 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, ground (I used regular salt.)

In a deep sacepan, cover the potatoes with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the potatoes and, as soon as you can handle them, cut them into quarters. Lay the potatoes in a single layer in a shallow baking pan. (I cut them before I cooked them so they would cook faster.)Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together oil, rosemary, balsamic and cayenne. Toss potatoes in dressing, gently so you don't break the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

Breads

Lately I have found some really great bread recipes. Seasonal and non-seasonal. So enjoy!

My mom recently went to see my sister in Indi and then came here for my other sister's bday and while at each location, she educated Lisa and me on the easiest, yummiest bread!!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of luke warm water
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 3 Tbs. sugar, honey or other sweetener of your preference
• 2 Tbs. yeast
• 2 Tbs. dough enhancer
• 2 Tbs. vital wheat gluten
• 3 Tbs. oil

Mix all of the above ingredients together, then add 2 cups of bread flour. I use 2 cups of whoel wheat flour here and then bread flour for the 2-4 cups. Mix until combined. I Then add 2-4 cups of flour just until barely tacky (the consistency will be just slightly sticky but not stick to your counter or anything). Knead on high for 5 minutes. Divide dough in half and form loaves. A few pointers on this if you are like me and have always had a difficult time with bread or rolls:
First, get the dough into a rectangular shape and then pull each side under kneading by hand to make sure to get all the bubbles out. Then when you think all the bubbles are out, form into a rectangle and pinch the bottom of the loaf together along the middle. Spray cooking spray on 2 bread pans and flip the loaf over coating the loaf in the cooking spray. Put loaf right side up and pinch underneath if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise. For white bread, let rise about an inch above the pan. For wheat bread, let rise until it is the desired height. Cook at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Remove when top of bread is browned. My oven is hotter than most so I cook it at about 390 for 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before you let it out of the pan. You may need to slightly pull a knife through the sides in case it sticks.

I have yet to try it, but my mom said you can also had powdered milk to get even more nutrition in.

Pumpkin Gingerbread
-allrecipes.com

I made this into muffin tops and wrapped them and the zucchini bread in plastic wrap and froze them. Delish.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sugar


• 1 cup vegetable oil (the person I got this recipe from substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce. I substituted a whole cup of applesauce and completely omitted the oil and it turned out great.)
  


• 4 eggs


• 2/3 cup water


• 1 large (15 oz) can pumpkin puree


• 2 teaspoons ground ginger


• 1 teaspoon ground allspice


• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I substitute about half of this with whole wheat flour. )


• 2 teaspoons baking soda


• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

I added chocolate chips into some of the muffin tops and it was really good, really good without too.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).


2. Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.


3. In a large mixing, combine sugar, oil and eggs; beat until smooth. Add water and beat until well blended. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice and cinnamon.


4. In medium bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and blend just until all ingredients are mixed. Divide batter between prepared pans.


5. Bake in preheated oven until toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Zucchini Bread/Muffins
I got this recipe from here.

1 large zucchini
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil or applesauce (again, here, I used applesauce.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I also add a little nutmeg, ginger, and cloves)
3/4 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, and set aside. Grate zucchini on the large holes of a box grater (to yield 1 3/4 cups); set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Into a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, and stir to combine well. Stir in grated zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes; invert onto a wire rack, then reinvert, top side up. Cool completely before slicing.

Snickerdoodle Pie

I found this recipe in a recent magazine. My husband LOVES snickerdoodle cookies, so I just had to try this pie and make it for him! It is SUPER easy and very yummy!! If I can make it and have it turn out, you can definitely make it!! It turns out to be a custard type pie. Enjoy!!

• 1 Flaky Pie Crust (or I just used a pre-made large graham cracker crust and it was still really good!)
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Make and cool pie crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set the rack in the lower third of oven. Line a baking sheet with foil and set in on the oven rack while oven preheats. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, egg yolks, flour, vanilla, salt and 1 cup sugar. Pour into chilled pie crust. In a small bowl mix together the cinnamon and 1 Tbsp sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over custard. Set pie on preheated baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Without opening oven, reduce temperature to 325 degrees and bake 20 more minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Cool in refrigerator. Serve cold.

Low Fat Pumpkin Mousse

For those of you craving pumpkin this time of year and want something easy to make, here is a recipe for you!

1 15oz can pumpkin pie filling
3 cups milk
1 small box sugar-free instant vanilla pudding
1 small box sugar-free instant butterscotch pudding
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1cup cool whip

Mix milk and pudding powder together. Then add pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Fold in cool whip and refrigerate for at least an hour. Enjoy!

Option: Right before serving, I have even mixed in teddy grahams. It tastes like pumpkin pie!

BBQ Rub-Roasted Chicken

I know - this was way ambitious for me. I saw it on Cooking For Real and it looked soooo good, I had to try it. I have never roasted a chicken so this was new for me. I bought a cheap meat thermometer at the grocery store ($4) and I only used a 3.5-lb. chicken, however, it still worked. I only halved the brine and about 3/4 of the rub. There weren't that many drippings so I actually put water at the bottom of my pan. I also did not have a roasting pan, so I took off the top of a broiler pan and put a wire rack in. This was probably the best roasted chicken I have ever had, storebought, restaurant, whatever. The rub didn't stay on the chicken that well on top either, so don't be frustrated with that. Another side note, she made this because she was craving Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles in LA. I will take a pic next time so you will really want to make it. The thing is, when you take it out and turn the oven up to 450 degrees and brine it all over, it creates this incredible glaze crust on top. I am a dark meat girl, but the white meat was incredibly moist because you put the butter rub underneath the skin. Anyways, I'll stop now... ENJOY! WE CERTAINLY DID!

For the brine:

• 8 cups water
• 1 lemon juiced and halves reserved
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (7 to 8 pound) whole roaster chicken

Directions

BBQ Rub, recipe follows, divided 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature In a bowl large enough to fit the chicken, combine the water, lemon juice and halves, salt, and sugar. Whisk until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the chicken to the bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight. If the brine does not fully cover the chicken, rotate the chicken halfway through the brining process. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl add half of the BBQ Rub and the butter. Mix until well combined. Refrigerate for a few minutes if the butter begins to melt after mixing. Remove the chicken from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Use your fingers to gently release the skin from the flesh of the breasts and legs. Spread the butter mixture evenly under the skin and over the breast and legs. Pat the remaining BBQ rub mixture all over the bird. Transfer the chicken to a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack and bake until golden and the juices run clear, basting frequently, for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Baste the chicken thoroughly with the drippings in pan, return to the oven, and let bake until the skin is brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Carve the meat and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with Lemon and Walnut Waffles, if desired

BBQ Rub: 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon dried ground thyme
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 lemon, zested
• Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Yield: about 3/4 cup

Homemade Honey Mustard

My husband loves the honey mustard from Wendy's so I knew I had to find a way to make it so that we weren't always going to Wendy's...for the chicken nuggets of course, but also to actually get some honey mustard. Many of you may already know how to make your own honey mustard, but for those non-experimental, basic condiment users like me, here is the recipe I found (It was in video form here.):

1 part yellow mustard
1 part honey
2 parts mayonnaise

Like the video suggested, I did 1/4 C mustard, 1/4 C honey, and 1/2 C mayonnaise. We used French's yellow mustard, Kroger clover honey, and Best Foods Olive Oil Mayonnaise.

I think it turned out great and is so tasty with chicken nuggets and corn dogs. My little guy likes to dip his fingers in it and eat it that way. I stored the leftovers in a little tupper in the fridge and it's been great. If you only want a small amount then halve what I did. Let me know if you like it!

Thai-Style Ground Beef

I am no fan of Thai food. Sorry, maybe I just haven't had the right stuff. I really don't like curry and it saddens me. It always sounds and looks so good to me, but I cannot even tolerate the smell, let alone the taste.

This is the best thing I've eaten in a long time. Of course I think you could use ground turkey or a substitute to make it healthier. I did not love it so much on rice, but really liked it as lettuce wraps. We're making it again tonight! I have to give a shout out to this cooking blog "Just Cook Already." I came upon it by accident and they are really good about consistently updating unlike ourselves. Here is the link to the recipe. Enjoy!

Nutty Caramel Cookie Tart

We made this on Sunday because I saw it on the Food Network Pillsbury challenge. It was not a winner on the show, but a winner in my book. So good! I did not put chopped peanuts on it, though, just because that didn't sound very good to me. I also put a few butterscotch chips just because I had them. I thought I had overcooked the cookie, but it turned out perfect. It was super easy too.
Go here for the recipe and eat it up, yum!

Pineapple Chicken

(Weight Watcher friendly)

8 oz. crushed pineapple, undrained (1 small can)
2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
2 TBSP Soy-sauce
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 TBSP Splenda (sugar optional)
1 1/2 c. cooked rice
1-2 lb. breast, cubed

Combine all ingredients except rice in large ziplock bag. Marinate in refrigerator for 30 minutes or longer. Place chicken and all marinade in a sprayed baking dish. Bake 30 minutes or until done @ 350 degrees. Serve over rice.

Serves 6
Weight watcher points: 6 points each
By: Lindsey Simon

Chocolate Mint Pinwheel Cookies

I was searching online for cookies and came across this recipe. It uses a Betty Crocker sugar cookie pouch and is very tasty.

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/chocolate-mint-pinwheels

What you'll need:
1 pouch of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix
1 egg
1/2 C. softened butter
2 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. mint extract (peppermint)
green food coloring
wax/parchment paper

First, mix the sugar cookie pouch with 1 egg and 1/2 C. softened butter. Divide the dough in half. Mix 1/4C cocoa to one half. Mix flour, 1/2 tsp. mint extract and 2-3 drops of green food coloring to the other half of the dough.

Roll the chocolate dough between two sheets of wax paper to about 8 in. x 14 in. Set aside. Roll the mint dough between 2 new sheets of wax paper to about the same size. (I used parchment paper and it worked fine too.)

Remove the top sheets from the mint dough and the chocolate dough and carefully lay the mint dough on top of the chocolate dough. Slowly roll the dough starting at the long side. (note: if you do it too quickly, like me, you'll end up with air pockets -- see below. Also, I rolled from the short end -- more design, less cookies). Wrap rolled dough in wax paper and freeze for at least 2 hours.

After 2 hours, cut dough into slices 1/4 in. wide.

Bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Smoothie

A couple weeks ago we went blueberry picking and got this recipe for a smoothie. We tried it this morning and it was delicious!!




2 cups plain or vanilla yogurt
1 ripe banana
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup orange juice
ice (we added this ourselves to make the smoothie a little more thick - so just add as much as you want or feel free to leave it out)

Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and frothy. Enjoy!