I make this recipe a lot, but I could never remember who gave it to me or where it came from. A quick search on the internet and good god. It’s a Rachael Ray recipe. What. I feel sickened and ashamed. I’ve changed it over time, but still. Depressed now.

This recipe always comes in handy when I don’t have eggs. It’s really easy for the kids to help out with as well.

ingredients:
3/4 packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/4 cups flour
1 stick butter, softened
2 Tablespoons molasses
6 Tablespoons cold coffee

You can use any shape cutter you like, my kids went for the ‘transportation’ set that we had on hand.

In a mixer, slowly mix together all the dry ingredients. Then add the softened stick of butter. Be careful. My mixer likes to attack me at this point, but hold yer ground!!

Once combined, add the molasses and then the coffee, by the teaspoon. Checking to make sure you don’t add too much liquid, or too little. The dough should come together by itself. Take it out and wrap it in plastic wrap and chillax in the fridge.

Roll it out on a flour dusted surface, and use a cookie cutter – any shape – to cut your cookies. Transfer to a baking sheet and add sprinkles. Bake for 11 minutes, and move to a rack to cool. You can frost or use icing if you like, but I think these stand alone just fine.

I came home and do what I always do to relieve stress. Cook. A LOT. The Kid has been asking for Chicken Soup with Rice ever since my mom bought him the Really Rosie soundtrack. Hello, suddenly she thinks it’s 1975 again. So I made up a recipe – it’s SUPER quick. You have no excuse to not make it, that’s how quick it is.

ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
32 ounces chicken broth
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1-1/2 cups cooked rice

Chicken soups always start out with a mirepoix, that’s just carrots, celery and onions. Well I happened to see ready made mirepoix at Trader Joe’s and I thought, what the heck, I’ll give it a go. It was great. I just threw that sucker in there. Highly recommended.

So in a large pot, melt the butter and then add the carrot, onion and celery or toss in your readymade mirepoix and live in the future, baby! Cook until soft if you like, but I like mine to have a little bite. Then stir in flour until blended, and carefully pour in the broth.

Now as for chicken, same thing. You can buy frozen pre-cooked chicken or just grab a ready made rotisserie and chop that thing up. So add the chicken, salt, pepper and garlic and onion powders, then bring it to a boil.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes then turn the heat to low and pour in the milk and lemon juice. The lemon juice really brings out a lot of flavor. Let it simmer about 5 mins more, and you’re ready to serve! You’re probably wondering, where’s the rice in this chicken rice soup? Well, I cook mine beforehand, and put it in the bowls and spoon the soup on top. It’s much quicker than waiting for it to boil and soften. However while most recipes say to use long grain, I actually use a Japanese short grain rice. I like the texture and it seems to work well with the soup. It’s all up to you.

Super easy and great with cornbread muffins.

This is my take on Mexican Hot Chocolate. I love to drink it, and I thought why not in cupcake form? The key to these things isn’t the chocolate believe it or not, it’s the frosting. The frosting is sooo good. It is a vegan cupcake, with a very NOT vegan frosting. Yum, butter. The secret this whole thing is cinnamon, of course. Cinnamon makes everything better.

ingredients:
2-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup oil
3 Tablespoons white vinegar
1 Tablespoon vanilla
14 ounces of water + 2 heaping teaspoons of instant coffee

~frosting recipe at the end~

Prep a cupcake pan – I like to use a mini cupcake pan, but you don’t have to – with liners. I prefer cute liners, but hey do what you want. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the coffee and the water thoroughly. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, then add everything else until well mixed. Just mixed enough – don’t beat it to death. This is a great recipe because you don’t need a mixer. Just a spoon and a bowl.

Pour into your liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes for minis, checking often cause you never know on the small ones, timing wise. Let cool on a wire rack, and start on your frosting.

Cinnamon frosting
ingredients:
1/2 C. butter , softened
3 C. powdered sugar
3 Tbs. milk
1 Tbs. maple syrup
1 tsp.cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat the butter, adding the powdered sugar slowly. Add the milk slowly, then the syrup, cinnamon and vanilla. Speed up the mixer to a nice beat until fluffy. Frost the cupcakes and DEVOUR.

I love cornbread. But sometimes it can be too dry. These are so good they are delicious on their own, but with a dollop of honey – even better.

ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cupcake tin with liners.

In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour into cups, filling almost to the top.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Overcooking will result in a dry muffin per the usual, so I like to check them early. These are so great for breakfast but even BETTER when you eat them with ribs. And bbq chicken. And beans. And…

I love bombes. I have made the watermelon ice cream bombe for years, but just recently decided to get less…complicated. So I am going back to basics with nice flavor combos. Orange and vanilla, and now chocolate and cherry. This tastes the best with a nice fresh cherry vanilla ice cream, but you know what? Store bought ain’t bad either. It’s easier and faster, and heck – who doesn’t want to just get ice cream in your mouth as fast as possible?

ingredients:
2 half gallons chocolate ice cream
1 half gallon (approx) chocolate cherry ice cream

Line a metal bowl with plastic wrap. This will help you pull the bombe out later. Place in the freezer to chillax.

Soften up one gallon of the chocolate ice cream. Then pack around the entire bowl about 1/2″ thick all around the sides and the bottom, completely lining the bowl. Put back into freezer. You can do this in stages, just as long as it’s set. As little as 30 minutes or as long as a few hours, up to you on the timing.

Then fill the center with the cherry vanilla ice cream. Again, back into the freezer to set. Finally, soften the last half gallon of chocolate ice cream, you might not use it all, but who cares, you know you’ll eat it later. Cover the entire top of the bombe. The goal here is to hide the pretty surprise inside. So it looks like one complete chocolate dome. Once you can’t see any cherry and the top is covered, cover in plastic wrap and BACK into the freezer.

To thaw – leave on the counter for a few minutes and wrap the bottom of the bowl in warm wet towels. (You can set the base in warm water but be CAREFUL, one slip and the bomb will be drowned. I wouldn’t recommend it.) Use the lining that you made with the plastic wrap to lift out the bomb.

Set flat side up on a plate and slice. Your guests will be shocked at all your hard work. When actually, you didn’t do much. Admit it.

The flavor combinations are endless! I could make these for days!!!

Fresh farmer’s market cherries make the most deliciously sweet ice cream. I also like to use this to fill my chocolate cherry bombe.

ingredients:
1 cup fresh cherries – pitted and chopped
1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
6 large egg yolks
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Combine cherries and sugar in a saucepan and toss to coat. Let them sit until juices flow, about 1 hour. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Chill until cool.

Pour the milk and sugar into saucepan, bring to a boil. Beat egg yolks in a medium bowl. Whisk one cup of the hot cream into the egg yolks to temper. Then gradually add the egg mixture – in a slow steady stream – back into the pan of milk.

Stir over low-medium heat until custard thickens and leaves a path on the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in whipping cream and vanilla, refrigerate until cold.

Pour into the ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. After about 20 minutes, add the cherry mixture. You can drain it if you like, or pour it all in. Sometimes the fresh cherries make the color kind of…off. More brown than cherry pink. Phooey. But it tastes great, don’t worry. Process about 15 minutes longer, then transfer to container and freeze.

I like to use this for ice cream sandwiches. It’s a great combo with a chocolate cookie, but even BETTER when you use it to fill an ice cream bombe. OH YEAH. buy cialisbuy cialisbuy levitrabuy levitrabuy propeciabuy propeciabuy somabuy somabuy levitrabuy cialisbuy propeciabuy levitrabuy somabuy cialisbuy propeciabuy levitrabuy somabuy cialisbuy levitrabuy propeciabuy soma

I saw perfect cherries at the farmer’s market, and remembered and old recipe of Martha Stewart’s, however she used a whole cherry, pit and all. What is she, high?? Lord knows I’ll crack a crown on a pit, OR my kids will probably swallow them whole. Forget that. I did a different take on them, keeping the cute idea, but making a vanilla cupcake instead – because vanilla and cherry go so well together. Plus – no pesky pits.

ingredients:
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
24 fresh cherries, pitted, leaving some of the stems on

Line a mini muffin tin with liners, this will make about 24. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pit your cherries. If you are dumb like me, you hand pit these bad boys til your fingers turn red. If you are smart, you buy a cherry pitter. I like to leave some of the stems on cause it looks pretty cute in the end.

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs, beating well after each addition.

Whisk together the flour and baking powder. Add to the mixer, alternately with the milk. Stir in the vanilla.

Fill the mini liners almost to the top. Then press a cherry into the center of each. The batter will come up and form around the cherry. Again, if you are paranoid someone’s going to eat the stem, you can just leave them off.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking for doneness.

These are great because they have a lot of fresh flavor and you can just pop them right in your mouth. Just…don’t eat the stem.