Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes

Who doesn't love funfetti cake? My friend's son is turning 1 so I thought it would be fun to find a good homemade funfetti cake recipe. This recipe came from I Heart Cuppycakes. It really wasn't hard to make this without a box. I already had all the ingredients. The sprinkles melt while baking to give you the same colored dots in the cakes.

The icing was just as easy and really yummy! The recipe tells you to start with 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar and then add more to get your desired consistency. I think I ended up using just under 6 cups. The cake recipe made 12 cupcakes but the icing recipe (depending on how much icing you like on each cupcake) could have iced more than 12 cupcakes, probably about 18 cupcakes. Overall these cupcakes were delicious! It didn't taste exactly like boxed funfetti cake but I think it was better. It had more of a buttery flavor.

For Cupcakes:

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cups AP flour
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 6 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 large egg + 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter until well combined, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low. Then add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture. Fold in rainbow sprinkles.
4. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before frosting.

 For Buttercream:

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter
• 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. In a stand mixer, fitted with flat beater, beat butter until creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add 5 cups of sifted powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla, beat until combined. Add more powdered sugar until you get to the consistency desired.
2. Frost cupcakes and garnish with more rainbow sprinkles.

Source: I Heart Cuppycakes

Oatmeal Crusted Tilapia

YUM! This recipe was so good! Originally, the recipe called for mayonnaise, but I decided to use non-fat plain yogurt so it would be a little healthier. This was so easy to prepare, had great flavor, and I felt good eating it. We will definitely be making this again.

Ingredients

• 2 whole Tilapia Fillets
• 1 cup Quick Oats
• 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Panko Bread Crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Fresh Chives, Chopped
• 1 teaspoon Parsley
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1/8 cup Low-fat Plain Yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoons Grated Lemon Rind
• 1/4 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place fish fillets on the baking sheet.
3. In a bowl, mix together oats, panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, measure out the yogurt. Add lemon rind and juice. Stir.
4. Brush tops of fish with yogurt mixture, then top with the dry coating.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until fish flakes when forked. 

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Roasted Green Beans

I love roasted veggies!  Not only are they incredibly easy to make, they taste so good! I probably make some type of roasted veggie a week or at least every other week. This week I made just a simple roasted green bean. They get all caramelized and yummy.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Green Beans, washed and trimmed
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cover a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.
3. Drizzle green beans with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat. Spread green beans into a single layer.
4. Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring part way through. The green beans should be lightly caramelized and crisp tender.

Steel Cut Oats

I've been seeing so many people eating steel cut oats. I'm not really a fan of oatmeal (unless covered in sugar and cinnamon) so I never really wanted to try the steel cut oats. However, Matt and I are trying to be more aware of what we're eating and to eat a little healthier. So I decided to give them a try. I read somewhere that you can make steel cut oats in advance, refrigerate them, and then reheat them for breakfast with a splash of milk. As someone who doesn't like regular oatmeal, I actually liked these. They are chewier and have a nuttier flavor. One thing I will say is I'd prefer them to be a little sweeter so I add just a little brown sugar before eating. You can top this with cinnamon, fruit, almonds etc.

Ingredients

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 3 1/2 cups water
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cinnamon, fruit, almonds, or whatever toppings you like

Directions

1. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the steel cut oats and and salt.  Stir.
2. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. When the oats start to thicken, at about 30 minutes, add in the milk and vanilla. Stir the oats,  milk, and vanilla together and cook for ten more minutes.
4. Add whatever toppings you want.
5. Serve the oats hot. This makes 4-6 servings. To reheat, add a splash of milk and reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minute.

Source: Two Peas and Their Pod

Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. It sounded so different and I was intrigued. Dr. Pepper is one of the only sodas that I drink so I figured it had to be good, right? I also thought the homemade coleslaw on the sandwich just sounded different from our normal and really good.

The original recipe said to cook the pork in Dr. Pepper and then towards the end of the cooking you're supposed to drain the juices and add a little bbq sauce. At the point in time where I was supposed to add drain the juices and add the bbq sauce, I tried a bite. The flavor was so good that I just couldn't cover it up with bbq sauce. I still made the coleslaw but I served it separate instead of on the sandwich. I loved this meal. The pork had really great flavor. It had a sweetness from the Dr. Pepper, a little tang from the vinegar, and a kick with the cayenne pepper. Delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds Pork Tenderloin
• 1/4 whole Large Onion, Chopped
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Dry Ground Mustard
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 cups Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 24 ounces, fluid Dr. Pepper (2 Cans)
• Hoagie Rolls, Split
• Butter, For Toasting

Directions

1. Place pork in a slow cooker. Add salt, pepper, onion, garlic, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and Dr. Pepper. Cook on low for 4 hours.
2. Check the pork for tenderness. Shred with the tines of 2 forks. Continue cooking, covered, for 2 hours.
3. Preheat broiler on low. Spread butter across split hoagie rolls. Broil for 3-4 minutes, or until desired toast level is reached. Make sandwiches and serve. (The sandwiches are even better when you add some of the juice to it!)

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Homemade Coleslaw

I made this coleslaw to serve on my Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork Sandwich. However, after trying the pork, I decided to just serve it as a side instead of on the sandwich.  I also omitted the relish. This was good, a little different than other coleslaw's that I've had. Honestly, I'm not a huge coleslaw fan so I didn't find it amazing. But it was good.

Ingredients

• 1 bag Shredded Cabbage
• 1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

Directions

1. Whisk together vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Combine cabbage, vinegar, and mayonnaise. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche

It's been really warm lately and I just wanted to make something light and fresh. I happened to have shrimp already so I thought a shrimp ceviche would be perfect. Typically ceviche is made with raw shrimp or fish. The citrus in the dish "cooks" the shrimp. I felt more comfortable cooking the shrimp first. I boiled the shrimp for just a couple of minutes and then put it right into an ice bath.

This recipe is delicious! Matt loved it. I served it with tortilla chips to scoop it up. It seemed more like an appetizer than a meal, so in the future I may use tostadas. This would be a great dish to serve at a picnic or potluck.

Ingredients

• 1 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice plus juice of 1 lime
• 4 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or to your liking)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 avocado - peeled, pitted and diced
• tortilla chips or tostada

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil. Add the juice of 1 lime and shrimp. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. Drain and add shrimp to an ice water bath. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine lime juice, shrimp, tomatoes, onion, and cilanto. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Remove from the refrigerator, and mix in the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
4. Right before serving, add the avocado. Serve either with tortilla chips or tostadas.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com