Birthday Beach Cupcakes

I have been kind of busy this past week or more. So happy for the increase in work. It is a great thing but has put the brakes on creative cooking and blogging. I have made more quick, easy or set it and forget it type of meals this week. I did another Roasted Chicken in a Bundt Pan. This was mainly for the pug, she LOVES chicken.

This past week was definitely all about work and celebrations. I did make some cupcakes for dear sister's birthday. Not homemade, all from box or package ingredients but they did turn out super cute. Sister had mentioned wanting to try to make a Black Forest Cake so I decided to use that for the cupcake flavor and embellish them with a sunny beach theme. Sunny and happy fits sister's personality to a tee. Also for her birthday Mom, Dad and I made a few family recipes. We made Seafood Gumbo with lump crab and okra. We could not find gumbo crabs so we had to improvise. Mom also made a Potato Salad with Olives earlier in the day.

Sister kept the celebrations going through the weekend. She had to bring something to a St. Patricks Day party. So she made a double recipe of Baked Beef Dip and I styled it for the holiday. I made three four leaf clovers out of bell pepper rings for the top.

Here is a bit more about the cupcakes:

Birthday Beach Cupcakes
Makes 20

Ingredients

Box of Triple Chocolate Cake Mix (eggs and oil)
1 can of light cherry pie filling
1 can of whipped Vanilla Frosting
Crushed Vanilla wafers
Maraschino cherries, drained and dried on paper towel
Rippin berry flavored licorice candies
Paper umbrellas
Decorative paper cupcake liners

Directions

Preheat oven to cake mix directions. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Prepare the cake mix according to directions for cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners 3/4 the way full. I was able to make 20 cupcakes. Bake according to directions. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.

When cupcakes are cool, cut a piece out of the center and fill with a little of the cherry pie filling. Top with the piece of cake that you had removed. Trim it a bit if necessary. Frost with vanilla frosting and sprinkle with vanilla wafer crumbs for the sand. Decorate with licorice candy as a beach blanket, a cherry for a beach ball and a paper umbrella. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesday
Easy Life Meal and Party Planning: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

Horrific Knits: Inspired Weekends

Tales of a Pee Dee Mama: Food on Friday
Adventures with Jude: Sunday Sharing Pinterest Party

Sausage and Peppers Tortellini Soup

Last week I told you about fast and easy Tortellini Soups by Sunny Anderson and I made a Mexican Chicken Tortellini Soup. Here is my second soup inspired by Sunny and Rachael's 10 Instant Supper Soups. This one is like an Italian sausage and peppers sandwich in a bowl. It is so fast to prepare, the only messy task is rolling the Italian sausage into balls. Almost everything else is just added to the pot. I LOVED the broth and peppers. That part alone taste like sausage and peppers. The spices and sausage really infused the broth with lots of flavor. Then there is all the tasty and hearty treasures of tortellini, sausage, cheese and croutons. So good! The only thing I might do different is make my own croutons or toasted baguette. The croutons really dissolve quickly in the hot broth. All in all this is another delicious speedy weeknight supper soup.







































Sausage and Peppers Tortellini Soup

Servings:  4 to 6

Ingredients

1/2 lb. reduced fat Italian sausage (pork and turkey blend)

6 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

16 oz. frozen peppers and onion blend

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/8 tsp. Fennel seeds, crushed

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

9 oz. package sausage or cheese tortellini

Italian or pizza cheese blend (one with mozzarella and provolone)

Garlic flavored croutons

Directions

Remove the casing from two and a half Italian sausage links. Slice whole links into 6 pieces and half link into 3 pieces, roll each piece into a ball. Place sausage balls in a soup pot over medium high and brown on all sides. Add broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add pepper blend and seasonings; return to a boil. Add tortellini, reduce heat and simmer 9 minutes or according to package directions. Serve garnished with cheese and croutons.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Easy Life Meal and Party Planning: Four Seasons Blog Hop
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Recipe Review: Fat Flush Soup

I first heard about Fat Flush Soup from my dear sister. She had gone to a friends for a party and the hostess had served the soup. Sister said is was delicious and almost taste like Taco Soup. I immediately started asking lots of questions and for the recipe. She said it was from a diet in Woman's World magazine. So I did a quick internet search, found the recipe and gave it a try. It is a delicious soup, terrible name but a great soup. I can't tell you anything about the diet plan, but if you get to eat this soup that is a plus. 

There are a lot of variations of the soup out there. This is a link to the original recipe: Anna Louise's Famous Fat Flush Soup Recipe. I have made it several times, I have used both turkey and beef, tomato juice and V-8 juice, with squash and without, with lemon juice and with lime juice. Each time the soup was delicious. I think the important ingredients are citrus juice, cumin, parsley and cilantro. These are the flavors that give the soup it's unique "taco soup" flavor. The citrus juice really is a great replacement for salt. I found I did not need to add salt. Sister would tell you to add salt, but I think that would probably defeat the purpose in it's name. Fat flushing claims or not, this is a delicious soup that I plan to make many more times.

Here is what was in the pot this time:

Fat Flush Soup
Adapted from: Anna Louise's Famous Fat Flush Soup
Makes 10 to 12 cups

Ingredients

2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/4 lbs. lean ground turkey
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large yellow squash, chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
32 oz. reduced-sodium V-8 juice
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup each fresh cilantro and parsley leaves, chopped

Directions

In a soup pot over medium-high heat, cook oil 30 seconds or until heated. Add turkey and cook 5 minutes or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. In same pot, cook onions, peppers, squash, mushrooms and garlic for 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in next 6 ingredients. Cover and bring soup just to a simmer (do not let boil). Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and parsley; cover and let simmer 5 minutes more.

Garnish with shaved Parmesan cheese, if desired. Soup can be stored up to 5 days in the refrigerator or frozen for 2-3 weeks.

Magazine Review: 2 New Trinity Flavors

Here is just a heads up. In the March/April issue of Louisiana Cookin' magazine, they have an article called Building Flavor with the Trinity. They include a Traditional Trinity recipe and two new flavors. At least they are new to me. They also include recipes in which to use each of the new flavors. The first is a Smoky Trinity flavor. They use a roasted poblano pepper instead of a bell pepper and they add smoky paprika and ground chipotle powders. I can't wait to try this one in a soup of some sort. You know how I love poblanos. The second new flavor is a Spicy Trinity. I am a little intimidated by the potential heat of this one. They use jalapeno instead of bell pepper and add crushed red pepper and cayenne. In my experience, spicy heat builds in long cooking foods. This recipe maybe best suited for quick dishes, at least for me and my heat tolerances. Either way I am excited about experimenting with both new flavors.

I checked and the recipes are not on their website yet. I so want to post the recipes or a photo of them, but I don't want to break the copyright law. So rush out to get yours or order your copy now or you will miss out. I will be sure to post any experimenting I do in the future.

Here is my family recipe for 

Traditional Trinity

1 large onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

3 ribs of celery, diced

Depending on the recipe your cooking, saute in olive oil, 

butter or a roux made of equal parts flour and oil.

See my Family Cookbook

for Gumbos, Soups and Stews all including the Trinity.

Magazine Cover

Linking to:
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chick Blog Hop
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Mexican Chicken Tortellini Soup

I am so excited to tell you about my new discovery. This week on Rachael Ray, Sunny Anderson and Rachael made 10 super easy tortellini soups (click here for the link). It was so fast, that they made all ten in one segment. By the time they added the last recipe to the pot, they went back to the first pot and served it. I plan to try them all sooner or later. But I was so inspired by the idea that I had several recipe ideas of my own. This week, I made Sunny's Creamed Spinach Tortellini Soup and a creation of my own. Her soup was so good. It really tastes like creamed spinach, especially the next day. I would definitely make this ahead for lunches in the future.

As for my creation, I decided to use the flavors of Chicken Tortilla Soup and make another easy tortellini soup. It was delicious and filling. This soup has all the Mexican flavors of corn, tomato, chilies and cilantro. The tortellini provided a cheesy bite in each spoonful. The leftover chicken from my Roasted Chicken in a Bundt Pan came in handy for this recipe. I love that this soup has so few ingredients but big flavor. This is another quick weeknight meal.

Mexican Chicken Tortellini Soup 
Servings:  6 

Ingredients

6 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth 
10 oz. can tomatoes with green chilies, undrained*   
15 oz. can yellow corn (no-salt added), undrained
1 Tbsp. Fajita Seasoning (click here for recipe)
9 oz. package cheese tortellini
1-1/2 cups shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped 
Lime wedges (optional)

Directions

Place broth, tomatoes, corn and seasoning in a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Add tortellini and chicken, simmer 9 minutes or according to package directions. Add cilantro and taste for seasoning, adjust to taste. Serve garnished with a squeeze of lime (optional).

*Note: Tomatoes with green chilies can be spicy. I used what they call original and it had great heat. Use mild if you do not like spicy foods.

Linking to:

Love Bakes Good Cakes: The Ultimate Soup Recipe List Linky
My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chick Blog Hop
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Tales of a Pee Dee Mama: Food on Friday

Drop Biscuits

The elusive Drop Biscuit? Mom has always made these biscuits from one of her very old and well used Betty Crocker cookbooks. But ever since I moved out of my parents home, I have been trying to make these biscuits. They would never come out like Mom's. Flash forward 16 years, I read the instructions I had written down back to Mom for I think the third time?

Me: ...1/3 cup vegetable oil, 1/3 cup milk.
Mom: Oh wait! It is 2/3 cup milk. 

Hallelujah!!!!! Problem solved! I can now make Mom's Drop Biscuits! So very HAPPY!!! Look! Here they are in all there crumbly, fluffy and soft glory.

Drop Biscuits
Source: Mom and Betty Crocker
Makes 6 to 8 biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add oil and milk. Stir until just combined. Drop large spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

Notes: Mom often adds other ingredients like, cheese, bacon, sausage or even cracklins on occasion.

Linking to:

My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chick Blog Hop
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Hungry Harps: #GetHimFed Fridays
Tales of a Pee Dee Mama: Food on Friday

Roasted Chicken in a Bundt Pan

I saw this on Food Network's new show the Kitchen, I knew I had to try it. But there was not a recipe on the website. So I did a search and I found a lot of other recipes out there. Several people who tried it loved the moist chicken but complained about the lower half of the skin not getting crisp. So I decided to use the convection oven setting to see if that made a difference. It worked beautifully! The skin was nice and crisp from front to back; top to bottom. And the POTATOES! They were amazing! The potatoes absorb all the delicious seasonings and chicken flavor. If you ask me the chicken leg and the potatoes are the best part. Save that plate for the cook or give it to someone you really love. You could use just about any seasoning in this recipe. I tried the Italian Herb Rub I used on the Slow Cooker Roast Pork Sandwiches with Broccoli Rabe. It was just perfect, but I do look forward to trying many more rubs in the future. This is a great roast chicken technique.

Roasted Chicken in a Bundt Pan

Serves 4

Ingredients

28 oz. yellow new potatoes

1 onion, peeled and cut into eights

Olive oil

Italian Herb Rub (Click Here for Recipe)
Kosher salt, to taste (optional)

3 to 3-1/2 lb. chicken

Directions

Preheat convection oven to 375 degrees.

Place a Bundt pan on a cookie sheet. Place potatoes and onions in the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with Italian Herb Rub and salt (if using); rub vegetables to evenly coat. Place chicken on center column of Bundt pan legs down. Drizzle with olive oil and season with Italian Herb Rub and salt (if using); rub chicken to evenly coat with oil and seasoning.

Roast for 1 hour and 10 minutes in a convection oven* or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the leg. Rotate once half way through cook time for even browning. Remove from oven and rest loosely covered with aluminum foil for 15 minutes. Carefully remove chicken from Bundt pan to a cutting board. Remove vegetables to a platter or serving bowl. Cut chicken into eight pieces and place on a serving platter.

*Note: I have not tried this recipe in a conventional oven. According to conversion charts to prepare in a conventional oven roast for approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Linking to:

My Mixing Spoon: Random Recipe Roundup
This Gal Cooks: Marvelous Mondays
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday
Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays
It's Your Life: Tuesdays with a Twist
Family Home and Life: Wow Us Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
Hungry Harps: #GetHimFed Fridays
Tales of a Pee Dee Mama: Food on Friday