Buffalo Bleu Cheese Cupcakes

Yea, you read that right.

So, the Superbowl means parties to attend. And to be a good guest, I just HAD to bring cupcakes.

But, who wants all that sweetness when you can have hot wings?!

So, I got down to business, preheating the oven to 350 and staring blankly at the weird mix of ingredients in front of me.

Few cupcakes start with “melt 1/4 cup butter with 1 cup buffalo sauce,” but mine do.

Add 1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese and stir until melted.

When melted, turn off heat and mix in 1 cup brown sugar.

Panic slightly.

At this point, I wasn’t sure I was actually making cupcakes, but I soldiered on. Whisk 1 egg with 1/2 cup sour cream.

Mix that into your buffalo mixture.

FINALLY, cupcake like items. 2 cups flour and 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.

When they’re mixed, it’s super airy and strange. I still had my doubts.

Scoop two tablespoons into each cupcake liner and pop them into the oven for 20 minutes.

They look like cupcakes… Let them cool.

The icing starts just as strangely as the cake, with 2 ounces of bleu cheese crumbles.

So, we don’t own a hand mixer; Hopefully, you do. Mix the bleu cheese until it becomes smooth. Then, mix in 1/2 cup room temperature butter and continue to whip it. SLOWLY (learn from our mistakes) add in 2 cups of powdered sugar and keep mixing. Eventually, you’ll have icing.

Pipe it onto the cupcakes and garnish them however you wish.

These ended up being much tastier than I expected (and honestly, I didn’t know WHAT to expect). Perfect for a sports-centric get-together. I’ll update with the full report after the big game.

Recipe Time!

For the Cake:
1/2 cup hot suace
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

For the icing
2 ounces bleu cheese (crumbled)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temp)
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.
Heat hot sauce and butter until melted, over medium heat.
Add the bleu cheese and mix until melted.
Remove from heat and mix in brown sugar.
In a separate bowl, whisk together sour cream and egg.
Mix the sour cream mixture into the buffalo mixture.
In a large bowl, mix flour and baking soda.
Fold in the buffalo mixture.
Fill cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes.

Start the icing by mixing bleu cheese on high until smooth.
Add the butter and mix until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes).
Slowly mix in powdered sugar until the consistency is correct.
When cupcakes are cooled, frost and garnish!

Buffalo + Chicken + Lasagna

I’m not sure why that photo-equation was necessary, but it was.

Chop 1/4 cup onions, while you wait for 2 tablespoons of butter to melt.

and you might as well boil a BIG pot of water while you’re at it. You’re going to cook the lasagna  noodles in this once it’s boiling. 

Sautee the onions, and add some garlic

Cube an entire package of cream cheese. It sounds gross, but you’ll be thankful for it later.

Now, melt the cream cheese into your butter/onion/garlic mix.

Add 1 cup buffalo sauce (you can buy it in a jar at the grocery, no need to panic) and 1/2 cup of ranch dressing (or Bleu Cheese, if you’re feeling adventurous).

Coat the bottom of a casserole dish with the buffalo mixture.

Since I’m such a nice person, I constructed a meat-free mini-lasagna for Justin.

Stir in 2 cups of shredded chicken. You can bake the chicken and shred it yourself of just take the easy way out and use canned chicken.

Try to refrain from eating the entire thing with a spoon.

Now, it’s time to start layering. Alternate noodles and buffalo chicken, then top with cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Eat it all.

Melt butter in a large pan. Sautee onions and garlic.

Meanwhile, begin cooking lasagna noodles according to the package (Don’t use “no bake” noodles!)

Dice cream cheese and add to pan to melt. Stir in ranch dressing.

Coat dish with the sauce.

Add in chicken.

Layer noodles with buffalo chicken until it is used up or you run out of room. Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Viola!

Pineapple Upside Down (Cup)Cake

I am the queen of stress baking, and we’ve been discussing comps in all my classes.
So, since maraschino cherries were on sale, this is what ended up happening with my Wednesday.

Preheat your oven to 350 and GREASE a muffin tin. No fancy cupcake liners for us today.

Obviously, the first step is pineapples. Cut each ring into quarters and drain the juice into a bowl (or cup, I’m really not picky).

Yea, it’s a box mix. Don’t judge. (Betty Crocker Super Moist, to be exact)

Beat in 1/2 cup oil, 3 eggs, and the leftover pineapple juice.

Melt 1/3 cup butter and mix with 2/3 cup brown sugar. Be nice and replace the brown sugar if you use it all up.

In your pan, start with a teaspoon of the butter/sugar mix. Top with 2 pieces of pineapple and half a cherry. Learn from my mistakes and put the cherry in first, so the pineapple are not laying flat. It’ll help, I promise.
Cover that in your batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine took 21).

When they’re cooled a bit (trust me), run a butter knife around the edges to loosen and flip the pan (quickly!).
Tada! Now, they’re upside down!

Recipe

1 can (20 oz) sliced pineapple, drained, juice reserved
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
maraschino cherries, cut in half

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin cups with cooking spray.

Cut each pineapple slice into 4 pieces; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, oil, eggs, and pineapple juice.

In small bowl, stir together melted butter and brown sugar.

Spoon 1 teaspoon of butter mixture into each muffin cup.

Top each with 1/2 cherry and 2 pieces of pineapple.

Spoon batter into each cup.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool for five minutes. Run a knife around edge of cupcakes to loosen.

Invert onto cookie sheet.

Pumpkin Mac ‘n’ Cheese

I could probably subsist entirely on Macaroni and Cheese is given the option. But, since it IS October, I needed to add pumpkin. And since my roommates and I are fat kids, I needed to double the recipe. And since this is my blog and I do what I damn well please, I needed to add music. Feel free to click the links, discover, and enjoy.

Start off by boiling a large pot of water for your pasta. Cook 16 ounces of pasta according to the box directions.

While that happens, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan. Hint: This will be the pan in which we make the sauce.

Brown the butter. In other words, just keep stirring while cooking it over medium heat. When it starts to change colors, stop.

Add 4 tablespoons of flour and whisk until smooth. Congratulations, you’ve made a roux!

Slowly whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk until it becomes a creamy white sauce.

Add 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling). and whisk.

Now it’s time for cheese! Stir in 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Don’t do it all at once, though. Add a little bit and stir until melted before adding more. Otherwise, you will get a giant cheese chunk surrounded by milky sauce. Not pretty.

What do you call fake noodles? Impastas! (ba dum che)

Slowly add the pasta to your sauce and carefully fold to cover the pasta. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, etc. Whatever you think will taste the best!

Transfer your macaroni into a baking dish. Bake for about 8-9 minutes at 375 degrees.

                
While that bakes, smash up some crackers for the top. I used cornbread crackers!

Sprinkle the crackers on top, along with some more of the shredded cheese, and place back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy.

 

Recipe

Remember: I doubled my recipe so I was eating mac and cheese forever. Here’s the original amounts. 

 

8 oz. elbow macaroni, penne, shells or other small pasta shape

2 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 cup milk (any kind)

3/4 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp shredded aged white cheddar cheese

cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

salt and pepper

cornbread crackers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook macaroni according to package directions.
While macaroni cooks, melt the butter in a pot over medium heat.
As soon as it begins to brown, add the flour and whisk.
Slowly whisk in the milk.
Continue to whisk as you add the pumpkin and the cheese (bit by bit). Season if you wish.
Drain the pasta and combine with sauce.
Transfer pasta to baking dish.
Bake for 8-9 minutes as you crush crackers for topping.
Sprinkle crackers on top, along with some extra shredded cheese.
Return to oven for 10 minutes.

Battle of the Bens (& Pumpkin Muffins): Part three

This is the exciting finale you’ve all been waiting for (all three of you…)

To recap:

There are multiple pumpkin muffin recipes.
There are multiple musicians named Ben.
We need to find the best.

Now, without further ado:

Ben Gibbard & Woah, I Made Way Too Many of These Pumpkin Muffins

I’m not even a little sick of it. FYI I ended up with about 27 muffins. Maybe math it down to half if you don’t want a batch of muffins that’s bigger than love.

You need a whole can this time. Did I mention it’s going to make a LOT of muffins?

 

FOUR eggs

Three cups of sugar. This is about where I started to panic at the amount.

1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of Orange Juice. Yes, orange juice. I thought it was weird, too.

Now that you’ve mixed that all up, get another bowl.

Bowl Two: 3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon plus two teaspoons pumpkin spice, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Mix it.

Now, it is time for two bowls to become one.

Grease the pan. You will hate yourself later if you don’t do this.

Fill them up about 2/3 of the way.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Since I had so much batter, I decided to get creative.

It worked. Add the chocolate chips to the batter though, don’t just drop them on top.

 

RECIPE

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water or orange juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin pan.
Combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and juice in bowl, beat until blended.
Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt in a second bowl.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stir until moistened.
Spoon batter into muffin cups (2/3 or 3/4 full)
Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (c’mon, you know this by now).
Cool for 10 minutes before removing.
Store in covered container or sealable plastic bags.

 

Each muffin had its own pros and cons.
Muffin 1: Super easy, kind of sticky
Muffin 2: Very tasty, very dense
Muffin 3: Way more complicated, huge yield, but delicious

I can’t chose a winner!

As for the best Ben… we can hold it to a vote?

Battle of the Bens (& Pumpkin Muffins): Part 2

Recap:

There are multiple pumpkin muffin recipes.
There are multiple musicians named Ben.
We need to find the best.

Round Two:

Ben Folds & Pumpkin Pancake Muffins

(Before anyone asks, I did not make two batches of muffins within two days of each other. These are older photos. I ate all the muffins before moving on to making more.)

Start with a giant bowl and 2 cups of Bisquick. I think this is the part that makes them “pancake” muffins.

Add 1/3 cup sugar, because muffins gotta be sweet.

Pumpkin spice is the best invention for the fall season. It saves you from buying four million other spices. Invest.

Two unborn baby chickens. (Don’t get angry, these were never REALLY going to be chickens).

Some milk for good measure, because we want these to be very un-vegan.

Of course, the pumpkin.

Mix this all up into a batter.

DO NOT FORGET to spray your muffin pan. It will not end well.

Fill them up about 2/3 of the way. They will rise.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Let these bad boys cool before you try to take them out of the pan.

This batch lasted me over a week, eating them for breakfast (ok, and lunch). Heat one up in the microwave for about 7 seconds and add a scoop of ice cream. It’s heavenly.

RECIPE

2 cups Bisquick
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all of your ingredients in a big bowl.
Grease the muffin tin and fill each muffin 2/3 of the way.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to our riveting battle:

Ben Gibbard & Woah, I Made Way Too Many of These Pumpkin Muffins

Saturday, October 18 at 10 AM

Pumpkin Chili

Well, it’s fall. No, I am not ready for the cold weather.

  
Yes, I am ready for pumpkin EVERYTHING.
(Shout out to my cashier at Trader Joe’s, who inspired this recipe)

Chili always requires huge pots, which I don’t own. Find your largest.

Chop up a small yellow onion, a green bell pepper, two jalapenos, and two cloves of garlic. Wash your hands fourteen times, because when you accidentally touch your eyes, you’ll hate yourself (learn from my mistakes).

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add your chopped veggies. Cook for about five minutes, until tender.

Add your ground turkey and cook until browned.

Here, we see a can of diced tomatoes (NOT drained), a can of pumpkin (NOT pie filling), a cup of water, and my secret blend of herbs and spices (ok, this would be a shitty recipe if I kept it secret: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, some salt and some pepper).

Add those ingredients and bring to a boil.

Add the beans. Reduce your heat to medium-low and cover the pot. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring “occasionally.” (Pro Tip: Watch a TV show, stir at every commercial. WARNING: This does not work if you watch it on Netflix)

That’s it! Continue to avoid touching your eyes, because there’s honestly probably still jalapeno on them (again, help me help you).
Don’t let the jalapenos and chili powder trick you into expecting a spicy chili, its really more of a sweet taste. It’s still delicious though.

RECIPE

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt, pepper
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender (about 5 minutes)
Add turkey and cook until browned.
Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, and spices. Bring to a boil
Reduce heat to medium-low and add beans.
Cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) for 30 minutes.

Battle of the Bens (& the Pumpkin Muffins): Part 1

When deciding on music to include in this post (I assume that at least one person enjoys that small addition), my mind went a-wandering, and this is the premise I ended up with:

There are multiple pumpkin muffin recipes.
There are multiple musicians named Ben.
We need to find the best.

First Super-Duo:

Super-Easy Pumpkin Muffins & Ben Kweller

It’s going to be a struggle fitting in all the songs I want to, because this recipe really is amazingly easy.

These are all the ingredients you need: a box of instant cake mix (white or yellow or spice), a can of pumpkin puree (not pie filling).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners. You could spray the pan, since these did end up sticking to the liners a bit..

Mix the ingredients together (Yes, all of them) in a bowl. If you’re feeling creative, add some cinnamon or something.

Fill your liners as full as you want (the batter won’t rise) and bake for 20-25 minutes. These are pretty dense, so don’t go overboard. Listen to more Ben Kweller and dance while you wait.

20-25 minutes later, it’s time to let them cool and enjoy. Told you, it’s that simple.

Tune in Thursday, October 16 at 10 AM for the next contender:

Pumpkin Pancake Muffins & Ben Folds

Stuffed Cabbage – Deconstructed (or as it is more commonly known, Soup)

Step One is always music.

Brown up a pound of ground beef in a nice BIG pot, probably on low/medium heat. Be sure to drizzle the pot with a tablespoon of olive oil first. Otherwise, face the wrath of a burnt pan.

Add in one small onion (chopped) and two cloves of garlic (minced) and keep browning it until the meat is no longer pink.

One tablespoon soy sauce (yes, really), one tablespoon parsley, 1/4 teaspoon chili powder, salt and a generous amount of pepper.

 You’ll need a SMALL head of cabbage. The one I bought was a bit too large. Learn from my mistakes.

Chop that cabbage. You’ll want it kind of small and thin, for two reasons. 1) smaller pieces cook faster and 2) no one wants a giant chunk of something in their soup.

(Oh look, a typo. Clearly today is my day…) 20 ounces of crushed tomato.

Once this is all mixed together, it’ll look a little weird and not at all like soup. Don’t worry, that part is coming.

One cup beef broth, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1 cup cooked white rice. Now, it should be soup consistency.

Reduce heat to a simmer and cover pot. Cook for 45-60 minutes, until the cabbage is cooked (aka not crunchy or hard to chew anymore). Dance while you wait.

Yep, that’s it. Easy, fast, delicious soup.

Here’s a recap:

Stuffed Cabbage Soup

1 lb. ground beef
1 tbls. olive oil
Small head of green cabbage
Small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls parsley
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper
20 oz crushed tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup cooked white rice

Drizzle a large pot with olive oil and begin to brown beef. Add in onion and garlic. Continue browning until meat is fully cooked (NOT pink).
Add in soy sauce and spices, followed by chopped cabbage (use your judgement here) and crushed tomatoes. 
Mix in the beef broth, water, and rice. Cover the pot and reduce heat. Simmer the soup for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking at the bottom of the pot. 
When cabbage is soft and fully cooked, remove from heat and serve. 

No Words Needed – Pumpkin Beer Bread