The worst blogger in the world

If there was a blog award for lack of consistency and broken promises, I would win. The year is half over, and I'm only 1/4 of the way to my goal. But, that isn't going to stop me from posting some recipes and pictures today!

Recipe #27: Lemon-pistachio chicken over greens

This was a very tasty, light summer meal, but it was a pain in the ass to shell all of the pistachios. Do they sell already shelled pistachios? Regardless, we really enjoyed this one. The honey made it have a slightly sweet flavor, which I really liked, but then again I was one of those weird kids who dipped her chicken nuggets in honey. Did anyone else do that?

Recipe #28 Almond sour cream pound cake

This recipe is from Paula Deen, so I knew it would be tasty. I didn't have orange extract on hand, but I think it was delicious without it. I heaped some fresh strawberries on top along with fresh whipped cream (not pictured).

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Recipe #11: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

For Christmas, my mom made the most amazing red velvet cake. So, I took the recipe she used (from Cook's Illustrated), and made them into cupcakes. While they tasted delicious, they looked horrible. They didn't raise for some reason, and were completely flat on top. A couple were even a little sunken in. Luckily I'm a frosting lover, so I just swirled on a ton of cream cheese frosting, and no one noticed, or if they noticed, they were all too polite to say anything about it. I even checked my baking soda and made sure it wasn't expired.

 

All of the comments I received about the cupcakes were positive, but the real affirmation came when people went back for a second (or third, or fourth) cupcake.

Lemon Cake and Alfredo

Recipe #5: Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake

Recipe #6: Fettuccine Alfredo with Bacon

Matt and I both love lemon-flavored desserts, so when I saw this recipe, I had to give it a try. I didn't have any lemon extract on hand, so I just added some lemon juice from some fresh lemons. I was worried it would mess up the chemistry of the cake (too much acid, not enough base), but it was delicious!

 As you can tell by this photo, the batter was really fluffy:

Then came the moment of truth. I've had a few tear-jerking moments when cakes haven't come out of the pan, so I made sure to flour the hell out of this one, then let it cool for about 15 minutes. If you don't let it cool for a bit, it will most definitely come out in chunks. Miraculously, it came out perfect! I didn't even care that it was covered in flour. Pick your battles, you guys.

I made a glaze out of powdered sugar, water, and lemon juice, and drizzled it over the top. I ate mine plain, but Matt cut up some kiwis on top of his. I think it would also be good with fresh berries and some whipped cream.

Matt has been requesting that I made alfredo, which I don't really care for, so when I saw this recipe for fettuccine alfredo with bacon, I knew we could have a compromise.


I added chicken to mine, and served it with green beans and some toasted sourdough bread (left over from my sandwiches).