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).

Cupcake Madness

I wondered about posting this as a recipe because I didn't make the cupcakes, but I think our hard work should be documented. For Caitlin's roommate's wedding, she was commissioned to make over 200 cupcakes, and I served time as her sous-chef (I made the frosting). Because of this, the frosting recipe will forever be etched in my mind. I'm not sure if Caitlin wants to share the cake recipes, but if she does I will post those later. There were three flavors: chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. All had vanilla frosting.

Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
2 sticks of butter at room temperature
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Steak Chili

Recipe # 25: Steak Chili

We've had a very long winter this year, so I've been making lots of soups and stews to keep us warm. Matt always requests chili, and this time I decided to mix it up a bit and use steak instead of ground beef.

My only confusion with this recipe was the ingredient of "chili starter." I hadn't heard of this and couldn't find it in the grocery store, so I added a can of chili beans in sauce and a packet of chili seasoning. Whatever I did worked, because it turned out really good! I ate mine over Fritos with cheese, because I didn't feel like being healthy (do I ever?). Matt just ate his plain, and raved about it all week.

April Fool's Day Cupcakes

Don't these cupcakes look delicious? I mean, check out that tasty swirl of smooth whipped frosting! I bet it will be soooo sweet and creamy.

That's what my coworkers thought too, until they bit into them and discovered they were:

Recipe # 22: Meatloaf cupcakes with cream potato frosting

Here they are straight out of the oven:

These cupcakes were created for our company potluck, which happened to fall on April Fool's Day. It was my way of getting back at my coworkers for the disaster of the first potluck. For the first potluck I made some tasty vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and berries (below), and NO ONE ELSE BROUGHT ANYTHING. I made three dozen cupcakes, and the others couldn't even manage to pick up a veggie tray or bag of chips. But, that didn't stop them from gobbling up my tasty treats.

Regardless, I got to play a nice trick on my officemates. Unfortunately, one of my favorite people in the office (who also happens to be one of the nicest ladies ever) was the first person to bite into my creation. I had told them they were carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. My coworker got a bite ready on her fork, and said, "I'm so excited for these! I love carrot cake, and you always do a good job baking." I felt guilty as she put the bite in her mouth, then proceeded to immediately spit it out in her hand.

The next person who fell for the trick is the guy in the office who will eat anything. He's sort of a human garbage disposal. He ate a bite, made a weird face, then ate the rest of the meatcake like it wasn't a big deal.

After the secret was out, people microwaved my treats and enjoyed them as mini-meatloafs. They were actually pretty tasty, and I might use the recipe for a full-sized meatloaf in the future.

Here is recipe #23, Moist Vanilla Cupcakes (I'm not going in order, obviously), the cupcakes from the first potluck.

I topped these bad boys with cream cheese frosting and berries. Ironically, my "moist" cupcakes came out a little dry, but the toppings made up for it. I am pretty sure this is my own fault though, because I overbaked them a bit. Since this recipe was so easy and I usually have all the ingredients on hand, I will probably try it again and see if it becomes my go-to cupcake recipe.

Homemade marinara sauce

Recipe #21: Homemade marinara sauce

I am ashamed to admit that I do not make my own red sauce. Even when I make lasagna, the sauce comes from a jar. But, I was happy to find that making my own sauce was not only very easy and tasty, but it was also cheaper than using the jarred crap, because I bought a case of canned tomatoes during a case-lot sale a while back.

I didn't have a bay leaf and I ended up adding some sugar and oregano, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I garnished my pasta with chunks of fresh mozzarella, which got nice and melty (is that a word?) after a couple minutes. We ate it alongside some roasted broccoli for a semi-healthy meatless meal.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Recipe # 20: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

This is yet another recipe I made before I got sick--only about 4 more to post until I'm all caught up!

Do you love chocolate chip cookie dough, but don't like the idea of eating raw eggs? If so, this is the recipe for you. For the record, I am not afraid of eating raw eggs; I heard it's more likely to get salmonella from unwashed vegetables anyway. Plus, I'm hardcore.

These cupcakes were super sweet, so if I make them again I will leave out the filling. And, it's a pain to core the cupcakes. The frosting tastes exactly like cookie dough, and the cake tastes like a baked cookie. I fed them to my nieces, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, then took the rest to work. The consensus was that while they were very tasty, they were very sweet and rich.

Oreo Cheesecake

Recipe # 19: Oreo Cheesecake

This is a recipe I made a while ago, but forgot to post. Our friends invited us over for dinner a couple months ago, and I offered to bring a dessert. 

Cheesecakes are a specialty of mine (if I do say so myself), so I copied Caitlin and make an Oreo version of my favorite cheesecake recipe, Eagle Brand's Creamy Baked Cheesecake. I substituted Oreos for the graham crackers, and put 1/2 cup of Oreo crumbs in the batter.

I was really happy with how this came out. I baked it in a water bath, and it didn't crack at all on top. To do this, put your cheesecake on a jelly roll pan and put about 1/2 inch of water in the pan. This makes the oven nice and steamy, and your cake won't crack on top.

I decorated the top with whipped cream and mini-Oreos: