Caramel Banana Cupcakes - Take 2

A couple of months ago I tried to make these Caramel Banana Cupcakes from Rachel Ray's magazine but the frosting didn't come out very well and I ended up making these quick "caramel" frosting that ended up tasting like maple frosting on a doughnut. It was good, but I wanted to try again.

So a couple of weeks ago, I was relaxing on a Sunday and had some ripe bananas so thought to try it again. The cupcakes were much easier and faster to make the second time around.

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 1/4 granulated sugar
1 cup mashed bananas
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. whole milk plus 2 tablespoons
3 large eggs, separated

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 cup muffin pans with baking liners. In a larger bowl, beat 1 stick butter with 1 cup granulated sugar until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add 3/4 cup bananas, the baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt and beat until smooth. Stir in 1 c. flour. Mix in 6 tablespoons milk and the remaining 3/4 cup flour until smooth.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually mix in the remaining 1/4 c. granulated sugar at high speed until stiff and glossy. Fold the egg whites into the batter until no streaks remain.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each liner three-quarters full. Cut 9 caramels in half, and submerge one piece in each muffin cup of batter. Bake until the cupcakes are springy to touch, about 25 minutes. Let cool.

So I get to the frosting and this is where I decide to take it slower. I plan to follow the recipe but am going to take it slow because I don't want to make the same mistake and at the same time, don't want the maple frosting of before.

One 5.5 ounce bag soft caramels, such as Werther's Original Chewy
1/4 c. powdered sugar plus a few tablespoons
2-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

4. In a small, heavy saucepan, cook the remaining caramels, 1/4 c. milk, 1/4 c. banana, and 1/4 tsp salt over medium heat, stirring until the caramels are melted. Add a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and a couple of teaspoons of vanilla extract. Continue to add powdered sugar until tastes good to you.

5. Using the electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and powdered sugar until thick, about 3 min. Slowly beat in the caramel mixture; transfer the mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.

6. Using the electric mixer, beat 1 stick of butter at high speed until fluffy about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cooled caramel mixture, then beat at high speed until fluffy. Spread the frosting onto the cupcakes.

Halloween breakfast

My work has different groups that take turns making breakfast each Friday so that you bring breakfast one week and have free Friday breakfast for the next 6 or so weeks. Last week was my turn and just as luck has it, it was Halloween. I love being festive so I thought what a perfect opportunity to make my pumpkin pancakes. So as a result, I got up at 5:30 a.m. and started flipping away.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. canned pumkin
4 eggs slightly beaten
1/4 c. melted margarine

Directions:

Mix together dry ingredients. Combine milk, eggs, margarin and pumpkin in a small bowl. Stir into dry ingredients until blended.



Pour about 1/3 - 1/2 cup on to a hot griddle (depending on the size of pancake you want). Cook until top bubbles and turn and cook other side.

Top with whatever you like, but I prefer whip cream and a dash of nutmeg.

They were well received by my work and I think they would probably like me to get up at 5:30 a.m. more mornings and bring in a hot meal ;-) I also made decorated cupcakes to celebrate All Hallow's Eve.

Fast & Easy

So last week my good friends Nate and Carly had a beautiful baby girl! :-) Knowing how making any meal is probably at the bottom of their priority list, I wanted to take them dinner. Of course it happens to be the week with Halloween and preparing for a big trip so I'm swamped but still want to make something delicious and that warms the stomach. So I decide on my Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches. I found the recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook when I was in college and it was always so quick and easy to make my college roommates and I would have them at least once, sometimes twice, a week. Of course over the years, the recipe has been altered a bit as we were always experimenting. So here is the one I ended up doing the most.

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper
1 orange bell pepper
1 onion
1 package of French rolls
Fat Free Italian dressing
1 1/2 lb - 2 lbs deli Roast Beef
Hand ful of sliced mushrooms (optional)
Provolone cheese
Pepper Jack cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut up green, orange or any color bell peppers of your choice. Slice onion and combine in a pan on the stove top with a little olive oil and the peppers.



Cook until peppers are tender. Separate and arrange the french rolls on a cookie sheet and apply a spoonful of Italian dressing on the top and bottoms of the bread. Place in the oven for a couple of minutes to just barely toast the bread. Once the bell peppers and onion are tender, add the roast beef and mushrooms to the pan until the roast beef is warmed and brown and mushrooms tender. Remove pan from the heat and apply the mixture evenly to bottom parts of the bread. Add a half slice of provolone and half slice pepper jack cheeses to the top of each sandwich. Add the top part of the bread to the sandwich and put in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Remove from the oven and enjoy! :)