Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream

I was asked to make a cake for a baby shower brunch over the weekend and I wanted to make something breakfast-y! As breakfast like as a cake can be anyway :)  I decided to make a blueberry breakfast cake (click here for recipe).  I usually just bake it in a 9x13 and serve it directly from the pan so I was a little nervous about it turning out of the pan okay. I doubled the cake recipe and baked it in two well-greased 9 in. round cake pans and luckily it fell right out!

But what to do for frosting? What to do?  Finally, after much thought I decided to make a lemon buttercream.  And then I thought...what's lemon without cream cheese really? And thus an amazing new frosting recipe was born.  It was easy and smooth and went great with the blueberry cake.  It's also flavorful enough to hold it's own on a simple white cake. One recipe will make enough frosting for one 9in. round cake or 24 cupcakes. It's cool and tangy and perfect for summer!

Lemon Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1/4 cup shortening (room temp)
1/4 cup cream cheese (softened)
4 cups powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon zest* (or zest from 1 fresh lemon)
2 T. milk**

Cream butter, shortening, and cream cheese together until well combined and smooth.  Beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time, taking time to let sugar mix in between each addition.  Add lemon juice and lemon zest.  Add milk 1 T. at a time.

* For stronger tasting frosting add extra lemon zest
**For thinner frosting add extra milk until desired consistency is reached.

Chicken Club Pasta Salad

So I had this yummy pasta salad a couple years ago at my friend Angela's and we've been making it ever since. I'm looking forward to summer cooking! I love barbecuing, eating outside, and being able to serve a cold salad and call it dinner. This is one of my favorite summer dinners.  A cool, filling pasta for a hot day!

I love that the sauce uses avocado and honey to give it a creamy consistency without overusing mayo.  Plus it has bacon in it so even my kiddos will eat this dish despite it's obvious veggies :) It's a great side or main dish.  It makes a huge batch so it's great for parties, picnics and potlucks!  It's very fast quick to throw together and stays fresh for several days in the fridge. So cook it on a Monday and then you can spend the rest of the week at the pool :)

Chicken Club Pasta
1 lb. medium shell pasta (cooked according to package directions)
1 container cherry tomatoes- chopped in half (apx. 1 1/2 cups)
10 slices bacon- cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded or chopped chicken (I used a rotisserie)
2 cups baby spinach -chopped
1 1/2 cups cheese -cubed (I've used cheddar, pepper jack or colby jack...you can't go wrong)
1 avocado, chopped (optional)
Dressing:
1 lg. avocado -peeled and pitted
1/4 cup lemon juice (I used fresh)
2 T. honey
2 T. Mayo or greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic- minced
salt and pepper -to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Rinse in cold water and drain.  Place pasta in a large mixing bowl.  Add tomatoes, bacon, spinach, chicken and cheese.  You can also add the chopped avocado if you like! Yum!

In a blender combine avocado, lemon juice, honey, mayo, garlic, salt and pepper.  Blend together until smooth.

Stir avocado mixture into pasta.  Toss together until well combined.  Chill in fridge 2 hours or overnight before serving.

Chocolate Cream Pie

 In honor of pi day coming up I thought I would post my favorite pie recipe!  This recipe never fails. It is rich and creamy, always sets up perfectly and is my family's favorite.  It's also super rich so you only need a tiny piece to feel satisfied.  You can view the original recipe for the filling at kingarthurflour.com 
Below I've posted my version of the recipe with a different topping and a few altered directions. 

Hope everyone has a great pi day this Saturday.  If you don't live in as nerdy of a town or family as me you may not realize that pi day this year is extra special since it is 2015.  That make the date 3/14/15 and the digits of pi are 3.1415. Our church group is taking it a step further and celebrating at 9:26 making it 3.1415926.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Cream Pie
1 pie crust (baked)

Filling:
2 T. butter
1 1/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream (divided)
2 cups milk

topping:
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
1/3 granulated sugar
shaved chocolate pieces for garnish (if desired)

Make and bake 1 pie crust.  Allow to cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a large plastic mixing bowl, combine butter, chocolate chips and vanilla.  (You'll need to add these quickly later so it's nice to have them ready)

In a large saucepan, without heat, whisk together the granulated sugar, cornstarch and cocoa powder.  Whisk in 1/2 cup of the heavy cream and the egg yolks.  Place saucepan over medium heat and whisk in remaining 1/2 cup of cream and all of the milk.  Bring to a boil stirring constantly.  Cook 3-4 minutes or until mixture thickens. (The larger the saucepan the faster your mixture will thicken. It may take more time...don't panic just keep whisking) When desired thickness occurs,  Continue to cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and pour in the prepared chocolate chip bowl.   Stir to combine all ingredients. Whisk until all the chocolate is melted and the mixture appears smooth.  Pass the filling through a strainer and into the prepared pie crust.  Smooth chocolate evenly in the pie crust. Chill pie in fridge for at least 4 hours or until completely set.

When ready to serve.  Dissolve 1/3 cup sugar into whipping cream. In a kitchen aid or with a hand mixer, beat on high until whipped cream is formed.  Cover the top of pie completely with the whipped cream.  Garnish with shaved chocolate pieces if desired and serve!

Ground Turkey Stir Fry with Zucchini Noodles

So yesterday I posted my favorite way to make zucchini noodles so I thought I'd follow up by posting one of my favorite dishes to make with them!  This stir fry is a quick low calorie alternative to regular stir fry.  It came together quickly and had a little something for everyone so my kids could at least eat the part that appealed to them :) 

I used a store bought sauce and added my own spices to it so that saved a little time.  If you do go with a store bought sauce just watch the sugar content!  I like San-J Teriyaki sauce and marinade.  It's super tasty and only has 3g of carbohydrate.  Or, if you have some extra time, make your own sauce!

Stir Fry w/ ground Turkey and zucchini noodles (serves 4)
1 recipe zucchini noodles
1 lb. lean ground turkey
4 cups frozen stir fry veggies
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. red pepper flake
sesame seeds (to taste)
3/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I use San-j teriyaki or you can make your own)

In a large pan cook ground turkey until cooked through.  Add frozen veggies and cover.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until veggies are thawed and crisp tender.  Add seasonings and sesame seeds and continue cooking 2 minutes or until garlic is fragrant.  Toss with cooked zucchini noodles and teriyaki sauce.  Cook until sauce is heated through and enjoy!

How to make Zucchini Noodles

Alex got me a veggie spiralizer for Christmas and I've been loving it!  So I thought I'd share with you how to make zucchini noodles!  They are super tasty, very filling, a great way to add more veggies to you diet, and a lower calorie option to regular pasta.  

The first thing you'll need is a spiralizer. I have a Paderno World Cuisine spiral veggie slicer.  It's similar to an apple corer and works great. It has different types of blades so you can slice your vegetable in many different styles.  In the picture below I'm making zucchini spaghetti. It also works perfectly with yellow summer squash and a variety of other vegetables and fruits. It's about $30 on Amazon.  Here's a link with more information: Paderno Slicer. They also have fancy ones that are automatic and do the work for you. I just wanted something simple to start and this has done the trick. Check it out for yourself!

 

Once I've sliced the zuchinni into noodles.  I toss them with salt and leave them to dry out a bit in a strainer over a paper towel.  You could also just leave the strainer in a sink to drip but I don't trust my kids so out of reach and over a paper towel it is :)  This helps to remove some of the moisture so that when you cook it the vegetables maintain a noodle type consistency instead of becoming a mushy mess. Below is a picture of what this looks like...I'm always surprised by the amount of liquid that strains out.

  

After about 30 minutes, a lot of the moisture will have strained out.  Now take a paper towel and dab the top of the noodles to get any extra moisture off of them.  They are never going to be perfectly dry so don't go crazy trying.   The paper towel also helps to remove some of the salt so they aren't overly salty.  The rest of the salt will help give them flavor when cooked. 

When the zoodles are ready to cook, heat 1 T. of olive oil in a large skillet and add the zoodles.  These are very thin and cook very quickly.  Saute zucchini for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  At this point add any spices you want.   Basically the seasoning will bring out the flavor of whatever dish you are making with the zoodles.  If you're making an Italian dish use garlic, an Asian dish use ginger, etc. If you're going to eat them plain I like to add a little red pepper flake to make things interesting :)  Once the spices are added continue sauteing for 2 more minutes or until zoodles are slightly tender.

 Once your zoodles are finished you can add them to any recipe that calls for noodles! Top them with your favorite sauces or mix them in a stir fry.  They are delicious!

Zucchini Noodle Recipe
4 medium zucchini (yellow squash works well too)
salt (to taste)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
additional spices as desired

Wash and cut off ends of zucchini.  Spiral slice zucchini using a veggie spiralizer.  Toss zoodles with salt and place in a strainer for at least 30 min. to remove extra moisture.  Dab zoodles with paper towel to remove more moisture and some of the extra salt.

In a large pan heat 1 T. olive oil.  Add zoodles and saute (stirring constantly) for 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and other desired spices and continue to cook for another 1-3 minutes or until zoodles are crisp tender.  Serve immediately in your favorite pasta dish.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Okay these were so yummy and filling!  When I think buffalo wings I think junk food.  This was a great low calorie variation!  Plus anything I can put bleu cheese on is always great in my book :)

 I wanted a crockpot recipe and couldn't find one so I decided to make my own my piecing together parts of other recipes I've seen. I got the lettuce wrap idea from ellaclaireinspired.com.  You can check out her original recipe by clicking on the link. If you're not into the whole lettuce wrap thing you can definitely put this on rolls too. This chicken is great and could be used any way you want.  The girls ate theirs mixed into homemade mac and cheese.  Click here for my baked macaroni recipe.

The lettuce wraps came together super fast so we will definitely be making them again.  Enjoy!

Crock pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Makes about 16 lettuce wraps)

For Chicken:
4 medium chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups Franks Buffalo wing sauce (divided)
1 tsp. celery seed
2 T. butter

For toppings:
reduced fat bleu cheese crumbles
ranch dressing
2 stalks celery (cut in half length wise then sliced)
1 head iceburg lettuce

Add chicken breasts, 1 cup of buffalo sauce and celery seed to crockpot. Cook on low for 6 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  Drain any excess liquid and shred chicken.  Add last 1/2 cup of buffalo sauce and butter and continue cooking 15 minutes or until butter is completely melted and combined.

When chicken is cooked fill each leaf of lettuce with chicken and top with celery, bleu cheese and dressing as desired. 

Homemade Pizza with Cauliflower Crust

Okay, honestly this recipe was one of those that turned out way better than I expected.  I have been wanting to try a cauliflower crust for a long time but after hearing so many recipe fail stories and imagining my families complaints about cauliflower I had put it off.  So this week I decided to finally try it and it was amazing!

I adapted this recipe from a cauliflower bread sticks recipe I found online. When my husband first saw it come out of the oven he said "that really looks like pizza!" so I'm calling that a win.  The crust isn't quite like bread (it's more moist) but it held together enough to pick it up and eat it.  We used forks and it was great that way too.  My older girls could tell a difference but my younger two just called it pizza and ate it like it was normal. Topped with your favorite toppings it is very satisfying and filling!  The garlic and cheese give it a nice flavor.  My family knew it wasn't bread but couldn't figure out what it was made of, so I think that means it wasn't overly cauliflower-y.

The only downside was that cauliflower doesn't smell quite as amazing as pizza dough while it's cooking but once you get all the garlic and toppings in there it smells enough like pizza to cover :) Give it a try...

Homemade Pizza with Cauliflower Crust
1 large head of cauliflower (enough to make 4 cups finely processed cauliflower "rice")
4 eggs
1 T. italian seasoning
2 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (divided)
1 cup pizza sauce (I use Classico or homemade)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
your favorite toppings

Topping ideas:
chicken
ham
pepperoni
pineapple
green bell pepper
mushrooms
black olive
tomatoes
onion

Prepare one large baking sheet with sides (or two 9x13 pans) by lining the bottom with parchment paper or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Chop up cauliflower and place in a food processor.  Process until it resembles course bread crumbs or rice".  The finer it's processed the better.  Place in a microwaveable container and cover with a lid.  Cook in microwave at normal power for 10-12 minutes.

In a large bowl mix softened cauliflower, eggs, italian seasoning, minced garlic and 2 cups mozzarella.  Stir until well combined.  Spread out on prepared cookie sheet.You can also split it between two 9x13 pans for a thinner crust.  It's okay if the mixture doesn't quite touch the sides of the pan they will still cook.

Bake crust (without toppings) at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  You want it to be as crispy as you can without burning the bottom.  Don't be afraid to give it a few extra minutes to get nice and crispy.

Top with pizza sauce, remaining cheese and toppings.  Sprinkle with parmesan and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked.  Enjoy!