Food

This recipe is one of my favorite things to make and eat during the holidays. I hope you give it a try!

🧁🧁🧁🧁🧁

Let’s discuss the struggle.

The eternal Thanksgiving struggle.

You see, it’s real, it’s totally legit, and it’s deadly serious.

It typically manifests toward the end of the meal (when your shirt is covering the top of your jeans because you’ve just unbuttoned them), and you’re sitting there wondering, “Hmm…do I conclude this carbfest with a slice of pumpkin pie, or do I go with the pecan?”

Truly, it is one of life’s most difficult decisions…

If you, too, have faced this challenging predicament, then this cupcake recipe is for you. It’s a Frankenstein of fall flavors that combines the beautifully balanced spiciness of a perfect pumpkin pie, with the glorious greatness of brown sugar pecans — toasted first, then incorporated into the batter.

And as if that weren’t tantalizing enough, a cream cheese frosting tops it all off!

Also, as a full-time employee in the Crazy Cat Lady Department, I decorated mine with sprinkles and cute kitty fondant cutouts, but you could sub the cats for leaves or turkey shapes (that should also work).

In the cupcake world, there are two major categories of cupcake batter — oil-based and butter-based. Butter-based batters tend to be a little more complicated and finicky (mainly with regard to how far you’ve melted your butter) than oil-based batters. Basically, with oil-based batters, you just dump and mix! Also, oil makes it easy to end up with a melt-in-your mouth texture. No dry cake here! So, this recipe uses an oil-based batter.

You don’t need any special equipment either. Just a couple of mixing bowls and a whisk, and heck, if you don’t have a whisk, you can use a fork.

If you want to bake Thanksgiving cupcakes but don’t want something too complicated, this is the recipe for you.

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes With Brown Sugar Pecans

DESCRIPTION
This melt-in-your mouth pumpkin cupcake has a subtle kick of spice for a festive addition to your Thanksgiving table! Studded with brown sugared pecans and finished with a cream cheese frosting.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours
• Yield: 12 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

For the brown sugar pecans:

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar

Dry ingredients for the batter:

• 1 cup (125g) cake flour (spoon & leveled)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Wet ingredients for the batter:

• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup (120ml) grapeseed oil (any neutral tasting oil, like canola or vegetable oil, works too)
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup (225g) canned pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the frosting:

• 8 ounces (224g) full-fat block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar (you may need to add a 1/4 cup if you prefer a stiffer frosting)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the decorations:

• Fall-colored sprinkles (I got mine at Micahels)
• Orange or other fall-colored fondant (I bought premade fondant at Michaels)
• Cat shaped cookie cutter

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Steps to prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F (176°C). Line 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners, and set aside. Roll out your orange fondant, and then cut out 12 cat shapes with your cookie cutter. Allow to air dry for at least 30 minutes, or take a blow dryer and dry them using the cool setting until they harden; set aside for later.

2. Toast the pecans
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Chop pecans into small pieces. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar and chopped pecans. Toss to coat. Spread the pecans evenly on the cookie sheet, and bake for about 7 minutes, or until they’re toasted. Set aside to cool.
[Continue reading…]

To ensure that this post is kindasorta makeup related…here I am wearing the new Urban Decay Boogie palette and eating a gluten-free cheddar garlic biscuit! ?

I made these biscuits for Thanksgiving, and they were the best — THE BEST — thing on the menu. Sliced ’em open and served them with maple glazed ham slices (BOOM!), but they’re just as delicious with a salad, soup, chili, clam chowder, etc.

In other words, all the things. ?

First off, they’re easy to make, and there isn’t any complicated rolling out or chilling of dough. Even though this particular batch is gluten-free, you could just as easily make them with gluten-full all-purpose flour.

The full recipe is below, but here’s a quick rundown…

Before we start, you gotta gather the ingredients. The list is short and sweet, just like my Coycoy!

First, measure out your dry ingredients, and whisk them in a bowl.

Next, shred the cheddar cheese. THIS IS KEY! The pre-shredded stuff in a bag won’t melt as well.

While you’re at it, prep the wet ingredients.

Now, it’s time to make the dough! Begin by adding the cheese to the dry ingredient bowl; toss the shreds in the flour to coat them thoroughly.

Then, add the wet ingredients.

Mix the dough until it barely comes together, and try your best to avoid over-mixing; otherwise, you’ll end up with a tough biscuit. It’ll look and feel a little dry, which is totally OK.

Form the dough into 12 biscuits, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper into an oven that’s been preheated to 425F. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the tops of the biscuits look golden.

While the biscuits are baking, make your butter topping.

When the biscuits are done, right after you take them out of the oven, immediately spoon the melted butter on the tops of the biscuits.

Devour heartily! ?

Easy Cheesy Cheddar Garlic Biscuits (GLUTEN-FREE!)

DESCRIPTION
These cheesy garlic biscuits melt in your mouth, and, full disclosure, you’ll have a hard time eating just one! The dough quickly comes together and doesn’t require any complicated kneading, so you can easily mix a batch to serve for lunch, dinner or even breakfast. They’re delicious as is, or served with sliced ham (YUM), chili or clam chowder.

• Prep time: 25 minutes
• Bake time: 12 minutes
• Total time: 37
• Yield: 12 biscuits

BISCUIT DRY INGREDIENTS:

• 10 ounces (2 cups) gluten-free 1-to-1 flour (I like Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces (1 ½ cups) freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese (don’t use bagged and pre-shredded cheese; it doesn’t melt as well)

BISCUIT WET INGREDIENTS:

• ½ cup full-fat sour cream
• ½ cup whole milk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted melted butter

TOPPING:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
• ¼ teaspoon crushed, dried parsley
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

[Continue reading…]

I do most of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s, so every week, in addition to picking up the usual staples (milk, eggs, nacho cheese tortilla chips, FROZEN WAFFLES!), I try to get at least one or two things I haven’t gotten before at Trader Joe’s…to try something new. I’m a pretty adventurous eater, and I’m trying to pass that on to Connor Claire.

Anywho, here are a few new finds I’ve been eating and loving lately…

Harvest Apple Salad Kit

This is a complete salad kit! You get a spring mix, unexpected cheddar cheese, apple cinnamon chips, pecans and an apple vinaigrette spring mix, and there’s enough for small side salads for four people, although, truth be told, I ate an entire bag all by myself in one day (half for lunch and half for dinner).

Apparently, I’m not the only person who does this because the cashier who helped me earlier this week said she’ll finish one in a single sitting. It’s THAT good!

Turkey Meatballs

You can find this bag of Italian flavored pre-made turkey meatballs in the frozen section. I snack on these throughout the day. I’ll microwave a meatball or two and dip them into TJ’s Marinara Sauce.

Cauliflower Crisp Snack Thins

These thin crackers have a delightful crunch! Great to nibble on with a slice of TJ’s pre-sliced Swiss cheese.

Les Petite Carrots of Many Colors

The fam-bam LOVES these tiny carrots. They come prepared in a bag, already peeled and washed and ready for cooking or snacking. I like to toss them with a little bit of avocado oil and salt, then roast them in the oven. I served them as a side with roasted shrimp scampi last Friday and they were a hit!

Colorful Carrot Coins

Sliced, seasoned and pre-cooked frozen carrot coins, yum! I use these as a quick-and-easy side to have with my lunch salad. I warm them up in a pan, which takes about 5 minutes.

Bite Size Sharp Cheddar Cheesy Crackers

I love these crunchy, crispy crackers because they have a strong sharp cheddar flavor. (Connor isn’t a fan, though).

Pepita Salsa

This salsa is made with pumpkin seeds and tastes delish with eggs. I’m a wimp when it comes to heat, and if I eat too much my tongue feels like it’s on fire, LOL!

Cinnamon Croissant Loaf

Like a cross between a croissant and a cinnamon bun, and extra delicious when lightly toasted and buttered. If you see this loaf, DO NOT PASS IT UP!

Bamba Peanut Snacks

WARNING: These peanut snacks are melt-in-your-mouth lighter than air and highly addictive. Connor also loves ’em!

What yummy finds have you uncovered at Trader Joe’s lately?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hi, friend! If you’ve been hanging with me here at MBB for a while, you might already know that my husband (the infamous El Hub!) is from Oahu in Hawaii, and we try to visit when we can to see our family.

We had trips planned for this year to celebrate some big birthdays for the grandparents, but, as you know, “The ‘Rona” was like “HAHAHAAAAAA,” so we haven’t been able to make it back in a while. Hopefully, sooner than later though (fingers and toes crossed).

We’ve been missing Hawaii a great deal lately, so I’ve been making this Hawaiian lunch plate-inspired meal to help us feel a little more connected to the islands.

A Hawaiian lunch plate typically has a scoop of rice, a scoop of sweet and tangy macaroni salad, a protein of some kind (like spam or teriyaki chicken) and a side of veggies. El Hub grew up eating them, and I’m all about ’em now too.

Granted, the plate lunches that I, an SF Bay Area girl, make here probably won’t be considered “authentic” (air quotes) by Hawaiian lunch plate culinary die-hard standards, my family really likes them. Babygirl says this one has “the yummiest chicken ever,” and El Hub has put in more than a few requests for this dish over the last month.

The protein in this meal is a pineapple and soy sauce marinated Hawaiian chicken, which I cooked in my Instant Pot!

I like using the Instant Pot because I can set it and forget it, and the results are consistently fan-frickin’-tastic. The chicken is always tender and bursting with flavor.

If you are culinarily-inclined, you could probably adapt it to a stovetop or a grill, but I haven’t tried either of those yet. But seriously, the Instant Pot is a foolproof tool for me, so that’s what I use for this meal.

I serve the chicken with coconut rice, a creamy Hawaiian mac salad (usually with whatever pasta shape I can find!) and a Thai-inspired cucumber and carrot salad, and when I posted a pic of it a while back here, there were quite a few requests for the recipes…

So, here they are below! Enjoy.

INSTANT POT HAWAIIAN CHICKEN

DESCRIPTION
Tender, juicy chicken cooked in an Instant Pot! Sweet pineapple perfectly balances with the soy sauce sauce, ginger and garlic in this easy, kid-friendly dish.

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 45 minutes
• Total-ish time: 4-8 hours, depending on how long you marinade the chicken
• Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or tenders (I use a mix of 1 pound thighs and 1 pound tenders)
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce (I used gluten-free Tarmari)
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 6 cloves finely minced garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1/2 cup of low-sodium chicken broth or water

DIRECTIONS

Marinate the chicken:

1. Place the chicken thighs and/or tenders in a shallow dish or in a gallon-size plastic bag.
2. Whisk together the pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and garlic until the brown sugar is dissolved (or mostly dissolved); then divide it in half.
3. Pour half the marinade over the chicken in the bag so the chicken is evenly coated. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.
4. Refrigerate the remaining marinade until the chicken is ready to be cooked.

Cook the chicken in the Instant Pot:

1. When you’re ready to cook the chicken, place the trivet into the bottom of the Instant Pot, and layer the chicken on top evenly. Pour in one cup of the marinade from the bag, and then a 1/2 cup of broth or water. Cook on Manual at high pressure for 12-14 minutes, do a 10-minute natural steam release, and then a quick release.
2. You can remove the trivet and shred the chicken directly in the pot to mix into the juices if you want. Or, you can take them out and shred them outside of the pot and the juice. I usually take the chicken out, shred it, then top it with the sauce, but really it’s up to you!

Make the sauce:

1. Bring the refrigerated reserved marinade to a simmer in a small saucepan on the stove. Simmer for 5-10 minutes (the longer it simmers, the more reduced and slightly thickened it will be). Spoon it on top of the chicken and/or rice when serving.

CUCUMBER AND CARROT SALAD

DESCRIPTION
Crunchy, tangy and just a touch sweet! This easy cucumber salad tastes just like something you’d find at your favorite Thai restaurant. I customize ours to suit my four-year-old daughter’s palate, but I’ve added options below if you’d like to dial up the stronger flavors.

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cook time: 5 minutes
• Total time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound persian cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Optional: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, 1/4 cup red thinly sliced red onion, and 1/3 cup chopped peanuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Place peeled and sliced cucumbers in a colander, and sprinkle salt over them.
2. Toss the cucumbers to coat them with the salt, and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Gently blot the cucumber slices dry with a paper towels.
4. In a small bowl, mix the rice vinegar and sugar. Microwave for about 30 seconds until sugar is dissolved.
5. In a large bowl, place the cucumbers and carrots, pour the rice vinegar and sugar mixture over the top, and stir to combine.
6. Optional: at this point, feel free to mix in the cilantro and sliced red onion as well.
7. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours.
8. If you’re using peanuts, sprinkle them on just before serving.

HAWAIIAN MAC SALAD

DESCRIPTION
A creamy, sweet and tangy salad with some crunch. This is a staple on a typical Hawaiian lunch plate. You can easily customize this salad to make it your own by adding onions, your favorite proteins (eggs or chicken would be good!), or maybe even some diced, cooked potato. Totally up to you. When I make it for our family, I leave out the raw onions because otherwise my kid won’t touch the stuff, but I’ve added options below if you prefer punchier flavors.

• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 8-oz box of pasta (macaroni is great, but spirals work too! Because El Hub has Celiac and is gluten-free, I use Banza Pasta)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup mayonnaise, divided (I used light mayo)
• 1 cup whole milk, divided
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional for cooking the pasta
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1 cup minced celery
• Optional: 5-7 green onions, sliced thin

DIRECTIONS

1. Generously salt a large pot of water, bring to a boil, and cook your past according to the instructions on the box. Drain, return to the pot and toss with the vinegar. Let cool for 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the mayonnaise and 3/4 cup of the milk until fully incorporated. Then, mix in the brown sugar, salt and pepper.
3. Toss the cooled pasta into the mayo/milk mixture, and let come to room temperature (I usually wait about 15-20 minutes).
4. Once cool, fold in the carrot and celery. If you’re using the green onions, you can add them at this point. Whisk the remaining mayonnaise and milk, pour over the salad, and toss well to coat. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
5. Chill in the refrigerator until the pasta is cold.

COCONUT RICE

DESCRIPTION
Lightly sweet and fluffy, this coconut rice is the perfect addition to your Asian-inspired dishes. Long grain rice like Basmati and Jasmine work best; however, I have used short grain rice in a pinch, and although it’s “technically” edible, it’s very gluey and gummy, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Also, I prefer to use the full-fat version of the coconut milk because the fam-bam likes the richer flavor, but you can substitute it with light if you’d like.

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 25
• Total time: 30
• Yield: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups jasmine or basmati rice
• 1 can coconut milk, regular or light
• 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse, kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the rice, coconut milk, broth and salt in a large pan.
2. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring on occasion to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
3. Reduce the heat to low, then place a cover on the pot, and cook for 16 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat, leave the pot covered (don’t lift up the lid!), and let it sit on the stove for 10 minutes.
5. Fluff with a fork if you’d like, then serve.

Aloha and enjoy! ??

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen