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Apple Spice Cupcakes with Maple-Brown Sugar Frosting

September 26, 2009 By Kate 6 Comments

Our yearly apple picking trip hasn’t happened yet, but I’m still craving those fall flavors. So I thought that it would be a good idea to combine all those flavors into one dessert. Honestly, these cupcakes provide a multi0sensory fall experience. They smell like fall while baking, their colors are right in line with fall and their taste is absolutely fall!

I can’t remember if I’ve ever made cupcakes before. My husband really isn’t a fan of traditional cupcakes, so I usually just opt to not make them. However, I do make muffins a lot. For some reason, I figured making muffins and cupcakes really couldn’t be that different a process. Needless to say, I learned a very important lesson.

Apparently when making cupcakes, it is a good idea to both grease AND flour your muffin tins, or to just go ahead and use muffin liners.

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Apple Spice Cupcake with Maple-Brown Sugar Frosting

For the cupcakes:

  • 1 1/3 c. oil
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 3 c. flour
  • 2 t. cinnamon
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/2 t. salt
  • 1/2 t. nutmeg
  • 1/2 t. ginger
  • 1/4 t. allspice
  • 2 apples, peeled and diced

In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla on high speed for 2 minutes, or by hand for 5 minutes.

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In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, ginger and allspice until combined. Slowly add to mixing bowl and stir just until combined. Fold in apples. Pour into prepared muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 2 c. powdered sugar
  • 1/4 c. brown sugar
  • 1/4 c. maple syrup

Combine all ingredients and beat until desired frosting consistency.

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The kids really loved these. The spice is just right for them – not too spicy, but with plenty of flavor. And my non-cupcake loving husband ate 3!

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Chicken Spaghetti

September 24, 2009 By Kate 19 Comments

Chicken spaghetti seems to be a very popular dish. But it’s popularity eluded me until about a year ago when I started seeing links to recipes popping up all over the place.

Once it was on my radar, I began looking at many of the recipes and noticed that most of them called for cream of chicken soup, Velveeta cheese and a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes. With the exception of the tomatoes, all of those ingredients are on my do not buy list. So, I never made it, but I kept thinking that I could make it from scratch.

And I kept thinking and thinking about it until finally I got tired of just thinking about it and decided to actually do it.

We all thought it turned out great. Although I will admit I don’t know what the original recipe tastes like. Regardless, this dish is a winner in our house and one that I’ll be making frequently.

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Chicken Spaghetti

  • 1/3 c. butter or margarine
  • 1/2 green pepper, finely diced
  • 1/3 c. flour
  • 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
  • 1 1/2 c. milk
  • 3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 t. cumin
  • 1/2 t. chili powder
  • 1 8 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1 lb. chicken, fully cooked and cubed
  • 1/2 lb. spaghetti, fully cooked

1. In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Add green pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add flour and cook an additional 2 minutes. Slowly add chicken stock and milk. Whisk or stir well to prevent lumps.

2. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 3 minutes, until slightly thicker than a gravy consistency. Remove from heat. Stir in spices, cubed chicken and spaghetti until combined.

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NCBA’s Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes & Cider Gravy

September 23, 2009 By Kate 2 Comments

The recipe for this week’s National Cattleman’s Beef Association What’s For Dinner Wednesday challenge was Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes & Cider Gravy. Doesn’t that name just sound like a crisp fall day? Well, it tastes like one too!

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I have to admit I don’t make pot roast very often. I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve made one. It isn’t that we don’t like it, because we all love it. And I’m sure my husband wouldn’t complain if a pot roast was in our monthly menu rotation.

I just don’t have a lot of experience with different cuts of beef. That’s part of the reason I was so excited to be a program ambassador for the What’s For Dinner Wednesday challenge. I want to learn and broaden my beef horizons. There’s no better way to do that than just jumping right in, right?

Anyhow, this roast made a fabulous special occasion dinner for us. We all licked our plates clean. Two of my children were a little unsure of the sweet potatoes, but they changed their minds as soon as they tasted them. They are just right combination of sweet and savory. Add some of that cider gravy on top and they are irresistible.

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Visit the NCBA’s site for the Beef Pot Roast with Maple Sweet Potatoes & Cider Gravy recipe. Then try it…please! I guarantee you won’t be sorry.

If you make the recipe before this Friday (or if you have already jumped in and joined the challenge), don’t forget to leave your recipe link either on NCBA’s Facebook page or on the recipe review page. One or more participants will be selected to win a great grilling prize basket from the National Cattleman’s Beef Association.

And if you make this recipe and aren’t able to finish it all in one sitting, here are a few ideas for using up the leftover meat:

  • Shredded and mixed with leftover gravy (if you have any left) or barbecue sauce and served on buns.
  • Shredded and fried in a bit of oil with diced onions and potatoes for an easy hash. Serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner and top with a fried egg, if desired.
  • In place of the ground beef in these Kinda Empanadas.

The possibilities are really endless, so that’s just a few to get you started.

If you participated in the challenge this week, please let me know. I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe. And if you didn’t, I’d still love to hear your thoughts!

Full disclosure – I was not compensated in any way for this honest review. I did, however, receive one of the grilling gift baskets from the NCBA as a thank you for agreeing to be a program ambassador.

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