Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Long, long ago I had a party.  On New Years Eve.  Please forgive the tardiness of this recipe.

Jalapeno Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients:
12 whole mushrooms, large
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbs butter
3 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1 whole jalapeno, minced
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 oz. cream cheese
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs with the melted butter.  Toss until evenly coated.  Set aside.
2. Heat the oven to 350F.
3. Carefully clean and stem the mushrooms.  Set the caps on a small baking sheet.
4. Chop the stems and set aside.
5. In a small pan over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon until crisp.  Add the chopped vegetables and mushroom stems and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside to cool slightly.
6. In a medium bowl, mix the shredded cheese with the cream cheese until well combined.  Add the warm vegetable mixture and mix well.
7. Divide the filling evenly between the mushrooms.  Top with the buttered panko mixture.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender and the topping is golden brown.

Comments:

• I used turkey bacon.  I do not recommend that.
• Cheese and cream cheese were both reduced fat.

Tasty Kitchen

(cheater) Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting

When you're in a pinch, you're in a pinch and you make it work.  In this case, it did!

The Perfect Cupcake Recipe (using a box mix)
Ingredients:
1 box mix (any flavor, but get the good kind - Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted (use butter, not margarine!)
1 cup of water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave.
3. Add cake mix, eggs, and water to the butter in large bowl.
4. Mix on low for 1 minute.  Then mix on high for 1 minute.  You will be amazed that your batter is nice and thick and creamy - not thin and runny like it is when you follow the box instructions.
5. Fill cupcake papers (tip: use an ice cream scooper, one scoop is just the right amount per cupcake!)
6. Pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
7. Let cool.

Salted Caramel Frosting
Ingredients:
2 sticks butter at room temperature
8 ounces of cream cheese
3-4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Instructions:

1. 1 cup salted caramel (recipe in above frosting link)
2. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy.
3. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar into the butter/cream cheese mixture and beat to combine.
4. Add 1 cup of the salted caramel and beat to combine. 
5. Add additional powdered sugar until the frosting is the sweetness and consistency you desire.

Comments:

• I didn't have time to make the salted caramel for the frosting, so I used Trader Joe's Fleur del Sel caramel sauce.

Recipes from Tidy Mom and Kimberly Taylor Images

Taco Pasta Salad

Where do you go to find your recipes these days?  Seriously, does anyone use allrecipes.com anymore?  I don't.  My recipes search engine is Pinterest (<-- follow me!).  I am a totaly Pinterest-a-holic!  And I openly, freely admit it.  So when it came to needing to make a side dish to take to a BBQ that's where I went to search.  And I found this Taco Pasta Salad recipe.  Sounded good to me!

Taco Salad Pasta

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (recommend something smallish)
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen corn
2-3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 oz shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1 1/2 cup fresh salsa
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 tbs lime juice
1 tbs cumin
1-2 tsp chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 avocado, diced (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl (or 2 medium bowls), combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, olives, and cheese.  Once pasta is cooled, stir in and mix to combine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Pour over pasta salad and mix well.  Stir in cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Just before serving, dice the avocado and carefully stir into salad.

Comments:

• For the salsa, I used pico de gallo
• I omitted the avocado, because I didn't have one.
• I used reduced fat cheese. 

Recipe from The Sweet Life