So close to vacation I can taste it! Next week the hubby and I are taking three days off. We’ll be going to the movies for the first time in 2 years, having a little time to ourselves, then taking our son out of preschool for the day to go have some fun. I plan on making new things too while having a few days off.

Monday: Taking Mom out for dinner

Tuesday: Tilapia, rice, veggie

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Kielbasa, cheesy tater bites, veggie

Friday: Crispy baked drums, Pecorino fries, veggie

Saturday: Mini pizzas

Sunday: Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie, cheddar beer bread

I doubled this recipe so I could take plenty to work. I frosted them with a simple chocolate frosting. Don’t worry that the frosting at first looks weird and lumpy, I sure was. It turns out silky smooth in the end. The cupcake recipe makes 12 cupcakes. The frosting is enough for 24 cupcakes. Make sure the cupcakes have cooled completely before frosting them.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup brewed coffee (or 1 cup of warm water mixed with 1 1/2 teaspoons of espresso powder
or instant coffee granules)
1 Tbsp white vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 Tbsp (1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp) olive oil

 
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake
liners.

 
In a large bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt
until there are no visible clumps (cocoa tends to clump up).

 
In a separate bowl, mix together the coffee (or water plus coffee granules), vinegar, vanilla
extract, and olive oil.

 
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until they just come together.
The mixture should be thin and rather lumpy.

 
Ladle the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about two-thirds of the way full. Place in
oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out
clean.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool on
a rack.

Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients:

 
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar

 
Directions:

 
Place butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl beat until combined about 1 minute. Scape
down the sides and add cocoa and vanilla mix until combined. Add powdered sugar and mix
until well combined. Use on cake, cupcakes or brownies.

I actually put some of this in my black bean tacos Friday. Nice kick to it. I don’t know if I’d eat it on a salad, it is a bit spicy. But as a dip or an addition to tacos it’s awesome. Remember you can always save what is left in your can of chipotle peppers in adobe. Put it in the fridge for a couple of weeks or put it in a Ziplock and freeze it. Then you can grate what you need into dishes right out of the freezer.

Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Ingredients:

 
3/4 cup mayo (low fat is fine)
3/4 cup sour cream (low fat is fine or you can use plain yogurt)
2-3 canned chipotle peppers with 1 Tbsp sauce
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 small bunch of chives
Small handful of cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp ranch dressing mix (I use Penzey’s, this is optional but it ramps up the flavor)

 
Directions:

 
To make the dressing, place all dressing ingredients except the buttermilk in a blender.
Blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency and blend in buttermilk if desired (less buttermilk for
dipping, more for dressing).

 
Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge for a week or more.

Awhile ago I had a coupon for Philly’s new dark chocolate cream cheese. It’s been in the fridge awhile and I really didn’t know what to do with it. I had an extra roll of crescents so decided to try this out. It almost tastes like some fancy French pastry, not as flaky of course. I was surprised how good the dark chocolate cream cheese tasted. No chemical weirdness, just really good dark chocolate flavor.

Here’s a tip though, don’t eat them straight out of the oven no matter how good they smell. I burnt myself! It’s very hot inside so let it cool a bit.

Crescents with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese and Cinnamon Sugar

Ingredients:

1 can of crescent rolls

1 container of Philly Dark Chocolate Creme Cheese (you’ll use about half of it)

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll crescents. Place a healthy tablespoon of the dark chocolate cream cheese on the wide end of the crescent. Roll it tightly and press to seal the edges so nothing seeps out. Put them on a baking sheet covered in a silpat or wax paper.

Mix together the cinnamon and sugar. Lightly sprinkle on top of the crescents.

Cook in oven for 11-13 minue4s until golden brown.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes. These are good warm or cold the next day…if there is any left that is!

Yesterday we did our monthly grocery shopping trip. We do go to Costco every other week for bread, eggs, and milk as they have the best prices for those items. We also pick up fresh produce as well in between the big trip. We saved $101 dollars this month, 34% of the bill. That included cereal for .49 cents a box and toothpaste and a toothbrush for free. Good store sales at Safeway this week in combination with coupons.

Monday: Beef Stroganoff

Tuesday: Crispy chicken breasts (I’m going to use the Kraft Fresh Take I received for free from their coupon), baked potatoes, veggies

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Beer battered fish, homemade fries, veggie

Friday: Beef tacos, Mexican Rice, (Not) Refried Beans, Mexican Corn Cake

Saturday: Pork chops, fried potatoes with spicy aioli, veggie

Sunday: Crispy chicken with sage sauce, fingerling potatoes, veggie, biscuits

I had a coupon (of course!) for blue cheese crumbles so decide to make some dressing. I used it as a dip too for my Parmesan chicken nuggets.

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

 
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of blue cheese crumbles
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

 
Directions:

 
Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, blue cheese crumbles, vinegar, minced garlic, and sea
salt and black pepper, to taste; mix until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for two hours
before serving.

Costco had a great deal on scallops recently so I picked up a bag. Ended up making this with the chives I grow in my kitchen window herb garden.

Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops with Lemon Chive Sauce

Ingredients:

 
1 and 1/2 pounds sea scallops
1/3 pound bacon (cut slices in half)
1/4 pound melted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

 
Sauce Ingredients:

 
2 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

 
Directions:

 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and wine together; when melted, add paprika,
seasoned salt, and lemon juice. Drop scallops into melted wine and butter sauce. Allow scallops
to marinate for about 30 minutes.

 
Meanwhile, whisk together the ingredients for the lemon chive sauce. Set aside.

 
Wrap each scallop with half a piece of bacon and fasten bacon with a toothpick. Place wrapped
scallops in a baking pan and bake in the oven for about 8 minutes, then turn over and cook
another 8 minutes or until scallops turn opaque. Serve with the sauce for dipping.

What a week. Everything is finally back to normal and less stressful. One of the local farms (Larriland) has signs up saying they are starting strawberry picking on Saturday. We’ll be doing that and grocery shopping for the month. I wonder how much strawberries my son will put in his belly instead of putting them in the container!

Monday: One pan chicken potato bake, veggie

Tuesday: Tilapia, rice, veggie

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Terryaki meatballs, rice

Friday: Sausage rigatoni, garlic bread

Saturday: Honey mustard panko chicken fingers, pecorino fries, veggie

Sunday: Slow cooker roast, creamy parmesan and bacon potatoes, veggie, bread

Busy at work this week but quiet on the home front. May try a new bread or dessert next Sunday. On our last meat shopping trip at Costco we picked up some Prime filets, we’ll try those out Sunday.

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Beer battered fish, homemade fries, veggie

Thursday: Spaghetti and meat sauce, garlic bread

Friday: Parmesan chicken nuggets, Pecorino fries, veggie

Saturday: BBQ ribs and fries, veggie

Sunday: Steak, baked potatoes, veggie

Here is my version of the fritters from Heavenly Homemakers. It needed more spice though, next time I’ll add some cayenne and more cumin.

Taco Corn Fritters

Ingredients:

 
½ pound ground beef
½ Tbsp garlic powder
½ Tbsp onion powder
½ Tbsp cumin
½ Tbsp paprika
2 cups cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups frozen or canned corn
oil for frying

 
Directions:

 
Brown hamburger meat. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and paprika. Mix well. In
separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients, then stir in the seasoned meat. Heat oil
in skillet. Scoop 1-2 tablespoons of corn mixture into the hot oil and press down to flatten. Fry
for 5-7 minutes on each side until cooked through. Serve warm.