Festive Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Chai Frosting

So every year around Christmas, Chris's work throws a fun holiday party and they always have a bake off. Obviously I enter and get super excited about what to bake! Sometimes the options are so overwhelming I just can't make up my mind! This year I decided to bake something with the holiday flavors in mind. Do you know where I am going with this? Yup, that's right. Gingerbread. And it just so happens I found the BEST gingerbread recipe out there. I turned it into a cupcake with a cream cheese chai frosting. BOOM! And yes it is amazing! I usually make this gingerbread cake with an orange crème anglaise but thought it would make a great cupcake. Another thing to note is that this recipe oriniglaly calls for Guiness beer in the batter, but I wanted to make a dessert that was alcohol free (since it was going to be in a competition and lots of guest tasters, otherwise I don't mind baking with booze!). So I added in ginger ale in place of the beer! Pretty ingenious if you ask me! When it comes to substitutions in baking, I typically draw a blank since baking is such a science, but I figured the bubbles from the ginger ale would do the same as the carbonation from the beer and it would add just a touch more ginger flavor! These cupcakes were a hit, regardless of not winning. They are a winner in my book and a holiday staple that I will use for years to come!

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Snickerdoodle Goodness

Snickerdoodle cookies. One cookie, two words, lots of memories. I don't know any one who would say “No” to a snickerdoodle cookie. What is there to say no to anyway? Sugar, cinnamon, cream cheese... sounds like a Paula Dean body scrub! Just kidding, you know I love you Paula! But seriously, when a snickerdoodle cookie is done correctly with that crisp outer edge and a melt in your mouth center... It is such a childhood comfort! Speaking of childhood... have I bragged about my amazingly awesome 3rd grade class? They are all angels and I can't believe I get to work with them all every day! I am so lucky to work with them! So to make them feel special, I decided to make them some snickerdoodle cookies for our class party. I did a little research and found a recipe that looked pretty good to me, but I did a little tweaking.

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Perfect Pumpkin Cider

I totally meant to post this before Halloween but this recipe is also suitable for Thanksgiving, so it still works out. This summer I was able to go to Harry Potter world with my Mom. And for those of you who don't know me too well, I live for Harry Potter! I am obsessed! The first thing I wanted to try when getting into the park was the Butterbeer, a classic Harry Potter world drink. But I totally forgot that they would also be serving Pumpkin juice, another drink that is popular in the wizarding world. So obviously I got both and was blown away with how delicious they both were! The Butterbeer was everything I thought it would be, although a little too sweet for my liking. It is a drink that is definitely made for the younger kids. But the real star was the Pumpkin juice! I could have had 4 bottles of that stuff in one sitting. The drink is so refreshing, with just the right amount of spice, and fantastic pumpkin flavor!

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Pasta Heaven

I had never made Pasta Carbonara before only because I was a little nervous about using raw egg. I don't really know why that made me nervous because I don't have an issue with raw egg in any other form of cooking. I mean I have eaten my fair share of unbaked cookie dough and that has raw egg. But I will say I am very happy I decided to make this dish, it is a hubby approved dinner. He keeps asking me to make it for dinner, it is that good, he says its up there with one of his favorites. And trust me folks, this dish is killer. It doesn't use a lot of ingredients, it is fast, and filling. It would be great to make for a dinner party and its pretty to look at...at least I think so. Plus in this dish you get to have bacon, garlic, and cheese! Heaven! Well the original recipe calls for pancetta, but I don't always have that on hand, but I do always have bacon on hand because it makes everything better, so that is what I used.

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Wedding Cake Bliss

I did it... I can't believe I actually did it! There are very few moments in life where I am proud of myself, but this my friends, was one of them. When all was said and done, I was overcome with a sense of pride and belief in myself. I could feel the excitement bubbling up inside of me like soda that had been shaken up in a bottle, overflowing with relief.

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Mexican Pizza

Mexican pizza could be one of my new favorite foods. It combines two of the greatest foods/flavors on earth! To have both in one bite is just plain sinful and amazing. Now I've gotta to be honest with you. I have no time for making home made pizza crust on a week night. Do you? Does anyone? Well if you do, I am jealous. But for most of you, and I think you will agree, Bertoli does a pretty nice job of helping you create your own pizza at home with their great pre- made crusts. Sure they are a little carb-o-licious, but they get the job done. While I was home trying out a new restaurant with the madre, I noticed Mexican pizza was on the menu and I was pretty stoked to try it out. Instead of a traditional tomato base like an Italian pizza would have, this pizzas base was a black bean paste, with lots of cumin. It was amazing! So when I decided to make my own version of this pizza, I had to copy that!

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Shrimp Po'Boy

Summer is quickly fading and I couldn't be more disappointed. Why? Not just because it is summer and it is most peoples favorite season, but because I had the entire summer off! Crazy! I thought that it would be hard to not work, because I have worked every summer of my life since I was a teenager... but I found it very easy to do, well, nothing. How sinful is that? I am sure some of you are thinking, why the heck haven’t you posted if you had the entire summer off? Well my friends, this was a summer of soul searching and healing. I had a super tough year and felt I owed it to myself to reconnect with myself, find the little things that make me happy, enjoy my kitties, be with my girlfriends, and work on a better outlook in life. Sure, cooking makes me happy and I love it, but sometimes you just want to cook and not share it with the world. Sometimes I wonder what you friends think of my posting, my writing, and food photography. Sometimes it would stop me from posting because I was afraid of what you guys were thinking. Silly I know, but c'est la vie! Well it used to be... I am thankfully feeling less anxious about what other people think about me in life. Selfish? Maybe, but because I worried so much about what other people thought about me, it hindered me from doing a lot. So don’t take it personally, I still truly care about what you think, but this time around, I'm not going to let it get in my way. I am going to fail more in life, but learn from the failures and embrace them. Fear of failure is something that has paralyzed me for most of my life. I am hoping to take this in stride from here on out. Failures shouldn't stop me from succeeding, and it has for almost all of my life. I finally realize that my opinion about what I am doing is the most important. My posts may not be perfect, the pictures not magazine quality, but I will post regardless! I fell so lucky that I have the support and love from my husband and have connected with some really fabulous ladies, and am happy because of the two. Ok enough about that, I promise there is food related talk on the next page...

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Brown Butter Brownies

Could these be the best brownies EVER? Well you know how I feel about brown butter, it is like liquid gold. It instantly makes everything yummier. These brownies may take a little extra work, but the brown butter does wonders for this brownie recipe! I had heard a lot of buzz about these brownies so obviously I had to give them a go. When you eat these brownies, a pinky should be up. These are like high tea, fancy schmancy brownies. They are definitely not your average brownie. These brownies are rich, decadent, dense, and super chocolatey. I love how much chocolate flavor you get from this brownie recipe.

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Just a little chuckle for the day...

To all of my dear blogging friends:
I thought you would get a kick out of this video! When I saw it I laughed pretty hard, it is so spot on. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Whole Foods Rap

Oh and here is a video very similar to the Whole Foods Rap about where I live... Classic.

Grilled Chicken Curry with Rice

If you aren't familiar with a particular style of cuisine, you are less likely to make it. But that doesn't mean that you don't crave it and want to eat it often right? I have this problem frequently. I like to cook within the limits of my comfort zone but there are some nights when I just want some good Chinese food or Greek...This past weekend I decided to step out of my comfort zone and attempted to make some yummy Indian food. Nothing to crazy, but I was really hankering for some chicken curry and rice. Simple, comforting, and oh so tasty! I found a great recipe to follow, which you can find here, but of course I made some changes. I really encourage you to try this dish because it really is totally do-able. This may not be a technical “Indian” dish, but if you enjoy the flavors of chicken, rice, and curry, I guarantee you will love this!

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