Recipe: Taco Seasoning

My family LOVES enchiladas, tacos, tostadas and pretty much anything else Mexican so I make either one of these dishes almost weekly. Prior to yesterday, I have to admit that I would use the packet taco seasoning to season my ground beef. I know, I know! The amount of sodium could probably kill a cow but I never knew how easy it was to make my own seasoning. That is until I did some Google searching.

I found the recipe below on AllRecipes.com and tried it for my beef tostadas that I made for dinner yesterday. This recipe is perfect! The right amount of seasoning and the flavors blended so well. I think it tasted better than the packet seasoning! Of course, depending on the heat that you or your family can tolerate, you can make some adjustments. As you can see below, I made some minor adjustments because of what spices I had in my pantry and you can do the same.

Try it out!

Taco Seasoning

Prep Time: ~2 mins | Yields 1 oz

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 ½ tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Kosher Salt*

1 tsp Black Pepper

¼ tsp Garlic Powder

¼ tsp Onion Powder

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper (ground red pepper)*

¼ tsp Dried Oregano

½ tsp Paprika

Directions:

1. Combine all spices in small bowl and stir until mixed.

2. Reserve in an air tight container.

*The original recipe uses Sea Salt and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes which I did not have in my pantry to I substituted with the above starred ingredients.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Cupcakes

These cupcakes were the biggest hit at Saya's cupcake themed 1st birthday party. Anyone who had the opportunity of trying one gave nothing but great reviews, even days later. The only bad part? I never got to hide one for myself. Darn!

Looks like the perfect excuse to make them again. Hopefully Saya isn't allergic to nuts because she will have to try these cupcakes one day too! :)

*Sorry* I don't have a picture of the finished product. I will update when I make these again!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

TOTAL: 1 - 1.5 hours | MAKES: 24 Cupcakes

Original Recipe: Becky Bakes

Ingredients

Cupcake:

1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

4 large eggs, separated

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whole milk

24 chocolate covered peanut butter cups

Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions - Cupcake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners. 

2. In a large bowl, beat peanut butter, brown sugar, sugar, and butter at medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add to butter mixture alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour, beating just until combined after each addition.

4. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites at high speed with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Gently fold beaten egg whites into butter mixture. 

5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, fill each 2/3's full. Place 1 chocolate covered peanut butter cup in the center of each muffin cup, pushing down until the edges of the peanut butter cup is even with the cupcake batter. 

6. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until edges of cupcake are golden brown, let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely. Spread or pipe peanut butter frosting over cupcakes.

Directions - Frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Add milk and vanilla beating until combined. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until combined.

ENJOY!

Recipe: Root Beer Bundt Cake

First of all, let me just say how much I LOVE the Food Network and the Food Network Magazine! Prior to this recipe, I haven't made any dishes that have been posted in the magazine usually because I don't have all the ingredients and eventually I forget about using the recipes. For some reason though, I had every single ingredient for this cake. Call it fate if you want. All I know is that this recipe was easy and delicious. Oh and my first chocolate cake from scratch! Here's to trying new things!

This picture right here is my second attempt at the cake. I made the first cake for my neighbor's 4th of July picnic, which I posted a picture on one of my Project 365 posts. The 1st attempt wasn't a fail by any stretch of my imagination, I just messed up the glaze a little. I thought the glaze was too thick so I "thinned" it out with a little more root beer. Not the best idea as the glaze then got soaked into the cake instead of laying on it as it is in the pic below. This time around, I followed the directions to a 'T'. Baking really is a science and not art. Fudge around with the ingredients and you can get a whole new dish entirely.

Well since the hubs and FIL did not get a piece of the 1st cake and again I had enough ingredients, I decided to do a second cake. Also, when I had posted the picture of the Root Beer cake I made for the 4th of July picnic, I received a few requests for the recipe. So here it is. My 1st chocolate cake and my 1st recipe post on The Roddy Bride Blog. Hope you like it! 

P.S. Thank you Chef Sidoti :)

Root Beer Bundt Cake

ACTIVE: 45 Mins | TOTAL: 2 hours | SERVES: 8 to 10 people

Original Recipe: Food Network Magazine July/August 2011 issue - Chef Claudia Sidoti (Food Network Kitchens)

Ingredients

Cake:

2 cups root beer soda, plus 1/4 cup for soaking

1 stick of unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground allspice

Glaze:

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup root beer soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and Flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; tap out the excess flour. (I used Pam for Baking)

2. Heat 2 cups of the root beer soda, the cocoa powder, chocolate and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and whisk until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

3. Combine the flour, the baking soda, salt and allspice in a bowl.

4. Once cooled, whisk the eggs into the root beer mixture, then gently fold in the dry ingredients. Expect the batter to be lumpy.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 55 minutes to an hour, rotating the pan halfway through. Transfer the pan to a rack.

6. Gently poke holes all over the cake with a skewer and pour 1/4 cup root beer all over the cake; let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the 1/4 cup root beer, a pinch of salt, the confectioners' sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. The glaze will be a little thick, this is OK. Drizzle over the cake.

Last but not least... ENJOY!

Need a new cookie recipe?

Need a cookie recipe for a cookie exchange? or a holiday party? or just to snack on while you sip on some hot cocoa? Well, I may have the recipe for you!

Check out my latest post on my Roddy Bride Kitchen blog! I have made these cookies two years in a row and they are FAB!

Click here for the recipe for White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies (recipe courtesy of Paula Dean and FoodNetwork.com).

The Roddy Bride Recipes

That's right, I created a new blog. Don't worry, the Roddy Bride blog is definitely not going away. The new blog, The Roddy Bride Recipes, is a great new addition.

What is The Roddy Bride Recipes blog?

The mister and I are pretty much self taught cooks. We both love to cook together but I LOVE to bake too.  Because of our mutual interest in food, I decided to create a blog with some of our favorite recipes that we have tried and liked from family members, friends, cookbooks, magazines or the internet. We are even looking for some of my fabulous followers to submit some of their favorite recipes for us to try. Just think of this as an online recipe book.

So if you are interested in cooking or baking or just want to try a new recipe, come check the blog out. Please note as this is a new blog, it will constantly be growing so be sure to check back for the latest and greatest recipes.

Much Love,