what's for dinner wednesday :: lemon filled cupcakes

It's not a secret that I love to cook. I think it stems mostly from the fact that I like to eat good food! I also like the fact that it's somewhat of a creative process so even if I'm not getting any sewing/crafting/decorating in, I can always be creative in the kitchen! 

I also like the idea of themed posts - so by no means am I turning into a food-blogger but I am going to start posting food posts on Wednesdays! A bunch of us on instagram have been tagging our dinner prep posts #itswhatsfordinner and it's a fun and inspiring hashtag to follow when looking for dinner ideas! I won't always share dinner recipes on what's for dinner wednesdays - but any kind of recipe! I just like the alliteration effect - hahaha! So first up will be these delicious cupcakes that I made the other day! 

I had leftover lemon curd from the wedding cake I made for my sister-in-law's wedding and needed some birthday treats for a girl in my class at church. You can find my lemon curd recipe in this post - it's delicious and good on so many things! (think crepes, crumpets, english muffins, toast, a spoon - and there's an idea for little tartes in that post too.) 

So here's how I filled them! I cut out a little cone shaped hole in the middle of each cupcake and set the middles aside (lining them up so I could match them back up with their corresponding cup). I also cut the pointy part off so there was just a thin, flat top for covering the filling. 

I then used my little cookie scoop (think mini ice cream scoop) and dropped a dollop of lemon curd in the hole - not quite reaching the top. 

Next, I put the tops back on trying to line them back up so they sat flush and not leaking out any filling.

  

And of course frosting on top! I started in the middle of the cake to kind of secure the edges of the top. They were delicious and I neglected to take any photos of them being eaten. Think hostess filled cupcakes 1,000,000 times better!

You can use any kind of cake mix and frosting. However, I do recommend a white or vanilla cake to pair with lemon filling - lemon cake mixes overshadow the awesomeness of the filling!

Here's what I used:
Duncan Hines white cake (substitue milk for water - makes for a bit denser moister cake)
Canned cream cheese frosting (I know! the horror! I could have made my own but I didn't have time)
1 recipe Lemon Curd

I hope you make these - or at least try the lemon curd - it's so easy and delicious!!

What are you cooking or baking today?

fall is here! time for soup!! {craft book month}

Thanks again Lindsay for asking me to join you on the hop!!

As I said yesterday we've moved and I have been having some issues getting our internet set up!  It's been quite frustrating to feel so disconnected, but I'm hoping to re-connect as soon as we get up and running again!  I also need to start sewing.

I quickly perused the other posters so far along the hop to see what everyone was sharing. Lindsay gave us some freedom with what type of craft books we could post from and even suggested we could share a recipe!  Yay!! So since I haven't gotten my sewing room in order yet (I haven't sewn a stitch in 6 weeks! I KNOW!!!) and because I do have people to feed, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite recipes!  And maybe it will be a nice change from all the sewing? Maybe?

Since fall is upon us this recipe is perfect.  Soup and a hearty bread are some of my favorite cold weather dinners. It's Tortellini, White Bean, and Spinach soup from Cooking Light's 1998 Annual Recipes.

Don't you want to dive into that right now?!  You will find the recipe as written below, but I wanted to share some things I do differently.  As written the recipe is vegetarian using vegetable stock and no meat.  However, I don't always have vegetable stock on hand, so I often use chicken broth.  And since there may be someone in my house (ahem, Mr. Louwho) who thinks it's not a meal without meat - I usually add some shredded chicken to the soup as well.

It calls for red bell pepper but I often use frozen mixed peppers because I usually have them on hand. I've used the dried tortellini in place of the fresh and usually just add extra broth or water to compensate, or you can cook it before hand and then throw it in.  In this photo you can see I also added shredded carrots!  Why not?  That's the beauty of soups - you can make them what you want them to be.  Just add more water/stock to reach the desired consistency!

A note about leftovers: The tortellini continues to soak up the liquid and become soggy while the soup dries out.  Sometimes I will just add the tortellini to our individual bowls and pour the rest on top if I know there will be some left over.  It can also be frozen this way, adding the tortellini in fresh when you are ready to eat!

I love serving this soup with some crusty bread like the one from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day or this Rosemary Peasant Bread from Make and Takes (where I usually use oregano instead of rosemary).

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups coarsely chopped spinach
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (16-ounce) can navy beans, drained
• 2 cups Fresh Vegetable Broth or 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped
• 1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 (9-ounce) package uncooked fresh cheese tortellini
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, bell pepper, seasoning, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add spinach and next 5 ingredients (spinach through artichokes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes. Add tortellini; cook until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bon Appétit!

I hope to be back soon with some more happenings!  Crossing my fingers we get hooked up with internet today!!  Be sure to check out this post with information on how to enter the giveaways!

cooking: another creative pursuit

There's something I've noticed over the last little while about people who sew, quilt, or are generally creative. For the most part, they also like to cook. And not just from a box, can or mix. From scratch.

It's not really that surprising to me, since cooking is a pretty creative process. Creating something of worth from lots of little pieces. Plus, as many of us care for families, it is something required everyday. I figure I might as well make it interesting and delicious!

Much like sewing, having the right tools makes a huge difference to me. A good chopping knife, and block are essential. My knives are courtesy a nice tax refund several years ago. The chopping block? My husband. He made it for me 5 years ago and it's one of the most useful and attractive things in my kitchen. I love it!

top-bottom: celery, carrots, rutabaga, leeks, onions

I love soup, and pureed soups are one of my favorites, with some good crusty bread.  I've decided with everyone being sick lately that we should be eating more vegetables.  And with the leeks and onions in this soup it's almost sweet when cooked.  And really, who doesn't want an excuse to buy a rutabaga!?

 

So I made some of this soup the other day.  It's from a soup cookbook I purchased in France.  It reminds me of those delicious, creamy first course soups.  But I like them for lunch.  With that bread.  Of course with the bread.  Did I mention bread?

My sweet mr.louwho is the best gifter.  He got me this lovely food processor for my birthday and I've LOVED using it!  Especially for this soup.  Basically you simmer the veggies for about 20 minutes and then puree it in the food processor.  Then mix it back up with some cooked rice, the liquid, and some milk.  Oh, and butter.  Of course.

 

And this bread.  I blogged about it a couple of years ago.  With the right tools (a baking stone and container to keep the dough) this is the EASIEST and prettiest bread you will ever bake.  Try it.

 

Now don't think I'm just going to leave you without the recipe!  Here it is.  Hope it warms you up on a cold winter day!

Potage a la Libournaise

4 2/3 C Water

4 2/3 C Milk         

2 carrots

2 turnips (or rutabagas)

2 branches celery

4 leeks

2 large onions

4 large soup spoons rice

2-4 tbsp butter

salt/pepper

parsley for garnish (optional)

Cut the vegetables in julienne (matchstick size pieces).  Bring them to a boil in a large pot with the water and salt (1 tbsp).  They should become soft to the touch (about 20 minutes).  

Strain the vegetables and reserve the water in a smaller saucepan.  Cook the rice in this water, about 20 minutes.  

While the rice is cooking, put the vegetables back in the pot and mix with melted butter.  Be sure to not brown the vegetables, just mix them well with butter.  

Puree vegetables in a food processor.  When rice is cooked, add rice with water to the food processor to combine.  (Or use an immersion blender straight in the pot.)

Pour soup back in the pot.  Stir while adding milk and let soup reheat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Garnish with chopped parsley in the center of each bowl.

Bon Appetit!

strawberry. . . shortcake?

I ended up with some really good berries the other day. We like to eat them lightly sweetened with whipped cream for dessert. Due to some star alignment I had half a bowl left and a very quiet house.  I was tempted to just eat them on the spot.  But I resisted...

I was inspired by Pink's post from the other day. But I was too lazy to make biscuits. Or even some crepes.

But what I did have was sourdough bread.  Which is really good toasted.  I figured it wasn't much different than cake or biscuits, so, why not?

As the bread was toasting, I debated whether or not to butter the bread before putting on the strawberries and whipped cream.  Then I had one of those lightbulb moments.  OR, I had the nutella devil whispering in my ear.  After all nutella does taste good with everything (and yes, I had a period of time where I did try it on pretty much everything).

So out came the toast, on went the nutella, strawberries and whipped cream.  Repeat.

Easiest. Shortcake. Ever.

Except it's not really shortcake.  It's like, well, lazy girl's shortcake. Or, super fancy strawberry-nutella toast. OR a really good reason to work out tomorrow.

I love this idea! As I said last week, Tiffany asked me to share a recipe this week for her swap. Part of the swap is a linky party! And we all love those, right?  Click on the button above (or on the sidebar) to take you to the party.

She is trying to reach 365 recipes by the end of the week. That way we can have a recipe for every day of the year! Fun!

My recipe posted yesterday. The meatloaf is delicious, unfortunately - it's not very photogenic (I may have already said that).

I can't wait to see what everyone else is contributing!  I love to cook and eat, so this is right up my alley.  Let me know if you are going to participate so I can be sure to check out what's cooking at your house!

If you are interested in any other recipes and food related topics I've posted in the past, you can browse through them by clicking here.