Getting Healthy in 2012 - Color Me Rad 5K

Twenty twelve is all about getting healthy for me. This means eating better & exercising more (or at all), so when I was approached to about the Color Me Rad 5K I knew I had to do it! If you haven't heard anything about the growing popularity of color runs lately, you should really check them out. The Color Me Rad 5K will be in OKC on July 14, 2012. Head on over to http://www.colormerad.com/ & see what it's all about! As an added little incentive to sign up, I am giving all of my followers a 20% discount on the registration fee if you register by the June 1st deadline. Just enter the code CINVANILLA20 when you sign up.

I hope everyone will join me as I complete my first 5K. It's going to be a good time!

TWD - Irish Soda Bread

Oh how I love easy recipes! I'm sure I've said that a million times on this blog, but it's so true. This week's Tuesdays With Dorie recipe is Irish Soda Bread hosted by Carla & Cathleen. Now this was my kind of bread...just a few simple ingredients that were easy to put together, & voila...a gorgeous loaf of bread emerged from the oven. In an effort to remove all yummy, carb-loaded temptation from my house, I gifted the bread to a friend. She assured me that it was absolutely delicious & didn't last through the weekend before being gobbled up by her family. Success!

Sorry there's no pic this week...it seems that I forgot to take one before I sent the little loaf off to it's new home. Major bummer.

Head over to the TWD page for everyone's links, & be sure to visit the host's sites for the recipe!

Tuesdays With Dorie - White Loaves

**Note: It would have been great if I had remembered to hit post on this when I typed it up yesterday. Please forgive my TWD post being on a Wednesday this week. Sheesh!**

I am so excited to be a part of Tuesdays With Dorie again! We all started with a new book this time around, Baking With Julia. Our first recipe was White Loaves. I have never even attempted making bread, so I must admit this was a pretty daunting task for me. The recipe seemed pretty straight forward, so I was looking forward to trying my hand at bread baking for the first time. Unfortunately this recipe didn't work so well for me...I thought my mixer was going to burn up while trying to mix the ingredients. The resulting mixture was really lumpy, & I was afraid it wouldn't rise. I put it in a bowl to proof anyway, & much to my surprise it actually rose. The baked loaf was pretty dense, but it made yummy toast. I will definitely try this recipe again, I may just have to resort to hand kneading the dough since my mixer doesn't like to cooperate.

Head over to slush or Someone's in the Kitchen for the recipe. Also check out the TWD page for everyone's links!

Cinnamon Vanilla Bundt

It seems that lately my favorite dessert to make myself is a good ol' bundt cake. I've tried more bundt recipes over the past few years than I have any other kind of sweet treat. They're so easy to put together & so tasty too. My birthday was yesterday & since I didn't get a birthday cake, I decided to make one of my own. I found a recipe for a vanilla bundt but decided to add cinnamon & a vanilla glaze to jazz it up a little bit. I always glaze my bundts while they're still warm...I love the way it soaks into the cake. You can wait for cake to cool completely before glazing it, or if you'd like, glaze the cake once while it's warm & again after it's cooled to get the best of both worlds.

Cinnamon Vanilla Bundt
(adapted from Natalie's Killer Cuisine)

1 stick Butter, room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1 Egg, room temperature
2 Egg Whites, room temperature
3/4 cup Milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups AP Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg/egg whites and mix until fully combined.
2. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking power, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
3. Add the milk and vanilla extract to the egg moisture, mix until fully combined.
4. Add your dry ingredients and mix until just fully combined.
5. Pour in a prepared bundt pan and bake 40 minutes.
6. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze.

Vanilla Glaze

1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Water

Whisk ingredients together & drizzle over cake.

Butterfinger Cookies

For Father's Day, I gave my dad a dessert of his choosing every month for a year. I've been a little busy lately so tonight I finally got around to making his dessert for August. He asked for cookies, & at first I was going to make chocolate chip or peanut butter but that's just too boring. I decided to go for something different & found this recipe on a blog I follow. We love Butterfinger candy bars, & when I saw that the candy turns into a toffee consistency I knew these were the ones I had to make. I snuck a taste before I delivered them, & they're so tasty!

Butterfinger Cookies

From Sarah's Kitchen Adventures

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups Butterfinger pieces

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until thoroughly incorporated. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt (if using), and baking soda. Add to the butter/egg mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the Butterfinger pieces. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 min.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons of dough. Bake cookies for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I think it's high time I dust off this little blog & start posting again. I finally had a chance to cook dinner tonight, so I pulled out an old favorite. My friend gave me this recipe a few years ago, but I've made a few tweaks to it & really love the results.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

1 - 10" Pizza Crust (Homemade or Store-Bought)
2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 tablespoons olive oil
Ranch Dressing
Buffalo Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe or package directions. Place on a large cookie sheet or pizza pan.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cut chicken breasts into large cuts & saute in skillet until golden brown & cooked through. Transfer chicken to a bowl & shred (I use two forks). Pour desired amount of buffalo sauce & stir until chicken is covered.

Spread ranch dressing over pizza dough. Then evenly distribute the shredded chicken on the dough. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is golden & bubbly.


Homemade Pizza Dough
(From Pioneer Woman Cooks http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/my-favorite-pizza/ )

Makes 2 Crusts

1 teaspoon Active Dry Or Instant Yeast

4 cups All-purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water.
In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined.
Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until you need it. It's best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

Apple Cranberry Cake

It's no secret that my favorite thing about fall is the variety of apples that are available. Anything I can make with apples is a winner to me, so recently when I needed to make a dessert to take to a friend's house I knew apples had to be involved. This bundt cake is everything you want in a great fall recipe. The apples make the cake extremely moist, & the cranberries offer that perfect tart bite. The original recipe didn't specify the types of apples, but Honeycrisp are my favorite so that's what I used. I also made the addition of cinnamon because everything's better with a little cinnamon. I highly recommend that you try this very soon; I've made it twice & have gotten rave reviews both times.

Apple Cranberry Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups apples, peeled and diced
1 cup canola oil
1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Topping
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add in the rest of the ingredients and stir until blended; batter will be stiff. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour 25 minutes. Mix all topping ingredients together until well blended. Pour over and down sides of hot cake while it's still in the pan. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan.

Donut Muffins

Muffins? Donuts? Muffins that taste like donuts? Yes please! For the first time in I don't know how long I actually had the chance to try a new recipe tonight. I came across this one a while ago on The Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen. If you've read this blog, you know that I'm all about the easy recipes, & this one is so easy. And the taste...cinnamon-sugar cake donut deliciousness. You have to try these!

Donut Muffins

1-¾ cup Flour
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
⅓ cups Oil
¾ cups White Sugar
1 whole Egg
¾ cups Milk
_____

FOR THE TOPPING:
¼ cups Butter
⅓ cups White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees & grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the white sugar with the cinnamon in another bowl.
Shake muffins out while still hot. Dip muffins in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.

Snickerdoodle Blondies

I recently came across a post by Risa from Baked Perfection with a recipe for Snickerdoodle Blondies that she had found. I love snickerdoodles, so I bookmarked the recipe. I had a little free time this evening, so I decided to whips this recipe up. The original recipe called for 2 cups of brown sugar, but I only had 1 so I had to substitute with a cup of granulated sugar. These blondies are so delicious & super easy to make!

Snickerdoodle Blondies

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease and/or line a 9x13 inch pan. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugars for 3-5 minutes. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and beat until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. Combine the granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Makes 20-24 bars.

TWD - Dressy Chocolate Loafcake

Well there's no TWD post for me this week because of all things for a baker to own, I don't have a loaf pan. I know...I'm just as shocked as you are! How to any respectable baker not have a loaf pan?! I didn't realize it until I went to bake this cake. Ah well...such is life.

This week's recipe was chose by Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes, so head over to her blog for the recipe. Also be sure to visit the TWD blogroll for everyone's gorgeous cake creations.

TWD - Raisin Swirl Bread

No TWD for me this week...I've been swamped with cake/cupcake orders. I'll be back next week!

Check out Susan of Food.Baby for the recipe, & the TWD blogroll for everyone's beautiful loaves.

TWD - Tender Shortcakes

Well well...look who's finally back in the blogging game. What better reason to come back to the blog than for a delicious shortcake/berry treat? This week Cathy of The Tortefeasor chose Dorie's Tender Shortcakes. This has been by far the easiest recipe we've had on TWD. The key was to not mix it a lot, but I had a problem with getting a lot of the flour incorporated into the dough. It was extremely loose & crumbly so I just piled the dough up as best I could & prayed that it would bake correctly. Sure enough...those little beauties baked up perfectly! I've been craving blackberries lately so I chose to put them with these shortcakes. Talk about heaven on a plate. These are the perfect summer treats, & they're great ways to impress your family & friends at your next dinner party. They look so hard to do, but they're so simple & oh so delicious!

 

Check out Cathy's blog for the recipe, & the TWD blogroll for everyone's creations!

TWD - Dulce de Leche Duos

Happy Tuesday!!

This week's TWD recipe, Dulce de Leche Duos, was chosen by Jodie of Beansy Loves Cake. I was a little concerned at first about whether or not I would be able to find dulce de leche at my local grocery store, but it was super easy to find in the ethnic foods aisle. I loved this recipe because it only had a few ingredients & was so easy to put together. My only issue came when scooping out the dough onto the cookie sheets...the dough was extremely soft & a little hard to work with. I was afraid that the cookies wouldn't hold their shape, but they turned out beautifully. They were soft & perfect with my Sunday morning cup of coffee. These cookies are absolutely delicious & a great addition to anyone's cookie repertoire.

Head on over to Jodie's blog for the recipe, & check out the rest of the TWD blogroll!

Food Blogger Bake Sale - Less Than 1 Month!

April 17th is quickly approaching, & I couldn't be more excited about our Oklahoma Food Bloggers Bake Sale! Vivian Boroff from Island Dreaming in Oklahoma has been amazing enough to help me plan this whole thing. She has secured some amazing door prizes for us as well as some sweet bling. Our friends at Samuel Gordon Jewelers will be donating a beautiful piece of jewelry, and our friends at Trichology Salon, Iguana Mexican Grill and Rococo Restaurant and Fine Wine will all be donating gift certificates as door prizes.

Now we are looking for bakers to participate! I've had people ask me if you have to be a blogger to participate...absolutely not. We want blogging & non-blogging bakers from all over to help us out with this great event! Share Our Strength is a fantastic organization, & our bake sale is just a small way for us to be able to give back.

If you would like to participate, please feel free to e-mail myself or Vivian. We can be contacted at...

Ashley - abates1113@gmail.com
Vivian - islandgirlok@gmail.com

TWD - Soft Chocolate & Raspberry Tart

No TWD for me this week because I've got too many orders to fill. I'll be ready next week though!

TWD - Thumbprints For Us Big Guys

*Editors Note: I'm a complete ding-dong & forgot to hit the Publish Post button late Tuesday night when I originally typed this thing. It's been one of those weeks.*

This week's selection belongs to Mike of Ugly Food Dude, & he chose Dorie's Thumbprints For Us Big Guys. I had to make a minor adjustment to this recipe & substituted pecans for hazelnuts. Let me just tell you, it's nearly impossible to find hazelnuts in my small town grocery store. I also made sure to chill the dough in the fridge before I baked the cookies...they stayed perfectly shaped & didn't spread all over the pan.

These cookies are light & buttery & yummy. I topped them with some strawberry all-fruit spread (I'm not a jam girl...I need chunks of fruit), & they were absolutely perfect.

Thanks Mike for the great pick! Check out his blog for the recipe, & the TWD blogroll for everyone's delicious cookies.

We Have a Location!

Our little bake sale officially has a home! On April 17th we will be at the red barn at the Canadian County Historical Museum in El Reno, OK. The El Reno Convention & Visitors Bureau has been an amazing help thus far. Now I'm just ironing out some of the details. We've got big plans for the sale including a cake contest, so stay tuned for more info!

National Food Bloggers Bake Sale

I'm putting a call out for all Oklahoma food bloggers & bakers.  Gaby from What's Gaby Cooking has organized the first annual National Food Bloggers Bake Sale to benefit Share Our Strength.  I am heading up the bake sale for the state of Oklahoma.  It looks like the OK sale will be held in El Reno, & I will post more information on the exact location as I get it. What I need right now it people that want to help bake & work the sale; if you think you would like to be a part of this great fundraiser, please e-mail me at abates1113@gmail.com. Any & all help would be greatly appreciated...it's going to be a lot of fun! I will keep this site updated as information comes in.

National Food Bloggers Bake Sale Official Site

Perfect Pound Cake & Valentine Sweets

Last week I actually had some down time which is completely unusual for me these days, & all I wanted to do was bake. I had seen a recipe for pound cake on The Pioneer Woman's website that looked good, so I decided to give that a try. You can't go wrong with a good pound cake...it's buttery & dense with a nice crumb. The recipe came together very easily, but I had to bake my cake for about 30 minutes longer than the recipe called for. The cake itself is very delicious, but it was a little too lemony for me. I would like to make it again but use less lemon extract. You can find the step-by-step recipe here.

After the pound cake, I decided to whip up some sugar cookies for my best friend & I to enjoy on our Valentine's Day date. (Our date consisted of eating junk food & laying on her couch watching movies.) The only sugar cookie recipe I ever use is the one from the book Cookie Craft. The cookies have turned out perfectly every time I use the recipe, & this batch was no exception. I just used some simple colored sugar & heart sprinkles that I had to decorate them, & I think they turned out really cute.

TWD - My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Three months since I've blogged...really?! Gees I am such a slacker. I've been doing pretty much every TWD recipe but obviously haven't been posting them. Shame on me!

This week Kait of Kait's Plate choose My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, & girl you picked a good one! I have tried many many different chocolate chip cookie recipes, but this is by far the best ever. E-VER. I made these a few weeks ago when the snow/ice storm came through, & I was stuck in the house for 4 days. It's a good thing I got out when I did so I could bring the leftover cookies to work & quit eating the damn things! Of course the girls at the office loved them (but when do they not love baked goods?), & they all asked for the recipe. (Which is the true test when I bake something...if they love it they want the recipe so they can make it over & over.) These cookies will definitely be my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on.



Thanks to Kait for the fantastic choice! Check out her blog for the recipe, & the TWD blogroll for everyone else's creations!