Pinwheel Cupcakes

For Mother's Day brunch, I wanted to make my Mom some flower cupcakes. I've been places where a real flower was stuck in the middle of a straw and then stuck into a cupcake. When I started researching which plants were poisonous, it became apparent that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to use real flowers. The petals of a flower may not be poisonous but the stalk or leaves could be. Since there were going to be children present, I wouldn't be able to observe if they were eating the flowers. Most likely, it would have been my son so I figured I would have to substitute the flower with something safer. Since I remembered how my grandmother had pinwheels, I thought it would be a nice connection with her too. The pinwheels worked great. Plus the kids thought it was wonderful to blow on them. My wonderful sister gave me a grass decorating tip which made frosting the cupcakes easier. Also, none of the kids tried eating the pinwheel.

Photo taken by my son!

Pinwheel cupcakes
12 chocolate cupcakes
1 cup green frosting
12 pinwheels

Directions:

1. Using a multi-opening decorating tip, pipe the green frosting onto the cupcakes to resemble grass. (My sister gave me a Wilton Decorating Tip #233).
2. Cut the pinwheel stick in half.
3. Clean the pinwheel stick before inserting in the middle of the cupcake. 

Enjoy!

One year ago.........................................................I made Abstract Art Sugar Cookies.
Two years ago.......................................................I made Seven Cheese Bread.

Did you already know.............
-In 2003, Omikami Amaterasu became the oldest mother when she gave birth to a son.
-More babies are delivered in the month of August.
-By age of 44 years old, 81% of women have given birth.

Happy Mother's Day!

Breakfast Potato Bake

Since my Mom has four children, I like to celebrate Mother's Day with her a week early. My younger sister tends to do the same. Then my other sisters does something special for her on Mother's Day. It is nice since my Mom celebrates Mother's Day for two weekends and not just one. Yes, she is that special! I know my Mom likes potatoes so I wanted to make sure I had a potato dish for her Mother's Day brunch. I also figured breakfast sausage would be a great addition. When I looked for a recipe to make, the majority of the recipes had frozen hash browns. I wanted to take the extra steps and make it from scratch. Also, my husband's family makes this wonderful potato dish on the grill so I used it as my inspiration. My Mom said she liked the dish. My son said he really liked it. He did help me so he took the credit. It does encourage him to help me more in the kitchen if he gets the credit.

Breakfast Potato Bake
2 lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 lb. breakfast sausage
1/2 cup green peppers, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 eggs, lightly scrambled
2 tsp season salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
4 oz. cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. 
3. Parboil the potatoes for about 10 minutes.
4. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the vegetable oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Brown the sausage, onion, and green pepper in the skillet. Set aside.
6. Drain the potatoes. 
7. Place the potatoes in a food process to grate.
8. Add the potatoes, eggs, season salt, and pepper to the sausage mixture. Mix until incorporated.
9. Evenly distribute the potato mixture into the baking dish.
10. Top with the cheese.
11. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
12. Uncover and allow to bake for another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

Recipe by Jen of Sweet Morris.
 
One year ago...............................................................I made Fruit Cups.
Two years ago.............................................................I made Pizza Sauce.

Did you already know................................................
-Potatoes originated in South America.
-In the 18th century, salted potatoes were served as a dessert.
-Potato is a vegetable.

Hawaiian Rolls

This week my recipes are inspired by my Mom. My Mom loves Hawaiian King Rolls so I made a bunch of them and gave her a bag full. My husband surprised me by saying that he had never had them. I did point them out at our local store and he still said he never had them. (Yes, we even have them in our stores in Maine.) My Mom told me that she liked them. My family really liked them. If you have never had them either, they are sweeter than a typical roll.

Copycat Kings Hawaiian Bread
1 egg
2/3 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 (1/4 oz.) envelope of yeast
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add 1 cup of flour. Set aside. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg before adding pineapple juice, sugar, ginger, and the butter.
3. Add 1 cup of flour to the egg mixture and incorporate well.
4. Sprinkle in the yeast and mix well.
5. Add another 1 cup of flour. Mix until incorporated.
6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm surface until doubles about 1 hour.
7. Once doubled, place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour.
8. Shape the dough into equally sized rolls.
9. Cover the rolls and place in a warm place and allow to rise for 1 hour.
10. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
11. Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the rolls. 
12. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked throughly.

Recipe adapted from Food.com.

One year ago.............................................I made Fresh Orange Juice.

Two years ago...........................................I made Dulce de Leche Arborio Rice Pudding.

Did you already know.............................
-In the 1950s, Robert Taira opened Robert's Bakery in Hawaii.
-In 1977, the business opened a new bakery in California. 
-Currently, the third generation of the Taira family are running the business.

Chicken Enchiladas

When I lived in Colorado, I loved eating at the local Mexican restaurants. Since moving back home, my favorite local Mexican restaurant closed. I have found there are many Mexican restaurants in Portland but my husband isn't a fan of driving for awhile just to go to a restaurant. I'm not going to disagree with him since he doesn't complain when we drive over an hour to go to my favorite beach. The beach is more important. My husband will make Mexican dishes for me but he hasn't made enchiladas for us yet. When I made this dish, he really liked it. The kids liked it. The best part about the recipe it is very easy since leftover chicken can be used or a store bought rotisserie chicken. I still don't have the knack of rolling those corn tortillas without some of them breaking.

Chicken Enchiladas
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
12 corn tortillas
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
optional toppings: sour cream, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, etc

Directions:

1. Spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper. Saute for 1 minute.
4. Sprinkle the flour over the onion mixture and stir.
5. Stir in the chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, and tomato sauce. 
6. Bring to a boil over high heat.
7. Remove 1/2 cup of the sauce and set aside.
8. Add the chicken and stir to coat in the sauce.
9. Cook for 5 minutes.
10. While the chicken is heating, cover the tortillas with a damp towel and microwave for 25 seconds.
11. Preheat the oven on high broil while assembling the enchiladas.
12. Take a corn tortillas and spoon about 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture into the center.
13. Roll the corn tortillas and place into the baking dish. Continue to assemble with the remaining tortillas.
14. Top the rolled tortillas with the remaining 1/2 sauce that had been previously set aside.
15. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top of the enchiladas.
16. Broil the enchiladas for 3 minutes or until the cheese has melted on top.
17. Serve with desired toppings.

Recipe adapted from My Recipes.

One year ago.............................................I made Migas in a Taco Bowl.
Two years ago...........................................I made Chicken Salad Roll Up.

Did you already know............................
-Tortillas originated from the Mayans.
-The first tortillas were made from corn.
-Corn tortillas tend to be gluten free.

Mexican Rice

My family loves rice. I prefer my rice to have a little more flavor. Normally, my husband request just white rice. Many times I have made the flavored rice packages but my husband told me he doesn't care for them. They also tend to be high in sodium. I figured I would try making my own Mexican rice. My husband really liked it. It has a nice subtle flavor. When I made this dish, I offered the kids some Mexican rice. My son said Mexican rice, what? I replied Mexican rice like Spanish rice. My husband interrupted and said that it really was French rice. Since my son really looked confused, I had to tell him to ignore his Dad. I explained that in Mexico you speak Spanish since Spain once ruled over Mexico just like England ruled over the States. My son said he liked the Mexican rice.

Mexican Rice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup rice
2 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup parsley

Directions:

1. In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the rice and stir until the rice is lightly toasted for about 2 minute.
3. Add the garlic, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Stir for 1 minute or until the rice is golden brown.
4. Stir in the tomato sauce and chicken broth. 
5. Once the chicken broth begins to boil, cover and turn the heat to low.
6. Simmer for about 18 minutes. 
7. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 1 minute before fluffing with a fork.
8. If desired, top with the parsley before serving. 

Recipe adapted from Favorite Family Recipes.

One year ago...............................I made Guacamole.
Two years ago.............................I made Pasta Salad.

Did you already know.......................................
-The Spaniards introduced rice to Mexico.
-The Spanish word for rice is arroz. 
-In Northern Mexico, often rice is served with tomato sauce and chicken broth.