I can't believe it's not chocolate!!!!

I can't believe it's not chocolate!!!

Way back in 1964, the fabulous Italians created a creamy, sweet, hazelnutty spread. It hit the market as an instant success and has increased in popularity ever since. This spread is better known as Nutella.

(cred) 

((Can we talk about this picture for a moment, and how

the sheer drippy-ness makes my OCD want to cry?))

Fast forward 51 years--

It recently occurred to both the hubs and myself that neither of us had ever tried Nutella. There was no particular reason behind not trying it, we just hadn't gotten around to it. We aren't really huge chocolate people (unless you count Snickers and Kit-Kats as chocolate...then that's a different story) and we just assumed that it tasted sweet and bitter and chocolate-y, so we had no interest in trying it. For whatever reason, when I was in line at the store the other day, I noticed one of the Nutella-to-go snack packs and decided why the hell not?! It was like $2.00, so if we hated it we could always toss it. Hubs laughed at me when I got in the car---another one of my bright ideas, right? Welllllll......one bite of the creamy goodness and we realized what we had been missing all this time!! First of all, the texture was like heaven. Smooth and silky and wonderful! And the taste!! Ok, so you know how melted chocolate looks so delicious, and then you eat a spoonful and it is so unbelievably bitter and chocolate-y that you instantly regret it? (No, only me?..) Anyway, Nutella literally tastes exactly like melted chocolate, but without the weird bitter sweetness. I was shoving spoonfuls fingerfulls of the spread in my mouth at alarming speeds, each bite as tasty as the last!! How had I not tried this before?!? And why had I not bought 17 to-go packs?!?! And even crazier---did hubs try something new and ENJOY it?!?!?! This was a momentous occasion for the record books!

Most of you are probably reading this post thinking "Seriously, this chick is crazy for waiting so long to try this!! Does she live under a rock?!?" While this may be true, you should also know that I still haven't seen ET or Scarface, I didn't kiss a boy until I was like 15, and I've never parked in a handicapped spot. Like, ever. Let's just say I'm a little behind the times.

I haven't been to the grocery store since expanding my taste horizons, but you bet your sweet ass we will be picking up some Nutella on our next trip...and maybe Cheetos...because, obviously...

Not your momma's meatloaf...easy peasy

Not your momma's meatloaf...easy peasy

o.m.g....my mouth is watering

Growing up we ate meatloaf every so often--maybe twice a month or so. My favorite thing to do was to mix together everything on my plate into one big pile of mush, then eat it all blended together. (Sounds delicious, right?) I think it was something about the combination of flavors all hitting me at the exact same time, and I think that is the inspiration for so many of my recipes. I absolutely hate bland food and I season EVERYTHING that I cook. I want you to be able to taste every seasoning and flavor I put into my food, and there is no difference when it comes to my meat loaf.

Most meat loafs have a few things in common: They are dry, crumbly and have very little flavor. Literally, a loaf of meat. Well ladies, I am going to share my very own meat loaf recipe with you today that is none of the above and will be SURE to please. I'm telling you, this recipe is literally melt in your mouth juicy and flavorful like you would not believe. And I came across it the best way possible---I made it up! Hope you enjoy!

P.S.---I am terrible at amounts and I usually just guess how much I'm putting in, so feel free to tweak to your own liking!

*Not Your Momma's Meatloaf Recipe*
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients: 
1 pound ground meat
1 egg
1/4 c breadcrumbs (give or take)
2 Tbsp Ketchup
2 Tbsp BBQ Sauce
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Dale's Liquid Marinade (usually used for steaks--but GREAT in burgers and meat loaf)
2 Tbsp A-1 Steak Sauce
1/2 c light brown sugar
Garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375º
2. Combine ground meat, egg & breadcrumbs in a large bowl.
3. Combine Ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Soy Sauce, Dale's & A-1 & brown sugar in a separate bowl.
4. Add HALF of the liquid mixture to the meat/breadcrumb/egg mixture & knead together.
5. Add salt, pepper & garlic powder (maybe 1/2 tsp of each) for flavor.
6. Form all ingredients into a loaf.
7. Using a basting brush (or your hands) coat the top and sides of the loaf with the liquid/brown sugar mix. Make sure to cover as much of the loaf as you can--the more liquid the better the flavor!
8. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

(**Another twist on this recipe is to cover the entire loaf with bacon prior to adding the liquid coating...the flavor of the bacon gets trapped inside the meat and is oh-so-delicious**)

So there you have it, the most amazing delicious meat loaf in the world. Seriously, even if you hate meatloaf, try this...you won't be disappointed.

Banana-Caramel cupcakes recipe

As I mentioned in last night's blog, over the weekend I made some delicious cupcakes. Now, I absolutely love to cook. I love creating new recipes and throwing a bunch of ingredients into a pan and seeing what happens. But when it comes to baking, I have always steered clear. Maybe it's the way that you have to measure everything exactly, or how easy it is to completely destroy the entire recipe by leaving it in the over for like 5 seconds too long, but baking has always scared the crap outta me. Until recently, the most complex thing I have ever baked was a boxed cake or some chocolate chip cookies. So I decided what better time to learn how to bake than right now? A few weeks ago I tried to make a gooey butter cake, but I was less than impressed with the end result. The cupcakes, however, came out pretty damn good if you ask me!! Since I most certainly did not think of the recipe myself, I will share it with you here and also give all of the credit to Chelsey Bogaards @ Tastebook.com. (Recipe Here). I am not a huge fan of butter cream icing, so I made a caramel cream cheese frosting instead, and it came out so good!!

Servings:Makes 15 cupcakes

Ingredients

Cupcakes

• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Caramel (You can also use store bought caramel ice cream topping)

• 1 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Caramel Buttercream

• 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup of the prepared caramel

Directions

Cupcakes

• 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
• 2 Whisk together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, slat, and cinnamon.
• 3 In another bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla.
• 4 With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with banana mixture, and beating until just combined after each. Stir in butterscotch chips.
• 5 Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes.

Caramel

Combine sugar and water in a heavy saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and syrup is clear. Stop stirring, and cook until syrup comes to a boil. Continue to boil, gently swirling pan occasionally to color evenly, until mixture is very dark amber. Remove from heat; add cream in a steady stream (the mixture will spatter), stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth and combined. Let cool.

 

Caramel Buttercream

• 1 With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter until pale and fluffy. In the heatproof bowl of a standing electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup sugar and the egg whites. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingertips).
• 2 Attach bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue whisking until egg mixture is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), about 5-10 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low. Add beaten butter, a couple of tablespoons at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
• 3 Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low speed, very slowly pour in caramel; beat a couple of minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, and continue to beat until caramel is fully incorporated.

Putting It All Together

Frost cupcakes by using a small offset spatula to spread the butter cream or fill a pastry bag (fitted with the tip of your choice) with the cream and pipe on. Drizzle with additional caramel (you should have some leftover). Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving


(The recipe that I used for the caramel cream cheese frosting can be found here.)

So I was able to get 20 cupcakes out of the recipe instead of 15. Also, I only had to bake them for 15 minutes and they came out perfect. Finally, if you don't want to try your hand at homemade caramel, the store bought kind works just as well. I made the homemade caramel one night this week and while it was good, it still needs some tweaking.

Enjoy!!