Skinny Girl Cupcakes with Pomegranate Tea Frosting

So I got a really bad craving the other night for something sweet. I've already gone through my chocolate chips (as part of my clean-out-the-pantry month), so that was out. I did, however, have a bottle of Sprite Zero and a box of cake mix. So, cupcakes were born.

Skinny Girl Cupcakes
Originally found at Six Sisters' Stuff

1 box cake mix, any flavor
12 oz Sprite Zero

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the box of cake mix and the Sprite Zero until well combined. Fill cupcake holders to 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the center springs back after a light touch or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost.

Pomegranate Tea Frosting
Adapted from Ellebug

1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter, softened.
2 cups powdered sugar
2 bags Pomegranate Tea
4 Tbsp boiling water

Place teabags in boiling water and allow to steep for 10 minutes, then allow to cool slightly. Meanwhile, beat together powdered sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the tea, mixing well. Chill for 10 minutes prior to frosting the cupcakes.

My Notes:
This was my first time making my own frosting. I don't think I'll do a buttercream again. It's just too... I dunno. Super sweet, I guess. The frosting is definitely something that takes a certain palate to appreciate, but my friends certainly enjoyed it. I have another recipe for a basic frosting that sounds like it'll be slightly less sweet. I think I'll try that one next time.

Still, this wasn't a bad attempt, considering I happened to have everything on hand. I'll definitely be playing with the skinny girl cake recipe, maybe try to adapt it so that I don't need the mix anymore. I'm not quite good enough with cakes to do that yet... I mostly stick to brownies and cookies from scratch.

Coconut Curry Popcorn Seasoning

You can't really see it in the above picture, but the popcorn is a beautiful golden color. It tastes pretty yummy too. I promise, I'll work on my photography skills, but with only an iPhone and a point-and-shoot camera at my disposal, it makes things a little more difficult.

Coconut Curry Popcorn Seasoning
Originally found at Fearless Homemaker

1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash cayenne pepper
dash garlic powder

Blend together ingredients in a food processor. Pour over slightly oiled/buttered popcorn, to taste.*

*If you make popcorn in the air popper or by steaming, you will need to add some oil or butter to get the seasoning to stick. If you make it on the stove using oil or butter, the addition of extra is unnecessary. If you add it to store-bought popcorn in the bag, you shouldn't need anything else, so long as you pour the seasoning quickly after removing from the microwave.

My Notes:
So, I'm currently on a mission to clean out my pantry before I move. Part of that is only going to the grocery store when I absolutely need to, and only for staples. Which is proving to be a little more difficult than I initially anticipated, but I did manage to cut my food budget in half this month by doing so. Next month I'll save even more on my food bill, because I'm going to be at camp for 2 weeks out of the month and thus don't have to make anything.

At any rate, I bought a bag of popcorn kernels a long time ago for something. My friend then invited us all over for movie night, and commented about how she had all these veggies and snacks, but no popcorn. Whatever is a girl to do? I figured that since it wasn't popcorn in a bag, that it would need some sort of seasoning on it, and plain old salt just wasn't going to do. So Pinterest came to my rescue, and provided me with this recipe.

I actually adapted it from a much larger recipe (designed for giving out as gifts), but as I just wanted this for myself, I cut it down by 7. It actually produces a fair amount, probably a 1/2 cup of loosely packed seasoning. It's a bit weird tasting at first, mostly because you're not quite expecting this taste on popcorn, but it's good. Definitely something I'll make again. Maybe I can get away with getting my sister a movie themed gift for her birthday this year with various homemade seasonings. I'm usually broke around her birthday, because financial aid takes forever to be dispersed, so it'll be a good option, I think.

Taquitos

Taquitos
Original Recipe

1 lb chicken breasts
2 Tbsp chipotle in adobo
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup chicken broth
1 can black beans
tortillas
olive oil
salsa, for garnish

In a crockpot, combine chicken breasts, chipotle in adobo, garlic, and chicken broth. Cook on low for 5 hours, then shred chicken. Crush black beans and mix with chicken. Spoon into the center of a tortilla, and roll up tightly. Spray or brush with olive oil. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, until brown and crispy. Serve with salsa.

My Notes:
These are best served fresh, crispy and all. They don't work so well heated up later. I cut my tortillas in half and rolled them that way to get them nice and small. The leftover chicken you can use in things like soup as well. Overall, they're not bad. Not quite as good as the taquitos I used to have as a kid, but I think the best I could do without using any cheese.

Banana Muffins

Yes, I know I've done a banana bread recipe before. It was a basic recipe, and I didn't even have a picture. Or if I did, it got lost somewhere, and I didn't post it. Same difference. And while that recipe was good, I like experimenting. So I found this recipe for Coconut Banana bread. That sounded a little weird, but I went with it. I did omit the coconut itself, so the bread doesn't have a very coconut flavor, but I had all the other ingredients on hand, and figured, why not?

So, I give you a twist on the typical banana bread recipe. Enjoy!

Banana Muffins
Adapted from Fat Girl Trapped In a Skinny Body

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 medium overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1 cup light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (use all purpose and increase baking soda to 1 tsp)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl, mix the applesauce and sugar. Add the eggs, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Mix in the mashed banana and coconut milk. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Incorporate into the wet ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time, until combined.

Pour the batter into prepared pan*, and bake according to the directions below.

*For muffins, line a muffin tin with liners, or grease well. Bake muffins for 15 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For mini loaves, grease the pans well. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
For 9 by 5 loaf pan, grease the pan well. Bake for about 1 hour, or until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

My Notes:
If you want to add the coconut, the original recipe recommends mixing in 1 cup shredded coconut at the end. I think almonds might make a good addition to this recipe too, if you're the type of person who typically likes banana walnut bread.

These muffins are super moist, and delightful. They are still very banana-y, but have a depth of flavor beyond that of regular banana bread. I'm not sure if I'll keep this recipe as is, as I don't buy coconut milk too often (I happened to have it on hand because I wanted to make a Thai dish a while back), but never quite got around to it. I'm also not convinced of the supposed 'health benefits' of coconut milk that everyone is touting recently, but that's another story.

As for what to do with the leftover coconut milk... why not make up a small batch of my Indian Chicken Curry? I might come out with a few more recipes soon using coconut milk, so stay tuned!

Ranch Snack Mix

Ranch Snack Mix
Modified from Lick The Bowl Good

3 cups cheddar crackers
3 cups pretzels
2 cups oyster (soup) crackers
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 envelope (3 Tbsp) Ranch dressing mix.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Combine crackers, pretzels, and peanuts in a large bowl. Combine melted butter, Worcestershire and ranch dressing mix. Pour over cracker mixture, tossing to coat.

Place all crackers in a shallow roasting dish. Bake 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool before serving. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
Regarding the choice of crackers: I remember seeing a recipe a while ago in which you toss oyster crackers in oil and some seasoning, and they supposedly are like crack. So I bought them do basically do that. Then I stumbled across this recipe, and decided to give it a shot. It's similar to Chex mix, but with different cracker base and ranch flavoring. Still, you can really use whatever you want. The original recipe focuses on goldfish crackers. I went with more of a Cheez-it cracker. Mix and match to meet your preferences.

It's really good. You won't regret it.