St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! I've never been a big celebrator of this particular holiday (and when I say "celebrator," I mean I've never been one to go out to bars and drink green beer all day), but I'll take any excuse in the world to make some kind of festive treat!

The idea for these cupcakes came from the website Amazing Moms; I thought the idea of using Dots candies as shamrock leaves was so clever! I was going to decorate some of the cupcakes to look like the Irish flag using orange and green Dots, but I got tired of slicing candy after a while.

For the cupcakes, I used my favorite chocolate cake recipe -- Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate cake. The cream cheese frosting is my grandma's recipe, which is probably similar to most cream cheese frostings; the recipe is provided below. These cupcakes were so simple to decorate, and they're so incredibly moist and festive and delicious. Erin Go Bragh!

Cream Cheese Frosting
Source: my grandma

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in vanilla. Add powdered sugar gradually, until frosting reaches spreading consistency and desired sweetness. If not using immediately, refrigerate.

Creamy Artichoke Alfredo Sauce

I made this pasta dish for my own birthday dinner on Saturday evening. And wow, was it good! This has a lot of the same flavors as hot artichoke dip, and it was completely satisfying, creamy and delicious. It's certainly not the kind of thing you'd want to eat every day, what with all the sour cream and heavy cream and all, but it's nice to splurge every once in a while. And what better time than my birthday to do so?

I was initially worried that the lemon flavor would be too strong in this -- Joe's not a big fan of lemon -- but it was actually really subtle. Joe and I both really liked this, and so did our little Andrew...

...even though some of it didn't make it all the way to his mouth!

Creamy Artichoke Alfredo Sauce
Source: seen on A Taste of Home Cooking; adapted recipe from GroupRecipes

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 13.75-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Pasta of your choice (I used fettucine)

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

4. Increase heat to medium-high, add artichokes, and cook until slightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, 1 cup heavy cream, parmesan, and lemon zest and juice.

6. Cook over low heat, do not boil, until ingredients are heated through, about 2 minutes.

7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

8. Toss cooked pasta with sauce and the remaining 1/4 cup heavy cream. Sprinkle with extra parmesan if desired.

Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese

Yes, I'm posting yet another Mexican-style recipe. I told you I was craving those kinds of flavors right now!

This dish is one I saw on a food blog a long time ago, but for the life of me I can't remember which one. The original recipe comes from Recipezaar. If you want a dinner that's quick and easy to throw together, and one that's also cost-effective, this is the meal for you. This was so tasty! It may not look like the most appetizing dish in the world, but let me assure you that looks are deceiving in this case. I served this over cilantro-lime rice, and we ate every bit of it!

Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese
Source: adapted from Recipezaar

2 large boneless chicken breasts, cut in half
1 15 1/2-ounce can black beans, drained
1 15-ounce can corn, drained
1 15-ounce jar salsa, any kind (I used medium heat)
1 8-ounce package cream cheese

1. Add chicken breasts to Crock pot.

2. Add black beans, salsa, and corn.

3. Cook on Low 6 to 8 hours, or until chicken is cooked through.

4. Add cream cheese and cook for 30 more minutes. Stir to combine.

Mexican Sour Cream Rice

For some reason, I've been on a real Mexican food kick lately. I made this rice last night, and I have a couple of other Mexican-themed dishes on the menu for later this week. Those flavors and textures are what I'm really craving right now.

This rice is definitely a winner. I couldn't get enough of it! As you can see from the photo above, I used it as a filling for our soft tacos, but it's equally delicious by itself (I did some snacking last night, so I know that's true). I loved the sweetness of the corn, the tanginess of the sour cream, and the brightness of the cilantro together; it was such a perfect combination of flavors. The green chiles and pepper-jack cheese added a nice kick, but it wasn't too spicy. This was just delicious, and something I'll definitely be making over and over again!

Mexican Sour Cream Rice
Source: adapted from A Taste of Home Cooking, who got it from ...and a cookie for dessert, who got it from Allrecipes

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice (I used Minute Rice, which worked just fine)
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers
2 cups shredded pepper-jack cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, bring the rice and chicken broth to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes (because I used Minute Rice, I decreased the simmering time to about 10 minutes).

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish.

3. In the pot with the cooked rice, mix the sour cream, green chile peppers, 1 cup cheese, corn, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and top with remaining cheese.

4. Bake uncovered 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

I seem to be a bit behind the mark regarding food blog recipe trends. A lot of times I'll see something appear on a bunch of the blogs I read, and I'll want to make it immediately, but then I get distracted -- so while the rest of the internet is posting about it, I'm not. By the time I get around to it, the "trend" has passed. This has happened to me previously with buffalo chicken dip and baked potato and broccoli soup, and it happened to me again with this recipe. I saw this ages ago on a bunch of different blogs, but the recipe went on the back burner until yesterday evening -- when I decided to make it for a very special event in my best friend's and my life.

Every Monday night, without fail, my best friend comes over to my house for one reason and one reason only: The Bachelor. We are totally addicted to this show. Even though the relationships inevitably never work out, for some reason we just can't get enough. I decided to make something special for us to snack on last night, since it was the finale, and I thought of this dip immediately. It was such a rich, sweet little treat to snack on while we watched what truly was "the most dramatic rose ceremony ever." This dip really does taste a lot like chocolate chip cookie dough, and I think it would be perfect for a bachelorette party or baby shower.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
Source: Recipezaar

1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Vanilla wafer cookies or graham crackers for dipping

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously, until the brown sugar dissolves.

2. Remove from heat, whisk in the vanilla and set aside to cool.

3. Beat the cream cheese and confectioner's sugar for 1 minute.

4. Slowly beat in the cooled butter mixture and beat again for another minute.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts, if using.

6. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate. Garnish with additional chocolate chips or nuts, if you choose.