Watermelon-Lime Syrup and Snow Cones

     So it's the beginning of summer and I live in the middle of (basically) nowhere, too far from anywhere that has cold drinks and snacks. I have always wondered if it would be possible (an if so, how difficult) to make snow cones at home so today i spent my morning creating this recipe (tell me what you think)

First, put the watermelon pieces in a saucepan over low heat to release the juice (yum!) 

Try to break it up into a pulp (could be difficult depending on how ripe your watermelon is) and pour through a mesh strainer to get rid of the chunks. Return the liquid back into the pan. Add the sugar, corn starch and lime juice and simmer until thickened.


*To make snow cones, pour the syrup over shaved ice (you can do it in the blender if you don't have a snow cone maker) and garnish with lime wedges


The Recipe:



  Ingredients:

• 4 c. of watermelon, cubed
• 2 1/2 c. (or so) of white sugar
• about 4 T. lime juice
• lime wedges to go on the side of the glass (optional but STRONGLY recommended)

1.  Put the watermelon chunks into a saucepan and warm over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes. When the watermelon starts heating up, poke each piece a few times to release the juice (yum!)
2. When the pieces are mostly broken down into a pulp, pour liquid through a mesh strainer and return to the pan. Add corn starch, sugar and lime juice. While whisking, simmer on medium heat until thickened.

The BEST Chicken Tacos recipe EVER!!!!

    This is the chicken tacos recipe that I stole...I mean... "borrowed" from my mom. It's by far the best recipe I've ever tasted when it comes to tacos. Don't believe me? Try it yourself! It's kinda a lot of work but its worth it. The shredded chicken turns out super full of flavor and really moist. This is also a great way to use leftover cooked chicken, just skip the boiling and shredding part. This recipe makes enough for about 18 tacos with leftovers the next day. I use the leftovers for nachos. Yum :)


You'll need:
1 whole chicken
1 green bell pepper
2 stalks of celery (without leaves)
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
4 or 5 T. taco seasoning
Toppings of your choice (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, 
sour cream, etc...)


   First, take the insides out of the chicken and dispose of them. Yuck :P Okay. Now put the chicken in a big soup pot and fill it with water about 2 inches up the side of the pot. Once it comes to a boil, cover with a lid. Now comes the really tedious part. Boil the chicken for (I know) an hour. Once it's done cooking, carefully take it out of the pot and put it on a plate, reserving the broth from the bottom of the pot (don't worry if there's fat floating around...it gets strained out later). 

  While the chicken cools, chop the celery and bell pepper.

Then heat the olive oil in a saucier or a large skillet, and add the veggies. Saute until soft, about 7 minutes. Then add 1 tablespoon of the taco seasoning to the veggies and stir. 

 

If the chicken is cool enough to handle, start shredding the meat with your fingers and tossing it in.

     While on medium heat, pour a quarter of the broth from the pot through a mesh strainer into the pan with the chicken and vegetables. While you continue to add chicken, alternate taco seasoning and broth, pausing in between to let the liquid evaporate, until you have used all of both .

   The meat is done! Now all you have to do is put the taco shells in the oven on 350 degrees for 7 minutes, and prepare the toppings for your super-yummy tacos :) There'e nothing wrong with having too much cheese...

 The last step is assembling the tacos. Just stuff it in and you're done! That wasn't so hard, was it? Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with cupcakes.

I love the smell of them baking in the oven. They're the perfect combination of cake, frosting and cuteness.

I probably make some kind of cupcakes almost every weekend. And this is, in my opinion, one of the BEST cupcake recipes out there. Cupcake Recipe courtesy of BrownEyedBaker (my absolute favorite blog ever).

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 18-20 minutes | Cooling Time: 45 minutes

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup (1.5 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ cup (3.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
¾ cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (4 ounces) sour cream

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees F. (If you are using a non-stick muffin pan, heat the oven to 325 degrees F.) Line standard-size muffin pan with baking cup liners.

2. Combine butter, chocolate, and cocoa in medium heatproof bowl. Set bowl over saucepan containing barely simmering water; heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. (Alternately, you can microwave the mixture at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.) Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine.

4. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine; add sugar, vanilla, and salt until fully incorporated. Add cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogeneous and thick.

5. Divide the batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes.

6. Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

(Recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)

Now that we have the cupcakes out of the oven, you can start the frosting while they cool. This is my favorite part. If you don't have Dulce de Leche on hand, you could use any caramel, but if you ask me, it's worth taking a trip to the store. Frosting Recipe courtesy of joy the baker (another really great blog)

For the Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup dulce de leche, plus more for drizzling

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

Place cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds, until very soft and pliable. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the butter and dulce de leche. Beat on medium speed until well incorporated. Stop the mixer and add the salt and powdered sugar. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until fluffy and lighter in color. Generously spoon frosting on top of cupcakes, or use a large frosting tip to pipe on frosting.

   I garnished the finished cupcakes with shaved dark chocolate. To shave the chocolate, just get a dark chocolate bar and use a vegetable peeler to shave off little curls. If the chocolate is too cold, the curls will come off crumbled and if this is the case, just pop the chocolate bar in the microwave for 15-20 second and try again. It just takes a bit to get used to it. And now you're done!

That wasn't so hard, was it?