Muddy Buddy Cupcakes

Drive by Incubus

Several years ago I was on a long drive with my second son, K.  We had recently moved a couple states away, leaving our older children behind while they attended college.  There were plenty of trips back and forth and I was accompanying K on this particular one.  He was lead driver which gave him the right to choose the music.  Luckily, we liked much the same music, including Incubus.  I distinctly remember the moment Drive came on and K sang right along with mighty gusto.  I hadn't realized before what a nice voice he had and I really enjoyed listening to him sing along with Brandon Boyd.  As he sang the words, "Whatever tomorrow brings I'll be there, with open arms and open eyes," I thought how well this sentiment suited my son.  He is truly an embracer of life.  Well, it's K's birthday tomorrow.  He'll be 28.  He likes Incubus and loves Muddy Buddies . . . and I love him.  Happy birthday, K-bear . . .

K is my second son and third child.  He gives magnificent hugs - always has.  He is the funniest person I know - although I think all of my kids have magnificent wit - what's a mama to do but be honest, right? Even at six months old he had a flair for comedy.  He had literally rolled himself up into a newspaper.  I couldn't find him anywhere!  Then I noticed the wiggling roll of papers in the corner of the living room.  I carefully unrolled him and he stared up at me with the biggest smile on his face and started the most infectious belly laugh!  He KNEW he'd done a funny thing!  

Along with being funny, though, K is super sensitive and was always very intuitive about my feelings.  He could usually sense if I was sad or upset and, as a little guy, would come take my hand and give me a smile and a hug.  All you moms out there can appreciate that quality.  He is a very loyal friend and I think it's fitting that his favorite snack is Muddy "Buddies."

You know what Muddy Buddies are, right?  That "Chex cereal mixed with melted chocolate chips and peanut butter and coated in powdered sugar" concoction.  It's so easy to make I wasn't sure I could make an entire post about it alone.  So, of course, I got my thinking cap on and tried to think about a snazzy way to use the Muddy Buddies.  It didn't take too long before I realized - cupcakes!!!

That was the easy part.  The hard part was how to make a cupcake with the peanut butter and chocolate flavor combo different from any other Reese's cupcake out there.  How do you capture that delicate crunch you get from the cereal?  My first attempt had me folding the prepared Muddy Buddy pieces right into the batter.  Wrong!  They became this nasty entity that was neither crunchy nor chewy - more rubbery.  Not a winner.

Think!  Think!  Think!

Ta-da!  A brilliant idea!  I thought of one of my favorites - the S'mores cupcake.  It has a delicious graham cracker crust on the bottom of the cake part!  I would do the same but create a crust using the Muddy Buddies!  I ran a test batch and these were the outcome!  Very much winners!

You start out by making a batch of the Muddy Buddies.

Muddy Buddies

Printable Recipe Card

9 c. Rice or Corn Chex cereal

1 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. butter

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Put the cereal in a very large bowl with lots of room for stirring.

Place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a microwave-safe dish and melt in 30 second intervals, stirring after each until melted.

Add the vanilla and stir to combine.

You can also do this on the stovetop, if you prefer.

Pour the melted mixture over the cereal and stir until well-coated.  

Sift the sugar over the top in three rounds, stirring after each to evenly distribute.

Now, for the cupcakes!!

It'll make 24 of them so you'll need that many cupcake liners.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Take 3 cups of the Muddy Buddies and place in a food processor.  Pulse until they become crumbs.  Add 2 T. melted butter and pulse until it comes together and you can pinch the mixture between your thumb and finger and it stays formed.

Place about 2 T. of this crumb mixture in the bottom of cupcake liners and tamp down until flat like this:

   

I tried several implements to try to make the tamping easier but the one that worked the best was that little wooden tool in the picture below.  To keep the crumbs from sticking I dipped it in powdered sugar.

Par bake the crumb crust for 5 minutes.

From here on out I'll give you the methodology and let you be free to use your own chocolate cake and chocolate frosting recipes if you'd like.  But for those who want to know the finer details of how I made mine, I'll include my recipes at the bottom of the post.  OK?  OK!  Let's go!

Prepare your chocolate cake batter and pour it over the par baked Muddy Buddy crusts until they are about 3/4 full ~

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.  They should spring back when you touch them lightly on the top and a toothpick will come out clean.

Let cool.

Stir 1/2 cup of peanut butter into your favorite chocolate frosting recipe and frost each cupcake in your favorite manner.  

Take 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and  gently sift across the top of the cupcakes.

Decorate the top with two little Buddies.

Embrace tomorrow "with open arms and open eyes," but, today, sit back and ENJOY!!

It looks like somebody with really big teeth enjoyed this one!!

Chocolate Cake

Printable Recipe Card

makes 24 cupcakes

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. AP flour

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 c. sugar 

1 1/2 t. baking soda

3/4 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

2 eggs

3/4 c. buttermilk

3 T. vegetable oil

1 1/2 t. vanilla

3/4 c. warm water

1/4 c. sour cream

Sift together the dry ingredients - flour through salt - in a mixer bowl.  In another bowl, mix together the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla, and warm water.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine.  Add the sour cream and stir to mix until smooth.  Don't forget to scrape the sides of that bowl!

Use as needed!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Printable Recipe Card

makes about 4 cups of frosting

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

1/4 c. plus 2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

3 oz. hot water

1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 lb. chocolate chips, your choice, semi-sweet or milk

1/2 c. peanut butter

Combine the cocoa powder and hot water and set aside.  In a mixer bowl, thoroughly cream the butter and the powdered sugar and salt until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides often.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring after each interval.  Add the peanut butter to the warm chips and stir until combined.  With the mixer on low, add the chocolate/peanut butter mixture to the sugar/butter mixture.  Add the cocoa mixture and blend well.  Frost away!!

On A Roll

Proud Mary by Ike and Tina Turner
In choosing today's song I enlisted the help of one of my daughters.  I said, "My ham and cheese rolls - name a song!"  She instantly sputtered back by singing Ike Turners part in Proud Mary in her best low voice, "Rollin', rollin', rollin' on the river."  I replied, "Proud Mary?  The Ike and Tina version?  Not the Creedence Clearwater Revival version?"  She explained how it HAS to be Ike and Tina's version because you start out rolling the dough and working "nice and easy."  But when you take them out of the oven and they are "fantasmic!" (her word, which I'm pretty certain was a huge compliment) - that's the part of the song where they kick it up and end things "rough."  So, clear out the kitchen because we are going to be "rollin' on the river" today!

I can't even remember where I got the ideas for these Ham and Cheese Rolls but I'm pretty sure it's been within the last ten years! But what a great addition it has been to my kitchen repertoire.  They can be as easy or as involved as you want to make them.  I tend to choose the more involved route because I don't usually have prepared bread doughs on hand - or if I do, they're in the freezer and I haven't remembered to take them out to thaw.  Alas, it's easier for me to just whip up a batch of roll dough.

These always show up after we have a ham dinner.  It's the absolute best way to use up that leftover ham. But I will confess, right here and now, in plain public, that sometimes I stage a ham dinner just so we can have these later!  They are just THAT yummy!

You know what the best part of these guys are?  They don't belong to just one meal group - they belong to them ALL!  They are fitting for breakfast and can easily be taken on the fly for on the way to work or school.  

My kids LOVED taking these for their school lunches - and I LOVED sending them because they are like a sandwich, but I didn't have to drag out all the components first thing in the morning and get to work.  I just popped one in a baggie, added an apple, some carrot sticks, and a cookie to the brown bag, and it was all good!  

They are great for dinner and can take any soup and elevate it to fine dining status.  They are also a delicious companion to chili - think Super Bowl Sunday here.  Or if it's a breakfast dinner, just think of how wonderful these would be alongside an omelet or even just scrambled eggs.  

And I can personally attest to their value as a member of the afternoon snack category.  These rolls give a "pick-me-up" a la "the lift" Patrick Swayze gives "Baby" in Dirty Dancing.  Yeah, I hear those mixing bowls being hauled out of the cupboards!

As I said, you can use a prepared bread dough like Rhode's Bread, let it thaw and then roll it out.  Or they would be good with the Pillsbury Pizza Dough as well.  I'm going to include my roll dough recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, but feel free to use one of your own if you want!  Do whatever you have to to get yourself involved with folds of ham and cheese in soft, chewy dough!

Ham and Cheese Rolls
Printable Recipe Card

1 recipe of roll dough (see below)

2 cups of cubed ham

2 cups of shredded cheese, any will work or a combination of several

1/4 c. mayo

2 T. dijon mustard

On a floured surface, roll dough out into a rectangle about 12x15.  Mix together the mayo and mustard and then spread edge to edge all over the top of the dough.  Scatter the ham evenly across the surface, followed by the shredded cheese.  It'll look something like this:

Now, "nice and easy," start with that long edge directly in front of you and start to roll up, keeping it as nicely tucked and tight as you can.  You will end up with a long log.

Using a long, serrated knife, cut the log in half, then divide those halves in half.  You will have 4 smaller logs now.  Then simply cut each of those into three even rolls.  There will be 12.

Aren't' they pretty?!

Now place each roll in a sprayed muffin tin, cut side down, like this:

Cover and let rise for about 30 - 45 minutes until they look like this:

(This is where you pause the song at 1:30 - cause as soon as these come out of the oven, things are going to get crazy with trumpets and saxophones and dancing!)

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.  When I pull mine out of the oven I like to do a quick dance across their tops with about a teaspoon of butter, total - I find it keeps their tops nice and moist - and looking pretty!    Cue Tina - "Doot, doot, doot, doot!"

Basic Roll Dough

3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, divided

1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/2 t.)

1/4 c. sugar

1 t. salt

1/4 c. butter

1 1/4 c. milk

1 egg

In a mixer bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, and salt.  Stir to combine.  Heat the milk with the butter until just warm and the butter starts to melt.  Pour into the flour mixture and mix well. Add the egg and incorporate.  

Add the remaining flour and mix for three minutes at high speed.  This is a soft and fairly loose dough.  Grease a large bowl and turn dough into it.  Cover and let raise in a warm place until double - about an hour.

Sneaky Beef

Alley Cat by Chet Atkins
I know that Chet Atkins isn't the original artist on this song - it's Bent Fabric, who released it as a piano number in the early sixties.  I love that recording as well since I play the piano.  So why did I go with Chet?  Because it's guitar.  And it's Chet.  And that, people, is a formidable duo in my book!  Also, my father used to play this song on his guitar.  Case closed.  Why Alley Cat?  Because it's a sneaky sounding song.  I can just see that old cat slinking down an alley, seeing what mischief he can get into.  I can also see it as the perfect backdrop for a magician act - you know, lots of hand waving, "See?  Nothing up my sleeve!" paired with long pauses, and then the big flourish of pulling a rabbit, or in this case, a roast, out of your hat.  It's winter and it's the best time to pull an entire meal of sneaky comfort food out of your hat!  It's a very dramatic and satisfying end to, really, not much effort at all!

I always feel a little guilty when I serve this and get raves about how delicious it is and how I shouldn't have gone to so much trouble.  I didn't.  Hence, the sneaky label.  It's the easiest thing out there to eat - other than pouring yourself a glass of water!  If you don't already know about it, it's time you did.  Especially if you're as busy as I am - and chances are, you are!

I don't remember who shared this trick with me but I'm so glad they did!  It's been a "go-to" for ages now and, when my kids leave home and ask for something simple to make, I share it with them.  Two ingredients and a crock pot!  Oh dear, I'm almost embarrassed at how easy this is!  Here we go.

Crock Pot Roast
Printable Recipe Card
1 beef roast, I used a chuck roast
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Yep, that's it!

Put the roast in the crock pot and sprinkle the soup mix over top.  Top with the lid.

There's no liquid, it makes its own!

Cook low and slow for 6 - 8 hours.  If you like to slice your roast, cook for less time.  At 8 hours, my preference, it just falls apart.  I had to really work to get a bit of the roast to stay together for that picture at the top!  From this point you can use it for so many things!  Add barbecue sauce to the shredded meat and you have a wonderful BBQ beef sandwich!  Add some cumin and chili powder and you have a great filling for tamales or quesadillas or tacos!  It would also be delicious with some teriyaki sauce or soy sauce  and asian spices and served with rice.  

To make the gravy, just pour the liquid from the pot into a sauce pan.  Pour 1/4 cup of cold water into a jar with a lid.  Then add 2 tablespoons of flour, put on the lid, and give it a shake!  When the liquid in the pan is at a slow boil, stir in the flour/water slurry and stir.  It will thicken right up.  Taste and add salt, if needed.  Super easy!

You might have noticed those glorious carrots on the plate.  

I was in Seattle over the weekend and stopped at Pike Place Market and found these gorgeous heirlooms and HAD to have them!  

Knowing they would be going with this roast I figured I'd have to give them a special treatment, something with bright accents to counter all the unctuous flavors of the roast and mashed potatoes.  

I gave them a strongly angled cut to create more surface area then steamed them for about 5 minutes, just until al dente.

While they were steaming I got a sauté pan ready with a tablespoon of butter, melting and swirling it around to coat the pan.  When the carrots were ready I just tipped them into the sauté pan, seasoned them with kosher salt and a bit of chopped fresh parsley and fresh dill.  I tossed them around a bit because that's what chefs do.  Perfect!

Solid Beer

Meet Virginia by Train
Today's post is about seeing things in a new way - like Virginia.  I love this song for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that this guy has really taken the time to get to know this girl.  He sees what some may perceive as her flaws and loves her the more for them.  It's exciting for me to discover the unexpected about people - and food - and get to see them in a different light.  The phrase in this song, "wears high heels when she exercise" always makes me think of my friend, Wendy.  Not that she literally does this - but she DID show up to go golfing in high heel wedges once when on a double date with our husbands.  Now, Wendy is one of those people that I had pegged very differently upon initial acquaintance.  Getting to know the "real" her was a big surprise and she has become one of my absolute dearest friends.  Underneath all that big blonde hair is one of the most loving and caring people I know.  Now, let's talk bread . . . .

"Bread is nothing more than solid beer, and beer is nothing more than liquid bread." My baking teacher made this statement in class one day.  Huh.  My mind really stopped and kind of hung up right there, like the whirling rainbow wheel on my Mac.  Processing, processing, . . . .  

I'd really never thought of it like that before.  Mostly because beer isn't a part of my life.  I cook with it now and then, like when I try, yet AGAIN, to recreate the amazing Flemish stew I had in Bruges, Belgium several years ago.  On a day to day basis, though, beer just isn't in my thoughts.  Apparently it's in many other people's thoughts though!  

After water and tea, beer is the most widely consumed beverage in the WORLD.  That makes it the number one alcoholic beverage consumed in the WORLD.  It's existence can be traced back to around 3000 BC and there are even laws regulating it in the Code of Hammurabi!  My father used to drink it when I was a very little girl and, sometimes, let me sip some of the foam off the top.  As a young mother I heard from other moms that beer was a great way to increase your milk supply if you were nursing - or you could just take yeast tablets.  Which leads us to the fact that makes what my teacher said very logical - beer is all about the yeast - and so is bread, right?

I searched out recipes that used beer for the yeast in bread and found the one I'm passing along to you today.  Beer bread is like no other.  If made right, the inside can be as springy as regular bread.  

And by "made right" I mean, you have to sift together the dry ingredients.  This keeps the ingredients light and airy and you need that air.  This bread belongs to the quick bread family.  There's no kneading involved and it is truly the quickest bread I've ever made - even when taking the time to properly sift the ingredients.  If you would prefer to use a non-alcoholic beer, you'll need to sprinkle in a bit of yeast, about 2 teaspoons or a packet.  Also, you can either stir the melted butter into the dough to keep the surface soft or pour it on the top to give it a bit of crust.  I opted for the latter and was not disappointed.  Oh, it's sooo good!  It goes perfectly with soups on a cold winter night, but, also makes a tasty breakfast - especially when topped off with a yummy jam - like this peachy habanero or berry rhubarb concoction. 

On second thought - why wait for breakfast?  Meet Virginia, er, I mean my bread - or should I say, meet my beer?

Beer Bread
Printable Recipe Card
makes 1 loaf
from Food.com 

3 cups flour
3 t. baking powder
1 t. kosher salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 (12 oz) can or bottle of beer
1/4 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

SIFT TOGETHER THE DRY INGREDIENTS into a bowl.  I just use a fine mesh sieve like this -

and shake it side to side, giving it a tap with my other hand.  Pour in the beer and stir just until combined.

 Spread batter into a greased 9x5 loaf pan and pour melted butter over the top.

Bake for one hour.  Let cool for 15 minutes in pan before turning out to cool further on a rack.  Slice and enjoy!  I sure did!

Calling All Crockpots!

I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm by Dean Martin
I know this song talks about it being December, and it's January, but, believe it or not, December really wasn't that long ago!  Besides, it's the perfect cozy song for this chicken soup.  Dean Martin is very cool in our house.  My husband and I grew up in very different home environments, but we do share much of the same music memories - Dean Martin being one of those.  Hearing his music while we are out and about always gets us excited - like a week ago when we went to see the new Mission Impossible movie, which started with Ain't That A Kick In the Head!  I've never enjoyed a fight scene as much as I apparently did this one, seeing as how I smiled through the whole thing!  Not for the love of violence, mind you, but for the love of Dean!  When we happen upon those "spontaneous Dean" moments it's as if we've found another soul who gets it!  Dean is comfort music.  Chicken soup is the absolute definition of comfort food - and I'd like to share this variation with you today!


Well, the snow has finally arrived.  About a month too late for my tastes, thank you very much!  I'm not as much of a fan of the white stuff as I used to be.  I grew up in the northwest corner of Pennsylvania within striking distance of Lake Erie's relentless lake-effect snow belt.  I have also lived in the outskirts of Syracuse, New York, where it also knows how to snow very, very well.  Then top that off with another huge chunk of my life spent in Utah where they actually boast of having the "best snow on earth!"  Believe me, I know snow!

But I'm tired of it.  I love it to show up for Christmas, for which I'm convinced it was intended in the first place.  But, if it doesn't come for Christmas, I think it just shouldn't come at all!  That's why I like it where I live now in the Pacific northwest.  We don't usually get much - and it knows to leave after a few days.  Alas, as I mentioned before, it is here right now  - and people are pulling out their crockpots in a feverish rush!

The crockpot is a marvelous invention!  It is the best friend of everyone - working moms and stay-at-home moms alike, bachelors living alone, students at college.  It's purpose is it's main allure - putting everything in one pot, going about your business, and returning to the pot hours later for a hearty, delicious meal when you're exhausted and can't bear the thought of having to do all the prep for an eat-in meal.  It's the perfect alternate choice to the drive-thru line for a burger and fries - again.  It just takes a few minutes of forethought - a very good habit to adopt!

Another good reason to use a crockpot, beside it's convenience, is that it's a great budget extender.  Slow cooking is usually intended for the more tougher cuts of meat - also usually the least expensive cuts of meat.  It takes time to break down the connective tissue and the lean muscle mass of these meats and the crockpot gives you plenty of time for this to occur while adding tons of flavor in the process.

A drawback of the slow cooker?  Sometimes things - veggies, starches - can become mushy.  Actually, this is a dilemma with any soup and why many people don't like leftovers.  Mush is not appealing!  I deal with this problem by not adding my rice or noodles to my soups during the cooking process.  As I did when I worked briefly in a commercial kitchen, I cook them separately and hold them on the side.  As I serve the soup, I place the rice or noodles in the bowl then ladle the soup over top.  Each bowl serves as if it's the very first bowl of soup served that day!  Be honest.  You know when you're being served the bottom of the soup pot!  The added perks to this procedure is that you can control your rice portions - rice lovers can have more, those not as fond can have little or none if they wish.  You also can use any leftover rice to make rice pudding!  For use with the crockpot, you can easily make it the rice the night before and refrigerate it.  It all works out beautifully!

Crockpot Chicken Soup with Rice
serves 6
Printable Recipe Card
2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. thyme or 3 sprigs fresh
1/2 t. sage or a few leaves fresh
1/2 t. black pepper
1 qt. chicken stock
2 T. cornstarch
2 c. cooked rice
half bag of frozen peas and pearl onions

Place everything except the cornstarch, cooked rice, and the frozen veggies into a crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

About a half hour before serving, place cornstarch in a small bowl and ladle some of the soup liquid into the bowl and stir to make a "slurry."  A slurry is a thickener.  When made with cornstarch it thickens without adding the cloudiness that flour does.  Stir the slurry into the crockpot and stir well.

Add the frozen veggies and stir and cook until heated through - about 10 minutes.  Waiting to add the peas keeps their color bright and vibrant.  You can add them at the beginning but the peas get mushy and it's just not as pretty, see?

Fill bowl with desired amount of warm cooked rice and ladle soup over top - and warm up from the inside out!!