Hydrangea Cream Cheese Banana Cupcakes

Spring is here now!! Flowers are blooming beautifully everywhere.One of my favorite flower is Hydrangea.Hydrangea color is suprisely beautiful and vibrate in purple,white and pink and at the same time all these color are dictate by it's soil.Since I love to bake banana cake.I might as well decorate my cuppie with some hydrangea..Happy Spring!! Happy Baking too!!

Ingredients:
(A)
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large egg,room temperature

(B)
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour,seive
1 tsp baking powder
2 large ripe banana,mashed
1 tsp vanilla/banana essence
1/4 tsp salt


Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese
200 ml whipping cream
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp emulsion*optional*

Americolor or Wilton color(purple and green)
2D wilton tip for flower
233 or 234 Wilton tip for grass
sprinkle

Method:

1:Preheat oven to 350 F.Prepare 12 muffin pan or 6 large muffin pan with liner.

2:Combine butter and sugar in electric mixer at high speed.Beat until fluffy and light before add in egg one at a time.Add in salt and vanilla/banana essence.

3:Use scraper to scrape the mixture together,add in flour mixture,fold the batter until well mix.If you use mixer,use low speed for about 5 round.Do not over mix the batter.

4:Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan.Bake in the middle of oven for 15-18 minutes.Remove from oven and check with toothpick.If comes out clean then it's ready.

5:Let the cup cake rest on a wire rack until it's completely cool before pipe the frosting.

6:Combine cream cheese,sugar and whipping cream in electric mixture.Beat until it's light and fluffy.The color will change to completely white.Drop 1 tsp of cream cheese emulsion*optional*

7:Pipe the frosting and decorate the cupcake as you desire.

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Baked Whole Chicken in Montreal Spices with Purple Potato

Baked Whole Chicken is a simple and healthy meal for anyone.All I need to do is rub the whole chicken with Montreal chicken rub spices for overnight and then bake in the oven the next day..Easy ,right? You can get Montreal chicken spices rub in BJ's or Costco wholesale store or any supermarket.Beside the whole chicken,I tossed in some purple potato and onion.This purple potato look so purplish and soft..

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken,cleaned about 5 lbs

3 tbsp or more Montreal Chicken rub spices ( BJ's or Costco wholesale or any supermarket)

3 tbsp olive oil

3-4 purple potatoes or mix with regular potatoes,washed and cut 1/2 each

2-3 small onion,peeled and cut 1/4 each

1 bottle butter spray

Method:

1:Remove giblets or any feathers from whole chicken.Combine Montreal spices and olive oil in a small bowl,mix well.Prepare a large baking dish,place whole chicken on it.Rub Montreal spices all over the whole chicken.Cover the whole chicken with aluminum foil and shaft in the fridge for overnight.

2:Pre-heat oven at 390 F.Place cut potatoes and onion on the side of the whole chicken.Spray whole chicken with butter spray and then cover again with aluminum foil before place in the oven.

3:Bake whole chicken for 90 minutes.Remove the aluminum cover and change the setting to grill .Grill for another 10 minutes.

4:Remove whole chicken from oven.Cut and serve warm with potato and onion.

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Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

Boneless chicken breast is versatile type of meat for any cooking.I like to use a big slap of boneless chicken meat to wrapped with various ingredients to creates different type of dishes.One of the dish that I like to adapted was"Chicken Cordon Bleu".My version is simple and easy!! Enjoy!!

Ingredients:
2 pieces of boneless and skinless chicken breast,butterfly cut and pound with pallet before seasoning
2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp seasalt
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 block mozzarella cheese,cut in long shape,4 oz
4 fresh asparagus
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Method:

1:Butterfly the boneless chicken,then pound with pallet.Rub ground pepper and salt all over the chicken.Lay the butterfly style chicken flat on a cutting board,place 2 asparagus and a long cut of mozzarella cheese in the center,then fold or roll up the chicken.Repeat the same procedure for the second portion.
2:Roll the ready wrapped over the flour.Heat skillet with some oil at medium high heat.Place the roll up chicken in the skillet for 5 minutes.
3:Remove chicken roll from skillet into a baking dish.Sprinkle handful of shredded mozzarella cheese on top.
4:Preheat oven to 385 F.Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
5:Remove chicken from oven and serve warm.

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Braised Corn Beef with Potato,Carrot and Cabbage

Happy St Patrick to all the Irish and to anybody who like to join this celebration on this special day.To commemorate St Patrick Day,we wouldn't left out the famous corn beef,right? For me, I mixed my own seasoning because the corn beef I bought came without the seasoning.Hubby and his friend said the corn beef taste delicious and tender which I hope they like it.It's a wonder to cook this type of meat with pressure cooker.Within 30 minutes we can corn beef for dinner!! I strongly suggest to any mom or cook at home to get a pressure cooker,it's really handy,fast and efficient  and not to said the food taste delicious too!!

Ingredients:

1 pack of corn beef about 5 pounds,cut cubes

1 head of small cabbage,cut about 2 inch each

2 cups of baby carrot

5 medium potato,peeled and cut quarter

Seasoning:

1 tbsp ground cumin powder

1 tbsp ground sage

1 tbsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp coriander powder

2 tbsp beef bouillon powder

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup cooking wine

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp sea salt

1 cup water

3-4 cloves garlic,crushed

3 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

1:Prepared a large or medium pressure cooker at high heat with oil .Add in garlic,saute for 30 seconds.Toss in corn beef cubes and all the seasoning and water.

2:Close the cooker with it's lid and cook for 15 minutes at high heat.Shut off the heat,slowly release the pressure(steam) from cooker.Be very careful not to let the steam burn your hand.I used a long chopstick or ladle to tip the knob on the lid side way,then the steam will slowly release before open the lid.

3:Toss in cut potato,baby carrot and cabbage,stir the meat with all the vegetables.Cover the lid again with the knob.Increase the heat to high(I used propane stove).Cook for another 10 minutes.Repeat the same procedure to release the steam from cooker.

4:Dish out and serve warm with mustard or as it's.

 

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Pan-fry Steak with Shrimp and Avocado

Recently hubby complained the steak I cooked for him was too tough,can't even chewed and can break his tooth but I wonder why? Mostly I bought Porterhouse cut or Shell steak cut,it's should be a good cut,right?? I wonder what I should do to make the steak more soft and tender? He don't like too much spices,so I can't use tenderizer salt or seasoning for the meat. I  used hand steel tenderizer (tool)to pound the meat before seasoning.Yoo...hooo..!!Now hubby said the steak I cooked really taste delicious ,soft and juicy tender!! I like the steak pan-fry because it's meat still retained the moist and juicy while cooking in skillet or pan not dried out under grill fire.So now I know the secret how to make steak taste special tender and moist!!

Ingredients:

1 pre-cut Shell steak about 1 1/2 pound,pound with tenderizer before seasoning

8 small shrimp,peeled and clean

1/2 avocado,slice

Seasoning:

1 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp steak sauce(Peter Luger brand)

2 tbsp butter

Method:

1:Remove steak from packing,use a tenderizer on the meat to soften the meat.Then rub salt and ground pepper on both side of the steak for 30 minutes.

2:Pre-heat skillet (aluminum) at high heat.Place 1 tbsp of butter on the skillet,follow by the seasoned steak.Pan-fry each side for 2-3 minutes.(Do Not Overcooked)

3:Add in steak sauce and quickly remove steak from skillet to a dinner plate,add in the remaining butter and shrimp in the skillet.Cook for 1 minute.Quickly remove shrimp from skillet to the steak plate.

4:Place avocado on the side and serve warm with other side dish:potato,fries or pasta.

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Sugar Cookies (Christmas Cookies) with Icing

I make all these sugar cookies for Christmas and Valentine.I know it's quite late to post the entry but better late than never,right? Actually sugar cookies is not hard to make,it's just the process is very time consuming when you decorate them with royal icing.I adapted all my recipe from many various creative bakers I found online..She is one of my favourite baker sweetsugarbelle.I admire her skill and creativity of making all the cute and beautiful cookies.Here are some of my own creation! Enjoy!!

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Banana Cream Cheese Cake with Streusel Topping

Nowadays you can see I keep baking banana cake.There are two reason why I do that.One of the reason is almost every week,I have extra ripe brown color banana leftover sitting on my kitchen table.My daughter and hubby refused to eat banana which has brown dots on the skin.Instead of trashing away I might as well baking it!!(recycled)The reason numbers two is since I packed sandwich for hubby to bring to work ,I might as well pack a piece of desert(cake)for him.This has become a  everyday ritual when I packed his meal.This banana cake I infused with some cream cheese and top with some streusel which  taste cheesy and flaky.

Ingredients:
(A)
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
80 ml cold fresh milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 oz cream cheese


(B)
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

(C)
1 1/2 banana,cut or mashed


Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 stick butter,cut
1/2 cup sugar

Method:

1: Sieved ingredients dry flour (B) in a bowl and set aside.Prepare a grease square 7 inch pan lined or loaf pan with parchment paper.Preheat oven to 320 F or 160 C.

2:Combine butter ,cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer,beat until creamy.Add in egg,one at a time,beating well after each addition.Use spatula to scrape the mixer together.Pour in cold milk and vanilla extract, beat until blended.

3:Fold in sifted flour mixer ,mashed banana with the batter,mix well until combined.Spread batter into a prepared pan.In another bowl,combine flour,sugar and butter.Use hand to mix all the ingredients until combined.Spread the topping on top of the batter evenly before place in oven.

4:Bake in oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until cooked.use a clean tooth pick and insert in the middle,if comes out clan then it's cooked.

5:Remove cake from oven and the cakefrom pan to a cooling wired rack.Rest for 10-15 minutes before cut and serve with tea or coffee.

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