Three Recipes

Correction:  On my Post Easter post, I misspelled Kate Spade's last name twice. That has been corrected. She is not Kate Space or Kate Spain. She does work for Moda and I do love her fabric choices!

I keep getting requests for this frosting, so here goes. Thanks to my friend, Kristen, who brought some cookies to my house last February, with the best frosting on them. Last week, after MyGirl and I made 2 dozen pints of jam, we had some strawberries left, so I sent my friend an email and asked for the recipe, and she shared. Now I share with you. 

These are mini strawberry cupcakes, and notice they were disappearing quickly! The frosting I threw on super fast, so sorry it looks so messy, but they sure were tasty. They didn't last two hours at my house. Also, my cream cheese and butter weren't beaten until fluffy , but when my friend brought them over, they were lighter and fluffier, and I would do that next time. I was in a hurry to get them done before movie night, so that's how it went at our house, and they still tasted terrific!

Strawberry Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

8-9 strawberries, mashed with a fork

powdered sugar 

Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and strawberries and mix well. Beat in enough powdered sugar to reach desired frosting consistency.

Variation: Fold in one tub of Cool Whip for a mousse-like frosting. (I didn't do that.)

Note: This makes a lot of frosting. I had enough to make 24 small cupcakes, frost a 9" cake, and still there was leftovers. My friend often halves it. 

The second recipe is the meal MyGirl requested for her birthday. 

I will tell you how I season it, but know that I don't measure anything except for baked goods, so I can't say with exactness what I've done. I cook to taste, and keep a tasting spoon next to the stove.  I use the spoon I'm cooking with to put a little on my tasting spoon as I'm going to see how the seasonings are working.

Mexican Haystacks. 

We served it as a buffet, and everyone helped themselves to the following:

Lime Rice (we mix brown and white together and squeeze half a lime on top) Can add cilantro here too.

Black Beans

Chicken or Steak, seasoned well 

     In the order of which spices I used the most:

          Chili powder, cumin, taco seasoning, salt, white pepper, garlic powder, chipotle pepper, juice of a    

           whole lime

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Cheese

Avocado

Cilantro

Salsa

Sour Cream

We had chips on the side, but they are not part of the Haystacks. It all sure was good.

 The last recipe I have no photo to share. Its a Creamed Spinach I served for Sunday dinner.

Creamed Spinach

2 pkgs. 10 oz. cut leaf spinach

1 T. olive oil

1/2 yellow onion, chopped fine

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping tablespoon flour

2 T. butter

12 oz. can fat free or lowfat evaporated milk

1-2 Skinny Cow cheese wedges

handful part skim grated mozzarella cheese

garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Add a cup of water to the 2 packages of spinach and cook on stove top until hot and pliable.

Drain liquid in a colander and put back into pan on stove top. Add to the pan olive oil, yellow onion and garlic.Cook until onions are transluscent. Next add 1 heaping tablespoon of flour to the spinach mixture. Stir to blend throughout. Add butter and let it meld with the flour/spinach mixture. Add the evaporated milk and bring to medium-high heat, until it becomes thick. Add cheese wedges and a handful of part-skim grated mozzarella and let them meld with the thickened mixture. Season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper to taste. Serves 8.