Happy Birthday Rob

Seeing as Rob's birthday is March 15th we decided that green frosting would go better with St. Patric's day better than hot pink (plus I couldn't find pink food coloring anywhere!)

Rob...I hope you had a great birthday and you enjoyed your cake! And to everyone else...Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Vanilla Frosting

The cupcake recipe is from Bob's Red Mill.  I was on the hunt for a new cupcake recipe and didn't find too much right away.   I went on Bob's Red Mill site and looked to see if he had any and found this chocolate cake recipe instead.  I figured why not just make cupcakes out of this cake recipe.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Cinnamon-Vanilla Frosting

1-1/2 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Cocoa powder, unsweetened

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Xanthan Gum

3/4 tsp. Salt

1/2 cup Milk (cow, soy or rice)

1/3 cup Butter, Margarine or Shortening

1 large Egg

1 tsp. Vanilla

3/4 cup warm brewed Coffee

Preheat oven to 350degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper lingers. Set aside. Place all ingredients, except coffee, in large bowl and blend with electric mixer. Add coffee and mix until thoroughly blended. Pour into prepared cupcake pan and bake for 20 minutes minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Serves 16.

Cinnamon-Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

4oz butter softened

4oz cream cheese softened

2 cups powder sugar divided

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

~In large bowl beat the butter and cream cheese with electric mixer
~Switch the mixer to low speed and add the powder sugar one cup at a time ~Mix until smooth and creamy, add cinnamon
~Beat in the vanilla extract

(I really do heart cupcakes!)

Gramma Lu's Chicken

My grandmother is a great cook. We all have grown up loving and craving her cooking (especially her meatballs and sauce). All of her recipes are stored in a brown folder that has been coveted by every female in my family!! Knowing that there would come a time that we would all want these recipes from her but only one person would end up with the folder, my Aunt Sue, my sister and I decided to put all her recipes in a "cook book" and give it to our family as Christmas presents one year.

I have to give her credit for my love of cooking. I remember being very young and her pulling up a chair for me to stand on next to her while she taught me how to make chicken soup from scratch.

Gramma Lu makes the best chicken wings (to me anyway). Ever since I was little I looked forward to these chicken wings of hers.

I didn't have chicken wings or pineapple juice so I adapted the original recipe. I substituted the wings for drumsticks and omitted the pineapple juice and added a teaspoon of ginger. (The original recipe is below along with the ginger)

Gramma Lu's Chicken Wings

1/2 cup orange juice

1 cup gluten free* soy sauce

1/4 cup pineapple juice

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 teaspoon of minced ginger*

1-2 lbs of chicken wings (or drumsticks)

~Combine first four five ingredients and mix well. Add chicken and marinate overnight. Place chicken in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees, turn once half way threw. Serve Hot.

(for drumsticks cook at 375 degrees for fifty minutes turning once. Turn oven to Broil and broil for five minutes or until skin is crispy).