Lemon Meringue Cupcakes:

 I love just about anything Lemon!
Okay, really I love just about anything food, but lemon is definitely my favorite flavor! At the moment!!!!
Anyways, Lemon Meringue Pie is my favorite lemon dessert, but it does take a while to make!
These cupcakes don't take the place of a real lemon meringue pie, but it definitely helps! The cake is so soft and fluffy, and they were surprisingly easy to make! If you've never made meringue before, don't worry! It's super easy!!
If you're a lemon lover, I hope you give this recipe a try!

 

 

Cake:

6 tblsp. butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain yogurt

3 tblsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. lemon extract

1 & 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

 

Meringue:

2 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt, lemon juice and lemon extract. Mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture and mix until combined. Fill paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full (I use an ice cream scoop). Bake at 350 degrees for 17-19 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

 

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form (this is where, using the back of a spoon, you can pull up on the meringue, and a peak forms and then gently falls). Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form (this is where, using the back of a spoon, you can pull up on the meringue and a peak forms and holds it's shape and the meringue is glossy). Spread onto the tops of the cupcakes. Return to the oven and bake 6-8 minutes longer, or until meringue is slightly golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool slightly before serving!

 

Note:

-This is NOT a make ahead recipe. The cake and meringue are the very best when they are still slightly warm or at least room temperature.  

 

Bubble-Up Pizza:

My older sister used to make Bubble-Up Pizza all the time and we all loved it! Well, everyone except for mom! I have tried several different ways to make it gluten-free and it just never worked out right. Until, I have found "wonder bread"!!! The bread dough from my Monkey Bread recipe has again been put to good use and it worked perfectly for this make-over Bubble-Up Pizza! We all loved it (even mom!) and I hope you'll give it a try!  

 

 

The Dough Part:

2 & 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup tapioca starch

3 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tblsp. Rapid Rise yeast

3 tblsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix (dry)

1 tsp. baking powder

4 tblsp. butter

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. cider vinegar

2 tblsp. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

 

The Pizza Part:

1 & 1/2 cups pizza sauce

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 cup quartered pepperoni slices

2 & 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

 

1. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix all the dry ingredients from the "dough" list, until well combined. Set aside.
3. Put water and butter in a glass measuring cup and microwave just until the butter has melted. Remove from microwave and stir. Add milk, stir. Add egg, cider vinegar, oil and vanilla; whisk to combine.
4. With the stand mixer running (using the paddle attachment), pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Scrap down the bowl if you need to. Allow to mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

5. Mix together the pizza sauce, garlic, pepperoni and 1 & 1/2 cups cheese in a large, preferably rectangle container (this allows the dough to be spread out more, rather than stacked on top each other, which makes them squish together, and you don't really want that.).

6. Form the dough into 3/4″ balls (I just used a cookie scoop) and place in the container. Stir very gently (so you don't tear the balls apart) until they are evenly coated in the sauce.
7. Pour gently into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
8. If you want to bake it now, you may go ahead and follow the remaining steps. You can also cover the dish with it's lid or plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator over-night or until you are ready to bake it. Follow the remaining steps.
9. Allow the dough to rise for 20-30 minutes in a warm, draft-free place, covering the dish with a clean dish towel.
10. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes or until dough is no longer "doughy" when a ball of dough is pulled apart. Carefully remove from the oven.
12. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve and Enjoy!

 

Note:

-The Rapid Rise Yeast is very important here. Don't use Active Dry, or it will not rise at all. 

-Sometimes we like to prepare this up to step 8 earlier in the day, then later in the afternoon/evening continue with the remaining steps. This way, a lot of the mess and time is out of the way!

German Chocolate Cookies:

 I love German Chocolate Cake, but not everyone in my family does, so to take all that time to make a huge cake, that only 3 people will eat, seems kind of pointless. When I stumbled across this recipe, I knew I had to try it!!! They were really easy and actually didn't take that long to make at all! And may I just say, they are amazing!! I loved them!!
I hope you give them a try!

Cookie:

2 sticks butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 & 1/4 cup flour

1 & 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1/2 cup baking cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

Dash of salt

In a mixer, cream together butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients into butter mixture. Mix until well combined. Drop onto greased cookie sheets (I use a cookie scoop). Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.  

Frosting:

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1 stick butter

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pecans, chopped

In a large saucepan, whisk together milk, sugar, egg yolks, butter and vanilla over medium heat.

Stir until well combined and thickened (this could take anywhere between 3 and 12 minutes, depending on your stove). Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans. Allow to cool, just until thick enough to spread, stirring often. Place one tablespoonful onto top of each cookie and slightly spread it out. Top with drizzle.

Drizzle:

1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)

1 tblsp. butter

Place chocolate and butter in a microwave safe dish. Heat at 15 second intervals, stirring after each, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Drizzle over cookies, using a fork.

Note:

-This made about 50 cookies!   

Cheesy Sloppy-Joe Fries:

 If you love Chili-Cheese fries, then you will probably like this!
It's just a new twist, and it actually turned out super good! And was kind of fun as well!!
Don't go by the picture! It was really yummy, even though it doesn't look like it!!
The non-sloppy-joe loving people in my family, actually really like this!!

 

 

1 batch Sloppy-Joes (Click HERE for my recipe)

1 & 1/2 bags of original French Fries

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

 

Make Sloppy-Joes according to directions, and keep warm.

Prepare French Fries according to package directions (we bake them, but you could fry them if that's your thing). They taste the best in this dish, if they are on the crispy side.

To serve, place some fries on a serving plate, top with sloppy-joes and cheese! Serve!!

 

Note:

-The amounts of these things are what I would fix for my family. You may want more or less, depending on how many people you are feeding.

 

My Recipe Magic:

 

 

Six Sisters Stuff is one of my favorite websites/blogs!

It's run, obviously, by six sisters and I've gotten so many great recipes from there!

Last year, they started a "sister" website called My Recipe Magic. I've just added a link to the right of my blog, in case you haven't seen it. You may have already heard of this site, but in case you haven't, I wanted to introduce you!

If you click on the link I have provided on the side of my blog, it will take you to my page on the site and all of the recipes I have on there so far (not too many, but I'm working at getting them all up there!). Anyway, what's great about this, is you can click on the "Nutrition" tab, and it will show you number of servings, calories, and more!

 

Plus, you can click on the "search by ingredient" tab at the top of the page, and here you can search by a certain ingredient, number of calories, food allergies, and SO much more!

 

It's a fabulous site and I hope you check it out!

And while you're there, check out all the other great recipes that lots of others have added as well!

Again, it's a fairly new site, and they are constantly updating and making it better and better every day, so make sure to check back often! Plus, be sure to check out my page often as well, because I'm adding more and more of my recipes, as I get the chance!

 

Please feel free to Pin any and all of my recipes from here and My recipe Magic, as well!

 

Slow-cooker Italian Pork Roast:

Here's another super easy, yet different recipe for a pork roast. I'm not a huge fan of pork, but I LOVE anything with Italian seasoning! It turned out so good and my whole family loved it! Hope you give it a try!! Don't judge it by the picture! It's incredibly hard to take a picture of shredded meat!!! But trust me, it tasted great!!

 

 

 

3 lb. Pork Roast

1 pkg. dry Italian dressing mix

1/2 of a 12 oz. jar of hot banana pepper rings

2 cups water

2 tblsp. Zesty Italian dressing

 

Place the pork in a slow-cooker. Add the remaining ingredients (using half the peppers in the jar as well as half of the juice). Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred with two forks. Serve as is or on buns if you desire!

 

Note:

-Our roast was frozen when we put it in the crock pot. We left it in all night, shredded it in the morning, and left it on low or warm until we ate it at lunch time. I will warn you, though, it doesn't smell that fabulous while it's cooking during the night!!! But, it tasted great!!! 

-I LOVE those banana peppers, but most of my family does not! So, we only used the juice of the peppers. It doesn't make the dish spicy at all, but it adds such great flavor, you don't want to leave it out. You could still serve it with peppers for whoever likes them, though!