Best Frozen Margarita Recipe

April 17, 2014 by 2 Comments

Margaritas are the perfect summer drink. // www.cupcakesandcutlery.comSo last summer I discovered that I really enjoy tequila.  Or rather tequila based cocktails.  I’ve never been a shots kind of a girl and I don’t think my late 30′s, with two small children, is the time to start.   And since I like the flavor of limes so much it makes sense that I would love a good margarita.  About 6 months ago I asked my Facebook followers for their favorite margarita recipes.  They were varied to say the least.  So I decided I would try several of them and see which ones I like the best.  It was hard work, you guys.  But these are the kinds of things I do for you.  Turns out I found the best frozen margarita recipe.  Ever.

Tequila shots, leopard print and Mexican blankets = summer. // www.cupcakesandcutlery.comI know that the flavor of a margarita depends of the taste of the tequila you are using.  I’m not a tequila expert at all.  I just used what we had in the cupboard.  I see the guys on Real Housewives drinking a lot of Don Julio so I’m guessing that is a good brand to use.  And let’s talk for a second about the lime shortage we are currently facing.  Are you all as broken up about it as I am?  And I’m not even exaggerating about that.  I went to my grocery the other day to get limes for the margaritas, some salsas and guacamole I was going to make.  And my store was completely out of them.  Like, there were no limes in the entire store.  I asked.  Luckily my mom was able to grab a few from her store for me but that is why you see the bottled lime juice in some of the photos.  I’ve had to supplement with it.  It is not ideal.  I’m thinking about starting a fundraising campaign for the lime plight.  My summer relies heavily on limes.  But back to the margaritas.

Mexican blankets, leopard print and margaritas. Is it summer yet? // www.cupcakesandcutlery.comI made a traditional margarita with triple sec, lime juice, tequila and agave.  It was just ok.  And you will notice there is no salt in these photos because I don’t like it anywhere near my margaritas.  You do what you need to do.  Several of the recipes that I had called for beer.  It didn’t really do anything for them.  And one called for Trader Joe’s margarita mix.  I was disappointed.

Do you prefer on the rocks or frozen margaritas? // www.cupcakesandcutlery.comI decided since it would be really lush-y to make all these margaritas for myself, I would do it during a family barbecue.  My mom and my sister and I tried all of these and there was no clear winner.  Then my sister says, oh hey, let me make you they kind I drink.  And oh my gosh.  It was, by far, the best one.  And it was frozen!  I don’t usually enjoy frozen cocktails but for this I will make an exception.

Seriously the best frozen margarita recipe. // www.cupcakesandcutlery.comSo good!  And since you make them by the pitcher, these are great for parties or if you just don’t want to having to make your cocktails one at a time.  So thank you, sister, for sharing this with me.  She says she didn’t make it up and that it is all over the online recipe world.  So we do not take credit with creating this recipe.  Just drinking it and letting you know that it is so very tasty.

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Best Frozen Margarita Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 can Frozen Limeade, not thawed (not frozen margarita mix) Add the frozen limeade and keep the can for measuring.
  • 3/4 can of tequila
  • 1/4 can Triple Sec
  • 1 can of ice
  • Splash of agave, optional

Instructions

  1. To a blender add one can of frozen limeade, not thawed.
  2. Use the empty limeade can to help measure the next ingredients.
  3. Add 3/4 can of tequila, 1/4 can of Triple Sec and 1 can of ice to the blender.
  4. Blend on high until smooth.
  5. You can add a splash of agave if you think it needs to be sweeter but the drink is pretty sweet on its own because of the limeade.
  6. Serve immediately and enjoy.
http://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/best-frozen-margarita-recipe/

 

Filed Under: Holidays, Party Planning, Recipes, Sip it Tagged With: , , , ,

Monte Cristo Roll Ups for Easter Brunch with King’s Hawaiian

April 14, 2014 by 1 Comment

*This post is sponsored by King’s Hawaiian.  All opinions are mine!

Monte Cristo Roll Ups Recipe. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comSo I have a thing with Monte Cristo sandwiches.  My mom and I used to head to a restaurant in South Coast Plaza (anyone remember Magic Pan?!) for their Monte Cristo’s, salads with raspberry vinaigrette and delicious rosemary bread.  It is where I fell in love with the salty and sweet sandwiches.  And now when I see them on any menu, I HAVE to have it.  Because you don’t find them that often.  And I have a thing about brunch.  I “go pupule” over a good brunch.  When I was thinking about the perfect recipe for Easter brunch, I thought a Monte Cristo would be perfect.  Easter is all about ham, everything is better with cheese and raspberry jam just about screams brunch, am I right?  What the heck is “go pupule?”  It means go crazy in Hawaiian.  Add this phrase to your lexicon.  It is super fun to say.

Easy to make Monte Cristo roll ups. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comWhile a traditional Monte Cristo is pretty much a sandwich made on french toast, I decided that sweetness of the King’s Hawaiian bread would work perfectly for this.  And I also decided that sandwiches are too boring.  I wanted to do this dish a little bit differently. So I decided that Monte Cristo Roll Ups just made sense.  It takes only a few ingredients, and not a lot of time, so I think it is a great dish to add in to your Easter brunch entertaining.  The key is SEEDLESS raspberry jam.  Ain’t nobody got time for all those seeds.  And you need a good gruyere – one that is salty and smells a little bit like feet.  Trust me, it makes this taste the best.  I “go pupule” over a feet-y gruyere.

King's Hawaiian bread for Monte Cristo Roll Ups. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comThe other step that is a must for this Monte Cristo Roll Up recipe is rolling out the bread.  While King’s Hawaiian is known for its soft, fluffy amazingness, the roll up works better when you make the bread flat (less tearing).  But you could totally skip this step if you want to just make these as normal sandwiches.  But then I might think you are lazy…

A super easy Monte Cristo recipe for Easter Brunch. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comRoll out your bread, layer on the jam, sprinkle on some shredded cheese and add some ham.  So easy.

Baked Monte Cristo Roll Ups. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comPlace the roll ups seam side down on a baking sheet.  It is ok if there are a few small tears.  The ham sort of acts like a barrier to keep the cheese from oozing out all over the place although it will melt out the ends.  You bake them until they are melty and golden brown, about 10 minutes.  And once they are out, you can dust them with a little powdered sugar, which any self respecting Monte Cristo has.

Monte Cristo Roll Ups. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comThese roll ups would make a great appetizer if cut up in to slices (does that then turn them in to pinwheels?)  and are perfect for kids.  They could also be made ahead of time and just heated through the morning of.  They are the perfect mix of breakfast in lunch in one dish and are sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Monte Cristo Sandwich Roll Ups for Easter Brunch. \\ www.cupcakesandcutlery.comAre you a Monte Cristo fan?  Are you a King’s Hawaiian fan?  They just released their first ever TV commercial.  So exciting!  This family run company is awesome and I’m so excited for them to continue their growth and success.  They are truly the nicest people!  So take a sec and go check out the commercial here.  Please make sure you are liking them on Facebook and don’t forget you can get more recipes right on the King’s Hawaiian site!

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Monte Cristo Roll Ups for Easter Brunch with King’s Hawaiian

Ingredients

  • Original King's Hawaiian Sweet, Sliced Bread (about 8 slices)
  • 1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
  • 1/2 pound black forest ham sliced from the deli
  • 8 oz. good gruyere cheese, shredded
  • powdered sugar, optional (for dusting once out of the oven)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Roll out 8 slices of King's Hawaiian bread (to about 1/4" thick).
  3. Spread on seedless raspberry jam.
  4. Top with 2-3 TBSP of shredded gruyere cheese.
  5. Add a piece of ham that is slightly smaller than the slice of bread.
  6. Starting at the bottom, begin rolling up the sandwich away from you.
  7. Place seam side down on a baking sheet.
  8. Bake for approximately 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the tops are golden brown.
  9. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
http://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/monte-cristo-roll-ups-easter-brunch-kings-hawaiian/

 

 

Filed Under: Family Life, Food, Holidays, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , ,

Artichoke Dip Sliders with King’s Hawaiian

March 31, 2014 by 1 Comment

*This post is sponsored by King’s Hawaiian.  All opinions and calories consumed are mine.
Simple Artichoke Dip Sliders. Artichoke Dip Sliders.  So good.  I mean, how can they not be?  They are filled with a very popular cheesey dip.  And they are served on Kings Hawaiian rolls.  The only thing that could make these better is if they somehow had chocolate in them.  On second thought, that would probably be kind of gross.

What you need to make the perfect Artichoke Dip Sliders for game day.Chances are you have your own recipe for artichoke dip.  I find this is one of those personal preference things.  But they generally vary only slightly.  Feel free to sub your fave recipe.  Mine is far superior, but that’s ok, go ahead and still make yours…The dip can be made ahead of time.  I love dishes like that for entertaining.  Don’t you?  The King’s Hawaiian rolls are already slider size and have the perfect sweetness to accompany this salty, tangy dip.  I don’t want to get gross, but I’ve been known to eat these Hawaiian rolls, heated in the microwave, with butter, for meals.  Nothing else, just the rolls.  And I love every minute of it.

Isn't artichoke dip the best? Make the dip.  It wouldn’t hurt to make a double batch.  With the leftover dip you can serve it with tortilla chips for those who don’t feel like eating a sandwich at the moment.  Or you could just eat it for breakfast.  The star of this show is the unmarinated artichoke hearts and the garlic.  Oh and the cheese.  These ingredients play really well together.

Super easy and super delicious artichoke dip sliders. Once the dip is all bubbly and golden, you can start making the sliders.  Simply toast the rolls (this will help them to not get soggy as quickly and provide a nice little crunch) then dollop some dip on top.  It is as easy as making, well, a sandwich.

Two of my fave things: artichoke dip and Kings Hawaiian bread.Are you salivating?  You should be.  These are delicious.  Maybe I should start a new blog.  It can be all about making dips in to sandwiches.  I already eat onion dip on my hamburgers so I KNOW that would be good.

Artichoke Dip Sliders. Perfect for game day

 

These sliders are perfect for game day entertaining but also great for BBQs, weeknight dinner, movie night, baby showers, bat mitzvahs, and Tuesdays.

Artichoke Dip Sliders. For game day. Or any day. I have out-of-town guests coming in this weekend.  I should probably make some of this dip and have these rolls on hand to create a fast snack.  Are you going to make these?  You should!

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Artichoke Dip Sliders with King’s Hawaiian

Ingredients

  • 2 cans unmarinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, shredded
  • 1 1/2 cups Swiss cheese, shredded
  • 1 cup mayo
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 package King's Hawaiian rolls

Instructions

  1. Combine the artichoke hearts, mayo, garlic, Parmesan and Swiss cheese in a 2 1/2 quart, oven-safe, baking dish.
  2. Heat, uncovered for approximately 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven.
  3. The dip should be bubbly and melted through.
  4. Cut King's Hawaiian rolls in half with a serrated knife.
  5. Place on a baking sheet, cut side up, and broil until golden brown and toasty (approximately 1 minute).
  6. Spoon warm dip on one cut side of King's Hawaiian roll and top with the other half. Serve warm.
  7. Serve any extra dip with tortilla chips. Or spoon it straight in to your mouth.
http://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/artichoke-dip-sliders-with-kings-hawaiian/

*Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep Cupcakes and Cutlery running!

 

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Salami and Peperoncini Pizza

March 17, 2014 by 3 Comments

I’d like to just take a second to acknowledge the fact that this is my 1,000th post.  Wow!  Do they make a card for that?  I’d also like to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

I took my favorite sandwich and turned it in to a sandwich. Salami and pepperoncini with a garlic butter sauce. Make it. I’ve been meaning to post this Salami and Peperoncini pizza recipe for a while now.  I basically took my favorite sandwich, that my grandmother used to make for us, and turned it in to a pizza.  So I would keep buying the ingredients, and then my family would eat them all up, in sandwich form, before I could try this out!  The nerve.  But I finally timed it just right so I could actually give it a try.

This pizza is super simple and super tasty. Haters gonna hate but I love Boboli.  It is the perfect way to make making homemade pizzas even easier.  I love that it never gets soggy.  I love the flavor and I love that it lets me be sort of lazy.  And I also love that it is a little breadier than others which I think works perfect in this case since this is based on a sandwich anyway.  The only real prep work I had to do for this was cut the onion which is optional anyway.

This store-bought garlic butter makes a perfect base for a nontraditional pizza.I looked around online trying to find a garlic-buttery sauce to make for the base.  But then I saw the garlic and herb flavor Saute Express when I was at the store and decided to give that a shot.  It worked perfectly.  (This is not in any way sponsored.  I just think this was a great addition to the pizza.  It is also the only way I have ever used this product so I can’t vouch for how it works the way it was intended).

I heart pre made pizza crusts. They are perfect for easy weeknight meals. I just melted the garlic and herb butter and spread it on the crust.

A fun twist on pizza night. Salami and pepper pizza with garlic butter. And then I layered on the ingredients.  I used an Italian cheese mix that included provolone (which is what the sandwiches are usually made with).  The peperoncinis were pre-sliced, I just drained them a second on a paper towel.  And then I added the sliced red onion to half the pizza so I could try it with and without.  The onions are the one ingredient that I would sometimes leave off my sandwich and sometimes leave on.  On this particular day I was pretty indifferent to them.  But I tell you what, I ate that whole pizza.  On a side note I think I have a minor food allergy to onions.  Self diagnosed of course.  But if I have a minor headache and then eat onions it never goes away no matter what I take.  And sometimes I think they give me a headache.  WTF onions?

Salami and pepper pizza with garlic butter sauce.Would you ever try this?  Or are you a pizza purist?  I am totally in to nontraditional pizzas but the rest of my family…not so much.  In the future I should probably make this on the individual sized crusts so I don’t end up in a carb coma.

Salami and Pepperoncini pizza. So good! This is good.  Real good.  I will be making this again.

FYI, this recipe is super vague.

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Salami and Peperoncini Pizza

Ingredients

  • One pizza crust (I used Boboli but can be homemade or another brand of pre-made crust)
  • One cube Garlic and Herb flavored Saute Express (or homemade garlic butter sauce - find your own dang recipe...)
  • Package of sliced Salami (I use the prepackaged kind but your deli counter will also have some)
  • Up to 2 cups of shredded Italian cheese mix with provolone (the mix usually also includes mozzarella, and asiago plus one or two others)
  • Sliced peperoncinis (Found by the pickles - the ones I use are by Mezzetta and say "Deli-Sliced Golden Greek Peperoncini
  • Red onion, thinly sliced.

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 ish degrees (as per instructions on your pizza crust. If you are making a homemade crust I might par bake it before putting on the toppings.)
  2. Melt one cube of Garlic and Herb flavored Saute Express.
  3. Brush or spoon garlic butter on to pizza crust.
  4. Top with Italian cheese mix (up to 2 cups - your preference)
  5. Top with salami slices, sliced peperoncini and red onion if you are using.
  6. Bake until melty and golden in spots.
http://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/salami-and-peperoncini-pizza/

 

Filed Under: Family Life, Food, Recipes, Things I Love Tagged With: , ,

Best Caramel Corn Recipe Ever

February 3, 2014 by 2 Comments

Best Caramel Corn EverYOU GUYS!  This is the BEST CARAMEL CORN RECIPE EVER!  I don’t mean to yell.  I just want to be clear.  You haven’t lived until you’ve had this caramel corn.  It is simple to make and is a show stopper.  I have given this as teacher’s gifts, eaten it in place of birthday cake and have been accused of hoarding it for myself.  If that is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

this recipe is the easiest and best caramel corn ever.The ingredients are pretty standard.  And I know there is a lot of negativity surrounding corn syrup and the like.  If there is one place in the world they should be, it is dessert.  Embrace it people!  Then eat some carrots to balance it out.

add brown sugar and butter to a sauce pan for easy caramelThe only thing hard about this recipe is remembering to watch the caramel so it doesn’t burn.  I often try to do something else at the same time thinking I can multi-task.  And sometimes I can.  But it never works out when I am making caramel.  I’m fine with burnt toast.  I’m okay with burnt pizza.  But there is no place in this world for burnt caramel.  Super grody.

Add corn syrup to brown sugar and butterThe corn syrup helps to make a nice candy coating on the outside of the popcorn.  And a candy coating is never bad.

Adding baking soda makes the caramel foam up. If your kids are old enough to be around hot molten caramel, have them help you with this.  There is a fun chemical reaction when you add the baking soda to the caramel.  It foams up and grows. So cool.  I have no idea what the purpose really is but if it helps it come out yummy, I’m all for it.

mix the caramel with the popcornYou can use a roasting pan but I find it is easier to use a large disposable pan.  The key to this caramel corn is the baking.  It helps coat all of the popcorn and keeps the popcorn from becoming soggy.  This is not a sticky caramel corn.  It is crisp and buttery and perfect.  I like using a larger pan to make sure that I don’t lose half of the batch in to the fiery depths of the oven when I stir it every 15 minutes. FYI, burnt caramel smells almost as bad as it tastes.  And then clean up is a breeze because you don’t have to try to get hardened caramel off the pan.

I don't mess around about caramel corn. This is the best ever. There you have it. Best Caramel Corn Ever.  SO easy.  I know that some of you may have your own caramel corn recipe that you swear by.  But yours is wrong.  Mine is better.  Sometimes I sprinkle a little Maldon Sea Salt on top as it is cooling down from its last spin in the oven.  Oh yeah.

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Best Caramel Corn Recipe Ever

Ingredients

  • 2 cups brown sugar (packed)
  • 1 cup butter (I've used both salted and unsalted - I don't taste a huge difference)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 6 quarts popped popcorn (I use an air popper, but you can use plain microwave popcorn also)

Instructions

  1. Pop all your popcorn (6 quarts) and place in disposable baking pan.
  2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  3. To a saucepan, add the brown sugar, butter, salt and corn syrup.
  4. Melt together over medium heat, stirring almost constantly to keep it from burning.
  5. Heat to boiling and let boil for 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly.
  6. Remove from heat and add baking soda.
  7. Stir well.
  8. Pour over popped popcorn and stir well, taking care not to break the popcorn.
  9. Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
  10. Stir the caramel corn as it cools to prevent it from sticking together in big clumps.
  11. Store in an air tight container.
http://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/best-caramel-corn-recipe-ever/

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