Orange Crush Cakes!

SO I made these mini delights for a cupcake swap held by some amazing ladies here on Fort Meade a couple weeks ago. There were so many delicious treats, my favorite (other than mine, teehee...) was the White Chocolate Macadamia Nut  ones .. oh.my.goodness. I need that recipe! ;) This recipe, however, comes from my favorite food companion site to my favorite food blog Tastykitchen.com and you can find it here.

But these little beauties are perfect for the summer time ... fresh and citrus-y, fun for the kids to help make and eat, and a little unique!

Now, I've discovered something about my house and butter cream frosting. My house is too warm to effectively make the fluffy goodness that is butter cream icing. SO the texture was a little off for mine, until I stuck them in the fridge. SO keep that in mind, having a cool kitchen makes for better butter cream. I've learned my lesson.

Orange Crush Cakes 

For the Cupcakes: 
1 cup Salted Butter, softened
1-¼ cup Sugar
5 whole Large Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 whole Oranges, Zested
3 cups Flour
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
½ cups Milk

For the Frosting: 

1 cup Butter, Softened
5 cups Powdered Sugar
½ cups Orange Crush Soda
1 teaspoon Orange Flavored Extract

5 drops Red food coloring

5 drops Yellow food coloring

Step 1.
To make cupcakes, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2. 

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.

Step 3. 

 Add eggs, vanilla and zest of 2 oranges. 

Step 4. 

Add flour, baking powder and salt. 

Step 5. 

Add in milk.

Step 6. 

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full  and bake for about 20 minutes. (This recipe will make approx 2 dozen regular sized cupcakes, or close to 100 mini cupcakes, which is what I made.)

Step 7.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

While these treasures are baking beautifully, whip up the frosting and stick it in the fridge! 

Step 1.

Beat butter until fluffy. 

Step 2.

Slowly add in the powdered sugar, orange Crush and orange extract. Beat for several minutes, until fluffy and well incorporated. 

Step 3.

Mix in food coloring

Frost the cupcakes when cooled and hand these little babies out! ;) 

You'll notice I've included less pictures in this post. Fundamentally, cake batters look the same. We're looking for a consistency similar to pancake batter, maybe just a touch thinner. <3

Easy enchiladas!

So, first I must apologize for the time between posts! Its been a crazy busy start to summer here! I've got 3 kids at home right now, I'm in the process of starting my new job, started a girly boutique with my darling Sister,  DH is in class full time and I've also started my last full college semester! *whew!*

To add more to the mix, I've been working on a cookbook to share with all you followers in a give away by the end of July. I won't spoil the surprise, but its going to be 15 of my favorite dishes (of 2010.. because lets face it .. next year my life will be filled with new food loves ... I'm fickle like that!) -- a mixture of entrees and desserts. Maybe a breakfast casserole. I am really excited to share it with you, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do!

Now for the star of today's episode -- super easy Turkey Enchiladas. The original recipe (here) is for beef enchiladas, but we never have ground beef in our freezer, so I made the easy substitution. Honestly, if you don't tell your guests or family, they won't know anyhow! ;)

Turkey Enchiladas

Ok, so maybe these are more like burritos, but they are simple and delicious anyhow! This is also a great recipe for kitchen helpers!

Ingredients:

1 pound Ground Turkey
½ cups Diced Onion
1 can Refried Beans
1 can 8 oz Tomato Sauce
1 package Taco Seasoning mix
1 can Medium Enchilada Sauce (I think I used the 10 oz can...)
10 whole Flour Enchiladas
1-½ cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

                                                      Step 1.

Brown the ground turkey and mix in the taco seasoning.

Step 2.

Add onions, beans, and tomato sauce. Stir together until well mixed.

Step 3.

Assembly! Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the meat mixture onto a tortilla, top with a spoonful of enchilada sauce and some cheese. Roll and place in greased 9 x 13 pan. (I only managed to get 7 in my pan, I rolled mine kind of big)

Step 4.

Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the rest of the meat mixture and pour over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Whip up some Spanish ... or yellow ... rice if you wanna, but these are good just the way they are!