Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

I got this recipe while listening to KLove. It sounded like so much fun to make. I have been waiting for over a month to have a reason to make these. Today we had the end of summer picnic at church and I thought these were the prefect way to send summer out.

 
Ingredients:
 For the cupcake:
1 box Lemon Cake Mix
For the cupcake filling: 
1 can Strawberry pie filling
1 jar Lemon pie filling
For the Glaze:
1 container frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)
1 cup powdered sugar
For the Frosting:
1 jar Lemon Frosting
1 jar Strawberry Frosting

Directions:
Prepare, bake and cool the cupcakes according to package directions. After they’ve cooled, poke holes with a fork in the tops of the cupcakes. While the cupcakes are baking, puree the can of strawberry pie filling in a food processor or blender. Pour in the jar of lemon pie filling and blend the fillings together.
Also while the cupcakes are baking, mix together the lemonade concentrate and 1 cup powdered sugar until the sugar dissolves. Once the cupcakes have cooled, spoon the glaze over them. (I would recommend having something under your cooling rack to catch the runoff of the glaze.) Fill a decorating bag with the strawberry lemon filling. (Insert Bismarck tip 230 into the bag before you fill it with the filling.) Insert the tip in the top center of the cupcake and squeeze out a small amount of the strawberry lemon filling into the cupcake.
After all the cupcakes have been filled, you’re ready for the last step - frosting! Fill one decorating bag with the strawberry frosting and one decorating bag with the lemon frosting. I used tip 1M for both frostings. Pipe a spiral of the lemon frosting around the outer edge of the cupcake and pipe a second spiral of the strawberry frosting on the top center of the cupcake.

Walnut-Strawberry Quick Bread

Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups (6 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon zest, or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) mashed strawberries
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the walnuts, flour, sugar, soda, salt and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, eggs, strawberries, and vegetable oil. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, whisking until well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a rack to cool completely, 1 hour or longer. For best flavor and easiest slicing, wrap the bread while still slightly warm and let set overnight.

Source: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook and Amber's Delectable Delights

Strawberry and Mascarpone Filled Cupcakes

My parents next door neighbor was graduating from highschool and I was asked to being a dessert to his party. I am always looking to try new things and someone posted a link to this recipe on one of the forums that I read. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try and make these.

Ingredients:
1 box vanilla cake mix (like Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe French Vanilla cake)
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, chilled
1/2 cup thawed and drained frozen strawberries
1/4 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Make the cupcakes according to package instructions. Lightly grease the muffin tin and fill the batter almost to the rim of each muffin cup. Bake according to package directions and let cool.

In a food processor combine the mascarpone cheese, strawberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and lemon juice. Process the mixture until smooth. Transfer the strawberry mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small tip. Push the tip gently into the bottom of a cupcake and squeeze in the strawberry mixture until the cupcake plumps. Continue with the remaining cupcakes.

In a small saucepan bring the 1/2 cup sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium bowl combine the vanilla syrup with the confectioner's sugar. Stir until smooth. Working quickly, use a rubber spatula spread the icing on the top of the cupcakes. If the icing begins to firm up, place in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up again.

Len- Did not think that they had a stong enough Strawberry taste and next time instead of the icing that the recipe has he wants me to do a cream chese icing.

Party-goers- They loved the cupcakes. they thought that they were a little too sweet and when I told them of Lenny's suggestion of using cream cheese icing they all really like that idea.

Recipe from Food network, picture from my kitchen.

All Around Good Smoothie

I have been working out and I have read several places that you need to up your protein intake when working out to boost your metabolism. I also had a banana that I needed to get rid of so this seemed like a great option. I could not get Lenny to try it though because he won't touch any smoothies with yogurt.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 1/2 frozen banana, peeled and chopped (I used a whole banana)
  
• 2 tablespoons powdered protein supplement
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flax seed
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Directions:

1. In a blender, blend the milk, yogurt, banana, protein supplement, flax seed, honey, and strawberries until smooth.
   

Recipe from allrecipes, picture from my kitchen.