Strawberry & Chocolate Cupcakes and My Daughter's 5th Birthday!

I've been crying all month as my baby girl, who turned five on Thursday, is no longer a baby.  My husband and I are watching as our only child's girlhood emerges and contemplating about what all that means,...  for us as well as for her.  Anyway, it's a big milestone, of course, and we all have made many friends at her preschool that she will be graduating from next month.  Everyone will be moving on and going off to different schools for kindergarten.  So, we wanted to have a special party to celebrate and to spend some time with people we might not be seeing much of in the future. 
My home couldn't accommodate everyone we wanted to invite so we had to hold it at a restaurant.  I decided to make the cupcakes for the event.  My little girl couldn't make up her mind between strawberry and chocolate so we chose to make both. 

I used  two Martha Stewart recipes.  The first was her basic white cake to which I added strawberry puree that I made to the batter.  After I filled the cupcake liners, I pushed a slice of fresh strawberry into the center of each one, frosted them with a Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (also made with the strawberry puree) and topped with a chocolate covered raisin.

Next I used Martha's Devil's Food  recipe, which I have to say, I was not really happy with.  If I could have done it over, I would have used Hershey's The Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe I've used in the past.  It produces a much richer, darker chocolate cake, I think.   I frosted them with a Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting and sprinkled  them with chocolate and candy covered sunflower seeds.  I think the frosting  and candy helped improve the cake quite a bit. 

The food and the cupcakes are important, but what makes a truly good party is good friends, which we feel we had in abundance.  It was a lovely day and my daughter was very happy. (She's the one holding the stuffed wolf cub) Thanks to all the friends and family that celebrated with us this weekend.  We love you all.  Have a good Memorial Day everyone. 

Recipes

Strawberry Cupcakes http://bit.ly/mIC0Vg

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting http://bit.ly/c5DJxY

Devil's Food Cupcakes http://bit.ly/lZgGwp

My preference: The Perfect Chocolate Cake recipe
from Hershey's http://bit.ly/iY8JJn

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting http://jcp.is/ksQ0Wh

I purchased candy toppings at Trader Joes. 

HCG Diet Recipes

 

I started the HCG Diet (the original 500 cal one) on April 29^th.  I now have 5 days left before I go on the maintenance phase.  As of now I have lost 16 ½ pounds.  I’m hoping by the time I finish I’ll be down 18-19lbs.  Those of you who haven’t heard of it, here is a link for some information.  http://simeonsdiethcg.com/about-the-diet

Now having said that, I am not personally endorsing this diet or this site, nor am I inviting any debate on this diet’s merits.  I am not a doctor.  I just know that many people are on this or are thinking about trying it and I wanted to share some recipes and techniques I created that might help with the boredom that can occur as this is a very restricted diet.   Also, I want to state that if anything I post here is similar or even exactly like other recipes you have seen it is purely coincidental.

You can’t use any oil, so make sure you have a non stick pan or some kind of “grill” to use.  All these recipes are for single servings, adjust accordingly for more people.

“Mole” Seasoned Poultry

3.5 oz Turkey or Chicken (uncooked)

Mix together and set aside in a bowl:

½ tsp chili powder

1 tbsp cocoa powder

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground or dried marjoram

A few drops of water to form a paste or use as a dry rub

¼ cup of fat free chicken or veggie stock (don’t add to spice mixture)

A couple of sprigs of cilantro

Directions: 

Heat a small non –stick skillet or grill.

Pat your poultry with paper towels till it’s dry.  Season it with salt and pepper.  Then dip it in the paste or dry rub you created; make sure it’s evenly distributed over the poultry.

When your skillet is ready, place your meat in the pan.

Turn the heat down to medium and let it sear really well, even let it blacken a little. 

After 3 minutes, flip it over and sear the other side 3 minutes as well.

Then slowly add the stock to the pan. Turn the heat down a little more and let it simmer for a few more minutes until the meat is cooked through.  The broth should be cooked down as well making a nice sauce. 

Place your meat on or next to your veggie choice and then pour on any remaining sauce.   Add your cilantro now if you like.

Curried Shrimp

3.5 oz of Shrimp (approx 5 medium) cleaned and peeled

¼ to ½ cup veggie stock

2 tsp Yellow curry powder

Or

½ tsp turmeric

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp mustard powder

1/8 tsp cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp cumin

Couple of sprigs of cilantro

If you like, you can grill the shrimp a head of time for 5 minutes turning once and set aside.

Directions:

In a small skillet heat all the dry ingredients together just a minute to toast them a little.  This will help bring out the flavors.  Then slowly add the stock and bring to a simmer.

Once stock is simmering add in your uncooked shrimp and let simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.  Don’t overcook or shrimp will become tough. Add cilantro in and let it wilt a little.  Serve immediately over your veggies.

If you grilled your shrimp ahead, add it to the simmering stock and just let it heat through quickly 1- 2 mins. 

Note:  Will also work well with Chicken  and serve with cucumber slices. as shown at the top of this post.

Asian Chicken

3.5 oz boneless chicken breast (uncooked)

Mix together in a small saucer:

2 tsp Braggs Amino Acids (this replaces soy sauce)

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

½  tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger or ½ tsp dried ground

Salt and pepper to taste

1/8 tsp stevia powder  (optional)

¼ cup chicken stock (do not add to marinade)

1 lemon wedge

Directions: 

Place chicken in marinade for a few minutes.

Heat small skillet or grill.

When heated place chicken in pan (turn down heat to medium) and let sear for 3-4 minutes on each side. Let it blacken a little.

Then slowly add stock and let simmer until chicken is cooked through.  Serve with veggie, cilantro and squeeze lemon wedge for extra flavor.

Note this will also work well with fish.

“Honey Mustard” Tilapia

1 or 2 tbsp of brown or Dijon mustard

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp Braggs Amino Acids

1/8 tsp Stevia powder (or to taste)

¼ cup veggie or chicken stock

Lemon wedge

Directions:

Mix mustard, vinegar, BAA and Stevia together. Coat the fish well on both sides with mixture and set aside.

Heat your skillet on high.  When heated place fish in pan and turn down to medium heat cook for 3 minutes on each side, then slowly add stock and let simmer on low for a 2 more minutes.  Remove and serve immediately with lemon wedge.

Note also works nice with chicken.