I apologize in advance. I wanted to eat Coconut Cupcake and started making it without taking pictures of the baking process… so we have a few pictures of this recipe… Sorry…

Anyways, as I stated above, I was craving for a Coconut Cupcake. Convenience enough, I usually have majority of the ingredients in my pantry, I found the sweetened shredded coconut so I decided to make one myself.

The recipes that I found online produces 12 to 18 cupcakes, which I did not want to bake that much. So as usual, I tweeted one of the recipes that I found online with addition of a Tablespoon of oil. The oil will help the cupcake to be moist. Also, I usually use Salted Butter instead of Unsalted Butter but do not add any salt that instructed on the recipes online. This is the lazy way of baking but the final products usually come out fabulous so why not right?

The following recipe produces 6 fabulous Coconut Cupcakes!

Ingredients
1. 1.5 sticks salted Butter, room temperature
2. 3/4 cups sugar
3. 3 Large Eggs at room temperature
4. 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

5. 1 Tablesppn Oil (I used Olive Oil just because it was on the Kichen Counter)
6. 1.5 cups flour
7. 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
9. 1/2 cup milk
10. 5 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the Butter and Sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
2. About after 5 to 7 minutes with the mixer on low speed, add the Eggs, 1 at a time.
3. Scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the Vanilla and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda.
5. In 4 parts, add the dry ingredients and the Milk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry.
6. Fold in 5 ounces of coconut.
7. Spray Pam to a muffin pan. Fill each cup to the top with batter.

8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

9. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

The online recipes recommended to have Cream Cheese Frosting. This is just my opinion but the great moist Coconut Cupcakes do not require frosting. It is just good as is. Well, if you still think that the frosting is necessary, uuuuuum, I guess you can make one with mixing butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar together… Sorry I don’t have a recipe for it. I actually whipped some heavy cream with some sugar and mixed with about 1 tablespoon of sour cream, added on the side of the cupcake.

This Coconut Cupcake is super moist. Really 1 Tablespoon of oil makes a BIG difference. Just with butter is not enough to produce this moistness. I could cut the sugar by 1/4 more… 1/2 sugar may be enough for this recipe. I’ll try that next time!

Overall, this is a success recipe and hope you can enjoy the 6 Fabulous Coconut Cupcakes!

Happy Baking!!
Mrs. H

So I asked my Facebook Friends, “What should I cook for dinner tonight?!” Some of my faithful friends responded “Chili Con Carne”. Well, this is my first time but the Chili Con Carne will be perfect for this weather (It is cold outside… it was snowing yesterday…). So I decided to tackled on the “Chili Con Carne H’s Way”!

Ingredients
1. 2 1/2 pounds Beef Stew Meat or beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
2. 2 1/2 pounds Pork Shoulder, cut into 1- inch cubes

3. 1 tablespoon Salt (I use Sea Salt)
4. Freshly ground Black Pepper
5. 1/3 to 1/2 cup Olive oil
6. 1 large Onions, chopped
7. 1 Cup Celery, chopped

8. 1/3 Cup Dried Green and Red Bell Pepper (You can use fresh Bell Pepper, chopped)

9. 8 – 10 large cloves Garlic, minced

10. 1/3 cup Chili Powder

11. 1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
12. 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano
13. A Dash of Cayenne Pepper
14. 2 (14.5-ounce) can Diced Tomatoes

15. 4 cups low-sodium Chicken Broth

16. 1 (15-ounce) can Pinto Beans, drained and rinsed
17. 1 (15-ounce) can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

18. Serving with White Rice, chopped Green Onion, Shredded Cheddar, and Sour Cream.

Directions
1. Season meats with the Salt and Pepper.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the Olive Oil in a medium to large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

3. Sear the Meat until well browned, and transfer meat to a bowl and reserve.

4. Saute the Onion, Celery, Garlic over medium heat until Onion and Celery become tender, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

5. Stir in the 1/3 cup Chili Powder, Cumin, and Oregano and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Add the canned Diced Tomatoes and whisk in 3 cups of the stock.
7. Add the Meats and any juices from the Meats back to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
8. Season the Chili with the Salt, Pepper, and dash of Cayenne Pepper cover, and cook for 30 minutes.

9. In a blender puree about 1 cup of beans with the remaining 1 cup of stock.

10. Add the bean mixture to the chili along with the whole beans.
11. Let simmer, uncovered, 1/2 to 1 hour more or until the meat is tender.
12. For the taste, stir in the some Chili Powder, Salt and Pepper
13. Serve with cooked White Rice, chopped Green Onion, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, and maybe Sour Cream?!

I have to say and Zach agreed also, my first Chili Con Carne was SUCCESS!! I can definitely introduce this recipe to you all! Meats were so tender that melted in my mouth! Beans texture was perfect! I could put a little more Cayenne Pepper to heat it up. But over all, Chili Con Carne H’s Way was a great dish for the day like today!!

Happy Eating and Cooking!!
Mrs. H

It is still chilly outside, I was going to cook some soup for dinner. My hungry husband requested “Instant Ramen Noodle” for dinner… Well, I thought I would kick it up the notch Regular Ramen Noodle to a Fancy H Style Ramen Noodle

Ingredients
1. Japanese Instant Ramen Noodle (Any Instant Ramen Noodle is fine!)

2. 5 ~ 6 Stalks of Celery Finely Sliced
3. 1 Medium Size Carrot Finely Sliced
4. 1/4 Yellow Onion Finley Sliced
5. 3 Oyster Mushroom Sliced

6. 12 Medium Size Frozen Shrimp (Thawed)

7. 2 Tbs of Sesame Oil

8. Salt and Pepper for taste

Direction
1. In the medium size skillet with the high heat, add Sesame Oil, sliced Celery, sliced Carrot, and sliced Onion. Sauteed until Carrot becomes tender. Add some Salt and Pepper for the taste.

2. Add Oyster Mushroom till Mushroom becomes tender.

3. Add thawed Shrimps to the Veggie and Mushroom mixture and sauteed till the shrimp colored Pink. Add a pinch of Salt. Set aside this sauteed Veggie Mushroom Shrimp mixture.

4. Cook the Instant Ramen Noodle according to the direction on the package.

5. At last, plate the Ramen Noodle to the bowl, and add the sauteed Veggie Mushroom Shrimp mixture on top.

This takes only 20 minutes from start to finish including slicing all the vegetables… It is easy, cheap, and delicious! ECD!! You can make the regular boring Instant Ramen Noodle to the fancy dinner or lunch!

Happy Eating!
Mrs. H

So if you read my previous post, you know I still had this giant baby spinach leaf bag from COSTCO. So I checked my fridge again too see what else I can make with Spinach…

I found my favorite COSTCO pre-grilled Chicken, Milk & Heavy Cream, Linguine Pasta, shredded Pecorino Romano cheese from the brunch, a bag of salad, English Cucumber, Red Onion, Cherry Tomato, a bag of Tuna, OJ… The ingredients are almost identical to the brunch Frittata… but I decided to cook “Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Sauce with Linguine Pasta and the garden salad with Tuna dressing”

Ingredients
Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo
1. 2 Large Eggs
2. 1 Cup Milk (Any kind of Milk but Soy…)
3. 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
4. 3 Cloves Garlic Chopped

5. COSTCO Pre-Grilled Chicken 1/2 Bag Diced

6. 4 Cups of Baby Leaf Spinach Chopped

7. 1 Cup Shredded Pecorino Romano Cheese

8. 1 Tsp White Pepper (The color of sauce is white so prefer White Pepper for this Recipe)

9 A box of Linguine

10. 2 ~ 3 Tbs Olive Oil

Side Salad
1. A bag of lettuce (Any kind)
2. 1/2 English Cucumber Julienned
3. 8 ~ 10 Cherry Tomato Quartered
4. For the dressing, 1/4 finely chopped red onion

5. 2 Tbs of Tuna

6. 2 ~ 3 Tbs of OJ

7. 1/2 Cup of Olive Oil (extra virgin)

8. 1/4 Balsamic Vinegar

9. Salt & Pepper to taste

Direction
Creamy Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Sauce
1. Cook a box of Linguine per the instruction on the box and set a side. (Al Dente please!)
2. In the medium size pot with the high heat, add about 3 Tbs of Olive Oil, chopped Garlic and sauteed together till Garlic will become fragrant.
3. Add chopped Spinach and diced pre-grilled Chicken to the pot and sauteed together till Spinach become 1/2 of the volume.

4. Meanwhile, in the medium size bowl, add 2 large Eggs, Milk, Heavy Cream, shredded Pecorino Romano cheese, White Pepper and whisk together well and set aside.

5. Lower the stove temp to medium-low, and pour the Egg Cream mixture to the sauteed Spinach and Chicken. Mix well till the egg cream mixture will become the consistency of “Sauce (Coat the spoon)”

6. Add cooked Linguine to the Creamy Spinach Chicken Alfredo sauce and mix well together.

Easy Garden Salad
1. Mix diced Red Onion, Tuna, OJ, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt & Pepper in the small bowl. Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil to this mixture and mix well. There we go, easy dressing!

2. Set the bag of lettuce to the salad bowl, place julienned English Cucumber and Quartered Cherry Tomato on top of the lettuce. Easy Garden Salad!

This Creamy Alfredo Linguine was very rich but tasty dish. You need to do some running after the meal though. Calorie is no joke. But the side Garden Salad makes me feel a little better (You know the vegetables make you feel eating well)

Our desert was a bowl of Ice Cream… No wonder we won’t lose weight lately…

Happy Eating!
Mrs. H

Saturday 10/03, we woke up kind late like 10am, we were not hungry so we just had a cup of coffee… Aroung 11:30am, I was getting hungry and checked the fridge, we still had this giant bag of baby leaf spinach that about to get bad… We had some eggs, seasoned turkey ham, a small red pepper from our garden, some red onion, and a block of Pecorino Romano cheese from COSTCO… so I said myself, let’s make a Frittata!!

Ingredients
1. 3 eggs
2. About 3 Cups of baby leaf spinach

3. 1/4 Red Onion Chopped
4. 1/4 Red Pepper Chopped
5. 1/2 Shredded Pecorino Romano Cheese

6. 1/4 Cup of Milk (Any Milk, we only drink and use Whole Milk)
7. 1/4 Cup of Heavy Cream
8. Seasoned Turkey Ham (Any Lunch Meat can be substituted but we like this Turkey Lunch Meat from COSTCO)

9. Some Salt & Pepper

10. 1 tsp of Garlic Paste
11. 2 Tbs of Olive Oil

For super easy Salad
1. 6 ~ 8 Cherry Tomato Quartered (From our Garden!)
2. 1/2 English Cucumber Sliced

3. Your Favorite Dressing (We used some Greek Yogurt & Italian Dressing Mix Together)

Direction
1. Set the Oven to 350F.
2. In the medium size bowl, add 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup of Milk, 1/4 cup of Heavy Cream, and 1/4 of shredded Pecorino Romano Cheese and mixed together, set aside.

3. In the large non stick skillet, put olive oil and garlic paste in the medium heat, add diced red onion, diced red pepper, and chopped spinach sauteed together until Spinach will become almost 1/2 of the volume…

4. Added diced Seasoned Turkey Ham to the veggie mixture and sauteed together for another 2 ~ 3 minutes.

5. To this sauteed Veggie & Turkey, pour the egg & milk cream & cheese mixture and cook about 3 minutes on the stove top. And added the rest of Shredded Pecorino Romano Cheese on top. And into the oven for 10 ~ 15 minutes.

6. While the egg mixture is in the oven, make quick salad. You can use any of your favorite salad dressing. We used the left over Greek Yogurt & Italian Dressing mix together as dressing.
7. Sliced English Cucumber & quartered Cherry Tomato are added to the dressing, and mixed well. And here we go, easy salad!

8. After 10 ~ 15 minutes, check the Frittata to see the egg mixture was cooked all the way. Change the oven temperature to broiler High. Watch very carefully once you changed the oven temperature to broiler, it’ll colored the top of egg mixture golden brown but cannot be burned…
9. Carefully removed the skillet from the oven and served this frittata while it’s still warm with the easy salad!

This was a perfect brunch for us. It took about 40 minutes from start to finish, including the cleaning cutting board, bowls, and knives (you can do cleaning while the egg mixture is in the oven!) The Pecorino Romano cheese has this distinct tangy taste. If you don’t like this cheese, you can substitute with Mozzarella Cheese probably… You can substitute any of the ingredients and make your own Frittata!

Happy Cooking & Eating! (I still have 1/2 of the baby leaf spinach…)
Mrs. H