Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes!

Chocolate truffle cupcakes with cream cheese frosting...Amazing!

(Rachel & Jessica, this one's for you!)

These are delicious and easy cupcakes but the surprise truffle in the center makes them "outrageous" as my mom would say! She came up with this fun idea!

Warning: These cupcakes are rich and decadent and they are not fat free...but they are totally worth it! Come on, live a little!

INGREDIENTS FOR CAKE:

1 devil's food chocolate cake mix

1 small box of chocolate pudding mix

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

12-18 truffles (I love the french truffles from Trader Joe's the best!)

Bag of mini chocolate chips to decorate the top of the cupcakes

INGREDIENTS FOR FROSTING: ( This frosting is a recipe from Ina Gartan, the Barefoot Contessa, it is rich a delicious...Ina can do no wrong!)

Also, this recipe makes enough frosting for at least a batch and a half of cupcakes!

1 pound Cream cheese, at room temperature

3 cubes of butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

DIRECTIONS FOR CUPCAKES:

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, eggs and sour cream. Mix well. Use an ice cream scoop to spoon mix into individual cupcake linings in the cupcake tin, this way, they will all be the same size! Then place a truffle down into the center of each cupcake.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 16-20 minutes. Take out and let cool. Then frost with the cream cheese frosting and top with mini chocolate chips! And enjoy!!!

DIRECTIONS FOR FROSTING:

Cream together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla and almond extract. Then add the powdered sugar and mix well.

Balsamic Brown Butter Pasta

This is one of the easiest dishes ever and it happens to be delicious!!!

This happens to be another Giada DeLaurentiis recipe, that I kind of altered. My mom made it first and my whole family fell in love! We all love balsamic vinegar! It almost had a dessert feel, it was that good! This dish is unbelievably easy but has great flavor, so it tastes kind of gourmet! I did mine with cheese tortellini instead of ravioli, and used pecans instead of walnuts. I also added mushrooms. Try it, I hope you love it as much as me, it is just a nice change from the usual tomato or cream sauce!

• INGREDIENTS:
• 20 ounces store bought ravioli or tortellini, cheese or mushroom
• 7 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms, optional
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

(You already have most of these ingredients in your cupboard!)

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain.

Saute the mushrooms, put aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan cook the butter over medium heat, stirring frequently. When the foam subsides, and the butter begins to turn a golden brown, about 3 minutes, turn off the heat. Let cool for about 1 minute. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. (It is kind of a balance, you want it brown enough but you don't want to burn it! Watch it the whole time!)

Combine the pasta and the sauce. Sprinkle the Pecans and Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately!

Okay, so I know that it is a butter-based sauce and has a lot of it, but it has a great depth of flavor and it is very rich so you won't be able to eat a lot! So, it's alright! Just try it! Micah even liked it!

Lasagna Rolls

Okay, so this recipe is one of my favorites, especially for a dinner party! It is rich, flavorful and substantial! I also love it because you can serve it to a house full of meat-eaters and they won't feel "deprived" by being forced to eat vegetarian food! I originally got the recipe from Giada DeLaurentis but I changed quite a few things. She includes pancetta- I substituted artichoke hearts and pine nuts! She includes a cream sauce and I substituted my favorite family alfredo sauce! These are rolls so they serve up much neater!

INGREDIENTS FOR LASAGNA:

1 (15 oz) container of whole milk Ricotta Cheese

1 (10 oz) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed completely dry

1 (7 oz) bag of frozen artichokes, thawed and squeezed completely dry and roughly chopped

1/2 cup of pine nuts

1 cup plus 2 Tbls of parmesan cheese

1 Large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 tsp salt, plus more for pasta water

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

12 dried lasagna noodles

1 cup of shredded mozzarella or four italian cheese blend

2 cups Alfredo Sauce

1- 1 1/2 cups of marinara sauce (You can use pre-made to save time or use homemade...I have done both, Mitch jokes that he cannot tell a difference...thanks a lot babe!!! Whenever I make homemade he says..."wow this is delicious- is this Prego?")

INGREDIENTS FOR ALFREDO SAUCE:

2 cups cream

1/4 cup butter

1/2- 1 cup parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

dash of nutmeg or garlic powder

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:

Melt butter in a pan, add the cream; let simmer. Then add the parmesan cheese, pepper and garlic or nutmeg. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Note: I love this recipe, it is SO easy and really delicious! I use it all the time over anything- tortellini, fettucini, as a pizza sauce! However, when you use it as a sauce for pasta- DO NOT make it ahead of time, pretty much make it when everything else for dinner is done- it takes only like 2 minutes to make and it sets up really fast- too fast! So serve immediately!!!!

TO MAKE THE LASAGNA:

In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, spinach, artichoke hearts, pine nuts, 1 cup of parmesan cheese, egg, 3/4 tsp salt and pepper until blended.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently to prevent noodles from sticking together. Drain. Arrange noodle on baking sheet so they don't stick together.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour the alfredo sauce into a 13 x 9 glass baking dish. (Only about 3/4 of the recipe from above)

Lay out noodle, spread about 3 or 4 Tbls of the ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Roll the noodles up (like a pinwheel), seam side down, on top of the alfredo sauce. Generously spoon the marinara sauce over each roll, then sprinkle with mozzarella and the remaining 2 Tbls of parmesan cheese.

Cover the dish with tin foil- bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden brown- about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for AT LEAST 10 minutes. (If you serve too soon it tends to get too watery).