Bites of My Life

A week filled only with food pictures. This isn't unusual just kind of cracks me up and makes me wonder if I should reevaluate my priorities...nah! This is bites of my life after all. 

Last week was a weird one. The week before Spring Break is always a rough. Midterms hit, but everyone's productivity is out the window. Any sort of test or paper thrown into the week is just bound to fail when the only thing on our mind is spring vacation. With the additional craziness that was happening on campus this past week, you can imagine how distracted we all were. 

I'm happy to be finally be on break now have been and enjoying a little bit of a "staycation" before I head off to Las Vegas on Wednesday! Now enough chatter, let's take a bite of my past week!

-Polenta Huevos Rancheros for Monday night dinner while watching the finale of The Bachelor. Recipe was based loosely off this. 

-Al fresco eating is just about my favorite thing, happy this time of the year is back!

-Was treated to my first zoodles experience when my friend cooked them for me last Wednesday!

-Got home on Friday and headed straight to Organic Squeeze. I highly recommend the Muscle Westbrook smoothie, it helped balance out all the chips and queso and ice cream I had the night before...

-Most of our friends have already head off on vacation, but my partner-in-crime Melissa and I really packed in quite the day on Saturday to make sure we were having just as much fun at home. First stop of the day was to OKC's food truck park for pizza and green beer. 

-Next stop was at R&J's Supper Club for some tropical beverages. We pretended we were at the beach for a quick second.

-Last stop was at The Pump for a "snack." A bloody mary with all the fixings is pretty much equivalent to a snack.

-The weather on Sunday was too good to be true. A day spent outside and the inauguration of spring cooking was our only choice. Kale pesto scallops and veggies topped off the day!

I'll be absent the rest of the week so I can really enjoy my time off. Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to keep in touch in the meantime!

Annie

What's New?

Image 1/2/3/4/5

New Balances 1(sold out)/2/3/4/5

There's a new trend alert that I've jumped right in with! We've been seeing fashionable sneaker style since last spring, but New Balances are new for spring 2015. I love the idea of throwing on stylish sneaks with anything from a dress, to skinny jeans, to a midi or cut-offs! 

When I was in New York back in January it was easily apparent that the tennis shoe trend was alive. I suddenly felt silly in my cute boots when everyone around me looked so practical and cool in their sneakers. Those poor New Yorkers have probably been waiting for this trend to happen for years with all the walking they have to do. I quickly added "stylish sneakers" to my to-buy list after that trip. 

I have this weird thing where I only like white or light colored tennis shoes. My feet look funny in dark or multi-colored sneakers. I don't know, just a weird Annie quirk. Anyway I love all the New Balances I have been seeing, but couldn't decide because they were all a little too vibrant for me. I purchased these at J.Crew a few weeks ago and they're perfect. 

Now that all the snow has melted and the sun finally came out in Oklahoma I've loved toting around in my new shoes!

Annie

Mini Lavender Cupcakes

It's cupcake day round 2! Yesterday I posted about these Blueberry Lemon cupcakes, but today is all about my Mini Lavender cupcakes. Ever since I made these White Chocolate Lavender Cookies last summer, I've had lavender desserts on my radar.

I despise the scent of lavender when it comes in the form of body lotion or candles, but put it in food and it's a whole other ball game. I even put it in my smoothie the other day. 

I made these cupcakes in minis partially because everything is cuter in mini form and partially because I needed the batter to stretch farther than just 12 cupcakes. That being said you could easily adapt this recipe to make regular sized cupcakes. 

Mini Lavender Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
yields 24 mini cupcakes of 12 regular

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. dried lavender buds
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. milk

For the frosting:
1 block cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
red and blue food coloring
lavender buds for decorating

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini cupcake pan with liners and set aside. 

Put the sugar and the lavender buds in a food processor and process briefly to combine. Place the butter and lavender sugar into a bowl of an electric mixer. mix together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs into the butter mixture, one at a time until fully combines.  In a separate bowl sift in the dry ingredients then stir into the mixer. Stir in the milk.

Using a mini cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon, spoon the mixture into the paper liners. If making minis, bake for 9-10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you are making regular sized cupcakes, bake for 18 minutes. 

While the cupcakes are cooling, beat the cream cheese, butter and sifted powdered sugar together. Add two drops of red coloring and one of blue. Mix in the food coloring. Add more coloring, one drop at a time if you want it to be brighter. Frost your cupcakes and sprinkle a few extra lavender buds on top to decorate!

I know cupcakes are like so 2010, but these are worth it. 

Annie

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Lemon is one of my favorite flavors when it comes to baked goods. Throw in any kind of fruit and the best just got better. I don't know if you were able to gather from my social media or not, but last week my sorority hosted our annual philanthropy event, Kappa Kupcakes. As is sounds, we sell tickets benefiting a local organization, bake cupcakes and fill a room with sweets for our guests to walk through and eat all the sugar they can. 

I take this event a little more more serious than others. I've been baking cupcakes for this for the past five years. Yes, I was sending over cupcake donations when I was still in high school. You can see my past creations here, here and here. 

I've had this blueberry lemon cupcake recipe bookmarked since I started baking up kappa kupcakes. While going through which recipes I should use this year, one of my friends suggested I make blueberry lemon; time to pull this recipe out of hiding. 

We hosted our most successful event yet and my cupcakes went quicker than any other year. A true test that this recipe is a winner. 

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting recipe adapted from Annie's Eats
yields 16 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1½ tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
Zest of  1 lemon
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 large lemon
Additional fresh blueberries, for garnish

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; whisk together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon juice. With the mixer on low, mix in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Blend in the milk. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated.

In a small bowl, toss the blueberries with 2 tablespoons of flour. Using a spatula gently fold the berries into the cake batter. Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. This will ensure you have the perfect even amount of filling in each cupcake. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the lemon juice and lemon zest. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes however you like and garnish with fresh blueberries!

Check back tomorrow for more cupcake baking!

Annie

Bites of My Life

Oh boy am I happy to move forward into spring. After multiple rounds of winter weather, I could care less that I lost an hour of sleep Sunday night if it meant enjoying two more hours of sunlight in the evening. This is one of the best times of year in my opinion. Although, this time it's starting to feel very different. 

We have one week of school, then next week is spring break, then I graduate in less than two months. This set in heavy over the weekend and I'm starting to get sentimental. Every new season brings change. I thought I was ready for this change, but I'm quickly realizing I'm not as prepared as I thought. A huge life change of living in a new city, not being around the same people everyday and starting a new job in the real world is happening whether I'm ready or not. 

-Awesome lunch trying out a new sushi spot. I can honestly admit I chose my roll based on it looking like a caterpillar...I'm five. 

-A night of baking with some of my favorite people. We made these super easy neapolitan cupcakes by just layering chocolate and vanilla cake batter and topping with strawberry frosting!

-Cross your fingers this was our last round of winter weather. I don't mind the snow days off from school, but I'm ready for some serious spring temperatures!

-My sorority philanthropy is all about the cupcakes! I love scouring Pinterest weeks in advance to plan what recipes I'm going to make. These mini lavender cupcakes and a recipe for lemon blueberry cupcakes are to come this week!

-I used some of my leftover lavender to make this amazing berry lavender smoothie. I'm on a lavender kick and you guys are about to reap the benefits. 

-A serious craving for a local breakfast spot was cured on Friday! Huevos Rancheros and hash browns really got my weekend going. 

-Happend to make a trip to Whole Foods on the perfect day and at the right time. Y'all know I love free samples and they had a whole spread of street food out front!

-Got all dolled up for a great Saturday night, but first mom and I had to pull out the pre-party cheese!

-Such a great weekend with my best of friends, but quickly realized we only have 7 weeks left all together. 

Annie