Valentine's Day Dinner

As I mentioned before, I'm not really all that into Valentine's Day so when my husband mentioned that he had bought something for me, I knew that I needed to get him something but I didn't know what. Last year I made him this frame with our picture in it that has all the things that I love about him handwritten around the mat. And I wasn't sure if I could top that this year.

And then I thought, "Well why do I have to do something different from what I do every day? Isn't there something that he loves that I could put a little extra twist into to show a little extra love today?" Cooking! My husband loves my cooking.

"Hunny, I'm going to make you and extra special meal for Valentine's Day. Anything that you want. I'll even skip my lunch and come home an hour early and make it. No matter how hard it is. Whatever you want."

He pondered it for a bit and thougths were running through my head too..."Is he going to want steak...or maybe a roast." And then he stopped...

"How about lasagna?" I was blown away. Lasagna? That's an easy one! "Well yeah. I haven't had lasagna in a while and that sounds really good to me."

So that's what we're having tonight. Lasagna. It's the simple things that make my husband happy - and that's one of the biggest reasons why I love him.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

So I thought that I would share a new favorite recipe that I made for a birthday here in my office. I highly dislike cake. There is just something about that frosting and the way that it tastes that isn't appealing to me. I will however eat cupcakes. (Yes, strange...I know) 

I think that you can make them much tastier and the frosting choices aren't that sugar strung store bought stuff. So everytime I find out what someone likes, I try to turn it into a cupcake.

And this time it was banana cream pie. Now I didn't come up with the recipe on my own but they were cupcakes from scratch so I was very proud of myself and they were quite delicious. I highly recommend them for your next gathering!

Better-Than-Banana-Cream-Pie Cupcakes

Recipe from Delish.com

Cupcakes:

2 1/2 cup(s) flour

1 tablespoon(s) baking soda

1 teaspoon(s) cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon(s) salt

1/2 cup(s) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup(s) granulated sugar

3/4 cup(s) packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

4 very ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup(s) plain yogurt

1/2 cup(s) chopped walnuts (I left the walnuts out because I forgot to ask about allergies)

Filling:

1 package(s) instant banana pudding

2 cup(s) milk

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Frosting:

1 package(s) instant vanilla pudding

1 cup(s) milk

1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

1 container(s) (8-ounce ) extra-creamy whipped topping

1/4 cup(s) confectioners’ sugar

Garnish:

2 cup(s) crushed cinnamon graham crackers

Banana slices (optional)

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. In another large bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter with granulated sugar and brown sugar until light. Add eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with -bananas and yogurt, mixing on low speed just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy; do not overmix. Gently fold in chopped walnuts if you are using them.

2.Fill each muffin cup about three-quarters full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in pan, then remove cupcakes to wire rack to cool completely.

3.Meanwhile, prepare filling and frosting. Mix banana pudding with milk according to package directions, adding vanilla. Chill for at least 30 minutes. For frosting, mix vanilla pudding with milk and vanilla; fold in whipped topping and confectioners’ sugar until frosting is creamy. Chill for at least 30 minutes to set.

4.Once cupcakes are cool, insert a paring knife into top of each cupcake, making a small hole in the center. Spoon filling mixture into a zip-top plastic bag. Snip off a small corner of the bottom. Squeeze about 1 tablespoon filling into the hole in the top of each cupcake. Swirl frosting on top of each cupcake; sprinkle with graham-cracker crumbs. Top each with banana slices as desired. Keep chilled.

They were so moist and tasty! I hope that you enjoy them like we did!