Foodie Friends Friday: Bags N Things

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back with purses!  This week you can win from our sponsor, Sandi, at Bagsnthings.biz.  Sandi is giving away a purse that is worth $40!!! This is a great giveaway! Just follow the rules and link up your recipes! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Hard Cider Baked Mac and Cheese, Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache, and Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter M&Ms!

Last Foodie Friends Friday was sponsored by Woolzies Dryer Balls and here were the winners:

And, of course, here were your top 3 voted and clicked recipes!

Most Votes:

1. Country Meyer Lemon Pie

2. Venetians

3. Razzberry Ginger Fizz

Most Clicks:

1. Mini Fiesta Frittatas

2. Lemon Honey Cake

3. Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grab our NEW button! 

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.foodiefriendsfridaydailydish.com/" title="Foodie Friends Friday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj628/busyvegetarianmom/FFFDDButtonNEW150Darker_zpse238f637.jpg" alt="Foodie Friends Friday" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Enter below and you might be a lucky winner!!

But first, here are this week's co-hosts:

Foodie Friends Friday http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsview.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://walkingonsunshinerecipes.com

Michelle at  From Calculus to Cupcakes http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.com

Cynthia at Feeding Big  http://www.feedingbig.com

Jodie at Binomial Baker http://www.binomialbaker.blogspot.com

R Dawn at Spatulas on Parade http://www.spatulasonparade.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar http://www.alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com

Kelly at Adorned Well http://www.adornedwell.blogspot.com/

Cindy at Cindy's Recipes and Writings: : http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com 

Joanne at Winelady Cooks: http://www.wineladycooks.blogspot.com

Marlene at Nosh My Way: http://www.noshmyway.com

Jutta at Hungry Little Girl: http://www.hungrylittlegirl.com/

Erika at Chef Picky Kid: http://www.chefpickykid.com/

Beth at Honey Locust Hills http://www.honeylocusthills.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Strawberry Bellini

Not much time to chat today.  I am so busy with school this week that I can't think straight!  I recently received all of my letters of recommendation and therefore I am now able to submit complete applications to schools!  If you know anyone who is looking for a math teacher, let me know! I have been filling out applications like crazy and it is making me feel both very overwhelmed and very excited/nervous. I don't have much time to cook or bake! I do, however, have a new and exciting thing to share: I have a Drink Recipe today!

Last weekend, Tamara, Courtney, and I made dinner.  I made a recipe that involved strawberries (more on that later) and we had a ton of extra ones.  Tamara had the fabulous idea of pureeing them and adding the strawberry puree to champagne to make some fun drinks for our dinner.  The Strawberry Bellinis were fantastic and it was a great addition to our fun ladies night.  All you need: champagne and strawberries!

Strawberry Bellini

Ingredients:
Champagne
10-12 strawberries

Directions:
1. Cut of the stems and quarter the strawberries.  Place in food processor and chop until you have a smooth puree.
2.  Add about 2-3 tbsp of puree to 1 cup of champagne.  At this point, simply add to your taste preferences.

Enjoy :)

Hard Cider Mac and Cheese

So, there might be another snow day tomorrow.  I know right? Another one! I am excited, but also a little overwhelmed about re-planning for the next day.  However, I am planning on getting a lot done if there is a snow day and I might even cook or bake! Who are we kidding, I'm definitely going to make something sweet.

Anyways, today was sort of fun since we played with puzzle pieces in Geometry and learned about central angles and interior angles of polygons.  It was a fun lesson that was accessible for everyone and that was really nice to see.

For lunch, I brought some of the Hard Cider Baked Macaroni and Cheese that I had left-over from this weekend.  I was in Madison this weekend and did not have a ton to do.  So, I cooked! It was really great and now I have leftovers to bring for lunch!  This macaroni and cheese is super tasty and you should all give it a try.  Instead of the Woodchuck Amber that the original recipe called for, I used the new Woodchuck "Spring" Blend.  This added a sweetness that was really great with the apples, onions and cheddar cheese.  Okay, lets also talk cheese.  I go to school in Wisconsin and so I have access to some pretty fabulous cheese.  For this recipe I used Sharp Aged Babcock Cheddar.  This is the stuff that is made on campus and it was awesome.  Enough chit-chat, here is the recipe for Hard Cider Baked Macaroni and Cheese.

Hard Cider Baked Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from Bakeaholic Mama)

Ingredients:
12 oz whole wheat pasta
16 oz Aged Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Woodchuck Hard Cider
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cook pasta according to directions until al dente, drain and set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and toss in onions and apples.  Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until onion is translucent.  Toss in the flour and stir to coat.  Things should look crusty.  Pour in the cider, milk, and cream and bring to a boil.  Stir in abou 3/4 of the cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Pour cheese sauce over the pasta, stir to combine and place in 10 or 12 inch skillet or oven-proof dish.

4.  Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy :)

Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

I can't believe it is already Monday again!

My half marathon training continued this week with a 4 mile run Monday, 3 mile run Tuesday, 4.5 mile run Wednesday, rest on Thursday, 3 miles on Friday, and then 7.5 on Saturday! Sunday was all about cross-training and I am still feeling great.  I got a little nervous on Friday when my foot was hurting for a bit, but after some nice stretching, I ended up being just fine.

Along with all this, I had a super fun weekend! On Friday, I saw a movie with my friend Lauren and then skyped our friend Caryn! It was so great to see her.  She if off being a grown-up in DC and it was fun to hear about her life and all that was going on.  Then, I went out with friends on Saturday and had one of the most fun nights ever.  Finally, on Sunday, I watched the Badger basketball game, baked with Tamara, and then made dinner and watched tv. It was a great time and I am pretty overwhelmed that we are back at another Monday.  Fortunately, I spent a lot of time planning on Friday and Sunday and feel totally ready to take on another week!

I also have a great recipe to share today! I made my Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes and Whipped Chocolate Ganache and had some awesome cupcakes.  They are light cakes with rich frosting, just how it should be.

Skinny Chocolate Cupcakes with Whipped Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup skim milk
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 4 oz package instant chocolate pudding
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup non-fat, plain greek yogurt
For the Frosting:
1 cup heavy cream
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 and prepare 2 12-cup cupcake pans.
2. Heat up coffee and stir in cocoa powder until combined.  Stir in milk and vanilla.  Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, espresso powder, and pudding mix.
4. In a large bowl, beat sugar with canola oil and applesauce.  Beat in egg and egg whites until well combined.  Alternate adding in the dry ingredients and the coffee mixture, starting with the dry and ending with the dry.  Mix until just combined.  Stir in the greek yogurt.
5. Fill cupcake wells about 3/4 full and bake for about 20 minutes.  Let cool.
6. Make the frosting: microwave the cream for about 3 minutes or until just about boiling.  Place chocolate chips in a bowl and pour hot cream over the chocolate chips.  Let sit for 30 seconds and then stir until combined and melted.  Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.  Mix ganache mixture with vanilla until stiff peaks start to form.  Frost cupcakes.

Enjoy :)