Cooking Endeavors as of late

RED VELVET and CREAM CHEESE FROSTING CUPCAKES.

After watching a few episodes of cupcake wars I had to try a yummy cupcake. So Mike and I picked our favorite, red velvet. SERIOUSLY, DELICIOUS!

We had the Johnson's over that night and they helped us make a pretty good dent in the number of cupcakes we had...
As you can see by the trash can... we had a few more than we needed (mostly the guys...) Between the 4 of us we polished off 24 mini cupcakes and 7 large ones... I KNOW!! THAT IS TERRIBLE... But you wouldn't have been able to help yourself either... trust me!
This past Sunday I wanted some GOOD mexican. So Cafe Rio it was.
I made the sweet chicken, with cilantro lime rice and creamy cilantro ranch dressing
We even put our shells in the over to melt the cheese like they do at cafe rio.
It was delicious and fairly easy to make, especially they chicken since I just set it in the crock pot (Do you see little Epps sadly watching us eat the delicious food without her? Silly Kitty)

If you want the recipe here it is! I highly recommend it!

Café Rio Salad Café Rio Dressing • 3 fresh tomatillos – remove husks, wash, cut in quarters and put under broiler until soft (about 7 mins) • juice of ½ lime • ½ cup buttermilk • ½ cup mayonnaise • ½ cup sour cream • 1 package of dry Ranch Buttermilk Dressing Mix • 1 cup fresh cilantro (about 1 bunch) • 5 stalks (1/2 bunch) of green onions w/ ends • 2 cloves crushed garlic • ½ to ¾ tsp. salt • ¼ tsp. crushed cayenne pepper Combine well in blender and refrigerate one hour. Café Rio Chicken • 1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (16 oz) • 1 T chili powder • 1 T cumin • 3 cloves garlic – minced (crushed garlic ok) • 5 lbs chicken breast Cook all together in crockpot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour. Café Rio Rice • 3 c water • 4 t chicken bouillon • 4 t garlic – minced (crushed garlic ok) • ½ bunch cilantro • 1 can green chilies – or equivalent fresh • ¾ t salt • 1 T butter • ½ onion • 3 c rice Blend cilantro, green chilies and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and then add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes. Café Rio Salad Start with a tortilla, melt cotija cheese on it, then layer on black beans, rice romaine lettuce, chicken, cotija cheese, tortilla chips and cilantro ranch dressing.