Chicken Fajita Pasta Salad

We've been having weekly (ish) neighborhood block parties in my backyard this summer so I've been putting together salads on the regular. This salad was thrown together on a night that I actually forgot that the party was taking place and didn't prepare in advance. Then, 30 minutes before people started to arrive I was standing in front of my pantry and refrigerator trying to think of how things I already had would go together. I'd made fajita chicken for a pot luck at work for lunch and there was just enough left over to use for a salad. The rest of the ingredients were staples that I already had.

Overall it was a good salad, maybe not my favorite but still good. If you had some cilantro that would be good in it as well. Avocado would be good too but I never have those just laying around.

Chicken Fajita Pasta Salad
Servings 12-16

1 lb cooked chicken
1 pkg fajita seasoning
1 lb bow tie pasta
1/4 (ish) c. olive oil
6 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced
2 c. corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 c. green salsa
1 1/2 c. sharp cheddar cheese

Cook chicken chunks with fajita seasoning, let cool.
Cook pasta according to directions, drain. Toss pasta with olive oil.
Mix chicken, pasta, tomatoes, corn, and beans together. Pour salsa over salad and gently mix.
Just before serving add shredded cheese and stir.

Peach Cupcakes with Spiced Peach Buttercream

Jeff and I went to the farmer's market on Saturday and brought home a half bushel of peaches. We ate a bunch just cut up, made some jam and made these fabulous cupcakes. These were a definite do again. Like maybe this Saturday. The cake had just a hint of peach but anything more would have been overpowering. The frosting was really the star. The brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg pushed the peach flavor into something other than just peach frosting that was AWESOME! Eat with a spoon awesome! I did do a batch using a spice cake mix but the white was received better by all who taste tasted. Just an FYI :)

Peach Cupcakes
2 doz.

1 white cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 c. oil
1/4 c. water
1 box peach Jello
1/2-3/4 c. pureed peaches
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix cake mix with eggs, oil, water and cinnamon. Add Jello and mix well. Add peaches and mix gently together. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full (1/4 c.). Bake at 350 for 18-21 minutes.

Spiced Peach Buttercream Frosting
(enough to frost 4 doz cupcakes)

3/4 c. softened butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. pureed peaches
2 lbs powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Alternate adding peaches and powdered sugar until frosting is piping consistency. Add vanilla. If you want to tint the frosting a little bit peach colored add 2 drops yellow and 1 drop of red food coloring.

Mounds Cupcakes

It's true. All I cook lately is treats and my clothes are definitely starting to feel a little snug. I didn't even take a picture of the Neapolitan birthday cake from last week! Tomorrow is a birthday at work and the request I got was something with chocolate and coconut. Okkkayyy...

These are quick and easy, a doctored up cake mix and coconut cream cheese frosting with some toasted coconut on top. I toyed with a chocolate drizzle but decided that might be too much and left them on the simple side. I think it works. This is the chocolate cake doctored up combination that I think I like the best. I've fiddled with several different things and this one works consistently awesome.

Mounds Cupcakes
2 doz cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 box Devil's Food Cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
3/4 c. buttermilk or cream
2/3 c. sweetened coconut

Mix all ingredients except coconut together. Beat for 2 minutes on medium until batter is a little bit fluffy. Fold coconut into batter.

Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full (1/4 c. is about perfect.) Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.

Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese softened
1 stick butter (1/2 c. room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract
2-3 T. heavy cream
4-5 c. powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Add extracts and mix well. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time alternating with the cream until frosting is the right consistency. Pipe onto cupcakes.

Roll frosted cupcakes in toasted coconut.

*(You can also use regular untoasted coconut but my test panel preferred the toasted.)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Once again I find myself making cupcakes to take somewhere. I need to find some originality somewhere but apparently it's not going to be tonight.

I saw this Strawberry Cake on PaulaDeen.com and of course had to break it up into cupcakes. I have always had a soft spot for strawberry anything and this seemed like a good bet for the 4th of July. It's pretty and festive and I had some really great cupcake liners that begged for pink frosting!

I was able to get about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes out of the recipe and they were just the right size for frosting. Sometimes I get carried away with the batter and fill the cups too full but I found that 1/4 c. is just about perfect. The frosting is yum as always. Can you really go wrong with cream cheese anything?? Not in my world.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
30 cupcakes
adapted from pauladeen.com
Strawberry Cake
1 white cake mix
4 eggs
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. pureed strawberries with sugar
1 small box strawberry Jell-O

Mix cake mix and Jell-O together. Add eggs, water, oil and strawberries. Beat on medium until well mixed and smooth. I prefer the batter to be a bit thicker and like to beat it until it's kind of fluffy. It's up to you, do what you want.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 min.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 c. butter
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c. strawberry puree
1 tsp vanilla
6-7 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add berries and vanilla, mix well. Slowly add powdered sugar until frosting holds its shape and is the right consistency to frost your cupcakes.

Garnish with strawberry halves if desired.

Linked to:
Totally Tasty Tuesdays 
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