Eggnog Cupcakes

I know, I know...  I JUST posted about cupcakes but guess what, I'm doing it again!  It wouldn't be the holidays at my parent's house without some eggnog in the fridge (and being able to order my eggnog latte at Starbucks).  All of this eggnog inspired me to try making some eggnog cupcakes before the annual crazy cookie baking marathon that happens in my kitchen every year right before Christmas.  For this recipe I simply used store bought eggnog and added a little booze because we all know it just wouldn't be the holidays without a little liquor.

Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes

It's official, I'm half way done with pharmacy school!!!  It's crazy how fast time has flown by.  Over the past year and a half I have had the opportunity to learn from some pretty influential professors, and unfortunately as the end of the semester wrapped up, my fellow classmates and I had to say farewell to one of our professors as he moved on to continue his teaching career at another University.  Being that he is a HUGE Star Wars fan (all of his lectures had to include a Star Wars picture) we threw him a Star Wars themed going away party.  Of course I was tasked with making the cupcakes and had to make sure the were vegan since our professor is vegan.

Sweet Almond Bread

The holidays are officially in full swing and that means I am spending way more time in my kitchen!  This past weekend for Thanksgiving I was busy making homemade bolognese pasta sauce, tiramisu cupcakes, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin cheesecake to take to two Thanksgiving dinners.  Before all of this craziness, I managed to find some time to make some sweet almond bread and it was AWESOME!!!  The bread was moist and dense and was the perfect pairing with my morning coffee.

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

So I know I've been M.I.A for the pass couple of weeks, but I have been trying to find some free time to post something and I have realized my free time is non existent!  Whoever said that the second year of pharmacy school is easier than the first was LYING!  Well I guess it might also have something to do with how many extracurricular things I have going on outside of school too but who knows.  Anyway, after almost 6 weeks I've finally found a little free time to sit down and post something.

Fall is officially here in the Pacific Northwest and although I really do miss our warm sunny days, the beautiful colors of fall make up for it.  Since Halloween is just around the corner I decided to make some yummy cookies that were inspired by one of my favorite types of Halloween candy!

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

 

For some reason lately I have been craving Italian food.  All I want is focaccia, insalata caprese, pasta and a nice glass of wine.  After procrastinating from school work during the week by making some focaccia, this weekend I decided to satisfy my craving and make some pasta.  All I have to say is this pasta definitely hit the spot!

Chocolate Raspberry Filled Cupcakes

So I finally did it, I baked for a wedding!  Back in May, I was honored when a fellow classmate asked me if I would bake cupcakes for her wedding.  I have always joked around about being up for hire for occasions like this but I never thought that I would actually ever have someone ask me to bake for them for such a special occasion.  For the wedding I made champagne cupcakes, limoncello cupcakes, and chocolate raspberry filled cupcakes.  According to some of my other classmates that attended the wedding, the cupcakes were all a hit!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Oh how I've missed my kitchen!  After being away for nine weeks of vacation and my summer rotation, I could not wait to get back and start cooking!  Before taking on baking cupcakes for a classmates wedding, I wanted to make something I've been wanting to make for awhile, stuffed bell peppers!

Hiking/ Camping along the McKenzie River

The McKenzie River

Well so far I have survived working 40 hour work weeks in the Pharmacy!  This week is my final week here in Eugene and this past weekend a friend and I decided we wanted to go site seeing.  After asking around finding out what we absolutely had to see before leaving, we settled on taking a little hiking/ camping trip up by the McKenzie River.  If I wasn't already in love with the area, I definitely am now!  It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and we had so much fun!  I just thought I would share a few pictures with you all for you to enjoy as well.  

Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!  I wanted to do a special post for the 4th but haven't had any time to make it into the kitchen!  As some of you might know, I am back in Oregon, Eugene to be exact, and am two weeks into my four week summer rotation for pharmacy school.  This is the first time in my life that I have had to work 40 hours a week and to top it off I'm not even getting paid, in fact, I actually had to pay almost $14,000 in tuition this summer just so I could work 40 hours a week.  Funny how that works but I guess it is a small price I have to pay to become a pharmacist!

Anyway, before I came back to Oregon I had a special request from my boyfriend to make him some Key Lime Cheesecake Bars.  I found this recipe last year on Sprinkle Bakes and made it a few times and everyone who tried them loved them!

Bacon Maple Cupcakes

Anyone who has been to Portland in the past ten years has probably heard of Voodoo Doughnuts.  Voodoo Doughnuts has become famous for creating some of the most unusual doughnuts, including the Nyquil Glazed doughnut and the Vanilla Pepto Crushed Tums doughnut.  Needless to say, after health officials found out about these doughnuts they were pulled from the menu.  Now, one of the most popular doughnuts at Voodoo is their Bacon Maple Bar.

Last year when I first came to Portland for my pharmacy school interview, my boyfriend and I made a trip to Voodoo to try some of their famous doughnuts.  Knowing how much my dad loves bacon, I made sure to take a Bacon Maple Bar back to him and he LOVED it! This year when father's day rolled around I knew I wanted to try and recreate the doughnut but in cupcake form!  

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these cupcakes turned out AMAZING and I'm not even that big of a bacon person! 

Limoncello Cupcakes

Nothing is more refreshing during a hot summer day than a nice glass of lemonade.  To kick off summer, my mom hosted an "Everything Lemon" party last week and asked me to bake something for it.  Inspired by one of my family's favorite Italian liqueurs, I ended up making Limoncello cupcakes and they certainly were delicious!

Crostata di Frutta (Fruit Tart)

It is hard to believe that one year ago today I started La Mia Dolce Vita in Italia while packing my suitcase to go to Italy!  The time has flown by so fast thanks in part to my busy pharmacy school schedule, but not a day goes by that I don't think about what I am going to cook/ bake next!  During this past year many delicious things have been created in my kitchen and I am so happy that I have had the chance to share my recipes with all of you.  I look forward to sharing many more recipes with you, starting with this beautiful Crostata di Frutta.

Asparagus and Pancetta Risotto

Summer is here and I finally have a short break from school!  Now that I'm back in California and have some free time on my hands I look forward to spending more time in the kitchen.  Since I missed the annual Stockton Asparagus Festival I needed to get my fix of asparagus which is why I decided to make this asparagus risotto.  I tried making this last year and perfected it this year by cooking the asparagus separately and adding it in at the end as opposed to cooking it with the risotto.  Even if you don't like asparagus this risotto by itself with the pancetta is super delicious!

Beer Battered Fish Tacos

There is nothing I love more than the end of the school year (I'm joking of course).  These last couple of weeks have been filled with meetings, making and giving presentations, studying for exams, sitting through trainings to receive my Basic Life Support and Immunization certifications, and not much time for sleep.  Needless to say I am counting down the hours until next week when I will officially be done with my first year of pharmacy school!

With all of the school work I have been doing, I have been perfecting my procrastinating skills.  Since Cinco de Mayo is coming up this weekend, I though I would take a break from studying and share my yummy fish taco recipe with you.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Easter is just around the corner so it seemed fitting to make some Carrot Cake Cupcakes this weekend to get in the Easter spirit!  These cupcakes are absolutely delicious and the apple sauce and pineapple make them so moist.  I decided to dress these cupcakes up with a little shaved coconut and some chocolate Easter eggs.  I hope everyone has a very Happy Easter next weekend, Buona Pasqua!

Rosemary Beer Bread

I'm not sure if you have caught on yet with the Chocolate Red Wine Cake and Champagne Cupcakes, but I love baking with alcohol!  When I was back home in California over winter break my mom made Rosemary Beer Bread one night with dinner, but it was from a box mix (I obviously don't get my baking skills from her, just kidding mom!).  

Coming back to Oregon, I knew I wanted to try and recreate this bread, especially since Portland is known to be the city with the most microbreweries located within the city limits.  I decided to try my version using Hefeweizen from Widmer Brothers, one of the more widely known beers from Portland.  This bread was not only tasty (way better than the box mix), but it was so simple to make and only required five ingredients!  I definitely have a new favorite recipe and will be making this again very soon!

Chocolate Red Wine Cake

 

The first time I made this cake it was definitely love at first bite!  Two of my favorite things are wine and chocolate, and when mixed together in this cake they are absolutely amazing!  If you haven't decided what to get your valentine this Valentine's Day, I'm sure they would love to indulge in a piece of this delicious cake!

Wilton Dessert Decorator Winner

And the winner is... Melissa Bridges!  Melissa will be making love monster cupcakes for Valentine's Day!!  Thank you to everyone for participating and remember to keep checking back for new recipes and future giveaways!

Wilton Dessert Decorator Giveaway!

For those of you who have "liked" my page on Facebook, you may already know that I told everyone to be on the lookout for an exciting announcement.  Well here is it!

Since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I wanted to do a little something special for my readers and have my very first GIVEAWAY!!!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I can't believe it is already the end of January!  I've been back in school for about a month now and I feel like there just are not enough hours in the day.  I'm at school for seven hours, and sometimes when I get home the last thing I have time to do is cook dinner on top of all the studying I have to do.  In order to save me some time, I bought a Crock-Pot on Black Friday.  I figured that I could just throw ingredients in it in the morning and come home to a delicious meal, or make something that would leave me with leftovers for the week.  This week I will be enjoying this yummy Tortilla Soup!

Red Pepper and Sausage Risotto

Risotto is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.  It is made from Arborio rice, a high-starch rice, that absorbs liquids and releases starch giving it a creamy texture.  When cooking risotto it is important to add the liquid a little at a time and stir the rice continually, that way the starch is released correctly.