That easy & that hard...

Morning everyone!  There are 3 reasons that our dinner might have been off-the-wall good last night:

1.- It was a great flavor combo of spicy pork chops, grilled sweet potatoes and a kicked up version of pea pods....

2.- We got to enjoy it on a completely cool night on the sun porch while listening to the drizzling rain....

OR...

3.-  Scott had made the entire thing while I was off kickin some ass in boxing class and all I had to do was plate my dish when I walked in the door.

Yeah, I think that might have been itJ

Not to take away from the fact that he made a PRIMO dinner for us!  First up were the Espresso coated dinosaur bones pork chops...

He combined equal parts espresso, brown sugar & Montreal steak seasoning and grilled these babies until they were charred.  He said he might put a little MORE espresso & brown sugar next time, but I thought these were awesome!  Super flavorful for so few ingredients.  Yum!

Next up was one of our favorite, easy summer cooking techniques:  Potato grill packets!  Diced sweet potato, a little butter & brown sugar...seal it up in aluminum foil, pop in on the grill for about a half hour and DONE!

The best part are the ones that caramelize to the bottom of the foil.  So easy & sooooo delicious.

And last, but not least....peas!  Now as you may know, I am NOT really a big fan of pea pods...but since these spring peas were "in peak season/picked this morning" at the farmer's market, I decided to give them another whirl....

OK, so maybe I'm not a fan of sugar snap peas, but SPRING peas:  Me likes!  They were sorta snappy, but bursting with actual peas! (how novelJ)  I'll have to remember these from now on...I love discovering new veggies that I enjoyJ  (probably didn't hurt that Scott sauteed them in a littttle blue cheese garlic butter, but ya know-it helped JUST A LITTLEJ)

So yes....primo dinner made my Scott!  And he got a little treat by way of my "cupcake dealer" from workJ

And where, pray tell, was my half of the "Dirty" (Valrhona chocolate/chocolate) cupcake from "Sweet Revenge" in NYC??  Well, it had been devoured during a 2pm massive chocolate craving!  And ya know what, I ate the damn thing and was FINE!  I figured it was sooooooo much better than trying to pacify myself with fake hot cocoa packets & random "walks" by the vending machine only to eat the cupcake in the end.  I said "I'm going to just enjoy it"...and I did!  You're ALWAYS better off just having what you want when you're REALLY craving it...the key is just not to have a lot of itJ  It's that easy & that hard (believe me, I STILL struggle with it!J)

Anyway....after dinner I got started on a couple items for a bake sale at work today and just HAD to share with you guys one of my STAPLE summer recipes that I just ADORE!

FROZEN PINA COLADA CUPS

Adapted from Taste of Home

• 1 (8oz.) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 (10oz.) jar maraschino cherries, chopped
• 1 (8oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 (8oz.) container whipped topping
• Coconut...there can never be enoughJ

1.- Blend cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy...

2.- Add pineapple & cherries.  (You could reserve half of the diced cherries to "top" the cups...but if you're in a rush, or lazy like I was last night, I just tossed all of the cherries in the food processor and gave em a quick pulseJ)

3.- Lightly fold in the whipped topping and MOUNDS of coconutJ

4.- Use an ice cream scoop to add mixture to cupcakes tins and freeze overnight.  Serve directly from the freezer or allow to defrost for a few minutes.

(I topped these with coconut since the "cherry topping" just wasn't happenin!)

HOW EASY ARE THOSE!????  And they are a knockout!  Perfectly cool & tropical for the hot summer!  The hardest thing about this recipe might just be fitting all of them in your freezer...J

The recipe is EASILY doubled, so I managed to get 3 dozen out of the double batch.  (I probably could have gotten more but I ran out of both cupcake tins AND freezer spaceJ)

I also baked up a couple recipes of another of our favorites:  Cappuccino chocolate chip muffins....

The recipe may be featured as a guest post on one of my favorite blogs...I'll keep you posted!

Alright, I think you've heard enough from me today!  Have a great Wednesday, everyone!  (and if you live in the tristate area, I hope you were smart and took a cut day today!  It is pure blue sky perfection out thereJ) hahahaha...