Recipe: Spinach Dip Bread Bowls

I said I wanted to post more than just reviews this year so here is my first recipe of 2016!

I made these in a regular-sized muffin tin first, but then a couple weeks later, I made these in a mini muffin tin and in my personal opinion, they were much better. They're super filling, so if you're making these as appetizers or for a party, the mini just makes more sense. These have just now become my go to appetizers. I have actually made them 3 or 4 times in the past year (which is a lot for me). Hopefully, you'll love them as much as I do.

Ingredients:
Roll of refrigerated french bread loaf, I used Simply Pillsbury
2 Tablespoons oil, I used canola
2 cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
3 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup light sour cream
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, I used grated
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 20 mini muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray. Unroll the package of french bread and slice into 10 equal slices, about 1 inch thick. Then, cut each of those slices in half. Press each slice into a circle with your hands. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir spinach until wilted. Add garlic, cook and stir for another couple of minutes then turn the heat off.
3. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, parmesan cheese, garlic salt, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. With a spoon, scoop dip into each of the centers of bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded cheese and bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to turn brown. Remove and let cool for a couple minutes.

Travel: Making dinner in a hotel with tin foil and an iron

Are you staying in a hotel with only a mini fridge and a microwave for longer than just a couple nights? Are you trying to save some money and not eat out every night? Do microwave dinners make you cringe?

Well, that was our thought on our vacation last fall. We did have some microwave meals and sandwiches and chips and clearly we ate out a couple times. Anyway, we did our best to come up with an idea. We tried to be creative, and decided to take advantage of the iron that was in our room. We ended up making 2 different meals this way (grilled cheese and quesedillas).

First, you need to buy your supplies. You will definitely need some tin foil no matter what you're cooking. For grilled cheese, you will need sliced cheese, some butter (which we swiped from the free breakfast at our hotel), and bread. For quesedillas, you will need mexican shredded cheese, chicken (we got the carving board packaged lunch meat), and some salsa (for dipping of course).

Grilled Cheese:
Tear off a large piece of tin foil, butter your bread, and put the cheese between it. Place it off to one side of the foil, then fold the foil over the sandwich. Put the iron on top of the foil. Peak in the foil and make sure your sandwich is done on this side and when it is, flip the entire foil/sandwich over and cook the other side. It's quite easy.

Quesedillas:
This is made the same way. Tear off a piece of tin foil a little larger than your tortilla. Put your cheese and chicken (or whatever you decide to put in it) on one side of your tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half and cover with the foil. Put the iron on top of the foil. Peak inside and when the quesedilla is done on this side, flip it over and cook the other side.

Travel: Snack Buffet

My husband and I were trying to come up with some ideas for what to bring as far as snacks for the flight down to Florida this year. I first saw this idea somewhere on Pinterest and decided to do my own take on it.

First I went to the store and looked for the perfect box for our snack buffet. I found a box that I thought would do the trick. It seemed like a lot of them just snapped closed, but then I found this one that latched closed so I thought that looked the most secure. I found it at Wal-Mart for $3.99. I brought it home and my husband, son, and I started planning the little boy's snack buffet box. Well, my husband and I thought it sounded really cool so we decided to go back to the store and buy two more! We each wanted one for the plane ride.

For snacks, we decided to go for a wide range of things. I thought it was important that everyone have a fruit or vegetable (we all chose fruit), meat, cheese, something salty, some kind of cracker, and something sweet. Plus, everything had to be kind of small so that we could fit a lot into each section. But I liked how these boxes could be customized with how small or large the sections were. This general idea is how we got to our final plan.

My Box: Reese's Pieces, pretzel sticks, cubed cheese, goldfish, starbursts, summer sausage, seasoned crackers, and grapes. (I thought it would be fun to stick the pretzel sticks in the cubed cheese.)

My Son's Box: Jelly Beans, MnMs, summer sausage, pepperonis, goldfish, pretzel sticks, seasoned crackers, Ritz Bits with cheese, and grapes.

My Husband's Box: Teddy Grahams, Peanuts, Hershey Kisses, goldfish, dried pineapple wedges, cubed cheese, seasoned crackers, and beef jerky.

These boxes really worked out well for us. When we got to our destination, we went to the store and bought some more snack items and then packed one of the boxes every day and took it with us so that we had snacks throughout the day. Then, we refilled them for the flight back, and we were set!

What would you put in your box?

Recipe: Lasagna

This recipe has been in my family for over 40 years, but it didn't start there. My grandma actually got this recipe from a Weight Watcher's meeting. That's right. It's actually fairly healthy. And it tastes great, too. I always assemble my lasagna the night before. What does this accomplish? It means that I don't have to cook my noodles. I put together all my layers with the hard noodles and then overnight while it sits in the fridge, all the juices from everything soak into the noodles and they're nice and soft when you cook the lasagna the next night.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic, crushed or 1/8 tsp. minced
1/2 lb. ground steak (or lean hamburger)
1 can (1 lb 12 oz) Italian tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. granulated sweetener
6 lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cups low fat cottage cheese
1 egg
4 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 T. grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika

Steps:
1. Combine 1/2 cup water, onion, celery, garlic. Vook over medium heat until tender and water evaporates.

2. Add meat and saute until browned (drain fat). Stir in tomatoes, paste, parsley, oregano, basil, salt and granulated sweetener.

3. Bring to boiling, reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook noodles. Combine cottage cheese, and egg in bowl. Blend well.

5. Place 2 noodles in bottom of lightly greased 10 by 6 by 2 in. baking dish. Top with 1/3 of cheese mixture, then 1/3 of meat sauce. Repeat twice. Arrange mozzarella on top, sprinkle with parmesan and paprika.

6. Bake uncovered 30 minutes (350 degrees) or until very hot and golden brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This is the recipe word for word that I got from my mom a couple years ago. I usually use a larger pan and use 9 lasagna noodles instead of 6 to make it 3 across. Also, I have found that it tends to take a lot longer than 30 minutes to cook. I usually cook mine for about 40-50 minutes. Other than that, I generally make my lasagna exactly as the recipe says.

Station 220 in Bloomington, IL

My husband and I went on a date night the weekend before Valentine's Day. We went to a movie, then Station 220 for dinner, and Eleven for drinks after dinner. It was great! And you know what the best part was? Our dinner! It was seriously AMAZING!

We made reservations. Then, when we got there, we saw that they were having a celebrity guest chef.

How exciting, right? Well, for those of us in Bloomington, it's exciting. Everyone that we saw was very professional and proper. The waiters served the women first. Everyone was dressed nicely. They were very courteous and polite. It's definitely a warm welcome in Bloomington where nice restaurants and professional employees are hard to find.

Straight from Station 220's website: “Station Two Twenty, cultivated by Epiphany Farms Enterprise, is bringing Midwestern cuisine to the global stage. Our mission is to blend socially conscious farming techniques with comfortable fine dining in order to produce something that customers not only enjoy, but also understand. We strive to create food systems that provide exceptional quality and a sustainable, regenerative future. As Central Illinois' only farm-to-fork restaurant, we are committed to creating food that glorifies the cultural heritage tying us to our community. Station Two Twenty is a place for families and foodies alike. Here, you'll find familiar ingredients, grown right in McLean County, prepared with respect and presented with excitement and flair.”

Since they get the majority of their ingredients locally, their menu changes seasonally. Since we ate in February, we had the winter menu. For starters, we had the “Anju” Roll. It has Yellowtail Amberjack, Atlantic Salmon, Korean Gim, and Fresh Vegetables. I am not a sushi fan and I thought it was absolutely delicious!

For dinner, my husband got the Seared Scallops with Classic Risotto, Spiced Foam, and “Sugar Bear” Pumpkin. I had some of his and it was good. I don't LOVE scallops so they were only okay to me. However, the risotto was pure perfection. In case you're curious about the spiced foam and pumpkin or are thinking about not getting this dish just because of these two things, don't worry about them. They are small little things on the side. They're both good, but if you don't like them, it's a not a big part of the dish.

For dinner, I got the Braised Lamb Shank with Lemon Spaetzle, Herb Salad, Mint Oil, and Semolina Crouton. It was so amazing. The lamb just fell of the bone and melted in my mouth. And it was a lot of food. These were no small portions. I was a little hesitant about the lemon spaetzle. I'd never had spaetzle before so I was excited to try it, but it was the lemon part I was unsure of. Honestly though, it was pretty good. The lemon flavor wasn't overwhelming. It was like a small taste at the end. I really enjoyed it. I didn't finish it though (I was leaving room for dessert) so our waiter boxed it up for me.

My husband had a cup of coffee after dinner while we waited for our dessert and it came with sugar cubes. Like homemade sugar cubes! (I'm not sure why that impresses me, but it does.)

Then for dessert, we had a large chocolate souffle. It came with a couple homemade marshmallows, some kind of soft peanut butter squares, raspberry sauce, vanilla sauce, chocolate sauce, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a bed of crushed peanuts. It was way too much food for us (we probably only ate half), but it was absolutely delicious! It does take a while to cook so we actually ordered this when we ordered our dinner. And I would say it's more for 4 people, if not more.

Our total was just under $100 before tip for the two of us. So for Bloomington, it is a little on the pricey side, but for how nice the restaurant, service, and food are, it's a good deal. I suppose it depends on your priorities when picking a restaurant. When I review Station 220 on TripAdvisor, I will be giving it 5 Stars. I loved it!

Valentine's Day Twinkies

This year, my husband and I are going cheap on Valentine's Day. He just started a new job taking a pay cut so we didn't want to spend a lot of money on things that we probably don't need. Anyway, I got my husband a 6-pack of a beer he recently tried and really liked (Kentucky Ale) and a bag of shelled peanuts. Just to add a little something extra in there, I decided to make some almond bark covered Twinkies! (Don't worry, I saw this on Pinterest) How good does that sound?

I started out with your average box of Twinkies. (Aren't we all glad they're back?) I shoved a lollipop stick (which I bought at Hobby Lobby) in one end while I kept one finger on the other end making sure that the stick didn't poke through the other end.

Then I melted my almond bark. I always use my double boiler. I used to melt it in the microwave, but when I started doing it this way, I learned it's so much easier. It's VERY hard (nearly impossible) to burn the chocolate and it stays nice and warm and thin. I covered the Twinkies in the almond bark the best I could. Honestly, mine don't look pretty after this step, but as you'll see, that doesn't much matter so I suppose it's pretty hard to mess up.

Then I added a couple pieces of red melting chocolates. I think I added about 10, but the number really does depend on what color you want and how much almond bark you have left. Keep in mind, you can always add more. I made mine a medium pink. Then I drizzled it over the Twinkies.

I added more red melting chocolates to make the color a light red. I then drizzled that over the Twinkies. I added even more red melting chocolates to make a true red and drizzled that over the Twinkies. I decided that was enough, but if you wanted, you could easily start with a really light pink and go to a dark red. To finish them up, I added some pearl sprinkles and red sugar.

I think they turned out pretty good and I really think my husband is going to love them!
Oh! and what did I do with the leftover chocolate you ask? Well, I couldn't let it go to waste so I put a couple handfuls of pretzels on a sheet pan covered with wax paper and separated them to make a single layer. Then, I put the rest of the almond bark in a squeeze bottle and used a fast drizzle method to cover the pretzels. I added some sprinkles and bam! An extra dessert! (This is why diets don't work! Kidding..)

Valentine's Day Breakfast

I'm taking a week off from organizing my house to bring you a special breakfast! My husband and I don't really get a lot of alone time so since my mother-in-law was in town this weekend, we decided to pretend like it was Valentine's Day. We had a great date day (more on that later). For breakfast, we had Red Velvet Pancakes and Heart Bacon.

For the pancakes, my mother-in-law had brought a mix. It even came with it's own glaze. (I added the sprinkles) For the bacon, I just shaped it the best I could and cooked it on the griddle.

This was a great breakfast! and I think it's perfect for Valentine's Day.

Recipe: Cheeseball

This is my absolute favorite recipe of all time! I make it all the time and I freaking love it. I'm not going to say that mine is better than everyone else's, but I will say that I personally like mine the best. I'm a somewhat picky eater and I feel like everyone always puts weird things in their cheeseballs. I like to make mine all about the cheese! But don't get me wrong, there is so much flavor going on in this thing. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Ingredients:
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
8 oz grated cheddar cheese
½ Tbsp Onion Onion or onion powder
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp lemon juice
Chopped pecans

I just want you all to know that I am only guessing on the amount of the onion, sauce, and lemon juice. I tend to just throw some in. It always turns out fine for me so don't be afraid to do that. Measurements do not have to be exact. Sometimes, I even like to add some Garlic Garlic in there.

Steps:
1. Work all ingredients together except the pecans.
2. Make into a ball.
3. Roll in chopped pecans.
4. Wrap in saran wrap and chill.
5. Serve with crackers.

I serve mine with crackers. You can literally serve this with ANY crackers. I know some people serve theirs with pretzels too. You can always make your cheeseball in different shapes and sizes. After all, I made mine into a football for Superbowl Sunday. I even saw somewhere that someone made theirs into a turkey for Thanksgiving. I love that idea. Be creative!

Recipe: Buffalo Chicken Dip

I'm not sure if you've ever had this before, but it's awesome! My friend made it for me one time when we were having a movie night. Well, for Christmas this year, my family got together the weekend after Christmas and since we'd all just had a huge meal on Christmas day, we decided to just make appetizers instead of dinner. I decided to bring this, but I wanted a crockpot recipe. There is no reason this shouldn't be good in a slow cooker, right? I tried it out. And it totally worked! Yay! I'm making this for Superbowl Sunday. I can't wait.

Ingredients:
3-4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 jar of ranch dressing, I used Marzetti's (my favorite), but I've also made it with generic and it was just as good

Steps:
1. Put water in a large pot, enough to cover the chicken. Bring the water and chicken to a boil. Boil for about 15-20 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Shred the chicken with a fork.
2. Add hot sauce, cream cheese, and dressing to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until well blended, 30-60 seconds.
3. Mix in cheese.
4. Add chicken to cream cheese mixture.
5. Mix until blended to desired consistency. If you would like your chicken chunky do not mix long at all. If you would prefer a creamier, dip-like texture, mix a little longer.
6. Transfer mixture to slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, then keep warm. Serve with crackers, rolls, celery sticks, Tostitos scoops, Fritos scoops, pretzel chips, etc.

Bonus Tip: I made this the day before, refrigerated it, and then stuck it into the slow cooker on low 4 hours ahead of time and then turned it to warm. It turned out great.

Bonus Tip: I also tried cutting up the chicken instead of shredding it and then adding it to the rest of the ingredients after it was blended and then folded the chicken in. Then, we put it on buns and they made great Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches! Awesome, right?

Recipe: Cheesy Pigs in a Blanket

For the past two days, I have shared recipes using crescent rolls. I thought I would continue with that and do one more. If you thought the other two recipes were easy, this one is even easier! I love using the cheddar smokies instead of regular lil smokies. I feel like it gives your average pigs in a blanket the extra umph (if you know what I mean).

Ingredients:
1 can crescent rolls
1 pkg cheddar smokies

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degreed. Roll out your dough and separate into 8 triangles. Cut each triangle into 3 triangles.
2. Place a cheddar smokie at the largest part of your triangle and roll it like you would a normal crescent roll.
3. Place on your baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to brown.

I suppose if you want to make these even cheesier, you could add some cheese before you roll them up. Do you have a different version of pigs in a blanket?

Recipe: Bacon Cheddar Pinwheels

Yesterday, I shared my recipe for churros on a stick using crescent rolls. Today, I'm using crescent rolls in a different way. My obsession runs deep. This is a seriously easy recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 can seamless crescent dough
2 tablespoons ranch dressing
4 slices bacon, crisply cooked, crumbled
½ cup finely shredded cheddar cheese

Steps:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll the dough. Cut lengthwise into 2 long rectangles and press into a 12x4-inch rectangle.
2. Spread dressing over each rectangle to edges. Sprinkle each with bacon and cheddar cheese. Roll up the rectangle. Cut into 8 slices. Place cut side down on cookie sheet.
3. Bake 12-17 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown.

The biggest issue I had with this recipe was when I cut the pinwheels from the large roll. Some of them separated a little. This is an easy fix. Just roll them back up so that they look nice and place them on your baking sheet. Don't be afraid to get your hands a little dirty. How did yours turn out?

Recipe: Churro on a Stick

I just want to start off by saying that I went a little crescent roll crazy on Christmas Eve. We did an appetizer food night instead of dinner so that we could just snack all night. We ended up having crackers, colby-jack cheese, summer sausage, bacon and cheese pinwheels, pigs in a blanket, and churros on a stick. It was quite delicious!

Ingredients:
1 can crescent rolls
8 lollipop sticks
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Steps:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place silicon baking mat on cookie sheet or you could line it with parchment paper.
2. Unroll the dough. Separate the 8 triangles. Starting at the top of one of the lollipop sticks with the longest point of your triangle and wrap the dough around the stick, pulling and twisting the dough as you go. Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining 7 triangles of dough and sticks.
3. Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with melted butter.
4. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the tops of the dough.
5. Bake about 6 minutes or until light golden brown.

The only problem I had with this recipe was that it kind of sticks to the stick. Let me know how this recipe worked out for you!

Recipe: Sloppy Joe Bowls

I was looking around on Pinterest and found this recipe for Sloppy Joe Bowls. This recipe could not be easier!

You just need two tubes of biscuits, some sloppy joe mix, and cheddar cheese.

Spray the inside of your muffin tins. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Flatten out the biscuits. Place the biscuits in the muffin tin. Put the 'bowls' into the oven for 1 minute. Push the dough down with a spoon since they'll have fluffed up a bit. Then bake for an additional 6 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Now put your sloppy joe mix in the bowls. I'm not going to lie, I get mine from a can. Top it with some shredded cheddar cheese and throw it back in the oven for 2 minutes to melt the cheese.

These would work great for appetizers or game day food.

Chicken and Mozzarella Roll-Up

Today, I will show you a really easy dinner you can make.

All you will need is:
boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt
pepper
any other spices you want (we used Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, and Dill)
string cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Pound out your chicken until it's about half an inch thick.
3. Sprinkle your spices onto the chicken. We used salt, pepper, Garlic Garlic, Onion Onion, and dill.
4. Place your piece of string cheese at one end of the chicken and roll it up. You can use a toothpick to keep it in place if it won't stay by itself.
5. Place on a baking pan that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Pirate Party Cake-Pirate Hat

My son just turned 3! What an exciting age, right? Well, we had a pirate party for him. I searched online for cakes to make. After all, I always like making his birthday cakes. For some reason, I just can't justify spending a TON of money on an awesome cake or buying a crappy looking cake that was premade from a grocery store. It's just not my style. Well, I found this cake at Disney Junior. I made cookies from scratch and did a couple of DIY projects for this party. I decided to just buy a boxed cake. I've done this plenty of times before and when making a chocolate cake, I always buy something that has the words triple chocolate or super moist in it. These always taste the best.

Here are the directions that I got from the Disney website:


Here's how my cake turned out:


Thanks for stopping by! Let me know how your cakes turn out!

Grilled Mac 'N' Cheese Sandwich

So, my husband and I came up with this idea to combine two of the greatest cheese dishes together: grilled cheese and mac 'n' cheese! (I'm sure someone's done this before, but I'm not sure who and I don't remember seeing it.) It was absolutely delicious! Our son really loved it too.

First, we made a box of ordinary mac 'n' cheese. Follow the directions on the box.

Then, butter two pieces of bread. Unwrap two cheese slices so that they're ready. (After all, we want this to be super cheesy. It also helps keep the sandwich from falling apart.)

You can do this on the stove top, but we already had our griddle out and that way you can do more than one at a time. Make sure your pan/griddle is heated up before starting. We had our griddle set to 400 degrees which is the highest it will go. Put down 1 piece of bread, 1 slice of cheese, enough mac 'n' cheese to cover the sandwich, 1 more slice of cheese, and then the final piece of bread.

I usually leave my grilled cheese alone until it stops making the sizzling/hissing noise and then check it periodically until it's brown enough for me. Then flip it over and do the same to the other side. Now your sandwich is done!!

21st Birthday Cake

So if you follow my blog, you will remember that my best friend just turned 21 a couple of weeks ago. Well, I made her a cake a couple days later when we had a little party for her at home with the girls. It was funny. It was cute. It was slightly inappropriate! We call her wasted Barbie.

She threw up a little. Her hair is a mess. She's missing a shoe. She fell asleep with a cigarette in her hand, holding a bottle of booze. (FYI, we got the mini bottles of alcohol from the liquor store. They're only a couple of bucks so they're perfect. Plus she was able to drink them!)

This was just a plain cake made from a box, covered in icing, and decorated. I hope you have as much making a cake like this as we did. It was hilarious!

Chocolate Ganache Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I made these for my family and they were AMAZING!! The next time I make them, I might make mini cupcakes instead of full sized ones because they are kind of rich, but they're still some of the best cupcakes I've ever had.

Ingredients:
CUPCAKE:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baing cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature (if you're not a big fan of coffee flavored things, like myself, don't let this scare you off, you can barely taste it.)
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FILLING:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons 2% milk
GANACHE:
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
PEANUT BUTTER FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons milk, or as needed
2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Whisk the buttermilk, coffee, oil, eggs and vanilla until blended; add to the dry ingredients until combined. (Batter will be very thing.) Fill paper-lined muffin cups 2/3 full.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (If you make mini cupcakes, cook those for 10 minutes.) Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
3. In a small bowl, cream the peanut butter, butter, confectioners' sugar and enough milk to achieve piping consistency. Cut a small hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; insert a small round tip. Fill with peanut butter filling. Insert tip into the top center of each cupcake; pipe about 1 tablespoon filling into each.

4. For the frosting, place chocolate chips in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a bowl. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Dip the top of each cupcake into ganache; place on wire racks to set.

5. Place the butter and peanut butter into a medium bowl, a beat with an electric mixer. Gradually mix in sugar, and when it starts to get thick, incorporate milk 1 tablespoon at a time until all of the sugar is mixed in and the frosting is thick and spreadable. Beat for at least 3 minutes for it to get good and fluffy.
6. Place frosting in a pastry or plastic bag with large star tip; pipe onto each cupcake. Top with leftover ganache (if you have any).