Working on ideas

Citrus Marinated BBQ chicken-I used thighs to experiment with the sauce because, well, honestly, they are cheaper, right? I used three different fresh citrus juices and actually a lot of Asian flavors for the marinade/basting sauce. My husband loved them, but I think they were just ok. They look pretty though :o)


So, the reason for all this recent posting, is that I was watching Food Network Challenge and decided wouldn't it be fun to create a recipe that I could enter in the contest too??? It is fun, but also a lot of work. SO! I am not going to post the recipes until I have entered them, because I don't want to give my secret ingredients away ;o) I have been pretty happy with the results, but honestly, I just don't think that they are good enough to win a spot on tv. I don't feel like they are very original either, but it is still fun making (and eating, especially the cupcakes, YUM!) them.
These cupcakes were made with a vanilla batter, and then I put slices of fresh fruit in the middle and baked them. The frosting I just made as a butter cream chocolate frosting, but I used melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder. The best part of making these cupcakes is that my 3 1/2 year old son helped me portion them out, and he did a really good job. He was so proud of himself too!

This cake I decided to do three kinds of citrus again, and then I made a blackberry filling that I spread in between two layers. I just did a really simple citrus glaze over the top. You can see I had an air bubble in one of my layers in this pic, but I thought it was kind of pretty.