Want a delicious dessert that’s scientifically proven to please nearly every person with taste buds, yet is super easy to make and involves no baking?  Sorry, I can’t help you with that.  Okay, I kid!  

See all that cilantro?  It’s floating in a sea of minced garlic and cumin.  With these three ingredients, you could make a brick taste like Thanksgiving dinner, so I think it’s safe to say that this is a fantastic kick to the boring, run-of-the-mill weeknight chicken breast meal.  I personally am absolutely sick to death of baked/grilled chicken, so I was excited that this flavorful rub turned out so well.  I’ll take any excuse to eat black beans, so I cooked some up with more garlic and chili powder and I completed the meal with quick Mexican rice (rice, Rotal, and salsa) and what I refer to as onion salad (because it isn’t salsa without tomatoes!).

Sheeeeeee’s back!  I know, it’s been far too long and I have a rather large backlog of recipes to post.  I really have no excuses other than I was a full-time graduate student working two jobs and I let the blog fall by the wayside.  But that won’t happen this semester, I promise!

Since I’ve been gone, ZombieGirlCooks has received a lovely new makeover from Julie at Blogger Boutique!  I’ve also added the Google Friend Connect widget so my lovely readers can subscribe to my posts.  Take a look around and let me know what you think!

Okay, onto the cupcakes!  I made these lovelies for a dear friend who has helped me and T out tremendously in regards to school, and what’s a better gift than homemade goodies?!

I apologize for the huge gap between this and my last post, but adjusting to graduate school has been….different.  I’ve been really stressed and my body is cruel in that it chooses to handle stress by making me drop-dead tired 24/7.  Cue sleeping my blog time away.  But I’ve still been cooking, and I have a couple of exciting things in the works for this blog.  For one, I bought the domain!  I now own my own little piece of the web.  I also have a new layout coming!  This place is screaming for some color and cuteness.

Okay, about these peanut butter & jelly bars.  My partner is obsessed with peanut butter so he’s always requesting peanut buttery treats, and while I have no problem making them for him, I generally don’t partake because I’m not a huge peanut butter fan outside of a good ol’ PB&J.  These bars, however?  I inhaled them.  I made them while he was away doing his monthly Army stuffs, and it’s a very good thing he came back that night or I probably would have eaten the entire pan.  These bars are just so gooey and chewy and delicious!

Yumm-o.  This dish is one of the best chicken dishes I’ve ever had and it’s simple and quick to put together.  Could you ask for anything better?  This dish has so much flavor; the cayenne provides a little bit of heat, while the cumin and cinnamon add depth and a special touch to the dish.  I served this with some roasted pine nut couscous and plenty of fresh cilantro, and it was the perfect quick weeknight meal.

Special occasions call for special desserts, and my dad’s surprise 50th birthday party was no exception.  His favorite flavor combination is yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but my mom requested I make these chocolate cupcakes after they were a hit at another party she planned.  This chocolate cake recipe is my go-to; they’re richly flavored and perfectly moist.  Unfortunately, the recipe came from Ina Garten, a woman who can cook like hell but that I can’t stand.  I’m sorry; she seems so snotty and unrelatable with her requirements of “good” ingredients.  You can’t just use cocoa powder, you must use “good” cocoa powder.  Really, Ina?  Why would I want to use “bad” cocoa powder in my baking?  If “good” is her synonym for “expensive”, she needs a reality check.  I doubt many of her fans also reside in the Vineyard and have closets full of over-priced cashmere sweaters that are never actually worn, just draped around the shoulders.  I digress.

Maybe it isn’t the prettiest dessert you’ve ever seen, but your taste buds will not deceive you; this monkey bread is sweet, gooey, and dripping with buttery goodness.  I originally got the idea from my mother, who used to tease me by making this yummy breakfast for her co-workers.  Imagine waking up to the smell of cinnamon wafting through the house, only to be denied a taste.  Maybe one day I’ll forgive her.  Maybe.