The Frosted Cupcake

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars

2012-01-26T12:42:00.001-08:00

This is my favorite blondie brownie recipe. I like to use half semi sweet half peanut butter chips, but any kind of chip or nut would be good in these. I would recommend letting them cool, cutting them, and then storing in an airtight container. They are definitely the best the same day you make them, but will last 2 or 3 days in a container.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars
from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Makes a 9X13-inch pan of bars

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/8 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup (7 ounces) light brown sugar
1/2 (3 1/2 ounces) cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips (use your preference of semisweet, bittersweet, milk, white, peanut butter…the options are endless!)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with foil, letting the excess hang over the edges of the pan by about 1 inch so you can grab those edges and pull the brownies from the pan after they have baked. Spray the foil-lined pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside. Whisk the melted butter and sugars in a large bowl until combined. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined; do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips and turn the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the spatula.

Bake until the top of the bars is light golden brown, slightly firm to the touch, and edges start pulling away from sides of pan, 24-28 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Mini Lasagnas

2012-01-26T12:27:00.001-08:00

This recipe was so good and so easy! It took me about 20 minutes to put them together and another 20 to bake. You can make them in a muffin tin, or a petite loaf pan like I did here. I used Trader Joe's Organic Marinara sauce and they turned out great, I will definitely be adding this recipe to my dinner menus.

Mini Lasagnas

1 jar marinara sauce
1 lb. ground beef
12 wonton wrappers (for muffin tin, or 8 egg roll wrappes for petite loaf pan)
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
4 oz. parmesan cheese
4 oz. ricotta cheese
basil or flat leaf parsley for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.
Brown ground beef in skillet, drain and return to pan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour in marinara sauce and heat on low while cutting the wonton wrappers.
If using the muffin tin, cut wonton wrappers with the top of a drinking glass or biscuit cutter, just so it's about the right size to fit in the muffin cup. There will be two layers of the wonton wrapper so you will need to cut 24 circles, or 16 rectangles if using the petite loaf pan.
Spray pan with cooking spray. Beginning from bottom, layer one wonton wrapper, mozzarella, ricotta (I just grabbed the ricotta with my fingertips and pressed into pan), parmesan, meat sauce, wonton wrapper, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, meat sauce, a little more mozzarella and parmesan. Bake 18-20 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball

2012-01-23T19:42:00.001-08:00

I loved this because it was fun and different, not to mention oh so yummy. I made mine the night before and froze it. I took it out 20 minutes before serving and it was perfect. This is great slathered on apples and graham crackers. I bought those butter waffle cookies at Trader Joes.

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball
from The Girl Who Ate Everything

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup peanut butter chips
Graham cracker sticks, teddy grahams, and/or apple slices for dipping

Directions:
Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until blended.

Spoon onto a large piece of plastic wrap; bring up all four corners and twist tightly forming into a ball shape.

Freeze for 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm enough to keep its shape. Place peanut butter and chocolate chips in flat dish. Remove plastic wrap from ball and roll ball into morsels to completely cover, pressing morsels into the ball if necessary.

Place ball on serving dish; cover and freeze for 2 hours or until almost firm. (Can be made ahead. If frozen overnight, thaw at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.) Serve with graham cracker sticks, teddy grahams, or apple slices for dipping or spreading.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry

2012-01-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

I love this sweet and sour chicken, it has just the right amount of sweetness. I also really like this recipe because I hardly had to buy anything for it, most everything I had in my pantry so it was a really low cost meal.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
adapted from Our Best Bites

1 cup rice
2 1/2 c. water
1 chicken bouillon cube

1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 8 ounce can pineapple chunks, drained and juices reserved
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

3-4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs diced into 1 inch pieces
(you could also use pork tenderloin, or sliced boneless pork chops)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
about 1 cup snow peas
1/2 medium bell pepper, stemmed , seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch squares
1/2 large onion, or 1 small onion cut into 1/2 inch squares

Instructions
Rinse rice in colander. Place rice, water, and crumbled chicken bouillon cube in medium saucepan. Cover with lid and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cook 20 minutes or until rice is soft and cooked through.

While rice is cooking...

Combine cornstarch and water in a medium sized bowl and stir to dissolve. Add the reserved pineapple juice*, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar to the bowl and stir to combine.

*If you’re using a stainless steel pan, save pineapple juice for de-glazing it

heat 2-3 teaspoons of the oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, salt, pepper, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry until the chicken is cooked and no longer pink, 3-4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining 1-2 teaspoons oil to the pan and add the broccoli and bell pepper. Stir-fry over medium-high heat until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the broccoli is bright green, 3-5 minutes.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the pineapple chunks and sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer and cook until everything is heated through and the sauce has thickened, 1-2 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve over the hot cooked rice. If desired, top with sesame seeds and chopped fresh cilantro or parsley.

Serves 4 or 5

Homemade Sloppy Joes

2012-01-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

I've recently found the blog Our Best Bites and I've been having so much trying out their recipes! This is one that is so good, I've already made it 3 times. I serve the meat mixture on homemade rolls, but any good, soft roll will do. I've used ground hamburger and ground turkey and they both taste great! I also like to add in at the end before serving about half a cup of sliced black olives (slice them yourself, the ones that come sliced already have a really funny taste) and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

Homemade Sloppy Joes
adapted from Our Best Bites

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
Seasoning salt to taste
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 green pepper, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 c. ketchup
1 tsp. mustard
3 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/3-1/2 c. water to reach desired consistency
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 hamburger buns or homemade rolls

Stovetop Instructions:
Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Add in mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Combine tomato paste and water and add to hamburger mixture. Add more water if desired. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve on hamburger buns.

Crockpot Instructions:
Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Transfer to slow cooker. Add in remaining ingredients and combine well. Cook on low for 3-4 hours and serve on hamburger buns.

Freezer Instructions:
Brown ground beef with onion, green pepper, and garlic. Season to taste with seasoning salt. Transfer to a freezer-safe container. Add in remaining ingredients and combine well. Freeze. When ready to cook, transfer to a slow cooker and cook on low to 3-5 hours. Serve on hamburger buns.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2011-10-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

My new love is whoopie pies, they are just like rearranged cupcakes, cake like cookies on the outside, and frosting in the middle! I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website and these pumpkin whoopie pies are to die for! I love the ginger in the batter, it really adds a nice spiciness to the cookies. I think, maybe, I like these more than my pumpkin cupcakes...

For the cookies:

3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 c. firmly packed DARK brown sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 c. pumpkin puree, like Libby's
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.
Line two baking sheets with parchment or non stick baking mat.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a 1 Tbs. scoop (I use the smallest scoop from Pampered Chef), drop Tablespoon size dollops of batter onto baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Batter will be smooth and little runny, this is ok. Bake until cookies just start to crack on top, about 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

For filling:

3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat until just smooth. Assemble the whoopie pies by placing about a Tablespoon of cream cheese filling onto one cookie, and then top with another cookie. Makes three dozen whoopie pies.

Banana Carrot Bread (or muffins)

2011-08-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

Why I never thought of this combination before I don't know. These are super moist and delicious, I love eating them straight from the oven with a little butter! I baked the batter in petite loaf pans because they are so dang cute! The recipe will make 1 regular size loaf, 12 muffins, or 8 petite loaves. I got the idea for this recipe from the King Arthur Baking Sheet, I baked their recipe, but decided to try just adding carrots to my standby banana bread recipe and I liked it even better. If you would like to try making my banana bread, just omit the carrots and add one more mashed banana. Oh, and next time I will drizzle cream cheese icing over the top, just because.

Banana Carrot Bread

1/2 c. butter softened
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans
1 c. finely shredded carrots

Preheat oven to 325. Spray pan with cooking spray.

Cream together the butter and sugars for 2 minutes. Slowly add the eggs and vanilla, beat until well combined. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in the nuts and carrots. For the petite loaf pans it took 24 minutes to bake, a large loaf would take approximately 50 minutes, and I'm guessing muffins about 18-20 minutes.

Dark Chocolate Cookies

2011-08-15T10:29:00.001-07:00

One lone little cookie...that was all that was left of the batch this morning, I had to snatch it to take a pic before my husband ate it! These cookies are perfect, soft, chewy, fudgey, need I go on? I added Reeses chips to these, they would be good with anything, I think next time I'll try chopped almonds and white chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Cookies

2 c. flour
3/4 c. unsweetened baking cocoa (I used Hershey's)
2 Tbs dutch process cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. butter (I used salted)
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag peanut butter chips (or whatever add in you would like)

Preheat oven to 350.
In medium sized bowl whisk together flour, cocoas, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In mixing bowl cream butter and sugars together for 2 minutes. With mixer on low, add in eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chips. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cracks appear on top and centers are puffed up. Cool on rack.

Chocolate Cream Filled Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

2011-03-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

Here is another alternative for the vanilla cupcake recipe, the chocolate cream filling really puts these over the top!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 Madagascar vanilla beans, scraped using seeds only
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. cake flour, NOT self rising
1 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners.

Cream butter, sugar, and vanilla beans together for 3 minutes, until very light. Add eggs, on at a time, scraping down bowl after each addition. Add vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make sure when you measure your flour that you gently stir it first to aerate it, and then spoon it into the measuring cups and level to prevent adding too much flour and having a dry cupcake. Add half of flour mixture to batter and mix, add buttermilk and mix, add the the remaining flour just until combined, do not overmix.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.

Chocolate Cream Filling

2 Tbs hot water
7 oz container marshmallow creme
1/2 c. shortening
6 Tbs. powdered sugar
5 Tbs. Dutch processed cocoa
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together all ingredients until combined. Use a pastry bag with a large star tip to fill cupcakes. I cut an X in the middle of each cupcake with a sharp knife, then I inserted the tip of the bag into the middle of the cupcake. Fill each cupcake with about a tablespoon of chocolate cream.

Vanilla Bean Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 vanilla beans, scraped using seeds only
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
about 6 cups powdered sugar
enough milk to reach correct consistency

Beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla beans until creamy. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Add enough milk to reach correct consistency, I usually end up adding about 1/2 cup. I also used the large star tip to frost these.

Orange Cream Cupcakes

2011-03-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

These are a delicious, citrusy alternative to your standard cupcake flavors, they end up tasting like an orange creamsicle! I've been going crazy trying to find a really good vanilla cupcake recipe, so after trying 5 different recipes and changing a few measurements, I came up with this one. I purchased the Madagascar vanilla beans off of Amazon.com, 16 for only $9.00, and free shipping! I would highly recommend purchasing vanilla beans on the internet, the grocery stores charge way too much. If you don't have vanilla beans, just add a little extra vanilla extract.

Orange Cream Cupcakes

1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 vanilla beans (seeds only)
1 Tbs. orange zest
1/4 c. fresh orange juice
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. cake flour, NOT self rising
1 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/3 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 and line 2 cupcake pans with liners.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter, sugar, vanilla bean seeds, orange zest, and orange juice for 3 minutes, until very light.
Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
When measuring the flour, make sure to aerate it first (gently stir) and then spoon into measuring cup and then level. It's very important that you not put too much flour in the batter, otherwise the cupcakes will be dry. With the mixer on low speed, add half of flour mixture, add buttermilk, and then the remaining flour. Mix until just combined, do not overmix.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.

Orange Cream Frosting

6 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 Tbs. butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, seeds only
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 c. fresh squeezed orange juice
5-6 c. powdered sugar
enough milk to reach the correct consistency

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla bean seeds until smooth. Add vanilla extract, orange zest, orange juice, and 4 cups of powdered sugar. Add remaining powdered sugar, and enough milk to reach the correct consistency. I used a large star tip to pipe on the frosting. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Lemon Ricotta Fritters with Sweet Berry Sauce

2011-03-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm, mmmmm, my family ate good this morning! These are delicious little pockets of heaven. The fritters aren't too sweet, so they go perfectly with the sweet berry sauce.

Lemon Ricotta Fritters with Sweet Berry Sauce

First heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large wide heavy saucepan. Place candy or deep fry thermometer in oil, you want the oil to be 365-370 when you are ready to fry the fritters.

For the Sauce:
1 lb. strawberries, rinsed and cut in quarters
1/2 small container raspberries
1/2 small container blackberries
(or you could substitute a frozen berry blend and just thaw them first)
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Place all berries in a bowl. Pour sugar over the top and stir, let sit 15 minutes. Gently mash with a potato masher. Pour into a medium saucepan and heat on medium until thickened a little and sugar is dissolved, about 7-8 minutes. Pour into a serving bowl and place in freezer to cool a little while you are making the fritters.

For the Fritters:

3/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs. lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. whole milk ricotta
2 large eggs
3 rounded Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting
Lemon zest for garnish

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, and salt; set aside. In separate bowl whisk together the ricotta, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and stir gently to combine. At this point the oil should be 365-370 degrees F. Working in batches, gently drop by tablespoons (I used the Pampered Chef cookie scoop) the batter in the oil, about 5 per batch. Turning occasionally, let fry until a deep golden color, about 4 minutes. You can take one out and cut in half to check and see if it is done. Repeat with remaining batter. Place cooked fritters on paper towels to dry. Serve over berry sauce and dust with powdered sugar and lemon zest. Makes approximately 10-12 fritters.

Adapted from a Bobby Flay recipe

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Homemade BBQ Sauce

2011-03-14T01:11:00.000-07:00

This BBQ sauce is so good and it's an easy dinner to make using your slow cooker! On homemade buns, these really melt in your mouth.

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 c. ketchup
1/3 c. dijon mustard (I just used the cheap generic brand)
5 Tbs brown sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 Tbs honey
1/4 c. A1 steak sauce
4 Tbs lemon juice (juice of one large lemon)
3 Tbs liquid smoke (you can find this by the BBQ sauce in the grocery store, I used Stubbs Mesquite liquid smoke and it was really good)
salt and pepper to taste

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker, pour in enough water to cover and cook on low 6 hours.

When it gets close to the 6 hours, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine remaining ingredients. Bring to a gentle boil and turn heat down to low, simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove chicken breasts to a large cutting board and pour all leftover water out of the slow cooker and throw away. Wipe clean.
Shred chicken breasts. Add chicken breasts and homemade BBQ sauce back into the slow cooker, stir gently to combine. Let cook on low at least one hour to combine flavors. Leftovers would be great on pizza!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

2011-02-27T14:39:00.001-08:00

This pudding is so creamy and chocolatey, I love it! It was fairly easy to make, it just needs to chill for at least 4 or 5 hours before serving. I topped mine with real whipped cream (not coolwhip!) and strawberries, it was delicious!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding

Makes about 4 cups of pudding

1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
3 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 c. whole milk
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt. Whisk in milk and cream until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, whisking occasionally. Once the mixture is at a simmer, reduce heat to medium low and cook, whisking CONSTANTLY, until the mixture is thickened and large bubbles pop at the surface, about two to three minutes. Take the pot off of the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour immediately into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap right onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate the pudding for at least 4 or 5 hours, but up to three days.

from melskitchencafe.com

Whoopie Pies

2011-02-25T17:45:00.001-08:00

These are amazingly good! There are so many different filling variations you can dream up! I tried strawberry and a german chocolate frosting (coconut and pecan) with plain chocolate frosting, they were both delicious but my favorite would have to be the german chocolate/chocolate combo. You MUST refrigerate these for at least four hours, overnight is better. When freshly baked they are not near as good as when they've sat in the refrigerator overnight with the filling inside. Yum, Yum!

Whoopie Pies

2 c. all purpose flour
2/3 c. DUTCH PROCESSED cocoa powder (I used Droste, I would not recommend regular unsweetened cocoa powder)
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup plus 2 Tbs buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
9 Tbs butter, softened
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 c. mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in bowl at medium high speed about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add egg, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low and alternately add flour and buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape down sides of bowl occasionally. Stir in chocolate chips.

I used the small Pampered Chef cookie scoop for these, if you don't have it, drop the dough by Tablespoon onto parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until tops are cracked and center is done. Remove to paper towels to cool. Fill with your choice of filling, wrap individually in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. Serve cold. Makes approximately 18 whoopie pies.

Herbed Monkey Bread

2010-10-22T15:40:00.001-07:00

Monkey bread is the best! Little rolls rolled in something yummy (here I used butter and herbs), baked in a bundt pan, and then when they are done, you just pull apart and dip! I love making these herbed rolls to go with spaghetti or lasagna. You can also roll them in butter and then cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat!

Herbed Monkey Bread

Dough
1 cup (8 ounces) water
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb Coating
5 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
1 tablespoon fresh stemmed thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
2 cloves garlic, minced

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, stirring until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it's smooth, shiny and supple. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or dough-rising bucket, cover the bowl or bucket, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Meanwhile, melt butter (or oil) in a saute pan. Add chopped herbs and let cook for a minute or two. Add garlic and then remove from heat. Pour into medium bowl. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.
Once dough has risen, remove from bowl and cut off 1 1/2 inch pieces, roll in hands to form balls. Place about 5 or 6 dough balls at a time into the butter and herbs, stir gently to coat and then place in the bundt pan, continue until all dough is in the pan. They will rise a lot, to the top of the pan, so don't worry if it looks like there isn't very much. Cover and let rise 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until top is browned and dough is cooked through.
Let cool in pan 10 minutes and then invert onto plate, best if served warm with marinara sauce! Would be great with soups too!

Chewy White Chocolate and Cranberry Granola Bars

2010-05-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

I've always wanted to make homemade granola bars so I did it today. They turned out fabulous! They tasted so much better than store bought, and I'm sure they were more nutritious too. Change it up with different flavor combinations, anything would be good in these!

White Chocolate and Cranberry Granola Bars

1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. light corn syrup
3 Tbs creamy peanut butter
1 egg white
1 Tbs reduced fat evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. old fashioned oats
1 1/2 c. crisp rice cereal (rice krispies)
1/2 c. vanilla or white chocolate chips
1/3 c. craisins
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, combine first seven ingredients, whisk well. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl, add to sugar mixture. Gently stir in oats, cereal, chips, craisins, and walnuts.

Press into a 13X9 pan, coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes, should have puffed up a little and be golden brown. Let cool. Cut into bars and store in airtight container, yields about a dozen.

Coconut Macaroons

2010-05-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

I cannot describe how good these are! This is the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for her macaroons, I've seen her make them and I've always wanted to try them. I drizzled chocolate over the tops to make them extra yummy. They are even better the next day! To prevent spreading I removed 1 Tbs of the sweetened condensed milk and refrigerated the batter for 5 minutes before baking.

14 oz. sweetened shredded coconut
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk (minus 1 Tbs)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 extra large egg white, room temp
1/4 tsp kosher salt
parchment paper (must have!)

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed until they form medium firm peaks. Gently fold into coconut mixture. Refrigerate for 5 minutes.

Drop the batter onto a 1/2 sheet pan lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scoop or two spoons. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve. Makes about 14.

Sangria Punch

2010-05-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

This is my all time favorite punch to make for a party! With the limes and the oranges, it's perfect for a summer BBQ.

Sangria Punch

1 qt. (4 cups) cold reduced calorie cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup cold orange juice
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
3/4 cup COUNTRY TIME Lemonade or Pink Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix
3 cups cold club soda
2 oranges, sliced
2 limes, sliced

ADD cranberry juice cocktail, orange juice and lime juice to lemonade drink mix in large pitcher; stir until mix is dissolved.

REFRIGERATE until ready to serve.

STIR in club soda and fruit. Serve over ice cubes.

Carrot Cupcakes

2010-05-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks King Arthur for another great recipe! This was a very simple, very good carrot cake recipe that I made into cupcakes.

Carrot Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3 cups finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs milk
about 3 cups powdered sugar (more depending on if you want a thicker consistency)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease one 9 x 13-inch pan, or makes 22 cupcakes.

Beat together the oil, sugar, eggs and spices. Mix the flour with the baking soda, and stir in. Add the carrots and nuts, and mix until just blended.

Pour the prepared pan(s). Bake the cake(s) for 35 to 40 minutes (15 minutes for cupcakes), or until the cake tests done. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting it. (If you're using two 9-inch round pans, remove the cake from the pans after about 15 minutes, and place it in a rack to cool.

For frosting beat together all ingredients, adjust the consistency with more milk or powdered sugar if needed. Frost and sprinkle with cinnamon!

Raspberry Cupcakes

2010-05-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

My sister came up with this delicious idea for a raspberry frosting, I love it because it is super easy to make and you can tell there are REAL raspberries in it, not just raspberry flavoring, thanks Becky! I used it on my fudge cupcakes and Becky used it on my coconut cupcakes, both combos were great!

Raspberry Frosting

1 regular size bag frozen raspberries
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 container Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy white frosting
(it doesn't work with a homemade frosting for some reason, too runny)

Pour the frozen raspberries into a saucepan, turn heat up to medium and let defrost and heat up. Meanwhile, combine small amount of water (1/3 c.) with 2 Tbs cornstarch and whisk together. Add to raspberries. Let raspberries heat up and come to a soft boil, turn heat down and simmer until very, very thick. Let cool completely. At this point it has set up enough that you should be able to cut it with a knife. Stir gently into the frosting and pipe onto cupcakes. Serve same day, these don't really last overnight.

Tacosagna

2010-04-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is a Rachel Ray recipe, it turned out so good, I will definitely be making this again. I love the fresh lettuce and tomatoes served on top, and that it had grated carrots and zuchinni "hidden" in the meat mixture.

Tacosagna

2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 lbs. ground turkey
1 zuchinni
2 carrots, peeled
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 can large black olives, drained and chopped
taco seasoning
salt
pepper
1 c. beef broth
6 soft taco sized flour tortillas
4 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 green onions, chopped
2 hearts romaine, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, chopped

Preheat oven to 400.

Heat large skillet with vegetable oil. Add the meat and brown for 5 minutes. While the turkey is browning grate the zuchinni and carrots and add to meat mixture. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper, and olives. Add about 1/4 c. of taco seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add beef broth and let simmer until veggies and turkey are cooked through. Spray a 13X9 pan with cooking spray. Layer 2 flour tortillas, 1/3 of meat mixture, 1/3 of cheese and repeat two more times. Sprinkle a little taco seasoning over top and bake for about 15 minutes, until hot and cheese is melted. Top with green onions, lettuce, and tomatoes and serve.

Simple Glazed Fruit Salad

2010-04-24T18:53:00.001-07:00

This is a very simple fruit salad, by no means is it gourmet, but I like it because it adds a pretty, sweet glaze to the fruit. I love making this in the summer when the strawberries are in season!

Simple Glazed Fruit Salad

1 pint strawberries, rinsed and cut in half
2 banans, sliced
1 large orange, cut in cubes
2 cups green grapes
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
milk

Toss all fruit together in a large bowl. Sprinkle about 2/3 of the package of instant pudding over the fruit, pour about 1/2 a cup of milk over fruit. Toss gently until the milk and pudding combine to make a nice glaze. Add more milk if necessary. You can use all kinds of fruits and puddings, I tried coconut pudding once and it was yummy too.

Luscious Lemonade Cupcakes

2010-04-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

Mmmm, mmmm! These cupcakes are perfect for spring! The lemon cream frosting really makes these delicious, and ta da! This recipe is actually from the Cooking Light magazine, who would have thought I would bake anything low fat? :) This recipe makes a two layer 9 inch round cake or about 20 cupcakes.

Luscious Lemonade Cupcakes

1 1/3 c. sugar
6 Tbs. softened butter
1 Tbs. grated lemon rind
3 Tbs thawed lemonade concentrate (I used MinuteMaid)
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 c. lowfat buttermilk

Frosting:
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 Tbs grated lemon rind
2 tsp thawed lemonade concentrate
1/2 tsp vanilla
8 oz. 1/3 less fate cream cheese
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

Beat sugar, butter, lemon rind, lemonade concentrate, and vanilla together for 2 minutes. Add eggs and egg whites one at a time, beat well after each addition.
Combine baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Pour batter into two greased 9 inch round cake pans (or makes 20 cupcakes). Bake for 20 minutes (15 for cupcakes), let cool for 10 minutes in pan and invert onto a wire rack.

For frosting combine first five ingredients. Add in enough powdered sugar to reach the consistency you like. I did add in a little yellow food coloring to make them look lemony. Frost cake and store in refrigerator. Cupcakes are best eaten the same day.

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

2010-02-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

This soup is amazing! So flavorful and delicious! It's even better served in a bread bowl. Thanks Dawn!

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

1 6 oz. box Uncle Ben's long grain and wild rice, prepared according to package
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 1/2 c. water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
1/4 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 c. evaporated milk
2 Tbs. cornstarch

Heat oil in a large stock pot, add chicken, mushrooms, onion, and garlic; saute for 5-8 minutes.

Add rice, water, bouillon, tarragon, and thyme to chicken mixture in pot. Bring to a boil. Whisk together cornstarch and evaporated milk in a small bowl, add to soup. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until thickened. Serves 5-6 adults.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken (for Tacos)

2010-02-27T11:11:00.000-08:00

This is a great, easy recipe for chicken tacos.

Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 16 oz. container salsa
1/3 c. finely diced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 can drained corn
1 can rinsed and drained black or pinto beans

Combine salsa, onion, and seasonings in crock pot, add in chicken. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Before serving remove chicken and shred, add back into pot. Add in corn and beans.

Corn Salsa

2010-02-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

There is nothing I like better in my burritos than corn salsa, I just love the little bursts of sweetness it adds. You can use thawed frozen or drained canned corn, I haven't noticed a difference either way.

Corn Salsa

2 c. corn (thawed frozen or drained canned)
1 c. seeded and diced tomato
2 green onions, chopped
3 Tbs chopped cilantro, more or less to taste, whatever you like
1 Tbs. seeded and finely minced jalapeno
1 Tbs lime juice
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients and let chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Cilantro Lime Rice

2010-02-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

This tastes just like the rice at Cafe Rio and Chipotle, super yummy. It's so good you could serve it as a side dish or as a filling in tacos and burritos.

1 c. uncooked long grain rice (I like Jasmine)
1 Tbs. butter
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
2 1/4 c. water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 Tbs. fresh squeezed lime juice
2 tsp sugar
3 Tbs. fresh chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan combine the rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp of lime juice, and water. With your fingers, gently break apart bouillon cube and stir into rice and water mixture. Bring to a boil and cover with lid. Turn heat down to medium low and let cook for apprx. 20 minutes; remove from heat. In a small bowl combine 1 Tbs lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot rice and mix in as you fluff with a fork.

Lemon Cookies

2010-02-14T21:19:00.000-08:00

This is the King Arthur sugar cookie recipe that I talked about in my last post. It called for almond extract, but I don't really care for that, so I added 2 tsp. of lemon zest, they turned out to be amazing lemon cookies! The next time I make these, I am going to drizzle with a lemon glaze to really put them over the top.

Lemon Cookies

3 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbs. light corn syrup
2 tsp lemon zest
1 large egg

Glaze if desired:

2 c. powdered sugar
fresh lemon juice, just keep adding until you reach the right consistency

Preheat oven to 375.
Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line with parchment.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and cream cheese for 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla, corn syrup, and egg. Scrape down sides of bowl to insure a good mixing.
Add flour mixture, mix at low speed until the dough is evenly moistened.
Place 3/4 c. of sugar in a small bowl.
Roll tablespoons of dough and drop in sugar, roll around in sugar to coat and place on baking sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, cookies will barely begin to brown. Let cool on pan 5 minutes before transferring to a rack. Let cookies cool completely before glazing.

BEST Sugar Cookies

2010-02-14T21:07:00.000-08:00

I recently had the idea to have a sugar cookie taste testing, BRILLIANT if I do say so myself! :) My husband, sister-in-law and I had so much fun judging them! I tried out a white velvet (made with lots of cream cheese), a recipe from King Arthur Flour Co., and one I found off of Allrecipes.com. In addition to the other two sugar cookie recipes I've tried in the past, here is my all time favorite sugar cookie recipe! It is crispy on the outside, chewy in the middle, and the flavor is delicious!

Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbs. buttermilk + more for glaze

Preheat oven to 375.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk to form a soft dough.
Roll rounded Tablespoons of dough and place on cookie sheet or stoneware pan. Flatten slightly with fingers. Using a brush or fingers moisten the top of each cookie with a little buttermilk.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden. Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool.

They will end up being pretty flat, I covered with frosting and let the kids decorate!

Hawaiian BBQ Dinner- Homemade Teryaki Chicken & Macaroni Salad

2010-02-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

I was given these recipes from a Hawaiian family I know, they are delicious! I crave having this meal all of the time!

Teryaki Chicken

2 c. soy sauce
2 c. sugar
3 Tbs. fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced (if garlic cloves are small, use 6)
1 c. water
Chopped green onions for garnish
4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts

In a medium saucepan, combine soy sauce through water. Whisk to combine, pour half into a gallon zip lock bag (set aside remaining half in saucepan for later use), add chicken and marinate for 2-3 hours, no longer. At about the time that the chicken will be done marinating, take the saucepan with the remaining sauce in it and heat on medium heat until it starts to simmer, turn heat down to low and let simmer for 15-20 minutes to reduce while chicken is on the grill.
Grill chicken on medium high heat for 15-20 minutes or until done, turning once halfway through cooking time. Brush with cooked, reduced sauce if desired. Throw away zip lock bag with uncooked marinating teryaki sauce in it, do not use this sauce, it must be thrown away.

To serve I like to place the chicken on the rice, drizzle some of the reduced sauce over the top and sprinkle on some green onions. It is so good!

For the rice I like to either cook in chicken broth instead of water to add flavor, or cook in water and add chicken bouillon to it. I add a little salt too.

Macaroni Salad

1 box elbow macaroni
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbs. sugar
1/3 c. red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 c. red or yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. grated carrot
1/3 c. sweet pickle relish
1 1/2 tsp all season salt
pepper to taste

Begin by bringing a large pot of water to boil. Add in the eggs, cook for 5 minutes and then add in the macaroni, boil for 7-8 more minutes until el dente, drain.
Peel the eggs and throw away the yolks, chop up the egg whites.
Add the egg whites and macaroni into a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Scrambled Egg Muffins

2010-01-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

I thought these were so cute and anything tastes better in a muffin cup right? Very easy to do, the ingredient combinations are endless, be creative! I used ham, but you could use chopped bacon or cooked sausage, actually anything you would put in an omelette would be good in these.

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) bulk pork sausage or any kind of breakfast meat
12 eggs
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/4 c. chopped green bell pepper
1/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray liberally a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the onion, green pepper, and seasonings. Stir in the sausage and cheddar cheese. Spoon by 1/3 cupfuls into greased muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Best if eaten immediately while hot!

Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker

2010-01-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

I love this recipe because it is so good and so easy! I usually have most of these ingredients on hand. Serve with avocados, sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips! Thanks Stefany for the corn and bean idea!

2 cans diced tomatoes (plain or with garlic and onion)
2 cans chicken broth
1 c. salsa (I use Pace, medium heat)
4 chicken boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbs. cumin
2 Tbs butter
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder if you're in a hurry!)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
1 can drained sweet corn
1 can rinsed and drained black beans

Add tomatoes through salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Cook on low 6 hours or on high 4 hours, remove chicken and shred, add back into soup. Add cilantro, corn, and beans and ready to serve!

Blueberry Muffins

2010-01-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

This is a new blueberry muffin recipe that I found in a Fine Cooking magazine. They are really delicious, especially with the glaze on top. It's really important with this recipe to not overmix the batter, that's why you add the fruit before the batter is fully mixed. I love that the batter overflows onto the pan and forms a big muffin top (Seinfield anyone?) I take out the room temp ingredients and melt the butter an hour before I make these.

Blueberry Muffins

Cooking spray for the pan
3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. sugar
10 tbs. butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 c. whole milk, at room temp
1 c. sour cream, at room temp
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 large egg yolk, at room temp
2 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (save lemon for glaze)
1 1/2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries (no need to thaw if frozen)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray the top of a 12 cup muffin tin and then line the cups with paper or foil baking cups. (Spraying the pan keeps the muffin tops from sticking)

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well.
In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, egg yolk, and zest until well combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together gently with a rubber spatula just until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened, there should still be quite a few streaks of flour. It will be lumpy, that is okay. Sprinkle the blueberries on the top of the batter and fold them in until just combined. (The batter will still be lumpy, do not try to smooth it out)
Fill the muffin cups, the batter should mound higher than the rim of the cups by 3/4".
Bake until the muffins are golden brown and spring back lightly when you press on the middle, about 35 minutes. The muffin tops will meld together. Let the pan cool for 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to separate the tops, invert the pan and pop out the muffins.
Let muffins cool for 30 minutes before drizzling glaze.

For Glaze:

2 c. powdered sugar
fresh lemon juice (from lemon that you zested)

Whisk together powdered sugar and enough fresh lemon juice to make a runny glaze. Drizzly liberally over muffins, let set to harden.

Blueberry Sauce and Buttermilk Pancakes

2010-01-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

I'm back! I'm sorry I've been gone for so long, my family has been going through a two month relocation process! Not fun, I'm so glad it's over! We are now settled and here are some of my favorite new recipes...

This blueberry sauce is so yummy! I served it on pancakes, but it would be delicious on ice cream too. I'm tempted to can it so I have it on hand all of the time! It's a cinch to put together. I'm posting my buttermilk pancake recipe again, I started adding vanilla and I think it really puts them over the top! Ignore the styrofoam plates, I was tired of doing dishes :)

Blueberry Sauce

2 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbs water
1/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. water
1/8 tsp salt
2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Whisk together cornstarch and water in a saucepan. Add in sugar, 1/3 c. water, and salt. Turn heat on to medium and cook until slightly thickened. Add blueberries, boil for 3-4 minutes. Serve warm over ice cream, pancakes, etc. Makes 2-3 cups and enough for my pancake recipe below.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1 c. all purpose flour
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 Tbs. canola oil (or vegetable oil)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
stick of cold butter

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cup, level with knife, add to large bowl. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of mixture, set aside.
In separate bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add to dry ingredients and stir until smooth.
Heat skillet to medium low heat. With cold stick of butter, unpeel end and rub a thin layer of butter over pan. Drop about a 1/4 c. batter onto skillet. Flip pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Remove from pan, and re-butter, then add more batter, continue this way with the rest of the batter.
Yields 9 4 inch pancakes.

Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

2009-10-03T07:07:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm, the smell of pumpkin cookies baking is heavenly! These literally melt in your mouth. If you live in a hot climate (like Phoenix!) baking these will psych you out into thinking that it really is fall, turning the air conditioner up and putting on a comfy sweater while eating these will help too.

Pumpkin Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

2 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 15oz. can pumpkin
4 c. flour

Icing:
4 Tbs butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. milk
powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl beat butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Beat until combined, scraping bowl occasionally. Add eggs and 2 tsp vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Add flour and stir until well combined.
Drop by heaping tablespoonfulls onto an ungreased (or stoneware) cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

For icing:
Beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add maple syrup and milk, gradually add enough powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency, you want it to be spreadable but not thin enough to drip off the cookie. Add vanilla. After cookies are cooled, spread a little icing on top and let each cookie set.

Texas Sheet Cake

2009-10-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

I think there are lots of names this cake goes by and I've had a couple of different versions, but this one is the best! The texture of the cake and frosting is so delicious. This is great served with ice cream and I like to make it when friends are over for dinner, that takes out the danger of me eating it all by myself!

Texas Sheet Cake

1 c. butter
1 c. water
1/4 c. baking cocoa (I use Hershey's)
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. sour cream

Glaze:
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. plus 2 Tbs milk
3 Tbs cocoa
3 to 3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.
In large saucepan bring to boil butter, water, and baking cocoa (whisk to remove lumps). Remove from heat.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Beat in cocoa mixture. Gently blend in sour cream until smooth. Pour into a greased bar pan (1/2 sheet pan).
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, do not overbake!

While cake is baking, melt butter in saucepan. Whisk in milk and cocoa, bring to a boil and remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Consistency should be slightly runny, not too thick. Pour over hot cake and spread to edges. Cool completely.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwiches on Homemade "Gorditas"!

2009-09-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

I think I will be making these flatbread "gorditas" for a long, long, time. That's how good they are! It does take time to let the dough rise, but other than that they are fairly simple to make. My husband ate six of them in one sitting and wanted more the next night! The fillings you can come up with are endless!

Grilled Chicken Caesar Sandwiches on Homemade "Gorditas"

For Gorditas:

3 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. boiling water
1 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
1/4 c. potato flour OR 1/2 c. potato buds or flakes
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/4 c. warm water
1 1/4 tsp salt

For filling:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 c. good Caesar dressing (my favorite is the Girard's brand, Light or regular)
Torn lettuce leaves
1 zuchinni
1 red bell pepper
1 small onion, or 1/2 large onion
Additional Caesar dressing

Place the two chicken breasts in the 1/2 c. of Caesar dressing in a gallon size zip lock bag. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

To make the bread: Place 2 cups of the flour into the bowl of a mixer. Pour the boiling water over the flour and stir (don't whisk) until smooth. Cover the bowl and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the yeast with the 1/4 c. warm water, let rest until nice and bubbly, about 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl whisk together the potato flour (or buds/flakes) with the remaining 1 c. of flour. Add in the yeast mixture and the oil. Add salt, stir to combine everything.

Add this mixture to the cooled flour and water mixture. Knead with your KitchenAid or by hand for about 5 minutes. Dough may look dry but it will eventually turn into a nice slightly firm ball. You can add up to 1/4 c. more water if you need it, but keep in mind this is not a super soft dough. If kneading by hand do so on an oiled surface with oiled hands (not floured!)

Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces, cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Roll each piece into a 7" or 8" inch circle, this is easy to do by hand, the dough doesn't bounce back. Dry fry(NO oil or butter) on a griddle or large saute pan over medium heat, should take about a couple minutes per side until they are flecked with brown spots like a tortilla or gordita. Transfer the cooked breads to a wire rack and stack them on top of each other to keep them soft and pliable. Serve immediately or store in a plastic bag.

For filling:

Grill the marinated chicken breasts, about 20 minutes over medium heat, turning every five minutes.

While chicken is grilling, slice up the zuchinni into thick slices and chop the bell pepper and onion into large bite size chunks. Saute in 1 Tbs. olive oil until slightly browned and onions are translucent.

Slice the chicken into thin strips.

To serve first lay down some torn lettuce leaves, top with 2 or 3 slices of chicken. Drizzle with a little Caesar dressing and top with some of the sauteed vegetables.

For step by step picture instructions, you can visit the King Arthur Baker's Banter Blog at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/?s=gordita

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

2009-09-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

These muffins were absolutely delicious! King Arthur flour really knows their stuff! :)
I loved the consistency of these muffins, kind of crispy on the outside and moist and yummy on the inside. The batter is supposed to be thick, don't let that scare you (I know it did me, I'm used to working with thin batter due to all of the extra buttermilk and sour cream I use!) But they rose beautifully and turned out great. KAF said that this recipe works well with any type of berry and the dough can be refrigerated for up to one week. You can make a few each morning!

KAF Blueberry Muffins

2 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter, room temp
3/4 c. sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 6 oz. (3/4 c.)container lemon yogurt (I like using the lemon burst flavor from Yoplait)
1 1/2 c. blueberries, fresh of frozen (I used frozen, do not thaw, just throw 'em in there frozen)
coarse white sparkling sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 375.
Spray a 12 c. muffin pan with cooking spray.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Start out the mixture on low speed and increase the speed to medium until you reach the right texture.
Scrape down bowl and add eggs, one at a time and beating after each addition.
Add vanilla and yogurt.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth, will be thick.
Fold in berries by hand.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, using a heaping 1/4 c. for each. Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired.
Bake the muffins for 18-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. If using frozen blueberries, you will have to cook a little longer. Let cool in pan 5 minutes and then remove to rack.

Sausage and Cheese Biscuits

2009-09-13T18:58:00.000-07:00

My family LOVED these! They kind of tasted like a sausage and cheese mcmuffin but way better! The biscuit itself was moist and delicious and the pockets of melted cheese were heavenly. A great breakfast or brunch item.
Thanks King Arthur Flour again for a great recipe!

Sausage and Cheese Biscuits

3 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. cold butter, cut in pats
1 c. buttermilk (or plain yogurt or sour cream can be substituted)
2 c. cooked and sliced Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage
1 c. diced cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
Gently stir in the sausage and cheese. Stir in the buttermilk until the mixture is evenly moistened.
Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly floured surface. Pat and roll it into an 8"X10" rectangle, about 3/4" thick. (Try to handle it as little as possible, just like scones, they less you handle it, they better they will be!)
Cut the dough into 16-20 squares depending on how big you want them.
Place them on a lightly greased baking sheet about 1" apart.
Bake the biscuits for about 20 minutes, until they are a nice golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately brush tops with melted butter.
Let cool a little and serve warm!

Individual Turkey Taco Layered Salads

2009-09-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is a yummy recipe I found on the Betty Crocker website. I love it because I can make four individual salads, two my husband and I can have for the dinner, and the other ones I can send with him for lunches. The french dressing, salsa, and cilantro make a great dressing. You can also substitute Fritos for the tortilla chips.

Individual Turkey Taco Layered Salads

Dressing:
1/2 c. Pace medium salsa
1/2 c. french dressing
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Salads:
6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
3 medium green onions, chopped
2 c. diced turkey (I asked the deli counter for 6 extra thick slices of turkey and then I chopped it)
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 large tomato, chopped
2 c. chopped or shredded cheese
2 c. broken tortilla chips.

In small bowl mix dressing ingredients.

For each salad use a 4 or 5 cup container. In each container layer ingredients in this order: 1 1/2 c. lettuce, 1 Tbs. onions, 1/2 c. turkey, 1/4 c. corn, 1/4 c. tomatoes, 1/4 c. dressing and 1/2 c. cheese. Place a small piece of wax paper over the salad and sprinkle on 1/2 c. of the broken tortilla chips. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours or can be tossed and served immediately.

Caramel Popcorn- The Best!

2009-08-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

My husband and I love caramel popcorn, we could both eat a whole bag of it by ourselves! I usually only make this in the fall but we are going on a 36 hour road trip and I thought this would make the trip a little more bearable! :)
I love reserving a little of the caramel and drizzling it over the top after I've poured the caramel corn on the wax paper, that way there are hidden chunks of caramel, so so so good! If you like your caramel corn crunchy you can place it in the oven at 250 for 20 minutes after you've mixed the popcorn and caramel together. The flavor of this homemade caramel is so delicious, the best I've tasted.

Caramel Popcorn

1 1/3 c. brown sugar
4 Tbs. butter
2/3 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. Karo syrup (light corn syrup)
1 c. peanuts shelled (optional)
2 bags buttered popcorn, popped

Pour popcorn into large bowl, shake bowl so that the seeds fall to the bottom. With hands place popcorn in another bowl, throw out seeds (do this to remove all seeds, there is nothing worse than eating caramel corn and getting a seed!) Add peanuts in with popcorn.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan, turn heat to medium/high and bring to a rolling boil (a boil that you can't stir down). Continue boiling and stirring for 3 1/2 minutes, remove from heat. Pour most of it over the popcorn and stir gently to coat all popcorn. Place on wax paper, pour over remaining caramel, let cool for a few hours. At this point you can bake it at 250 for 20 minutes if you like crunchy caramel corn instead of placing on wax paper. I would probably use parchment paper to cover pan if putting in the oven.

Homemade Butter Pound Cake

2009-08-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

This cake was absolutely to die for, it was so good, the best pound cake recipe I have ever made! So much better than any store bought cake. I made it in two loaf pans, but next time I think I will make it in a tube or bundt pan, the loaves weren't quite high enough. It is important to follow these directions precisely, sift the flour three times and beat batter for the amount of time indicated. Delicious served with strawberries and fresh cream!

Butter Pound Cake

1 c. butter, softened at room temp
3 c. cake flour, sifted before measuring(not self rising)
3/4 tsp salt
3 c. sugar
6 large eggs, room temp
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. heavy whipping cream

Place oven rack in middle position but do not turn on oven yet.
Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
Sift together salt and cake flour, then sift together again into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times)
Beat together butter and sugar for 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after reach addition, scrape down bowl when needed. Add vanilla. Add half of flour mixture, beat, and then add all of whipping cream. Add remaining flour and beat at medium speed for 4 minutes, batter will become smooth and satiny (and it will smell delicious!)

Spoon batter into pan (or pans if making loaves) and rap against counter to remove any air bubbles. Place in cold oven and turn on temp to 350. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. I made two loaves and it took about 50 minutes, but if you're using a bundt pan it will take longer, probably about an hour.
Let cakes cool on rack for 30 minutes. Run knife along edge and invert onto plate to cool completely.

Yellow Rice

2009-08-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

My family loved this rice, it kind of had an Indian flavor to it. It was very good served with the enchiladas.

Yellow Rice

2 c. long grain rice, rinsed
4 c. chicken broth (or water)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs. turmeric
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 bay leaf

Place all ingredients into a pot and stir well. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook about 15-20 minutes or until rice is done and all the liquid is gone. Remove bay leaf and serve!

Chicken Enchildas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

2009-08-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe came from Tyler Florence of the Food Network. It was so delicious, I loved the creamy filling. I only had red onions and so when I made the salsa, it turned purple! Ha ha, next time I will definitely use white!

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

For Salsa:
1 lb. tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 white onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeno
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
juice from 1/2 a lime

Preheat oven to 400.
On a baking tray coated with cooking spray roast tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeno for 12-15 minutes. Transfer the roasted vegetables and their juices on the bottom of the tray to a food processor. Add the cumin, salt, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse mixture until well combined but still chunky.
I made my salsa earlier in the day and stored it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it.

Enchiladas:
2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1 precooked roasted deli chicken (I like Costco's the best)meat removed and shredded
salt
pepper
8-10 large flour tortillas
12 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and caramelized- this should take 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin, then cook for a further minute.
Sprinkle the flour and stir to ensure the flour doesn't burn, then gradually whisk in chicken broth. Continue cooking and stirring over low heat until the mixture thickens. Turn off the heat and add half of the roasted tomatillo salsa, the additional 1/4 c. chopped cilantro, and chicken meat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350.
Take a large baking dish (13X9 or bigger) and smear some of the salsa onto the bottom to prevent sticking. Place a scoop of chicken mixture onto each tortilla and top with cheese, fold over each side and then roll up. Place side by side in pan. I was able to fit 8 in a 13X9. Pour remaining salsa over top and in all of the nooks and crannies and top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for approximately 30 minutes. Serve hot with sour cream and guacamole.

Pork and Bean Chalupa Filling

2009-08-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

My friend Nikky shared this dish with me and I loved it! The flavors all go so well together, and what could be easier than cooking in a crockpot? Thanks Nikky!

Pork and Bean Chalupa Filling

3lb. pork roast or pork tenderloin
1 lb. dry pinto beans
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
4 oz. can chopped green chilies
water

Cover beans with water and soak overnight in slow cooker (do not turn slow cooker on)
In the morning, remove beans and their water (don't throw away the water!), and put pork in bottom of cooker. Add remaining ingredients (including the beans and their soaking water) and more water if needed to cover all the ingredients.

Cook on High 1 hour, and then on Low 6 hours. Remove meat and shred with two forks. Return meat to slow cooker.
Cook on High 1 more hour.
Serve with tortillas, or over a bed of lettuce and top with grated cheese, chopped onion, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream.

Strawberry Cupcakes!

2009-07-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are amazing! My friend Stefany said they tasted just like Belgian waffles with fresh strawberries and cream. These are very moist and chewy. This recipe makes 12 regular cupcakes or 44 mini. The strawberries are so cheap right now, so it's a great time to make them!

Strawberry Cupcakes

1/2 c. pureed strawberries
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp coarse salt
1/2 c. sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. butter, room temp
1 c. sugar
2 eggs, room temp

Preheat oven to 350.
Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners, or 2 mini muffin pans with 44 liners; set aside

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
In a small bowl mix together sour cream, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer beat butter until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Slowly add sugar and cream together for 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and eggs one at a time until just blended.

With mixer on low add half of flour mixture, scraping down sides of bowl.
Add in strawberry puree mixture.
Add in remaining flour mixture, scraping sides, until just combined.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. (I made the mini version and I used my Pampered Chef mini scoop and it was perfect)

Bake for approximately 12 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool on wire rack.

Strawberries and Cream Frosting

1/3 c. strawberry puree
4 Tbs. butter, room temp
6 oz. cream cheese, room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of coarse salt
4-5 c. powdered sugar (depending on how thick you want it)

Combine first five ingredients, gradually add in powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency.

Frost cupcakes and store in refrigerator.
These are so delicious and perfect for a summer treat!

Salmon Burgers with Dill Mayonnaise

2009-06-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is also a recipe from the Food Network, but I changed it so much I'll call it mine! I had Costco rolls on hand so I made mini salmon burgers, my family loved them! I like Dill, but I don't love Dill, so I put less of it in the Dill mayo than was called for. If there is a lot of dill in a recipe, I just can't taste anything else! If you love it though put the original 2 Tbs. in the mayo recipe instead of the 1 Tbs. I'm writing in.

Salmon Burgers

2 tsp freshly chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 eggs
1/2 c. panko or regular bread crumbs
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 lemon, zested
4 Tbs. Dill mayonnaise, recipe follows
13-15 oz. can boneless, skinless Alaskan salmon, drained well
2 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400.
In medium bowl, combine parsley, onions, eggs, panko, black pepper, salt, lemon zest, and dill mayo together. Add drained salmon and mix well. Form into 4 large patties or 6 small patties.

In large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Place burgers in skillet. Cook until browned, turn over and repeat. Place in oven for 4 minutes.
Serve on buns with Dill mayo and lettuce.

Dill Mayonnaise:

1/2 c. mayo
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 Tbs. fresh chopped dill leaves
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and set aside.

Grilled Cheeseburger with Green Chile Sauce

2009-06-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have been craving hamburgers lately! And then the Food Network had a special on them so I went online and printed out some of the recipes they featured. This cheeseburger recipe came from Bobby Flay. The homemade green chile sauce is really, really, good!

Grilled Cheeseburger with Green Chile Sauce

2 lbs. ground chuck (80-85% lean)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 slices provolone or monterey jack cheese
4 good quality buns (I like using homemade or ciabatta rolls)
green chile sauce (recipe follows)
Romaine lettuce
4 thick slices tomato

Heat grill to medium heat. Form meat into 4 8 oz. patties and season each burger on both sides with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Grill until charred on both sides and cooked to desired doneness.
Place 2 slices of cheese on each burger, at the same time cut buns in half and place cut side down on grill to toast. Close BBQ lid and grill until cheese is melted and buns are toasted, usually takes just a few minutes. Place burgers on buns and top with green chile sauce and lettuce, tomato, and mayo.

Green Chile Sauce:

1 poblano chile (they are big and green)grilled, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 medium white onion, grilled and chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh epazote (it's an herb) or 1 Tbs. fresh cilantro chopped
1/4 c. cold water
1/2 Tbs. honey
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

I grill my onions and pepper at the same time that I put on the burgers. I rubbed olive oil all over the pepper and onions and grilled until they had grill marks on them and were soft to the touch.

Combine all ingredients in blender, blend until smooth.

Labels!

2009-06-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

I have now implemented Labels, so you will be able to look up recipes by categories located in the side bar instead of scrolling through past months to try and find a specific recipe, Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

2009-06-07T22:59:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Caesar salad, in fact, it's the only salad I ever eat. I found this recipe on the Kraft foods website and I just loved the presentation so much I wanted to try it. It was delicious! The best Caesar salad I've ever made. I love marinating the chicken in the Caesar dressing, it gave it so much flavor, and cutting into bite size pieces really shortens the grilling time. I would highly recommend using Ciabatta bread with this recipe.

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
Caesar dressing (I love the Girard's Light Caesar)
1 head Romaine lettuce
Ciabatta or french bread
Grated Parmesan (not the powdered stuff)
Bamboo skewers (about 8)

Place your chicken pieces in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Add enough dressing to coat chicken, place in refrigerator and let marinate for 30 minutes. Place skewers in water to soak to prevent burning. Let soak for 30 minutes while meat is marinating.
Preheat grill to medium/low heat.
Thread about 6-8 pieces of chicken onto each skewer.
Slice bread into 1" thick slices, brush with melted butter or olive oil.
Oil grill.
Place chicken on grill and cook until done, turning once. On my grill it took about 5 minutes on each side, but if your grill tends to be hot it may only take 3-4 minutes, watch carefully to prevent burning. When chicken is almost done, add bread slices and toast on each side. Remove bread and chicken from grill and set aside.
Wash and cut lettuce, place in large bowl and coat lightly with Caesar dressing. Place bread slices around perimeter and lay chicken sticks on top of lettuce. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-06-07T22:52:00.001-07:00

I love these cookies because the oatmeal makes them so chewy! And with oatmeal and walnuts in them, they qualify as health food, right? RIGHT?!

Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325.
In large beat beat butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add eggs one a time, add vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Stir in quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips.
Bake for approx. 12 minutes.

Cupcake Pops! Yay!

2009-06-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

Aren't these the cutest things you've ever seen? They do take time to make but it's fairly easy. Such a cute idea for kid's birthdays or holiday parties. A lady called Bakerella invented these, click here http://bakerella.blogspot.com/search/label/cupcake%20pops to see the many different cake pops she's come up with. I love the ghosts and reindeers!

For cupcake pops you will need:

1 13X9 cake, any flavor you want, baked (I've done chocolate and strawberry)
1 tub frosting, regular, not whipped (again any flavor, I put chocolate with the chocolate cake and vanilla with the strawberry)
Lollipop sticks found at craft store
1 small scalloped cookie/fondant cutter (I found mine at Michaels, it's made by Wilton, it's a little over an inch across)
1 bag chocolate candy melts (again I found at Michaels)
1 bad pink candy melts
pink M&M's and a variety of sprinkles for toppings

Once your cake is cool crumble in a large bowl, add about 3/4 of the tub of frosting and mush together thoroughly with hands (this is quite fun!)
Form into small balls, about 1 1/2".
Place on waxed paper and put in freezer for 5 minutes.
Roll balls into an oblong shape. Place in scalloped cutter and push from the top and bottom so that the cake fills in the scalloped shape. Push out bottom to remove. Continue with remaining balls. Place in freezer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt chocolate candy melts until smooth, you can do this on a double broiler and in 30 second intervals in the microwave.
Dip your lollipop stick in the chocolate, just so the tip is covered. Take one cupcake and dip bottom half in chocolate, wiping off bottom on side of bowl as you remove.
Place lollipop stick in the bottom, a little less than halfway through. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. You can place these in a piece of floral foam to harden up or a glass, you just don't want them touching.
When chocolate is hardened up, melt pink candy melts.
Dip top half of cupcake in pink candy melts, try to make the pink touch the chocolate so that you don't have cake showing through. Decorate immediately and place in foam to harden.
At the craft store they also have lollipop bags that you can put over the pops and tie with cute ribbon if you're taking them somewhere.

I would highly recommend going here: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cupcake-pops?video_id=0&autonomy_kw=cupcake%20pops
to watch the how to video on Martha Stewart's show!

Pesto Pasta and Chicken

2009-06-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I don't have a pic for this one, it didn't turn out very well (the picture that is, not the pasta! :), but this pasta was to die for! It was so good, and the homemade pesto just put it over the top. This was another recipe Stefany taught at cooking group, thanks Stefany! I can't wait to make this for my husband, he LOVES pesto!

Easy Homemade Pesto

1/4 c. almonds
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 c. fresh basil leaves
1/2 c. olive oil
1 pinch nutmeg
2/3 c. parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450. Place almonds on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. In a food processor, combine toasted almonds, garlic, basil, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Process until a coarse paste is formed.

Pasta

1 16oz. package bow tie pasta
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1/3 c. oil packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips
1/2 c. pesto (can be purchased at store too, Costco has some that's really good)
Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta to al dente (still slightly firm); drain. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, stir in chicken. Season with red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is golden and cooked through. In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, sun dried tomatoes, and pesto. Toss to coat evenly, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve!

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

2009-06-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

My friend Stefany taught us how to make these at our cooking group last month, don't they look yummy?

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c. olive oil
1/4 c. tomato sauce
2 Tbs red wine vinegar
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 lbs. fresh shrimp, medium sized, peeled and deveined
bamboo skewers

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to bowl, and stir evenly to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice. At this point add skewers to water to soak, this will prevent them burning up on the BBQ! They should soak for at least 1/2 hour.
Preheat grill to medium heat.
Thread shrimp on skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. Lightly spray grill with cooking spray. Cook shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side, until opaque and pink.

Strawberry Lemonade

2009-06-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite drink to make in the summer, it's delicious!

Strawberry Lemonade

2 c. water
1 c. sugar
1 Tbs. grated lemon peel
1 c. fresh lemon juice
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
2 c. club soda
ice
lemon slices for garnish

Grate lemon with a zester for the lemon peel and then juice lemons for fresh juice. About four regular size lemons makes 1 cups of juice.
In medium pot over medium high heat combine water and sugar. Let come to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved, remove from heat. Add lemon peel and lemon juice. Place in refrigerator and let cool.
Puree the strawberries in a blender (I usually add some of the chilled lemonade mixture so it blends easier). Add to lemonade and stir. I pour the juice through a strainer a couple of times to get out all of the zest, pulp, and strawberry seeds. Right before serving add club soda and ice. Slice 1 lemon and place on top of lemonade. Cool and delicious!

Coconut Cupcakes!

2009-05-26T17:13:00.000-07:00

These are so, so yummy! I prefer to use sour cream in these because it makes them heavier, like a pound cake, but if you like your cupcakes light and airy use buttermilk instead. The coconut flavoring is found in the baking aisle by the vanilla extract. I always just throw my frosting together without measuring so the measurements for the frosting are approximate, you may have to add more milk or powdered sugar to reach the right consistency. These turn out beautiful!

Coconut Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. butter, room temp
2 c. sugar
5 extra large eggs at room temp (or 7 regular sized eggs)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract/flavoring
3 c. flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1 c. buttermilk or 1 heaping cup of sour cream
1 c. sweetened and shredded coconut

Frosting:

1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. milk
6-7 cups powdered sugar

Cream together butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and coconut extracts.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add half of dry mix to batter and mix until incorporated, mix in sour cream or buttermilk until incorporated, add remaining dry mix. Gently stir in coconut.
Fill 24 muffin cups almost to the brim with the batter. Bake at 325 for approximately 20-25 minutes. Use a toothpick to determine if they are done. Let cool.

For frosting cream together butter and cream cheese, add vanilla and milk. Gradually add powdered sugar until you reach the right consistency.
Generously frost cupcakes and immediately sprinkle coconut over top. (I did about four a time)

Greek Isles Pasta Salad

2009-05-26T17:03:00.001-07:00

I needed to make a pasta salad for a church get together and I wanted something different. I found this recipe and thought it looked so good, my husband was so proud of me for putting spinach in it!

Greek Isles Pasta Salad

3 c. farfalle (bow-tie) pasta uncooked
2 c. baby spinach leaves
1 c. crumbled feta cheese (I don't like feta so I used cubed Monterey Jack)
1 small container cherry tomatoes, halved
1 c. drained and rinsed chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/2 c. Kraft Greek Vinaigrette (or more to taste)

Cook pasta according to directions, al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water, place in large bowl. Add spinach leaves, cheese, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas and dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Chicken Spaghetti

2009-05-26T16:53:00.000-07:00

I don't make casseroles very often but this one looked so good I had to try it. I loved it! It was creamy and delicious! I would highly recommend grilling or roasting the chicken breasts.

Chicken Spaghetti

2 c. chopped cooked chicken
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/4 c. finely diced green bell pepper
1/2 c. finely diced onion
3 c. dry spaghetti, broken in half
2 c. chicken broth
1 tsp seasoned salt
1/8-1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 additional cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook spaghetti to al dente, drain. Combine all ingredients except the additional cup of cheddar cheese. Pour into a large casserole dish, top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly or freeze up to six months.

Best Lasagna from PW

2009-05-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

I know this takes a little time to prepare, but after the mountain of dirty dishes and the sore feet, you can sit down to a delicious dinner, and think Yes! It was worth it! I don't make homemade lasagna very often (I like Stouffers frozen meat lasagna!), but when a recipe claims to be the best I have to try it, and I can honestly say this is the best homemade lasagna recipe I've ever tried. Very meaty and cheesy, and if you're going to make this for a dinner with family or friends, I would highly recommend preparing it the day before and refrigerating it until ready to bake the next day, that way you won't have all of those dishes to do right before company comes.

The Best Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 pound hot breakfast sausage (I always use the Jimmy Dean that comes in the 1 lb. tube)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 14.5 oz. cans whole tomatoes
2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
1/3 c. chopped fresh flat leaf Italian parsley
1/3 c. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp salt
8 lasagna noodles
1 Tbs olive oil
3 c. lowfat cottage cheese
2 beaten eggs
Parmesan cheese
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb. sliced mozzarella (You can shred your own but sliced is so much more convenient! I would not recommend using the pre-shredded kind)

In a skillet combine the beef, sausage, and garlic cloves. Cook until brown, draining off half the fat. Pour in cans of whole tomatoes (with juice) and tomato paste, parsley, basil, and salt. Mix together thoroughly and simmer, uncovered.

In the meantime, boil lasagna noodles. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 Tbs. olive oil to water. Cook the noodles "al dente" (I cooked mine for 8 minutes). When noodles are finished, drain, rinse with cool water, and lay flat on aluminum foil.

Mix together cottage cheese, eggs, 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, and 2 Tbs. parsley and 1/2 tsp salt.

Preheat oven to 350.
Set up your "assembly" line: meat mixture, 1 lb. sliced mozzarella, cottage cheese mixture, and lasagna noodles. Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray.

Place four noodles on bottom, overlapping edges. Spread half of cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Place 1/2 lb. of mozzarella cheese slices over that, overlapping if you need to. Spread a little less than half of the meat mixture over the mozzarella and then repeat; noodles, cottage cheese mixture, mozzarella, and meat. Sprinkle parmesan cheese generously over the top and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

I served this with my homemade breadstick recipe, I think I posted it on this site last year around May or June.

Southwest Egg Rolls w/ Cool Avocado Dip

2009-04-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

These are so delicious! Thanks for another great recipe Stefany!

Southwest Egg Rolls

2-1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
2/3 cup frozen corn, thawed
2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
20 egg roll wrappers
Oil for deep-fat frying

Avacado Dip

1 cup ranch salad dressing
1 medium ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated lime peel or 1 tsp lime juice

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients. Place 1/4 cup of chicken mixture in the center of one egg roll wrapper. (Keep remaining wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to use.) Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal. Repeat.

In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°.

Fry egg rolls, a few at a time, for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, combine the dip ingredients. Serve with egg rolls. Yield: 20 egg rolls (1-1/2 cups sauce)

Better Than Chili's Fajitas

2009-04-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

My friend Stefany had my family over for dinner last night and she made these amazing fajitas. The marinade is awesome and gives so much flavor to the steak and chicken. I think these are the best fajitas I've ever had!

Better Than Chili's Fajitas

Marinade:
1/4 c lime juice
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or 1 lb. sirloin steak

Marinate the chicken or steak at least 2 hours or overnight in fridge (the longer the better). Grill chicken/steak over medium high flame for 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Cut into thin strips.

In the meantime mix together:
1/2 tsp lime juice
2 T water
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
dash of salt and pepper
1 T olive oil

Place in a large skillet and add:
1 large white spanish onion (cut into strips)
1 green pepper (cut into strips)
1 red pepper (cut into strips)
Cook until slightly blackened. Add the chicken strips and serve on warm tortillas and top with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, etc!

Thanks Stefany!

Sundae Brownies

2009-04-27T10:32:00.001-07:00

This is a great dessert to make when you have company over and who doesn't like chocolate and fruit together? Just a couple tips for this recipe, cut the brownies into squares BEFORE you put the fruit on. That way you won't have to cut through the fruit and it won't look like a mess! Drizzle the chocolate syrup over just before serving, otherwise it kind of melts and spreads and doesn't look as nice.

Sundae Brownies

1 brownie mix (13X9 pan size)
1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 c. sugar
Sliced strawberries and bananas
Chocolate syrup

Prepare and bake brownie mix according to directions, let cool completely. Beat together cream cheese and sugar, stir in pineapple. Spread over brownie going all of the way to the edge. Cut into squares. Place bananas and strawberries all over cream cheese layer. Serve on small plates and drizzle chocolate syrup over.

Chocolate Cream Cheese and Peanut Butter Cupcakes

2009-04-23T15:31:00.000-07:00

I will now refer you to my earlier post last August titled Fabulous Fudge Cupcakes. I would highly encourage making that recipe with these frostings, it's to die for! Just a warning the cupcakes will come out flat, I like them that way, they are fudgey. If you would prefer a lighter and more rounded cupcake, add 1/2 c. flour to the recipe. Now for the frostings, they are delicious! If you like cream cheese frosting and chocolate you will love this recipe. I like my frosting sweet, but if you prefer more of a dark chocolate taste, only add 1/2 c. powdered sugar instead of 2 cups. The peanut butter and chocolate combo is one of my favorites, they look a little lumpy because I ran out of smooth peanut butter and had to use crunchy!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz. package cream cheese
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. milk

In a double broiler melt chips and heavy cream, stir until smooth, remove from heat
In a mixing bowl cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth, slowly add the chocolate mixture. Add the milk until you reach the right consistency, beating just until smooth.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
5 Tbs. butter, softened
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. heavy whipping cream

In bowl combine the sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the whipping cream and beat on high speed until light and smooth.

Chicken Salad

2009-04-23T15:23:00.001-07:00

Thank you Pioneer Woman for this recipe! I've tried lots of chicken salad recipes and this one is my favorite. There are so many flavor combinations in here that make it good. I added the dill called for in the recipe, but I think next time I'll try a little fresh basil and parsley (I love that combo) instead.

Chicken Salad

2 c. cooked and chopped chicken (I bought a small roasted chicken and took it off of that, it tasted great and saved time!)
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 c. grapes, cut in half
1 Tbs. fresh dill, minced or herb of your choice
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream (plain yogurt can be used too)
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
Kosher salt
black pepper

Chop all of the fruit and veggies and place in bowl with chicken.
In another bowl stir together mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. When the dressing tastes right (must taste for appropriate saltiness!) pour it over the chicken mixture and stir gently until well combined. Allow the salad to chill for several hours and serve over lettuce, in a croissant, pita pocket, on bread slices, etc..... :)

Mini Key Lime Pies

2009-04-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

I love making these, they are so cute! They also taste really good too.

Mini Key Lime Pies

Topping
1 box (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding
1 1/2 c. whipping cream
1/4 c. key lime or regular lime juice
green food color
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Cupcakes
1 box Betty Crocker Supermoist white cake mix
mini size baking cups

Frosting
Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting
1 Tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp grated lime zest

In large bowl, beat pudding mix and whipping cream with wire whisk 2 minutes. Let stand 3 minutes. Beat in 1/4 cup Key lime juice and the food color; stir in powdered sugar until smooth. Cover and refrigerate.

Heat oven to 375°F (350°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 72 mini-size muffin cups (if you don't have three mini muffin pans, just bake one pan at a time, cover the batter between bakings) Make cake batter as directed on box. Spoon about 1 tablespoonful batter into each muffin cup. (Muffin cups will be about 1/2 full.) Refrigerate remaining batter. Bake 10-12 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan to cooling rack. Repeat with remaining baking cups and batter. Cool cupcakes completely, about 15 minutes.

Remove paper baking cups from cupcakes. Swirl about 2 teaspoons topping on top of each cupcake (I like to use a cake frosting bag and tip for this, but you could just as easily use a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off).

Stir frosting in container 20 times. Gently stir in 1 tablespoon Key lime juice and the lime peel. Spoon frosting into 1-quart resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut 1/2-inch opening from bottom corner of bag. Squeeze 1 rounded teaspoonful frosting from bag onto topping. Garnish with fresh lime wedge, if desired. Store in refrigerator.



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Apples N' Cream Bread Braid and How To Pics

2009-03-29T00:29:00.000-07:00

So I did try the bread braid recipe with the apple pie filling and it was delicious, it reminded me of an apple filled donut I had at Krispie Kreme years ago, so good! I did try a new cream cheese filling though and it worked out even better, here are some pics to show you the process of rolling and cutting out the braid, let me know if you have any questions! It turns out looking so beautiful people will think you are a master baker!

Cream Cheese Filling

1 8oz. block cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs. sour cream
1 egg
1 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon juice

Beat all ingredients together until smooth, about 30 seconds. This is enough filling for at least two braids, so cut in half if only making one.

For the apple pie filling I dumped the can of filling on a large cutting board and chopped up the apples into small pieces. I then scooped it all up and placed in a bowl. I added 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp lemon juice and stirred it all up, it was then ready to go!
Refer to Cherries and Cream Bread Braid post for instructions and bread recipe.
After brushing on the egg wash, I sprinkled raw sugar over the top of the Apples and Cream braid. drizzling icing over it when it is cooled is also really good, just like a danish pastry!
Oh, and I would highly recommend making this on parchment paper.

Double Peanut Butter Cookies, Yah Baby!

2009-03-29T00:14:00.000-07:00

This has been my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe for years, I love the soft chewyness of it. I do not like those hard things with the criss cross shape on them (you know what I'm talking about!)
So I had this epiphany about adding peanut butter chips to the peanut butter cookie and they turned out awesome, careful though, when you start eating these, you won't be able to stop!

Double Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. smooth Peanut Butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 c. Reeses peanut butter chips (just eat the remaining 1/4 c. while you're making these)

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Add in eggs and continue beating. Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in peanut butter chips.
Bake for approximately 11-13 minutes until lightly browned.

Simple Steamed Salmon

2009-03-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

I love salmon! I could eat it every day....
Anyway, this is my favorite method for cooking salmon, enclosing it in aluminum foil lets steam build up so the salmon is always super moist and delicious, very hard to mess this one up!
Sometimes I'll brush a yummy teryaki or maple glaze on, but most of the time I just stick to simple seasonings so that I can just enjoy the salmon's flavor.

Simple Seasoning:
All season's salt (I like the Simply Organic brand)
lemon
olive oil

Lay down a large piece of aluminum foil on a baking sheet, place salmon on top, in the middle. Brush the salmon with olive oil, squeeze juice from 1/2 a lemon all over, and sprinkle with seasoned salt. Bring up all sides of aluminum foil and pinch to secure so that the salmon is completely encased.
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, open up aluminum foil so that the salmon is no longer covered and continue baking an additional 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Cherry Cream Braid

2009-03-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

This sweet bread recipe is to die for! It is so soft and moist and flavorful, I love making cinnamon rolls and even regular bread loaves out of it. This dough recipe will actually make enough for two braids, or one braid and 9 cinnamon rolls. My husband said it tasted like a donut, so that got me thinking.... I think I'm going to experiment and try to make Danish Pastries out of this dough recipe with an apple cinnamon and custard filling, I'll post pics if it turns out good!

Sweet Dough
(King Arthur Flour Co. recipe)

3/4 c. warm water
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 c. vanilla yogurt (most small yogurts are exactly 3/4 cup, so that makes it easy!)
*You can also substitute plain or lemon yogurt
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla or almond flavoring, or 2 tsp. citrus zest
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 c. flour (to measure flour, always stir it to "fluff" it up, and then spoon it into the cup container and level)
1 egg + 2 Tbs. milk for egg wash

Filling for braid:
(You can use any type of pie filling, or a chocolate ganache, or almond filling would be good too)
1 can cherry pie filling
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Sliced almonds to sprinkle on top

In a small bowl, combine the warm water and 2 tsp sugar, stir to dissolve. Stir in yeast and 1/2 c. flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until bubbly and active, about 10-15 minutes.

In a large bowl (of bowl of KitchenAid if you have one) combine the yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and yeast mixture. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing until the dough comes away cleanly fro the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and, adding only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, knead about 5 minutes, until soft and pliable but not sticky. Let the dough rest while you clean and grease the bowl. Finish kneading the dough until it's smooth, supple, and springy.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn to coat all surfaces, cover with plastic wrap and a clean towel, and let sit in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.

Before dough is done rising, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.

Preheat oven to 375

Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half.
Working with one half at a time, roll out into large rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick. Leaving half the dough uncut down the middle (this is where you'll place your filling) make nine cuts down each side to make your braid pieces. Cut out the four corners so that you have a lip in the center on each end. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture down the middle, place 1/2 the cherry filling on top. Starting at one end, pull the lip up and press down on sides to secure. Take one braid piece and fold over and secure. Now take another piece from the opposite side and secure, repeat with remaining pieces. Before you reach the end, pull up lip and secure and then finish braid.
Lightly beat egg and milk and brush over braid. Sprinkle almonds on top. Repeat with remaining dough piece or make into cinnamon rolls.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until braid is a golden brown.

Chili Verde

2009-03-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is amazing! Thanks so much Emma for sharing this recipe with me. I love to serve this over tostada shells with shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top. Letting the pork roast cook overnight in the slow cooker is really a must in this recipe, the pork will literally just fall apart when you shred it the next morning, so delicious!

Chili Verde

1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 pork loin roast (as little fat as possible, if you buy the three pack from Costso they don't have any fat at all)
1 c. water
1 large can green enchilada sauce
1 small can chopped green chilis
1 small onion, sliced or chopped, whatever you like
1 c. chicken broth
1 tsp garlic powder

Rinse off roast and pat dry.
Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Rub over roast, save excess. Place roast in crock pot. Add garlic and water to leftover flour mixture, pour in slow cooker. Cook overnight on low setting. The next day shred pork, it should fall right apart. Remove any fatty peices. Add enchilada suace, green chilis, onion, chicken broth, and garlic powder. Let cook on low for an additional 2-4 hours to incorporate flavors.

You can break up the tostada shells, spoon chili verde over, and sprinkle with cheese and then broil until it's nice and bubbly.

Cowboy Caviar

2009-03-06T10:06:00.000-08:00

Thank you Carolyn for this recipe! This is a delicious dip, my husband said he could eat it all day! When I first tasted it I never would have guessed it had Italian dressing in it, all of the flavors are so good together!

3 avocados, diced
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 can shoepeg (white) corn, do not drain
1 can black eyed peas, drain and wash
1 can black beans, drain and wash
3 green onions, diced
Cilantro to taste
1/4 - 1/2 bottle fat free Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (fat free is better in this recipe)

Stir together all ingredients except dressing. Gradually add enough dressing to reach the desired consistency. Cover and place in refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

Southwest Fajitas

2009-03-06T09:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know the pic looks a little strange, but believe me, this is awesome! It is one of my all time favorite dinners to make. It's kind of like a southwestern gyro, so good! I love serving this with homemade salsa and guacamole.

Southwestern Fajitas

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. flank steak, cut into 1/4 inch strips
1 c. sliced onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
3/4 c. plain yogurt
5 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c. corn (canned or frozen)
1 square or 1 tsp chicken bouillon flavoring
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add steak, onion, garlic, and peppers; saute for 6 minutes. At this point I drain off the excess liquid. Add yogurt and cream cheese; stir until cheese melts. Stir in corn, bouillon, pepper, and cumin. It may not look smooth and creamy right now, but it will after you cover and cook on low for 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and serve in corn or flour tortillas with lots of cheese and guacamole!

Sorry!

2009-02-26T10:44:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything! I am having computer problems right now, and I should be up and running in about a week. Check back then for some great recipes I've been trying! Thanks!

Overnight Caramel Apple French Toast

2009-02-05T18:16:00.000-08:00

This french toast is sooooooo good and is really worth the wait and extra time! I've always used artisan sourdough bread for this and it's really delicious, but I'm sure Texas toast (the thick sliced bread) would work well too. I love making this when I have guests because it's more impressive than having cereal for breakfast :) and because you do all the prep work at night so you just pop it in the oven in the morning, so quick and easy.

Overnight Caramel Apple French Toast

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
3 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
9 slices sourdough bread, french bread, or Texas Toast bread (3/4" thick)

In small pan cook brown sugar, butter, and syrup until thick, about 5-7 minutes. Pour into ungreased 13X9 baking dish. Arrange apples on top of caramel. Beat eggs, milk and vanilla together. Dip bread slices in egg mixture. Place on top of apples. Pour excess egg mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Loosen sides and then invert onto baking sheet or large serving dish. Enjoy!

Sweet Coleslaw

2009-02-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is a very basic and simple coleslaw. I am really trying to branch out and make vegetable dishes :) Most everyone liked it, I would encourage you to add a little sugar at a time until you attain your perfect level of sweetness because the whole amount called for in this recipe may be too sweet for some. I took out about a cup of the prepared coleslaw mix and added in about a cup of chopped red cabbage to add some color.

1 16oz. bag coleslaw mix
2 Tbs. diced onion
2/3 c. Miracle Whip or Mayo
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1/2 c. white sugar (start with 1/4 c. and add a little more at a time to suit your taste)
1 Tbs. white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Combine the coleslaw mix and the onion in a bowl. Whisk together remaining ingredients, pour over coleslaw and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours before serving.

Slow Roasted Pulled Pork

2009-02-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

I was searching for a new pulled pork recipe and I found this one on the internet. It turned out to be so good! It was so moist and flavorful, exactly what I wanted. I served it on store bought rolls, I brushed melted butter and a little sugar on the top and baked for about 5 minutes until they were hot and nicely browned.

Slow Roasted Pulled Pork

3 lb. boneless pork loin roast NOT frozen
1/2 c. flour
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. water
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
8 oz. green chilies, diced
1 c. BBQ sauce
1/2 onion, sliced
3 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp dried Oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp black pepper
hot sauce to taste
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped

Combine flour and salt and pepper. Rub over whole roast. Place in slow cooker. Whisk together remaining flour, water, and garlic. Pour in slow cooker. Cook overnight on low heat.
The next day shred the pork, it should fall right apart, remove any fatty pieces.
Add remaining ingredients through hot sauce. Stir gently to incorporate and let cook on low an additional 4 hours.
Serve with chopped cilantro and extra BBQ sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

2009-01-19T17:12:00.000-08:00

This recipe and picture came from my sister Becky, who is a great cook! She told me about it and it sounded so yummy I asked her if I could put it on my blog. I have had roasted red pepper soup before, and it is delicious! This would be a great soup to serve in a bread bowl, and it looks so pretty with the swirled sour cream on top.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

3 Tbs. olive oil
1 small sweet onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 36 oz. jar Roasted Red Peppers, rinsed and drained

2 14 oz. cans Hunts fired roasted tomatoes
1 Tbs. brown sugar

3 cups water
1Tbs. balsamic vinegar

5 Tbs. sour cream

Saute the onions in the olive oil until soft, then add the garlic and cook 5 more minutes. Add the peppers, tomatoes, sugar, and water and simmer for about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the vinegar then transfer to a blender and puree. Pour back into pot and season with salt and pepper.

Ladle into 6 bowls and combine the sour cream and about 2 T. water in a Ziploc bag. Snip off one corner and "draw" and swirl on top of each serving!

If you don't want to buy the roasted red peppers you can make your own by rubbing 4 red bell peppers with olive oil and placing under your broiler till blackened on all sides. Then you take them out and place them in a covered container for about 15 minutes and peel and de-seed them. The blacker the skin is the better it comes off!

Bacon Rolls

2009-01-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my sister Becky for this great recipe! My husband loves sushi, I don't, so this recipe is great because it's got enough of the sushi ingredients to make him happy, and no raw fish to gross me out! The flavors all go really well together. I watched my sister make these on New Years Eve, so tonight was my first attempt at them and they turned out pretty good. I always had the impression that California rolls were hard to make, but they're not. My sister had all of the tools, the sushi serving set and the rolling mats, but they are not necessary.

Bacon Rolls

2 c. sushi or short grain rice
strips of bacon
strips of cream cheese
2 ripe avocados, sliced in strips
green onions (cut top and bottom off and then slice in half to form strips)
Seaweed wrappers
Soy Sauce, ginger, wasabi for serving

Cook the rice with 4 c. of water.
While rice is cooking cook bacon on stove top until done, or cook on a sheet pan at 425 for approximately 20 minutes.
Let rice cool, if rice is not sticky enough add 1 Tbs. rice vinegar and 1/2 Tbs. sugar, stir gently to combine.
Lay out seaweed wrapper, place a thin layer of rice over seaweed leaving 1" space on top, dip fingers in water to prevent rice from sticking to fingers.
Place 1 slice bacon, 1 slice cream cheese, 1/2 green onion, and 3 avocado slices at bottom. Roll up tightly, before you reach the end, dip your finger in water and run it along the top edge of the seaweed, finish rolling and press down on wet side to seal. Continue with remaining ingredients. Dip sharp knife in water and slice "logs" into 1 1/2" rolls. Serve with soy sauce, ginger, or wasabi.

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies

2009-01-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

The name alone is enough to make me salivate....
Just imagine pure bliss and that's the feeling you'll get when you taste these little pieces of heaven! The brownie and the marshmallow together are amazing, and you think, can this get any better? And then you bite into the peanut butter chips, wow.

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies

1 box brownie mix (I always use the Betty Crocker regular fudge brownies)
2/3 c. vegetable or canola oil
1/4 c. water
1 egg
1 regular sized jar marshmallow cream
3/4 c. Reeses peanut butter chips
1/2 c. sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 13X9 pan.
Beat together brownie mix, oil, water, and egg. Pour about 2/3 of batter into 13X9 pan, spread and bake for 10 minutes.
Combine marshmallow cream, peanut butter chips, and milk. Pour over brownie bottom leaving about 1 inch space all around the sides.
Drop by spoonfulls the remaining brownie batter.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool and serve, delicious!

Meaty Nacho Dip

2009-01-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

This dip is so good! Sometimes I just crave it so I'll make up a batch. It's cheesy, and meaty, and spicy (but not too spicy :)
I love making it on Super Bowl Sunday!

Nacho Dip

1 lb. Jimmy Dean regular sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can Rotel (original)
1 large block Velveeta cheese

Brown sausage and drain.
Cut up velveeta into cubes and place in slow cooker. Pour sausage, soup, and rotel over top. Turn slow cooker on low heat and cook for 2-3 hours until cheese is melted and it's hot! Tortilla chips or soft pretzels go good with this.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

2009-01-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

I had always wanted to learn how to make soft pretzels and then I found this recipe on the King Arthur flour website. It was more simple than I thought it would be! These pretzels are perfect, they have that bagel-like skin on the outside and the chewy middle, yum!

Soft Pretzels

1 Tbs. sugar
2 c. room temp water
2 tsp instant yeast (also known as bread machine)
5 1/2- 6 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp non diastatic malt powder (I mail order mine from King Arthur OR substitute sugar)
1 Tbs. salt

Combine in bowl (or KitchenAid bowl) sugar, water, and yeast; stir to combine. Add the malt powder (or sugar) and salt. Add enough flour to make a soft (but not sticky) dough. Knead for 6 minutes. Place in oiled bowl, turning once to coat, cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450.
Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a log and shape the logs into pretzels (or doughnut shape, they are easier!)
In large pot, bring 6 c. water and 2 Tbs. baking soda to a boil. Put in four pretzels at a time, let cook one minute. Remove with slotted spoon to greased baking sheet. They should have a skin on them. Continue until all pretzels have been boiled. Paint each pretzel with egg glaze (egg mixed with 1 Tbs. water) and sprinkle with salt or seeds. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes or until pretzels are well browned.
Yields 16 soft, chewy pretzels. Delicious dipped in nacho cheese.

Bread Bowls

2009-01-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

I went to Paradise Bakery the other day for lunch and I ordered their soup in a bread bowl. I was so excited because usually everything there is so good, and I love soup in bread bowls, but it was not good at all! It was dry and tasted like cardboard. So ever since then I've been craving a good bread bowl. What a great idea, instead of having to wash your bowl, you just eat it! These took quite awhile to make, but they turned out delicious. I made my corn chowder recipe which is also posted on this site. I got this recipe from King Arthur Flour, they have the best bread recipes!

Bread Bowls

7 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp instant (also called bread machine) yeast
2 1/2 c. room temp water
2 Tbs. non diastatic malt powder (I order mine from King Arthur flour, or you can just use sugar!)
3 tsp salt
2 egg whites

Mix two cups of the flour with the yeast and water, let sit for 1 hour. Add the malt (or sugar), salt, egg white and remaining flour, mix until it's a shaggy mass. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes, then knead for 6-8 minutes by hand, or 5-7 minutes using your KitchenAid with dough hook. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into six equal parts (about 8.5oz. each) Roll each piece into a tight ball and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours. Uncover the loaves and let them sit for 10-15 minutes so they form a "skin", which will make them better able to hold soup or stew.
Preheat oven to 425.
Before placing in oven, mist oven and rolls with water. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until they are a deep, golden brown. Turn off oven and prop open door to let moisture escape. Let rolls cool in oven for 20 minutes, transer to wire rack to cool completely.
To use cut small slice off top of roll and scoop out inside bread with a fork (see picture) leaving about 1/2 inch of the bread all around the bottom and sides. I save the excess bread for dipping into the soup. Enjoy!

Gingerbread & Caramel Almond Squares

2008-12-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

I can't say enough about these gingerbread cookies. In the past I've always had hard, over spiced gingerbread cookies, but one day I found this recipe on kraftfoods.com and I've been making it every Christmas for the past five years! They are so soft and the flavor is delicious. I altered the recipe to make it into a drop cookie so I didn't have to spend the time to roll and cut, but I'll include both versions- the roll out and the drop. In the pic the gingerbread cookies are on top, I drizzles icing over them and sprinkled with red and green sugars.

Gingerbread Cookies

3.4 oz. box Instant Butterscotch pudding
14 Tbs. butter, softened (3/4 c. plus 2 Tbs. is what it ends up being)
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbs. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl beat together the pudding, butter, and sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg. Add the baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and flour.
Bake for approximately 12 minutes.

*For roll out version change the butter to 3/4 c. and the flour to 2 c. After combining all ingredients, cover and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour until firm. On floured board, roll out dough to about a 1/4 inch thickness, cut and bake for approximately 10 minutes. Bake just until the middles of the cookies puff up. They should not be browned on the edges if you want chewy cookies.

Caramel Almond Squares

My mom found this recipe and I love it because it is so quick and they are SOOOO good!

1 bag pretzel squares (at our store they are Snyder's brand)
1 bag Rollo candies, unwrapped
almonds

Preheat oven to 350.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or aluminum foil. Place pretzels all over pan and add a Rollo on top of each one. Place in oven and cook for 3 minutes. Remove and press one almond down in the center of each candy. Let cool and harden. Delicious and highly addictive!

Fantasy Fudge

2008-12-23T20:55:00.000-08:00

I love this recipe because it turns out great every time and it's pretty easy to make. I like adding pecans or walnuts to it.

3 c. sugar
3/4 c. margarine (not butter!)
5 oz. evaporated milk
1 pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 7 oz. jar marshmallow cream
3/4 c. chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla

Line an 8X8 pan with aluminum foil and grease, set aside.
Place chocolate and marshmallow cream in a large bowl, set aside.
In large sauce pan combine sugar, margarine, and milk. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat (not medium high, or high, just medium). Immediately turn your timer on for four minutes. Place your candy thermometer in the pan and cook until 234 degrees or for 4 minutes, whichever comes first. Immediately remove from heat and pour over marshmallow and chocolate. Stir until thoroughly combined. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into pan and place in refrigerator until hardened, cut into 1" squares and serve!

Homemade Caramels

2008-12-23T20:37:00.001-08:00

Yum, this is my favorite Christmas treat to make! It's soft and chewy and exactly what a caramel should be, I love them. They are fairly easy to make, you must have a candy thermometer though! :) Trust me, if you try to make them without one you will cry, pull your hair out, and have a Christmas baking mental breakdown (I know, it happened two years ago, and then I bought a candy thermometer and I've been good since!) Every Christmas these are the most requested, and the first to go.

Caramels

2 c. heavy whipping cream
3/4 c. Karo light corn syrup (must be Karo, generic brands don't turn out as well)
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, sliced

Line an 8X8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Grease with butter, set aside.
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan (I use the largest one in my pan set)
Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat (not medium high or high, just medium, be patient this can take a little while)
Plop the candy thermometer in and cook until the mixture reaches 245 stirring frequently, remove IMMEDIATELY and pour into prepared pan. Let sit until hardened, I always just let it sit on the counter overnight.
When cooled and solid, remove from pan and cut into 1/2"-1" squares depending on how big you want them. Wrap in wax paper and they are ready to eat!
Now, if for some reason they did not turn out here are some helpful hints for the next time you make them:
If they are light in color and too soft, or if they stick to the wax paper, you did not cook them long enough.
If they are darker and hard you cooked them too long. You still may be able to use them if you put the pan in the oven for a few minutes to soften it up, and then you can cut them.
As long as you stir frequently and watch the temp they should turn out perfect!

Chicken Bell Pepper Chowder

2008-12-14T18:24:00.001-08:00

This recipe came from Paula Deen and it is soooooo good! It's silky smooth and packed with chunky vegetables and chicken. I served this with sourdough bread slices brushed with olive oil and put under the broiler until they were lightly browned, so yummy! (Sourdough bread makes anything good though!) I know there are lots of ingredients, but is really worth the effort, from start to finish it took me about an hour to make this and it made lots of soup, a whole large stock pot full. I would say it would serve 6-7 adults. (My husband loves pepper, that's why the soup in the pic has pepper all over it!)

Chicken and Bell Pepper Chowder

1/4 c. olive oil
3 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 sweet onions, cut into 1/2 inch dice
5 stalks celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 green bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp dried Thyme
1 Tbs. chicken bouillon granules
4 cans chicken broth
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
3 cups diced grilled chicken
1/2 c. butter
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp hot sauce, or more to taste
1 c. heavy cream

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots onions, celery, garlic, peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Saute for 7-8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is heated through. In a skillet melt the butter and add the flour, stir for about 3 minutes, do not let brown! Ladle one cup of the soup mixture into the flour mixture, whisk to combine. Gradually add two more ladles full of soup. Pour back into soup pot and stir to combine, let cook for approximately 3-4 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add hot sauce and heavy cream, serve hot with some good bread!

Cookie Exchange Party '08!

2008-12-14T17:44:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays Everyone! I am sorry it has been a couple of weeks since I posted anything, I have been so busy! Every year I have a cookie exchange party, and I look forward to it all year! I love cookies and I love to party! :) This year I made appetizers, and then we played some fun games, had an ornament exchange, and then got to take home 6 dozen cookies, Yum! Here are some of the recipes from the party:

Brie Bread Ring
I love this! It is so yummy and easy, it's a great holiday appetizer.

1 round of Brie cheese
2 tubes Pillsbury refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (not the flaky kind)
1/2 c. butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh Thyme, finely chopped
2 Tbs. fresh Parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp dried Oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced

Preheat oven to 350.
Scrape/cut the rind off of the top of the Brie (only the top, the side and bottom rind hold the melted cheese in!), set aside.
Cut buttermilk biscuits into quarters and place in large bowl.
In saute pan melt butter and olive oil, add herbs and garlic and saute one minute (do not brown garlic). Pour over rolls and toss to coat rolls thoroughly. This time I used a large square pan to bake this in, but in the past I've used a round pizza pan and formed a ring around the Brie with aluminum foil to keep the rolls together.
Place the Brie in the middle and layer the rolls around the Brie, try to only go two rolls high or it will take a long time for the bread to cook.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until rolls are browned and Brie is melted.
To serve you can either let your guests break off rolls and dip in cheese, or you can put a spoon in the cheese for them to put on their plates.
Delicious!

Holiday Cheese Ball
This is absolutely the best cheese ball I have ever had! My sister Becky gave this recipe to me last year, I love the combination of flavors. I'm sure you've all tasted some nasty cheese balls in your time, but I promise you will love this one! :)

12 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbs. finely chopped onions
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. coarsely chopped craisins
2 c. finely grated cheddar cheese
1 c. chopped pecans (I toast mine on the stovetop with a couple of teaspoons of sugar)

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add onions and Worcestershire sauce. Stir in craisins and cheddar cheese. Shape into a ball, roll in chopped pecans. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least three hours. Serve with crackers or pretzel sticks.

Phyllo Wrapped Asparagus
I have to admit I've never worked with Phyllo dough before, so you won't be surprised that I accidentally bought Puff Pastry instead of Phyllo, Ugh! Thanks Emma for all of your help with this recipe!

8 asparagus spears
1/2 pkg. (16 oz) Phyllo dough sheets, thawed
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. finely grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375. Break off tough end of asparagus spears.
Cut Phyllo dough sheets in half lengthwise, (you'll only be using half the package). Place dampened cloth over Phyllo dough. Remove one piece at a time and brush with butter, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and place two asparagus spears at end. Roll up jelly roll style. Place on baking sheet seam side down. Brush with more butter and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese. Repeat with remaining asparagus. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
This is a just a quick and easy Betty Crocker recipe that I love!

1 pouch Betty Crocker Peanut Butter cookie mix
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. water
1 egg
1/2 c. Reeses Peanut Butter Chips

Topping:
1 container vanilla frosting (not whipped)
1 Tbs. milk
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/4 c. seedless raspberry or strawberry jam

Spray bottom of a 13X9 pan with cookie spray.
Combine cookie mix, vegetable oil, water, and egg, stir in peanut butter chips.
Press dough into bottom of pan using floured fingers. Bake 15-18 minutes until lightly browned. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

In small bowl stir frosting, milk, and peanut butter until smooth. Spread over base. Stir jam and drop by teaspoonfulls onto frosting. Swirl jam for a marbled design with tip of knife. Refrigerate for at least one hour, store in refrigerator.

Brownie "Trees"
I was really proud of myself for coming up with this idea! I used a large star tip to make the "tree" and a small star tip to make the "star".

1 Betty Crocker Fudge brownie mix
1 container vanilla frosting
green and yellow food coloring
Sprinkles

Line 13X9 pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Prepare and bake brownie mix according to box directions. Let completely cool.
Remove from pan and using a small round biscuit cutter, cut the brownies into little circles. Pipe frosting on top to look like trees.

Sweet Honey Pork Tenderloin

2008-11-25T18:10:00.001-08:00

Here is another pork tenderloin recipe! If you buy them at Costco, you get two in a pack so I made this recipe tonight to use the other one. This is my favorite tenderloin recipe, it's sweet and a little spicy, so good!

Sweet Honey Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 c. Catalina Dressing, divided
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 Tbs. honey

Brush 4 Tbs. dressing over the pork. Combine next five ingredients, pat over pork, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours (can go as long as overnight). Preheat grill to low heat. Place pork on grill, grill 12 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, combine remaining dressing and honey.
After cooking 12 minutes on each side, brush each side with honey mixture and grill an additional 5 minutes on each side.
Remove from grill and cover with aluminum foil, let sit for 5-10 minutes. Slice and serve!

Pumpkin Pancakes w/Toasted Walnuts & Maple Syrup

2008-11-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Fall Everyone! This is my favorite time of the year, if I didn't live in Arizona, it would be beautiful outside now, but I do, and it isn't. :)
I had some leftover pumpkin puree that I wanted to use up so I decided to experiment and alter my buttermilk pancake recipe into pumpkin pancakes. I thought they turned out really good and my family loved them. There are all sorts of fun ways to serve these, I wanted to do a cinnamon cream on top, but my cream got pushed to the back of the refrigerator and froze! So I toasted some walnuts (pecans would be good too) and stirred in some pure Maple syrup (I like grade B). If I were my mom, I would have made these into little pumpkin shaped pancakes (I have one of the cutest moms ever!). Anyway, I'm sure you can think of a topping that you will love too.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
4 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (found in the spice aisle)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 c. buttermilk
1 Tbs. canola or vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c. pumkin puree (from can)

Combine flour through cinnamon. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Make a well in the center and set aside.
Combine buttermilk through pumpkin in separate bowl, whisk to combine. Pour into well of dry ingredients. Stir gently until smooth.
Place large frying pan/skillet on stove top over medium low heat. Let warm up and then grease pan with butter (I like cooking my pancakes in butter instead of cooking spray). Drop batter by 1/4 cups onto skillet. Cook until edges look done and then flip. Makes nine 4 inch pancakes.

In a medium skillet over medium heat I poured in 1/2 c. walnuts. Toast for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add in maple syrup, stir immediately and keep stirring until no longer bubbly, pour over pancakes and serve!

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Desserts!

2008-11-17T09:24:00.001-08:00

If you're looking for a pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving, but are tired of the traditional pumpkin pie, try one of these recipes! I normally don't post recipes without pictures, but I wanted to get these recipes out there before Thanksgiving. I'll come back after the holiday and add the picture in. The cheesecake is absolutely to die for! It is so good. The Pumpkin Marble Cake is also really good and a lot less time consuming than the cheesecake!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Walnut Crust
(needs to be made the night before)

Crust:
6 Tbs. butter, softened
3 Tbs. brown sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. finely ground walnuts
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 c. canned pumpkin puree
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Topping:
1 c. sour cream
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly butter bottom of a 10 inch springform pan.
Beat butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and blend. Add flour, walnuts, and cinnamon and mix until just combined. Do not over mix!
Lightly flour fingertips and press the mixture onto the bottom of a cheesecake pan. Place in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes; set aside to cool. Lower oven temp to 275.
For filling, beat the cream cheese, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk and beat well. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and cloves and beat until smooth. Pour into the cooled crust and bake for 1 1/2 hours (90 mins).
Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes at room temp while you make the topping.
Increase the oven temp to 350.
For topping combine the sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and spread evenly over the top of the warm cheesecake. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes more until topping seems set. Cool completely. Cover and chill overnight!

Pumpkin Marble Cake
Thank you Becky for this Recipe! You're awesome!

1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1 boxed yellow cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 c. sour cream
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Optional Glaze:
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs. milk
2 Tbs. cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 375. Grease and flour a bundt pan; set aside.
Combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, sugar, water, and vegetable oil, beat for two minutes. Spoon 2 1/4 c. of batter into separate bowl and add pumpkin filling to this bowl, stir until combined. Alternately spoon two different batters into the bundt pan, beginning and ending with pumpkin batter. Bake for 40-45 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake! (I would check it at 35 minutes just to be safe!) Let cool for 20 minutes and then invert onto serving plate. Let cool completely. Combine all glaze ingredients, it should be thick, but still runny enough to "fall" over cake, correct consistency with more powdered sugar or milk if needed.

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

2008-11-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

This is a fun variation from the traditional cheese ball and crackers! Every time I make this, I always get requests for the recipe. I love bringing it to parties. It tastes like cookie dough, and then you use Nilla wafer crackers and chocolate or honey graham cracker sticks to dip with, Yum!

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

8 oz. cream cheese, must be softened!

1/2 c. butter, must be softened!

1/2 tsp vanilla (if using real vanilla I would only use 1/4 tsp)

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

3 Tbs. brown sugar

1 bag mini chocolate chips (must be the mini size, regular do not work for this)

1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Cookies or sweet crackers to dip with

In medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add sugars; beat just until combined. Stir in 3/4 c. chocolate chips and 1/2 c. chopped nuts. Place on large piece of plastic wrap and form into a ball, wrap up and refrigerate for at least two hours so it can harden up a little bit. Just before serving, roll cheese ball in the remaining mini chocolate chips.

Baby Shower Goodies!

2008-11-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

This is my good friend Ann, she is pregnant with Triplets! Doesn't she look great? She is only 24 weeks along! I made these treats for her baby shower and everyone loved them! It would be so fun to be a baby shower caterer! The chocolate cupcake recipe I posted in August, and the sugar cookie recipe was last month. I'll post the Chocolate Chip Cheeseball next....

Chicken Parmesan

2008-11-12T17:57:00.000-08:00

I love Chicken Parmesan! This is a pretty easy dish to make, the only bad thing about it is the clean-up time! For this dish you can either pound out 4 chicken breasts to make them thin, or for an easier solution (and cheaper!) you can just slice 2 chicken breasts in half. If you use a really sharp knife it is super easy.

Chicken Parmesan

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
or 2 chicken breasts, sliced in half
3/4 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 c. flour
3 egg whites
1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, Italian seasoning, and black pepper in shallow pan, set aside. Place flour in another shallow pan, and egg white in another shallow pan.
I placed my oil in my largest saucepan over medium heat, that temp seemed to work well. Let oil heat up.
Preheat oven to 400.
Dredge chicken breasts through egg white, and then flour, egg white again, and finally Parmesan coating. Place in oil and cook for approximately three minutes on each side.
Place chicken on baking sheet and cover with mozzarella slices. Bake for approximately five minutes until cheese is melted. I like to serve over spaghetti.

Minestrone Soup

2008-11-10T18:41:00.000-08:00

Can you tell I love soups? :) This minestrone soup has tons of veggies in it! You put in a lot, and then you let them cook and remove half of them with a slotted spoon, puree, and then add back into the soup. This is great because it makes the consistency more "chunky" like chili, and you can sneak in lots of veggies for the kids without them knowing it! (and me too, since I don't like a lot of veggies, sad, but true) I fed it to my 4 year old tonight and told him it was vegetable Macaroni and Cheese and he gobbled it up and even said, "This is good Mom!"

Minestrone Soup

4 Tbs. butter
3/4 c. chopped onion
32 oz. chicken broth (about 3 1/2 c.)
30 oz. frozen or canned mixed veggies
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 14.5oz. can stewed tomatoes, with liquid
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried) + 2 Tbs. for garnish
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp dried)
1 c. uncooked small shell pasta
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Place butter in large stock pot over medium heat, let melt, and then add onion. Saute for approximately 5 minutes, until onion is soft, stirring occasionally.
Add next five ingredients. Let come to a boil, and then turn heat down and cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove half (or more) of veggies with slotted spoon to a blender, puree, and then return to stock pot.
Add garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper, and basil, let come to boil and then turn heat down again and simmer for 15 minutes. Add pasta and let cook 8-10 minutes or until pasta is done. Garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin Struesel Bars

2008-10-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

If you like pumpkin pie, you'll love these bars! It's kind of like pumpkin cheesecake sandwiched in between a yummy struesel mixture. It's a fun alternative to traditional pumpkin pie. I like it served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. My family loved it!

Pumpkin Struesel Bars

1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c. sugar, divided
3/4 c. cold butter
1 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. chopped pecans
8 oz. (1 pkg) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 Tbs. pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 13X9 pan with non stick cooking spray, set aside.
Mix together flour, brown sugar, and 1/4 c. of the white sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in oatmeal and pecans. Set aside one cup of struesel mixture, pour remaining into the 13X9 pan, press down firmly. Bake for 15 minutes.
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 c. sugar, eggs, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice. Pour onto crust.
Sprinkle with remaining struesel mixture.
Bake for 25 minutes, let cool and then place in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
Cut into 24 bars.

Sesame Pork Tenderloin

2008-10-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

Pork tenderloin is my favorite thing to barbeque. It's almost fool proof, it always comes out super moist and flavorful. This is a new recipe I tried tonight for dinner and it was so good!

Sesame Pork Tenderloin

1 pork tenderloin (apprx. 1 lb)
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sesame seeds, toasted (to toast place in shallow pan over medium heat and stir until light brown in color, this releases the oil in the seeds and makes them more flavorful.)

Remove pork tenderloin from bag, you will have two pieces. There is a thin, almost clear skin/membrane on part of the tenderloin. Pull it off.
Place pork in resealable gallon plastc bag. Add soy sauce, olive oil, ground ginger, and garlic cloves. Seal and marinate at least four hours or overnight (I did mine overnight)
Preheat grill, on my lowest heat my grill is about 375 and that temp works great.
Spray grill with non stick cooking spray. Place pork on grill. Cook for 12 minutes on each side.
While cooking combine honey and brown sugar.
After pork has cooked 12 min. on each side, brush honey mixture over top half of pork, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Turn over and brush remaining half with honey mixture and sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds. Grill 5 minutes on each side.
Remove pork and place on tin foil, bring foil up kind of like a tent so that the pork is covered. Let sit for 10 minutes. Slice and serve! This is great served with rice and garnished with green onions.

Halloween Treat Ideas/Chocolate Frosting Recipe

2008-10-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I thought I would put on a couple of the cute Halloween treats I made this year. I love these cupcakes, I think the little skeletons are so cute! I used a small round frosting tip to pipe on the body and black decorating gel for the face.
The little ghosts are super easy to make, I'm sure everyone has seen these before. These are just Nutter Butter cookies dipped in white chocolate (or white candy making bark, or homemade icing is what I used here) with little chocolate chips for the eyes. I'm going to give you my chocolate frosting recipe that I used on the cupcakes. This is so yummy on my Fabulous Fudge Chocolate Cake recipe I posted in August, it is to die for! :)

Chocolate Frosting

4 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. boiling water
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together sugar and cocoa. Slowly beat in butter, water, and vanilla. Frost immediately!

Slow Cooker Southwest Chili

2008-10-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

I have been making this chili recipe for years, it's the best! It is so easy to put together, the taste is very mild so kids (and adults that don't like hot food) will love it too.

Southwest Chili

1 1/2 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained
2 cans tomato soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg. Chili Seasoning (McCormick)
1 regular size can pinto beans
1/2 c. sliced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can corn, drained

Combine hamburger meat, soups, tomatoes, chili seasoning, and pinto beans. Turn slow cooker on low and let cook for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally if possible. 1 hour before serving add the onion, garlic, and corn. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and corn chips. Makes enough for about 6-7 people. If you want it a little spicier, you can add 1/2 a bell pepper, sliced, when you add the onion, garlic, and corn.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

2008-10-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

I altered my pumpkin bread recipe by adding in some buttermilk to make it lighter, it turned out great. This is a wonderful fall dessert, the flavors of pumpkin and maple together are delicious!

Pumpkin Cupcakes

3 c. sugar
1 15oz. can pumpkin puree
1 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. water
4 eggs
3 1/2 c. flour
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 Tbs. ground nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350.
In medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and then set aside.
In large mixing bowl beat together sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Add half of flour mixture, beat until smooth. Add buttermilk, mix again, and then add remaining flour. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way full. Bake for approximately 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, do not overbake, it will ruin the cupcakes.

Makes approximately 36 cupcakes.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 Tbs. butter, softened
1/2 c. 100% pure Maple Syrup
5 c. powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese and butter, add maple syrup. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. I honestly can't remember how much powdered sugar I put it. Just add the 5 cups and then go from there if you need more.

Let cupcakes cool. I piped the frosting on and then sprinkled with cinnamon.

Festive Pumpkin Dip

2008-10-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is a great dip for veggies, crackers, or chips. I make it as often as I can every fall, everyone loves it! It has a surprisingly good flavor to it, the first time I tried it I was thinking "Pumpkin dip? This might be weird" but it didn't taste how I expected it to. Try it and I know you'll love it. It looks pretty too.

Festive Pumpkin Dip

12 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1 Tbs. taco seasoning mix
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/3 c. green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/3 c. red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 c. sliced olives

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, taco seasoning, and garlic powder together for 1 minute until smooth. Stir in veggies. Refrigerate until ready to serve, a couple of hours at least.