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Love this face!

2012-01-16T13:17:00.001-05:00

Love this little face! How could you not ?!

Site Moved!

2009-02-24T14:29:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone, I've decided to move my food blog over to wordpress. So please book mark the new site:

http://cinnamonenspice.wordpress.com/

I will be deleting this site with in the next week, but all my recipes are over on my new blog!

So come take a look!

Oreo Cupcakes

2009-02-15T11:35:00.004-05:00

Who doesn't love oreos and cupcakes! These cupcakes are awesome and can be adapted in so many ways! I found recipes that included putting the oreo filling into the actual cupcake, but I decided that I was going to of course change mine a bit! I even went out and bought pastry bags and tips to make the icing look even better! These are so worth the time, which really isn't that much! The great thing about these is that they really go with a glass a milk, because you can take the oreo off the top and dunk into your milk after you are done! Yum yum!! This recipe makes 24 cupcakes!

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

For the frosting:
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tbsp. whipping cream
3 tbsp. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 tbsp. Oreo cookie crumbs

For garnish:
24 Oreo cookie halves

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners.

2) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the brown sugar and continue beating until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3) With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated, being careful not to overmix.

4) Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature.

5) To prepare the frosting, in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until the whipped cream holds stiff peaks. Gently fold in the cookie crumbs with a spatula.

6) Scoop the mixture into a pastry bag and pipe frosting decoratively on top of the cupcakes. Garnish with Oreo cookie halves.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats

Pork Schnitzel

2009-02-15T11:24:00.003-05:00

Chris loves his pork chops with onions and mushrooms,this specific recipe that I had gotten from didn't include them, so I added them to my recipe. I personally don't favor sour cream and dill and these were included in the recipe, so to be honest, I didn't enjoy it that much, Chris on the other hand loved it, so if you like sour cream and dill this recipe is for you!

Ingredients:
2 boneless pork chops
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
3 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 of a onion, chopped

Directions:
1) Set out 3 shallow bowls. One with a mixture of the flour, seasoned salt, and pepper. The second with the egg and milk whisked together. The third with a mixture of the bread crumbs.

2)Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Dredge the cutlets first in the seasoned flour, then dip the cutlets in the egg mixture, and then into the mixture of bread crumbs and paprika.

3) Working in batches, saute the cutlets for 6 minutes on each side. Remove the cutlets from the skillet and place in a warm oven to keep warm.

4) Add the chicken stock into the skillet to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen the brown bits.

5) Add mushroom and onions and saute for about 5 minutes till onions are translucent.

6) In a small bowl mix the dill and salt into the sour cream.

7) Stir the sour cream mixture into the chicken stock. Heat and stir until mixture thickens (do not let boil).

8) Serve noodles and pork, and top with cream mixture!

Enjoy!

French Onion Salisbury Steak

2009-02-02T22:21:00.003-05:00

This recipe came from that magazine I had posted earlier about that my mom had gotten in the mail. This recipe was awesome! It still tasted like a regular Salisbury steak, but had a different flavor to it, it was great! Also, I usually use ground turkey meat for anything that calls for meat, but I just couldn't on this one. This recipe makes about 4 servings.

Ingredients:

For the steak:
1 1/4 ground meat
1/4 cup of minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons of minced scallion
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cups of onions, sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups of beef broth
1/4 cup of dry red wine
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions:
1)Combine chuck, parsley, scallion, salt, and pepper. Divide evenly into 4 portions and shape into 3/4 to 1-inch thick oval patties.
2)Place 2 tablespoons of flour in a shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour. Reserve 1 teaspoon flour.
3)Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add patties and sauté 3 minutes on each side, or until browned. Remove from pan.
4)Add onions and sugar to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste; sauté 1 minute, or until paste begins to brown. Sprinkle onions with reserved flour; cook 1 minute. Stir in broth and wine, and then add the salt and thyme.
5)Return meat to pan and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 10 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

Jenn's Bread

2009-02-02T22:16:00.002-05:00

AKA No-knead bread from the New York Times. But Jenn is a fellow knottie and she loves to cook as well. She always makes this bread and always enjoys it! I finally made it! It turned out pretty good! It does take about two days to make because of rising time, etc, but it's worth it! There is nothing better then fresh bread out of an oven!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

Directions:
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Chicken Fricassee

2009-02-02T21:57:00.003-05:00

This is one of our favorite meals, and one of Chris's favorites to make. It his mother's recipe. The first time he made it for me, I wasn't too fond of it, because I don't like a strong oregano flavor and if you know my husband he loves a strong spice flavor. He finally got the oregano to a great taste that I now enjoy! You can cook this in a deep pan, but we prefer to use our wok for this. We also love to serve some warm biscuits with ours.

Ingredients:
5 Chicken Thighs
1/4 cup of Flour
3 tablespoons of Oregano
2 tablespoons of Salt
3 tablespoons of Pepper
2 tablespoons of Thyme
1 cup of mushrooms
1/4 cup of celery
3/4 of an onion
3 tablespoons of Flour
1/2 of cup Milk
1 package of egg noodles

Directions:
1) Mix together flour(1/4 cup), oregano, salt, pepper and thyme in a plastic bag.
2) Add chicken to bag and coat with mixture.
3) Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in wok or pan.
4) Bring a pot of water to boil for the egg noodles.
4) Fry chicken until golden brown on both sides and then remove chicken.
5 While chicken is frying, chop vegetables and add to chicken juices once you remove the thighs.
6) Fry vegetables in chicken juices and oil until translucent.
7) Add 2 cups of water, put chicken back in with veggies and water.
8) Simmer for 10 minutes.
9) To make sauce thicker, sift 3 tablespoons of flour into the 1/2 cup of milk.
10) Add sauce to wok or pan and simmer an additional 5 minutes or your desired thickness.
11) Put 1-2 thighs over egg noodles.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

2009-01-26T23:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year! In honor of that I decided to make sweet and sour chicken tonight for dinner. Normally this meal is probably not that good for you because it's breaded, but I didn't bread ours. The recipe I was following actually called for it to be breaded but I didn't want to add those extra calories on to it. So of course I went and re-created my own recipe. I also threw in some fresh pineapple during the last 15 minutes! This makes about 3 servings.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast, cut up into medium sized chunks
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup canola oil

Sauce Ingredients:
¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 fresh/canned pineapple

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2) Season chicken with salt and pepper.
3) Fry in a little oil in a pan and fry chicken till it's brown but not cooked through.
4) Place in a single layer in a baking dish.
5) Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over chicken.
5) Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes. Add pineapple during last 15 minutes of baking.

Enjoy!

Boston Cream Pie

2009-01-25T19:27:00.003-05:00

My mom for some reason got a free magazine in the mail called Cuisine at Home, and it had this recipe in it. Chris fell in love with the picture, so of course he requested me to make it. It turned out really well. It wasn't as good as a cream pie you'd get in Boston, but it's pretty close to it. This one was a little different as it had a chocolate cake layer in between the typical golden cake layers. It also has a vanilla rum filling. It's a process to make, it's nothing that easy, it took about a total of 2 hours till finish. The only thing I changed was the filling part, the recipe calls for vanilla bean, but we couldn't find and when we did you got one cane for 15.99, so I decided that I would just use vanilla extract.

Ingredients:

For the Golden Cake:
1 cup cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
4 eggs at room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of milk
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Cake:
1/3 cup cake flour
3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 eggs at room temperature
6 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of hot brewed coffee
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

For the Filling:
2 cups of milk
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped( I used vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon)
3/4 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of corn starch
Pinch of Salt
4 eggs at room temperature
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light rum, optional

For the Chocolate Glaze:
4 ounces of good quality semisweet chocolate finally chopped( I use baker's secret)
1/3 cup of heavy cream
1 tablespoon of light corn syrup

Directions for Vanilla Rum Filling:
1) Bring milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar and vanilla to a simmer in large heavy saucepan; stir to dissolve sugar. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cornstarch and salt in a small mixing bowl; set aside.
2) Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl with an electric or stand mixer on medium speed till fluffy and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sugar-corn starch mixture.
3) Whisk 1/2 cup of hot milk mixture into the egg mixture. Add the egg mixture back to the milk in the saucepan and cook over medium heat until thick, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent scorching.
4) Lightly boil filling 1 minute to eliminate starch taste from the cornstarch. Off heat, add butter and rum; transfer to a bowl.
5) Cover with plastic wrap, pressing wrap onto surface of filling to prevent a skin from forming.
6) Chill until cakes are baked and completely cooled.

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut two rounds of parchment paper to line the bottom of two 9 inch non stick cake pans. Spray bottom(not sides) with nonstick spray, line each pan with parchment.
2) To make the golden cake layer, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt three times; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 8 minutes. Gently fold in sifted flour mixture into eggs in two additions, making sure it gets thoroughly mixed. Pour batter into one of the prepared cake pans.
3) To make the chocolate layer, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt three times; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, 8 minutes. Gently fold sifted flour mixture into eggs in two additions. Fold in coffee, oil, and vanilla until thoroughly mixed. Pour batter into other cake pan.
4)Bake golden cake 25 to 30 minutes; bake chocolate cake 15-18 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, and take spring back when lightly touched. Cakes will pull away from the sides of the pan as they cool.
5) Transfer cakes to a rack; cook 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges to loosen, then invert cakes onto plates. Remove parchment and invert again onto the rack so the cakes are right side up. Cool completely. Split golden cake into half.
6) Place the bottom half of the golden cake cut side up, on a cake platter. Top with half of the cold filling (about 1 1/4 cups) spreading it evenly to the edges of the cake. Carefully place the chocolate layer on top; spread with remaining filling. Top with second golden layer, cut side down; press lightly to stabilize layers. Chill cake for about 15 to 20 minutes.
7) For the glaze, place finely chopped chocolate in a small bowl. Boil cream and corn syrup, pour over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze on top of cake, smoothing it with a spatula.

Enjoy!!

Slow Cooked Apple BBQ Short Ribs

2009-01-25T19:17:00.003-05:00

I'm so proud of this little recipe, it's one of the first ones I ever created my self! I'm sure somewhere out there, there is a similar one but this one I thought of my own! Anyways, typically we buy pork baby back ribs, but for some reason at Acme, on Friday mornings, all their meat is half off, or there are coupons on it for 1.00 off or 2.00 off. I imagine that is because it's shelf live is probably just about over, but every piece of meat we buy the date is always good. We take it home and use our food saver and in the freezer it goes. Anyways, so the short ribs were originally four something with a two dollar off coupon, so I bought them. We have so much food in our freezer because, one-we have been away a lot, two-we have been eating out it seems when we are home, three-we stocked up big time about a month ago. I'm sure these could be made in the oven, but this recipe is for a slow cooker. They need to cook about 5 1/2-6 hours on low. So I got these out this morning and had an extra apple in the fridge and the rest is history! Ha! This recipe is for 2 servings, so you may need to adjust it.

Ingredients:
6 short ribs
1 cup BBQ sauce, any choice, I used a hickory smoke flavor
1 cup Apple Butter BBQ sauce
1/2 cup of onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 apple, any kind, peeled and cored

Directions:
1) Place all ingredients in crock pot except for short ribs and stir together.
2) Add short ribs in and cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours.

Enjoy!

Apple Pancake!

2009-01-24T12:20:00.002-05:00

This is SO good! It's not a quick easy meal to make for breakfast but it's well worth the wait! It's basically an upside down apple pancake! It's pretty big, when I make it I cut it into two and have one side for leftovers! You can use any type of apple you prefer, I like honey crisp so I use that. You also have to put a non-stick pan in the oven, which is fine, what I like to do is put foil over the handle just in case.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2teaspoon salt, plus a pinch
1/2 cup flour
powdered sugar

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 400C.
2) Melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.
3) Add brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt; stir. Once the dry ingredients are incorporated in the butter, add the apples and spread them into a single later.
4)Cook without stirring until the apples begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are completely soft and maybe even a little caramelized.
5)Place all remaining ingredients and mix, about 15 seconds or everything is together and smooth.
6) Pour the batter evenly over the apples.
7) Place the skillet in the oven and bake until pancake is firm and puffed, about 10 minutes.
8) Invert onto plate, dust with powdered sugar, and serve.

Enjoy!

Easy Cheese & Garlic Ciabatta Rolls

2009-01-22T10:08:00.004-05:00

With our soup I wanted something to go along with it. I thought about making some type of sandwich, but then I decided that might be too filling. So I just bought some ciabatta rolls and used them!

Ingredients:
2 Ciabatta Rolls
4 slices American Cheese/or any kind you like
1 teaspoon of garlic
1 teaspoon of butter

Directions:
1) Cut rolls into half.
2) Put some butter over the top of each roll, then add garlic to roll.
3) Place cheese on top of each roll.
4) Bake in toaster oven or oven on 400 degrees until cheese is browned.

Enjoy!

Pasta de Fagioli

2009-01-22T09:55:00.003-05:00

This a great meal for a cold week night. It's very easy to put together and doesn't take long to make, about a half hour! This particular recipe makes 5 servings. It also is good to freeze and use later. It's actually pretty healthy for you as well.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of an onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 15 oz can cannellini beans
15 oz can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
2 cans fat free chicken broth
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 cups Ditalini pasta or other small pasta
Grated Parmigiano or Romano

Directions:
1)In a small pan saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
2)Blend the can of beans with one can water in electric blender until almost smooth.
3)In a stock pot add onion and garlic along with the blended beans. Then add the can of tomato sauce, celery, chicken broth, basil, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. 4)Add 1 cup water and bring to slow boil.
5)Let simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
6)Add pasta and cook uncovered until pasta is al dente.
7)Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Wontons

2009-01-21T21:04:00.002-05:00

What a quick easy and pretty good dessert to quick make on a week night! We still had some leftover won tons and lots of apples, so I decided to make Apple Won tons!

Ingredients:
1 Honey crisp apple, cored and peeled cut slices into half
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
About 12 won ton wrappers or how ever many you need

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Combine apples with brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix together.
3) Place in won ton wrapper.
3) Use a dash of water to seal the won ton together.
4) Place on greased cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes or until won ton is crisp and brown.
5) Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
6) Serve with some whip cream to dip won ton in.

Brownie Cheescake

2009-01-11T23:26:00.001-05:00

I got this recipe off of one of my favorite blogs Smitten Kitchen. This recipe is a little involved but not that bad at all! Plus I got to use my brand NEW Cuisinart stand mixer. The only thing with this recipe is that I didn't make my own crust, because Chris was making ribs and needed the oven, so I bought an already made one. Next time I will definitely make my own, it's just not the same! I'm going to post the recipe though as you would be making your own crust. I'm also going to post this one a little differently. I'm going to post it into steps.

First Step:
One Bowl Brownies

Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
(1 1/2 sticks) butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Grease foil.
3)Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted.
4)Stir until chocolate is completely melted.
5)Stir in sugar.
6)Blend in eggs and vanilla.
7)Add flour and salt; mix well.
8)Spread into prepared pan.
9)Bake 30 to 35 minute or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Do not over bake.
10) Cool in pan on wire rack.
11) Remove brownies from pan, using foil handles.
12) Cool brownies, then cut them into 3/4- to 1-inch squares for use in the cheesecake.
13) Add about half of the brownies to the mix or how many you would like.

Part Two:
Crust

Ingredients:
1/2 cups finely ground cookies such as chocolate wafers, or Chocolate Teddy Grahams.
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1)Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan.
2)Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

Part Three:
Cheesecake

Ingredients:
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Beat cream cheese with an mixer until fluffy.
3) Add eggs, one at a time.
4) Add vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
5) Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture into prepared pan.
6) Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan.
7) Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.

Part Four:
Ganache Glaze

Ingredients:
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken up, or 1/2 cup chocolate morsels
2 oz. butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Directions:
1) Grind the chocolate into powder in the food processor.
2) Scald the butter and cream in a saucepan.
3) With the machine running, pour the hot cream/butter mixture slowly through the feed tube onto the chocolate.
4) Blend until completely smooth, stopping machine to scrape down sides once or twice.
5) Add the extract and sugar and process until smooth.
6) Spread over cheesecake while ganache is still warm.
7) Chill until ready to serve.

Crab Rangoon

2009-01-11T22:56:00.005-05:00

We had some leftover won ton wrappers from when I made won ton soup the other day, so I decided for football Sunday to make a batch of crab rangoons since we had all the ingredients sitting in the fridge. Ideally, it's best to make these in a deep fryer but if you don't have it's just as easy to cook them on the stove top in a deep pan with hot oil. This recipe made 12 servings. The only thing that changes if you want to make more servings is the number of won ton wrappers. I have left over of the mixture to make at a later point this week.

Ingredients:
12 won ton wrappers
1 8 ounce package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon of Worcester Sauce
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 package of lump crab meat
Flour paste-water and flour mixed together

Directions:
1) Heat a pan with oil, enough oil to just about cover the rangoon.
2) Combine all ingredients into food processor or blender, mix until fine.
3) Drop about a tablespoon of mixture into won ton wrapper.
4) Bring edges of won ton wrappers together and rub flour paste onto the edges,
so the won ton sticks together.
5) Place in hot oil until browned on all sides.

Cavatappi with Sesame Shrimp & Peas with Teriyaki & Soy Sauce

2009-01-07T11:21:00.004-05:00

This meal I wanted to make with Soba noodles, but I couldn't find them anywhere. I would of gone to the Asian supermarket but it was getting to be rush hour and I didn't want to get stuck in traffic, this weekend I'll venture there or to Whole Foods to buy the soba noodles. This dish did though turn out very well.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds(some like them toasted, but for this meal, they don't need to be)
1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1/2 lb of shrimp
1 package of frozen peas
1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese
About 2-3 handfuls of Cavatappi pasta(really how much you want to make, or have leftover)

Directions:
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil and add pasta.
2) First saute shrimp in about a teaspoon of olive oil and toss with sesame seeds. Saute for about 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink.
3) Add teriyaki sauce and soy sauce to shrimp pan and toss around, adding peas.
4) Once pasta is cooked, drain, and toss in with shrimp mixture.
5) Serve with a half of tablespoon of cheese on each platter.

Enjoy!

Wonton Soup

2009-01-07T10:53:00.003-05:00

Last night we had an "Asian inspired" dinner. I wanted to make a dish with soba noodles but I couldn't find them at the store. I could of made them my self but besides buckwheat and without a recipe at the store I wasn't sure what else I need to make them. So I decided to change the main course recipe to another noodle dish. I wanted something to go along with it, so I decided to make homemade won ton soup. It turned out really well and actually tasted like a won ton soup you would get at a Chinese restaurant. I adapted & modified this recipe from:

Steamykitchen.com

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of won ton wrappers
2 chicken breast(cooked and diced)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil

For Cornstarch mixture:
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water

For broth:
2 quarts of chicken broth

Directions:

To Make Won ton:
1) In a large bowl, combine the chicken, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well.
2) Put a two pieces of the diced chicken in each of the middle of a won ton wrapper, brush cornstarch mixture on all edges.
3) Fold over to form a triangle, press to secure edges, encasing the filling.
4) Brush cornstarch mixture on one tip of the triangle. Bring two corners together and press to secure.
5) Place on clean, dry plate in one layer and cover loosely with damp paper towel to prevent drying.
6) Repeat with remaining.

To Make Soup:
1) In a large stockpot, add all but 2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. The 2 cups of reserved broth should be room temperature or just slightly chilled.
2) Turn the heat to medium-high and add the won tons. Bring pot back to a gentle boil.
3) When it reaches a boil, add 1 cup of the reserved broth.
4) Bring back to a boil and again, add the remaining 1 cup of reserved broth.
5) Let it simmer for about 5 minutes and then serve.

Enjoy!

Italian Cookies

2008-12-23T21:27:00.002-05:00

We had accidentally bought some ricotta cheese we thought we need for a recipe and because of the holiday and we won't be home for about the next week, I decided to make a recipe that I could use the ricotta cheese and I came across this one in the cookie recipe book that my mother got me a few years ago. They turned out great and are super moist. This recipe makes about 36 cookies.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces ricotta cheese
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

For Glaze:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth.
3) Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and ricotta cheese.
4) Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually stir into the cheese mixture.
5) Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheets.
6) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden.
7) Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Directions for glaze:
1) In a medium bowl, cream together the remaining butter and confectioners' sugar.
2) Beat in vanilla and milk gradually until a spreadable consistency is reached.
3) Frost cooled cookies.

Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Potato Spuds

2008-12-23T21:24:00.002-05:00

We had some leftover potatoes, so I decided to make these for dinner. It was so easy to quickly do.

Ingredients:

3 potatoes, peeled and sliced

Salt

EVOO

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

2) Peel, wash and slice potatoes.

3) Place potatoes on roasting pan, spray both sides with EVOO and sprinkle with salt.

4) Bake for 20 minutes then flip all of the potatoes over and bake for another 10 minutes or until crispiness you like.

Enjoy!

Basil Chicken and Linguine

2008-12-22T21:57:00.004-05:00

This is a very simple recipe to make and very good as well.

Ingredients:
12 ounces of linguine
2 chicken breast(diced)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons of basil
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh garlic, a clove if wanted
A handful of Sundried tomatoes

Directions:
1) Melt butter in skillet pan, and bring a pot of water to a boil add linguine.
2) Add chicken and cook till outside is white.
3) Add basil, garlic, salt and pepper, heavy cream and tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
4) Drain pasta and combine and toss with sauce mixture.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

2008-12-21T21:38:00.003-05:00

These are really good cookies and a great thing to make if you buy way too many candy canes like I do! This recipe does call for the dough to chill about an hour or two.

Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) regular butter, slightly softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg'
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 squares almond bark or white baking chocolate
1 package of red candy canes

Directions:
1)Cream softened butter with powdered sugar.
2) Add egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
3) Add dry ingredients and mix together until dough comes together.
4) Place plastic wrap on surface of dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5) Unwrap candies and place them in food processor or plastic bag. Beat or process until finely crushed, leaving larger chunks if desired.
6) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7) Roll cookie dough in walnut-sized pieces and place on a cookie sheet.
8)Gently press balls flat with a plain, smooth surface.
9) Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, being careful not to burn.
10) Cookies will remain the same general size and shape after they bake.
11) Remove from oven and place cookies on a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely.
12) Place crushed candies in bowl.
13) Melt almond bark in a coffee mug.
14) Dip cooled cookies into almond bark, coating half the cookie.
15) Immediately sprinkle crushed peppermints over both sides of the almond bark.
16) Gently sent on parchment paper or other nonstick surface and allow to cool before serving.

Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks*

Meat Ravioli

2008-12-21T21:09:00.004-05:00

Chris got into the mood to make homemade meat ravioli, while we knew that this recipe wasn't going to be a quick one, it did take about 2 hours for total prep time. It's well worth it, you could easily make this recipe also and flash freeze them for a later time. In this recipe I am going to give you the ingredients and directions for the dough, meat filling and sauce. First we will start with the dough. You could use a pasta machine to thin the dough, but instead we used a rolling pin.

Dough Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached flour
3 large eggs

Dough Directions:
1) Pour the flour onto a work surface, shape it into a mound, and scoop out a deep hollow in its center.
2) Break the eggs into the hollow.
3) Beat the eggs lightly with a fork for about 2 minutes as though you were making an omelet.
4) Draw some of the flour over the eggs, mixing it in with the fork a little at a time, until the eggs are no longer runny.
5) Draw the sides of the mound together with your hands, but push some of the flour to one side, keeping it out of the way until you find you absolutely need it. Work the eggs and flour together, using your fingers and the palms of your hands, until you have a smoothly integrated mixture. If it is still moist, work in more flour.
6) When the mass feels good to you and you think it does not require any more flour, wash your hands, dry them, and run a simple test: Press you thumb deep into center of the mass; if it comes out clean, without any sticky matter on it, no more flour is needed.
7) Put the egg and flour mass to one side, scrape the work surface absolutely clear of any loose or caked bits of flour and of any crumbs, and get ready to knead.
8) Return to the mass of flour and eggs. Push forward against it using the heel of your palm, keeping your fingers bent. Fold the mass in half, give it a half turn, press hard against it with the heel of your palm again, and repeat the operation. Make sure that you keep turning the ball of dough always in the same direction, either clockwise or counterclockwise, as you prefer.
9) Roll dough out into about a 16th of an inch thick. Use ravioli cutter or use a bottom of a small glass to cut the dough.

Filling Ingredients:
3/4 of a pound of turkey ground meat
3/4 of a pound of mild Italian sausage
A quarter of white onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 of a cup of Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1) Cook the meat thoroughly, add onion, salt, pepper and cheese at the end.

Sauce Ingredients:
2 cans of tomato sauce(really up to you on how much sauce you like)
A dash of crushed red pepper
A dash of oregano
A dash of Italian seasoning

Sauce Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients together and simmer on low, till ravioli is done.

To form the ravioli:
1)Place small balls of filling (about one rounded teaspoon each) in a line one inch from the bottom of the pasta sheet. Leave one and one-quarter inches between each ball of filling. Fold over the top of the pasta and line it up with the bottom edge. Seal bottom and the two open sides with your finger. Use the tip of a fork to press down on sides of ravioli to seal it together.

To cook the ravioli:
1) Bring 4 quarts water to boil in a large stockpot.
2) Add salt and half the pasta. Cook until doubled edges are al dente, 4-5 minutes.
3) With a slotted spoon, transfer ravioli to warmed bowls or plates; add sauce of choice.
4) Put remaining ravioli in boiling water and repeat cooking process.
5) Serve immediately.

*Recipe adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles*

Oreo Truffles

2008-12-21T20:58:00.002-05:00

I've never had one of these or never made them but they are amazing. They are so simple to make and pretty cheap to make!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Oreo cookies, finely crushed
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) semi-sweet chocolate & 1 pound almond bark, melted

Directions
1. Mix cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 50 (1-inch) balls.
2. Dip balls in melted chocolate and almond bark place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.
3. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Enjoy!

T's Maple Cookies

2008-12-09T22:06:00.003-05:00

One of my good friends from the knot, Teresa gave me this awesome recipe for maple cookies! Chris enjoyed them so much that he ate the entire batch in one night! The dough does need to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before baking.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
1 cup sifted flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1) Melt butter in small frying pan.
2) Remove from heat and stir in maple syrup.
3) Add egg and milk and mix well.
4) Sift together dry ingredients.
5) Add to maple syrup mixture and blend well. Chill thoroughly, so the batter thickens, about 2 hours or so.
6) Drop dough by teaspoonfuls 2" apart onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in hot oven (400 degrees) for 8-10 minutes.
7) Remove cookies and cool on racks. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Maple Frosting

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
1 cup sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp maple flavoring
hot water (to thin out as the frosting cools)

Directions:
1) Heat butter till light golden brown.
2) Stir in sugar and maple flavoring.
3) Add hot water 1 Tbsp at a time till frosting is thin enough to spread smoothly on wafers.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Bloosom

2008-12-09T21:49:00.004-05:00

Peanut Butter Blossoms are my favorite cookies to make and to enjoy! I make a few batches of these all the time around Christmas time! This makes about 3 dozen cookies!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter (soft)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp milk
1 bag hershey’s kisses( I like to use the peanut butter ones)

Directions:
1) Mix together the flour and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
2) Add the soft butter to the peanut butter and mix until smooth. Add both sugars to the butter mixture.
3) Add the egg, vanilla, milk, and finally the flour mixture to the butter and mix until combined.
4) Roll dough into 1 inch balls and roll in white sugar until coated. place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
5) Assoon as you take the cookies out of the oven, gently press a hershey kiss into the center. Allow them to cool.

Enjoy!

Homemade Chili

2008-12-09T21:33:00.003-05:00

In my 101 list, I said I want to try at least 3 new recipies a month for 3 months. So Chris and I both love chili bread bowls, but never have tried to make our own chili, well I decided to make it last night, since it was SO cold out! It turned out amazing!! I got a few different recpies and got an idea of how to make it and created my own!

Ingredients:
1 lb or so of ground turkey meat
1/4 tomato juice
1/4 can tomato sauce
1/4 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup and 2 teaspoons chopped onion
2-1/2 teaspoons chopped green bell pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white sugar
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder

Directions:

1) Place ground turkey in a large, deep skillet, cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
2) In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
3) Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

For the bread, buy a boule cut it in half and take out the bread. Serve the soup in the bread bowl and serve with the bread you took out to create the bowl!

Enjoy!!

1 year!

2008-12-09T21:29:00.001-05:00

Woohoo! I have passed one year in my food blog blogging! Quite exciting! Stay tuned for more delicious, tasty, food post!

Cauliflower Gratin

2008-11-25T13:29:00.003-05:00

This was also very good!!

Ingredients:
1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions:
1)Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2)Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.
3)Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes.
4)Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. 5)Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the cheddar, and the Parmesan.
6)Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish.
7)Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top.
8)Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar and sprinkle on top.
9)Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned.

Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from foodnetwork.com*

Porkchops with Mushroom Burbon Cream Sauce

2008-11-25T13:24:00.005-05:00

I just have one word for this, recipe!! DELICIOUS!!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb button mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup bourbon whisky
Salt and pepper
1 large egg
2 Tbsp water
4 6-7 oz center-cut pork chops
All purpose flour
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
3 Tbsp olive oil or grapeseed oil
2 Tbsp minced fresh basil

Directions:
1) Prepare the sauce. Sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms in 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat until the mushrooms are browned - about 15 minutes.
2) Add the wine and boil down until the liquid is reduced to almost a glaze, about 4 minutes.
3) Add the chicken stock, cream, and bourbon. Simmer until the sauce thickens, about 12 minutes.
4)Prepare the pork. Whisk an egg and 2 Tbsp of water in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle both sides of pork chops with salt and pepper. Dip chops into the flour, then egg mixture, then breadcrumbs, coating completely.
5)Heat olive or grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
6)Add the pork chops and cook until brown, about 4 minutes per side. Turn the chops one more time and lower the heat to med-low and cook an additional 5-8 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chop is at 140°F.
7)When about to serve the pork, bring the sauce to a simmer and add the chopped basil to it. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!!

*Recipe from elise.com*

A new look!

2008-11-25T13:24:00.001-05:00

It's still the same blog here, just a new look!!

Linguini & Clams

2008-11-24T10:23:00.002-05:00

Just a easy recipe for linguini and clams!!

Ingredients:
Olive oil (enough to cover bottom of pan)
2 -3 cloves chopped garlic (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (to taste)
2 cans whole clams in natural juice
2 cans chopped or minced clams in natural juice
1 can/bottle clam juice (optional)
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 box linguini or thin spaghetti

Directions:
1)Saute garlic and red pepper in olive oil, until garlic is golden, but not browned. 2) Add clams and clam juice. Bring to a light boil. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan, add wine.
3) Simmer on low for 5 to 10 minutes.
4) Cook linguini according to package directions.
5) Serve hot clam sauce over linguini.
6) Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7) Serve with good Italian crusty bread.

*Recipe & Picture from donogh.com*

Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp

2008-11-24T10:17:00.002-05:00

Every time we go to Bonefish grill we get the bang bang shrimp. It's spicy, but SO good. Chris wanted to re-create it at home. This recipe calls for Dinni's Bang Bang Shrimp Sauce, but we couldn't find it anywhere in the grocery store. So what does my husband do, but he calls Bonefish Grille and ask them if he can buy some from them and guess what, they said yes! We got a large soup sized container for 5 bucks!! This turned awesome!!

Ingredients:
2 lbs large shrimp
1 teaspoon salt
2 well beaten eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
oil (for deep frying)
Dinni's Bang Bang Shrimp Sauce

Directions:
1) Peel and Devin shrimp.
2) Sprinkle shrimp with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; let stand at room temperature for 12 minutes.
3) Combine eggs, milk, corn starch, flour, baking powder in mixing bowl; mix until smooth.
4) Heat oil in deep fryer to 350°F.
5) Add batter to the bowl with shrimp, stir till the shrimp is well coated with batter drop shrimp in the deep fryer and fry till golden brown (about 3 minutes).
5) In a separate bowl or a ( large zip lock bag ) empty one 12 oz. bottle of Dinni’s Select Bang Bang Sauce, drop the fried shrimp and still till all the shrimp is coated with the sauce.
6) Serve on a bed of lettuce.

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

2008-11-24T10:12:00.003-05:00

I know this sounds gross, but it's actually really good and VERY moist. My great grandmother used to use mayo in her cakes as well. You don't even get the "mayo" taste.

Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
3) Sift all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and cocoa together.
4) Whip mayonnaise, white sugar, cold water, and vanilla together until mixed thoroughly.
5) Add flour mixture slowly and beat at medium speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes.
6)Pour batter into cake pan.
7) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Frost with your favorite frosting.

Chicken Milano

2008-11-24T10:07:00.002-05:00

This is a pasta and chicken dish with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil. Use the dry packaged sun-dried tomatoes instead of the tomatoes packed in olive oil. Serve with some french bread!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chicken broth, divided
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
8 ounces dry fettuccine pasta

Directions:
1) In a large saucepan over low heat, melt butter; add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
2) Add the tomatoes and 3/4 cup of the chicken broth; increase to medium heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender.
3) Add the cream and bring to a boil; stirring.
4) Simmer over medium heat until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5) Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and saute chicken. Press on chicken occasionally with a slotted spatula. Cook for about 4 minutes per side or until the meat feels springy and is no longer pink inside. Transfer to a board; cover and keep warm. Discard the fat from the skillet.
6)In the same skillet, over medium heat, bring 1/4 cup chicken broth to a boil; stirring the pan juices. Reduce slightly and add to the cream sauce; stir in basil and adjust seasonings to taste.
7) Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, transfer to a bowl and toss with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the sauce.
8) Cut each chicken breast into 2 to 3 diagonal slices. Reheat the sauce gently if needed. Transfer the pasta to serving plates; top with chicken and coat with the cream sauce; serve.

Enjoy!

*Picture from Allrecipes.com*

Wave Your Flag Cheesecake

2008-11-24T09:59:00.003-05:00

This recipe is great for the 4th of July! It doesn't take long to prep, but it needs to set about 4 hours and 30 minutes to set!

Ingredients:
1 qt. strawberries-divided 1-1/2 cups
Boiling Water
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
Ice cubes
1 cup cold water
1 pkg. (10.75 oz.) pound cake, cut into 10 slices
1-1/3 cups blueberries, divided 2 pkg.
8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1/4 cup sugar
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions:
1) Slice 1 cup of the strawberries; set aside.
2) Halve the remaining 3 cups strawberries; set aside.
3) Stir boiling water into dry gelatin mixes in large bowl at least 2 min. until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to measure 2 cups.
4) Add to gelatin; stir until ice is completely melted.
5) Refrigerate 5 min. or until gelatin is slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites).
6) Line bottom of 13x9-inch dish with cake slices.
7) Add sliced strawberries and 1 cup of the blueberries to thickened gelatin; stir gently. Spoon over cake slices.
8) Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.
9) Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with wire whisk or electric mixer until well blended; gently stir in whipped topping.
10) Spread over gelatin. Arrange strawberry halves on cream cheese mixture to resemble the stripes of a flag. Arrange remaining 1/3 cup blueberries on cream cheese mixture for the stars.

*Recipe and Picture from Kraftfoods.com*

Jello Pastel Cookies

2008-11-24T09:53:00.003-05:00

I've decided to go through my recipe folder and update the blog with things that I have baked/cooked and didn't bother at the time to upload or at the time even have my food blog!!

These cookies use jello in them, they are pretty good!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. butter (soft)
1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello(any flavor)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. sugar

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Mix first four ingredients together then add last three. Beat in a large bowl until creamy.
3) Shape into 1 inch balls, place cookies 2 inches apart, sprinkle lightly with sugar.
4) Bake 8 to 10 minutes, depending on your oven.

*Photo from Kraftfoods.com*

Swedish Meatballs

2008-11-24T09:47:00.003-05:00

Chris again had another craving for a certain type of food, and that was swedish meatballs. They were amazing. He wasn't sure that the gravy was going to have the taste of swedish meatballs but it did. While it's time consuming, it's fairly easy to make. We served ours on a bed of egg noodles.

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups evaporated milk
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Dash pepper
1 pound ground round
2 teaspoons butter
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
1)Combine 2/3 cup evaporated milk, onion, crumbs, salt, allspice and pepper.
2)Add meat; mix well, chill. Shape meat mixture into 1-in. balls. In large skillet, brown meatballs in butter.
3)Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water; pour over meatballs and bring to boil over medium heat. Cover; simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, blend together cold water and flour.
4)Remove meatballs from skillet, skim fat from pan juices and reserve juices. Stir 1 cup evaporated milk and flour/water mixture into pan juices in skillet; cook, uncovered, over low heat, stirring until sauce thickens. Return meatballs to skillet.
5) Stir in lemon juice. Serve with cooked noodles and butter.

Fried Chicken and Red Mashed Potatoes

2008-11-24T09:43:00.003-05:00

Chris had a huge craving for fried chicken, so he decided to make it last night. Pretty simple recipe.

Ingredients:
1 (3 1/2) pound broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
A pinch of creole seasoning
oil for frying

GRAVY:
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1)Place chicken in a large shallow dish. Pour buttermilk over; cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Drain chicken pieces; add to flour mixture, one at a time, and shake to coat. Shake off excess; let stand on waxed paper for 15 minutes before frying.
3)Heat 1/8 to 1/4 in. of oil in a large skillet; fry chicken until browned on all sides. Cover and simmer, turning occasionally, for 40-45 minutes, or until juices run clear and chicken is tender. Uncover and cook 5 minutes longer. Remove chicken; drain on paper towels and keep warm.
4)Drain all but 1/4 cup drippings from skillet; stir in flour until blended. Gradually add milk, then 1-1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add remaining water if needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake

2008-11-17T17:13:00.003-05:00

This has been by far probably the most complicated recipe I have done so far. But it was well worth it. The cheesecake it's self is amazing. I got this recipe from http://crumblycookie.wordpress.com, who got the recipe from a website called Tuesdays with Dorie. I changed it slightly. It also called for something I never did before, and that was to put the springform pan in a roaster with boiling water around it. So get your kettle ready and start boiling water.

Ingredients:

For the Crust:
30 spice wafers chopped up into crumbs, should have 2 cups
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 stick of melted butter

For the Apples:
1/2 stick of unsalted butter
3-4 Large Apples, whatever you want, I used Macintosh
2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar

For the Filling:
Three 8 ounce cream cheese packages, at room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of apple cider
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

For the crust:
1) Butter the bottom of a springform pan, any size you want the cake to be
2) Put the spice wafers in a food processor and blend till you have crumbs, 2 cups. Pulse in the sugar and cinnamon, then pour over the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Put the crumbs into the springform pan and firmly press them evenly over the bottom. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
3) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
4) Wrap the bottom of the pan tightly with aluminum foil, going up the sides. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until the crust is set and lightly brown. Transfer to cool.

For the apples:
1) Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large non stick skillet over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, toss in half of the apple slices, turn once and cook till brown.
2)Sprinkle the apples with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and cook them, turning, just until coated, another minute or so.
3) Scrape the apples onto a plate and repeat with the remaining apples. Let the apples cool while you make the filling.

For the filling:
1) With a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed, scraping down the bowl often, for about 4 minutes, or until it is velvety smooth.
2) Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes.
3) Beat in the cider, vanilla, and cinnamon.
4)Reduce the speed to low and beat in the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in.
5) Beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, beating just until the batter is smooth.
6) Pour about one third of the batter into the baked crust.
7)Drain the apples by lifting them off the plate with a slotted spoon or spatula, and spoon them into the pan. Cover with the remaining batter and, if needed, jiggle the pan to even the top.
8)Place the springform pan in the roasting pan and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
9) Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 to 45 minutes, covering the cake loosely with a foil tent at the 45-minute mark.
10) The cake will rise evenly and crack around the edges, and it should be fully set except, possibly, in the very center-if the center shimmies, that’s just fine.
11) Gently transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it for at least 6 hours; overnight would be better.
12) Run a blunt knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the crust, open the pan’s latch and release and remove the sides.

Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

2008-11-17T17:05:00.002-05:00

I make this bread every year for the past 3 years a couple times. It's SO good. Chris loves to put some butter on it and toast it. It makes 2 loaves. If you wanted to make more you could make smaller loaves.

Ingredients:
2 cups of sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup fat free vanilla pudding
4 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips(or whatever kind of chocolate chips you like)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with hand mixer or whisk.
3)Spoon flour into measuring cup, level with a knife.
4)Combine flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in dish along with previous ingredients. Stir all together until moist.
5)Stir in chocolate chips.
6) Spoon batter into loaf pans. Baked at 350 for an hour and about 20 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool 10 minutes and then transfer to serving dish.

Pumpkin Gnocchi

2008-11-16T18:06:00.003-05:00

I've made plain gnocchi before, but I really wanted to try pumpkin. Chris was a little worried that this might taste to much like a breakfast item, but he actually loved it. It doesn't take very long to make either. The prep takes longer then the actual cooking. I found numerous recipes for this online and couldn't decide which one to follow so I ended up making my own variation of it. Next time instead of using sage in the sauce I might even try a red sauce or a sauce with thyme. Either way this was a delicious dish. I made acorn squash with this as well.

Ingredients:
For the gnocchi:
1 can(15 oz) of pumpkin puree, or you could use 15oz of fresh pumpkin
A pinch of salt and pepper
3 cups of whole wheat flour, you could use white flour as well

For the sauce:
1/3 cup of butter
6-7 sage leaves chopped very fine
1 clove of garlic
Heavy whipping cream

Directions:
1)Mix together ingredients for the gnocchi and form into a dough.
2)If needed you can add flour to the dough if it's sticky.
3)Divide the dough into about 6 parts, hand roll each part to a rope. You can use a roller, but I found it was easier to hand roll.
4)Cut the rope into 1 inch pieces.
5)Once ready to cook, boil water and then drop the gnocchi into the water until they rise to the top.
6)Put the butter in saucepan, along with the garlic, sage, and heavy cream. Let that simmer for a few minutes then add gnocchi and toss around for a few minutes.
7)Serve with some parm cheese on top.

Maple Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons of butter

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Cut acorn squash in half, and then into slices
3) Melt butter and syrup together in a bowl. Stir together.
4) Arrange squash slices on a baking pan and then pour syrup mixture over top. Bake this for about 15-20 minutes or until squash is cooked. You should be able to stick a fork in it.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

2008-11-16T17:54:00.004-05:00

It's the season of pumpkin! I love anything pumpkin! This morning I made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast. As you can see this recipe is super easy to make! This recipe makes about 3 medium size pancakes.

Ingredients:

5-6 tablespoons of flour
A pinch of sugar
One egg
1/2 cup of milk
3 tablespoons of pumpkin either fresh or puree

Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients together.
2) Warm up pan, pour batter in circles, flip when needed.
3) Serve with some powdered sugar and syrup!

Enjoy!

Chicken Chimichangas

2008-11-14T09:11:00.004-05:00

This is originally a Weight Watchers recipe with turkey, but we wanted to use chicken instead. They turned out really well! We made them with a side of dirty rice.

Ingredients:

1 serving cooking spray (5 one second sprays)
1/2 pound uncooked chicken breast
16 oz fat-free canned white butter beans
8 oz salsa
1 tsp chili powder
3 Tbsp scallion(s), thinly sliced
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
8 large burrito-size wheat flour tortilla(s)
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
A handful of red and green peppers, diced

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2) Coat a large skillet with cooking spray.
3)Coat a 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
4)Add chicken to skillet and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
5)Drain any excess liquid from pan and then add beans, 8 ounces of salsa, red and green peppers, chili powder and scallions. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes; stir in cheese.
6)Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil; warm in oven for 10 minutes.
7)Assemble chimichangas by spooning about 1/2 cup of chicken mixture onto each tortilla; fold
in sides and roll up.
8)Place chimichangas in prepared baking dish. Bake uncovered until tortillas are crisp and
brown, about 20 minutes. Serve each topped with 2 tablespoons of additional salsa and
1 tablespoon of sour cream.

Enjoy!!

Recipe from FatAss Kitchen Food Blog*

Baked Acorn Squash

2008-11-02T18:26:00.004-05:00

Usually when we make acorn squash, we cut it in half and boil it. I found this recipe on the amazing pioneer woman's cooking blog! It was delicious!!! For Chris and I, I only buy one and cut if in half, so really buy for how many people you are serving. It creates like a soupy mixture in the middle of the squash, it's so yummy!

Ingredients:

Acorn squash

Salt

About 2 tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon for each side of the squash

About 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, two tablespoons for each side of the squash

Directions:

1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Half the squash and gut the seeds out.

3) Sprinkle each half with a dash of salt.

4) Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each half.

5) Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to each half, if you like more add more.

6) Cover with foil and bake about 30 minutes.

7) Remove foil and bake about another 30-45 minutes, depending on your oven.

Enjoy!!!

Chicken Luau

2008-11-02T18:16:00.005-05:00

When we were in Hawaii, we went to a luau and they had awesome food. One of the items they had was called "chicken luau", it was chicken cooked with taro leaves and coconut milk. Sadly, it's very hard to find, actually impossible to find taro leaves in the mainland. I substituted the taro leaves with spinach. It turned out really well.

Ingredients:

A few chicken thighs(boneless), about one per person eating

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

3 pounds of spinach(sounds like a lot, but spinach cooks down a lot)

2 tablespoons of butter

1 cup of coconut milk

Directions:

1) Heat vegetable oil in a pan.

2) Add chicken thighs and brown lightly, turning frequently.

3) Add enough water to cover the chicken, and simmer for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, discard of the water.

4) Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan, add the chicken.

5) Season with salt, add the spinach and 1 cup of coconut milk, simmer about 5 to 10 minutes and then serve!

Enjoy!

Pork, Broccoli and Ricotta Pasta

2008-11-02T18:02:00.003-05:00

I have made this once before and we used chicken, we rarely use pork with pasta, so I decided to try it out. It was good, but not as good as the chicken. Chris loved it though.

Ingredients:
1 pound of rigatoni(I cooked enough for 2 of us)

2 heads of broccoli heads chopped

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 pork chops or pork diced up

4 cloves of minced garlic

2 cups of ricotta cheese

A pinch of nutmeg

Directions:

1) Boil water, add salt and pasta. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the rest.

2) In sauce pan simmer the broccoli in a cup of water covered about 5 minutes, drain, set aside.

3) Heat olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat.

4) Add pork and garlic, cook pork through about 5-8 minutes.

5) Add broccoli, pasta and ricotta, and the reserved water, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

6) Toss until creamy, then transfer to a plate.

I served this with a toss salad and parmesan toasted bread.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

2008-11-02T17:52:00.002-05:00

One of our favorite wedding gifts was the bread maker! I've been wanting one of these for a long time and we got! So of course the first weekend we were back I decided to use it. Chris was hungry for french toast for breakfast, so I decided to make a Cinnamon Swirl Bread. This recipe is for a bread maker. I made a medium loaf, which is 1 1/2 pounds.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 cup of milk

2 tablespoons of room temperature butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

3 1/2 cups of bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast, active dry, instant, or bread machine

Directions:

1) Place remaining ingredients in the order listed in the bread pan, with kneading paddle. Place the bread pan in the bread maker. Choose white, crust medium, press loaf and select medium. Press start to mix, knead, rise and bake.

2) When pause signal sounds, press pause, remove dough and kneading paddle.

3) Place dough on a paddle surface. Roll dough into a rectangle about 1/4" thick.

4) Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the surface of the dough. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder starting with the shorter side, making sure that the ends are sealed. Place dough back into the bread pan(make sure the kneading paddle is removed) and press start to continue.

5) When cycle is complete, remove bread from machine and let cool.

6) Bread slices best when it's cool.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake

2008-10-27T12:12:00.003-04:00

Since the wedding is over, I now have time to finally cook/bake again and post what I make!

Friday I made a few things and one of them was this pumpkin cake with a whiskey whipped cream icing. We actually used it Sunday morning cut the cake in half and then put cream cheese in the middle and fried it for some pumpkin cream cheese french toast. Anyways, on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of whiskey
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 stick of softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 cup canned pumpkin puree

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2)Spray 9 x 13 inch pan with baking spray
3)Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
4)Add butter to a mixing bowl and beat. Add sugar and beat. Add in eggs 1 at a time, beating after each egg.Add yogurt and pumpkin and mix gently until just combined.
5)Add flour mixture in increments, beating until just combined
6) Pour batter into pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until set.
7)Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

When cake is cool, make Whiskey Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream, very cold, 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar2 tablespoons whiskey
Combine ingredients and begin mixing immediately, mix till it is a whipping cream texture.

Enjoy!

Salmon with Ginger, Garlic and Soy

2008-08-20T22:38:00.003-04:00

We eat a lot of tilapia and not at all of other types of fish. Every once in a while we get salmon and when we do, we always look for a recipe. We try it and it's so-so. Nothing that really we would want to try again. So today I decided just to whip together some ingredients. We really liked this one and will use it again!

*We cooked this on a cedar plank on the grill, but you could easily do this by broiling in the over*

Ingredients:
A fillet of Salmon( big enough for two people) I usually buy about a half a pound of it for us 2.
1/3 cup soy sauce
A pinch or two of grounded ginger
A pinch or two of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of maple syrup

Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients together.
2 Rinse salmon off, and put in marinade dish. Coat with marinade.
3) Let it marinade for about a half hour.
4) Grill for about 20 minutes indirect heat.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

2008-08-20T22:29:00.002-04:00

Last week when I was back at home, I got some blueberries and peaches at Frecon's Orchard. We didn't eat them yet, so before they go bad I figured I'd better make something. So I decided to make a blueberry peach cobbler. It was really good. The mix of the blueberries and peaches made an awesome kind of tarty but really good flavor.

Ingredients:
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan
3 oz. (2/3 cup) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. table salt
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
3 cups (about 1 lb.) room-temperature blueberries, washed and drained on paper towels
3 medium peaches (about 1 lb.), halved, pitted, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Directions
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Lightly butter a 9-inch square metal or ceramic baking pan.
3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp. of the salt. With your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture readily clumps together when pressed.
4. Mix in the pecans.
5. In a large bowl, toss the blueberries and peaches.
6. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar with the cornstarch, nutmeg, and the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and toss this mixture with the fruit.
7. Spread the fruit into the prepared baking pan.
8. Pressing the streusel into small lumps, sprinkle it over the fruit.
9. Bake until the fruit is bubbling in the center and the topping is crisp and well browned, 45 to 50 minutes.
10. Cool slightly and serve warm, serve with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream!!

Bloomin Onion

2008-08-01T16:27:00.002-04:00

Who doesn't love to order a bloomin' onion when they go out to Texas Roadhouse or Outback. But come on, those have over 1,000 calories in them, and that's not even including the dipping sauce. But guess what, the amazing Liza over at hungrygirl.com, has a recipe that has only 192 calories that includes the sauce.

Ingredients:
1 jumbo sweet onion, not peeled
1 cup fiber one bran cereal(original), ground to a breadcrumb like mixture in a blender or food processor
1/2 cup fat free liquid egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

For sauce:
3 tablespoons of fat free mayo
2 teaspoons of ketchup
1/8 teaspoon of seasoned salt
A dash of chili powder

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2) Combine the cereal with the garlic powder and pepper, mix well.
3) Cut the top half inch of the onion off(from the pointy side, not the flat one)
leaving the root(bottom) intact, carefully peel the outside layer off. Next
starting from the top, carefully cut the onion down and across the middle,
stopping about a half inch from the root. Repeat to make a criss-cross cutting
the onion down the middle again stopping a half inch from the bottom. You
should now have 4 sections still attached at the bottom. Cut each of those
sections down the middle(from the top), again stopping before you get to the
root.
4) Place the onion, cut side up, in a large bowl and cover completely with ice water.
Allow the onion to sit for 15 minutes or until the petals open up. You probably
will have to use your hands to gently pry them open. Once all open remove the
onion and dry off as well as the bowl.
5) Once both are dry, place the onion back in the bowl, with the petals up. Pour the
egg substitute evenly over it, making sure to get in between all the petals, again,
use your hands to separate them. I used a bbq brush to put the egg on. After you
are done, flip the onion over to drain off the excess egg. The entire onion
should now be covered in the egg. Transfer the onion to a dry bowl.
6) Slowly sprinkle the cereal mixture evenly over the onion, making sure to coat
each petal, again I used my hands to make sure of this.
7) Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray and place the onion in it, petals up.
8) Bake for about 40 minutes, outside should be crispy and inside soft. While that
baking make the sauce ingredients.

This makes 2 servings!
Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

2008-08-01T16:22:00.003-04:00

Yep, my taste for peanut butter has not ended. I've been peanut butter crazy for like 4 months now, no idea why. It's like chocolate to me, since I don't really like chocolate that much. I got this crazy idea yesterday to try and make some ice cream. Mind you we don't have an ice cream maker, so this was fun.

Ingredients:
1 cup milk, whatever you like, I used skim
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 oz peanut butter chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 big Ziploc bag
1 small Ziploc bag
ice

Directions:
1) Heat the milk until it's just bubbling around edges, you can do this in a microwave as well.
2) In a food processor or blender, pulse the sugar with the peanut butter till it's finely chopped. Add the milk and blend or process till it is well mixed. Let the PB mixture cool off.
3) Once it is cooled off, stir in heavy cream and vanilla.
4) Put ice into small Ziploc bag.
5) Pour the mixture into a large Ziploc bag.
6) Place the ice bag in the large Ziploc bag.
7) Let chill over night, or until ice cream consistency.

I didn't get to try it yet but tonight I will!

Enjoy!

Dilly Crab Dip

2008-08-01T16:13:00.002-04:00

I bought this HUGE bag of crab legs at the grocery store last week, we were only able to eat about half of them. So I decided to make crab dip. Seriously, this was the worst idea ever because peeling and cracking about 50 crab legs your self is painful, nail breaking, time consuming and a hot mess. For sure, but the crab meat in the store. Anyways here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 (8 ounces of imitation crab meat)
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
1 1/2 cups of mayo
1 tablespoon of dill weed

Directions:
1) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, stir well. Chill for until ready to be eaten.
2) Serve with some tortilla chips or whole wheat pita bread.

Zebra Cake

2008-07-23T16:53:00.004-04:00

I found the recipe on one of the many food blogs I read. It looked fun to make so I tried it and it came out really good actually!

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan.
2)In a large bowl, mix together eggs and sugar until mixture is light and creamy and the sugar has mostly been dissolved. Stir in milk, vegetable oil, vanilla and almond extracts.
3)In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Pour into wet ingredients and whisk to combine. Measure out just over two cups of vanilla batter and place it back in the medium bowl. Sift cocoa powder over the bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.
4)Put 3 tbsp of vanilla batter into the center of the pan and let it spread slightly on its own. Put 3 tbsp of chocolate batter in the center of the vanilla. It will push out the other batter and, as it sits for a moment, will also spread itself. Alternating spoonfuls of the two batters, repeat the technique until all the batter has been used up.
5)Bake for 38-42 minutes, until the cake is light gold and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6)Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then turn out the cake and remove the parchment paper. Move on to a wire rack and let cool before slicing.

Serves 10.

Enjoy!

Pepper Steak with Rice Pilaf

2008-07-21T09:53:00.002-04:00

We had a lot of extra beef tenderlion leftover and instead of making steaks out of all of it, we wanted to try something different, so Chris searched and found this recipie yesterday.

Ingredients:
Mushroom Rice Pilaf:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
10 white mushrooms, chopped
1 3/4 cups water
1 package rice pilaf mix

Pepper Steak:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds tenderloin tips or sirloin, cut into chunks
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 green bell peppers, seeded, 2 inch diced
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
In a medium pot over medium to medium high heat add a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter. When butter melts, add chopped mushrooms and saute 3 to 5 minutes. Add water and cover the pot. Add rice and pilaf packet to water. Stir to combine, reduce heat and cook 18 minutes. Add parsley, fluff with fork.
Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil to really hot pan. Add meat and sear on all sides, 5 minutes. Season with salt and remove to a plate. Cover meat loosely with foil to hold heat. Reduce heat on pan to medium. Add butter to pan. Add peppers and a little onion. Saute peppers and onions 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook 1 minute longer. Whisk in sherry and start to pick up pan drippings. Whisk in consomme and continue whisking. Add tomato and black pepper. Slide meat back into the pan and coat with sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes.

Spoon Pepper Steak over Mushroom Rice Pilaf and serve.

Stuffed Peppers

2008-07-21T09:40:00.002-04:00

My mom used to make stuffed peppers all the time during the summer, and Chris actually never had them until we started dating, so I started to make them, they are a little time consuming but very easy to make:

Ingredients:
4 Green bell peppers, seeded
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch or so of crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch or so of cayenne pepper
2 cans(8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Worcester sauce
1/2 cup uncooked long grain brown rice
1 package of turkey ground meat or ground meat

Directions:
1) Wash and cut out tops of peppers, make sure you get all of the seeds out.
2) Cook the ground meat and rice as you would normally.
3) Mix all ingredients together, add meat and rice once cooked, use hands to mix it all together. Save a little of the tomato sauce to put on top while baking.
4) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
5) Stuff peppers with mixture, add some tomato sauce to top of pepper.
6) Bake 1 hour, and basting every 15 minutes with the tomato sauce.

Enjoy!

Deen Brothers BBQ Chicken

2008-06-24T08:51:00.003-04:00

I've always loved watching Paula and her son's cook, so I decided since I'm off for the summer, I'd try it!

Serves 2, with one leftover serving for lunch!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/8 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbl. orange juice
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp Worcester sauce
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 pieces of chicken legs

Directions:
1)Preheat grill. Brush grill grate lightly with some oil.
2)Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, except chicken.
3)Paint on BBQ sauce with either a BBQ brush, or however you'd like.
4)Cook for 40-45 minutes, indirect heat. Basting with sauce throughout the time, to make sauce caramelized on chicken.

Enjoy!

Quick Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-06-23T17:54:00.002-04:00

I have been on a huge PB kick for the past few months. So I decided last night to make some peanut butter cookies and the peanut butter chips I bought at the The Nut Shop in Philly, and then I saw the chocolate chips just sitting on the counter so I decided to add those as well!

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Handful of PB and CC(chips for both)
1 egg

Directions:
1) Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees
2) Combine all of the above with a hand mixer or by hand.
3) Make about a tablespoon ball of dough and place on cookie sheet
4) Bake about ten minutes!

Makes 9 cookies.

Chipotle Marinade

2008-06-17T08:04:00.004-04:00

Chris loves chipotle anything, so I decided to make a marinade for pork!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup lime or lemon juice
1 can of chiptole peppers in abodo sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions:
1) Put all ingredients in blender or chopper.
2) Pour the puree into a plastic bag, add some pork and let it marinade over night!

Makes about enough for 4 chicken breast or four pork chops, being inch each!

Crispy Corn Flake Fried Chicken

2008-06-17T07:53:00.002-04:00

I found this recipie in The Nest magazine, and I've heard of people using it, so I thought I'd give it a try! I did change it a little bit though and it still turned out good!

Ingredients:
1 tsp. EVOO
A few pieces of chicken, whatever you are capable of eating(I used 3 chicken thighs, bone in)
1/4 cup of flour(I used whole wheat)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 teaspoon of pepper
2 cups cornflakes
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon of Honey Dijon Mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayene pepper
1/2 teaspoon of paprika

Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 425.
2) Pour EVOO into a baking pan, big enough so that the chicken doesn't touch. Rub the oil all around the dish.
3)Rinse chicken in cold water and if it has skin on it take it off. Pat it dry. In bowl combine flour, salt and pepper. Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour until its completely coated, set aside.
4)Crush the cornflakes in a plastic bag, using a rolling pin or your hands. Pour crushed flakes onto a plate.
6)In a larger bowl, but buttermilk, mustard and spices. Give each floured piece of chicken a good bath in the buttermilk, then roll it in the crushed flakes. Put the piece in the baking pan.
7)Arrange the chicken in the baking pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 425, then bake at 350 for another 30 minutes, until the outside looks crispy.

Enjoy!!

Chicken Thigh Marinara

2008-05-22T20:48:00.002-04:00

Chris and I for some reason have an over load of chicken in our freezer and we always make bbq something! So I decided to look in our cabient and find stuff to make!

This meal serves 2 people.

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Thighs
4 Tbsp olive oil
Half of teaspoon of fresh garlic
Small amount of onion diced up
About a half a can of diced tomatoes
Pinch of dried red pepper
Pinch of basil
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons of parmesean cheese
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 large egg, beaten
3 slices of mozarella

How to:
1)Heat 2tbps of the olive oil in the pan. Add garlic and onion and saute until they are tender. Just about 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, red pepper and basil. Simmer until the sauce thickens about 10 minutes. Set aside.

2) Blend breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese in small bowl. Place flour and eggs in separate shallow bowls. Coat chicken with flour, then eggs, then breadcrumb mixture.

3 Heat remaining oil in heavy large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Place chicken pieces on a microwave-proof serving dish. Spoon sauce over chicken pieces. Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese. Microwave on high heat for 10-20 seconds, just until the cheese has melted.

Great sides:
Wheat penne pasta
Fresh green beans

Deep fried oreos

2008-05-04T20:20:00.002-04:00

I've always seen these at fair's, carnivals, and down the shore, but I never actually had any until last year. They are very high in calories as you can imagine, but to have them once every few months isn't a horrible thing!

This recipie is for two people:

Ingredients:
6 oreo's
1 cup of pancake batter
1 cup of milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons of oil
Vanialla Ice Cream
Choclate Syrup

Directions:
1) Turn deep fryer to 375 degrees
2) Make the pancake mix and combine with other ingreds
3) Dip the oreo's into the batter, make sure both sides are covered and they are pretty gooey with the ingreds
4)The cookies with float so make sure you turn them around so both sides get browned
only leave in until you see they are brown
5) Serve with some vanialla ice cream and sprinkle some powdered sugar on them with some chocolate sryup and yumm-o!

Peanut Butter Chip Pancakes

2008-03-20T09:48:00.000-04:00

If you love peanut butter like I do you will LOVE these pancakes!

Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg
PB chips as many as you would like

Directions:
1) Heat pan, spray with butter.
2) Mix together first 3 ingredients till there are no lumps and it's smooth.
3) Then add PB chips.
4) Then start cooking, when all done sprinkle some powdered sugar on top!

Yum-O!

Cornbeef Brisket, Cabbage, Taters and Carrots!

2008-03-17T19:43:00.000-04:00

Christopher's favorite meal, and no better then St. Patty's Day to have it! It is also very easy to make and very low maintenance!

Ingredients:
A corn beef brisket
A head of cabbage
Carrots, about 2 cups
Potatoes, about 2 cans worth

Directions:
1) First start with boiling some water!
2) Put in the brisket and season package(comes with), boil it for about 30 min, then turn to low. You are suppose to boil it at an hour per pound.
3) Cut cabbage into 4ths. Put into water with brisket, do the same with carrots and taters, do this about an hour before the brisket is done!
4) Then enjoy!

Turkey Meatballs

2008-03-16T22:11:00.000-04:00

I love to make my own meatballs when we make spaghetti! We stopped using ground beef about a year ago because of all the fat in it! Ground turkey meat taste the same and you can't even tell a difference.

Ingredients-
A package of ground turkey beat
1 cup of breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
A pinch of Italian seasoning
A pinch of crushed red pepper
A pinch of garlic powder
A pinch of onion powder
A pinch of basil
2 tablespoons of spaghetti sauce
Olive Oil

Directions-
1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2) Mix all ingredients together
3) Spray cake pan with olive oil
4) Make into balls place about inch apart
5) Bake for 15 min on one side, then turn and bake for another 5 minutes

Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken Florentine

2008-03-16T21:51:00.000-04:00

Chris has been wanting to use pesto, but I do not like it, so I the other night I was going to make chicken Alfredo and decided since I am on spring break, I would make Chris his with pesto.

Ingredients:
2-4 Chicken Breast-you can cut it into strips or leave whole
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 cups of spinach leaves
1 tablespoon of fresh garlic
About a handful of mushrooms
About a handful of onions
2 tablespoons of pesto
Box of penne pasta
Alfredo Sauce
Tablespoon of Feta Cheese
3 slices of red pepper
1 tablespoon of Romano Cheese

Directions:

1) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, onions and mushrooms saute for 5 minutes; then add chicken and cook for 7 to 8 minutes on each side. When chicken is close to being cooked through (no longer pink inside), add spinach and saute all together for 3 to 4 minutes.
2)Prepare Alfredo sauce. When finished, stir in 2 tablespoons pesto; set aside.
3) In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain.
4)Add chicken/spinach mixture to pasta, then stir in pesto/Alfredo sauce. Mix well, top with cheese and serve.

Gnocchi

2007-11-11T20:11:00.000-05:00

I do not eat Gnocchi often, but recently Christopher and I went to a restaurant and I ordered it but it just didn't send me anywhere, so I decided to come home and try my own recipe. It is actually pretty easy to make even after a day at work.

INGREDIENTS
8 potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 can tomato sauce

1 block of mozzarella cheese, or shredded mozzarella

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool slightly, and peel. Mash potatoes with fork, masher or in ricer. Place in large bowl and make a well in the center. Put butter in well and allow to melt. When mashed potatoes have cooled, knead in enough of the flour to make a soft dough.
Divide dough into fist-sized portions. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a long rope. Cut the ropes into one-inch pieces. Roll each piece with a fork for a distinctive texture.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until they float to the top. Put gnocchi in a bake ware container, and cover with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, bake in oven till cheese is melted! Garnish with some parsley!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2007-11-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

I love pumpkin pie and cheesecake, so I decided this weekend to make a Pumpkin Cheesecake! I have a lot of trouble making a graham cracker crust, so I usually buy the pre-made ones they have! But if you are brave you can try it!

Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
CRUST:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
FILLING:
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
TOPPING:
2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 pecan halves

DIRECTIONS
Combine crust ingredients. Press into bottom of a 9-in. spring form pan; chill.
For filling, beat cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, spices and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes.
Meanwhile, for topping, combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Spread over filling; return to the oven for 5 minutes. Cool on rack; chill overnight. Garnish each slice with a pecan half.