Ellen's Edibles

Croissant Breakfast Pudding

2009-06-09T12:50:00.009-05:00

A little late in posting this one, but I made this breakfast casserole for a Chloe birthday/Mother's Day brunch. It was quite good and not difficult to make, though there are a number of steps. I assembled it the night before, which made it easy the next day. Don't want to be slaving in the kitchen too long on Mother's Day!

Croissant Breakfast Pudding
Source: Emeril Lagasse via Food Network

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons melted
1 1/4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
6 ounces Canadian bacon, roughly chopped (I used regular bacon)
6 ounces hot sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
8 large eggs (I used Egg Beaters)
3 cups whole milk (I used skim)
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Essence
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 stale croissants, torn into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
2 cups grated Fontina or Gouda
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes.

In a medium skillet, melt the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add the Canadian bacon and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add the sausage to the skillet and cook, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk, cream, salt, Essence, and pepper and whisk to combine. Add the croissants and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the sausage, bacon, onions, Fontina cheese, stir together, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until almost completely set, 35 to 45 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil if it's browning too much.

In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and melted butter. Uncover the pudding and evenly cover with the bread crumb mixture. Return to the oven, increase the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until completely set in the center and golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.

Serve hot.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

2009-06-09T12:31:00.006-05:00

With my mom out of town for a week, my dad and sister have been eating out every night. So last night we had them over for dinner. The weather was not cooperating to grill out so I logged on to AllRecipes.com and stumbled across this dish, which is amongst the most highly rated recipes on the cooking board I frequent. It was easy to make and very flavorful, therefore a hit in my house. I even managed not to dry out the chicken breasts too badly, which I tend to do.

In an attempt to make sure the bottom of the chicken didn't get too soggy, I put cooling racks on a cookie sheet and baked the chicken on top of that. I don't know that it worked any better than putting the chicken directly on the cookie sheet, but it can't hurt.

Garlic Cheddar Chicken

Source: AllRecipes.com

1/2 cup butter (I used olive oil)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Italian)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used a lite cheese blend)
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat, and cook the garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. In a shallow bowl, mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano, pepper, and salt. Dip each chicken breast in the garlic butter to coat, then press into the bread crumb mixture. Arrange the coated chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with any remaining butter and top with any remaining bread crumb mixture.

Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. I then added a bit more cheese to the top and broiled the chicken for a few minutes.

Pink Lady Cake

2009-05-28T16:30:00.012-05:00

I had seen this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen, several months ago. It's exceedingly rare that I have the occasion to make a layer cake unless I want Michael and myself to eat the whole thing (which wouldn't be an entirely bad thing).

Despite the fact that it is a ginormous cake, what with the three layers, it was not difficult to make. The cream cheese frosting, while not the best frosting to use if you want your cake to look flawless, complemented the flavor of the cake very well. And the cake was delicious. The strawberry flavor was very pronounced. Like the original poster, I used frozen (thawed) strawberries. I also used two colors of food dye - pink and red (Wilton gel) - to make the cake match its name.

The cake is very dense, which was fine unless you're a pig like me and would like a large slice. Between the height of the cake and its denseness, thin slices will go a long way, which is excellent if you're cooking for a crowd.

Pink Lady Cake

Source: Smitten Kitchen

4 1/2 cups cake flour

3 cups sugar

5 1/4 tsp baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups pureed frozen strawberries

8 egg whites

2/3 cup milk

1 to 2 drops red food dye, if using (to make the pink color pop more)
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks; 6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter three 9-inch round or 8-inch square cake pans. Line with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for 30 seconds. Add the butter and strawberry puree and mix to blend the ingredients. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes; the batter will resemble strawberry ice cream at this point.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg whites, milk and red food dye, if using, to blend. Add the whites to the atter in two or three additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl well and mixing only to incorperate after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans. Bake the cakes for 30 to 34 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the layers to cool in the pans for 10 to 15 minutes. Invert and turn out onto wire racks and peel off the paper liners. Let stand until completely cooled before assembling the cake, at least an hour.

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners’ sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Frost and assemble the cake. Place one cake layer on a cake board or platter. Tucking scraps of waxed paper under the edges of the cake will protect the board or plate from any mess created while frosting the cake. Spread about 2/3 cup frosting over the layer, spreading it to the edge. Repeat with the second layer. Add the top layer and frost the top and sides of cake with remaining frosting, reserving a small amount if you wish to tint it and pipe a decoration on the cake. If not, you can decorate the cake top with thinly-sliced strawberries. Remove the waxed strips to reveal and neat, clean cake board.

Chicken and Noodles

2009-03-29T18:57:00.009-05:00

I haven't been cooking nice dinners as much as I used to. I've either gotten lazy or busy. Tonight I told Michael I'd make him a homemade dinner and out of the choices I gave him, he picked Chicken and Noodles. I adapted a recipe from my go-to cook book for savory foods - Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book.

I've made this before and I recall that it's turned out pretty bland, so this time I made a few substitutions to try to rectify this problem. Where the recipe calls for water I used chicken stock (much tastier than broth). I also added a cup more stock than the recipe calls for, and 1/2 cup more milk than it calls for. In addition, I didn't have any frozen peas on hand, so I used soybean succotash (a mixture of edamame, corn and peppers). Finally, I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts in place of chicken legs that the original recipe calls for. The addition of stock rather than water really changed the dish - it's not bland at all. It's actually really delish.

Chicken and Noodles

3 chicken breasts

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups chopped onions (3 medium)

2 cups sliced carrots (3-4 medium)

1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)

3 cups wide egg noodles (6 oz)

1 cup frozen peas (I used Trader Joe's Soybean Succotash)

2 1/2 cups milk (I used 1%)

4 Tbsp all-purpose flour

In a Dutch oven, combine chicken, stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Add onions, carrots and celery. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer covered for 20 - 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Discard the bay leaves. Remove chicken from Dutch oven; cool slightly. Chop chicken and set aside.

Bring stock mixture to boil. Add noodles and cook for five minutes. Stir in peas and two cups of milk. In a screw-top jar with a lid, combine the remaining one cup of milk with the flour. Cover and shake until smooth. Stir into noodle mixture. Cook and stir until thicened and bubbly. Stir in chopped chicken. Cook and stir for one to two minutes more or until mixture is heated through.

As originally written, this is a lite recipe (311 calories, 6 grams fat, 5 grams fiber). I'm not sure what my substitutions would do to the calorie count, etc. but I'd imagine it's pretty close since the stock is fat free and I used white meat rather than the dark it originally calls for.

Start to finish, this dinner took about an hour to make. Not much to look at, but it's a delicious home cooked meal for a cold night.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

2009-03-19T11:27:00.004-05:00

For our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at my parents' house I wanted to make a fun dessert, as it's been a while since I got my bake on. I ran across this cake on one of the food blogs I follow through Google Reader. It was very dense and rather moist. However, while you could smell the beer while it baked, you couldn't taste it at all, which was a bit disappointing. Also, the blog where I found the recipe indicated that she had trouble with cutting into the cake and finding that parts of the cake didn't mix well (as if there were clumps of dry ingredients). So the recipe I followed called for sifting the flour and using superfine sugar, in hopes of solving the problem. Alas, it didn't work. Not that anyone else noticed, but as an overly self-critical chef, I did. The icing was very good with the cake.

Looks-wise I was very pleased with the cake, as frosting just the top truly makes it look like a pint of Ireland's finest.

Chocolate Guiness Cake

Source: Annie's Eats, originally by Nigella Lawson

1 cup Guinness beer

10 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 cups superfine sugar

3/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

8 oz. cream cheese (no need to soften)

5 Tbsp butter, softened

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour the sides of a 9-inch round springform pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper. In a small saucepan, combine the Guinness and butter. Heat over medium heat until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa powder and sugar.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add the Guinness mixture to the bowl and mix until incorporated. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the mixer and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes back clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, remove the sides of the pan.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream on medium-high speed. Add the powdered sugar to the bowl in batches, beating on low until just combined and then on high speed until desired consistency is reached. For a stiffer icing, add more powdered sugar. Frost cooled cake as desired.

Sweet & Salty Frito Candy

2009-03-19T10:59:00.004-05:00

I saw this on the linked blog a few months back and thought it looked interesting and delicious - Frito's and chocolate? Not your usual pairing. It's a super easy recipe to make and is a real treat. I can't think of anything appropriate to compare it to - it's not quite like peanut brittle, not quite like toffee. I'll probably add a touch more Frito's and a bit less pretzels next time I make it, as I enjoyed the Frito bites the most. Also, I may reduce the amount of filler ingredients - the pretzels, Fritos, pb cups - a bit because I didn't feel there was quite enough of the butter/brown sugar mixture to go around. Overall, this was a successful and unusual treat!

Sweet Salty Frito Candy

Source: Beantown Baker

2 cups pretzels

1 cup Fritos

8 mini peanut butter cups

1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional: Chopped peanuts for the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 13×9 inch pan with parchment paper or no-stick foil. Crush pretzels. You can use a food processor to chop, or just throw them in a ziploc bag and crush with your hands or a meat tenderizer. Add Fritos to processor/bag and break them up with pretzels. Dump into pan. Chop peanut butter cups into quarters and throw them in the mix. Place butter in a non-stick saucepan and melt over medium heat. When butter is melted, stir in brown sugar. Bring mixture to a full boil and boil for one minute, stirring once or twice. Pour over Frito mixture and bake for 8 minutes.Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over hot candy. Return to oven for 1 minute to soften chips. Spread softened chocolate chips over bars. Add chopped nuts if you would like to.Cool at room temperature until you feel the pan is cool enough to be transferred to your refrigerator, then transfer to refrigerator to set the chocolate. When chocolate is set, lift from pan and break the candy up as you would almond toffee. You can eat it cold or let it come back down to room temp.

Crepes

2009-01-27T15:19:00.006-06:00

For breakfast a few weeks ago I decided I wanted crepes. I love crepes. Especially when they're filled with Nutella, and especially when they're fresh from a street vendor in Paris. I've never made them myself, though I purchased a special crepe pan set from WS back when I worked there (briefly). I got out the set but apparently you have to season the pan, much like a regular cast iron, which I had neither the time or inclination to do. So I used a regular non-stick small skillet, and that worked just fine.

It wasn't as hard to make the crepes as I suspected, though I got better the further along I got. I think it's because the pan became hotter and more uniformly hot the longer I worked. I filled the crepes with a cream cheese/powdered sugar mixture topped with frozen blueberries. I also added some whipped cream in a can to a few. Michael found it to be too sweet but I thought it was rather good.

I froze the remaining crepes and they froze beautifully. A few weeks later I took them out of the freezer and once thawed, I filled them with some deli ham and a bit of cheddar. I microwaved to just melt the cheese. This was a heavenly combination - the sweet and savory. I had to stop myself from eating more than two.

Crepes

Source: AllRecipes.com

4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt

My additions:

1/8 tsp vanilla extract

Sprinkle of cinnemon

In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour sugar and salt until smooth. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel (I used butter-flavored Pam). Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Classic Berry Tart

2009-01-27T15:18:00.004-06:00

I made this beautiful, delicious berry tart for Christmas lunch at my parents'. It was a big hit and relatively easy to make. My favorite part (as is usually the case) was the crust - so amazing, not only in flavor, but in ease of making it! That was the biggest surprise for me - how easy it was to make the crust. I never make my own pie dough, so I was apprehensive to make this sweet tart crust. But with a food processor, it could not have been easier!

I have to say I wasn't in love with the pastry cream. It served its purpose but was a little bland for me. Next time I'll try Ina's pastry cream to see if that's better, or I'll try one of Dorie's other pastry creams. Overall, though, this was an impressive-looking dessert for a special day - one I hope to make again soon.

Special thanks to by sister-in-law, Shawn, for taking the photo when I forgot my camera.

Classic Berry Tart
Source: Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

1.5 cups pastry cream, cooled or chilled
1 9-inch sweet tart shell, fully baked and cooled
2 pints fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries or an assortment
1/3 cup red currant jelly mixed with 1 tsp water, for glazing

For the Pastry Cream:
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn starch, sifted
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
3.5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature

Bring the milk to boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the yolks with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk to temper the yolks. Continue whisking and slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously and thoroughly (make sure to get the edges), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1-2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for five minutes then whisk in the butter. Stir until the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl and press plastic wrap to its surface. Refridgerate until ready to use.

For the Sweet Tart Dough:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 1 Tbsp (9 Tbsp) very cold or frozen unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk

Put the four, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the butter is coarsely cut in - some pieces will be the size of oatmeal flakes and some the size of peas. Stir the yolk to break it up and add it a little at a time, pulsing after each addition. When the egg is in, process in long pulses (about 10 seconds each) until the dough forms clumps and curds. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and very sparingly knead the dough just to incorporate any dry ingredients that might have escaped mixing.

Butter a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom (I used a spring form pan). Press the dough evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan, using all but one little piece of dough, which you should save in the fridge to patch any cracks after the crust is baked. Freeze the crust for at least 30 minutes before baking (I froze mine overnight).

Preheat the oven to 375. Butter the shiny side of tin foil and fit the foil, buttered side down, tightly against the crust. It's not necessary to use weights if you've frozen the crust. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 25 minutes. Remove the foil. If the crust has puffed, gently press it down with the back of a spoon. For a partially baked crust, patch if necessary and remove to a cooling rack (keeping it in the pan). For a fully baked crust, bake for another eight minutes until it's firm and golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To assemble the tart:
Smooth the pastry cream by giving it a couple strong turns of the whisk. Spoon enough cream into the crust to come almost to the rim, then even the surface with a spatula. Lay the berries on the cream, arranging in any pattern that you like.

Bring the jelly and water to a boil in the microwave or stovetop. Working with a pastry brush, dab each berry with a spot of jelly, or glaze the entire surface of the tart. (I didn't do the glaze).

Banana Bundt Cake

2009-01-27T15:15:00.006-06:00

I needed a dessert that I could make the day before it would be eaten. One that would be as good, if not better, than the day it was made. Looking through my Dorie Greenspan cookbook I noticed that all of her bundt cakes were better the next day. While she has many delicious looking cakes in this category, I went for this banana bundt cake simply because it had the least number of steps and I already had all of the ingredients.

For those in my family who like banana bread, this turned out very well. Moist, fragrant, quite banana-y. The batter was incredible. However, once baked, it really was just banana bread in a bundt pan. I had hoped that the addition of sour cream would add a tangy twist to it, but I didn't notice its flavor. As I'm no lover of your standard banana bread, I won't be rushing to make this again (my mother-in-law makes it pretty frequently, to satisfy Michael's love of it). Though if he really wants me to make banana bread, this will be my go-to recipe.

Classic Banana Bundt Cake
Source: Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, preferably at room temperature
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (1.5 - 1.75 cups)
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (my addition)

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter or spray a 9" or 10" bundt pan (12 cup). If your bundt pan is silicone, there's no need to butter it. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and beat at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, then add the eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute after each egg. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the bananas. Next, mix in half the dry ingredients (the batter may curdle), all the sour cream and the rest of the dry ingredients. Scrape into the bundt pan and put in the oven (but not on a cookie sheet).

Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a thin knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 minutes - if it's browning too fast, cover with a foil tent. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes then unmold onto a rack to cool to room temperature.

Storing: wrapped airtight, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to five days or in the freezer for up to two months.

Peanut Butter Tart

2009-01-22T11:01:00.011-06:00

My mom has a subscription to Martha Stewart Living, and when I'd be in town visiting (back when I lived in Chicago), I'd spend time browsing each issue's recipes. I finally got around to making a recipe that I pulled from the magazine back in 2001. It's a recipe that was never far from my mind; however, I never had a tart pan with a removable bottom, which is what you use to make the tart (though you could probably also use a spring form pan).

I made this peanut butter tart for Christmas and it was delicious. Definitely something I'd make again, though next time I'll make a few changes: I'll let the ganache cool longer so that it doesn't spread when I add the peanut butter filling, and I'll try to think of a way to make my graham cracker crust a little less crumbly. Neither of these issues took away from how delicious and easy the tart was to make, however.

My tart isn't as pretty as Martha's (no surprise there), so take a look at the link to see why I've always wanted to make it!

Special thanks to my sister-in-law, Shawn, for taking the photos when I forgot to bring my camera.

Peanut Butter Tart

Source: Martha Stewart Living, October 2001

Crust:
10 (4 3/4-by-2 1/2-inch) graham crackers, broken into pieces

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Ganache:
3 oz best-quality milk chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

Peanut Butter Filling:
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup cream cheese (4 ounces)
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

Place graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until fine crumbs are formed. Add butter. Pulse until thoroughly combined. Place crumbs in a tart pan with a removable bottom (I think mine is 11"). Press crumbs up the sides of the pan to form the edge of the tart and then evenly over the bottom of the pan. Place in the refrigerator while making the filling.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Finely chop chocolate, and place in a medium bowl. Place 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Pour over chopped chocolate, and set aside for five minutes to yield chocolate ganache. Whisk to combine. Set in ice bath until ganache is cool, whisking constantly. Once cool, remove from ice bath, and whisk until ganache is just thick enough to hold its shape; do not overbeat. Spread in the bottom of the prepared crust, and return to the refrigerator until set.

Combine peanut butter, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Whip cream to soft peaks. Add whipped cream to peanut butter mixture; whisk to combine.

Spoon mixture into prepared crust; return to the refrigerator for two hours or overnight. Remove tart from refrigerator, and transfer to a serving platter 10 minutes before serving. Add whipped cream and chocolate shavings as desired.

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

2009-01-22T10:14:00.008-06:00

Amazing. Not much to look at, but just totally delicious. We had my parents over for dinner on Monday, and since I was off, I had time to make a full dinner (salad, chicken and dumplings, cake). This was the star of the show. Super easy, tender and though its base is canned cream of chicken soup, the addition of other ingredients assures that the soup isn't all you taste. I definitely plan to make again.

A few tips, based on my experience: put the chicken in the crock pot while it's still frozen. Often times the meat I cook in the crock pot gets too chewy, but I think this prevented that from happening (kept the juices inside). Additionally, since this isn't a baked good, I didn't worry about sticking to the precise amounts of liquid, etc. that the recipe suggested. I figured I could add more later if necessary. For instance, the broth didn't fully cover the frozen chicken breasts from the start of the cooking, but I didn't want it to be too thin, so I took my chances and in the end, no extra was needed. Also, I didn't initially have the two cans of soup that the recipe called for (added #2 with the bicuits), so I substituted some sour cream flavored with chicken broth and boullion to add more creaminess and thickness. While I couldn't taste the sour cream, I think it helped to mellow the taste of the canned soup.

My parents, Michael and I all gave this a thumbs up. In fact, I can't wait to make it again!

Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings

Adapted from this recipe at AllRecipes.com

Yield: 6+ servings

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, still frozen

2 Tbsp butter

2 (10.75 oz) Cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 Large container of chicken broth

1 C light sour cream, infused with chicken boullion and broth to slightly thin

1 Onion, diced (I used frozen diced onion)

1 (10 oz) Package refridgerated buscuit dough

Spices of your choosing, to taste (I used cumin, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, pepper and dry mustard)

Place the chicken, butter, soup, sour cream mixture and onions into crock pot, and fill with enough broth to cover (I added roughly half of the amount found in one of those cardboard containers - which wasn't enough to cover). Cover and cook on high for about three and a half hours. Shred chicken and return to crock pot. Flatten individual biscuits, cut once crosswise then into strips, adding them into the pot and stirring to cover with liquid. Cook for about 90 minutes more on high. Serve and enjoy!

Three Layer Pumpkin Pie

2009-01-13T12:29:00.010-06:00

Oh blog, it's been a while. I have no excuse other than the past few months being a whirlwind of insanity at the office, and of course, the holidays, which I was barely prepared for. But things are settling down, so it's time I paid you some attention again.

I made this pie for my in laws' house for Thanksgiving. A little late to post, and at this time of year, no one will likely be interested in reading about another pumpin pie, but it was so good that I had to post. It's so good that I'd make this over regular pumpkin pie every year, except that my side of the family is a bit more traditional and would likely want the usual. But this was so good that Michael, a hater of pumpkin pie, had three slices without me having to ask him to try one.

If you like pumpkin pie but find that after a while, the pumpkin is a little overpowering, this is the pie for you. The cream cheese layer mellows it out. The streusal was a nice touch, too.

Three Layer Pumpkin Pie
Source: Dierbergs' Everybody Cooks, September 2008

Serves 8

Prepared crust for one-crust pie

Cream Cheese Layer:

8 oz cream cheese, softened (I use light)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pumpkin Layer:

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin

1 cup half and half

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup butter, melted

In larger mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, the 1/3 cup sugar, egg and vanilla at medium speed until well blended. Gently spread into unbaked pie crust. Chill while preparing pumpkin layer.

In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, pumpkin, half and half, 3/4 cup sugar, spice and salt at low speed until well combined. Gently pour over cream cheese layer. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven until center is almost set, about 55-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a work bowl of a food processer with a steel knife blade, combine brown sugar, flour and oats. With machine running, pour melted butter through feed tube; process until mixture resembles course meal, about 15-30 seconds. Sprinkle topping over pie. Bake until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least two hours before serving. Store in the fridge.

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

2008-11-18T16:38:00.015-06:00

Not gonna lie. These were freaking unbelieveable. One of the best desserts I've ever made. Certainly the best chocolate cake-based recipe I've ever made. The cake was light and fluffy. The frosting was phenomenal - not too sweet but sweet enough. Not the easiest to eat if you want to stay neat (cake crumbs and coconut flakes will fall about) but who cares? You won't, once you take a bite.

I had wanted to make Ina's coconut cupcakes but wanted to make something chocolate. I found this recipe that I had long ago printed from Epicurious and decided to use Ina's frosting. Delicious. While I plan on trying her coconut cupcakes, I can't wait to make these again. One aspect of these that I particularly enjoyed is that they incorporate actual almonds, not almond extract, to get the nutty flavor. Not a fan of the extract, love the actual nut.

If you like Almond Joy, you'll like these. Even if you don't, so long as you aren't adverse to coconut, you'll like them. Yum.

Chocolate Almond Cupcakes
Source: Epicurious.com
Yield: 30 cupcakes

3/4 cup blanched almonds (or rounded 1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 cups sweetened shredded coconut (from two 14-ounce bags) [I used less than this, due to not needing as much to coat the frosting.]
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 (13 1/2-oz) can unsweetened coconut milk, stirred
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Frosting
Source: Ina Garten, FoodNetwork.com

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1 1/2 lbs confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In food processor, process almonds and 1/2 cup sugar until finely ground. Add 2 loosely packed cups shredded coconut and pulse twice to chop slightly. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and whisk in flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Melt chocolate in microwave, being careful not to burn. Stir until smooth and set aside.

Using electric mixer, beat butter and remaining 1 cup sugar at high speed until fluffy, about five minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add melted chocolate and beat at moderate speed until incorporated. Add 1/2 of flour mixture and mix at low speed until nearly smooth. Add coconut milk and vanilla and mix at low speed until blended. Add remaining flour mixture and mix at low speed until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups (paper cups), filling to about 2/3 full. Bake until tester inserted in center of 1 cake comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool in pans on racks.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Pour remaining shredded coconut into 9-inch-square baking dish. Spread frosting on cakes and invert each into coconut to coat frosting liberally. Garnish with Jordan almonds, if desired.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2008-11-18T16:01:00.005-06:00

Not your usual coffee cake (made from refridgerated bread sticks!) but probably the easiest you'll ever make. This loaf found on My Kitchen Snippets was delightful. Michael and I polished off all but one piece. My father in law came over just after breakfast and inquired why I didn't make two.

It turned out a bit smaller than I expected, and I had twice as much cream cheese filling than I needed, but that's good to know for next time - and there will be a next time - so I can make two just as easily as one!

This loaf would be good with pretty much any kind of fruit. I used blueberries not so much because that's what was in the original recipe, but because I had them on hand.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Source: My Kitchen Snippets
*Refer to the link above for more detailed photos of making the loaf.

6 oz of low fat cream cheese (I used 8 oz - the whole block)
1 egg, separated
3 Tbsp of powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or fruit of your choice)
1 (11 oz) tube of bread stick dough

For the glaze:
1/2 cup of powder sugar
2 Tbsp of lemon juice (I ran out of lemon juice so I subbed lime)

Preheat over to 350.

In a bowl combine soft cream cheese, powdered sugar and egg yolk. Mix until well combined. Remove breadstick dough from the tube, unroll it and separate the dough and you will have two rectangles. Join the dough up by placing both dough rectangles horizontally on a lightly greased baking sheet. Press the steam together. Spread cream cheese mixture onto the center of the dough. Sprinkle the blueberries on top of the cream cheese.

Separate the dough perforations up to the cheese mixture (you might need a scissors for this). Slightly pull and stretch the dough strips. Start from the top and braid dough strip to cover the filling. Make sure to tuck and seal both ends of the loaf. Beat the egg white and brush it all over the loaf.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. (I had to bake mine a bit longer and the dough was still not cooked all the way in the center). Cool the loaf. Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle all over the cool loaf before serving.

Gooey Butter Cookies

2008-11-18T15:48:00.005-06:00

Michael and I had friends over a few weeks ago who were home for the weekend. Gooey butter cake is a St. Louis speciality, so I decided to make the cookies as a reminder of home. A bit time consuming to make, only because you have to make the dough and let it chill for a few hours before rolling into balls, but otherwise easy to make. They were perfectly soft and Michael had to force himself to stay away from them otherwise he'd have eaten them all. I thought they tasted a bit too much like the cake mix. I'll make them again, however, and maybe next time try another flavor mix. (Note that the original recipe is for chocolate cookies).

Gooey Butter Cookies
Source: Paula Deen, Food Network.com
Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist yellow cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

French's Fried Onion-Crusted Cubed Steak

2008-11-18T13:25:00.014-06:00

I bought cubed steaks on sale, thinking they'd be really tough, but I thought they were worth the try anyway, given the price (about $4.25 for 4). I bought them with no real recipe in mind, having recently discovered that Michael is not a fan of country fried steak - the only recipe I knew to make with cubed steak. So I went home that night (many weeks ago... this poor blog has been sadly neglected of late) and came up with my own recipe. Turned out pretty delicious, and not tough at all.

I served the meat with sides of egg noodles and broccoli and packaged brown gravy.

French's Fried Onion-Crusted Cubed Steak
Source: Yours Truly

4 cubed steaks

1 small can French's Fried Onions, crushed
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

To taste: salt, pepper, garlic powder

2 eggs

Flour for dredging

Olive oil or butter

You'll need three wide-bottomed bowls. In the first bowl add a cup or less of flour. In the second, beat two eggs. In the third, add the crushed onions through garlic powder and mix. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add olive oil or butter to the pan. Starting with your first cubed steak, dredge in flour, then in the egg, then coat as best you can with the onion mixture. Add to the pan and repeat with the other steaks. Fry for a few minutes on the first side before turning so that the crust browns nicely. (Sorry for the lack of specific timing, I didn't write it down). Turn over, adding more oil or butter to the pan in necessary. Remove to your plate and drizzle brown gravy over the meat.

Surprisingly delicious and easy, though not so good for you. Still, it was worth it, and I'll make it again. Even the leftovers were good.

Apple Cake

2008-10-25T09:26:00.018-05:00

When I saw this cake on Smitten Kitchen's blog, I knew I had to try it. It looked completely fantastic, and we were planning on going to an orchard for apple picking, so the timing was perfect! This cake was dense, but at the same time incredibly moist and delicious. Perfect for fall.

I had recently baked a few things with whole wheat flour, and those recipes turned out well, so I tried to make this recipe a bit lighter than the original. All of my changes worked really well, save for the Splenda I included. I didn't notice a strange aftertaste to the cake until my mother in law mentioned it (and Michael agreed), but then it was all I could taste.

I will absolutely make this cake again and again, but will use all sugar next time. If you want to splurge a little more than I did, click on the link below for the original recipe. One note based on my experience: the original poster made this cake in a tube pan, which I didn't have. That would likely have reduced baking time for the cake that I made (using a springform pan). For presentation purposes, I liked using the springform pan; you'll just have to keep baking the cake and watch it.

Apple Cake
Source: Smitten Kitchen

6 apples (I used Fuji & Golden Delicious)
1 Tbsp cinnemon
4 Tbsp sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup Splenda (next time I'll stick with 2 cups sugar)
1/4 cup orange juice
2-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 "egg substitute"
1 cup walnuts (would be heavenly in this cake, but I wanted Chloe to be able to eat some, so I ommitted)

Preheat oven to 350. Peel apples and chop into chunks. Toss with cinnemon and sugar and set aside.

Stir flours, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then add eggs one at a time. Pour half of batter into pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour rest of batter and then arrange rest of apples on top.

Bake for one and a half hours, or until toothpick (or knife) comes out clean.

Not Quite Semi-Homemade

2008-10-16T12:29:00.005-05:00

"Hey, aren't you going to take a picture of this for your food blog?"

"Well, of course, I was just getting out the camera."

"Use my plate. It'll photograph better."

I was running late last night so Michael was kind enough to make dinner for us. Two nights in a row, he's had to do this. I am very lucky to have a husband who doesn't just sit around scratching himself on nights like these when I can't get home before quarter to seven. Not only did he cook, but he also had a little ankle biter to watch.

I'm afraid I don't have any recipes or kitchen tips from the chef. But the menu consisted of chicken nuggets, green beans and Velveeta shells and cheese. A meal the whole family could enjoy!

Pumpkin Dollar Cakes

2008-10-16T11:55:00.006-05:00

I saw this recipe in a local grocery store's monthly recipe publication and knew I had to make it asap. Most weekends I like to make a nice breakfast and this looked like a fun, easy, seasonal thing to make. Michael's not a lover of pumpkin, but I looked forward to introducing it to Chloe.

The batter came together very easily but was much thicker than your usual (runny) pancake batter. Also, the recipe calls for two tablespoons of batter per cake. I found that to be too much, so I went with closer to one.

Verdict: these are a fun fall breakfast, served with a side of scrambled eggs (with ham and cheese). I have no need to make them again, as I have over half frozen for weekday breakfasts in my freezer (bonus!). Michael ate quite a few, though he's still not won over by pumpkin. Chloe barely touched hers. That's either due to the finicky eating habits of a 17 month old, or due to the fact that these aren't overly sweet.

Oh, and lest I forget: these babies are only ONE WW point per pancake!

Pumpkin Dollar Cakes

Source: Dierbergs' Everybody Cooks, September 2008

Yield: about 40 dollar-sized pancakes

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

2 eggs, slightly beaten (I used egg substitute)

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

Pancake syrup

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and spice. In medium bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk; whisk in pumpkin and oil. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Pour in pumpkin mixture; stir until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Lightly coat large nonstick skillet or griddle pan with no-stick cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat. Spoon two tablespoons (I used 1 to 1-1/2) batter per pancake into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear in tops and bottoms are lightly browned, about two minutes. Turn and cook until lightly browned on the other side, about one minute. Serve with pancake syrup.

TIP: Cook an entire batch of pancakes and freeze. Reheat as needed in the microwave.

Per four pancakes without syrup: 171 calories, 6g fat, 44mg cholesterol; 255mg sodium, 24g carbs, 2g fiber = 4 WW points

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chili

2008-10-14T12:28:00.007-05:00

I knew I'd be baking a lot this past weekend, so for dinner on Friday, I prepared this Weight Watchers recipe, which had been listed as part of a post on the cooking board I frequent. Super easy to prepare, and pretty tasty, too. I served it with Trader Joe's cornbread (best mix around), prepared in a muffin top pan. The chili is sweeter than I am used to, but that may have to do as much with corn bread that I crumble in my bowl as the brown sugar in the recipe.

This is a crock pot recipe, but I don't see why one couldn't just put all ingredients into a dutch oven and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so, if you don't have the time for it to slow cook.

Now I just need to find a use for all the extra tomato juice I have on hand. Bloody Mary, anyone?

Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chili

Source: Weight Watchers website, via a post on TheNest.com

Yield: 8 servings

1 lb extra lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp prepared mustard

1 medium sized onion, chopped (I used frozen pre-chopped onion)

2 (14 oz) cans kidney or red beans (I used one can chili beans in mild sauce and one can red beans)

2 cups low sodium tomato juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp chili powder

My addition: frozen red, green and yellow bell peppers

Brown ground beef and onion (and peppers) in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Drain. Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir to combine. Cover. Cook on high for 2-3 hours. If possible, stir several times during cooking.

240 calories, 6g fat, 4g fiber = 4/5 WW points per serving (hits right on the line)

Berry Banana Mini Muffins

2008-10-13T13:36:00.006-05:00

There's a lot to like about these mini muffins: they're terribly low in fat and calories (1 WW point per muffin!), they're easy to make, and if you have a little one, they're a great non-processed treat for her/him since there are no nuts involved. They also helped to make me a little less afraid of whole wheat flour, having had a disasterous experience involving it and a pumpkin loaf a few years back. While not my favorite muffin in the world (not decadent enough), I'm still going to town on a few each day. Best part is, I don't feel remotely guilty about doing so, since it's practically a health food. (Not really, but kind of. Cut me some slack.)

I got this recipe from this month's edition of Everybody Cooks, a monthly publication by a local grocery store. This publication always has a lot of good recipes. This month is no exception. This weekend alone I made two recipes from this month's pub, and there are two or three that I'd still like to make.

Berry Banana Mini Muffins

Source: Dierbergs' Everybody Cooks, September 2008

Yield: 4 dozen mini muffins

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten (I used egg substitute)

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup freshly shredded carrot (I used pre-packaged)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup honey

1/4 vegetable oil

1 cup frozen blueberries

Lightly coat 48 mini muffin cups with no=stick cooking spray. Set aside. In medium bowl, combine flours, baking powser, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In second medium bowl, combine eggs, bananas, carrots, buttermilk, honey and oil. Make well in center of flour mixture. Pour in egg mixture; stir until just moistened. Gently stir in blueberries. Batter will be lumpy.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. Bake in 400 degree oven until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 10 minutes. Cool muffins in pan for five minutes. Serve warm.

Per two muffins: 108 calories; 3g fat; 2g fiber; 18mg cholesterol; 126mg sodium. 2 WW points.

Buffalo Chicken Calzone

2008-10-09T09:46:00.011-05:00

Ah blog... it's been too long. Too many weekends spent out of town and away from the kitchen. Hopefully this post is the first of many to come this month.

Some talk on the cooking board I frequent inspired me to create a buffalo chicken calzone. I had the pizza dough in the fridge, which I had planned to use to make one of my giant calzones anyway, so why not go spicy? And spicy it was. Wowza. A little too spicy for me, but if you like your wings flaming hot, you'll love this recipe.

If not, I suggest going the way of the legendary buffalo chicken dip, and to the ground chicken add up to one block of cream cheese, 1/2 cup hot sauce and 1/4 cup ranch dressing. That should temper the heat while maintaining a little kick.

Buffalo Chicken Calzone

Source: Yours Truly

1 lb ground chicken

Poultry seasoning to taste

Ground pepper to taste

3/4 block 1/3 less fat cream cheese

3/4 cup hot wing sauce (like Frank's)

Frozen onion/celery mix to taste

1 handful shredded mozzarella (or to taste)

1 handful shredded cheddar (or to taste)

1 refridgerated pizza dough

Ranch dressing for dipping

Preheat oven to 425. Put jelly roll pan or pizza stone in oven to warm. Brown chicken and frozen onions/celery. Drain fat and add poultry seasoning, ground pepper and cream cheese. Stir until cream cheese melts. Add wing sauce. Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced. Remove from heat.

On a piece of parchment paper, roll out pizza dough. Sprinkle cheese over dough, then spread slightly cooled chicken mixture over half (long ways) of the dough. Roll the dough long ways and seal the dough at the seam. Helpful hint: rather than trying to pull the dough from the parchment as you roll it, lift the parchment long ways so that the entire piece of dough rolls at once without breaking. Note that with the amount of meat in the calzone, you'll only be able to fold the dough over once and seal; you won't be able to form a pinwheel.

Cut slices on top of the dough with a knife so steam can escape. Spray lightly with olive oil, or brush dough with an egg wash. Put calzone with parchment on the hot jelly roll pan and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until brown. Once out of the oven, let calzone rest for a few minutes and slice into generous diagonal pieces. Serve with ranch for dipping.

Ground Turkey "Stroganoff"

2008-09-25T10:59:00.012-05:00

I'm not even sure what to call this. The recipe I used as a base is called "Hamburger Buddy," but I didn't use beef, and "Turkey Buddy" really just doesn't offer much explanation for what's happening here. So I decided that since this incorporates many of the elements of a stroganoff, that's what I'd call it. I'm even using the dreaded air quotes, possibly opening myself up to inclusion on this blog, which I find very amusing.

Now, I've tried making traditional beef stroganoff several times, as I'm a huge fan of comfort food and Michael loves stroganoff. But I've only been truly successful once, and that was long before my blogging days, so I have no idea what I did differently that time. Usually the resulting dish is fine. We eat it. But it's always pretty bland. I can't figure out what to do to fix the problem. I'm thinking it's because the beefy flavor isn't shining through (more Worcestershire?). Someone on the cooking board I frequent suggested the addition of brandy, which I may try next time. If you have a suggestion, please let me know.

(Comments of "You're a moron - use beef if you want it to taste beefy" are already acknowledged).

Anyway, the pseudo-blandness is happening here. But there are far too many reasons to like this dish otherwise (lots of veggies, decently good for your backside, a fair amount of spice, etc.), so I know I'll take a crack at it again. You'll note my ingredients are pretty rough. Since I wasn't baking, I just threw stuff in.

I recently found the website EatingWell.com, which is where I found the original recipe. It's a great alternative to Cooking Light. Check it out.

Ground Turkey "Stroganoff"

Source: adapted from this recipe at EatingWell.com

3 cloves garlic, minced

Few handfuls of baby carrots

Not quite half a bag of frozen spinach

Not quite half a bag of frozen diced onion

1 lb lean ground turkey

1 bay leaf

2 tsp Italian seasoning

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups hot water mixed with beef boullion seasoning (Wyler's), or reduced sodium beef broth

2 cups whole-wheat macaroni noodles

6 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp corn starch, plus more to get desired consistency

8 oz reduced fat sour cream

Finely chop garlic, carrots, spinach and onion in food processor. Set aside. Boil noodles until tender. Drain. Cook turkey and bay leaf in a skillet until no longer pink. Drain fat in collander. Add back to skillet with veggies. Return to heat and stir until mixture is hot. Add seasonings to mixture. Pour mixture into pot with noodles (or use a really large skillet and pour noodles in with meat). Mix 2 tbp corn starch into boullion/water mix. Add boullion mix, Worcestershire and sour cream to noodles and meat. Thoroughly mix and return to heat for 10 minutes or so, until sauce has thickened and flavors have mixed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

I made far to many changes to the original recipe to have a clue what I did to the per serving nutritional information, but am sticking this under "Lite" anyway, as I don't think the changes are so bad for you.

Banana Blondies with Mini Peanut Butter Cups

2008-09-18T12:07:00.016-05:00

You know what's nuts? You can prepare one batch of blondie mix, split it in two, add different things to each batch, and you might not even be able to tell that they are related! This is what happened to me last night. With half of the batch, I added toffee bits. The bar was chewy like a cookie. To the second batch, I added smashed banana and mini peanut butter cups and the bar was cake-like. Goes to show how versitile this dessert bar is.

Kinda like having kids, I guess.

Anyway, like I said above, these blondies are more cakelike than your traditional blondie (the expert that I am, having made my first ones last night). Not that a fork is required. Though a glass of milk might be. The banana flavor is clearly there, but the best bites are those where you get a mini peanut butter cup. Completely great.

Basic Blondies

Source: Baking Blonde

Yield: 16 bars

6-7 Tbsp butter, melted (I used 6)

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder (optional, creates lighter blondie texture)

Ellen's additions:

1 1/2 ripe bananas, smashed
3/4 cup mini peanut butter cups (I used Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and lightly spray with PAM.In a large microwave safe mixing bowl melt the butter. Allow to cool for 5 mintues. Mix the brown sugar with the melted butter and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, stir in flour and baking powder (if using). Mix in any additions (some ideas below). Pour into prepared pan and use a greased spatula to evenly spread mixture in pan and level the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set in the middle. (I baked for 22 minutes) Cool on rack before cutting.

* I doubled the basic recipe before splitting it in two and adding my additions. I also baked in 9x9 pans, which accounts for a thinner bar.

Toffee Bit Blondies

2008-09-18T12:07:00.008-05:00

In preparation for this weekend's roadtrip, last night I made two types of blondies. Want to know what makes making blondies so excellent?

1) You likely have all ingredients in your house;

2) no forethought is required - you can decide to make them and get started immmediately;

3) they take all of 20 minutes to bake;

4) and you can double (or triple) the batch of basic blondie batter, split it, and add whatever you like, so you end up with two or three different bars.

You know what else is completely excellent about blondies? They are delicious!

For this batch, I made the basic blondie recipe (borrowed from my blondie-making inspiration, the appropriately named Baking Blonde), and added Heath chocolate-covered toffee bits. If I had pecans on hand, I would have added those as well, but alas, I did not. I might also add some toffee bits and chopped pecans on top once it's almost baked. As my pans are 9x9, the bars were a little thin. Next time I make two batches of blondies, I'll likely triple the recipe before dividing it in two. The texture of these bars were that of a cookie cake. Rich and delicious.

Basic Blondies

Source: Baking Blonde

Yield: 16 bars

6-7 Tbsp butter, melted (I used 6)

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder (optional, creates lighter blondie texture)

Ellen's addition:

3/4 cup chocolate-covered toffee bits

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 pan with foil and lightly spray with PAM. In a large microwave safe mixing bowl melt the butter. Allow to cool for 5 mintues. Mix the brown sugar with the melted butter and beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, stir in flour and baking powder (if using). Mix in any additions. Pour into prepared pan and use a greased spatula to evenly spread mixture in pan and level the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set in the middle. (I baked for 22 minutes.) Cool on rack before cutting.

*Note that I doubled the basic recipe and split it in half so that I could create two types of blondies.

Spicy Polenta Tamale Pie

2008-09-17T12:36:00.017-05:00

I know. From the photos, this doesn't look like much. Might not even look that appetizing. Oh, but it is. If you're a fan of tamales or polenta in general, and if you're dieting or not, this is a delicious and easy week night meal.

I'm actually looking forward to left overs tonight.

Spicy Polenta Tamale Pie

Source: Aimee's Adventures

Serves: 6, 1 cup each

24 oz. Pre-packaged cooked polenta (comes in a plastic roll)

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or hot) [I suggest you go with "hot" if you want this to live up to it's name - "spicy" - otherwise it will likely not be so.]

1 (11 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained [I didn't have corn so I subbed hominy.]

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 cup fat free cheddar cheese [I used reduced fat.]

Ellen's additions:

1 lb 93% lean ground beef

Chopped, frozen onions

1 small can diced green chilis

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8X8 dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut polenta into small cubes. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and pour into prepared dish. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes*.

* This dish can be served even more quickly by cooking the meat (if you add any) in a large skillet, then adding the rest of the ingredients and simmering for 10-15 minutes. I've made this both ways and prefer the skillet method.

Per Serving (without my additions or substitutions): 263 Calories; 7g Fat; 7g Dietary Fiber = 5 WW points

Hershey Bar Haystacks

2008-09-17T12:36:00.016-05:00

Here is another winner courtesy of Aimee's Adventures. I swear, that girl has so many unique, delicious recipes that are Weight Watchers compatible, it's ridiculous. These haystacks... you wouldn't even know they are "diet." They are freaking unbelieveable. Michael even pronounced last night that they are better than a similar recipe his mom makes using those fried Chinese noodles. If you're a fan of the chocolate-peanut butter combination, which - who isn't - you'll enjoy these.

But not only are these amazing tasting, they are so quick and easy to make, which makes them even more marvelous. AND, you can't feel too terrible when you eat the whole batch in one sitting because they are diet! Though, I guess if you actually are on a diet, you should feel bad about that, but we're veering off course here.

The only change I'd make to the recipe is to double the recipe (at least). If there are two of you eating these, you'll be out inside of five minutes otherwise, then you'll have to wait another 40 minutes or so for more.

Please make these. They are completely super.

Hershey Bar Haystacks

Source: Aimee's Adventures

Serves: 6

1 Cup Fiber One cereal

1 (1.5 oz.) Hershey's milk chocolate bar

1 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter, smooth or chunky [I use smooth.]

Melt bar and peanut butter in microwave until smooth at 30-second intervals. Be careful not to burn. Stir to mix chocolate and peanut butter. Add cereal and gently toss till coated. Drop onto parchment paper making 6 pieces. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens (about 30 minutes).

Per Serving: 71 Calories; 4g Fat; 5g Dietary Fiber = 1 WW point

Corn Fritter Casserole

2008-09-15T12:36:00.007-05:00

I recently stumbled across this recipe in an old issue of Cooking Light and thought it would be a great side dish for the pork loin I was making for Sunday night's dinner. Particularly since the rain from Hurricane Ike swept in, making the day cool and blustery. The more I ate of this dish, the more I liked it. It's sweet like corn bread, but the consistency isn't so dry that you can hold it like a small piece of cake or muffin. The accompanying article suggests it's a "cross between corn bread and corn pudding."

I guess Michael's more of a purist; being a corn bread enthusiast, he would have been happier with a pan of regular corn bread. However, I think I prefer this to corn bread. It's soft and doesn't have the crunchiness that the corn meal often brings to corn bread (and which I don't enjoy). So delicious.

Corn Fritter Casserole

Source: Cooking Light, September 2004

Yield: 9 servings, 2/3 cup each

3 tablespoons butter, softened
3 large egg whites
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole-kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix (such as Jiffy)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in onion, bell pepper, whole-kernel corn, and cream-style corn; mix well. Add muffin mix and black pepper, stirring until well combined. Pour into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 50 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

247 calories; 8.4 grams fat; 1.9 grams fiber

Chocolate-Covered Tuxedo & Wedding Dress Strawberries

2008-09-10T12:28:00.011-05:00

I'm not one to use streamers and tissue paper decorations to decorate for a shower, but I still wanted to do something festive for last weekend's bridal shower. One of my dessert ideas didn't pan out (cheesecake lollipops in the wedding colors were a disaster), so chocolate covered strawberry brides and grooms were it.

These were surprisingly easy to make, though next time I'll do a few things differently: I'll thin out the chocolate and candy melts with a little more shortening so the chocolate has a smoother finish (would also help with the details, like buttons & bow ties), and I'll use the smallest decorating tip I have to apply the details, rather than just a zip lock bag with a hole snipped in one corner (worked fine but not as well as I had hoped).

Another thing: I took the advice of the blogger whose tutorials I followed and bought long stemmed strawberries even though they weren't cheap. Not only will all strawberries be roughly the same size - nice for displaying them - but the long stem is a bonus when dipping the berries in the chocolate.

I think with practice I can make these look professional. (Take a look at what I tried to copy in the source link below, and you'll not only be amazed - works of art! - but see what I mean.) I have a long way to go, but I was generally pleased with how they turned out (the brides could use some work, though). They were a big hit!

Chocolate-Covered Tuxedo and Wedding Dress Strawberries

Source: MySweetandSaucy.com

Yield: 40 strawberries

2 boxes long stemmed strawberries

Bag semi-sweet chocolate chips, or chocolate bark, cut

Bag white chocolate chips, or chocolate bark, cut

Bag Wilton pink candy melts (optional)

Crisco

Wash strawberries and thoroughly dry them. When you're ready to use each kind of chocolate/candy melt, melt in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between heatings, until smooth. Add shortening until it's melted and incorporated into chocolate; add enough to make chocolate thinner than normal chocolate consistency (sorry that isn't a better description).

To make the tuxes, dip half of strawberries (from very top to bottom) into white chocolate; put on parchment-covered cookie sheet let air dry or chill in the refridgerator until hard. Remove from fridge and dip in semi-sweet chocolate to form a "v" on the white chocolate, and coat the remainder of the strawberry. When forming the "v," be sure to dip at the same angle each time you dip. Also, to get clean lines, make sure the bowl of chocolate has a smooth surface. Make sure and let the excess amount of chocolate fall off of the strawberry into the bowl so that you don’t get a big pool around the bottom once it dries. At this point you'll either have to re-melt your semi-sweet chocolate or start with a new batch. Put chocolate into a ziplock bag or piping bag with a small decorating tip. If using a bag only, cut off a small part of the tip of the bag, so that your chocolate doesn’t flow out too easily and then pipe three small dots up the strawberry and pipe two sideways triangles to form a bow tie. Let dry.

To make the wedding dresses, dip the entire strawberry in white chocolate. Put on parchment-covered cooking sheet and let air dry or chill in the refridgerator until hard. Put melted white chocolate or pink candy melts into a ziplock bag or piping bag witha small decorating tip. If using a bag only, cut off a small part of the tip fo the bag, so that your chocolate doesn't flow too easily. Pipe 5 dots along the top of the "dress" to act as a pearl necklace. To make the dress effect you need to pipe lines of white chocolate at an angle on one side of the strawberry and then the other. Let dry.

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps

2008-09-09T15:21:00.011-05:00

These lettuce wraps were the main dish that I served at the bridal shower I hosted last Saturday. They were a huge hit - several people asked for the recipe and commented on how similar they tasted to Chang's. I quadrupled the recipe to serve about 20 people but will post a standard-sized recipe here. I made a few changes to the original recipe after testing it a few weeks ago and deciding that the flavor from the oyster sauce was too pronounced. I also had tried it without the shrooms, which generally disgust me, but Michael and I decided they were needed in this recipe for taste and texture, if you're looking to duplicate Chang's.

Normally if I were to order the lettuce wraps at the restaurant I would ask not to include the fried cellophane noodles, as I think they taste like styrofoam packing peanuts, but we fried them Mr. Mom-style because the presentation is nice.

You'll have to forgive my photos - not that any of my photos are great - but in my rush to get the food ready to serve I forgot to take photos until everyone had gone through the buffet line. Hence the "leftovers" you see here. Though I guess this is a testament as to how much people ate. I also forgot to take a photo of an actual lettuce wrap, but you know what that looks like.

PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps
Source: adapted from Top Secret Insiders' Recipes Master Edition

8 mushrooms
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp dry sherry
2 tsp water
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 green onions, minced
1 Tbsp Thai Chili Sauce, or to taste
8 ounce can bamboo shoots, minced
8 ounce can water chestnuts, minced
1 package cellophane Chinese rice noodles, prepared according to package

Cooking Sauce:
2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. cornstarch

Iceburg lettuce "cups"

Mince mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts in food processor. Set aside. Mix all ingredients for cooking sauce in bowl and set aside. In medium bowl, combine cornstarch,
sherry water, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and chicken. Stir to coat chicken thoroughly. Let sit 15 minutes to marinate.

Heat wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and stir fry for about 3−4 minutes. Set aside. Add ginger, garlic, chilies(if desired), and onion; stir fry about a minute or so. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts; stir fry an additional 2 minutes. Return chicken to pan. Add mixed cooking sauce to pan. Cook until thickened and hot.

Break cooked cellophane noodles into small pieces and surround chicken in serving dish with them. Spoon into lettuce leaf and roll.

Pink Sangria

2008-09-09T12:34:00.008-05:00

Over 30 and want to feel young again? Here's what you do: dress in sweats with no makeup (preferably with baseball hat), go to the grocery store, put a few bottles of white zin and a bottle of peach schnapps on the conveyor belt, and I assure you, you'll be carded. It happened to me and it was a joyous experience. Now, had I left the baby at home and also bought a few bottles of Purple Passion and a case of the beast, I'm sure the checker would have thought I showed her a fake. Because these are the drinks of (underage drinking) youth.

Anywho, I was buying said zin and schnapps to make sangria for a bridal shower. I wanted to make a pink sangria rather than the usual deep red because pink is one of the wedding colors. Plus it would look fancy in these light pink wine glasses we got for our wedding, and which have never been used. I searched high and low and found a recipe on Epicurious. It was a big hit, refreshing and fruity. A little too peachy for me, but not so much that I didn't drink at least five glasses. (Bonus: I managed to not get drunk and make a fool of myself.)

The only changes I made to the original recipe was to cut up a small red apple in place of the lemon that the recipe calls for. Also, I meant to slice up strawberries in place of the peach but forgot, and did the peach instead. The biggest change was that I didn't just slice the fruit so it would float prettily in the pitcher. I like my sangria to be a mini-meal - a fruit salad with lots of liquid - so I diced my fruit so that each person would get a lot of fruit in their glass.

White Zinfandel Sangria

Source: Epicurious.com

1 750-ml bottle of chilled White Zinfandel

1/2 cup peach schnapps

2 Tbsp Cointreau or other orange liqueur

2 Tbsp sugar

2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half

1 lemon, sliced

1 orange, sliced

1 peach, sliced into wedges

1 10-ounce bottle of chilled club soda

Ice cubes

Mix first 8 ingredients in tall pitcher. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Mix in club soda. Fill 6 wineglasses with ice cubes. Pour sangria over ice and serve.

Creme Brulee Mini Cupcakes

2008-09-08T12:22:00.008-05:00

This weekend I hosted a bridal shower for my sister-in-law, Melissa. I made a variety of desserts including these cupcakes. They were a huge hit. I wasn't in love with them at first, but I think they're improving with age. They were a bit more dense than I thought they'd be based on the original recipe review, but that may be because the batter sat for so long as I used it all up. The recipe was easy to make. Only part that was overly time consuming was the actual baking, as I only have one decent 12-cup mini cupcake pan.

Creme Brulee Mini Cupcakes
Source: How To Eat A Cupcake

Yield: 60 mini cupcakes

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt, plus a pinch for the egg whites

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs, separated

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp caramel syrup (ice cream topping)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Alternately beat in dry ingredients and milk. Add caramel syrup and vanilla. Beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff but not dry. Gently fold whites into batter. Spoon batter into cupcake papers, filling cups about 2/3 full. Bake for about 14 minutes* or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.

Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1 cup light brown sugar

4 egg whites

¼ tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Put sugar, egg whites and salt into the top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Whisking constantly, cook until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm (about 160 degrees). Pour heated egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg white mixture on high speed until it forms stiff (but not dry) peaks. Continue beating until fluffy and cooled, about 7 minutes total. Switch to the paddle attachment. With mixer on medium-low, add butter two tablespoons at a time, beating well after each addition. Increase speed to medium-high; continue beating until frosting appears thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and continue beating 1 minute to reduce air bubbles.

*See original recipe for baking times, etc. for regular-sized cupcakes.

Crock Pot Whole Chicken

2008-09-08T11:55:00.007-05:00

I got the idea to cook a whole chicken in the crock pot from the cooking board on TheNest.com. I loved the idea, as I'm a fan of rotisserie chicken and am always looking for new crock pot meals, as I get home too late from work each night to make nice dinners and not eat at 8pm.

My chicken was a little tough due to it being cooked for too long. I often have that problem with my crock pot, even if I cook for shorter times than the recipe calls for. That said, I am anxious to make this again, as the meat was falling off the bone upon its removal from the crock pot (see photo above). I can tell that had I turned off the heat an hour or so earlier, it would have been amazing. Plus, it was too easy not to keep in rotation. You can use whatever spices you have on hand. We ate the whole bird, however, between that night's meal and curry chicken salad made with leftover meat.

Whole chicken, crock pot-style

Source: adapted from Carrie's Sweet Life

5 lb chicken

Olive oil

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Accent seasoning

Black pepper

Poultry seasoning

2 bay leaves

1/3 cup water*

Wash bird and pat dry. Remove gizzard, etc. from cavity. Rub olive oil all over bird and shower with spices. Put in crock pot and add 1/3 cup water and bay leaves. Cook on low for 8 hours*.

*Next time I may not add water, as it creates its own juices and will cook on low for 5 1/2 hours and see how well done the meat is. I think cooking time depends on the individual crock pot. My bird filled about 2/3 of the pot but still overcooked.

Fiber One Crunchy Fudge Cookies

2008-09-03T10:32:00.008-05:00

Michael loves Fiber One cereal and is often trying to make me eat it. I do not enjoy it, as it is not Captain Crunch. However, he left the box out on the counter last Friday and I noticed this recipe. I know from doing Weight Watchers in the past that the more fiber a recipe has, the lower the points, so these were immediately appealing to me. Plus, I had all of the ingredients. What I enjoy most about these cookies, besides how quick and easy they are to make and the low point value (one point per cookie!!) is how cinnamonny they taste. Next time I'll probably crush the cereal a bit before adding it to the mix, as these are a little too crunchy for me (every time I bite into one I expect it to be semi-chewy, since they look like they are, but then there's the cereal). However, they're good dipped in milk, and if you're dieting and looking for a chocolate fix, this is a great recipe.

Fiber One Crunchy Fudge Cookies

Source: Fiber One Cereal Box

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies (my batch yielded 2 1/2 dozen)

1 box (1 lb 2.3 oz) fudge brownie mix

2 cups Fiber One cereal

1/3 cup water

1 egg

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I subbed apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment. In large bowl, mix all ingredients with spoon. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls two inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes until set. Cool two minutes, remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container. Can store baked cookies for up to two months in freezer in tightly wrapped.

Per cookie: 70 calories, 1g fat, 2g fiber - 1 WW point

Canteloupe Granita

2008-09-02T12:25:00.006-05:00

Found the recipe. Photos looked delicous. Had the ingredients and the time. Made it and enjoyed it.Canteloupe Granita

Source: Gourmet, August 2005

2 cups coarsely chopped canteloupe (from 1/2 melon, seeded)

1/4 cup sugar, or to taste

1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste (just realized I misread this and used just under 1 Tbsp lime juice)

1 cup ice cubes

Puree all ingredients in a blender (or food processor) until smooth, then pour into a 13" x 9" metal pan and freeze until mixture becomes a firm slush, at least 40 minutes. Scrape with a fork and served in chilled glasses.

Filipino Pork Barbecue

2008-09-02T11:49:00.006-05:00

Michael's mom makes great barbecue. Her sons request it fairly often, to the point that she doesn't really enjoy making it anymore. Still, it's a rare treat when we get to have it. A few months ago I bought a Filipino cookbook in order to learn some recipes on my own. Not wanting to steal Juanita's thunder, when I decided to make Filipino barbecue for Labor Day, I took to my cookbook, rather than asking for her recipe, knowing that it would not be exactly the same. (Plus, knowing the recipe so well, she just eye balls all of the ingredients, which would have been of no help to me).

This recipe consists of marinated, thin slices of pork, threaded onto skewers before they are grilled. Slicing the meat thin is the only part of the recipe that requires any skill; if you have a decent knife, it's easier than I expected. This recipe calls for three pounds of pork; since it would be just the two of us eating it, I cut up three pork steaks but used the same amount of marinade. That amount of meat produced 14 skewers.

I was a little iffy on the marinade before tasting it - wasn't sure about the ketchup. After repeatedly reminding Michael that "this is not your mother's barbecue," I was happy to discover that it tastes very similar to Juanita's version. So was he. In fact, he told me that was both good and bad for me - good that I made something so delicious. Bad that he'll now be requesting this regularly.

Pork Barbecue

Source: Phillipine Recipes Made Easy by Violetta A. Noriega

Serves 6-8

3 lbs boneless pork, sliced 1/4" thick, 2" wide

Bamboo or metal skewers

Marinade:

1/4 cup vinegar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)

1/4 tsp black ground pepper or to taste

3/4 tsp salt or to taste

1/4 cup ketchup

In a bowl, mix marinade together and let stand for 15 minutes. Marinade pork slices for six hours or overnight (the longer the better) in the refridgerator. Stir meat occasionally to evenly distribute flavor.

Prepare barbecue equipment. Soak skewers (if wooden) in water for at least an hour. Thread meat onto skewers. Placed skewered meat on hot grill. Brush marinade on pork during the course of cooking. Make sure meat is cooked through. Serve immediately.

Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

2008-08-26T10:00:00.009-05:00

Last night I decided to make macaroons for my mom, who is going out of town for her annual two-week voyage to Michigan with friends (and my dad, for week one). She loves her some macaroons. (So do I). She's been kind enough these last several months to watch Chloe one day a week while I'm at work, which she loves doing, but I don't thank her enough for helping us save a little dough.

Anywho, I've seen a few macaroons on some cooking blogs I frequent lately and they looked easy enough, so I went for it. But first I had to decide whether I was going to go with a recipe that used sweetened condensed milk (which I LOVE), or none. I was a little wary, not gonna lie, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go with a non SCM recipe. First I thought I'd go with Chocolate and Zucchini's recipe, not only because the author is French (I'm a Francophile) but also because she calls hers "Rochers a la Noix de Coco." Fancy! Ooh la la! But I ended up using a recipe by Baking Blonde. I've been drooling over her blog for months and have made her unbelievable Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies with great success (will have to make again to gorge on, er, blog about). I did make a few changes - I was crunched for time so did not chop my coconut in the food processor, I doubled the recipe, and I used almond meal instead of flour. Delicious.

Chocolate-Dipped Macaroons

Source: Baking Blonde

4 large egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract

2/3 cup sugar

4 tbsp almond meal (Trader Joe's)

1/2 tsp salt (I just did a couple of big shakes)

4 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tbsp canola oil

Bring eggs to room temperature by letting them sit on the counter for about an hour before separating (this will make it easier to separate). Prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper. Place the egg whites in a medium bowl and starting at low speed, beat the egg whites until they begin to foam. As the foam continues to build, you can turn the speed to medium and then high. Beat until the foam forms stiff, glossy peaks. Add the almond extract as desired. Add the sugar, flour and salt and continue to beat until incorporated. Fold in the coconut just untili combined. Cover bowl tightly and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325. Spoon the batter onto the pan in rounded mounds. The batter should be of a consistency that a spoonful will stand as a mound 3/4-inch high on the pan.Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cookies begin to turn a light brown color. Immediately remove the cookies and allow to cool on wire racks.

Melt the chocolate and oil in the microwave for one-minute intervals, stirring between heating, until melted. Dip macaroons in chocolate, put back on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and chill in the refridgerator until chocolate is set. Store in a cool, dry place.

Mango Macadamia Crisp

2008-08-23T22:28:00.010-05:00

I have a ton of cooking magazines filled with great recipes which I mark when I get the pub in the mail, but quickly forget about when I see other great recipes on the Internet. So this week I decided to go through all of my Cooking Light's, Gourmet's and the like, pull the recipes I like and recycle the rest. Pretty sure Michael thinks I'm wasting my time, that I won't actually make any of the recipes I've pulled, but today I proved him wrong, much to his delight. I made my first dessert from the ever-rising pile. And it was delicious. I made no changes to the original recipe other than to use frozen mangos from Trader Joe's (one bag) and I doubled the amount of macadamia nuts, mainly because I over estimated the amount of whole nuts that would make three tablespoons of chopped nuts, but also because I like macadamias. Next time I'd consider doubling the topping in full, just because it turned out so delicious. But really, it's great - and rich - as is. Or with a side of vanilla frozen yogurt.

Mango Macadamia Crisp
Source: Cooking Light, May 2005

Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
4 cups chopped peeled ripe mango (about 4 lbs)
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp butter, melted
Cooking spray

Topping:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp chopped macadamia nuts (I used 6 tbsp)

Preheat oven to 400. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cornstarch, stirring well with a whisk. Add mango, juice and two teaspoons melted butter, and toss gently to combine. Place mango mixture in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

To prepare topping, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, three tablespoons of granulated sugar, brown sugar and ginger, stirring well. Cut in three tablespoons of butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles course meal. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle flour mixture evenly over mango mixture. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until browned.

Five Minute Ice Cream (aka Creamy Fruit Smoothie)

2008-08-22T12:50:00.012-05:00

I've been wanting to make ice cream lately but don't have the time after work. I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com called "Five Minute Ice Cream" that looked easy enough. I played around with the ingredients to try to make it a little less bad for me (no heavy cream, etc.). It was the consistency of a smoothie when it was all blended, and it was freaking delicious, but I decided to hold out until it had frozen before I really went to town. It was good, but not creamy enough. (Maybe because I didn't measure out the fruit when I dumped it into the food processor). It kind of reminded me of Baskin-Robbins' Daiquiri Ice, which I haven't had since about 1987, when it was all the rage amongst my seventh grade class. (A search of the web indicates the original is no longer available! My 13 year old self is heartbroken). So to finish it off, I just added more liquids and drank it like a smoothie. A delicious, thick, can't-get-enough-of-it smoothie.

Five Minute Ice Cream
Source: this recipe found at Allrecipes.com

1 (10 oz) package of frozen fruit (I used 1/2 bag frozen raspberries and 1/2 bag frozen mango)
1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda, and poured to taste)
2/3 cup heavy cream (I used 1/3 cup FF Greek yogurt and 1/3 cup low fat soy creamer, which was surprisingly delicious)

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth (unless you like the fruit chunky in your ice cream). Put into freezer-safe container and freeze for a few hours until it hardens, or add more liquids and drink immediately.

Taco Salad with Edible Bowl

2008-08-12T11:12:00.009-05:00

I am very behind on reading my magazine subscriptions. Except for US Weekly. I always find time for my celebrity friends. But Sunday night it was Michael's turn to put Chloe to bed so I read an issue of Family Fun magazine. Got it for free for subscribing to Parenting. It's a decent pub. Anywho, there was an article on kid-friendly salads, and while my kid is too young to find any salad friendly, the taco salad caught my eye. Mainly because the ingredients looked fresh and healthy and it required making your own edible bowls from tortillas. Sounded like fun. So I made taco salad last night. I didn't stick with the recipe, in that I didn't make the dressing (looked delish, but not so much with the taco meat I added - which kind of makes the salad look wilted and gross in my pics and in person, even though it was neither wilted nor gross) and I added more ingredients. It was a huge hit, and Michael commented several times on how good it was. Nice to hear for something so easy. I'll make this again, though next time I may substitute the ground beef for cubed chicken, and make the honey-lime dressing the actual recipe calls for.

Source: adapted from a recipe in Family Fun magazine, July/August 2008 issue

3 flour tortillas (6" diameter)
About half a head of iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, large dice
1 avocado, large dice
Handful of cheddar cheese
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup salsa
1 lb lean ground beef
Taco seasoning packet

Heat oven to 350. Microwave each tortilla under a damp paper towel for roughly 20 seconds - enough to make it soft and pliable. Put three ramekins upside down on a cookie sheet. Spray each side of the tortillas with cooking spray and lay on top of each ramekin, gently encouraging the tortillas to form a ruffled cup. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tortillas are golden brown. Remove from oven and set right-side up on each of three plates. Let cool.

Cook the meat in a skillet. Drain if desired. Add seasoning and a bit of water if necessary. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, chop the lettuce and add it to a large bowl with all ingredients other than tortillas. Toss to combine. Put a generous amount of salad in each bowl and serve.

Dorie's Perfect Party Cake

2008-08-11T13:41:00.016-05:00

I've been wanting to try a layer cake to see if I could make one that wasn't a lopsided mess, as they've always been in the past. I've also been into teaching myself to decorate with icing, so we invited our parents for dinner and I baked this cake. I bought a few tools to help the process go smoother than if I went about it as usual: baking strips to help with more evenly baked layers (no doming) and one of those thingies that cuts a cake in half horizontally, so I wouldn't have to use a knife. If it weren't for these two items, the cake would have been kind of a disaster. You'll see that with one of the cakes I didn't do so well with the cutting of layers, but that by the time I got to the second cake, I knew what I was doing, and that thingy was a godsend.

I was at a bakery a few weeks ago and saw a cake where they used Starbursts and icing to make little gifts on top of the cake, which was too cute not to do, even though it wasn't a gift-giving occasion. The cake as a whole was pretty time consuming, so I'll likely not bake again for a few weeks, but I'm really happy with the outcome. Just need to perfect the cutting of the layers.

The cake itself got rave reviews. It was a bit lemony for my taste, considering it's a white cake, but it was refreshing. In her original recipe, Dorie Greenspan does layers of raspberry jam and buttercream. I'm not a lover of layers of jam in cake so I did a raspberry filling that I found on this blog (so many good things here). Though I could not find the extract that the recipe calls for, so I had to work around that.

Perfect Party Cake
Source: Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk or whole milk (I used 1 cup buttermilk and 1/4 cup whole milk, as I didn't have enough buttermilk)
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp pure lemon extract

For the Swiss buttercream:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about two lemons)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Fresh Raspberry Filling
Source: Good Things Catered
2 cups powdered sugar
Miniscule pinch of salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 tsp natural raspberry extract (I couldn't find this at three stores so I used some juice from the thawed raspberries
1/2 tsp butter flavor (sold at Michael's and I think the grocery store)
4 oz. fresh raspberries (I used frozen since I had them)

For decoration (optional):
Starburst

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the bottom of two 9" round cake pans with parchment paper cut to size, and spray with cooking spray. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and, working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full three minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beting on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating unil the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good two-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well-aereated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch. A thin knife inserted into the center of each cake should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about five minutes, then invert each cake, removing the parchment paper. Cool to room temperature right-side up.

To make the buttercream, put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about three minutes. The sugar should be dissolved and the mixture should look like shiny marshmallow cream (mine wasn't quite that pretty). Remove from heat. Strain mixture through a fine sieve to remove any scrambled egg (which I had plenty). Beat the meringue mixture on medium speed until it is cool, about five minutes. Add the butter, a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, six to ten minutes. During this time, the buttercream may curdle...keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice,waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, then the vanilla. You should have a shiny, smooth, white buttercream.

To make the filling, combine the shortening and extracts and beat on low until relatively combined. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and salt, then add to mixer while still on. Scrape down sides of bowl until thoroughly combined. Add raspberries and some raspberry juice (if you can't find the extract). Add water if needed to reach desired texture.

To assemble the cake, cut the two cakes into four layers either using a serrated knife or one of those cake cutter thingies I mentioned above (highly recommend for even layers). Pipe some icing around the diameter of the bottom layer to act as a dam for the filling. Fill with about one third of the filling. Top with another layer and repeat until you top the cake with the last layer, cut side down. With an offset spatula, cover the cake with icing, working it until it's smooth. Decorate as you see fit (Dorie covers hers with coconut). To do the Starburst gifts, unwrap each candy and place on a piece of parchment. Using a very small tip (number escapes me), pipe a cross on each one, then a little bow. Touching at the corners, move each candy onto the top of the cake.

Phew... long post.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cupcakes

2008-08-05T22:36:00.014-05:00

In my continued attempts to find a cupcake that I adore to serve at a bridal shower I'm hosting in September, I made Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cupcakes after reading several glowing reviews about the recipe. Admittedly, chocolate cake is not my favorite kind of cake, and I thought these were just ok. Just not that rich or substantial. Maybe I overmixed the batter, but upon taking them out of the oven, they deflated a bit. Good thing I made the glorious chocolate frosting that you see below.

Oh, the frosting. Normally I'm not much of a frosting girl, but I could have eaten the bowl (almost did) and would gladly refridgerate the cupcakes, remove the cake from the frosting, and eat the frosting by itself like fudge (might have done this).

Now, if you are used to making frosting, this recipe is nothing new. But I'm a novice in this area, as I've always just bought the jar of pre-made stuff. Plus, I'm trying to teach myself how to decorate cakes and cupcakes with help from Wilton booklets and YouTube demonstrations. So, it's possible that the pretty swirls make the frosting taste that much more delicious. Anyway, this'll be my go-to chocolate buttercream from now on. Just need to find the "Perfectly Chocolate" cake on which it can rest.

Source: Allrecipes

Yields: 24 cupcakes

2 cups white sugar (I used 1 c white and 1 c light brown)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used natural apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 c boiling water (I used hot coffee, per the reviews on Allrecipes)

Heat oven to 350. Put cupcake liners in two muffin pans. Stir together sugar through salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil (apple sauce) and vanilla. Beat on medium speed two minutes. Stir in boiling water (coffee) - batter will be thin. Pour batter into liners. Bake 22-24 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Rich Chocolate Frosting

Source: Based on this recipe from Allrecipes

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 cup baking cocoa

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar, cocoa and vanilla. Add enough milk until frosting reaches spreading consistency.

Quick Ensaymadas (Filipino Sweet Rolls)

2008-07-31T09:53:00.019-05:00

I grew up in your standard Midwestern household. When we'd go out to eat, the most exotic we'd get would be Mexican or Chinese. When I got together with my husband, a whole new culinary world opened up to me. His parents are from Manila and his mom is an excellent cook, so I was introduced to lots of delicious new dishes from the Philippines. One treat in particular, ensaymada, is a sweet roll with butter, cheese and sugar. Until recently I had only had pre-packaged ensaymada from Goldilocks Bakery.

Michael's parents usually had a stash in their freezer from relatives who visited from California. In my attempts to learn how to cook some traditional Filipino dishes, I recently bought a cookbook of Filipino cuisine. The other night I realized I had all (four) of the ingredients needed for Quick Ensaymada, so I thought I'd try it. So glad I did. This tastes pretty much like the real thing. Maybe even better, as it's smaller and likely quite a bit better for us (or less bad, depending on your outlook).

Since we generally start with frozen ensaymada, we tend to microwave ours before eating, so the cheese is pretty melted. According to this recipe, that's not how you'd normally eat it.

Source: Philippine Recipes Made Easy by Violeta A. Noriega

Hawaiian sweet rolls
Butter or margarine
Sugar
Shredded cheddar cheese

Butter your roll, dredge in sugar and top with cheese. (I then microwaved for 11 seconds). Enjoy. Because seriously, you will.

Pistachio Cake

2008-07-31T09:23:00.019-05:00

In honor of Michael's birthday (Happy birthday, Hottie!) I made this pistachio cake for him last night. While not a favorite of mine (not a lover of pistachio pudding), this cake is always a guarenteed hit with him. Michael's mom used to make it for his family - that's how I first learned about it - so I looked around and found this recipe in one of my mom's old cookbooks published for charity by a non-profit. This one is circa 1970, so there are all sorts of interesting recipes in it (drenched sherry prunes, anyone?). What makes this particular recipe great is the addition of orange juice. You can't taste the orange but it adds a fuller flavor to the cake. I like making this cake not only because I know Michael will love it, but also because it's super easy to make, and best of all, I won't want to stuff my face with it, as I'd like to do with most any other cake. One piece dunked in milk and I'm good. The rest is up to him to finish.

I make my pistachio cake in a bunt pan and don't include the chocolate mixture the recipe calls for (or any other glaze), as that's not how Michael likes it.

Source: The Third Saint Louis Symphony of Cooking... The Young Gourmet, 1970

Four eggs
1 box white cake mix (I use yellow)
1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water

1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup Hershey Chocolate Syrup

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs. Add cake mix through water and beat until combined. In a separate bowl mix butter and syrup. Spray tube pan with non-stick spray, pour in chocolate mixture then cake batter. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes (I baked mine for roughly 45 minutes). Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing.