April Takes The Cake

Cheesecake and Kneader's Baked French Toast

2011-03-17T13:44:00.004-06:00

So, remember THIS post? Well, not sure how I estimated that it would be a 3-year's supply but after making them last month for my brother's homecoming I'm all out and will be reordering more. I did give a couple of packages away but I used the rest of them. And this time I'm thinking of ordering 2 cases since shipping is about the same price.

This morning Kaleb and Ashton were excited to see a leprechaun had left them a bag of goodies by their doors and the footprints and gold coins he left behind. Ashton's convinced it's Halloween because he has a bag of candy. Last Saturday we had breakfast at Kneader's Bakery and Matt had the french toast which was really good. So I found THIS recipe online from Kneader's and thought I would try it.

(Picture from HERE)

Kneaders Over-Night French Toast
By: Kneader's Bakery

Ingredients:

1 loaf Kneaders Chunky Cinnamon Bread cut in 8 slices
8 eggs
3 c. milk
1 T. brown sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 T. vanilla
2 T. butter

Preparation:

Butter a glass baking dish generously (9" x 13"). Place the bread flat in the baking dish. Mix all remaining ingredients, reserving the butter and pour over the bread. Cut butter into pieces and dot over the top. Refrigerate over night or at least 1 hour. Bake 45 - 50 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 8

Kneader's Carmel Syrup
1 c. Brown sugar
1 c. Creme (heavy whipping cream)
1 c. Light Karo Syrup
Blend together and heat on stovetop until sugar is smooth.
Serve warm.

I didn't buy their bread but I bought a loaf of french bread and cut it into 8 really thick slices, using the whole loaf. I didn't have time last night but next time I really want to try to make THIS bread to use. Since I didn't have cinnamon bread I sprinkled cinnamon and a little brown sugar on top after pouring the egg/milk mixture on the bread. Also, I forgot to get heavy whipping cream to use in the syrup so I substituted 3/4 c. milk and 2 T. butter and it looked and tasted almost exactly the same. I'm sure the cream would make it a little thicker than mine was.

After making this recipe I realized that this is one version of Kneader's french toast but this isn't how they make it at the bakery. The Chunky Cinnamon French Toast made at the bakery has your normal consistency along with a little crispy caramelization on the outside from cooking it on a grill/pan. To be honest I didn't like the consistency at all. It was like bread pudding and soggy bread is not my thing. Amazing flavors, especially the syrup but I couldn't get past the soggy bread and Matt didn't care for that part either. So next time I will half the egg/milk mixture and make it on the griddle or in a pan so that it resembles their french toast and I won't be attempting anymore over-night french toast recipes.

Roasted Cauliflower with Parmesan

2011-01-13T17:15:00.003-07:00

So easy but so yummy!

We like to roast broccoli in the oven with a little salt or garlic salt but I had never tried cauliflower. My grandma has a recipe for a cauliflower side dish that has a white sauce, cheese and bread crumbs on top that I love but it's time consuming to make. I can't tell you how much we LOVED this roasted cauliflower. Even the few pieces that didn't have parmesan cheese on them were amazing. It makes the cauliflower have a sweet roasted flavor. Matt and I couldn't stop snacking on what was left after dinner. We also tried THIS pasta with chicken instead of shrimp and mushrooms and it was good but to be honest I loved the cauliflower more.

Picture from here

Roasted Cauliflower

(serves 4 as side dish)

1 head of cauliflower
2 T olive oil
salt
grated parmesan

Preheat oven 375.

Cut cauliflower into little evenly-sized florets. Place on baking sheet and toss with olive oil and some salt. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tops are a little golden brown and florets are soft. Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Pasta & Yummy Bean Dip

2011-01-06T12:45:00.004-07:00

I feel like it's stupid to post recipes when most of the things I make are from other blogs that I could just link to. But I do like having all of the recipes I like in one place because it helps me plan out my meals. I didn't take any of my own pictures (they wouldn't look as pretty anyways) but at least I'm posting something to this neglected blog!

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
From: Pioneer Woman

(Picture from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Butter
* 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced (I used dried)
* 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 2 cans (15 Ounce Each) Tomato Sauce Or Marinara Sauce
* Salt And Pepper, to taste
* Dash Of Sugar (more To Taste) (I had to use a little more than a dash since my tomato sauce was really acidic)
* 1 cup Heavy Cream
* Grated Parmesan Or Romano Cheese, To Taste
* Fresh Basil, Chopped (I used dried)
* 1-½ pound Fettuccine (I used Penne)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Heat butter and oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for a minute or so. Pour in tomato sauce and add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. Stir and cook over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and stir in cream. Add cheese to taste, then check seasonings. Stir in pasta and chopped basil and serve immediately. (Thin with pasta water before adding basil if needed.)

I really enjoyed the flavor of this sauce and the best part is I have alot of tomato sauce from case lot sales since you can get it for a really good price so I'll be making this again. I also am going to try the PW Penne alla Betsy next week but it's really close to the same recipe as this but with the addition of shrimp and chicken broth.

Hot (and Healthy) White Bean Dip
From: Our Best Bites(Picture from Our Best Bites)

2 slices bacon (if you're like me you'll want to do extra)

4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 can cannellini beans, drained (Great Northern beans work too)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon crushed rosemary

Cook bacon in a small saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon; set aside. Add garlic to drippings in pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add broth and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Combine bean mixture, onions, and remaining ingredients in a food processor, and process until smooth. Spoon mixture into a bowl; stir in 1 tablespoon reserved bacon (or add to food processor and pulse a few times). At this point taste it and add more salt to taste, as well as hot sauce and lemon juice if desired. (I usually go heavy on both of those) Sprinkle dip with remaining bacon just before serving.

Serve with pita chips.

Storage: This works great to make ahead of time. Just store in the fridge and warm it up in the microwave before serving.

I loved this dip! I'm not usually a big fan of dips because they usually have stuff I don't like in them and they're not good for you but this was awesome. I have some precooked bacon from Costco so I used 4 slices cut up and I had to add about 1 T. butter since I didn't have any bacon grease. The butter also helped because I used a pinch of dried onions (since I didn't have green onions). I also didn't add hot sauce (don't have it) but I bet it would taste good with a little kick to it. I just put everything in the pan together to cook it, bacon and all. When I put everything in the food processor it was a little thick and wasn't mixing well so I added a little more chicken broth to it until it was the right consistency. I couldn't find Pita Chips so I ended up buying some whole wheat baked crackers and it was the perfect snack. Matt loved it too.

Mario Kart Cake

2010-06-29T12:32:00.004-06:00

I know this is a long post but I needed to have the recipes and amounts I use written down so that I don't forget the next time I do a cake.

This is a cake I made for Kaleb's 6th birthday and although it was very rushed and I didn't have very much time it still turned out pretty good.

This cake consisted of 4 layers of cake with a raspberry filling and cream cheese buttercream frosting. Then I covered the cake with fondant and decorated it. It’s been so long since I’ve done a big cake that I forgot how much cake batter and fondant I would need so after this cake I told myself I would write everything down.

(There's also a blog I look at that's doing a make-a-cake series and they have pictures and instructions on fondant and cakes.)

The Cake:

I used a 10-inch and a 6-inch cake pan. My cake pans are 3 inches deep. I decided I would try the cake mix route to not only save money but a lot of time.

I mixed up 2 cake mixes and it filled both of my pans halfway which is the most you want to put in a pan. I put them in the oven together at 300 degrees convection (325 if not using convection) for 60 minutes pulling the 6-inch cake pan out of the oven after 45 minutes. Be sure to grease your pans and for the 10-inch pan I put parchment paper in the bottom to make sure it doesn’t stick and tear the cake. I then mixed up 2 more cake mixed and made 2 more layers for the cake.

After they’ve cooled completely wrap in plastic wrap. Depending how early you make the cakes you can freeze them. This helps you get a moist cake although I don’t think with a boxed cake mix this is an issue because they’re so moist already. I made my cakes the night before so I didn’t freeze them this time.

Raspberry Filling:

I tried making my own filling with my own recipe (using a couple other recipes as guidelines) and it turned out awesome. It made more than I needed so I took the extra with us so people could add more to their cake if they wanted.

2 bags of frozen raspberries
2 t. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. corn starch
2 c. water

In large saucepan, combine raspberries, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and water; mix well. Heat and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Strain the sauce to get rid of the seeds. Cool completely. Makes about 4 cups of filling. (This would taste great piped into the center of cupcakes as a filling or for a donut filling.)

Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting

I love this frosting. It’s the best of both worlds combining cream cheese frosting with butter cream frosting. The only downside is that you need to keep it refrigerated and so I haven’t used it on wedding cakes since you usually aren’t the one taking the leftovers home. But other than that I won’t ever use any other frosting than this one.

4 lbs. powdered sugar (2 bags)
2/3 c. water
8 oz. cream cheese (1 block)
¾ c. butter (1 ½ sticks)
1 c. vegetable shortening

Add all of the ingredients except powdered sugar to your mixer. Mix until combined. Add powdered sugar a couple of cups at a time and mix well until it’s smooth and creamy. Makes 12 cups. (This was the perfect amount for this cake, after the small amount of piping on the cake I had about 1 ½ c. left. I’m also very generous when I frost my cakes and put a lot of frosting on them especially when you have a cake this thick.)

Assemble the Cake:

Level out the top of each layer of cake so that your cake sits flat. Place a spoonful of frosting on your cake plate and place the bottom layer down. I then pipe a ring thick ring of frosting around the edge of the cake layer to create a dam so the filling doesn’t run down the cake. It also helps so that when you frost the cake you don’t mix filling in the frosting and the crack is already filled with frosting. Spread a thick layer of filling on the cake. Then take the next layer and place it cut side down on top of your first layer. You don’t want to have to try to frost the cut part or it would be a crumby mess. Then frost the whole cake.

Repeat with the second layer of cake. I invert my cake pan (6-inch) and assemble the small cake on top of it. This makes it easier when it comes time for fondant. Place both cake layers in the fridge after they’re frosted.

Rolled Marshmallow Fondant

Buying fondant is expensive and it doesn’t taste gross. You can make a standard homemade fondant (like what you would buy in the store) but the ingredients aren’t pantry staples so there are some added cost or you can make the marshmallow fondant which is softer and easier to work with. Plus, it’s not expensive to make and only takes a couple of ingredients.

1 package (16 oz) white mini marshmallows (use a good quality brand) (The bags at the store are only 10 oz. so I used 1 ½ bags per batch)
2-5 T. water
2 lbs. (8 c. or 1 bag) powdered sugar
½ c. vegetable shortening

To make marshmallow fondant, place marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds on high; stir until mixed well. Continue microwaving 30 seconds more; stir again. Continue until melted (about 2 minutes).

Place 3/4 of the confectioners' sugar on top of the melted marshmallow mixture. Fold sugar into marshmallow mixture. Flavoring can be added at this point if desired. Place solid vegetable shortening in easily accessed bowl so you can reach into it with fingers as you are working. Grease hands and counter GENEROUSLY; turn marshmallow mixture onto counter. Start kneading like you would dough. Continue kneading, adding additional confectioners' sugar and re-greasing hands and counter so the fondant doesn't stick. If the marshmallow fondant is tearing easily, it is too dry; add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time) kneading until fondant forms a firm, smooth elastic ball that will stretch without tearing, about 8 minutes.

It's best to allow Marshmallow Fondant to sit, double-wrapped, overnight. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating with a thin layer of solid vegetable shortening, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in resealable bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. Marshmallow Fondant will keep well in refrigerator for several weeks.

When not working with fondant, make sure to keep it covered with plastic wrap or in a bag to prevent it from drying out. When ready to use, knead fondant until smooth. Roll out fondant 1/8 in. thick.

To color fondant: If you need to tint the entire batch of fondant, add a little icing color to the melted marshmallow mixture before adding confectioners' sugar. For smaller amounts of tinted fondant, add icing color to portions of fondant as needed.

Makes about 2 lbs. of fondant
.

I made 2 batches of fondant for this cake. The first batch I tinted the melted marshmallow mixture sky blue and this fondant covered both of my cakes. The second batch I left white and then divided it into different pieces to color separately after the fondant was made. Use the gel food coloring because the liquid will mess up the fondant. If you don’t want brightly colored hands wear gloved when first mixing the coloring in the fondant. Once it’s mixed you don’t need gloves.

Covering the Cakes with Fondant:

Grease your surface and rolling pin and roll the fondant out to the size you need. Measure the sides of the cake and top to see how big of a circle you need. For a big piece of fondant it’s easier if you have 2 people and you drape it over your hands and place it centered on the cake. This time I was alone and so I couldn’t pick it up without it tearing so I folded the fondant in half and then fourths (like you would a pie crust when you’re putting it in the pan) and placed it on the cake and unfolded it. The only thing about doing this was I had a small crease in the fondant where it was folded in half but it wasn’t very noticeable. You also want your cake elevated when applying the fondant so the extra drapes over the sides. This makes it easier to smooth out. You can use your hands or a fondant smoother. I watched a couple of videos on the internet to learn how to cover a cake with fondant. Also, to get fondant pieces to stick to fondant just dip your finger in water and rub it where you want the shape. The press it to the fondant and it will stick.

Cake Tools:

I have a fondant smoother and I just bought a fondant roll and cut mat. I use my wood rolling pin but they do have fondant rolling pins you can buy. They probably are easier to use but I don’t want to spend $20 if I don’t have to. You can buy the supplies at Wal-Mart, Roberts and Michael’s. Wal-Mart is the cheapest unless you use coupons. Just look in the craft section at their decorating stuff. I buy my disposable piping bags and food coloring there too. For more specific colors or supplies Gygi’s is the best store.

Next time I will plan better and buy cookie cutters in the basic shapes I need (stars, clouds) because it’s too time consuming and doesn’t look as sharp to cut out the shapes with a knife. And they only cost about 50 cents to buy. I also want to try to mix my filling with a cream cheese mixture to make a cream cheese fruit filling. I love the strawberry cream cheese filling in Costco cakes. And the biggest issue is that I need to plan more time! With the next cake I’ll be sure to have the cake cooked, assembled, frosted and the fondant made and colored the day before. Then you just have to cover cakes and decorate which is the most time consuming.

Mmm....Peanut Butter

2010-03-31T13:24:00.000-06:00

These are the BEST peanut butter cookies I've ever had! I hate making peanut butter cookies because as soon as they cool they start to turn rock hard and they're crumbly and just not that good. When I saw the picture for these cookies on Baking Bites I was so excited to try them. I'm glad I made a double batch. They aren't flat and they're soft and chewy, even the next day. The toffee melts so it becomes part of the chewiness of the cookie. I no longer hate making peanut butter cookies.

**Side notes: I didn't make mine into sandwiches. I also used creamy peanut butter for the cookies instead of crunchy and dark brown sugar since I already had an opened bag I needed to use up. Anyone know the difference between quick cooking oats and old fashioned oats? I don't cook with oats much and all I had were old fashioned and they worked great. I used a cookie scoop instead of rolling them into the balls. Less work and much cleaner. Do not overcook, mine took 9 minutes and were barely brown on the edges. I let them sit on the pan for 1 minute and then put them on the cooling rack.

Toffee Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Recipe from Baking Bites

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup finely chopped toffee bits (such as Heath)
approx 1 cup smooth peanut butter (if making sandwiches)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth, followed by crunchy peanut butter. With the mixer on low speed or working by hand, gradually blend in the flour mixture, then stir in the toffee bits. Drop scant 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are golden. Cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cookies are cooled, sandwich each pair with 2-3 tsp smooth peanut butter.

Makes about 40 cookies, or 20 sandwich cookies

Creamy White Chili

2010-03-17T13:03:00.000-06:00

This is a really good recipe for a white chili. It was creamy and I really liked it with Monterey Jack cheese. Although we had a really good white Chili in Colorado and Matt says he likes that version better. So I'll have to get the recipe and try it again. I didn't add the cayenne pepper since Kaleb doesn't like anything spicy. My chicken was already precooked and cut up in the freezer and so I just added everything but the sour cream and whipping cream to the pot at once.

Creamy White Chili
from My Kitchen Cafe

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon oil
2 cans (15 1/2 ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
2 cans (4 ounces each) chopped green chilies (if you like less kick, add just one can)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream

In a large saucepan, saute chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream and cream. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately. This is especially good served with tortilla chips. Makes about 6 servings.

2010-02-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is another recipe from My Kitchen Cafe. Matt has never liked Stroganoff, at least not the kind with Cream of Mushroom soup. So I was excited to try this recipe. We all really liked it. We served it over brown rice but I think next time I'll try noodles. It was good with the rice but brown rice has a nutty flavor that to me distracted from the stroganoff. We also love mushrooms and so I added 2 containers of sliced mushrooms and I also cooked them on the stove for a couple of minutes so that everything at the end could be added without cooking for another 15-30 min.

The Ultimate Beef Stroganoff
From: My Kitchen Cafe

Put in crock pot:
2-3 pounds stew meat
1 tsp. salt
dash of pepper
1 onion, sliced

Mix in a bowl and pour over meat:
¼ tsp. garlic salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cups beef broth or stock
1 tablespoon ketchup

Cook in crockpot on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. When cooked make a simple roux by whisking 1/3 cup flour with enough apple juice (about 5-6 tablespoons) to make a thick but still pourable flour mixture. Whisk the roux into the crockpot and add 4 ounces sliced mushrooms.

Cook on high for 15-30 minutes. Then stir in ½ cup sour cream. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

2010-01-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

My uncle (he's an amazing cook) made this breakfast casserole a couple of months ago and I loved it! I've now made it twice and both times I've forgotten to take a picture. So no picture but just imagine a breakfast casserole, they kind of all look the same anyways, but this one tastes much better! And I love that I can make it the night before and since it makes more than enough for the 4 of us we have breakfast for a couple of days.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole

2 12oz. pkgs. Jimmy Dean Sausage (mild)
1 sm. onion (I use 1/3 c. dried onion)
2 1/2 c. Pepperidge Farm Seasoned Stuffing Croutons (in a bag by the stuffing)
2 c. Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I've used sharp and mild so whatever you have on hand)
8 eggs
2 c. milk
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. dry mustard (I didn't have this)
1/4 t. pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup mix
1 c. sour cream

Cook onion and sausage and drain drippings on paper towel. Arrange Stuffing Croutons on bottom of lightly buttered 9X13 baking dish. Spread sausage and onion over baking dish evenly. Spread cheese on top of sausage. In a bowl mix eggs, milk 1/2 c. of the heavy cream, dry mustard and pepper until well mixed. Pour over the top of the cheese, sausage, stuffing mixture. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning mix cream of mushroom soup with the sour cream and 1/2 c. of heavy cream and spread on top. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Pomegranate Cheesecake

2010-01-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I made this for Christmas Eve dinner but we were so full and we kind of forgot about it until everyone was leaving. So I brought it to Christmas Day dinner for everyone to enjoy. This is an awesome cheesecake recipe. The crust is more like a sugar cookie which I like because sometime the graham cracker crust flavor can overwhelm the cheesecake flavor. Also, it's really creamy but still light and it has the sour cream layer on top. I loved the pomegranate sauce on top. The only thing I might do different is not put the pomegranate seeds inside of the cheesecake batter. I think it's not necessary since they don't have flavor until you bight into them and you're using them as a topping too.

This is my new favorite traditional cheesecake recipe. I still really like THIS version but it's more dense and a thinner cheesecake and this new recipe is more traditional to me.

Pomegranate Cheesecake
From: My Kitchen Cafe (also has a tutorial for seeding a pomegranate)

*Plan Ahead: the cheesecake needs to be chilled for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
3/4 cup pomegranate seeds

Topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pomegranate Glaze:
1-16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice (usually found in the refrigerated section of juices)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add egg; beat well. Beat in flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover one portion and set it aside.

Remove the sides from a 10-inch springform pan and set aside. Spread first portion of dough on just the bottom of ungreased springform pan base, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto the sides of the sprinform pan to a height of 1-3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula, like an offset spatula, to spread dough.

For the filling: reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the flour on low speed until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Mix in sour cream and lemon peel. Then, using a wooden spoon or a spatula, gently fold in pomegranate seeds (if you use the electric mixer for this part, the seeds will burst and stain the filling with the juice - and it won't look as pretty).

Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven. (It doesn't matter if the cheesecake cracks on top since it will have a sour cream topping.)

For the topping: stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake, spreading gently to the edges. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

For pomegranate glaze: in a medium saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (12 to 15 minutes). In a separate bowl, stir together brown sugar and cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving time.

When ready to serve, remove cheesecake and pomegranate glaze from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 16 servings.

Mango Orange Glazed Carrots

2010-01-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Another Christmas Eve dish but we also have this almost every Sunday too. It's that good.

Mango Orange Glazed Carrots

6-7 Carrots (washed but not peeled)

1/4 t. ginger

1 T. sugar

1/4 c. mango-orange juice (you can also use just orange juice)

1 t. corn starch

2 T. butter

1/4 t. salt

Slice carrots crosswise about 1 inch thick. Put carrots in a pot and add just enough water to cover the carrots. Salt the water. Drain when cooked. (Approx. 15-20 min. depending on how thick your carrots are.)

Combine sugar, corn starch, salt and ginger in a small saucepan. Add the mango orange juice. Cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles. Stir in butter. Pour over hot carrots tossing to coat evenly. Serve hot, serves 4-5.

Apple Cider

2010-01-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

The next 5 posts will be dishes we had at our Christmas Eve dinner. The pictures were taken after everyone had dished up and was already eating, definitely an after thought so the pictures aren't great but at least there is a picture.

Apple Cider

1 gallon apple juice

1 1/2 c. orange juice

1/2 c. brown sugar

6 cinnamon sticks

12 whole cloves

12 whole allspice

Mix together and bring to a boil. Simmer at least 30 minutes.*

*I put all of the ingredients in a crockpot for 1 hour on high instead and it worked great and then it was easy to keep warm through the night.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2010-01-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try a Broccoli Cheese Soup that didn't have processed cheese in it. This recipe from My Kitchen Cafe was really good and I love the taste of the swiss cheese in it.

(I had already eaten half my bowl when I thought to take a picture and Ashton decided to help me stir the cheese in as I took the picture)

Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 can chicken broth (about 1 3/4 cups of broth)
1 small onion, diced

1/3 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
Pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon)

2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c. shredded swiss cheese
3 c. steamed chopped broccoli florets

Simmer chicken broth and chopped onion for 15-20 minutes in a covered small saucepan, until onions are soft. Heat milk in microwave for 1-2 minutes. In a separate medium-sized stockpot, melt butter then add flour and pepper. Cook together for a couple of minutes, then whisk in warmed milk. Stir and heat together on medium-high heat until soup starts to thicken. Next add chicken broth and continue to stir until well blended. Add cheeses and steamed broccoli. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Drizzled Caramel Popcorn

2010-01-05T12:46:00.000-07:00

This is what I made for neighbor/friend gifts this year. It's cheap and you can make alot of it at once. I made 5 batches of this recipe.

Chocolate Drizzled Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 quarts popped popcorn (1 c. unpopped)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popcorn in a very large bowl.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Drizzle chocolate over cooled popcorn and let set.

*Add 1 t. to your chocolate chips when you melt them. You can also add nuts, candy, pretzels or anything else you want to the popcorn.

River City (Portland) Clam Chowder

2009-11-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! I loved this clam chowder. I had an issue with the potatoes (see notes after recipe) and after searching for the recipe again I found another blogger with the same issue I had. But I'm sure I will be making this again soon.

River City (that’s Portland) Clam Chowder

From: Your Homebased Mom

8 slices pepper bacon, diced (I use a whole pound) (I used 1lb of normal bacon since that's what I had on hand and added pepper while it was cooking)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cup celery (2 large stalks), chopped
1/2 cup flour
4 (6 oz.) cans chopped clams or 2 cups fresh clams, shucked

3 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half and half
salt and white pepper (I have used black pepper also, just effects the color of the soup)

In a large pot over medium high heat, cook bacon until browned. Drain grease. Add butter, onions and celery to pot and cook over medium heat until softened and onions are translucent.

Add flour and cook 3 minutes, stir constantly.

Drain clams and reserve liquid in a 1 pint measuring cup. Add enough water to clam liquid to equal 2 cups.

Add this liquid slowly to mixture in pot, stirring constantly. Add potatoes and bring mixture to boil. (**see notes below)Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add clams, milk and half and half. Heat until thickened, being careful not to boil or burn. Add salt and pepper and serve. (I usually make the day ahead and refrigerate, it gets a little thicker this way)

**After adding the 2 c. of liquid what was left was a really thick consistancy and so there was no liquid to boil the potatoes in. I ended up adding a total of 2-2 1/2 c. water so that there was liquid to boil the potatoes in and to keep everything from burning and sticking to the pot. In doing so my chowder wasn't thick but it still tasted great. Next time I'm going to boil the potatoes in a seperate pot in the clam juice liquid and then add all of it to the pot or I'll cook them in another pot with water and drain and add the potatoes when it's time. Not sure yet. But then I'll be able to control how thick I want the chowder and if it's too thick I'll add water.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes and a Birthday Cake

2009-11-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

My aunt's birthday party was a Fiesta Theme and I was asked to make a cake using bright green, pink and yellow and a sombrero. I still wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do for the cake until the night before and I think it turned out pretty good. I didn't have much time to put it all together so Matt helped me make everything on the cake. He's a pro at cake decorating.

I decided to make these Key Lime Cupcakes to go with the cake and fiesta theme. They have a filling in the middle and everyone loved them. I really liked them too except next time I think I'll use a cream cheese frosting or maybe a glaze type frosting. I thought the whipped cream on top was too light and didn't seem right on the cupcake for me. But nobody else complained and they were gone quick.

Key Lime Pie Cupcakes

Wendy Paul - 101 Gourmet Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
1 c. half and half
6 T. key lime juice (I used regular lime juice)
1 c. sweetened condensed milk
1 recipe whipped cream (below)
4 T. grated lime peel (3 limes)

Mix together cake mix, eggs, half and half and 3 T. key lime juice. Pour 1-2 T. batter into each paper liner. In a separate bowl mix sweetened condensed milk and the rest of the lime juice. Evenly divide lime milk into batter-filled cups. Top with remaining batter and fill 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Whipped Cream:

2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4-1/2 c. powdered sugar

Pour cream into a large mixing bowl and start mixing on low speed. Gradually increase speed until cream thickens and soft peaks form.

Turn off mixer and add sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Frost with whipped cream and grate lime peel.

Coconut and Banana Cream Pie

2009-10-25T22:34:00.000-06:00

This is a recipe I've used before for coconut cream pie. This time I wanted to try it with a normal pie crust and a graham cracker crust since I prefer the graham cracker crusts. I also did the same with the banana cream pie. Most of the pie was gone when I remembered to take pictures so my mom took these of what was left of the pie. I love Marie Calendar's coconut cream pie but this is so much better!

Coconut Cream Pie

3/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk, scalded
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup coarsely shredded fresh coconut
(I use 2 c. (1 3/4 c. in pie and 1/4 c. on top); I also toast it in the oven)
1 baked 10-inch pie shell
4 cups whipped cream

Preparation:

Combine cornstarch, sugar and salt; mix well. Gradually stir scalded milk into cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and boil for two minutes, or until thickened and shiny. Add a small amount of the hot mixture to eggs and beat until well blended. Return to pan and beat for two minutes over medium heat until slightly thickened, being careful not to let mixture curdle. Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter, mixing until smooth. Place plastic wrap directly over filling; set aside to cool.
Add coconut extract and half the coconut to the cooled pie filling. Pour filling into pie shell; chill. Spread whipped cream over pie, mounding in center. Sprinkle with remaining coconut. Coconut cream pie recipe makes one 10-inch pie.

(To make a Banana Cream Pie omit the coconut and coconut extract and layer sliced banana's and the cream filling)

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

2 C. Graham Cracker Crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 T. sugar

Mix sugar and crumbs. Add butter and mix with fork until combined. Press in 10-inch pie pan and up the sides. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Cool.

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

2009-10-07T22:46:00.000-06:00

Kaleb has never complimented my cooking as much as he did when I made this. He LOVED this dish (minus the mushrooms). He's always loved shrimp but he's not much of a sauce person. So I was crossing my fingers he would like it. He kept saying, "this is just so good, mom" as he was eating it. Ashton wasn't a fan of the shrimp but he loves mushrooms so it was a hit for him.

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta
From: Chaos In The Kitchen

* 1 (8 oz) package fettuccine or linguine (I only had thin spaghetti on hand)
* 10 tbsp butter, divided (I know, but I’ve tried it with less and it’s just not the same)
* 8 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms (I used more than this because I love mushrooms)
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
* 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
* 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (you can use dried herbs if that’s all you have)
* 2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)
* 1 lb cooked shrimp (feel free to buy frozen-gasp!)

1. Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta. I usually only use about half of an 8 oz box, preferring fewer noodles.
2. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve. If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.
3. In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet. Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs. At this point, I generally feel like something has gone terribly wrong. The cream cheese doesn’t really melt and starts to look almost curdled, don’t worry about it! It will all smooth out and be wonderful when we add the water. I promise.
5. Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.
6. Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and make sure everything is hot-you wont ruin this sauce by accidentally boiling it so don’t worry.
7. Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

I'll have to try more pasta dishes with cream cheese in them. I've never used it before in a sauce but it made the sauce really creamy. I've heard that Olive Garden uses it in their Alfredo sauce and that would make sense because it's the same thick, creamy texture.

I also made a cupcake cake from a mold a couple of weeks ago for a birthday. The mold was easy to use. The bottom section was chocolate cake with a chocolate ganache frosting and the top was strawberry cake with a cream cheese buttercream frosting.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

2009-09-24T14:07:00.000-06:00

I took these bars (along with these cheesecakes) to a church activity and everyone loved them. I've made them twice now and I'm sure I'll be making them again.
The recipe is from My Kitchen Cafe which is probably my favorite food blog to get recipes from. The only thing I changed is that the recipe said to use softened butter but usually when making a crust that you cut butter in with a pastry blender you use really cold butter. So I used cold butter and it worked perfectly. You could probably do either way though. (And I also didn't put nuts in but I'm sure they would taste good in them.)

Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars

2 1/3 c. Flour
1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
1 c. coarsely chopped nuts (optional)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package toffee bits, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9X13 pan with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until the mixture is crumbly. Add eggs and mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands. Mix in 1 1/2 c. of the chocolate chips and the nuts. Set aside 1 1/2 c. of the dough mixture. Press the remaining dough into the prepared 9X13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Pour the sweentened condensed milk evenly over the crust. Top with all but 1/3 of the toffee bits. Place pieces of remaining dough over the top. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Bake for 25-30 more minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle the remaining toffee chips on top. Cool completely before serving.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-07-13T01:13:00.000-06:00

With all of the "Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipes that have been all over food blogs for the last year I wasn't really interested in trying anything new. They all seemed too complicated or required odd ingredients that weren't worth buying. I came across this recipe on THIS blog last week and I really wanted to try them. The fact that they were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and stayed puffed up, not flat really enticed me. I loved them and so did everyone else. My batch made 13 cookies so I will probably double the recipe next time (which will be soon).

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes 16 cookies

Note: Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh. moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored.

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large ( 18-by-12 inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium b0wl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

(I was only able to fit 6 cookies per cookie sheet and I used 3 scoops of cookie dough per cookie)

Easy Crockpot Chicken

2009-07-10T15:18:00.000-06:00

Things just never seem to slow down. This is a really easy recipe I put in the crockpot before work and I thought it turned out pretty good. I love the smell of dinner when you walk in the door. I got the recipe off of THIS blog.

Easy Crockpot Chicken

4-6 frozen chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom soup

about 1/2 a packet of onion soup

Put ingredients into the crockpot. Cook all day. Shred the chicken with a fork and serve over rice.

Soon......

2009-05-12T14:24:00.000-06:00

Things were so busy with getting the house ready to move-in I've been neglecting this blog, more like abandoned it. I'm excited to start cooking in my kitchen and updating this blog but we've had a problem the last 3 weeks of having no stove/oven. So as soon as that gets worked out, hopefully within the next week I'll try to get something new posted.

On another note, my mom bought me the Worldwide Ward Cookbook for Mother's day and it's awesome. I looked through all 440 recipes and there are so many I'm excited to try. If you're looking for a new cookbook this is one to buy. (It even has the Olive Garden soup I love and the popular Cafe Rio pork salad/dressing plus recipes from all over the world)

'Tis the Season for Baking: Chocolate Coconut Nut Clusters

2008-12-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

I love baking sweets this time of year to hand out to people and I've tried a couple of new recipes this year. I found this recipe last year and I love how easy it is but they look fancy. I found the candy cups (waxed cups) at Gygi. The next batch I make I'm going to make some with just coconut and then try a batch with almonds and coconut. You can add whichever nut you like best.

Chocolate Coconut Nut Clusters

Candy Cups
2 2/3 c. sweetened flaked coconut
1 6oz. jar macadamia nuts, chopped (or 2 c. pecans chopped)
2 2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
For the glaze: 1/3 c. white chocolate chips (melted with 1/2 T. vegetable shortening)

Line 4 miniature muffin pans with candy cups; set them aside. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut and nuts on separate cookie sheets. Bake each until golden brown, about 9 minutes for the nuts and 10 for the coconut, stirring every few minutes to keep them from burning. Let them cool.

Combine the toasted coconut and nuts in a medium-size bowl. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave according to the package directions. Add the melted chocolate to the coconut mixture; stir well. Drop the mixture by heaping teaspoons into the candy cups. Chill until set, about 45 minutes.

Melt the white chocolate according the the package directions. Pour the contents into a ziplock bag. Snip off a corner of the bag, then drizzle the chocolate over the clusters. Chill until the glaze is set, about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the refridgerator.

Makes 4 dozen clusters (I had some leftover)

Creamy Cauliflower and Cheese Soup

2008-10-31T14:30:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago I tried a cauliflower soup at Zuppa's. I really liked the flavor of the cauliflower with the cheese and I was excited to try this recipe. Matt said this is one of the best soups I've ever made.

Creamy Cauliflower & Cheese Soup

Heat in a pot, on medium low, until butter melts:
1/4 cup broth
1 T. butter

Then add and simmer covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally:

1 roughly chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Next add the following, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender:
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 medium head of cauliflower, coarsely chopped

Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit. Then puree the mixture until smooth. Return to the pot and stir in:

1/4-1/2 cup cream, half-and-half, or milk (I used cream)
2 cups of cheddar cheese (I used a cheddar/monteray jack blend)
salt and pepper to taste

Simmer until cheese is melted. Don't let it boil! Enjoy!

Creamy Broccoli Soup

2008-10-14T13:13:00.001-06:00

This is a soup recipe I found last year. It's served at the Naborhood Bakery in Gardner Village. It's one of my favorite soup recipes.

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped (or grated)
1 large onion, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
4 t. canola oil
3 cans chicken broth
1 c. water
2 sm. bunches trimmed broccoli, chopped
3 c. cooked rice
2 c. milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook carrots, onion and celery in oil about 3 minutes in a large pot.
Add broth and water, stir and bring to boil.
Stir in broccoli and rice.
Reduce heat to low and simmer 10-15 minutes until all veggies are tender.
Puree if desired or leave chunky. (I leave it chunky)
Add milk, cream and cheese.
Heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.
Serve.

Ham Fried Rice & Ice Cream Dessert

2008-08-20T12:54:00.001-06:00

I've been slacking so here are some new recipes I've tried and liked. Some recipes I've tried lately I haven't liked so much but these are a keeper. (Sorry, no pictures either)

HAM FRIED RICE (or CHICKEN)

(I combined 2 recipes to make this recipe)

1 1/2 C. DICED HAM OR 1 TO 2 CHICKEN BREASTS (cut into small pieces)

3 EGGS

2 CARROTS (Grated or Chopped)

2 GREEN ONIONS (white and green part)

3/4 CUP FROZEN PEAS

1/2 CUP BUTTER

2 t. SUGAR

1 TO 2 GARLIC CLOVES (crushed)

2 CUPS WHITE RICE (uncooked, not instant)

PREPARATION:

COOK RICE. IN A SEPARATE PAN ADD 2 T. OIL, CARROTS AND PEAS AND COOK FOR 2 MINUTES. ADD HAM, GREEN ONIONS, GARLIC AND COOK FOR 2-3 MINUTES ON HIGH HEAT. MIX IN BUTTER AND SUGAR AND THEN ADD THE EGGS AND SCRAMBLE THE MIXTURE TOGETHER.

(IF USING CHICKEN COOK CHICKEN FIRST, THEN ADD CARROTS, PEAS ETC.)

ADD RICE AND SOY SAUCE TO TASTE.

This was some of the best ham fried rice I've ever had and it was easy to make. Better than most restaurants I've tried.

Layered Ice Cream Dessert

My grandma and grandpa have made this many times and I finally made it for the first time this month. The vanilla wafers go perfect with the ice cream.

You'll need a deep 9X13 pan to make this in.

Ingredients:

1 rectangle carton vanilla ice cream

1 rectangle carton strawberry ice cream

1 container frozen strawberries, in juice (wal-mart brand comes in a big sour cream type container)

1 8oz. can crushed pineapple

1 c. sugar

1 box vanilla wafers

In a small bowl mix the pineapple and sugar together and set aside. Crush vanilla wafers into crumbs. I use my food processor but you can put them in a ziploc and smash away if you don't have one. Place 1/2 the crumbs in the bottom of the pan. Slice up the strawberry ice cream to make a layer on top of the wafer crumbs. Layer frozen strawberries on top of the ice cream. (I microwave them a little to loosen them up but you still want them frozen so that the ice cream doesn't melt) Next cut up the vanilla ice cream and layer on top of the strawberries. Layer pineapple mixture on top of the vanilla ice cream. Sprinkle remaining vanilla wafer crumbs on top of pineapple. Cover and freeze for a couple of hours.

Grilled Garlic Shrimp & Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

2008-08-04T21:54:00.000-06:00

Matt bought some shrimp the other day and I was excited to try them on the grill. They were really good and the best part is that Kaleb loved them. A friend gave me this recipe for Parmesan Smashed Potatoes a couple of years ago and this is one of my 2 favorite mashed potato recipes.

Grilled Garlic Shrimp

2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Combine the olive oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and let them marinate for one hour. Thread the shrimp on skewers (if using bamboo skewers soak them in water first) and grill over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until done.

Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

3 lbs. red potatoes, unpeeled
1 T. plus 2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. half-and-half
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 t. pepper

Place potatoes and 1 T. salt in 4 qt. saucepan with cold water to cover. Boil, lower heat, and simmer for 25-35 minutes until tender. Drain.

Heat half-and-half and butter together. Put potatoes in bowl and as you mash them slowly add hot half-and-half and butter. Fold in sour cream, parmesan cheese, pepper, and remaining salt.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

2008-07-31T14:37:00.000-06:00

I had my first Monte Cristo Sandwich in Logan, Utah at the Bluebird restaurant this summer and loved it. Matt wished he had ordered the same thing. There are different variations but typically it's a ham, turkey, and swiss sandwhich on French bread that is dipped in batter like french toast. Then it's either pan fried or deep fried. After it's sprinkled in powdered sugar and served with jam. I didn't use the powdered sugar or jam this time. I also pan fried my sandwiches but I've included a second recipe for deep fried that I hope to try sometime.

Monte Cristo Sandwich

· 8 slices french bread
· butter
· 8 slices ham
· 8 slices turkey
· 8 slices Swiss cheese
· a little mustard and mayonnaise, if desired
· 3 eggs
· 1/3 cup milk
· 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation:
For each sandwich use 2 slices of bread. Butter one side of bread first, then cover with a slice of ham and a slice of turkey and top with 2 thin slices of cheese. Then place another slice of ham and another slice of turkey on top of the cheese. Butter the other slice of bread and spread mustard and mayonnaise if desired. Press sandwhich slightly and secure with toothpicks.

Beat eggs with milk and salt. Dip sandwich's into the egg mixture and fry on a hot skillet or griddle in butter or margarine. Brown on all sides, adding more butter when necessary. Remove toothpicks before serving. Makes 4 sandwiches.

Monte Cristo Sandwich
Disneylands Blue Bayou

Make Sauce cool [assemble sandwhich]

Currant Jelly Sauce

2/3 c. currant jelly

1 TB water

1 TB half and half

Combine jelly, water and half and half in blender and mix until smooth. Makes about 3/4 cup.

Batter

2/3 c. water

1 small egg

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. white pepper

few drops yellow food coloring

2/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 3/4 t. baking powder

Place water, egg, salt, pepper and food coloring in a bowl and using an electric mixer, mix well at low speed. Add flour and baking powder and mix until batter is smooth. Chill. Makes enough for 4 sandwiches.

Sandwiches

8 slices white bread

4 slices turkey (1 oz. each)

4 slices swiss cheese

4 slices Pullman ham

Make 4 sandwiches, putting cheese between hand and turkey. Cut into fourths and put a toothpick through each quarter.

Final Preparation:

soybean or vegetable oil for frying

Confectioners' sugar

currant jelly sauce

Heat about 6-inches of oil to 340F in a fryer. Dip sandwiches in batter to cover all surfaces. Deep fry sandwiches until golden brown, turning as needed. Remove from oil, take out toothpicks, sprinkle sandwiches with confectioners' sugar. Serve with currant jelly sauce.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-07-31T14:28:00.000-06:00

I don't have a garden but my relatives are always looking to get rid of zucchini and so I was excited to use the zucchini I had in this recipe. They were very moist and with the cinnamon and nutmeg they taste a lot like pumkin chocolate chip bread.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Sweets By Sarah

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c brown sugar

1/3 c honey

1 T vanilla extract

Combine in large bowl.

1 c white flour

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

Combine in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture.

1 c finely shredded zucchini

12 oz chocolate chips

Stir these ingredients into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.

Dutch Oven Recipes

2008-07-22T12:24:00.000-06:00

I've been slacking on posting new recipes. I didn't take pictures but thought I would post the dutch oven recipes that we used at girls camp. I love dutch oven cooking especially when camping.

Dutch Oven Lasagna
This is my favorite meal to make in a dutch oven!

1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
23 oz. spaghetti sauce
9 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
3 eggs
2 1/4 c. cottage or ricotta cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
13 lasagna noodles
1 1/2 t. oregano
3/4 c. hot water

Preheat dutch oven (DO). Brown beef in DO. When done remove beef to a large mixing bowl. Add spaghetti sauce to beef and mix well. In another bowl mix the ricotta cheese, parmesan and mozzarella cheese (reserve some of the mozzarella cheese for on top), add eggs and oregano and mix well.

Place the layers in the oven in the following order: Cover the bottom of the DO with sauce to prevent from burning. Layer four lasagna noodles into the bottom of the oven (you may need to break some to fit). Spread about 1/3 of the meat and sauce mixture over the noodles. Spread 1/2 of the cheese mixture over the meat mixture. Break up 5 noodles and place over the top of the mixture in DO. Spread 1/2 the remaining meat/sauce mixture over the noodles. Spread the remaining cheese mixture over the meat mixture. Break up remaining noodles and place over the cheese mixture. Spread the remaining meat/sauce mixture over the noodles. Pour hot water all around the edges of the DO. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Place lid on oven and bake for 1 hour or until done. Check frequently. (12 charcoal briquettes on the top and 12 on the bottom)

My Changes:

I love cheese so I use a lot more mozzarella cheese than it calls for.
I cook the ground beef at home and freeze it.
I don't mix the sauce and meat, I just sprinkle the meat on top of the sauce as I'm layering. Less dishes to do.
I don't think the water needs to be hot and I've even forgotten to add water before and it turns out great. Just be sure to add enough sauce.
I usually use 2-3 lbs. ground beef, at least double the sauce (noodles are raw and soak up a lot of it and I don't want it to burn especially if you don't add water), and I use depending on the size of DO more noodles than 13.
I wrap the underside of the DO lid with tinfoil to prevent the cheese on top from burning.
It's a hard recipe to mess up so you can alter it to your liking. It's quick and easy to put together and this is the only way I make homemade lasagna.

Dutch Oven Enchilada Pie
This was a new recipe I tried. It tasted really good and was like a mexican lasagna.

2 lbs. ground beef
onions to taste
1 can tomato soup
1 20oz. can red enchilada sauce
1 can sliced olives (optional)
1 c. water
12 flour tortillas
2 c. shredded cheddar and/or mozzarella cheese

In DO brown beef, add salt and pepper. Add onions and drain off drippings. Add soup, enchilada sauce and water and simmer for 5 minutes. Spoon 3/4 of meat/soup mixture into a medium bowl. Place 4 ripped tortillas over mixture remaining in dutch oven. Alternate meat, cheese and tortillas in 3 layers. Top with foil. Place lid on DO and simmer (or use 10-12 coals on top and bottom) and check until done. Serves 8-10 people.

My Changes:

I again brown the ground beef at home and I add some dried onions while it's cooking.
I don't heat everything up in the DO. I just mix all the soup, sauce and water in a bowl cold.
You could also use corn tortillas instead of flour or chicken instead of ground beef. I think I'll try a chicken version next time.

Dutch Oven Potatoes and Onions
I first had this at a bishopric dinner in our last ward and have made it several times. It's meant to be a side but I like having this as the main dish and people can add sour cream, etc. to make it like a baked potato.

1 lb. bacon cut up into pieces
14 potatoes
5 onions
1 c. water

Peel and slice potatoes in 1/4 inch slices. Set aside. Fry cut bacon in bottom of DO. Drain off all but about 1/4 c. bacon grease. Add potatoes and onions and stir to coat with the bacon grease. Pour in the water and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 or use about 14 coals on the bottom and 6-8 coals on the top. Check regularly and stir carefully if needed every 20 minutes.

The last 20 minutes of cooking add 2 c. mild cheddar cheese and 1/2 c. green onions. (optional)
My Changes:

I add dry onions to the bacon and let it cook for a minute before adding the potatoes.
Of course, I add more cheese.

Chili's Molten Chocolate Cake

2008-06-30T21:42:00.000-06:00

Michelle introduced me to this dessert at Chili's about a month ago and when I found this recipe I knew I had to make it (and of course I had to invite Michelle over to learn with me seeing as it's her favorite dessert). The nice part is that you can have them ready in the freezer to pull out at anytime. It tasted so good but I will definitely add more fudge next time.

This guy has tons of free copycat recipes on his website.

I bought the Texas sized muffin pan at Micheal's for $6 and if you have a 40% off coupon it's even less.

Dinosaur Cake

2008-06-23T13:46:00.000-06:00

This cake was actually easy to make but very time consuming. With cakes like this you can start 2-3 days in advance and I should have done more in advance than I did. Just to make things easier the day of. I researched a lot of recipes for the cake, frosting, and fondant. I was very pleased with the results. The instructions (not the recipe) are on this website.

Most people hate making cake because they don't like how it turns out. The website said it would be best to not use a boxed cake mix or it's more likely to crumble so I made a white cake from scratch and it turned out perfect. It was easy to make and so I'll probably use this recipe more often. As far as the icing for decorating you need to use a butter cream icing. I didn't like a lot of the recipes I came across because they used Crisco and not butter. I also love cream cheese frosting but knew it was too thin to use on the cake (although I did use it on the cupcakes). So I found a Cream Cheese Butter Cream Icing and I altered it a little bit (which scared me since I didn't know if it would hold up). But it worked although the recipe made three times the amount of frosting I needed. As far as the fondant I would have spent more on the ingredients than it costs to buy it already made. You can buy it at Wal-mart (by the fabric) or at Michael's.

White Cake

12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks softened)
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
6 large egg whites
3/4 c. milk
2 t. vanilla extract

Set rack at the middle level in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Butter the bottom of 2 9-inch round or one 13X9 inch pan. Line bottom with waxed paper.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape the bowl and beater often.

Pour the batter into prepared pans and smooth top with spatula. Bake cakes about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the enter emerges clean.

Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let it cool completely.

**After it cooled completely I wrapped it in plastic wrap and then in tinfoil and put the cake in the freezer. I made it the day before and wanted it to be fresh and since I was cutting the cake up it's easier to work with if it's frozen. It doesn't change the taste or texture and actually makes it more moist.**

Cream Cheese Buttercream Icing
(Makes a lot of frosting and you could cut in 1/2 or 1/3 for one cake)

6 lb. powdered sugar (3 bags)
1 c. water
2/3 lb cream cheese (10 1/2 oz., softened)
1 c. butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 1/2 c. Crisco

Place powdered sugar into mixer or large bowl. Make an opening in the middle of the powdered sugar with a scoop or large spatula. Pour the water in the center of the powdered sugar. Place the cream cheese in the microwave until just warm (about 30 seconds) and put in the middle with the water. Using beaters begin to mix. Add the butter and crisco into the sugar mixture and mix well until it's smooth and creamy.

**I also made this ahead of time. Be sure to store it in the fridge in an airtight container or bowl. Place plastic wrap on top of the frosting to keep from drying out. Rewhip before using.**

Cream Cheese Frosting
(for cupcakes)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 T. softened butter
2 t. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar

Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until combined. Add powdered sugar. You can add more powdered sugar until it's the consistency you like.

**Also if storing place plastic wrap on top of frosting to keep from drying out.**

Jamba Juice

2008-06-18T22:47:00.000-06:00

We love Jamba! One of Matt's coworkers use to work at Jamba and gave us some recipes awhile back. Tonight we made our favorite, Carribean Passion, along with a new flavor, Tropical Tease. I don't think they serve Tropical Tease at their stores anymore. It's nice that for the price of 2 Jamba Juices you can buy the ingredients to make it yourself and you have lots leftover so that you can make them whenever you want.

If our banana's start going brown before we eat them we peel them and put them in the freezer for smoothies. Over time they start to brown. It doesn't change the flavor but if you don't want them to brown just add some lemon or lime juice in the bag before freezing.

Carribean Passion Smoothie
1 cup mango passion fruit juice
(you can just use passion fruit juice so that you don't have to buy 2)
1 cup strawberries (frozen)
1/2 cup peaches (frozen)
1 cup orange sherbet
1/2 cup ice

Pour the mango juice in the blender. Add the strawberries, peaches, orange sherbet and ice. Blend until a smoothe, thick consistency. Makes about 3 cups. (*If the mixture is too thick you can add a little bit of water if needed)

Tropical Tease Smoothie

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup bananas

1 cup mangos

1 cup nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt

1/2 cup ice

Pour the pineapple juice in the blender. Add the bananas, mangos, frozen yogurt and ice. Blend until smooth, thick consistency. Makes 3 cups.

I love Matt but he never closes the kitchen cupboards or drawers. After cleaning out the smoothie maker to start his smoothie he left the spout open and poured the pineapple juice in. Not only did it go all over the counter and the floor but all over our utinsel drawer and I had just unloaded the dishwasher. My life just wouldn't be as excited without him!

Matt's masterpiece.

Thrift Town

2008-06-18T22:36:00.000-06:00

I love going to Thrift Town but don't get around to going that often. Last week I went and found this Vintage Pyrex Flameware with a removable glass handle. It's from 1940 and I only paid $2 for it. I've already used it to fry some eggs in. And I've always wanted the old fashioned juicers even though I have an electric one because I love how they look. I'm not a huge fan of D.I. because everything usually costs more than Thrift Town and I haven't had very good luck at D.I.

Next door to Thrift Town is the dollar store and I had to pick up some stuff for girls camp next week and they had these children's aprons. I picked one up for Kaleb to try to minimize the mess on his clothes when he paints and helps me cook.

Peanut Butter Bars

2008-06-12T15:34:00.000-06:00

I was in the mood for chocolate and peanut butter and I had all of the ingredients on hand so I had to make these. I use to make them all the time when I was growing up and so it was fun to make them again.

Peanut Butter Bars

1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9 x 13" baking pan.

I use the boxed graham cracker crumbs that you can buy.

In the top of a double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, melt the chocolate chips with the 4 tablespoons peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. (I melted this in the microwave in 30 second intervals) Spread on top of the mixture in the baking pan.

Refrigerate for about 1 hour before cutting into bars.

My Grandma's Famous Orange Rolls

2008-05-27T13:18:00.000-06:00

This is the most requested birthday dessert and my grandma has been making them ever since I can remember. Most orange rolls have only a little bit of orange flavor/filling but my grandma has altered the recipe over the years to add more and more of the orange sauce and they taste so good. I've made them 3 times now and it may seem like a lot of work but I finally have everything figured out and I can make them pretty quick (minus the rising time). I've cut my grandma's recipe in half and it made 24 orange rolls.

Orange Rolls
Dough:

1 1/2 T. dry yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. flour

Put these ingredients in a mixer and mix slightly.

In a large pan heat:

2 1/4 c. milk
3 T. butter
3 T. shortening

Heat until very warm (120-130F.); shortening does not need to melt completely.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.

Add:

1/2 c. flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten with a fork

Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Then change to a dough hook and add 3 c. flour. If you don't have a mixer with a dough hook just mix the flour in by hand. Transfer the dough to a large bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Put in a warm place. ( I put it on top of the stove and turn the oven on to warm) Let it rise until double in size (about 45min.-1hr.) and then punch it down. Let it rise once more until double in size.

Orange Sauce:

1 stick of butter (1/2 c.)
3 c. sugar
1/2 of a 12oz. can of frozen concentrate orange juice
1 1/2 T. orange zest (about 1 orange)
1/2 c. water

I start cooking the orange sauce when I start making the dough because it takes awhile to cool. Bring the ingredients to a boil. Once it is boiling turn to medium heat and don't stir anymore. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the soft ball stage. (235F. on a candy thermometer) Let the sauce cool in the pan.
On a floured surface, roll 1/2 the dough out into a rectangle (approx. 18inX12in.). Spread 1/2 of the orange sauce over the dough. (Depending how cool your sauce is it will either spread or I just kind of drizzle it all over. It all tastes the same. Just make sure it isn't too hot you want it to be thick.) Roll the dough starting on the long side. Cut into 12 slices (approx. 1 1/2 inch slices) and place in a buttered 9X13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap that you've sprayed with cooking spray and let them rise for about 1 hour.
I don't have any pictures of them once they've risen or cooked because I took these to Sunday dinner and forgot my camera. So once they've risen bake them at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until slightly brown and cooked through. As soon as you take them out of the oven flip them upside-down and serve. (All the sauce is at the bottom of the pan and if you flip them the sauce will cover the whole roll and you don't want the rolls sticking to the pan because once the sauce cools it hardens.)

You have to try this!

2008-05-02T12:30:00.000-06:00

This was delicious! What's not to love pasta, chicken, bacon, cream sauce, cheese. (Typing that reminded me of the episode of Friends where Rachael makes a trifle with hamburger and Joey says what's not to like jam-good; meat-good; etc. I love that show, anyways, back to the recipe) I'm sure you could also just pan fry the chicken in the sauce if you didn't want to use a crock pot or don't have the time. And I actually might try it next time without the chicken to see how it tastes because I bet it would taste amazing even without the chicken.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

1 lb (16oz) Farfalle pasta (bowtie)
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2-3 cloves garlic crushed or garlic salt
1/2 T. pepper
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon crumbled
1 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 (12oz) Lawry's mesquite marinade with lime juice (by the bbq sauce)

I didn't have any precooked, crumbled bacon left from Costco so I cooked up a batch in the oven because my dad always does and it was so easy. (I also tried a couple of pieces in the microwave but they were more chewy than crunchy so I prefer the oven and it's not as messy) Cover a pan with foil and curl the edges to contain the grease. Place the bacon on the foil and cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it depends on the thickness how long it will take to cook. You don't need to flip the bacon either. Put the cooked bacon on paper towels to cool and when the grease is cool you can just crumple up the foil and throw it away. I think from now on I'll always cook my bacon this way.
Place chicken and the bottle of marinade in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. I only had 2 chicken breasts so I used a couple of chicken tenders also. After 5 hours I used 2 forks and shredded the chicken in the crockpot so that it would absorb more flavor. It makes the overall sauce a lot stronger. Or you can do like the recipe suggests and pull the chicken out and let it cool then shred it.
Next cook the pasta. Drain and set aside. (Next time because the sauce was pretty strong I'll probably make 1 1/2 lb. or a box and a half of pasta and make a bigger batch.)
Then start the sauce. Melt the butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and cumbled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
This is what the chicken looked like shredded in the crockpot.

Next add in the pasta and stir.
Then add the chicken (but not the extra marinade) and stir to combine. You can sprinkle more cheese on top.

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-05-01T14:43:00.000-06:00

I love the Nestle Tollhouse recipe but I thought I would give this a try and see how it compares. Overall I didn't notice much of a difference in taste but the look and texture was better with this recipe.

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 lb. butter (4 sticks)
1 1/2 c. white sugar
2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 T. vanilla
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking soda
6 c. flour
3-6 c. chocolate chips (I used 5 c.)
2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

First cream the butter and sugar together for 10 minutes. It's important that you cream these 3 ingredients for at least 10 minutes.
Add the eggs and cream for another 2 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
(This was a lot of cookie dough and so I had to transfer everything from my mixer bowl into a large bowl and mix the last little bit of flour and chocolate chips by hand.)

I love using this scoop for cookies. I got this at Wal-mart. I also use a silpat because nothing sticks to it and cleanup is really easy. I cook everything on them.
Place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Remove them to a cooling rack.

I was able to make 9 1/2 dozen cookies with this recipe. I placed 4 1/2 dozen on another silpat and cookie sheet (below) and flash freezed them. Then I can put them in a ziploc in the freezer and pull out however many I want whenever I want. If you don't have a silpat just put them on wax paper so they don't stick.

Sweet Chex Mix

2008-04-14T13:54:00.000-06:00

Albertson's has a great sale on breakfast cereal and so after seeing all the cereal at my parents on Saturday we were craving this sweet chex mix. We actually made 4 batches of this stuff it's that good. That's 48 cups of cereal!

Sweet Chex Mix

1 1/2 c butter
1 c white kayro syrup
1 c sugar
3 c rice chex
3 c corn chex
6 c golden grahams
1/2 c coconut (we doubled the coconut and I'll probably add even more next time)
slivered almonds (we used about 1/2 c. for one batch but I'll double this next time to about 1 c. per batch)

In large bowl combine cereals, coconut and almonds
In saucepan combine butter, sugar and kayro
Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes
Pour over cereal mixture
Spread on wax paper till slightly dry to touch
Separate into bite-sized clusters

Pumpkin Bread

2008-04-14T13:45:00.000-06:00

I know it isn't fall but I love pumpkin bread and so does Kaleb and Matt. So Sunday Matt and Kaleb made some. Of all the pumpkin bread recipes I've tried this one I like the most.

Pumpkin Bread

3 c. white sugar
1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree
1 c. vegetable oil
2/3 c. water
4 eggs
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. nutmeg
2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. salt
1 c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I use 2 c. of regular choc. chips)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease four regular sized loaf pans. (You could also do 8 mini loaves-30 min. cooking time; muffins-27 min. cooking time)
2. In a large bowl combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Mix in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill pans 1/2 to 3/4 full.
3. Bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.

Vietnamese BBQ Pork with Rice Vermicelli

2008-04-04T18:44:00.000-06:00

Carl and Stephanie introduced us to a small Vietnamese restaurant on 3500 South and Redwood Road a couple of years ago and we love their BBQ Pork. It has a grilled sweet flavor that's different from anything we've ever had. This is the dish Matt gets and I've tried to combine a bunch of different recipes that are a lot like this and it turned out pretty good. A couple things I'll try different next time but overall a success.

Here's a picture of some of the harder to find ingredients. I tried Wal-mart (wm) first and bought what I could and then went to an Asian Market (am). Next time I'll just get everything at the Asian Market. From Left to Right: Rice Cooking Wine (am); Oyster sauce (wm); fish sauce (am); peanuts (wm); rice vermicelli noodles (am); rice vinegar (you actually don't need this, wm); shallots (wm); dried chilies (wm, up by the produce); carrots (wm).

Vietnamese BBQ Pork with Rice Vermicelli

Sauce you smother the bowl with:

1/2 c. fish sauce
1/2 c. sugar
1 garlic clove finely chopped (I use the bottled stuff)
1 c. hot water
1 chili diced very small (it will taste hot on its own but when added to your bowl it won't be too hot, although you can always add less and then add more later)
2 t. lime juice
sprinkle of shredded carrots

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water and then add the other ingredients. Set aside. Usually served cold or at room temperature. **If you scroll to the bottom of the post you will see a picture with 2 sauces in it. If you don't want to make this sauce you can always buy it at the asian market. The ingredients are the same except instead of fish sauce they add vinegar. I bought some in case this didn't turn out. Yes it shows my lack of confidence but I didn't have a whole lot of it with all of these ingredients I've never used before.**

1 1/2 lb. pork loin thick chops, thinly sliced (freeze slightly and it will help you be able to slice it thin)

Marinade for the Pork:

1 shallot finely chopped
pinch of salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves finely chopped (I use the bottled stuff)
1/2 t. oyster sauce
1 T. fish sauce
1 T. vegetable oil
Caramel sauce: mix 1/2 c. water and 1/4 c. sugar in small saucepan over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown, then while constantly stirring add in 1/4 c. hot water to thin the sauce and add it to the rest of the marinade ingredients. **Side note: it took me 3 tries (yes 3) to finally get this right. First time I looked away for about 30 seconds and it burned, second time I stirred it even though I know you're not suppose to when you're candying (is that a word?) something-so don't stir it (until it's brown)- and finally it worked the third time. So if you're not up for this you can just add 1/4 c. brown sugar and it will add the sweetness you need.**

Put the pork into the marinade for about 30 minutes before cooking.

I bought a small wok at the Asian market because I've always wanted one and they're pretty cheap there but I forgot to take a picture. I put 1/2 the pork in at a time so that it would cook fast and easy. Be sure to get some of the extra marinade in both batches so that it thickens and puts a glaze on the pork. It only takes about 5 minutes on high heat to cook. Even less time if you cut the meat really thin, we just didn't have time to freeze it first so ours is a little thick.

The second batch I added a tablespoon of brown sugar to my pork for extra sweetness and to see how it cooked and I liked it better than the first batch. So next time I will either forget the caramel sauce altogether and just do brown sugar or I might do both. Depends if I have a lot of patience that day or not.

You can always cook it in a frying pan on high heat or what I'm going to try next time is on skewers on the grill.

Ingredients for the "bun" as they call it:

rice vermicelli noodle (instructions on how to cook them are on the package)
shredded lettuce
shredded carrots
cilantro
green onions
cucumbers
bean sprouts
crushed peanuts

Put the noodles, lettuce, carrots, bean sprouts and cucumbers in the bowl. Then on top of the meat you sprinkle cilantro, green onions and a small amount of crushed peanuts. (Matt forgot to put cilantro on his and we didn't buy bean sprouts and he didn't want the peanuts. So just make it to your liking) Then you add as much sauce as you want and stir it all together and enjoy!

I would have taken a picture of my bowl but this is what mine consisted of: rice vermicelli noodles and BBQ pork. Not too exciting but it tasted really good because I got the sweeter second batch of pork. Mmmmm, I miss it already.

The following picture is the sauces you can buy that are probably a lot like the one you make in this recipe.

And this was dessert. I had a lot of fun at this Asian Market. It's a new market that opened in November and it's on 3825 South and Redwood Road. There were a lot of sweets I wanted to try. These butter coconut cookies are really good. I'll be buying these again. I've already gone through half the package and I just bought them last night.

1,152 Cheesecakes!

2008-04-04T18:25:00.001-06:00

They arrived! My 3 year supply of cheesecake muffin cups came in the mail this week. I never did the math when I ordered them but 1,152 is a lot of mini cheesecakes! (If anyone wants to try the recipe and wants the 2 inch cups just let me know, I think I can spare a couple!)

Easy Pizza Dough

2008-04-01T11:58:00.000-06:00

Easy Pizza Dough

1 package yeast or 2 1/2 tsp.
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
1c. warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 c. flour

Put yeast in warm water until dissolved, stir a little. Mix salt, sugar and flour and then add the oil and yeast. Put on a floured board and knead for 6 minutes. (I used my mixer with the dough hook and let it knead the dough for 3 minutes.) Cover for 10 minutes in a warm place. (I put the bowl on the stove top while the oven is preheating.) Divide in half. Punch down and roll out. Bake at 375 on greased pan for 10 minutes. Pop bubbles with fork. Add toppings and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Makes 2 regular sized pizza's or 4 individual sized pizza's.

Strawberry Flat Cake

2008-04-01T11:38:00.000-06:00

I've been making a lot of desserts with strawberries since they've been on sale the last couple weeks. This was my first time making this recipe but I'm sure I'll be making it again.

Strawberry Flat Cake

1 white cake mix
8oz. package of cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
8oz. cool whip
1tsp. lemon juice
1 box Danish Dessert, strawberry flavor
4 c. sliced strawberries

Cake - Mix according to directions on the box. Pour batter into flat jellyroll pan (I used a 9X13 since I was only feeding a small group) and spread evenly. Bake at temperature indicated on box. Cake should be done after about 25 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick in the middle. Let cool.

White Topping - Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice with electric mixer. Mix in cool whip and beat until well mixed and fluffy.

Strawberry Topping - Cook Danish Dessert according to "pie glaze" directions on the back of the box. When you are ready to eat, spread white topping on top of cake and then put strawberry topping on top of white topping.

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

2008-03-20T15:46:00.000-06:00

(This picture doesn't look very appetizing but I promise it's really yummy)

I know, another restaurant recipe but without some of these recipes I would be eating out a lot more. Instead I can save the money and make it myself. This is another recipe I make all the time. I'm not a salad person and so whenever we go to Olive Garden I get this soup. I fell in love with it the first time I had it and Matt loves it to.

Zuppa Toscana (or as I call it Sausage/Potato Soup)

1 lb. ground Italian sausage
1 1/2 t. crushed red peppers (Italian sausage already has quite a few red pepper flakes in it and so I only add 1/2 t. or else it gets a little too spicy for me)
1 lg. white diced onion (I like quick and I hate chopping onions so I have one of the food storage sized cans of dried onions and they work great. I use 1/3 c. of dried onions)
4 T. bacon pieces (I buy the big bag of real bacon pieces at costco, they work great in mashed potatoes too)
2 tsp garlic puree (love this stuff!)
10 c. water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon (I use 6 but I'm not sure it makes that big of a difference)
1 c. heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes (I usually have smaller potatoes so I use about 5 or 6)
1/4 of a bunch of kale (green leafy stuff that I don't add because again, not a salad person but you can find it in the Wal-mart produce section and it is only .50)

1. Sautee sausage and crushed red peppers in pot. Drain excess fat and set aside in a bowl.
2. In the same pan you cooked the sausage in, sautee bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 minutes or until the onions are soft. (Since I use dry onions I sautee for about 2 min.)
3. Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.
4. Slice the potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and add to the pot. Cook until soft about 30 minutes.
5. Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage.
7. Add kale just before serving.

Swirled Cheesecake Nibbles

2008-03-14T23:26:00.001-06:00

These are so good! They're my go-to dessert because they're so quick and easy to make. I've already made them twice this week alone.

Swirled Cheesecake Nibbles

36 vanilla wafers
10 oz pkg Nestles Swirled white and choc morsels
2 pkgs (8 oz ea) cream cheese, room temp. (now I like these because they're quick and I don't always have time to wait for the cream cheese to come room temp. and so I cheat and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds just to soften it up)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Place 36 2-inch foil bake cups on baking sheet(s) with sides. Place one vanilla wafer, flat side down, on bottom of each cup. Place 5 to 6 morsels on top of each wafer.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and flour in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well. Spoon heaping tablespoon cream cheese mixture into each bake cup.

Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until just set and not browned. Remove from oven to wire rack. While still warm, top cheesecake with more morsels. Morsels will soften but retain their shape. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate.

Now I had stockpiled these wonderful 2-inch foil baking cups about a year ago because they were only available at Smith's at the time. Well I just ran out earlier this week and come to find out no one carries them anymore. The only place to buy them is online. If you're interested here is the link. I make them enough that it was worth buying a stockpile and they're in the mail as we speak. You can buy the 2 1/2-inch baking cups that are available everywhere but the recipe will only make 20 instead of 30 cheesecakes and the cookies won't fill the bottom of the cup. I just love how perfect the cookies fit inside the 2-inch cups and I can feed more people but don't worry about buying the 2 1/2-inch cups. They'll work fine.

So this is what the 2 1/2-inch cups look like with the cookie and chocolate chips.

Make sure you scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally to make sure you don't get lumps. Cheesecake batter loves to stick to the side of the bowl and get lumpy.

Now you fill the cups with the batter and bake. After baking place 3 morsels on top of each cheesecake and refrigerate. I promise you'll love them, as long as you like cheesecake of course.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

2008-03-12T23:20:00.001-06:00

Last night for dinner we recreated one of our favorite dishes from Cafe Rio, the Pork Barbacoa Burrito. We have been recreating their burritos for quite sometime now but we always use steak because we haven't had the recipe for the pork. There are many versions of this copycat recipe but most of them include coke, pepsi or sprite but this version doesn't and it's very easy to make.

Sweet Pork

1 pork boneless pork loin (mine was 4lbs) (you can even use chicken breasts)
1 can jalapeno salsa; El Pato brand, can add 2 cans if you like more on the spicy side than the sweet side (see picture; it's in the latino section at Wal-mart)
2 c. brown sugar
1 T. cumin
1 t. pepper
1 T. garlic salt

Place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for 6-8 hours. After 4 hours cut the roast into 3-4 sections and let it cook for another hour. After one hour you can begin to shred the pork in the slow cooker (I used 2 forks). It will still be tough and so you just want to start to break it up. You'll still have large pieces of pork. Keep coming back every hour or so and you can break it down even more. I did this about 3 times and after the 7 hour mark hit the pork was moist enough it just kind of fell apart. Depending how much juice you have you can leave the lid off at the end to thicken the sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. I didn't measure the cumin, pepper and garlic salt so I'm just estimating on the amounts. Add however much tastes good to you.

*Now, I'm sure you could leave the pork alone for the full 6-8 hours and it would pull apart and taste the same but I couldn't resist playing a little, and I told myself I needed to keep testing it to make sure it was tasting just like Cafe Rio's pork. Pathetic I know but I'm home all day and after smelling it for 4 hours I couldn't help myself. And the longer you cook it the better it tastes. Some pork loin recipes you cook for 16 hours!Now there are also recipes for the rice which are more complicated than I think needs be. We always just cook up rice, we use brown (trying to eat healthy) and then add cilantro and lime juice after it's cooked. No, I won't be giving you a recipe for beans (although you can find some) because I think it's worth the $0.59 for a can of pinto beans and Wal-mart has some that are "Ranch Style" which add a little more flavor. As far as the green sauce goes (see picture) we, okay I don't actually eat it at Cafe Rio or at home, but Matt and my extended family all prefer the Herdez Salsa Verde. Just use the kind you like the best. Now you just assemble the burrito. Add a little cheese, or a lot if you're me and microwave or bake or broil. It's that easy and it tastes very close to Cafe Rio. Oh, and the leftover pork freezes just be sure to put the sauce with it.