Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles is one of my favorite Mexican dishes...is really easy to make and delicious!

This dish is usually served for breakfast! But it is also perfect for lunch or dinner! It's really simple, it consists of  cold  (old) tortillas, salsa and cheese.  You can fancy it up by adding some shredded chicken to it. It can be served by itself, or you can add some eggs and re-fried beans to make this a truly Mexican breakfast!


Ingredients:
Cold tortillas 20-30 (serves 4)
3 cups of your favorite Salsa ( it can be homemade or from the grocery store)
1 cup shredded cheese or Queso Fresco (which ever cheese is your favorite)
1 onion (cut in slices)
sour cream to garnish
fresh cilantro to garnish
vegetable oil for frying


For this recipe I like making my own salsa, so the ingredients for the salsa are:


Jalapeno peppers (as many as you want, it depends on how spicy you want it)
2 large tomatoes
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons onion
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

To make the salsa:
Simmer the jalapeno pepper and tomatoes in boiling water for about 5 minutes or until soft. Blend with the cilantro, garlic, onion and water.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Cut the tortillas into bite size pieces and heat up about 1 cup of vegetable oil. Once the oil is really hot, fry the tortillas until golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels and keep on repeating this step until  you are done with the tortillas.

Cut the onion into slices and fry them in the same oil you fried the tortillas. Drain on paper towels and set aside.


In a large skillet, bring half of the salsa into a rapid boil. If you have any left over chicken, it will go great with your Chilaquiles, so if you  have some, grab it and cut it or shred it into the salsa and heat up until the chicken is warm.


Add the fried tortillas and add more salsa if needed. Sprinkle with plenty of cheese and cook for about one minute. And that's it, you are ready to serve.

Garnish with the fried onions, sour cream and fresh cilantro! Enjoy!

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

If you've been around here for any time at all, you may have started to notice a pattern. I am a huge fan of using cornmeal in baked goods, and if there are blueberries in said baked goods, even better. There's my cornmeal pie crust, a blueberry lemon cornmeal cake, and my lemon cornmeal cookies. I think you get the idea. And that idea is that cornmeal is just fabulous in so many baked goods.

This past weekend, I gave the combination a try in a pancake version. Wow! In this case, because the batter has a little more liquid, the cornmeal ended up a bit more subtle than in some of those other recipes, but it was still there and still a star player. These pancakes were great right off the griddle with syrup, but they were just as good five hours later as an out of hand snack. I highly recommend them!

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes
Yield: approx. 16 4-inch pancakes

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
3 TBS butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Mix together the first five, dry, ingredients. If you are using buttermilk powder, mix the powder in with the dry ingredients as well. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix the buttermilk (or its liquid), milk, butter, and egg together. Add to the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. The mixture may be lumpy. Lastly, add the blueberries. If using frozen berries, I often will not add them to the batter since they start to melt and lead to purple pancakes. Instead, in that case, I place the berries into the pancake once it starts to cook on the griddle.

Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Place a small amount of butter in the pan and then wipe down with a paper towel. Spoon approximately 1/3 of a cup of batter on the griddle for each pancake for small, manageable pancakes. You can make them larger, but this size is easier to flip than large ones. Cook until they are slightly dry around the edges and they are nicely browned on the bottom. The top should be full of bubbles and have started to lose its batter look. Flip and continue cooking another two minutes. Extras can be kept warm in a low oven.

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Tart

This is one of those "put together" recipes. It has three separate components that I have previously posted put into one delicious dessert. In fact, my husband - who's not a huge sweets fan - told me the other nights that it was, "One of my best efforts." Whoo hoo! Of course, that means that it's tasty enough I've eaten it for lunch, snack, and dinner the last two days. It's a horrible thing, too, because my husband will look at me after dinner tomorrow and say he wants some of that awesome dessert I made the other day and I'll have to look sheepish and admit that I already polished the whole thing off. I hate it when that happens.

It's a horrible, wonderful thing. .:sigh:.

But here's how it goes. First, make a batch of my Perfect Graham Cracker Crust. Press it into a nine inch spring form pan such that a little bit of it rides up the sides half an inch or so. I reduced the sugar in the crust to only 1/4 of a cup in this case since I wanted to balance the sweet fruit topping a bit. Don't bake the crust yet for this dessert.

Then mix up a batch of my Mini-Cheesecake filling. It has a nice lemony flavor that compliments those blueberries oh so well. Pour the prepared filling into the unbaked crust.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Place the pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 350° F. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the filling is set but not browned in any way. While you can use a cake tester to test for doneness, I just use the "jiggle" test. Gently jiggle the pan and if the center does not jiggle with it, it's finished. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake remain in the oven for another ten minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Lastly, prepare a batch of blueberry topping that is very similar to my Maple Blueberry Topping. In this case, however, we're going to omit the maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. We're also going to increase the sugar to 1/3 of a cup. The other change is that we'll only actually cook one cup of the blueberries. We'll add the last cup after the mixture has cooked, thickened, and cooled slightly. I really love the way those fresh blueberries taste in the cooked blueberry mixture. It's my secret weapon! Once the blueberry mixture has cooled and the cheesecake has cooled, pour the blueberries on top! Refrigerate at least four hours before serving.

Now who wouldn't want a slice of this heaven?!?

Mom's Rice Pudding

I cannot believe no one has posted this recipe yet! Whenever I want to have a delicious, comforting breakfast that reminds me of being little, I will break out this recipe and make it. Mom made this all the time growing up- probably because it could feed a [huge] crowd for a little bit of money. Whatever the reason, its so amazingly rich and delicious...you need to try it.

courtesy

Mom's Rice Pudding

Becky Jewkes

4 cups milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup white rice

Vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients (except vanilla) in large oven-proof pot. Cook, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add desired amount of vanilla after removing from oven and stir to combine. Enjoy!

Garden Chicken Casserole

Pic courtesy of Google images

I know that you're probably immediately turned off by the word "casserole," but don't be. Mostly because it's not a casserole, it's more like a stew. You don't even bake it in the oven! Anyway, of all the recipes that Mom made for us growing up, this is maybe one of three that I still make today. Which is a testament to it's goodness. Not that Mom wasn't a fabulous cook, it's just that times and food has changed a lot. And even though this is an oldie, it's a goodie.



Garden Chicken Casserole
from Becky Jewkes

Brown 10 chicken breasts in small amount of oil
Peel and slice 10 carrots
Wash and thinly slice 10 potatoes
Slice in to rings 2 onions

Spray non-stick spray on the bottom of a large pot. Layer chicken, carrots, onions, potatoes. Season with s & p. Pour 2 cans of cream of chicken soup diluted with 1 can of water over the chicken and veggies. Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes or until potatoes break easily.

***Note: You can manipulate this recipe SO easily. First off, I would probably cut this one in half, maybe even in a fourth. You can add peas, peppers, tomatoes, or whatever your little heart desires. You can also change the ratios of ingredients to your liking. Enjoy!

Throw and Go BBQ Chicken

photo from realmomkitchen.com

Don't you just love crock pots?  The house smells good all day.  You look and smell like an awesome wife.  Yet-all you did was throw some junk in a pot and push start.  I love it!  This is a really yummy recipe.  I was a little worried that there wasn't more liquid in the pot, but it all worked out-don't worry!  I actually halved the recipe and it made 6 sandwiches for us.  Don't forget the money maker--throw a dill pickle on there (lesson learned from Claire, thank you!)


Throw and Go BBQ Chicken
Recipe from realmomkitchen.com

• 5 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup Kansas City Style bbq sauce (I used Cattlemen’s Kansas City Classic)
• 1 Tbsp. liquid smoke
• rolls or buns to serve on
• butter

1. Place all the ingredients in the crock pot in the order listed above.
2. Cook in the crock pot on high for at least 6 hours.  Remove the chicken and shred.  Return to the crock pot and mix into the sauce.
3. Butter the inside of your buns or rolls.  Place them on a cookie sheet.  Broil them in the oven on the second highest level for the oven rack (this prevents burning).  Broil until golden brown.  You want them toasty because this bbq chicken is so moist and saucy you will end up with soggy bread if you don’t toast them.  Sandwich bbq chicken inside toasted buns or rolls.

Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil

This recipe is the simple and classic rendition of bruschetta. I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but I absolutely love this appetizer- its so fresh and perfect for any occasion, especially in the hot summer!

Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil

Adapted slightly from America's Test Kitchen

4 ripe, medium tomatoes, cored and chopped medium

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and Pepper

1 loaf crusty French bread, sliced 1-in. thick

1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced in half

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Parmesan Cheese

Mix the tomatoes and basil together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Adjust an oven rack 4 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler on high. Place the bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and broil, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 7 minutes. Rub the garlic clove evenly over one side of the toasted slices and brush with the olive oil. Drain the tomato-basil mixture of excess liquid and spoon it over each slice of bread before serving. Sprinkle with shaved parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Queso Blanco Dip

photo from cooking-mexican-recipes.com

Finally a cheese dip that doesn't clump up!  I did do a lot of altering.  First, I would half this because it makes a ton and the cheese isn't cheap.  Second, I would switch the amounts of monterrey jack vs. american because I personally prefer the taste of monterrey jack.  And third, I didn't add any of the veggies except for the tomato which is technically a fruit anyhow.  I like a plain cheese myself.


Queso Blanco Dip
From Annie’s Eats
Yield: about 2 cups
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
12 oz. white American cheese, shredded*
4 oz. Monterey jack cheese, shredded
¼-2/3 cup milk
1 tomato, seeded and finely diced
2 tbsp. cilantro, minced
*White American cheese can be found at the deli counter in most grocery stores.
Directions:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and jalapeño to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Add both of the shredded cheeses and ¼ cup of the milk.  Whisk or stir until completely melted.  Mix in the tomato and cilantro, and add additional milk gradually as necessary to achieve desired consistency.  Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve immediately.

Spinach Pasta

I'm not gonna lie to you. Making homemade pasta can be very time consuming. How time consuming depends on the shape. Today, I'm going to walk you through a basic spinach pasta dough recipe. Once the dough is made, you can process it into any shaped pasta you please. If you want something fast, you can go for fettuccini (or even taglioni - wide ribbons - if you don't have a pasta machine). I'm going to show you how to make farfalle pasta, aka bowties. This may be one of the most time consuming pasta shapes to make. Why do I still do it occasionally? Because they're so darn cute and they make a wonderful gift.

The first step in making spinach pasta is preparing the spinach puree. I often think about making this dough after I realise I bought a bag of spinach and then forgot to use it before it started getting a little funky around the edges. Not all of the spinach is bad, so I dump the bag into a sink full of water. This allows me to pick out the nasty pieces and rinse off any goo left behind from those nasty pieces. You can, of course, use fresh, beautiful spinach; I - unfortunately - am never that organized.

In my experience, you'll want to avoid using frozen spinach or spinach that is too mature because it is too fibrous and will not puree well enough and you could end up with fibers that don't cut easily, making it very hard to form the pasta. Not good.

Prepare a pan with a steamer insert and a little water. Steam the spinach until it is evenly wilted.
Then put the spinach into a food processor. You can add some water to help it puree. You'll have to let it drain regardless, so you might as well make your life easier. Once the spinach is nice and smooth, spoon it into a fine mesh sieve and let it sit and drain for a few hours. At this point, you can continue with the recipe or freeze the puree for later use. Since the recipe requires one half cup of puree, I freeze cups with that premeasured amount.

When you get ready to make the pasta dough itself, place the ingredients together in a stand mixer. You could, of course, mix this by hand, but that certainly sounds like a lot of effort to me! Especially with this dough. For some time, you're going to look at this mixture and wonder how it is ever going to come together, it looks so dry. You'll be sorely tempted to add some water. Don't!

Just give it a little more time and it will turn into a beautiful, green dough. This is a fairly soft dough to begin with, so if you add any extra water you will really be in a world of hurt. In fact, once it comes together, if it's still tacky, you may want to add a little extra flour. Knead for an additional 4-5 minutes after the dough comes together. Take the dough out and pat it into a ball. Spray a little oil on a sheet of plastic wrap and wrap the dough up to sit for a couple of hours before continuing.


Notice that after the dough rests, it will look a lot more workable. Divide the dough into six even pieces. At this point, you could roll it out with a rolling pin as thin as you can and cut it into strips with a pizza cutter. It will be delicious. If you want to go a little more gourmet, pull out the pasta roller. I have a KitchenAid stand mixer with the pasta roller attachment. It comes with a flat roller, a spaghetti roller, and a fettuchini roller. When making faralle, or bowties, I only use the flat roller. As I mentioned before, this dough is fairly soft and sticky, so have plenty of flour on hand. It will make a fine fettuchini, but I don't recommend trying to make spaghetti or any other "fine" pastas.

Take one of the pieces and dust it liberally with flour. Run it through the pasta roller until it is flat and fairly thin. Don't go too thin or you will have a mess. Bowties are usually a fairly thick pasta and that's a really good thing with this somewhat challenging to roll pasta dough (compared to plain old egg pasta dough, anyway). With my KitchenAid roller, I go up to setting six. Then lay the sheet down on a floured counter. I like to use semolina flour at this point because it keeps things from sticking without making my pasta all white. Also, if you have a lot of all purpose flour stuck to your pasta when it dries, it can get a little gummy when it cooks.

Lay the sheet out and use a pizza roller to cut long strips about 3/4 to 7/8 of an inch wide. Then use a ravioli cutter (with fluted edges) to cut the ribbons into individual pieces about 1 3/8 inch long. Have a large sheet tray with a parchment liner ready to accept your finished farfalle.

For each piece, squeeze the middle together until it sticks, forming that classic shape.

The pieces can then be transferred onto your sheet tray to dry. Let them sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours or until they are nice and brittle. Then place them in an airtight container for storage. They are best used within 2 to 3 months. When you go to prepare them, I find that homemade pasta tends to cook more quickly than store bought, so check for doneness early.


Spinach Pasta
Yield: about 1 pound of pasta

1/2 cup of drained spinach puree (from about 6 oz fresh spinach)
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Add all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix and knead on fairly low speed 3-4 minutes after the dough finally comes together. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with a little cooking spray, place the dough inside and wrap up. Let dough sit and rest for 2 hours. After it has rested, divide dough into six pieces and shape as desired. Use semolina flour to prevent sticking. Finished pasta can be frozen or dried to prolong storage.

Here's a picture of what the finished farfalle looked like when I was packaging it to sell. This pasta makes a great gift that anyone would be happy to receive!

Ooey Gooey Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Brownies

**picture and recipe courtesy of ourbestbites.com

Holy cow...when I saw these brownies on ourbestbites.com they were HOLLERING (not screaming) my name. SOOOO up my alley. Especially being pregnant. Anything with chocolate and peanut butter. YES PLEASE! They did not disappoint....super rich and super delicious.

3/4 C sweetened condensed milk, divided (fat-free is fine)
1/4 C butter, melted and cooled (1/2 stick)
1/4 C non-fat milk
1 box devil’s food cake mix (18.25 oz)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
cooking spray
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 C)
1/2 C peanut butter morsels (not gonna lie, I used a very “heaping” 1/2 cup :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, milk, butter, cake mix, and egg white. Mixture will be very thick. Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Use either floured hands, or spray your hands with cooking spray in order to press it down without having it stick to your fingers. The layer will be thin. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool for about five minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl and combine until smooth. Stir in PB morsels. No one will tell if you stir in some extras. Spread marshmallow layer over semi-cooled brownie layer in pan. Carefully drop remaining brownie batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool before cutting into squares.

Hash Browns

Serves 4 side dishes

Ingredients:

2 large Idaho potatoes (baked and cooled)
3 pieces of bacon
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
crushed red pepper to taste.
butter for cooking (4 tablespoons)

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until brown and crispy.
Remove the bacon, and add 2 tablespoons of butter to your skillet, let it melt and add the onions, cook for a minute and add the garlic, stir and cook for another minute.

Add the bell peppers, plus  1/2 tablespoon salt and 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

Cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces and add them to the skillet, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon salt, and pepper and add 1 1/2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Stir, and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
(The potatoes are already cooked, we just want to heat them up and brown them a little bit)

Chop the bacon into small pieces.

Once the potatoes are warm and brown, we are ready to serve. Sprinkle with the crushed red pepper and the bacon.
Garnish with fresh parsley!




 To make this an all American Breakfast, serve with eggs and sausage! Enjoy!!!

To watch this video recipe click HERE

Orange Pound Cake

Ingredients:


1 1/2 cup Cake Flour ( you can use all purpose flour)
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature.
1 cup granulated sugar
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
3 egg whites
zest of 2 oranges
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 baking soda


Orange glaze:
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350°, grease and flour your baking pan.

In an electric mixer, blend the sugar and butter together until they are smooth and incorporated, for about 2 minutes on medium speed.
Reduce the speed to low, and one by one, add the eggs, plus the egg yolks, vanilla and orange extract, also add the orange zest.  Mix at medium speed for another 2 minutes.

In another bowl combine the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together. Mix well and once everything is incorporated, add the flour mixture to the butter batter. Beat at high speed for about 3 minutes and set aside.



In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they are thick and foamy. (for about 5 minutes on high)

and slowly fold the foamy egg whites into the cake batter.





pour the batter into the pan and bake for about 35-45 minutes at 350°.

While the cake cooks. Heat a 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.  Heat on low head until the sugar is completely dissolved.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke the surface with a wooden skewer  and pour half the orange glaze all over it.







Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes and transferred to a plate.






Brush the remaining glaze on the surface of the cake, and let it cool completely... Dust with some powder sugar and you are done!






Enjoy!!

To watch this Video Recipe click HERE

Venison Cabernet

I know there are a lot of you out there that probably don't have access to wild game. If you don't hunt, don't know someone who hunts, or don't live near a specialty grocery store, you're probably out of luck. You can certainly make this dish with beef, and it will be delicious, but it won't be the same. Wild game has a distinctive flavor. Often, folks refer to this as "gaminess", but they are usually misspeaking, as I discussed in a post about baked rabbit.

I adore wild game. Elk is my favorite, but since I left the moutainous west almost eight years ago, I haven't had much opportunity to cook with it. Venison, on the other hand, actually got easier to have around once I married. I hunted venison before I got married, but having the time and resources made it a haphazard affair. Fortunately, I married into venison! I know, that sounds weird, doesn't it? Funny thing, though, my brother-in-law, who is a big hunter, tied the knot with a vegetarian. It's definitely been a good thing for me. I've had a non-stop stock of venison ever since.

While I cook all kinds of venison dishes, this is my favorite "quick" dish (as opposed to roasts, and such). The boldness of the Cabernet stands up to and accentuates the flavor of the meat and creates a delicious sauce to boot. I've served it over a number of things, but pasta is my favorite. Bow ties look beautiful and are a chewy and satisfying partner to this dish.

Venison Cabernet
Yield: 4 servings

1 lb small cubes of venison chops, steaks, or tenderloin
1 TBS vegetable oil
1/3 cup sliced shallots
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 cups quartered mushrooms
1 tsp fresh thyme, minced
1 cup beef broth
3 TBS cornstarch
1 cup Cabernet wine
salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat pieces and brown on all sides. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to brown the meat in batches. If the pieces don't have enough leg room in the pan they will steam instead of brown. Remove the meat and set aside.

If necessary, add another drizzle of oil to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and add the shallots, mushrooms, garlic, and thyme. Cook until browned and soft. Deglaze the pan with the beef broth. Return the meat to the pan. Mix the wine and cornstarch until there are no lumps and add to the pan, stirring to mix everything together. Bring to a simmer and cook for twenty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta or potatoes.

Chicken Kebabs, Hawaiian Style

Makes 10 kebabs 3 pieces of chicken each

2 large chicken breast, cut in bite size pieces
2 bell peppers cut in big pieces (any color you want)
1/2 cup red onion chopped in chunks
1 1/2 cup pineapple chunks or 1 8-ounce can pineapple
1/2 cup pineapple juice (if using can pineapple, you can use the juice in the can)
1 large lime
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1tablespoon fresh thyme
 wooden skewers or metal skewers.

Combine the chilli powder, salt, black pepper and cumin. Set aside.

Season the bell peppers with a tablespoon of olive oil plus a tablespoon of the chilli mixture, rub the oil and seasoning all over the peppers and set aside.

Season the pineapple with 2 tablespoons of lime juice plus 1/2 tablespoon of the chilli mixture, set aside.

Season the onions with 1 tablespoon of lime juice plus salt and pepper and set aside.

Season the chicken with 2 tablespoons of the chilli mixture, plus 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/2 cup pineapple juice, garlic, ginger, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. Rub all the ingredients all over the chicken and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes. (more, if you have more time, overnight will be perfect, but 20 minutes is good enough).

Turn on the oven on broil. (This recipe is also great for grilling, but I don't have a grill :( )

If you are using wooden skewers make sure to soak them in water for about 20-30 minutes to prevent them from catching on fire...

Grab a skewer and start building your kebabs as you please. E.a.  1piece of onion + chicken +bell pepper + pineapple + chicken, bell pepper, onion, pineapple, chicken and bell pepper... and so on...

Continue to build the kebabs until you are done... Broil in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Or grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side. You are done.

Serve with white rice and garnish with some parsley! Enjoy

To watch my Video Recipe click HERE

Strawberry (or Raspberry) Cupcakes

photo from realmomkitchen.com

Okay, funny story.  I had my back turned when Jake first tried these.  The noise he emitted scared me.  I turned around, very worried, and asked if he was okay.  His eyes were shining and he had an ethereal look on his face.  Then  he cried.  No, I'm kidding.  But he did say these were it--I mean IT!  His favorite!  **I'm not a huge fan of strawberry as the original recipe called for so I did raspberry.  I'd do it again just to see Jake's face.

Strawberry Cupcakes
Recipe from realmomkitchen.com
Cupcakes:

• 1 white cake mix
• 1 (3 oz) box of strawberry gelatin
• 2/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup of frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 eggs

Frosting:

• 2/3 cup frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 6 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with 24 cupcake liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cake mix, gelatin, oil, 1/2 cup of the strawberries, and water until combined.  Then beat in the eggs 1 at a time until well incorporated.
3. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full with batter, do not over fill.  If you have extra batter then make a couple more cupcakes because if you over fill the liners the cupcakes will spill over the edges and you will have more of a flat top cupcake.
4. Bake at 350 for about 16 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Allow to cool.
5. Place the 2/3 cup of strawberries into a blender and puree.  Place the butter in a bowl and using a mixer beat until smooth.
6. Add half the powdered sugar to the butter and beat until all combined and fluffy.  Then beat in the strawberry puree until well blended.
7. Beat in the remaining powdered sugar until combined and fluffy.  Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.

Old Fashioned Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are such a classic appetizer, although to be honest, in our house, they're more often a snack food than an appetizer since my husband likes deviled eggs more than he likes entertaining. As a military wife, there are plenty of opportunities for me to make and take dishes to functions, and this is a common one for me to take.

Now, I know these days, there are all kinds of fancy schmancy deviled egg recipes out there, and I've tried a few, but both my husband and I always come back to the old traditional version. It's simple and straight-forward but, oh, so delicious. I like a really creamy filling, so I press mine through a sieve before piping, but you can certainly skip that step... and the piping, for that matter. I just sometimes enjoy the art of cooking as much as the rest of it.

Old Fashioned Deviled Eggs
Yield: 2 dozen egg halves

12 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp white vinegar
salt to taste
paprika and chives for sprinkling

Place the eggs in a large sauce pan and cover with cold water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce to a simmer and start a 15 minute timer. As soon as the timer goes off, pour off the hot water and immerse the eggs in cold water with lots of ice. Let eggs cool until they are easily handled. Peel eggs and slice in half.

Remove the yolk halves from the eggs and place in a bowl. Smash the yolks with a fork and then add the mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar. Mash together until the mixture is smooth and evenly mixed. Add salt to taste. For the best texture, press the mixture through a sieve. Using a star tip, pipe the filling into the now hollow egg halves. Sprinkle with paprika and chives to garnish.

Raisin Bread

Please note that I since writing this post, I have posted about soy flour, specifically the fact that I did not realize there were two kinds on the market: regular and defatted. You want to be sure to use defatted soy flour in this recipe. For more information, click here.

My carb induced dreams never tasted as good as they did the first time I made raisin bread from scratch. Those ritual breakfast muffins took a backseat for five whole days while I polished this bad boy off. What's great about raisin bread isn't just the raisins, although they're nice too, it's the subtle spice of the dough. It isn't just bread with raisins in it, it's raisin bread!

This dough has a mixture of white bread flour and whole wheat to give the strength of the bread flour's gluten with the heartiness and tastiness of the whole wheat. It also has a little bit of soy flour in it. Soy flour helps you end up with a loaf that is more moist and tender and it also helps the loaf to have better shelf life. If you can't find soy flour or would rather not use it, you can simply substitute bread flour instead.

This particular recipe utilizes a process called autolyse (pronounced "auto-lease"), where after a few minutes to mix the ingredients, the dough is allowed to sit for a bit before finishing the kneading. This short rest allows the flour to more fully absorb the moisture allowing the gluten to develop more fully. The raisins are added at the very end. Let the dough rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled.

After the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead a few times to degas the dough. Using your hands, press the dough out into a large rectangle as wide as the longest dimension of your bread pan. In the photo here, I divided the dough into two smaller loaves and placed into two 4.5 x 8 inch pans, but I wasn't a fan of the proportions of the final loaf. The next time I made this bread, I made a single loaf in a 4.5 x 12 inch pan I picked up at IKEA a few years ago. If you don't have access to a pan like that, I would recommend going for a single 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Roll the flattened dough up and then pinch the ends down and under to make a tidy log shape. Place in greased loaf pans, pinched sides down. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until slightly more than doubled.

Gently remove the plastic wrap and place the loaf into a preheated 375° F oven. Bake approximately 30 minutes, until the crust is nice and browned and the loaf has a nice hollow sound when tapped. If you are unsure whether the loaf is properly baked, you can stick an instant read thermometer in the middle and look for a minimum temperature of 200° F. Remove from the pan immediately onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely (or as much as you can) before tearing into the loaf. It will be hard... I'm telling you, this loaf smells goooooood when it's baking!


Raisin Bread
Yield: One 4.5"x12" loaf or one 5"x9" loaf

1 TBS instant yeast
2 1/4 cup bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup defatted soy flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 cup raisins

Mix together the first eight ingredients (through the sugar) until incorporated. Add the oil, egg yolk, and water and mix together. Knead by hand or with a dough hook in a stand mixer for 7-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Finally, gently knead in the raisins, just until they are evenly distributed. Mixing too much with the raisins in the dough can start to break the gluten strands, so go easy.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until double, about an hour. Dump dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Gently knead a few times to degas the dough. Press out into a flat rectangle 9 or 12 inches wide, depending on the loaf pan you are using. Roll the loaf up and pinch the bottom seam together. Then pinch the ends together and down so that from the top, the loaf has a nice shape. Place seam side down in a greased 4.5"x12" or 5"x9" loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until slightly more than double, about another hour.

When the loaf is about half risen, start preheating the oven at 375° F. When the loaf is properly risen, carefully remove the plastic wrap and bake in the center of the oven for approximately 30 minutes. When done, the loaf should have a nice golden crust, sound hollow when thumped, and have an internal temperature around 200° F. Remove from the pan promptly to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days or over a week in the refrigerator.

NOTES: You can use one package of active dry yeast instead of the instant, but you will need to activate it in the warm water first for five to ten minutes. Therefore, the yeast will be added to the dough with the liquid and not with the dry ingredients. If you do not have soy flour, bread flour can be substituted.

Definitely Worth the Effort: Dried Thyme

In these hectic modern days, it seems every decision is a cost-benefit analysis... is the end result worth the time it takes to do it yourself? In many cases, the answer is yes for me, especially when it comes to the kitchen. However, sometimes, life starts making some of those decisions for you. The other day I mentioned how we had to leave our little Ohio farm behind a few years ago. When I had my farm, I don't think I ever purchased store bought herbs for any reason... I grew them all myself.

Now days, I have to be a little more selective about what I plant. I currently have only 64 square feet to work with. That's less than one half a percent of the garden space I had in Ohio. This deficiency leads to some hard choices. Which crops are so much better home grown that they deserve some of that tiny little space? While I grow a number of fresh herbs in pots on my patio, I've recently realized that growing a few thyme bushes in my garden so I can have enough to dry my own is definitely worth the effort.

I came to this realization when I bought some thyme at the grocery store a few months back. Can you tell in the picture above which I bought and which I grew? Yeah, me too. Today, while I was shopping for some spices, I saw a jar of ground thyme that was brown. I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure thyme isn't supposed to be brown. One other benefit of home dried thyme? It actually smells like thyme. I know, you've probably started to forget that dried thyme actually has an aroma, haven't you?

Fortunately, thyme is super easy to grow. In fact, in Ohio, I started regretting planting all five thyme plants because by the third year, I had more thyme than I could eat, store, or sell. Drying thyme is also easy. I use my dehydrator because it dries it so quickly, which helps to retain that beautiful green color, but you could dry yours just as easily in an low oven or simply hanging in a warm, dry place. Once it's dried and stripped from the stems, it will last for years in an air tight container, provided you protect it from too much light exposure.

French Toast

French Toast:
Serve 4

Ingredients:

1 French Loaf, sliced in 1 1/2 inch slices.  (1 -2 days old preferably)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1-2 teaspoon Cinamon
1/4 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

powder sugar (optional)
maple syrup or favorite syrup. (to finish it up)

Whisk the milk, cream, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Whisk well until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. 

In a large skillet, melt 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter.

Soak the bread into the milk mixture and sautee in the melted butter for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  (add more butter if needed)

Keep your bread warm in the oven until you are finished sautéing all of your bread.


Serve with your favorite fruit, add some butter and maple syrup to taste, and dust with some powder sugar if you want to!

Enjoy!

Watch my Video Recipe HERE 

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

photo from 52cupcakes.blogspot.com

Yes, Martha Stewart makes me wan to pull my hair out too.  However, she does have some good recipes.  So putting aside that this comes from her, just think about oreos and cream cheese.  Then humble yourself and make these--for someone else, of course.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes
From Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Makes 30 (Note: I halved this recipe and it was very easy, 30 of these cupcakes would surely be the death of me)

• Ingredients:
• 42 cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole, and 12 coarsely chopped
• 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 cup sour cream
• Pinch of salt
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
   
   2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
   
   3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
   
   4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.