Katie's Secret Ingredient Smoothie

My cousin Katie (I know, I know...we hear about her alot) intro'd me to this smoothie and it has recently become a serious staple for three reasons 1) my kids love love love it 2) its easy and uses ingredients that do not go bad 3) its extremely low cal but extremely tasty. So....when I diet from the hours of 7 am to 3pm (everyday I fail epically around 3 or 4) I love this little treat. And its filling too!

Katie's Secret Ingredient Smoothie
 This is not an exact science here so I don't have measurements. Having said that, I usually use the following quantities. It makes a blender full.

-3 c. Sprite zero or Diet Twist up (whatever brand of dient lemon-lime soda) <<---psssttt, this is the secret ingredient
-4 scoops Fat Free Rainbow Sherbet (I have only found Wal-Mart brand and its great!)
-2 cups Wal-mart brand's "mixed fruit" frozen fruit (it has mangoes, pineapple, strawberries and peaches in it)

Cadbury Egg Cookies

I've made these cookies 2 years in a row now and they are divine. i only use 1/4 cup of crisco and 3/4 cup butter just to make myself feel a bit better. go try these now.

Cadbury Egg Cookies
Recipe By OurBestBites.com

1/2 C Crisco (I use butter flavored)
1/2 C Butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 C flour
6T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 10 oz bag Cadbury Mini-Eggs*

*If it's not Easter, or you (gasp!) don't like Cadbury Eggs, try these cookies with white chocolate or PB chips- they're fantastic!

Preheat oven to 350. You'll need to chop up those Cadbury Eggs. I just put them in a ziplock bag and bang on them with a marble rolling pin until they're sufficiently crumbled.

Cream together the butter, crisco, brown sugar and white sugar. Add in eggs one at at a time and the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture to combine and then mix in the candies.

Drop onto a cookie sheet and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and try not to stuff them in your face to quickly.

Whipped Ganache Truffles

I recently made a huge batch of truffles. A week before, I had made some whipped ganache frosting for a cake and when there was a little bit left over, I stuck it in the refrigerator. On a whim, I thought I would try using the whipped ganache to make a few truffle centers. Holy moly! Those little whipped ganache truffles were so good! The texture was so ethereal and light, creamy and smooth. When served at room temperature, as all truffles should be, the filling instantly coats your tongue the moment you break into the middle.

I was worried that the whipped ganache centers would be a lot more difficult to work with, but they're really not. You basically follow the same recipe and steps as with making regular truffle centers, but in this case you simply beat the ganache after it has thickened slightly in the refrigerator. You're looking for it to be near the consistency of room temperature cream cheese before beating it with a paddle attachment (or regular beaters) until it is fluffy and smooth. The color will lighten from the addition of air. Like when whipping cream, be careful not to over beat the mixture. Refrigerate the ganache thoroughly before using a small disher to scoop out consistent amounts, just like you would for regular truffle centers. Because it comes to room temperature more quickly, you will want to stick the scooped portions back in the refrigerator for a few minutes before rolling them into nicely shaped balls.

Because you really have to dip these truffles initially while they are cold, you absolutely must plan on dipping them more than once. After dipping the first time, let them come to room temperature before dipping a second time. This will make sure you don't end up with a cracked final shell as the truffles warm up and swell.

You can still flavor them just like regular truffles; mint, however, is absolutely divine in this application! And, guess what? Technically, you could call these "reduced calorie" truffles because when you whip the ganache, it increases in volume, thus reducing the number of calories compared to a similar sized scoop of unwhipped ganache!

Home-made Donuts

To Watch this Video-Recipe please click HERE!!

Hi Everyone! I hope you are doing great! Today's recipe is another recipe for Donuts! I hope you enjoy this one as much as my Easy-Donuts recipe!

Ingredients:

3 cups All purpose flour (plus 1 cup extra for kneading)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter
3 tablespoons fresh yeast
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
vegetable oil for frying

For coating:
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoon ground cinnamon (mix together and set aside)
-----------

Clean and disinfect your working area: table, counter-top, etc. (the place where you will knead the dough)

Using a fork crumble the fresh yeast, until you get the texture of breadcrumbs.

Heat up the milk in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. (The milk needs to be more in the hot side than in the warmer side, but be careful not to heat it up too much or else you will end up cooking the eggs.)

Over your working area (table) sift the flour and sugar together, form them into a pile and make an indentation in the center; in this well add the butter cut into small pieces, the 3 eggs and the crumbled yeast. Slowly add in the milk, followed by the vanilla extract and start whisking together. Once all ingredients in the indentation are well combined start bringing in the flour. Using your hands, incorporate the flour and the wet ingredients into a soft dough.

To get the texture we want we will end up adding about 2/3 cup of extra flour to knead the dough, just add a little flour at a time, because if you add it all at once, you will end up with a really tough dough, and your donuts will be hard as a rock.

Keep on kneading your dough, add as much flour as you need to get a soft dough, a dough that is not sticky at all.

Once the dough has the texture we want, we will continue to knead for about 3 more minutes. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. To speed up the rising process, place the dough inside a large container and cover with a clean, wet kitchen towel, make sure to soak the kitchen towel in warm water, just let it hand in there for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. The dough will rise to almost double the size.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1½in thickness and cut into circles using a doughnut cutter. Let the donuts rise again for about 30 minutes.

In a large pan heat up about 1-2 cups of vegetable oil to a temperature of 350ºF.

Fry the donuts a few at a time, for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown and completely cooked.

(To make sure the donuts are completely cooked without burning them or toasting them too much, I like to keep on turning them after 30 seconds on each side and I turned them about 4 to 5 times. for a total of 2 minutes or 2:30 minutes.)

Keep on repeating this step until you are done Frying all the donuts.

Drain them on paper towels and while they are still warm, roll them on a mixture
of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.

You can also cover the donuts with Melted Chocolate and garnish them with shredded coconut or coat them with Caramel and garnish with chocolate sprinkles.

Enjoy!

Quick Blender Jell-o

photo from realmomkitchen.com

This is really, really good.  While I try to avoid the typical mormon jell-o recipes, I gave in to this one.  It was so good, creamy, and quick!



Quick Blender Jell-o   
Recipe from real mom kitchen

• 2/3 c. boiling water
• 1 (3 oz) package Jell-o
• 8-10 ice cubes
• 1  (8 oz) container of Cool-whip

1. Place the boiling water in the blender and add the package of Jell-o.  Place the lid loosely on your blender.  Since you are using boiling water, if you put the lid on tight you could end up with an explosion.  Blend for 1 to 2 minutes until the jello is dissolved.
2. Add the ice cubes to the blender ONE at a time.  Blend after each addition until the ice is well blended.
3. Add half of the container and cool whip.  Blend until combined.  Pour Jell-o into desired dish/dishes.  then chill until set.  the original recipe said 5 minutes but I would plan on at least 30 minutes.
4. Top each serving with a dollop of the remaining cool whip. Serves 6.

Crockpot Applesauce

photo from increasinglydomestic.blogspot.com

I was really intimidated by peeling so many apples, but I invited a friend over, put the boys to work and made quick work of it.  This applesauce is delicious and lasted me several days!

Crockpot Applesauce

Recipe from increasinglydomestic.blogspot.com

After you pick (or buy) your apples you need to:

1. Wash them

2. Peel them

3. Core them

4. Slice them

5. Place them in a slow cooker

(Preferably while watching McDreamy and McWarVet on Hulu)

Set the slow cooker on low heat for 6-8 hours.

Add 1/2 cup water to start and add more later if it needs it.

Some people season later, but I like the seasonings to cook into my apples, so I add about a 1/4 cup of sugar(brown or granulated) and a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon.

After so many hours in the slow cooker I didn't even have to mash my apples! I stirred them and they fell to mush. Yummy mush.

Baker's Math

I know there are a lot of folks out there with math phobia. I see them when my earth science students mutter that they thought they signed up for a science class, not a math class. What they, and a lot of other people, don't realize, is that math makes the world go round. We are fortunate that the universe appears to be structured in a very deliberate and organized way. I would argue that it is quite possible that until we are able to mathematically describe physical phenomena we see in our universe, we do not truly understand it.

Now, what does all of this have to do with baking bread? Well, to be honest, not a whole lot. I'm not worried about mathematically modeling the chemistry of bread baking, but I will argue that a few math skills in baking can be darn useful.

I won't lie to you. It took me a while to really grasp its usefulness, and many of you may find yourselves in that category forever. There's nothing wrong with that. You don't need baker's math to make great bread. But it comes in really handy when you want to start fiddling. Or scaling recipes. It really comes in handy there.

The whole idea of baker's math is that the recipe is presented as a list of percentages. Here's a sample recipe for french bread:

Flour 100

Salt 1.9

Yeast 0.55

Water 65

Two things you may notice right away: 1) the flour is 100%, 2) the total of all ingredients does not total 100%. All baker's math formulas are based on the flour totaling 100%. The other ingredients are listed as a percent of the flour's weight. How much weight is totally up to you. In this case, if you start with 4 cups of flour (weighing approximately 5 oz per cup), the required water would be 13 ounces. I obtained that number by using this first formula here. I plugged in 65 for the ingredient % (from the recipe above) and 20 ounces for the flour weight (4x5 oz). Multiply those two numbers together and divide by the 100 gives you how much water you need to add.

So, now if you want to use a baker's math recipe, you have a formula that can allow you to easily figure out how much of each ingredient you need. All you need to do is decide how much flour you want to start with and do one calculation per ingredient.

I used to pooh-pooh the use of the scale in the kitchen because it seemed laborious and unnecessary, but when it comes to making bread, the scale really is a rock star. Simply place your bowl on the scale, tare it, and start adding ingredients until you hit the requisite amount. Tare between each ingredient and there's no thinking involved!

But really, most cookbooks give the baker's weight and conventional measurements, so the above formula is only sometimes useful. So why the hubbub about baker's math?

Because I like to fiddle.

Lately, I've been fiddling with french bread. None of the recipes I tried quite gave me the results I was looking for, but many of the recipes had features I liked. But it is very hard to compare different recipes when they are written in conventional measurements. However, in baker's math, you can easily compare the recipes. Here are four french bread recipes from three different cookbooks that I converted to baker's percentages. The first thing to note is that they are quite similar. In fact, I could now probably write a set of parameters for what constitutes a french bread dough. And while there are a lot of factors that can influence the final product besides proportions of ingredients, it's an important place to start.


After making 5-6 different batches of baguettes, I took the above information and came up with a formula of my own I wanted to try. I decided on my percentages, and then I used the above formula to determine the weight of each ingredient. (I'll share that recipe in the not too distant future.)

What if you want to scale a recipe that is in conventional measurements? Then you need a different arrangement of the above formula.

With this formula, you need the weight of each ingredient, so you'll have to use a scale to get started. Once you have the weight of each, you can simply plug in the ingredient weight and flour weight to get the percent of each. Remember, in every case, the flour weight is 100%.

Again, baker's math is not required for bread baking, but it can be very useful when you want to compare recipes or scale them for a different yield. It may not be that hard to scale the measurements to increase a yield from 2 to 3 loaves, but what if you have a recipe that always makes loaves just a little smaller than you are happy with? With baker's math, you can simply and easily scale them up just a bit while still keeping all of the proportions equal! Handy dandy!

Kettle Corn

Pic courtesy of allrecipes.com

Christian decided about a week ago that he eats too much candy and dessert so he decided to go on a candy and dessert fast after Valentine's Day. I thought I'd try it with him. I made it til 7pm on the first day. And then my body was screaming for chocolate. Anyway, so we had some friends over for games and treats last night and I couldn't very well have all these tempting treats out without something for Christian to munch on. We both love kettle corn, but I've only ever made the microwave bags. I looked on allrecipes.com to see if they had a recipe and of course they did. So, I made it last night and it was seriously so good- it was even gone before the yummy cookies I made! I found what I call Christian's "cheat treat." :) Enjoy!

Kettle Corn
from allrecipes.com

1/4 c veg oil (I used EVOO)
1/4 white or brown sugar (using brown will make it taste more caramel-y)
1/2 c unpopped popcorn kernels
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a large pan. Put 3 kernels in the pan and when they pop, dump the remaining kernels in. Sprinkle with the sugar and cover with a lid. Let it pop, shaking intermittently to avoid burning the sugar. When there's 2-3 seconds between a pop, it's done. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Cowboy Casserole

photo from thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com

I made this for some friends before General Conference.  It was delicious!  The selling factor for me was that I could make it the night before so I didn't have to wake up early the next morning!

Cowboy Casserole

 From the cutting edge of ordinary blog

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (I used 80/20)

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 can (15.25oz) whole kernel corn, drained

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons sour cream

1 bag (30 oz) frozen tater tots (I used Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns)

Before I got ready to make this casserole, I let the Crispy Crowns sit on the counter to defrost for an hour or so. The original recipe used still frozen tater tots, but I felt they wouldn't cook as well if they were still frozen solid.

In a large skillet cook the onion until tender and translucent. Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the beef and cook over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain the mixture and place into a large bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl combine the soup, milk and sour cream. Whisk until smooth. Add to hamburger mixture and stir to combine. Add corn and 1 cup of cheddar cheese. Gently mix to combine.

Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer half of the Crispy Crowns on the bottom, pour the hamburger mixture over the top and then layer with the other half of the Crispy Crowns. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy.

*Note - The second time I made this I prepared it the night before and stuck it in the fridge overnight. I took it out about an hour before I wanted to bake it, just so it could come to room temperature a bit. I think it was even better than the first one

Baked Tilapia

To watch this video click HERE!

1 1/2lb Fresh Tilapia
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 minced garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a skillet add the butter, oil and garlic, cook on very low heat for about 5 minutes or until the butter is melted and the garlic is transparent. (DO NOT BURN OR BROWN THE GARLIC, if you do, Your fish will have a very strong garlic flavor)

Once the butter is transparent, remove the skillet from the flame, and remove the garlic from the butter, just dispose the garlic, the butter should be infused with all the flavor now, so we don't need the garlic at all. Add the fresh parsley to the garlic butter, season with salt and ground black pepper, mix well and cover the fish with this butter.

Let the fish marinate in this butter for about 10 minutes before baking.

Bake at 400º for about 12-15 minutes or until cooked.

Served with a bed of salad greens or white rice.

Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp

To watch this video click HERE!

Hi everyone, here you have a super easy and delicious appetizer for any kind of party or celebration! 

Ingredients:

1lb shrimp
3-4 pieces of turkey bacon
3 mini sweet peppers or jalapenos peppers
1 teaspoon smoke paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dry oregano
zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Wash and devein the shrimp. Set aside.

Cut the mini peppers into thin slices. Also cut the bacon in slices.

Mix together the rest of the ingredients: paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, salt, crushed red pepper, dry oregano, lime zest and oil, mix until well combine. Set aside.

Butterfly the shrimp, covered with the oil mixture.

Grab a shrimp, 1 mini pepper slices and a piece of bacon. Place the mini pepper inside the shrimp and wrapped everything together with the bacon. Keep on repeating this step until you are done.

Bake at 400ºF for about 12-15 Minutes or until completely cooked!

Serve with Shrimp sauce or BBQ Sauce, garnish with lime-lemon wedges and fresh parsley!

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Frito Salad

photo from realmomkitchen.com

For a side dish for a BBQ or something, this is perfect!  I am not a fan of catalina dressing but I really enjoyed it in this combination.  Obviously, leftovers would be nasty so eat it all at once!

Tex-Mex Frito Salad
From realmomkitchen.com

• 1 (14.5 oz)can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I prefer Bush’s)
• 1 (14.5 oz)can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (I prefer Bush’s)
• 10.5 oz  (1 dry pint) container grape tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on their size
• 1/2  (4.25 oz) can of chopped olives
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 4 green onions, diced
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2/3 of a 16 oz. Catalina Dressing
• 2 1/2 finely shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1 (10.5 oz) bag of Chili Cheese Fritos

1. In a large bowl, combine the beans, tomatoes, olives, pepper, green onion and celery.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Before serving, mix in the cheese and dressing until well combined.  Then fold in the chips and serve.  You want to fold in the chips when you are ready to serve or they will become soggy.

Cauliflower Soup

I made this soup for dinner tonight and everyone loved it- even Brian, who isn't necessarily a soup guy. I love that it has a lot of healthy ingredients in it and it makes a ton for leftovers.

courtesy

Cauliflower Soup

Adapted from Zoom Yummy

1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

2 carrots, diced

1 onion, diced

3 Tbs. butter

7 cups chicken broth

4 Tbs. flour

3 cups milk

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

2 tsp. parsley

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp. pepper

Salt, to taste

Melt 2 Tbs. butter in large saucepan. Saute onions for 3 minutes and then add carrots and saute for 2 additional minutes. Add cauliflower, chicken broth, and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer covered for 25 minutes. While thats cooking, whisk together flour and milk in a bowl. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in smaller saucepan. Add milk and flour mixture and whisk together. Bring to a boil and whisk constantly, while boiling for two minutes. Add milk mixture to soup and simmer for 10 minutes altogether. Remove from heat and add sour cream and cheese. Serve.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

One of the things I love about cooking is that I never run out of new and interesting things to try. Making sausage has been on my list for a long time, but somehow it only recently made it to the top of the list. If you have a meat grinder, it is so very easy. The best part is that you can then tailor your sausage to your exact liking! Its great because you can mix together the seasoning and then cook a small bit and sample it before committing yourself to multiple pounds of the stuff.

I have an old fashioned meat grinder (although to be honest, I'm not sure I could tell you where it is right this second), but I also have the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid. I found the grinder attachment worked fairly well, provided that you use partially frozen meat when grinding. Unfortunately, I found the sausage stuffer add-on for the KitchenAid to be horrible. I ended up making a few cute little sausages, but - as far as I'm concerned - it wasn't worth the time and frustration of making links using my mixer. It just didn't feed properly... mainly because the food pusher does not fit snugly into the hopper. If you're darned and determined to make links, you'll want to look into a dedicated sausage stuffer (like this one), which can be found for less than a hundred bucks.

Anyway... so, I purchased a big ol' Boston butt roast. That's pork, in case you didn't know. And it's not butt. I've always wondered why the heck they call the shoulder the butt. All it does is cause confusion, but now you know, right?

Boston butt is nicely marbled, which is what you want for making sausage. Remember, there's a reason sausage tastes so good, and it's not because it's healthy for you! You do, however, want to cut away the major chunks of fat and connective tissue. There's plenty of marbling in a Boston butt and the extra gristle and fat can bog down the grinder. Cut the roast into approximately one inch squares. Place a Sil-Pat or Super Parchment sheet on a sheet tray and lay the pieces out on it so they are one layer thick. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze. When you are ready to make sausage, let the meat sit on the counter until it is about half thawed. (Or, you could only freeze until half frozen... it depends on your timeline). Run the meat through your grinder using the coarse grinding disk, if you have an option.

Once the meat is ground, the rest is quick and easy. Mix together the seasoning and then sprinkle it over the meat. Stir completely. Then form it into small patties. I made mine about 3 inches across. Keep in mind that they'll shrink a bit when cooked. Place the patties in a single layer on the baking sheet with the Super Parchment or Sil-Pat (to allow easy removal once frozen). Try to form the patties so that they are a little thinner in the middle than on the outside edges. Place the tray in the freezer and freeze them until they are rock hard. Remove from the tray and place in and air tight container.

When you are ready to cook, simply place the number of frozen patties you want in a lightly oiled pan over medium-high heat. Cover it and keep an eye on it. As soon as you hear some good sizzle going on in there, reduce the heat to medium-low. After about six minutes, turn the patties over to cook the other side. Pierce the sausage about halfway through to allow the excess grease to escape. Cook another 5-6 minutes of the second side, until the sausage is cooked through.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Yield: 2 pounds

2 pounds Boston butt pork roast

2 tsp table salt

1 tsp ground sage

1/2 tsp ground thyme

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground pepper

Trim the roast of excess fat and connective tissue. Cut into one inch chunks. Freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan. Either freeze solid and then remove from freezer ahead of when you want to make sausage or freeze only until about half frozen. Grind half frozen meat with a coarse grinding plate.

Mix the seasonings together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the ground meat and mix thoroughly. Form small patties so that they are thinner in the middle than at the edge. Place on a Sil-Pat or Super Parchment on a sheet pan and freeze until solid, then transfer to an air tight container. Sausages can be cooked directly from the freezer. Start over medium-high heat in a covered pan. As soon as you hear a decent amount of sizzle, turn down the heat to medium-low. Cook 5-7 minutes per side, until cooked through.

Savory Chicken Marinade

I really wanted to BBQ today. It was sunny and beautiful and it just sounded good. There's nothing like a good chicken mariande so I went on a search on allrecipes.com. This one was rated 4.5 stars and had about 800 reviews. We loved it! I served with it mashed potatoes and rolls.

I halfed this recipe and cut two huge breasts lengthwise, to make four cutlets. It was plenty of marinade. I let is marinate for about 8 hours.

SAVORY CHICKEN MARINADE

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry mustard (used regular mustard)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced fresh parsley (optional...I did not have so I didn't use)

Strawberry Cheese Danish

photo from life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com

So danishes are one of my weaknesses whenever I stay in a hotel and have breakfast there.  When I saw this recipe it immediately stuck out to me.  Here is what I would do differently: I don't love strawberry jam, especially when it tastes fake!  So I would do just cream cheese or use blackberry or blueberry preserves--but that's just me! 

Strawberry Cheese Danish

From Life-as-a-lofthouse.blogspot.com

Strawberry Cheese Danish

·                     1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls

·                     4 ounces cream cheese, softened

·                     1/4 cup sugar

·                     2 tablespoons lemon juice

·                     8 teaspoons Strawberry preserves

Glaze:

·                     1/4 cup powdered sugar

·                     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

·                     2 teaspoons milk

Directions:  Seperate dough into four rectangles. Seal perforations. In a small bowl whisk together cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spread 1/4 of the mixture onto each rectangle. Roll up from long side; pinch edges to seal. Holding one end, loosely coil each.

   Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Top each coil with 2 teaspoons preserves. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or golden brown.

   For glaze, in a bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk. Stir until smooth and drizzle over each danish. Makes 4 danishes.

Apple Pie Dip and Cinnamon-Sugar Tortilla Chips

photo from thepeachkitchen.com

This looks harder than it is!  It was not bad at all to cut the apples up and the dip was so delicious and definitely healthier than most other dips...

Apple Pie Dip & Cinnamon-Sugar Tortilla Chips   

From thepeachkitchen.com

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled, cored, and diced apple
2 tbsp fresh lemon/calamansi juice
3 tbsp brown sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tsp water

♥ for the chips
5 (6-inch) wheat tortillas
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

§  You can either cook this on the stove-top or the microwave.

§  Combine all the dip ingredients in a small pan/ microwaveable bowl except the cornstarch-water mixture.

§  Heat for a few minutes until it’s boiling and has extracted juice from the apple.

§  Add cornstarch-water mixture to the “sauce”

§  Put back in the microwave/stove top until boiling and the sauce has thickened.

§  Set aside. You can serve this warm or chilled. It doesn’t matter. It will taste delicious.

§  Cut tortillas into desired size. {wedges}

§  Put in a slightly greased baking pan.

§  Brush the tortillas with butter.

§  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake at 210º C until golden brown, about 5-8 minutes.

§  Let them cool before serving and serve with the Apple Pie Dip

Southwestern Chicken Barley Chili

                              

picture courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe



My family really enjoyed this twist on Chili by Mel's Kitchen Cafe.. I have never used barley before and I really enoyed using it and esp. eating it. So good and so good for you! WE put fritos on top and that was yummy!

Southwestern Chicken Barley Chili

INGREDIENTS:
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained ( I blended mine b/c my family does not like tomato chunks!)
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup medium barley (not quick cooking)
4 cups water
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
dash cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into bite-size pieces
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
SALT to taste

Garnishes: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, sliced green onions, tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot (about 6-quarts), combine the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, barley, water, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano and cayenne (if using). Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and add the chicken. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer the chili for 40 minutes, until the barley is tender and chewy and the chicken is no longer pink. Stir occasionally, while it simmers to prevent sticking and to make sure it stays at a steady simmer. After 40 minutes, add the beans and corn and salt to taste. Stir to combine and simmer for five more minutes. Serve the chili with optional garnishes, if desired.

The chili will thicken considerably upon cooling. Add chicken broth or water as needed to achieve a desirable consistency (especially if reheating the leftovers). Can freeze!

Creamy Tomato and Sausage Pasta

photo from yourhomebasedmom

It was refreshing to use sausage instead of the typical beef or chicken with pasta.  I loved the marinara/cream sauce too!

Creamy Tomato and Sausage Pasta

From yourhomebasedmom

1 lb. mild Italian Sausage

2 – 3 Tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 tsp fresh basil, sliced (reserve some to garnish with) or use 2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 cans (15 oz.) diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 1/2 C cream

1 box penne pasta

Brown the sausage . Cook pasta according to the box. Heat olive oil in a pan and add garlic, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Saute until garlic is soft. Add in tomatoes and cream. Stir until it begins to thicken. Add sausage back in and then pour over pasta. If it seems to thick just thin it with some additional cream. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and more fresh basil.

Mole Poblano (Family Recipe)

Hi everyone, I hope you are all doing great!
So today, I'm finally sharing with you one of the most requested recipes in my channel, here is the recipe for a very delicious and very traditional Mexican dish: "Mole Poblano", this has to be one of the most famous Mexican dishes around the world, so I hope you like my Family's recipe, I have tasted a lot of versions of this Mole, but till this day, my Sister's mole continues to be the most amazing and delicious Mole ever! I hope you enjoy her recipe as much as I do. (in my family, we don't like Sweet Mole, like they do it in the South of Mexico, but if you like, to this recipe you can also add 1 Banana, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup of peanuts.)

Ingredients:

15 mirasol chiles (find in the Hispanic aisle of most grocery stores)
1/4 of a small onion
2 Roma tomatoes cut in half
1 Chocolate del Oso Tablet (find in the Hispanic aisle of most grocery store)
1 bolillo (Mexican bread) If you can't find one use a 6in piece of french bread or baguette
3 tablespoons of sesame seeds, and a little extra for garnish
2 stale tortillas
1 a whole chicken cut in pieces (or 4 chicken breasts)
4 cup of chicken broth or hot water
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Salt to taste
(1 banana for a sweeter version of this mole OPTIONAL)

Rinse the chicken under cold water, pat it dry and set aside for a moment.

In a large pan, add enough water to cover the chicken, season this water with 2 tablespoons or 2 cubes of chicken bouillon seasoning, 1 small onion and salt, add the chicken, bring to a boil and cook the chicken until is completely cooked, for about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth, set it aside to cool. (Leave the chicken in whole pieces or Shred it) 
Note: Keep the chicken broth! It is great for making soup!) If you prefer, you can cook the chicken in just salted water!


To make the sauce:

In a skillet, at medium low heat, heat up about 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and saute the Mirasol chiles, saute about 3 chiles at a time and be very careful not to burn them, if you burn one, get rid of it, don't even try using it because it will ruin your mole sauce!  Saute each chile for about 30-40 seconds on each side, continue to saute each chile until you are done with them, set a side in a large sauce pan.

In the same oil, saute the tomatoes and the onion, for about 3-4 minutes or until they become soft, remove from the skillet and set them aside into the same pan with the chiles

In the same skillet, saute the tortillas, for about 1 minute on each side. Set aside with the rest of the ingredients.

In the same oil, saute the bolillo, just toast it a little bit until you have a light golden brown color all over it. When you are done set it a side with the rest of the ingredients.

Add more oil to the skillet if you need to, turn down the heat to the lowest and saute the sesame seeds for 10 seconds, turn off the stove, and continue to saute the seeds in the hot oil for about 30 more seconds, remove the seeds from the oil and set them aside until you are ready use them.

Pour about 4 cups of the chicken broth (the one we used to cook the the chicken) over the skillet with all the ingredients and let it hang in there for 20 minutes, this will allow the chiles to be come soft. (use hot water if you don't have any chicken broth)


After 20 minutes:

In a blender, add all the ingredients, Mirasol chiles, tomatoes,onion, bolillo and tortillas, the sesame seeds and the Chocolate del Oso tablet, (banana if using one) also add in 1 cup of chicken broth (the one you used to soak all the ingredients), and start blending, add more water if needed, just remember mole is supposed to have a very thick consistency so don't make it too watery. Continue to blend until you have a very soft paste.


Pour the sauce into a strainer and strain. This step is optional, just to make sure the are not any large chile skins in the sauce.

Over medium low heat, bring this sauce to a boil, when it starts boiling taste the flavor and add any salt if needed. Add the chicken (whole chicken pieces or shredded chicken) and continue to boil for about 5 more minutes.

Serve with white rice and garnish with a little more sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

A few months ago, a friend moved away to a new duty station and gave me a grocery bag full of frozen food items she couldn't take with her. The assortment included two large bags of frozen broccoli florets. From the first moment I saw them, I immediately had an urge to make a cheesy broccoli soup. I finally got around to it the other night. This is such a quick and easy soup to make and it is filling and so mouth satisfying. I made it with non-fat milk because that's what I had on hand, but it would be even better with 2% or whole milk. When you use a lower fat milk, it is not usually the flavor that suffers, but the mouth feel. Feel free to use whatever type of milk works for you!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Yield: 4 servings

3 strips of bacon, diced

1 medium-small onion, diced

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk, warm

1 Knorr vegetable bouillon cube (or similar)

1 16 oz bag frozen broccoli florets

2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

splash of heavy cream (optional)

Heat a 4 quart pan over medium high heat. Add the pieces of bacon. Cook until the bacon has rendered its fat and browned. Spoon out the bacon onto a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Add the onion to the oil and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender and translucent.

Add the flour to the onion and fat and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute. Mix the warm milk and bouillon cube and then slowly add to the flour mixture, stirring with a whisk continuously. Add the broccoli and let the mixture come to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is tender. Remove from the hear. Add the cheese, salt & pepper, cream (if using), and cooked bacon and mix thoroughly. Serve and enjoy!