Black Bean Burgers

While I was doing some of my daily Blog surfing, I came across this little gem of a recipe. I printed it off and stuck it in my envelope with all of the rest of my "Someday" recipes and then forgot about it. Today as I was trying to figure out what to make for lunch/dinner (we have to combine the two for my husband who works nights) I remembered this recipe and decided to have a go. This meal was SO good. I cannot begin to tell you how tasty these burgers were. I love that they are relatively good for you and made me want to eat 2 or 3 sandwiches instead of 1.

The original recipe was found here

Black Bean Burgers:
1 can Black beans, drained and rinsed, a 1/4 cup of them set aside
2 chili peppers whole from a can
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs ( seasoned mine with garlic powder, salt and pepper)
1/4 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce ( I did half barbecue sauce half ketchup)
1/2 teaspoon Chile powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Put the beans and chili into a food processor
Just be sure not to turn the beans into soup, chop them up coarse.

Put bean mixture into a bowl.

Add in all of the ingredients including the whole beans set aside. Mix well. Form into four patties and cover with saran wrap or wax paper. Let firm up for a half an hour in the fridge.

Cook on a George Foreman grill about 5 minutes or fry in a large skillet sprayed with baking spray or lightly coated with oil. They may be too fragile to put right on an outdoor grill, I've yet to cook them this way.

Chicken Burritos

This was a fairly simple recipe I made for our family dinner a couple of days ado that got very favorable results. My husband who is a big fan of tortillas LOVED this and has hinted that this is one I could make again. Its simple enough but has such a wonderful flavor that there is no need to go out to eat when you are craving some Mexican dishes! This hits that craving and tastes just as good if not better then what you would have bought!


Zesty Chicken Burritos
From: Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Cheesy Rice:

1/2 cup Brown Rice, uncooked
1 cup Sharp Cheddar or Pepper Jack

Burritos:
1/2 yellow onion, diced
Olive Oil for sauting
1 - 15 ounce can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles
2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Chile powder
1 can Refried Beans, heated
Burrito size Tortillas
1-2 cups Sharp Cheddar, shredded, for serving
Fixin's: Lettuce, Tomato, Salas, and Avocado for serving

Sour Cream Sauce:

4 ounces Cream Cheese
3/4 cup Sour Cream
1 tablespoon fresh Cilantro, fresh, chopped
fresh squeezed lime juice

Cook the rice according to package directions. Add the cheese in at the very end. Put the lid on the pan and allow it to melt. Stir until combined well. If it gets too thick add a tablespoon of milk and stir.

Saute the onion in the Olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet until soft and tender. Add the Ro-tel including the juices, the chicken, oregano and Chile Powder. Heat through.

To make the sauce soften the cream cheese in the microwave, whisk in the sour cream, a generous squeeze of lime juice and the cilantro.

Wrap the tortillas and heat in a 325 degree oven until warm or heat them one at a time in a skillet over medium heat on each side.

To assemble:

Put a strip of beans down the center, top with cheese, rice, and chicken. Fold in the ends and roll up. Brown on each side in a skillet over medium-low heat sprayed with baking spray or in a pat of butter.

Serve with sour cream sauce and fixin's.

Sopaipillas

This was a fun dessert to make an eat. It is pretty much a fry bread (very similar recipe) that you serve with honey. Usually they get more puffy ( I have fond memories of going out to eat with my family at an old restaurant long since shut down and eating these desserts) My family liked it and it was nice to try a different sort of dessert.

Sopaipillas
(adapted from Mattbites)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2/3 cup water

Oil for frying
honey

Combine the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter until crumbly. Gradually add water tossing with a fork until mixture holds together. On a lightly floured surface knead dough for 2 minutes until smooth. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Roll out to 1.4 in. thickness and cut into 2 inch triangles. Heat oil in electric skillet . Fry sopaipillas for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown and puffed. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with honey,

Monkey Bread-My new dinner rolls!

All I can say about this recipe is it is DELICIOUS! I wasn't looking to replace the recipe I use for rolls but when I had these I realized they are SOOOO much better and SO much easier. I also kind of liked the family style atmosphere it brought. A win win! These can be made into a dessert as well though I like them just as well plain.

Monkey Bread
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter softened
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup whole wheat four
3 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
5 tbsp butter melted


1) In a large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water (I did this in my mixer) Add the sugar, butter, egg, salt and whole wheat flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining all purpose flour to form a soft nonsticky dough.

2) if not using a mixer knead on flour surface until smooth about 6 minutes or if using mixer turn on low for 6 minutes. it will be smooth and elastic when done. Place in a greased bowl turning ball over once to make sure the ball gets fully coated. Let rise until doubled about 1 1/2 hours.

3) punch dough down. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Dip balls into melted butter and then place in a greased fluted tube pan OR a bread pan.(*) Drizzle with remaining butter when all balls have been dipped. Cover and let rise until doubled again-about 45 minutes.

4) bake at 350 Degrees or until brown on top. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto serving platter.
*If you want to make this into a dessert then roll the balls into a cinnamon, and brown sugar mixture before placing them into the pan

Daring Bakers Challenge for January

Wow this challenge was a bit of a toughie for me. I didn't really enjoy it because besides trying and failing to find all the ingredients it was tough to put it all together. The finished product tasted fine with a bit of a different texture but I must admit the dough of the wafers was sooooo much better then the actual cracker! (Just my opinion)

Also due to time constraints and as mentioned before-lack of available ingreidients I had to make a simplified version of the nanimo bars. The overall opinion of it was that it was ok-A bit rich and sugary for most people. I probably won't make this again because of the difficulty and the cost of ingredients but if I ever have a child or am cooking for anyone with celiacs disease it will be nice to know at least one recipe!

For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers
Ingredients
1 cup (138 g) (4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup (100 g) (3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup (65 g) (2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 cup (200 g) (7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 teaspoon (5 mL) Baking soda
3/4 teaspoon (4 mL ) Kosher Salt
7 tablespoons (100 g) (3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup (80 mL) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
5 tablespoons (75 mL) Whole Milk
2 tablespoons (30 mL) Pure Vanilla Extract

Directions:
1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.

As you can see mine did not turn out all nice and neat. They spread in the oven and parts of it cooked faster then the others. My kids love the leftover crackers though!

And here is the simplified Nanimo bar: I didn't crush the wafers and put them with the chocolate. Instead I layered them between the pudding/custard layer

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

Chicken Empanadas

This recipe was so flavorful. I found it once again on my Blog cruising and having tried and seriously failed my hand at Empanadas before I was a little leery about trying it again. This recipe was soooooo much better then my expectations (True my expectations were low but still I was pleasantly surprised :) These were worth the effort I put into them. The outside was SO flaky and delicious and the inside was nice and full of flavor. Plus my guests were pretty impressed with them (It was my brother so it wasn't that hard :)

Ingredients

• 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 2 cups package shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  
• 1/4 cup diced green bell peppers
  
• 1 tbsp diced chilies form a can
  
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts (I made the dough from a Dorie Greenspan recipe)
  
• Water
• 1 egg
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 8 ingredients.

roll out your crust onto a lightly floured surface and cut out with a cookie cutter (3 inch)

Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round.

Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal.Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with egg and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Potato Pie

I am a Food Blog Stalker- I love cruising through recipes others have tried and deciding if I want to try it as well. I ran across this recipe a couple of days ago though I wasn't so sure I wanted to try it. The picture that was taken looked really good but I wasn't sure I wanted to put the time and energy into recreating the recipe. Finally after reading and thinking and revisiting that blog several timese I decided to just give it a try and it was GREAT! (Which is why it gets posted :) Had wonderful flavors and was moderaltely easy (I'd give it a medium actually) Be prepared for leftovers though because this dish makes a TON!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds potatoes (About 10-12 regular russet potatoes) peeled and halved
• 4 slices of Bacon, cooked and diced
  
• 1 28-ounce can italian diced tomatoes, drained
  
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons oil
• pepper
• 3/4 pound grated cheddar cheese (about 3 cups)
• garlic powder
  
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried red pepper flakes
  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 450°. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in a strainer set over a medium bowl. Toss with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and let drain for 20 minutes.

2. Cook the bacon until crisp in a small skillet; drain on paper towels and set aside.

3. Drain the potatoes and mash them in the saucepan with a potato masher or a fork. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the potato starts to stick to the pan, about 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the oil, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of pepper. Remove from the heat.

4. Oil a large baking sheet. Spread the potato mixture onto the baking sheet, pressing down with the back of a measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray for an even thickness. Top the potato with the Cheddar cheese,leaving a 1/4-inch border.

Sprinkle the garlic and bacon over the cheese.

Top with the drained tomatoes followed by the red pepper flakes, oregano and Parmesan. Drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Bake the potato pies in the lower third of the oven until the cheese is bubbling and the edges are golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Buns, rolls, you name it!

I found this original recipe here
I have once again had dieting take over my life. I still dream and daydream about sugars and spices and everything that is nice, but I have absolutley NO self control. So the problem that I have run into is : I love to cook but I can't eat alot of what I love to cook. To help with this problem I have been cooking more and more breads. Banana breads, rolls, honey wheat...those kind of things. This recipe was so easy and tasted good to!


1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 egg, room temperature
4 1/2 cups flour (unbleached, whole wheat, or a mix)
1 package instant yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Heat the milk, water, honey and butter until butter is melted. Check temperature. Depending on the temperature, let cool to 120F. Carefully beat in egg.

Mix 2 cups of the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix into the milk mixture. Stir in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat well after each addition.

When the dough pulls together, (it will form a soft ball) turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. This should take about 5 minutes. [See note above; I used my stand mixer, beating with the paddle attachment, then switched to the dough hook to knead. Adding a little more flour while mixing with the dough hook, a little at a time until dough is no longer sticky.]

Divide dough into 12 -16 equal pieces. This will depend on the size you want for the finished bun. Shape into smooth balls, flatten slightly, and place on a silcone mat covered baking sheet.

I cover loosely with plastic film and allow to rise for 30 to 35 minutes. When buns have almost doubled bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.*

*If desired, after buns have risen, brush tops with beaten egg for a shiny glaze, you may also add sesame seeds, sauteed minced onions (cooled), coarse salt, etc. to the brushed tops, then bake.

If you are making hotdog buns Lori recommends to roll the dough out into a large rectangle and cut into smaller rectangles. Allow them to rise with sides touching.

Chicken in Tomato Sauce with Olives and Feta

This recipe was Oh so easy! I have been cruising through Blogs pulling arecipe here and there and when I found this one I knew I had to try it- And I did that very night! I was very filling and very flavorful. I was impressed because this dish had so few ingriedients. So for all you who like simple meals this one is a keeper.

Recipe from My Yummy Life

4 chicken breast halves

1 28oz can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained

Feta Cheese

12-24 olives (personal preference as to amount and type)

2 tbsp olive oil, divided

12 oz pasta (spaghetti or vermicelli is best)

Preheat the oven to 425degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place two of the seasoned chicken breasts into the heated skillet and allow to brown on one side for 3-4 minutes. When the first side is golden, flip the chicken breasts and allow to brown on the other side. Set aside, and repeat with the remaining two chicken breasts. In a bowl combine the tomatoes, feta, and olives. Pour half of this mixture into an oven safe dish large enough to accommodate all of the ingredients.

Layer the browned chicken breasts on top of the first half of the tomato/olive/feta mixture and then cover them with the remaining half of the tomatoes/olives/feta.

Place the dish into the preheated oven and allow to bake until the chicken is done, about 50 minutes. About 20 minutes before the chicken is done boil water and prepare the pasta as directed, then drain. When the chicken has been removed from the oven, transfer the breasts to a separate plate and toss the pasta in with the tomatoes/olives/feta in the baking dish. Return the chicken breasts to the baking dish and garnish the whole shebang with feta.

My Favorite Lasagna Recipe

Like I said on my last post-I have been on a quest looking for my favorite recipes. What that translates into is: I try certain recipes and if they are better then an old recipe for the same meal then out with the old and in with the new!
Now just so there is no confusion- I love to eat and I love to cook so I have been doing an extensive search. This recipe is the result of many trial and errors. But I do believe this is the best Lasagna recipe I have ever found!
I did not take pictures but just take my word on it!

Directions:

• 3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 tbsp onion powder
  
• 1 tsp garlic powder
  
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 12 lasagna noodles
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
  
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4. To assemble, spread 2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the cottage cheese and yogurt mixture. Top with a third of cheddar cheese. Spoon 2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining cheddar and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

The BEST chocolate chip cookies you will EVER eat!

ON my search for the perfect dessert this has been at the top for quite awhile. I love cookies but I am pretty particular about them. After going through multiple recipes I have settled on this being my favorite.

(This recipe is an off-shoot of the tolhouse cookie recipe. For original recipe click here.)

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chocolate chips
  
• 1/2 cup ground up almonds (Like almond flour-or crumbs)
  

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 6-9 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan immediately and let cool

Daring Bakers Challenge

I'm Back! Luckily I haven't been cut off yet due to my lack of participation do to our move and I had a lot of fun completing this challenge! My boys enjoyed it too as they devoured it unbenonced to me a couple hours after I finished it!


Scandinavian Gingerbread (Pepparkakstuga)
from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas http://astore.amazon.com/thedarkit-20/detail/0816634963

1 cup butter, room temperature [226g]
1 cup brown sugar, well packed [220g]
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ cup boiling water
5 cups all-purpose flour [875g]

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until blended. Add the cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix the baking soda with the boiling water and add to the dough along with the flour. Mix to make a stiff dough. If necessary add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

2. Cut patterns for the house, making patterns for the roof, front walls, gabled walls, chimney and door out of cardboard.

3. Roll the dough out on a large, ungreased baking sheet and place the patterns on the dough. Mark off the various pieces with a knife, but leave the pieces in place.

4. [I rolled out the dough on a floured bench, roughly 1/8 inch thick (which allows for fact that the dough puffs a little when baked), cut required shapes and transferred these to the baking sheet. Any scraps I saved and rerolled at the end.]

5. Preheat the oven to 375'F (190'C). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cookie dough feels firm. After baking, again place the pattern on top of the gingerbread and trim the shapes, cutting the edges with a straight-edged knife. Leave to cool on the baking sheet.

Royal Icing:

1 large egg white
3 cups (330g) powdered sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat all ingredients until smooth, adding the powdered sugar gradually to get the desired consistency. Pipe on pieces and allow to dry before assembling. If you aren't using it all at once you can keep it in a small bowl, loosely covered with a damp towel for a few hours until ready to use. You may have to beat it slightly to get it an even consistency if the top sets up a bit. Piped on the house, this will set up hard over time.

Simple Syrup:
2 cups (400g) sugar

Place in a small saucepan and heat until just boiling and the sugar dissolves. Dredge or brush the edges of the pieces to glue them together. If the syrup crystallizes, remake it.

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

Sweet Cream Biscuits

Another Dorie Greenspan recipe. I am really learning to trust this lady knows her stuff. I have only not liked one recipe I tried and everything else is AWESOME! This is another one I made for my husband for Breakfast and we both agreed these biscuits (Which we ate with butter, sausage and eggs) had an excellent taste and texture and were better then anything else we have had. Another HUGE plus is this recipe is the EASIEST biscuit recipe I have ever seen.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream

preheat oven to 425 degrees
whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together and then add one cup of the cream. whisk with a fork. If the dough is not a nice soft dough add more cream a little at a time until it reaches that. Using your hands and quickly (and gently) knead the dough 3-4 times just until all the dough is together. Dust a surface and roll out the dough into a 1/2 inch circle. Using a cookie cutter cut as many circles out as you can fit before re-rolling the dough.
place dough circles onto a lined baking sheet and cook for about 10-14 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

Blackberry orange muffins

I got this recipe from Dorie Greenspans Cooking:From my Home to Yours, but I had to tweak it since she used blueberries and I wanted to use blackberries since they are in season right now and growing all around our home. This is such a good recipe! I have always just bought muffin mix from the store but this exceeds them all. Not too sugary that you feel like you are eating a cake for breakfast but just right to give you a satisfying breakfast (Or snack since we ate the whole batch throughout the day!)

Grated zest and Juice from one orange
buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled
1/3 cup of sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda1/4 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup fresh blackberries

preheat oven to 400 degrees and put cups into a muffin tray (12 cups)
pour juice into a glass measuring cup and add buttermilk until you have 1 cup og mixture. wisk in eggs, honey and butter.
In a large bowl rub the sugar and orange zestuntil it is well combined and the smell of orange is strong. Wisk in flour, baking poder, baking soda and salt. Pour liquid mixture over dry ingrediantsand stir until it is all just conbined (Should be lumpy and bubbly) stir in blackberries and divide batter into muffin cups
bake until tops are golden (for me about 15 minuted but original recipe says about 22 minutes)

The Daring Bakers- Cheesecake!!

I had mixed feelings when I saw that we were doing cheesecake this month. Not disappointed, but not so excited, which is probably why I waited until the week before the challenge to try this recipe. HOLY COW! This cheesecake is hands down the best cheesecake I have ever had. The crust was perfect and the cheesecake was just amazing. I did have to do some minor tweaking to this recipe due to religious reasons but the end result was fabulous.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

*Because I tried and failed the boiling water step I just skipped it altogether and cooked it in the oven for about 45 minutes at 350% and it turned out fine. I also topped mine with a fresh Blackberry sauce and homemade whipped cream.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Spicy Chicken and Rice bake

This is a repeat recipe at our home. It taste delicious, is good for you, and EASY! This is a Better Homes and Garden Recipe that I tweaked a bit to suit our families needs.

Spicy Chicken and Rice BakeIngredients
(optional) 1 chicken Breast defrosted and cut into Large chunks (I only use Chicken for my husband, this dish I eat without the chicken and it is DELICIOUS!)
1/2 sweet green pepper chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp Onion powder
olive oil
2 1/2 cups black beans
14 1/2 ounce can of diced tomatoes undrained
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 cup Corn
2/3 tsp chili powder
2/3 cup uncooked rice (Unless using brown rice-I cooked it half way through then added it)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Set oven to 375 degrees
In a saucepan cook pepper in the oil with garlic and onion powder until veggies are softened. Add black beans, tomatoes, Tomato sauce and water, corn, rice, chili powder and red pepper flakes and a dash of salt if needed. Bring to a boiling then transfer all food into a 3 quarter baking dish. Add chicken pieces on top if using and put in the oven. Cook for 40-45 minutes until rice and chicken are done.

Bean Soup with Kale

Well my life has taken a dramatic turn lately because I have joined a "Biggest Loser" competition so most of my meals lately have been healthy. What surprises me is just how tasty these new meals are! I am completely hooked! One of the big things is that my children ate it with no problems-not a whine from either of them which in my book means success since they are the pickiest eaters in out home. This meal is a Great main course or even a wonderful side dish.

Bean Soup with Kale
original recipe found here


Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or canola oil
• 8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cups chopped raw kale
• 4 cups low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, such as cannellini or navy, undrained
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped parsley

Directions:
In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; saute until soft. Add kale and saute, stirring, until wilted. Add everything else and let simmer for about 30 minutes

Daring Bakers Challenge-Lasagne!!!

Well I have had this challenge done since the beginning of the month-I was just so excited to try it out! It took me all day to finish since I let my noodles dry before cooking them (Next time I won't wait so long!) and it turned out perfectly! My husband ate it for days since I had made enough to feed a hungry family of 8 and always complemented me on it. One thing I loved was realizing that making my own noodles was something that I could do! It is not near as intimidating as I had originally thought and they tasted completely normal ( I was worried about the texture being off)

So even though I will probably never visit the lovely Italy I can still enjoy it's wonderful food. Thanks for a wonderful challenge!The finished dish
The Yummy layers

have a bite!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Another Tastespotting Hit-Lemon Cream and Blackberry Tartlets!

This was SO GOOD! I have already been asked for the recipe after sharing this with my sister. One of the big bonuses for me is that it was easy. It was pretty quick as well taking about 1 hour from beginning to end and it was such a wonderful spring time treat! Maybe I should have made the topping green for St. Patricks day but I wasn't thinking :)

I did have a few modifications but the original recipe can be found here


Lemon Cream and Blackberry Tartlets

Tart shells:
1 standard muffin tin
1 stick of butter
1 cup of flour
4 oz cream cheese
4 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Cream the cheese and butter until fluffy, then add the sugar, salt and flour.

Mix well and divide into 12 equal parts. Place each part inside muffin tin and conform to shape.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 250 and cook for 10-15 more minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack or in the freezer for a couple of minutes

Blackberry sauce:
1 c blackberries
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 c sugar
1/8 tsp Cornstartch

Melt butter and sugar over medium heat until syrupy but not browned.Add in your berries and continue simmering for 2-3 minutes

Smash berries with the back of a spoon

Remove berries from heat

Combine cornstarch with 1/8 tsp of cool water, mix then add to berries. pour into plastic bowl and set in fridge or allow to cool in room temperature

Lemon cream:
Zest of 2 Meyer lemons
2 tsp lemon juice
8oz cream cheese
1 c confectioner’s sugar
1/4 c heavy whipping cream

In a stand or with a handheld mixer, whip the heavy cream, cream cheese and lemon zest until combined and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar and whip to combine. Add the lemon juice and continue whipping for 2-3 minutes. Texture should be light and rich. Chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours for best results, or freeze for 20 minutes.

layer the blackberries in the shells and then top with cream. Enjoy!

Yummy Breakfast Burritos

I am not a breakfast person. I skip breakfast most of the time, and when I am hungry usually I just grab an apple or some other piece of fruit. Since Michael has restarted work and school back up I feel obligated to treat him to a breakfast anytime he makes it home in time. (He works early mornings) He usually makes it home once a week so I have been looking for recipes to try on him. Today I had finally decided to go ahead with Breakfast burritos since I had already made everything else I was interested in (Like crepes, German pancakes, scones, etc...) They were delicious and SO easy! much easier then I expected :)

Cal-Mex Veggie Breakfast Burrito

I got the recipe off of Food network and I made a few modifications so the original recipe is here

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cups corn kernels,
  
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 6 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar and mozzarella)
• 4 flour tortillas, gently warmed and kept covered until ready to use

Set a nonstick, 10-inch saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and once hot, add the bell peppers, onion, corn, jalapeno and garlic to the pan. Cook the vegetables, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened, about 10 to 12 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, remove from the heat and place on a plate to cool.

While the vegetables cool, return the pan to the heat and in a medium bowl, combine the eggs, heavy cream, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and the black pepper. Use a whisk to beat the eggs until frothy. Add more oil to the pan and pour the beaten eggs into the pan and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the pan to ensure that the eggs cook evenly. After 2 minutes the eggs should still be a bit wet, sprinkle the cilantro over the eggs, followed by the grated cheese and remove from the heat.

Fold the eggs over themselves until the cheese is melted and divide the eggs between the 4 tortillas in a strip that runs along the bottom edge of the tortillas. Divide the sauteed vegetables between the tortillas, and fold the left and right side of the tortilla over the center portion and then roll the bottom edge up towards the top. Continue with the 3 remaining tortillas and serve while warm.

My first pie

I have always been a little intimidated at the idea of making a pie. I have made pies before but they were always made with a store bought crust and usually the pies were instant. But I saw a recipe for Lemon Meringue Pie and I knew I had to have some. I took the crust recipe from Dorie Greenspans Baking: From my Home to Yours and the pie from Better Homes Cookbook.



Crust (91/2 inch pie dough)

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter (COLD or even frozen)
2 1/2 tbsp Very cold veggie shortening
1/4 cup ice water

Filling

3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice

cooking the crust

put flour, sugar and salt into a mixer. add the butter a tablespoon at a time and then the shortening the same way.

slowly add the water with mixer on

take dough and put it into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until cool all the way through

take it out and roll out making a large circle shape as you roll

place it over greased pie pan and cut off the extra dough hanging off the sides.

stick in freezer for about 15 minutes and preheat oven to 400 degrees

cover with greased Aluminum foil so that all the dough is covered and then put beans into it to keep the dough from bubbling up

bake for 25 minutes then remove beans and foil and cook for another 5-8 minutes until it starts turning a golden color

Cooking the filing

combine sugar, flour, cornstarch and a dash of SALT. gradually stir in 1 1/2 cups WATER. Cook over medium heat stirring until it gets thick and bubbly. Stir for 2 minutes more and remove from heat

slightly beat eggs and add 1 cup of sugar mixer into the eggs and then bring all the rest back into the saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil then reduce heat and add lemon peel and butter. slowly add the juice. Keep warm for the crust

Top with Meringue and bake for about 10-15 minutes until top of meringue turns brown

My Take on Quesadillas

Never having been one to like Quesadillas I seldom ever make them-even for my Husband who makes them as his filler meal anytime I don't feel like cooking. Yesterday I decided to combine 2 Quesadillas recipes when I was desperate to have a lunch for my husband and was down to a short amount of time-So I whipped up this dish with some "smashed" potatoes and a side salad. Surprisingly it turned out good! It had a nice "fresh" taste that you don't get from regular ones. I really liked this version :) And it is pretty chock full of goodness most people I think would enjoy :)

4 flour tortillas
2 teaspoons cream cheese
1 cup pinto beans
1 Roma tomato diced
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp black beans

Heat tortillas in Microwave for 30 sec.

spoon cream cheese on two tortillas and spread
Add the rest of the ingredients except the tomatoes

Heat the loaded tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds
Add the tomatoes and cover with remaining tortillas and heat for an additional 30 seconds

Enjoy!

Vegetable Tian

Well to counteract all the not so healthy recipes I have indulged in lately I have been on the lookout for more health friendly meals. I made this for lunch and My husband commented on how nice the flavors combined together-He was right! The flavors for this meal were excellent-I was surprised considering in was some pretty mild vegetables. This dish makes a wonderful meal-Though in reality it would probably work better as a side dish :) The original recipe for Vegetable Tian was from here

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil (divided)
• 1 large sweet yellow onion cut in half and sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 russet potatoes, unpeeled
• 2 zucchini
• 3 large Roma tomatoes
• Sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• Dried thyme, to taste
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a baking dish with olive oil cooking spray. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 60 seconds. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the greased baking dish.

Slice the potatoes, zucchini, squash and tomatoes in 1/4 inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly into a spiral, making only one layer. Season with sea salt, black pepper and dried thyme, to taste. Drizzle the last tablespoon of olive oil over the top.

Cover the dish with tin foil and bake for 35 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Uncover and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until browned.

Mexican Pizza

I have had some crazy cravings lately-I almost feel pregnant! Especially because what I have craved lately is what I crave when I AM pregnant :) So the last couple of meals I have made a WHOLE LOT of Junk food. We have had homemade pizza pockets, chips and dip, and TONS of tex-mex dishes. The other day I was craving Mexican AGAIN so I went to the trusty TasteSpotting website and found this meal. Taste exactly like Taco Bells version. Luckily for my heart that seemed to cure my jank food craving-or at least put it on hold.

Mexican Pizza
From http://www.lifesambrosia.com/2009/02/mexican-pizza-recipe.html
Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• tablespoons taco seasoning packet
  
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 can rotel tomatoes with chilies
  
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can refried beans
• 1/4 cup canola oil for frying
• 8 small flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 2 tomatoes, seeded, diced
• 3 green onions, diced

1. Preheat oven on broiler setting.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef. Strain to remove any pan drippings. Return to pan and add taco seasoning and water. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat your refried beans until they are warmed through.
   
4. Combine the tomato sauce and rotel tomatoes and puree them then heat them up.
5. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Fry one tortilla at a time until all are golden brown. About 2 minutes per-side.
6. Once the meat is brown, the beans and tomato sauce are warmed and the tortillas are fried, you can start assembling your pizzas. Starting with one crispy tortilla, layer refried beans and seasoned ground beef, then place another crispy tortilla on top. Next, spoon about 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce on top, spreading it around with the back of your spoon. Sprinkle with cheddar and jack cheeses, diced tomatoes and green onions. Repeat until you’ve made four pizzas.Lay assembled pizzas on a cookie sheet, depending on the size of your cookie sheet you may need to do these in batches. Cook the pizzas under the broiler until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes.

Crock Pot meals

I seldom do crock pot meals but every time I do one I always wonder why I don't do more! Most of the time they are very tasty and beyond convenient. Today as I was rushing about trying to get my kids ready for the doctors and have a meal waiting for my Hubby for when he came home from school (Which would have been before I got home from the doctors I ran across this gem. I seriously was SO good. I did do some modifications so the real recipe is at http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotchicken/r/bl1a1.htm
but I am posting my version

It's called Anne's Chicken

Ingredients:

• chicken cut into cubes (I used about a pound)
  
• 1 can (10 1/2 ounces) cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
  
• 2 tbsp. melted butter
• 2 tbsp. dry Italian salad dressing mix (Or homemade dry mix which I will include)
  
• 6oz cream cheese, cut in cubes
• 3/4 cup of water
  

Toss everything into the crock pot and turn on high and let cook for about 4 hours or on low for 6-8. I stirred every once in awhile

Homemade Italian dressing mix

Dry Italian Dressing Substitute

1-½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion salt
2 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. ground basil
¼ tsp. thyme

mix all together

Wonderful rolls

These rolls have so much flavor!
from rhttp://eatingetc.blogspot.com/

Ingredients
2-1/4tsp active dry yeast (or 1pkg)
1/4c warm water (105°F-110°F)
2tsp sugar
1c milk, just to scalding hot (do not simmer or boil)
1/3c sugar
1/4c butter
1tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1-3/4c to 2c all-purpose flour (dough will be somewhat sticky, but the less you use, the lighter the rolls)
2c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4c vital wheat gluten
2T butter, melted, for brushing

1) Dissolve yeast in 1/4c warm water. Stir in the 2tsp of sugar. Let sit for about 5 minutes until mixture foams up.
2) Heat milk in microwave or in small saucepan on stovetop.
3) Add sugar, butter, & salt to hot milk and stir until butter is melted. Cool to 105°F-110°F.
4) Pour milk mixture into bowl of stand mixer.
5) Add the yeast mixture & egg and mix together.
6) Mix in all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, & vital wheat gluten, beating to form a soft dough. Knead with mixer for 5 minutes, adding extra flour, if needed.
7) Place dough in warm oiled or buttered bowl, turning greased side up. Cover with parchment paper and let rise in warm place* until doubled in bulk, about 75-90 minutes.
8) Punch dough down and hand-knead for 5 minutes on lightly floured surface.
9) Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape into round rolls. Place them, not touching, in greased 13x9x2 baking pan.
10) Cover with parchment paper & let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.
11) Bake at 375°F for 18-20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
12) Brush tops of rolls with melted butter.

Orange Buttermilk Scones

The other day Michael was telling me how much he liked scones (His subtle hint considering the fact that I have never made them for him before) So today I decided to find a recipe that sounded good to me and give it a whirl. I got the recipe from here (Thanks Martha Stewart!) but tweaked it so I could use ingredients that I already had.

• 2 cups and 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 4 ounces and 1/2 tbsp(1 sticks plus 1/2 tablespoon) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 5/8 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 HUGE orange or 2 medium oranges peeled, seeded ant diced into pieces
  
• Heavy cream, for brushing
• 1/4 cup brown sugar and1 tbsp butter mixed together for sprinkling
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 1 rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk, zest, and chopped oranges, stirring just until dough comes together (some butter should be visible).
2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead a few times to bring together. Gently pat it into a 6-by-15-inch rectangle, 1 inch thick. Using a paring knife, cut dough into 20 pieces. Flip each piece over onto a baking sheet, spacing each 2 inches apart. Cover, and refrigerate until cold and firm, at least 2 hours (or overnight) or put in freezer for about 45 minutes. Brush tops with cream, then sprinkle with brown sugar mixture.
3. Bake scones until tops are golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. (If bottoms are browning too quickly, place another baking sheet underneath the first.) Transfer scones to a wire rack, and let cool slightly. Serve warm.

It was alot better then I expected! Kind of flat because I over-mixed but the flavor was awesome and it was so nice and moist in the middle! I am adding this to my breakfast menu!

Pomegranate lemon panna cotta

I have a new Fav. Website-Tastespotting! I love how it is a collection of recipes with pictures that I can browse through when i need a quick recipe or am looking for something that LOOKS good (My tastebuds are connected to my eyes-If it looks good it usually taste good, but if it looks gross there is no way I can eat it :) I saw this recipe and went out the next day and bought all the ingreidients!
Thanks Use Real Butter!

Pomegranate Lemon Panna Cotta
modified from Epicurious

lemon panna cotta
5 tbsps lemon juice
2 tsps powdered unflavored gelatin
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsps lemon peel, grated
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sprinkle the powdered gelatin over the lemon juice and let sit for ten minutes until softened. Combine the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat until warm. When the gelatin is softened, stir it into the milk with the sugar and stir over low heat until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon peel, yogurt, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour into serving glasses (only half of 3/4 way) and refrigerate.

pomegranate gelatin
2 oz. water, boiling hot
1 1/2 tsp powdered unflavored gelatin
8 oz. pomegranate juice
1 tsp sugar (optional)

Stir the gelatin and hot water together until the gelatin has dissolved. Pour the pomegranate juice and sugar (if using) into the mixture and stir. When the panna cotta has firmed (depending on size of glass, but be sure not to take it out too early) pour a layer of pomegranate gelatin over each panna cotta and let set up in refrigerator.

Easy and Tasty Fortune cookies

My husband LOVES Chinese food so every once in awhile I treat him to something to help control his cravings. Tonight we had Orange chicken and fried rice with dessert being Fortune cookies. Everything turned out wonderful but I was so impressed with the cookies I had to post.

From http://chinesefood.about.com

Ingredients:

• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons water

Preparation:

1. Write fortunes on pieces of paper that are 3 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 2 9-X-13 inch baking sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg white, vanilla extract, almond extract and vegetable oil until frothy, but not stiff.

3. Sift the flour, cornstarch, salt and sugar into a separate bowl. Stir the water into the flour mixture.

4. Add the flour into the egg white mixture and stir until you have a smooth batter. The batter should not be runny, but should drop easily off a wooden spoon.
Note: if you want to dye the fortune cookies, add the food coloring at this point, stirring it into the batter. For example, I used 1/2 teaspoon green food coloring to make green fortune cookies.

5. Place level tablespoons of batter onto the cookie sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart. Gently tilt the baking sheet back and forth and from side to side so that each tablespoon of batter forms into a circle 4 inches in diameter.

6. Bake until the outer 1/2-inch of each cookie turns golden brown and they are easy to remove from the baking sheet with a spatula (14 - 15 minutes).

7. Working quickly, remove the cookie with a spatula and flip it over in your hand. Place a fortune in the middle of a cookie. To form the fortune cookie shape, fold the cookie in half, then gently pull the edges downward over the rim of a glass, wooden spoon or the edge of a muffin tin. Place the finished cookie in the cup of the muffin tin so that it keeps its shape. Continue with the rest of the cookies.

Chicken and Pasta Salad

This is a recipe my mother-in-law made for My family when I had our second son. It was so good and has such a fresh taste to it that makes me WANT to eat alot of it.

Ingredients
2 cups grapes halved
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups packed and torn spinach
2 1/2 cups celery diced into small pieces
7 oz rainbow pasta
1/2 a large cucumber cut into pieces
5 cups cooked chicken breast diced

Dressing
1/2 cup veggie oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbls rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbls minced fresh parsley

combine all salad ingredients. Combine everything for dressing then pour over salad. Serve cooled

Homemade Hostess cakes

From http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/

For the Cupcakes
1& 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme

For the Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the Icing

1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon milk
2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350. Place paper liners in muffin tin for about 18-20 cupcakes.

Prepare the cupcakes: Bring the sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Pour into a large bowl; add the chocolate and butter and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture has cooled slightly. Stir in the vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Using a mixer, beat the eggs into the chocolate, then mix in the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans (about 1/4 cup batter per cupcake) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in the pans for about 25 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a rack to cool completely.

For the filling: Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside.

For the ganache: Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.

Spoon the filling into a pastry bag with a medium tip. Insert the tip into the center of each cupcake top; fill until the cupcake is heavier (do not overfill).

Spoon a little ganache on each cupcake and lightly spread with an offset spatula or a knife. Chill for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing: Using a mixer, beat the remaining 1 stick butter, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, the milk and confectioners’ sugar until smooth, adding more milk if needed. Spoon into a pastry bag with a small tip pipe onto the cupcakes to decorate.

Grilled Navajo Tacos

From http://paninihappy.com

After one bite of this my husband asked me to make this again :) So good!

INGREDIENTS:

Grilled Fry Bread
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
2 tablespoons powdered milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (e.g., Crisco)
2/3 cup hot water, or more as needed
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, or 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
1 lb. ground chuck or chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper

Toppings
Shredded lettuce
Tomatoes, chopped
Grated cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, powdered milk, baking powder and salt. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or two knives; the mixture should be the texture of cornmeal. Add enough water to create a soft, pliable dough. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it for 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, brown the ground beef and onion in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Drain the fat. Add beans, garlic powder, salt, cumin, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Keep warm while you prepare to fry the fry bread.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Working on a lightly floured cutting board, roll a ball into a thin disk 5″ to 6″ in diameter. Place the disk onto a lightly floured baking sheet, then repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Keep the rolled-out dough covered with a damp cloth (I used a damp paper towel) until you are ready to fry it.

cover the skillet with oil and let heat up. Place bread into and fry until cooked through should have dark brown spots on it. flip and cook on other side

serve warm with toppings

Caramel Sauce

Caramel Sauce Recipe

From Simply recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Heat sugar until it turns an amber color stirring ONLY until it starts boiling. After it turns amber add the butter stirring cnstantly. Once butter is melted remove from heat count slowly to 3 and then add the cream. It will get thicker as it cools.

Pepper Steak

Wow SO good. I served this over rice
Pepper Steak
Cooking Light September 2008

Ingredients

3/4 pound flank steak, trimmed
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 cup vertically sliced yellow onion
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper strips (about 1 medium)
1 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper strips (about 1 medium)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups hot cooked short-grain rice ( I used brown whole grain rice)

cut steak into 1/4 inch sliced

add soy sauce, chicken broth, sugar and pepper to steak.

in pan sautee half oil gar;ic and onions. Add the peppers. Remove veggies add the rest of oil and cook steak. when done add to veggie mixture and serve over rice

I also tried a new recipe for the potatoes that tasted great as well

Roasted Aioli Potatoes Recipe

from House of Annie

Ingredients
2 lbs potatoes (if you can find fingerling potatoes, use them, they are super delish)
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp basil, chopped
Kosher salt & pepper to taste
Grated parmesan and chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Cut potatoes into large pieces (if potatoes are small, you can leave them whole). Do not peel skin.
3. In a large bowl, fold the rest of the ingredients (except the garnishings) with the potatoes and make sure that the potatoes are coated with all the ingredients.
4. Place potatoes in roasting pan uncovered.

cook for 30-40 minutes until potatoes are cooked all the way through

Easy Dinner

A much more satisfying meal then the Islands I just made. It was very easy and quick and everyone ate it-a BIG success :)

Crockpot Cheesy Penne
From Cooking with Christine

1 lb sweet Italian sausage

15 oz tomato sauce

14 oz diced tomatoes

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp sugar

3/4 lb penne

1 cup mozzarella

Parmesan

Cook sausage in pan until brown and crumbly. Place in crock-pot. Add remaining ingredients, minus penne and cheese. Stir well. Cook low for 7-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours. Cook penne 4-5 minutes less than box calls for. Add penne to crockpot. Top with cheese. Cook until pasta is tender and cheese is melted (20-30 minutes). Serve with parmesan.

Dories Floating Islands

I can tell you right now this is NOT one of my favorites and i will not be trying this again, but I am glad I did it to know that I don't like it :) It was an interesting thing to make and I learned a few things from it so besides the fact that the whole dessert was thrown away after hubby had one bite-I consider this a learning success.