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Saturday 7 June 2014

My Mother’s Chicken & Potatoes from Lidia Bastianich #recipe


"I had make this many time and it's so delicious and very easy to make all of my family love it!"


Strawberry-Rhubarb Crumble: This easy, homey #dessert pairs the quintessential early-summer combo of sweet #strawberries and tart #rhubarb with a nutty, buttery, cookie-like topping.


"This looks so yummy I think I am going to faint."


Grilled #Scallops with Tomato & Red Pepper Chutney #recipe


"I think I want to make this ! Looks so good"


Swirly Cupcakes Recipe


"If the recipe link isn't working for you (it is for me), you have a couple of options. A) just type the name of the cake into the search box at the top of the webpage, for cryin' out loud. B) Use any darn kind of cake you want! The idea isn't that it has to be paired with the dark chocolate cake, the idea is in the execution of the topping, and that part is all right here. Who cares what kind of cake is at the bottom?"


Pistachio Cupcakes with Raspberries Recipe


"Delicious cupcakes, except they were too sweet. Next time I will make with 1 cup sugar instead of 1 and 1/2."


Slam Dunk Cupcakes Recipe


"Looks yummy!"


Thursday 5 June 2014

Baked Southwestern Eggrolls




INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
  • 1 can (15 OUNCES) black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dried
  • 1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
  • 4 green onions, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne red pepper
  • 1 package (21) egg roll wrappers
  • **1 egg beaten for sealing egg roll (can substitute water)
DIRECTIONS:
  1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Place ~1/4 cup mixture in the center of one egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling and continue to roll tightly to seal (see directions on egg roll wrapper). Using your finger, moisten remaining corner with egg. Repeat.
  2. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Brush tops of egg rolls lightly with olive oil. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10-15 minutes until lightly brown. Turn them halfway through baking.
  3. Serve warm with salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream.
Notes
I have substituted sauteed bell pepper for the spinach- how ever you make them they are always a big hit.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home, Melanie Scott

Parmesan Baked Potato Halves - Favorite Family Recipes




Ingredients
  • 6 small potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • grated parmesan cheese
  • garlic powder
  • other seasonings (to personal preference)
Instructions
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter and pour into a 9x13 inch pan and spread evenly across the bottom. Generously sprinkle parmesan cheese and lightly sprinkle other seasonings all over the butter. Place potato halves face down on the butter and seasonings. Place in preheated oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for at least a FULL 5 minutes before removing from the pan, otherwise the parmesan crust won't stick to the potato. Serve on a plate with a side of sour cream for dipping.

Crunchy Garlic Chicken





Creamy Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese


Creamy Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese

serves 4-6

8 oz. (about 2 cups) elbow pasta (I used whole wheat)
8 oz. (about 2 cups) shredded cheese (a sharp cheddar is great)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (I love Chobani)
2 cups fresh spinach
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder


Cook the macaroni according to the package’s instructions (about 8-10 minutes), until al dente.

Place the spinach leaves in the bottom of a strainer, and pour the pasta over top to drain and wilt the spinach. Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Return the cooked macaroni and wilted spinach to the pot.

Add about 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pot, and stir in the cheese until melted. Stir in the greek yogurt, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, until smooth and creamy. Stir in the remaining pasta water to thin, if necessary. Serve immediately.

Kelly Craves...: Smoked Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs




Giada has come through once again! I was looking for a recipe to use up some leftover smoked mozzarella that we had in the fridge. I saw these meatballs and knew they would make for a quick and easy dinner. I think that they took 30 minutes to both make and bake. They are tender and flavorful with gooey, smokey cheese on the inside. While for us this week, they are a dinner and lunch option, they would also make a great appetizer for a party. Enjoy over pasta with a side salad or as a sub with sauce and more melted cheese!


Easy oven fried chicken tenders tossed in a sweet and spicy honey chipotle sauce!




INGREDIENTS

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness and sliced into strips
1 cup flour
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 eggs, lightly whisked
8 tablespoons butter, melted

sauce

⅓ cup honey
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons chipotle adobo sauce (the sauce that chipotle peppers are packed in inside the can! These can be found in the latino section at the market near the canned jalapeños.)
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Franks)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
⅓ cup cold water + 2 tablespoons corn starch
optional: ranch dressing for dipping


Chipotle Chicken Kabobs with Avocado Cream Sauce




INGREDIENTS

2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp kosher salt
¾ tsp chili powder
¾ tsp paprika
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 chipotle in adobe sauce, seeded and minced
minced fresh cilantro for serving
1 avocado split and pitted
½ cup lowfat greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste


Coconut Shrimp -- Great party food!




Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients

1 pound extra-large shrimp (about 15, peeled and de-veined)
2 eggs
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil



Monterey Chicken {Copycat Recipe} - This Silly Girl's Life




Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, boneless skinless
1/4 Cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 Cup Monterey/Cheddar blend cheese (or just cheddar is good!)
4 slices bacon
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
BBQ sauce (I used my homemade Honey BBQ sauce for this)





Oreo Red Velvet Cupcakes - Your Cup of Cake. Is this real life?




Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake:
1 box red velvet cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 C. oil
1 C. sour cream
1/2 C. buttermilk or milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
24 Oreos
Oreo Buttercream:
10 Oreos, twist and scrape off (or eat) the cream filling
1/2 C. butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3-4 C. powdered sugar
Extra Oreos for decoration


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with cupcake lines.
2. Sift cake mix into a small bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, oil, sour cream, buttermilk and vanilla extract until smooth.
4. Stir in cake mix.
5. Take your Oreos and place one at the bottom of each cupcake liner. (If you are afraid your oven will get to hot on the bottom you can always chop them up and fold them into the batter!)
6. Scoop batter over each Oreo to fill the liners about 3/4 full.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
8. Let cool.
9. Oreo Frosting: Take your Oreo cookies (just the chocolate pieces and not the filling) and crush in a plastic bag using a rolling pin. If you have a food processor that works the best! Sift your finely crushed Oreos to remove any lumps, because if you use a piping bag any big cookie pieces will clog it. In a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla extract and slowly add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency. Fold in crushed Oreos. Don't stir too much or the frosting will turn a gross (yet delicious) grey color.
9. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and top with extra Oreos.

Greek Yogurt #Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting. 1 whole cup of Greek Yogurt makes these amazingly fluffy and the blackberry frosting is heavenly!




Cupcake Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups cake flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp (cut into 6-8 pieces)
1 large egg, room temp
1 large egg white, room temp
1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used the regular, full fat version)

Frosting Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, soft at room temp
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
8 oz (1 stick) cream cheese, softened to room temp and cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup (about 15) Blackberries to puree + 12 blackberries for garnish


How to make the Cupcakes:
Line a 12-count cupcake pan with paper liners. Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together your dry ingredients: 1 2/3 cups cake flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt until well combined. Add in 6 Tbsp softened butter and with your wire whisk on med/low speed, mix for about 3-4 min or until fine crumbs form.




3. In a separate bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients until combined: 1 egg, 1 large egg white, 1 cup plain greek yogurt and 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract.



4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together on med speed until smooth (2 min). The batter will be thick and still have tiny lumps. Fill each paper liner a little more than 1/2 full if you want 15 regular cupcakes. Fill 2/3 full if you want 12 cupcakes with muffin tops like what you see in the pictures. Bake at 350˚F for 18-20 minutes. When finished, a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake should come out clean. Remove cupcakes to a wire rack and let cool to room temp.







How to Make Blackberry Frosting:
1. Puree blackberries in a small food processor, or Immersion Hand Blender, then strain them through a fine mesh Strainer, pushing them through with a spatula until all you have left in the strainer is seeds. Discard seeds and set the puree aside.




2. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the 1 stick of softened butter with 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and salt on low speed or until combined, scraping as necessary ~ 2 min. Don’t start on high speed or you will be surrounded in a cloud of powdered sugar (lessons learned). It may seem like it won’t come together at first, but it will. Give it a little time ;). Once the mixture is combined, increase speed to medium-high and beat until the cream is pale and fluffy (2-3 min).


2. Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined. Once all of the cream cheese is mixed in, continue to beat 2 more minutes until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as necessary. You need your frosting to be super smooth without any globs of cream cheese or they will get stuck in the piping star, so if you see globs, keep mixing. Next, pour in your blackberry puree and continue mixing until well incorporated. Refrigerate frosting 10 minutes before piping it onto the cupcakes.




How to Decorate the Blackberry Cupcakes:
1. Once your cupcakes are cooled to room temp, you can decorate them. I used a WILTON 2D(closed-star) frosting tip with a piping bag to frost the tops working from the outside in and up. There’s enough frosting to be generous with each cupcake. You’re welcome ;). Top with a fresh blackberry if desired and serve. They refrigerate really well and stay fluffy even right out of the fridge.



Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes (1) From: Cupcakes Garden (2) Webpage has a convenient Pin It Button




Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes combine Roasted Banana Cake adapted from Martha Stewart recipes and Vanilla Bean Banana Pastry Cream. These roasted banana cupcake with a crust made of the Nilla wafer, look so soft and moist. Filled with a smooth custard of the vanilla bean and  banana they have a lovely texture and yummy banana flavour.
Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes are topped with a chantilly cream and garnish with a bruleed banana.


Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes ~ This was the flavor combo from my wedding cake. Should make a great anniversary treat! :)




Dark Chocolate Cupcakes
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup 100% Edel-Kakao extra brut chocolate cocoa powder (or the darkest cocoa powder you can find)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
4 Tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
2 lbs powdered sugar, sifted
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream infused/steeped with vanilla beans
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
Raspberry Curd
Recipe can be found HERE
Dark Chocolate
Cut dark chocolate into chunks to top each cupcake.
Instructions

 

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