Monday, February 28, 2011

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Whip Cream


I usually don't try to fix anything gluten free (or in other words without flour) intentionally, but after my mother-in-law found out she had a severe gluten intolerance, I've been playing with some recipes. I made this cake for her birthday and it was so good! I kind of always thought that a flour-less cake would be, well, blaw. But I would totally make this cake again. It's a cross between a browny and a molten cake. The outer rim of the cake is a browny consistency, and the middle is almost like a thick pudding. And the raspberry whip cream was just something I whipped up so that the cake had some extra flavor, although after tasting it, it was great by itself. But the raspberries really gave the chocolate such an awesome flavor. I mean, how can you go wrong with raspberries and chocolate :)

Ingredients
  • 12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 6 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed
  • 3-4 tablespoons sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 by 2-inch spring form pan. If you don't have a spring form pan, then just use your round 9 by 2-inch pan. After greasing pan, stick a sheet of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan so you can take the cake out easily (like demonstrated below). 



Put the chocolate, butter, and salt in a large microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 more minutes. Alternatively, put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with an inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted.


Beat the eggs and sugar with a standing or handheld mixer until light and thickened. It should appear like this. Your not whipping the eggs completely, just getting them fluffy. Fold the melted chocolate into the whipped eggs until evenly combined. You will want to do this slowly and while continuously stirring to temper the eggs without cooking them.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out wet but not gooey, about 1 hour to 1 hour 25 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and cool on a rack. Warning, the cake will probably crack on the top, so don't worry. You didn't do anything wrong.

In a medium size bowl, whip heavy cream until firm. You want to whip the cream more then you usually would because the raspberries will soften the cream back to preferred texture. In a small bowl, use a fork and mash up the raspberries until no large pieces remain. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Slowly fold raspberry sugar mixture to whipped cream a little at a time. Fresh raspberries can be a little tarter then frozen raspberries so taste and add more sugar to the cream as needed.

When ready to serve remove from spring form mold. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar or cocoa powder if desired. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would be super yummy with this cake as well.

Chocolate cake recipe from foodnetwork.com

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Homemade Bread


So, I love the smell of home made bread, but sometime I feel like you put all that time and energy into making it, and then it smells better then it tastes. That is not the case with this recipe! The bread is definitely worth the time and energy that goes into making it. It's kind of a sweet bread, so my favorite way to have it is either warm right out of the oven, or toast it with so apricot jelly! So amazing! But it is also so yummy with sandwiches or whatever you want to use it with.

Ingredients
  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 3/4 cup scalded milk
  • 1/2 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
Direction
In a small bowl mix yeast with warm water. In a large bowl combine scalded milk, melted butter, sugar and salt. Beat in eggs and then add yeast mixture. Sift flour into milk mixture 1 cup at a time.

Knead 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl and let rise for 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place dough into greased bread pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Oreo Truffles


So, these are the new love of my life! Seriously one of the best things I've ever had! And so super easy to make. And also, you only need 3 to 4 ingredients. Which makes grocery shopping a whole lot easier! As a side note, the vanilla is just to add a little extra flavor, so if you have everything but that, then just go without it. I personally prefer it with, but it just makes the truffles a little better. They are still so good without it.

Ingredients
  • 1 lb Oreo Cookies (3 sleeves)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (using different extracts allows for subtle flavor changes. For mint flavor, add 1 tsp mint extract.)
  • 1 lb milk chocolate
Directions
Using a food processor, grind cookies to a fine powder. With a mixer, blend cookie powder, cream cheese and vanilla extract until thoroughly mixed (there should be no white traces of cream cheese.)

Roll into small balls and place on wax-lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Line two cookie sheets with wax paper. In double-boiler, melt milk chocolate. Dip balls and coat thoroughly. With slotted spoon, lift balls out of chocolate and let excess chocolate drip off. Place on wax-paper lined cookie sheets.

With a fork, drizzle chocolate over balls. Let cool.

Store in airtight container, in refrigerator.

Recipe from food.com

Friday, February 25, 2011

Orlando Orange Fritters


I made these this morning for breakfast and my kids loved them! You can drizzle with honey and powdered sugar, or our favorite way to eat them was with a side of maple syrup and dip them. Just a little advice before you start, make sure you have your oil at the recommended temperature. This is extremely important because if your oil is too hot, the fritters will cook too quickly and the inside will stay gooey :/ No bueno.

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar or 1 cup powdered sugar (I liked them just a little sweeter, so I change the recipe to 1 cup powered sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
Direction
In a small bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, orange juice, butter and orange peel.


Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. It should look like this. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees F.


The recipe says to to drop batter by rounded tablespoonful, but when I tried to do it this way I could never get the batter off the spoon and they turned out really misshapen.  So I used my cookies scooper and everything went alot smoother.


Drop batter into hot oil a few at a time. Fry until golden brown and then turn, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towel.


When they have cooled a little, dust with confectioners' sugar, serve with honey, or dip into maple syrup.

Recipe from The Taste of Home Cookbook

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookies


I saw this recipe on one of my friends blogs and just had to try it! There are literally two ingredients, eggs and...


Reeses Peanut Butter Cups! I have to admit, I was skeptical about this working. But they turned out so good! I decided to try the same concept with Kit Kats to see if it would work too, and they were also so yummy! Your going to want to get the Reeses or Kit Kat fun packs since you'll need 24 individual candies for either recipe.


Unwrap each candy and put them into the food processor. Process until an even consistency. Add one egg and process until mixed. Then scoop candy paste onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees. If you decide to make the Kit Kat cookies then you will need to bake for just a tad longer. Reeses cookies take 10 to 12 minutes and Kit Kat cookies bake for 12 to 15 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt before baking. My friends recipe called to have the Reeses cookies cook for longer, but when I cooked them for longer then 12 minutes they were over done. So keep this in mind when you are baking that it might take them a little longer. You'll be able to tell they are done when the bottom is a golden brown and cookie has flattened out.

Recipe from Picky-Palate.com

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Italian Stuffed Mushrooms


I love stuffed mushrooms, but it always seemed to be something we ordered as an appetizer when we go out to eat. I have always been kind of apprehensive about trying a recipe because they seemed like they would be complicated... but they were so easy! And seriously so yummy! If you are looking for something to go with your spaghetti at dinner, do these as a side!

Ingredients
  • 4 bacon strips, diced
  • 30 large fresh mushrooms
  • 1 cup onion and garlic salad croutons, crushed
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella chesse
  • 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
  • 1/4 pound ground fully cooked ham, (Quick Tip: I couldn't find this at the store, so I got ham lunch meat, and put it in the food processor and ground my own ham and it work just the same)
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Directions
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings.

Remove stems from mushrooms; set caps aside. Finely chop half of the stems (discard other half of stems). Add chopped stems to drippings with bacon; saute for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Firmly stuff crouton mixture into mushroom caps. Place in a greased 15 in. x 10 in. x 1 in. baking pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

Recipe from The Taste of Home Cookbook

Coconut Dream Stuffed Cookies


I got this idea when I was in the cookies aisle at the grocery store. It just kind of occurred to me, if I can put a milk dud inside a cookie, then why not a cookie inside a cookie. First thing you wanna do is make your cookie dough and place it in the fridge. This will make the dough easier to handle when it's time to rap it around your crumb mixture.


I got one package of these Coconut Dreams cookies, and placed all the cookies into a food processor and processed until there were no large pieces left.


 This is what it should look like. Then add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the cookie crumbs and stirred until butter is well incorporated into the crumb mixture. Now, it's time to get your hands dirty, so take off any rings you might have on. Grab a portion of your crumb mixture, role into balls that are a little larger then a marble, and place on a cookie sheet.

Take your cookie dough out of the fridge, and with a spoonful size portion, flatten dough out onto your hand (Quick tip: if dough is sticking to your hands, powder your hands with flour before handling). Place crumb balls in the center and role dough around the aside. Place an inch apart on cookie sheet and bake for about 12 to 14 minutes. After the cookies have cooled drizzle melted chocolate over the top and enjoy!!

Ingredients
Cookie Dough-
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) of softened butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
Crumb Mixure-
  • 1 packages Coconut Dream Cookies
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
Topping-
  • 1 cup melted milk chocolate to top cookies if desired
Directions
Start making your cookie dough first. Place softened butter and sugars into a mixing bowl and beat together until butter and sugar start to look creamy. Add vanilla and eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter sugar mixture and mix well. Place dough into refrigerator.

Place Coconut Dream Cookies into food processor and process until not large pieces remain. Transfer crumbs to a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of melted butter and stir. Role crumb mixture into balls that are a little larger then a marble and place on cookie sheet.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover crumb balls with cookie dough and place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes and let cool completely. If desired melt 1 cup milk chocolate and drizzle over the top of cookies. Enjoy :)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Chicken and Dumplings


I love eating warm soups when it's cold outside, but if you eat one from a can, it tastes like soup from a can... and most of the time making soup is an all day affair. So when I want warm soup, and I want it to be done fast I make this. If you make it the way I do, it only takes 20 minutes.

Ingredients
  • 32 fl.oz. Chicken Broth
  • 2 tablespoons Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning
  • 2 cooked chicken, cut strips
  • 2 1/4 cups Bisquick mix
  • 2/3 cup milk
Directions
In a large pot, add broth and water. Fill pot about 1/2 way full, or so you have about 3 inches of fluid to cook the dumplings in. Add about 1 to 1 ratio of broth to water (or for example 3 cups of broth to 3 cups of water, but this measurement will be different according to your pot size). Add seasoning, and bring to a light simmer. Mix Bisquick mix and milk in a bowl. Batter should be about dough consistency. If it is really sticky add a little more Bisquick. Drop dough by spoonful into broth. Broth should be at a simmer, but not a bowl. Cook uncovered for 10 min. Then cook covered for 10 min. While dumplings are cooking cut or pull chicken into thin strips. You are going to want your chicken to have alot of flavor, so it is best to use some left over grilled chicken, leftover KFC, or what I like to do is on my way home I pick up a rotisserie chicken and use the breasts off of that. Add chicken after dumplings are cooked and your done.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Mint Chocolate Delights

So, I know that the majority of my posts have been and probably always will be mostly desserts. I just love baking goodies for people! But, I will get some more hardy meals on here because there are alot of them I just love. With that being said, these were super popular at Sunday dinner at the in-laws last night.


They are basically a soft chocolate cookie, and I used Andes Mint Baking Chips instead of the Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels, and they turned out melt in your mouth good!

Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup baking cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 2/3 cups (10-ounce pkg.) Dark Chocolate & Mint Morsels, or I replaced with Andes Mint Baking Chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine flour, cocoa, 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. Drop by well-rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes of until cookies are puffed and centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipe from Nestle Holiday Favorites

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Alfredo Sauce


Ok, so I love the Olive Garden, and how can you beat their Alfredo sauce. It makes anything and everything taste delish. This recipe is from there web site, and tastes exactly like what you would get at their restaurant at a fraction of the cost.

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated
  • 6 egg yolks from fresh jumbo eggs
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
Directions
Heat milk and cream in a heavy bottom saucepan until it begins to simmer. Turn off heat. Slowly whip in cheese, then remove from heat.

Place egg yolks in a separate bowl and slowly whip in a portion of the hot milk and cream mixture. Slowly add egg yolk mixture back into remaining cream mixture. Place back on very low heat and continually stir until simmering. Take sauce off heat so it thickens. (This will increase temperature of egg yolks, known as tempering.)

Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Recipe and photo from OliveGarden.com

Chocolate Ricotta Pie


This pie is so yummy! I love trying recipes from different cultures and this one didn't disappoint. Definitely something to try.

Ingredients
Crust:
  • 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Filling:
  • 1 lb ricotta cheese
  • 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 cup toasted almonds
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions
Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar together in a bowl. Shape into 9" pie plate. If crust is too crumbly, add a small amount of butter so crumbs will hold together. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes, until lightly browned. Allow to cool.

Combine ricotta, confectioner's sugar, and almond extract in a bowl and set aside. Combine almonds and chocolate. Chop together in a food processor; do not chop too fine.

Fold together cheese mix and chopped almond & chocolate and chill. Whip heavy cream until stiff. Fold into ricotta and chocolate mix half at a time.

Spoon into chilled crust and let sit overnight before serving.

Recipe and photo from OliveGarden.com

Saturday, February 19, 2011

5 Minute Chicken Chili

Ok, so I'm not going to post a picture of this one, well because we all know what chili looks like. But I love this recipe, and it can be done in 5 minutes. You just rinse some of the ingredients place then in the pot, bring it to a boil and done! I always like to make it with corn bread cause I'm a country girl, but whatever you have time for.


Here are your ingredients; 1 12.5 oz can of Chicken Breast, 1 15 oz can of Black Beans, Pinto Beans and Kidney Beans, 1 15 oz can Whole Kernel Corn or any type of corn will work, 1 to 2 14.5 oz can of Diced Tomatoes, a 4 oz can of Diced Green Chiles, 1 Seasoning Packet of Ranch, 1 Taco Seasoning Packet.

First take your chicken, drain and rinse it thoroughly. You want to rinse this really well so it doesn't taste like canned chicken. Place chicken in your pot and separate so it doesn't stay clumpy together. Drain and rinse all three types of beans and corn, and place in pot with chicken. Drain chiles, but do not rinse, and place in pot. Pour diced tomatoes with juice into the pot. I like to use 2 cans, but start with one and add the second according to your families taste. Add both seasoning packets. You will also need to add 2 cups of water just to give the chili a little substance. Bring to a boil and serve.

Chewy Surprise Cookies


This recipe rocks! I feel like I'm always making the same cookies over and over again, and this one was so different. This recipe consists of a really yummy peanut butter cookie filled with...


Milk Duds!! Yummy!!


And the finished product, a cookie with a warm melted candy center! The recipe is amazing by itself, but when I tasted the first batch, I was craving a little more chocolate since milk duds don't have a thick layer alone. So I added an extra chocolate chip or two in the center with the milk duds. But with or without the extra chocolate, they were still so good!

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups butter-flavored shortening
  • 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
  • 2 cups sugar, divided
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 package (10 ounces) Milk Duds

Directions
In a mixing bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Shape 4 teaspoons of dough around each Milk Dud so it is completely covered. Roll balls in remaining sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Recipe from Taste of Home Christmas Cookies & Candies

Friday, February 18, 2011

No-Bake Almond Bites


This is a really fun recipe to make with kids. With all of the cooking I do, sometimes my kids wanna be apart of what I am doing, and since this recipe is no-bake, my kids had tons of fun forming the dough into balls and rolling them in the powdered sugar. As per taste goes they were average, but if you like almonds, then try these. The recipe makes about 12 cookies.

Ingredients
  • 1 cup crushed reduced-fat vanilla
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar, divided
  • 1/2 cup chopped almonds
  • 2 tablespoons baking cocoa
  • 2 tablespoons apple juice
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, almonds and cocoa. Combine the apple juice, corn syrup and extract; stir into crumb mixture until blended.

Shape into 1-in. balls; roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe from Taste of Home Special Issue

Parmesan Peppercorn Biscuits & Baked Potato Casserole


I made these as sides last night for dinner, and they turned out so good. The biscuits are basically really flavorful drop biscuits, and super easy to make. They really didn't take much time at all to prepare. So I highly recommend the biscuits, being that I was raise on good old fashion country food, and these biscuits were awesome. The baked potato casserole was super yummy too. I mean honestly, how can you go wrong when you put potatoes, sour cream, cheese, and bacon together. This recipe calls for turkey bacon, which I really liked because the bacon was a little more weight friendly, and didn't overpower the rest of the potatoes.

Parmesan Peppercorn Biscuits
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
  • 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, chilled
  • 1 cup buttermilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and Parmesan in bowl of electric stand mixer. With mixer on low, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add buttermilk; stir just until ingredients are moist and well combined.

Drop 1/4-cup mounds of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until tops of biscuits are golden brown. Remove from oven; let sit 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Potato Casserole
Ingredients
  • 8 medium potatoes (about 2 1/2 to 3 pound total), peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 1 cup evaporated lowfat 2% milk
  • 1/2 cup light sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 cups (8-ounce pkg.) shredded 2% cheddar cheese, divided
  • 6 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled, divided
  • sliced green onions (optional)
Directions
Place potatoes in large saucepan. Cover with water; bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until tender; drain.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 1/2- to 3-quart casserole dish.

Return potatoes to saucepan; add evaporated milk, sour cream, salt and pepper. Beat with handheld mixer until smooth. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese and half of bacon. Spoon mixture into prepared casserole dish.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, remaining bacon and green onions. Bake for an additional 3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Recipe for Biscuits from KitchenAid Baking Basics Techniques for Perfect Baking. Recipe for Casserole from Toll House's Nestle Holiday Favorites.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Beef Stroganoff


So a friend of mine was asking me to put on some of my quick dinner meals. What I do is I use these little sauce packets. Next time you are at the grocery store, go down the baking aisle where all the spices are, and there are these little sauce mix packets. Stock up! Most of them that I have tasted are amazing, and super convenient.

So for instants, you got your beef stroganoff packet. Follow the directions on the back, but basically you start your rice. Then cook your meat. It asks for beef sirloin, but what if you don't have that in your house, or your on a budget. So replace it with hamburger. Drain your meat and set aside. Combined your sour cream, sauce mix and water. Place sauce and meat together in pan, cover and let cook on low just to keep it warm until your rice finishes. No joke 20 minutes and your done, not to mention it's going to taste super yummy. I'm telling you if you haven't tried these yet, they're life savers!

Cherry Scones


We tried these this morning, and I was surprised how addicting they are. Your first bight your like, "Ok, these are ok." And you walk away, and before you know it your thinking, "I gotta have another bite of that." They taste super yummy healthy, which is totally my style when it comes to my taste in breakfast, and the cherry gives it a sweet tart flavor that was good with the raw sugar on top. The only suggestion I would make is, it doesn't ask you to cut up the cherries, and I cut them in fourths and still felt like the cherries needed to be spread more evenly throughout. So cut the dried cherries into small pieces and then add them to the batter.

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
  • 1/2 cup honey beer
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3/4 cup dried cherries
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar
  • Fresh fruit and cherry preserves (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine flours, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl of electric stand mixer. With mixer on low, cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine beer, mild and egg in medium bowl; stir into flour mixture. Stir in (chopped) cherries. Turn onto floured surface; knead gently 4 times.

Shape dough into ball and place on ungreased baking sheet. Pat into 8-inch circle. Score dough into 8 wedges (do not separate). Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into wedges. Serve with fruit preserves, if desired.

Recipe from KitchenAid Baking Basics Techniques for Perfect Baking

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Feta Bruschetta


I am a total traditional bruschetta person, but these were actually really really good. So I totally recommend them.

Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 10 slices French bread (1 inch thick)
  • 1 package (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
  • 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
Directions
In a small bowl, combine butter and oil; brush onto both sides of bread. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Combine the feta cheese, garlic and basil; sprinkle over toast. Top with tomato. Bake 8-10 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve warm.

Recipe and Photo from The Taste of Home Cookbook

Lasagna Deliziosa


This is the best lasagna I have ever had! I love it! It takes a little while, but it is so worth the work.

Ingredients
  • 9 uncooked lasagna noodles
  • 1 package (19-1/2 ounces) Italian turkey sausage links, casing removed
  • 1/2 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 can (12 ounces) tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 carton (15 ounces) reduced-fat ricotta cheese
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the sausage, beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Drain.

Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, basil, fennel and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine the egg, ricotta cheese, parsley and salt. Drain noodles and rinse in cold water. Spread 1 cup meat sauce in a 9in. x 13 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with three noodles, 2 cups meat sauce, 2/3 cup ricotta cheese mixture, 2/3 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan. Repeat layers twice.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Recipe and Photo from Taste of Home Special Issue

Merry Cherry Swirl Brownies


Sorry, this is a picture of a picture. But I made this for a friend of mine as part of her Christmas goodies and she requested the recipe :) So this if for you Monica! Also before you begin, just adding 1 tablespoon of the juice doesn't give the cream cheese a whole lot of cherry flavor. If I'm gonna have cherry filling, I want it to taste like cherries. So I actually added 3 to 4 tablespoons of cherry juice and the filling still came out firm after cooking. So my suggestion is add and taste as you go, if you like it at 2 tablespoons then use that. But I suggest 3 tablespoons at least.

Ingredients
Cherry-Cream Cheese Filling
  • 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup drained chopped red maraschino cherries
  • 1 tablespoon red maraschino cherry juice
  • 1 egg
Brownies
  • 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (about 3/4 cup of chips)
  • 1 cup butter or margarine
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray.

In medium bowl, beat all filling ingredients with spoon until smooth; set aside.

In 2-quart saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth; remove from heat. Cool 5 minutes.

In large bowl, beat chocolate mixture, 2 cups sugar, the vanilla and 4 eggs with electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in flour and salt on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on medium speed 1 minute. Stir in nuts.

Spread 1/2 of batter (about 2 1/2 cups) in pan. Spread filling over batter. Carefully spread remaining batter over filling. Gently swirl through batters with knife for marbled design.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes of until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Recipe and photo from Betty Crocker Christmas Cookies

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever!!


This is actually a recipe that I have adjusted and made my own. There were a couple recipes that were my go to recipes, but I always kind of felt light they could be better. So I changed a couple things here and there ever time I made chocolate chip cookies, and wallah!! Cookie Perfection! These cookies have a underlying carmelly taste, which is the secret to what makes them so stinkin good! I get all the time, "These are the best cookies I've ever had." So try this recipe. Guarantee you'll love them!

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combined sugar and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl. Completely melt butter and add to sugar. Mix together and let sit for 5 to 10 min. You are letting the sugar caramelize slightly adding a really good flavor to the cookies. Add vanilla and eggs.

In a separate bowl combined flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Sift into butter/sugar mixture. Mix well. Then fold in chocolate chips.

Place spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 min. Usually 8 min. will give you a doughy center which is my favorite.

A Food Snots Original

Getting started!!

So I absolutely love to bake/cook, and I am so very picky. I've inherited this from my mom, who is an awesome cook. So if I like a recipe then you know it will be awesome! And I'm always getting asked for the recipe to things, and you know how that goes. You ask someone for a recipe, and unless you go over to there house and wait for them to make a copy, you ain't getting it. So I decided to post my favorite recipes, or new recipes I'm trying. Hope you enjoy! As a side note, I just want to add that I will try to have all the pictures of the food to be my own, but may use pictures of pictures, and I am not taking ownership for creating these recipes. Just that I think they are wonderful :)