Monday, May 12, 2014

Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug

Most people crave a little something sweet now and then.  The bad part about making your own goodies is that the recipe makes either a whole cake or 2 dozen cookies.  This little treat in a mug will satisfy your sweet tooth, makes a minimal mess, and controls your portion. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug                                                              Printable Recipe

1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
1 egg yolk
3 Tablespoons flour (Jovial einkorn flour can be substituted)
1 Tablespoon mini chocolate chips

In your mug, melt butter (takes about 25 seconds if cold, check often so it doesn't boil.) Add sugars, vanilla, and salt.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #94

Welcome to the

Linky Party!!


Foodie Friends Friday will now have a Guest Host each week! 

(If you are interested in being a Guest Host for future parties, please contact me or any of our regular weekly hosts.)

This week Janette from Culinary Ginger joins us! 


Please visit her pages...

Monday, May 5, 2014

Sunflower Cupcakes Tutorial

My blogger friend Ally from Ally's Sweet and Savory Eats is having a baby! My fellow Iowa Bloggers and I are throwing her a virtual baby shower.  I made sunflower cupcakes.

Please check out the rest of the goodies at Blissfully Delicious!

Sunflower Cupcakes Tutorial

Yellow cake cupcakes (or white cake mix tinted yellow)
Your favorite frosting recipe (see mine here)
Buttercup and/or yellow Paste color
# 352 or 366 LEAF decorating Tip
Sandwich cookies
Decorating Bag (I use disposable ones)

Tint your frosting.  Use just a small amount of paste to color the frosting. It doesn't take much and if you put too much in you can't go back! Add icing to decorator bag fitted with decorating tip. 

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Maple and Citrus Glazed Fish

My family likes fish and love REAL maple syrup so I came up with this glaze for something a little different for them.  I am not a fish fan myself but I tried a bite anyway.  It didn't win me over to love fish but it make me think that this glaze would be quite tasty on a piece of chicken and will try it the next time I make this fish for my family. 

Maple and Citrus Glazed Fish

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
few dashes or cracks of salt
1 pound white fish (I used Swai)

Combine orange juice and maple syrup in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 5-6 minutes. Add salt and stir.

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #93

Welcome to the

Linky Party!!


Foodie Friends Friday will now have a Guest Host each week! 

(If you are interested in being a Guest Host for future parties, please contact me or any of our regular weekly hosts.)

This week Patty from Cooking on a Budget joins us! 
Her blog page is full of recipes from her family, her creations and those she makes her own.



Monday, April 28, 2014

"Cinco de Mayo" Linky Party


Restaurant Style Salsa and Chips

Sit down at a Mexican restaurant and the first things they bring you are chips and salsa.  I have to tell myself to quit eating them to leave room for the main meal.   If you want to make your own at home this recipe has several shortcuts from my original homemade salsa that can be preserved and shows you how to make your own chips.


Restaurant Style Salsa and Chips                                                     Printable Recipe

28 oz can petite or regular diced tomatoes
1/3 cup minced onions
1/3 cup minced green peppers
1-2 teaspoons green chiles (add more if you like it hotter)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 dash of red cayenne pepper
up to 1/4 cup lime juice - start off with a tablespoon and add to taste
small handful of cilantro, chopped (optional)

canola oil
yellow or white corn tortillas

For salsa:
Add the ingredients tomatoes through the cilantro to blender or food processor and pulse. Blend it until it is as smooth as you want.  If you like it really chunky, use the petite diced sized tomatoes and all of the ingredients can be mixed in a bowl instead.

For chips:
Cut tortillas into 4 or 6 pieces.
Heat oil to 350 degrees in small pan (or until you dip an edge of a tortilla into the oil and it bubbles.) You can use a large fryer if you are making lots of chips.
Cook tortillas for a minute or so, then flip.  Cook until almost starts to brown.  You need the moisture cooked out of the chips so they aren't chewy but you don't want them burnt.  Drain on paper towels. 


Thursday, April 24, 2014

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #92

Welcome to the

Linky Party!!


This week we are starting something new and exciting... Foodie Friends Friday will now have a Guest Host each week! 

(If you are interested in being a Guest Host for future parties, please contact me or any of our regular weekly hosts.)

This week Sandi from A New York Foodie joins us! 
She is a native New "Yawk-er" has been blogging for a few years now. She believes in eating foods with lots of colors as they are the healthiest. While she tries to cook as healthy as possible, she in no way substitutes flavor.
Please visit her pages...

Mexican Chicken Alfredo

Most times when I go to the Mexican restaurant or even here at home when I make my own chicken fajitas I have leftovers  Although delicious, sometimes another meal of the same dish just doesn't appeal.  I took my garlic cream sauce (minus the garlic and spinach) and mixed it with pasta and my leftover chicken fajitas to make this re-vamped dish.  So creamy but with a little kick!



Mexican Chicken Alfredo

Olive oil
1 T flour** 
1/2 cup white wine (less if yours is strong flavored)
2 cups half and half (I use whole goat milk)
1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded Parmesan (not the stuff in the shaker)

6 ounces pasta, cooked and drained (I used Tinkyada gluten free)
Leftover chicken fajita meat and veggies, chopped
1 to 2 cups shredded Mexi blend cheese, Chihuahua cheese, and/or mozzarella

Monday, April 21, 2014

Chicken Fajitas

When I go out to the Mexican restaurant I always order chicken fajitas.  I think it must be the sizzle of the cast iron serving vessel that gets my taste buds drooling.  It's an easy dish to make and you can eat the chicken fajitas wrapped in tortillas like they serve at the restaurants, on a pizza, in a quesadilla, or Mexican Chicken Alfredo (coming soon to the blog!)



The restaurant serves it with lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, refried pinto beans, and rice.   They also keep their veggies on the crunchy side.  We prefer our veggie soft and caramelized but cook them how you like them.  



There isn't really a recipe here but guidelines to which spices and flavors to use.  If you make it a lot like I do you'll learn what you like.  I like cumin so I use fresh ground and it's my star here.



Chicken Fajitas

boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders
sliced green peppers, red, orange or yellow peppers 
sliced onions
olive oil
cumin (fresh ground if you can)
granulated garlic
granulated onion
cayenne pepper (dash or two)
salt and pepper
lime juice

refried beans
salsa
guacamole

Monday, March 31, 2014

White Chocolate-Covered Strawberry "Carrots"

Everyone loves a treat now and then and how cute are these?  These carrot-shaped Easter treats won't please any bunny, but they will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth. You can also make spring themed ones by using sprinkles.  Serve them up at your Easter or Spring Party celebration.

White Chocolate-Covered Strawberry "Carrots"

1 pound strawberries, cleaned, dried, with leaves left on
8 ounces Almond bark
Spring themed sprinkles
orange food coloring (I prefer paste)

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Deep Dish Pizza, a New Tra-Dish with Ragú


Ragú challenged bloggers to put their own spin on one of their classic dishes and create, what they call, a New Tra-Dish. I was given their Upside-Down Deep Dish Pizza Recipe and I decided to flip it back!  It's easy to make and you can change up your fillings with different meats and add veggies if you like.  Each are complimented nicely by the delicious sauce Ragú has made.  I know this is a dish we will make often!

Each jar of Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce is made with 11 juicy tomatoes making it its richest, thickest recipe.* 

For more easy and delicious Authentic Italian recipe ideas visit Facebook.com/RaguSauce

Deep Dish Pizza, a New Tra-Dish with Ragú

1 pound ground beef
1 - 24 oz jar Ragú® Old World Style® Traditional Sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon cornmeal
1 - 13.8 can refrigerated classic pizza crust
2 cups shredded Italian Blend cheese (or mozzarella)
1.75 oz of sliced pepperoni
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a skillet, cook ground beef until no longer pink.  Drain meat and add sauce. 

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #88

Welcome to the


Spaetzle

A German plate of food isn't complete unless it has a pile of spaetzle. It's super quick and easy to make.  We use a spaetzle maker (see link at end of the recipe) to press out super long noodles.  

Spaetzle

Per person:
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 Tablespoon water
1 teaspoon salt

Start a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Lightly beat eggs and water.  Add salt, then flour.

Schnitzel and Jäger Sauce

My family lived in Germany (called West Germany at the time we were there in the late 70s) when my dad was in the Army.  My mom learned to cook quite a few German dishes.  This plate of schnitzel and jäger sauce is one of our favorites.  

Traditionally made with pork or veal (Wiener-Schnitzel,)  she was introduced to it as chicken once and that is how we always eat ours now. The name for the chicken version is Hänchen-Schnitzel but we just call it schnitzel. Served with the sauce it is called Jäger-Schnitzel and if you put a slice of cheese on it, Käse-Schnitzel.  Sometimes we do both sauce and cheese so I laughed and asked if we were technically eating Jäger-Käse-Hänchen-Schnitzel?  Maybe so, but we'll keep it simple and say schnitzel and know that all will be available when served at our houses. 

Schnitzel and Jäger Sauce

For Jäger sauce:
One slice of bacon,cut up
8 ounce can of mushrooms, undrained
2 med onions, sliced thin
3-4 cups of water (or use beef broth and leave out bouillon cubes)
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 Tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet (aff link on Amazon)
cornstarch

For schnitzel:
boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 per person)
flour *
eggs, lightly beaten*
container bread crumbs*
canola oil

SPAETZLE Noodles recipe 

JÄGER SAUCE:
Add bacon to saucepan and cook until brown. Careful not to burn.
Add mushrooms with their juice, 
the sliced onions,
water, bouillon cubes (or beef broth) 
and lastly the Kitchen Bouquet.  
Boil until the onions are as soft as you like them.  Make a slurry out of cornstarch and water. Start with 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch and enough water to make it runny.  Add, while stirring, to the pan a little at a time. It should thicken up quickly. You may not need it all or you may need to make more slurry.  Each batch is different.
SCHNITZEL:
Dump some flour in a shallow dish or paper plate.
Add beaten eggs to a shallow dish and add some bread crumbs to a separate shallow dish or dump onto large sheet of waxed paper.
Coat the chicken with flour.
Then coat the chicken in the eggs. 
Coat the chicken with the bread crumbs.  If you use the waxed paper you can use the paper to push the bread crumbs up on the chicken to keep your hands clean.
Coat all your chicken while heating the oil.  
The oil should be heated in a large skillet.  You should have enough oil to cover about half of the chicken when it is placed in the pan.  Maybe 1/2 to 1".  You can test your oil by putting the end of a wooden spoon in your oil and it should bubble around it or if you are brave like me I sprinkle in a little bit of water and it bubbles.  Fry on one side until golden brown and then the other.  Approximately 3-4 minutes per side. 
Serve with spaetzle noodles.  Growing up I did not like the gravy as it was full of onions and mushrooms.  I ate my schnitzel with a drizzle of lemon juice which is another traditional way of enjoying in. 

* Start with 2-3 eggs for 6-8 pieces of chicken.  Flour and bread crumbs can be added to your dishes as you coat your chicken and find yourself running out.
Jager


Monday, March 17, 2014

Quick Pizza Dough (oven ready in under 30 minutes)

Quick Pizza Dough (oven ready in under 30 minutes)             Printable Recipe

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon  sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees)
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
couple dashes salt
1-1/2 cups flour plus more for dusting/kneading

Add yeast and sugar to water.  Let set for 5 minutes.