Buttery Peas
Posted: July 31, 2009 Filed under: Quick, Side dish, Vegetable 1 Comment »As part of our Chicken Piccata dinner night, I also found this fantastic cooking for two recipe on Cook’s Illustrated. These peas were easy to whip up and a great new way to enjoy them!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
| 1 | tablespoon unsalted butter |
| 1 | small shallot , minced (about 2 teaspoons) |
| 1/2 | teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves |
| 1 | small clove garlic , minced (about 1/2 teaspoon) |
| 1/2 | pound frozen peas (1 1/2 cups) |
| 1 | teaspoon sugar |
| Table salt and ground black pepper |
Directions:
Melt the butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, thyme, and garlic and cook until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in the peas and sugar. Cover and cook until the peas are heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Peanut butter truffle brownies
Posted: July 30, 2009 Filed under: Bars-dessert and cookie, Brownies, Chocolate, Dessert 13 Comments »H and his co-workers have been working on a big project and to help ease all stress of the long long long busy days, I thought I would send it some treats! I made some Guinness Cupcakes and these little pieces of heaven. Thank goodness I got them out of the house as I would have EATEN THEM ALL!!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Brownie base
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
Topping
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a rectangular baking pan. In a large saucepan, melt 1 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 24 to 30 minutes. Do not over-bake. Cool in pan for one hour.
To make the filling, in a large mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar and milk until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if needed to reach spreadable consistency. Spread mixture evenly over cooled brownie base.
To make the topping, in small microwavable bowl, microwave the chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth. Spread chocolate topping over peanut butter layer, cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve. Store remaining bars covered in the refrigerator.
Homemade gummi snacks
Posted: July 29, 2009 Filed under: Candy, Jello, Quick 1 Comment »After seeing this super fun recipe on The Rookie Chef Blog, I knew I had to try to make these with my little guest chefs, Bret and Brendan who were visiting. They couldn’t have been easier to make and were very very tasty! Bret and Brendan give it a THUMBS UP and a YUM!
Do pour slowly when pouring into molds. They fill up very fast and it is hard to clean around them. I will definitely make these again neater next time, but it was a fun first try!
We used a heart mold and a party/birthday mold. I found a 10 pack of mold at Michaels for 10 bucks plus coupon, so it was less than a buck per mold. It has a variety of molds in them including letters, flowers, food shapes, sports, etc. Check it out. I will update with more pics as we make them!!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1-2 favorite candy molds sold at Michaels, Joann, Hobby Lobby, etc..
1 package of jello (any flavor, but the small 3 oz package)
7 envelopes of unflavored gelatin (these come in small envelopes, usually 4 per package. The brand I bought was Gelatine and it comes in an orange package. Look for it in the jello aisle)
1/2 cup water
Directions:
Mix everything together in a sauce pan. It will be thick, like paste.
Heat over low heat until it’s more liquid and melted.
Pour into your mold. (I put it into a small liquid measuring cup with a spout for easy pouring. POUR SLOW and gently..as you can see many of ours overflowed..but that just means we have to try again..LOL!)
Put in the freezer for five-ten minutes to firm up.
ENJOY with friends..or little helpers…
Candy Bar Brownie Cakes with Marshmallow Butter Cream
Posted: July 28, 2009 Filed under: Brownies, Cakes/Cupcakes, Candy, Chocolate, Dessert, Frosting 6 Comments »I have found my new favorite frosting. OMG the marshmallow butter cream is smooth, buttery, and not too sweet. It came together easily and was ADDICTING. I couldn’t stop tasting it! Definitely give these a try. I used mini milky ways in mine, but mini Snickers, Twix, and Hershey bars would be good too (the small square sized ones). I found this recipe on I DO…now what blog.
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 – 21 oz. pkg. fudge brownie mix (I used Duncan Hines, it’s only 19.75 ounces but no biggie)
Miniature-sized chocolate candy bars ( you need one for each cupcake, about 12-24)
Marshmallow Frosting (see recipe below)…
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Line twelve to fifteen 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups. Prepare the fudge brownie mix according to package directions. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the batter into each paper bake cup. Place a miniature-size candy bar or mint cream in each cup. Divide the remaining batter among the cups.
Marshmallow frosting:
2 sticks of butter ( at room temp.)
1 cup of confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 – 7 ounce tub of marshmallow cream
Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until creamy.
Beat in one fourth of the sugar until fluffy, then repeat with the remaining sugar.
Beat in vanilla, then stir in the marshmallow cream until well blended.
Top brownie cakes and decorate.
Chicken and Arugula Pita
Posted: July 27, 2009 Filed under: Herbs, Quick, Sandwich 2 Comments »Recently I started watching more of Giada’s food shows on the Food Network and this recipe instantly caught my eye. I liked the idea of using arugula as it gives a spicier flair to your dish and adding it to chicken for a great sandwich sounded perfect. This was quick to make up for lunch one afternoon and will definitely be made many more times!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2 whole-wheat pitas, halved and opened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup Arugula Pesto, recipe follows
2 store-bought rotisserie chicken breasts, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup arugula
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Arrange the pita halves on a baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes until warmed through.
In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon zest and Arugula Pesto. Stir in the diced chicken.
To assemble the pita pockets, fill each pita half with the chicken mixture. Top with tomatoes and 1/4 cup arugula and serve.
Arugula Pesto:
2 cups packed arugula
1 clove garlic, peeled and halved
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the pesto, blend the arugula and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. With the machine running, gradually add the oil until well blended. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in Parmesan and salt and pepper.
Parmesan Orzo
Posted: July 26, 2009 Filed under: Pasta, Side dish 3 Comments »I haven’t had orzo before, but after hearing rave reviews from the gals on the cooking chat board, I decided to give it a try. It is great and a pasta-like rice. It cooked up well and had great flavor! I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and made it just like the recipe, with the addition of a bit more water as mine seemed to cook very quickly and I was afraid it would dry out. It came out great. We paired it with a broiled lemon chicken and a mixed greens salad. A great filling and delicious meal!
ENJOY!
Ingredients: This served 6 very generously!
3 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
1-1/2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions:
Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in orzo and saute until lightly browned.
Stir in chicken stock and bring to boil. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 15 – 20 minutes.
Mix in Parmesan cheese and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to shallow bowl. Garnish with basil sprigs
Help out Brooke and Joe!
Posted: July 25, 2009 Filed under: Random Thoughts about cooking 1 Comment »Brooke and Joe (Brooke a What’s Cooking Board friend of mine) have been through so much in the last month. Their triplets were born at 25 weeks 5 days and are working hard each day to get stronger. Pls help out the family in this tough time! Every little bit helps.
Click the link to find out how to help the babies and Brooke and Joe get through this tough time:
http://threecheersforbabies.chipin.com/brooke-and-joes-triplets
Mixed Berry Green Monster Smoothie
Posted: July 25, 2009 Filed under: Beverages, Breakfast 1 Comment »Another great smoothie with spinach…cant even taste it and it fills you up!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
1 cups mixed frozen berries
1 scoop protein powder
1 large handful spinach
1 cup skim milk
Directions:
Throw everything into the blender and blend very well. Serve very cold.
Vegetable Tian
Posted: July 24, 2009 Filed under: Side dish, Vegetable Leave a comment »I found this recipe on Annie’s Eats a few days back and knew I definitely wanted to make it, yet omitted the zucchini as we don’t like it very much. I just left it out, but you could sub your own veggies in as necessary!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 large yellow onions, cut in half and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. medium round potatoes, unpeeled
3/4 lb. zucchini
1 1/4 lb. medium tomatoes
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus extra sprigs
2 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (I used Parmesan)-I did too…
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9×13″ baking dish with olive oil. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan, and cook the onions over medium heat until translucent, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Spread the onion mixture on the bottom of the baking dish.
Slice the potatoes, zucchini, and tomatoes in 1/4-inch thick slices. Layer them alternately in the dish on top of the onions, fitting them tightly, making only one layer. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, thyme leaves, and thyme sprigs. Drizzle with 1 more tablespoon of olive oil, if desired. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Uncover the dish, remove the thyme sprigs, sprinkle the grated cheese on top , and bake for 30 minutes more, or until browned. Serve warm.
No bake Chocolate Oatmeal PB cookies
Posted: July 23, 2009 Filed under: Chocolate, Cookies, Quick 6 Comments »A wonderful easy cookie to whip up in a pinch. Very chocolaty, peanut buttery, and chewy goodness. I love these cookies and love making them on the fly for H work or for last minute guests!! Great for kids too…as they aren’t too bad for you…I used low fat pb and skim milk. These were great! I don’t have the name of who passed this recipe to me, but I have used it with my family for years!
ENJOY!
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp vanilla
3 c ups quick oats
Directions:
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. Remove from heat and let cool about 10 mins. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the rounded teaspoonfuls (I used my medium cookie scoop), until cooled and hardened.
