An American Housewife

Homemade Hot Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:06:00 +0000

Hot Wings are loved by so many people, a restaurant or two have made their mark on society by featuring this very food. It's a favorite in our home on game days when my crew always liked me to make what we call "football food" (which is basically just finger foods and things they can eat while watching the game) but we enjoy Hot Wings so much that we often serve them for dinner at the table as well.

I posted this recipe previously back in 2009 in honor of my son, who would list my hot wings as one of his top 3 favorite foods. We had them this week for dinner and I was just a little sad that he is now in college over 1,000 miles away and wasn't here to share them with us.

Our family loves hot and spicy and we have a vast array of specialty "really" hot sauces we collect. Because of this, I sometimes play with the basic recipe and add amounts from drops to 1/4 cup of other sauces to make them 'fire' hot or add different flavors from my husbands sauce collection. You would do well to start with the basic recipe the first time, but feel free to play with your food once you know the level of hot your crew can handle.

Hot Wings

1 cup Frank's Red Hot Pepper Sauce
1/3 c canola oil
1 t granulated sugar
1 t garlic powder
1 t coarse, fresh ground black pepper (less if you are using store bought ground)
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 egg yolk
2 t water
2 t cornstarch

Precook about 2-4 lbs. drumettes and chicken wing portions your favorite way. (In an oven, an electric skillet, by grilling or if you purchase pre-cooked, warm in the microwave.) In a saucepan over medium heat mix the sauce, oil, sugar, garlic, pepper, cayenne and worchestershire sauce. In another small bowl whisk together the egg yolk with the water and cornstarch. Slowly drizzle the yolk mixture in a tiny thin stream as you continually whisk the sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer about 5-10 minutes.

You can apply this to the chicken wings and continue baking to crisp or you can cook the wings completely and then brush or dip this sauce onto them. Serve with Ranch Dressing and celery sticks to help cool the mouths of your guests as they enjoy them.

I like to grill or bake ours, but I also quick them quickly in the skillet if time is a factor as well

Dress Up a Plain White Cake - Make it a Homemade Jello Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:55:00 +0000

As you know, we entertained house guests earlier this week. The day before they arrived I made a white Cream Cake but decided at the last minute to make it into a jello cake, as my father was visiting and it's one of his favorites. Little did I know that my father-in-law loved it even more! My Dad, my husband and I all had one slice and for the next three days my FIL had 2 slices a day. Suffice to say, he loved it.

Jello Cake

1 white cake
1 small package jello of your choice (we usually use cherry or raspberry)
1+ cup boiling water
Whipped Cream

Bake a white cake of your choice in your size pan of choice - (homemade or store bought, doesn't matter). Use a skewer, a fork, a chop stick or some other thin, straight prong to punch holes all over the cake after you take it out of the oven.
Mix the jello with a heaping cup of boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Drizzle the jello all over the cake, slowly and evenly. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2-3 hours. Whip heavy cream with sugar and vanilla to taste OR if you prefer, use store bought Cool Whip. Cover the cake. Chill until serving. So pretty and you can do this with cup cakes too!

Dutch Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 14:49:00 +0000

Readers who have popped in here a time or two over the last few months know that we just finished a relocation 1000 miles away to the deep South. Readers who have been around a little longer might know that this was move number 11 for us. From Los Angeles to Minneapolis, from Nashville to Birmingham and more than a few places in between, we've been blessed to have been able to relocate often and enjoy the awesome differences in the regions of this great country. One of the food items I've got a craving for happens to be from a tiny little dot of a town in Iowa.

If you happen to be driving through the Midwest, be sure to stop by Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, Iowa and eat 2 or 3 Dutch Letters for me. No, really.

If I had to choose between Cream Puffs with vanilla infused whipped heavy cream or the traditional flaky almond Dutch Letters... I'm not sure I could. I'll take both. Two of each actually. With fresh, hot, black coffee.

And if you aren't traveling through Iowa (that's not Ohio and not Idaho... but Iowa), then perhaps you might want to jot down this recipe, like I did, so I can make them at home. Even though I know they won't be as fabulous as the ones made in Pella. But, then again, they've been doing this since they opened in 1898. They're pretty good at it by now.

Dutch Letters

4 1/2 c flour
1 t salt
1 lb. butter, cold, cut into tiny pieces
2 eggs
8 oz. almond paste
2 egg whites
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
scant 1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 c milk

In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt; add butter and toss until flour evenly coats butter. In a small bowl, mix 1 egg with 1 cup cold water and add to flour-butter mixture; stir to form a loose dough. Transfer dough to a floured work surface, and knead until dough comes together, about 10 strokes. Roll dough into a 15" x 10" rectangle. Fold up the 2 short sides of rectangle so they meet in middle, and then fold dough like a book. Rotate rectangle 90°; repeat rolling and folding technique. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes. Uncover; and repeat rolling and folding technique twice more. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat almond paste and 1 egg white on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until smooth. Add remaining egg white and the sugars, and beat until smooth, 1-2 minutes; set filling aside. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and milk; set egg wash aside.

Cut dough crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Transfer 1 dough piece to a lightly floured work surface, chilling remaining 3 pieces. Roll dough into a 12 ½" x 10" rectangle; cut rectangle into five 10" x 2 ½" strips. Working with one strip at a time, put 1 heaping tbsp. filling lengthwise down the center of the strip, using your fingers to spread it to each end. Using a pastry brush, brush egg wash down one edge and then, beginning with the dry side, roll strip over filling and into a cigar shape. Transfer pastry rolls, seam side down, to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and form into an "S" shape; repeat with remaining dough, filling. and egg wash.

Heat oven to 375°. Brush each pastry with egg wash and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Bake, rotating baking sheets once halfway through cooking, until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Shrimp Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:37:00 +0000

Last year I was on a quest for a really good shrimp taco or fish taco recipe and collected a couple to play with and see what I could come up with. This is one of them. The store bought sauce (click on the image for more information if you are not familiar with it) really adds to the meals we serve it with and is a personal favorite of my crew. You don't need it though! So don't bypass this recipe just because you see the Taco Bell sauce is mentioned. It's just a really good condiment we discovered last summer and usually have on hand. You can even just add some taco seasoning mix to sour cream for a easy, delicious condiment. Play with your food.

Shrimp Tacos

2 T olive oil
1 lime, juiced and grated
1 t cumin
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and ground black pepper
Flour Tortillas (about 6)
Sour Cream
Salsa, olives, guacamole or any other toppings you want to serve with them
Shredded cabbage and lettuce mixtured

Combine olive oil, lime juice, peel, and cumin in small bowl. Place shrimp onto skewers; season with salt and pepper. Brush shrimp with lime mixture. Grill until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes per side, brushing occasionally with lime mixture. Roughly chop shrimp.

Fill each tortilla with shrimp, lettuce/cabbage and desired toppings. (Personally we like Taco Bell's Ranchero Sauce and Jalapeno Sauce - they came out with them last summer and are in the grocery aisle by the Mexican Food section).

Sugar Free Ketchup (I always aspired to be Doris Day in The Thrill of it All!)

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:37:00 +0000

Good Morning! You are about to learn another little tidbit about me (whether you care or not, LOL.) I'm a closet Doris Day fan. My favorites might be Please Don't Eat the Daisies and The Thrill of it All! but I'd really be hard pressed to choose because I love most of them (there are a couple clinkers in there over the years that I don't care for).

I didn't grow up watching these movies in our family home, so the first time I saw The Thrill of it All! was after I was already in my early twenties. It was the first time I realized anyone could make their own ketchup. And I wanted to make it. After that, I did start to garden, grew my own tomatoes and started to make and can my own ketchup, tomato juice and the best-ever Homemade Salsa. All thanks to Doris Day!

Today's recipe is for Sugar Free Ketchup. I don't can this and I don't typically use my homegrown tomatoes. For this version, I make enough for one bottle at a time, use tomato paste and I keep it in a recycled ketchup bottle clearly marked "Sugar Free". Play with this recipe! After you make this, adjust the spices a little bit to what you like. Add a little more of this, a little bit less of that until you get the sweetness and spices to what you love. You may never go back to 'regular' store bought ketchup again.

Sugar Free Ketchup

12 oz. tomato paste (be careful for sugar - try Contadina or the newer Hunts without sugar added)
** You can also use 1 - 6 oz. can tomato paste and 1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce (I like this flavor combination!)
approximately 6 oz. water (rinse the tomato paste/sauce tins with a bit of water swirled around and pour it in the saucepan)
1/3 c white vinegar
4 T Splenda or about 5 Equal tablets dissolved in the water
1 T salt
1 t onion powder
dash of; allspice, ground cloves and tiny dash of cinnamon
1/8 t garlic powder

Whisk together. You can serve this or refrigerate it immediately or you can simmer it. If you have time, simmer in a saucepan over medium low heat at a low bubble for about 20 minutes. This thickens it and I think improves the flavors just a bit. But if you don't have time or don't want to, you don't have to simmer. Just put it in a mason jar with a lid or recycle a ketchup or other dressing bottle. This will make about 1 3/4 - 1 1/2 cups or so of ketchup depending on if you simmer it and how long as that tends to reduce it and thicken it a bit.

My sugar free ketchup simmering for 20 minutes on the stove

Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken (started in the crock pot)

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:50:00 +0000

I'm going to apologize up front for the hastiness of this post. Today is the third day having my father and father-in-law visiting us from out of state and although I've been cooking in a whirlwind, I have not had time to post (nor did I take photos of the meals - I'm not sure how I'd explain my camera snapping of our food to them...)

The first night here I took the easy route and we grilled cheeseburgers and I made a simple Italian Pasta Salad. The second evening was a real Seafood Feast. It was so good! Steamed Crab Legs, amazing Crab Cakes, Butterfly Shrimp... and last night the only requirement was that the meal included my FIL's request; Potatoes. Any form. But he really loves potatoes. So made a Roasted Chicken and served with it Rosemary Thyme Potatoes, cheesy breadsticks, a fruit salad and I made some of the pan drippings into a simple gravy. It was a huge hit.

This is not the actual chicken I made last night as I made up a hickory infused seasoning for the chicken but I had these photos from a previous meal I made the family which used the same cooking process to ensure an incredibly tender and flavorful chicken. Every time.

Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken
(started in the crock pot - finished in the oven)

1 whole chicken - rinsed well
1 lemon
1 onion
fresh minced garlic
lemon pepper seasoning
olive oil

Slice the lemon and onion in half and insert them into the poultry. Place the chicken in a crock pot or slow cooker. Season the top with your spices. If you like bland chicken, go easy. If you like flavor infused, then go a little heavier. There is no 'right' or 'wrong'. Play with it.   Cook your chicken in the crock pot as long as you need to. By this I mean - if you are starting this at 8:am and won't need to serve it until 6:pm, then cook it on low for 10 hours. If you are starting it at 3:30 pm and need it by dinner, put it on high at 3 hours. The idea is that the chicken is going to do most of it's cooking in the crock pot.

Later you will have a lot of juice in the crock pot and your chicken is going to be almost ready to fall apart. But because it's in the crock pot, it's not going to be a pretty golden brown, and it's not going to be crisp or ready to serve. Carefully drain off the liquid (I use the lid, crack it open about 1 inch and carefully pour the liquid into a casserole dish or other dish, leaving the chicken in the pot.)

Transferring the chicken to a baking sheet or serving dish. The chicken is so tender at this point you have to handle it with kid gloves or it will fall apart. After trial and error, the easiest way I've found to transfer the chicken to a baking pan is to lay the baking pan over the crockpot (which now has no liquid left in it and is unplugged) and flip it quickly upside down so the chicken is now upside down on the baking sheet. Carefully use a large spatula to quickly turn the chicken over.   If your chicken is quite that tender and can still hold its shape, you can use two large metal spatulas to lift and quickly transfer it to a baking sheet or pan for oven use.

Now, either bake the chicken quickly at about 450 degrees to brown it or you can place it under a broiler in the oven for about 4 minutes.   When the top is a beautiful brown and the skin has crisped up nicely, it's time to serve.

An onion and a lemon provide the flavor

Cook it and forget it. Leave it to cook... ignore it for a few hours.

It's tender and flavorful but not pretty. So this is where you roast it or broil it to finish.

When I need about 15 minutes before serving I'll bake it. If I'm ready for it now, I'll broil it for 4 minutes.

How to Clean Pampered Chef Stoneware (Pizza Stones)

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:18:00 +0000

I originally wrote a quick (and somewhat rambling) post about this topic back in 2007. I updated a tiny little sentence at the end to say "hey, I still own these and still clean them this way" in 2009.

To clean stoneware, Pampered Chef instructions say not to use soap and water on your stones. You use the little plastic scraper they send with the stone to scrape off any food, but soap will remove your seasoning which gives it the non-stick surface you work so hard to give it when you first purchase it.

Since my stones 'live' in the oven at all times, even though they are not being used, they are always 'clean' from the high heat but of course, they are dark from seasoning and use.

This is probably what your stones look like too - if you truly are a cook/baker and use them, and didn't just buy them for looks. And although my stones are old enough, and well seasoned enough that I do actually use soap and water to quickly clean them if I've made something like fish on them.... for real cleaning, I still, after 7 years, use my self-cleaning oven cycle to clean the stones.

Yes... to clean them, I simply keep them in the oven when I clean it. The stones are left in the oven, the oven is set to run one of it's automatic self-cleaning cycles (in which it cleans itself with high heat) and my stones come out looking brand new.

Before cleaning: a typical, well and often used baking stone

After 1 self-cleaning cycle in the oven.

Am I telling you to clean your stones like this? Nope. You can clean them any way that feels best to you. But I've had readers contact me asking me about cleaning my pizza stones and this is how I do it.

These are the same two stones I bought in 2005. 7 years old and used almost daily.

Koulourakia - a Greek Pastry

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:01:00 +0000

The ethic foods our family grew up with include foods from traditional Sweden and Germany. And, although many ethnic foods have become a main staple in the USA over the past 30 years or so (Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, Cuban all come to mind...) you are still hard pressed to find Lutfisk, Lefse and Brunkal at your local restaurant or fast food place. (In the case of Lutfisk, I have to admit, I prefer it that way... LOL).

Over the years, I've come to like many Greek foods. Thankfully those have managed to find their way into American hearts as well. One of their pastries, you may have only had at a Greek Food Fair or perhaps at a Greek restaurant, but it's one you can easily make at home with ingredients you probably have on hand. It's a pastry called Koulourakia (sometimes spelled differently) - which is traditionally served as a twisted rope, sprinkled with sesame seeds. It's not sweet, which is probably why I like it.

Koulourakia

1 cup butter, room temperature
3 eggs
4 c
3/4 c sugar
3 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
1 beaten egg
Sesame seeds

Cut the butter into the flour and mix with your fingers or two knives. Add baking powder. Beat the eggs with the sugar and add to the flour mixture with the vanilla. Knead thoroughly. Add more flour in small increments if the dough is too sticky. Grabbing a bit of dough about the size of a golf ball, roll out into strips about 3/4 inch wide, fold in half and give it two twists. Place on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking at 350 degree's for about 20 minutes. Cool.

Grilled Steak Marinade

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:59:00 +0000

The sizzle of a steak hitting the iron grids of a hot grill is a beautiful sound. We plan to do a lot of grilling this weekend and next as we have two different groups of visitors coming and grilling out for dinner is not only easy and delicious, but makes conversation more simple. You can chat and laugh while standing over a grill much easier than trying to hold up your end of the conversation while running around your kitchen trying to read recipes, get things measured and mixed correctly and watching things in the oven, microwave and stove at the same time.

Grilling is just... good. And here is a steak marinade to get you started.

Steak Marinade

1/3 c soy sauce
2 T canola oil
1 T brown sugar
3/4 t garlic, minced (about 1 clove)
1 t ground ginger
1 t seasoning salt (like Lawry's)

Mix all ingredients, whisk until blended and cover your favorite steaks with it. I find it easy to use a gallon sized Ziploc baggy - place 4 or 5 steaks in it, add the marinade, flip it over a couple times to cover the meat and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to about 3-4 hours. Turn often to make sure the meat is marinated evenly. Grill as usual to your favorite level of 'done'.

I like to mix the ingredients in a baggy, add the steak, and not have to dirty any bowls or utensils

Marinate at least 30 minutes but no more than about 4 hours unless you like your marinade flavor strong in your meats.

Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:50:00 +0000

This is one of those recipes I keep in my proverbial back pocket to pull out on a busy day. I change it and adapt it in many ways from the dry seasoning I use, to whether or not I add onions, the kind of soup on hand, or even whether I serve it as a whole chicken breast or cut them up and serve it over noodles or pasta of some sort. So many options! I 'play with my food' and hope you do too.

Cream Cheese Crock Pot Chicken

Chicken breasts or pieces of your choice (anywhere between 3-6 work with this recipe)
1 package dry Italian Dressing seasoning mix (Good Seasons, example)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 c chicken broth
1 large yellow or sweet onion
2-3 T butter
minced or crushed garlic (about 1/2 teaspoon or 1 clove)

Lay the chicken in the crockpot and sprinkle on the dry dressing mix. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours for 6 breasts, less for fewer pieces of course. About 45 minutes before serving, brown the onion in butter in a pan. Add the garlic, cream cheese, soup and broth. Stir smooth and add to the crockpot to cook for 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*Some ways to play with this include;
Use dry Hidden Valley ranch dressing instead of Italian
Use cream of mushroom or celery if you don't have ceram of chicken soup on hand
Place all the ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-7 hours
Cook all the ingredients in the crockpot at the same time except for the onion. Brown and add that at the end for flavor.
Use white wine instead of chicken broth

Quick and Easy Gravy - No pan drippings required

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:10:00 +0000

This afternoon I was wondering what the oldest recipe I had uploaded to my files but had never posted was. I made a deal with myself to post whatever recipe was still in 'draft' mode from the beginning of this blog.

In the end, I broke that deal. It was Eggnog Cookies. And not too many people have extra eggnog left over that they are looking to use up right now. (If you do still have Eggnog in the refrigerator from Christmas, might I suggest you throw it out?).

My next recipe in draft mode, never published was a form of gingerbread and then, a pumpkin pie. The first recipe that I could post from my 'oldest draft mode files' that was even slightly relevant to February, was gravy. And as a lover of gravy on everything from biscuits to bread to potatoes, stuffing and more... gravy is good to make any day of the year!

Quick and Easy Gravy - no pan drippings

1 c. milk
1 T cornstarch
1 chicken bouillon cube

1/4 t ground black pepper

salt to taste
Combine ingredients in a saucepan on the stove. Whisk while cooking over medium to medium-high heat. Bring mixture to boiling stirring frequently. Only boil for 1 minute before removing from heat. Let it stand for a few minutes to thicken a bit while you get the rest of the food on the table. Great on biscuits or mashed potatoes.

Homemade Truffles - Valentine's Day or ANY Day

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:56:00 +0000

I have two (2) recipes our family likes to use for homemade truffles. Using a good quality chocolate chip, both these truffles turn out so incredibly smooth, you would swear it was a Belgian Truffle. I don't really even care for chocolate, but when I make these, you can bet I end up enjoying them as well.

I'll post this recipe here, and I guest posted the other one at SheSpeaks, so if you have found me from there, welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by! If you'd like to join the kitchen, check out the sidebar for following opportunities, Twitter, as well as email sign up to have posts sent directly to you.

Homemade Truffles (#1 of 2 recipes our family likes)

1 - 12 oz bag semisweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips (2 cups)
2 T butter
1/4 c whipping cream (heavy cream)
2 T liqueur (I tend to use about 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract instead of liqueur)
1 T shortening

In a heavy saucepan melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Stir in butter and whipping cream and liqueur if you are using it or extract. When smooth, refrigerate 15 minutes until thick enough to hold its shape.

Drop by teaspoon fulls onto parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Form into round balls. Freeze 30 minutes.

In saucepan melt the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and shortening. When smooth, dip truffles, one at a time into the melted chocolate. Place on the foil covered sheets and immediately sprinkle with crushed nuts, powdered sugar, cocoa or other sprinkles if desired. Refrigerate 10 minutes to set. Drizzle with melted vanilla almond bark or white chips. Store at room temp or refrigerate.

Stuffed Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce with Diced Red Peppers

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:13:00 +0000

For years I have always made my alfredo sauce from scratch. I still do - but I've found during this most recent (crazy, hardest-yet to date of 11 of them) relocation to the new state, that having a jar on hand in the pantry has made it quick and easy to throw together a meal when the last thing on earth I had time to do at that moment was... throw together a meal. Ha ha.

Starting with store bought stuffed, fresh ravioli that my daughter persuaded me to purchase, I was able to set the pasta cooking while I heated up the sauce, added some things to it, warmed up grilled chicken to go with and baked some french bread. Topped with some Smoked Gouda, it was very good and came together in minutes.

Store bought items from the pantry made this quick and easy to 'doctor up'. Yes, I usually make it all from scratch (including the bread, the stuffed ravioli and the sauce) but even using bottled from the store is better than running to a drive through fast food.

Stuffed Ravioli with Alfredo Sauce and Grilled Chicken

1 package refrigerator section fresh stuffed ravioli
1 package pre-cooked grilled chicken breasts or strips
1 bottle alfredo sauce
1 loaf french or garlic bread
Smoked Gouda Cheese - about 1/2 cup grated
Diced red peppers (also can add diced green peppers, sliced green onions, broccoli or mushrooms)

Boil the ravioli according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oven and bake the french bread and heat the chicken strips. Pour the sauce into a saucepan on the stove and add about 1/2 - 3/4 c diced fresh red pepper (I usually add broccoli and mushrooms as well but didn't this night that I took photos). Warm the sauce.

Serve the pasta in a large bowl with strips of hot grilled chicken, topped with the sauce and grated smoked gouda on top. Serve with warm french or garlic bread and a side salad. So good for a 10 minute to table meal on a very busy night!

Valentine's Day Red Velvet Cake Balls

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:11:00 +0000

Brilliant red centers with a dazzling white almond bark coating, sprinkled with sparkling red sugar crystals. While beautiful on your dessert table at Christmas time, they are perfect for Valentine's Day as well. Whether you make them into larger, 3 bite sized balls or smaller one or two bites, they are a hit with children and adults alike.

In addition to the recipe ingredients you will need either Lollipop Sticks (available at cake supply stores, online or hobby stores) or for very small balls, toothpicks work. You will also need 1 pound of vanilla almond bark, also known as candy coating; available in the baking aisle of most grocery and general merchandise stores. (For those that can't find it, you can also order it online here .) If you absolutely can't find it and don't have time to wait a couple days for an order, you can use white chocolate chips too, but allow more time for them to set up as almond bark sets up quickly at room temperature.

First the cake. The 'Red Velvet' cake mixes you see in stores are not true Red Velvet. The Red Velvet you usually find made in bakeries (like Costco and Sam's and grocery stores) are usually not true Red Velvet. One of my 'baking' pet peeves through the years are recipes that are basically just a dismal chocolate cake with red food color and called "Red Velvet". A true Red Velvet Cake has it's own flavor that comes from the buttermilk and vinegar and vanilla used in it. It's not a chocolate cake and doesn't taste as such. The cocoa is used to enhance the brilliant red color but not to flavor. This is a true Red Velvet and it happens to be my second favorite cake in the universe (I'm a die-hard white vanilla cake fan but Red Velvet is number two on the list!)

Red Velvet Cake

1/2 cup shortening or butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 oz. red food coloring (1 bottle)
3 tablespoon cocoa
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vinegar

Grease and flour a 9 X 13″ cake pan. Preheat oven to 350. Cream shortening, sugar and eggs. Make a paste with the food coloring and cocoa and add to mixture. Add salt and flour alternately with buttermilk and vanilla. Alternately add soda and vinegar, and don’t over beat. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake approximately 30-35 minutes or until done. Remove from oven. Cool completely. (Since you are not making this into a layer cake, you can let it cool in the pan if you wish.

Basic Cream Cheese Frosting

You can use your favorite frosting (that link goes to the *only* frosting I use for Red Velvet) or here is a basic cream cheese frosting recipe to use, as many like cream cheese frosting with this particular cake.

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. box powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat softened butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until creamy. Set aside.

Crumble the cooled cake completely with your hands or use a food processor and process in 2 or 3 batches depending on the size of your appliance.

Mix your frosting recipe into the cake crumbs. Start with about 2 cups of frosting and mix well with a wooden spoon and then, your hands. If it’s a dry mix, add more frosting by quarter cup increments. You want the cake to be the consistency of play dough so it holds together well and forms balls.

Scoop dough out to the size cake ball you want. 30 large or up to 50 or 60 if you are making 1 inch rounds. Roll in your hands until smooth and place each ball on a parchment lined baking sheet. Depending on the size of the cake ball use either a lolly pop stick or toothpick in the top. Place in the freezer and freeze for 2 hours until firm.

Melt the vanilla candy coating (almond bark) according to package directions over low heat or in the microwave. Dip each cake ball into the vanilla and place on parchment paper to set. If you wish you can sprinkle them with desired colored sugar or sprinkles at this point.

Leave on the counter while the candy coating sets. After hard these can be kept in a container as they are as the coating keeps the cake moist. I’ve also froze them for up to a month, and left to thaw on the counter until needed.

Turkey Avocado Sandwich on Sandwich Thins

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:38:00 +0000

Turkey Avocado Sandwich on Sandwich Thins - Yum!

For about two weeks, our family couldn't get enough avocados. Guacamole, sandwiches, halved with lime and salt sprinkled, wraps... we were all craving them. Why? I have no idea, but this is one of the sandwiches I made with them. Obviously you need to 'play with your food' and use what you have on hand or what you like, but if you make it the way did, you won't have any left over!

Turkey Avocado Sandwich

1 Sandwich Thin (2 pieces)
1 slice provolone cheese
3-4 slices thin turkey breast (we used cracked black pepper style)
2-3 thin slices avocado
1 leaf lettuce
Spicy Mayonnaise (we used Pepperhouse Gourmaise by Boar's Head)
1 slice tomato

Spread mayo thin on bottom and a thicker layer on top. Layer your sandwich, press together and serve!

Peach Enchiladas with Mountain Dew Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:24:00 +0000

Good Morning dear readers! I've been busy painting the railing outside this morning but got a little too cold and came in to warm up and do some website updating. I decided to go through some of my old files and see what recipes I had hidden away when I spied this one.

And... kind of laughed out loud.

This is one I apparently copied down back in the Spring of 2008. I think I copied it down in my files as a 'what in the heck?' kind of recipe because although I think the ingredients are interesting, I have to admit that you would be hard pressed to ever find a can of Mountain Dew in my house, and our family has never really enjoyed 'dessert' recipes like this. They might eat cake, cupcakes, jello or some pies, but desserts like this one just don't fly in our household. So I'm happy to share it with all of you, but I admit it's one I've never tried.

I have to say; if any of you try this (or have tried it) please share what you thought of it and how it turned out!

Peach Enchiladas with Mountain Dew Sauce

2 sticks butter
1-1/2 c sugar
1 t cinnamon
2 packages crescent rolls
4 peaches, peeled and quartered
1 (12-oz) can Mountain Dew soda

Melt butter; add sugar and cinnamon. Unroll crescent rolls and place a peach quarter on each one. Roll from large end to small end of dough. Place into 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Pour butter mixture over rolls. Pour Mountain Dew over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

Another year has passed already and it's time for my Annual Homemade Valentine's Day Cookies!

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:36:00 +0000

Make someone's day... make some cookies!

As a Mom of three kids, I've been making cookies for little ones for about 21 years now. The thing is, my kids are getting older and going off to college... but they still want cookies of course!

Every year I make red and pink and white 'pretty' cookies but readers who have been around for a couple years have seen me play with the decor a bit. Like the year my daughter and her boyfriend broke up right before Valentine's Day so I made her cookies with "loser" "geek" and "luv sux" on them, which cheered her up immensely and made her friends laugh.

And remember when I offered to send cookies with my husband to work for all the guys he works with?

Let me repost that one... (cut and pasted from my original post)

"Honey, I've got a ton of cookies... do you want to take some to work?"

"Yeah... I guess I could. I've got a meeting tomorrow morning with my guys.... I could bring some."

I could tell he was a little hesitant.

"I know. They're kind of girly."

"Too bad they don't say 'John Sucks' on them or something...."

"Oh! But they can!"

And? They did.

I did not photograph the 'personalized' cookies using their names for use on the website, but I took some of the others that said lovey dovey phrases like;

Dude U Suck

Oh Crap

Love Sux

LOSER

So Not Cool

GEEK

The personalized cookies said; "John Sux" and "Mike Sux" on them.

I guess when he walked in with the cookies the next morning the guys started to razz my husband and give him a hard time about bringing in little pretty cookies...

"Just read them"

And they did.

And they laughed.

This year, have some fun... make some cookies and get creative with your decorating. Break-ups, divorce, 'manly' cookies, or pretty little dainty ribbons and hearts.... anything goes!

Low Carb Greek Feta Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:42:00 +0000

I don't know much longer I'll be posting low carb recipes so grab them while you can! Actually, this is a food my regular readers will recognize. A variation on one of my favorite pizza's that I regularly make for our family that has been posted and pictured a number of times. Normally made with my homemade pizza crust, mayonnaise, garlic, feta cheese, onions and spinach but in order to cut the carbs down to a manageable amount I came up with this today for lunch.

Using the Ole brand extreme wellness tortilla, it has 17 grams carbs, but 12 grams fiber so you are left with a total of 5 carbs. The other ingredients are less than 1 carb except the garlic. For that, add a carb. If you can afford just a couple more carbs, go ahead and add a few ripped up spinach leaves and onions and even a diced dried tomato. If you want to keep the carbs low, make the version I did.

Low Carb Greek Feta Pizza
An American Housewife

1 low carb tortilla
1/3 c mayonnaise
one clove garlic (or about a 1/2 teaspoon)
1/3 c feta cheese, crumbled
sliced black olives - a small 4 oz. can or slice as many as you want from a larger can
dried oregano - about 1/3 teaspoon
*options: parmesan, spinach leaves, red onion sliced thin, dried tomato

Mix the mayonnaise with the garlic and feta. Spread on a tortilla. Sprinkle with oregano and top with black olives (or use Greek olives if you have them on hand. I don't).

Place under the broiler of your oven for about 3 minutes until golden bubbly. Remove to a plate, cut like a pizza and serve. These are awesome appetizers too for a crowd - not necessarily watching carb intakes, but for anyone.

13 Dip or Appetizer Recipes just to Get you Started!

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:24:00 +0000

Since I'm not an NFL football fan, I tend to forget there is a 'really big game' coming up. My husband, ironically IS a really big football fan and enjoys what our family calls "football food". In other words, foods that can be eaten with his fingers or with the help of a tortilla or other chip as he sits in front of the game.

Since 2006 I've posted about a hundred appetizer or dip recipes that you could use, but for the heck of it, I waded through the ones I posted over the last year or so, and grabbed a few to post here to make it easy to glance through the list and see if there is something that looks good to you. If you want to dig a little deeper, feel free to use the labels for 'appetizers' on the right hand sidebar. At the end of the page just hit "older posts" for the next page.

Layered Taco Dip
Last Minute Bean and Salsa Dip
Homemade Guacamole
Hot Shrimp Dip
Fresh Vegetable Squares (like Pizza but fresh and raw with a Ranch Dressing layer)
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Gouda Stout Cheese Dip (Try with Guinness!)
Jalapeno Poppers in WonTon skins
Banana Pepper Cheese Ball or Dip
Hot Sausage and Cheese Dip (can be served in a bread bowl)
Fresh Vegetable Dip with BeauMonde Seasoning (a classic)
Cream Cheese WonTons

Enjoy your football parties!

Homemade Garlic Pita Chips (with a bonus recipe for Spinach Artichoke Dip!)

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:48:00 +0000

I used whole wheat pitas - you can use any style you wish

With the big football game parties this weekend, many people are looking for easy dip and appetizer recipes. I've posted a lot of these over the years, but this morning I was thinking that it had been a few years since I posted my favorite garlic pita chip recipe. You can find it here. However, this recipe below is perhaps a little easier for some people to whip up because it doesn't use fresh garlic, but instead, garlic powder - which many already have in their cupboards. If you fresh garlic, go ahead and try my original recipe. For quick and easy with what is in the cupboard, check this one out. GREAT with artichoke spinach dips!

Homemade Garlic Pita Chips

12 pita bread pockets, split apart
1/2 cup olive oil
course salt to taste
garlic powder to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each pita bread into 8 triangles. Place triangles on lined cookie sheet or baking stone. In a small bowl, combine the oil, garlic, salt, Brush each triangle with oil mixture. Bake for about 10 minutes, golden brown and crisp. Let cool.

Here is a great dip recipe to go with it.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
enough for a small crowd

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
3 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 - 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese (I like the 1/3 fat)
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed

Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 1/2 the Parmesan, the garlic, artichokes, cream cheese and spinach in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a greased/sprayed 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining Parmesan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla or pita chips.

Low Carb Sugar Free Almond Pancakes

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 23:40:00 +0000

Ohhh so good and healthy too. I love nutty pancakes. Pecans or almonds... yum. For low carbers on maintenance programs, add this one in! I had them twice last week with a delicious SF syrup. Hot and filling when you are tired of the 'same old thing'.

Low Carb Sugar Free Almond Pancakes

5 T almond flour or finely ground almonds
1/2 c vanilla whey protein powder
1 egg
1 T sour cream
1/4 c water
1/2 t baking powder
1 t oil
1 small packet Splenda
1 1/2 t sugar free french vanilla syrup

Mix all ingredients In a greased skillet, spoon the batter into 3 pancakes. Cook until golden brown and little bubbles pop. Flip. Cook a minute more. Serve with butter and sugar free syrup.

I grind my own almonds but you can buy them ground as well (click here for Almond Flour )

Just enough batter for about 3 pancakes

Replay! Sugar Free Low Carb Almond Pound Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:06:00 +0000

I posted this recipe once before, but that time around I didn't make a glaze to go on top. Yesterday I made this cake again and decided to use Splenda to make a nice glaze for the top of the cake. I felt it really added to it and as a matter of fact I just finished a slice with a fresh, hot cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Sugar Free Low Carb Almond Pound Cake

1 stick (1/2 c) butter, room temp
1/2 c cream cheese (not fat free)
1 c Splenda
5 large eggs
2 c almond Flour
1/2 c egg white powder (like Just Whites )
2 t xanthan gum
2 1/4 T baking soda
1 t almond extract
1 t vanilla extract

Cream butter, cream cheese and splenda. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Mix the JustWhites with the xanathan gum and baking soda and blend in the ground almonds or almond flour. Add the batter to the almond mixture a little at a time while beating. Add the extracts.

Pour or spoon into a greased 9" Springform pan, bundt pan, ring pan or even round pans. Bake at 350 for approximately 50-55 minutes. (Check early if your oven runs hot, my latest cake only took about 47 minutes.)

I mixed about a 1/2 cup of Splenda with a bit of heavy cream and a drop of almond extract to make a lovely glaze to drizzle over the cake. This is an option if you are interested too!

Homemade Turnip Fries

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:06:00 +0000

Many different diets and WOE's (way-of-eating) frown on potatoes because of the starch/sugar effect. Instead, suggesting that cauliflower and turnips make good alternatives to the 'mashed' version. But what if you are craving french fries? Then, consider Turnip Fries! They will not get as crispy as a traditional fry made with potatoes, but they are so good! And you can put whatever spices on them you would like. We 'spice them up' in our family with a variety of ground spices including a little onion powder, garlic salt, cayenne, chipolte, chili powder, etc. but this week I just wanted plain old fries. (If you opt to use the sprinkled Splenda before cooking they taste rather similar to Sweet Potato Fries this way.)

Turnip Fries

Turnips - peeled and sliced just as you would for thin french fries
Splenda
Salt
Oil to fry

Heat the oil while you peel and slice your turnips. About 1 medium turnip per person being served. If you wish, you can sprinkle just a touch of Splenda over the turnip fries before they are cooked. This is about 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon per medium turnip. Not much at all. Do not over do it! This gives them 'almost' a fast food fry taste in the end. When the oil is hot and sizzles when a single fry is dropped in, then the oil is ready. Turn it down to about medium high and add your turnips. Because they do not turn brown like potatoes and because they don't get as crisp as potatoes, you'll want to fry these longer than the 2-3 minutes that potatoes would take. I fried mine about 8 minutes. Drain completely on paper towels and salt while hot, fresh out of the oil. Serve as you would fries.

A raw turnip

Frying the turnips

Turkey Wrap with Hummus and Avocado

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:24:00 +0000

The night before last I made wraps for dinner. I've never made this particular blend of ingredients before, but my husband, who loves roasted red pepper hummus, declared it a keeper and took an extra wrap to work the next day for lunch. My 16-year-old daughter is not a fan of hummus so she asked if I would make hers with ranch. Both were deemed fabulous so I give them to you with a 'thumbs up' from my family.

Turkey Wrap with Hummus and Avocado

1 container Roasted Red Pepper Hummus *or homemade
4 flour tortillas or wraps
4 leaves romaine or red leaf lettuce
1 beefsteak tomato, sliced into 8 slices
1 lb. oven roasted turkey breast, sliced
1/2 lb. swiss cheese (I used Provolone on my daughters as she wanted Ranch and no hummus)
1 medium avocado, sliced thin

Spread the hummus mixture on one full side of each tortilla or wrap. Top with a large lettuce leaf, add 2 slices tomato and 2-3 slices avocado to each. Layer on 3-4 slices turkey and a slice of cheese. Roll up each tortilla wrap, tucking in the ingredients as you roll. Place seam side down on the serving dish. If your tortillas were small or they are really full, secure the seam with toothpicks.

Slice each diagonally to serve.

Spread the tortilla or wrap with hummus

Topping the wraps. Mmmm avocado!

*Quick homemade red pepper hummus: 14 oz. can garbanzo beans - drained. Blend in a food processor with 1/4 c roasted red peppers and about 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

This site has outgrown it's brothers and sisters... So follow me on Twitter!

noreply@blogger.com (Coffee Please!) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:48:00 +0000

For the past kazillion years I've used one Twitter ID for all four of my websites, general chit chat with friends and well, everything.

But this week I decided this particular website has grown as such, with about 11,000 - 14,000 hits a month, that it needs it's own email and it's own Twitter ID.

So, now it has one of each!

Every day I post a link to the days recipe and sometimes, photos. I'm also going to start using it exclusively for the contests and product reviews I do for marketing companies and corporations. I'm so excited that my little personal recipe site has grown up over the years and now is helpful to so many others as well.

Please consider following me if you want to get the latest and greatest from An American Housewife. Thanks so very much!!

Follow @AmericHousewife