Kristen's Kitchen Klassiks

Gluten Free Slow Cooker Pancake Cake

2013-05-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had mentioned I found a Gluten Free slow cooker recipe on Facebook, and after a few requests for this recipe from friends, I thought I would dive back into sharing recipes on my long lost recipe blog! I've been so busy I forgot it was here!

So, without further ado, here is the recipe, found via Stephanie O'Dea's Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking for the Kindle:

1 16 oz. package Gluten Free Pancake Mix (I used Maple Grove Pancake and Waffle Mix found at Walmart)

Eggs
Milk
Oil

Simply follow directions on the back of the Pancake Mix box, they have the measurements should you decide to use the whole box, or less, and mix everything together.

Take your slow cooker and be sure to either coat with cooking spray or brush on your choice of oil, so as to help the pancake not stick (I didn't put enough, by the way).

Pour the mixed contents of the pancake mix into the slow cooker, put on high heat, cover, and let it do it's thang! The aroma that fills the house is heavenly-it smells like a cakery! I actually only cooked it for 1 1/2 hours, not the 2 hours suggested in the cook book, so I suggest start monitoring and testing for done-ness at the 1 hour 15 minute range. I stuck a knife into it and it came out clean-done to me!

I let it sit for a bit, and realized I didn't put enough oil into the pot so it stuck a little bit. I went around the pot with a knife to free the cake from sticking to the sides. I cut the pieces right there as the bottom was stuck and it wouldn't budge. Once pieces cut I was then able to go in with a spatula to remove them.

So now you have a pancake cake! Serve it up warm and drizzle some syrup (Gluten Free of course!)...this might not last long in your home, and would be perfect for the holidays, or any old day. Don't get me wrong, I'll still make pancakes the regular ol' way, but this is a great way to do something different with the breakfast treat.

I can't wait to try more of this slow cooker Gluten Free cooking!

Bon appetit!

Spicy Citrus Shrimp Linguinie

2011-09-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

My husband has been on quite the roll this summer, cooking up some delicious meals. I've been the one to normally wear the apron, and cook to my heart's content. But at one point he decided to take over the kitchen, and he hasn't really stopped! It was a nice and sweet change of pace, for sure!

This weekend he whipped up this recipe, which is one of my faves in his repertoire of cooking. The first time he made the dish was for our 2nd Valentine's Day, in his apartment years back. I remember it being a week night, we were already head over heels in love, and we've shared many nights staying in, and he thought he'd try something different from his normal go to staples-which usually was heavy in red meat, such as meatloaf, Salisbury steak, and other dishes. I was so excited to see him step out of his Pennsylvania Dutch comfort zone.

Let's get started!

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. of raw shrimp
1/2 box of linguine-we used Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta
2 lemons-zest & juice
2 limes-zest & juice
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/4-1/2 C. of white wine
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (less/more if desired)
S&P to taste
Shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)
Chopped Italian Parsley (optional)
Citrus Slices (optional)

A few things to prep:
1. Zest the citrus using a microplane, putting the zest into a little glass bowl, or off to the side of your cutting board.

2. Juice your fruit into another bowl. Before you juice, slice up a few slices of the citrus to reserve for garnishing.

3. Coarsely chop up some parsley, enough for garnish.

Directions:
Step 1:
Peel off shrimp shells and place into ice water bath. This helps keep shrimp fresh after peeling.

Step 3:
Get out your pot for boiling pasta, and begin to boil some water. Our large pot takes a white to heat up, so we do this at the beginning of cooking.

Step 2:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on a low-medium heat. Once pan is warm, add in all ingredients, except for the shrimp, and let everything come alive cooking together.

Step 4:
By now your pot of boiling water should be ready, so add in your pasta. We love cutting corners where we can to save calories and sugars. We have been delighted by our recent discovery this summer of Quinoa pasta! And they have a linguine, which is rather on the slim side, when compared to regular linguine. To us, quinoa pasta tastes even better than whole wheat pasta! If you haven't tried it, you might just add it to your grocery list the next time you head out to do a little shopping.

Step 5:
Now add in the shrimp to your amazing citrus-olive oil-wine bath. Cooking time will vary, but in the end, the shrimp will be done when it curls, and the color is white & orange-ish, firm to touch. You don't want to over cook the shrimp, for if you do shrimp will be rubbery.

Step 6:
By now pasta should be done, and the shrimp should be cooked throughout, so at this point add in the pasta to the skillet of aromatic goodness, and lightly twist the pasta with tongs or a pasta spoon. Only a few twists and let all the ingredients mingle for a minute, then plate!

Et voila! Your Spicy Citrus Shrimp Linguine is ready to be devoured! Sprinkle on some pretty green parsley & Parmesan cheese if desired, and a slice of lemon and lime for garnish. You'll have your guests saying wow! The flavors work really beautifully together, from the spice of the red pepper flakes, to the zing of the citrus, and the goodness of the shrimp, all mixed with the quinoa pasta! This dish is great in taste, and great for a healthy meal. Serve with a simple salad of chopped romaine lettuce and a Dijon vinaigrette, using white balsamic vinegar instead of red wine vinegar.

Bon appetit!

"Sweet" DIY Favor/Gift Idea

2011-01-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

A great DIY favor, that is sweet and savory, are candy coated pretzel sticks/rods. These are so delicious, they have the crunch of the pretzel, the savor from the salt, and the yummy goodness from the melted candy or chocolate. What makes them cute are the touches of candied sprinkles or edible glitter, and adding colorful ribbon to tie the treats together!

These treats are perfect for wedding or shower favors, they are easy to put together, and are easy to make an elegant and fun splash to your event.

Here's what you need, tweak where desired depending upon number of guests.

1 bag of pretzel rods
1/2 lb bag of Wilton candy melts (vanilla or chocolate)
Wilton nonpareil sprinkles-edible glitter-cupcake sprinkles, etc.
parchment paper
cookie sheet/jelly roll pan
pretzel rod treat bags and ties
curling ribbon or personalized ribbon
Optional:
candy coloring
vegetable oil

First thing, place some parchment paper onto a hard surface, such as a cookie sheet. Using the cookie sheet will enable you to place the pretzels into the freezer/fridge to aid in the hardening of the melted candy. Plus, the sheet will be helpful when sprinkling the sticks, letting the sprinkles fall where they may on the sheet, and not all over your table or counter.

Next, start by melting the chocolate. You can do this simply by boiling water in a pan. Once water is boiling, sit a sturdy glass bowl over the pan, (be sure water does not touch the bowl!), add in the candy/chocolate wafers, and stir with whisk until melted and smooth. If you want to color your candy, now is when to delicately add in a few drops of food coloring-a little bit goes a long way, start with small drops and gradually add one by one until your desired color.

If chocolate isn't smooth and somewhat thin, it is OK to add vegetable oil a little bit at a time, it helps to thin out the possible thick chocolate, and does not interfere with the flavor. Adding the oil also leaves a nice sheen, and doesn't taste oily, unless you add too much, so be cautious in adding small amounts at a time till desired consistency. You don't want it super runny, but you don't want a thick goopy mess. You want enough to coat the pretzel, where you can't see the pretzel through the melted candy layer.

What I did, as my bowl wasn't deep, and the pretzel rods were a bit long, I spooned the melted candy over the pretzels, completely and evenly covered the stick, leaving about 1-2 inches at the base of the stick for the guests to hold onto free of melted candy/chocolate. Tap the stick gently on the edge of the bowl to shake off any access candy/chocolate to drip back into the bowl.

Then, before placing the sticks onto the parchment lined cookie sheets, I sprinkled the sticks with nonpareils, evenly covering the melted candy. Roll the stick in your finger tips, so evenly cover the stick. Once evenly coated with sprinkles, place onto the cookie sheet. The best part about the parchment paper, the sticks should not stick to the paper, and you might have a flat surface on one side, but when candy has hardened, sticks should easily separate from the paper with no pulling.

Repeat, and place the pretzel sticks next to each other, but leave a bit of room so each candy covered pretzel breathes, and hardens individually. To speed up the process of hardening candy, I placed the cookie sheet(s) into the fridge.

When I pulled the sheets out of the fridge, I pulled the pretzels up off the parchment, and if any melted candy had spread, like angel wings, it was easy to tap away any access hardened chocolate wings with my finger tips, which then revealed a perfect candy coated pretzel stick.

Last phase is to grab your pretzel favor bags, turn them upside down, take your candy coated pretzel stick and drop into bag, leaving exposed side up, at the opening of the bag. At this point, pinch the bag where the pretzel ends, and tie with favor tie. If you plan to attach ribbon, lightly tie the ties, as they help to bind the bag together, so that when you tie the ribbon over the ties, you can simply remove them once the bags are secure with your ribbon. I mention this, as this is great if you don't have extra hands. Tying the bags with favor ties can be done with ease, but tying ribbons can be difficult if tying without a support, so this little trick alleviates the fuss. I learned this by tying ribbon onto an bag without support, and found it quite frustrating. You know, you do this, holding bag with one hand, attempting to tie with the other, the bag slips through the trial, and ribbon is vastly uneven.

Et voila, you have your fancy candy coated pretzel sticks, and will be loved by your guests. As always, quality control, and you will see you will love these too! They are yummy and delectable, and will add a sweet and classy touch, your guests might not know these were done homemade, but maybe by a candy company!

As pictured above, I created these treats for the holidays, and they were a hit! As family can often be biased, when I added these to their gifts, they honestly had no idea I had created the candy coated sticks! Such a great and simple way to add a homemade touch to any event, be it for a bridal shower, wedding, birthday, any event! You can personalize to your color theme, with your name or date of event, any way you want!

Enjoy and happy planning!

Macaroons

2010-12-19T12:33:00.000-08:00

Easy recipe to follow for these Macaroons! There is something about baking macaroons that really envelopes a home in the warm coconut dough scent. I love Macaroons, and I love this recipe, found on Big Oven.

Ingredients

5 cups Coconut shredded

2/3 cup Flour

1 14-oz can Sweetened condensed milk

1 Egg white

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Preparation

Measure and mix coconut and flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in salt, then condensed milk, vanilla and egg white. Mix throughly. Drop 1/8 cup scoopfuls on to a cookie sheet. (I use my Pampered Chef scooper - works great!) Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet immediately and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Pretty simple, simple ingredients, amazing rewards! Add a bit of flair and drizzle melted dark chocolate over the cookies for that chocolate-coconut taste. The cookies could also be dipped in the dark chocolate to coat the bottoms for added sweetness. Just as they are is perfect as well!

Happy Holiday baking!

Chocolate Crinkles

2010-12-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

Chocolate Crinkles are my favorite of Christmas cookies. They are chocolaty, a little dense like a brownie, and are pretty to look at with the powdered sugar contrast on the dark chocolate cookie. Some recipes even call them "Tuxedo Cookies" because of that contrast.

I have my grandmother's recipe, but a few things I couldn't decipher, due to the old terminology she used, and she is no longer around to verify the info with. So, I searched high and low for other crinkle recipes, and found one on Joy of Baking, which had high reviews. Here is that recipe:

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons(56 grams) unsalted butter

8 ounces (225 grams)semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:

1 cup (110 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Directions:

In a stainless steel bowl, placed over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Remove from heat and set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs and sugar until thick, pale, and fluffy. (When you slowly raise the beaters the batter will fall back into the bowl in slow ribbons.) At this point beat in the vanilla extract and then stir in the melted chocolate mixture.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to shape into balls (3-4 hours or overnight).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the confectioners sugar in a shallow bowl. With lightly greased hands, roll a small amount of chilled dough to form a 1 inch (2.5 cm) ball. Place the ball of dough into the confectioners sugar and roll the ball in the sugar until it is completely coated and no chocolate shows through. Gently lift the sugar-covered ball, tapping off excess sugar, and place on prepared bakingsheet. Continue forming cookies, spacing about 2 inches (5 cm) apart on baking sheets. (If you find the dough getting too soft for rolling into balls, return to the refrigerator and let chill until firm.)

Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or just until the edges are slightly firm but the centers are still soft. (For moist chewy cookies do not over bake. Over baking these cookies will cause them to be dry.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

These cookies are best eaten the day they are baked.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

So, as there is a first time for everything, my first time baking the Chocolate Crinkles, I had a few came out just the right way, crackled on top. However some didn't turn out as perfect as I wished, but the most important was the taste, and it was right on point, and amazing! Tasted just like grandma's! I highly agree with letting batter chill overnight, and lightly getting your hands a little dirty with some butter, to roll the cookie dough into little balls. I used a small melon ball scooper to scoop out the dough.

Serve these with hot cocoa and you'll have loved ones coming back for more year after year! Perfect to leave some for Santa as well!

Happy holiday baking!

Sugar Cookies

2010-12-16T18:30:00.000-08:00

This recipe belongs to Alton Brown from the FoodNetwork. It is easy to follow, easy to make, and I am thrilled with the results. I will post his recipe here, and then follow up with decorating tips and ideas.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time. Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in airtight container for up to 1 week.

Everything mentioned here I followed exactly. The only thing I did different was sprinkling surface with flour instead of powdered sugar-this dough can be tough to work with, and I found a needed a bit of flour. If I had used the powdered sugar it would've been a waste of money, and I didn't taste a lack of flavor at all. Its up to you, what you wish to use to cover your work space.

In previous years I frosted with canned frosting or a powdered sugar glaze I made, and of course sprinkled with colored sugars, etc. This year I opted to dip my cookies into melted candy/chocolate wafers! I found Make'n Mold Candy Wafers at my nearby Hobby Lobby.

I chose to heat the wafers in a double boiler type process, meaning bring water to a boil in a pot, then let simmer, place a glass heat resistant bowl over pot, with wafers, and stir wafers with a whisk, the wafers will start to melt right away. I learned that adding vegetable oil a little at a time helps make melted candy less thick, and it does not affect the taste in any way!

I also purchased the dipping tools, which really helped, they don't cost much, and are great to have for dipping all sorts of goodies.

I dipped the sugar cookies into the melted candy/chocolate, some on the points of some cookies, some I completely immersed into the melted candy/chocolate. I set them onto a cookie sheet with wax paper and let this sit in the fridge to get the candy to harden.

I also sprinkled with colored sugars as soon as I dipped, so the sprinkles adhered to the melted candy. Also, I portioned out some of the white chocolate candy, and added food coloring, to either drizzle over the cookies with a fork, or to have it coat the cookie entirely.

Its fun to play with these little options! Also, I dipped pretzels into chocolate, which are yummy and were a hit!

Have fun and enjoy creating your Sugar Cookies!

Grandma's Kifli

2010-12-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

My family pronounces it Kee-Flee. My husband's family pronounces it Kiful. However you say it, they are yummy! The word is they are Hungarian, but predominately Eastern European.

This recipe belonged to my grandmother, whom passed in 2008. I've had difficulty getting the pastry just so. I want to share this, though, because if you are great at figuring out difficult dough recipes, maybe this is a challenge for you. Not quite difficult, yet the dough is dense and rather sticky to the point of you'll have a major mess on your hands, which is when I get frustrated and stop. I so wish now I had paid attention to my Grandmother when she made these. My grandfather jokes now how she used to get so mad when the dough wouldn't work, so I know I am not alone in my frustrations...

The treats are sweet and a bit savory, they look kind of like crescent rolls, but are far from them. The key to making them sweet is the filling, either apricot or cherry, which is what we are used to.

Ingredients:

1 LB. Crisco (actually calls for OLEO, which I learned is an old fashioned form of Crisco, and/or lard)
1 C. Sour Cream
4 C. Flour
1 Cake of Fresh Active Yeast
1/4 C. warm milk
3 Egg Yolks (Reserve egg whites for glaze)
1 Can of Solo Cake/Pastry Filling (Apricot, Cherry, etc)
Sugar is to be on hand.

Before I get into the directions, let's talk about cake yeast! I had no idea what this was, and it is NOT the active dry yeast, typical for bread making. This is what it looks like:

I found this, not easily, in the refrigerated egg/butter section at Albertson's. I had searched high and low at Safeway and Fry's before feeling like all hope was lost. Ask for Fresh Active Yeast, if you need to ask forassistance, and tell them it is refrigerated, its not with the other yeast, it is a living yeast and is so by being in the coolers!

Ok, now onto the directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.

2) Mix the cake of yeast with the warm milk now, yeast should dissolve nicely into the milk.

3) Mix Crisco and Flour as for pie crust-meaning if you know how to make pie crust, the end result of combining the Crisco and Flour should leave you with pea sized crumbles. Pretty much you are using your hands and kind of pinching the flour and Crisco together to make the crumbles.

4) In a separate bowl, mix together the egg yolks, sour cream, and yeast/milk mixture, lightly whisk this together to incorporate all ingredients. Fold the egg yolk mixture inot the flour mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula. Once you have a well mixed dough, cut dough in half, and wrap individually in plastic wrap.

5) Refrigerate overnight.

6) Roll out dough to 1/8" thickness, onto a hard surface coated with granulated sugar and flour to help keep dough from sticking, the sugar is what sweetens the bread. Make sure your rolling pin is covered in flour as well to help from further sticking.

7) Once dough is at 1/8" thickness, cut into 2" squares. This is really an eyeball thing, as they squares should be large enough to hold 1 tsp. of filling. Place filling in center of square, and then take one corner of square, and begin rolling towards diagonal corner. Shape the rolled dough into a crescent shape, and place onto a greased cookie sheet.

8) Once you've filled your tray with the Kiflis, brush with your reserved egg whites to lightly coat, this helps create the pretty sheen. Bake for 10-12 minutes and/or until they are golden. Once Kifli is out of the oven, sprinkle with granulated sugar.

I will attempt to create this yet again, and will post pics of completed and/or camera ready Kifli!

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles

2010-12-16T15:42:00.000-08:00

The one time of year these sweeties come out has got to be the best time of year, in my opinion, which is during the holiday season. I love Snickerdoodles, I love what having them bake in the oven does for the fragrance of the home, and they have a texture and sweetness that is light.

Many families have their own recipes, passed down generation after generation. I found this recipe, and do not take credit for it, but what is unique about it is not using "cream of tartar", which so many recipes have, including my own family's recipe! I made this recipe the other day, my first time ever, and I was over the moon with happiness how they turned out. Nobody in my family has made them since my grandmother's passing in 2008, and when I made these, I felt like they came from her, which is a wonderful feeling.

This recipe is really easy to follow, and I follow up with my different approach to it.

Here's the recipe and instructions:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 20 (1 3/4-inch) balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

My twists on this: I used a hand held mixer for the mixing, and I did not rotate the baking sheets, nor lined them with parchment paper. On average, each batch took about 13 minutes and were perfect! I used a small melon ball sized scooper to scoop the dough with, which helped make the cookies the perfect size every time. Also, after rolling each dough ball into the cinnamon sugar mixture I made sure they stayed in shape, so did a little Quality Control on every little cookie dough.

Once cookies were cooled, I packaged them up in medium sized cello treat bas, tied them with curling ribbon, and attached a tag stating what they were. Treats are everyone's Christmas gifts this year, and baking cookies from the heart is the best gift of all. It won't last a long time, but the traditions that we grow to love and cherish and sharing them with others, is a truly great gift.

Click here to see the Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-12-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe! Its on the packaging, its in many recipe boxes and books, and is timeless. So, you have the recipe, I do too, and I have been baking "my" chocolate cookies the way I do for the past years, and all I receive are compliments, and "what's your recipe or secret?" There is no secret, and the recipe isn't mine. But, I do a few things that are what make my cookies come out as great as they do. I am posting the recipe and directions first, and below I will walk through what I do.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, 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 and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

SLICE AND BAKE COOKIE VARIATION:

PREPARE dough as above. Divide in half; wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Shape each half into 15-inch log; wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.* Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

* May be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 week or in freezer for up to 8 weeks.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (5,200 feet): Increase flour to 2 1/2 cups. Add 2 teaspoons water with flour and reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookie for 17 to 19 minutes.

So, that is the recipe and directions. Pretty easy and familiar. Most important item I use is to make sure the butter is unsalted butter. I prefer Land O Lakes Unsalted Butter, or simply Fresh and Easy's unsalted butter. This makes a HUGE difference, because, butter is salty to begin with, and the recipe calls for salt, only 1 tsp, but if you use regular butter which has a lot of salt, adding more salt makes a salty batch of cookies-not a great surprise to the taste buds.

I also prefer to use C and H's Bakers Sugar. It is ultra fine, professionals use it for their baking needs, and I am a fan.

Next, the thing I do is use a hand held mixer to beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. I used to just beat the batter mixture with my own elbow and wrist power, with a wooden spoon or spatula, but the consistency of the creamy batter is far better using this little tool. I use the lowest setting, to start, making sure the melted butter, sugar, and the brown sugar are all blended, and no brown sugar lumps, but a few might exist.

Once the eggs are then added to the batter, usually the brown sugar lumps will begin to dissolve, and then I hit the level 3 or 4 to really make sure there are no air bubbles, and I let this continue for about a minute, then wind it down to the lowest setting.

When it comes to adding the flour mixture, I add in a cup of flour, or so, at a time, keeping the speed on the lowest setting. As the flour is thickening the batter, the higher the speed will not help, and can wear down the motor. Keeping it on the lowest setting will keep it consistent. Once all the flour is added, mixer is turned off, and you have a really thick cookie dough, that is when I add in the chocolate morsels and nuts, and I fold them in with a spatula. The mixer could chop the morsels and nuts, which again isn't good.

Then, I put the batter into the fridge. Almost like letting bread dough rise, cookie dough needs to set to get that "perfect" cookie texture! I know this from experience. If I put cookies into the oven straight after I have made the dough, the first batch or two will come out with really large cookies that have spread into one another, and it seems a waste-yummy still, but if I'm making cookies to give as gifts or to sell, I'd rather all cookies be same shape, size, thickness. After I let the dough sit in the fridge for about 20 mins, I will then use a small "melon ball" sized scoop to scoop out the cookie dough. And, when I scoop, I scoop up the dough, and pull it against the bowl to get any excess off the edges, release the dough ball and place it on the cookie sheet.

Another tip, if you have a well used cookie sheet that has darkened from use, I actually use non-stick aluminum on top of the cookie sheet. The oven light reflects off this, which will help with the golden light color of the cookie. If you are using a well used cookie sheet, there isn't much light to reflect off the oven light and won't create an overall golden hued cookie, but rather a darker, almost burnt color.

One more piece of advice...the recipe calls for 9-11 minutes in the oven. I tend to pull them out at 9, and if too pail put them back in for 1 more minute to get a little more golden, but to not darken. The cookies will continue cooking when out of the oven, and the coloring will stay the same light golden coloring.

And there you have it! That is the recipe I use, and my tips and tricks to get them looking like "almost" perfect, store bought cookies! In my opinion, anyways, but many whom greet the cookies as well!

Crab Cake Benedict

2010-12-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this recipe, and just had to share it. I am an Eggs Benedict lover, and I love crab cakes! With the holidays here, and guests/friends in town, this makes me want to host a brunch, just to serve this, along with mimosas-maybe a New Year's Day brunch idea? Hmmm...

This comes from the Chesapeake Bay Company.

Crab Cake Benedict

Crab cakes for breakfast or brunch? Yes! We invented this delicious pairing of eggs Benedict with crab cakes and it's an elegant dish that's perfect for entertaining or just for a lazy weekend morning. You'll find the tropical fruit salsa is a delightful accent to the crab cakes.

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 4-ounce crab cakes
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 eggs
2 English muffins
1 tablespoon capers

Place a small, heatproof bowl over a pot of steaming water. Add the egg yolks, lemon juice and salt. Using a wire whisk, beat the butter, a tablespoon at a time, into the yolk mixture. You might need to remove the bowl from the steam from time to time. When all the butter is incorporated, remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the crab cakes on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes.

Bring a small, nonstick pot of water to a simmer. Add the white vinegar and gently drop the eggs in the water. Do not allow the water to boil or the eggs will fall apart. Cook until the whites are opaque but the yolks are not.

While the eggs are poaching, toast the English muffins and then place them on the serving plates. Lift the cooked eggs out of the water with a slotted spoon. Allow all of the water to drain off before placing on the English muffins. Spoon some of the hollandaise sauce over the eggs and garnish with the capers.

Serve 1 egg Benedict along with 1 crab cake placed on the other half of the English muffin.

I don't know about you, but I am a lover of Tabasco being splashed on top of the Hollandaise sauce, it ads a tinge of heat, but I love the almost vinegary tinge, it rounds out the flavors and brings a little heated depth to the dish!

Bon appetit!

Recipes to come!

2010-11-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have taken a breather on uploading recipes, but be rest assured, recipes and ideas are coming, just in time for the holidays!

Be on the look out for some dessert recipes, fun party appetizers that are easy to put together, as well as some elegant Christmas Eve menu ideas.

Happy Holidays!

Quinoa...what the what?

2010-10-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

Quinoa is the best discovery I have made in months! Do you even know what it is?

First of all, it is pronounced "keen wa".

Secondly, it is considered a "super food". What is a super food, one that touts such high components in its beneficial attributes to us humans. It is high in protein, high in fiber, low in carbs, low in sugars! How can you go wrong?

Thinking of having rice with your entree? Substitue quinoa, you'll benefit by its capacity in absorbing the flavors you put into it, and then some. I've had this as a side, as well as an added to make a meal stretch, as I might have done with rice to make a meal grow to expand, enabling me to have more leftovers.

The best thing to do is to cook it in a broth, rather than water. This way, just as I would do with rice, it absorbs every ounce of flavor and seasonings. Just like with whole wheat pasta, you have to flavor it! Then, add it to what your main proteins are, whether a side or a mix-in, and it stands out! It adds texture, flavor, feeling, and I'm glad I gave it a try.

I am always searching for an alternative to mashed potatoes and rice to soak up the yummy juices of the meals I make and serve, and Quinoa never lets me down, leaves me satisfied, and pleased I cut carbs/sugars/calories, etc.

Take my advise, remember to flavor the water, and I hope you enjoy this wierd sounding grain, that really is a protein.

Braised Lamb Shanks & Asparagus Risotto

2010-03-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

This is my husband's recipe, and I wanted to share this amazing dish! So delicious! My risotto was served on the side, a great addition to the lamb.

Ingredients:
2 lamb shanks, 1 lb. a piece, trimmed of fat
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 Bordeaux red wine
1/2 Quart chicken stock
1/2 Quart beef stock
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
4 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1 fresh rosemary sprig
2 bay leaves

Appliances:
Le Creuset Dutch Oven-Large

Directions:
1. Put dutch oven on med-high heat burner. Add in 2 Tbsp. olive oil, let dutch oven come to temperature. Once at desired heat, heat 1 shank at a time, 3-5 minutes on each side, browning to a golen brown, then remove off heat onto heat safe plate.
2. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. to dutch oven, add in chopped onions, salt and pepper, letting them carmelize, 5-7 minutes, till translucent, but a bit browned from lamb remnants.
3. Next add in garlic, allowing garlic to carmelize with onions, 2-3 minutes.
4. Deglaze dutch oven with wine, stir everything with wooden spoon, scraping up lamb bits on the bottom of the pan to incorporate into liquid.
5. Add beef and chicken stocks, tomatoe paste, stirring all to incorporate paste and broth with wine, onion and garlic bath.
6. Add in rosemary, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
7. Bring pot to a boil, add in the lamb, if liquid does not cover the lamb, add more broth/wine/water to bring above lamb shank level, not expsoing the meat.
8. Cover, let simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours.
9. Remove cover, cook uncovered for additional 1/2 hour at same temperature to reduce liquid to fall below the shanks. Be sure to taste for proper seasoning level, et voila! You have your braised lamb shanks!

Plate the lamb shanks onto a plate, use broth bath in dutch oven to pour over the lamb as a gravy. If you wish for a thicker gravy, you might need to raise temp of broth to boil, then reduce again, this should help thicken naturally, without adding flour or thickeners, but if desired, I don't see that hurting anything.

Click on the link to see my risotto recipe.

Bon appetit!

Risotto

2010-03-28T21:49:00.000-07:00

Here's my easy-ish recipe for risotto. This is a recipe you don't let sit and cook while leaving the kitchen, you need to be stirring constantly to get the best risotto results.

Ingredients:
3 to 4 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Directions:
1.In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer and keep warm over low heat.
2.In a separate medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until it is well coated with the butter but not browning, you're only toasting at this point, about 2 minutes. Next, add the wine and simmer gently until all the liquid is absorbed into the rice, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.Ladle 1/2 cup of the warm broth into the rice mixture and simmer, stirring occasionaly, until the broth is absorbed. Repeat, adding 1/2 cup of broth at a time, until the rice is cooked through but still firm, 20 to 25 minutes total, consistancy should be creamy, not flakey and broken. A normal ladle is about a 1/2 cup, by the way.
4.Add the remaining butter and the salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Stir to incorporate. Adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, topping with additional Parmesan.

And there you have it! If you want to add specific ingredients, such as peas, asparagus, mushrooms, add them between step 3 and 4. Frozen peas, sauteed asparagus cut into the size of peas, dried mushrooms reconstituted and chopped, lobster, many options remain. Most important, have the risotto made to your desired liking, then add the additional ingredients to make your unique risotto and wow your guests!

Bon appetit!

Hot Artichoke & Crab Dip

2010-03-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have been making this dip for years, everyone loves it! Usually rears its pretty head over the holidays, or any gathering. Alternative recipe below for other ideas.

Ingredients:
1 8 oz. tub chive & onion cream cheese, at room temp for 10 mins
1/2 cup. dijon mustard
1/2 cup. mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 pkg. imitation crab meat, chopped
3/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Appliances:
Food chopper!
Pyrex baking dish

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2, Having a food chopper will make this a sinch. Chop the artichokes and crabmeat to finely chopped pieces.
3. Combine all ingredients into mixing bowl, making sure you have a well balanced dip.
4. Pour mixture into pyrex baking dish, and bake for 25-30 mins. Watch closely at 25 minute mark, should become light golden, and you will smell the delicious aroma of the crabmeat and lemon! Pull out when done, set aside for 10-15 minutes before serving, will be really hot!

**Note: Original recipe does call for 1 cup mayo, to cut calories down, and add flavor, I created 1/2 c. mayo with 1/2 c. dijon mustard. Also, I've used low calorie cream cheese.

**I used mayo made with olive oil, I don't use low calorie/fat free mayo, nasty, especially for baking in a dip and having a crowd enjoy, somethings you can cut corners, mayo, in my opinion, you shouldn't, but tweak with mustard to cut the fat.

Alternative Dip:
Replace chive cream cheese with regular cream cheese, 1 cup of mayonnaise instead 1/2 c. mayo and 1/2 c. dijon mustard, jalepenos instead of crab, monteray jack cheese instead of parmesan, and you can have a hot artichoke & jalepeno dip, great for fiesta parties!

Bon appetit!

Homemade Hummus Recipe

2010-03-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

I love hummus! I've been a fan for over 10 years now, and have finally become comfortable to make it! Before trying to make this, you should know what you expect of your preferences, as there are many many ways to make this amazing dip. Below is a basic recipe, you can use many ingredients to change the "theme" of your hummus. You've seen them at the grocery store: three pepper; red pepper; roasted garlic, artichoke, jalepeno, etc. Once you've made your hummus, you can get creative for future hummus try outs!

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans/chick peas, drained & rinsed.
1 lemon
1/4 c. tahini (Fresh & Easy, Trader Joe's, Wholefoods, etc)
1/3 c. water
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbps. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2-1 tsp. red pepper flakes (depends on your spice level)
S & P to taste

Directions:
1. Take your lemon, and squeeze out the juice into a measuring cup, you shoudl get about 1/2 cup or more.

2. Into a blender, add in 1/2 of the lemon juice, tahini, water, garlic & spices. Blend on high, 5 seconds.

3. Next, add in the barbanzo beans, and put blender on puree, pulsing as you go. If not blending well, take a spatula and scrape the sides and take a few turns stirring everything, cover and blend again and scrape sides down again if needed. Add in olive oil and remainder of lemon juice and blend, should be really creamy. If too thick, you might need to add some water, a little at a time, you don't want runny hummus, but a nice smooth dip. Taste for seasonings, you might find yourself needing more salt & pepper, and maybe red pepper flakes to increase heat, if desired.

That's it! Wow your guests this homemade hummus recipe! Serve with pita, veggies, crackers, whatever you enjoy dipping into the hummus.

Bon appetit!

Spiced Cottage Cheese

2010-03-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is the only way I enjoy cottage cheese. I first had it this way at a Scottsdale food joint, and I fell in love with it this way only. At the moment, there is no other way for me to enjoy it. Especially when paired with fruit, yuck!

This makes for a great low-carb side dish, paired with grilled chicken or fish, however you wish to enjoy, and I hope you do. Perfect for summer time, or anytime.

Ingredients:
1 24 oz. container of Cottage Cheese
1 4 oz. can of diced jalepenos
2 large radishes, diced
S & P

Directions:
1. This is easy to whip up, pour cottage cheese into mixing bowl, add in jalepenos, diced radishes, S & P. Stir to evenly distribute the jalepenos and radishes, then taste test to make sure seasonings balanced, you might need to add a bit more S & P. That's it!

Bon appetit!

Creamy Italian Roasted Vegetable Soup

2010-03-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

With a lot of extra veggies in the fridge that needed to be used, I pulled together this savory soup.

Ingredients:
2 med-large zucchinis, sliced into medallions and quartered
2 C. grape tomatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
9 small mozzarella medalions (Fresh & Easy carries these)
6 cloves garlic
3 Tbps. olive oil
2 C. chicken broth (vegetable broth); reserve 1/2 C.
1/2 C. half n' half cream
1/2 C. V8 Juice-Spicy Hot
1/2 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning (basil, oregano, sage)
1 tsp. red pepper flackes
S & P to taste
Non-stick spray

Appliances:
13 x 9 baking dish
Large sauce pan
Large mixing bowl
immersion blender

Roasting Vegetable Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray non-stick spray to evenly coat baking dish.
3. Layer the veggies in the baking dish, place garlic cloves evenly throughout dish, evenly pour olive oil over veggies, sprinkle italian seasoning, S & P, stir everything with wooden spoon to incorporate olive oil and seasonings.
4. Place baking dish into center of the oven, let bake for 20 mins.
5. At 20 mins, pull baking dish out, pour in 1 1/2 C. broth, stir ingredients together, place dish back into oven for 30 more mins.
6. Five minutes before completion of roasting, in rows of three, place mozzarella medallions into dish, one row in the center, one 2 inch to the left, and one 2 inch to the right. Place dish back into oven, then remove, let sit 10 minutes. Stir ingredients together to blend the now melted cheese.

Soup Instructions:
1. Ladel roasted veggies into the mixing below, removing the garlic cloves-this is key! Unless you want that much garlic that will be pureed into your soup, they are in the roasting process to give flavor boost.
2. Pour liquid after veggies removed from backing dish into mixing bowl.
3. Be sure to wear an apron, and long sleeves, as when you begin blending, you might get some hot splatters on your arms/body, and its best to blend while still hot! Put immersion blender on low, and blend away. What you'll have is a puree that smells fantastic, and will be orangish, due to cheese lightening up the mixture.
4. Once you have pureed to your likeness, pour mixture into soup pan, add remaining 1/2 C. broth, V8 juice, and cream, stir, place pan on med-high heat, bring to a boil, then turn down to the lowest heat setting. At this point add in red pepper flakes, and while you're at it go ahead and add S & P, you'll need it. Taste along the way, being cautious as pureed soups retain heat for a while, so don't do what I did and burn your mouth! Ouch! Once it tastes the way you like it, serve and you're ready to dine!

**Note-if you're wondering why the V8 juice, I felt the puree needed a tomatoe kick, and I have V8 Spicy Hot on hand, and it helped boost the flavor. Tomato paste or a little tomato sauce would work just as well. I also liked the extra heat the V8 spicy hot gave the soup.

Bon appetit!

Creamy Chicken Dijon Soup

2010-03-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

I morphed leftover chicken dijon I made for dinner last night, into a soup! This time I opted out the mushrooms, and added in cauliflower, which I morphed leftover cauliflower into cauliflower puree. Having the leftover dinner made the steps for this "souper" easy!

Ingredients:
Leftover chicken dijon dinner
1 1/2 - 2 C. chicken broth
1/2 C. half n' half
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (optional)
S & P to taste

Appliances:
Immersion blender
Sauce pan
Large mixing bowl

Directions:
1. Medium to large sauce pan depending upon amount of leftovers. For me it was a large sauce pan. Add in leftovers, broth and mustard, stir everything to incorporate broth and dijon. Heat on medium-migh heat, until boiling, then reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins. Add in half n' half 10 minutes before removing off heat, stir pot to evenly distribute cream.

2. Pour contents of sauce pan into mixing bowl, and blend away with immersion blender, until everything is evenly blended and creamy. Once at your desired consistancy, be sure to taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add soup back to sauce pan, on low heat for 10 minutes, remove off heat, and serve!

2 steps! Basic idea for sharing this is to let you know how easy an immersion blender is, and clean up is very easy! I've seen people puree their soups in an actual blender, that makes for more clean up. Once you get the idea of how to easily make creamy soups, ideas will come flooding. You cannot go wrong with chicken broth, veggies, cream and seasonings!

Bon appetit!

Cauliflower puree

2010-03-07T12:33:00.000-08:00

I was left with too much cauliflower, which I used in my dijon chicken recipe, so I made a puree with it, and it turned out fantastic! Great alternative to pureed potatoes, and healthy too!

Cauliflower Puree

Ingredients:
2 C. cauliflower florettes
2 C. chicken broth (vegetable broth)
3 Tbsp. white truffle oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped coarsely
S & P to taste
Optional spices to add: 1/2 tsp of ground nutmet, 1 tsp of parsley

Appliances:
Immersion Blender
12 x 6 baking dish (or whatever you use for lasagna)
Large mixing bowl.

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven 400 degrees. Into baking dish, add cauliflower, onion, drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, toss everything to get evenly coated. Place into oven, 20 mins.

2. After 20 mins, pull baking dish out, add broth, stir everything again, put back into oven for another 20 mins.

3. When 20 mins are up, pull baking dish out, set onto trivet and let cool 5 mins. Pull out your immersion blender and mixing bowl. With a ladel, scoop out the cauliflower florets and place into mixing bowl, when all cauliflower is out of dish, carefully poor juices and onions into mixing bowl.

4. On the low setting (to avoid splatter), turn on your immersion blender. If cauliflower is too big, stop the blender, and in the bowl take a fork and sharp knife and cut the pieces, if needed. Then try the immersion blender again. Once everyhing is a beautiful puree, season with salt and pepper, then taste. Oh its glorious! I added dried parsley and a dash of nutmeg, even better!

Pair this with fish, chicken, or pour into sauce pan, add more broth and some half n' half, and you can have a creamy cauliflower soup!

Bon appetit!

Raspberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

2010-02-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

This dish really awakens the taste buds. I made this for Christmas Eve, as it makes a lovely holiday dinner, but a few tweaks can make it enjoyable all year long. My husband loves this dish, and requested this be for our 1st married Christmas Eve dinner, which I was delighted to make, and more so delighted by his enjoyment!

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken breasts
2 shallots or 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/3 c. seedless raspberry preserve/jam
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper-reserved for glaze
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet on med-high heat, a tad to the med side-you want the skillet hot, but not too hot as you have oil heating, and chicken might sizzle and splatter. Add in your shallots or red onion, sauteeing them till translucent, about 4-5 minutes, you don't want them to crisp up and turn brown, so attention here is key. Once translucent, remove from pan and set aside in a bowl.

2. Keep pan on same heat, add in a touch of oil if needed. Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towel, rub on salt, pepper and thyme, a generous amount of salt and pepper might be needed, if more than the recommended thyme is needed, add a bit more as well. Hover hand over skillet to test heat, if you feel good warmth, throw the chicken breasts on. Begin browning chicken, about 5-6 minutes on each side. If you wish to cover pan with lid, this helps in lessening the splatters, and helps chicken to keep juices inside. Turn chicken over, using tongs works best for me to keep arm at a distance from sizzling pan, using a fork works well, but be careful.

3. While chicken is browning, get your portions of vinegar and raspberry preserve ready, and the reserved pepper. Once chicken breasts are golden brown, and making sure white on the inside, NO PINK!, remove chicken, place onto a plate and cover with another plate, and wrap this with a towel, to ensure no heat escapes, keeping the chicken moist.

4. This next step goes by pretty quick. Turn the heat on the skillet down to low-medium heat. Add back in your chopped shallots or red onion, reintroduce them to the pan, getting them warm again. Add in the raspberry preserve, balsamic vinegar and pepper. The heat of pan will melt the preserve. You are creating the glaze now, so you might use a spatula. Stir the glaze for about 1-2 mins. Now you can uncover your chicken, plate them, and pour the glaze over the breasts, et voila!

How to tweak this? Instead of raspberry preserve, try apricot preserves, and instead of balsamic, use white balsamic, this would be lovely on a spring or summer night!

What to serve on the side? Although I didn't mention what another burner was doing, I bought Safeway Select 4 cheese risotto, and it is fabulous-I do this because so much going on, but I do make risotto, and will post that another day. Buying boxed 4 cheese risotto relieves you of stress of constantly stirring and adding in liquids. I also added in frozen baby peas to add a splash of color (keeping with a holiday appearance), and added a sprinkle more of parmesan I happened to have on hand. I've also served this dish with garlic mashed potatoes. Broccoli or asparagus on the side gives the vegetable component, as well paired with a baby spinach salad with balsamic dijon vinaigrette. You be the chef and decide what you want to serve.

Bon appetit!

Asian Style Pulled Pork

2010-02-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

Yum!! This dish is amazing, and pairs beautifully with the Asian Style "Fried Rice" recipe below. I love morphing things from one dish to another, and this dish was born when my huasband and I were sent home after my parents' 4th of July bar-b-que with unsauced bar-b-qued boneless pork ribs. This dish also made a lot, enough to freeze and have as a whole meal again, so quantities will vary. Hopefully idea is understood.

Ingredients:

Pork tenderloin/pork boneless ribs

2 cups broccoli florets (if you desire more that is fine, they sop up the juices really well)

Halibut a la sauce beurre blanc & pureed garlic young potatoes.

2010-02-07T21:00:00.000-08:00

Bit of a warning note, this is not friendly on the waist, hips, scale, but every now and then it is ok to indulge into deliciousness, which is better when it comes from your own soul and kitchen, rather than a pricey restaurant.

Now that I've given the warning, I'll go into this dish. Again, it is a crock pot creation. I was inspired by this dish, and still loving our new crock pot, and how it doesn't make the kitchen hot, I dove into this recipe. The smells wafting in our kitchen, and traveling up to the 3rd floor were divine! How can one go wrong with butter, wine, and fish? This recipe is not entirely complicated, letting the crock pot do the slaving while you laze around or do other things in your home, but there are some details, like in creating the sauce, but once you do this, its easy to go back to for other uses.

Iced Holiday Sugar Cookies

2010-01-08T11:38:00.000-08:00

This year, I went SUPER EASY with the sugar cookies, and focused on the icing. I picked up Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix in a bag, I'm sure you saw them everywhere, and probably picked one up yourself! Directions are easy to follow. I made the dough one night, then formed it into a ball, and wrapped it in plastic wrap, flattened it to form a square shape, and put it in the fridge to access later. When I did this, I was so happy, as it got firm, and easy to roll out after a few minutes at room temperature.

I got lucky and had been to Michael's, where a 20 pack of cookies cutters was on clearance shelf for $4, I didn't have a single cookie cutter, and gobbled the deal up!

Once I formed and baked the cookies (for me I didn't sprinkle with sugar or anything), I let them cool, and created a variety of colored icing. Here are the ingredients to the icing:

2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk

That is it! You'll get a glossy icing. As the icing will be smooth and runny-ish, if adding color, seriously, a little goes a LONG way! Over coloring might give your icing a new texture, as well as unwanted color. I had fun with the colors.

Here is a pic of the cookies I decorated. I did use store bought in a can (say it isn't so!!) frosting, it looked fun, and wanted to do creative things. As a frosting it worked well, getting the decorating tips to work, for me, was a challenge, and I was getting tired at the end of the day, so I quickly wrapped up the decorating, since it was just me.

I look forward to making the sugar cookies from scratch next year and further perfecting my decorating techniques.

Caramel Apple Pie

2009-11-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yum!!! This is an easy to follow recipe and will reep great rewards!

Ingredients:

2 Pie Crusts-refridgerated pie crust dough makes it easy, if you make your own, way to go!!

Apple Filling:
6 granny smith apples-peeled, cored and chopped 1/4" thick
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup cream, room temp
1/4 cup butter, room temp

Appliances:
Dutch Oven-for apples
Large scale sauce pan-deep and wide
Pie Dish

Directions:
Apple Filling:
1) Put dutch oven over med-high heat. Once warmed throughout, add in cut apples, stirring for about 1 minute, make sure not to burn, but to warm the apples, you'll begin to smell them-delicous! Add in butter, incorporate all apples with butter, sauteing, lower heat. Continue stirring, apples to become soft. After 3-4 minutes, add in dry ingredients, and if needed a bit more butter-it never hurts! Bring pot back to med-high heat until sauce is near bubbling, then reduce heat to low, cover, stir occasionally, should not be near burning temp.

Carmel:

*Special Note*-Proced with caution, always, when working with any candied topping. Make sure no babies or puppies nearby.

1) Pour sugar into pan, swirling around to evenly distribute. Heat on medium until sugar melts and caramelizes. Sugar will turn a reddish-brown color when ready. Do not stir or disturb. If sugar needs to be redistributed, gently swirl pan.

2) Stir butter and cream, being careful to avoid splashes-I added cream first, with pan off heat, will sizzle. Caramel will be extremely hot! Then add butter, off heat still to avoid major splashing onto yourself and onto stovetop. Continue stirring until butter and cream are fully incorporated.

3) Let simmer on medium heat for one minute. Remove from heat.

Prepare pie crust dough:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Dough should be at room temperature. Add first pie crust to bottom of pie dish, pressing into dish and against sides. Make three long slits into other pie crust, this is your vent for the top. Set aside.

Adding pie filling and caramel sauce to pie crust dough.
1) Take applie filling off of heat, uncover, and stir one last time.

2) Pour/ladle half of apple filling into pie dish. Pour caramel evenly over the apple filling, then add the remaining applie filling mixture.

3) Cover with remaining pie crust, folding top into dish to create a seal with the other crust. I'm not creative with crimping yet, but both crusts should meet, no curst hanging over edge of dish. Push dough against pie dish, then taking a fork, press fork into dough, all along the edge of dish. If this doesn't make sense, look up crimping pie dough on youtube to get demonstration. Once you have done this, you have it down pat!

4) Place pie dish in center of oven rack, bake 30-40 minutes, pie should be golden, filing bubbling. Set on pie rack for 2-3 hours, cover with lose dish towel.

5) Servie it up! If you want it warmed, place back in oven on warm setting.

If you wish to omit caramel, then omit the caramel recipe, everything else should follow suit.

Bon appetit!!

	5 cups Coconut shredded
	2/3 cup Flour
	1 14-oz can Sweetened condensed milk
	1 Egg white
	1/4 teaspoon Salt
	1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Kristen's Kitchen Klassiks

Gluten Free Slow Cooker Pancake Cake

Spicy Citrus Shrimp Linguinie

"Sweet" DIY Favor/Gift Idea

Macaroons

Ingredients 5 cups Coconut shredded 2/3 cup Flour 1 14-oz can Sweetened condensed milk 1 Egg white 1/4 teaspoon Salt 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract Preparation

Chocolate Crinkles

Sugar Cookies

Grandma's Kifli

Snickerdoodles

Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Crab Cake Benedict

Crab Cake Benedict

Ingredients

Recipes to come!

Quinoa...what the what?

Braised Lamb Shanks & Asparagus Risotto

Risotto

Hot Artichoke & Crab Dip

Homemade Hummus Recipe

Spiced Cottage Cheese

Creamy Italian Roasted Vegetable Soup

Creamy Chicken Dijon Soup

Cauliflower puree

Raspberry Balsamic Glazed Chicken

Asian Style Pulled Pork

Halibut a la sauce beurre blanc & pureed garlic young potatoes.

Iced Holiday Sugar Cookies

Caramel Apple Pie

Ingredients

5 cups Coconut shredded

2/3 cup Flour

1 14-oz can Sweetened condensed milk

1 Egg white

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Preparation