Killing Time with Us

TGIF - I Need A Drink - Kamikaze

2013-02-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

1 oz. Tripe Sec1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 wedge Lime

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge and a stir stick.

Song of the Week: Stay by Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko

2013-02-14T10:33:00.000-05:00

Peach Cobbler

2013-02-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon,

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

Book Tuesday: Where are the Children by Mary Higgins Clark

2013-02-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Nancy Harmon had fled the heartbreak of her first marriage, the macabre deaths of her two little children, the hostile front-page newspaper stories and the shocking charges against her. She changed her name, dyed her red hair sable brown, and left California for the wind-swept peace of Cape Cod. Now she was married again, had two more beautiful children, and the terrible pain had begun to heal...until the morning when she looked in the back yard for her little boy and girl, found only one red mitten, and knew that the nightmare was beginning again.

Mary Higgins Clark takes us on a suspenseful ride where thing don't seem what it appears and maternal feelings are confused with realities.

Cannelloni Sausage Recipe for Moday Dinner

2013-02-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

it's my own invention, but i found this recipe to be so good and healthy. Here is the recipe and hope you like it. Please leave comments, I'll welcome them.

box of Cannelloni
1 cup of fresh baby spinach
Sweet Italian Pork Sausages, boiled and diced
1/2 cup of mushroom, canned or fresh (i like fresh)
1/2 cup of Ricotta Cheese
Salt
Black Pepper
Ragu, half of a jar
1 cup of Mozzarella Cheese
2 cups of Bechamel sauce( I got this recipe from foodnetwork.com by Mario Batali)

Boil cannelloni as direction indicates in the box
Heat up a bit of oil in a pan.
Add diced sausage and brown.
Mix in mushrooms, stir to cook until mushrooms are soft.
Transfer this to a mixing bowl and leave to cool for few minutes.
Mix in spinach, ricotta.
Season with salt and pepper.
Carefully stuff this mixture into cannelloni.
Place a layer of stuffed cannelloni onto a lightly greased baking dish.
Pour pasta sauce on cannelloni and then add the Bechamel sauce
Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and breadcrumbs.
Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes

TGIF- I Need a Drink - Moscato and Strawberry

2013-02-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is my own invention. It was so good that bears to be repeated. Here is the recipe and remember to put the strawberry in the fringe for about 4 hours before making the actual drink.

1 bottle of moscato
1 1/2 cups of frozen strawberry
1 cup of ice cube
3/4 cup of Triple sec

Mixed everything in a blender and serve.

Song of the Week: Ho Hey by The Lumineers

2013-02-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

Mushroom Tarlets- Great Appetizer

2013-02-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

4 ounces light cream cheese
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1. Place cream cheese and 2 tablespoons butter in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to Speed 4 and beat about 1 minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Add 3/4 cup flour. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute, or until well blended. Form mixture into ball. Wrap in waxed paper and chill 1 hour. Clean mixer bowl and beater.
2. Divide chilled dough into 24 pieces. Press each piece into miniature muffin cup (greased, if desired).
3. Meanwhile, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Cook and stir until tender. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
4. Place egg, remaining 1 tablespoon flour, and thyme in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to Speed 6 and beat about 30 seconds. Stir in cheese and cooled mushroom mixture. Spoon into pastry-lined muffin cups. Bake at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes, or until egg mixture is puffed and golden brown. Serve warm.

Book Tuesday: Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan

2013-02-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

In this novel by Amy Tan, there are twelve American tourists in an art expedition that start in the Himalayan foothills of China and heads south into the jungles of Burma. But when their guide died mysteriously, their plans fall apart and the group falls into disharmony. The twelve American tourist quickly realize that the Burma Road is paved with less than honorable intentions. Then on Christmas morning eleven of the travelers boat across a misty lake for a sunrise cruise and disappear.

Taking from the current political reality in Burma and woven with pure confabulation, Saving Fish from Drowning presents a question: How do we discern what is real and what is fiction in everything we see? How do we know what to believe?

With her unique brand of writing Amy Tan presents a provocative and mesmerizing about the mind and the heart of the individual, the action we choose, and the moral questions we might have of ourselves. It is a journey of self -exploration when we are face with unreachable happiness.

Chicken Parmesan - Tyler Florence

2013-02-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

1/4 cup olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
1 medium onion, chopped
2 gloves of garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup black olives, pitted
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
Pinch sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless, boneless, chicken breast (about 11/2 pounds)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1 cup of mozzarella
1/4 cup of Parmesan

Coat a saute pan with olive oil and place over medium heat. When the oil gets hazy, add the onions, garlic, and bay leaves; cook and stir for 5 minutes until fragrant and soft. Add the olives and some hand-torn basil. Carefully add the tomatoes (nothing splashes like tomatoes), cook and stir until the liquid is cooked down and the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes; season with sugar, salt and pepper. Lower the heat, cover, and keep warm.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Get the ingredients together for the chicken so you have a little assembly line. Put the chicken breasts side by side on a cutting board and lay a piece of plastic wrap over them. Pound the chicken breasts with a flat meat mallet, until they are about 1/2-inch thick. Put the flour in a shallow platter and season with a fair amount of salt and pepper; mix with a fork to distribute evenly. In a wide bowl, combine the eggs and water, beat until frothy. Put the bread crumbs on a plate, season with salt and pepper.
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high flame in a large oven-proof skillet. Lightly dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the seasoned flour, and then dip them in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off, then dredge in the bread crumbs. When the oil is nice and hot, add the cutlets and fry for 4 minutes on each side until golden and crusty, turning once.
Ladle the tomato-olive sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and basil. Bake the Chicken Parmesan for 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.

TGIF - I Need A Drink - Amaretto Sour

2013-02-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

4.5 oz Amaretto almond liqueur
4.5 splashes sweet and sour mix

our the amaretto liqueur into a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Add a splash or two of sweet and sour mix, and shake well. Strain or pour into an old-fashioned glass, garnish with a maraschino cherry and a slice of orange, and serve.

Song of the Week: Cursed Me Good by The Heavy

2013-01-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

Tres Leches Cake

2013-01-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is a very sought-after dessert in Latin American. I like it, but it's not something that I do it a lot. However and surprisingly I did this recipe and I enjoy doing it. Hope you like it.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; mix in eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; add gradually to butter mixture, stirring to blend. Pour batter into prepared dish, and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Pierce cake with a fork all over.
3. Combine the 3 milks, and pour on top of cake; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.
4. Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and remaining vanilla at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until thick; spread over cake, and serve.

Book Tuesday: In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner

2013-01-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

Rose Feller is a thirty years old, high power attorney who loves romances novels. She is always starting her exercise routine next week and she has a dream of finding a man that would tell her she is beautiful. She also has a little sister whose life is so screwed up that Rose feels obligated to her.

Maggie is twenty eight years old, she is beautiful and doesn't have a steady job. She sings backup in a band called Whiskered Biscuit and she dreams of being famous. Maggie also dreams of getting her big sister to stick to a skin care regime.

These two very different women who share a childhood tragedy, DNA, and the same size feet are about to enter into a journey where they discover, how different their family is and that they have more in common than they'd ever believe. Jennifer Weiner takes us in a journey where Rose and Maggie explore their past, their present and their future.

Roasted Broccoli Soup

2013-01-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is a recipe that I found in Food and Wine, I did it because it's simple and the ingredients are things we always carry in out fringe and pantry. I love it and hopefully you like as well.

5 unpeeled garlic cloves
2 pounds broccoli—cut into 1-inch florets, stems reserved for another use
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 ounces cream cheese
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400°. Wrap the garlic in a foil packet and roast for 50 minutes, until softened. Meanwhile, in a small roasting pan, toss the broccoli with the olive oil and butter and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until tender.
Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a blender. Add the roasted broccoli, cream cheese and broth and puree until smooth. Transfer the soup to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper and serve with croutons.

Song of the Week: Learn Me Right by Birdy and Mumford & Sons (Brave Soundtrack)

2013-01-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Cake

2013-01-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Cake
18-1/4 ounces chocolate cake mix
3-3/8 ounces chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 cup chopped walnuts
Powdered sugar
Glaze
2 ounces Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bars
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional)

For Cake
1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 12-cup bundt pan or other round tube pan.
2. COMBINE cake mix, pudding mix, milk, sour cream and eggs in large mixer bowl. Beat on low speed just until blended. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in morsels and nuts. Pour into prepared bundt pan or other tube pan.
3. BAKE for 55 to 65 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean.
4. COOL in pan for 20 minutes. Invert onto wire rack to cool completely.
For Glaze
5. MELT baking bar and butter in small, heavy duty saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar alternately with water until of desired consistency. Stir in vanilla extract.
6. POUR glaze over cake or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Book Tuesday: Cradle and All by James Patterson

2013-01-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

Cradle and All is a mystery novel with a thrilling ride of supernatural connotations and criminal implications.

In Boston a young woman call Kathleen finds herself pregnant even though she is a virgin. Same situation is occurring to Colleen in Ireland. It is up to Anne Fitzgerald an former nun who is now a private detective, to discover the truth about these two girls.

Meanwhile all around the world terrible things are happening. From famine to droughts and epidemics to much worse things. Anne Fitzgerald find herself in the middle of a struggle between darkness and light and holding in her hands the fates of these two girls who might or might not be victims of this fight.

Cradle and All has twist and turns that will excite the reader and will leave them breathless with it's end.

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Savory Mac And Cheese - For Monday Dinner

2013-01-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is a very sought after American dish, but unfortunately not everybody knows how to make it flavorful. This is my own recipe after an experience I had in a restaurant when I ordered a Southerner styled mac and cheese. One of the things I don't like about the cheese sauce for the mac and cheese is the after taste of flour, so in this recipe I did my best to erase that particular taste. I hope I'd like this recipe.

3 Cups of elbow pasta
2 Tablespoons of cheese cream
1 Tablespoon of butter
1 Tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup of milk (I love milk but I'm lactose intolerant that's why I put a little of it to this recipe)
2 cups of chicken stock
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 1/2 mild Cheddar
1 small onion
1 small red pepper
1/2 cup of basil (optional)
salt and pepper

Cooked pasta as directed. Butter a baking dish.
Take the onion and red pepper and add them to a food processor until it looks like a saucy mix.
In a saucepan, add butter and olive oil and sautee garlic for few seconds. Then add the onion and pepper mix, cook it for few minutes.
Add milk and chicken stock when it breaks into a boil add about a cup of the cheese, let dissolve the cheese and take off from the heat. Please salt and pepper and taste to check flavor.
Add basil to the cheese sauce and the pasta. Now spread the mix in the baking dish and top it with rest of the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 Fahrenheit degree. Serve warm.

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TGIF - I Need A Drink - Frozen Mojito

2013-01-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is a great drink for a light drinker because it's sweet and icy. When I drink it's because I want to have a good with friends, a social drink, that's why I like fruity drinks. Hope you like this drink and new recipe all the time in icookbook (honestly it's a saver).
1/2 cup lime juice
1 drops green food coloring (optional)
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light rum
2 cups ice
1 cup water
Lime slices and fresh mint leaves, for garnish (optional)

1. Place all ingredients except garnish in the order listed in Blender jar. Blend until smooth. Pour immediately into chilled glasses. Garnish with lime slices and whole mint leaves as desired.

Song of the Week: You're Beautiful by James Blunt

2013-01-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

Baked Crab Rangoon by Cream Cheese

2013-01-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

6 ounces white crab meat, drained, flaked
4 ounces cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup Mayo Light Mayonnaise
12 wonton wrappers

1. HEAT oven to 350°F.
2. MIX crab meat, cream cheese, onions and mayo.
3. SPRAY 12 (2-1/2-inch) muffin cups with cooking spray. Gently place 1 wonton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges of wrappers to extend above sides of cups. Fill evenly with crab meat mixture.
4. BAKE 18 to 20 min. or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through. Serve warm. Garnish with sliced green onions, if desired.

Book Tuesday: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

2013-01-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

The Joy Luck Club is sixteen interlocking story of four Chinese immigrant women and their daughters. The story starts when the four Chinese women meet at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco. They agreed to meet to play Mah Joh and they called these meetings the Joy Luck Club. The novel is divided into four sections. Two section focus on the mothers and two sections focusing of the daughters.

The first section is about life changing event in the lives of the four Chinese immigrant women. The section starts with Suyuan Woo and the lost of her twin daughters during World War II. It continues with the story of An-Mei Hsu and her mother, it is follow by Lindo Jong who cunning ways saved her from a lifetime of unhappiness and it finishes with Ying Ying St Clair who tells the story of how she fell into a lake during the moon festival.

The second section is about the childhood stories of the American born daughters of the four Chinese immigrant women. It starts with Waverly, Lindo's daughter and how she recalls being a national chess champion and her relationship with her mother. The second story is of Lena St. Clair, Ying Ying's daughter and how she relates to her mother when her mother had nervous breakdown. The third story is of Rose Hsu Jordan, An-Mei's daughter, she tells the story of how her mother lost her faith in god after her younger brother drowned. The section concludes with Jing Mei's story and how her mother, Suyuan had a lot of expectation of her and pushed her to be like Waverly, only to have disappointing results.

The fourth section of the story involves the lives of Waverly, Lena, Rose and Jing Mei as adult. In this section we see the four American daughter trying to lead their lives with their disappointment and how their mothers influences helped them change those disappointment. The final section returns to Suyuan, Lindo, Ying Ying and An-Mei where they revealed different aspect of the stories that were told in the first section.

The Joy Luck Club is an excellent book that should be read by any person who parent immigrated to American. More than anything this book is about the difference in generation and cultures when they clash and how they are connected with one another.

Autumn Herbed Chicken with Fennel and Squash by Crock-Pot

2013-01-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

I found this delicious recipe in iCookbook app in my i pad. I really like it because it has a lot varieties of recipes and super easy to make. I hope you like it as much as I did.

3 pounds chicken thighs
Salt and black pepper, to taste
All-purpose flour, as needed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 cup walnuts,
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider or juice
Cooked rice or pasta
1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced into ribbons
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely minced

1. Season chicken on all sides with salt and pepper, then lightly coat with flour. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat until hot. Brown chicken in batches to prevent crowding. Brown on each side 3 to 5 minutes, turning once. Remove with slotted spoon. Transfer to CROCK-POT® slow cooker.
2. Add fennel, squash and thyme. Stir well to combine. Add walnuts, if desired, broth and cider. Cover; cook on LOW 5 to 7 hours or on HIGH 2-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours.
3. Serve over rice or pasta and garnish with basil and fresh rosemary.

TGIF - I need a Drink - Bellini

2013-01-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

1/2 cup V8 Splash® Mango Peach Juice Drink, chilled
1/4 cup peach nectar, chilled
1 cup champagne, sparkling wine or sparkling cider, chilled

1. Stir the juice drink and nectar in a 1 cup measure.
2. Divide the mixture between 2 fluted champagne glasses. Pour in the champagne.
3. Serve immediately.