Sugar High

Follow Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:39:00 +0000

While we wait for new recipes to arrive, how about we socialize in other ways?

Now you can -

Like Sugar High on Facebook

Follow Sugar High on Twitter

Follow Sugar High on Pinterest

View Sugar High on Flickr

Aaannd don't forget to Subscribe by RSS!

Phew! Hope I can keep up with all this!

Hope to see you all around. Have a great weekend!

-Jess

Almost forgot! Remember to follow with Google Friend Connect on the right!===>

Have You Missed Me?

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:38:00 +0000

'Cause I've missed you!

You may have noticed I've been on hiatus AGAIN. This has not been a great year financially for Sugar High. For the first time in a long while Ramen and boxed mac & cheese have been my main dishes. My kitchen, while still dirty, has been much cleaner than normal. And my house is so cold this season because I have no reason to turn on the oven. What a sad, sad way for a foodie to spend her holidays.

I do try to fit in an occasional baked treat, or nice homemade dinner when money allows. I have very slowly been saving pictures and recipes here and there so I have something to share with you when the time comes. In the meantime, you can visit me on Facebook. I'll be updating Sugar High's page more often, sharing my favorite recipes and food blogs from around the internet with you, and getting more input from you on what kind of recipes you would like to see on Sugar High.

The new year is almost here, and I know it's going to be a great one! Hang in there, baby :)

-Jess

Baked Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:24:00 +0000

It's no secret that potatoes are my favorite food, and sweet potatoes are one of the best! I love the sweet flavor of them, it's like a dessert in a vegetable. I've been dying to make sweet potato fries, and I came across this recipe for a spicy version. Flavored with chili and smoked paprika, these sweet and spicy fries did not disappoint!

-Jess

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Recipe from A Doctor's Kitchen

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp. chipotle powder, or to taste

Directions-
Place the oven rack in the uppermost position and preheat oven to 425° F.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, and chipotle powder. Blend well with a wire whisk or fork.

Place potato slices on a nonstick rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and toss to coat. Spread the wedges out in single layer, flat side down. Sprinkle evenly with 1/2 the spice mixture. Turn so that the other flat side is down and sprinkle with the remaining spice mixture.

Roast 30 to 40 minutes, turning once or twice, until the wedges are cooked through and lightly browned.

Enjoy!

Best Sloppy Joes

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:42:00 +0000

If you've never had a homemade Sloppy Joe, you've been missing out! This sloppy joe sauce has chunks of veggies and uses mustard, worcestershire and steak sauce for flavor that is so good it goes far beyond any sauce you will get from a can. This is my go-to recipe for sloppy joes, and soon it will be yours too!

- I always top my sloppy joes with mustard (honey mustard is my favorite). It adds a great flavor I can't get enough of.

-Jess

Sloppy Joes

Recipe slightly adapted from Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

1 pound ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 1/3 cups ketchup
2 Tbsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1½ Tbsp. steak sauce
2 tsp. spicy brown mustard
¾ tsp. garlic salt
1½ tsp. paprika powder

Directions-

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook beef, onion, green pepper, and celery until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender. Add the remaining ingredients; mix well.

Simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve on hamburger buns. Topping suggestions: mustard, pickles, jalapenos, potato chips, onions, hot sauce.

Enjoy!

Easy Peasy Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:34:00 +0000

Would you believe me if I told you that before I made this jam I had never eaten rhubarb? It's true! Up until now, I've never tried rhubarb. Yet, I have this weird obsession with it. I have dozens of rhubarb recipes locked away, constantly searching for more while I wait impatiently for rhubarb season, only to stare at it longing to bake it into something delicious.

Rather, what I assume would be delicious seeing as how I had no idea what it tasted like.

I also have had a desire to make my own jam. I happened upon this very simple strawberry rhubarb jam that is made.... in the microwave. I thought, 'Microwaveable jam? Hey, I can do that!'. Plus, it's like killing two birds with one stone. So I finally gathered up the courage to buy rhubarb.

This was definitely worth waiting for. I can't believe how simple this jam method is! Mix up your ingredients, pop them in the microwave for several intervals mixing in between each one. There you have it, perfect jam. This is a great method for first time jam makers like myself.

And the taste is amazing! Rhubarb really complimented the sweet strawberries, I love it's tang. I used a little less sugar in my recipe, I didn't want it overly sweet - I wanted the tart rhubarb to really shine. I was so pleased with my first rhubarb experience that I was eating this stuff by the spoonful!

-Jess

Go HERE for this microwave jam recipe and lots of helpful tips!

Helpful Hints-

* Because this jam isn't preserved, you need to keep it refridgerated and consume it within a couple weeks. I had no problem doing that!

Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:58:00 +0000

From above this looks like a typical cream pie. It's topped with peanut butter and chocolate peanut butter. Yummy, but nothing too exciting...

But you decide get a better look and realize that it's a light and creamy peanut butter pie atop a layer of rich dark chocolate brownie. Now, it has your full attention!

Then, you take a slice and see there are even more surprises. The rich brownie layer is spotted with bits of peanut butter chips. This pie is also sitting on a crumbly Oreo crust. Not just any Oreo crust, though... it's a Peanut butter Oreo crust.

For a peanut butter/chocolate lover, this isn't just a slice of pie, it's a pure slice of creamy, delicious heaven!

-Jess

Brownie Bottom Peanut Butter Pie

Pie Recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures

Pie inspired by Pillsbury

My original recipe for Dark Chocolate Brownies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

For Oreo crust-

1 package Oreo cookies - I used peanut butter oreos

¼ cup butter, melted

For the brownie layer-

½ cup butter, melted

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

¾ cup flour

½ cup cocoa - I use Hershey's special dark

½ tsp. salt

½ cup peanut butter chips

For peanut butter layer-

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. salt

1½ cups creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp. vanilla

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Preparation-

For Oreo crust-

Process cookies in a food processor, or place in a ziplock bag and mash with a rolling pin until cookies reach a crumbled consistency. Mix cookie crumbles with melted butter. Press evenly into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.

For brownie layer-

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Cream melted butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. In a seperate bowl, combine flour, cocoa and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Pour brownie mix over cookie crust. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. Cool while making peanut butter filling.

For peanut butter layer-

Beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter and vanilla, mix thoroughly.

In a seperate chilled bowl whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Mix 1/3 of whipped cream into peanut butter mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining 2/3 whipped cream. Spread peanut butter filling evenly over cooled brownie layer. Freeze uncovered for 4 hours before serving.

For the peanut butter topping melt some peanut butter - as much as you'd like- in a microwavable bowl. Pour into zip lock baggy, snip of end and drizzle over pie. For a chocolate drizzle add a little cocoa - as much as you'd like- to melted peanut butter (you may have to microwave it again as the cocoa will thicken it slightly). Pour into baggy, snip off end and drizzle over pie.

Store pie covered in fridge.

-Enjoy!!

On Top Of Spaghetti...

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:34:00 +0000

All FILLED with cheese.

Meatballs are good. Turkey meatballs are better. Cheese stuffed turkey meatballs are the best!

Normally we mix ground turkey in with the sauce, but this week (yes, we typically have spaghetti dinner once a week) I had a craving for meatballs. I was looking for a recipe and came upon this one on Picky Palate. Stuffing meatballs with mozzarella? Genius!

These meatballs are so delicious! I'm in love. I should mention this is the second stuffed recipe from Picky Palate that I have fallen for. Once again, Jenny is my hero.

I made 12 big meatballs, and am already out. I already plan on making these again for meatball subs next week. :)

-Jess

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Recipe from Picky Palate

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound ground turkey

1 large egg

½ cup finely chopped white onion

½ cup Panko bread crumbs

½ cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup milk

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. yellow mustard

1 tsp. hot sauce, like Tabasco - I used Tapatio

½ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp. garlic salt

Ten 1-inch Mozzarella balls

Preparation-

Preheat oven to 350°F, and grease 9×13-inch baking dish with oil.

Place turkey, egg, onion, bread crumbs, Parmesan, milk, garlic, Worcestershire, mustard, hot sauce, salt, pepper and garlic salt into a large mixing bowl, stirring until just combined.

Take ¼ cup turkey mixture and press into center with your thumb to make room for cheese ball. Place cheese in middle then with hands enclose the cheese with the turkey, making sure the cheese is completely covered. Place meatballs into prepared baking dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cooked through.

Serve over top your favorite pasta.

Enjoy!

Helpful Hints
*Turkey will make for slightly healthier, and very tasty meatballs. It is a little harder to work with than beef because it is so sticky, wearing rubber gloves when making the meatballs makes the process a bit easier.
*Meatballs freeze very well. Stick leftovers in a sealable container and freeze for later use in different dishes.

Oreo Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Wed, 25 May 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Just when I thought a cookie couldn't get any better than the Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, I came across these.

The Man and I are big fans of peanut butter, so when I showed him this cookie he told me I absolutely HAD to make them. Fine by me!

I was sure to use peanut butter Oreos to get the most peanut butter flavor. The cookie is so soft and delicious, it's really a great match with the Oreo's chocolate cookie. These cookies were just as sinfully delicious as the chocolate chip cookies. I dare say they are even better!

-Jess

Oreo Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe from Runs With Spatulas

Printable Recipe

Yield: 28 cookies. I halved the recipe and got 15.

Ingredients-

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1½ tsp. baking soda

28 Peanut Butter Oreos (1 package)

Preparation-

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, and both sugars until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly stir in flour mixture 1/3 at a time until completely incorporated. Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place 1 tablespoon of cooking dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place a second tablespoon underneath. Gently press the dough down around the Oreo, sealing the cookie dough edges together so that no Oreo shows through. Transfer the cookie to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining oreos, leaving about 1 inch between each cookie.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies have just started to brown around the edges. Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Lemonade

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Tue, 24 May 2011 23:05:00 +0000

There is nothing more refreshing when the weather turns warm than freshly squeezed lemonade. Lemonade is so simple to make, and doesn't take long at all! The flavor can be easily adjusted to your liking - I like my lemonade tart, so I used less sugar to make it lip-puckering. I decided to kick the flavor up a notch with strawberries, it tasted delicious! If you don't like strawberries, simply omit them from the recipe or replace them with your fruit of choice. This is the best lemonade I've had, definitely a keeper!

-Jess

Strawberry Lemonade

Recipe from AllRecipes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

1¼ cups sugar*

8 cups water

1½ cups fresh lemon juice, about 6-7 lemons

1 bag frozen strawberries, pureed (optional)

Preparation-

In a small saucepan, combine sugar with 1 cup of water. Heat while stirring just until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat to cool*.

Remove seeds from lemon juice, leaving pulp. In a pitcher, combine sugar syrup, lemon juice, remaining 7 cups water and strawberry puree, if using. Chill and enjoy!

Helpful Hints-

*Adjust the amount of sugar to your liking. My measurement produced a tart lemonade that wasn't too sweet. If you prefer it sweeter, I suggest using 1½ - ¾ cups sugar.

*I didn't allow my sugar syrup to get too hot, so it was able to cool nicely on the counter while I squeezed the lemons. If you're in a hurry, stick the syrup in the fridge to chill faster.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 15:18:00 +0000

When I first saw these Snickerdoodle Muffins, I thought they were named after my favorite cookie only because they are covered in cinnamon-sugar. I had to find out for myself if they really stood up to the Snickerdoodle name.

First of all these muffins, just like the cookie, are very hands-on in that you take balls of batter and roll it in cinnamon-sugar before baking. Once they are baked, they have a nice fluffy center that is much lighter than traditional muffins, and the crackled tops have a slight crunch to them that really resembles a snickerdoodle cookie. Best of all, these muffins really do taste just like a snickerdoodle! I'm not sure which one I like better now, the cookie or the muffin??

While these muffins make a yummy breakfast the next day, I think eating them fresh and warm out of the oven was the best. I found that the crunch on the top that I loved was lost after a few hours.

-Jess

Snickerdoodle Muffins - makes 20 big muffins
Recipe from Tasty Kitchen
Printable Recipe

Ingredients-
For the batter:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup buttermilk

For the topping:
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cinnamon

Preparation-
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Mix in the sour cream and buttermilk. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have smooth batter - Be sure not to overmix!

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Use an ice cream scooper, or large spoon, and plop a scoop of batter (about 3 Tablespoons full for larger muffins - the liners should be about 2/3 full) into the bowl with the sugar and cinnamon. Gently roll the batter in the sugar and cinnamon. Place the ball into the muffin liner. Repeat with remaining batter, then sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the tops of the batter.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes or until they are golden on top and just baked through.

Enjoy!!

Helpful Hints-
*Use an ice cream scooper to easily transfer balls of batter to the cinnamon-sugar.
*Be sure the amount of batter used for each muffin fills the tin 2/3s full (this is about 3 tablespoons of batter). If they are filled any less than this, they will not form the big, crunchy snickerdoodle-like top.

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:46:00 +0000

Continuing my Easter carrot cake tradition with Carrot Cake Cheesecake

This year I wanted to bake something other than the traditional carrot cake. Since carrot cake is normally paired with cream cheese, I got a great idea to incorporate the flavor of carrot cake into a cheesecake. I did an online search, which brought me to this gorgeous carrot cake cheesecake at Pennies On A Platter.

A moist and spicy carrot cake combined with creamy cheesecake.

This actually isn't what I originally had in mind, but it looked too damn good to pass up!

If you look at the original recipe, and compare it with mine, you'll notice a big difference. I'm not too sure how it happened, but during baking the cake portion was pushed to the bottom/edges/top creating a sort of soft, cakey crust. Didn't come out half cake and half cheesecake like it should have, but there was no way in hell that was going to stop me from digging in!

The cheesecake was light and creamy, and really went perfect with the moist carrot cake.

Uh, Carrot cake crust.

This was a 10-inch cake, and was completely devoured at our family's Easter dinner. Success!

Kitty Approved

I didn't notice 'til I was editing photos that a bite appears to have been taken from this slice. I swear I didn't do it! I had taken a short break in the middle of photos to change camera batteries, unintentionally leaving our cat in the room alone with the slice of cake. I'm pretty sure Sugar felt this was the perfect time to sneak in a taste. I found it appropriate to finish what she had started before going to dinner. Yum :)

Here is last year's Carrot Cake recipe. My. Favorite. Carrot. Cake. Period.

-Jess

Carrot Cake Cheesecake

Recipe from Pennies On A Platter

Printable Recipe

Ingredients-

For the cheesecake:

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

2½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. flour

3 eggs

For the carrot cake:

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

8 oz can crushed pineapple, packed in 100% juice, drained

1 cup grated carrots (about 2 carrots)

Preparation-

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9 or 9 1/2- inch springform pan.

For the cheesecake batter, in a large bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the flour, eggs and vanilla until fully incorporated and no lumps remain. Set aside.

For the carrot cake batter, combine the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and spices. Stir into the egg mixture and mix well. Add the pineapple, and carrots. Stir until just combined.

To assemble the cheesecake, pour 1 1/2 cups of the carrot cake batter over the bottom of the prepared pan. Drop spoonfuls of the cream cheese batter over the bottom layer of carrot cake, using up 1/4 of the batter and reserving the rest for the top layer. Top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife.

Bake for 50 to 65 minutes or until cheesecake slightly jiggles in center. Turn oven off, open door slightly and let cake sit for 30 minutes. Remove from oven to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Enjoy!

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:48:00 +0000

I always loved dying eggs for Easter as a kid. I'm 22 now, and I still love it! I even manage to get the Man to join me in egg coloring every year, it gives us a chance to be creative together, gives us time to talk, and we both get some level of joy from seeing our creations. I don't think a person should ever feel 'too old' to do anything, especially dying Easter eggs.

This year I decided to try something different than standard dyes, joining in on a trend I've been seeing growing on food blogs - Natural egg dying. Meaning instead of using chemical colors, you use natural ingredients (veggies, fruits, spices) to get gorgeous eggs.

This is a little more time consuming than the artificial way, but I'm really happy with the way my eggs turned out.

I did four colors - blue, green, brown, and pink.

Left to Right - Dyed 1 hour, Dyed 2 hours, Dyed 3 hours

Blue - Red Cabbage. This is my favorite dye, and seemed to be the quickest-setting. I left the three eggs in the dye for different lengths of time, the longer you leave it in the richer the color will get. The deepest blue is gorgeous, however I LOVE the lightest blue the best.

I noticed that the light blue was the only one to get little dark specs on it. Gorgeous!

Green - Spinach. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't use enough spinach, didn't boil it long enough, or if spinach dye typically just takes more time, but these seemed to take FOREVER to get to where they are. I finally removed them from the dye after 3 hours, and I am really happy with the shade they became.

Light Brown - Coffee. I chose brown because it's not a color of egg you usually see for Easter, and 'cause I had plenty of coffee on hand. This was the easiest dye to make, but also took 3 hours to get to the shade shown.

Pink - Strawberry preserves. Usually beets, or cranberry juice are used to make pink/red. I had neither. I wanted to try something that I haven't seen done, I took a few Tablespoons of strawberry preserves and boiled it with a cup or so of water. Not a very good idea, as it didn't really work that well. The pink is a lot more pale than I would like, but still looks pretty. One thing I did notice, and really like, about this color is that the eggs smell like strawberries! None of the other eggs smell like their color. I like it.

So, there you have it. My first experience dying eggs using natural ingredients. I think it worked really well, and I'll definitely try it again next year using the onion skin method. My favorite thing about these eggs is how uneven some of the color was. The finished eggs had lines, spots, and blotches of uneven color shades which I find even better than a smooth even finish. However, if you prefer a more even shade, you would just boil your eggs in the dye instead of cold dipping them like I did.

I do still plan on coloring eggs the old fashioned way with the Man. It's become a tradition for the two of us, and I want to keep it going. I'll be sure to post pictures. :)

Here are some really helpful sites with great information for dying eggs naturally.

Boulder Locavore

Serious Eats - Gorgeous onion skin method!

Itsy Bitsy Foodies

Squidoo

-Jess

Asparagus & Gruyere Tarts

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:06:00 +0000

Spring is finally starting to show itself. One sure sign of the season is the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables. One of my favorite spring veggies is Asparagus. With Easter right around the corner, I thought this Asparagus Tart was perfect for a Spring/Easter dish.

I found this recipe on Closet Cooking, I LOVE Kevin's blog - he always makes the most delicious foods. What first caught my eye about this recipe wasn't the asparagus, it was the Gruyere cheese. Gruyere is by far my most favorite cheese, I would kill for it. Despite how expensive it is, I try to buy a small block any chance I can get. It's definitely not a cheap habit, but to me it's worth every penny.

This recipe also adds a spread of honey dijon mustard, I used honey mustard instead 'cause it was what I had on hand. I was pretty skeptical about the addition of mustard, seemed kind of odd to me, so I made a few tarts without mustard. Boy, was I wrong -I should have known better than to question Kevin's recipe. Shame on me. :/ The mustard tasted fantastic! The tarts without mustard weren't nearly as flavorful as the ones with mustard. Do NOT shy away from the mustard. Trust me :)

Kevin's recipe tops a whole puff pastry sheet with the ingredients, which is then cut into servings. I wanted to make something that was a little more like individual appetizers, so I cut my puff pastry into 9 squares, which fit about three 1-inch pieces of aspargus. The puff pastry bakes up around the perfectly roasted, tender asparagus acting as flaky pillow to it, and gruyere cheese makes it extra creamy. Once I got a taste of one, I could not stop eating them! This would be the perfect side dish to serve with your Easter brunch or dinner.

Enjoy!

-Jess

Asparagus & Gruyere Tarts - makes 9 individual tarts, about 4 servings*
Recipe from Closet Cooking
Printable Recipe

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to the packages directions
2 Tbsp. honey dijon mustard
2 cups gruyere, grated
1 pound* asparagus, rinsed and trimmed into 1-inch pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Roll the puff pastry just so it is slightly flattened. Cut into 9 squares (two cuts horizontally and vertically = 9). Score a line around each puff pastry square ½ inch from the edge. Brush the mustard around the inside of the cut. Sprinkle the cheese over the mustard. Arrange a few asparagus pieces in a single layer over the cheese, press down gently. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly drizzle olive oil over the asparagus.

Bake in a preheated oven until the asparagus is tender and the pastry is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

Helpful Hints
*My directions make 9 tarts, about 4 servings - 2 per person. You can make more by cutting slightly smaller squares, be sure not to go too small. Or, just double the recipe. If you want to make a whole tart, follow the same directions just skipping the step of cutting into squares.

*I know I didn't use a whole pound of asparagus for my mini tarts, but I didn't keep track of the exact amount I did use. If you purchase 1lb, it will be plenty.

*A line is scored ½inch in from the edge to allow the edges to bake up away from the center. No need to poke holes in the center, just top it as it is.

Chicken Salad Croissants

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 22:01:00 +0000

These cold chicken salad croissant sandwiches are the perfect snack for warm weather get-togethers and parties. The salad is healthy and creamy with a slightly sweet flavor, and goes great with bread and crackers. The best thing about this recipe is how versatile it is, you can use a variety of grapes, cranberries, or nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds..). You can also choose to use mayo instead of Miracle Whip, just be aware that the flavor will be slightly altered. Serve it with bread as a sandwich, as a topping for crackers, wrapped in lettuce, or keep it just the way it is for a side dish.

-Jess

Chicken Salad Croissants
Recipe from Food.com

2½ cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup seedless grapes, halved
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
1 small onion, minced
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ cup fat free Miracle Whip

Croissants

Combine all the ingredients. Chill for 30 minutes. Serve on croissants, sandwich bread, or with crackers.

Happy First Birthday To...

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:21:00 +0000

Sugar High!
Yep, it's Sugar High's 1st birthday. Can you believe it? I can't! A year ago, I had hoped Sugar High would still be here today, but I have to admit I didn't think it actually would be. Even though I took a hiatus for a little while (which I'm still trying to climb out of), I'm still here and going strong! Starting this blog is one of the best things I've ever done, and I'm really looking forward to sharing another tasty year with you!

I decided to celebrate 1 year with a treat that I've had my eyes on for a long, LONG time- Raspberry Lemonade Bars. I love citrusy foods - especially lemonade, and once I saw the gorgeous pink color of these bars, I just couldn't resist!

These bars are a lot easier to whip up than I thought they would be, they take very little effort for great flavor. They're very creamy and VERY tangy, the crust and powdered sugar topping give them the perfect balance of sweetness. Once the three bars pictured were done modeling for me, I happily gobbled them up without a care.
Delicious! :)

-Jess

Raspberry Lemonade Bars
Recipe from Sophistimom and How Sweet It Is

For the crust-
9 Tbsp. (1 stick + 1 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temp.
¼ cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt

For the filling-
1½ cups sugar
3 egg whites
1 egg
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 3 large lemons
2 Tbsp. lemon zest, about 2 large lemons
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1-2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed - I used 2 cups
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line a 8×8″ square baking pan with a strip of parchment paper (8×14″) so that it covers the bottom and overlaps on either side. Set aside.

Cream butter, sugar, and salt with an electric mixer. Mix in flour until just incorporated. Flour hands and press dough into prepared baking pan, so that it comes up about a 1/2 inch around the sides.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. While it cools, prepare the filling.

Whisk sugar, egg whites, egg, lemon juice and zest, flour, and salt in a large bowl. Pour raspberries into a fine sieve and press through to extract all the pulp and juices. Whisk into lemon mixture and pour into crust.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until filling is completely set. Let cool completely. Using the overlapping edges of parchment paper, gently lift the dessert from the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Helpful Hints
*Do not skip the first step of lining the pan with parchment paper. The parchment paper keeps the baked bars from sticking to the pan, allowing for easy removal. Greasing it prior to lining it will allow the paper to stick and hold in one place.

*I helped my bars cool down a bit faster by sticking the pan in the fridge about 15 minutes after letting it cool on a rack. I pulled it out once it was cool to the touch.

Here are my most favorite recipes that I have shared during my first blogging year.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Cookies & Cream Rice Krispy Treats

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Coconut Pecan Swirl

Pistachio Bites

Brown Butter Candied Bacon Ice Cream

Slow Cooked Tequila Refried Beans

Orange Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:37:00 +0000

Why order out when you can make delicious Chinese food at home? It's cheaper, and tastes WAY better than take out. It does take some effort to prepare, but it's worth it. This Orange Chicken recipe, from Annie's Eats, is slightly sweet with a great citrus kick. Even with just two people to feed in my house, this chicken was gone in no time!

-Jess

Orange Chicken

Recipe from Annie's Eats

For the marinade and sauce:

¾ cup chicken broth

¾ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1½ tsp. finely grated orange zest
6 Tbsp. white vinegar
¼ cup soy sauce
½ cup brown sugar (dark or light)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1½ lbs. boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. cold water
8 thin strips orange peel (optional)

For the coating and frying:
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups peanut or canola oil

To make the marinade and sauce-
Combine the chicken broth, orange juice, orange zest, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and cayenne pepper in a large saucepan; whisk to blend well. Measure out ¾ cup of the mixture and transfer it to a large zipper lock plastic bag. Add the chicken pieces to the bag, pressing out the excess air and sealing well. Refrigerate and let marinate 30-60 minutes, but no longer. Place the saucepan with the remaining mixture on the stove and heat over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan with the sauce. Continue simmering until the sauce is thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the strips of orange peel, if using.

To prepare the coating-
Place the egg whites in a pie plate and whisk until frothy. In a second pie plate combine the cornstarch, baking soda and cayenne pepper; whisk to blend. Drain the chicken of the marinade in a colander or large strainer; pat dry with paper towels. Place half of the chicken pieces in the egg whites and turn to coat. Transfer the pieces to the cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly, shaking off the excess. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.

To fry the chicken-
Heat the oil in a 11- or 12-inch round Dutch oven or straight-sided sauté pan until the oil reaches 350°F. Carefully place half of the chicken pieces in the oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning the pieces halfway through cooking. Remove from the oil with a skimmer or slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Return the oil to 350°F and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
**(For this step I just used my deep fryer, heated to 350°F, added ¼ of the chicken and plunged it into the oil to cook for 5 minutes.)

Reheat the sauce if necessary and toss with the cooked chicken pieces. Serve over rice, if desired.

Enjoy!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 23:47:00 +0000

I have been seeing this recipe popping up all over food blogs for the past couple months. This lovely creation was first made by Jenny at Picky Palate. I fell in love with these fattening goodies as soon as I laid eyes on them. Jenny is my hero.

A very soft chocolate chip cookie surrounds an oreo that becomes soft itself with a slightly gooey cream center once baked. These cookies were awesome, they did not disappoint! That's coming from a person who doesn't really like chocolate chip cookies. I enjoyed them best right out of the oven with a tall glass of milk for dunking. YUM! :)

You can find the original recipe at Picky Palate.

Make them right away. Then watch them disappear much quicker than it took to whip them up. It is so worth it.

Helpful Hints
*I wasn't too sure on how big of a scoop to use for the cookie dough, or exactly how long to bake, so I just experimented a little. (I used a small scoop, about the same size as the oreos.)

With these cookies I used slightly mounded scoops of cookie dough, and baked for about 11 minutes. The cookie dough spread slightly more, was less browned on top, and had a slightly more gooey middle.

These cookies I used a level scoop of cookie dough, and baked for 13 minutes. The cookie held it's shape better, tops were lightly browned, the inside was still very soft, but not as gooey.

Both cookies were amazing. I didn't really have a favorite, but if I HAD to pick one over the other I'd go with the first ones.

-Jess

Brown Butter Banana Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:11:00 +0000

I've been in love with brown butter ever since the Brown Butter Ice Cream recipe. I'm always trying to substitute it for regular butter whenever I can. The most recent recipe I've tried using brown butter is Banana Bread. I was hoping the flavor of the brown butter would be more noticable in this bread than it was, it seems the bananas are just too powerful for it to shine through. Nevertheless, this recipe makes for some amazing banana bread.

-Jess

Brown Butter Banana Bread

2 Cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt

½ Cup butter

¾ Cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

½ Cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom only of a 9x5-inch bread pan.

In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until caramel colored. Watch it carefully 'cause it can quickly go from a nice caramel color to burned! Pour browned butter into a mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, mix well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, mashed bananas, and sour cream. Add flour mixture, stirring just until combined.

Pour into prepared bread pan. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Helpful Hints
* I grease only the bottom of my pan to avoid a hard lip from baking on the edge of the bread. I never have any problem getting the sides of the bread out, just gently run a butter knife around the edge.

*Don't over mix when adding the flour mixture to the banana mixture, it will make a very dense and tough bread.

Irish Soda Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 23:12:00 +0000

Keeping it traditional with a simple Irish Soda Bread. This bread is probably the easiest bread I have made in that it doesn't require kneading, and goes from bowl to oven in less than 10 minutes. Simple! Irish Soda Bread has a nice crispy crust, and a fantastic, moist center. This is definitely my new go to recipe whenever I'm in the mood for bread. It was perfect paired with Irish Stew. :)

-Jess

Irish Soda Bread
Recipe from Kevin at A Bird In The Kitchen

•3¾ Cups all purpose flour
•¼ Cup cornstarch
•2 Tbps. sugar
•2 teaspoons baking soda
•1 teaspoon salt
•3 Tbsp. butter + 1 Tbsp for brushing
•1½ Cups buttermilk

•Preheat oven to 400°F

•Combine flour, cornstarch, sugar, baking soda and salt.

•Cut 3 Tbsp. butter in until mixture resembles course crumbs. Gently mix in buttermilk to form a dough. Dough will still be loose and raggy.

•Shape dough into a ball, place on a baking sheet and cut an X in the top one-inch deep. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Melt the remaing 1 Tbsp. of butter and brush on top of the bread. Enjoy while it is hot and fresh.

Helpful Hints
*I can't stress enough how important it is to not over mix when adding the buttermilk. Over mixing with result in a tough bread. Do NOT over mix!

Irish Stew

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:44:00 +0000

Okay, I'm not Irish (as far as I know there's not a drop of Irish blood in me, could be wrong), and I've never been to Ireland, but there's something about St. Patrick's Day that I just love. I think it's the color green, my favorite. Maybe it's that I have an excuse to drink beer (some of which is green!). Oh, and don't think I've forgetten about the FOOD! These may not be the reasons this holiday began, but they are damn good enough for me to want to celebrate it.

I wanted to make a traditional Irish dinner in honor of the holiday, what better place to look for a recipe than Donal Skehan's blog? He is Irish, afterall! This recipe is traditional, with the exception that it uses beef instead of lamb. It's an amazing one pot stew that comes together pretty quick. It has a wonderful taste, and just the right amount of chunky veggies. Served with some Irish Soda Bread, this is the perfect St. Patty's Day dinner. :)

-Jess

Irish Stew
Recipe from GoodMoodFood

•3 Tbsp. wholemeal flour
•3 teaspoons ground black pepper
•1 ½ pounds stew steak
•Sunflower oil
•4 large carrots, sliced
•2 large onions, chopped into half moon pieces
•5 Cups beef broth
•A good pinch of sea salt
•2 bay leaves
•5 large potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1cm discs
•A good handful of freshly chopped parsley

•Preheat the oven to 400

•Place the steak, wholemeal flour, and black pepper in a resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag and give it a good shake so that all the steak pieces have a nice coating of flour and pepper. Heat a large frying pan with a good glug of sunflower oil and brown half the steak pieces. Transfer the steak pieces to a large casserole. Repeat with the rest of the meat.

•Fry the onions in the meat juices on the pan for 2 minutes, adding an extra drop of oil if necessary. Transfer the onions to the casserole. Add in the carrots, beef broth, sea salt, bay leaves, and stir through. Add the potato slices on top, season with a generous amount of black pepper and cover with the lid. Transfer the casserole to the oven and cook for 1 ½ hours.

•Serve straight from the casserole, along with some Irish Soda Bread to sop up the juices. Sprinkle the parsley on top and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:19:00 +0000

One of the dishes we enjoyed at Alexis' baby shower.
I have shared this recipe before, but I love it so much that I feel it deserves to be shared again. :)

-Jess

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Recipe can also be found on Blog Chef

2 8oz (16oz) packages cream cheese
1 cup ranch*
3/4 cup buffalo sauce, such as Frank's Red Hot Buffalo
1 10oz can chicken, drained
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and cheese is melted.

Usually served as a dipping for chips or vegetables, but I will not hold it against you if you want to eat it straight out of the pan. ;)

Helpful Hints
*You can use any ranch dressing you like. Bacon ranch is my favorite. Bleu cheese dressing would be amazing!

A Baby Shower

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:27:00 +0000

My younger sister, Alexis, is expecting a baby girl very soon.

I wanted to make a cake for her baby shower. We got together so I could show her some photos of cakes I thought were cute, and she put together a picture of exactly what she wanted. Her idea was adorable, and I couldn't wait to bring it to life.

I am thrilled with the result of this cake! I was able to match it nearly perfectly with Alexis' drawing, and she loved it. I should mention this is only the second big cake like this that I have made.

The bottom tier is a styrofoam cake dummy, used to add height to the cake without the need of extra unneccesary cake. Second tier is Strawberry Cake with a yummy Strawberry filling. Third tier is Vanilla cake with Bavarian Cream filling. The whole cake is covered with Marshmallow Fondant, and the decorations on 1 & 2 are also MMF. 3's decorations are buttercream frosting. And the whole thing is topped off with an adorable pink baby elephant sugar cookie.

Everything in and on the cake is homemade by myself, except for the fillings which were purchased at Orson Gygi here in Salt Lake just to save myself some time.

Mommy & her cake

Cutting the cake

I used the famous White Almond Sour Cream Cake recipe for the cakes. This is a doctored cake mix recipe. I usually try to avoid recipes like this, but this cake is wonderful. It tastes amazing, it's very moist, and has a great dense texture that is perfect for stacking and carving cakes.

Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Filling

Vanilla Cake, Bavarian Cream Filling

There were a lot of other yummy foods at the shower.

Chicken salad croissant sandwiches, a spicy pasta salad, buffalo chicken dip, tortilla rollups, and sugar cookies.
I thought they were all so good that I'm going to share the recipes for everything in the following weeks. :)

I had a lot of fun celebrating the new life in my family. This will be my first niece, and I can't wait 'til the day she arrives!

-Jess

White Almond Sour Cream Cake (WASC)

Slightly adapted from a Recipe found on Food.com

Normally this recipe is doubled, I cut it down for each cake that I made. You can look at Food's website for information on how much cake one recipe makes. With the recipe I'm providing I was able to make two 8-inch round 3-inch deep cakes.

1 Box white cake mix (see hints below)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
4 egg whites
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ cup sour cream
½ cup vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract*

*Optional. If you don't like almond, just use 3 teaspoons of vanilla.

Preheat oven to 325°. Cut rounds out of parchment paper the same size as the cake pans you will be using. Spray cake pans with non-stick cooking spray, place parchment rounds in bottoms of pans and lightly spray again.

Mix all dry ingredients with a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. I beat mine until there are still little chunks left in it. Pour into prepared pans, 2/3's full.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. For my 8-inch cakes, this took about 45-50 minutes.

Let cool in pans on cooling rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pans to finish cooling.

Helpful Hints:

*To keep the surface of the cake even while baking, I take a metal flower nail and stick it right in the center of the cake batter in the pan before baking it. This helps distribute heat evenly throughout the cake, leaving the top nice and even. When the cake is done baking, and cooled, you can flip it over and pull the nail right out.

*You can make any flavor of this cake that you can find in cake mixes. Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry, Cherry, Spice, Red Velvet, Devil's Food... Anything! For any cake other than vanilla or white, I'd recommend ommitting the almond extract.
-For strawberry & cherry cakes, you may choose to use a corresponding extract, but I just used all vanilla extract for my strawberry cake and it was wonderful. Also, replace vanilla yogurt with strawberry or cherry yogurt.

-For chocolate cake, remove 1/3 cup from flour and replace it with cocoa powder and replace vanilla yogurt with chocolate yogurt (Yoplait makes some).

*This cake freezes very well. After completely cooled, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and stick in freezer. It will hold for up to a year this way. Freezing the cake allows you to make the cake ahead of time, and also makes it very easy to cut into layers for filling.

I'm Still Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 20:45:00 +0000

Hey!

Yep, I'm still here.

And, I've received LOTS of messages from you asking 'Where have you gone?' and 'I miss your posts!' :) :)

The past few months my living situation became very hectic when I found myself having a hard time finding a new place to call home, all because of this guy. Guess people really don't like renting to owners of Pit Bulls. :( We moved in with family, and I had to pack away my kitchen, forcing me to stop cooking (and blogging). We were finally able to find a suitable house, and moved in right away. Now I have my own kitchen to cook in again!

I've really been missing everything about blogging, and I'm so excited to jump right back into it!

-Jess

Kane, Now 7 months!

Rhubarb Spice Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:53:00 +0000

This cake is full of spicy fall flavors that are nicely complimented by small chunks of rhubarb. This cake is soft, yet not as moist as I'd like. It goes really well with a tall glass of milk. This is a nice, subtle way to enjoy rhubarb. :)

Rhubarb Spice Cake-
(Adapted from Betty Crocker)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1¾ cups finely chopped fresh rhubarb
1 cup chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with shortening; lightly flour.

In large bowl, beat flour, 1¼ cups of the sugar and remaining ingredients, except rhubarb and nuts, with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in rhubarb. Pour into pan. Sprinkle with nuts and remaining 1/4 cup sugar.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve with Sweetened Whipped Cream, if desired.

Tips:
* You may use self rising flour instead of all-purpose, just be sure to leave out the baking soda and salt.

Enjoy! :)

Slow Cooked Tequila 'Refried' Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Jess @ Sugar High) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:55:00 +0000

These beans aren't actually refried because they are made completely in the slow cooker, not fried. They are much healthier than traditional refried beans and pack a lot more flavor. These beans are thick and creamy with a hint of lime and a kick of tequila. You could definitely keep out the jalapenos and tequila if that's not your sort of thing, but I would recommend sticking to the recipe. Trust me. These are by far the best refried beans I've ever had. If you haven't tried homemade refried beans yet... Do it. Now. :)

-Jess

Slow Cooked Tequila 'Refried' Beans-
Inspired by Susi's Kochen Und Backen Adventures
Printable Recipe

Ingredients-
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and picked over
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground coriander
2 Tbsp. lime tequila, optional
½ cup to 1 cup milk
The juice of 1 lime
3½ tsp. salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions-
Place the dry beans, water, and chicken broth into a slow cooker. Cook covered on HIGH for 8 hours. Strain and pour beans back into slow cooker.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions and jalapenos. Cook until tender. Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

Add the sauteed vegetables to the slow cooker along with the oregano, cumin, coriander, and tequila. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding milk a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Cover and cook on LOW, stirring often, for 1 hour. Stir in lime juice, salt and pepper. Serve with freshly sliced jalapenos and crumbled cotija cheese, if desired.

Tips:
   * The alcohol in the tequila will cook off. If you don't cook with alcohol, just leave it out.
   * Try using half pinto beans, and half black beans. Yum!
   * You can make your beans as thick/thin, creamy/chunky as you like just by altering how much you mash the beans and how much milk you add.
   * I served mine with freshly sliced jalapenos, and crumbled Cotija cheese.

Delicious! :)