sugar.salt.spice

Tinkerbell Red Velvet Cupcakes

HollystarPR — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:12:23 +0000

For my neice’s first birthday party, my sister wanted something Tinkerbell to please the palette’s of the party guests. Something colorful and yummy but not overkilled with sugar.

These red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting were delectable and divine!

Begin by making cupcakes from your favorite boxed red velvet cake ingredients.

For the Frosting
1 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
8oz cream cheese (softened)
2c confectioner’s sugar (sifted)
1tsp vanilla extract

Blend softened butter and cream cheese with vanilla on low speed until mixed.

Slowly incorporate confectioner’s sugar. Increase speed to medium and blend until light and fluffy.

Spread on completely cooled cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles. Enjoy!

Spinach-Stuffed Chicken with Oregano Chips

HollystarPR — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:58:05 +0000

For chicken lovers, this dish is an easy way to spice up boring chicken recipes, and the oregano chips add a wonderful, cheesy crunch.

Stuffed Chicken

Start by preparing the chicken. Put one thawed chicken breast into a plastic Ziploc bag. Pound the chicken with a rolling pin or other utensil until flat. Repeat for each chicken breast. Set aside.

For the filling, pour 2T olive into pan on medium heat. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add spinach and mushrooms, then season with salt and pepper. Cook until spinach and mushrooms are soft, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add ricotta and Parmesan cheese.

Lay one chicken breast out and scoop enough spinach mixture into center of chicken so that it can roll easily without spilling mixture out the sides, about 1/4 cup. Roll chicken around filling and secure chicken edges with damp toothpicks. Tip: soak toothpicks in water to prevent burning when cooking the chicken. Repeat for each chicken breast.

Cook stuffed chicken breasts in a pan with 2T olive oil on medium heat, turning once or twice, for approximately 10 minutes or until cooked through. Keep lid on to retain moisture while cooking.

Ingredients

3 – 8oz thawed chicken breasts
10oz package of frozen spinach
6 medium button mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4T olive oil
4oz ricotta cheese
2T grated Parmesan cheese

Oregano Chips

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Brush one side of each tortilla with olive oil. Cut the stack of tortillas lengthwise, making four slices (which will yield 16 pieces total). Arrange the tortilla pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the oregano, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until crisp and golden.

Ingredients

4 corn tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1T grated Parmesean cheese

Guiltless Brunch: Frittata Muffins and Cream Cheese Crepes

HollystarPR — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:03:50 +0000

Due to the spring forward hour change last night, my breakfast idea ended up being more of a late late brunch. Nevertheless, it turned out scrumptious. This take on the Italian Frittata is a breakfast idea I once saw on Everyday Italian on the FOOD network. I’ve tailored it to fit a low fat/low carb diet plan. For 313 calories, you can enjoy this yummy meal!

Frittata Muffins

Boil pasta over medium heat until al dente. Drain pasta. Mix cooked pasta, Egg Beaters, ham, cheese and milk in large mixing bowl. Season with salt, pepper and chives. Scoop 1/3 cup pasta mixture into muffin tins coated with olive oil. Baked at 350° F for 15 minutes or until tops are slightly brown. Serve hot.

*Lessons Learned: While calculating the nutritional content of this dish, I realized that Deli Select Ham has more sodium than I would like. Substitute with fresh deli ham to reduce sodium; turkey also works well.

Ingredients

No Yolks Egg White Pasta – 4oz
Egg Beaters – 3 cups
Deli Fresh Ham – 12 slices chopped
Weight Watchers Shredded Cheese – 2/3 cup
Milk 1% – 1 cup
Chopped Chives to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cream Cheese Crepes

Cheese Filling – Blend cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Works best if cream cheese is softened.

Crepe Mixture - Blend egg, flour, milk and vanilla until smooth. For those without a crepe cooker, heat skillet to medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Pour 1/4 cup crepe mixture into skillet. Flip crepe when sides start to bubble; about 30 seconds. CAREFUL: crepes are fragile and will break with too much force.

Putting it all together – Scoop 2 Tablespoons cream cheese mixture into crepe. Roll crepe like a fajita. Place in a 9×13in pan. Cook crepes at 350° F for 15 minutes. Serve with butter, syrup or jelly of your choice.
Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling

Philadelphia Cream Cheese 1/3 Fat – 8oz
Vanilla Extract – 1T
Sugar – 1/4 cup
Milk – 1/4 cup

Crepes

Flour – 2/3 cup
Egg Beaters – 3/4 cup
Vanilla – 1T
Milk – 1 cup

Hazelnut Tiramisu for Non-Coffee Lovers

HollystarPR — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:55:57 +0000

My mom made this wonderful alternative to the traditional Italian tiramisu. Definitely a must-try to for those that don’t like coffee flavor.

Ingredients

Lemon Syrup:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

Tiramisu:

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

5 tablespoons sugar

1 (15-ounce) container mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup hazelnut liqueur (recommended: Frangelico)

48 soft or hard ladyfinger cookies

1 1/4 cups lightly chopped (about 5 ounces) toasted and skinned hazelnuts

1 lemon, zested

For the Lemon Syrup:

In a small saucepan, combine lemon juice, water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

For the Tiramisu:

Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick. Add the cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue to whip until the cream holds soft peaks. In another bowl, cream together remaining sugar and mascarpone cheese for 30 seconds. Mix 1/4 of the cream into the mascarpone. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining whipped cream. Set aside.

Place the hazelnut liqueur in a small shallow bowl. Dip 16 of the ladyfinger cookies in the hazelnut liqueur and line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch serving dish or other decorative serving dish. Spoon any remaining hazelnut liqueur over the dipped cookies. Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies. Top with 1/3 of the hazelnuts.

Place the lemon syrup in a small shallow bowl. Dip 16 of the ladyfinger cookies in the syrup and place on top of the hazelnuts. Spread 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture over the cookies. Top with 1/3 hazelnuts. Dip remaining cookies in remaining syrup and place on top. Spoon any remaining syrup over the dipped cookies. Spread with remaining mascarpone and top with remaining hazelnuts and lemon zest.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Remove the tiramisu from the refrigerator for 1 hour before serving.

*Original recipe courtesy of Giada from the Food Network.

Sultry Beef Stroganoff with a Twist

HollystarPR — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:43:14 +0000

This twist on a classic recipe is divine. I took mom’s everyday meat and pasta dish and added a little goat cheese and fresh parsley to make a sultry beef stroganoff.

Ingredients

1lb cubed beef (tenderloin is best, but any cut will do)
15oz package No Yolk Egg Noodles
2 – 8oz cans cream of mushroom
80z lite sour cream
2oz goat cheese
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove
1T olive oil
1/8 cup fresh chopped parsley

Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente (approximately 10 min).

Heat the skillet to medium, add olive oil and chopped garlic. Season beef tips with salt and pepper. Add to skillet and cook to preferred wellness (5 minutes for medium). When beef has reached preferred wellness, add cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, goat cheese and parsley. Add pinch of salt and pepper. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add pasta to beef mixture and stir until coated. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve. Serves 5.

Poppin’ Pasta Salad

HollystarPR — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:18:05 +0000

This easy dish was created for my sister’s baby shower. Simple, yet delicious. Takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Cook mixed pasta until soft. Drain pasta. Run cold water over pasta to cool it. Set aside.

Chop red peppers and olives. Put in a large bowl. Add cooled pasta to bowl. Stir mixture while adding Italian dressing. Lastly, add parmesean cheese. Chill until ready to serve.

Ingredients

1 medium bag mixed pasta
8 oz can chopped black olives
2 red peppers, chopped
1/8 cup parmesean cheese
1 cup Italian dressing of choice