Homemade Magic Shell

I have had an obsession with Magic Shell for a long, long time.  I just really love it.  I've tried several recipes to recreate it and this is by far the best.  It was so delicious on my ice cream, and the bananas were amazing.  I'll be putting some on strawberries for a snack later today, because, what the heck, I have strawberries and now I have a huge container of homemade magic shell to use up!!!

Homemade Magic Shell
Recipe from Smilemonsters


Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup coconut oil

Directions:

Pop in the microwave for about a minute and stir together well.  

Done!

The chocolate sauce will harden as soon as it hits something cold.

Have fun!!!

Panna Cotta

Last night's dessert was DELICIOUS!  My husband and I had panna cotta for the first time a few months ago and I have been wanting to make it ever since.  The recipe only made 6 ramekins, but I didn't double it because I was almost sure my kids wouldn't even want to try it.  (Was I sure, or was I hoping?)  Three of them decided they wanted to try it so I divided one ramekin into thirds (yes, I am THAT greedy) telling them, "I know you will hate this, I am sick that it is getting wasted."  Well, they inhaled it and pronounced, "This tastes like wiggly vanilla ice cream!!!  More! More! More!"  So, being greedy, I divided another one into thirds!!!  I know!!  But in my defense, I had made a backup pan of brownies that they had all already eaten one of, so really, I was just limiting their sugar intake. (wink).  One of my boys spent about an hour thinking of all the different things we could do to panna cotta ("lemon flavored, chocolate sauce, oh, I know Mom, BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE!") so I know that they really did love it and weren't just being silly.  This is easy and delicious, it's a perfect summertime dessert.

Panna Cotta
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1/3 cup skim milk (I used 1%)

1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin

2 1/2 cups heavy cream (I used half whipping cream and half half and half, that's what I had)

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.

In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.

Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.

Serve with fresh berries, chocolate sauce, use your imagination!

Irish Potato Candy and Champ

So one of my kids announced to me one night "Oh yeah, I have a report on Ireland I'm doing tomorrow and I'm supposed to bring food for it."  Really?  Thanks kid.  I scrambled to find Irish recipes I had the ingredients for and settled on Champ (basically mashed potatoes) and Irish Potato Candy.  The candy has no potato in it, it just looks like a potato.  I was pretty proud of the suckers, they looked so authentic!!  They were delicious, I loved them.  It was funny watching the kids in my son's class decide if they were going to be brave enough to try them though.


Irish Potato Candy
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 cups flaked coconut

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners' sugar; beat until smooth. Using your hands if necessary, mix in the coconut. Roll into balls or potato shapes, and roll in the cinnamon. Place onto a cookie sheet and chill to set. If desired, roll potatoes in cinnamon again for darker color.

*  I followed the suggestions of some of the reviews and rolled it in a mixture of 1 tbsp. cinnamon and 1 tbsp. cocoa powder.  I only rolled it once, since some of the reviews said it had too strong of a flavor if rolled twice.

Champ

Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and halved

1 cup milk

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 cup butter

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

Place potatoes into large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.

Drain well. Return to very low heat and allow the potatoes to dry out for a few minutes. (It helps if you place a clean dish towel over the potatoes to absorb any remaining moisture.)

Meanwhile, heat the milk and green onions gently in a saucepan, until warm.

Mash the potatoes, salt and butter together until smooth. Stir in the milk and green onion until evenly mixed. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Serve piping hot in bowls. Set out some extra butter for individuals to add to their servings.

* The only thing I did differently in this one is I used only about 1/4 bunch of green onions.  I was pretty sure the kids would freak out if I used the whole bunch.

My youngest son recently had a birthday, and when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted me to make he replied, "a plain, white one".  I was surprised at how hard of a time I had finding a "plain, white cake" that I wanted to make!  I finally saw this recipe and was glad I did, I have wanted to make one of these for years and this was the perfect opportunity.  This makes a very sweet cake, but that is fine for special occasions I think.

White Texas Sheet Cake
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup water

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring 1 cup butter or margarine and water to a boil. Remove from heat, and stir in flour, sugar, eggs, sour cream, 1 teaspoon almond extract, salt, and baking soda until smooth. Pour batter into a greased 10 x 15 x 1 inch baking pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and tests done. Cool for 20 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup butter or margarine and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Mix in sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Stir in walnuts. Spread frosting over warm cake.

Caramel Cake

I'm kind of on a caramel kick right now so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to make it.  It is really good, but super sweet.  You can't eat a lot of it at a time, which is a good thing I suppose.


Caramel Cake
Recipe from Allrecipes

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup chopped pecans (I didn't add these, I didn't want my kids heads to explode)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9x13 inch baking pan.

Sift the flour before measuring then resift with the 1 cup of the packed brown sugar.

Add the butter or margarine, eggs, milk, salt, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla to the flour mixture and beat on medium high speed of an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes. (Use the whisk attachment for best results.) Spread batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and place on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove pan and place cake on a serving dish. Once cake is cooled completely frost with Caramel Icing.

To Make Caramel Icing: In a saucepan over medium heat stir the 2 remaining cups of brown sugar, and the cream until the sugar is dissolved. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover and cook without stirring till a candy thermometer reads 238 to 240 degrees. Stir in the remaining butter with a wooden spoon. Remove the icing from the heat and let cool to 110 degrees. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat the icing until it is thick and creamy. If it becomes heavy, thin it out with cream until the right consistency appears. Spread over the top of the cooled cake and top with chopped pecans.

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I got an ice cream maker for Mother's Day, I am so excited about it.  I have already used the basic recipes in the manual that came with it to make several batches of vanilla and mint chocolate chip but I wanted to try something different.  I've been seeing coconut milk ice cream in the store and have been intrigued.  I love coconut and I would love to have the occasional ice cream treat with little or no dairy.  I searched the internet and found several recipes.  I decided I would try the coconut milk in baby steps, so instead of making the ice cream with only the coconut milk, for my first try I would incorporate some dairy.  I am in LOVE with the result!  I had to make this recipe up, because there wasn't anything out there exactly like I wanted and I am SO GLAD that I did.  This is so, so good!

Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream
Recipe by Kathee

Ingredients:

14 oz. can of full fat coconut milk (do not use light)
1 cup half and half
14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Optional: semisweet chocolate pieces

Pour a small amount of milk into a bowl.  Add the cocoa powder and mix well, removing any lumps.  Gradually add the rest of the coconut milk.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Make ice cream according to your ice cream maker's instructions.  In the last 5 minutes you can add any additions you would like.  I chopped up a bunch of tiny pieces of some semisweet chocolate to add, so this is absolutely a decadent chocolate treat!!   Serve immediately if you prefer a 'soft serve' type of ice cream, or chill for 1 to 2 hours in freezer if you like your ice cream harder.

Creme Brulee

My very favorite dessert is Creme Brulee and since it was my birthday last week (yay) I made myself a batch.  Well, I should clarify, I THOUGHT I was making myself a batch, since usually no one eats it but me, for which I have always been secretly thrilled.  Really, who wants to share Creme Brulee?!  Sadly, my daughter tried some and realized she has been missing out so I had to share with her.  Good thing I tripled the recipe!  (oh, yes I did!!)


Creme Brulee
Recipe from Allrecipes


Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup white sugar

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 egg yolks

4 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and line the bottom of a large baking pan with a damp kitchen cloth.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. While water is boiling, combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally 4 to 5 minutes, until steam rises. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Pour hot cream into yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until all cream is incorporated. Pour mixture into four 6 oz. ramekins.

Place ramekins on towel in baking dish, and place dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover whole pan loosely with foil.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until custard is just set. Chill ramekins in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours.

Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Use a kitchen torch or oven broiler to brown top, 2 to 3 minutes.

Spaghetti Carbonara and S'Mores Cookie Bars

I decided to try another recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara and I'm glad I did.  I like this one a lot better than the one I previously posted.  I forgot to buy pancetta, but you can substitute bacon and I luckily had some bacon I could use, because you KNOW I didn't want to make a last minute run up to the grocery store. 


Spaghetti Carbonara
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1  16 oz box spaghetti
2 tablespoon olive oil, separated
8 slices bacon or Italian bacon, diced
1/2 small onion, chopped (I omitted this of course)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)(I didn't use this)
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp heavy cream or milk (I used half and half)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Extra grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions:

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well and reserve a bit of the pasta water, about 1/2 cup. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside. While the pasta cooks start on the bacon. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.

Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. To ensure a creamy, silky sauce, mix the cheese, cream and beaten eggs together then stir into the pasta, off of the heat. Tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. If the mixture is too thick add a bit of reserved pasta water. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty). Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

Umm, I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you how good these bars were.  Just look at it for crying out loud!!  I've already been asked to make this again, I was told it was the best thing ever created in the existence of Earth, I was offered a bribe to give someone an extra piece, I could go on and on.  This dessert was VERY well received!!!


S'Mores Cookie Bars
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, room temperature (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
1 large egg
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme/fluff
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
(7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, processed til fine)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan (I line my pan with foil for easy removal and cutting). Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside. Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined.

Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side.  Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place blobs of it on the chocolate and then spread it around.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (I rolled the dough out between two pieces of waxed paper and use a spatula to place pieces of it on the top and pressed the pieces together). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (I did mine a little longer to get that nice brown color), until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16 squares.

Steak Kabobs, Tucano's Grilled Pineapple and Boston Cream Pie

Since the weather has been nice I decided it would be fun to grill for our Easter dinner.  Of course the boys were thrilled, because steak is their favorite.  Even my daughter ate it, and she doesn't really care for meat.  The pineapple was DELICIOUS!!  Next time, I'm doubling the pineapple and eating that first so I'm not full of other stuff!!!  The cake was delicious too, and so easy!!  You've got to love a meal that tastes fantastic but still allows you to have a 2 hour nap, even though we didn't get home from church until 3!!!


Beef Marinade for Kabobs

½ cup apple juice
¾ cup sugar
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ginger
½ onion, chopped

Marinate meat as long as desired (but at least an hour). While these are marinating, soak skewers in water for at least a half an hour. Cut steak in strips and put on a skewer with veggies, then grill on the BBQ.


Tucano's Grilled Pineapple
Recipe from Kiera's Recipes

Ingredients:

One half pineapple, cut into long spears
(I just used the pre cut pineapple and put it on a skewer)
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon, in all
lemon juice

Fire up the grill to medium heat. Before putting the pinapple down, sprinkle the spears with half of the cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar. This will facilitate a sweetness and instant carmelization when they hit the grill.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar and the rest of the cinnamon. Heat until bubbly and the sugar is properly melted.

Grill the pineapple spears over direct heat about 2-3 minutes per side, turning occaisionally. Each time it turns, baste with a brush of glaze. When finished, plate up and drizzle a final amount of glaze on top.

Easy Boston Cream Pie

1 yellow cake mix
1 small pkg. vanilla pudding
1 carton of Cool Whip
1 can of chocolate frosting


Make cake mix according to diretions in two round cake pans.   Let cool completely.   Make pudding mix according to directions but with only 1 cup of milk.  Let set.  Once set, add half of the carton of Cool Whip and mix together thoroughly.  Put one of the cake rounds on a plate.  Top with the pudding mixture.  Put the other cake round on top of the pudding mixture.  Frost with chocolate frosting as desired.  Keep refrigerated.

Nacho Pie and Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

I should have made two of these because it was inhaled in 2 point 3 seconds.  It has already been requested as a birthday dinner, high praise in our home!!


Nacho Pie
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1/2 cup chopped onion (of course I skipped this!)
1  8 oz. can tomato cauce
¾ cup water
1  packet taco seasoning mix
1  tube crescent roll dough
1 1/2 cup crushed tortillas chips
1/2 cup sour cream (I didn't add this)
1  cup cheddar jack or plain cheddar cheese
additional sour cream for garnish, diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  In large skillet brown beef and onion over medium heat until done. Drain off any grease. Stir in tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles. Place in greased 9 inch pie plate points facing towards the middle. You might have to maneuver the triangles a bit at the end and turn some of them side ways, that's OK as long as the pie plate is covered completely. Press onto bottom and up sides of plate to form crust. Seal perforations. Sprinkle 1 cup crushed chips over crust. Top with meat mixture. Using a spatula spread sour cream over meat. (I skipped this step because I don't like sour cream).   Sprinkle the cheese and then remaining 1/2 cup crushed chips. Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until cheese melts, pie is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting. Add a dollop of sour cream, diced tomatoes and black olives for garnish. If the crust starts to brown to quickly cover the pie plate with foil from the bottom and up around the sides to cover crust.

Serve with a salad and your meal is complete.




 Our dessert for FHE was super easy.  We got a bunch of these for Christmas as neighbor gifts:

When I found this recipe I realized it was the perfect way to use up these cookie pouches!

Please forgive my horrible picture, just trust me when I tell you, if you like cheesecake you will LOVE these bars!!!


Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 (30 oz.) pkg. of chocolate chip cookie dough (I used two cookie pouches)
1 (8 oz.) packages of regular cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut chocolate chip cookie dough in half. (Or in my case, prepare cookie dough as directed).   Cover the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan or casserole dish with half of the dough, forming a crust. Use your hands for this as if you were filling a pie plate with a homemade pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes.

While baking, beat the cream cheese, egg (or egg substitute), sugar (or no calorie sugar sweetener), and vanilla in a bowl until well blended. Take the crust out and spread the cream cheese mixture on the top being sure to cover the entire top. It will be ooey and gooey and may blend with the crust and this is OK.
Take the other half of the cookie dough and crumble it on top of the cream cheese coating, being sure to cover it all.Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving. Store in the fridge, due to the cream cheese

Note: You can also use other cookie dough flavors instead of chocolate chip. Peanut butter, M & M, etc...

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas and Cake Mix Chocolate Bars

Okay, so I pretty much knew that this would be hated by my kids, but I didn't care because it sounded good to me and I'm selfish like that.  I made some plain cheese enchiladas for the kids, but didn't tell them.  It was hilarious seeing their faces, thinking that they had to eat, gasp, sweet potatoes!  Son #3 came in from playing outside and said, "Wow!!  What is that delicious smell?!!" and proceeded to go on and on about how yummy it smelled and how much he loves enchiladas.  When it was time to eat and I told him what was in the enchiladas, it was a different story.  He was instantly mad and said "Enchiladas are the most disgusting thing in the world.  I hate them.  Sweet potatoes?  What is wrong with you Mom?"  I laughed for hours about that.  By the way, I loved these enchiladas.  Obviously there must be something wrong with me.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas


Ingredients:

2 large sweet potatoes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 small jalapeno minced (seeded)

1 (14.5 oz.) can rinsed black beans

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 (28 oz.) can of red enchilada sauce (Macayo's is the best)

2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (or cheddar jack!)

8 large flour tortillas

Peel your sweet potatoes and dice into chunks.  Spread out on a baking sheet with a little olive oil and salt and bake at 400 until soft (about 30 minutes).

Saute your garlic and jalapeno in the olive oil, add the black beans, chili powder, cumin and sweet potatoes. Mix everything really well and let cook for a few minutes.

Spread 1 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 casserole pan. Fill tortillas with the bean and sweet potato mixture and a little bit of cheese.  Roll up the tortilla and place in the pan. When finished top with remaining the remaining enchilada sauce and whatever cheese you have left over. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve with lettuce, olives, avocado, and a little sour cream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, I had forgotten to make a dessert for FHE, so I quickly looked through my recipe archives for a fast recipe.  This one is VERY fast, and the kids loved it. 

 

 

Cake Mix Chocolate Bars

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 (1) yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup chocolate chips

 

Directions:

Combine the cake mix, eggs and oil.  Press combine the milk and chocolate chips. Microwave to melt, stopping every 30 seconds to stir. Pour chocolate mixture over crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the chocolate mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until they start to turn golden. 

 

Hide the leftovers or the next day your kids will come home from school with their friends and inhale them, like this....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Butter Bars

Last night for dinner we had breakfast burritos, not really something I need to share a recipe for.  But our dessert?  Oh, my, the dessert.  In the name of everything buttery and bad for you, make these Butter Bars - NOW!!!
One funny thing that happened at dinner.......  we were all talking and sharing, having a great meal.  Suddenly, one of the boys speaks above everyone else, "Hey!  Guess what?  I entered the drawing in the library for one of the Justin Bieber posters!!!"   Complete SILENCE.  Everyone looks at each other.  Massive laughter ensues.  "What in the world did you do that for?"  "Justin Bieber?  What is wrong with you?"  After we settled down he told us his plan, "I want to draw a mustache and beard on it and put it in my brother's room!!"  Oh!!!  That made sense, because that particular brother gets accosted on the street by preteens who think he is the Bieb's in the flesh!!  We were all worried there for a second though!!!



Butter Bars
Recipe courtesy of Everywhere on the Internets

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups powdered sugar


Directions:

Combine crust ingredients and pat into a 9X13 pan.  Beat cream cheese, eggs and vanilla until smooth.  Add butter and sugar.  Mix well.  Pour over crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Chicken Smothered With Love and Vanilla Cupcakes

For Valentine's Day I made my love his favorite meal, Chicken Smothered With Love. It's oh, so good. I made mashed potatoes, broccoli, rolls, and chocolate covered strawberries on the side. I made Shirley Temples and vanilla cupcakes, too. We were stuffed. I love to feed my family.

Chicken Smothered with Love

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (4), salted and peppered
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 cup Flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1 onion sliced
1 1/2 cup hot chicken stock pinch of red pepper flakes

Season chicken with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika...then dredge in flour. Heat oil and butter in skillet add chicken and brown all sides...then remove and set aside. Add onion to skillet and sauté until translucent and beginning to brown. Return chicken to skillet; add hot chicken stock just up to the side of the chicken and add red pepper flakes.Bring to a boil... lower heat to simmer, cover and cook 30-40 minutes until gravy thickens.

Vanilla Cupcakes

From Bake and Shake, Adapted from Amy Sedaris' recipe

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups vanilla sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups All Purpose flour, Dip-And-Sweep method
1 1/4 cups milk, pref. 2% or above, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Whisk or sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and light yellow, 45 seconds to a minute.

Add eggs, one by one, mixing to combine. If mixture looks slightly curdled, don't worry -- it should come together once you add the flour, or tears of failure. But this can be avoided by making sure your eggs are room temperature. I like to rinse a ceramic bowl out with hot tap water, dry, and set the eggs inside that. They come to temperature easily.

Add Vanilla, and then alternate flour mixture and milk, beating after each addition. I like to begin and end with the flour. Mix on low speed until batter is lump-free and almost glossy looking. It should be silky. Using an ice cream scoop or similar, scoop or spoon batter into a muffin tin lined with paper or foil baking cups -- if you're not lining, use a little vegetable oil or butter and flour your tin. This recipe will easily give you 16-24 cupcakes, depending on how high you fill them.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, checking after cupcakes have risen and begun to turn golden around the edges. When they're done, they'll be dry on top, slightly golden around the edges and a skewer inserted in the middle will come out dry. Allow to cool for three minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack. Frost and eat, or display for three days, swearing each time a hand nears them.

Vanilla Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 ounce softened cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Powdered sugar, as needed (2-4 cups, depending)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Food coloring, if desired

In a large bowl, whip the butter and cream cheese together until completely smooth. Add in sugar, cup by cup, until desired consistency/sweetness level is reached. Divide into smaller bowls and color, if you want. Swirl generously on top of fully cooled cupcakes, and decorate as desired. (I double the frosting).

Valentine's Dinner

My husband and I made the kids steak and potatoes for Valentines Dinner.  I have no special recipes for it!  We set the table fancy, I was their waitress and my husband was the busboy.  There were lots and lots of giggles as I took their drink orders!!  (Their drink choices were root beer, orange soda, milk, water or Kathee Cocktails - recipe to follow).  I made an easy dessert and just adapted one of my favorite simple cookie recipes by using red velvet cake mix instead of devil's food.  Quick, festive and delicious - that's what I'm talking about!!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
Recipe from Allrecipes

To make these Valentine's Day festive I used red velvet cake mix.  These simple cookies would be good with any cake mix.

Ingredients:

2 (18.25 ounce) packages devil's food cake mix

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

FILLING:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mixes, oil and eggs; mix well. Roll into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Do not flatten. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks (cookies will flatten as the cool).

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread on the bottom of half of the cookies; top with remaining cookies. Store in the refrigerator.

Kathee Cocktails

Recipe from Me!!

Ingredients:

Sprite (I use diet Sprite, or actually I prefer diet Sierra Mist)

Orange Juice

Pineapple Juice

Grenadine

Directions:

Fill a glass about half way with crushed ice.   Then fill the cup 1/4 of the way with orange juice, another 1/4 of the way with pineapple juice and then put about 1 tablespoon of grenadine.  Then fill the glass the rest of the way with the Sprite.  Best. Drink. Ever.  I made it fun for Valentine's Day by making ice cubes from a heart shaped ice cube tray with orange juice.

Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese Stuffed Shells with Olive Garden Salad and Italian Breadsticks, PLUS Mom's Texas Sheet Cake

(Kath, here's another ricotta dish to torture your kids with!)

Friday night we fed the missionaries from our church. We always try to feed the missionaries when we can because we feel blessed that so many sweet people fed us while we were on our missions. Plus, the kids love it when the missionaries come over! My kids, the social butterflies that they are (yeah, they didn't get it from us or their grandparents or anyone they are related to for that matter). It was a super yummy meal, if I do say so myself.

Sausage, Spinach, and Cheese Stuffed Shells
From Redbook Magazine

1 package(s) (12-ounce) jumbo pasta shells (about 36 shells)
2 tablespoon(s) olive oil
1/2 cup(s) finely chopped onion
3/4 pound(s) bulk sweet Italian sausage
2 clove(s) garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 container(s) (15-ounce) whole or part-skim ricotta cheese
1 box(es) (9-ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
3/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese
4 ounce(s) fresh mozzarella, grated
1/2 teaspoon(s) kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
1 jar(s) (32-ounce) tomato sauce with basil

1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; add pasta shells and cook according to package instructions. Drain in a colander; rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Drain shells on paper towels.
2.Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat; add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sausage, breaking up into smaller bits with a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Remove pan from heat.
3.Beat egg lightly in a large bowl; stir in ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, mozzarella, salt, pepper, and the cooled sausage mixture until blended. Fill pasta shells with mixture.
4.Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish. Arrange stuffed shells in dish. Spread remaining tomato sauce over pasta shells. Cover dish with foil; bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling. Remove foil; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes longer.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing and Salad Mix

Olive Garden Salad Dressing
1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1/3 C. White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 Tbsp. Romano Cheese
1/4 tsp. Garlic Salt - or one clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
Olive Garden Salad Mix

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little to tart for your own personal tastes please add a little extra sugar.

Olive Garden Salad Mix
1 bag American Blend Dole Salad
4-5 slices Red Onion
4-6 Black Olives
2-4 Banana Peppers
1/2 C. Croutons
1 small Tomato Quartered
Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese

Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place bag of salad in bowl. Place on top of lettuce but red onion, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

Find Soft Italian Breadsticks here.

Mom's Texas Sheet Cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 sticks margarine
1 cup water
4 tbsp. cocoa
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs

Mix sugar, flour and salt in a bowl. In heavy pan, bring butter, water and cocoa to a boil. Take cocoa mix from heat as soon as it boils and add immediately to dry ingredients. Add sour cream, eggs and baking soda; mix well after each. Batter will be thin. Bake in jelly roll pan at 375 degrees for 20-25 min. Prepare frosting while cake is baking. Frost as soon as cake is removed from oven.

Butter Nut Frosting
1 cup nuts (optional)
2 sticks margarine
1 box powdered sugar
6 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
4 tbsp. cocoa

Boil milk, butter and cocoa in heavy pan until bubbly. Stir in sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add nuts. Spread over hot cake.

Meatless Lasagna, French Bread and Homemade Twix Bars

I'm beginning to think that I have some sort of sick compulsion to upset my kids, because I served a meal with ricotta for dinner last night AGAIN.  The fits that were thrown were epic, they will go down in our family history as The Great Ricotta Tantrum of 2011.  The problem is, I really love ricotta, and lets face it, I'm a selfish person.  So last night I made a meatless lasagna.  I just played around with my regular lasagna recipe and added some veggies to it that I thought my kids wouldn't mind eating.  Boy, was I wrong!!  My husband and I loved it, but the kids kept saying things like "What's this green leaf?"  "Are there tomato chunks?  I see tomato chunks!!!"  "What are those green things?"  and the ever popular, "Where's the meat?"  Kids, I am so, so sorry that I am trying to cut meat out of our meals ONE DAY A WEEK.  That's it, one day.  Give me a break!  Thank goodness they like bread, they inhaled it once it came out of the oven!  I bribed them into eating half of their lasagna by telling them they couldn't have any dessert unless they did.  As soon as I said that they started eating away, because our dessert was incredible.  Homemade.  Twix.  Bars.   Yes, you heard right.  I'm not going to lie and tell you they come together in a snap, because they're a TAD time consuming, but worth every minute.

Meatless Lasagna

Ingredients:

3 tbsp. butter

1 cup grated carrots (about 4)

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

1 bell pepper, finely diced

Minced onion (I have a hate/hate relationship with onion so I don't add this, add however much you want)

You can add any other veggies you want!

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 1 /2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 tbsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
15 oz. ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Melt butter in pan.  Add vegetables and saute until soft.   Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.  Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tbsp. salt, pepper and 2 tbsp. parsley.  Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes.  Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water.  (or you could skip this whole step and use the no boil noodles, do it, for the love of everything easy, DO IT).  In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of sauce in bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan.  Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over sauce.  Spread with one half of the ricotta mixture.  Top with a third of the mozzarella cheese.  Spool 1 1 /2 cups of sauce over mozzarella and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Cover with foil.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and bake an additional 25 minutes.  Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

(Disclosure:  the bread is supposed to rise for 1 hour, I was impatient and only let it go 15 minutes, hence the small loaf)

I love this recipe.  It makes 2 big loaves of bread and you mix it all in one bowl.  It's so easy.  I use this cool pan to cook the loaves in, but you also can just use a baking sheet.

French Bread

Recipe courtesy of Denise Giles

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm water

2 tsp. sugar

2 pkg. yeast

1 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. cooking oil

6 cups flour

Directions:

Important - use a silver metal bowl and wooden spoon!!!!

Put yeast and sugar in bowl and stir.  Pour warm water over and let stand 5 minutes until it's all bubbly.  Add salt, oil and 1 cup of flour.  Mix together.  Stir in remaining flour.  Leave spoon in bowl and cover with a towel.  Let it rest for 10 minutes.  Stir again.  Repeat this 3 times.

Put dough on floured surface, knead very little.  Divide dough in half.  Roll into a rectangle, then roll it up.  Tuck in the ends.  Lift it up and slam it down on the counter to get the air out (also this makes you look really cool and like you know your way around the kitchen, very impressive to the kids).

Grease cookie sheet and sprinkle with corn meal.  Place bread onto baking sheet or your handy dandy french bread pan.  Let rise for 1 hour with towel over.  Cut gashes at angle on top of bread.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.  After removing from oven, put some butter on the top of the bread.

Homemade Twix Bars

Recipe courtesy of Not Without the Salt

Ingredients:

Shortbread
5 1/2 ounces (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground rice (rice processed in a spice grinder until it is able to pass through a fine sieve to remove chunks)* (I DID NOT ADD THE RICE - Kathee)
Make the Shortbread:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-X-13-inch baking pan with pan spray and line with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.
In a large bowl  cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the flour, ground rice and salt and allow the dough to come together. The dough will be crumbly but should hold together when you squeeze it.
Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Rotate the pan from front to back and bake for another 10 minutes, until the shortbread is a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack to room temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare the ….
Caramel
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling over the caramel layer
Make the Caramel:
Combine the sugar, golden syrup, water, and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Remove any sugar crystals from the sides of the pan by wiping down the sides with water. You can use your hand or a pastry brush. Place the pot on medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Wipe down any stray sugar crystals that appear using a very clean and wet pastry brush. Do not stir from this point on. Keep an eye on the pan. The mixture will be very bubbly.
When the sugar syrup starts to turn golden brown insert a candy thermometer to check the temperature. When it reaches 300°F, remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for 1minute, or until the bubbles subside. Carefully whisk in the heavy cream. Stir until smooth, then whisk in the condensed milk. Add the salt.  Whisk until smooth.
Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly over medium heat until the caramel reaches 240°F. Remove from the heat and pour over the shortbread. While the caramel is warm sprinkle the surface with the best quality salt you have. Kosher is fine, Fleur de Sel is better, Maldon would be my preferred choice.
Allow to set. This will take about 2 hours.
Once the caramel layer has cooled prepare your …
Chocolate Glaze
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (Bittersweet chocolate chips also work)(I USED SEMISWEET BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I HAD ON HAND - Kathee)
2 tablespoons butter
Melt the chocolate and butter over a bain marie or in the microwave. If using the microwave melt it slowly – in 30 second intervals. Stir well after each interval.

Once completely melted pour over the caramel.  Using an offset spatula, smooth the chocolate in a nice even layer.

Place in the refrigerator to set. They cut best when chilled.

Cut into desired shape and size. Serve.

 

Panini with Warm Vegetable Salad and Mud Pie

Monday night is all about the dessert at our house. On Family Home Evening I usually will make a little somethin' and the kids always look forward to it. When Charlie asked what I was making for dessert this Monday I told him I was making Mud Pie. "Really?" He asked, a little confused. A few minutes later he said, "Hey mom, I know how to make mud pies. You want me to go outside and make you one?" Love it!

Monday night I also made paninis. I don't have a fancy panini press, but I have a cast iron press and it works just as well. I usually use the Trader Joe's Cracked Wheat Sourdough for our bread. It's perfect panini bread. For our filling, I grilled some chicken and red onions, fried some bacon, piled it all on and topped with sharp cheddar cheese. Yum.

For our side I made Giada De Laurentiis' Warm Vegetable Salad. Does your husband have a huge crush on Giada, too? Yuck. Put a sweater on, Giada. Okay, okay, my husband doesn't complain about my Jimmy Fallon crush. Don't we all have at least one celebrity crush? Be honest.

Warm Vegetable Salad
from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Italian

2 whole red peppers
1 1/2 pound assorted red and white new potatoes (I use purple potatoes, too)
3/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler. Place the red peppers on a foil lined baking sheet.

Place the red peppers under the boiler. Turning every 2 to 3 minutes cook the peppers until the skin is blistered, about 8 to 9 minutes total. Place the blistered peppers in a plastic bag. Seal the bag and allow the peppers to sit for 10 minutes to allow the skin to separate and to let cool.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board. Add the green beans to the pot. Cook the green beans until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the green beans to a large bowl. Slice the potatoes in half while still warm and combine them with the green beans in the large bowl. Remove the peppers from the plastic bag. Peel off the skin from the peppers. Slice the pepper flesh into wide strips and remove the seeds and veins. Place them in the bowl with the potatoes. Add the scallions, parsley, and garlic
and toss to combine.

In a small bowl combine the oregano, lemon juice and zest, and white wine vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the salt and pepper. Toss the warm vegetables with the herb vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Mud Pie

3 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate (or 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 chocolate crumb crust (8 inches) (or graham cracker crust)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or not!)
2 cups cold milk
2 packages (3.9 ounces each) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

In a microwave or heavy saucepan, melt chocolate; stir in condensed milk until smooth. Pour into crust; sprinkle with pecans. In a small bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Carefully spread 1-1/2 cups of pudding mixture over pecans. Fold 1/2 cup whipped topping into the remaining pudding mixture; spoon over pudding layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Chill until set. Refrigerate leftovers.