Saturday, May 16, 2009

Millionaire's Shortbread


Ingredients

Shortbread:
2 sticks butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for preparing pans
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for preparing pans
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Caramel Layer:
2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter


Chocolate Topping:
3/4 pound good-quality milk chocolate

Shortbread:
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 9x13 nonstick pan and coat with flour, tapping off excess - or line with parchment paper. Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse once. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles peas. Press the shortbread mixture into prepared pan and bake until golden brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Caramel Layer:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of butter. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously. Continue stirring over the heat until mixture becomes thick and amber in color, about 15 minutes. Pour the caramel over the cooked shortbread and spread evenly using an offset spatula.

Chocolate Topping:

Prepare the chocolate by chopping finely or have a bag of mini milk chocolate - chocolate chips ready. While the caramel is still warm sprinkle the chocolate on top of the caramel mixture and let set until chocolate starts to melt. Once warm enough spread the chocolate with an off set spatula to cover the caramel mixture. Cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes, and then place in the refrigerator to cool completely, allowing chocolate to slightly harden but not get hard. Cut into 2-inch squares and enjoy, or store in an airtight container, at room temperature, or my favorite - keep in the refrigerator for a yummy sweet and cool treat!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Fun Saturday Eggs in a Bag


Here's a fun and easy recipe to do with the kids one morning. Let the kids even build their own omelet.

To start use a ziploc baggie, if you are doing a lot at once get the freezer bag ones that let you write on the bag so you know who's eggs are whose.

So now everyone has their bags in hand. Crack open 2 eggs per bag, you can shake them up a little before adding in the "extras" or you can do it all at once.

Now add your favorite omelet ingredients like:
  • Ham
  • Green Peppers
  • Tomato
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Onion
  • Red Pepper
  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Pre-Cooked Ground Sausage

Whatever strikes your fancy and whatever you like.

Once you have all of your toppings in you can add a couple of dashes of salt & pepper to taste, zip up the bag and smoosh everything together until well mixed.

Next add the bag to a pot of boiling water and boil until cook through. Now the cooking times I have seen listed range from 5 minute all the way to 13 minutes so I tend to average the times and it works the best so cooking for about 8-9 mins works the best for me.

This is also a great camping dish to make!

Try it & Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Vanilla Cookies

Found a mother friendly recipe for all of you who have children and who probably have a box of vanilla cookies in their pantry cupboard. So why not try making a batch for your little ones!

Courtesy of Kitchen Tandav



As easy as easy gets

Recipe:

Vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix and drop marble sized balls onto greased baking dish.
Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes.

You can use any of the following combinations to replace the cake mix and extract:

- lemon cake mix with lemon juice
- chocolate cake mix with kahlua chocolate sauce
- Spice cake mix and cinnamon

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Easy Chicken Florentine


Chicken Florentine
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Prep Time: 10 min Inactive Prep Time: 24 hr 0 min Cook Time: 30 min Level:
Easy Serves:
6-8 servings


Ingredients
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach
6 chicken breast halves (about 4 pounds), cooked, boned, and shredded
2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 cup grated sharp Cheddar
Juice from 1 whole lemon
1 teaspoon curry powder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Remove the outer wrappers from the box of spinach. Open 1 end of each box. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes, until thawed. Drain the spinach and put into a large bowl. Add the shredded chicken.

In a medium bowl, combine the soup, mayonnaise, sour cream, Cheddar, lemon juice, curry powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Whisk together to make a sauce. Pour the sauce over the spinach and chicken. Mix well with a spatula.

Place the mixture into an 11 by 7-inch casserole dish or 2 (9-inch) square disposable aluminum foil pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil cooking spray. Pat down evenly and smooth with a spatula. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs and sprinkle over the top. Dot with the butter.

Wrap the uncooked casserole securely with plastic wrap, then with aluminum foil. Place each pan into a plastic freezer bag and seal. Place into freezer.

Allow casserole to thaw 24 hours in refrigerator. When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap and foil. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes until bubbly.

Vidalia Onion Cornbread




Vidalia Onion Cornbread
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Prep Time: 5 min Inactive Prep Time: 0 min Cook Time: 33 min Level:
Easy Serves:
16 squares


Ingredients
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped
1 (8-ounce) package cornbread/muffin mix
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed


Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and saute the onion until tender, but not browned, for about 3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the muffin mix, egg, milk, sour cream, 1/2 cup of the cheese, the salt, and dill weed. Stir to combine.

Pour into the prepared pan and top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, until set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cornbread comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into squares.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Cake Doughnuts



So Joe wanted to make doughnuts a while back. . .from scratch. I was exhausted that day so I just printed up a recipe real quick and told him to have at it. He made them and they turned out like fried rings of something unidentifiable.

But some of the rings that were fatter tasted like they should have. So I wanted to give it a go. I also quadrupled the recipe to accommodate our large family. As it is we can't order just one dozen of doughnuts and be satisfied. Now we need at least 2 dozen and 3 dozen if we want some to snack on later in the day. Since Joe used the original recipe and it BARELY made enough tiny squashed doughnut I knew I needed more.

8 C. Flour
2 C. Sugar
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp Salt
¼ C. Baking Powder
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
1 Stick Butter Melted
2 C. Milk
4 Eggs

  • Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  • In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix in butter until crumbly. With a mixer; mix in milk and egg until well incorporated. Divide dough into manageable section and then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter, or use two round biscuit cutters of different sizes.
  • Carefully drop doughnuts into hot oil, a few at a time. Do not overcrowd pan or oil may overflow. Fry, turning once, for 3 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels.
  • GLAZE:
    2 Cups Powdered Sugar
    6 Tbsp Milk
    Some lemon or lime juice to taste.
  • POWDER:
    2 Cups Powdered Sugar
    ¼ Cup Cinnamon
    ½ tsp Nutmeg
  • Recipe Yields apx 3 Dozen Doughnuts and 3 Dozen Doughnut Holes







  • Monday, January 12, 2009

    Oopsie Bread

    Since the New Year started and I decided I needed to get healthier I started Atkins again. Of course on Atkins you aren't allowed things like bread or sugar or even certain starchy vegetables. I've done really well so far too. Lost 17lbs since Jan 1st. But I ran across this recipe called Oopsie Bread and it is super easy to make and it really does help gatting through that induction phase a lot easier. I've been able to make my sandwiches again without wrapping it all in lettuce and I can do it without feeling guilty too! Gluten free too.



    Oopsie Rolls (Gluten-Free Buns)


    3 large eggs
    pinch of cream of tartar (1/8 tsp)
    3 ounces cream cheese (Do not soften)

    Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

    Separate the eggs and add cream cheese to the yolks. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (if you're using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolk mixture). Using a spatula, gradually fold the egg yolk mixture into the white mixture, being careful not to break down the whites. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly.

    Bake about 30 minutes (You want them slightly softer, not crumbly). Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool. Store in a loosely open sack and allow to rest on the counter before use (otherwise they might be too moist). Can be frozen.

    Notes: If you are making these to be savory (for burgers) you can add dry mustard and dill or other seasonings to the yolk mixture. If you want a more sweet roll, add a very small amount of stevia natural sweetener to the yolk mixture.


    Makes 6 Induction Friendly, Gluten-Free rolls.

    Nutritional information per roll: Calories:85 , Carbohydrates: .6 g, Fiber: 0g, Net Carbohydrates: .6g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 7.5