Category Archives: Cooking

Fruit for Summer BBQ

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Blogging, Cooking, fruit, Recipes, Summer

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With summer right around the corner I always love looking for things to serve for outside entertaining….this is so easy and great to serve at a bar-b-que. 

Simply fill a waffle cone with a variety of fresh fruit, both cut up and whole. Waffle cones can be purchased premade where they sell the ice cream! Your guests can each have their own!

http://pinterest.com/vintagebydee/outside-living/

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, lemon, Recipes, truffle

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White Chocolate Lemon Truffles
Ingredients
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
  • 3 Tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 cup quality white chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp lemon extract
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar or sparkling sugar for coating
Instructions
  1. Pour white chocolate into a mixing bowl, set aside.
  2. Melt butter along with lemon zest in a small saucepan. Stir in cream and scald mixture. (Aka. Heat until bubbles begin to form around the edges but is not yet boiling)
  3. Pour hot cream mixture over white chocolate.
  4. Add extract then stir until smooth.
  5. Cover mixture and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.
  6. Scoop mixture out by heaping teaspoon fulls and form into balls then roll in powdered sugar or sparkling sugar.
  7. Freeze truffles 20 minutes or refrigerate for one hour then enjoy.
  8. Store truffles in refrigerator.

http://betsylife.com/2013/03/19/white-chocolate-lemon-truffles/

Cheeseburger Soup

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cooking, hamburger, Recipes, Soup

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Ingredients:
2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules (about 4 cubes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound ground beef, browned and drain
2 1/2 cups milk, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 oz. Velveeta, cubed 
Optional: 1/4 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
Garnish: 1/2 lb. bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
(milk and water not shown)

Directions:
Brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease and set aside

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender. Stir in beef and 2 cups of milk.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour and remaining 1/2 cup milk until smooth. 
Gradually whisk into soup.

Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly (so mixture does not burn). Reduce heat; add cheese and stir until completely melted. Add cayenne pepper (if using).

Garnish with bacon.
Serves 6 to 8


Caramel Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich (with Bacon)

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in apples, caramel, Cooking, grill cheese, Recipes

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Grilled Cheese of the Day!! – Caramel Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich (with Bacon) – Tart apples in a bed of melted cheddar cheese and sweet caramel sauce along with salty bacon all wrapped up in warm buttery and toasty bread.

This sandwich is really easy to make, simply combining cheddar cheese, sliced apples and caramel sauce in a grilled cheese! The one caveat about this sandwich is that fresh apple slices tend to pop out of it when you eat it but you can alleviate this by sauteing the apples a bit to tenderize them first. It really comes down to whether you prefer the crisp apples or the ease of eating the sandwich but either way you are in apple, caramel and ooey gooey melted cheddar heaven. Although the caramel apple grilled cheese sandwich is amazing all by itself, you can make it even more decadent by adding bacon; where the salty bacon balances the tart apple and sweet caramel sauce nicely.

You can use store bought caramel sauce but homemade caramel sauce is so easy to make and it keeps in the fridge for months so you can have some around for when you want it.

Caramel Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich (with Bacon)

Tart apples in a bed of melted cheddar cheese and sweet caramel sauce along with salty bacon all wrapped up in warm buttery and toasty bread.


Servings: 1

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 slices of bread
  • 2 slices cheddar (or 1/2 cup shredded)
  • 1/2 apple, cored and sliced
  • 1 tablespoon caramel sauce
  • 2 strips bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces and cooked (optional)
Directions
  1. Heat a pan over medium heat.
  2. Butter the outside side of each slice of bread, place one slice in the pan buttered side down, top with half of the cheese, the apple, caramel sauce, bacon, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
  3. Grill until golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Option: If you prefer the apples to be tender, and they stay in the sandwich better that way, saute them in a touch of oil or bacon grease until just tender, about 1-2 minutes per side, before adding them to the sandwich.


Option: Serve with extra caramel sauce for dipping along with a few apple slices.



Strawberry Blessing Tiramisu

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Recipes, strawberries, tiramisu

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Strawberry Blessing Tiramisu
  • 1 cup strawberry jam
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup Grand Marnier, plus one tablespoon extra
  • 1-1/4 pounds mascarpone, at room temperature
  • 1-1/3 cups whipping cream (35%)
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ladyfingers or Savoiardi (you’ll need about 50)
  • 1-1/2 to 2 pounds strawberries, washed, dried and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest
  1. In a bowl, combine the jam, water, orange juice and half of the Grand Marnier. Mix well. The mixture should be liquidy. Set aside
  2. In a bowl, combine the mascarpone and the remaining Grand Marnier. Mix well. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream with the sugar, vanilla extract and remaining 1 tablespoon of Grand Marnier. Beat until stiff peaks form.
  4. Take a quarter of the whipped cream mixture and stir into the mascarpone to lighten the mascarpone. Then add the remaining whipped cream mixture and fold gently into the mascarpone mixture. Set aside.
  5. Spread 1/2 of the jam mixture in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. The mixture will be very liquidy but don’t worry about it. The ladyfingers will absorb the liquid.
  6. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest over the jam mixture.
  7. Line the bottom of the dish with ladyfingers, making sure to fill in every spot. If you have to snap the ladyfingers into smaller pieces in order to make them fit.
  8. Spread half of the mascarpone mixture evenly over the ladyfingers.
  9. Layer half of the sliced strawberries over the mascarpone.
  10. Spread the remaining jam mixture over the strawberries.
  11. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon zest over the strawberries and jam.
  12. Create a second layer of ladyfingers over the strawberries and jam. Again be sure to completely fill in the layer.
  13. Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.
  14. Layer the remaining strawberries on top.
  15. Chill for at least 12 hours before serving.
  16. Enjoy!
Note:  I would recommend chilling for 24 hours. Chilling for 12 hours will do, but if you can hold off devouring this dessert, the extra time will really help it set.

Lemon-Lime Bundt Cake

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Recipes

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Lemon-Lime Bundt Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 small box (4 oz.) instant lemon pudding
1 1/2 cups lemon-lime soda
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Icing-
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 TBS lemon juice
1-2 TBS milk

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray such as Bakers Joy. In a medium bowl, combine all the cake ingredients. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Pour batter into Bundt pan. Bake for about 45-55 minutes-until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely; remove from pan. In a small bowl, combine sugar and lemon juice. Add milk in slowly until you’ve reached desired consistency. Pour icing over cake and serve.

EASY Delicious Crock-Pot BBQ Ribs Recipe

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cooking, Recipes

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☆.•♥• EASY Delicious Crock-Pot BBQ Ribs Recipe! •♥•☆

The meat falls off the bone as you take them out of the crock pot!

Ingredients:

4 pounds Ribs of your choice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoons vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 bottle of sweet baby rays BBQ
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoons oregano

Directions:
In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except for the ribs themselves.

Place ribs in slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs, and turn to coat.
Cover, and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours, or until ribs are tender.

Cheesy Taco Taters

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cooking, Recipes

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Cheesy Taco Taters
5-6  baking potatoes, peeled and cut in medium size chunks
1/3 cup oil (olive or vegetable)
1 pkg. taco mix
sprinkle of seasoned salt
sprinkle of black pepper
2 cups Monterrey Jack and Cheddar blend cheese, shredded
Place potatoes in a gallon size Ziploc bag with oil and taco mix.  Seal and shake until they are all well coated. 
Spray a 9″x13″ dish (or any dish big enough to spread them out in) with nonstick cooking spray and spread the potatoes out in it.  Sprinkle with a little seasoned salt and black pepper.  Place in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes.  At 20 minutes stir them around to turn and get all sides browned.  Sprinkle with the cheese about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time.  
http://sweetteaandcornbread.blogspot.com/2013/01/cheesy-taco-taters.html

Chocolate Brownie Cookies

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Baking, Cooking, Recipes

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Chocolate Brownie Cookies
http://www.daydreamkitchen.com/ One awesome blog!
Yield: 2-1/2 to 5 dozen cookies, depending on size
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (yes, this is the correct amount!)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp brewed espresso (or you can use reconstituted espresso powder)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp unsalted butter
5 oz extra-bittersweet chocolate (70% or higher), chopped
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, briefly whip the eggs to break them up. Add the sugar, espresso, and vanilla and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until thick. (This will help add body to the batter because there is so little flour in the recipe.)
While the eggs are whipping, place the butter in the top of a double boiler, or in a small metal bowl suspended over a pot of simmering (not boiling) water, and scatter the extra-bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate on top. Heat until the butter and chocolate melt. Remove the boiler top from over the water and stir the chocolate and butter until smooth.
Gently fold the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until partially combined (there should still be some streaks). Add the flour mixture to the batter and carefully fold it in. Fold in the chocolate chips. If the batter is very runny, let it rest until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
Drop the batter by heaping teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake until puffed and cracked, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before removing from the baking sheets.
NOTE: Most of us use tablespoons to measure out cookie dough. Claudia calls for teaspoons, 1/3 the size of normal! If you want larger cookies or more of them, double the recipe.
Source: theheritagecook.com

Taco Pie

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Cooking, Recipes

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“Taco Pie”
http://lusarytole.blogspot.com/2009/03/foodie-friday-taco-pie.html

Ingredients:
2 c. chicken cooked and shredded
1 c. shredded lettuce
1-4oz. can diced green chili’s drained
2 Tbs. cilantro
8-10 inch flour tortillas
1-6 oz. avocado dip
1-16 oz. can refried beans
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
2 Tbs. sliced pitted ripe olives
2 Tbs. cilantro
Salsa

Directions:
In a bowl combine chicken, lettuce, chili’s, and cilantro. Set aside.

Place one of the tortillas on a large platter. Spread with half of the avocado dip. Then top with a second tortilla. Spread with half of the refried beans. Cover with a third tortilla. Sprinkle with half of the chicken-lettuce mixture. Add a forth tortilla. Spread with half of the sour cream sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sour cream and cheese. Garnish with tomatoes, olives, and cilantro. To serve, cut into wedges. If desired, serve with salsa.

Makes 8 servings