Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Deviled Avocado Eggs

AVOCADO DEVILED EGGS

Deviled Avocado Eggs 

– Mash 1 large avocado with 3 egg yolks. Add 1 tsp. cilantro, 3 tsp lime juice, 1 tbsp red onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Top with a sprinkle of chili or paprika

Variations:
Add a dash of your favorite curry - I prefer green
Add some crumbled bacon.
Add a dash of your favorite hot sauce.
Add a bit of chopped jalapenos.  

Now, I wouldn't advocate adding all of those at the same time..:)  but you can play around with the combinations.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Sweet Garlic Crock Pot Chicken




Crock Pot Sweet Garlic Chicken Recipe


















Facebook Share.  Also on Just a Pinch
 
Ingredients
4-6 chicken breasts
1 c packed brown sugar
2/3 c vinegar (i used apple cider vinegar)
1/4 c lemon-lime soda
2-3 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp water
pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Directions
1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place chicken (frozen, thawed or fresh) inside slow cooker.
2. Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper together. Pour over chicken
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.
4. Take chicken pieces out of slow cooker (mine basically fell apart) and pour remaining sauce into saucepan.
5. Place saucepan over high heat. Mix together corn starch and water, pour into saucepan, and mix well.
6. Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze.
7. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two (it will continue to thicken as it cools down).
8. Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top if desired. This can be served over rice, noodles or baked potato!

Chocolate Turtle Cake


Easy Homemade Chocolate Turtle Cake
Ingredients
1 cup chocolate chips
  1 cups pecans
  1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) bags caramels
2 boxes of your favorite chocolate cake mix - I used one box of German Chocolate and one box of Devil Food mixed together.


Directions

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray and flour 13 x 9 inch pan.

Prepare cake mix as directed.

Pour 1/2 of the batter in the prepared pan.


Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Remove and let cool.

Place caramels, evaporated milk, and butter in glass or other microwave safe bowl.  Heat on high in one minute increments, stirring between increments until sauce is nice and thick.

Pour melted carmel over cooling cake.

Sprinkle on top 1 cup of pecans&  1 cup chocolate chips.

Pour remaining batter on top and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until done.
  

Let cool.

I topped mine with a chocolate ganache and sprinkled with pecans.





Potato Puffs.



POTATO PUFFS
Ingredients
3 cups of mashed potatoes
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream (optional extra for serving)
1 heaping cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons chopped chives or parsley
Salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease with butter 8 - 9 of the wells of a nonstick muffin pan. In a medium mixing bowl whisk the eggs then mix in the sour cream. Stir in both cheeses and the chives. Add potatoes and mix well. Spoon them into the pan filling the cups to slightly below the top. Bake 25- 35 minutes until they pull away from the sides of the cup and are golden bro

Friday, March 14, 2014

Irish Apple Cake with Custard Sauce


 irish apple cake 3
ngredients
  • FOR THE CAKE:
  • 3 C. Flour
  • 2 t. Baking Powder
  • 1/8 t. Salt
  • 1/4 t. Cloves, ground
  • 1/4 t. Nutmeg, ground
  • 6 oz. Butter
  • 3/4 C. Sugar
  • 4 large Granny Smith apples(I used golden delicious to great affect)
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/4 C. Milk
  • 2 T. Sugar(for sprinkling on top of cake)
  • FOR THE CUSTARD:
  • 6 large Egg Yolks
  • 6 T. Sugar
  • 2 C. Whole Milk
  • 1 1/2 t. Vanilla
Instructions
  1. FOR THE CAKE:
  2. Grease and flour an 8" or 9" round springform pan. Using an 8" pan will give you a taller cake.
  3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  4. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cloves and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the bowl is very large to allow room for the apples to be folded in.
  5. Cut the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
  6. Add the 3/4 C. sugar to the flour mixture and mix in.
  7. Peel the apples and slice them into uniform pieces. This cake works best and gets that 'chunky apple look' if the slices are about 1/4" wide and then cut into 3 pieces.
  8. Toss the apples into the flour mixture and combine them thoroughly.
  9. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Add to the apples and flour and mix in with a large spatula until just combined.
  10. Transfer the dough into the prepared cake pan and flatten the top surface using the back of your spatula.
  11. Sprinkle the sugar over the top of the cake.
  12. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test the center for doneness. The top of the cake should be golden brown. Serve slices with custard sauce.
  13. FOR THE CUSTARD SAUCE:
  14. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until pale yellow, 2-3 minutes. Place the milk in a medium saucepan and bring just to a boil. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the egg/sugar mixture. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan and stir over medium heat until custard thickens, about 4 minutes. Custard should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Mix in the vanilla. Transfer to bowl or serving saucer.
  15. Serve warm or cold over apple cake.

Brown Sugar Toffee Pound Cake

 

Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Toffee bits and Pecans.

Note: the comments noted that this really rich, cut the icing in half or try a light pineapple, lemon or blueberry glaze frosting.

1-1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1 – 8 ounce bag of toffee bits
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 recipe CARAMEL DRIZZLE (below)

Oven 325.
Spray a 12 cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray with flour. Set aside.

Beat the butter until creamy. Add sugars, beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee bits and pecans. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a wood pick inserted near the center of cake comes out clean, 75 to 85 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. NOTE: Don’t freak out if some of the cake sticks. It’s because this cake is so moist. We get to cover all the imperfections with yummy caramel!

Easy Caramel Drizzle Sauce
1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly.
Reduce heat, and SIMMER for 5 minutes, whisking constantly.
Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla.
NOTE: Make sure you drizzle the caramel while it's still HOT. When cooled the caramel does somewhat harden, paula deen

Vanilla Frosting

Best Frosting Ever- Combine 1 cup of milk and small box of instant vanilla pudding, set aside. Whip together 8 oz of cream cheese and 12 oz carton of Cool Whip. Whip in pudding. Refrigerate while cake cools. Ice and enjoy this lovely light icing.