Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cinnamon Biscuits with Fried Apples


I ended up waking up early this morning and thought it would be nice if I surprised my boyfriend with a delicious breakfast. I didn't know what I should make, but I did know I wanted it to involve apples because I have so many. Thats when it hit me that my mom put a post on her blog a while back involving biscuits and apples. So I went to her blog and found her recipe for Cinnamon Biscuits with Fried apples. Turns out this recipe started as a mistake when she opened the wrong can of biscuits one morning. Using her creative mind she turned a simple mistake into a wonderful tasty breakfast. Both my boyfriend and I loved it so much that we both agree that I will have to make it again. Thank you mom for this delicious creation.
Cinnamon Biscuits with Fried Apples
1 (16oz) can refrigerated large biscuits (I used Pillsbury’s Grand Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits)
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
¼ cup butter, melted
4 medium apples; peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Pour melted butter into small bowl, set aside. In another bowl mix together the ½ cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Dip the biscuits into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture making sure it’s evenly coated. Place onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the fried apples. In a medium skillet melt the 2 tablespoons butter. Add the apples, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sauté for about fifteen minutes or until the apples are tender. Serve over warm cinnamon biscuits and enjoy. :)
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Monday, April 26, 2010

Chocolate Covered Strawberries


I just love chocolate covered strawberries, but I hate how much they cost when you buy them at a candy store or amusement parks. For the same price it cost to buy one chocolate covered strawberry you can make a whole bunch. Not only are they cheaper to make they are also extremely easy to make. Just recently my boyfriend asked me to make him some so he can take them to class. I was more than happy to help him out, plus I got to eat a few while I was at it. And I was happy to hear that his class loved them. Yay :)

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Strawberries
Melting chocolates (I use the bag of cocoa flavored melting chocolates that you can buy at Michael’s)

Wash the strawberries and pat dry, set aside. Line a baking pan with waxed paper and set aside. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe dish for 1 minute, stirring after every 30 seconds. If needed melt additional 30 seconds until chocolate is melted. Dip the strawberries one at a time in the chocolate then place on baking pan to harden. Repeat until you have no chocolate or strawberries left. If you like melt some white chocolate and drizzle with a spoon over the tops of the strawberries. Let harden and enjoy. :)



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Saturday, April 24, 2010

Karla's First Communion Cake

This was my latest project that I worked on this weekend. It was for my bosses daughter Karla's First Communion. We decided it would be neat if we made the cake into the shape of an open Bible with a cross on one side and the writing on the other. We also decided that there should be pink flowers in the corners. I was kind of nervous at first because I have never made flowers before out of buttercream frosting. Luckily they came out looking somewhat descent. All in all I think he was happy with how it turned out, at least I hope so. I guess I will find out on Monday :)


Here is another view of the cake.


An up close shot at the flowers I made for the first time :)


And here is an up close shot of the cross I frosted with a baby rose in the center.


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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Monkey Bread



When I was younger I would always have slumber parties and the one thing that everyone looked forward to, besides me, jk, was the monkey bread in the morning. After staying up all night talking and playing games we would wake up to the wonderful aroma of the monkey bread that my mom would be making in the kitchen. Not one of us would sleep in because we wanted to make sure we would not be left out on this yummy treat. Being the dorks that we were some of us would start making monkey noises to be funny. Now that I am older there are no more slumber parties or waking up to that wonderful smell because now if I want it I have to make it myself.


Well a few weeks ago I told my friend Cynthia that I would bake her something yummy for helping me out with something. The thing she requested turned out to be monkey bread. So I got the idea that we should make it together so I can teach her how to make it. So after we went out for a lovely lunch and did some shopping we went to my house and baked the monkey bread together. We had a lot of fun making it together and it came out looking great. Now she will be able to make it for herself and others. If you haven't made or tried monkey bread before I would highly recommend you do so because it is wonderful.
Monkey Bread
4 cans refrigerated biscuits
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick butter
4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut the biscuits into fours and place in a large bowl. Mix together the ½ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon, pour over the biscuit pieces and mix until evenly coated. Place in a greased bundt pan and set aside. Boil 1 cup sugar, butter, and 4 teaspoons cinnamon for 1 minute. Pour the mixture over the biscuits in the bundt pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes. Enjoy :)

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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Homemade Salsa

Growing up I never really cared for salsa; probably because it was full of vegetables and it was spicy. But now I love salsa, but mostly just the juice it creates at the bottom of the bowl (I'm kind of weird I guess). Well the other day I got a weird craving for salsa, but not for the typical kind you can buy in a jar at the grocery store, I wanted a more authentic salsa that you get at a restaurant or make yourself. So I called my mom up and asked her how she makes her really good salsa and she gave me the recipe. As I was driving home from work I stopped at the store to buy the few ingredients that I needed and then headed home to make it for everyone. It was pretty easy to make. I did get very emotional when it came to dicing the onions, but as soon as that was over with it was a piece a cake. I hope you enjoy this salsa recipe as much as everyone in my house did. :)

Homemade Salsa

About 6 Roma Tomatoes
1 small red onion
Half a can of canned carrots with jalopenos (in the hispanic isle at the grocery store, Sorry I cant remember the name)
Half of a bunch of cilantro

Dice the tomatoes and place in a big bowl. Dice the tomatoes and mix it with the tomatoes. Take the half can of carrots (or if you want more carrots you can use the whole can if you desire) and place in a food processor with the cilantro. Process for a few seconds until nicely diced mix with the tomato and onion mixture.

If you feel that the salsa needs more of any of these ingredients feel free to add more. The measurements above were to our liking. Thanks Mom for the recipe :)
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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Asparagus with Cashews


I do not eat a lot of vegetables and it usually has to do with the way they are prepared. Therefore I am always researching around for a great tasting way to eat my vegetable. Well I have never been a big fan of asparagus, but I came across this recipe on allrecipes.com and now I like asparagus. My boyfriend even thought that this dish tasted fantastic and we both agreed that it was a keeper. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. :)
Asparagus with Cashews
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons wok oil or sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 bunch asparagus stalks, ends cut
1 tablespoon soy sauce½ cup chopped cashews

Heat the olive oil and the wok oil in a wok over a low to medium heat. Add the ginger and stir-fry until slightly golden brown. Add the asparagus and stir-fry for a few minutes before adding the soy sauce and cashews. Cook until the asparagus is tender, but still crisp, and bright green. Stir frequently until done. Enjoy
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Chicken Marsala


A while back I was reading my e-mails and one of the things I received was this recipe for chicken Marsala from Eat Better America. I never made chicken Marsala before and thought it looked absolutely delicious, as well as easy to make. Also what made me want to make it was that it was low in calories, which I thought was wonderful. After making it my boyfriend Tomas and I decided that this recipe was a keeper, and since then we have made it for dinner quite a few times. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. :)
Chicken Marsala
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
¼ cup herb de province or parsley
½ cup dry Marsala wine or dry sherry

Mix together the flour, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken with the mixture and shake off the excess flour mixture. Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over a medium-high heat. Cook the garlic, mushrooms, and herb de province in the oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chicken and cook uncovered about 8 minutes until the chicken is brown. Add wine and cook uncovered for 8-10 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Easy Cinnamon and Sugar Doughnuts


These Doughnuts are super easy to make, as well as delicious. My mom use to make them for us when we were younger, but only on rare occasions. Now that I am older I have made them a few times and will continue to make them many more times in the future. Now you do not have to make as many as I did. If you only want to make a little bit, then the recipe can be easily cut in half. Since I have a lot of people in my house I had to make a lot because they do not last long here.
Easy Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts
2 cans (10 count each) refrigerated Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon (or more if you like)
3 cups Canola oil

Heat the oil in a fryer or in a saucepan on the stove to medium-high heat. Open the cans of biscuits and cut a hole in the center of each biscuit using a water bottle cap or any kind of small cap you can find. In a paper bag mix the cinnamon and sugar together, set aside. When the oil is ready gently drop the doughnuts and doughnut holes, a few at a time, into the hot oil. Flip the doughnuts in the oil and cook until golden brown, about 30 seconds or less. Remove the doughnuts from the oil and drop into the cinnamon sugar mixture and shake to evenly coat. Transfer doughnuts to a plate and continue with the rest of the doughnuts until they are all done. Eat while still warm. Enjoy :)
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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Peace Sign Cake


It was my friend Mallory's Birthday and I thought it would be nice if I made her a cute cake. I thought it would be perfect if I made her a peace sign cake because she loves peace signs. I knew I was going to make the top into a peace sign, but I had no idea what I was going to do for the rest of the cake. So after thinking about it all day at work I decided to do the sides in tie-dye. at first I did not know how I was going to attempt the tie-dye look, but I actually figured it out and it was easy. The one difficulty I had with the cake is I ran out of decorating bags so I had to use sandwich bags with the tips cut off. It was a little more difficult, but the cake still came out looking ok. And most importantly Mallory loved her cake.


A closer look at the tie-dye
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Monday, April 5, 2010

Caramel Macchiato Cookies




My roommate Monika, whom is also my boyfriend's sister and my best friend, loves to drink caramel macchiato's. Well as I was searching through recipes at Bettycrocker.com I came across this recipe for caramel macchiato cookies and I told myself I will definitely have to make these for her since it is her favorite drink. Well she ended up loving the cookies as well as the rest of us. In fact my boyfriend ate three and he is usually not big on sweets. Well I hope you enjoy these delicious cookies as much as we did.
Caramel Macchiato Cookies
2 teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder or granules
1 tablespoon hot water
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup butter, melted
1 egg
18 caramel squares, unwrapped
2 tablespoons milk
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. In a large bowl dissolve the coffee powder in the hot water. Stir in the cookie mix, flour, butter, vanilla, and egg until it forms a soft dough. Shape the dough into 1 ½-inch balls. Place the balls on ungreased cookie sheets, placing them 2 inches apart. Press an indentation on top of each ball using your thumb or spoon. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are a light golden brown. If indention disappears after baking just redo the indentation. Move cookies to cookie sheet and let cool. In a small microwaveable bowl, melt the caramels and milk on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds, stirring after every 30 seconds. Spoon the caramel mixture into the indentations on the cookies. Let cool 15 minutes. In another small microwaveable bowl, melt the chocolate and shortening on high for a minute stirring after 30 seconds, until the chocolate is smooth. Drizzle the chocolate over the cookies. Let stand for 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. Enjoy :)
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Thursday, April 1, 2010

Coconut Cream Macaroons

A while back I was watching an episode of Desperate Housewives and the character Bree Van de Kamp made some beautiful Coconut Macaroons. I know she wasn't the one that made them, but I thought they looked so beautiful I just wanted to make some just as nice. So I began to search the web for that perfect macaroon recipe. After a couple of failed atempts at some of the recipes I found I finally found one that turned out great at BettyCrocker.com. Even though I still do not think they are as beautiful as Bree Van de Kamps, I think they still came out pretty tasty and everyone in my house agrees. So I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Coconut Cream Macaroons
7 2/3 (about 1 ½ 14 oz packages) sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
2/3 cup canned cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
1 Tablespoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle 1 cup of the coconut on the foil and bake for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Cool. In a large bowl, mix together the toasted coconut, remaining coconut, flour and salt. In another bowl beat the condensed milk, cream of coconut, vanilla, almond extract, and egg until well mixed. Pour the milk mixture over the coconut mixture; stir until well mixed. On the cookie sheets lined with foil, drop mixture by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart. Bake 12- 14 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately slide foil with cookies from sheet to the cooling rack and cool for about 30 minutes.

In a microwave safe dish melt the chocolate chips and oil until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Let stand until chocolate cools. Enjoy
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