Strawberry Mango Sorbet

StrawberryMango Sorbet

You will need:

3/4 c. sugar

1.5 c. water

1.5 c. chopped peeled mango

1.5 c. fresh strawberries, halved

1/4 c. lime juice

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1. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved; set aside to cool.

2. In a food processor, cover and process mangoes and strawberries until pureed. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in sugar and lime juice. Put into a 13x9inch dish; cover and freeze for 45 minutes or until eges begin to firm. Stir and return to freezer. Freeze 2 hours longer or until firm (we did ours overnight).

3. Just before serving, transfer to a food processor; cover and process for 2-3 minutes or until smooth.

And Enjoy! It's delicious...we just had some :)

Nacho Mac 'n Cheese

So, we are playing around with Mexican-inspired Mondays. This is a good, use-what-you've-got-handy recipe. I almost always have the stuff for this on hand.

Note: also good for picky eaters. The boys are iffy on it, but mostly because they don't like mac 'n' cheese much.

3 cups uncooked pasta (gemelli, cavatappi, penne, elbows, etc...)
1 lbs. ground beef
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped or 2 green onions, chopped.
2 cups chopped sweet peppers (I use the little peppers you buy in a bag @ Costco. Love those little guys!)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 envelope taco seasoning (note: I've got the big thing of taco seasoning from Costco & I usually put in a heaping 1/4 cup. Might be a bit more than one envelope. Maybe 1 1/2?)
1 can tomatoes, diced or crushed, drained
2 1/4 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 cup frozen corn
crushed tortilla chips

1. cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in dutch oven or stockpot cook beef and red peppers, onion & garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain grease. Stir in butter until melted. Add flour & taco seasoning until meat is coated. Add tomatoes. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and corn until cheese is melted.
Add drained pasta. Stir to coat & top with crushed tortilla chips.

New Dinner Plans (AND amazing cinnamon bread)

Hey guys--
So, we've recently instituted a couple new hope-to-be traditions at our house. One is Sunday night breakfast-for-dinner, the other is Pizza Night (Thursday). As of right now, Pizza Night is homemade pizza. Eventually, I'm sure, we'll end up mixing in some take out. Anyhow, I have to say I love these two nights a week. I always know to buy things at the grocery for those two nights, and because they compliment each other well, I spend less. I'm thinking of insituting a few more meal nights. I like the two I've got though, because there is a lot of room for creativity within those confines. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know what was working.

Joel's the pizza king, so I won't post any recipes for that. But I've got a great cinnamon bread recipe that we use to make french toast. It makes three loaves and freezes great, so if I make it once I can have it another week when I don't have the time/energy.

Cinnamon Bread (note: I haven't tried a huge variety of recipes, but I can vouch for this one being delicious)

1 pkg dry yeast
1/3 cup warm water
7-10 cups flour
1 stick butter (plus some extra)
2 TBS sugar
1TBS salt
3 cups cold water
Filling:
1 cup sugar
2 TBS cinnamon

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. In bowl of mixer cut butter into 2 cups flour & salt. Pour yeast mixture in & mix with cookie paddle. Switch to dough hook & add the rest of the water. Add flour and mix with dough hook until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Continue kneading for an extra minute or two.

Place dough in greased bowl & roll lightly to cover. Let rise until doubled (60-90 min). In small bowl combine cinnamon & sugar. Note: I use less sugar, and I tend to use brown. Just my preference. Punch dough down & divide in 3 equal pieces. Press each piece into a rectangle (8x16) and sprinkly heavily with sugar and cinnamon. I like to coat dough with a little softened butter first (like you're buttering bread). Makes it taste more cinnamon-rollesque & keeps the filling from spilling out. Roll dough jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to seal. Place loaves in greased bread pans. Cover and let rise until the loaf rises above the rim of the pan. Bake loaves in a preheated 375 oven for 30-35 minutes.

Use this for french toast. You'll never be the same.

Mango Sticky Rice

Giving credit to Erin Burton for this one.

Thai Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangoes 1 Cup uncooked Jasmine Rice 1 can Coconut Milk 2/3 cup sugar 1 Mango (or bottled slices) Directions: 1.      Cover rice with cold water and rinse. Repeat until the water runs clear, about 3 times, and drain. 2.      In a medium saucepan bring 1 & ¾ cups water to boil. Add the rice and stir briefly. Reduce heat to a low simmer and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the water is absorbed.  3.      In a saucepan, combine coconut milk, sugar and salt. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.  4.      Pour the boiled coconut milk into the cooked rice. Stir well. 5.      Cover top of the rice directly with wax paper or aluminum foil. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. 6.      Peel the mango and cut into slices or squares. 7.      Spoon the rice, or scoop with an ice cream server onto a serving platter and decorate with mango slices.

"Hostess" Cupcakes

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these were delicious.

I used the Pioneer Woman's chocolate cupcakes recipe found here

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 18

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• CUPCAKES
• 2 cups Sugar
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 sticks 1 Cup Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa Powder
• 1 cup Water, Boiling

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with baking spray.
To make the cake batter, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
In a separate container, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir to combine and set aside.
In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Add boiling water, allow to bubble for a few seconds, then turn off heat.
Pour chocolate mixture over flour mixture. Stir a few times to cool the chocolate. Pour buttermilk mixture over the top and stir to combine.
Pour 1/4 cup cake batter into each muffin cup.
Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove cupcakes and allow to cool on a baking rack.


While those are baking mix together:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
put it in a piping bag with a narrow tip and set aside

When the cupcakes have cooled off, stick the tip of the piping bag into the center of the cupcake and squeeze some of the good frosting into the middle of the cupcake. Be careful not to overload, but don't skimp either, alot of the frosting will be absorbed into the cake, making the cake really delicious, but you want a little to show when you bite into it.

After you fill the cupcakes, for the chocolate frosting:
In Saucepan:
1 stick butter
1/4 c cocoa
6 TBS buttermilk
add 1 box (about 4 cups) powdered sugar
then add 1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

Now, dip the tops of your cupcakes into the frosting. The frosting has to be warm or else the cupcake tops will come off. Place on a baking sheet and let the chocolate kind of ooze over the side. From here you could do whatever you want, put a hershey's kiss on it or some other decorative candy, or you can do what I did and make the Hostess cupcake swirly thing with the rest of the frosting from the piping bag. Whatever you do, they are delicious and moist and yummy and fattening! Enjoy!

If you use peppers in another recipe, save a little for this. I'm not that fond of onions, so I used a medium-sized shallot instead. The remoulade is too strong as it is in this recipe in my opinion; I added 2 more tablespoons of mayonnaise. I also didn't buy the canola oil kind, I just used the reduced fat Hellman's I already had. This is a nice inexpensive way to eat salmon. Be sure to look for the pouches to be on sale!

Salmon Croquettes with Rémoulade

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup organic canola mayonnaise (such as Spectrum), divided
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 (6-ounce) packages skinless, boneless pink salmon
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped capers
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Combine 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard, and next 7 ingredients (through egg), stirring well. Add panko; toss. Shape mixture into 8 (3-inch) patties.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add patties; cook 5 minutes on each side or until browned.

3. Combine remaining mayonnaise, juice, and mustard with parsley, capers, garlic, and salt, stirring well.