S'more Cups

I made this treat for a party with some old friends last night.  There were no leftovers to take home.  It was a fun transformation on the classic s'more treat.

S'more Cups

Ingredients:

7 whole graham crackers, finely crushed (about 1 c.)

1/4 c. powdered sugar

6 T. butter, melted
4 Hershey bars, divided
12 large marshmallows

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and butter.  Using small scoop, put scant amount of crumb mix into each cup of a mini muffin pan.  Press to form cup.  Bake 4-5 min until edges are bubbling.  Meanwhile break 2 Hershey bars into rectangles and cut marshmallows in half crosswise with scissors dipped in cold water.  Remove pan from oven.  Put one chocolate rectangle in each muffin cup.  Top with one marshmallow (cut side down.)  Return to oven for 1-2 minutes until the marshmallow is slightly softened.  Remove from oven.  Cool.  Carefully remove from pan.  Melt remaining Hershey bars in microwave for 1-1 1/2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth.  Dip top of each marshmallow into melted chocolate.  Let stand, top side for 40 minutes or until set.

In my test kitchen:

I wasn't sure if I should grease the muffin tins or not.  Since it did not specifically say so in the recipe I decided not to.  They came out of the pan just fine.  In fact, I think 6 T of butter might be a little too much.  The graham cracker part came out a little bit greasy.  I would use 4-5 T next time.  Also, the recipe wasn't very clear on exactly when to remove the s'mores from the muffin pan.  I let them cool for about 10 minutes and started to transfer them to a wire rack.  Some came out well but a few of the cups seemed a little crumbly, as if the graham cracker was still too warm.  So I left them in the muffin pan to cool completely.  They were much easier to transfer at this point. 

Clint thought a little toasted coconut would be really good sprinkled on top.  I love coconut flavoring but am not a huge fan of actually coconut.  But I must agree...a little coconut-flavored crunch on top might be really good.  I may find a way to incorporate that next time I make it.

~Happy Cooking!

Penne with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

Lately I have been searching for recipes that will allow me to use up different items in my fridge before they go bad.  I had a package of Mild Italian Sausage links that I had NO idea what to do with.  So I turned again to my trusty All Recipes app on my phone and found this recipe. 

Penne with Spicy Vodka and Tomato Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb. uncooked penne pasta

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

3/4 t. salt

2 T. vodka

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

2 (3.5 oz) links sweet Italian sausage

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook for 8-10 min or until al dente; drain.
In a large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat.  Remove casing from sausage and add to skillet.  Cook; breaking up the meat, until brown.  Add garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring until garlic is golden brown.
Add tomatoes and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 min.
Add vodka and cream and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and add pasta.  Toss for 1 minute.  Stir in fresh parsley and serve.

In my test kitchen:

I love reading other people's reviews of a dish!  I found lots of helpful suggestions for this one.  One person said he was a pasta snob and preferred a pasta in this dish that "snuggled the sauce."  This made me laugh!  But I decided to switch out the penne for a pasta called Campanelle.  It looked snuggly enough for me.  I really like meat so I added an extra link of sausage and also was careful not to break it up too much so there were nice big chunks of meat in it.

I didn't have vodka on hand and didn't want to buy any but I had white wine so I used about 4 T of that instead.  I thought it still enhanced the flavors of this dish really well. 

Red pepper is quite strong.  Seth kept telling me his tongue hurt.  So I will reduce this dramatically next time so it is more kid friendly.

And I took some advice from others on ways to make this dish a little healthier.  I added raw spinach to the dish when I added the white wine and I substituted half and half mixed with 1t. of cornstarch for the whipping cream.  And I finally sprinkled some shredded parmesan on the pasta right before serving.

~Happy Cooking!

Pork Egg Rolls

My mother-in-law had Seth over at her house last night for a sleep over so Clint and I grabbed some of our favorite ham fried rice from a chinese restaurant and decided to relax at home and watch some episodes of Pysch.  But I'm all about the side dishes.  I can't just eat ham fried rice.  I need little appetizers to go along with my meal.  So I whipped up these pork egg rolls in just a few minutes to eat as well.

Pork Egg Rolls

Ingredients:

1/4 c. soy sauce

2 T. rice vinegar

1 T. light brown sugar

6 c. vegetable oil

1 napa cabbage (about 2 1/2 pounds), thinly sliced
4 medium carrots, coarsley grated
4 garlic cloves, minced

1 T. grated fresh ginger

coarse salt and ground pepper

6 scallions, thinly sliced

16 egg roll wrappersn (6-7 inches square)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

bottled sweet and sour sauce and spicy mustard, for serving

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.  In a large skillet, heat 1 T oil over med-high heat.  Add cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger; season with salt and pepper.  Cook, tossing, until vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes. 

Raise heat to high; add pork and soy mixture.  Cook tossing , until pork is no longer pink and liquid has evaporated, 5-7 minutes.  Mix in scallions.  Transfer mixture to a plate to cool.  Lay wrappers flat on a work surface, Place 1/3 c. pork mixture in the center of each egg roll wrapper.  Using a pastry brush, wet border of wrapper with egg.  Fold point of wrapper that's closest to you over the pork mixture and tuck under the filling.  Fold both side corners in toward the center of the wrapper.  (It should look like an open envelope.)  Tightly roll up filled pocket to close wrapper, then gently press down to seal edges. 
In a 5 quart pot, heat remaining oil until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees.  Working in batches of 4, and returning oil to 350 degrees for each batch, fry egg rolls until golden, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve with sweet and sour sauce and spicy mustard.

In my test kitchen:

Having never really worked with cabbage before, I bought a pre-packaged bag of sliced cabbage for this recipe.  Worked out great.  I also sort of eyeballed the amount of cabbage I put in the skillet and I don't think I really used enough.  By the time I realized this, I felt that it was a little too late to add more cabbage to the mixture.
I didn't have fresh ginger on hand so I used the powder.  (I just recently learned that dried spices are actually stronger in taste than fresh spices so I used 1/2 the amount called for in the recipe.)
I also saved myself the trouble and used a deep fryer to cook these rather than heat oil on the stove.

So as I'm typing this recipe out, I am asking myself, "what didn't I like about this recipe?"  Clint really liked it but I didn't love love it.  I realized that it may be because I used ground pork sausage as opposed to just ground pork.  Is there a difference?  I'm not sure so I'm going to check out the meat section next time I go grocery shopping.  I don't know, for some reason Clint just loves pork sausage in won tons or these egg rolls but it just doesn't taste as "chinese-y" to me.  Does that make any sense? 

Still, it was a good first attempt.

~Happy Cooking!

Oreo Cookie Cake

Over Memorial Day weekend we had a BIG family get-together.  Twenty-six people came.  I brought this dessert that I found on my trusty All Recipes app and it was gone in a matter of minutes.  It's not really a cake though.  It's more of a torte/pie. 

Oreo Cookie Cake

Ingredients: 

1 20 oz. package Oreo cookies
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 16 oz. container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

2 c. milk

1 3.5 oz. package instant vanilla pudding mix

Directions:

Crush cookies into bite size pieces.  Reserve 1 c. for top.  Mix butter and cookie crumbs.  Press into 9x13 pan.  Put in freezer for 5 minutes.
Blend 1/2 of the whipped topping, all the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Spread over cookie crust and return pan to freezer.

Prepare instant pudding with the milk according to package directions then spread over the top of the cake.  Spread remaining whipped topping on top of the pudding and sprinkle remaining cookie pieces over the top.  Keep cake refrigerated.

In my test kitchen:

I crushed the cookies right in the 9x13 pan.  After I pulled out the 1 c. of cookie pieces reserved for the top, I continue to crush the cookies a little finer for the crust. I used 2 sleeves of the 20 oz. package and I don't think I needed quite that many cookies.  I could easily use 1 1/2 sleeves next time.
I like cream cheese but I don't LOVE it.  So I took the advice that I read in a few reviews and lessened the amount of cream cheese from 16 oz. to 12 oz.  I also used a little bit more whipped topping in the cream cheese mixture...probably about 1/2 c. more than the recipe called for.  It made the mixture really light and airy and tasted more sweet than tangy.
I also took the advice of some readers and used chocolate instant pudding instead of vanilla so that the layering would be black - white - black - white. 
Finally, I'm not a fan of Cool Whip.  So I made my own whipped topping by doing 2 cups of whipping cream, 4 T. sugar, and 1 t. vanilla extract.

It was REALLY hard to scoop this dessert out.  It didn't really keep its shape very well.  So it doesn't look super appetizing when it is plated but it sure does taste good! 

~Happy Cooking!

Homemade Guacamole!

I was feeling a little festive last night and needed to use up the leftover pot roast that I had cooked on Sunday so I decided to make shredded beef tacos and guacamole.  Ole!  Who knew it was so quick and easy to make? 
It turned out pretty good.  Recipe below:

Guacamole

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed

1 lime, juiced

1 t. salt

1/2 c. diced onion

3 T. chopped fresh cilantro

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 t. minced garlic

1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

In medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt.  Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic.  Stir in cayenne pepper.  Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor or serve immediately.

In my test kitchen:

I only bought two avocados...oops.  So I just halved the recipe.  And then I didn't have a lime.  So I had to use the pre-packaged lime juice.  I'm sure a fresh lime would've made it taste even better.  I'm really not a big fan of cilantro but I do think it is a must to include in the recipe. 

~Happy Cooking!

Sunday Pot Roast

Sunday is a good day to cook a Pot Roast.  Know what I'm sayin'? 

My mother-in-law's pot roast shreds down to tender chunks of meat.  I could never figure out how to cook it like she can.  So finally I just asked her how she does it!  Turns out the recipe is really easy.  I'll never cook a pot roast a different way again!

Sunday Pot Roast

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil

2-3 pound chuck roast (the more marbley it is, the better)

4-6 cubes beef bouillon

water

pepper, to taste

Directions:

Heat oil on med-high on stove.  Braise both sides of the roast and place in a 9x13 casserole dish.  Fill the casserole dish with water until it is about 1/2  way up the side of the roast.  Drop 4-6 bouillon cubes in the water around the roast.  Sprinkle pepper across the top of the roast.

Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Flip roast over, cover, and turn oven down to 300 degrees and bake.  Occasionaly pour beef broth across the  top of the roast and recover with foil.  Cook until the meat starts to fall apart easily with a fork.

In my test kitchen:

I think my oven cooks hot.  So I cook my roast at 300-315 degrees for the first hour.  Then I turn it down to 280 degrees to cook the rest of the time.  It usually takes about 4 hours to finish and then I shred it with a fork and serve it with potatoes and brown gravy.  But the meat is typically so moist and seasoned so well from the beef bouillon that it doesn't really need much added to it.  Love this meal!

~Happy Cooking!

Mini German Pancakes

My mother-in-law shared a  breakfast recipe on facebook several weeks ago that sounded pretty good and easy to prepare so I thought I would give it a try.  It calls for basic ingredients that I always have on hand so it's a good recipe if you want to cook a nice breakfast on the fly!

Mini German Pancakes

Ingredients:



Clint laughed at me for trying to make the raspberry jam look pretty on the plate



1 c. milk

6 eggs

1 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. orange zest (optional)

1/4 c. butter, melted

Directions:

Blend milk, eggs, flour, salt, vanilla, and orange zest in blender.  Add butter a little at a time to temper the eggs.  Blend until smooth (be sure to get rid of all flour lumps.)

Pour batter into a greased muffin tins (about 1/2 full.)

Bake at 400 degrees until fluffly and golden.

Serve with fresh fruit, jam, honey, etc.

In my test kitchen:

I think this recipe would taste a little better with even more orange zest!  I really couldn't taste the orange at all.  I topped my pancakes with peaches and then drizzled some warm raspberry jam over the top and finished it with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. 

You would think from my picture that all my pancakes turned out perfectly round like this:

But really, that was the only one that looked pretty.  The rest of the pancakes looked like this:

I am thinking I filled my muffin tins too full and that is why they didn't shape well. 

Nevertheless, Clint said this recipe was a success and that he would like me to make them again.  I'm thinking a savory pancake would be good too.  So next time I am going to omit the orange zest and cook as directed.  And then I will fill them with scrambled eggs mixed with sausage or ham and then top with shredded cheese.

~Happy Cooking!