Kale chips my recipe and pictures

This morning I made kale chips and they are delicious.
Since kale is one of the healthiest veggies you can eat I wanted to start using it more. Plus the price is right!
I started with a bunch of kale and removed the ribs so only the leaves were left.
Then I took a large cookie sheet and sprayed it with non stick spray. Then I drizzled olive oil as well as sea salt and pepper and a teaspoon of chopped garlic. Then I tossed them together and spread them out evenly. This part is very important otherwise they will steam not crisp.

Then you bake for 12-15 mins at 350 degrees.

Mushroom Risotto ...with step by step pictures

Risotto is one of my very favorite things to make.
It is actually very simple and very delicious. Plus it makes you look like a great cook!

In the first picture I have a large frying skillet with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, one large onion, one challot, one package of portobella mushrooms and one clove of garlic, salt and pepper. I cooked these on medium until golden brown. Then I remove them from the pan. At the same time I have a box of chicken stock coming to a boil in a pot.

After I removed the onion mixture I add 1/2 cup of Risotto rice to a tablespoon of olive oil and cook for a minute. Then add 1/4 cup of white wine and let cook out. As seen in the second picture. Then a cup at a time of the chicken stock. Adding more as each cup gets absorbed. After 4-5 cups are added ( rice should be cooked and the Risotto not dry) add the mushroom mixture back in as well as 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. As seen in picture 3.

Finally once everything is equally mixed in you can serve. As seen in picture 4.

If you have any questions let me know.

Banana Cupcakes- yum!

This is my sisters recipe and a huge fit with our extended family and friends.

INGREDIENTS :

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda (add to pureed bananas)
• 3 pureed bananas, very ripe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set up cupcake trays.
Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Sift flour several times, then add the salt and baking powder to the flour.
To the creamed butter mixture, add the milk and flour (alternating, beginning and ending with flour).
Add vanilla and mashed bananas (with the baking soda added to the bananas) to this mixture.
Bake for 20-25minutes.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting :

• 1/2 stick butter, softened

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

• 1 box powdered sugar (1 lb.)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth, add sugar and vanilla and blend well. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter cookies!

These Peanut Butter Cookies are so easy and delicious!

1 cup of Peanut Butter
1 Egg
1 cup of Sugar

Blend together, form into balls then press down with a fork dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 for 8-12minutes

Banana ice cream- a Foodie Friday recipe

This is not technically Ice Cream, but it tastes and has the same texture of it... only its very healthy for you.

Freeze chunks of banana in the freezer over night
Place them in a food processor with a few table spoons of milk- add more as needed
Pulse until it forms an ice cream like texture
Add a tablespoon of honey or peanut butter for extra flavor

Foodie Friday recipe: Pavolva- my favorite Irish dessert

Since I am in Ireland I had to post this one!


So this is Pavlova, quite possibly my favorite dessert ever! It is really popular in Ireland and when I am there I make sure to get my fill of it, but when I am home I like to make it on occasion as well.

It is beyond simple to make, so delicious and a real crowd pleaser. Its impressive and would not be a bad idea to make this for guests some time!

Yep! Thats me in Ireland last year eating Pavlova!

Here is the recipe:

For the Meringue:

Preheat oven to 250degrees- yes 250!

6 Large Egg Whites

1 Cup of Sugar

1/2 teaspoon of real vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

In a blender mix the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then slowly add the sugar, the vanilla and the cornstarch until the egg whites are shiney and stiff peaks. Then put the meringue onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, making an oval shape about 12 inches long. Make sure the edges are higher than the center, because that is where the whipped cream and fruit will go. Then bake at 250degrees for 60-70minutes, turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let the meringue cool inside the oven.

For the whipped cream:

1 cup of whipping cream

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of real vanilla extract

Mix on high until there are soft peaks.

For the topping:

I enjoy just strawberries but a nice mixture of strawberries, kiwi, madarian oranges and small apple pieces also taste amazing.

Place the whipped cream and fruit in the middle of the meringue and serve

Todays posts will be some of my absolute favorite recipes+cooking tips!

Cooking tips:

1.Preheat your pans- this makes a huge difference, especially when you want to sear instead of steam meat/veggies and more. Also make sure the oil or butter is hot before adding anything else.

2.Use a sharp knife to cut onions- this will help keep the tears away :)

3. When boiling veggies start with cold water then add the veggies and turn on the heat, this way they cook all the way through not just the outside.


What are some of your best cooking tips?

Fake-out Fried Ice Cream recipe!

I am so excited about this guest post from Lisa at My Little Blogspot- such a crowd pleasing dessert and super simple too.


Recipe:

2 C. Corn Flakes, plain
2 T. Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon
Vanilla Ice Cream
1 Flour Tortilla
Whipped Cream and Dessert Topping for garnish

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Take half of the cinnamon sugar, and in a food processor combine sugar and corn flakes. Pulse until you have a fine crumb.


Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Using a standard ice cream scoop, about 1/2 c., scoop balls of vanilla ice cream. With your hands quickly form a round ball about the size of a baseball. Then roll immediately into cornflake mixture, coating evenly. Place on cookie sheet and freeze for several hours. (This should be enough crumb for 4 servings.)

When you are ready to serve dessert, heat about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in a skillet. Cut the flour tortilla into eight wedges. (I use a pizza cutter to make quick even pieces.)


Fry the tortilla in hot oil for about 30 seconds per side. Fry only a few pieces at a time so you don't crowd the pan. Lay on paper towels and dust with remaining cinnamon sugar while they are hot.


Next it's just assembly. Place a few tortilla pieces on a plate, put ice cream ball on top, and drizzle with dessert topping and whipped cream. 

Lisa is a stay at home mom of two boys ages 6 and 3 almost 4. She has been crafting since age 14 and lives in Oneonta, NY. She enjoys cooking and baking, and her life long dream is to have her own bakery.  She has been blogging for the past year about her recipes and craft ideas.  

Chocolate digestive biscuit cake

I just made this cake last night.

It was the grooms cake at the royal wedding actually.

You need
A stick of butter
A bag of milk chocolate chips
A package of digestive biscuits

Melt together butter and chocolate. Crush up the cookies leaving some chunks. Add to chocolate mixture and stir.

Place in a greased pan and press down. Put it in the fridge go harden. Then serve.

Foodie Friday: Monster Cookies

I don't know why, but I have been thinking about these cookies for weeks. Not that I specifically want to make them, but the memories I have of them. Bringing them into class for my birthday in grade school a few years- homemade treats were cool until 8th grade- then I needed bakery cupcakes with tiny ladybugs on top! What a spoiled brat!

So here is the Recipe for Monster cookies:


Ingredients

2 sticks Butter- Softened
1/2 cup White Sugar
1-1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
2 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1-1/2 cup Oats
1/2 cup M & M's
1/2 cup Walnuts, or other nuts- chopped
3/4 cups Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Peanut Butter Chips
2-1/4 cups Rice Krispies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375degrees.
Cream together butter and both sugars, then add the eggs and vanilla.
Then slowly add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then start adding the chocolate, nuts, candies and peanut butter chips. Finally fold in the Rice Krispies.

Form into one inch balls and back for 13-18minutes or until golden brown.

Lime Bar Recipe- Yum!

I couldn't wait until Friday, I wanted to share this recipe for Lime Bars that I made on Tuesday!

Preheat the Oven to 350degrees, grease a 9x13 pan.

For the crust:

2 sticks of room temperature butter

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4teaspoon of salt

2 cups of flour

Mix the butter, sugar and salt together, then slowly add the flour- will be crumbly looking. Add it to the greased pan and press down and 1/4way up the sides. Bake for 20minutes, then let cool.

For the filling:

6 room temperature Large eggs

3 Cups of Sugar

Zest of all of the limes 6 large ones or 8-10small ones

1 Cup of Lime juice- should be about 6Large or 10small limes worth

1 Cup of Flour

Mix all together, adding the flour last. Pour over cooled crust then bake at 350degrees for 35minutes. Let completely cool before serving.

So yummy- you can always use lemons instead of limes too!

Limeade Recipe

Because this picture got so much attention I figured I would put the recipe up now instead of on Friday!

I do a 1:3 Ratio of Sugar to Water. In this case it was 2 cups of Sugar and 6 Cups of water

I added the sugar and water to a pot and put it on the stove on medium.

I actually squeezed my limes and used them to make Lime Bars then I threw 10 small lime halves into the sugar/water mixture and let it simmer for about 20minutes. Then I let it sit and completely cool off before removing the limes and refrigerating the Limeade.

Once cooled I serve it over ice. This is a great drink to bring to parties too, it looks impressing!

What to do with all my new produce?!

As you may have read on Twitter I just got all of this produce plus 14 ears of corn for $10 this weekend. I did give the Zuchini to my boss. But I still have

11 Limes (I used one for my water yesterday-yum!)
2 packages of Strawberries
1 pint of Blueberries
1 Cucumber
2 Eggplants
3 Tomatoes
1 Mango
5 Kiwi
2 Peppers
The corn- I am cutting it down and freezing it.

So the question is: what should I make with all of this food?

I think Fried Eggplant, Bruschetta with the tomatoes and my basil I have growing outside, and Lime bars with the limes.

Any other suggestions?

Free Pectin- use this to make Jam/Jelly!

I am really excited about this freebie, because I was thinking I want to try making my own Raspberry Jam! You can sign up for a free Ball^® RealFruit^™ Classic Pectin sample.

Mini Smores!

How delicious do these look? You can check out the recipe for these Mini Smores hand pies at Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark!

How perfect would they be for a kids birthday party? So cute and easy to make- lets not forget how delicious smores are.

Foodie Friday: A kitchen must have

I love cooking, honestly I find it so relaxing and fun. I think that having great kitchen cookware and bakeware is very important though.


I wanted to let you know about one of my very favorite kitchen items- the Martha Stewart Dutch Oven

My boss actually got me this exact one for Christmas 2 years ago- I am in love.


I make a huge pot roast in it all the time, I have even made french onion soup in it- delicious!


Do you have a dutch oven? What do you like to make in it?

Foodie Friday: Homemade Brownies

This is my favorite Homemade brownie recipe, have you ever made homemade brownies? It is super simple

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Foodie Friday: Banana Cup Cakes with Cream Cheese Icing!

My sister just made these cupcakes and swears by them- I am going to be making them this weekend.

INGREDIENTS :

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda (add to pureed bananas)
• 3 pureed bananas, very ripe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set up cupcake trays.
Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Sift flour several times, then add the salt and baking powder to the flour.
To the creamed butter mixture, add the milk and flour (alternating, beginning and ending with flour).
Add vanilla and mashed bananas (with the baking soda added to the bananas) to this mixture.
Bake for 20-25minutes.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting :

• 1/2 stick butter, softened

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

• 1 box powdered sugar (1 lb.)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth, add sugar and vanilla and blend well. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

My Pavlova Recipe-again!

I am actually making this for a Birthday Party tomorrow- so I figured I would repost the recipe :)

So this is Pavlova, quite possibly my favorite dessert ever! It is really popular in Ireland and when I am there I make sure to get my fill of it, but when I am home I like to make it on occasion as well.

It is beyond simple to make, so delicious and a real crowd pleaser. Its impressive and would not be a bad idea to make this for guests some time!

Yep! Thats me in Ireland eating Pavlova!

Here is the recipe:

For the Meringue:

Preheat oven to 250degrees- yes 250!

6 Large Egg Whites

1 Cup of Sugar

1/2 teaspoon of real vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

With a blender mix the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then slowly add the sugar, the vanilla and the cornstarch until the egg whites are shiney and stiff peaks. Then put the meringue onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, making an oval shape about 12 inches long. Make sure the edges are higher than the center, because that is where the whipped cream and fruit will go. Then bake at 250degrees for 60-70minutes, turn off the oven, open the door slightly and let the meringue cool inside the oven.

For the whipped cream:

1 cup of whipping cream

1 tablespoon of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of real vanilla extract

Mix on high until there are soft peaks.

For the topping:

I enjoy just strawberries but a nice mixture of strawberries, kiwi, madarian oranges and small apple pieces also taste amazing.

Place the whipped cream and fruit in the middle of the meringue and serve!

Food Money Saving Tip: Replant Scallions

This is one of my very favorite Food Money Saving tip- when you buy scallions at the store they still have the roots at the bottom of them. Most people use the greens and only part of the white of the scallion. You can take the root end and place it in water in the sun, and the scallion will start to regrow!


Do you have any Food Money Saving Tips? I'd love to hear them!