Lucia's Mexican Salsa

This is a yummy homemade salsa.


Lucia's Mexican Salsa
10 whole tomatoes
5 garlic cloves
1 onion
1/2 cup sliced pickled jalapeno peppers
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon salt

Preheat oven to "broil" and move an oven rack to the highest position in the oven closest to the broiler (I have an electric oven).


Place tomatoes on a sheet pan and broil in the oven until the skin on the tomatoes are charred and blackened.  This should only take about 5-10 minutes.  Flip them over and char the opposite side.

 In the mean time, chop garlic cloves and onion and place food processor.  Process until chopped finely.  You may need to wipe down the sides of your food processor bowl to make sure all the onion is chopped finely.

Add the hot tomatoes and jalapeno peppers to the onion and garlic and process until no longer lumpy.  (You may need to work in batches).

 Pour into bowl and stir in lime juice, cilantro and salt.  Cover with tight fitting lid and refrigerate overnight.  

Enjoy on anything and everything!

YUM!

Gingerbread Cupcakes

These cupcakes remind me of Granny's applesauce cake.  The molasses and ginger takes me back to Granny's kitchen and watching her hands mix the batter and pat the cakes out into rounds in the bottom of a cast iron skillet.  Such nostalgia. 

After making the gingerbread cookies, I thought they would look adorable on top of some cupcakes.  So I found a yummy cupcake recipe and made some cute little gingerbread men. 

Here's how we do it:

Gingerbread Cupcakes (adapted from this recipe)

½ cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup molasses
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
¾ cup water

Place standard baking cup in each of 18 regular size muffin pan cups.
In large bowl, cream sugar and butter.
Mix in molasses; beat in eggs, one at a time.
In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon and cloves.
Alternately add flour mixture with water to the wet ingredients.
Scoop evenly among prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven (350 degrees F) for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes in pan.
Remove cupcakes from pans to cooling rack, and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Ginger Molasses Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoon molasses

2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted

Mix cream cheese and butter together until light and creamy.  Add salt, ginger and molasses, mix well. Add powdered sugar and beat until whipped and creamy.

Frost the cupcakes and top each cupcake with a little gingerbread man.  

YUM!

Gingerbread Cookies

I made some really cute Gingerbread people at work and thought I'd share the recipe.  We made them at Nana's house this afternoon for a tea party she is having over the weekend.  There are tons of recipes out there for gingerbread cookies, but these have the right amount of spicy kick in the back of your throat. 

Here's how we made them:

Gingerbread Cookies (from Bakerella)
5 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 cup butter, slightly soft
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses

Sift flour, soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add egg and mix until combined.
Add molasses and mix until combined.
Gradually add in flour mixture and mix until combined and a dough forms.
Divide dough into four sections and shape each into a flattened disc.
Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
When ready to bake preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out each disc between two sheets of parchment paper using a rolling pin.
Flour the sides of the paper that will touch the dough to make it a little easier to release. Continue to pull the parchment paper away from the dough as you roll it out.  Also flip it over and release from the opposite side.  It helps a lot when removing the cookie cut outs after they are chilled.
Cut out shapes and remove excess dough to reuse.
Leave cutouts on parchment paper and transfer to cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 minutes. Cool on cooling rack.

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons water

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and water until thick and pasty.  You may need to add a little extra water...one drop at a time.  Spoon into a plastic food storage baggie and clip a tiny corner from the baggie.  Pipe little faces, hair and dresses on the cooled gingerbread.

YUM!

Old Fashioned Caramel Cake

Nana says Grandmother Bell made the best caramel cakes when she was a little girl.  Unfortunately, she doesn't have a recipe.  So I came up with an easy substitute that is still pretty tasty!

Old Fashioned Caramel Cake
for the cake
1 yellow boxed cake*
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1-1/4 cup water

for the caramel icing
1/2 cup butter
4 cups light brown sugar
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups powdered sugar, sifted

For the cake:
Mix together in large bowl, cake mix, brown sugar, eggs, oil and water.  Divide evenly among two 8" cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick tests done.  Cool for 5 minutes in pans and then flip out and cool completely.  Set aside.

For the caramel icing:
In large sauce pot, stir together butter, brown sugar, milk and salt.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Icing will begin to cool, so you have to work quickly.

To assemble the cake:
Cut the cake layers in half (I usually remove the rounded part of the cake and let Daddy eat that).  Place a layer on an 8" cardboard cake round (or cut a circle out of a cereal box).  Place a cooling rack over a large bowl (large enough for the icing to run off the cake and into the bowl).  Pour the icing over the cake layer, probably only about 1/3 cup or so.  Just enough to cover the layer.  Repeat with the other 3 layers.  Pour the icing over the entire cake allow to drip down the sides and into the bowl beneath.  Scrape the leftover icing back into the sauce pot and reheat until just loose enough to repour over the entire cake.  I usually do this 2 or 3 times. 

Save any leftover icing and mix them with chopped pecans to make a simple pecan prailine.  Drop them onto waxed paper or parchment paper.  Cool completely, pluck off the paper and wrap in plastic wrap. 

Cool completely and enjoy!

YUM!

*I usually bake 2 cake mixes so we can have 6 or 8 layers on the cake.  If you choose to bake 2, make sure you double the rest of the ingredients for the cake, but not the caramel icing...it should be plenty.

Strawberry Smoothie

Strawberry Smoothie

1 cup frozen strawberries

1/2 cup plain, non-fat yogurt

1 tsp strawberry flavored sugar-free gelatin (powder only)

In microwave safe container, thaw strawberries in microwave for 1 minute on high.  Add yogurt to blender (or Magic Bullet), pour in the slightly softened strawberries and sprinkle the gelatin over the top.  Blend until completely smooth.  If it's a little thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have the thickness you like.

It's only 150 calories.  I drink this for breakfast along with peanut butter toast or have it for a snack with cocoa roasted almonds. 

Carrot Cake Cookiewiches

Yesterday we pulled quite a few carrots from our little carrot patch.  We still have a ton to be pulled.  In the mean time, I thought I'd share a yummy recipe for Carrot Cake Cookies.

Carrot Cake Cookies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup finely grated carrots, juiced squeezed out

1 cup oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream Cheese Filling

4 ounces Neufchatel, softened

2 Tablespoons butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In mixing bowl, beat butter until light and creamy.  Add sugar and brown sugar, beat until light and fluffy.

Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, crystallized ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well.

Add carrots*, oats and pecans.  Mix well.

Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop and scoop evenly onto baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes or until the edges are just golden.  Allow to cool for a minute on the sheet and then move to a cooling rack.

Finish baking the rest of the cookies.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add powdered sugar and beat until creamy.  

Once cookies are completely cooled, spread a little of the cream cheese filling onto one side of a cookie and top with another cookie.

Ta-da!  

It's totally divine!

Enjoy!

TIP:

*grate the carrots and then put them in a tea towel and squeeze the life out of them!  the juice can be saved for other uses or discarded

Banana Oat Muffins

We normally eat this muffin with our breakfast or for an evening snack.  I hope you enjoy it!  I really love to spread a little peanut butter on it...it's just so good.  A match made in heaven...peanut butter and bananas!  

Next time I'm going to try making this with dark chocolate to see how the calories work out, if it's good, I'll share it too.

Banana Oat Muffins

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup oat flour (grind your own oatmeal)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup mashed bananas (overripe, about 3)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

In large bowl whisk flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In separate bowl, mix bananas, sugar, yogurt, egg and vanilla extract together.  Pour into the dry ingredients and add cinnamon.  Scoop into a muffin tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 12 minutes or until toothpick tests done.

Makes 12 muffins.

YUM!

each muffin = 84 calories, 0.7 grams fat, 17.5 grams carbs, 2.3 gram protein

Dill Pickles

We love Mt. Olive Kosher dill pickles.  In fact, when they go on sale at the store, I usually stock up at least 4 jars each time.  You and Hunter can go through some pickles!  We went over to Cousin Brenda's house and we finagled with the recipe until it resembled the original.  They are so good!!!  Technically these are refrigerator pickles.  Meaning they are not processed in a boiling water bath, but kept in the fridge. We save the pickle jars and spaghetti jars so we can put the pickled cucumbers in them. 

Dill Pickles
5-1/2 cups water
3 cups white distilled vinegar
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
5 Tbsp pickling salt (or non-iodized salt)
black peppercorn
mustard seeds
red pepper flakes
fresh dill heads
whole garlic cloves
cucumbers, sliced, speared, whole (make sure to remove the blossom end of the cucumbers)

Clean and dry your jars and lids.  Set aside.

In stainless steel pot, bring water, vinegar, salt and turmeric to a boil.  Then cool slightly. 

Clean and prepare the cucumbers.  Slicing them into chips, cutting them into spears or keeping them whole.  Remember to cut off the blossom end of the cucumbers.

Apparently there is a wicked little enzyme that will make your pickles mushy.  And we don't want mushy pickles!

Place one garlic clove, 2 peppercorns, a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 dill head into the bottom of each jar.

Fit cucumbers into the jars.

We put spears in the bottom and topped with chips.  Add another dill head to the top.

Pour the vinegar mixture over the cucumbers allowing 1/2" headspace. 

Allow to come to room temperature and put straight into the fridge.  Allow to pickle for at least 4 weeks and then enjoy to your heart's content.

We didn't wait 4 weeks.  We didn't even wait 3 weeks.  We waited 4 days.  I know!  But we were way too curious to see how they tasted.  They are amazing!!!  The vinegar solution hadn't permeated the entire cucumber, but it still tasted pretty amazing!

Now you can make them yourself.  Plant yourself a little cucumber patch and you'll have cucumbers for the year.

YUM!

Tara's Peanut Butter Layer Bars

Tara made these from a box of peanut butter cookie dough.  You can use your own peanut butter cookie recipe or your favorite boxes variety.

Peanut Butter Layer Bars
1st layer
Peanut butter cookie recipe***

2nd layer
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tsp milk

3rd layer
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 Tablespoons butter

Mix up peanut butter cookie dough and press into bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish or 1/4 sheet pan (don't forget to spray with nonstick cooking spray).  Bake according to directions.  Cool completely.

For the next layer, beat peanut butter and butter until creamy.  Add powdered sugar and milk and beat until it's fluffy and soft looking.

Heat heavy whipping cream in microwave safe bowl for 2 minutes or until bubbly.  Add chocolate chips and stir until completely melted.  Add butter and stir until thoroughly combined.  Set aside.

Assemble:
Spread fluffy peanut butter mixture over the cooled cookie dough crust.   Next, pour the chocolate ganache evenly over top.  Make sure it's not too hot or it will melt the previous layer.  Smooth out with offset spatula and refrigerate until solid, about an hour.  Cut into bars and enjoy!

***You may also use leftover peanut butter cookies as the crust.  Crumble about 12 cookies into a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of melted butter.  Press this into the bottom of a 13x9 pan and resume the layering as above.  

YUM!

Barb Jackson's Pasta Salad

Sister Jackson came to our congregation several years ago from California.  She makes this delicious pasta salad using McCormick's Salad Supreme seasoning.  I've never bought the seasoning but I found a way to make it so it tastes very similar.

Barb Jackson's Pasta Salad
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp celery seed*
1/2 tsp black pepper
dash cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (or Romano if you have it)

Mix thoroughly and sprinkle over 1/2 pound of boiled spaghetti noodles.  Toss with your favorite Italian dressing and veggies.

YUM!

You and Hunter eat this for lunch during the summer months when the garden is producing bountifully with tomatoes and cucumbers.

*If you don't have celery seed, no worries, add a stalk of celery very finely chopped.

Simple Bean Burritos

This is a freezer-friendly meal.  Make these up once a month and keep in the freezer.  Pop them into the microwave for a few minutes to reheat and dinner is served on those busy nights.

Simple Bean Burritos
refried beans
tortilla wrappers (I used low carb, low calorie ones)
cheddar cheese (I used fat free)

Create an assembly line by laying out everything you'll need.

Spread about 1/4 cup of beans onto the tortilla and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheddar.  Fold up the sides and roll up.  Place onto a baking sheet and freeze until solid.  Store in a freezer bag.

To reheat:  place frozen burrito on microwave safe plate and cook on high for 2-1/2 minutes.

Naked burrito

Dressed up burrito

Yum!

Lucia's Salsa Verde

While working at the bakeshop, I met a sweet lady who was from Mexico.  Her name was Lucia.  She loved to cook and was responsible for the delicious "Taco Tuesday" menu.  She was the real-deal.  Eventually she returned to Mexico and left us this yummy recipe.  This is her version of Salsa Verde.  I love it!

Lucia's Salsa Verde
2 lbs green tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
2 whole jalapenos
3 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp salt
1/4 of a large white or yellow onion (softball size)

First, let's clean the tomatillos.  They will most likely come with the husk on them.  Tomatillos are not green tomatoes.  They are in the gooseberry family.  I have never made this recipe with green tomatoes, so I don't know if the flavor would change or not.  Tomatillos are pretty tart little things.

Remove the husk.

The skin will be slightly sticky, so you'll need to rinse them under warm water.

Place the tomatillos and jalapenos on a baking sheet and broil in the oven until charred. 

 Flip them over and char the other side.  Remove from oven and allow to rest on the stove top while assembling the other ingredients.*
 

In a food processor or large blender, add garlic and onion.  Process or blend until very finely chopped.  You'll need to scrape down the sides and repeat.  Add the tomatillos and process.

*You can choose to leave the skin on the jalapenos, or if you want to remove it, place the jalapenos in a plastic baggie when they come out of the oven so they can steam.  When they've cooled enough to handle, use a paper towel to remove the charred skin.

Cut the stem off of the jalapeno and slice in half, scrape out the membranes and seeds.  Chop and add to the blender.  Process until smooth.  Season with salt and pour into a storage container to refrigerate overnight.

This is so good!!!  Thank you Lucia!

YUM!

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

This is a yummy recipe I found on a dieting website.  I changed it up a little to make it more pantry-friendly, using up some ingredients we always have on hand.  We all loved this one!

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken
1-1/2 lbs chicken (about 4 chicken thighs or 2 chicken breasts)
1 packet taco seasoning (like Taco Bell or McCormick)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 cup salsa (homemade or store bought)

Spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.

Place chicken in the bottom of crock pot (I almost always use frozen chicken.  I've never had a problem with it.  It's easier for me and less messy.)

Mix taco seasoning, sour cream and salsa together in a bowl and pour over the chicken.

Cook on high 4-5 hours.

Shred chicken and remove bones and skin.  Mix with the sauce in the crock pot and serve over brown rice.

Top with fresh cilantro.

YUM!

Chicken Divan

This is my all-time favorite chicken casserole dish.  Nana used to make it all the time when we were growing up.  She made it again the other day, it tasted just as it did when I was a kid.  So yummy!!!


Chicken Divan
2 packages frozen broccoli (steam cook it in the microwave)
3 chicken breasts cooked and chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup, reduced fat
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice, fresh
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 T melted butter

Layer cooked broccoli into the bottom of a 13x9 casserole dish.  Top with cubed chicken breasts.  In a separate bowl, stir together soup, mayo, sour cream, lemon juice, cheese and curry powder.  Evenly spread over the chicken layer.  Combine bread crumbs and butter and sprinkle over the soup layer.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

YUM!

Pumpkin Oatmeal with Cardamom

I just love the Food Network.  And I love the show The Next Food Network Star.  Last season's winner was Aarti Sequeira.  She was my favorite from the very first episode.  She's different and has a unique point-of-view.  I just love her recipes too!  I'm most interested in using different spices to brighten up our everyday meals.  She shared a recipe a few weeks ago which used cardamom.  It's a floral scented spice and can be very strong and very expensive.  I went to Sevenanda and picked up a tiny bit for about $.45.  I figured I give it a try and see if I liked it.  Well, I love it.  Let me share my tweaked "pantry-friendly" version of the Aarti Party recipe.  It was so good!

Pumpkin Oatmeal with Cardamom (adapted from Aarti Party)

14 oz canned pumpkin puree (or about 2 cups)

2 cups water

2 cups vanilla almond milk, plus more for serving

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

chopped almonds

honey

In a large saucepan, whisk pumpkin puree, water, almond milk.  Bring to a boil.  Add cranberries, salt, pumpkin pie spices, cardamom and oatmeal.  Reduce heat and cook about 15 minutes.  Follow the directions on your oatmeal canister.  Stir frequently to avoid sticking on the bottom of the pot.

Serve with chopped almonds, a drizzle of honey and 1/4 cup almond milk.

This was so good!  I think she says there are 4 servings in the pot.  There is no way I could eat that much oatmeal!  I filled my bowl with about 1 cup of the oatmeal and couldn't even eat it all.  It's very filling.  I think it's pretty healthy.  I plugged this into sparkpeople and it came out to be 288.1 calories for 6 servings.  That's good in my book!  I divided the leftovers into 1 cup servings and stored them in the fridge.  I heated them up each morning in the microwave until warm and then drizzled with honey and milk.  Perfect make-ahead meal!  Super fast and healthy breakfast option.

 

 

eCookbook - Basic Southern Cakes

"Basic Southern Cakes" is the first in a series of Sweet Creations eCookbooks I'm hoping to share with you over the next few months. 

I created this eCookbook as a compilation of my favorite southern classic cakes.  These recipes are tried and true and fabulously delicious.  I hope you'll love them as much as I do.  Everything from Old Fashioned Fudge Cake to Southern Red Velvet Cake.  Among these recipes are my Granny Horn's Applesauce Cake.  A recipe I've wanted to share with you all for so long.  There are a total of 17 cake recipes and 8 different frosting recipes.  

Purchase your copy for only $2.99

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Please remember this is an electronic book in pdf format.  A valid email address must be associated with your paypal account so I can email you the ebook in attachment.  (I have included a box for ease of ordering.  Please enter your valid email address.)  Once you have received the email, download the ebook and save it in your personal files for future reference.  You will also be able to print this ebook since it will be in pdf format.  

Thank you in advance for your support and I look forward to fulfilling lots of orders!

Enjoy!

Chef Salad

When the weather is nice and the produce is fresh, I like to have fresh salads for lunch and dinner.  This is one of my favorites.  You are a little rabbit and will eat salad pretty much any time of day or year. 

Chef Salad
lettuce
tomatoes
cucumbers
hard-boiled eggs
sliced turkey deli-meat
shredded carrots

Arrange 2 cups of lettuce on a plate.  Roll up 5 or 6 very thinly sliced deli turkey meat, slice and arrange down the middle of the bed of lettuce.  Slice half of a tomato and arrange next to the turkey.  Slice half of a cucumber and arrange on the other side of the turkey.  Slice a hard boiled egg into wedges and arrange next to the tomatoes.  Place the carrots next to the cucumbers.

Whisk up your favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette and drizzle over the top.

Serve with crackers and apple for a complete lunch idea.

YUM!

Pink Marshmallow Crispy Rice Treats

Your friend Aubree had a "pink-a-licious" party and so we decided to make some pink rice krispies treats.  They were so good!  I deviate from the original recipe by adding a little extra butter.  I think it makes the treats taste better.  I was expecting to make these pink by only using the food coloring, but after we got to the store, we found these strawberry flavored marshmallows.

I had to give them a try.  Here's how we did it:

Pink Marshmallow Crispy Rice Treats
12 tablespoons butter or 1-1/2 sticks of butter
2 packages of strawberry flavored marshmallows
pink food coloring
12-1/2 cups puffed rice cereal (such as Kellogg's Rice Krispies)

Prepare the half sheet pan with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray;  set aside.  Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add butter and let it begin to melt.

Add marshmallows and stir with butter until melted and smooth.

Add food coloring and stir to combine.

Pour in the cereal.

Stir with all your might to get it combined before the marshmallows start to cool.

Pour onto prepared sheet pan lined with plastic wrap.

Using another piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, press down the treats.

Cover and allow to sit overnight on the counter.

Cut them into squares and enjoy!

These are so good!  You could really taste the strawberry flavoring.  But if you can't find these particular marshmallows, you can substitute with plain marshmallows, more pink food coloring and strawberry flavored extract.

YUM!