Mexican Made Easy

Mexican food is a staple. It always sounds good to me. My new love of Pinterest.com lead me to this recipe for "Mexican Cupcakes" that is really more like a personalized Mexican lasagna. Very simple to make and really customizable.

To make 12 cupcakes, I used 1/3 lb ground sirloin, 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed), 1/2 red pepper diced, 1/2 yellow onion diced and 1 package of taco seasoning. While that browns, spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray and place one wonton wrapper in each cup. Divide half the meat mixture among the cups, layer with cheese, top with another wonton wrapper, meat and cheese. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 F. Top with tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, lettuce, olives, etc. Mexican rice makes a nice side.

Enjoy!

NYE - Spiced Nuts and Cheese Balls

Big plans this NYE - staying in and watching movies. My fellow Martha lover, Molly, came over tonight to make some NYE appetizers. We made cranberry cheddar cheese balls, rosemary spiced nuts and butter toffee nuts. Everything turned out great!

Here's Molly mixing the butter toffee nuts!

They were subtly sweet, but seriously addictive.

Butter Toffee Nuts Recipe:

2 egg whites

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

Cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to taste

1 1/2 pounds of peanuts (or mixed nuts)

Preheat oven to 275 F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Using an electic mixer, place egg whites into a large bowl big enough to accomodate the nuts. Beat until they while form soft peaks when beaters are lifted.

Add brown sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is still and glossy. With a large spatula, stir in melted butter. Gently fold nuts into mixture until they are evenly coated. Add spice mixture.

Spread coated nuts evenly on foil-lined pan. Bake about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes to keep nuts separate, until meringue is dry and nuts are crunchy. Let cool in pan.

Pour nuts into covered containers and store up to 2 months at room temperature.

Rosemary Spiced Nuts

These definitely have an after kick. The fresh rosemary smells so good while cooking and the salty/spicy taste is perfect!

Rosemary Spiced Nuts Recipe:

1 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp each - cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 - 1/2 pounds mixed nuts

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. In a large bowl, combine melted butter, spices, sugar and rosemary. Add nuts and stir to coat. Spread evenly in foil-lined pan. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool in pan, stirring occasionally to keep separate. Store cooled nuts in covered containers.

Cranberry Cheddar Cheese Ball

Though the original recipe didn't call for it, we added a bit of spice to give this cheese a kick. The sweet cranberries on the outside keep it tame enough to eat.

Cranberry Cheddar Cheese Ball Recipe:

1/3 stick of unsalted butter, softened

1 pkg light cream cheese (8oz)

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Dash of salt and pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded

2 tbsp. cranberry chutney

3/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

Put butter, cream cheese, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, salt and pepper into the bowl of an electic mixer; mix until combined. Stir cheddar cheese and chutney into the mixture. Form into a ball. Roll in cranberries to coat. Wrap in cling wrap and refridgerate till firm. If not using immediately, refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.

Beauty Grab Bag Party

This past weekend, during our first snow storm of the season, I hosted a brunch and beauty grab bag party. Each guest brought their favorite beauty product to show to the group. Then we played the stealing game and everyone went home with a new treat (and a wealth of knowledge on new products to try). Such fun! In addition to the beauty product exchange, I wanted to treat the guests with "bag of relaxation" - it contained homemade bath salts, a candle and chocolates. Below is the a picture of the bath salts.




I used crescent rolls to make mini cinnamon rolls and chocolate stuffed croissants.

And two types of quiche: Swiss & tomato and Spinach & smoked Gouda

Bath Salt Recipe: 3 cups Epsom salt, 2 cuts sea salt, 1 cup baking soda, essential oils

Deep Dish Pizza

I love pizza. There, I said it. I could eat pizza every day. I'm always looking for a new dough recipe, a new style of pizza. My latest adventure led me to deep dish pizza. With a deep dish pizza stone from World Market, I created a very delicious pizza treat.

This dough recipe called for 1 cup of mashed potatoes. Sounds weird, right? Well it made for a chewy crust that was absolutely delicious. Here's the recipe:

1 medium potato - peeled, boiled and mashed
3 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil

Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar for 10 minutes. Combine the flour and salt (I use my food processor with dough blade). Add yeast mixture and pulse. Add potato and olive oil, combine till a dough forms. Add more flour if necessary to form a workable dough. Turn out on floured surface and knead 5 minutes. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, cover with towel and let rise in warm place till doubled in size. (In the winter, I place a bowl of boiling water on the lowest rack of the oven and put the bowl of covered dough on the rack above it. Don't turn on the oven, just let the steam from the water do all the work.) Punch down and turn out on floured surface. Divide in two.

To make a 10" deep dish pizza: Preheat pizza stone at 425 F. Roll out one half of dough to slightly larger than 10 inches. Remove stone from oven, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with corn meal. Carefully place dough in stone and press up sides. Prick crust with fork to prevent air pockets. Bake 5-7 minutes. Remove from oven, add sauce, cheese and toppings. Bake 10-15 minutes or under cheese starts to brown and bubble.

What's great about this dough is that it can be made the night before so you can be eating deep dish pizza in 30 minutes and the dough can even be frozen for a future use.

Learning to make German Spaetzle

I recently spent a long weekend visiting my grandparents in Folsom, California. My grandmother, Sally, took the opportunity to teach me how to make traditional German Spaetzle. If you're not familiar, it's basically noodles that are served with meat and gravy. Very hearty. It seems the key to this recipe is having strong men around to beat the noodle mixture. Below is a photo of the dough, beaten till shiny.



Once the dough is prepared, it is spooned into the Spaetzle maker.



Fill till about 2/3 full.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Press dough through Spaetzle maker into boiling water. Let noodles puff up a bit and remove to a bowl of warm water to rinse until finally putting in a casserole dish for serving.

While this did take a bit of work, the noodles turned out great and the whole family enjoyed this delicious meal. Below is a video of my father teaching me his Spaetzle making technique.

Homemade Ravioli

My dear friend Kallie puts up with my many creative whims and ideas. The lastest adventure was making homemade ravioli. I have to say, I have new found appreciation for it - all the time and labor that goes into the cheesey goodness will make me savor every bite a little more. We had to play around with the dough recipe but ended up with something that seemed the right consistency.

Armed with our new French rolling pins we set to work rolling out the dough. Once the dough was rolled, we spooned on the cheese mixture and covered it with the top layer of dough. Then came the stamping.

We used this stamp from Crate and Barrel. A lot of muscle was used to cut through the dough. But all that effort produced about 40 ravioli.




This will be a very enjoyable meal!

Summer Salad

Artichokes hearts are a delicious treat. Definitely one of my favorites. After reading a few recipes I picked the ingredients I knew I'd like and created a new salad.

Ingredients:

• Artichoke Hearts



• Tomatoes



• Basil



• Baguette Bread



• Parmesan Cheese



• Olive Oil



• White Wine Vinegar



• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Lightly coat sliced baguette with olive oil. Grill artichoke hearts and bread. Chop tomatoes into bite sized wedges. Slice basil. Mix all ingredients and toss with olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: I think next time I'd add some lemon zest.

Spooky 7 Layer Dip

An easy treat for any Halloween party. The seven layers include:


Refried Beans
Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
Guacamole or Avocados mixed w/ taco seasoning
Salsa
Cheese (shredded)
Olives (finely chopped or diced)
Sour cream


Layer the first 6 ingredients and then draw on the "web" with sour cream in a piping bag (or snip the corner of a ziploc bag). Add plastic spiders for extra spooky effect.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

It's starting to be that time of year when I warm bowl of soup really hits the spot. I tried a new soup last night. Spicy Chicken Tortilla, emphasis on the spicy. I looked at a few recipes and then picked out the things I liked to create my own twist. Here's the recipe:

In a food processor, combine: 3 jalapenos*, 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 yellow onion. Saute the puree in olive oil. Puree 3 large tomatoes (or 1 large can stewed tomatoes) and a can of tomato paste. Add to sauted mixture and continue cooking for 5 mins. Add 6 cups of chicken stock to mixture and simmer for 10 mins. Add 3 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded) to soup mixture. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Continue cooking 30 mins.

Serve with fresh cilantro, cheese, and tortilla strips. To make tortilla strips, slice corn tortillas in strips, coat with oil & salt and bake for 10 mins in oven.

*I used 2.5 habaneros and 1 jalapeno, it was a 10 on the spicy level. This recipe might be more conducive to eating. :)

TGIF - Apricots!

I made my favorite summer time snack for my co-workers this morning. Apricots with mascarpone cheese! Not only are they pretty, but they can be consumed at any time of the day.

Here's the recipe:
Apricots
Mascarpone cheese
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Nutmeg
Pecans

Directions: Mix the cheeses together and either spoon into sliced apricots or place in a piping bag for added design. Sprinkle with nutmeg and pecans.

Pretty simple and soooo delicious!

Cheesecakes

So I've had an inkling for cheesecake lately, but didn't want to tempt myself with a whole one. Thanks to my recent trip back home I acquired this mini springform pan. The picture is of a citrus cheesecake, with chocolate crust and fresh berries on top. It looks better than it tasted.

I tried another recipe over the weekend for chocolate cheesecake. It was amazing. I shared with my co-workers and they loved it. Here's the link to the recipe, though I altered the candy cane for mini chocolate chips. Definately worth the time! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chocolate-cheesecake-candy-cane-bars-recipe2/index.html