A Mexican Fiesta: Ole!

Late Saturday night after coming home from a delicious BBQ and relaxing for a bit while watching She’s the Man (hello Channing Tatum boy-crush and Amanda Bynes girl-crush!), my fiancé and I sat down to try and organize the coming week’s meals. Since I’m a big planner, I always have the next week’s meals decided about mid-week but decided to wait till the last minute this time.

While scouring the millions of e-mails I’ve forwarded my fiancé with recipes attached, our recipe books, and folder collection, after about an hour of being frantic we settled on this week’s menu. After our weekly Sunday trip to the grocery store, (which we’ve decided needs to be done on Saturdays because all the crazies go shopping on Sunday) I got to work on tonight’s recipe.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Mexican and Spanish food (as you’re well aware) so tonight’s dinner was right up my alley. I found a recipe for chicken empanadas on the Food Network’s site, courtesy of Ms. Paula Dean. Knowing that her recipes are usually full of fat and grease, I was pleasantly surprised that aside from the copious amounts of cheese involved, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve never made empanadas before since I don’t have a deep fryer, but these bad boys were baked so I was up for the challenge. I actually got a lot of help from my fiancé which I really appreciated!

I didn’t realize until this recipe, but I don’t own a rolling pin! So, in order to get the 12 to 15 3-inch circles of dough required for the recipe, we spread out the pie crust on two floured cutting boards, and rolled it with a shot glass. Innovative, I know. Since we also don’t have any cookie cutters, we just used the rim of a plastic cup, which we gaged to be about 3-inches. It’s amazing how difficult a recipe can be when you don’t have the proper tools.

But, the filling for the empanadas was super easy. The chicken didn’t call for any seasoning, so I added some chili powder and taco seasoning just to add some pizazz. Other than that I stuck to the book, and am pleased with the results! It definitely made more filling than what went into the 15 circles I was able to cut from the one sheet of pie crust. So, I saved the leftovers and will be bringing it for lunch tomorrow. It’d probably also be great in wrap.

Continuing the Mexican fiesta theme, I decided to pair the empanadas with a corn and black bean salad. This recipe is from The World’s Healthiest Foods, and I’ve made it a few times. It’s super simple and the longer it sits, the better it tastes. It makes about 4 servings, so I’m looking forward to and even more flavorful salad later this week!

I think the empanadas would be a great party style dish, maybe as an appetizer or something like that. It was definitely interesting to have them as our main dish, but I’m always up for new things. It was super cheesey which I always love, and the heat from the jalapeños was much appreciated, though my fingers are currently cursing me since they feel like they’re on fire. The corn and black bean salad has always been a favorite of mine, so now that I have the recipe back in my hands, I plan on making it over and over again!

Paula Dean’s Chicken Empanadas
– Makes 12 to 15 –

Ingredients:
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1 (8-ounce) package shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
Water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients.
3. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, making 12 to 15 circles total.
4. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month).
5. Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

15 Minute Black Bean Salad
– Serves 4 –

Ingredients:
½ cup minced onion
2 medium cloves garlic, pressed
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ cup diced red bell pepper
2 TBS pumpkin seeds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
3 TBS fresh lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Mince onions, press garlic, cut tomatoes, chop red peppers
2. Mix all ingredients together and serve.
*This salad will keep for a couple of days and gets more flavorful if you let it marinate in the refrigerator for awhile.

¡Coma bien!

Breakfast for Dinner: Monte Cristo style!

I had my first Monte Cristo sandwich my freshman year of college. We were on a training trip to Mission Veijo, California and in between practices one day a few teammates and I ventured to a restaurant near the hotel called Sugar Shack. After we discovered that place I think at least 5 members of the team were there for lunch every day.

team — University of Scranton Swim Team '04-'05 in California

*Sorry guys, I just had to post this. Just a little nostalgia!

I was never a big breakfast person, but it’s slowly been growing on me. The Monte Cristo is a good middle ground dish; it’s a little breakfast with the French toast style bread, and also lunch/dinner-like with the ham and cheese.

I found this particular recipe on Serious Eats‘s “Dinner Tonight” section and took out the strawberry preserves and mustard. I’d never heard of either on that particular sandwich, and I’m not big on jelly and my fiancé won’t eat mustard (or mayo). I also couldn’t find gruyere cheese at ShopRite – their cheese display is confusing. I did, however, find chipotle Gouda so I snagged that. I know Gouda isn’t the best for melting, but since it’s my all time favorite cheese, I didn’t care.

After a solid 3.1 miles regretfully on the treadmill (thanks a lot mother nature!) I set to work on the sandwiches. The recipe didn’t specify what type of bread to use, so at the store on Monday I grabbed a big crusty loaf of Italian bread. I cut the slices on the thicker side, to make it a little gourmet looking. I cut a few slices of the chipotle gouda, and added about a slice and a half of smoked ham. In terms of the French toast part, I followed the instructions for the mixture and ran with it. Since I know gouda isn’t the best melty cheese (thank you Bobby Flay’s Throw Down episode on grilled cheese), after I cooked them on each side to a golden crisp, I threw them in the oven for 5 minutes to assist in the melting.

We paired the sandwiches with some tater tots and a salad, and we were stuffed. We had plans to tackle another cupcake from Monday, but we were just too full.

Even though I’m not a huge breakfast fan (gasp!) I would absolutely make this again. It’s definitely the type of recipe you can play with in terms of different ham and cheese types, and I like that flexibility! Now if only I could transfer that flexibility to my legs. Boy they’re tight!

Monte Cristo
– Serves 2 –

Ingredients:
4 slices bread
Mustard
6 slices ham
2 slices gruyere cheese
2 eggs
2 tablespoon milk
Pinch of cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons strawberry jam

Directions:
1. Smear some mustard on two slices of bread. Top each with three slices of ham, one slice of cheese, and a slice of bread.
2. Whisk together the egg, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla in a shallow pan.
3. Dip each sandwich into the egg mixture, making sure to evenly coat both sides.
4. Add the butter to a large skillet set over medium heat. When melted, add the sandwiches and cook on both sides until browned.
5. Sprinkle with the sugar, and serve with the strawberry jam.

Happy breakfast, lunch, and dinner nomzing!

Chocolate Espresso Hazelnut Cupcakes

I decided to get adventerous with the making of these cupcakes. I took a base recipe from Recipe Girl and kind of ran with it. I think the hardest part was coming up with a name for my creation that wasn’t miles long!

I’d been holding off making baked goods for a few reasons. One, being in super-saver mode I didn’t want to buy ingredients I didn’t have and all of the cupcakes on my to-do list had extra ingedients. I also hate baking when I don’t have somewhere to bring the goodies because some always go to waste.

So, since we saved a ton of money in groceries last week and were heading to a BBQ on Monday, I thought it was a perfect opportunity to make some cupcakes! While I made the cupcakes, my fiancé got started on his second batch of beer from the kit I had gotten him for Christmas. We had quite a nice little domestic Sunday afternoon.

The chocolate cupcake recipe I found actually mixed all of the ingredients together in a blender. As someone that still doesn’t have a stand mixer (hello wedding registry!), the idea of not having to do it by hand was amazing. I literally poured all of the ingredients into the mixer, turned it on, and waited. I did assist with the mixing a bit, but that’s really just because I’m impatient.

I decided to snazz up the regular chocolate recipe by adding espresso and hazelnuts. I was a little unsure at first if I should have just used hazelnut coffee, but I’m glad I went with the espresso and mashed hazelnuts. I didn’t brew the espresso, I just threw it in as a dry ingredient.

For the frosting, I decided to tackle a buttercream again. This time the hand mixer was a little nicer, and only spewed a bit of butter. All was well until I got to the actual icing of the cupcakes. I must have misplaced a piece of the pastry bag I just bought, so it’s basically unusable. We picked a tip and used a rubberband to hold it in place, but the tip was definitely too small to ice the whole cake. So I wound up just using a spoon and doing my ugly version. I really need to take a class or some lessons to get better at that!

I found the frosting recipe from a blog called Ming Makes Cupcakes, that has a ton of numbered cupcake recipes, and I seriously want to make them all. But I figured I’d do just one at a time.

They are definitely decadent cupcakes. I made them normal size and the batter only produced 10 cupcakes, so I made two batches and the icing was able to cover all 20 cupcakes. I definitely think they’re a one and done type cake, which I’m more than okay with!

Everyone at the BBQ that tried them was really impressed. It’s always nice to hear “oh man, these are awesome! Who made them?!?” when you’re at a gathering. My fiancé made a point to say he really enjoys when I deviate from the recipes and make them my own. I’m definitely becoming more comfortable with the idea of my own(ish) recipes, and I love it!

The base cupcake recipe is great if you’re pressed for time. You can pretty much add anything to snazz them up from regular chocolate. As for the icing, we all know buttercream can be made into pretty much any flavor, so get creative!

Go-To Chocolate Cupcakes
– makes 10 cupcakes –

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup hot water
½ cup canola oil
1 large egg
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup of espresso*
1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts*

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 12 regular-sized muffin tin with paper or foil liners.
2. Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a blender. Cover with the lid and blend on medium-speed until blended. Pour in the water, oil, egg and vanilla. Cover with the lid and blend on medium-high speed until smooth and well-blended, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice.
3. Pour into prepared pan/cups, dividing evenly. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of one cupcake comes out clean, 15-17 minutes.
4. Transfer to rack to cool for about 10 minutes, and then carefully remove cupcakes from the pan and set them on the rack to cool completely before frosting

* are my additions to the base recipe!

Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup Bailey’s Irish cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp milk
2 tbsp coffee (I used espresso)

Directions:
Blend all ingredients together
Frost cupcakes!

So happy nomzing!!

A Perfect Foodie Gift for Dad!

Late last week, I was contacted by Snubbr.com who offered to write up a guest post on some sweet cookbooks available to get for your dad for Father’s Day. My dad is a seriously awesome cook – you name it, he can make it, and it’s always delicious! So, since I’m still totally clueless as to what I should get my dad, I figured what the heck. Maybe I’ll purchase one of their suggestions!

You can expect a give-away some time in June from them, so stay tuned for that, too!

Baking Cookbook Gift Ideas For Father’s Day
by Shannon Clark, a Snubbr expert

Would you easily describe your dad (or husband) as a world class baker? If so, consider getting him a brand new baking cookbook this coming Father’s day. There’s always new techniques or recipes that he can try out as he indulges in this passion of his and best of all, if you’re lucky he may just share the end result.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the top rated baking cookbook options available so you can find the perfect pick for your father this coming father’s day.

—
The Complete Baking Cookbook: 350 Recipes From Cookies And Cakes To Muffins And Pies

If your dad likes baking a variety, this cookbook is sure to please him. With many different varieties of baked goods that he can prepare when he uses this cookbook, you can ensure he never gets bored. This book really outdoes itself when it comes to cookies especially with so many different varieties to choose from that span across all sorts of ingredients.

If he’s a pie fan as well, rest assured there will be plenty of different ideas to keep him occupied. The book even comes with troubleshooting tips and techniques so there’s a good chance he’ll improve his cooking skills while he bakes up the various recipes that are found in it.

—
The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks’ Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets

If you have a father who’s a vegan, one of the most difficult types of dishes for him to prepare will be dessert since he’s not to eat any eggs or dairy. That’s where this cookbook comes in handy.

With 150 different recipes that span across cakes, pudding, cookies, crepes, and pies, there will be something that’s sure to please him. Since all are prepared without any animal products at all, you can also be confident that they’re going to be far healthier varieties to be adding to his diet helping him maintain his ideal weight range.

Whether he is rather new to the process of baking or is a seasoned pro with the oven, this cookbook will provide more than enough recipes to keep him busy for the coming months.

—
The Smart Baking Cookbook: Muffins, Cookies, Biscuits, and Breads

Has your father recently undergone a total health make-over? If so, this is the cookbook you should get for him. It contains 180 different dishes that are all low in fat, high in fiber, and contain no added sugar. All are made up of natural ingredients such as fruit, nuts, honey, cinnamon, or other herbs and flavorings so he gets a healthy dessert that’s still high on taste.

Written by the editor of Prevention magazine, which is a magazine filled with top-notch health information, you can be sure there’s nothing but high quality here.

—
Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook

Perhaps no other name is as famous in the household of a baking enthusiast than Martha Stewart. Known for her delicious desserts and world-class presentation, you know your father will appreciate every single one of the recipes that comes in this book.

She begins the book by providing you with a wide variety of general baking tips, which your dad can then use to improve his own techniques in the kitchen. The book includes a complete illustrated guide to the various types of baking equipment from that New Restaurant Equipment Wholesaler that will be utilized in the recipes so he’ll never feel lost in the dark about what’s going on.

Also included in the book are plenty of recipe substitutions that can be used so if something happens and your dad doesn’t happen to have the stated ingredient at home, he’ll quickly be able to find a swap for it that won’t wreck his afternoon of baking.

Various recipes include din this guide are cakes, pies, tarts, coffee cakes, scones, biscuits, muffins, crackers, breads, as well as fine pastries. You know he’ll never get bored when using this cookbook.

—
The Low-Carb Baking and Dessert Cookbook

Has your dad recently adopted a low carb diet? If so, this is the book for him. It’s filled with a variety of different recipes from breads, pastries, to confections, all of which will be low carb in nature. Do take note that the ingredients called for in this book will be slightly atypical as they do have to be lower in carbs, so he’ll have to shop around when preparing these recipes.

—

If he has a serious sweet tooth however and is very committed to sticking to his diet, you know that this cookbook will definitely make achieving his goals easier.

So keep all of these cookbooks in mind as you shop for a gift for your father this coming Father’s Day. Any one of these will definitely make his holiday.

If you need more unique gift ideas, check out snubbr.com. They’re a Q&A site for shopping advice, backed by thousands of experts. You simply ask a question, and they search for experts to answer it for you.

Poor Man’s Makeshift Guacamole

As you know, I’m in the process of planning a wedding. And in case you’ve been living under a rock, you’re well aware that they are money suckers. So, my fiancé and I have been trying to save as much money as possible before our wedding next September. What does this mean? This means trying to be as cheap as humanly possible without making ourselves miserable.

One of our biggest expenses each month is food. So, we’ve been trying to cut back on the more extravagant and expensive ingredients required for some dishes, and sticking to the easier stuff. That’s why I’ve been making things like these $2 Chinese Noodles (which were amazing!).

Yesterday we acquired a avacado from one of our co-workers. He wasn’t going to eat it, so he figured we could somehow make use of it over the weekend. Well, it was gone by about 10:30am Saturday morning. I wasn’t really sure what I could do with the avocado, since we didn’t have much at home to work with. So, this is where I got creative.

Typically to make guacamole you need some diced veggies. Since I didn’t have any, I cheated and grabbed some hot salsa. I mixed this into the mashed up guacamole, added some green chilies I had left over from the other night, and added a few squirts of lime juice. The result? A really good make-shift guacamole! Both my fiancé and I were seriously impressed. We paired it with some Triscuts and enjoyed that along with our uber classy Friday night meal of Elio’s pizza and mozzarella sticks. Don’t worry, we had a salad too!

There was quite a bit left-over this morning, so we had it as our pre-run snack. I can’t say it necessarily helped, but it didn’t hurt! Nothing like some good for you fat to kick start your day!

If you’re ever stuck with an avocado and unsure what to do with it, I say anything goes. Whatever you’ve got can probably work. And it’s a pretty decent and good for you snack! A nice way to be a healthy cheapo!

Poor Man’s Makeshift Guacamole

Ingredients:
1/2 a ripe avocado
3 tbsp chunky salsa
1 tbsp lime juice
1 green chili

Directions:
1. Remove avocado skin, and in a medium bowl smash with a fork
2. Chop and dice green chile
3. Add salsa and lime juice, mix together
4. ENJOY!

Snazzy Ramen Noodles

I found this particular recipe on one of the most visually appealing food blogs I follow in my quest for deliciousness. Not only are there yummy recipes, but just the presentation of each post is beautiful. So what is this site you may ask? Cheeky Kitchen!

The recipe itself is called $2 Chinese Noodles, and basically plays on the concept of a take-out type meal made on the cheap at home. As a former college student, I have come to love and embrace Ramen Noodles. I have no shame in declaring my love for them, so when a recipe uses them, I’m all about it! It’s a plentiful recipe, offering to easily feed 8! Since it’s just me and my fiancé, I cut the recipe down so that we could have our fill, but also bring some leftovers for lunch.

Per the usual, I had some modifications to the recipe. For starters, I couldn’t find plain old sesame oil at the store. Totally ridiculous, I know! But, I did find hot chili sesame oil. Since as you know I’m a spicy food fanatic, I thought this would be a perfect substitution. Oh, and it was! I have a bunch of ginger left over from the Crisp Noodle Cakes I made back in April. The store also didn’t have beef flavored Ramen, so I stuck to four packets of chicken. As for the veggies, I went with the Bird’s Eye green bean stir-fry mix. It had green beans, water chestnuts, red pepper, broccoli and carrot. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe.

The whole meal took about 15 minutes to make and of course only about 10 minutes to devour. I would absolutely make this again! It was a great way to snazz up the A-typical, super cheap Ramen Noodles I grew accustomed to in college. One might say they were the grown-up version, and I think that’s a type of growing up I’m more than okay with.

$2 Chinese Noodles
– Serves 8 –

Ingredients:
3 packs Top Ramen, chicken flavor
3 packs Top Ramen, beef flavor
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 package frozen stir-fry veggies or chow mein medley
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated

Directions:
1. Fill a very large pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Remove flavor packets and add ramen noodles. Boil 2-3 minutes, or just until softened. Drain.
3. Return pot to hot stove, add sesame and olive oils. Add the garlic and ginger to the oils, allow cook for about 1 minute, then add veggies and flavor packs.
4. Once veggies have fully thawed, add hot noodles back into the pot. Stir carefully until noodles are well coated with oil mixture.
5. Serve immediately.

Happy (cheap) nomzing!

Jalapeño Crab Cakes with Slaw & Salsa

I just so happened to super crabby all week, so I thought, what a better way to end the week then with something involving crab meat?! I’ve actually had this particular recipe in my hands for about a year, but never got around to making them. Since I’ve had it for so long, I of course don’t remember where I found the recipe, but when Googling it, it did come up on Epicurious, so we’ll stick with that!

I’ve never really been a huge water-creature fan; eating, swimming with, smelling, etc. I know I grew up loving shrimp and scallops, but at about six or so I swore them off. I guess I had a few bad experiences, like my great-grandmother pointing out a vein in a shrimp to turn me off from all seafood. As I got older, though, I decided to venture back out and sampled some salmon, tuna, crab, and other similar seafoods. Realizing they had some health benefits, I decided I would keep shrimp out, but let everything else in.

Since I don’t really buy seafood that often, I forgot how expensive it is! A pound of crab meat was almost $20! Thankfully the rest of the ingredients were cheap, and I have left overs for tonight’s left-over-arama!

Making the crab cakes was easy; I was just petrified of cutting the jalapeños. When I was younger I played with a pepper in a neighbor’s yard and made the mistake of touching my face afterwards without washing my hands. Believe me, that will never happen again! But then when talking to my mom about the recipe, she told me just cutting the peppers burned her hands so badly she need to put them in ice water. So what did I do? I took two plastic sandwich bags and put them over my hands, and chopped away!

As you all know, I’m impatient, so quick recipes are favorites of mine. Each of the cakes only take about 8-10 minutes, depending on how large you make them. Because my pan only fit 2 at a time, I turned on my oven (only to 200 degrees) and put the cakes that were already done in the oven to keep them warm, while I worked on the others.

We weren’t sure what to have with the cakes aside from the slaw and salsa, so I just grabbed a bag of the steam-fresh redskin potatoes that Green Giant makes. They were okay – I wasn’t a huge fan of the butter sauce, but it worked well enough. It was a huge meal – two crab cakes with slaw, the potatoes, AND a salad?! I was stuffed, in a good way.

The cakes had just the right amount of spice from the jalapeños without being overpowering or not noticeable, and the panko bread crumbs added a really nice crunch. And instead of using a typical mayo-based remoulade to go with them, a nice medium-spiced salsa was perfect.

Jalapeño Crab Cakes with Slaw & Salsa
-Serves 4-

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh crabmeat, picked over, patted dry
1 1/3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeño chiles (I used one)
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1/4 cup canola oil or other vegetable oil
4 cups (about 6 ounces) coleslaw mix [I used Rainbow mix]
2/3 cup purchased salsa
1/3 cup sour cream
Lime wedges

Directions:
1. Line rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Combine first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Stir in eggs.
2. Using moist hands, shape mixture into 8 cakes, each about 3/4 inch thick. Arrange cakes on prepared sheet.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in each of 2 medium skillets over medium heat. Add 4 cakes to each. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.
4. Mound slaw mix on 4 plates. Top each serving with 2 cakes. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges.

Happy nomzing!

Boozey Cupcakes Part 2: Jello Shot Style

On Saturday, my fiancé had his birthday party, which was dessert themed. Being that it was a party and some type of confectionery treat needed to be made, I went the route of a booze-infused cupcake. After my New Year’s Eve hit with my Guinness & Bailey’s buttercream cupcakes, I figured I could give a new recipe a shot (no pun intended!).

It’s amazing how many different recipes incorporate alcohol. There’s even an entire bakery, Butch Bakery, that makes “manly” alcohol infused cupcakes! I found my recipe at ilovecuppycakes.com [What a cute blog name!]

Because we were hosting the party at our place and spent all of Saturday morning & afternoon cleaning and running errands, this recipe was perfect because it called for cake mix. I know that’s cheating, but we were seriously crunched on time! So after making the cupcakes from the box, I moved on to the Jello, by making it half with water, and half with coconut rum. Once the cupcakes cooled, I simply spooned the mixture over them. Be smart about this though because it makes a mess! I thought ahead and put down some paper towels on a serving tray first, and I’m really glad I did. I left the rest of the Jello to congeal in the fridge if anyone wanted it later.

The hardest part of the recipe, you may ask? Finding the cups to put them in! They’re the paper medicine-like cups; a smaller version of what you’d get from the Penguin Ice man. After searching the grocery store, a drug store, AND the liquor store, I gave up and just made them in full-sized cupcake liners. So they weren’t exactly shots, but more like tumblers perhaps? At least it meant more jello-shotty goodness in each cupcake!

I actually decided to buy whipped cream instead of making it myself due to time. So I left the whipped cream can out next to the cupcakes, so everyone could use it as they pleased. I mean, who doesn’t like to add their own whipped cream?!

Here’s the recipe [from iheartcuppycakes], and happy (and safe) boozey nomzing!

Jello Shot Cupcakes

Ingredients:
For jello shot cupcakes
1 pkg. white cake mix
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg. (3 oz.) Jello Gelatin, any red flavor (I used cherry)
1 cup Malibu coconut rum

For whipped cream
3 cups whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:
1. Make cupcakes according to package directions
2. Fill cupcake liners about 1/2-2/3 full and bake for about 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and poke holes in the cupcakes with a fork or toothpick.
3. In a separate bowl, stir boiling water into jello powder until completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add rum. Spoon over cupcakes. (Don’t be shy with the jello. Be generous! 2-3-4 spoonfuls!)
4. For the whipped cream, place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed. Change to medium speed and whisk until thick.
4. Let cool before frosting with whipped cream.

Crisp Noodle Cake

Happy Earth Day!

Tonight’s dinner was an Earth Day celebration; a nice crisp noodle cake and TONS of veggies!

I had this particular recipe on my radar for awhile, but wasn’t able to incorporate it into my weekly meal planning until today. I was also a bit hesitant about the recipe in general. My fiancé tells me I need more confidence, since I’m always afraid my adventures in the kitchen are going end disastrously. He constantly reassures me that everything I’ve made has been delicious, and the few things that haven’t, have been at least passable.

That being said, I found this recipe on Serious Eats. It is, however, a Martha Stewart recipe. It seemed pretty basic, and really only called for a few ingredients; one of which was ginger. I personally have no aversion to ginger, but I know a lot of people (cough, my dad, cough) that loathe it. Because I don’t care either way, instead of getting the fresh ginger, I went with sushi ginger. That way, I can have it to throw into other recipes in the future, without needing to worry about it going bad as quickly. I’ve been avoiding scallions for no particular reason. Up until this recipe, if I was making something that called for it, I left it out. This time, however, I knew it was an important part of the meal, so I buckled down and bought some.

Once you get past the ingredients and mix everything together, you’re kind of left with a giant slop of egg, ginger, bean sprouts, scallions, and noodles, as you can see here:

I was unsure of the best way to grab the concoction and transfer it from the bowl to the bubbling hot oil. I decided to grab some with a fork, carry over the ends with my fingers, and as neatly as possible (without getting burnt) place the blob into the oil. Believe it or not, I managed to get it into a cake-like shape, without getting burnt!

While the noodles were cooking away, I decided to sauté some typical stir-fry vegetables as a side; broccoli, carrots, and sugar snap peas – yum! I doused them in some soy and teriaki sauces for flavor.

I don’t really know what about this recipe made me so nervous. When I broke it all down, though, it turned out to be really simple. The cakes were super crisp on the outside, and tender on the inside. To agree with Blake Royer over at Serious Eats, it was a kind of like a “noodle frittata, crisp and crunchy and yet still custardy on the inside.” There was just the right amount of ginger without being overpowering, and the scallion added a nice touch. I could definitely see adding some sautéed onion into the mix next time. It was also really great to have Sriracha as a dipping sauce.

If you’re ever in the mood for a basic Asian inspired crispy meal, I would definitely recommend this. My girl Martha knows what she’s talking about, as does Serious Eats!

Crisp Noodle Cake
[Serves 2]

Ingredients:

3 ounces rice vermicelli or angel hair pasta
3 ounces soybean sprouts
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 scallions, sliced very thin
2 large eggs plus 1 egg white, beaten
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 cup neutral oil, such as canola or safflower
1/4 cup pea shoots (optional)
Soy sauce and sriracha (or other chili sauce) for condiments

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles until just tender; drain and rinse under cool water. Add to a bowl with the sprouts, ginger, scallions, salt, and eggs and toss to combine.
2. Heat the oil in a large (12-inch) skillet until very hot and shimmering and almost smoking (if it’s not hot enough, the cakes can be greasy), then lower the heat to medium. Divide the noodle mixture into 4 portions, then place each in the pan, pressing to flatten into a cake. Cook until golden brown, 6-7 minutes, then flip and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Turn out cakes to a plate lined with paper towels, then toss the pea shoots into the skillet to wilt.
3. Blot the cakes with paper towel and serve with the soy sauce and Sriracha.

Happy nomzing!

Potato Chips and Eggs for dinner!

As I mentioned yesterday, I was planning on making a Potato Chip Tortilla this week. I had every intention of making it yesterday, but when shopping on Saturday my head was not in the game, so I left out some key ingredients. Today after work the fiancé and I headed over to the Target near our office to grab an onion and some extra eggs. The particular Target we usually stop at has a pretty impressive produce section. Well, they had no onions! Sure, they had ground beef, green dips, pre-made salads, onions, a ton of fruits, lettuce… but no onion. I decided it was just going to have to be made without the onion.

The recipe is from May’s Food Network Magazine. There was a whole section on incorporating potato chips into your meal. There was potato chip crusted pork, chocolate and toffee drizzled potato chips, and also the potato tortilla. The name can be deceiving. When I hear tortilla, I think of what I wrap my burrito in. Well not this case! This was definitely more like a fritata than anything else. It actually reminded me a lot of the delicious Chilaquiles Fritata I made in February.

I’m all for the super simple recipe. And I am no stranger to breakfast for dinner. Sure, I’m willing to get my hands dirty every once in awhile, but in most cases, after getting home from work at 6:30p, the last thing I want to do is cook for an hour or two, and not eat until it’s almost bedtime. The whole recipe wasn’t ready until about 8pm, but that’s just because it took 30 minutes to bake. I don’t mind that – I was able to do some other things while it was baking. I just hate actively cooking for a seriously long time after a full day.

All I had to do to prepare for this recipe was crack the eggs (I really think I’m the worst egg cracker there is), beat them, add in some spices, and crush up and add my potatoes to the egg mix. The recipe only called for salt and pepper, but I decided to be adventurous and add some chili powder and cayenne pepper, since we like things with a kick! This particular recipe assumes you have a skillet that has oven-friendly handles. Well, I do not. So after cooking it on the stove-top for about 5 minutes, I had to transfer it to a Pyrex dish to put in the oven. No biggie, but kind of annoying. Since I’m a cheese lover, I also added some shredded mozzarella to the top, and let it bake.

After baking and letting it cool, it had a loaf-like consistency. I decided to have mine with a little Frank’s Red Hot, while the fiancé chose to use Sriracha. It was perfect! There was just the right amount of egg flavor (I’m not a huge egg fan), and a nice potato chip flavor. It sounds like it would be a very odd combination. But believe me, it was delicious! We just had it with a simple green salad, and were good to go. We have plenty of left overs, so I’m looking forward to having some of that with some Green Giant microwaveable veggies for lunch tomorrow!

So whether you’re looking for a brunch item, or maybe you want breakfast for dinner, all you need for this recipe is a few key ingredients, and about 45 minutes. Then you can tell everyone you had eggs and potato chips!

Potato Chip Tortilla

Ingredients:
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 white onion, halved and thinly sliced
12 large eggs
1 8.5 oz bag of thick-cut potato chips (about 10 cups)
Kosher salt & ground pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a medium nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring until soft, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and wipe out the skillet.
2. Meanwhile, beat the eggs and 1 cup water in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly crush the potato chips into the egg mixture and let stand, stirring occasionally, until the chips are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onion.
3. Heat the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Add the egg mixture and cook until it begins to set, about 5 minutes. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the eggs are firm and the top is golden and slightly crisp, 30-35 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes, then slide onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Happy nomzing!