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9.27.2009

Sweet and sour meatballs

adapted from Lion House Recipes
Serves 4-6

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef (you don't want the beef to be too high in fat because the fat will all pool at the bottom of the baking dish after baking - big time gnarlyness in my book)
3/4 cup quick oats
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Form into about 12 balls, each about 2 inches in diameter. Place in a casserole dish. Cover with sauce (below). Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. Serve over rice.

Sauce:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Combine ingredients and blend thoroughly. Heat in a small saucepan until combined and sugar is dissolved and pour over meatballs.

9.22.2009

Eclair Torte



1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
3 cups cold milk
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 to 3 tablespoons chocolate syrup

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the water, butter and salt to a boil. Add flour all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. If desired, remove puff from pan and place on a serving platter. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until light. Add milk and pudding mix; beat until smooth. Spread over puff; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Spread with whipped topping; refrigerate. Drizzle with chocolate syrup just before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.

9.01.2009

lemon cakes....


1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
finely grated lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus 2 Tbsp juice for the glaze
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 6-cup jumbo muffin tin. (I used six regular and the rest in a mini muffin tin) In a med bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon zest and juice. Set aside.With an electric mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of the buttermilk mixture.Divide evenly among the muffin cups. Bake 20-25 min (less for mini muffins) until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before topping with glaze.In a small bowl, stir powdered sugar with the remaining 2 Tbsp of lemon juice until smooth. Pour over the cakes, spreading to the edges with a small knife. Let glaze set before serving.

I actually made these a while ago and forgot to post them...I certainly have not forgotten how amazing they tasted, though. I love lemon desserts, but do think there is such a thing as too much lemon. The glaze was a little too tart for me with the lemon juice. Next time I will just make the glaze with milk...but that's just me. If you LOVE the extra tartness of lemon juice, leave it as is. I also wanted to get more than 6 cakes, that's why I made them in 6 regular size muffin cups and the rest in a mini muffin tin. Just watch the cooking time. It will definitely cut down on the cooking time so watch them closely if you make them into mini cakes.


lemon/garlic pasta.....




3 Tbsp butter
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp fresh thyme; chopped
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 c cooked pasta (gemeli, linguine, etc)
2-3 grilled chicken breasts

Melt butter in a small pan. Add garlic and saute. Add lemon, pepper, thyme and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce to hot pasta and toss gently. Top with remaining cheese and grilled chicken and serve immediately.

When life gives you lemons...make and bake a lot of stuff with fresh lemon juice and zest...duh! This was another winner. Go easy on the garlic and lemon juice. Both come through with a very strong flavor when cooked this way. Unless you absolutely know you like a strong garlic flavor, start with one clove. For the lemon, I recommend starting with one Tbsp, taste it, and if you want a stronger lemon flavor then add more.

Puffed French Toast

Golden and crispy on the outside with a sugary crunch, and heavenly soft in the middle.

2 eggs
2 ½ Tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. milk
1 c. flour
2 ½ tsp. baking powder
12 slices Texas style toast, cut in half diagonally
3/4 c. sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon

First mix cinnamon and sugar together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside. In a large skillet or frying pan, heat about 1/4" of vegetable oil (not olive oil) over medium heat. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, flour, and baking powder. Test oil heat by flicking some water into the frying pan. If it pops, reduce the heat. If hardly anything happens, turn up the heat. If it sizzles, it's just right.

In a large skillet or frying pan, heat about 1/4" of vegetable oil (not olive oil) over medium heat. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, whisk together eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, flour, and baking powder. Test oil heat by flicking some water into the frying pan. If it pops, reduce the heat. If hardly anything happens, turn up the heat. If it sizzles, it's just right.

Working quickly, take each 1/2 slice of bread and soak it both sides in the milk/egg/flour mixture. If you leave it in too long, it will get soggy, but you want to make sure enough of the egg mixture has soaked into the bread. Gently shake to remove excess batter and place in hot oil. Cook until puffed, golden brown, and a nice, crispy crust has formed on each side (probably 3-5 minutes per side; you really need to babysit them and make sure they're cooking correctly) and then remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. While cooking remaining French toast, keep cooked pieces warm in an oven set to the lowest temperature it will go.

When ready to serve, roll each piece in cinnamon sugar mixture.

I then slice mine into strips. Kids love them.

Drizzle with maple syrup, honey butter, or your favorite topping.