Get Your Grill On - Memorial Day 2014

Who's going to be grilling this weekend?  I know we are.  Memorial Day is the unofficial start of Summer.  It's the day most people break out the boats, the outdoor pools open, and schools start closing for the year.  Holy cow, it's summer.  I know here in Vegas, we've already hit 100 degrees.  That means grilling season is in full swing.  I can't stand to cook indoors here in the summer.  I try to turn on the oven as least as possible.  Here are a few grilling recipes that you can whip up for the first weekend of Summer.

Beef:

Blue Cheese Stuffed Burgers

Steak Kabobs

Pineapple Stuffed Hawaiian Burgers

Poultry:

Grandma Cook's Lemon Barbecue Chicken

Grilled Turkey Breast

Spiced Grilled Chicken

Side Dishes:

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Deviled Egg Potato Salad

Asparagus and Pesto Pasta Salad











Have a great holiday weekend!  Stay safe, no matter what you are doing.

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Cinco de Mayo Recipes

It's Cinco de Mayo!  Are you celebrating?  We are.  We have a love for Mexican food in this house, and Cinco de Mayo just gives me an excuse to cook more.  And while I love Tex Mex food as well, there is nothing quite like authentic, fresh, Mexican food.  When we went on our cruise to Mexico a few years ago, I got a taste of true Mexican cuisine, and I fell in love.  Now, I can't stand to buy tortillas in the store, salsa in the jar, or even beans in a can.  Once you realize how easy it is to make these things at home, the simple ingredients, and how fresh they taste, it's hard to go back.  Here's a few ideas for you for your Cinco de Mayo celebration.

Flour Tortillas

Chicken Enchiladas

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Pico de Gallo

Steak Fajitas

Slow Cooker Carnitas (This is what we're having!)

Fish Tacos

But if you're looking for something a little more Tex Mex, try my version of Cafe Rio's Chicken Salad.  Seriously my favorite copy cat recipe!  Complete with recipes for the tortillas, Cilantro Lime Rice, Slow Cooker Black Beans, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and Creamy Tomatillo Ranch dressing.

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Oreo Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

It's St. Patrick's Day!  I almost forgot about this fun holiday until K1's teacher sent a note home about it and asked if anyone was bringing treats.  Heck to the yeah!  Holidays during the school year give me the opportunity to create new cupcake ideas without having 2-3 dozen cupcakes lingering around my house for a week.  This way, I get to send 2 dozen to her class, and I get to keep a few for us.











This time, I already had an idea of what I wanted to do, and it involved Oreos.  I've always wanted to try putting a cookie at the bottom of a cupcake to see how it would affect it.  Mint Oreos were the logical choice for today - uh, they're green?  And ever since the Girl Scouts broke out their card tables in front of Smith's, I've been dying for a mint chocolate cookie.  Problem solved.

The cupcakes turned out perfect and the cookie didn't get soggy.  The cupcakes didn't fall (which I half way thought they might), they stayed light and fluffy.  And 1/2 tsp. of mint in both the cake batter and the frosting was just right.  I'm glad they made it through the night and into K1's classroom.  Props to The Hubs for some serious self control.

Oreo Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 small box chocolate instant pudding
3/4 cup milk
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 package mint Oreos

Frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
4-5 cups powdered sugar
4-5 Tbs. milk
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Green food coloring

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. In a stand mixer, combine cake and pudding mix. Turn mixer on to low and gradually add milk and oil.  Add eggs, one at a time until combined.  Add peppermint extract.  Scrape sides of bowl and mix on low for a few more seconds.

3. Place one Oreo in each cupcake liner.  Add about 2 Tbs. of cake batter on top of Oreo - liner should now be about 3/4 full.  Lightly tap pan on counter to allow batter to settle around cookie.

4. Bake for 20-22 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan.  Remove cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

5. While cupcakes are cooling, make frosting.  In another large bowl, using a hand beater, beat butter and peppermint extract until smooth.  Add 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on medium speed until combined.  Add 1 Tbs. milk and beat again.  Continue to add powdered sugar and milk, 1 cup and 1 Tbs. at a time, until desired consistency is reached.  Add food coloring and beat on high until fluffy.  Pipe onto cupcakes and top with green sprinkles, if desired.

Makes 24-30 cupcakes

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TBT - Slow Cooker Corned Beef

St. Patrick's Day is fast approaching, as in Monday!  Are you ready?  We have Irish roots in our family, so we generally celebrate with a nice slow cooked corned beef roast.  Complete with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.  If you've never made a corned beef roast, you should try.  They are very good, very Irish.  And you can grab my recipe here.

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Happy Mardi Gras!

Or as we say in the South... Laissez les bons temps rouler!  Translation - Let the good times roll!  To all my Southern friends, y'all have a great holiday, ya hear?!  I'm gonna get my Gumbo on.  :)

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FYI - National Soup Month

January is the dead of winter.  And fitting of that title, it's also National Soup Month.  So I thought for today's FYI, I'd remind you of some warming soup recipes that are fitting of a national food holiday.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Clam Chowder

Slow Cooker Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Tomato Tortellini Soup

Slow Cooker Tomato Soup

Tuscan Soup

So go grab a bowl and a spoon, and get ready to warm up.  Happy National Soup Month!

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Sugar Cookies

How many of you make sugar cookies with your kids for the holidays?  You know, those cookies with the ABUNDANCE of sugar sprinkles that makes the cookie very crunchy and sends your kids into a frenzy like this after they've eaten just one?

We do.  And there's one recipe that I follow every year that gives me perfect, soft cookies every time.  It was handed down to me by my Great-Aunt Elaine.  Elaine is my Grandma Cook's sister.  And I'm pretty sure this recipe was given to her by my Great-Grandma Mair, their mom.  Yup, another heirloom recipe that I just absolutely adore.










Something I have learned over the years of making cookies is that the key to these is that you refrigerate the dough overnight and DO NOT roll the dough out too thin.  I even measure the thickness of the dough, every single time.  If they are too thin they'll be crunchy.  You want them soft and flaky.  And addicting.  And I love to use  Wilton's® rubber grip cookie cutters so I don't destroy my hands when I cut them out.

With the frosting, I suggest using it when it is room temperature.  It's not a glaze or a fondant frosting to make them look super pretty.  It's a good, creamy buttercream frosting.  But the nice part about the cookies is that they aren't super sugary so a rich frosting isn't going to destroy you.  But that's okay, the kids can destroy you with those sugar sprinkles afterwards.  It's amazing to me that Santa isn't a diabetic!  :)

Great-Grandma Mair's Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cups sour cream

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour

Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3 Tbs. milk

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated.  Add sour cream and beat on low speed until combined.

2. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 1 cup flour.  Mix on low speed until flour is incorporated.  Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, and mix until flour is incorporated.

3. Lay 2 sheets of plastic wrap on the counter.  Divide dough in half and form each half into a ball.  Place balls on plastic wrap and flatten into a round about 1 inch thick.  Chill in the fridge overnight.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Lightly flour the countertop and the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to ¼-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out the cookies and place on prepared baking sheets. Bake for 7 minutes, until cookies are slightly golden around the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Cook cookies completely before frosting.

6. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla extract. Slowly beat in powdered sugar and the pinch of salt. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat at medium-high speed for a minute or two until light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired, and beat until combined.

7. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles, if desired. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies

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Easy Turtle Candy

So with all this preparation of cookies and fudge, it's nice to have a little extra candy that is simple.  One that is sweet but also salty because, frankly, all this sweetness can be a little overwhelming.  These little bites are just that.  Traditional Turtles are chocolate, caramel, and pecans.  This version makes it simple and gives it a little saltiness and depth.

I've seen these made all over the place using chocolate kisses.  But for me, I love, love, LOVE caramel.  I love turtle candy.  And one of my favorite candies are Rolos.  So using the same concept as the original candies, I wanted to make my own turtle candy.  There are 2 tricks to these though - make sure you only "bake" these for a few minutes.  You don't want chocolate caramel puddles!  And when you put the pecans on top, only press lightly!  Seriously, it will not take much pressure to push them into the Rolos.  Oh and one more trick - make sure you stash some for yourself or else you won't get any.  That's how fast they go!

Easy Turtle Candy

Ingredients:

1 bag mini pretzels
1 bag Rolo® candies, unwrapped
1 bag pecan halves

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place pretzels on parchment.  Top with a Rolo candy.

3. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 4 minutes.

4. Remove baking sheet from oven.  Immediately place pecans on top of chocolate by lightly pressing down on pecans, just to make sure they are sealed onto the chocolate.

5. Leave on baking sheet and allow to cool.  Remove cooling rack and allow to set until hardened again.

Makes 3-4 dozen candies

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