Recipe

Snickers Cheesecake

February 27, 2012 By Camille 7 Comments

My husband turned 40 last week. I still have a few years to go before I hit that mark, but still... he's 40! I am amazed at how quickly time goes. But we aren't here to talk about age. We're here to talk cheesecake. Snickers cheesecake to be exact as that is what my husband requested for his birthday cake. I didn't eat a piece of this (I wasn't feeling well) but I have been assured that it is absolutely delicious! Snickers Cheesecake 5.0 from 4 reviews Print Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 55 mins Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 6 Ingredients 24 chocolate sandwich cookies 4 Tablespoons melted butter 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature 2 eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup sour cream 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 Snickers bars, sliced in to 1/4 inch pieces Instructions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse cookies in a food processor until finely crushed. Pulse in butter. Press cookie crumb mixture … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipe Tagged With: Cheesecake, Dessert, Recipe, Snickers cheesecake

Chili Verde

February 23, 2012 By Camille 2 Comments

Chili is one of those dishes that I just can't seem to master. I've tried so many different variations of chili and nothing has been quite "it". This chili is so different and so good! The pork is so tender! This chili is spicy hot. Six cups of chiles is a lot of heat! I don't think I used quite six cups, probably closer to 3-4 so use your judgement on how much you want in there. If you want, you can use canned enchilada sauce, chiles, and beans. I used homemade salsa verde, fresh chiles (mostly serrano and jalapeno) and beans I'd cooked and frozen. I bought cheap pork chops and cut off the fat and bones and diced them up. You could also try ground pork or even diced or ground chicken. Chili Verde 5.0 from 1 reviews Print Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 6 hours Total time: 6 hours 15 mins Serves: 8-12 Ingredients 2.5-3 pounds pork, diced 1 cup onion, chopped 2 1/3 cups chicken broth 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1 1/2 teaspoons … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dish, Recipe Tagged With: Chili, Main Dish, Recipe

Banana Bread

February 22, 2012 By Camille Leave a Comment

I made some banana bread last week and I couldn't believe that I haven't shared this recipe yet! I have tried many, many banana bread recipes. They were all OK, but nothing spectacular. This banana bread recipe, however, is perfect. The bread turns out moist, sweet and banana-y. My friend, Kim, always brings this banana bread to our cookie exchange in December and it's a huge hit. The original recipe calls for buttermilk (as written below), but you can substitute plain milk or I've even made it with plain yogurt as a substitute. This week I made this recipe with 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour and 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour and I couldn't tell a difference. Banana Bread Print Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 10 mins Serves: 1-4 loaves Ingredients 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread, Recipe, Uncategorized Tagged With: Banana Bread, Bread, Recipe

Homemade Turkey Sausage

February 21, 2012 By Camille 1 Comment

We don't really eat that much breakfast sausage as we much prefer bacon (and really, who doesn't?!). But occasionally I'll need breakfast sausage for a recipe. This homemade version is super simple to make and it lacks all the chemical preservatives in the store bought kind. This recipe calls for turkey, but you could really use any ground meat. Most sausage is made out of pork, but chicken or even beef would work. If you don't have time to let it sit overnight, just use it right away. The recipe doubles and triples easily so make a big batch while you have all those spices out and freeze. Homemade Turkey Sausage Print Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 10 mins Total time: 15 mins Serves: 1 pound Ingredients 1 pound ground turkey 3 Tablespoons minced onion 1/4 teaspoon marjoram 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 1/4 teaspoon oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon dried … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Breakfast, Recipe, Side Dish Tagged With: Breakfast sausage, Recipe, sausage, Side Dish, Turkey, turkey sausage

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

February 20, 2012 By Camille 2 Comments

Cream of mushroom soup is one of those pantry staples that is no longer in my pantry. Every time I look at the ingredients and the amount of sodium in a can, I just can't bring myself to actually pay money for it. I do, however, have an easy homemade "cream of" soup recipe that is so much tastier, cheaper and healthier than the cans. I usually just make a batch when a recipe calls for the soup. It's an extra step, but for me, it's worthwhile. Then I saw a suggestion to make a large batch of soup and can or freeze it! DUH! Homemade cream of mushroom soup in your pantry or freezer ready to go! I did not actually seal these jars according to the manufacturers directions, so I can not with good conscience tell you that this method is 100% safe. For me, it's fine, but if you want a guarantee -- freeze the jars. Glass can go in the freezer so you can just pop these in to the freezer. You could also use any other freezer friendly container you like. Also note that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recipe, Soup Tagged With: Cream of Mushroom, Recipe, Soup

Homemade Caramel Corn

February 17, 2012 By Camille 5 Comments

Popcorn is a favorite snack around here. The preferred toppings are the normal butter and salt, but every once and a while I get the urge for some caramel corn. Caramel corn is surprisingly easy to make. All you need is about an hour and you will have a sweet snack ready to go. Someday I'm planning to play around some other toppings like nuts and chocolate! Homemade Caramel Corn 5.0 from 1 reviews Print Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Serves: 16 cups Ingredients 1 cup sucanat (or brown sugar) 1 stick butter 1/4 cup honey (or corn syrup) pinch of salt pinch of cream of tartar 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 16 cups of popped popcorn Instructions Put popcorn in a very, very large bowl. In a saucepan, bring the sucanat, butter and honey to a boil, stirring constantly. Once boiling, continue to stir for 5 minutes. Turn off heat and add baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Pour mixture … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Recipe, Snacks, Uncategorized Tagged With: Popcorn, Recipe, Snacks

Cream Biscuits

February 16, 2012 By Camille 1 Comment

Have any heavy cream leftover from making some homemade truffles? This is biscuit recipe is a great way to use up some leftover heavy cream, but it's also a great reason to buy heavy cream if you don't have any. This recipe is hands down the easiest and best way to get light, fluffy biscuits. And any biscuit recipe that doesn't require cutting in butter is a winner in my book. Cream Biscuits Print Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 25 mins Serves: 12 Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar 1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 1/3 cup (5 1/3 Tablespoons) butter, melted Instructions Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk to incorporate together. While stirring constantly, slowly add in 1 cup cream. Use hands to form mixture in to a dough and add more cream if necessary to form a dough. Knead for 1 minute. Pat dough … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bread, Breakfast, Recipe Tagged With: Biscuits, Bread, Breakfast, Recipe

Blondies

February 15, 2012 By Camille 2 Comments

Blondies are brownies without the chocolate. I know, I know -- why would you ever want brownies without the chocolate?! But trust me, these babies are delicious in their own right! They are a buttery, sugary mess of a treat. You can play these up by adding M&Ms, butterscotch chips or cinnamon to the top before baking or just leave them plain Jane. Blondies Print Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 50 mins Total time: 1 hour Serves: 16 bars Ingredients 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted 1 cup packed light-brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Grease pan with butter (just use the wrappers from your 2 sticks of butter). In a large bowl, whisk together butter and sugars until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Add flour … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipe Tagged With: Dessert, Recipe

Easy Chocolate Cake (or Cupcakes)

February 14, 2012 By Camille 1 Comment

Happy Valentine's Day! Aside from making a bunch of pink, red, and heart shaped food, we don't have plans for today. We try to focus Valentine's Day on the kids and as long as I have lots of hearts and glitter, they are happy! If you are in need of a quick and easy last minute treat, these cupcakes will fit the bill. Last week, about an hour before dinner, I decided I wanted cupcakes for dessert. I had pinned this recipe for a chocolate cake and decided to try it as cupcakes. All it requires is two bowls, a wooden spoon and some basic ingredients. I baked the cupcakes for 15 minutes and they were DONE! I'd start checking them around 10 minutes -- I'm guessing that around 12-13 minutes is the perfect baking time. Easy Chocolate Cake (or Cupcakes) Print Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 40 mins Serves: 1 cake or 12 cupcakes Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Desserts, Recipe Tagged With: Cake, Chocolate, Dessert, Recipe

Homemade Cream Soda

February 13, 2012 By Camille 3 Comments

Almost a year ago, my parents bought me a SodaStream soda maker. I didn't even ask for it! But somehow my mom knew I needed one. I absolutely ADORE this machine! Basically, it allows me to make carbonated water. Then I add flavor to the carbonated water to make a sparkling drink or soda. You can purchase soda flavors in stores or on-line, but what fun is that? My first attempt at homemade soda was cream soda, which is basically vanilla flavored soda. I'm not much of a cream soda drinker, but I had all the ingredients on hand and it looked pretty easy to put together. It was very easy and it's very good. If you don't have the SodaStream, you can purchase carbonated water and put the syrup in it. Just make sure that the carbonated water is cold and go slowly when adding the flavored syrup because the water will fizz up as the syrup is added. Homemade Cream Soda Print Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 1 hour 30 mins Total time: 1 hour 35 mins Serves: 2 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Beverages, Recipe Tagged With: Beverages, Cream Soda, Recipe