Recipe Swap: Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

The theme for our last Recipe Swap of the year was Special Occasion appetizers, entrees, or side dishes - perfect timing for Christmas parties!! I received this recipe for Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms from Colleen of Does Not Cook Well With Others and knew it would be perfect to take my friend's white elephant party! I am not a fan of mushrooms myself, so I had to rely on the opinions of my friends on this one, but the responses were great!! One friend even said that he might have to camp out at the table and eat them all!! It made me wish that I did like mushrooms, because they definitely looked good. :)

Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

As Seen on Does Not Cook Well With Others, originally from Whole Foods

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 pound whole baby bella or white mushrooms
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess water
• 6 ounces Feta cheese, crumbled

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Remove stems from mushrooms, and chop finely. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet, and add mushrooms stems, onion, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes, until onions are soft.
3. Transfer stems and onions to a large mixing bowl. Add spinach, and toss to combine, then set aside to cool.
4. Arrange mushroom caps on baking sheet. Add feta cheese to cooled spinach mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
5. Divide spinach mixture and stuff into mushroom caps, mounding in the center. Drizzle stuffed caps with the remaining tbsp of olive oil. Bake about 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Soft Yeast Rolls

First, let me welcome you to the newly designed page! With the help of a good friend, I now have a customized header and redesigned page!! I am so excited and I hope you all like it too!!

Christmas is nearly a week gone now, but my clothes are still feeling the stretch from all the good food!! January 1st will be here in a couple of days, and thus begins the 2012 Resolutions craze. I will fall into the "need to lose the holiday pounds" group, along with a few other short-term and long-term goals that I'm setting for myself. More to come on those later :)

I go to my mom's every year for Christmas, and I always bring a couple of items in contribution to our feast. This year I decided to try my hand at making rolls from scratch. I've never attempted this before, but when I saw this recipe on Jessica's blog, Sunny Side Up in San Diego., they looked too good not to try!! I'll have to admit that I think I flubbed them up a little. My brothers said they were good, but they seemed a little dense to me. And Jessica's definitely didn't look that way, so I'm quite sure I did something wrong. Oh well, there has to be a first time for everything, right? I'll try again another time, and make sure I do all the steps correctly :) I'm going to guess it had something to do with the rising of the dough.

Soft Yeast Rolls

Source: Sunny Side Up in San Diego

Ingredients

• 4-1/2 tsp (2 packets) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 2 cups warm milk (110° to 115°)
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 7 to 7-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp honey

Preparation

1. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes, until it starts get foamy and the water looks milky. Add the milk, butter, eggs, sugar, and salt and turn the mixer on low to combine. Add 3 cups of flour and beat until smooth.
2. Remove the paddle and replace it with a dough hook. Add 4 more cups of flour and let the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes. The dough should become smooth and elastic and just slightly tacky to the touch. Add up to 1/2 cup more of flour if the dough is too sticky. Move the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Towards the end of rising, butter two 9x13 pans. After the dough has risen, punch it down in the center and turn out on a floured surface, knead it by hand for a minute or so. Cut the dough into 24 even pieces and place in the prepared 9x13 pans. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl and stir in the honey. Brush the tops of the rolls.
4. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Taco Tuesday: Chili-Lime Shrimp Tacos

How is it already the middle of the week again? Seems like it was just Friday...oh well. The good thing about a new week is that I get to try out a new taco!! My original plan was to make these tacos, but then I just sort of went off on a tangent and made my own version of them I suppose. I used a simple chili powder and lime juice marinade, sauteed the shrimp, and then wrapped them up in a flour tortilla with sour cream, salsa verde, avocado and cilantro. Quick, easy, tasty. Perfect for a Taco Tuesday.

Chili-Lime Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
• 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Avocado
• Cilantro
• Sour Cream
• SalsaVerde
• Flour Tortillas

Preparation

1. Mix the olive oil, chili powder and juice of the lime in a bowl. Place the shrimp in the bowl and toss to combine. Allow to marinate for 10-15 minutes (no longer than 30 minutes or the lime juice will start to break down the shrimp.)
2. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Remove shrimp from the marinade and place in the skillet. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes per side, until opaque. Remove from heat.
3. Meanwhile, slice the avocado and chop cilantro for garnish.
4. Using warm flour (or corn if you prefer) tortillas, layer with sour cream, salsa, shrimp, avocado and cilantro. Squeeze lime juice on top and enjoy!!

What's Baking: Santa Hat Brownies

In honor of National Brownie Month, our December hostess for What's Baking, Nicole of Seven Ate Nine, thought it would be fun if we all made our favorite brownie. I love brownies, so I was definitely excited for this challenge. My initial thought was some sort of grasshopper brownie, since I love chocolate and mint so much. But when I saw these super adorable Santa Hat Brownies on Jessy's blog I knew they were the perfect brownie to make!!

I had a white elephant holiday party to go to the Friday before Christmas, and I knew these would be the perfect dessert to take with me. Everyone thought they were adorable and delicious - who could ask for a better dessert?? And after I had decided to make these, I saw a version of them on the show The Chew!! I thought that was pretty neat.

Santa Hat Brownies

As seen on Gourmet Day to Day

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 4 (1 oz.) squares semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 24 strawberries
• Your favorite white frosting (I used cream cheese frosting)

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray mini muffin pan(s) with cooking spray. 
2. In 2 quart saucepan combine 1 cup butter and chocolate squares. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted (4-6 minutes).
3. Stir in flour, eggs, baking powder, salt and vanilla until well combined.
4. Use a medium cookie scoop to drop batter into the mini muffin tins, each one about half full. 
5. Cook about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating. 
6. Meanwhile, cut stems off of strawberries, so that the top is flat. Turn the strawberries upside down and place one on top of each brownie.
7. Place the frosting into a decorating bag or bottle and squeeze around the bottom of each strawberry to represent the rim of Santa's hat. Then squeeze a small drop onto the tip of the strawberry.

Cranberry Sausage Quiche

 

Good morning, and Merry Christmas!! After a week inundated with sweet treats, I decided that I would post a Christmas breakfast treat today. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday filled with family and friends!!

Cranberry Sausage Quiche
Source: Treasury of Christmas Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch frozen deep-dish pie shell
• 1/2 lb of ground sage sausage
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Let frozen pie shell stand at room temperature 10 minutes; do not prick shell. Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F. Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat until browned. Remove from heat and drain off any drippings.
3. Stir in cranberries. Sprinkle cheese on bottom of pie shell; top evenly with sausage mixture.
4. Combine eggs and half-and-half in medium bowl; whisk until blended but not frothy. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in pie shell.
5. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Mom's Blue Ribbon Fudge

As much as I love chocolate and sweet treats, there are few desserts that I remember from my childhood that I crave or look forward to every year. This fudge, however, is the one dessert that my brothers and I expect every year for Christmas. In the past few years, however, the honor has been passed along from my mother to me to prepare, and I've taken it on full-force. It's a somewhat tedious process, and it will definitely work your arm muscles, but it is so worth it. No other fudge quite lives up to it, in my opinion. It makes me proud when I bring this fudge to Christmas, and my family declares that it is just as good as when mom made it. My brothers are pretty particular about their desserts, so for them to approve is a big deal. The Mint Oreo Fudge I made a couple of weeks ago is also delicious and is a close second, but mom's fudge is by far my all-time favorite!

If you have the patience and the arm strength, and you want something more old-school than the marshmallow cream varieties of fudge, you should definitely give this recipe a try!!

Mom's Blue Ribbon Fudge

Source: A photo-copied page my mom faxed to me years ago...no clue what book it came from!

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 6 oz can evaporated milk
• 2 1 oz squares unsweetened chocolate
• dash salt
• 1 tsp corn syrup
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan.
2. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate squares, salt and corn syrup in pan. Stir over medium heat until chocolate melts, sugar dissolves, and temperature reaches 236 degrees (soft ball stage, if you don't have a candy thermometer).
3. Immediately remove from heat. Add butter, but do not stir.
4. Cool to lukewarm, 110 degrees. Add vanilla and stir vigorously until fudge stiffens and looses it gloss.
5. Push from pan into a buttered shallow pan.
6. Score while warm, cut when firm.

Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Although I am a deeply devoted lover of chocolate, I find these cookies to be a refreshing break from the pile of chocolate goodies that I indulge in this time of year. They have a light citrus tone, and the white chocolate chips and cranberries are a perfect combo. Yum-mie! Aside from that, cranberry-anything screams holiday for me. If you need a change from the chocolate and mint desserts that are so common during this season, or you just want a delicious cookie, add these to your dessert lineup!!

Orange Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp grated orange peel
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, beat sugars, butter, orange peel, orange juice, and egg. Slowly mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips.
3. Using a medium cookie scoop, drop onto cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
4. Bake 7-9 minutes, until just set. Remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Marshmallow Reindeer

Let me tell you the story of how I came to find these adorable little reindeer pops. It started with an email from my good friend Torie. The email was entitled "Inspiration", and it had photos she had seen on Pinterest of cute holiday treats and these reindeer pops were one of the photos. I immediately fell in love and knew that I had to make them. I did come across one issue though. All I had was the photo and that it was seen on Pinterest. No link to the source of the photo, and no Pinterest account to track it down. I knew I could make the pops from the photo, so not having directions was not my issue, it was being able to site the source - and citing "Pinterest" was not going to work.

So, I took to Google to track down the source. Fortunately, I was able to find the link to the Pinterest page, which then linked me to the original source of the photo - Hallelujah!! Of course this discovery came about after I had already made the pops, but because I was inspired by the original photo, I will cite it for you all to see as well!! The photo is super adorable (even more so than the ones I made.) I worked long and late into the night to prepare these little pops for my co-workers on our last day before vacation and I was so pleased that they all loved them!!

Not only are these super cute, they were super easy to make. As in, my eight-year-old nieces could make them without any help, easy. If you need a last minute treat or something special for the kiddos, these definitely fit the bill!

Chocolate Marshmallow Reindeer Pops

As seen on Pinterest, Originally from Make'n Mold

Ingredients/Supplies

• 20-30 Large Marshmallows
• 1 24 oz package Chocolate Bark
• 40-60 mini pretzel knots
• White Candy Decorating Pen
• Red Candy Decorating Pen
• 20-30 Paper Lollipop Sticks
• Wax Paper

Preparation

1. Melt chocolate bark according to package directions in a large, narrow bowl.
2. Lay the pretzel knots, in pairs, onto the wax paper, prefereably on a baking sheet. These will serve as the antlers, so place them together as such.
3. Take a lollipop stick and push it into the bottom of a marshmallow (slightly angled downward). Turn upside down and dip into the melted chocolate and then lay onto the pretzels on the wax paper-lined baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator to speed the drying process.
4. Once dried (will only take 5-10 minutes), pull out of the fridge. Prepare the candy decorating pens (these need to be softned in hot water). Use the white decorating candy to place the eyes on each reindeer, and the red decorating candy for the red nose. Allow to dry for another 5 minutes or so, and then wrap and share!! 

Taco Tuesday: Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Yesterday was the first day of my week of vacation, and it was nice to be able to relax and not have any cooking or baking requirements. I was able to clean my apartment and then take time prepping for and making dinner. And let me tell you, these tacos were amazing!! I made myself a plate, sat in front of the TV, and watched DVDs for the rest of the night. Ah, it is so nice to not have a schedule to keep to! However, I am not the type who can lounge for long so tomorrow I'll be back in the swing of productiveness! Although I was quite productive today, cleaning and such, but I digress.

These Lime Chicken Soft Tacos had such a great flavor that I was hesistant to add the toppings, for fear that it would take away from the flavor of the meat, but fortunately the flavors came through and the toppings complimented those flavors! I think these are my favorite tacos so far!

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced onions
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons comino
• 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/4 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• salsa verde
• sour cream

Preparation

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Saute in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes, or until juices run clear. Remove from pan to a large bowl. Use two forks to shred chicken.
2. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic and comino to skillet, over medium heat. Add shredded chicken and simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
3. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with avocado, tomato, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Peanut Butter Cookies

It's day two of sweet treats week, and also the beginning of my Christmas break. Hallelujah!!! No work and a much needed break for 8 days!! While I do thoroughly love the Christmas season and all the baking that comes with it, I did quite a number on myself this past weekend and this first day of vacation I'm going to take it easy. No baking for me today. But no worries, I have plenty of sweet treats to share with you in the coming days!! 

I now debut the peanut butter cookies that I have been working to perfect for the past few years. I do not like thin, crispy cookies of any sort. I like them soft and chewy, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't get peanut butter cookies to come out of my oven as anything other than flat and crispy. Until this year, that is. I made a few tweaks based on other cookies I've made and it was a success!! Thick, soft cookies full of peanut buttery deliciousness. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

Slightly adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Mix sugars, peanut butter, shortening, butter and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.
3. Using a medium cookie scoop, shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.
4. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Double Chocolate Inside-Out Cookies

Today begins the final countdown to Christmas and I thought, what better way to countdown than with a week of sweet treats?? I had one hell of a busy weekend with a graduation to attend and two birthday parties, plus cooking and baking for work. Last night was a long one, but I can't wait until you see the adorable treat that I made!! That post is coming soon, so keep an eye out!!

I have been making these cookies for a few years now and I usually don't add the white chocolate chips, but this year I thought it would be a nice changeup. I love chocolate, so chocolate cookies with milk and white chocolate chips are a double score!! And, it helps that the recipe makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies!!

Double Chocolate Inside-Out Cookies

Adapted slightly from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white chocolate baking chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate baking chips 

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Mix sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt, mix completely and then stir in baking chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. 
4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Cool for 1 minute, then remove wire rack to cool completely.

Taco Tuesday: Beer-Battered Fish Tacos with Chile Marinated Slaw

Happy Friday my friends!! I hope you have had a fabulous week, and that you are not as behind in your Christmas shopping as I am! I hope to finish up this weekend and avoid the extra-crazy crowds next week. This week has been pretty hectic between work, baking and cooking obligations so Taco Tuesday was delayed to Thursday, but well worth the wait!! I got the idea from the Beer-Battered Tilapia with Chile-Mandarin Sauce that I made back in April. It was definitely one of the best fish dishes that I've had, and I thought it would convert to a great taco. Unfortunately, when I went to make it, my mandarin oranges decided not to be cooperative and so I had to improvise. Luckily the improvisation worked in my favor - I think this version turned out better than my original idea would have!

You see, I didn't think the taco would be complete with only the fish and mandarin "sauce", so I picked up some cabbage slaw to throw on top too. I had already mixed up the liquid part of the sauce when I discovered my soured oranges, and while I tried ot figure out if I was going to have to do a grocery store run, I had the brilliant idea to just throw the shredded slaw into the sauce and make that my topping!! Pretty crafty, eh? Ok, so not really a genius idea, but it worked out well and I had some scrumptious tacos for dinner last night!!

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos with Chile Marinated Slaw
Inspired by Robin Miller @ Food Network

Ingredients

• Vegetable Oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 2/3 cup beer
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tilapia fillets, about 5 oz each
• Salt & Pepper
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp Sweet Chile Sauce
• 1 tsp Sriracha Chile Sauce
• 1-2 cups angel hair cabbage
• 6-8 flour (or corn) tortillas

Preparation

1. In a shallow dish, mix 1/2 cup flour, beer, baking powder, and egg. Put the other 1/4 cup flour in another dish.
2. Heat enough oil to shallow-fry the fish, in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Cut fish into strips, salt & pepper both sides. Dredge the fish in the plain flour, coating both sides and shaking of any excess flour. Next, dip the fish in the beer mixture to coat both sides.
4. Add fish to the hot oil and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain oil.
5. While fish is cooking, mix the lemon juice and chile sauces in a bowl, then add slaw and mix together. 
6. Warm the tortillas, place 2-3 strips of fish in each and top with chile slaw. 

Recipe Swap: Mint Oreo Fudge

The theme for this month's swap was holiday cookies or treats and I could have more elated when I received this recipe from Melissa of I Was Born to Cook. As you may have noticed, I love mint and chocolate, so this couldn't have been a more perfect for me. But not only was it perfect, it was so simple to make!!

I haven't found a fudge that I like quite as much as my mom's recipe - which takes forever and a lot of constant stirring to make - but this recipe is definitely right up there with it!! Now, instead of waiting until Christmas every year to enjoy my fudge, this recipe is simple enough that I can make it any time of the year!!

Thank you Melissa for such a great recipe!!

Mint Oreo Fudge

Source: I Was Born to Cook

Ingredients

• 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• dash of salt
• approximately 20 Oreo cookies, broken into pieces (I used the holiday ones with the red cream center)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Preparation

1. In heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in cookies, mint and vanilla.
2. Spread evenly into wax paper lined 8 or 9 inch square pan. Chill 2 hours (or until firm) in the refrigerator.
3. Lift fudge out of pan, peel off paper and cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.



Daring Cooks: Cha Sui Bao

When I saw the description and the photos for this months challenge I was so excited. Meat-stuffed bread...yum!! Our Daring Cooks’ December 2011 hostess is Sara from Belly Rumbles. Sara chose Cha Sui Bao as our challenge, where we made the buns, Cha Sui, and filling from scratch - what a treat!

It takes a little time to prepare (best for a weekend project) but it is worth every minute! The dough was soft and the pork inside so tender and full of flavor!! Thank you Sara for an amazing challenge...it'll be a miracle if I can fit into my pants tomorrow!!

Cha Sui Bao (Cantonese BBQ Pork)

Ingredients

• 1 pork fillet/tenderloin (roughly 1-1.5 pounds)
• 4 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sherry cooking wine
• ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
• pinch of salt
• ½ teaspoon five spice powder
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon red food coloring

Preparation 

1. Trim the pork loin to remove fat and tendon and slice lengthways so you have two long pieces, then cut in half. By cutting the pork in to smaller pieces to marinate you will end up with more flavorsome cha sui. If you want to leave the pork in one piece you can do this as well. Place in container that you will be marinating them in.
2. Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine.
3. Cover pork well with ⅔ of the marinade mixture. Marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, I find it is best left to marinate overnight. Place the reserved ⅓ portion of the marinade covered in the fridge. You will use this as a baste when cooking the pork. 
4.  Pre-heat oven to moderate 350°F.
5. Cover a baking tray with foil or baking paper. Place on top of this a rack on which to cook the pork. 
6.  Place pork on the rack and place in oven. 
7.  Bake for approximately 10 minutes, basting and turning.
8. Turn the heat up to moderately hot 400°F for the final 20 minutes as this will aid the charring. Cook until cooked through.

Baked Cha Sui Bao
(Cantonese BBQ Pork Bun)
Servings: 12

Filling Ingredients

• 12 oz char sui (finely diced)
• 2 green onions/spring onions (finely sliced)
• 1 tablespoon hoisin
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ tablespoon vegetable oil

Dough Ingredients

• 2½ teaspoons of dried yeast
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup warm water
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with a dash of water

Filling Directions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or pan.
2. Add diced char sui to the wok/pan and stir then add spring onions, cook for 1 minute.
3. Add hoisin, dark soy sauce and sesame oil to the pork mixture, stir fry for one minute.
4. Mix cornstarch and stock together and then add to the pork mixture.
5. Stir well and keep cooking until the mixture thickens, 1 or 2 minutes.
6. Remove mixture from wok/pan and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside until ready to use.

Bun Directions

1. Place the sugar and warm water in a bowl, mix until the sugar has dissolved. Add yeast and leave it for 10 - 15 minutes until it becomes all frothy.
2. Sift flour in to a large bowl.
3. Add yeast mixture, egg, oil and salt and stir. Bring the flour mixture together with your hands.
4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for approximately 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and slightly elastic.
5. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rise until it is double in size. This will take from 1 - 2 hours depending on weather conditions.
6. Once dough has doubled in size knock back and divide in to 12 portions and shape in to round balls.
7. Use a rolling pin to roll out to approximately 2 inches in diameter. Then pick the piece of dough up and gently pull the edges to enlarge to about 3 inches in diameter.
8. By doing this it keeps the dough slightly thicker in the center. This means when your buns are cooking they won't split on the tops.
9. Place a good sized tablespoon of filling on the dough circle. Then gather the edges and seal your bun.
10. Place the bun seal side down on your baking tray. Continue with rest of dough.
11. Once all buns are complete brush surface with egg wash.
12. Place in a preheated oven of 392º F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sausage-Cheese Balls

I wait all year long for the Christmas season, in anticipation of holiday parties and the opportunity to make the delectable little treats. This year, I didn't have any parties to cook for so I thought I was going to miss out this year. But alas, T and I had a much needed girls night and fortunately we had both been craving these, and I volunteered to make them!

We ate way too many, and I dearly paid for it the next day but it was so worth it. If you have any holiday parties coming up (New Year's included) these are definitely winners to put on your menu!!

Sausage-Cheese Balls

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 1 pound bulk pork sausage
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease bottom of a baking sheet.
2. Stir together all ingredients, using hands or spoon. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Place in pan.
3. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until brown. Immediately remove from pan.
4. Serve warm with chili sauce for dipping

Mediterranean Salad

It was brought to my attention by a friend that I published this post without an actual post - just picture and recipe!! Oops!! Things have been a little crazy lately, and I got a good bit ahead in my posts, so I pre-filled them all with picture and recipe and then went back as I had time to type up the actual post. Apparently this one slipped through the cracks and sat on my blog with no message for two days...yowza.

Anywho, I made this salad for a weekend lunch and it was the perfect light fare. The tangy vinaigrette was light and the beans (both kinds) helped make it hearty enough for an entree salad. Now, you could always add grilled chicken to round it out if you'd like...it would go great with the dressing, feta, and oranges!! I'm a little unsure about calling it a "Mediterranean" salad, because that usually makes me think of olives, and this contains none of those little buggers ;) But, Martha calls it that, so I kept the name intact. I highly recommend adding this to your menu soon - you won't be disappointed!!

Mediterranean Salad with Green Beans and Feta

Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 8 ounces green beans, trimmed and halved
• 2 cups mandarin oranges
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta (6 oz)
• 3+cups Spring Salad Mix
• 1 can (15 oz) white beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

1. In a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, cook green beans until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain green beans, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
2. In a bowl, whisk together oil and vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Add feta, oranges, lettuce,  beans, and green beans. Toss to combine.

Balsamic-Herb Chicken

Last week a girl friend of mine came over to see my apartment, hang out and catch up so we decided to have some appetizers and wine, and then I would make dinner for us. Well, we had plenty of appetizers and wine, but I didn't make dinner until she left at 10pm!! Yikes. Now, I didn't eat dinner that late, but instead packaged it up to bring to work the next day for lunch. I always have the best of intentions, but we had a little cheese, cracker, and fruit social at work and I managed to fill up completely on that, so when lunch rolled around, I had zero interest in eating. *Sigh* Now what do I do with 2+ servings of chicken, shells & cheese, and broccoli?

Well you see, I am not the only person I know that is in love with balsamic vinegar. My co-worker, Taitor Tot loves it to, so I offered up this meal (along with leftover Black Forest Cake) to her and her husband. Thankfully, she accepted and this food didn't go to waste! I heard from her later that she and hubby loved the meal, and hubby especially loved the cake! I don't get to cook meals for other people that often anymore, so it was nice to be able to share this with friends. It's a light meal, that is quick and easy to prepare, so it's great for weeknights!!

Balsamic-Herb Chicken
Adapted from: Campbell's Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 container Knorr Homestyle Chicken Stock
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Preparation

1. Coat the chicken with the flour.

2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the chicken in 2 batches and cook until well browned on both sides.
4. Add the garlic to the skillet and cook 30 seconds.
5. Stir the broth, vinegar and thyme in the skillet and heat to a boil.
6. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Strip Steaks with Chipotle-Peach Glaze

When I first moved to Austin, almost 6 years ago, I lived with two guy roommates, Gabe & Eric. These guys were kind enough to let me move into the third bedroom for a few months while T finished up her apartment lease so we could get a house together. I was also in the beginning stages of really cooking. What does that mean? I had been cooking for a few years, but only in the preceding year had I really begun to experiment and try all sorts of new recipes. Living with two guys was definitely new for me, and being the caretaker type that I am, I felt like I needed to make homecooked meals for them, to make sure they were eating. Looking back, they could have eaten McDonald's every night and been perfectly content. But I tried anyway, and one of the recipes that debuted in that house was this one.

I remember clearly that I was at the house alone (they were both at work), and I ventured outside to light the charcoal grill. Never in my life had I, personally, lit a charcoal grill. I poured in the charcoal, doused it with lighter fluid, put some newspaper on top and used the long, barbecue lighter to start it up. It didn't flare up right away so, of course, I picked up the bottle of lighter fluid and sprayed some more on! Fortunately for me, this did not turn into a disaster, and it flamed up just right. The hardest part for me at this point was being patient while the flames died down enough to throw the steaks on.

Since I was home alone, I had to revel in my first successful attempt at grilling. I'm still pretty proud of myself, but prefer a gas grill to charcoal any day! I am normally one of "those" people who loves A1 sauce on their steaks. I also eat them medium-well. Many beef-eaters would gasp and say I ruin perfectly good steaks, and that A1 is only for steaks that aren't cooked well but I disagree. I like A1 and will eat it on a variety of things, so steak is really just an excuse to eat steak. Sort of like mustard and tator tots, but that's another story.

Anyway, the point is that this is not a steak that I would put A1 on,  because the chipotle-peach glaze that goes on it is delicious and it's a nice change from plain steak and A1. I should also note that it is rare that I eat a steak, let alone make one at home (but there is a bottle of A1 in my pantry). Not because I don't like steak, but it just isn't one of those everyday, weeknight meals for me. But, I felt like treating myself to something a little out of the ordinary, and here we are!

I will disclose that living in an apartment hinders the use of barbecue grills, so I cooked mine on a George Foreman grill, but it still turned out fantastic!

Strip Steaks with Chipotle-Peach Glaze
Source: Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peach preserves
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded & chopped
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from can of chiles)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 boneless beef strip steaks
• 1 teaspoon garlic-pepper blend
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Cilantro sprigs, if desired

Preparation

1. Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat (or you can use a George Foreman grill or skillet on the stove).
2. In 1-quart saucepan, heat preserves, lime juice, chile and adobo sauce over low heat, stirring occasionally, until preserves are melted. Stir in chopped cilantro; set aside.
3. Sprinkle each beef steak with garlic-pepper blend, cumin and salt. Cover and grill beef over medium heat to your desired doneness, turning once or twice and brushing top of beef with preserves mixture during last 2 minutes of grilling.
4. Heat any remaining preserves mixture to boiling; boil and stir 1 minute. Serve with over beef. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Mahi Mahi with Creamy Green Sauce

It seems that winter has finally (maybe) decided to set in on Central Texas, and I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I did just buy a ton of sweaters, and I need cold weather to wear them in. But on the other hand, I hate cold weather!! This weekend and for the upcoming week it is going to be cold and rainy. I'm not a fan of either type of weather on their own, but combine them and I'm in Hell. Granted, Texas needs the rain, desperately, but it's so danged dreary outside that it's hard to be productive. I'm trying, but leaving the house to go to the gym (or anywhere else) when it's drizzly, cold, and miserable outside is not on the top of my priorities list.

On the night that I made this dish, I actually had another recipe planned. One somewhat similar, but I had a spark of creativity and I ended up making something brand new instead! It has three of the same ingredients, but otherwise it's shiny and new!

I love creamy sauces for fish, so combining salsa verde with cream cheese = creamy deliciousness!! Not only did I love the sauce for this fish, but I think it will come in handy for fish and/or shrimp tacos in the future as well!!

Baked Mahi Mahi with Creamy Green Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Mahi Mahi fillets
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• salt & pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup salsa verde (your favorite homemade or store-bought version)
• 3 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 small avocado, chopped

 Preparation

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Season fish with salt & pepper and cook 10-12 minutes, until it flakes easily with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, mix salsa, cream cheese and cilantro in a small bowl.
3. Place fish on plates, cover with sauce, and top with avocado chunks.