Ranch Dip

This one again is not really a recipe, it's just something we like to eat at our house and so I figured it could be shared on this blog.  This is just the old classic, buy a tub of sour cream and add a packet of Ranch powder to it.  I wish I had pics of my kids snarfing it with carrots or other veggies but no, I happened to picture them with the yummiest choice of potato chips.  Well, that's us, what can I say.

Rolo Pretzel Bites

This recipe is so easy I don't know if I can even call it a recipe.  I recently saw it on, I think it was HowDoesShe, but as you can see by the colors, we did this back at Christmas time. 

Here's what you need:

• Pretzels- I use the square kind
• Rolos- I unwrap as I go
• M&M's- Whatever colors or flavors you want, I haven't explored with flavors, but my next try is going to be those yummy peanut butter ones.  

Pretty much put oven on low, like 250, put Rolos on each pretzel and pop in oven for a couple of minutes.  It goes fast so be careful, they just need to be a little melty.  Take them out and put and M&M on each one.  I like to squish them down into the Rolo so they all get melty together.  That's it, you're done.  I like to eat them when they are warm! These are great for taking to parties.  Enjoy!

Whole-Wheat Apple Pancakes

These pancakes are great for a lazy Saturday morning.  They are so tasty that your kids won't know they are healthy and made with whole-wheat flour!  I modified the recipe from the internet as I was looking for an apple pancakes recipe to make for Jason.  He loves apple-flavored anything, and I knew he'd like these.  I just wasn't sure about the kids--but they ended up eating the whole batch and asking for more, so I think they were a hit.

Ingredients:

1 C. whole wheat flour
½ C. all-purpose flour
1 T. sugar
1 t. baking soda
½ t. baking powder
¾ t. cinnamon
1 ¼ C. milk
1 egg, beaten
1 small apple (about ¾ C.), peeled, cored, and chopped finely

Directions:

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl; mix well.  Combine milk, egg, and apple; add to flour mixture.  Combine.  Let rest for 2-3 minutes, then cook on a hot griddle or skillet over medium-high heat, flipping just once. 

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Carrot Cake

A new friend I have made in France named Anne Baird gave me this recipe.  I made it for Jason's birthday, and it was really delicious.  It would be a pretty healthy cake as far as cakes go if it weren't for the best part--the delicious cream cheese frosting.  I ate it by the spoonful--it was so good!

Ingredients for cake:

2 C. flour
2 C. sugar
2 t. cinnamon
2 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
½ C. oil
3 eggs, beaten
2 C. shredded carrots
½ C. crushed pineapple (without any juice)
1 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:

11 oz. cream cheese, softened
12 T. (1-1/2 cube) butter, softened
¼ t. salt
1- 1/2 t. vanilla
3 C. powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350⁰ F.  Prepare cake by mixing dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl mix oil, eggs, vanilla, carrots, and pineapple.  Add wet ingredients to dry and blend thoroughly.  Finally, add in chopped nuts.  Butter and flour desired baking dish (a 9 x 13 pan was recommended, but I used two round cake pans).  Pour batter evenly into baking dish and bake for 50-55 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan, and about 45-50 minutes for two round cake pans.  While cake is baking, prepare frosting by blending the cream cheese and softened butter.  Add salt and vanilla and blend.  Add powdered sugar gradually and mix until smooth and creamy.   Once cake is completely cool, ice with the cream cheese frosting.

Biscuit Beignets with Praline Sauce

For family night one night, I decided to make one of Doug's favorite treats from New Orleans (which I've been taught by him to pronounce Nor-lins).  He's been there many times since Houston is not that far of a drive.  Anyway... I made beignet's which are similar to Grandma's dippy donuts with a few changes.  I can't think of New Orleans food without thinking of the above video clip.  The kids called it Princess and the Frog food.

The thing I'll take from this recipe and use for many, many more occasions though is the praline sauce.  Just linking about it makes my mouth water.  It was that good.  I want to try it on cheesecake, waffles, ice cream or french toast and Doug thinks it would be good drizzled on pumpkin pie.  I got the idea from the blog found HERE.  I didn't use shortening since I hate the stuff, but just canola oil.  I also used pecans instead of walnuts since I like the flavor when chopped up very finely.  It got good results.  I was putting the kids to bed and Doug took his first bite, came into the boys room and gave me a big, fat, smoocheroo.  Now that's a good critique!

Biscuit Beignets with Praline Sauce

1 tube flaky biscuits
1 cup butter-flavored shortening, for frying
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Melt butter in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and whisk until sugar melts and mixture begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Stir in milk, vanilla, and pecans until smooth. Set aside.

Separate biscuits and cut into fourths. In heavy-bottomed skillet, melt the shortening over medium heat until it reaches 325 degrees F. Fry biscuit quarters in batches until golden on each side. Biscuits will cook very quickly. Dust generously with powdered sugar and serve immediately with praline sauce.

Here'e the pics for how they turned out.  I was putting the kids to bed when Doug took his first bites.  His reaction was memorable.  He took one single bite, came in to the boys room and planted a big, long smoocheroo on me.  Now that's the kind of food critique I like!

English Toffee

Haleigh and I attempted to make homemade english toffee.  It was actually pretty easy but I didn't know quite when to stop cooking it and pour.  I really want to get a candy thermometer for it next time.  The funnest part was putting it in cookie sheets, adding chocolate chips for two minutes, then spreading it.  The kids liked to break it into pieces.  Fun to make and yummy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans to top it

Directions

1. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally.
2. While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  (We just used pam)
3. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate.
4. Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

Ree's Butter Chicken

I’m not sure if these prewrites are worth it or a colossal waste of time, but here goes anyway:

I have already mentioned my little personal rules for this blog: I won’t post a recipe unless I have tried it myself and can attest that it’s good.  Second, I don’t post recipes straight from a mainstream online source (like foodnetwork.com, for example) unless I have made a fairly significant modification.    

That being said, since moving to France, I’ve discovered the blog of Pioneer Woman, AKA Ree Drummond.  I really like most of her recipes, and I like her wit and sass too.  I appreciate her not just because she’s entertaining, but I love the step by step instructions on her blog.  I have made several of her recipes lately, and some of them have made it into our permanent rotation.  Usually I don’t feel the need to change much on the recipes, because they are good as is.  However, the last dish I tried wasn’t flavorful enough for me, so I made some changes and tried it a second time.  Second time was the charm, and I LOVED it and so had to share it.  This recipe is a keeper for sure, especially if you like Indian food, but I hope you’ll try it even if you don’t.  I am sure this dish isn’t authentically Indian, but I still like this "Americanized" version quite a lot.  If you ever have to cook for guests that say they like Indian food, please keep this dish in mind.  You’re missing out if you don’t!

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces (about one pound, I think)

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. salt

½ t. black pepper

½ t. cayenne pepper

½ t. ground coriander

½ t. cumin

½ t. cardamom

1 whole lime, juiced

1 small onion, diced

¼ C. butter

1 can (about 8 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (about 14 oz) petite diced tomatoes

2 C. heavy cream (I recommend using coconut milk for half the cream content—so good)

large handful cilantro, chopped, to taste

Yeah, this recipe is NOT low fat.  Sorry.  But it’s worth some extra time on the treadmill.  Trust me.

Directions:

Combine first 9 ingredients and marinate overnight if possible in a ziplock bag.  It would work to begin in the morning and marinate it all day as well.  In a large saucepan, sauté the onion in the butter until soft, for about 5 minutes.  Add marinated chicken and cook about 10 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes.  Cook, covered, for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.  Add cream and cilantro at the end (just before serving) and heat through.  You could also use half-and-half instead of heavy cream.  Serve over rice.