Christmas Day Yummies!

Okay, so I think I may have gone a little overboard on chocolate during our family Christmas Day party. Actually, my entire family went overboard on food period, but it was a great time. In this picture, you can see some of the sweet treats I served up that day. In addition to chocolate fondue, complete with pretzels, marshmallows and angel food cake, I served up some delicious brownies and some truffles. I also whipped up a pulled pork recipe that I borrowed from one of my fellow bloggers. These were only a few things featured on that day's menu. We had everything from Beef Bourguignone and traditional Filipino food to various side dishes and casseroles. I'm still feeling the tightness in my jeans from that day! So scroll on down, and I'll you'll find recipes for the desserts/dishes that I made.

Up first are these Ooey Gooey Bars, compliments of my TWD Elfster Secret Santa, Melissa, of Love at First Bite. As I've mentioned before, Melissa and I go way back to our high school days and she got me started with blogging. She has an awesome blog, which I reference quite frequently. With her Christmas card, she enclosed two of her favorite family dessert recipes. One of which, were these Ooey Gooey Bars, which were very rich and completely delightful!

The only problem is that I'm a dud and the card with the recipe on it was packed this morning with the rest of my cookbooks and kitchen items. So I'll have to post the complete recipe later on in a few weeks. I will be in sunny El Paso, Texas by then. So sorry Melissa, this post doesn't really do you or the Ooey Gooey Bars any justice, but I want you to much how much I appreciate you sharing your family recipes with me!

So you know how those 8 oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese boxes have neat recipes inside them? Well, I found this particular recipe in one of those boxes and turned out some lovely looking chocolate truffles--my first batch ever. They make a lovely presentation, but were very rich. I still have some leftover, probably because they were overshadowed by Melissa's brownies and the chocolate fondue. They're extremely easy to make and perfect if you have a little helper that loves to be in the kitchen with you.

Simply Sensational Truffles

(from 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

2-1/2 pkg. (20 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
decorations: chopped PLANTERS COCKTAIL Peanuts, multi-colored sprinkles

1. Melt 8 chocolate squares. Beat cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Blend in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm.

2. Shape into 36 balls. Place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet.

3. Melt remaining chocolate. Use fork to dip truffles; return to baking sheet. Decorate, then refrigerate 1 hour.

Finally, months back I saw this recipe on Pamela's (one of my favorite foodies!) blog--Cookies With Boys. Who would have known that root beer would make the perfect marinade/sauce for pulled pork? Not I, but I do love the drink as do a couple other members of my family. So it was an instant hit and received rave reviews. Thanks Pamela for featuring this on your blog! As I am typing this, my mouth is watering. But since all my stuff is being packed as we speak, it'll be a little bit before my crock pot will be available for me to make this again.

Pulled Pork with Root Beer Sauce

(from Better Homes & Gardens)

1 2-1/2- to 3-pound pork sirloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 cup root beer*
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups root beer (two 12-ounce cans or bottles)*
1 cup bottled chili sauce(used a whole 12 oz. bottle)
1/4 teaspoon root beer concentrate (optional)

Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)
8 to 10 hamburger buns, split (and toasted, if desired)
Lettuce leaves (optional)
Tomato slices (optional)

1. Trim fat from meat. If necessary, cut roast to fit into a 3-1/2- to 5-quart crockery cooker. Sprinkle meat with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet brown meat on all sides in hot oil. Drain off fat. Transfer meat to cooker. Add onions, the 1 cup root beer, and garlic.

2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours.

3. Meanwhile, for sauce, in a medium saucepan combine the 3 cups of root beer and the chili sauce. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Boil gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or until mixture is reduced to 2 cups. Add root beer concentrate and bottled hot pepper sauce, if desired.

4. Transfer roast to a cutting board or serving platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions from cooking juices and place on serving platter. Discard juices. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. To serve, line buns with lettuce leaves and tomato slices, if desired. Add meat and onions; spoon on sauce. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

*Note: Do not substitute with diet root beer

Strawberry-Filled Coconut Cake

I got this recipe from the December 2008 issue of Family Circle. I saw the cake on the cover of the magazine while grocery shopping and decided it would be perfect for one of our family Christmas parties, looking just like Santa dropped some snow on a perfectly frosted cake! This was actually the first two-layer cake I've ever made and it came out beautifully and tasted wonderful too. Between the two-layers is some strawberry preserves and is very pretty when sliced and served, not to mention the coconut milk mixed into the batter gave the finished cake a moistness (is that a word?) that your guests will truly enjoy. If you're a sucker for berries and coconut, as I am, you'll love this cake. You can find the recipe at the Family Circle website by clicking here or just scroll down below. Enjoy!

Strawberry-Filled Coconut Cake
(from the December 2008 issue of Family Circle Magazine)

Cake:
3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
1 cup sweetened flake coconut, finely chopped

Frosting and Filling:
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box (16 ounces) confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
1-1/2 cups sweetened flake coconut

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottoms of pans with waxed paper, and spray paper.

2. Cake: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and coconut extracts; beat until combined.

4. On low speed, beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with coconut milk. Beat well after each addition. Fold in chopped coconut. Divide batter equally between prepared pans.

5. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans and cool completely.

6. Frosting: In large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

7. Trim cake layers level if crowned. Place one cake layer on a plate. Spread top with preserves. Add remaining cake layer. Spread top and sides of cake with frosting. Remove skewers. Gently press shredded coconut onto sides of cake. Refrigerate 1 hour before slicing.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!

Well, thanks (again) to my buddy,Melissa, of Love at First Bite, I was able to make my first batch of cinnamon rolls ever. I was scrolling up and down her wonderful blog and decided that they looked sooooooo good, I just had to make them! Would you believe me if I told you that I had never worked with yeast until coming across this recipe? I guess I had always been scared of screwing up recipes just because I didn't know how to use it properly. How ridiculous is that? Well, I got over my fear and I'm so glad that I did because these cinnamon rolls were fantastic. I'd even venture to say better than Cinnabon. Hmmm....maybe I'm slightly biased because I made them. Oh well, sue me! What's cool about these rolls is that pumpkin was included in the filling and it just kicked the flavor up a notch--not to mention I've been looking for recipes that I could use all my leftover pumpkin for (and believe me, I have a lot!). Here are some pictures of my cinnamon roll adventure!

I got 20 cinnamon rolls out of this recipe! I made sure to give them away to family and friends because I didn't want to get stuck eating all of them by myself (which I easily could have done!). Speaking of the recipe, here it is. I hope you have just as much fun baking them as I did! And one more thing....the cream frosting is to DIE FOR! I'm going to eat one of the rolls I have leftover right now!


Pumpkin-Filled Cinnamon Rolls
(dough recipe adapted from Betty Crocker)


Dough:
3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 packages regular or quick active dry yeast
1 cup very warm milk (120 to 130 degrees F)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 large egg


Filling:
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 c packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree


Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


1. To make dough: mix 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Add warm milk, 1/4 cup butter and the egg. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.


2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Place dough in large well-greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour 30 minutes or until double. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.


3. Prepare filling: place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well blended.

4. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Flatten dough with hands or rolling pin into 15x10-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface. Spread with filling. Roll rectangle up tightly, beginning at 15-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Stretch and shape until even. Cut roll into fifteen 1-inch slices with dental floss or a sharp serrated knife. Place slightly apart on a well-greased baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 30 minutes or until double.


5. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.


6. Prepare cream cheese frosting: cream butter and cream cheese in a bowl. Mix in the vanilla and then the powdered sugar until well blended. Frost cinnamon rolls in the pan if eating them warm. Or, remove them to cooling racks and frost when cooled.


Makes 15 rolls

TWD Break

Hello fellow TWD-ers! I'm going to have to bow out of the group for a short time. I'm in the middle of a military move to Fort Bliss, Texas (in El Paso) and will not have any materials or equipment to do any baking! I'm going to miss Rosie (my Kitchenaid) immensely! So if you want to see what my TWD friends are baking in the meantime, head on over to the TWD blog! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!

Mexican Chicken Soup

I had to back out of Barefoot Bloggers for a little bit because I wasn't keeping up as well as I would have liked with everything I had going on. The group was challenged with this recipe (by Ina Garten) last month and since I still had the recipe on hand, I decided to make it last week. I made it on one particularly cold day and it was perfect after walking the dogs out on the trails and in the snow!

I used fresh veggies for this soup--carrots, onions and celery--and added some herbs and spices to include fresh cilantro, cumin and crushed coriander seeds. It was quite fragrant and delicious, especially with the chicken breast I shredded and threw into the pot. What was cool about this soup was that Ina had me cutting flour tortillas into 1/2 inch strips and adding them to the soup to act as noodles. I thought they were going to get all soggy, but they didn't. I served the soup with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded mozarella cheese (since it's the only cheese I had on-hand) and some tortilla scoop chips. Yum-o! The soup is even more delicious as leftover. It was enough to feed me for about three days straight! If you want the recipe, please click here. Forgive me, I'm too lazy to type out the entire recipe myself!

Award Business

My totally awesome friend and fellow foodie, Melissa Devoe, gave me another blog award. Can you believe it? She spoils me, I tell ya! I truly appreciate it. Joining the blogging world and these baking groups have been a truly rewarding experience and I honestly have her to thank for all of it. After all, she is the one who got me started with everything! You should check out her blog, Love At First Bite! She's got tons of great recipes and her pictures are so cool! I'm trying to learn how to do some of that high-speed photo-shopping myself! So thanks again Melissa!

I only have two peoplethat I want to share this award with. First, I noticed she doesn't already have the award--unlike all other bloggers that I closely follow--and she is one of my favorites! She was actually my Elfster secret santa and I have had an awesome time getting to know her through her fantabulous blog, Superflous. So Sabrina, this one's for you! Second, I want to show some blog lovin' to my dear friend Kim in Pueblo, Colorado, just because her blog, Joshua and Kimberly's Journeys, totally rocks and because she's is one of the greatest, most talented friends I have ever come to know. If you're interested in some gluten-free recipes, you definitely want to add her blog to your list!

So go on ladies....spread the love! And thanks for giving me something to look forward to everyday!

Apple Kuchen

Okay, so remember how I said I had a butt-load of apples this week and needed to get rid of them? Well, I had so much that made this particular recipe twice this week. Once on Tuesday for my dad's potluck at work and the other last night for a Christmas party. Needless to say, it's so wonderful a dessert that my dad's co-workers have supposedly been bugging him for the recipe. I also received a few good reviews last night! According to my German friend, Anna, kuchen (when she says it, is sounds like she says "koo-hen") means cake. I like to think of this recipe as the German rendition of our classic "dump cake" because you literally just dump a few ingredients together and voila! You've got a super-duper delicious dessert in no time!

I got this recipe from Elegant Effortless Entertaining, a compilation of recipes from The Society of Daughters of the United States Army (DUSA) that I purchased at a holiday fair when I was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Above, you'll see that I simply cut some butter into your standard packaged yellow cake mix. I baked it for a few minutes and laid my granny smith apples on top.

Here, I topped the apples with an egg-sour cream mixture and baked for about 30 more minutes. What you get is what you see below--the cake turns a golden brown (oh, there's some coconut in the cake) with a nice creamy apple topping! It tastes good both warm or cold, and makes a great breakfast too. Mmmmm...mmmmm...good! Try it...you'll be surprised how easy it is to make.

Apple Kuchen

(from Effortless Entertaining by DUSA; recipe provided by Georgann Maertens Ozbolt)

1/2 cup soft butter

1 package yellow cake mix

1/2 cup coconut

1 egg

1 (20 oz.) can pie sliced apples or 2 1/2 cups chopped apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut butter into dry cake mix until crumbly; stir in coconut. Pat mixture lightly into an ungreased 9x13x2 inch pan, building edges up. Bake 10 minutes.
2. Arrange apples on crust. Mix sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle on fruit.
3. Blend sour cream and egg. Drizzle over apples. Bake 25 minutes, until edges are brown. Do not overbake!
4. Serve warm or cold. Serves 10 to 12.
   

Candy Apple Pie

I bummed this recipe off of Susan's blog--She's Becoming Doughmesstic--a month or two ago. I decided to make this (1): because I bought more than a dozen granny smith apples at the grocery store last week and (2): because I have a Christmas party to go to tonight. I actually made this earlier in the week as a test and fed it to my family. They loved it! So I'm making it again for the masses. This pie is extraordinary! It's like eating apple pie and cheesecake at the same time and you'll see why. It's no wonder this pie was named the winner of Good Morning America's "Pie of Emeril's Eye" Contest in 2000. So here, we've got a golden graham cracker crust. Sitting on that is a layer of caramel sauce topped with chopped pecans. Above that, a delicious array of fried apples, laced in cinnamon, brown sugar and all things heavenly! Delicious!

Here topping the apples is a sweetened cream cheese mixture that made our cheesecake-like topping. After placing this in the oven for about 30 minutes, I had a nice golden layer of cheese filling on my pie. I can taste it now!

And then a whipped cream frosting was spread over the pie and laced with caramel and chopped pecans. It is seriously my favorite apple pie ever! You have to try it. I have another apple recipe that I'll be posting later on that is just a good and even easier to make--so stay tuned!

Candy Apple Pie
(by Mimi Hodge)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 cup chopped pecans
Apple Filling:
5 granny smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced very thin)
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cream Cheese Topping:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix well and press into a 9.5 - 10 inch pie plate and up the sides. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden in color. Remove pie shell from oven and cool completely. Pour caramel into pie shell and sprinkle with 1 cup chopped pecans. Refrigerate pie shell while making apple filling.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add apples and stir. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes until apples are soft and tender. Let cool for 10 minutes and pour into pie shell. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer on low speed, combine cream cheese and sugar for about 1 minute until smooth. Add egg, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat for 1 minute until fully blended. Pour over apple filling in pie shell. Bake for 30 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Let stand outside the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
5. Top with whipped cream, caramel and pecans and swirl with a knife. Slice and serve.

Operation Baking Gals: Round 5 & Elfster Secret Santa

I sent out my packages just in the nick of time. Better late than never, right? These last two weeks saw tons of Operation Baking Gals putting together their packages for Round 5! Along with Team Sweet Dumpling, hosted by Ellen of Sweet Dumpling, I baked a few cookies and and sent them with a bunch of other goodies to our Marine--Lance Corporal Steven Forrester, a 21-year-old infantryman on his second deployment. I don't know much about Steven other than what was expressed to us by his mother, but he sounds like a terrific guy and I am so glad that we could brighten up his holiday overseas this way. As I mentioned in previous posts, my brother-in-law is a Marine, so I'm automatically one of Steven's biggest fans. Here are some of the things I sent: trail mix, gum, a sack full of candies to hand out to the locals (since he's always out on patrols), and a holiday jar full of chocolate chip cookies! Yummy! I hope he likes them.

I also sent out my Elfster Secret Santa stuff for my Tuesdays with Dorie Secret Santa. I didn't think to take pictures of what I sent, but it would have been a dead give-away for my secret santa (if she follows my blog!). I hope she likes it too. Ahhh, the spirit of giving! My favorite thing about the holidays!

TWD: Buttery Jam Cookies

Good thing Heather of Randomosity and Girl picked another cookie for this week's recipe challenge. I needed more cookies to fill my Christmas jars. I have a meeting with my realtor tomorrow morning and it'll be the perfect gift to send her home with! These cookies were so simple to make and they were delicious! Since there was no picture in the book for them, I thought they were those cookies with jam thumbprinted in the centers. I had no idea we'd actually be mixing the jam in! The only jam I had in stock was strawberry,which explains the slightly pink tint to my cookies.

They were soft, moist and the hint of ginger made them simply wonderful. I woke up late today, so I'm having them for breakfast with some tea. Yummy! Thanks Heather for making this Tuesday easy and delicious. Skip on over to her blog for the full recipe!

TWD: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

This week's recipe was chosen by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. The full recipe can be found on her blog. On Black Friday, I purchased these cute Christmas cookie jars and thought that these cookies would be perfect to go in them and give to my neighbors. I was right! Isn't Santa just cute? I am sure my neighbors are going to love these cookies. I tasted about three cookies and made myself stop, otherwise those jars would have been half full! They are really delicious!

The recipe is so simple, although I ended up with a pretty dry dough even though Dorie said that it should be soft and creamy. Oh well, they still came out great. I put some orange zest in mine and then sprinkled them with my Pampered Chef Cinnamon Sugar Sprinkles. Yummy! I think I'll be getting more jars and filling them up with these again. Next week, we've got more cookies on the menu. I'm happy about that. They make such perfect gifts for the holidays!

TWD Bailout & Macadamia Nut Pie

I barely have enough time to update my family blog, let alone make this post. However, since I have to bow out of TWD this week--due to illness (I think I've had the flu the last two days), recovering from Thanksgiving weekend visitors and events, not to mention finals week (my last week of grad school!)--I figured it would only be fair to leave you all with the recipe for the Macadamia Nut Pie I made for my family's Thanksgiving dinner. All of my family spent a good amount of time growing up in Hawaii, since my maternal grandparents immigrated there from the Philippines and resided there for years. This pie brought back so many wonderful memories of the islands. It was very well received by the entire family as I've been asked many times since that day when I'm going to be making it again. The answer is soon, very soon!

I used my deep dish pie baker since I had to make Dorie's Twofer Pie that same day. I also cheated and used Pillsbury's refrigerated pie crusts. I've been using those a lot lately. They're just so nicely priced and convenient! Just so you know, I didn't really cheat. The recipe called for refrigerated pie pastry anyway....so there!




Here, my sister is digging into the sweet, yummy goodness of the pie. To be honest, once the first piece was served, the pie didn't last any more than five minutes--well, my family is big and everyone has a voracious appetite anyway, so I'm not surprised. As with all other desserts I make, I got the first piece and I was hooked. This recipe is just a really neat twist on the traditional pecan pie and is truly divine. You've got to give it a try...and the recipe? Super simple! Check it out!

Macadamia Nut Pie
(adapted from Taste of Home, Thanksgiving, November 2008 issue)

1 sheet refrigerated pie pastry
3 eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups chopped macadamia nuts

1. Unroll pastry and place in a 9-in. pie plate; flute edges and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla until combined. Stir in the nuts. Pour into pastry shell.
2. Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes until center is set and top is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate leftovers.

I still have a few more Thanksgiving recipes that I need to post, so stay tuned!

Thanksgiving with Dorie: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

Wow! It's been forever since I've made a post. With school being busy just before Thanksgiving break, working for my mom this entire week and having hordes of family members come in from all over the U.S. (and having them stay over at my place), I just haven't had the time. Until now! And I'm happy to be back. This week, we were given an extension for this week's recipe challenge since everyone would be busy preparing their Turkey Day feasts. This week's recipe--a pumpkin and pecan pie combo (hence, the "twofer" nickname) chosen by Vibi of La Casserole Caree --was the perfect dessert for my family's meal last night. The recipe is featured on her blog and received pretty good reviews from my family, even though it shared counter space with my more-favored Macadamia Nut Pie (which I'll post about later).

I know a lot of people can't stand pumpkin, but I love, love, love it...especially at this time of the year. I thought it would make a sensational accompaniment to the traditional pecan pie. This is what the pie looked like after filling the partially-baked pie shell with the pumpkin filling and then topping it with the chopped pecans.

Here, the pecans are soaking in a bath of the pecan filling, which consisted of dark corn syrup, eggs, brown sugar and some other yummy goodness!

As rude as it was, I insisted on having the first slice. I have a HUGE family and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to take a test test so I could make a proper review. Now even though this pie was outdone by the aforementioned macadamia pie, it was delicious in it's own right. Others agreed. The pecan crust as well as the pie crust were so nicely crisped and the pumpkin neutralized the sweetness of the pecan filling. Perfecto! I'll definitely be making this one again!

Please stay tuned for more thanksgiving recipes. I've been doing so much cooking and baking lately that I'll be making posts for the next few days!

Barefoot Bloggers: Herb Roasted Onions

A little late posting for BB, I know, but I actually have until the end of the month! I sure have been busy. Let me tell you...I love onions. Well, not raw, but grilled or roasted! I was excited to give Ina's Herb Roasted Onion recipe a try. It's so simple. You take some red and yellow onions, marinate them with dijon mustard, olive oil and a few herbs and you've got yourself a wonderful accompaniment to chicken (as you can see below) or, well, anything. Shoot, it can be eaten alone too!


Please don't be fooled. I didn't bake the chicken. I was in a hurry to whip up something for lunch the other day and ran over to Wal-Mart to buy it. Talk about convenient. And it indeed was a perfect combination. Aren't all those colors just pretty too? I ended up taking this dish to my mom's work to share with her. Needless to say, we were both so full. We both loved the onions. They were so sweet and tender and the dijon dressing was so deliciously flavored. The lemon juice definitely gave it some kick! I even poured some of the leftover dressing over the chicken. Deee-lightful! We definitely plan on making these again! Here's the recipe for ya!

Herb Roasted Onions (by Ina Garten)

2 red onions

1 yellow onion

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root. Place the wedges in a bowl.
   For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.
3. Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well. With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl.
4. Bake the onions for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. Toss the onions once during cooking.
5. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Arborio Rice Pudding

I am a huge fan of the Kozy Shack brand of vanilla rice pudding, so when I found out we'd be making it this month I was stoked, especially since it's my first time making it! In all honesty, it took me two tries to make it. I should have read the P&Qs first because I discovered that everyone simmered their rice for longer than the 30 minutes prescribed in the recipe. So the first try, I got rice soup. Late last night after cleaning up a nice mess my dog made for me while out at school (and instead of working on a very important homework assignment) I took another stab at it. After almost an hour of simmering, I got just what the recipe said I was supposed to get--thick, milky white goodness!

I chilled the pudding overnight and this morning, my mom and I each enjoyed a martini glass full of this creamy, delicious concoction! I topped it with some of The Pampered Chef's Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkles.....yum! Not sure when I'm going to make it again, but I'm so glad I had a chance to tackle it. Thanks to Isabelle of Les gourmandises d'Isa for selecting this week's recipe challenge. Run over to her blog for the complete recipe!

Blueberry Apple Pie

I got this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Pamela of Cookies With Boys. It looked so yummy and I needed a dessert to accompany the pasta I made for my family on Friday. You would be amazed by how easy it was to make, especially since I cheated an used Pillsbury's ready-made pie crust. All you have to do is toss the apples, blueberries and a few other ingredients and dump them into the pie shell and voila! You've got a stupendous dessert to serve and enjoy.


I actually used double the pie topping, which I probably could have done without. It just made the pie more rich! As Pam said, the pie was a little runny, and I agree. But it did thicken a little bit more as it sat and paired very nicely with cool whip!



Here's the finished product! Finger-lickin' good, I tell ya! I'd like to thank Pam for sharing such a wonderful recipe on her blog. Check it out!


Blueberry Apple Pie
(Adapted from Cooks.com)

2 c. sliced and peeled tart apples
2 c. frozen blueberries
1 c. sugar (used 3/4 c.)
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. butter(skipped)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg(skipped)
2-3 tbsp. lemon juice(skipped)

9 inch pie shell topping:
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. sugar

Combine all ingredients and place in the pie shell. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then 350 degrees for 30 more minutes. Cool for about five minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Eggplant, Butternut Squash and Shrimp

I saw Giada De Laurentis whip this dish up on TV around Halloween time. She commented that the orange of the butternut squash and shrimp, as well as the black of the eggplant, along with the fresh orange-colored pasta she used made it look scary. I didn't think so, but I did think that the dish looked good--good enough for me to want to make. I was having my parents and brother over for dinner so I thought I'd try something new with them. The name of the dish says all about what goes into it, as you can see here. The recipe called for Japanese eggplant, but since I couldn't find any, I used the regular kind that you can find at any grocery store. Then there's the vibrant butternut squash (my favorite kind of squash), the large shrimp (my favorite seafood), garlic and onions.

Overall, I thought the dish was just okay and not anything to rave about. My family said it was good, but they didn't take too well to all the vegetables in it since they're used to some kind of meaty marinara sauce. Basically, what I had left when everyone had their serving was a dish full of noodles, eggplant, and squash. The shrimp was the biggest hit of the evening, although I must say that the butternut squash was wonderfully sweet. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be making this dish for a while. I think I'm more likely to use marinara sauce in the dish next time to give it more flavor, but I'm not so sure the combination will work well. Oh yeah...and I think I'd eliminate the eggplant. The squishiness kind of got to me. I don't know, we'll see. But hey, if you're curious and would like to give this a try go ahead. You might like what you get!

Spaghetti with Eggplant, Butternut Squash and Shrimp

(Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small butternut squash, peeoled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 5 cups)

1 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 1/4 cups dry white whine

2 cups fish broth, fresh or frozen, or canned vegetable broth

2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper

17.5 oz. orange-colored fresh spaghetti or linguine

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1. Heat the oil in a heavy large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for just a minute. Add the squash, eggplant, rosemary, and thyme and saute for 8 to 10 minutes.


2. Add the wine and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender and the liquid is reduced by about half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.


3. Add the shrimp and simmer gently until almost cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but firm to the bite, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta (alternatively, you can use dried pasta which will take 8 to 10 minutes to cook).


5. Toss the pasta, squash mixture and butter in a large bowl until the liquid thickens. Serve and enjoy!