Green Tea Ice Cream

One of the best gifts I got this past Christmas was my Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker attachment from my brother and sister-in-law. And I absolutely LOVE it. I've only been using it for about month, but I've made quite a few batches of ice cream since then. So much that my freezer looked like an ice cream shop. Which really is a good problem to have. lol. This attachment is so much easier than my old ice cream maker that I don't have to fuss over using rock salt and making sure I have enough ice in the bucket. And the cleanup is so much easier.

I love making ice cream from scratch. Its easy to make (especially now that I have a better ice cream maker), it always tastes so fresh and creamy, and you always know what is in your ice cream. You know that its not loaded with any kind of preservatives.

One of the first few ice cream recipes I made with my new gadget was this Green Tea Ice Cream from Just one Cookbook. Simple ingredients and simple to make.  If you have trouble finding Matcha Green Tea Latte, I found mine from Trader Joe's (I love Trader Joe's!). If you happen to find the actual Matcha Green Tea powder, by all means, use it. Just add a little more sugar to the mixture. This tastes just like the green tea ice cream you get at Japanese Restaurants. So yummy! Thanks bro & sis for my new toy! I'll be sure to give you some of the ice cream ;-)

2 cups half & half
3 Tbsp. Matcha Green Tea Latte of Matcha Green Tea powder
1/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup if using Matcha Green Tea powder)
pinch of salt

1) Freeze ice cream bowl for 24 hours.

2) In a medium saucepan, whisk together half & half, sugar and salt over medium heat. Add green tea latte (or green tea powder). Whisk often, and continue heating until it begins to foam and very hot to touch (do not boil).

3) Remove from heat, pour mixture into a large bowl. Place bowl in an ice bath to cool. Once cool, cover bowl with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight.

4) When ready, pour chilled mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions, about 20-30 minutes. Pour soft ice cream into an air tight container and place in a freezer for 8 hours before serving.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

I've been seeing quite a few recipes for Hummingbird Cakes or Cupcakes all over the blogosphere for a few years now. To be honest, the name just didn't appeal to me. It never interested me to even look into what was in a hummingbird cupcake. However, I knew it was a Southern favorite, with recipes passed down from mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers.

Because I frequent Pinterest a lot, this cupcake version came up from A Spicy Perspective. I clicked on it and found out its made of all kinds of yummies - pineapple, coconut, banana, and pecans. Just like how a tropical Hawaiian dessert would entail. I just knew hubby would love this cupcake. Its got everything he loves. So I had to make it. I replaced the frosting in the recipe with my go-to cream cheese frosting and the outcome was delicious. It went over so well with hubby. This has become one of his favorite cupcakes I make. I don't know why I never bothered to make this. Now I'm going to make this more often.

Cupcakes
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 bananas, mashed
1 cup crushed pineapple, with juices
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.

2) Combine the first 4 dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Turn the mixer down on low and add eggs and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture. Add bananas, pineapple with the juices, coconut, and pecans. Continue until blended well.

4) Scoop batter into paper lined muffin tins, about 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes until tops are golden and bounces back when touched. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then cool completely on a cooling rack. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
4-6 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp. milk, depending on consistency

1) In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese for about 1 minute. Add butter and beat for 1-2 minutes until incorporated.

2) Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

3) 3) Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Continue adding powdered sugar and alternating with the milk until desired consistency. Frost cupcakes.

Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

One of my favorite places to eat is at a Churrascaria, which is an all-you-care-to-eat Brazilian BBQ. They serve the bbq with a buffet of different kinds of sides. My kids are not real big meat eaters, so they end up only eating whatever rice, potato, or bread dishes found on the buffet line. But their absolute favorite thing to eat at a churrascaria is their Pao de Queijo, Brazilian Cheese bread. 

I've been seeing quite a few recipes for Pao de Queijo all over Pinterest, like this one from Rasa Malaysia. The recipe is pretty easy and doesn't require much cleanup. However, the tricky part of the recipe is finding tapioca flour. You can find them in most Asian markets. Usually, when I find them, I buy quite a few bags of them because I like to make big batches for my kids to snack on. It also saves me a trip from constantly going to specialty Asian markets just to purchase tapioca flour. These are best eaten hot, but you can easily store them at room temperature in a large freezer bag or an air-tight container for 3-5 days. Then warm them up for  few seconds in the microwave. 

1 egg at room tempature

1/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cups tapioca flour

1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice, packed

1 heaping tsp. salt

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Grease mini-muffin tins generously.

2) Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender and continue pulsing. Batter will make about 2 cups.

3) Pour batter into muffin pans, about 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffy and lightly golden. Cool in the pan for about 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve warm. Store remaining in a freezer bag or an air tight container for up to 5 days, and reheat when ready.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle

Now that Fall is in full swing, you all know how I like to stock up on pumpkins after visiting the pumpkin patch around Halloween every year. Around this time, I usually make my staple Pumpkin Spice Pancakes or Pumpkin Soup. And if I'm feeling a little bit more celebratory, I'll make my Pumpkin Dream Cake. This year, quite a few people have been ordering my Pumpkin Cake Roll. You'd think I'd be pumpkined out. But no. I still want to add to my pumpkin repertoire and searched for another pumpkin recipe. This time, I wanted to make cookies out of my pumpkin.

On Pinterest, many have posted recipes for Pumpkin Snickerdoodle. My daughter loves Snickerdoodles, so I decided to give this recipe a try from Center Cut Cook. These cookies came out soft, light and airy and more like a cake than a cookie. But it was delicious. I love the subtle flavor of pumpkin and all the spices in this cookie. And my daughters love these as well.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sugar (for topping)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon (for topping)

1) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add in eggs and mix well.

2) In a separate large bowl, sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Combine dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until well incorporated.

3) Stir in pumpkin puree. Place dough in the freezer to chill for about 90 minutes.

4) When dough has chilled, pre heat oven to 350 deg F. Then in a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Set aside.

5) Using an ice cream scoop, scoop dough to make a ball. Roll ball into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and place dough balls on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the edges begin to brown. The middle of the cookie will appear uncooked, which is okay.

6) Cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes then cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Zucchini & Corn Fritters with Cilantro Sour Cream

I just love fresh corn on the cob, but I've always wanted to make something else out of them. Enter Pinterest. I've been seeing quite a few recipes on corn and zucchini fritters like this one from Girl versus Dough and I thought it would be a great way to sneak in some veggies for the kiddos. I made a go at it and also made some dipping sauce to go with it. Score! The little one loved it. The older one, not so much. But mommy thought it was so yummy. This recipe makes quite a few patties, so I decided freeze a few to eat later whenever I need a corn fix. Such a yummy way to use up corn and zucchini.

Fritters
1/4 cup oil
4 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup corn kernels
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1) In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Add zucchini and corn and combine thoroughly. Add the flour and stir thoroughly until there are no pockets of flour in the dough.

2) Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan over medium-high heat. Using an ice cream scoop filled about 1/4 full, pour batter into oil and cook on both sides until golden brown. Place cooked fritters on a paper towel to drain the oil. Serve warm with cilantro sour cream.

Cilantro Sour Cream
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
salt & pepper to taste

1) Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Zucchini Bread

For the past month or so, I had been seeing a lot of zucchini recipes on Pinterest. I guess because it was zucchini season. It sounded weird to me that zucchini was a main ingredient for something sweet. I always thought it to be used in a savory dish. So I wasn't too interested in any of the different versions of zucchini bread that popped up all over Pinterest. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE zucchini. Just not in a sweet form.

Well one day, an old co-worker brought in some freshly baked banana and zucchini breads for her last day in our office. She suggested I try the zucchini bread. I hesitated a bit, but I went for it. Let's just say that I went back for thirds and fourths. It was delicious. Not too sweet and you don't even taste the zucchini! It was just like eating a spice cake. And since I had been seeing a lot of zucchini bread recipes lately, like this one from Oh My! Sugar High, I decided to give it a go. I wanted to make this for my family, especially for my girls, to try out. Its a great way to sneak in some of their veggies. And they LOVED it. In fact, my older daughter has asked me to make more. I also gave some for my folks and they also loved it. This will definitely be made frequently at home. Serve it warm with some butter, or at room temperature. Yum!

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional)
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cup sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (with some of the liquid squeezed out)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1) Preheat oven at 350 deg F. Grease and flour 2 8-inch or 9-inch loaf pan and set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if using). Set aside.

3) In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined. Batter will be thick.

4) Fold in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour in prepared loaf pans and bake for 40-60 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Then cool completely in a wire rack.

Bacon Ranch Pinwheels

We're getting a new employee at the office tomorrow, and to welcome him, the boss wanted to have some refreshments set up for his welcome. I was more than happy to bring something in. But what? For the 10 months I've been in this new office of mine, I've come to learn that my co-workers are not huge fans of sweets. Bummer. Its my favorite thing to make. So I guess I just have to be more creative with the goodies I bring in.

One of the supervisors is bringing donuts. I think there will probably be enough sweets there as it is, so I decided to bring something savory. I remember eating this yummy appetizer my sister-in-law made one New Year's day celebration and thought it would be a perfect thing to bring at the office. A quick text to her lead me to a search on Pinterest and found this recipe for  Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels from In the Kitchen where I Belong. I wanted to keep it simple, so I omitted the chicken, but will definitely add it in the future. I think they'll like these at the office. Thanks for the idea, Deby!

2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
ranch dressing
1/4 cup diced onions
10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
shredded cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets and set aside.

2) Unroll each tube of crescent rolls. Pinch the creases together to seal and make a rectangular dough. Spread a few tablespoons of ranch dressing on each dough. Top with with equal amounts of diced onions, then bacon, and shredded cheese.

3) Roll the dough (from the long side) tightly and cut equal amounts of slices (I was able to get about 12 slices per dough). Place pinwheels on prepared cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about a minute. Serve warm.

Copycat Coco Puffs

If you don't know, you better ask somebody.

A few years ago, I posted about our first visit to the Liliha Bakery in Hawaii and our first time having their famous Coco Puffs. I had heard about them from an episode of Hawaii Five-0 and decided that we had to visit the bakery when we went back to Hawaii. From then on, we always make it a point to visit Liliha Bakery for their puffs every time we're on the island. Well, its been a couple of years since we've been back and I hella miss my coco puffs. What to do, what to do....

Recently, hubby's cousin in Hawaii posted a picture of some coco puffs she had made on Facebook. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking to myself that one day I would try making them. Well folks, THE TIME IS NOW. So I did a search on Pinterest and found this recipe from Just Jenn Recipes. Coco puffs are these little pillows of pastry (Choux pastry) filled with chocolate pudding and topped with a sweet Chantilly frosting. I decided to modify my vanilla pudding recipe and came up with my own Chocolate Pudding to fill the pastry with. The outcome was almost as good as coco puffs. It was a huge hit with hubby. In fact, he's asking me to make more! These, by no means, will ever replace the original. But its pretty damn close.

If you don't know about these yummy pastry treats, you better ask somebody how good they taste. Or better yet, go to Hawaii and visit them yourself. Or even better is to try making them yourself like I did.

prepared chocolate pudding (homemade or boxed instant pudding mix)

Choux  pastry
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs

1) In a medium pot over high heat, bring water, milk, butter and salt to a boil.

2) Carefully add flour in the pot and stir. Continue stirring until the dough begins to pull away from the sides. Cook for another minute or so to cook the flour out. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Line 2 cookie sheets with silpat or wax paper.

3) Place dough in a bowl of an electric mixer. On low speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Do not over beat.

4) Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing them enough to fit 12 puffs in a tray. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower the heat to 350 deg F and allow to bake for another 10  minutes. Turn the heat off and keep the puffs in the oven for another 10 minutes for them to dry out. Remove from the oven and cool completely in a wire rack.

5) Once cooled, poke a small hole on top of the puff and fill them with prepared pudding, using a piping bag or a sandwich bag.

Chantilly frosting 
1 (12 oz can) evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 egg yolks
4 Tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract

1)  In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients over medium low heat. Whisk constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate until mixture turns into piping consistency for a few hours, or place in freezer to cool faster.

2) Pipe or spoon frosting on top of prepared puffs. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Cucumber Mint Lemonade with Chia seeds

I've been seeing a lot of posts on social media lately about this place called Lemonade. They serve interesting types of salads, sides, sandwiches, desserts, and you guessed it, lemonade. I've never been to any of their locations, but I have managed to get a glimpse of their menu online. Being that its summer and very hot, what caught my attention was their cucumber mint lemonade. I thought to myself "that sounds really refreshing." I'm sure I can find a way to make it if I looked on Pinterest. Sure enough, I found this recipe on Pinterest from The Domestic Geek. I asked my parents for some lemons from their tree in exchange for some of this yummy lemonade, and they were pretty eager to give me some. The end result was this delicious and refreshing beverage, perfect for the summer. Hubby really liked this. He said it tastes like a mojito without the alcohol. I obviously modified the original recipe by adding the chia seeds, which I hear is super healthy for you. But if you can't find chia seeds or prefer not to have it in the drink, you can definitely omit it altogether. I happened to like the texture in my drink and it reminded me of the pineapple agua fresca I had not too long ago that contained chia seeds. I had never had chia seeds before, but I think I may have found a new favorite.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups fresh lemon juice
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
handful of fresh mint leaves
8 cups water
1 Tbsp. chia seeds

1) Make simple syrup by combining sugar and 2 cups of water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow to simmer until sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Cool completely.

2) In a blender, add cucumber, mint leaves, and 1 1/2 cups of the simple syrup. Puree until smooth.

3) In a large pitcher, add lemon juice. Pour about 3/4 of the cucumber mixture through a fine mesh sieve into the pitcher to remove most of the pulp. Pour the remaining 1/4 of the cucumber mixer directly into the pitcher. Stir. Add the remaining 8 cups water. Add more of the simple syrup if you like it sweeter.

4) Stir in chia seeds. Refrigerate for 15-20 minutes to allow the chia seeds to expand. Serve cold.

Blueberry Muffin Overnight Oatmeal

I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired of eating plain old oatmeal or plain cereal for breakfast. I try to eat a healthy breakfast but I'm just so tired of the bland taste. I think that's the reason why people tend to eat yummy, unhealthy food because healthy always equals no taste. Not so with this new oatmeal recipe I found. I came across this recipe from Creme de la Crumb on Pinterest. I've been seeing a lot of posts about overnight oatmeal lately. Its quite an interesting spin on regular, goopy oatmeal. Its eaten cold. Which isn't so bad, since its now summer and no one wants to eat hot oatmeal in the heat of summer. And its a great grab-and-go meal to take with you when you're in a rush in the morning. No need to cook it and wait to cool before you can pack it up and eat at your desk at the office. It sits in the fridge overnight in a container, then just grab it and go out the door. Its so convenient. And tastes quite yummy. I think I've found another way to eat my oatmeal.

1/2 cup old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
6 oz blueberry Greek yogurt
1-2 drops vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. dry vanilla pudding mix
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (to taste)
1/3 cup flake cereal
fresh blueberries (for garnish)

1) In a mason jar or other sealable container, combine oats, almond milk, yogurt, vanilla extract, pudding mix, and cinnamon. Stir until well combined. Top with cereal and blueberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight or 2 nights. Eat cold.

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken (or Turkey)

My friend/supervisor took a couple of us out to lunch a few weeks ago to a local Thai restaurant. I couldn't really decided what to order. I normally order my staples: Pad Thai, or fried rice, or Pad See Ewe, or Rad Na, or Satay or Thai BBQ. However, I figured since she was treating, I decided to go out of my comfort zone and order something different. My co-workers frequented this particular restaurant and they suggested I try their lunch special Spicy Thai Basil Chicken. It seemed everyone had the same idea of what to order because the waiter took down 3 lunch special orders of Spicy Thai Basil Chicken in different levels of spiciness. I ordered mine in a medium heat and I totally devoured my plate. I was able to save a few bites to take back to the office to eat for lunch the next day. But boy was it so flavorful. I vowed to my co workers that I was going to find them a good copycat recipe. So off I went that evening in search of the perfect Spicy Thai Basil Chicken and this is what I found from SippitySup via Pinterest.

Keep in mind that there are different species of basil, and this recipe is specific to Thai Basil, which can be found in many Asian markets or your local Farmer's Market. However, if you can't find Thai basil, you can always use regular basil and combine it with some mint leaves, which the original recipe suggests. Whatever you have on hand, make this now. You won't regret it.

3 Tbsp. oil for frying
15 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 small onion, sliced
1 lb. ground chicken or turkey (or you can chop up 1 lb. chicken into bite size pieces)
4 Thai chilies, sliced thin (more if you like it spicy)
juice of 1 lime
3 tsp. black sweet soy sauce (or 3 tsp regular soy sauce + 1 Tbsp. brown sugar)
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 cups fresh Thai basil

1) Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat. Add onions and garlic and stir frequently to prevent from burning.

2) Add chicken (or turkey) and stir fry for about 2 minutes until it just begins to change color. Stir in chilies, lime juice and soy sauce. Stir fry for another minute. Season with the fish sauce. Continue to stir fry until the meat has cooked through.

3) Stir in the basil and continue to stir fry for another minute until the basil is wilted. Place on a serving platter and garnish with additional slices of chilies, fish sauce to taste, and lime wedges. Serve with steamed white rice.

Homemade Fruit Rollups

My 13 month old daughter has been having constipation problems lately. I know, TMI for this food blog, right? Well, we've been trying everything to help ease her pain. Lots of water, lots of prune juice, and lots of fruit. I've bought all kinds of fruits that are in season to help kick up her fiber intake. With those fruits, I've tried making different combinations of smoothies and purees. But then I came across this recipe for a 2-ingredient homemade Fruit Roll-up from Raining Hot Coupons via Pinterest that I thought would be another great way to get her to eat more of the fruits. Its literally only 2 ingredients. If your fruits are sweet enough and you omit the sugar, its only 1 ingredient. You can use any fruits and any type of combinations of fruits you have on hand. I just happen to have a lot of strawberries to use up. And it really is like a fruit roll-up. My older daughter enjoyed it a little more than my 13 month old. I guess its a textural thing. Besides, she doesn't have that many teeth to chew with anyway.

3 cups of fruit
sugar (optional or to taste)

1) Pre heat oven to 170 deg F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap, making sure you have enough overhang.

2) Puree the fruit and sugar (if using) until you reach a smooth consistency.

3) Pour on a prepared cookie sheet about 1/8" thick. Bake for 6-8 hours until the center is no longer tacky.

4) Lift plastic wrap out of the cookie sheet and allow to cool. Once cooled, flip over on top of parchment paper or wax paper. Peel off plastic wrap. Cut into strips and roll. Store in a ziploc bag or an airtight container for about a week.

Pioneer Woman's Spaghetti Sauce

Everyone who knows me in real life knows I love anything that's related to spaghetti. In fact, I've made a whole bunch of spaghetti recipes on this blog, some of them sauces, that I like to make large batches of that I freeze as a make-ahead meal. Just freeze the portioned sauce and thaw it in the microwave for a quick, homemade meal. I even like to bottle some of the sauces and give them to my brother and co workers. From Pasta Bolognese, to Tomato Basil Marinara  Sauce, to Spaghetti al Amatriciana. I love all my spaghetti recipes. Despite all the spaghetti recipes I have on here, though, I actually don't have a spaghetti sauce recipe. What a shame. My mother-in-law actually makes a kick a$$ spaghetti sauce, but she hasn't quite given me the recipe for it yet. So I decided to do a search on Pinterest for my own spaghetti sauce recipe and this one from The Pioneer Woman (one of my faves) has come up quite frequently on Pinterest. This sauce is quite comparable to mother-in-law's. It makes a huge batch of meaty goodness. Perfect to freeze as a make-ahead-meal.

5 lbs. ground beef

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 large onions, diced

6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (14 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 jar of store-bought marinara sauce (I used my marinara sauce)

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

4 bay leaves

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

8 basil leaves, chopped (or more if you like basil)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan, more for garnish

1) In a large pot over medium heat, add ground beef and cook until browned. Remove meat from the pot and set aside. Discard grease and add olive oil. 

2) Once oil is heated, add onions and cook for about a minute. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute or so.

3) Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and marinara sauce. Stir to combine. Then add sugar, salt, oregano, thyme, crushed red pepper (if using), and bay leaves. Stir in cooked ground beef. Cover and allow to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add water or beef broth if it needs more liquid.

4) After 1 hour, stir in parsley, basil and Parmesan cheese. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve over your favorite pasta or spaghetti. Freeze unused sauce for up to 6 months.

Cookie Dough Dip

I love anything that has to do with cookie dough. Whether it be cookie dough it its raw form whenever I make my Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies. Or my Cookie Dough brownies. Or my Cookie Dough cupcakes. Or my Cookie Dough truffles. I just love cookie dough. So when I found this Cookie Dough Dip recipe from Love and Prayer via Pinterest, I knew I had to add it to my collection of cookie dough recipes.

I decided to make this for a pre Mother's Day lunch with hubby's side of the family last month and it came out really good. I served it a few neutral flavored cookies and crackers like Vanilla wafer cookies, Graham crackers, and honey wheat pretzels. I loved it most with the pretzels. So yummy.

1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips

1) Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, whisk in vanilla extract.

2) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Slowly add cooled brown sugar mixture. Mix until combined.

3) Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Serve with vanilla wafer cookies, graham crackers, or pretzels.

Kimchi Fried Rice with Portuguese Sausage

I had my first taste of Kimchi fried rice during a recent visit to Hawaii. Hubby's cousins took us to dinner at Side Street Inn in Waikiki. I never really liked Kimchi because I just couldn't get past the strong fermented smell of cabbage. But I was on the islands and it seemed to be in a lot of the menus we ordered from. And of course, the cousins ordered it for the table, so I gave it a taste. Man-oh-man was I missing out. Yes, it did have that pungent smell. But boy did it taste ono.

I started seeing posts on Facebook of people making Kimchi fried rice and decided to recreate that yummy dish I had in Hawaii. Kimchi Fried Rice, also known as Kimchi Bokkeumbap, is just the way its sounds. Fried rice made with Kimchi. I did a search on Pinterest and came upon this recipe from Notions and Notations from a Novice Cook. It called for shrimps, but in order to make it Hawaiian style, I replaced them with Portuguese sausage, which I bought at a Japanese supermarket that sold Hawaiian items. You can also use canned luncheon meat like Spam or Polska Kielbasa or Louisiana Hot links for that extra spice. The rice came out just like I remembered. So yummy and flavorful. This has been somewhat of a staple at home for hubby and me (my daughter can't take the spice yet).

3-4 cups cold, day-old white rice
1/2 - 1 cup cubed Portuguese sausage (or Spam, Kielbasa, or hot links)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 - 1 1/2 cups kimchi, chopped (juice reserved)
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil for cooking
salt & pepper to taste
fried egg for garnish

1) Heat sesame oil in a large pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add sausage and kimchi and saute for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Add soy sauce, fish sauce, and lime juice and continue to stir.

3) Add rice, making sure to break up as much of the large pieces as possible and stirring constantly to prevent it from sticking to the pan. Add kimchi juice, one tablespoon at a time, if the rice is too dry.

4) Stir in green onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and place in a serving platter, topped with fried egg for garnish.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

I know I've somewhat neglected this blog for a while. Having a six year old with tons of activities at school and a 1 year old needing attention will make me do that. I'm not complaining though. I'm so blessed and thankful to have healthy children and a busy household. But now that I have another daughter to look out for, I really needed to get back to my food blogging so both my children can benefit from this. I want to start creating memories with her in the kitchen like I did with my 6 year old. I can't wait to have both my girls with me in the kitchen. Its what I've always dreamed of.

I had been craving something lemony to make one day. But I had a huge batch of blueberries that I bought from Costco that needed to be used up. So in search of a great recipe, once again, turned to my favorite Pinterest and found this recipe from Notes from the Heartland.

This had just the right amount of tartness I was looking for and not overly sweet. I brought this to work and my co-workers really enjoyed it. Its a great way to use up those blueberries.

1 1/2 cup, plus 1 Tbsp. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.

2) Sift dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir to combine.

3) Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour with the blueberries, being careful not to crush the blueberries. Gently fold blueberries into batter just until combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pan.

Lemon syrup
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

1) Dissolve sugar and lemon juice in a small pan over medium heat. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

2) Remove from heat. Place blueberry bread on a plate. Poke with a fork or wooden skewer several times. Brush the bread with the lemon syrup.

Lemon glaze
1/2 -  1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1) Stir together powdered sugar and lemon juice until well combined.

2) Pour glaze over blueberry bread.

Arroz a la Cubana

I'm not quite sure if this is an authentic Cuban dish, but I came across this recipe from Skip to Malou when I found her website through Pinterest. It looked really simple and yummy. So when I made it, I was pleasantly surprised. It really was so simple, flavorful, and super yummy. Hubby really enjoyed it. This recipe is definitely going to frequent our household.

2 tbsp. oil
1 lb. ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3/4 cup frozen green peas & carrots
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
fried plantains
fried egg

1) Heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in ground meat. Add bay leaf. Cook until juices is almost completely dry.

2) Add tomato sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with oyster sauce and soy sauce. Stir in green peas, carrots, bell peppers and raisins (if using). Continue to simmer for another 2 minutes.

3) Serve over steamed rice, topped with fried egg and plantains.

Chocolate Pistachio Cupcakes

Its been a while since I've made any new cupcakes. I'm usually making my staple cupcakes of Red Velvet, and Banana cupcakes. But I wanted to replicate a Chocolate Pistachio cupcake I get from my local cupcake shop that I love so much. So I searched my ever-so favorite site, Pinterest, and found this recipe from The Little Kitchen. 

I used my new favorite Chocolate Frosting. However, I feel like this frosting was too rich and it overpowered the Pistachio flavor of the cupcake. The cupcake was delicious. It had just the perfect amount of pistachio flavor. I may play around with the frosting to match the cupcake a little more. Stay tuned....

Pistachio Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sat
3.4-3.5 ounce box of instant Pistachio pudding
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/2 cup milk

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and instant Pistachio pudding. Set aside.

3) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add oil and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Add eggs and egg white, one at a time until completely incorporated. Scrape the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

4) Add dry ingredients and incorporate with a rubber spatula until most of the dry ingredients are moistened. Its okay if there is still some unincorporated flour. Add milk and mix on the mixer over low speed for about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and continue mixing on low for another 30 seconds until batter is smooth.

5) Fill prepared liners with the batter about 3/4 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or toothpick test comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

9.5 oz chocolate chips (bittersweet, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate chips)

6 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp. cocoa powder

pinch of sat

2/3 cup sour cream

1) Melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl set over pot of simmering water (double boiler). Set aside to cool until just barely warm.

2) In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter over medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Gradually add in confectioner's sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Beat in melted and cooled chocolate and then sour cream. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and well blended. Frost cupcakes immediately before chocolate hardens and frosting sets.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

I've had this recipe pinned on Pinterest from Recipe Girl for a while to make for today. I absolutely love anything that has to do with Red Velvet. And what's more festive than having a red dessert for Christmas? And a cheesecake at that. If you've ever eaten at the Cheesecake Factory and you love red velvet like I do, then I'm sure you know all about their Red Velvet Cheesecake. And so for this special day, I decided to make it for our families as one of our desserts.

This desert requires quite a few steps, and possibly 2 days to make because you have to freeze the cheesecake first, and do a crumb coat for the frosting. Then I used my own tried and true recipe for recipe for the red velvet cake part. Labor intensive, but the result was amazing. I first made this a few weeks ago to test out the recipe. Obviously, hubby and I couldn't finish the whole cake, so I sent half of the cake with hubby to work and it seemed to have gone over well with them. This is definitely going to be a repeat recipe for a special occasion like today.

Merry Christmas everyone. Have a blessed day full of love with family and loved ones.

Cheesecake
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Place a roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Heat 4-6 cups of water to a boil in the microwave or a kettle on the stove. Grease a 9-inch spring form pan and place parchment paper at the bottom of the pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with a double layer of foil to prevent water from entering the pan. Set aside.

2) In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in sugar and salt, and continue blending for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix in sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla and blend well until smooth.

3) Pour batter into prepared pan and place in the roasting pan inside the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan enough so that it reaches about an inch on the side of the cheesecake pan. Bake for 45 minutes until the cheesecake is set and no longer jiggly.

4) Cool cheesecake on a cooling rack for at least an hour. Once cooled, place cheesecake in freezer until completely frozen, or overnight.

Red Velvet Cake
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. (1 oz bottle) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch  round pans and set aside.

2) Sift together cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, red food color, vanilla extract and vinegar in a large bowl of an electric mixer until well combined.

3) Slowly add dry mixture into wet mixture and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then completely cool on a cooling rack.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese frosting 
1 1/2 cups butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

4-6 cups powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsp. milk, depending on consistency

1) Cream the cream cheese with an electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add butter and beat for 1-2 minutes, until well incorporated.

2) Add brown sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and beat until well incorporated.

3) Slowly add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat well. Continue adding powdered sugar and alternating with the milk until desired consistency.

To assemble the Cheesecake

1) Unmold the frozen cheesecake from the spring form pan. Place in between the two layers of cake. Apply a thin layer of frosting to act as a crumb coat on the layered cake. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes for the frosting to set.

2) Complete frosting the cake with a thicker layer of frosting and decorate as needed. You can decorate with white chocolate shavings. Keep cake refrigerated until serving.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Hubby and I love, love, love my old Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe. I haven't made it in a while. So I was so excited to find this make-ahead casserole version on Pinterest from Tasty Kitchen to try out. I love making this in 2 smaller casserole dish - one to eat right away, and the other to freeze for later. Make-ahead-meals are my life savers nowadays, being so busy with my 2 kids. So this recipe has made several rounds in our household. And hubby and I thoroughly enjoyed this version. Probably more so than my original recipe.

Casserole
1 rotisserie chicken (or 4 boiled chicken breasts), shredded
1/2 lb. deli sliced ham, rough chopped
1/4 lb. sliced Swiss cheese

Sauce
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
4 Tbsp. flour
3 1/4 cups milk
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. mustard
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. white pepper (you can also use black pepper)

Topping
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley (or 2-3 tsp. fresh chopped parsley)

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Butter a 9x13 baking dish (or 2-8x8 baking dishes if you want to freeze half of the recipe). Set aside.

2) Even spread shredded chicken on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with the chopped ham. Layer the sliced cheese on top of ham. Set aside.

3) In the meantime, make the sauce. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Cook for about a minute. Do not allow it to brown. Slowly whisk in milk. Continue to cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens.

4) Stir in lemon juice, mustard, salt, paprika, and pepper. Bring the sauce back up to a low boil and remove from heat. Pour sauce over the casserole, covering all the way to the edges.

5) In a medium bowl, melt butter in a microwave. Stir in breadcrumbs, salt and parsley. Sprinkle on top of the casserole.

6) Bake for 45 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Note: To serve after freezing, allow the frozen casserole to thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight prior to baking.