Chocolate Lava Cakes

My favorite recipe for these:

http://ghirardelli.com/bake/recipe.aspx?id=1085

Creamy Tomato Pasta

I had some leftover canned fire-roasted tomatoes with garlic and so I made up this recipe.

1 small can tomatoes ( I threw it away, but it was about the size of a regular soup can.), cook down

garlic, onions, italian seasoning

1 cup cream

Parmesan cheese

Cook together and pour over fetticini.

Grandma's Whole Wheat Pancakes

These are pretty healthy, much better than a mix. Way less sugar and sodium, and way more vitamins, etc.

2 c. wheat flour

4 T oil

2 eggs

1 c. milk

4 tsp. baking powder

I double this and then flash freeze some and then we have them for breakfast for a couple weeks.

Mac and Cheese!!

A long time ago Applebees had the best Macaroni and Cheese. They stopped doing it, so I made up a recipe that I think is like it.

1/2 lb pasta (my favorite is mini penne)

2 T. Butter

1/6 c. flour

1 1/2 c. warm milk

1/8 t. garlic powder

1/8 t. onion powder

1/8 t. black pepper

1/4 lb. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. shredded Monterrey jack cheese

1/2 tube ritz crackers, crushed

2T. melted butter

Grease 8x8 pan (Double recipe for 9x13). Cook pasta 2 minutes less than instructions. Drain, rinse in cold water. Melt butter in pan, whisk in flour, cook 2 min. Whisk in warm milk. Add seasonings. Cook and stir until thickened. Add in cheese (reserve some for topping later) and stir until melted. Stir in noodles. Put in pan and top with cheese. Stir ritz and melted butter, top with them. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Best Ice Cream EVER!!!

Pina Colada Ice Cream

2 cups cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 cam frozen Bacardi pina colada mixer (in the frozen juice concentrate section of the store)

Whisk all together, freeze in ice cream freezer.  This is good right after, but even better the next day after it hardens.  It stays scoopable and has great texture. 

I won't mention how much of it I ate tonight...

Mexican Ranch

I've been spoiled by Chiz's ranch dressing that you can only get around Rexburg. NOTHING compares. I really don't like any bottled ranch now, so I decided to make my own. It still isn't as good, but it works.

We had the missionaries over Sunday and I made Mexican lasagna.  I decided to change up the ranch I make by adding a little cilantro and lime juice.

I don't measure when I cook, and this blog is mostly just to remind myself what I did, so if you really want amounts I can figure it out for you.  Let me know.

Sour cream
Mayonnaise
Buttermilk
Garlic
Onion powder
Parsley
Salt
Finely chopped cilantro (I just blended it along with a little of the ranch to chop it)
Lime juice

Coconut Lime Cupcakes

These were super good!

Cake

I mixed up a white cake mix, with 1 cup sweetened coconut blended up with the water.  I also added 1 teaspoon coconut extract. I did everthing else according to the directions.

Lime Curd Filling

Mix together 5 egg yolks and 1 cup sugar. Whisk in 1 cup lime juice. Microwave for 1 minute then stir. Repeat until coats the back of a spoon. This took about 6 or 7 minutes for me. Then add 1/2 cup unsalted Margarine a tablespoon at a time, stirring each until melting. Refridgerate until cooled.

Frosting

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 pound bag powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon lime zest
Milk

Mix butter with a couple cups powdered sugar.  Add flavorings.  Gradually add the rest of the powdered sugar and milk to acheive the right consistancy.

Cupcakes

Hollow out a little hole in the cupcake, fill with lime curd.  Don't use too much, it's really sour. Then frost. I topped them with a little toasted coconut. Enjoy!

Healthy Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Here are some muffins I make adapting a Brown Sugar Muffin recipe that both my mother in law and one of my aunts uses. Rory always insists every fall that we dry apples, but then we never eat them. This year I decided to come up with some way to use them. Every time I make these muffins, I substitute something else to make them a little healthier. Last time I made them, the first time I used splenda, I made some with sugar and some with splenda and I couldn't tell the difference.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Healthy substitutions in (parentheses)). This is a double batch.

1 cup butter or margarine (1/2 c margarine, 3 T. ground flax seed)

2 cups brown sugar (2 cups Splenda, I use the generic from Winco or Walmart)

2 eggs (You can substitute flax seed for these too, but I wasn't brave enough to change too many things at a time)

4 cups flour (I use whole wheat)

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk

2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup reconstituted dried apples, chopped (I chop them in a mini food chopper thing that we got 5 of at our wedding reception)

Cinnamon (I use lots, probably 3 tablespoons)

2 cups chopped nuts (I have never added nuts, the other people in my family are opposed to them.)

Brown sugar (Optional)

Combine butter and sugar and mix well. Stir in eggs, flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Add milk, vanilla and mix well. Stir in apples and nuts. (The batter of these is really thick, not runny like most muffins I have done.) Scoop into muffin cups, sprinkle on a little brown sugar on top.

Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Horchata Ice Cream

I got an ice cream maker for mother's day and am LOVING it. Rory loves horchata (a mexican drink) and we had some mix for it so I experimented a little and he loved it.

Horchata Ice Cream
3/4 c horchata mix
2 1/4 c water
2 c cream
1 1/2 T cinnamon

Mix well and freeze.

Pudding Mix Ice Cream

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 cups milk (I used skim)

2 (3.4 oz) packages pudding (I used pistachio)

Stir all together and freeze in ice cream freezer.

Raspberry Tiramisu

Syrup (You may want to double this).

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

2 T. frozen orange juice concentrate

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

Melt together until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Raspberry Filling

1 cup seedless raspberry jam

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

Powdered sugar to taste

Mix together.

Whipped cream (I used real sweetened whipped cream, probably 3 cups before whipped,the equivalent of 2 big tubs of Cool whip, which would work too.) Set aside some for the top. Fold remaining into cream cheese mixture.

Ladyfinger cookies (although I don't really like the texture of these, they are like angel food cake so that would be the cheaper, easier way to go. I will probably use pound cake next time, I'm not a fan of angel food cake).

Raspberries (I used frozen, but I am sure fresh would be so much better!)

Layer raspberry filling, lady fingers dipped into the syrup, filling, raspberries, and repeat until everything is used up, top with whipped cream and some raspberries.

I made this in a big glass bowl.

Aunt Karen's Fruit Salad

Big strawberry yogurt

Big cool whip

1 box vanilla pudding

Frozen triple berry blend from Costco (although any fruit would be yummy.)

Mix all together.

Strawberry Lemonade Cake

I made this a few weeks ago, and forgot to post it or write anything down, so I hope I remember how I did it.

I made a yellow cake mix and added strawberry jam and lemon juice to it. In the middle I put a lemon filling made with 1/2 a can of lemon pie filling, 3 oz. cream cheese, and powdered sugar to make it a good consistancy.

Then for the frosting I just made a buttercream frosting with strawberry jam in it. Sorry I don't remember amounts or anything, it was a while ago I made it.

Yummy, Moist Almond Cake

http://www.epicurean.com/featured/butter-almond-cake-recipe.html

Used Torani Orgeat syrup instead of orange zest. Made in a heart shaped pan.

Chocolate Ganache

9 oz. milk chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Melt together, stir. Cool until spreading consistency, frost cake. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds.