Search This Blog

Friday, October 19, 2012

Strawberry Hearts Whoppie Pies: Pink Ribbon Intro.

Strawberry Hearts Whoppie Pies: Pink Ribbon Intro.

Strawberry Hearts Whoppie Pies


Hi everybody :)

Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I went to my local library to check out a book, Betty Crocker Living with Cancer Cookbook This book is full of recipes and helpful tips for anyone you may know dealing with breast cancer. It beautifully written with guidelines on what to eat for nausea, mouth sores, diarrhea and constipation, the most common side effects of cancer treatments.

Each recipe in the book come with health information and/or a doctor note explaining why the recipe is a good choice. 

 I will be sharing a few recipes from the book with you, each recipe will be part of my Pink Ribbon Series.
 
Although the recipe I'm sharing today is not apart of the series, I thought it would make a lovely introduction. Let's get it started...















For the Strawberry Hearts adapted here
1 package Strawberry Cake Mix (without the pudding)
2 eggs
3/4 cup shortening (not margarine)

Mix ingredients together, the dough will be stiffed. 
 To form the hearts roll the dough into equal-sized 24 balls, divide each ball in halves. Pinch the two halves together to form a heart shape, continue with remaining dough to form 24
hearts.









Bake at 350 for about 8 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet, transfer to cooling rack.  Allow cookies to cool completely before sandwiching them.  To assemble; sandwich the two bottom sides together with the filling making 12 whoopie pies. 

















For The Whoopie Filling adapted Wilton
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jar marshmallow creme (about 7 oz)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pink food coloring  (I use AmeriColor )
1-2 teaspoons strawberry jello, dry mix (optional)  for flavor
 
In large bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar and salt to the butter; mix well. Add marshmallow creme and vanilla; blend well. Add food coloring and jello.


















Makes about 2 1/2 cups, of filling, enough to fill 12 whoopie pies.




















What I Did and or Think:
I followed the direction in making the cookies, be very careful not to make these too big they are very fragile. I bake the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. I only made halve the filling recipe and added a little strawberry jello to it for flavor. I made a Pink Icing; recipe below. Some of the cookies I didn't sandwiched, just drizzled with the icing.




Pink Icing
2 tablespoons milk
1 drop pink food color (I use AmeriColor)
1/4 tsp strawberry jello, dry mix (for flavor) optional
1/3 cup powdered sugar or enough to make it drizzle
Blend together well and drizzle over cookies.

 
























The taste: These are Deliciously Sweet; so when you make them, share them! :)

ENJOY! Come again....

Linked to
Sweet Treat Thursday Pink Link @ Something Swanky

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Fruit-Glazed Pork Chops: Tackling the Unknown

Fruit-Glazed Pork Chops


Hi everybody :)

Do you enjoy trying new things; or are your shy about experiencing the unknown? Me?... I guess I'm a little of both.  

Yesterday phone conversation with my daughter, got me to thinking...  

She's much more adapted to trying new things than she think she is.  She away at college, staying on her own, miles away from her family and friends, and experience the unknown  on a daily basis. Yet she think she shy away from trying new things,  go figure.  Alas... On my Very, very, small scale of tackling the unknown  and experiencing, I'm grilling in my Super Pot today. This is the first time I'm using it for that purpose. We're having Fruit-Glazed Pork Chops.  My love of dinner in a hurry and something different for tonight led me to this recipe.  I thought it would be the perfect recipe to try to test the pot grilling capabilities. 
 
Fruit-Glazed Pork Chops
adapted Taste of Home: Quick Cooking Annual Cookbook (2010)


















1/3 cup hickory smoke-flavored barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays Sweet & Spicy)
1/2 cup apricot or peach preserves (I used cherry preserves)
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 teaspoon prepared mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I used allspice)
6 bone-in pork loin chops (3/4 inch thick and 8 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a small bowl, combine the barbecue sauce, preserves, corn syrup, mustard and cloves; set aside.
(I added 2 tablespoons bourbon to this)



 




























Coat the grill rack with cooking spray before starting the grill. Sprinkle the pork chops with salt and pepper. 

















Grill  the pork chops, covered, over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees, basting frequently with the sauce mixture
Yield : 6 servings.










 
 








 












 












 
















What I Did and/or Think:
The changes I made to the recipe is in Italic stated above.  I think this is a great recipe  to change out the flavor of the preserves, so have fun. I didn't have apricot so I went with cherry, and to make it a little more interesting I added bourbon to the sauce :) I made extra sauce to serve with the chops also.


The Taste: I LOVE the taste of the pork chops, tender and juicy with a hint of spicy sweetness. This is going in the REPEAT file for sure!


And as for tackling the unknown... I concluded, whatever you're tackling or taking on, be it great or small, accomplishing your goal in the end is what really counts :)



 













ENJOY! Come again...

Linked to:

Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage 
Hookin' Up # 121 @ House of Hepworths 
Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma 
Tastetastic Thursday @ A Little Nosh
 Sweet Treat Thursday @ Something Swanky
 Foodie Fridays @ Designs By Gollum
 I'm Lovin' It Fridays @ Tidy Mom 
Food-Tastic Fridays @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Foodie Friday @ Simple Living 
  @ 21st Century Housewife

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Easy Chili in a Tortilla Bowl

Easy Chili in a Tortilla Cup


Hi everybody :)

One of my go-to favorite recipe for a cool Fall day is chili. I loved the way my mom would make it, not too hot or spicy, kind of sweet.  I make some adjustments with a couple recipes to try to make it like hers and I think this version is the closest.


Easy Chili
3 lbs. ground chuck or beef
1 large onion, diced
4 cans (16 ounces)  Red Kidney beans, rinsed and drained          
2 cans diced (14.5 ounces) tomatoes
1 can  (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Hot Sauce (add more if desired)
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
1  tablespoon molasses
1 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch  
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a large saucepan  cook the beef over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Add onions and cook until onion translucent. Mix water and cornstarch together and add along with the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

















To make this chili extra special, I decide to serve it up in tortilla bowls.

Tortilla Bowls adapted Tortillas to the Rescue

4 medium (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Brush the tortillas on both sides with the vegetable oil and sprinkle with salt. Fit a tortilla into an ovenproof, flat-bottomed bowl, making sure to mold the tortilla to the bottom of the bowl so that it will have a flat base, and crimping the tortilla to fit the sides. (Use ramekins, ovenproof bowls, or individual cake pans to make bowls in a size you like.)




 















Bake the tortilla in the bowl until it holds its shape on its own, about 10 minutes. Remove from the bowl and place the tortilla bowl directly on the oven rack or a baking sheet, and bake until crisp and just beginning to turn golden, 3 to 5 minutes longer.

Remove from the oven and let cool before filling. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.


What I Did and/or Think:
I prepared the chili as stated, LOVE the recipe. To make it hotter add more hot sauce or a jalapeno pepper diced and seeded. Served along with shredded cheese, sour cream, and green onions make a delicious quick meal for a dinner solution.

With the bowls, I proceeded as directed.It was kind of tricky get the shape but eventually I got it :)

















Enough great way I love this chili is on top of a baked potato

















ENJOY! Come again.... 

Linked to 
Tasty Tuesday (Food Only) @ Naptime Creation
Tuesday-Talent-Show:# 58  Chef In Training 
Bizzy Bake Recipe Box #19
Made By Me Wednesdays # 53 @ JAQS Studio
Show and Share Wednesday # 8 Semi-Homemade Mom
Beef Blog Hop @ Katherine Martinelli  
Tumbleweed Contessa: Superbowl and Chili Party 

Followers