Caramel Popcorn

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs and they were packaged so beautifully that I decided to put together care packages for friends. In my care packages I had caramel popcorn, fall cookies, and pumpkin bread. They all raved about the popcorn and the other baked goodies.

If there is a fall treat that should be a staple in your house it is definitely this caramel popcorn. I've always been a fan of Crunch and Munch but this is so much better. There's nothing like fresh popcorn and homemade caramel to completely shatter the store bought crap.

Ingredients:

Popcorn (preferred method)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

½ cup light corn syrup

2 cups packed light brown sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Pop popcorn using whatever method you prefer. I was short on time so I just used microwave popcorn. Place the popped popcorn in two large bowls. There needs to be plenty of room to toss the popcorn in the caramel. It's also helpful to have an extra pair of hands.

Preheat the oven to 250° F.

For the caramel, melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan set over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, mix in the corn syrup, brown sugar and salt. Increase the heat to medium-high and let it come to a boil while stirring frequently. Once the mixture reaches a boil, let it continue to boil for 5 minutes without stirring. Remove the mixture from the heat, stir in the baking soda and vanilla extract. The caramel will become very bubbly.

Pour the caramel sauce over the popcorn in the bowls and toss to coat thoroughly. Spray two large baking sheets with cooking spray and spread the popcorn evenly onto the baking sheets. Bake for about 50 minutes, removing from the oven to toss/stir every 10 minutes. After 40 minutes, test a cooled piece of popcorn. If it is not completely crispy, bake for 10 minutes more. The best way to tell if it's too mushy is when you eat it, it will stick to your teeth something awful. If it's sticking to your teeth, continue baking. Once it's crisp, remove the baking sheets to a wire rack and allow popcorn to cool completely before serving or packaging.

Adapted from: Annie's Eats as seen on Christie's Corner

Fall Cookies

I was on my way to the grocery store today and while I was stopped at a light I glanced over and noticed there was a tree with leaves that were starting to change. I felt a tinge of sadness that Summer is ending and the weather is just beginning to get ever so slightly cooler but I also felt a bit excited that the trees are going to start having leaves in beautiful shades of red and orange. This inspired me to take a stab at decorating some cookies.

I bought these fall leaf and acorn cookies about a month ago while I was impulse shopping at Michael's. I wasn't planning to use them until October but when you get inspired you have to roll with it right. I was little nervous since this is my first time working with royal icing. I'm a food blog junky so I've seen tons of decorated cookies that I just love and have always been too intimidated to try this myself. After doing a lot of research on how to decorate using royal icing, I finally bit the bullet and went for it. I think these are just ok for a first timer. I just need to practice, practice, practice so that maybe I can send cookies to friends at Christmas.

Now lets get down to the important stuff, the taste. I really liked this recipe. When you bite into it's soft and chewy which is one of the main things I look for in a cookie. I'm definitely more of a soft chewy girl than a crisp crunchy girl. After noticing the texture, I immediately took note of the nice lemon flavor from the zest and then you're hit at the end with this awesome almond flavor that really finishes it beautifully. Overall, I give this recipe two big beefy fingered thumbs up.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Flour, all-purpose

1 tsp Baking powder

1 egg

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 sticks Butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp Salt

1 cup Sugar

1/4 tsp Lemon zest

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. Lightly beat the egg with the vanilla and almond extracts.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and salt on medium until smooth. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the sugar then add the lemon zest. Beat on medium until fluffy. With the mixer running, pour in the egg mixture and continue beating until combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and mix until incorporated.

Lightly knead the dough to form a ball and press into a disk. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat and preheat the over to 375 degrees. If you chilled your dough overnight, it will need to sit at room temperature for about half an hour to slightly soften. On a very lightly floured sheet of wax paper (I used my pastry mat) with a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough, roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thick. Cut dough with floured cookie cutters. Reroll the scraps and use that too. Thou shall not waste cookie dough is the 11th commandment.

Bake the cookies for 5-9 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies, until they no longer look wet on top. Try not to let the bottoms brown, except for a little around the edges. Let the cookies rest for a couple of minutes before placing them on the cooling racks. If you move them too fast they will break. Trust me on this one.

Decorate as desired. I used royal icing to decorate these cookies.

Royal icing:

4 cups Powdered Sugar

2 tbsp Meringue Powder

5 tbsp Water

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until the sheen has disappeared and it looks a bit dull. Transfer to airtight containers. This is the consistency you will need to outline your cookies. Mix in a bit of coloring gel to the icing and put what you need into piping bags. Pipe the outline on each cookie and let the icing set. I left mine for about an hour.

Now add water to the icing left in the bowl, a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the consistency of syrup. Now flood the cookies using a squeeze bottle and a toothpick to get it to the edges.

Adapted from: The Way the Cookie Crumbles (cookies); Annie's Eats (royal icing)

Spicy Shrimp Pasta

I've been making this dish for a while now and it has never let me down. I happened upon this recipe many years ago in a Southern Living Cookbook at my mother's house. It sounded so good that the book jumped in my car and insisted on going home with me, unbeknownst to my mother of course. The first time I made it was for my roommates at the time and they loved it. I've since made for countless others and of course my husband. It's always delicious and I can vary the spicyness (is that a word?) depending on who I'm making it for. And how can you go wrong with pasta and shrimp. I've never tried it with other seafood but I would love to make it one day with scallops. It's also great with whole wheat pasta. I'm typically not a fan of whole wheat pasta because of the consistency and I swear it has an odd taste but this recipes has such powerful flavors that even I can't taste whole wheatiness of whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients:
8 oz Fettuccine
1 lb Fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp butter
1/4 C Chopped green onions
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1/2 C Whipping cream
1/4 C Dry white wine
1/3 C Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes (I use much less)
1/3 C Fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the package or if you're feeling really courageous cook fresh pasta.

Peel and devein shrimp and set aside

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the green onions and garlic. Saute until tender and fragrant. Stir in the cajun seasoning and cook stirring occasionally for 1 minute.

Stir in the shrimp and whipping cream. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the wine and simmer for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the pasta, Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Toss gently until thoroughly heated. Now sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.



Adapted from: Southern Living Cookbook

Gingery Glazed Asian Ribs

I stumbled upon this recipe almost a year ago but for some reason I waited until the summer to try it. Call me odd but I think ribs are a summer food so I rarely cook them in the winter. This certainly a recipe for year round cooking since you don't need to grill them. Not to mention these ribs are tender and tasty and melt in you mouth. I'm starting to think I must love all things ginger because I'm finding I tend to gravitate towards recipes with fresh ginger.

As you can tell from the picture, this is a very saucey rib. I'm not a big fan of ribs with rub and no sauce. There's something about licking your fingers and having sauce on your chin that just melts my butter. I feel the same way about BBQ chicken. What can I say...I'm a sauce girl.

Ingredients:

3 pounds Baby back ribs (about 2 racks)

Black pepper

1/2 cup Hoisin Sauce

1/4 cup Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Ginger, grated

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Sushi Rice

Kosher Salt

2 Scallions, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic; spoon half of the glaze over the ribs. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake until the ribs are tender, 40 to 45 minutes.
After the ribs have been cooking for 20 minutes, combine the rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes then fluff with a fork before serving.

Heat the broiler. Spoon off and discard all but 1/2 cup of the rib pan drippings. Cut the racks of ribs into individual ribs, return to the roasting pan, and brush with the remaining glaze. Broil until just beginning to char, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve the ribs over the rice, drizzle with any cooking juices, and sprinkle with the scallions. Enjoy!

Smacznego!

Adapted from: Real Simple

Overnight French Toast

Ingredients:

French Toast:

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices

6 eggs

1 1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Sugar

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 tsp Salt

Powdered sugar

Maple Syrup:

2 cups Maple syrup

1 cup Chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

French Toast:

Spread the butter over the bottom of large baking pan. Place the bread in the pan in a single layer. Beat the eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread and turn each slice to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning or evening if you like breakfast for dinner, Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake the french bread mixture for 10 minutes. Turn the bread over and continue baking until just golden, about 4 minutes longer. Now you can place a slice or two on a plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar or you can eat it directly out of the dish. This is called the Shanda method. Either way make sure you serve it immediately with the Maple-Walnut Syrup and if you're my friend Di you will literally lick your plate clean.

¡Buen apetito!

Adapted from: Epicurious

Honey Yeast Rolls

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp Instant yeast

1 cup Warm water (105-115 degrees)

1/4 cup Honey

3 tbsp Canola oil

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

4 cups Bread flour

Vegetable cooking spray

2 tbsp Butter, melted

2 tbsp Honey

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the yeast and warm water. Add the honey, oil, salt, and egg and mix well. Add 3 cups of flour and mix until the dough comes together in a sticky mass. Switch to the dough hook and with the mixer on low speed, incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Continue kneading on low speed for about 8 minute, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in the warm area until doubled in bulk about 2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 30 seconds. Cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Punch the dough down and divide into 10-12 equal size pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place into a round, lightly greased 9-inch round baking dish, spacing equally. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the melted butter and honey, and brush the tops of the rolls with the mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the rolls are baked through. Let them cool slightly before serving if you can wait that long. Enjoy!

L-ikla t-tajba

Adapted from: Annie's Eats

Hot Crab Dip

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup Mayonnaise

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

1/2 tsp Ground mustard

1 pound Lump crab meat

1/4 cup Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together cream, mayo, old bay and ground mustard in a medium bowl. Add crab meat and toss. Make sure you toss gently so as not to break apart the beautiful lump meat.

Spread the mixture in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle a little old bay on top but be careful not to add too much as the dip will become very salty.

Smaaklike ete! Lekker eet!

Adapted from: Old Bay

Heath Bar Cookies

I made these cookies for my friend Liz and her husband and baby when they moved to a nearby town. We have been very good friends for many years but for the last 3 years she lived over an hour away. When she told me they were moving closer and would now be only 15 minutes away, I did a little happy dance then started to plan what I was going to put in their welcome to Maryland basket.

I was hoping to have a Maryland themed basket with all types of crab do-dads but when I ran across this recipe I knew these would be perfect. I first tried Heath Bar cookies several years ago at a local bakery and they were so rich and yummy that I was a little worried that these wouldn't live up to that. Boy was I wrong! These cookies are just the right balance of buttery toffee goodness.

My friend and her husband still rave about these cookies so I figured these were a must for the blog. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking soda
1 cup Butter, softened
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cups Toffee bites



Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside. In a stand mixer cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Slowly mix the flour into the butter mixture until well combined. Now fold in the toffee bites. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.

Spoon about 2 tablespoon of cookie dough into the palm of your hand and gently form a ball. Place each ball on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, checking after 8 minutes for browned edges. Once the edges start to brown remove them from the oven and allow to rest for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet. Then allow them to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Verði þér að góðu

Adapted from: The Novice Chef

Ginger Steak Salad

I think I've said before that my husband is an extremely picky eater so when I saw this recipe I was a little nervous about making it. Then I remembered how much he likes the salad dressing at a local Japanese restaurant which also has a ginger base. I figure if he likes that, he may like this too and what really sealed the deal is that I already had all of the ingredients. Score!

I was so surprised when my husband ate this he fell in love with the dressing. He has even asked me to make this dressing to have in the fridge for whenever we have salad. Double score! I'm finally getting him to eat salad without his old stand by Italian dressing.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Ingredients:
Marinade:

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Sherry
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 whole Rib-eye steak
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Salad Dressing:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp lime juice
2-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced (optional)

Salad:
2 green onions, sliced
8 ounces salad green

Directions:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a ziploc bag and place steak in the bag. Marinate for at least 30 minutes. I usually put it in the fridge before I leave for work so it's nice and tasty when I get home.

Combine the salad dressing ingredients and green onions. Whisk it to within an inch of its life.

When the steak has finished marinating, heat a skillet until it's nice and hot. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the steak about 1 1/2-2 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from the skillet and allow to rest and cool slightly.

Toss the salad greens with 3/4 of the dressing. Thinly slice the steak and place on top of the salad greens. Pour the remaining dressing over the top and enjoy.

Καλή όρεξη! (Kalí óreksi!)

Adapted from: The Pioneer Woman

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

I've been a long time fan of the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. I love watching her show because she makes everything look so elegant and easy but I guess that's what The Food Network is for. So when I was spending a Saturday morning shopping at Target I passed by the book section and who did I see but Ina smiling at me. She was looking at me as if she were calling my name and who can resist Ina and her good olive oil. Obviously, I'm not a trained Chef so I don't know what the hell good olive oil is so clearly I needed Ina to show me the way. With Ina in hand, I headed for the checkout. About 15 minutes later I was at home flipping through the cookbook.

Now I think is the appropriate time for an honest review of the Barefoot Contessa's cookbook Back To Basics. I'm a very visual person and I typically pick recipes by the picture so Back To Basics was right up my alley. Each recipe has a picture of the finished product so this immediately made me want to cook everything is the cookbook. The majority of the recipes seem to be fairly straight forward and easy to follow but have a boatload of ingredients. Her Beef Stew has 17 ingredients. That must be one fabulous Beef Stew.

I took the lazy way out and picked a recipe with only 9 ingredients. Oh, and it looked great. Once I started putting it together to marinate, everything was fragrant I wanted to eat the raw chicken. Given the risk of salmonella, I decided to just let it marinate and eat it after it's cooked. I'm so glad I waited until it's cooked because holy mackerel it was good. I always figured Ina was a good chef but this just confirmed it.

Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) chicken, flatted
Kosher salt
1/3 Cup olive oil
2 tsp grated lemon zest (approximately 2 lemons)
1/3 Cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp minced garlic (approximately 3 cloves)
1 Tbsp rosemary, fresh and minced
ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved



Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon of salt on each side.

Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 1 teaspoon of pepper in a glass dish that is big enough to hold the flatten chicken. Add the chicken and mix to coat. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Heat up your grill. I used an indoor grill because I was too lazy to prepare the charcoal grill. Place the chicken on the grill, skin side up and weight it down with the dish you used to marinate the chicken. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the underside is golden brown. Turn the chicken skin side down and weight it down with the same dish. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Place the cut lemons of the grill, cut side down for 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the grill and place on a cutting board and cover with foil. Allow to rest for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into quarters, sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve with the cut lemons. Enjoy!

잘 먹겠습니다 (jal meokkesseumnida)

Adapted from: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins

I've had this recipe in my folder for about 6 months and I finally got around to making it. I can't believe I waited that long to try these because they were really good. They were very moist and and had an awesome crumble. Even my picky husband gave them two thumbs up! I was initally thrown by the amount of poppy seeds for this recipe and was worried how that was going to effect the taste and the lemony (is that a word) flavor. Much to my surprise it wasn't a poppy seed overload. In fact it was a perfect amount. I love the contrasting color of the poppy seed against the yellow of the lemon batter. It bakes into this yummy goodness that in my world is a perfectly healthy muffin for a morning or midday treat. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

2/3 Cup lemon sugar or granulated sugar

2 large eggs, separated

1 1/3 Cup flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

zest of 2 lemons

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 Cup buttermilk

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 Tbsp. raw sugar

Directions:

Lemon Sugar:

Zest 3 large lemon being careful not to zest the bitter white pith. Place the lemon zest in a food processor and add 1/2 cup sugar. Pulse until the zest is incorporated. Add another 1/2 cup and continue to pulse until the zest is finely ground. This can stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

Muffins:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 muffin tins with beautiful liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, and lemon sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time making sure to beat well after each addition.

In another bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and salt. Put the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in 2 additions alternating with the buttermilk, then the lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until just smooth.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks. Using a large spatula , gently fold the egg whites into the batter until blended.

Pour batter evenly into each liner about three-fourths full. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack.

b'tayavon בתיאבון

Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma

Carrot-Zucchini Muffins

I've had this recipe in my recipe binder for about a year but always found other things to make and it got pushed further and further back so when I saw carrots and zucchini at the farmer's market I immediately remembered this recipe. I can't believe I didn't make this sooner. OMG, these muffins were delish!



They were fairly easy to make but I think it would have been more time consuming if I didn't have a food processor to shred the carrots and zucchini. These muffins have a yummy brown sugar and cinnamon taste that compliments the zucchini beautifully. I took these to work and got rave reviews. I hope you enjoys these as much as my coworkers did.



Ingredients:
2/3 Cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2/3 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 Cup zucchini, finely shredded
1/2 Cup carrots, finely shredded
1/2Cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line 2 muffin tins with liners.

Shred zucchini and carrots. I used my food processor to make the job fast and easy.

In a stand mixer bowl, beat the oil with eggs, sugars (white and brown) and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and add to the wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Buon appetito!

Adapted from: Southern Food

Black-Bottom Cupcakes

I saw these cupcakes and I couldn't resist. I actually can't resist anything chocolate. I've had these many times from Starbucks and always loved every bite so I was a little hesitant about making these. I was afraid mine would pale in comparison. I'm happy to tell you that Starbucks better watch out because this recipe for Black-Bottom cupcakes is sure to give them a run for their money.


Ingredients:

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 Cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsly chopped

Cupcake:
1 1/2 Cups flour
1 Cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
5 Tbsp natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Cup water
1/3 Cup vegetable oil
1Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Filling:
Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and egg together until smooth. Stir in the chopped chocolate.

Cupcake:
Preheat the over to 350 degrees and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, sift together flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and fill the hole with the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. DO NOT OVER MIX OR YOUR CUPCAKE WILL BE TOUGH. Now pour the batter evenly into the liners.

Bake for about 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

T'boftë mire!


Adapted from: The Great Book of Chocolate

Hot Wings

Every Friday evening I sit down with my cookbooks, recipe binder and notepad to make my menu and grocery list for the following week. Last Friday I was at a loss for what to make for next Friday's dinner so I turned to Jason and asked him what he wanted. His usual answer to that question is steak and potatoes which is why I don't bother asking anymore but he threw me for a loop when he said he wanted wings. With a request like that how could I say no. After all, I do love a good wing. Most of the time when we want wings we'll go to a local bar when it's $.20 wing night but I just knew I could make a wing to rival $.20 wing night. I consulted my favorite blogs and found this on PW's website.

This recipe is very easy and very tasty. You can also substitute the Franks Hot Sauce for any flavor wing sauce. You can always check out the sauces at Cluck-U which tend to be good especially if you're making wings for some who like it extremely hot and others who like them mild. The Frank's Hot Sauce tends to be somewhat mild with just a little tingle on the lips at the end.

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wingettes or drummettes

Canola oil or peanut oil

2 sticks butter

1 bottles Frank's Red Hot Sauce (12 ounces)

Tabasco sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pat dry the wings with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.

In a deep skillet or a deep fryer, if you have one, pour about 1 1/2 inches of oil or to the minimum fill line in the fryer. Heat the oil until it reaches about 360 degrees. When the oil reaches 360, place the wings in the oil. Use a pair of tongs to move them around to prevent from sticking to the bottom.

While the chicken is frying, melt the butter in a saucepan and add the entire bottle of Franks Hot Sauce. Stir well until combined. Add Tabasco sauce to taste.

When the chicken is done, place them on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Place a few wings in the saucepan at a time stirring to coat the entire wing. Repeat until all of the chicken has been coated with yummy goodness.

Serve with blue cheese or ranch dip.

食飯 (sihk faahn)

Adapted from: Pioneer Woman

Shrimp Scampi

I know I know you're probably saying Shanda everyone has a shrimp scampi recipe so I'll just stick to my usual. But I'll tell you one thing, if you pass on this buttery lip smacking recipe you'll kick yourself.

Most of you know that I have a soft spot in my heart for unusual and fun cookbooks so when I found a Sopranos cookbook I couldn't resist buying it. Who knows Italian dishes better than the Sopranos? I know they're a fictional cable TV family but their meals always looked so good that I would get hungry just watching the show. When I got this cookbook, I flipped through and found a ton of recipes I wanted to try. This is the first one I cooked and I found it so easy that it had to become one of my fast weeknight go-to meals. This is certainly a crowd pleaser in my house and it's sure to be one in yours. And by crowd pleaser I really mean my husband. If you love buttery savory dishes you'll love this one just as much as we do. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
16 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
Pinch of salt
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Pasta

Directions:

Put water on to boil for the pasta. I prefer to use angel hair pasta but feel free to use whatever you like.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil on medium heat. When the foam starts to settle, stir in the garlic. Stir the garlic frequently until it's a light golden color. Be careful not to let the garlic brown or burn.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the yummy shrimp and salt to taste. Cook the shrimp 2-3 minutes or until they are just pink. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice and cook for an additional minute.

Add the cooked pasta to the shrimp and toss to cook pasta with the garlic-butter sauce.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve to a very hungry husband.

(bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā') بالهناء والشفاء / بالهنا والشفا

Adapted from: The Sopranos Family Cookbook

Light Chicken Parmesan

Jason and I have been trying to eat healthier foods but I've found that a lot of foods that are healthy are no fun to eat. I decided to go to the bookstore on a mission to find a cookbook with decent healthy recipes. I found The Best Light Recipes cookbook which is a Cooks Illustrated cookbook. I already have The New Best Recipes cookbook and absolutely love it and use it all the time so why not get one with light recipes.

This Chicken Parm recipe is the first recipe I tried from this book and it was so delicious. Even my extremely picky husband loved it. When I put dinner on the table I didn't tell him that it was a light recipe because I just knew he wasn't going to like it if he knew it wsa healthy. After he tasted it, he gave it two thumbs up so I felt safe to tell him it was a low fat dish. Since making it the first time he has requested it several other times. It's a winner in my house and I hope it is in yours too.

Ingredients:

Chicken Parmesan:

1 1/2 Cups panko

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 Cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 Cup flour

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Salt and ground pepper

3 large eggs whites

1 Tbsp water

vegetable oil spray

3 large chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, and sliced into cutlets

1 recipe Simple Tomato Sauce (or 2 Cups of plain jar tomato sauce)

3 ounces mozzarella, low-fat

1 Tbsp basil, minced

Simple Tomato Sauce:

1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp olive oil

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp basil, minced

Salt and pepper

Direction:

Simple Tomato Sauce:

Pulse the tomatoes and the juice in a food processor until smooth and set aside. Cook the garlic, tomato paste, oil and pepper flakes in a mediumish saucepan over medium heat until the paste begins to brown. Stir in the pureed tomatoes and cook until the sauce has thickened and measures approximately 2 cups. This should take about 20-25 minutes. Take the sauce off the heat and stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.

Chicken Parmesan:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and make sure oven rack is in the middle position. Combine the bread crumbs and oil in a skillet and toast over medium heat until nice and golden. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow dish and allow to cool. Once cool stir in parmesan cheese.

In another shallow dish, combine the flour, garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. In yet another dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top and spray with vegetable spray. Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge the cutlets in the flour, then dip in the egg whites and lastly coat with the toasted bread crumbs. Press the bread crumbs on to make sure they stick. Lay each cutlet on the wire rack and spray the tops with vegetable spray.

Bake about 15 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and firm to the touch.

Remove the chicken from the oven and spoon 2 tablespoons of sauce onto the center of each cutlet. Top with 2 tablespoons of mozzarella. Put the chicken back in the oven to melt the cheese, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and serve to a hungry family. Enjoy!

Smakelijk eten! Eet Smakelijk!

Adapted from: The Best Light Recipe

Rack Of Lamb With Garlic and Herbs

I've only had lamb a hand full of times and each of those has been in a curry sauce so when I ran across this recipe I figured I'd give it the 'ol college try. I channeled my inner Julia and got to work. I found this recipe so easy to make and absolutely delicious. Even my very picky husband loved it. It will definitely become a go to recipe for dinner parties. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For Lamb:
2 (8-rib) frenched racks of lamb, trimmed of most of it's fat
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. vegetable oil

Herb Coating:
3-4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 Cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 Tbsp. finely chopped thyme
2 tsp. finely chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil

Direction:

To Brown Lamb:
Heat a heavy skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes. During those 2 minutes, pat the lamb dry and rub with salt and pepper. Add the oil to the hot skillet. Now add the lamb and brown on all sides. I had to do this in 2 batches which took 10-12 minutes per rack.

Coat and Roast the Lamb:
Put the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, and oil. Rub the meat with the herb mixture. You'll have to press it a bit for it to stick. Place the lamb in a roasting pan fitted with a roasting rack. Roast for 15 minutes, then cover lamb loosely with foil and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally into the center of the meat reads 120 degrees. Mine was cover with the foil for about 12 minutes.

Let the lamb stand, covered, for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Thokoleza ukudla!

Adapted from: Epicurious

S'mores Cupcakes

All I have to say is holy crap these were gooood! I originally saw a recipe for this in Martha Stewart's book but then I found and even better version on one of my favorite blogs. I put the recipe in my folder and forgot about it for weeks and while I was planning my weekly menu, I came across this delicious cupcake. I hope you enjoy them as much as my husband and coworkers did.

Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust:
1 1/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 Cup Sugar
51/3Tbsp butter, melted
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Cupcake:
2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp sugar
1 3/4 Cups flour
3/4 Cups plus 1Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 Cup milk
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Cup boiling water

Frosting:
8 egg whites, at room temp.
2 Cups sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 cupcake pans with the prettiest liners you have. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs (I use the ready made graham cracker crumbs), sugar and melted butter. Mix it all together and drop a spoonful into the bottom of each cupcake liner and press down with all your might. I used the bottom of my jar of Meat Magic seasoning. After all you have to make the best of what you've got. You may want to dip the bottom in sugar to prevent the graham crackers from sticking to the bottom of the jar. Now bake each pan for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven but maintain the temperature.

Now it's time to make the cake batter. Sift together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low just to combine. In another mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract and whisk together. Now add this to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium for about 2 minutes. Add the boiling water and stir to combine. The batter will be very thin but don't worry the cupcakes will be perfect. Trust me!

Divide the batter evenly into each cupcake liner. I used about 2 tablespoons per liner. Bake each pan 18-20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Don't forget to rotate the pans half through the baking. Let them cool about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

We can't forget the frosting. To make the frosting combine egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter in a double boiler. Heat and whisk constantly until a instant-read thermometer reads 160 degrees. Now whisk, off the heat and in a stand mixer, on low and increasing to medium-high until stiff, glossy, yummy peaks form. Mix in the vanilla until it's well combined. Frost cool cupcakes any way you like.

Bon Appetit!

Adapted from: Annie's Eats