Recipe - Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs

I'm drooling a little as I type this blog, just looking at the picture of these Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs.  I LOVE Reece's Peanut Butter Cups and have tried several different copycat recipes, but I've never found anything out there that was close to the real thing.  I think I've found it.  This recipe is OUT OF THIS WORLD!!  I definitely think you could cut the recipe in half.  I made the full batch and it made approx. 37 rather large Peanut Butter eggs.  You can make them in any shape you want, but for some reason, the egg shape always tastes better to me.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
(Courtesy of Whimsical Princess Recipes)

(Full Batch)

4 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter (I used Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter....Like that was going to help!)
1/4 Cup Butter or Margarine
3 Tablespoons Milk
3 1/2 Cups Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1 Tablespoon Shortening

Directions:
Mix the powdered sugar, peanut butter and butter together with a mixer.  Add the milk, one tablespoon at a time.  The mixture will look crumbly, but will stick together when you smash it all together.  It's really easy to work with at this point.  Take a small handful of mixture and press together and form an egg shape.  Place formed egg on wax paper and place in freezer for 1 hour.
Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute at a time, until completely melted.  Once melted, dip each egg in chocolate, covering entirely.  Place dipped egg back on wax paper and put in frig to firm up.
That's it!  You're done.  Nothing to it.  Now, share a few with some friends.  They will be forever grateful.


CAUTION:  These are very rich and VERY dangerous!!!  Don't eat entire batch in one sitting.  If you're depressed and feel like doing some binge eating, this is NOT the recipe.  Far too many calories will be consumed and the regret will last a life time. Otherwise, enjoy!!!

Recipe - Balsamic Caprese Panini

Balsamic Caprese Panini

I love a Caprese Salad.  Especially when you get some really good Mozzarella and some home grown tomatoes and basil!  YUM!  So, when I came across this recipe for a Caprese Panini, I knew it was going to be good.....I just didn't know how good it was going to be.  This Panini is light and refreshing, for a sandwich, without giving up taste and flavor.  I think it has become one of my all time favorites!

Balsamic Caprese Panini


French Bread
2 Medium Tomatoes, Sliced
1 Package of Fresh Mozzarella, Sliced
Fresh Basil Leaves
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Cut French Bread to desired size. Coat one or both sides of bread with balsamic vinegar.  Top with a light coat of Olive Oil.  Next Layer on your basil leaves, sliced tomatoes and mozzarella.  Repeat with basil, tomatoes and mozzarella.  Cook in Panini maker until bread is crisp and mozzarella has slightly started to melt.

HINT:  Don't buy the cheap Mozzarella.  Buy the freshest Mozzarella you can find.  It really does make all the taste difference in the world.  

Recipe - Oven Baked Onion Rings w/Spicy Dipping Sauce

Oven Baked Onion Rings and Dipping Sauce

So, it's a Friday night and I felt like having something a little bad.  I wanted something that tasted good, but not something I normally have.  For some reason onion rings sounded perfect and I found this great oven-baked recipe.  You never know what you're going to get, when trying something new out, but this turned out amazing!!!  The onions turn out crispy, not soggy and the coating is spectacular!  Definitely will make these again, but just can't do it too often.  It's nice for a special treat.


Recipe - Oven Baked Onion Rings w/Spicy Dipping Sauce

Courtesy of Annie's Eats

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

Ingredients:
½ cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 large egg, at room temperature
½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
30 saltine crackers
4 cups kettle-cooked potato chips
2 large yellow onions, sliced into 24 rings (½-inch thick rounds)
6 tbsp. vegetable oil

Directions: 
Adjust oven racks to lower- and upper-middle positions.  Preheat the oven to 450˚ F.  Place ¼ cup of the flour in a shallow baking dish.  Beat the egg and buttermilk together in a bowl.  Whisk the remaining flour, cayenne, salt and pepper into the buttermilk mixture.  Combine the saltines and potato chips together in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Place half of the crumb mixture in a second shallow baking dish; reserve the other half.

Working one at a time, dredge each onion ring in flour, shaking off the excess.  Dip the onion rings in the buttermilk mixture, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl, and then dredging in the crumb coating, turning to coat evenly.  When the crumb mixture is low, add the reserved crumb mixture to the dish for dredging the remaining onion rings.  Transfer the coated rings to a large plate or platter.

Pour 3 tablespoons of the oil onto each of 2 rimmed baking sheets.  Place the baking sheets in the oven and heat just until smoking, about 8 minutes.  Tilt the heated sheets to coat evenly with the oil.  Lay the onion rings out in a single layer on the oiled baking sheets.  Bake, flipping the onion rings and rotating the pans halfway through baking, until golden brown on both sides, about 15 minutes total.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined rack briefly before serving.

Recipe - Greek Frappe

Ora Gia Kafe!!  (Time for Coffee!!)

Greek Nescafe Frappe

When visiting Greece, there were no Starbucks on the Island of Santorini, to my dismay.  I was a little unsure if I was even going to survive the trip, without my daily Non-Fat White Mocha, but I discovered something amazing.  Nescafe' Frappes or Greek Frappes.  Turns out, these little iced wonders are so popular in Greece, that many homes have their own soda fountain type of drink mixers in order to make their lives easier.  I fell in love immediately with this frothy version of an iced coffee.  It wasn't until a while ago, did I figure out the secret of making the perfect Frappe.  Here's how it's done:

Greek Frappe

Nescafe' Instant Coffee (Classico in the US)
Ice Water
Evaporated Milk (or your regular milk, but may be omitted entirely)
Sugar (Optional)
Ice
Cocktail Shaker or some sort of drink shaker/mixer
Drinking Straw

Take your cocktail shaker and put in 2 Tablespoons of Nescafe Instant Coffee (the best is Nescafe Frappe, but it's not readily available here in the U.S, except thru Amazon or parthenonfoods.com).  Next add 4 tablespoons of ice cold water, and 2 teaspoons of sugar (depending on how you like your coffee, more for sweet or you can omit this entirely).  Now, put the lid on the shaker (don't forget this step or you're going to have a BIG mess!!) and shake the shaker for 30 seconds.  This will create a thick foam inside.  Now, take your glass and put 4 or 5 ice cubes in it.  Pour contents of shaker over ice, slowly add small amount of milk (if desired) and fill the rest with ice water.  (It's important to add a straw, because this drink requires stirring, as you drink.)  You should now have a tall, frothy glass of Greek Frappe.  Play around with the recipe, until you find your correct Frappe goodness.  It takes time and practice to make the perfect Frappe.  OPA!!

Recipe - Strawberry Daiquiri Whipped Buttercream

I had a request for a Strawberry Daiquiri cake, for a 15 year old.  Since I won't put alcohol in a child's cake, I wanted to do something that taste like a Strawberry Daiquiri, only on the virgin side.  The cake part was easy enough, but coming up with a filling was another thing.  I decided to try doing a Strawberry Daiquiri Buttercream, with a twist.  It came out really light and fluffy, but with that distinctive Strawberry-Lime flavor.  I hope I get all the ingredients right, as I was just sort of madly pouring and mixing, like I was some sort of chemist.

Strawberry Daiquiri Whipped Buttercream

1 1/2 Cups Shortening
1 Cup Butter
8 Cups Powdered Sugar, Sifted
Pinch of Popcorn Salt
2 Tablespoons Lime Curd
2-3 oz Non-Alcoholic Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri Mix (Thawed out)
2-3 oz Heavy Cream
1/4 Teaspoon Rum Extract
Zest of 1 Lime
* Lime Oil (Optional, but for additional Lime flavoring)

Mix Shortening and Butter together until fluffy.  Mix in half of the powdered sugar and a pinch of popcorn salt, along with half of the Strawberry Daiquiri Mix and half of the Heavy Cream.  Blend on medium until well blended.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend completely until smooth.  Buttercream should be light and fluffy, but not stiff.  Too stiff, add more daiquiri mix.  Too soft, add more powdered sugar.  Happy Baking!

Recipe - Spicy Guacamole

Spicy Guacamole

If you love Guacamole, then you know there's nothing like making it fresh.  And since I love spicy, I had to break out the serrano peppers for this recipe.  If you're not a fan of that much "fire", then you can either omit the peppers or substitute them for something more mild....maybe a jalapeno, if you're daring.

Spicy Guacamole

4-6 medium size Avocados
2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 Red Onion, diced finely
4 Serranos, diced
1/2 bunch of Cilantro, chopped
2 Fresh Garlic Cloves, diced
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Juice of one Lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a bowl, mash avocados with the lemon and lime juice.  Add in diced tomatoes, onions, serranos, garlic and salt and pepper.  Mix well and season to taste.  (If too dry, add a little more lemon juice)  After all ingredients are incorporated, mix in your cilantro.  Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before eating.  Serve with warm tortilla chips.

Recipe - Whole Wheat Chocolate Banana Crepes

A quick and easy recipe that will leave you wanting more!

Crepe:

1/2 Cup Skim or Non-Fat Milk

1 Tbsp Butter, melted

1 egg

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

2 Tbsp Powdered Sugar

1/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (if you really don't want whole wheat, you can substitute with All-Purpose flour)

1-2 Fresh, Ripe Banana's, cut into slices

World Market (Cost Plus) Banana Chocolate spread

Directions:

In bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, egg and Vanilla.  Whisk together, incorporating Cocoa Powder until completely mixed in.  Add powdered sugar, then add whole wheat flour last.  Once completely mixed, allow mixture to rest for approx 10-12 minutes.

Heat omlette skillet over med. heat and spray with cooking spray or I can't believe it's not butter spray.  Pour a small pancake amount of batter into warm skillet, swirling around batter to cover entire skillet.  Cook about 2 minutes, then flip over and cook another 1 to 1.5 minutes or until done.  (Be sure that your heat is not too high, as you can burn the next crepe you make.)  Repeat this process until batter is gone.

Place finished crepe on a plate and spread some of the Banana Chocolate spread in the middle.  (If your chocolate banana spread is too thick, put a bit in a bowl and microwave it for a few seconds).  Put your sliced banana's in a row, down the middle of the crepe.  Fold the crepe closed and place, seam down on a new plate.  Top with a couple of banana slices, drizzled melted banana chocolate spread and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  It's just too good to resist................

Recipe - Chocolate Marscarpone Espresso Vodka Brownies

Adapted from ddougee @ Group Recipes

Brownie Mixture -
1 Cup Unsalted Butter
3oz Best-Quality semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped.  (Toll-House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips work just fine)
2 Shots Three Olives Triple Espresso Vodka (You can substitute 2 Shots of Espresso Coffee, if you don't want to use Vodka)
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder (Sifted)
1/2 Cup Mascarpone Cheese (Softened!!)
3 Large Eggs, at room temp.
2 tsp pure Vanilla (Vanilla extract will work too)
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1/4 Tsp Salt

Ganache Mixture -
6oz Best Quality Semi Sweet Chocolate, finally chopped (Again, Toll-House works here too)
6 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
1 Shot Three Olives Triple Espresso Vodka (Or 1 Shot of Espresso Coffee)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter an 8" square pyrex pan.

Place chopped chocolate in mixing bowl, set aside.
In a small glass bowl, melt butter in microwave (take out before it starts bubbling).  Pour butter over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds.  Stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Sift in sugar and cocoa powder.
With a wooden spoon, beat in mascarpone cheese, eggs, vanilla and Triple Espresso Vodka, mixing until smooth.  Gently fold in the flour and salt.  (Make sure that your marscarpone is very soft or it will leave lumps in your batter.  I put mine in the microwave for 10 seconds, stirred it and put it back in the microwave for another 10 seconds or so, until completely softened.)
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Place into preheated oven and bake for 45-50 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
Place pan on cooling rack and let brownies cool 10-15 minutes while you make ganache.
For Ganache:
Place chopped chocolate in mixing bowl.  In small saucepan, bring the heavy cream and butter to just below a boiling point, over meadium heat.  Pour this hot mixture over the chocolate with the Triple Espresso Vodka and let stand for 30 seconds, then stir until smooth.  Pour ganache over brownies while they are still warm and spread to cover evenly.
Let ganache firm up before cutting.  It's best to refrigerate them until quite firm.  Once the ganache is firm and the brownies have been cut, the do not need to be kept in the refrigerator.  Cover brownies with saran wrap or in air tight container, if leaving out, otherwise, devour immediately and then run out and join the closest gym.  :-)  Happy Baking!!

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Recipe - Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
Adapted from Jamie Oliver's Recipe

This is truly YUMMY!!!  If you like Mac & Cheese but don't want all of the calories and fat, this is a definite must!  I changed a few things and I think it's even healthier, without losing the taste.

Ingredients:
1 head of Cauliflower (cut into small florets)
5oz Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese, grated
3oz Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 small bunch of fresh Italian Parsley, chopped
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste
10oz Whole Grain Macaroni Elbows
1 Cup Fat Free Plain Yogurt (you can also use Plain Greek Yogurt or Reduced Fat Sour Cream)
1 Cup Reserved Salt Water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray casserole dish lightly with non-fat cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of salt water to a boil.  Remove outer greens from cauliflower and slice the ends off the stalk.  Cut head into small florets (be sure and cut these small).  When water is boiling add macaroni and chopped cauliflower to pot and cook approx. 7-9 minutes or until desired firmness.
Grade Cheddar cheese in bowl.  Add yogurt (or sour cream) to bowl and place the bowl over the boiling pot of water, allowing cheese and yogurt to melt together.  Carefully stir every so often, until cheese is completely melted.  Add all of the chopped parsley to the melted cheese and yogurt and season with a pinch of sea salt and pepper.  Remove bowl from pot, carefully using hot pads.  Drain macaroni and cauliflower, saving 1 cup of the salted water.  Pour macaroni and cauliflower into prepared casserole dish, followed by the melted cheese and yogurt.  Mix together until all macaroni is covered with sauce.  It should have a silky consistency, but if it's too thick for you, add a splash of your cooking water to thin it out a bit.  (Another option would be to add fat-free milk to mixture, to give it a creamy texture.)
Put into *oven for approx 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve and enjoy!

*Note:  When putting this in oven, it will tend to dry out quickly, so I'd suggest adding more of your reserved water or some extra milk if you like a creamier consistency to your Mac & Cheese

Recipe - Greek Souvlaki

Greek Souvlaki

I'm not sure where I got this recipe, but I've changed it a bit and it comes out tasting like the Greek Souvlaki we had in Oia.  And it smells wonderful as you're grilling it.  OPA!

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons of juice from lemons
1/2 Cup of Greek Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons Greek Oregano
4-6 Cloves Garlic, crushed (depending on how much you like garlic)
1-3 lbs of Lamb or Pork Tenderloin, cut into 1" cubes.  (you can also substitute chicken or beef, if you'd like)
2 medium onions, cut into 1" chunks (we usually leave this out, as I don't care for onions)
3 Green Bell Peppers, cut into 1" pieces
Skewers

In large glass bowl, mix together all the ingredients, minus the meat and bell peppers.  Once you have your mix, dump into a gallon size plastic bag, with your cut meat and bell peppers.  Make sure you let all of the air out of the bag and zip the bag up tight.  Let marinate for at least 6-8 hours.  We like to marinate for 24 hours, as it better melds the flavors together.
Preheat the grill for medium-high heat.  Thread pork, peppers and onions on skewers.  Lightly oil grate.  Cook for 10-20 minutes or to desired doneness.  Be sure to turn the skewers frequently for even cooking all around.  Serve with Tzatziki sauce for optimal flavor.