Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Peppermint Pillows

Posted in Christmas, Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Holiday Recipes, tagged , , , , on December 2, 2011| 2 Comments »

The other day I was wandering around the grocery store trying to find what I can’t at this moment remember, but I came across a beautiful bag of peppermint marshmallows.

I had to have them. No clue what I was going to do with them, but had to have them.

So I mulled over some ideas of what to make with the sweet little puffs of peppermint and came up with the following.

These are super easy and pretty yummy, if I say so myself!

Ingredients

If the cookie dough looks too thick, slice it into thinner pieces. I cut these into thirds.

While the cookies are baking, crush the dickens out of a candy cane or peppermint stick.

A great stress reliever...

When the cookies are almost done but still gooey in the middle, remove from oven and top with marshmallows.

While the marshmallows are turning into molten pools of bliss, warm the frosting in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, until thin and pourable.

Remove from oven when marshmallows start to melt.

Pour over frosting

Then sprinkle with crushed candy. I am hoping you aren't quite as messy as I am in the frosting stage of this production. If you are, line your pan with parchment to cut down on the mess and stress.

Peppermint Pillows

1 bag peppermint marshmallows

1 package chocolate cookie dough

1 can chocolate frosting

Candy cane or peppermint stick

Bake cookies according to package directions.(You could also make your own cookies from scratch. I cut the purchased cookie dough into thirds because I didn’t want the cookie to be too thick).

Just before they are done, while the insides are still gooey, place a marshmallow on top and return for oven until marshmallow starts to melt. While the marshmallows are turning molten, put frosting into a microwave safe pitcher and nuke for about 15 seconds or until thin. Do not over cook or it will taste scorched and believe me – that is a horridly nasty flavor.

It will only take a minute or two for the marshmallows to be ready to take out of the oven. When they are, pour on the frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy cane or peppermint. Let cool then roll your eyes in bliss as you take a bite. Enjoy!

She Who Loves Peppermint

Read Full Post »

Pumpkin Mousse Trifle

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Easy Recipes, Entertaining at Home, Holiday Recipes, Puddings and Custards, Recipes, tagged , , , on November 18, 2011| 4 Comments »

Warning: If you are on a diet or trying to avoid sweet, delicious goodness, you may want to skip right past today’s recipe post.

I made this Pumpkin Mousse Trifle for a potluck last week and it was quite tasty. Actually, it was more than quite tasty. It was downright want-to-lick-the-plate good.

And here is the best part – it was super fast and easy.

Anyone looking for a quick and simple no-bake recipe for Thanksgiving, try this. You’ll be glad you did!

Cast of Tasty Characters

You can use any kind of dense cake – pound cake works especially well. You could also use angel food cake or bundt cake. Regular cake tends to get a little crumbly. I ran out of time to bake gingerbread and resorted to a pound cake from the bakery.

Cut the cake into little bite-sized cubes. Try not to snitch too many. At this point I got in a bit of a hurry to get this finished and forgot to snap photos of mixing up the mousse. Mix the pudding mix with milk then add the cream cheese. If you have a 3-ounce package of cream cheese, it will work fine, otherwise cut an 8-ounce package in half. Mix it with the pudding then add pumpkin filling and spices. Blend well then let rest for about 5 minutes.

Whip up some whipped cream. I like to add about 1/4 cup of powdered sugar to sweeten it up a bit.

Start layering the trifle by adding in 1/3 of the cake cubes.

Layer in 1/3 of the mousse mixture. Top with a drizzle of the caramel and then whipped cream. Continue making layers of cake, mousse, caramel and whipped cream.

Finish with a layer of toffee sprinkles, if you so desire.  My taste buds greatly desired. You could also do another drizzle of caramel. Or a spinkle of cinnamon. Go wild and crazy if you wish.

Pumpkin Trifle Mousse

1 box of gingerbread mix, baked (or 2 cups of cake cubes)

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 small box instant cheesecake pudding

2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin pie filling

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup caramel sauce

2 cups whipped cream

Toffee bits for topping (optional)

If you are making your own gingerbread, bake and let cool. You need about 2 cups of cake cubes. I planned to use gingerbread, but I ran out of time to make it, so I grabbed a pound cake that looked quite yummy. It was.

Mix pudding with two cups of milk. Add in softened cream cheese and blend. Then mix in pumpkin and spices. Blend well then set aside for about five minutes. Whip up whipped cream, set aside.

Cut cake into cubes and start layer in a trifle bowl, large glass bowl or individual glasses.You are going to do three layers, so use everything in thirds (guesstimates work just fine).

Top cake with mousse then drizzle with caramel sauce. Spoon on a layer of whipped cream then start again with a layer of cake.

Finish with a layer of whipped cream. You can top with toffee bits and cinnamon or another drizzle of caramel and cake crumbs. Whatever strikes your fancy.

Have fun with it and enjoy!

She Who Would Have Licked Her Plate If Witnesses Weren’t Present

Read Full Post »

Polenta Alla Romana – His and Hers Style

Posted in Main Dish, Quick and Easy, Recipes, tagged , , , , on November 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A few months ago, Captain Cavedweller and I went to an Italian restaurant we had never tried before. The atmosphere was quite lovely, the service top-notch and the food… was marvelous.

CC decided to be adventurous and try something beyond lasagna or spaghetti (his two standard choices when we eat Italian).

He ordered Polenta Alla Romana. Polenta (ground corn) was covered with a rich tomato sauce thick with sausage and chicken pieces. He thought it ranked right up there with carrot cake on his list of all-time favorite things to

The other day I decided to try and make it at home.

For those of you who make your own polenta and tomato sauce, I envy you, but will never be you.  If sauce from a jar and pre-made polenta turns you off, you might want to skip today’s post.

If you are someone who doesn’t mind a few easy shortcuts to a fast and fabulous dinner, you are going to love today’s post!

We made two versions of it since I can’t eat the tomato sauce. So below you’ll find instructions for both the His and Hers version.

Ingredients

Brown Sausage in a heavy-duty skillet.

Chop cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces. I had leftover baked chicken that worked well. If you don't have pre-cooked chicken, you could purchase a package of grilled chicken pieces if you are really in a hurry!

Add chicken pieces to cooked sausage.

Add sauce to chicken and sausage. You can use tomato or white sauce - your choice!

You can either slice the polenta and heat the slices or chop it up and simmer with chicken stock to make it smooth. I think I liked the smooth version best.

To get the smooth polenta, cook with chicken broth and butter until the liquid is absorved and the polenta breaks down.

Grate some Parmesan cheese.

Freshly grated parmesan is absolutely fantabulous!

Plate and enjoy... Hers Style

or His!

Polenta Alla Romana

1 pound of bulk sausage (you can Italian, this just happened to be what I had on hand)

2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 cups of sauce (tomato or Alfredo)

2 cups of chicken broth

1 tube of Polenta

1 tbsp. butter

Parsley (optional)

Hers Version:

In a heavy-duty skillet, brown the sausage. When it is cooked, add the chicken and alfredo sauce, along with a cup of the chicken broth and simmer about 10 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken.

While the sausage is cooking, warm butter in a skillet. Slice polenta into slices about 1/2 to 3/4-inch thick. Place in the skillet and cook until heated through. Put slices on a plate and pour sauce over the top. Sprinkle liberally with Parmesan cheese and, if you wish,  a nice dash of parsley bits.

His Version:

In a heavy-duty skillet, brown the sausage. When it is cooked, add the chicken and tomato sauce and simmer about 10 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.

While the sausage is cooking, break the polenta into small pieces and place in a skillet with a cup of the chicken broth and a tablespoon of butter. Simmer on medium heat until liquid is absorbed and polenta breaks down smoothly (about 10 minutes).

Spoon polenta onto a plate and top with the sauce, then sprinkled with Parmesan Cheese and, if you like, parsley.

See how easy that was? Super simple and super good.

Enjoy!

She Who Licked Her Plate Clean!

Read Full Post »

Spice Bundt Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

Posted in Cake, Desserts, Recipes, tagged , , , , on November 4, 2011| 2 Comments »

Spice Bundt Cake with Vanilla Butter Sauce

If you enjoy the flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg, you will love this moist cake that is easy to make. Topped with the vanilla butter sauce, it is the perfect end to a fall meal.

Ingredients

Mix wet ingredients with cake and pudding mixes.

I grated nutmeg to go in the cake and boy was that an aromatic decision. The smell was delightfully divine. If your grocery store carries Spice Cake mixes, you could use one of those instead of a vanilla mix and adding spices. But if you do add spices, think about grating your nutmeg. Fabulous!

Add spices to batter.

Spoon batter into bundt pan. It will be really thick. Even it off as best you can then bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour.

The cake is done when it is brown and starts to pull away from teh edges of the pan.

Let cool completely then invert onto a cake plate.

While the cake is cooling, make your butter sauce by mixing butter, sugar and cream in a heavy saucepan.

Bring sauce to a boil, stirring continually, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

Pour onto cake.

And restrain yourself from licking off all the drips.

When ready to serve, thick about adding a scoop of dulce de leche ice cream or cinnamon laced whipped cream.

And sprinkling on some toffee bits.

Once the cake was sliced, I added a bit more sauce.

Then add a sprinkling of toffee bits and inhale the heady aroma of the spices. Take a bite and sink into a state of sugar-induced bliss.

Spice Bundt Cake

1 box Golden Vanilla Cake Mix

1 small package instant white chocolate pudding

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

3 eggs

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ginger

2 teaspoons nutmeg

Butter Sauce

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

Note: If you want, you can purchase a spice cake mix and omit the additional spices.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs  water, vanilla, oil and sour cream with cake batter and pudding. Add in spices. Beat on medium speed until combined. The batter will be super thick, so don’t panic.

Scoop it into a greased bundt pan, evening it up as best you can (I tap the pan on the counter to get out air bubbles and even up the batter). Bake for one hour or until it starts to pull away from the edges of the pan.

Let cool completely then invert on a cake plate.

To make the sauce, combine butter, cream and sugar in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring consistently, then reduce and simmer for about 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.  Add vanilla, stirring well. Cool slightly then drizzle over cake.

Serve with dulce de leche ice cream or cinnamon laced whipped cream. Yum!

She Who Liked This Cake Way Too Much

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »