A light, fresh dressing

To commemorate my cousin's new healthy baby girl and my newly engaged self, my family got together for a celebratory lunch.  The menu consisted of asparagus quiche, fresh strawberries and cantaloupe and my grandfather's own lettuce from his garden.  These pairings would not have been complete if it wasn't for the salad dressing.

The dressing is tart from the lemon juice, but savory from the garlic paste. This dressing can even be paired for a sauce on a freshly grilled filet of salmon (or your choice of fish)!

 I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family did on this day!

 Lemon Garlic Dressing:

 Ingredients:

 1 garlic clove
 1 teaspoon of salt
 4 tablespoons of lemon juice (or one full lemon)
 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar (or white wine vinegar if you don't have the red wine vinegar)
 Pepper to taste
 3/4 cup of olive oil

Steps:
 Mince the garlic and make a paste with the salt. It is easier to form into a paste with a splash of olive oil along with the salt.
 Whisk the paste, lemon juice, vinegar and pepper together. (until combined)
 Add the olive oil and whisk until the dressing is fully combined.

Last step: Pour onto a salad or on a filet of fish!

ENJOY!!

My boyfriend's birthday cake!!

Growing up, I have always considered myself a "vanilla" girl. If given the choice between vanilla and chocolate, it would always be vanilla.  So, it wasn't until I started dating my boyfriend that I became accustomed to the taste and joy of chocolate.

For his birthday, I decided to bake him a chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream. But with a surprise in between the two layers. To add more texture to the cake, I chopped up Reeses peanut butter cups and folded them into the icing. To me, I feel this takes the normal chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting to the next level.

The recipe for the cake is adapted from the Hershey's cookbook. In my eyes, it is by far the best!!

 Black Magic Cake:

Ingredients:

•   1 3/4 cups of unsifted all-purpose flour
• 2 cups of sugar
• 3/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of strong black coffee (or 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules + 1 cup of boiling water)
• 1 cup of buttermilk or sour milk (1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar + milk to equal 1 cup)
• 1/2 vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla

Steps:

 Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large mixer bowl.
 Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk or sour milk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
** Batter will be thin **

Pour into greased and floured 13x9-inch pan or two 9-inch layer pans.
Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes for 13x9-inch pan and 30 to 35 minutes for layer pans.
 Cool for 10 minutes, and remove from pans. Cool completely and frost as desired.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Frosting:

•   1 stick of butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter or more to taste
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons of milk or heavy whipping cream

Cream together the butter and peanut butter. 

Add the powdered sugar and mix until well blended. 

Add milk or heavy whipping cream until creamy. (May add more for creamier frosting)

ENJOY!

Cheesecake, with a twist!

                               Image from GiGi Reviews

Recently, I have ventured into trying different recipes and dishes that I thought I would never, ever enjoy.   One of these recipes is cheesecake.

It wasn't until I was at a superbowl party at my friend's house that I came upon the sinfully, rich flavor of cheesecake. Ever since then, my boyfriend and I have tasted different cheesecakes and even made our own, which I must say turned out to be wonderful, even for the first time.

Unlike the cheesecake we made, the recipe I am including in this entry has been handed down to my grandmother from her friend.  The twist in this recipe is the additional layer that is added almost at the end of the baking cycle.

Instead of using a spring-form pan,  a pie plate is used. This is interesting and practical, since not everyone has a spring-form pan.

I might add, this is one of the best cheesecake recipes!

Make this a day ahead.

For the crust:

• 1 1/4 cups graham crackers
• 1/4 cup softened butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 cup of sugar

1. Grease 10" pie plate. Sprinkle with 2 T crumbs.
2. Set aside an extra 2 T of crumbs.
3. Mix rest of the crumbs with softened butter and sugar. 
4. Pack firmly in the pan and bake for 8 minutes at 375.

For the filling:

• 2 8oz. packages of cream cheese- softened (regular type, fat free or reduced calorie won't work well, from experience)
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 3 unbeaten eggs

1. With an electric beater at low speed, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. 
2. Gradually add vanilla, sugar and eggs (one at a time).
3. Beat until creamy.
4. Pour mixture over crumbs and bake for 20 minutes at 375.
5. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes.
6. Increase oven temperature to 475

: For the twist:

•  1 pint of sour cream
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla

1. Stir sour cream with vanilla and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
2. Pour over cream cheese layer and sprinkle with remaining 2 T of crumbs.
3. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and let cool at room temperature.
5. Refrigerate and leave in pie plate.

I hope you enjoy!

CORN! CORN! CORN!

                                Image from mikes-table

Corn in my eyes is one of the best vegetables, especially when it is in season. But by far, corn pudding has topped the list for my favorite way to eat it. I only usually have this casserole for special occasions, such as, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I wish I could eat it all the time.

On the difficulty scale of 1-10, this corn pudding recipe is at a 1. The preparation is a snitch, all you need is a blender!

Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients: 

• 1 16 oz bag of corn- thawed (I usually get the mixture of sweet and white. It adds a better flavor.)
• 2 T flour
• 3 T sugar
• 3/4 Cup milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 stick butter (softened)

Mix all ingredients into a blender. (If you double the recipe, you may have to do it in two batches.)

 Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family has for years!

Cinco De Mayo ( a day late)!!

My mom recently went to visit my uncle in Arizona and came across these recipes from a friend of my uncles. They are authentic Mexican recipes and are extremely amazing.
 This corn dip recipe has just the right amount of spice and creaminess, but with a smokey bacon flavor. It is absolutely to die for! The dip is easy to make as well and great for any type of party!

                           Image from NatureHills.com


Ingredients for the dip:

* 8 Poblano chilies.
* 1 stick of butter
* 1 large onion
* 3 Knorrs bouillon chicken cubes
* garlic
* Bacon or a type of smoked meat
* 1 LB sour cream
* Corn (defrosted)

Steps:

1.) Grill the Poblano chilies. Skin, seed and slice.
2.) Saute butter, onion bouillon and garlic.
3.) Cook bacon. (dip is best with bacon)
4.) Add bacon, chilies, sour cream and corn.
5.) Mix together and enjoy!

- This dip can be served warm/ luke warm/ or cold. The best though is when it is luke warm because of the extra creaminess-

- Serve with chips!!

I hope you enjoy!

Bacon Dressing with Cabbage= Yumm

                             Picture by Linda.  Founded on Google search.


Every time my mom makes chicken pot pie the way my grandmother prepared it, we always have warm cabbage with a hot bacon dressing.  I have grown accustomed to eating cabbage, since I am German, and my dad always says "Cabbage is the best thing for you, plus your not a true German if you don't eat it."
Taking this into consideration, I have ventured through different variations of cabbage, and this recipe is by far the best, besides sauerkraut :)!

If you love bacon, I'm positive this recipe can provide one with their bacon fix for the day!

Ingredients:

- 3-4 pieces of bacon
- 2 Eggs
- 3 T granulated sugar
- 2 T cider vinegar
- 1/2 Cup of cold water

Recipe steps:

 1.) Fry 3-4 pieces of bacon (more if you love bacon). After fried, remove from pan and SAVE the bacon fat.
 2.) Beat 2 eggs and add 3 T of granulated sugar and 2 T of cider vinegar. Whisk with the eggs.
 3.) Take 1/2 Cup of cold water and whisk into the egg mixture.
 4.) Add egg mixture to a large sauce pan on medium-high heat until close to a boil. (whisking constantly)
 5.) Remove from heat and pour in the bacon fat.
 6.)  Place the lid on until the dressing thickens. (Will thicken over time)
 7.) Add raw shredded cabbage or you may use on garden lettuce.

--- Serve Warm ---

Enjoy!!

MmM MmM Good!

Over the past years, I feel I have become a proclaimed lasagna connoisseur.  After tasting numerous  different lasagna dishes, this recipe of my aunt's has become a favorite of mine.

My aunt's lasagna recipe has a homemade delicious meat sauce that is piled between layers of cheese that adds the gooey goodness to this dish.

Let's start out with the ingredients for the sauce.
- 2 large cans of Italian tomatoes
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 links of sweet Italian sausage or pepperoni
( I usually use the Italian sausage and pepperoni and subtract the ground beef. It depends on one's preference.)
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 T oregano
- 2 small cans of tomato paste
- 1/2 T basil
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Remaining ingredients for lasagna:

-1 LB Mozzarella cheese
- 1 LB ricotta cheese
- 1/4 Cup Romano cheese
- 1 box of lasagna noodles
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Steps to prepare the sauce:

1.) Place the 2 large cans of Italian tomatoes and the tomato paste in a large sauce pan. (heat slowly, adding salt and pepper to taste)
2.) Saute the large onion and the 2 cloves of garlic. When lightly browned, add the mixture to the tomato mixture.
3.) Brown the beef and sausage in the same pan. Once browned, add to tomato mixture.
4.) Add oregano, basil to sauce.
5.) Let sauce simmer.

Assembling the lasagna:

1.) Spread sauce on the bottom of the pan.
2.) Line with noodles, mozzarella, ricotta, romano.
3.) Repeat and end with sauce.

BAKE @ 350 for 45 minutes.

ENJOY!!!