Jalapeno Popper Dip

{ya know, like those popper thingies from Chili's}
You may or may not know this about me, but I really want to be a socialite. It's on my bucket list. Since my natural charm is masked by coyness, the only way to wiggle my way into the socialite life is through people's stomachs. I like to throw parties and I like to cook for large crowds, I don't know what it is, but I like it. My itty bitty ghetto kitchen makes it difficult but that's half the fun! I'm pretty much excited for this recipe (and so was Tressa, she called this morning for the recipe even before I had it posted). Are you wondering whether or not it was deliciously divine? Let me answer that with another question- why don't I have a picture of the dish without a spoonful missing? People started eating it before I was able to even get a picture!

Ingredients:
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 8oz (250 ml) jar sliced Jalapeno peppers
1 4oz can chopped green chilies, drained
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
1/2 cup Corn Flake crumbs (or bread crumbs)
Parmesan cheese
Jalapeno slices for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F, spray a round or square 9x9 or 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together cream cheese, mayo, chilies, Jalapeno's, red pepper and shredded cheese together until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and corn flake crumbs/bread crumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until hot and melted through. Let cool for 10 minutes and garnish with slices of Jalapenos, serve warm with Baguettes, veggies, crackers, etc. There ya go!

Source: Annie's Eats via My Baking Addiction

Coconut Chicken with Mango-Pineapple Salsa

{something new for dinner}
When I was a kid, I used to get into my grandma's freezer, open up the old Pringle's can and eat the frozen coconut. She always kept it on the shelve on the inside of the door. I remember it well. She would walk in, see me eating said coconut and proceed to chase me out of the kitchen removing the can from my hands. Coconut always brings back memories from my grandma's for that exact reason. When I read this recipe, the coconut first caught my eye, and then whole mango-pineapple salsa sealed the deal. It was so good, can I just say that right off the bat? This will definitely be making another appearance in our household.

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts- trimmed and cut into small strips
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 mango- peeled and cut into small chunks
1 1/2 cup canned or fresh pineapple
2 tablespoons lime juice
cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to degrees 400F, and line a baking sheet with foil- spray with cooking spray .In shallow bowl add the egg, salt, and cayenne pepper. In a second shallow bowl add coconut. Dip strips of chicken in egg mixture and allow excess to drip off- then dip in coconut, pressing down so more coconut sticks. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with each piece of chicken. 

Bake for 10-13 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and coconut is lightly browned. Meanwhile, combine mango, pineapple, lime juice and cilantro together in a bowl and mix slightly. And there ya go!
*You can use any type of coconut that you'd like- I used the really fine stuff, unsweetened. 
Source: Better Homes and Garden's Cookbook

Chicken Cordon Bleu (Reposted)

{crock pot style, baby!}
In case you hadn't heard from my family blog, my oven has sort of... died. So most of my postings are going to be things that need little to no use of an oven. This is actually a re-post from one of my early posts. I just updated it and took a nicer picture. I can't get over how good this cordon bleu recipe is. I crave it some days! We like ours served over rice, but the original recipe says to serve it over penne pasta. I guess the world is your oyster in that field!

 Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts (depending on size of course) butterflied
8-12 slices of deli honey ham (2 per each piece of chicken)
4-6 slices of Swiss cheese
1 can condenced Cream of Chicken Soup
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
In a large crock pot, combine soup and milk and whisk together. Arrange chicken in crock pot laying them as flat as possible. Place 2 slices of ham on each chicken breast, then place a slice of cheese on top of the ham. Sprinkle garlic powder and pepper over top of everything. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Serve over rice or your favorite pasta, or with a side of veggies!

Quick Caramels

{quick... and easy}
Well, I'm on this candy making kick. However, I wanted something simple and quick and somewhat fool proof. Also I learned something cool (well most people probably know this but I obviously was not paying attention in class) but water boils at a different temperature depending on your altitude. Which would explain why my last candy making endeavor was just that, an endeavor. The way you can test your thermometer- boil water and see what temperature your thermometer levels off at once the water comes to a rolling boil. Easy. The boiling point at sea level is 100C (212F) so depending on what temperature your water boils at, you will either add or subtract that number from the boiling point at sea level. I wasn't very good at word problems in math class so if this doesn't make sense you can blame it on that fact. This little fact can either make or break your candy making (or teeth...).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk (16oz can)
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Line 8x8 inch square or circle baking dish with foil, and spray generously with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup, stir till sugar is dissolved. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until mixture boils. Insert candy thermometer, and reduce heat to medium and continue boiling at a moderate rate stirring frequently until the thermometer registers 248F (about 30-45 minutes).
Remove from heat and add vanilla, then quickly pour caramel into baking dish and let cool completely. Cut into pieces and wrap all cute like! Ta-da!

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book 15th Edition

Apple Cider Caramels

{christmas and candy wrapped up together in one simple bite}
So I saw these, and thought "um, yum." I could not form words other than "those would look good on my blog." Thus, I had to make them. This was my first time making candy without my mom's supervision. I remember when I was a kid coming over to my grandma's and seeing rows and rows and pans spread out all over the house full of home made candy. The only thing I was allowed to do was stir the sugary syrup. Making these caramels brought back a lot of good memories. It's too bad all my hard work and hours of effort turned rock solid almost immediately the minute it left the hot burner. I was so upset and disappointed- yet determined so the next day I got right back up and started again. So without further adieu, I would like to present my first ever batch of caramels!

I've got a lot of pictures of these babies... fair warning!
Ingredients:
2 cups Simply Apple, apple juice (found next to the Simply Orange in your grocery store's juice department)
1 cup whipping cream, divided
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 cup brown sugar (or white sugar)
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butter

Other things you will need:
candy thermometer
large stock pot and a medium sauce pan
cooking spray
glass measuring cup (or one that can stand up against high heat)

Directions:
Pour apple cider into medium sauce pan, boil on high until it reduces to 1/3 cup- about 20 minutes, this is where the glass measuring up comes in handy. Once it's reduced, set aside to cool, but not too cool or else it will turn into a jelly (I found that out the hard way). If that does happen, put it back on the heat and stir.
Line an 8x8 inch square baking dish with wax paper leaving about an inch over the top for easy removal, and spray generously with cooking spray and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine 2/3 cup whipping cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and reduced apple cider. Set aside.
In large stock pot, combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/3 cup whipping cream plus enough water to reach the 1/2 cup mark. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves, insert the candy thermometer and simmer until it reaches 234 degrees Fahrenheit. This took about 45 minutes for me, and because of the altitude my candy never reached that exact temperature- you can tell when it should be removed. The candy will turn dark in color and begin to thicken, the bubbles will look differently as well. Don't over cook.
Remove from heat and slowly whisk in the cream and cider mixture- might splatter a little, be careful. Add butter a little at a time in cubes or spoonfuls and mix until well incorporated. Return to low heat and re-insert candy thermometer and cook, stirring frequently until the mixture reaches 248F, about another 30(ish) minutes. Again, mine never quite got that hot- you can tell by the texture and color etc. Again, don't over cook. You'll end up with toffee instead of a caramel. Trust me!
Remove from heat and pour into prepared baking dish. Let cool completely before removing from pan (with the wax paper). Cut horizontally... (I used a pizza cutter)

Then cut again vertically...

You can kind of make whatever size caramels you'd like... I ended up cutting these in half again to about the size of a Tootsie Roll. Cut wax paper into 2x4 inch squares, and wrap each individual caramel, and twist the ends, also like a Tootsie Roll.

Wrapping them is very tedious, I wont lie. If your caramels stick to the wax paper as you are trying to remove each little square, don't worry mine did that, too. Just go slow and use a knife to scrap them off... patience young Padawan.

Makes about 80 Tootsie Roll size pieces, and 40 average caramel size pieces.  

Source: Our Best Bites   

Turkey Pesto Sliders

{it's like homemade quiznos}
I miss American Quiznos a lot. They have Quiznos in Canada, but the menu is different. It makes me sad sometimes. One thing I miss most is the Turkey Pesto. Mmmmm... so good. I had no idea pesto was so easy to make... I've been missing out. We had these for dinner, and I was impressed! I thought it would just taste like a good sandwich, but no- I couldn't stop eating them! I felt like such a fatty because I downed two at night, and then two again for breakfast!

 Ingredients:
6 slider buns (I used Kaiser Buns, the soft ones)
6 slices of Provolone cheese
12 Deli Turkey slices
Pesto Sauce (see recipe below)
Mayo

Directions:
Make an open faced sandwich- come on, it's pretty easy. I 'toasted' mine to get the full Quiznos effect by setting my oven to broil and placing my sandwich on a baking sheet (open faced) for about 5 minutes until the turkey was heated through and the cheese was melted. Then spread as much or as little mayo as you'd like, then a couple spoonfuls of pesto sauce- and shove in your mouth!

Pesto Sauce Recipe:
2 cups fresh/frozen basil (or 16 frozen cubes)
1/4 cup sunflower kernels (or pine nuts)
2 gloves of garlic, peeled
a dash of salt
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In food processor (or blender) blend all the ingredients together for about 30 seconds. So easy. Who knew?

Source: Annie's Eats

The best chocolate frosting, ever.

{i couldn't stop eating it}
I'm really picky with frosting. I'm not a fan of the buttercream you get on premade cakes at the store bakeries... and the canned stuff is good, but it leaves a film of something plasticy on the roof of my mouth, and not to mention, I can't pronounce half the ingredients used- and it's so sweet, it seriously knocks me out. So when I came across this recipe, I really had to give it a try. What caught my eye, was that it was made with flour as opposed to powdered or icing sugar- so I knew it wouldn't be too sweet. Plus, it has real melted chocolate in it, and isn't that just the cherry on top? I really had no idea it would be THIS GOOD! It's slightly labor intensive, I wont lie. I kind of found out the hard way- I read the comments and I guess I didn't read carefully enough because I didn't think it would take quite as long as it did, but in the end it was so worth it. And now we know, Kelsey, that we can't rush things. So, if you plan on making this delightful recipe, just plan in about an extra 20 to 30 minutes for cooling. 

kinda blurry, you'll get over it

 Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose or whole wheat flour (I used wheat)
3 tablespoons baking cocoa powder
1 cup milk
1 cup butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Start by cooking the flour, sugar, milk, and cocoa. Whisk together until mixture begins to thicken to the consistency of thin pudding. For me, it took about 10 minutes on medium-high heat. Don't use high-high because it the cause the bottom to burn and you'll get black chunks- I learned that the hard way, too. After it's thickened up, stick the pot of chocolate in the freezer to cool completely. This is where it took up a ton of time when I wasn't expecting it. If you have it too warm, it will melt the butter and you will end up having to let the icing cool once it's all mixed together, also you run the risk of the butter separating when it melts. So make sure this is completely cool before you go on to the next step. Again, took me about 20-30 minutes, good thing I had other things to do in that time.
Next step, melt chocolate chips in the microwave. And add your butter to a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the chilled chocolate mixture, and mix again until it's combined. Then add the melted chocolate! Mix again, and give it a taste! If you'd like a darker and richer chocolate taste, you can add a couple more tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Oh  my goodness, look at my next picture. I'm so impressed with myself!

You'll notice my Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes... everything went like wild fire!
source: Our Best Bites

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

{my house smells like the cheesecake factory}
I've been anxiously awaiting for today to come for many weeks. Why? I finally have the chance to make a ton of baked goods- and have a place with many mouths to transport said baked goods to. Sometimes I run into the problem of not having enough people to eat all the things I make- and that doesn't make husby very happy. I've been wanting to make these baby cakes for a really long time. Unfortunately, I skipped the water bath as suggested by Martha Stewart because I didn't have a way to create one- so I think these could have been better, but I'm not complaining. I found these to be a bit of a more challenging recipe, which is right up my ally. Go big or go home is my motto. Don't let that scare you, there are definitely some short cuts.

Ingredients:
for the cheesecake:
16 oz cream cheese (two regular size packages)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional- but after tasting one, I think a little zip of lemon would go really well)

for the raspberry topping:
6 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar


for the crust: (you could buy the premade crumbs, but I found with one box of graham crackers, I could double the recipe whereas with the premade crumbs, I could only do one batch)
22 Graham crackers
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Line cupcake pan with liners. In a food processor, process graham crackers until crumbly. Switch crumbs into a bowl, and mix in butter and sugar and stir with a fork until the crumbs are moistened. Fill each cupcake liner with 1 tablespoon of crumbs. Use a small drinking glass to press the crumbs down. Bake for 5 minutes or until set. Set aside to cool.


Also in your food processor (obviously you can make the crumbs ahead of time) puree raspberries and sugar. Strain puree into a bowl using a strainer to collect the seeds. Set aside.


In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and blend again until well mixed. Add vanilla and mix again. Add each egg one at a time, mixing in between each addition. Pour 3 tablespoons (or 1/4 cup if you have a little measuring up like me ;) ) of cheesecake mixture onto the graham cracker crusts. Once each one has been filled, take a 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry puree and dot it on the top. Take a tooth pick and swirl it around.

Pop them in the oven and bake for about 22 minutes. Now, if you have a pan big enough and have enough room in your kitchen feel free to do a water bath, but again, I skipped it and the only thing that happened was my cheesecakes kind of sank down little in the centers. Make sure you sit in front of your oven and watch them like a nerd. Just kidding, you don't have to.

Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Not so bad, right? You will die when you smell these out of the oven... :)


Source: Annie's Eats via Martha Stewart