Sweet and Sour Sauce

I was making stir fry the other night and noticed that I didn't have any sweet and sour sauce.... Instead of dropping everything and running to the store... I decided to make it... It is surprisingly easy and you probably have everything already.

What you will need:

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Optional 1/4 cup pineapple juice


In a sauce pan add everything but the water and cornstarch.... Mix the cornstarch with the water, when the items in the saucepan start to bubble, pour in the cornstarch/water mixture and turn off the heat while stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste! Too easy! If you use the pineapple juice, you can cut the sugar by half!

Easy Lemonade Pie

What you will need:

Lemon pie filling
Precooked pie crust
Canned frosting
5 lemon cookies crushed
1/4 cup frozen raspberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

In a bowl mix the pie filling and white chocolate (keep a few for the top). In the pie crust add the crushed cookies, top with the pie filling. On top add the berries, frosting, and reserved chocolate, let set in fridge an hour before serving!

The Slow Cooker: Not just for Winter Usage!

Summer us a great time to use your slow cooker!

Here is what I like to use mine for:

Beets 2 ways

In a crock pot I put one pound of peeled beets, 2 cups water, favorite seasonings, tsp olive oil, cook on low for about 6-8 hours. Let cool.

Slice the beets and eat with a little goat cheese or in a salad or as a side with sandwiches!

Save the cooking liquid! In a blender add the strained cooking liquid, a beet and blend until smooth! Freeze in ice cube trays. Now when you are making a fruit or breakfast smoothie, pop in one of these beet cubes to increase the nutrition of your smoothie!

Bacon + IceCream = Heaven

Everyone knows by now that there is a well known fast food chain offering a bacon sundae on the menu.

I tried one and it was good, but I knew I could do it better, here is what I did:

What you will need:

Good Vanilla IceCream
Caramel Sauce or Dulce de Leche
Crispy Bacon

Scoop the IceCream in a bowl and drizzle with the sauce. Top with the crispy bacon and enjoy.

Just having the "real" bacon and good vanilla IceCream makes a huge difference and makes this a dessert worth treating yourself with!

All about cheese

I was recently in a specialty cheese shop eating through the inventory, when I finally made a (large) purchase.  But when I got home I wanted to make sure that I serve it correctly, I started researching online what was the CORRECT protocol.  I have been doing it wrong for years!  Here is what I learned:

*Always serve your cheeses at room temperature.  As a rule of thumb, take the cheeses out of the fridge about 30-45 minutes before you are going to consume them.

*If serving more than one type of cheese, make sure that you have a separate knife for each cheese.

*As a serving suggestion, fruits and crackers or hard breads make a great serving paring.

*If serving more than one cheese, have a pallet cleanser.... usually water with a touch of lemon or lime in it.

*If you are serving a soft cheese, use unflavored dental floss pulled tight between your fingers.

*If serving Brie, I like to put a small drizzle of honey or currant jelly on the platter for people to drag the cheese through as they pick it up.

Deep Dish Pizza

This is my first attempt at homemade deep dish pizza....

Here is what I did...
30 minutes before starting I put 1 teaspoon of sugar into a bowl with 1/4 cup of warm water and 1 package of yeast. After 30 minutes I added 1.5 cups of flour, 1/2 cup more water, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 tbsp of truffle oil (you can use olive oil). Mix well and set aside for an hour with a damp towel over the top! That is your crust!

Fill your pizza with whatever toppings that you like!

Starting with the bottom layer I used: mozzarella cheese, sausage, zucchini, red onions, mushrooms, black olives, ripe tomato slices, pizza sauce, Parmesan cheese. I cooked at 370 for 45 minutes! Let set 5 minutes before cutting and eating!

Chocolate Cake Balls

This recipe is super simple and sure to please!

Ingredients:

A chocolate cake
A can of chocolate frosting
Several toppings
I used white chocolate and hazelnuts


In a large bowl crumble the cake and add the canned frosting. Mix well and let set in fridge for about 30 minutes. Start preparing your toppings, I put white chocolate chips in a coffee grinder and turned in into a powder, I did the same with the hazelnuts. After 30 minutes make small balls out of your cake mixture using about a teaspoon worth of filler, roll them in the toppings and put on your serving platter! These are delicious and super simple!

Tasty Super Food!

Super Food - a natural food regarded as especially beneficial because of its nutrient profile or its health-protecting qualities." Super foods are fresh, easy-to-eat items that offer disease-fighting vitamins, omega fatty acids, antioxidants and essential minerals. In addition, most of the foods are filling, allowing you to enjoy them without overeating.
When eaten with regularity, super foods can help fight disease, lower cholesterol, boost immunity, improve memory function and maintain heart health.  -eHow

I like to make my own super food at home and this is how I do it:

You will need:

2 cups natural peanut butter
1/4 cup hazelnuts
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp agave nectar or honey
cinnamon and sea salt to taste

Directions:

In a coffee grinder blend the hazel nuts, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds until smooth.  In a large bowl add the blended nuts and seeds and add the peanut butter, stir in the cinnamon and agave nectar.  Add sea salt until it taste the way that you like it.  I would prefer that you keep this in the fridge and due that the natural oils can go rancid if not used quickly.

Use this just as if you were using regular peanut butter.

Why I use these ingredients:

Natural Peanut Butter:
Contains unsaturated fat which lowers your risk for heart disease by reducing your total cholesterol, lowering your bad cholesterol, LDL, and raising your good cholesterol, HDL. One serving also has  easily digested plant-based protein, which contributes to muscle tissue repair and growth.  One serving of peanut butter has 15 percent of the recommended daily intake for vitamin E. This fat-soluble vitamin acts as an antioxidant, fighting the cancer-causing free radicals in your body. Vitamin E helps lower your likelihood for getting cancer and other chronic diseases.
Hazelnuts:
Hazelnuts are high in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that helps to lower cholesterol.
They containing minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium, and they can help lower blood pressure.  Hazelnuts contain cardioprotective arginine, an amino acid that relaxes blood vessels.
They are one of the best nut sources of cardioprotective monounsaturated fatty acids and are lowest in saturated fat.

Sunflower Seeds:
Healthful sunflower seeds contain important nutrients and are a good source of polyunsaturated oil. They are chock full of vitamin E, B1, manganese, magnesium, tryptophan and selenium, as well as other important nutrients such as phosphorus, B5, and folate.

Sesame Seeds:
Sesame seeds provide manganese and tryptophan, iron, phosphorus, and zinc, vitamin B1(thiamin) and vitamin E, as well as copper and calcium.

Agave Nectar:
Sahelian (2010) stated that agave nectar is known for being sweeter than honey and its low glycemic index, which means that one will not have a rapid rise and fall with blood sugar and insulin response as one would with cane sugar. This is because of its high content of fructose. It also contains a high amount of inulin, which has been shown to contribute to weight loss. Agave also has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.

Cinnamon:
As well as the weight loss benefits, consuming cinnamon on a regular basis could aid in the regulation of blood sugar levels (which helps with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes), anti-clotting effects on the blood, relief from arthritis pain, boosts in memory and cognitive function, as well as lowering cholesterol and preventing heart disease. A study, conducted by researchers at the US Department of Agriculture in Maryland even went so far as to claim that their research shows that cinnamon reduces the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells.

Health info from suite101.com

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My favorite glaze or sauce for meats

I love having a sauce or glaze when I am having a great piece of meat.

Here is my "Go To" Sauce:

What you will need:

1/2 c of your favorite red wine
2 TBSP of a prepared BBQ sauce
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp agave nectar
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
S&P and garlic powder to taste

Directions :

Put everything in a saucepan except for the parsley, let reduce until it coats the back of a spoon (5 minutes on med heat) throw in your parsley at the end and serve! You can base your meat or serve it on the side.

Sweet and sticky... My favorite!

Watermelon Salad

I made a fresh watermelon salad. It was great for my lunch at work AND it was healthy!

Sushi Salad

Oh crap.... I am on a diet again. I was trying to make some sushi rolls but I suck at forming the sushi roll.

What you will need:

Brown rice (prepared the sushi way) email me if you need help

1/4 cup shredded nori

1/4 cup chopped raw or cured salmon

Soy sauce if you want it

Throw everything into a bowl and stir

The perfect sandwich

The perfect sandwich is different to everyone, but here is one that I made today.

In between two pieces of honey wheat bread that I slathered with creamy miracle whip, I slid a few paper thin slices of granny smith apple, a few sliced of a royal purple onion, 2 slices of black forest ham, some crisp green lettuce, a slice do provolone cheese, and just a few crispy dill pickles, all served with some sour cream and onion chips and a glass of ice cold milk.

Let me know in the comments below, your favorite sandwich.

Cheesy Crab Mac

New Spin on Mashed Potatoes

Want to try and spice up those old plain mashed potatoes?

Try this:

Cook your potatoes just like normal but leave the skin on, add butter, milk, S&P and mix... Simple..RIGHT? Mash them up well, I used a hand beater.

Now add a few caramelized onions and garlic powder....I cooked my onions in a little truffle oil to give them a little earthier flavor!

These potatoes were AWESOME!

What do you do differently to your side potatoes!

Want some Truffles?

Truffle Shortcut

So I make these extremely easy truffles that everyone love....

So here is the video on how to make them!

ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXAI8S-4eAE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

French Toast

I was shopping at the place where I work and they had some Pannettone marked down 60% due to it being a seasonal item.

I immediately thought about using it for French toast, the Pannettone that I bought had dark chocolate chips and raisins in it.

Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

Pannettone Slices
1 egg
3 tbsp milk (i used vanilla soy)
1 tsp sugar
butter

in a bowl combine all of the the ingredients except for the bread and butter, in a frying pan add some butter, let the pannettone sit in the custard a few minutes, transfer the soaked slices to the melted butter in the pan, cook on med-low heat, we are just trying to set the custard inside of the bread. Once both sides of the pannettone are slightly brown, transfer to a plate and top with a small pat of butter,

TIP
Serve with maple syrup, honey, or with powdered sugar!