Monday, August 20, 2012

Brazilian Lemonade


Brazilian Lemonade
4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they’re the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.
Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you’re using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.
Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.
Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you’ll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn’t test it and it came out a little bitter. If it’s bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don’t make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.

Monday, March 28, 2011

To Die For Fettucini Alfredo

Ingredients:
24 ounces dry fettuccini pasta
1 cup butter
3/4 pint heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
1 dash garlic salt
3/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Directions
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add fettuccini and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.In a large saucepan melt butter and add cream over low heat. Add salt, pepper and garlic salt. Stir in cheese over medium heat until melted; this will thicken the sauce.
3.Add pasta to sauce. Use enough of the pasta so that all of the sauce is used and the pasta is thoroughly coated. Serve immediately.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Layered Peach Dessert

I found this one This website and its so yummy!

Layered Peach Dessert

Crust:
1 pkg. Vanilla wafers, finely crushed

Filling:
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, softened
10 fresh peaches, sliced

Topping:
1 pt. whipping cream
½ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Place half of the crumbs in a 9×13 pan. Whip cream cheese, sugar, and butter together until smooth. Drop by spoonfuls over the crumbs. Spread carefully using a spoon dipped in hot water. Keep dipping the spoon in the water so the mixture doesn’t stick to it. The crumbs will slide around, but that is okay. It doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth. Arrange the sliced peaches over the top. Whip the cream and add sugar and vanilla. Spread over the peaches. Sprinkle last half of crumbs over top. Cover and chill 8 hours, or over night.

Notes:
-The original recipe called for 1 egg in the filling. I left it out because I was halving the recipe and I didn’t want to have to deal with it.
-Megan says you can replace the whipped cream topping with Cool Whip. But I don’t really recommend it because I hate that nasty stuff plain. Real whipped cream is like 200x better. And I can pronounce all the ingredients in it. ;)

Friday, August 6, 2010

Chicken Tortellini Bake

My friend just made this for me and it was so delicious! Taken from Melskitchencafe

Chicken Tortellini Bake
adapted from Camille

16 ounce package of cheese tortellini (my advice is to use the fresh, not frozen, variety – the kind you find in the refrigerated section of the grocery store b/c they taste better and it cuts down on boiling time since the noodles aren’t completely dry)
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups (about 2 chicken breasts) chicken cut up into bite size pieces
3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounces (1 cup) chicken broth
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream
(I used reduced fat with good results)
8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese
(to be honest, any combination of cheeses, like cheddar, mozzarella or monterey jack would be good)

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook tortellini for 2-3 minutes (this is if you use the “fresh” tortellini from the refrigerated section – and to be completely honest, next time I’m going to try not boiling it at all and letting it cook while it bakes in the oven). Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken for 1-2 minutes and add the fresh mushrooms and green onions, cooking until chicken is done and mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.

Spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Pour tortellini in bottom of 9X13 pan. Sprinkle half the cheese over tortellini. Put cooked chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake covered with tin foil at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.



Saturday, July 17, 2010

Coconut Rice


2 c. white or Jasmine rice
1 can coconut milk
2 c. water
1 tsp. Kosher salt
Splash of white vinegar (optional, but it helps with the texture)
2-3 tsp. white sugar
Handful of chopped green onions, plus chopped green onion tops for garnish (we're using the whole animal here...)
Black pepper to taste

Combine rice, coconut milk, water, salt, vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil Turn heat to low and cover for 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Allow to stand 5 minutes. Add green onions, black pepper (if desired), and additional salt if necessary.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Indian Tacos with Ranch Sour Cream



1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon ranch salad dressing mix
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1-1/2 lbs ground beef
1 can (15 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14-1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 Tablespoon hot pepper sauce
12 or more frozen rhodes rolls, unthawed and let rise for a bit

Optional Toppings: sliced ripe olives, shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese

In small bowl, combine sour cream, dressing mix and lemon juice; chill until serving.
In large skillet cook beef over medium. heat till no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning and pepper sauce; heat through.

Put a little bit of oil in a skillet and mold either 12 mini scones or 6 Big scones with the rolls then cook until lightly browned on both sides.

Perfect One Bowl Brownies

Taken off of sisterscafe.blogspot.com


1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
4 eggs
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup chocolate chips (although I never measure--I just sprinkle them on top)


Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl melt butter in microwave, then stir in oil, sugar and cocoa. With a wooden spoon stir in the remainder of the ingredients except for the chocolate chips. Spread into a 9x13 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. If your toothpick comes out clean you have cooked them too long! DO NOT OVERCOOK!