Apple Dumplings

Pin It I think by now, you all know how much I love dessert. So when I found this recipe, I just had to make it. The ingredients seem strange, but I guarantee it is delicious. You can't tell at all that there is Mountain Dew in the sauce. I think it would probably work just as well if you use any type of citrus soda, diet or regular. This is one of those simple recipes that you can bring to a potluck, and everyone will think you slaved all day. Your secret is safe with me ;) I hope you'll try this, I know you'll love it!

Apple Dumplings

Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith apples

2 cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 1/2 cup sugar (I like to use half brown/half white)

1 cup butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 12 oz can Mountain Dew (I used diet)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices. Unroll the crescent roll dough, and roll each apple slice in one dough triangle. Pinch together the edges to make a bundle. Grease a baking dish, and line up the little bundles. Combine sugar, butter and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth. Pour this over the apple bundles. Pour the Mountain Dew over everything. Bake at 350 F for 35 to 45 minutes, until top is golden brown and crispy. Enjoy with fresh whipped cream or ice cream.

Tres Leches Cake

Pin It Tres Leches cake is a sweet and delicious cake. It is made with, as you may have guessed, three milks. There are many recipes out there for this wonderful treat, most of which involve making the cake portion from scratch. That is wonderful, but in this recipe, I wanted to keep things simple. I purchased a box cake mix, and went from there. This is proof that you can make a stellar dessert, which will impress family and friends, without a lot of slave labor :)

Tres Leches Cake

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix, prepared following package directions.
1 cup half-and-half
1 can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
sugar

Preparation:

Allow baked cake to cool for 30 minutes. Using a sharp knife, poke holes all over top of cake. (Literally all over. You don't want any surface area not covered by holes. This is how the milks soak into the cake) Let cake cool completely. Mix the half-and-half, condensed milk, and evaporated milk with a whisk. Pour over the cake, making sure to cover the whole surface of the cake. This is the hard part: cover and put cake in fridge for 8 hours, or over night. I promise it's worth it! An hour before serving, whip heavy cream and vanilla (using stand mixer or beaters) to stiff peaks, adding sugar for taste. (I added 4 Tbsp, as this doesn't need to be overly sweet. The cake is plenty sweet on it's own). Smooth whipped cream over surface of cake. Chill until ready to serve. Enjoy!

Poppy Seed Chicken

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Poppy seed chicken is the perfect comfort food. It is creamy and savory with a crunchy, buttery topping. This recipe is also incredibly easy to make, and a great way to use up left over chicken. Fantastic served with a green salad and corn-on-the-cob.

Poppy Seed Chicken

Ingredients:

5 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups crushed buttery round crackers
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken chunks in 9x9 square baking dish. Mix together the sour cream and the soup. Pour over chicken. Combine crushed crackers, poppy seeds, and butter. Sprinkle over chicken and sauce. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Yummus Hummus!!

Pin It Hummus is a Middle Eastern dip typically made from chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. The recipe I make does not include the tahini, as it it both expensive and hard to find. It still tastes delicious! This particular recipe is very easy, and can be made using either dried (I did this, it takes longer) or canned chickpeas. You can use hummus as a spread on pita, dip veggies in it, or even chips! (I like it on tortilla chips)

Yummus Hummus!

Ingredients:

1-15 oz can chickpeas (drained, with 1/4 cup liquid reserved)**
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp salt
olive oil

Preparation:

Place chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, cumin, pepper, and salt in a food processor. Blend together until smooth, adding reserved liquid. Add olive oil as needed to achieve desired consistency. Enjoy!

**If you are using dried chickpeas, follow package directions for soaking and cooking. Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid to add to mixture while processing. Prepare hummus as directed above.

Spiced Strawberry Shortcake

Pin It I love strawberry shortcake passionately. It is a fresh and simple dessert, and very easy to make. And if you do it right, it looks beautiful as well. My mom has made this terrific dessert for as long as I can remember, and it is perfect how she makes it. But knowing me, I just had to change it up. Adding a few simple spices really enhances the strawberries, and will impress your guests!

Spiced Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients:

2 lbs fresh strawberries
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
sugar to taste
store bought angel food cake

Preparation:

Cut green ends off of strawberries, preserving as much fruit as possible. Slice berries up any way you like (after I gut off the green, I lay them flat on that end and slice downward). Dump these into a bowl. Sprinkle sugars and spices over berries, and mix well. This will need to sit for at least a couple hours, and up to 5 or 6 hours max. Don't be worried if the berry/sugar mix seems too dry, when they sit, the juice comes out making a nice sauce. Put this bowl in the fridge, covered, until you are ready to assemble the dessert. Stir occasionally (every half-hour or so).

Once everybody's dinner has settled, get the strawberries and cream out of the fridge, and get the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla ready to go. Pour the cream, vanilla, and cinnamon into a mixing bowl (or your Kitchenaid mixing bowl), and start whipping it up! Start slowly, and increase speed as the cream thickens. Your goal is to have relatively stiff peaks.Add sugar a tablespoon at a time as you mix, tasting it after it is mixed in. You want it to be sweet, but not too sweet, as the strawberries have a lot of sugar. Once the cream is whipped and sufficiently sweet, you are ready for assembly!

Slice the angel food cake into generous slices, and lay sideways on individual plates. Scoop a mound of strawberries on top of the cake. Drizzle some of the sauce from the bottom of the bowl on top. Top this off with a cloud of freshly whipped cream, and another slice of strawberry. Drizzle a little more of that yummy sauce around the edge of the plate, and voila! You have made an easy, inexpensive, and very impressive dessert!

Enjoy!

** I was just sitting here thinking (here comes trouble!), and I decided you could easily do this as a trifle as well. Just chop the cake into chunks instead of slices, and layer the cake chunks, strawberries, and whipped cream into a pretty glass bowl. This would be excellent at summer barbecues!

Multi-Colored Mini Almond Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting and Coconut

Pin It We didn't have any dessert in the house, so I had to come up with a recipe to indulge my raging sweet tooth. Using the ingredients I already had in my kitchen, I came up with this beauty. It is multicolored because I knew my 3 year old would LOVE it! I suppose you could make it without adding any colors, but what fun would that be? Enjoy this recipe, it's *almost* like a tropical vacation!

Multi-Colored Mini Almond Cupcakes with Lemon Frosting and Coconut

Cake Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

6 tablespoons butter, softened

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups buttermilk**

Cooking spray
Food coloring

Frosting Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Food coloring

Topping:

Coconut (I colored mine with food coloring)

1/2 cup lemon curd (usually found next to the jelly/peanut butter in grocery stores)

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute with 1 1/4 cups milk mixed with just over 1 tbsp lemon juice. Just let the milk/lemon juice combination sit for 5 minutes before using.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes).

Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition. Divide batter into two smaller bowls. Add different colors of food coloring to each one until you have achieved the desired color. 

Spoon batter into mini muffin pans coated with cooking spray, alternating colors in each cup. Sharply tap pan once on counter to remove air bubbles.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.

Cool completely on wire rack.

Frosting Preparation:

Place the butter in a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the maching and add the powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons milk and almond extract. Blend with mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute more. If frosting seems too thick, add one more tablespoon of milk and blend until smooth. Add food coloring until desired color.



Frost cupcakes with a smooth edge spatula, and then dip the tops in a bowl of coconut. Top with a dollop of lemon curd.

Five Spice Chicken, Crock-Pot Style

Pin It Ever since I made that Five Spice Crock-Pot Roast, I have been trying to come up with another recipe using the same spice. With some minor changes, I adapted it to chicken, and I think it is going to be amazing! (It's cooking as I type). For me, the combination of tangy vinegar, sweet brown sugar, rich sesame oil, and flavorful five spice is just irresistible. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Five Spice Crock-Pot Chicken

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts (about 1 - 1 1/2 lb)
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tsp sesame oil
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Place all ingredients except chicken in crock-pot. Whisk together well, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add chicken. Cook on low heat for 5-6 hours, or on low heat for 2 1/2-3 hours. Serve with rice.