Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

One of my favorite places to eat is at a Churrascaria, which is an all-you-care-to-eat Brazilian BBQ. They serve the bbq with a buffet of different kinds of sides. My kids are not real big meat eaters, so they end up only eating whatever rice, potato, or bread dishes found on the buffet line. But their absolute favorite thing to eat at a churrascaria is their Pao de Queijo, Brazilian Cheese bread. 

I've been seeing quite a few recipes for Pao de Queijo all over Pinterest, like this one from Rasa Malaysia. The recipe is pretty easy and doesn't require much cleanup. However, the tricky part of the recipe is finding tapioca flour. You can find them in most Asian markets. Usually, when I find them, I buy quite a few bags of them because I like to make big batches for my kids to snack on. It also saves me a trip from constantly going to specialty Asian markets just to purchase tapioca flour. These are best eaten hot, but you can easily store them at room temperature in a large freezer bag or an air-tight container for 3-5 days. Then warm them up for  few seconds in the microwave. 

1 egg at room tempature

1/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cups tapioca flour

1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice, packed

1 heaping tsp. salt

1) Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Grease mini-muffin tins generously.

2) Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender and continue pulsing. Batter will make about 2 cups.

3) Pour batter into muffin pans, about 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes, until puffy and lightly golden. Cool in the pan for about 2-3 minutes, and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve warm. Store remaining in a freezer bag or an air tight container for up to 5 days, and reheat when ready.

Bacon Ranch Pinwheels

We're getting a new employee at the office tomorrow, and to welcome him, the boss wanted to have some refreshments set up for his welcome. I was more than happy to bring something in. But what? For the 10 months I've been in this new office of mine, I've come to learn that my co-workers are not huge fans of sweets. Bummer. Its my favorite thing to make. So I guess I just have to be more creative with the goodies I bring in.

One of the supervisors is bringing donuts. I think there will probably be enough sweets there as it is, so I decided to bring something savory. I remember eating this yummy appetizer my sister-in-law made one New Year's day celebration and thought it would be a perfect thing to bring at the office. A quick text to her lead me to a search on Pinterest and found this recipe for  Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels from In the Kitchen where I Belong. I wanted to keep it simple, so I omitted the chicken, but will definitely add it in the future. I think they'll like these at the office. Thanks for the idea, Deby!

2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
ranch dressing
1/4 cup diced onions
10 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
shredded cheese

1) Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets and set aside.

2) Unroll each tube of crescent rolls. Pinch the creases together to seal and make a rectangular dough. Spread a few tablespoons of ranch dressing on each dough. Top with with equal amounts of diced onions, then bacon, and shredded cheese.

3) Roll the dough (from the long side) tightly and cut equal amounts of slices (I was able to get about 12 slices per dough). Place pinwheels on prepared cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for about a minute. Serve warm.

Homemade Fruit Rollups

My 13 month old daughter has been having constipation problems lately. I know, TMI for this food blog, right? Well, we've been trying everything to help ease her pain. Lots of water, lots of prune juice, and lots of fruit. I've bought all kinds of fruits that are in season to help kick up her fiber intake. With those fruits, I've tried making different combinations of smoothies and purees. But then I came across this recipe for a 2-ingredient homemade Fruit Roll-up from Raining Hot Coupons via Pinterest that I thought would be another great way to get her to eat more of the fruits. Its literally only 2 ingredients. If your fruits are sweet enough and you omit the sugar, its only 1 ingredient. You can use any fruits and any type of combinations of fruits you have on hand. I just happen to have a lot of strawberries to use up. And it really is like a fruit roll-up. My older daughter enjoyed it a little more than my 13 month old. I guess its a textural thing. Besides, she doesn't have that many teeth to chew with anyway.

3 cups of fruit
sugar (optional or to taste)

1) Pre heat oven to 170 deg F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap, making sure you have enough overhang.

2) Puree the fruit and sugar (if using) until you reach a smooth consistency.

3) Pour on a prepared cookie sheet about 1/8" thick. Bake for 6-8 hours until the center is no longer tacky.

4) Lift plastic wrap out of the cookie sheet and allow to cool. Once cooled, flip over on top of parchment paper or wax paper. Peel off plastic wrap. Cut into strips and roll. Store in a ziploc bag or an airtight container for about a week.

Cookie Dough Dip

I love anything that has to do with cookie dough. Whether it be cookie dough it its raw form whenever I make my Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies. Or my Cookie Dough brownies. Or my Cookie Dough cupcakes. Or my Cookie Dough truffles. I just love cookie dough. So when I found this Cookie Dough Dip recipe from Love and Prayer via Pinterest, I knew I had to add it to my collection of cookie dough recipes.

I decided to make this for a pre Mother's Day lunch with hubby's side of the family last month and it came out really good. I served it a few neutral flavored cookies and crackers like Vanilla wafer cookies, Graham crackers, and honey wheat pretzels. I loved it most with the pretzels. So yummy.

1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8 oz) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
3/4 cup semi sweet mini chocolate chips

1) Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to bubble. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, whisk in vanilla extract.

2) In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Slowly add cooled brown sugar mixture. Mix until combined.

3) Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate for an hour before serving. Serve with vanilla wafer cookies, graham crackers, or pretzels.

Avalanche Bars

I absolutely love Pinterest. They have such great ideas, and most importantly, such great recipes. Which is where I found this recipe for my favorite Avalanche Bars from Cookies and Cups.

Avalanche bars are supped up versions of a Rice Krispies treat. I used to buy a lot of these whenever we go Outlet shopping, because that's where we always find the candy shop that sells them. Goes to show you how often I used to go outlet shopping. I don't outlet shop as often anymore, nor do I buy these sweet treats as often. But I sure do miss them. So I was so excited to find this recipe and made them immediately. They taste exactly as I remembered them. These were so easy to make that I was able to whip these up while the baby took her nap. The best part of it was that I spent the same amount of money to make them as it costs to buy one bar at the candy shop. So there was more for me eat. Yum yum!

1 (12 oz bag) white chocolate chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 mini chocolate chips

1) Lightly grease a 9x9 pan. Set aside.

2) In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt white chocolate chips in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir and continue to melt in 30 second increments until chocolate has melted and is smooth.

3) Stir in peanut butter until well incorporated. Add cereal and stir until well coated. Allow to slightly cool, about 15-20 minutes.

4) Add marshmallows and chocolate chips and stir until well combined. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of the spoon. Do not compact too much as it will become hard once the chocolate sets. Once cooled and the chocolate has set, cut into squares.

Red Velvet Puppy Chow

My family and I recently went on a trip to Disneyland this past weekend. Because I'm on bed rest, we decided to rent a room at the resort where I can stay while hubby and our daughter have fun at the park. Some have asked me why we even bothered going if I wasn't going to the park. I really wanted to treat our daughter to something special before the new baby arrives in a couple of months. Because it may be a while before we can go back to Disneyland. And she had such a great time. Which is all I could ever ask for.

Before heading out to Disneyland, I wanted to make some snacks to keep me busy while I'm alone in the hotel room. I remember coming across this Red Velvet Puppy Chow recipe from Your Cup of Cake. I love Chex cereal snacks such as Monkey Munch, Lemon Buddies, and the classic Chex Mix. So I was so excited to find a Red Velvet version of these beloved snacks. My batch didn't turn into the signature red color of red velvet as the original recipe did. I think the boxed cake mix I bought may have more cocoa in it. But it still tasted so good. Just be careful when you eat these. Aside it being addicting, they turn your fingers red.

5 cups Chex cereal (corn, rice, or both)
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup prepared cream cheese frosting
1 cup Red Velvet cake mix
1/2 cup powdered sugar
festive sprinkles or M&M's for decoration

1) Place cereal in a large bowl. Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large freezer bag or large airtight container.

2) Melt chocolates in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Be careful not to burn chocolate. Stir in cream cheese frosting. Pour mixture into the bowl of cereal and stir until coated.

3) Transfer cereal into the cake mix and powdered sugar mixture. Shake until well coated. Spread mixture onto a cookie sheet to cool and harden. Stir in decorations. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Banana Crumb Cake

I've bookmarked this recipe for almost a year from Southern Plate. I've also saved up a bunch of frozen bananas in the hopes of finally making it. Well, I looked at my freezer full of bananas and I figured I better start using them.

I usually have my go-to Banana Bread recipe. But I felt that it was missing some "umph." I've always loved any loaf cakes with a crumb topping on it. And so when I found this recipe, I wanted to give it a try. Its a pretty straightforward recipe and the end product has become my new go-to recipe for a banana bread fix. This was delicious with that the extra flair of crunchy crumb topping.

Cake
2 cups sugar
3 ripe bananas
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup milk
2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Crumb topping
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup flour
1 cup (light or dark) brown sugar, lightly packed

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease 2 loaf or 8x8 pans. Set aside

2) Place peeled bananas in a bowl of an electric mixer. Add sugar. Beat on low-medium speed until bananas are liquefied, about 1-2 minutes.

3) Add butter and continue beating until creamed together with the banana mixture, about 2 minutes. (Note: there will be small lumps of butter in the mixture).

4) Add remaining ingredients and continue beating until well combined. Set aside.

5) In a medium bowl, place all ingredients for the crumb topping. Cut together using a fork or 2 knives until you get a crumbly mixture.

6) Pour 1/4 of the mixture to each of the prepared pan. Sprinkle 1/4 of the crumb topping on top of each pan with the batter. Pour remaining batter on top of each pan, and sprinkle the remaining crumb topping . Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until toothpick test comes out clean.

Chex Mix

I've been eating packaged Chex Mix for as long as I can remember. Its a great snack with lots of flavor. I also remember hearing that it was just as easy to open a bag of Chex Mix as it was to make it. But I don't know why I've never made it before. I've made other Chex snacks from Chex cereal, like Monkey Munch (aka Puppy Chow), and recently, Chex Lemon Buddies (which the recipe I got from the back of the box). The traditional Chex Mix recipe was also on the back of the box, and I had some cereal left over from so I decided to make some today. I can honestly say that these were totally better than the packaged stuff. Its nice and buttery and crunchy and fresh.

3 cups Corn Chex cereal
3 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite-size pretzels
1 cup garlic flavor bite size bagel chips, broken in to small pieces
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder

1) Preheat oven to 250 deg F.

2) In a large bowl, mix together the cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine melted butter, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Pour sauce over the cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated.

3) Spread prepared cereal mix on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread Chex mix on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Chex Lemon Buddies

I recently discovered that my daughter loves Chex Mix. So at the store today, we decided to make some from scratch and bought Chex cereal. On the back of one of the cereal boxes were great recipes for different kinds of Chex snacks. One that caught my eye was the Chex Lemon Buddies, because I had some lemons, fresh my parents' tree. This snack reminds me of Monkey Munch that I used to make often. But this dish has a refreshing flavor from the lemon. Its a really great snack and my daughter really liked it.

9 cups Chex cereal
1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
4 tsp. grated lemon pee
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 cups powdered sugar

1) Pour cereal in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

2) In a medium microwave-safe bowl, microwave the white chocolate chips, butter lemon peel and lemon juice on high for 1 minutes. Stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds or longer until mixture can be stirred smoothly. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour in a 2-gallon resealable plastic bag.

3) Add powdered sugar. Seal bag and gently shake until well coated. Spread over waxed paper or foil to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Homemade Marshmallows

On chilly evenings, we always have our fireplace on and our daughter likes to roast marshmallows. It wasn't so chilly last week, but out of the blue she wanted to roast some. Unfortunately we didn't have any marshmallows to roast. And then I remembered that there were several recipes in the blogosphere for homemade marshmallows. Then I thought, why not try to make some. So I settled with this recipe from The Brown Eyed Baker.

This recipe is pretty simple if you're organized. There are a lot of things going on at the same time, so you just have to have all the ingredients and appliances ready for a smooth process. Once its all said and done, these marshmallows come out so good. Mine didn't come out as pretty, but hey, they'll be floating and melting in my hot chocolate anyway.

1 cup cornstarch
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 (1/4 oz) packets unflavored gelatin
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 cup cold water
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tbsp. sugar

1) Using a rimmed baking sheet that is about an inch high, line it with parchment paper. Dust generously with cornstarch. Set aside.

2) In a medium saucepan, add 1/3 cup of the water, 1 1/4 cup sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Once sugar is dissolved, continue cooking (without stirring) until temperature reaches 265 deg F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.

3) While syrup is cooking, pour remaining cold water (about 7 tablespoons) in a microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and let sit for 5 minutes until it becomes spongy. Then heat in the microwave for 20-30 seconds to liquefy.

4) In a clean bowl of a stand-mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites over medium-high until firm, but still glossy. Add remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar.

5) As soon as the temperature of the syrup reaches 265 deg F, remove from heat. Lower mixer to medium speed, add syrup into egg whites, pouring in between the spinning beater and the sides of the bowl. Add gelatin and continue to beat for 3 minutes so that syrup and gelatin is fully incorporated. Beat in vanilla extract.

6) Using a large rubber spatula, scrape the meringue mixture onto the baking sheet. Spread to the corners of the pan, but try to maintain the height of the mixture at 1-inch. Dust the top of the marshmallows with a mixture of cornstarch and confectioner's sugar and set in a cool, dry place. Allow to set between 3-12 hours.

7) When ready to cut the marshmallows, have a bowl ready with a mixture of cornstarch and confectioner's sugar to dust. Cut marshmallows into desired shapes. Frequently rinse and dry the tool you are using to cut the marshmallows. Place cut marshmallows in bowl of cornstarch and confectioner's sugar and toss. Shake off excess powder and place on a serving platter or storage container. Store in a cool and dry place for up to 1 week.

Toasted Ravioli

I was home with my daughter today because she's sick with a fever. Again. It seems like every month we send her off to school, she catches something just as she's recovering from a previous illness. But the doctor says its part of growing up. But she's off of school more than she's on. Anyway, since I was home today, I was looking in our refrigerator for something to make. Then I remembered that I had a huge bag of frozen ravioli from Costco, which I had planned on making some toasted ravioli with. So I figured since I had some time, might as well make them today.

I used this recipe from What's Cookin, Chicago? that I had been eyeing for awhile. The process was pretty quick and simple. And I served this with my own Marinara Sauce for dipping and it came out so well. They taste just as good as the ones we order as appetizers at some of the restaurants we visit. Hubby loved these.

2 Tbsp. milk
1 egg
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 package frozen ravioli (about 20-24 pieces), thawed
2 cups oil for frying
grated Parmesan for garnish
Marinara Sauce for dipping

1) Combine milk and egg in a small bowl. In another shallow bowl, combine breadcrumbs and seasonings. Dip ravioli in egg mixture and coat with breadcrumbs.

2) In a large, heavy pan, pour oil to the depth of 2 inches. Heat oil over medium heat until a small amount of breading sizzles and turns brown. Fry ravioli, a few at a time, for about a minute or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with Marinara Sauce.

Halloween Popcorn

Happy Halloween!!!

I thought I'd do something fun and festive with my daughter to commemorate Halloween today. So when this recipe for Halloween Popcorn came up on my reader from Sing for Your Supper, it gave me a great idea. I didn't want to buy a whole bag of candy corn, so my daughter and I fished out the small packets of candy corn from our Halloween candy stash we were going to pass out tonight. The kids won't miss it. Anyway, this recipe can't be more easy. It only takes 4 ingredients and is fun and yummy.

1 bag plain microwave popcorn, popped

candy corn

6 ounces white chocolate chips

Halloween sprinkles

Place popped popcorn and candy corn in a very large bowl. Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring each time, until melted. Drizzle melted chocolate over the popcorn and candy corn. Stir to coat each piece of popcorn. Pour mixture over a tray lined with wax paper and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle with Halloween sprinkles and allow to cool for 15-30 minutes. Break into pieces.

Homemade Cracker Jack

I didn't eat much of the childhood favorite, Cracker Jacks. I don't know why, but I just wasn't in to the boxed popcorn stuff. Even the prize you get from the Cracker Jacks box didn't appeal to me. It took me a while to even start liking the popcorn you buy that came in those large tin containers. You know, the ones they normally sell during the holidays. To me, they were just plain stale. I like freshly made popcorn. Whether it be fresh buttered popcorn or freshly made caramel corn. They have to be fresh.

My daughter has been asking me to make some popcorn snacks recently and so I decided to give this recipe a try from the Brown Eyed Baker. I've never made caramel corn before. And it was quite easy and yummy.

10 cups freshly popped plain popcorn

1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 cup light corn syrup

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

2 Tbsp. water

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup lightly salted peanuts

1) Preheat oven to 250 deg F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2) Coat a large bowl with non-stick cooking spray and pour popcorn in the bowl.

3) In a small saucepan, whisk together brown sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, water and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer, stirring often, until mixture reaches 250 deg F, about 3-5 minutes.

4) Remove caramel from heat. Whisk in vanilla extract and baking soda. Immediately pour caramel onto popcorn. Add peanuts. Gently fold mixture using a rubber spatula until everything is coated with the caramel. Transfer mixture onto prepared baking sheet and spread out. Bake for 1 hour, stirring the mixture every 20 minutes.

5) Cool popcorn on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Gently break up the popcorn. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Kelsey's Chocolate Popcorn Brittle

We were visiting my mother-in-law on Saturday and we were watching "Big Daddy's House" on the Food Network when I saw him make this recipe for Chocolate Popcorn Brittle with Kelsey Nixon of Kelsey's Essentials. I've been looking for another good snack to make and I love fresh caramel corn. Not the kind you get from a bag or a box. I like honest-to-goodness, made-from-scratch caramel corn. I also love Popcornopolis popcorn, but I don't like spending mucho dinero just for popcorn. The recipe looked really easy and I happen to have all the ingredients, so I decided to make it.

I have to say these were "the bomb dot com." Super yummy and I love the contrast of the sweet and the salty from the pretzel. It really is easy to make and I even had my daughter help me drizzle on the chocolate. These are definitely going to be a regular recipe. Especially when we have those lazy weekends where all we do is bum around the house and watch TV and sleep all day.

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

10 cups plain popped popcorn

3/4 cup chocolate chips, melted

3/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted

1 cup crushed pretzels

1) Mix sugar and honey in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in peanut butter. Continue to stir until peanut butter is smooth. Stir in vanilla until well incorporated.

2) In a large mixing bowl, pour in popcorn. Pour warm peanut butter mixture over popcorn and stir until completely coated.

3) Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Pour coated popcorn and distribute evenly on baking sheet. Drizzle melted chocolate on top of popcorn, and then drizzle melted white chocolate. Top with crushed pretzels. Allow chocolate to set for about 20 minutes (or place in refrigerator). Once chocolate has set, break up the popcorn into bite-sized pieces and store in an air-tight container until ready to serve.

Alfajores

Alfajores is an almond flavored sandwich cookie often found in Latin cultures. There are many different versions of this cookie from different parts of Latin America. This particular recipe is a Peruvian version. I came to learn about this delicious cookie from one of my co-workers when she brought some back from lunch at a local Peruvian restaurant. I was totally hooked and I had to find a recipe. I found this recipe from Christmas-cookies.com that I thought I should try. We're going on a trip to the mountains this weekend and I figured these would be perfect to take along with us.

The cookie itself was pretty easy to make. The tricky part was the caramel filling. It didn't thicken enough to spread on the cookie. It was very runny, but the recipe specifies that if the caramel is too thin, I had to add confectioner's sugar and it came out fine. Since our weekend trip falls right before Valentine's day, I wanted to be festive and make heart-shaped cookies, rather than the traditional round shapes. Overall, these cookies were delicious. I hope everyone likes them.

Cookies

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup ground almonds (ground slivered almonds in a food processor)

3 cups all purpose flour

Caramel Filling

2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup half & half (or light cream, or evaporated milk)

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2) Cream butter, confectioner's and granulated sugar until fluffy. Stir in salt, almond extract, vanilla extract, ground almonds and flour. Continue beating until well incorporated. Wrap the container and chill for 30 minutes.

3) Once chilled, roll out dough on a floured surface 1/4 inch thick. Cut desired shape of cookie and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks before spreading filling)

4) To make the filling: combine brown sugar and cream in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat. As it cooks, brush inner sides of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water to wipe away sugar crystals. Continue heating mixture to 238-240 deg F. Remove from heat and cool to 110 deg F.

5) Stir in butter. Beat mixture until it is thickened, about 8-10 minutes. If mixture is too thin, add confectioner's sugar until desired consistency is achieved. Add vanilla. Cool mixture in refrigerator for about 30 minutes to further firm up the filling. Spread on bottom side of one cookie. Place another cookie on top of filling. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

Orange Muffins

Oranges are in abundance at our house right now. We've harvested a whole bunch of oranges from our tree that I don't know what to do with. Fresh squeezed orange juice isn't always easy to make. Do you know how hard it is to squeeze oranges to make orange juice? Even with a juicer? Its a carpal-tunnel syndrome waiting to happen. So I needed to figure out what to do with some of the oranges we had. I was thinking of making my Orange Ice Cream Popsicle that my daughter loves. But its too cold to be making ice cream right now. So off I went in search of another great recipe. I really wanted to make a cake or some muffins with my fresh oranges. There were quite a few muffin recipes out there, but I'm always leery about trying new recipes that no one has made yet. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with any of the recipes I try from Annie's Eats, so I had to make her Orange Muffin recipe.

Annie never seems to disappoint me because these were so yummy. They came out moist and light. Not like other muffins that are dense and almost dry. I especially love the sweet orange glaze on top. Hubby said they were really good and orangey and daughter couldn't wait to eat them once they came out of the oven. Though all she really ate was the glaze off of her muffin.

1 cup milk

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

2 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

zest of 1 orange

for the orange glaze:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tsp. orange zest

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line muffin pan with 16 liners.

2) In a medium bowl, combine milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs and melted butter. Whisk together to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in orange zest with a spatula.

3) Evenly distribute batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack over a baking sheet. Drizzle glaze over muffins while still warm.

4) To make the glaze, combine orange juice, powdered sugar, orange zest in a small bowl. Whisk together until smooth, adding more orange juice if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over muffins. Allow glaze to set before serving or storing in an airtight container.

Bobby's Hot Crab Dip

As a starter for this year's Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to make this dip. I watched Paula Deen and her son, Bobby, make this on her show on the Food Network. Hubby has a different kind of crab dip that has artichoke and uses imitation crab. What I like about this dip is the use of fresh crab. I omitted a few ingredients that made this dip too spicy, because I also wanted my daughter to have a chance to eat it as well. It came out quite tasty and creamy.

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

juice of 1 lime

1 lb. lump crab meat

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a casserole dish and set aside.

2) Using a mixer, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, green onions and lime juice. Carefully fold in crab meat. Bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips, pita chips, toasted baguette.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

I haven't had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a long time. I remember back in grade school when the thing to eat was a pb&j sandwich for lunch. I've been craving for some peanut buttery goodness lately and I remembered that I had bookmarked this recipe from one of my favorite blogs, Beantown Baker. I had some leftover Strawberry Jam that I made and LOTS of peanut butter. So I decided to try to make this. And boy did this hit the spot. It sure brings back memories of days eating lunch at the school yard.

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 cups creamy peanut butter
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups (18 oz) jam
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan. Set aside.

2) In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3) In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. Turn mixer down to low speed and add vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter. Mix until ingredients are combined. Slowly add flour mixture into peanut butter mixture and mix until well combined.

4) Spread 2/3 of the dough evenly into prepared pan. Spread jam evenly on top of the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly on top of jam. Sprinkle the top with the chopped peanuts. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

We're going on a road trip to Vegas, and again, I wanted to make some snacks for the trip. And since I had some bananas left over, I wanted to make some kind of a muffin that we can also munch on for breakfast. Because who wants to waste money on breakfast while in Vegas, right? I'd rather spend money on a lunch buffet rather than a breakfast buffet. And maybe have some money left over for those penny slots. lol! Anyway, I didn't want to make just a plain 'ol banana muffin. Since I've been on a chocolate banana fix, I wanted to make something with that theme. So I did a search and found this from cdkitchen.com that looked easy. It called for chopped up candy bars, but since I had so much chocolate chips in my fridge, its what I used. It came out pretty good. What I'd like to do next time is put a dollop of hazelnut spread in the middle of the muffin for a secret surprise. I would've done that now, but I was afraid of how it might melt and ruin the batter. I'll experiment with that next time.

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup mashed bananas

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream 1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Line muffin pan with muffin cups.

2) In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugars and salt. Stir in melted butter until moistened, using a fork. Reserve 1 cup of flour mixture and set aside. Add baking powder and baking soda in the remaining mixture. Set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, mix together banana, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla until well blended. Add banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until combined. Mix in chocolate chips.

4) Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Crumble reserved flour mixture on top of batter and lightly press onto the top of each muffin. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or cooled with chocolate drizzled on top.

Oven Baked Zucchini Chips

This recipe popped up on my reader today from Telly's Tasty Tidbits. I had some leftover zucchinis from my diet last week that I wanted to use up, so this recipe came up at the right time. I LOVE zucchinis and I'm so glad I made these because they were so yummy! My daughter loved these too. This is a great way to sneak in some veggies for her because she hates veggies. Thank you so much for this recipe! I'll definitely be making this again.

1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 grated parmesan cheese (I used shredded parmesan on this one)
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
a pinch of black pepper
2 Tbsp. water
1 egg, beaten
2 small zucchinis, thinly sliced
cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 425 deg. F. Grease 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, seasoned salt, garlic powder and black pepper.

3) In another bowl, whisk together egg and water. Dip zucchini slices in egg mixture and dredge in the breadcrumb mixture. In a single layer, place zucchini slices on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned and crisp.