Sparkling Lemon Truffles

If you like lemon and you are sweets addict like me you will love these treats.  They are freakishly good and super easy to make.  You could substitute the lemony ingredients with orange or lime and they are still awesome.  Enjoy.

Sparkling Lemon Truffles

10 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped


2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons heavy cream

1 teaspoon corn syrup

1 drop lemon extract or pure lemon oil

the zest of half a lemon

white sanding sugar for coating

Directions:

Add white chocolate and butter to a bowl, then microwave on medium power for 30 seconds. Stir a few times, then microwave for 20 more seconds.

Add heavy cream and corn syrup to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat just until bubbles appear on the edges. This will happen quickly! Immediately pour the cream over the melted chocolate and butter, stirring well for a few minutes until combined. Stir in the drop of lemon oil and lemon zest, mixing to combine. Place in the fridge (or even the freezer) for 1-2 hours.

Remove from fridge and scoop out teaspoon-size balls of chocolate with a melon scooper or small spoon. Roll them into balls and dip in the sanding sugar, coating completely. These hold up great at room temperature but I tend to store them in the fridge

This recipe makes you look good.

If there is sugar involved chances are I'm in.  Desserts are my ultimate weakness and this one is amazing.  Best of all as far as desserts go it's not terrible for you and it is soooo good.  This recipe is great in a pinch because it's super quick and near fool proof.  Don't worry about putting on your aprons girls cause you can do this one in six in heels with your hands tied behind your back.  Good luck waiting for it to cool before you dig in!



2 12 oz packages frozen berries or other frozen fruit


1 12 oz can lemon lime soda

1 package of lemon cake mix

1/3 cup sugar in the raw



Put frozen fruit into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the sugar in the raw.
Sprinkle package of cake mix on top of the berries. Pour can of soda over cake mix. Sprinkle the remaining half of the sugar across the top.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand for 10 minutes.
Serve warm with ice cream or whipped topping.
Recipe serves six to eight.

Cheeseburger pie

Before you freak out and say has she lost her mind? Cheeseburger pie? Hear me out. I was given this recipe from a friend who is always giving me crazy recipes which I always begrudgingly try and as much as I would not like to admit it typically turn out really good. It really is like biting into a juicey cheeseburger with all of the fixings. Try it before you knock it. It's like summer in a spoonfull. Enjoy.

Cheeseburger Pie •
•1 can crescent rolls
•1 pound ground beef
 •1/4 cup finely chopped onion, OR 1 teaspoon onion powder
•1/3 cup chopped dill pickle slices
 •2 tablespoons ketchup
 •1 teaspoon prepared mustard
•2 tablespoons flour
 •2 tablespoons dill pickle juice
 •2 tablespoons milk
 •2 cups shredded american cheese, divided Directions

1.Preheat oven to 375°. 2.Unroll crescent rolls and press into the bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch pie pan. 3.Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned. Drain well. 4.Stir in onion, chopped pickle, ketchup and mustard. 5.Sprinkle with flour and add pickle juice and milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. 6.Remove from heat and add 1 cup of shredded cheese. 7.Pour into the prepared crust and bake for 15 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown. 8.Remove from oven and top with remaining cup of cheese. Let stand until cheese melts. 9.Garnish with extra ketchup, mustard and pickle Recipe serves six to eight

Probably the best cookies ever!

I could really do without winter for the rest of my life. The only worth while things about winter in my opinion are Christmas and staying inside when it's cold to bake cookies. I tried this recipe for the first time last week and holy smokes they are so good. I may or may not have eaten a half a dozen before the whole batch was finished cooking. Good luck not getting addicted. Ingredients 1/2 cup of softened butter 1 cup of granulated sugar 1 cup of packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla 2 cups of flour 3/4 cup of chopped salted, roasted cashews(you could really use any nut for this macadamias are also amazing) 2/3 cup of butterscotch chips Process Preheat oven to 375. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugars, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until butter and other ingredients are creamed together. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as possible with mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Stir in cashews and butterscotch pieces. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool on a cookie rack. Serves 12-24 or one hungry cook.

It's that time of year again! My husband is a die hard Packers fan, which of course means I'll probably be rooting for the Steelers. I've also been working on my cheesy introductory lines, so here we go. Move over cocktail weenies, lookout gloopy cheese dip(and cheesy blog writers). This year for the Superbowl let's kick off our food frenzy with some out of the ordinary pallet teasers. These two recipes are sure to unite even the most divided of fan filled households. Go pack go!

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Shrimp Sliders

10 size 8-12 shrimp
10 Hawaiian rolls
1 tablespoon seafood seasoning
1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs
1/3 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon of wasabi
3 leafs Boston bib lettuce
10 banana pepper rings
10 toothpicks
4 cups of water

Put water and seafood seasoning into a medium sized pot. Bring water to a boil and add shrimp. Cook shrimp until bright pink on all sides. Remove from water and peel.
In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, ketchup and wasabi. Tear the lettuce into 10 pieces. Cut the dinner rolls in half like a hamburger bun. Toss shrimp in mayonnaise sauce.

Place a piece of lettuce onto the bottom half of each bun. Place a piece of shrimp on top of each piece of the lettuce. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs on top of shrimp. Put top bun of top of the shrimp. Put the toothpick through each slider and put a banana pepper ring on the top of the toothpick.

Recipe serves 10

Loli-babs 1/20/11 - ky3.com
Loli-Bobs

1 pound of ground beef
1 pound of ground turkey
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
3 eggs
1 cup of teriyaki glaze
12 bamboo skewers
2 teaspoon of wasabi paste
1/3 cup of mayonnaise

Mix mayonnaise and wasabi paste in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl combine ground turkey, ground beef, chopped onion, tomato paste, garlic powder and desired salt and pepper.
In a smaller bowl, whisk eggs together. Add eggs to meat mixture and stir until completely combined. Separate meat into 12 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball shape.

Skewer each ball; place the kebabs onto a lined sprayed sheet pan. Brush each kebab with teriyaki glaze. Place pan into a preheated 350-degree oven.

Bake for 15 minutes. Brush again with teriyaki glaze again and serve with wasabi mayonnaise.

Recipe serves 6.

No Bake pumpkin cheesecake

I'll be the first to admit that a real baked custard cheesecake is far better than a no bake one that is not nearly as firm and doesn't have quite the same bite. This cheesecake recipe is really freakin good, and it only takes about 35 minutes start to finish time. And the best part is that your not having to wait three hours for it to cool to the proper temperature. Enjoy.

2 cups of ginger snaps
1/2 stick of butter, melted
2 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese
1 cup of pumpkin
2 1/2-ounce packages of unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Crush ginger snaps into crumbs. Toss with melted butter and press into a 9 x 13 or 10-inch round pan. In a mixer, combine cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and seasonings.
In a medium bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 1/4 cup of room-temperature water. Let stand for one minute; add 1/2 cup of boiling water and mix with a fork or whisk to combine.

Add gelatin mixture to pumpkin mixture. Mix on high for one minute. Pour pumpkin onto ginger snap crust and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Recipe serves 6-8.

Here's to boycotting canned cranberry sauce!!

I think one of my favorite fruits is the cranberry, and in my mind the worst thing you can do to that fabulous versatile fruit is cook it until it is no longer recognizable, cram in into a can and leave it there until you slid it out(can ridge imprints and all), slice it up and call it a side dish. Serving fresh made cranberry sauce takes little to no effort, it's so easy, and I promise once you've tried it you'll never go back to the canned stuff again. It's super simple and oh so yummy, good luck keeping it around long enough for it to make it to your thanksgiving table.


Cranberry Limeade Salad

1 bag of fresh cranberries
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh lime zest
1 cup of toasted chopped pecans
1 can of Mandarin oranges
In a medium saucepan, heat cranberries and sugar on medium heat for five to seven minutes until the cranberries start to crack and bubble. Remove from heat and cool for 20 minutes.

Add drained oranges, chopped pecans and lime zest; toss and refrigerate for another 20 minutes.

Recipe serves 6.

It's so gouda!

So my sister Cheri and I made this recipe at my house this weekend. We're trying to teach her how to cook so that she can snag her a 10 if you know what I mean. Wink wink. Anyways it's so good, and it's really simple we made it start to finish in about 25 minutes. Be prepared to take a nap after you've eaten it however, this is food coma land kind of stuff. Enjoy.

Smoked gouda and Kielbasa Mac n cheese.

4 cups of macaroni noodles
10 oz grated smoked gouda cheese(there is very little chance you will find this already grated, so you'll probably have to break out your box grater and your jar of elbow grease. Unless, like me you are lazy and well equiped, then just break out your food processor with the grating attachment and let it do all of the work for you.)
8 oz grated mild cheddar
3 cups milk
1 8 oz stick of butter
6 oz flour
2 tsp tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 12 oz kielbasa sausage cut into coins

Go ahead and boil you noodles first. I like to get this out of the way so I don't get distracted and overcook my pasta. There is no going back once you've made soggy sticky pasta. Also if you'll add about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt to your water, the salt will make you water boil faster and the oil will keep your pasta from sticking together. Once you've got your pasta cooked drain it and rinse it with cool water until the pasta is completely cooled. This stops the cooking process(again, nobody likes soggy pasta). In a medium sauce pan melt your butter. Once the butter is melted add the flour and cook for about one minute. Congratulations you have just made a roux! Now add you milk. Keep stirring it until it starts to get good and thick. Then add your grated cheeses and stir until they melt and incorporate. Add your tabasco and your salt and pepper. It's important at this point to taste it and make sure it's got all the flavor you want it to have. If you need to add any more salt, pepper, tabasco or cheese go ahead. Once your sauce is done transfer it and your pasta into a large bowl. Now take your kielbasa sausgae and saute it until it starts to get brown and crispy around the edges. Add the kielbasa and pan drippings to the bowl with the mac in it and toss to combine all ingredients. Now if you are impatient at this point you can just go ahead and eat it, but if you want to make it look and taste even better put it in a cassarole dish and top it with shredded cheese and breadcrumbs and toss it in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. Either way it's so gouda!

That's right I said Home made marshmellows

I like a good marshmellow every now and then, especially when I am camping or we light up the fire pit in the backyard. Marshemellows are, however, my husbands drug of choice. He is one of the three people in this world who actually really like marshmellow peeps, so when we discovered this recipe I thought his head was going to explode. They are actually really cool, you can flavor them and shape them however you want. Also when you take a torch to these(yes I keep a torch in my kitchen) they get this awesome hard toffee shell to them. Mmmmm sticky marshmellows.



3 envelopes of unflavored Knox gelatin
1/2 cup of cold water
2 cups of granulated sugar
2/3 cups of corn syrup
1/4 cup of water
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dredging
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of cold water. Soak for 10 minutes.

Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix with whisk attachment at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture.

Scrape into a 9 inch by 9 inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper for ease. After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.

Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners’ sugar and cut into pieces with scissors or a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar and enjoy!

The ultimate chocolate covered strawberries.

I love chocolate covered strawberries, but these are like the Louis Vuitton of Chocolate covered strawberries(I also love Louis Viutton). I made them for my Dad and Husband for fathers day, and they loved them. Even my father in law who hates cheesecake (which these are filled with) loved them. If you want to replace the chocolate with white chocolate or use another kind of nut, or even toffee or coconut, then feel free. Good luck not eating them before they set up.


8-10 large strawberries
16 ounces of milk chocolate chips
8 ounces of ready made cheesecake filling
4 tablespoons of chopped pecans
Cut the top off the strawberries and remove their cores. Using a pastry bag or seal able plastic bag, fill the strawberries with cheesecake filling.

Melt chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl, cooking in 30-second increments, stirring in between. Dip the top half of each strawberry in the chocolate. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

Refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Recipe serves six.