Pizza Dough Sliders

Ingredients:

Pizza dough

Sandwich fixings of your choice

Directions:

• Roll your pizza dough out to about 1/3 -1/2 inch thick.
• Cut out small circles using a shot glass or small circle cookie cutter
• Place circles onto a pizza stone or a regular cookie sheet lightly dusted with cornmeal
• Bake according to recipe or package directions. Watch closely. Mine took about 8-10 minutes.
• Using one circle at the bottom of the bun and one as the top, assemble sliders to your liking.

( I chose chicken nuggets, celery straws, blue cheese, ranch dressing, Swiss cheese, deli turkey, tomato, bacon, lettuce, honey mustard. I think a meatball dipped in marinara sauce with some mozzarella cheese would be awesome)

Your  Pizza Dough Sliders are ready.

APPLE CUSTARD CAKE

This is an awesome custard recipe from Brandi

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp baking powder
3.75 Oz AP flour
1/2 vanilla bean
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp kosher salt
6 Oz sugar
1 lbs 2 Oz chopped apples
4 Oz unsalted melted butter 
3 TBSP apple cider
Unrefined sugar for sprinkling

[NB:1 Oz= 28.35g]

 Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch springform cake pan and line it with parchment paper. Sprinkle unrefined sugar on the sides of the pan and tap it around
   
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl
   
3.  In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk until they’re foamy. Rub the vanilla bean seeds into the sugar and add to the eggs. Blend well
   
4.   Whisk in the apple cider, half the flour blend well
   
5. Add half the melted butter and the remaining flour and butter. Mix gently after each addition so that you have a smooth, rather thick batter. 
   
6. Fold in the apples, so that it’s coated with batter. Scrape the mixture into the pan and poke it around a little with the spatula so that it’s even. Sprinkle the top of the cake with unrefined sugar. 
   
7. Slide the pan into the oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden brown and a knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let rest for 30 minutes.
   
8.  Wait until the cake is cooled, then carefully remove the cake from the pan & serve it.

Mini Quiches

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cup whole milk

1 cup cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3/4 teaspoons salt
A dash of pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Peppers or mushrooms or any other vegetable you desire! (Diced or cut thin)

Preparation:

1. Lightly grease two mini muffin pans (preferably 24-count).
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
3. Whisk together cornstarch, cream and milk. Add eggs, whisk until light and frothy. Stir in salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle a teaspoon of cheese in the bottom of each mini muffin tin. Arrange vegetables on top of cheese. Pour in 1 1/2 tablespoons of egg mixture (or until near the top of the muffin tin).
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for ten minutes.
6. CAREFULLY remove with a knife. 

These can be enjoyed right away or frozen after they’ve thoroughly cooled.

Thanks Monet Moutrie for this recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares

Makes about 25 small squares

Ingredients

For the Crust:
22 Nabisco FAMOUS Chocolate Wafers, finely crushed (about 1⅔ cups crumbs)
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the Filling
6 firmly packed tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 cups Confectioners’ sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1⅓ cup creamy peanut butter (I like Skippy Natural “No Need To Stir”)
Pinch of salt

For the Milk Chocolate Ganache Topping
1-11.5 ounce bag Ghirardelli (or similar best quality) milk chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Make crust: Combine chocolate wafers, sugar and butter in bowl of food processor fitted with a blade attachment and pulse until cookies are finely crushed. Press mixture firmly into prepared baking pan (I spread it with my hands first, then use the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out). Bake for 8 minutes. Set on rack to cool completely.

3. In the meantime, make peanut butter filling: Combine all ingredients together in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at low speed until just combined (do not whip). Set bowl in refrigerator while you prepare the rest.

4. Make chocolate ganache topping: Combine milk chocolate chips and heavy cream in microwave safe bowl and cook in microwave at medium power (50%) for 1-1½ minutes. Stir until bowl no longer feels warm. Continue heating at 15-30 second intervals, stirring until smooth and melted. Do not overheat.

5. Put it all together: Use an offset icing spatula (see photo above) to spread about ¼ cup of chocolate mixture evenly over cooled crust; place pan in freezer until chocolate is set, about 5-10 minutes. Spread peanut butter mixture into an even layer over chocolate (if it’s firm, you can use your hands; if it’s soft, use a butter knife or spatula). Give chocolate ganache a quick stir to smooth any lumps, then spread evenly over top of peanut butter layer. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in freezer for 1 hour to set (or, if you’re not in a hurry, you can just leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours). When firm, use a sharp knife to cut into squares (make them smaller as they are very rich!). Keep refrigerated and serve cool.

Recipe taken from Once Upon A Chef 

Lamb with Rice

Saudi Cuisine has a wide range of lamp recipe. Given below is one such recipe with lamb, tomato and green peas as main ingredients. I make this recipe very often for lunch.

Ingredients

750 g lamb, cut into big chunks
8 cups water or 2 liters
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion or 125 g, chopped
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 medium tomatoes or 300 g, peeled and diced
1 tin canned green peas or 400 g, drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cubes MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon
2½ cups basmati rice or 500 g, washed and drained

Preparation

1) Put lamb chunks and water in a large pot and bring it to boil. Remove froth as it appears. Simmer over low heat for about 1½ hours or until lamb becomes tender. Set aside. 

2) Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and cook over medium heat for 5-6 minutes  (or until they become golden brown in color)

3) Add spices, tomatoes, green peas, tomato paste and MAGGI® Chicken Bouillon cubes. Stir for 2 minutes.

4) Add the cooked lamb with 4½ cups of the lamb stock, add water if needed.

5) Add the rice and stir occasionally and bring to boil. 

6) Cover with a lid and simmer for 25 minutes (or until rice is cooked).                                

Source:  Nestle Saudi Recipe 
 

Condensed Milk Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Mix butter and condensed milk. Add salt, baking powder and flour, and mix just until combined.
2. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Source:http://www.jensfavoritecookies.com/2013/02/25/condensed-milk-cookies

Sausage Pizza Balls

Ingredients.

• 10 refrigerator biscuits
• 3 string cheese sticks, quartered
• 1/4 cup pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup precooked sausage crumbles
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. Flatten the refrigerator biscuits to about 3 1/2 inches wide.
3. Top biscuits with 1 teaspoon pizza sauce, a few sausage crumbles, a string cheese piece and a sprinkle of oregano.
4. Gather the edges up around the toppings and pinch together at the top.
5. Place the pizza balls into a greased pie pan with the seams on the bottom.
6. Brush the tops with a beaten egg white.
7. Sprinkle the tops with grated Parmesan cheese.
8. Bake at 425°F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Serve with additional pizza sauce, if desired.

http://www.thegunnysack.com/2013/03/sausage-pizza-balls-recipe.html

ROASTED SWEET POTATO RISOTTO

Ingredients.

• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled & chopped
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 diced shallot
• 1 tsp minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 1 1/3 cups dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• 4 cups chicken or veggie stock
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp brown butter
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh herbs I went with parsley and rosemary

How to brown butter: In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium high heat. Once melted, stir constantlyand continue to cook until butter turns rich brown color. Remove from heat immediately.

1. Roast Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with foil. Toss sweet potato chunks with nutmeg, paprika, salt, pepper, and 2 tbsp of the olive oil, making sure everything is well-coated. Spread out on cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 30 minutes, tossing every 1o minutes or so to keep from burning. Let cool then mash with potato mash (or use food processor). Set aside.
2. Warm stock in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Don’t let it boil, just keep it warm.
3. Make Risotto: Heat a dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil and butter (not the browned one, just the regular 2 tbsp) followed by the shallots. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Increase heat slightly and add arborio rice. Stir to coat rice evenly in oil/butter mixture and cook until rice becomes translucent and slightly toasty, about 5 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and add in the wine, stirring continuously until the rice absorbs the wine. When most of it is absorbed, add in about 1/3 cup stock. Repeat this process until all of the stock is absorbed, only adding more stock when most of the previous batch has been absorbed by the rice. It should take about 20-30 minutes, and you may need more liquid. I ended up adding in about 2 cups of water at the end, but it varies so keep adding liquid until the risotto is no longer hard but is still a little chewy.
6. Once the rice is cooked, reduce heat to low and stir in sweet potato mixture. Really stir it in so that it is completely mixed. Then, stir in Parmesan cheese and brown butter until fully combined.
7. Remove from heat, and serve.
8. To serve: place on plate/bowl and top with crumbled bacon, additional cheese, and fresh herbs.

Source:http://onsugarmountain.com/2013/03/05/roasted-sweet-potato-risotto

Sweet Heart Sugar Cubes

Ingredients:

1. Fine granulated white sugar – 1/4 cup
2. Water (boiled and cooled) – 1/2 teaspoons
3. Food color – 1 or 2 drops (depend how deep you want the color to be)

Utensils & Tools: 
1. Small bowl
2. Tea spoon
3. Cookie cutter (mini heart) or candy mold or chocolate mold
4. Cardboard
5. Pencil
6. Scissors (if using cookie cutter)
7. Tray

Prepare Wet & Colored Sugar

Get ready all the ingredients to make sweet heart sugar cubes.
I used Americolor soft gel paste but any food color will do. If you need deeper color, add more food color but you need to reduce the water amount.
Add 1/8 tea spoon of water into the sugar at a time and mix well every time you add.
Mix well and evenly. The wetness is a little dryer than the wet sand when you build a sand castle.
If the sugar is too wet, it is hard to hold up it’s shape after molding.
If the sugar is too dry, it will not get harden after it is dried.
Add 1 or 2 drops of food color into the sugar mixture and mix well.
If you are not sure how deep the color you will get from your food color, add 1/2 of the amount of the water to wet the sugar, then 1 drop of food color, mix well. Add more color or water as per your color reference.
You can mix food colors to get the color you want in another small container before adding it into the sugar.
The texture of the colored wet sugar. When you press the wet sugar, it formed into shapes easily.

Mold With Cookie Cutter

Trace the heart shape of cookie cutter onto a cardboard.
Cut the heart shape out from cardboard. Cut it a little smaller so that it can go through the cookie cutter.
Scoop some wet sugar into the cutter, press with finger until they get firmed in the cutter.
You can fill the sugar to any height as you like and not necessary to the full height of the cutter.
Place the heart shaped cardboard on the top of the cutter. Press the sugar until it is firm and level especially if it is not filled to full height.
Slowly lift the cutter up and push the sugar down. Use tea spoon handle to push the cardboard if the cutter is too small for your finger to get in. I need to use tea spoon handle because the cutter is just too tiny as you can see from the picture.
It might take you a few attempts to get the sugar comes out nice and even by not over pressing it while lifting the cutter. Just put back any failed sugar into the bowl and mix again to reuse.
Repeat.
I did a few colors from the primary color, red, blue, yellow. The green was from blue and yellow mix.

Mold with Chocolate or Candy Mold

Press the wet sugar into the clean and dry candy or chocolate mold.
Level the top flat.
Turn the mold and lightly knock the mold against the tray to pop out the alphabet sugar cubes.
Wet molded sugar cubes in alphabets are formed. Gently transfer or arrange them on a tray for air drying.



Place the sugar cubes on a tray to air-dry completely. Or, you may use a 200F oven to dry it for 5-10 minutes.I left mine overnight and a morning before storing them away into an air-tight container.
Keep them in a cool dry place and consume as soon as possible.

Be the sugar cubes for valentines or special occasion, it sure melts the heart of your loved one.

Cauliflower Rice Recipe

Cauliflower Rice Recipe

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green jalapeno
3 eggs, whisked
coconut oil to cook in
salt and pepper to taste
(coconut aminos or soy sauce to taste - optional)
Instructions
Cut up the cauliflower florets into large chunks and place into a food processor with the blade attachment (this forms the cauliflower "rice"). Squeeze out excess liquid.
Food process the onion and the peppers as well. Squeeze out excess liquid.
Saute the onions gently in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. When they're translucent, add in the peppers (or other vegetables).
In a separate pan, add in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and pour in the whisked eggs. Cook on a low heat. When the eggs start to form a pancake of sorts, scramble it up a bit so that you end up with smallish pieces of egg.
Add the eggs to the onions and peppers.
Add the cauliflower "rice" to the onions and peppers (you might need a big saucepan for this).
Cook until the cauliflower reaches the desired softness (I like mine soft, but you might want it less mushy) - add the eggs to it as well.
Season with salt and pepper (and coconut aminos or soy sauce) to taste.

Thanks to: http://ancestralchef.com/cauliflower-rice-recip/#sthash.u6HU56Oc.dpbs

Cutest Recipe i ever saw

Brown Butter Lucky Charm Cereal Bars.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 10 oz marshmallows
• 6 cups Lucky Charms cereal

Instructions

Melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Add in the marshmallows and stir constantly to prevent sticking or burning. Once completely melted pour over cereal. Quickly stir together and pour into prepared greased pan. Allow to cool and cut into squares. Store in an air tight container.

Instead of using a greased pan, I like to line mine with parchment paper. So much easier! You will want to grease the spoon though.

http://www.sweetbellaroos.com/2013/03/01/brown-butter-lucky-charms-cereal-bars/#comments