Tag Archives: Recipes

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs

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It’s Easter time and everyone is getting their eggs ready to be dyed, hidden, found and gobbled up. I’ve discovered a couple of things that help create absolutely perfectly hard-boiled eggs. You may be thinking “How hard can it be? Throw some eggs in some bubbling water, right?” Wrong! It’s really a science. There are atrocities passed off as hard-boiled eggs on every buffet table in America. No more I say! No chalky yolks. No ugly gray rim where the yellow meets the white. No dry rubbery texture. And most importantly of all, no pockmarks where you’ve spent 30 minutes picking off miniscule pieces of shell that stubbornly cling to the egg despite your best efforts. I believe in a better egg! Ok, climbing off my soapbox now to tell you exactly how to do it! Continue reading →

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No Hoo-Ha Carrot Cake

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At various times in my life I have turned up my nose in disgust at carrot cakes. Seriously. Carrots? Those are a vegetable and I love them – they do not belong in cake. I compartmentalize my food. If I’m being “bad” and eating cake, I don’t want to mix up that emotion with the “good” of eating a vegetable. I’m not adept at sorting out that many contrasting feelings. However, I realized this week that I used to feel the same way about zucchini cakes – until I discovered that my mother’s chocolate zucchini cake (I’ll have to make that soon and post the recipe) is one of the most delicious things on the planet. So I decided to give carrot cake a sporting chance. It’s Easter week after all – what better cake to make? Continue reading →

Classic Tapioca

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My dad’s absolute favorite dessert is tapioca. I remember once as a kid, my grandma made it for him and put it in a flower-pot. She covered the top with crushed Oreos and added gummy worms too. Why do I remember that so vividly? Probably because of my father’s delight when he realized there was creamy delicious pudding underneath the chocolate cookies. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. It was awesome. I remembered this morning that my husband loves tapioca too, and (gasp!) we’ve been married almost 10 years and I don’t think I’ve ever made it for him. So, I picked up a box of the pearly rice and made this recipe for him. This is not the same as is found on the side of the red box. Tapioca requires constant stirring – so for those of you with kiddos…wait until they are sleeping to attempt making this. Guaranteed if they are awake they’ll require your assistance or referee skills right when it starts boiling, or when you’re mixing the hot liquid with the eggs. That’s just how kids work. Come on, you know what I’m talkin’ about. Continue reading →

Peanut Butter Easter Eggs

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Happy Easter! These little candies are perfect for giving to some-bunny you love. They also make egg-ceptional Easter basket items! Hop some over to your neighbors, they’ll love you forever! Oh, I crack myself up…ok, enough with the egg jokes. The peanut butter mixture is very crumbly, add the milk until you can pick up a handful, squeeze it and have it hold its shape.  I would suggest making them no larger than about an inch and a half long – they are VERY sweet! Continue reading →

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

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Stop the presses. These cupcakes are divine. Simply amazing. I took a lick from the bowl after portioning out the batter and wanted to just eat all of it raw using my hands as shovels. The process for making brownies (melt butter and chocolate together slowly, then add to dry ingredients) is used here and it produces a batter that is thick and rich, but kind of reminded me of my foamy hair mousse because it still had a lightness to it. Ah-mazing. Made with rich dark chocolate, the deep flavor of the cupcakes is perfectly offset by the airy creamy sweetness of the peanut butter frosting. Honestly? It tastes like the middle of a peanut butter cup, but creamier. Wow. Heavenly. Continue reading →

Zucchini “Crab” Cakes

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I made these delightful “crab” cakes for my kids tonight so that my hubby and I could have Baked Salmon Cakes without worrying about my daughter’s seafood allergy. Worked like a charm. Our dinner looked enough like theirs that there was no arguing or whining, and my 4 & 2-year-old chowed down on these cakes made of (gasp!) a vegetable. I think they actually thought it was cake. Or at least the name fooled them into eating enough that they realized it was good. My husband actually couldn’t decide which of the cakes he liked better. I agree, these fake crab cakes were almost as good as the real deal. These would be great as appetizers as well, just shape into smaller patties. Continue reading →

Baked Salmon Cakes with Dijon Dill Dipping Sauce

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I’ve been in the mood for salmon recently. It is incredibly troubling to me that my daughter is allergic to my most favorite seafood. As much as I love salmon, I’m not over the moon about the idea of having to cook two separate meals so Madison has something to eat while I enjoy moist, flaky fish. So, I rarely eat it anymore. I have a bag of salmon burger patties in my freezer so that when we grill burgers I can just throw a special one on for myself – but somehow, I change my mind and want beef once I smell it barbecuing. Go figure. This recipe allowed me to use up some of those salmon patties (or you could use canned salmon) in a delightful salmon cake that I baked in the oven until it was crispy and golden. I served it up with a speedy Dijon Dill Dipping Sauce and, for the kids also made a batch of Zucchini “Crab” Cakes. Ok, yes…I ate one of those too. You could make smaller appetizer sized patties that would be a great starter. Or make 4 main course sized cakes like I did tonight. With some mashed potatoes and fresh veggies – they make a wonderful light meal. Continue reading →

“Leslie” Salted Caramel Brownies

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I will never forgive Leslie for introducing me to the wonders of salted caramel. Come to think of it, my mom was telling me about salted caramel last week too. So I guess I can’t fully blame my pastor’s wife. However, the full responsibility for adding sweet and salty caramel sauce to rich decadent brownies is on Leslie’s shoulders. She is a genius for suggesting it. As soon as she mentioned the combination – I was intrigued. Normally I’m a “I’d like some more sweet with my sweet” kind of gal, but I looooooove caramel, and the idea of adding a kick of salt to it seemed totally natural. Pairing it with chocolate? Well, might as well just get me a chair because that kind of deliciousness requires me to sit down and catch my breath.

I spent a few days researching recipes. You’d be surprised how many are out there. Really, you could pair your favorite brownie recipe (even *gasp!* a boxed mix) and whatever caramel sauce you like, but I decided to go all out for this one. I borrowed from a couple different sites after reading about a dozen variations for caramel sauces and techniques. I wanted the brownie to be rich. Fudge-y. Dark. Not too sweet. And the caramel to be salty and sweet and running all over the brownies. Some of the recipes called for a layer of caramel over the already baked brownies. Some used the caramel on the side as a dipping sauce. I wanted caramel swirled through every bite, drizzling and dripping out of the corners. So that’s just what I did. Continue reading →

Herbed Pork Tenderloin with Oven Roasted Potatoes

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I’ve made pork tenderloin several different ways in the past. I’ve marinated it, put it in the slow cooker, charred it good in a pan with some hot oil – the usual suspects. Yesterday I was feeling a little lazy. If you’ve never cooked one, you might think a roast is a super fancy meal that requires lots of effort. Nope! There’s no better dinner (in my opinion) than a roast when you’re not really feeling like cooking. You throw everything in a pan and stick it in the oven. That’s it. I was drawn to this recipe mostly because it didn’t include searing the meat before placing it in the oven. Honestly, I just wasn’t in the mood to have even one more dish to clean. Yup. Lazy dinner time. Continue reading →

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Tops

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These are one of my favorite “cookies” to make. First of all, they are warm tasting and soft. The spices make you feel all homey and there’s no hard crunch to contend with to break that mood. Secondly, they are practically guilt free since they’re made with applesauce and pumpkin. Really, they’re like eating a piece of fruit. Ok, not quite. Since all of the ingredients are soft, you can stir them up with just a solid wooden spoon, no need to dirty an electric mixer. Fourthly (is that a word?) they are muffin tops, without the fancy muffin top pan. How awesome is that? And finally, they are just amazingly delicious. Like portable pumpkin bread. Mmmmmm.  I love love love them. Continue reading →