Julie and Julia

Hey, I watched Julie and Julia the other day. Great movie, inspirational. Specially to people who like to cook or foodies. :)

Eat, Pray, Love

Yeah! A Julia Roberts movie about food! Well, sorta. I wanna see it! Can't Wait!

Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl

I made dinner for some friends that came over yesterday. Meatloaf, mash potatoes, corn. And of course... Desert! :) So I made something called Layered Strawberry Cheesecake Bowl. It's pretty good. I made it once before, and it was a success. It's easy, so I thought I could make it for them. Heres the recipe.

Ingredients

• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 (8 ounce) packages PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
• 2 cups thawed COOL WHIP LITE Whipped Topping, divided
• 2 cups frozen pound cake cubes (1 inch)
• 1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine berries and sugar; refrigerate until ready to use. Beat Neufchatel with mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mix; mix well.
2. Blend in 1-1/2 cups COOL WHIP. Spoon half into 2-1/2-qt. bowl.
3. Top with layers of cake, berries and remaining Neufchatel cheese mixture.
4. Refrigerate 4 hours. Melt chocolate; drizzle over trifle. Top with remaining COOL WHIP.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I found this wonderful lemon poppy seed recipe online. I made them this morning. They were really good. Here is the recipe:

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2/3 cup granulated sugar

zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted until browned and cooled

2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (for topping the batter before baking)

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar whisked together with 2 or 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12 mold, regular sized muffin tray with paper muffin liners, place the muffin pan on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is lightly colored and scented with lemon. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk (or sour cream) vanilla extract, melted butter and lemon juice.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. When almost thoroughly mixed, add the poppy seeds. Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle each would be muffing with granulated sugar.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. If you’re freezing the cupcakes for future eating, skip the glaze. It doesn’t freeze well.

???

Okay, we have like hardly any food in our pantry, but I thought I would experiment for dinner. I found every possible thing that I could find laying around, that might go together. It was interesting what the end result was. It had Italian Diced Tomatoes, a can of corn, fresh spinach, some frozen mixed veggies, leftover rice. We were going to put it over some penne pasta, but then we just threw it in with the mixture. :) I added some salt, pepper, and taco seasoning. lol :) Oh, and butter! We don't have a name for it yet, and I was wondering if anybody had an idea for a name. Comment and let me know if you do. thxs

Before the pasta.... :)

Isaiah is 7 years old today!!! I made him a football cake. It's not professional by any means. It was work! lol... I hope he likes it. This is technology my first layered cake... :)

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

I got this wonderful buffalo chicken wraps. I made them tonight. They are very Good. Here is the recipe:

*Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

* Burrito Size Flour Tortillas

* Buffalo Sauce

* Shredded Lettuce

* Shredded Colby Jack Cheese

* Diced Tomatos

* Ranch Dressing (Optional)

How To: Cook the chicken till fully cooked. You can either fry or grill the chicken. Fried is better with this recipe, in my opinion. Set chicken aside after cooked. Shredded lettuce and dice the tomatoes. In a small frying pan put a dap of canola oil in the pan and put each of the tortillas in it a medium heat for like 5 seconds. Or until Browned. Dip all cooked chicken in Buffalo sauce. Lay heated tortilla on plate or flat surface. Put about two or three buffalo chicken strips on the tortilla and then you can just add the cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and ranch. Makes, how much chicken you have. ENJOY! Btw...We didn't Have enough flour tortillas, so we used our leftover spinach wraps. :) So that's what the green wraps are.

Heavenly Filled Strawberries

I found this amazing recipe, called Heavenly Filled Strawberries. Our whole family loves strawberries, especially my mom. So I made them this afternoon. They are a very elegant dish. Here is the recipe. I didn't have grated chocolate, but I did have leftover chocolate chips, so I melted them and made that my little garnish. I also didn't put chocolate on all of them.This recipe is a very very simple, easy and enjoyable treat for everyone.

HEAVENLY FILLED STRAWBERRIES

36 Servings Prep/Total Time: 20min.

Ingredents:

* 1 pound fresh strawberries

*2 pkgs (one 8oz, one 3oz.) cream cheese, softened

*1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

*1/4 teaspoon almond extract

*Grated chocolate

Directions:

* Remove stems from strawberries;cut a deep "X" in the tip of each berry. Gently spread berries open.

* In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and extract until light and fluffy. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons into each berry; sprinkle with chocolate. Chill until serving. Yield: about 3 dozen

Nutrition Facts: I filled strawberry (calculated without chocolate) equals 41 calories, 3 grams of fat ( 2 grams saturated fat), 10mg cholesterol, 26mg sodium, 3 grams carbohydrate, trace fiber, 1 gram protein. Diabetic Exchange: 1/2 fat

My RED Velvet Cake

I am making this Red Velvet Cake for my grandpa's birthday. I have never made this cake before so I had to make one before his birthday, so I couldn't totally mess it up. This is my first layered cake that didn't look like crap. :) If I say so myself, It turned out really well. :)




















Red Velvet Cake

Makes one 9-inch layer cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups White Lily self-rising flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 tablespoons red food coloring ( I used 1 whole bottle of red food coloring)




Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 9-by-2-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, and line with wax paper. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour and baking soda. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla. With an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until flour has been incorporated. Slowly add buttermilk. Add food coloring, and beat to combine.

3. Divide batter among pans; each pan will be about half full. Tap pans on counter to remove bubbles. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the pans to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Invert pans onto wire racks sprayed with vegetable oil to cool cake completely, or quick-chill in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes.

4. To assemble, place one layer, top side down, on a cake stand. Using an offset spatula, spread with 1/4 inch of frosting. Repeat with remaining layers. To frost the top and sides of the cake, work from the center toward and over the edge, making sure to evenly coat. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.







Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting

makes 6 cups




Ingredents:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp.

1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract




Directions:

1. Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar, pecans, and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using.