Easy Blueberry Cobbler

I make dessert each week to take to my sister-in-law's house for Sunday dinner. This week, I made my favorite blueberry cobbler, using blueberries that I froze last year. About this time of year, blueberries go on sale frequently here, so I put a bunch in the freezer for later. Sadly, we ate it all before I got a picture.

Easy Blueberry Cobbler

3/4 stick of butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. milk
2 c. blueberries with 1/2 c. sugar

Melt the butter in a deep baking bowl or dish (I use my largest Pyrex mixing bowl). Make a batter of 1 c. sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Pour batter into the middle of the butter. Do not stir. Toss the blueberries with 1/2 c. sugar and add to the middle of the batter. Do not stir. Bake one hour at 350, or until crust is done (it took about 1 1/2 hours today). The crust will rise to the top.

Delicious warm with a scoop of ice cream, but it also makes a fantastic breakfast as a cold leftover.

Wet Burritos

These were another hit in our household! I was a little leery of making these because they seemed like they contained a lot of ingredients! But they were really easy once I got going. My hubby thought the Chili was a weird addition too but it worked very well - yum! I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chile
• peppers
• 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can chili without beans
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato
• soup
• 1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
• 6 (12 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

 Directions:

1. Crumble ground beef into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Add onion, and cook until translucent. Drain grease, and season with garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in the green chilies and refried beans until well blended. Turn off heat, but keep warm.
2. In a saucepan, combine the chili without beans, tomato soup and enchilada sauce. Mix well, and cook over medium heat until heated through. Turn off heat and keep warm.
3. Place a warmed tortilla on a plate, and spoon a generous 1/2 cup of the ground beef mixture onto the center. Top with lettuce and tomato to your liking. Roll up tortilla over the filling. Spoon a generous amount of the sauce over the top, and sprinkle with cheese and green onions. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, or until cheese is melted. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

I didn't end by melting the cheese in the microwave - I try to use it as little as possible - so we just heated them in the oven. Also, we didn't really want to put the lettuce or tomato inside the burrito so after the cheese was melted we just put it on top. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and they suggest a Zinfandel - I'll take a Margarita tonight thankyouverymuch! :)

Cheers!

~Vino Vixen~

Creamy Burrito Casserole: A Smash Hit!

After a couple GP ladies tried this off of my own blog and raved about it, I knew I had to put it on here.  It's really easy, and so yummy.  Definitely the perfect comfort food.   It doesn't really look pretty, so I apologize for that, but you have to try it to know it's wonderfulness.

I originally got this recipe off of Food.com.   You can find it here.  As always, I've adapted it a bit to suit our own taste and to try and cut a few calories from this otherwise caloric monster.  Sometimes those calories are worth it though.   Here are the ingredients I use....otherwise the directions are the same from Food.com.

Ingredients
1lb of lean ground beef
1 small red onion (more flavor!)
1 package of taco seasoning
1 package of Mission Fat Free Heart Healthy Whole Wheat Tortillas (that was a mouthful)
1 can fat free refried beans (or make your own!)
2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 can Fit and Active Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup of light sour cream

Enjoy!

-Chef Val

Cranberry Pork

This is my brother-in-law's recipe that he makes every year for Christmas Day lunch.  It's super easy to make and very tender!  


Ingredients

• 1 16oz can of cranberry jelly
• 3 T of fresh lemon or orange juice (I prefer orange)
• 4 T of dijon mustard
• 3 T of brown sugar
• 2 pounds pork tenderloins

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients, through brown sugar, to form a sauce. Place pork tenderloins in slow cooker and cover with sauce.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hrs, or high 4-5 hrs
3. Add potatoes and carrots, if desired, about 3 hours into cooking process. I also quartered an onion and threw that in the crockpot for some more flavor.

Adult Cupcakes: Raspberry-filled Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chambord ganache & Mascarpone frosting

A few years back my husband wanted a sophisticated birthday cake, I found this recipe for cupcakes which I made into a car shaped birthday cake... OMG this cake as to die for!

Source

Ingredients

Cupcakes

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) organic cocoa

3/4 cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 large organic eggs

3/4 teaspoon instant espresso powder

3/4 cup (5 Ounces) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup(4 ounces)sour cream

Raspberry Filling

1 10 oz. package frozen raspberries with sugar

3 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Chambord Ganache

3/8 cup heavy cream

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

4 ounces dark chocolate chips

1 1/2 teaspoon Chambord

Mascarpone Frosting

4 ounces mascarpone cheese

3/8 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

1/2 cup whipped heavy cream

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard-sized muffin pan (cups have 1/2-cup capacity) with baking-cup liners.

Method

Combine the butter, chocolate, and cocoa in a glass bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water. Heat mixture until butter and chocolate are melted and whisk until smooth and combined. Set aside to cool until just warm to the touch.
Sieve the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in small bowl to combine. Whisk eggs in second medium bowl to combine and add espresso powder, sugar, vanilla, and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Sift about one-third of flour mixture over chocolate mixture and whisk until combined; whisk in sour cream until combined, then sift remaining flour mixture over and whisk until batter is homogenous and thick. Take care not to overbeat the batter.
Divide batter evenly among muffin pan cups. Bake until skewer inserted into center of cupcakes comes out almost clean, 15 to 18 minutes.Cool cupcakes in muffin pan on wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Carefully lift each cupcake from muffin pan and set on wire rack. Cool to room temperature before icing, about 30 minutes.

Raspberry Filling
Thaw raspberries and drain. You should have almost 3/4 cup liquid/juice. Put liquid in a small saucepan and combine with sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Cook stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil and is very thick. Let cool. Stir in raspberries without the extra juice that drains further (you want the filling to be thick). Fill cupcakes by removing a small piece in the middle of the cupcake, fill hole with about 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons of filling. Trim the piece you have cut out and place back over the filling in the cupcake. You can also pipe filling into the cupcake, however, this is pretty thick, so it is more difficult.

Chambord Ganache
Bring cream and butter just to a boil. Pour over chocolate chips. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until glossy and smooth. Add Chambord. Let mixture sit 5 minutes to set before frosting cupcakes.

Mascarpone Frosting
Beat together mascarpone cheese and sugar until smooth. Gently fold in whipped cream until combined. Place in a decorating bag and decorate tops of cupcakes as desired

Panda Express Orange Chicken

I don't think I've ever come across a copycat recipe that was as close to the original as this one... OMG it was almost better I think! And look how pretty this is!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken breast meat
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 cups vegetable oil to be used for frying
• 1 cup cornstarch

Orange Sauce

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 cup vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 2 tablespoons chopped scallion

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breast into 1/2-inch cubes, set aside.
2. To make marinade – combine egg white, salt and sugar in a bowl and stir vigorously until ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Add chicken cubes to marinade and stir to coat well.
3. To make orange sauce – combine water, ketchup, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch and sesame oil; stir and set aside. Place a pot over high heat. When pot is hot, add the 2tablespoons vegetable oil and heat. Add orange peel and scallion and stir for about 20 seconds, taking care not to burn the orange peel.
4. Pour combined sauce ingredients into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened, about 12-15 minutes.
5. Preheat 4 cups oil to 350-375°F. Meanwhile, put marinated chicken in the plastic baggie drain well and set aside. Add fried chicken to pot with heated orange sauce, stir for about 30 seconds, and then serve immediately. containing the cornstarch. Shake chicken well for about 20 seconds or until chicken is covered with cornstarch. Shake off all excess cornstarch and fry chicken in hot oil until golden brown, approximately 2 1/2 minutes. Remove chicken from oil with a slotted spoon,
6. Serve with steamed rice.

It's a little bit of a time consuming recipe but it turned out excellent! Again, I paired this with Chardonnay cause I had part of my bottle left over from last night :) The only thing I would change for next time is that I like mine a little more spicy so I think I'd throw in some red pepper flakes or something to give it a little kick - otherwise, it's absolutely perfect!

Cheers!

~Vino Vixen~

Kalua Pig

Have you ever been to the islands?

I've only been once but we went to an authentic luau where they roasted a pig in the ground and it was AH-mazing. Literally.

This recipe is the closest I've had to that since and it's literally the easiest thing ever to cook. Three ingredients?! I found it at Allrecipes.com. Wow. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 6lb Pork butt roast (also known as a shoulder roast - bone in or out)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Hawaiian sea salt
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Directions:

1. Pierce pork all over with a carving fork. Rub salt then liquid smoke over meat. Place roast in a slow cooker.
2. Cover, and cook on Low for 16 to 20 hours, turning once during cooking time.
3. Remove meat from slow cooker, and shred, adding drippings as needed to moisten. 

I do make a few changes to the recipe - as usual! I usually slice a whole yellow onion and throw it in the bottom of the crock, along with some minced garlic. 

Oh it's so yummy! My favorite is to have it over a sushi style white rice and a cole slaw on the side. PERFECT! Tonight we had it with a chardonnay, which seems to be my go to wine cause I almost always have it on hand :) My husband isn't a real fan of this style of food so he almost always throws it on a bun with the cole slaw and some BBQ sauce?! Still good I suppose!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

~Vino Vixen~

Milky Way Cake

How can you hate a recipe that starts off like this? This is one of my mother's recipes. I have no idea where she got it, but my aunt and uncle specifically requested the recipe a couple of weeks ago after my Mom's memorial service, so here it is!

Milky Way Cake

6 Milky Way bars
1/4 lb. butter
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 t. baking soda

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine candy, butter and nuts in a saucepan. Place over low heat until melted. Set aside.
Cream sugar and shortening well. Add eggs, one at a time. Combine milk and vanilla and add alternately with dry ingredients. Fold in the candy mixture. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan and bake for an hour and a half. (Note, this pan is too full. It either makes too much batter or my pan is too small.)

Allow the cake to cool before removing from the pan. This is what happens when you are impatient and try to unmold the cake when it's still hot. It looks terrible, but it still tastes fantastic.

Emm's Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken

 
I created this crock pot chicken to use in the many Mexican meals we have in our house. It's prefect for quesadillas, burritos, tacos, and most recently chicken tortilla soup! 

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
1 cup chicken broth (or stock)
1 can rotel tomatoes w/ green chiles
1/4 cup Mezzetta jalepenos w/ juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 packet Taco Seasoning
Salt & Pepper


Combine all ingredients, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours or until tender. 
Tasty Blessings!


-Heaven & Honey


 

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Salad

Servings: 4 (Picture to come!)

This recipe is a little mixture of all the things I love to throw in a salad. I think salad creation is a really personal choice, but the perfect combination of ingredients for you, always makes a salad worth eating! 
The night before this, I made crock pot buffalo wing chicken for sandwiches. The leftover shredded chicken is used in this recipe.

Ingredients

The Chicken:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 bottle buffalo wing sauce ( I like Footy's)


The Salad:
1/2 (4.5 oz) bag romaine (1 heart) or Italian mix lettuce, washed
1/2 (4.5 oz) bag baby spinach, washed
1/4 red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cucumber, diced
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 or 5 Mezzetta sweet cherry peppers, chopped
Green or black olives to taste (I use whichever Im feelin')
1/2 cup mozzarella cubes, halved 
1 avocado, diced
Buffalo chicken, shredded
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 tsp dillSalt & pepper to taste 


Add chicken and buffalo sauce to the crock pot, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.


When chicken is ready, combine first nine ingredients in a large serving bowl. Top with the shredded chicken (include as much sauce as you prefer. I like a little bit at least because it adds so much extra flavor to the ingredients. Remember: it may be spicy so less if you need to!) Lightly toss salad and then add olive oil, dill, and salt & pepper. Toss again and viola! 
Tasty Blessings!

- Heaven & Honey

Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies

Wow.  Someone sent me this recipe and how could I resist?!  Oreo?  Chocolate chip cookies?  Together?  Sign me up!  They were SO easy to make.  I made them while Lily napped and only had about 45 min to prep, mix, bake and taste test one.  They are quite rich, as it's 3 cookies in 1 (1 Oreo, and 2 choc chip cookies), but they're delicious anyway.  Grab a glass of milk, a cold Diet Coke, or whatever your beverage of choice is.  You'll need something to wash these down with.


- Pastry Princess

Original recipe from Bon Appetit.


Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 package Double Stuff Oreo cookies

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda.  Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined.
4. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie.  Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie.  Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.  Place onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Artichoke & Tomato Chicken

Another yummy chicken one! 

Ingredients:

1. 1/4 cup olive oil
2. 4 fresh tomatoes, dices
3. 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4.  2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
5. 6 artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
6.  2 red bell peppers, chopped
7. 1 (8 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, cubed
8. 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
9.  2 cups marinara sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, artichoke hearts and red peppers. Cook until just hot, then remove from heat. transfer to a large bowl and toss together with mozzarella cubes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lay out the pounded breasts and spoon filling onto the center, leaving an inch on each side. Adjust filling as you roll so as not to over stuff. Place them seam side down into a 2 quart baking dish. cover with marinara sauce. Place lid onto dish or cover with aluminum foil.
3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken is cooked through.

I do have to say that the recipe above is straight copy & pasted from Allrecipes.com however, I made a few changes. The first being that I only made 2 chicken breasts instead of 6 so all other ingredients were adjusted accordingly. Second, after reading the reviews of the recipe and after preparing the initial ingredients I opted not to top it with any marinara sauce because the amount of filling I had far exceeded what I could stuff into two little chicken breasts no matter how flat I could get them! :) Next time, I think I'd still do the marinara - it was good... oh boy was it good - but it needed that little extra sauce. 

 

And the wine... oh the wine :) Chianti my friends...

 

Cheers!

~Vino Vixen~

Arroz Con Pollo

I love chicken! I love finding new recipes to use chicken cause if my husband had his way, every night I pulled out bone in chicken he'd ask for fried chicken... bleck! Don't get me wrong, I love me some fried chicken too but not all the time. Only when I need that good ol' fashioned comfort food!

So here's a little mexican twist on kind of fried chicken... & rice! :) 

Arroz Con Pollo! I found this recipe from SimplyRecipes.com. I've never made it before but it was SUPER easy!

Ingredients: 

Chicken

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 broiler-fryer chicken, about 2 1/2-3 pounds, cut into serving pieces, or 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
• 1/2 cup of flour for dredging
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Paprika

Rice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet (a skillet that has a cover) on medium high heat. Put the flour in a wide bowl, mix in a generous sprinkling of salt, pepper, and paprika. Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in the flour mixture and put in the pan to brown. (You can skip the flour dredging part if you want. It just makes a nicer coating for the chicken.) Cook a few minutes on each side, just enough so that the chicken has browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add the rice to the pan to brown. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Stir first to coat the rice with the olive oil in the pan. Then don't stir too much or you will prevent it from browning. Let it brown and then stir a little to let more of it brown. Then add the onion and garlic. Cook the onion, garlic and rice mixture, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened, about 4 minutes. 
3. Place the chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of the rice. In a separate bowl, mix together the stock, tomato, salt, and oregano. Pour the stock mixture over the rice and chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Let cook for 20-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package, until the rice and chicken are done. Fluff the rice with a fork. If you want you can sprinkle with some peas. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Lucky me... this pairs well with my favorite - Chardonnay! 

Cheers!

~Vino Vixen~

Chicken Fiesta Salad

Happy Mardi Gras... a day late?! :) I don't even notice these holidays that I used to classify as "drinking holidays" anymore **blush** does that mean I'm getting old??

Oh well... I'm not sure I mentioned it before but I've started meal planning and this is my first week - if you care to check out my weekly menus, they can be found here on my personal blog. Today was the a new recipe - Chicken Fiesta Salad (which was originally scheduled for Friday but a little mishap of choosing two meat/rice dishes in a row just didn't work for my hubby so we switched a few days around.). I've never made this before but I found it here and it turned out really well!

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1 package fajita seasoning
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can corn
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 package mixed salad greens
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, cut into wedges

Directions:

1. Rub chicken evenly with 1/2 the fajita seasoning. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the chicken 8 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, mix beans, corn, salsa and other 1/2 of fajita seasoning. Heat over medium heat until warm.
3. Prepare the salad by tossing the greens, onion and tomato. Top salad with chicken and dress with the bean and corn mixture.

First of all, I didn't have fajita seasoning so I just used taco seasoning as I didn't think they'd vary too much. Also, I cut my chicken into 1/2 inch strips and marinated them for about an hour before cooking. This recipe was so simple and easy - and yummy! We also added some shredded cheddar cheese and avocado on top and a small amount of ranch dressing. Oiy so filling with all those black beans! It only made about 3 servings so if you need more just double everything.

As far as a wine pairing, I got the recipe from Allrecipes.com and they suggest a Sauvignon Blanc, which I didn't have a bottle of but I imagine would most definitely pair well!

Cheers!
~Vino Vixen~

Stuffed Peppers

I looooove me some stuffed bell peppers! I've used this recipe a bunch of times but I do make some changes to our liking and I usually half the recipe unless I've got a bunch of people coming over. I hope you enjoy it!

This would be more pretty with a green pepper but eh... I only had red.

Ingredients:

• 6 bell peppers, any color
• Salt to taste
• 1 lb venison (or other ground meat)
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 cans condensed tomato soup

 Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt and a small amount of cheese inside each pepper, and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute venison and onions for 5 minutes, or until browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomatoes, rice, 1/2 cup water and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C). Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a baking dish. In a medium bowl, combine tomato soup with just enough water to make the soup a gravy consistency. Pour over the peppers. Top with remaining cheese.
4. Bake covered for 25 to 35 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allrecipes.com suggests pairing this with a Zinfandel but I'm not a huge fan - I like my wine more dry so a good Sauvignon Blanc sounds better to me :)

 Cheers!

~Vino Vixen~