Cafe Rio Chicken

Last month while Blake was in the US, 

I made him do a major stock up on corn tortillas.

They don't sell them here on the island!

So, on special occasions we get to make tacos.

 Today was one of those days...

I thank Pinterest for this easy-crock-pot recipe:

Cafe Rio Chicken

1 (8 oz) bottle of kraft zesty italian dressing

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced

5 lbs chicken breasts

Cook all together in crock pot for 4 hours on low.

Shred chicken and ENJOY!

a'la mode tip

Simple and kinda lame, I know.

But when you have lots o' little people at a party waiting for a

 scoop of ice cream with their Birthday cake, 

you slyly pull out your (covered) cookie sheet from the freezer.

"Why, let me serve you, my dears..."

Cute, and it helps a (tad) with the clean-up!

Gracias pinterest. 

Chocolate Pavlova

My dear friend Jane Bodnar introduced me to this wonderful recipe from Nigella Lawson on Food Network. It is definitely a favorite!!

Enjoy!

Amanda

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients

For the Meringue Base:

• 6 large egg whites
• 2 cups superfine sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

For the Toppings:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups raspberries
• 1 to 2 ounces dark chocolate

Directions

Prepare the pan: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Draw a 9-inch-diameter circle on the paper with a pencil, tracing a round cake tin that size.

Flip the paper over so your meringue doesn't touch the pencil marks - you'll still be able to see the circle.

Make the meringue: Beat the egg whites with a mixer until satiny peaks form, and then beat in the sugar a spoonful at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

Add the chocolate: Sprinkle the cocoa, vinegar and then the chopped chocolate over the egg whites. Gently fold everything with a rubber spatula until the cocoa is thoroughly mixed in.

Shape the meringue: Secure the parchment to the baking sheet with a dab of meringue under each corner. Mound the meringue onto the parchment within the circle, smoothing the sides and the top with a spatula. (On one of the meringues I put it in a glass 9x13 pan with Pam and baked it).

Bake the meringue: Place in the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 300 degrees F and cook for one to one and a quarter hours. When it's ready, it should look crisp and dry on top, but when you prod the center you should feel the promise of squidginess beneath your fingers.

Let it cool: Turn off the oven and open the door slightly; let the chocolate meringue disk cool completely in the oven. When you'reready to serve, invert onto a big flatbottomed plate and peel off the parchment.

Decorate the Pavlova: Whisk the cream till thick but still soft and pile it on top of the meringue, then scatter the raspberries on top. Coarsely grate the chocolate haphazardly over the top so that you get curls of chocolate rather than rubble, as you don't want the raspberries' luscious color and form to be obscured. You want the Pavlova to look like a frosted cake.

Easy Chimichurri Sauce

A new friend here in Singapore shared this awesome recipe with 

me and it's now a staple item I keep in my fridge.

It's love it paired with veggies, chicken, bread, pita, naan, whatever...

 And it's healthy too!

Mix in a blender:

2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil 

6 cloves garlic crushed

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/2 cup parsley leaves (or double up on the cilantro - works fine as well)

2 cups diced green bell peppers (1 1/2 peppers)

1/2 teaspoon salt

S'more Bars

So I have discovered Pinterest and I love it!  It's like access to everybodys recipe & decorating files & style & party ideas all online.  Amazing. Who needs a filing cabinet anymore?  Wish I had it when I was building a house for ideas.  Anyway, I repinned this recipe and made it yesterday for a family party.  Had just enough left for breakfast this morning (after all, I went to spinning so isn't that legal?).


Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

Chocolate Eclair

This Chocolate Eclair has been a favorite since I was a newlywed almost 20 years ago.  It's latest longer than a lot of other things!  It is my kids absolute favorite, and it doesn't require baking.

Chocolate Eclair
Filling:
2 (3 oz) packages of Vanilla Pudding (or French Vanilla)
3 1/2 Cups Milk
1 8 ounce Container Cool Whip
Whole Graham Crackers

Chocolate Sauce:
4 Tb. Butter, melted
4 Tb. Milk
4 Tb. cocoa
2 Cups Powder Sugar

For filling, stir pudding & milk till smooth.  Fold in Cool Whip.  In a 9 x 13 pan, layer graham crackers, 1/2 pudding, graham crackers, 1/2 pudding, ending with another layer of graham crackers.  For chocolate sauce, mix together all ingredients, blend with hand-held mixer and spread on top.  Refrigerate.  Even better the next day when the graham crackers are soft!

Kate's Meal

 No recipe, but Kate had me to Sunday Dinner and had this beautiful meal.  She made those breadsticks from Best Bites and B-B-Q' the meat.  Those skewers are a lot of work but so delicious.  Thanks Kate!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

$1.99 at Rite Aid. And I am embarrassed to say I could (and did) eat a bag in one day! These are the best snack that we discovered on our JetBlue flight but couldn't find anywhere to buy them. All the flavors are great, but the Kettle corn is my fav. Get yourself to Rite Aid!

homemade playdoh

I know it's blasphemous for a Mom to say she can't stand playdoh, 

but you're hearing it here and now, people:

I can't stand it.

See, it just gets EVERYWHERE!
Inside every crevice of wood, carpet, tile, fingernail.

So, my kids consider themselves really lucky when we pull it out!

But, alas...I saw this recipe here for dough and thought "easy enough"!

And it WAS. So easy that we just kept making it so everyone could have their own.

It doesn't stink, is really squishy, and not so crumbly as regular playdoh.
Oh and when it's warm straight outta the pan, it's therapeutic to roll...like hot bread dough.

So, maybe I can be a "playdoh mom" after all.

Homemade Playdoh

1 cup flour

1 cup water

1/4 cup salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 Tbls. vegetable oil 
(I used canola, cuz' that's what I had on hand)

food coloring (I used 4 drops)

Just dump all the ingredients into your pot and give them a good stir.  Enlist some small help if possible – they will think you are magic.