Black and White Creme Brulee

This. Is. Amazing.  Like, restaurant quality deliciousness.  It's easy and scrumptious...I highly recommend you try it if you like creme brulee.  And if you don't, I don't think we can be friends anymore.  ;)

Black & White Creme Brulee

2 1/2 C. whipping cream, divided
1 C. semisweet chocolate morsels
5 egg yolks
1/2 C. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
6 Tbsp. light brown sugar

Heat 1/2 cup whipping cream and chocolate morsels in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until chocolate melts.  Cool slightly.  Pour mixture evenly into 6 (6-ounce) ramekins.  Set aside.

Whisk together remaining 2 cups whipping cream, egg yolks, 1/2 C. granulated sugar, and vanilla until sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth.  Pour evenly into prepared ramekins; places ramekins in a 9x13-inch pan.  Add hot water to pan to a depth of 1/2 inch.
Bake at 275° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until almost set.  Cool custards in water in pan on a wire rack.  Remove custards from pan; cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Remove from refrigerator and sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar over each custard; place custards on baking sheet.
Broil 5 1/2 inches from heat until sugar melts.  Let stand 5 minutes to allow sugar to harden. (If you have a kitchen torch, you can melt the sugar with that instead of the broiler.)
Yield: 6 servings

Recipe from one of my fav cookbooks - The All-New Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Everyone loved these - all my kids had multiple servings.

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Ingredients

·        4 cups all-purpose flour

·        2 teaspoon salt

·        1 teaspoon baking soda

·        3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

·        4 eggs separated

·        1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

·        3 1/2 cups buttermilk

·        1/2 cup butter melted

·        4 tablespoons maple-flavored syrup

·        2 tablespoons vanilla

Maple Cream Cheese Syrup:

·        8 tablespoons cream cheese

·        2 tablespoons butter

·        1 cup powdered sugar

·        1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·        ½ teaspoon maple extract

·        ½ cup milk

·        4 tablespoons maple syrup (real or fake)

Instructions

1.      In large bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon, set aside.

2.      In small bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form and set aside. In medium bowl, beat egg yolks, buttermilk, 1/4 cup melted butter, the syrup and vanilla; set aside.

3.      Make well in center of flour mixture. Add egg yolk mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in beaten egg whites.

4.      Spray waffle maker lightly with cooking spray. Spoon batter onto hot waffle maker, bake for 3-4 until steam stops and waffles are golden brown.

5.      For maple cream cheese syrup: In saucepan, beat together butter and cream cheese. Beat in powdered sugar, syrup, milk and vanilla. Heat on medium low until warm. A little goes a long way on the waffles, so just drizzle over the top. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Chocolate Citrus Cooler

We had this for dessert on Easter and it was nice and refreshing and not too filling after a large meal.  Also, the boys were in charge of dessert and they didn't want to make anything that takes effort until 6:30 pm when they decided they wanted to make sugar cookies.  ;) 
We didn't serve this over ice and we only put a little tiny scoop of ice cream in after the initial batch was mixed because we were almost out of ice cream. 

Chocolate Citrus Cooler

1 1/2 C. cold milk
1/4 C. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
3 Tbsp Hershey's chocolate syrup
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
crushed ice or additional ice cream (optional)

In a blender, place milk, juice concentrate, syrup and 1 scoop ice cream.  Cover and blend until smooth.  Pour into glasses over ice, if desired, and top with additional scoop of ice cream, if desired. 
Makes about 3 8-ounce servings. 

Recipe from the Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I've had this recipe for years and it's one of our favorites.  It's just like the Zuppa Toscana soup that you get at Olive Garden - yum!  You can skip sauteing the onions if you'd like - Jeff just likes them cooked very soft.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

1 lb. Italian sausage (we like spicy)

1/2 lb. smoked bacon, chopped

1 qt. water

2 (14.5 oz.) cans chicken broth

2 large russet potatoes, cubed

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 med. onion, chopped

2 C. chopped kale or Swiss chard

1 C. heavy whipping cream or half & half

salt and pepper to taste

shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese, if desired

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking it into small pieces as you fry it; drain and reomve sausage from pan.  Set aside.

In same skillet, brown bacon until crisp; drain and set aside.  Saute the onions until soft.

Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic and onion in a pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.  Add sausage and bacon to pot and simmer for 10 more minutes.  Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper and heat through.  Garnish individual servings with shredded cheese, if desired.

Serves 8

Steak Tips with Mushroom-Onion Gravy

This was a delish dinner and pretty quick to put together.  Jeff, of course, would prefer that I leave the onions out, but Amelia and I really enjoyed them.  I used about 1/2 of a medium sized onion.  I'm not sure why you have to heat the whole pan in a 500° oven rather than just searing the meat on high heat but we did it anyway.  We just used a London broil that I had in the freezer and I forgot to add the red wine vinegar at the end, so go ahead and add that in if you feel so inclined.  ;)  We served this with mashed potatoes.  Deeeelish!

Steak Tips with Mushroom-Onion Gravy

2 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
salt and pepper
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed, sliced 1/4 inch thick (white or baby portobello)
1 medium onion, halved and sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp minced fresh thyme  or 1/4 tsp. dried
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 can beef broth
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (optional)
2 tsp red wine vinegar

Adjust oven rack to middle position, place 12-inch cast-iron skillet on rack, and heat oven to 500°.  Meanwhile, pat steak tips dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
When oven reaches 500°, carefully remove skillet from oven using potholders and place over medium heat; turn off oven.  Being careful of hot skillet handle, add 2 tablespoons oil and heat until just smoking.  Brown half of the steak tips on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to bowl.  Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining steak tips; transfer to bowl.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to fat left in skillet and heat over medium heat until shimmering.  Add mushrooms, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms have released all their liquid, about 5 minutes.  Continue to cook until vegetables begin to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
Stir in garlic, tomato paste, thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.  Stir in broth and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps.
Bring gravy to simmer, then stir in browned beef and any accumulated juices.  Recuce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is cooked to your preference. 
Remove from heat and stir in parsley and vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve alone or with mashed potatoes.

Recipe altered slightly from America's Test Kitchen

KEY LIME COCONUT CUPCAKES

These were SO delish.

KEY LIME COCONUT CUPCAKES

INGREDIENTS

CUPCAKES

·        1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

·        2 teaspoons baking powder

·        1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

·        1 cup granulated sugar

·        1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

·        3 eggs, separated

·        1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·        1/2 cup coconut milk

·        ½ tsp coconut extract

·        1 1/4 cups sweetened shredded coconut, optional

FILLING

·        3 tablespoons coconut cream

·        2 ounces cream cheese, softened

·        1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

·        1/2 cup shredded coconut, optional

·        ¼ tsp coconut extract

FROSTING

·        1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

·        3 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided

·        2 tablespoons lime zest*

·        1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice*

·        Cream or milk, if needed

·        1/4 cup coconut flakes, toasted

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make the cupcakes, preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing until well blended. Add vanilla and coconut extract beat until combined. Slowly add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the coconut milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and beat until combined.

2. In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Stir one-fourth of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining egg whites until combined. Be careful not to over mix. Gently fold in the shredded coconut. Divide the batter evenly among the lined muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

3. To make the filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment add the coconut cream, coconut extract, cream cheese and sugar. Whip on medium speed for one to two minutes. Slowly fold in the shredded coconut.

4. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Slowly add 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add lime zest, lime juice and remaining sugar. Beat for an additional one to two minutes.

5. To assemble the cupcakes, remove a small amount of the center part of the cupcake using a cupcake corer or pairing knife. Divide the coconut filling evenly among the cupcakes, filling the hole in the middle of the cupcake. Pipe frosting onto each cupcake and sprinkle with toasted coconut. Garnish with sliced key limes, as desired.

De-Skunking Spray for Dogs

I found this recipe several years ago when Dakota got skunked.  Avery just text me asking for it for Cora so I thought I'd put it on here so that we can all find it easily because previously I just had it scribbled on a post-it note.  So, here you have it.  It works, but I hope you never (or rarely) have to use it. 

De-Skunking Spray

1 Qt. hydrogen peroxide
1 C. baking soda
2 tsp. dish soap
1 Gal. water

Mix together in a large bucket.  Carefully pour over dog, being careful to avoid the eyes. 
Rinse and repeat as needed.